Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Nehemiah 6:18
For [there were] many in Judah sworn unto him, because he [was] the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.
18. sworn unto him, because he was the son in law of, &c.] ‘Sworn unto him.’ LXX. . It is implied that Tobiah’s connexion by marriage ensured him the support of many leading Jews; the conjunction ‘because’ suggests that the members of a family on welcoming a stranger within their circle, pledged themselves to him by an oath.
It is possible however to give a more general interpretation: many of the nobles conspired with Tobiah, and they had opportunities to meet him on account of his connexion by marriage. In Neh 13:4 we find Eliashib the High-priest described as ‘allied unto Tobiah.’ ‘Son-in-law,’ or at any rate a relation by marriage.
Shechaniah the son of Arah ] R.V. Shecaniah, &c. The house of Arah is mentioned in Ezr 2:5. Shecaniah was clearly a man of eminence.
Johanan ] R.V. Jehohanan. The name of Tobiah’s son is a compound of which the first two syllables are derived from the sacred Hebrew Name for God. Cf. note on Neh 2:10.
had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah ] R.V. had taken to wife. This Meshullam is mentioned in Neh 3:4; Neh 3:30, from which passages we conclude that he was of priestly descent.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Though Tobiah is called the servant or slave Neh 2:10, Neh 2:19, and was perhaps a bought slave of Sanballats, yet he was in such a position that Jewish nobles readily contracted affinity with him. This is quite in harmony with the practice of the East, where slaves often fill high positions and make great marriages.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 18. He was the son-in-law of Shechaniah] Previously to the coming of Nehemiah, the Jews seemed to be fast intermixing with the heathen, by intermarriages with Ashdodites, Ammonites, and Moabites; see Ne 13:23. Ezra had many evils of this kind to redress, (Ezr 9:3, c.,) chiefly among the common people, though there were both chiefs and priests in that trespass. But here we find the heathen and Jewish nobles interlinked and the latter were so far imbued with the spirit of idolatry, that they forgot God, his service, their brethren, and their own souls.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Sworn unto him, to be true to him in the prosecution of his wicked designs.
His son had taken the daughter of Meshullam: this is noted to show the mischief of such unequal and forbidden marriages, and how reasonable and necessary Ezras action was in the dissolution of them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
For there were many in Judah sworn unto him,…. To Tobiah, who not only in a private manner corresponded with him by letters, but bound themselves by an oath to him to be true to his interest, and do as he should advise them:
because he was the son in law of Shechaniah, the son of Arah; of a family that came up with Zerubbabel from the captivity, Ezr 2:5 and very probably of considerable note:
and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah; a very eminent person, concerned in building the wall, Ne 3:4.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(18) Sworn unto him.Shechaniah was of the family of Arah, which had come over with Zerubbabel (Ezr. 2:5). Tobiah had married his daughter, and Tobiahs son had married a daughter of Meshullam, one of the builders of the wall (Neh. 3:4; Neh. 3:30). This family connection led to a conspiracy by oath to thwart the governor. The names of Tobiah and his son are Hebrew; and it is probable that, though naturalised Ammonites, they were of Hebrew extraction. This renders it easier to understand the facility with which the affinity was contracted.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
18. Many in Judah sworn unto him Pledged for relationship’s sake to advance Tobiah’s interests.
He was the son-in-law of Shechaniah This was, perhaps, one of those cases of marriage with the heathen which it had been the last recorded work of Ezra to annul. Ezra 10. A son of Elam who bore the name of Shechaniah (Ezr 10:2) had been the first to confess the people’s great trespass, and to propose reform, but it is altogether probable that some of the more noble Jews on the one hand, and families like that of Tobiah among the heathen, refused to co-operate in Ezra’s measures of reform. This would explain their treachery and hostility to Nehemiah and the mass of the Jews.
Arah Whose sons were among the first that came up from Babylon with Zerubbabel. Neh 7:10; Ezr 2:5.
His son Johanan That is, Tobiah’s son.
Meshullam Who was one of the builders on the wall. Neh 3:4. The treachery among the nobles was owing altogether to these intermarriages. Tobiah (Neh 13:4) was also allied unto Eliashib the priest.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Neh 6:18 For [there were] many in Judah sworn unto him, because he [was] the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.
Ver. 18. For there were many in Judah sworn unto him ] Besides that intercourse of letters aforementioned, Tobiah had his pensioners among the Jews, who were his sworn servants, and had taken oath, or (as the Hebrew hath it) they were lords of an oath to him. In the year 1583, Girald, earl of Desmond’s, men had barbarously vowed to forswear God, before they would forsake him. I know not what these Jews had sworn to Tobiah (to be true to him likely, and to prosecute his designs), but those of them at this day living are great swearers (they were so in St James’s time, Jam 5:12 ), but they keep no oath unless they swear upon their own Torah or book of the law, brought out of their synagogues (Weemse).
Because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
son in law. Connected also with a high priest Eliashib Compare Neh 13:4.
Meshullam. Compare Neh 3:4, Neh 3:30.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Arah: Neh 7:10, Ezr 2:5
Meshullam: Neh 3:4, Neh 3:30
Reciprocal: Neh 13:4 – allied Jer 41:10 – to the