Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Nehemiah 13:4
And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, [was] allied unto Tobiah:
4. And before this ] R.V. Now before this. Clearly the date referred to is that of Nehemiah’s return to Jerusalem after his residence at the court described in Neh 13:6-7. We may assume that Nehemiah’s Memoirs embraced the whole interval of twelve years. The Compiler, however, makes no extract from the intervening portion. The words ‘before this’ have therefore no reference to the events of the preceding verses; their retention only shows the exactness with which the extract is reproduced.
Eliashib the priest ] There is scarcely any reason to doubt that this is the same as ‘Eliashib the high-priest’ mentioned in Neh 13:28, and in Neh 3:1; Neh 3:20, whose name occurs in the priestly lists (Neh 12:10; Neh 12:22). That he is here called ‘the priest,’ and in Neh 13:28, ‘the high-priest,’ constitutes a certain objection against the identification. On the other hand the incident which here connects ‘Eliashib the priest’ with Tobiah is of so similar a character to that which associates ‘Eliashib the high-priest’ in alliance with Sanballat ( Neh 13:28), that it is most natural to suppose the same person is denoted.
The full title is not, as some fancifully suggest, withheld out of respect for the office which was so degraded. It is more probable that Nehemiah is recording the fact that ‘the priest who was appointed over the chambers of the house of God’ happened in this instance to be the high-priest himself: perhaps having been appointed to this duty before his succession to the high-priestly office, he still retained the charge. Again, it may be remembered that in old times ‘the priest’ was the customary title of the high-priest.
If the same as the high-priest, it has been remarked that his name does not appear in chap. 10 among those that signed the covenant. It is however somewhat hazardous to conclude, as commentators have generally done, that he must therefore have refused his signature and have openly opposed the policy of Nehemiah. The names in chap. 10 are most of them the names of houses, and the high-priest’s name is probably represented in the mention of ‘Seraiah.’
having the oversight of ] R.V. who was appointed over.
the chamber ] R.V. the chambers. Marg. ‘Heb. the chamber ’. The singular does not give the right meaning. Eliashib in order to dispose of ‘a great chamber’ to Tobiah, must have had all the Temple chambers under his charge. The proposal to read the plural ‘chambers’ ( lishkth) instead of the singular ‘chamber’ ( lishkath) is probably right. See Neh 13:9.
The versions give quite an erroneous turn to the passage; LXX. , Vulg. ‘prpositus in gazophylacio.’
was allied ] R.V. being allied. A relationship by marriage is intended by this expression, which is the same as that rendered in Rth 2:20, ‘The man is nigh of kin to us.’
In the LXX. and Vulg. ‘proximus,’ the idea of local vicinity misapprehends the original. We are not told the exact relationship of Tobiah to Eliashib. But in Neh 6:17, it appears that he had married a daughter of Shecaniah; and that his son Jehohanan had married a daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. Both Shecaniah and Meshullam are names mentioned in Neh 3:20; Neh 3:30; and the probability is that they were priests of high rank. It is natural to derive Tobiah’s alliance to Eliashib from his connexion with one or both of these families.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Part IV. NEHEMIAH’S SECOND VISIT
Ch. Neh 13:4-9.
His Vindication of the Sanctity of the Temple.
Neh 13:10-14.
His Provision for the Maintenance of the Levites.
Neh 13:15-22.
His Measures to uphold the Observance of the Sabbath.
Neh 13:23-29.
His Action against Mixed Marriages.
Neh 13:30-31.
His Concluding Words.
4 31. Nehemiah’s memoirs resumed
4 9. An incident twelve years later: Eliashib’s concession of a chamber in the Temple to Tobiah, and its purification by Nehemiah. For Nehemiah’s action and the necessity for it, cf. Mal 2:1-9.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The relations of Eliashib, the high priest Neh 3:1, with Tobiah and Sanballat will account for the absence of any reference to him either in Neh. 810, or in Neh. 12:27-47.
The chamber – The entire outbuilding, or lean-to, which surrounded the temple on three sides 1Ki 6:5-10.
Allied – i. e, connected by marriage. Tobiah was married to a Jewess Neh 6:18, who may have been a relation of Eliashib; and his son Johanan was married to another Neh 6:18, of whom the same may be said.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 4. Eliashib the priest] Perhaps this was a different person from Eliashib the high priest; but there is no indubitable evidence that he was not the same. If he was high priest, he was very unfaithful to the high charge which he had received; and a reproach to the priesthood. He had married his grandson to Sanballat’s daughter: this produced a connection with Tobiah, the fast friend of Sanballat; in whose favour he polluted the house of God, giving him one of the chambers for his ordinary residence, which were appointed for the reception of the tithes, oblations, &c., that came to the house of God.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Eliashib the priest; the high priest, Neh 3:1, or some other priest so called, there being divers Eliashibs in or about this time, Ezr 10:6,24,27,36, though the first seems most probable, by comparing this verse with Neh 13:28, and with Neh 12:10,11.
The oversight of the chamber, i.e. of the chambers, as appears from the following verse, and from Neh 13:9, where it is called chambers, and from the nature of the thing, the high priest having the chief power over the house of God, and all the chambers belonging to it. The singular number for the plural.
Allied unto Tobiah, the Ammonite, and a violent enemy to Gods people. So this is noted as a great blemish to Eliashib, and as the cause of his other miscarriage, noted Neh 13:5.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4, 5. before thisThe practiceof these mixed marriages, in open neglect or violation of the law,had become so common, that even the pontifical house, which ought tohave set a better example, was polluted by such an impure mixture.
Eliashib the priest . . . wasallied unto TobiahThis person was the high priest (Ne13:28; also Ne 3:1), who, byvirtue of his dignified office, had the superintendence and controlof the apartments attached to the temple. The laxity of hisprinciples, as well as of his practice, is sufficiently apparent fromhis contracting a family connection with so notorious an enemy ofIsrael as Tobiah. But his obsequious attentions had carried him muchfarther; for to accommodate so important a person as Tobiah on hisoccasional visits to Jerusalem, Eliashib had provided him a splendidapartment in the temple. The introduction of so gross an improprietycan be accounted for in no other way than by supposing that in theabsence of the priests and the cessation of the services, the templewas regarded as a common public building, which might, in thecircumstances, be appropriated as a palatial residence.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And before this,…. Before the above law was read, and observed and acted upon:
Eliashib the priest; whom some take to be a common priest; so Bishop Usher a; but he seems rather to be the high priest, by comparing it with Ne 13:28,
having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God; which has led some to the notion of his being a common priest; but chamber may be put for chambers, and those for the whole house or temple, which the high priest had the greatest concern in, and oversight of:
was allied to Tobiah; the servant and Ammonite, an inveterate enemy of the Jews, Ne 2:10, having married a daughter of Shecaniah, and his son a daughter of Meshullam, who were both priests, and so as it seems related to Eliashib, Ne 6:18.
a Annal. Vet. Test. p. 200.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Nehemiah, on his return to Jerusalem, reforms the irregularities that had broken out during his absence. – Neh 13:4-9. While Nehemiah was at Babylon with King Artaxerxes, Eliashib the high priest had given up to his relative, Tobiah the Ammonite (Neh 2:10; Neh 4:3, and elsewhere), a large chamber in the temple, i.e., in the fore-court of the temple (v. 7), probably for his use as a dwelling when he visited Jerusalem (see rem. on v. 8). On his return, Nehemiah immediately cast all the furniture of Tobiah out of this chamber, purified the chambers, and restored them to their proper use as a magazine for the temple stores. , before this (comp. Ewald, 315, c), refers to the beforementioned separation of the from Israel (Neh 13:3). Eliashib the priest is probably the high priest of that name (Neh 3:1; Neh 12:10, Neh 12:22). This may be inferred from the particular: set over (he being set over) the chambers of the house of our God; for such oversight of the chambers of the temple would certainly be entrusted to no simple priest, though this addition shows that this oversight did not absolutely form part of the high priest’s office. For , in the sense of to set, to place over, comp. 1Ki 2:35; the construction with instead of is, however, unusual, but may be derived from the local signification of , upon, over. Ewald and Bertheau are for reading instead of the sing. , because in Neh 13:5 it is not that is spoken of, but a large chamber. may, however, be also understood collectively. Eliashib, being a relation of Tobiah ( like Rth 2:20), prepared him a chamber. The predicate of the sentence, Neh 13:4, follows in Neh 13:5 with , in the form of a conclusion following the accessory sentence of the subject. How Tobiah was related to Eliashib is nowhere stated. Bertheau conjectures that it was perhaps only through the circumstance that Johanan, the son of Tobiah, had married a daughter of Meshullam ben Berechiah (Neh 6:18), who, according to Neh 3:30, was a priest or Levite, and might have been nearly related to the high priest. “A great chamber,” perhaps made so by throwing several chambers into one, as older expositors have inferred from Neh 13:9, according to which Nehemiah, after casting out the goods of Tobiah, had the chambers (plural) cleansed. The statement also in Neh 13:5, that there (in this great chamber) were aforetime laid up not only the meat-offerings (i.e., oil and flour, the materials for them), the incense, and the sacred vessels, but also the tithe of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, and the heave-offerings of the priests, seems to confirm this view. This tenth is designated as , the command of the Levites, i.e., what was apportioned to the Levites according to the law, the legal dues for which is elsewhere usual; comp. Deu 18:3; 1Sa 2:13. The heave-offering of the priest is the tenth of their tenth which the Levites had to contribute, Neh 10:39.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
2. Tobiah is driven out.
TEXT, Neh. 13:4-9
4
Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being related to Tobiah,
5
had prepared a large room for him, where formerly they put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils, and the tithes of grain, wine and oil prescribed for the Levites, the singers and the gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.
6
But during all this time I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had gone to the king. After some time, however, I asked leave from the king,
7
and I came to Jerusalem and learned about the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, by preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God.
8
And it was very displeasing to me, so I threw all of Tobiahs household goods out of the room.
9
Then I gave an order and they cleansed the rooms; and I returned there the utensils of the house of God with the grain offerings and the frankincense.
COMMENT
In Neh. 13:4, the prior to this would refer to the time when Nehemiah was in Persia, following his first visit to Jerusalem. The extent to which intermarriage had gone is evident in that it had affected even the household of Eliashib the priest. The chambers of the Temple (1Ki. 6:5-8) were in three stories along the full length of both sides.
In Neh. 13:5 the purpose of the chambers is given: they were for the supplies essential to the priests and Levites (including singers and gatekeepers), and for utensils (Neh. 7:70; Ezr. 1:9-11; Ezr. 8:26-27) necessary for the Temple ceremonies. Now the priests prepared them arbitrarily for the personal use of Tobiah, who had given Israel trouble in the past (Neh. 2:19; Neh. 4:3; Neh. 4:7; Neh. 6:12). According to Neh. 13:9 it was not unneeded extra space.
Neh. 13:6 sets the limit of twelve years on Nehemiahs first term as governor. How long a term intervened before he returned to Jerusalem is not known, but it is thought to have been relatively short. We have seen the Persian kings use of the title, king of Babylon, before: Ezr. 5:13.
Neh. 13:7 shows that it was on Nehemiahs return from Persia that he heard of this impropriety involving Tobiah.
In Neh. 13:8 we see his anger. Nehemiah was justified in the action he took; the Temple had been dedicated exclusively for the use of priests and Levites in their service for God: certainly not for foreigners, even heads of state. Nehemiah was responsible for all affairs within his realm, even over the priests, and he must defend the interests of the weak and abused or they would not be defended. We cannot say with certainty that Tobiah lived in the rooms; he may have used them only for storage; but the household goods would suggest at least preparation for occupancy.
Now, in Neh. 13:9, the rooms were cleansed from contamination (see PURIFY, Word Studies, chapter 12), and returned to their proper use.
WORD STUDIES
EVER (Neh. 13:1 : Olam): for ever, everlasting. Basically it means hidden (as in the secret sins of Psa. 90:8): where the beginning or end is obscure or uncertain or indefinite. It is applied to (1) the past, or antiquity, time long past or even only a lifetime, the days of old, Mic. 7:14; or of a long time, Isa. 42:14; (2) the future, i.e., of the end of one life, Deu. 15:17; (3) end of an age or race or dynasty, limited by the length of their obedience, 1Sa. 2:30. (4) The laws are for ever (Passover, Exo. 12:14), yet they are superseded now. (5) The earth and universe are forever (Psa. 104:5), though we know they will pass away. (6) Only when the term is used of God does it have the idea of absolute eternality (Psa. 90:2).
The people of the O.T. did not have an everlasting promise; they found no need to coin a word for an idea which they didnt have, or barely had, in their mind. Only Jesus could complete that picture for them (2Ti. 1:10).
LOVED (Neh. 13:26 : Aheb): to breathe after, long for, desire; the meaning is akin to Agape in the N.T. Israel loved Joseph, Gen. 37:3 f; Jacob loved Rachel, Gen. 29:18; Hosea was told to love his wife in spite of her unworthiness, Hos. 3:1; God loved His people, Deu. 23:5; and we must love God, Deu. 6:5.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(4) Eliashib the priest, having the oversight.Probably the high priest of Neh. 3:1, whose office alone would not have given him control over the chamber: that is, the series of chambers running round three walls of the Temple. He was allied unto Tobiah, but in what way is not stated.
Before this.That is, before the return of Nehemiah; indeed, there is a suspicious absence of Eliashibs name throughout the high religious festivities of the preceding chapters.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
(4-9) The scandal of the high priest.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
CLEANSING OF THE CHAMBER OCCUPIED BY TOBIAH, Neh 13:4-9.
4. Before this Before the separation of the mixed multitude from Israel.
Eliashib the priest The high priest mentioned in Neh 3:1.
Oversight of the chamber “Such oversight of the chambers of the temple would certainly be intrusted to no simple priest, though this addition shows that this oversight did not form part of the high priest’s office.” Keil.
Allied unto Tobiah In what particular way is unknown. Perhaps the Jewess whom his son Johanan had married (Neh 6:18) was a relative of the high priest. See on Neh 2:10; Neh 6:18.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Neh 13:4. Eliashib the priest, &c. Some are apt to imagine, that this Eliashib was no more than a common priest, because he is said to have had the oversight of the chambers in the house of God; which was an office, they think, too mean for the high-priest. But we cannot see why the oversight of the chambers of the house of God may not import the whole government of the temple, which certainly belonged to the high-priest only; nor can we conceive how any one, who was less than absolute governor of the temple, could make so great an innovation in it. He was assistant, indeed, in the reparation of the walls of the city; but, except in this one act, where do we read of his doing any thing worthy of memory towards the reforming what was amiss either in church or state, in the times either of Ezra or Nehemiah? And yet we cannot but presume, that, had he joined with them in so good a work, some mention would have been made of it in the books written by them. Since therefore, instead of this, we find it recorded in Ezra, ch. Neh 10:18 that the pontifical house was in his time grown very corrupt, and, not improbably by his connivance, began to marry into heathen families, see Neh 13:28 it seems most likely, that it was Eliashib the high-priest who was the author of this great profanation of the house of God; but, as he might die before Nehemiah returned from Babylon, for this reason we hear nothing of the governor’s apprehending him for it.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
It should seem very plainly from what is here said, that Nehemiah had returned to Persia, and now was come back to Jerusalem. During his absence Eliashib the High Priest, to his everlasting disgrace, from his alliance with Tobiah, had not only paid this open enemy of God and his church great respect, but had dared to desecrate the temple by giving him an apartment in it: and to make room for him had removed the things belonging to the temple service. What an awful character must have been this High Priest! Oh! how unlike thee, thou great High Priest of our God and of thy people! But stop, my soul; doth not every minister do the same, nay, if possible, worse than Eliashib, who substitutes falsehood for truth in the services of the sanctuary? Who teaches the people to accommodate Tobiahs of every description and character, instead of Christ. Alas! alas! what rubbish of anything, of nothing, of worse than nothing, is sometimes made to supply the place of Jesus, and his one-salvation, for poor perishing sinners. Oh! for the spirit given to Nehemiah to reform these abuses, to be poured out now, that an holy zeal might cast forth the false refuges of lies out of the Lord’s chambers wherever they are found.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Neh 13:4 And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, [was] allied unto Tobiah:
Ver. 4. And before this ] Before the commandment came as a lamp, and the law a light, as Pro 6:23 causing a reformation. As toads and serpents grow in dark and dirty cellars, so do sinful disorders in ignorant places and persons.
Eliashib the priest
Having the oversight of the chamber
Was allied unto Tobiah
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Neh 13:4-9
4Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being related to Tobiah, 5had prepared a large room for him, where formerly they put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils and the tithes of grain, wine and oil prescribed for the Levites, the singers and the gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. 6But during all this time I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had gone to the king. After some time, however, I asked leave from the king, 7and I came to Jerusalem and learned about the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, by preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God. 8It was very displeasing to me, so I threw all of Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. 9Then I gave an order and they cleansed the rooms; and I returned there the utensils of the house of God with the grain offerings and the frankincense.
Neh 13:4 Eliashib the priest He will become the High Priest (cf. Neh 3:1). The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are not in chronological order. Themes and patterns from the past, that moderns do not understand, mold the outline of these books. Events seem out of place to us who are accustomed to sequential, cause and effect, history. Their way of doing history was not bad, but different (selective and theological), as are the Gospels.
over the chambers of the house of our God There were many storage rooms in the temple, some along the sides of the main shrine and others in the gates (cf. Neh 12:44). These rooms were to store the tithes of the Levites (cf. Neh 13:5) and the necessities of the cultus rituals. They also housed the money sent from Persia. In this case they converted one of the large rooms into a personal residence for Tobiah (cf. Neh 13:5).
NASBbeing related
NKJVbeing allied
TEVwho was related
TEVhad for a long time been on good terms
NJBwho was close to
The ADJECTIVE (BDB 898) means near. It can mean (1) close neighbors (cf. 1Ch 12:40) or (2) relatives (cf. Lev 21:2-3; Lev 25:25; Num 27:11; Rth 2:20.
Tobiah Tobiah (BDB 375, YHWH is my good) was an Ammonite who opposed Nehemiah (cf. Neh 2:10; Neh 2:19; Neh 4:3; Neh 4:17; Neh 6:1; Neh 6:12; Neh 6:14; Neh 6:19; Neh 13:4; Neh 13:7-8). As Ezra and Nehemiah resisted the inroads of foreigners in Israel’s life, it was inevitable that foreigners of influence and ambition would have places of leadership in Nehemiah’s absence and would be hostile to the return to a Mosaic law which excluded them (cf. Neh 13:3), but not all, as Neh 13:4-9 make plain.
Neh 13:5 grain offering This was a special flour used to make the cakes for the daily offering.
frankincense This (BDB 526 I) was a white tree resin from southern Arabia used in the incense which was placed daily in the Holy Place (cf. Exo 30:34).
the contribution for the priest The Jews tithed to the Levites (cf. Neh 10:38); the Levites tithed to the priests (cf. Neh 10:38).
Neh 13:6 Nehemiah served as governor from 445 to 433 B.C. At that time he returned to the court of Artaxerxes I where he stayed for an indefinite period of time. It was long enough for the Jews to relapse from his reform efforts.
Artaxerxes is called king of Babylon. This seems unusual to us because he was king of Persia and yet, Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius I are also referred to as the king of Babylon.
Neh 13:7 in the courts of the house of God Exactly what court this refers to is uncertain, but it was unlawful for anyone but Levites to be in this temple area.
Neh 13:8 Nehemiah was not a gentle man as was Ezra. His anger was both personal and religious. To him God’s house was being violated by an evil man.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
(Applies to Neh 13:4-9): And before this . . . the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon (Neh 13:6). The Artaxeres (= great king) here is Darius Hystaspis. The record here must have been written after the dedication of both Temple (405 B.C.) and Wall (403 B.C.) The thirty-second year is that of the king’s age, not of his reign, for he only succeeded Cambyses in 411 B.C. His twentieth year (Neh 5:14) was 419 B.C., when, on the death of Cyrus, Nehemiah was “appointed” to be “governor in the land of Judah”.
Consequently, Nehemiah’s twelve years of governorship end in 407 B.C., two years before the completion and dedication of the Temple, and when Darius Hystaspis had been reigning three years.
In that year (407) Nehemiah evidently receives a report from his deputy (probably Hanani still) as to the Temple progress, and doubtless of the Eliasbib-Tobiah scandal. He determines to go himself, obtains leave of absence (with difficulty, apparently, Neh 13:6), and comes to Jerusalem. Arriving there, he “understands” the evil concerning Eliashib, casts forth Tobiah and his “stuff”, and hurries on the Temple work towards completion.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Neh 13:4-9
Neh 13:4-9
TOBIAH; THE AMMONITE ENEMY; THROWN OUT OF THE TEMPLE CHAMBERS
“Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being allied with Tobiah, had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they had laid the meal-offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the heave-offerings for the priests. But in all this time I was not at Jerusalem; for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king of Babylon I went unto the king: and after certain days asked I leave of the king, and I came to Jerusalem, and understood the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. And it grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meal-offerings and the frankincense.”
We find it hard to understand the claims of some that they do not know whether or not Eliashib was high priest, or whether or not Nehemiah returned as governor. Eliashib is listed as a high-priest in Neh 12:10; and, besides that, only the High Priest had sufficient authority to have done for Tobiah what was done here. And, as for Nehemiah, of course, he returned as governor; how else could he have “commanded” as stated in Neh 13:9? The High Priest would not have obeyed him or permitted the disruption of that fancy nest he had made for Tobiah in the temple chambers, unless Nehemiah, indeed, was governor, backed up by the full authority of the king of Persia.
There is much diversity of scholarly opinion on how long Nehemiah had been gone from Jerusalem prior to his return to find wholesale rebellion against God’s laws. Keil believed that, “Nehemiah’s absence must have lasted longer than a year, because so many illegal acts by the people could not have occurred in so short a time.” Nevertheless, “Nehemiah probably went to the court in Babylon in 433 B.C., and returned to Jerusalem in 432 B.C.” Regarding such a sudden and complete apostasy by Israel, the scholars may scream, “Incredible,” as did Oesterley; but a careful reading of this chapter supports the reality of it. If Nehemiah left early in 433 B.C. and returned in late 432 B.C., he might have been gone as long as eighteen months or a little longer. “Artaxerxes died in 423 B.C.”; and the very longest that Nehemiah could have been absent was about eight or nine years. Israel did not need years to rebel against God; for they, in their hearts, were in a continual state of rebellion from the times of Hosea and afterward. It is this writer’s opinion that Nehemiah was not halfway on his way back to Babylon, when Elisashib and his evil followers were dismantling all of the reforms Nehemiah had made.
“It is possible that Malachi was prophesying during this period,” and from him, we understand that the whole priesthood of Israel was wicked (Mal 2:2).
E.M. Zerr:
Neh 13:4-5. There is a break in the narrative here. Sometime after the events leading up to the end of the preceding verse, Nehemiah’s term of 12 years expired and he had returned to his duty with Artaxerxes. After he had left Jerusalem, the circumstances of these verses took place which I shall now notice. Eliashib was the priest and should have guarded the house of God with care. But he was influenced by Tobiah, who was a favorite slave of Sanballat, to allow him the special privilege of an apartment in the holy building. He occupied the space that had been devoted to the storing of the articles intended for the sacrifices. This was an awful desecration of the sacred house of God.
Neh 13:6. The information in this verse is what authorized the remarks at the beginning of the preceding paragraph. After Nehemiah had returned and resumed his service for the king of Persia, he heard of the corruptions that had crept into the service in Jerusalem. The king again favored him with a grant of leave of absence.
Neh 13:7-8. Nehemiah again arrived in Jerusalem and found the reports to have been true. He was sorely grieved over the evil conduct of the priest, and cast out all of this heathen’s household stuff.
Neh 13:9. The casting out of the secular materials would rid the place of the actual uncleanness. The law of Moses, however, would not be satisfied until the ceremonial cleansing was done. That was performed at the commandment of Nehemiah.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Eliashib: Neh 13:7, Neh 12:10
having the oversight of: Heb. being set over, Neh 12:44
allied: Neh 13:28, Neh 6:17, Neh 6:18
Reciprocal: 1Ch 9:28 – the charge 1Ch 23:28 – for the service Ezr 9:2 – the hand Neh 3:20 – Eliashib Job 31:34 – the contempt Jer 41:10 – to the Mal 3:8 – In
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Neh 13:4. And before this That is, before this separation was made; Eliashib the priest The high-priest, (Neh 3:1,) or some other priest so called, there being divers persons of this name in or about this time, though the first seems most probable; having the oversight of the chamber Of the chambers, (Neh 13:9,) the high-priest having the chief power over the house of God, and all the chambers belonging to it; was allied unto Tobiah The Ammonite, and a violent enemy to Gods people. He had suffered his grandson to marry Sanballats daughter, who was the fast friend of Tobiah, and the great enemy of the Jews. This is mentioned as a great blot on Eliashibs character, and the cause of his other miscarriages, noticed Neh 13:5. We read also in Ezr 10:18, that several of the priests had married strange wives; and, among the rest, some of the sons of the high-priest.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Neh 13:4-31. Some Details of Nehemiahs Rule.This section, taken for the most part from Nehemiahs memoirs, deals with his zeal for the sanctity of the Temple (Neh 13:4-9), his organisation for the maintenance of the Levites (Neh 13:10-14), his reform regarding Sabbath observance (Neh 13:15-22), and his measures against those who had contracted marriages with aliens (Neh 13:23-29). Neh 13:28 f. contains some concluding words of Nehemiah. When it is remembered that for twelve years he had been working among the people, enforcing the observance of the Law, and introducing reforms, so that he had got the people as a whole to follow his guidance willingly, it must strike one as very extraordinary that after a few months absence the abuses, as described in this chapter, should have become rampant. It is, indeed, incredible. The fact is that, with the exception of the Tobiah episode, the sections of this chapter (Neh 13:10-14, Neh 13:15-22, Neh 13:23-29) are fragments from Nehemiahs memoirs referring to the earlier periods of his administration. They have, like other excerpts from the same source, been jumbled together in a hopeless manner; so much so that an orderly arrangement of them now is impossible, especially as so many of the connecting links are wanting. Eliashibs action, recorded in this chapter, needed stern repression from Nehemiahs point of view; the episode is one among others which witnessed to the beginning of a great contest within Judaism, lasting for centuries, between the champions of universalistic and particularist tendencies; in later days this resulted in the formation of clearly defined parties with opposing tenets. Nehemiah, like Ezra, the champion of the Law and of Jewish exclusiveness, could not do otherwise than strain every nerve to try and eradicate the vicious growth, as it appeared to him, of foreign influences which, as he rightly foresaw, were bound to result in loosening the peoples devotion to the Law, or, in other words, to Judaism. Hence his hurried return from Babylon for a purpose which at the first glance might not appear to be of serious import.
Neh 13:4-9. The episode here recounted happened while Nehemiah was away in Babylon; no indication is here given as to the length of his absence (see, however, the note on Neh 13:6 below).
Neh 13:4. Now before this: the reference is not to what is said in Neh 13:1-3, which are a later addition, but to something in Nehemiahs memoirs which preceded this extract.Eliashib the priest: cf. Neh 13:31; Neh 13:20, and Neh 13:28 of this chapter.being allied: the Heb. word is used in Rth 2:20; a better rendering would be being related.
Neh 13:5. Cf. Neh 12:44; but the offerings here enumerated differ from those named in Neh 12:44.
Neh 13:6. in all this time: there is no mention of time in the Heb., the reference is to what has been said in Neh 13:4 f.in the two and thirtieth year: 433 B.C. It is said in Neh 5:14 that Nehemiah returned to Babylon in this year after twelve years sojourn in Jerusalem, so that as it was in this same year that he returned again to Jerusalem, he could have been in Babylon only quite a short time, not more than a few months probably. The disquieting news regarding affairs in Jerusalem, which had evidently come to his ears, was the cause of his return here; we are not told how long he remained in Jerusalem.
Neh 13:7. the evil that Eliashib had done: to the rigid legalistic mind of Nehemiah it seemed to be a profanation of the Temple for anyone not a strict Jew to dwell in one of the courts of the house of God.
Neh 13:9. they cleansed the chambers: viz. from the impurity which clung to them from the presence of a non-Jew. Yet Nehemiahs action must not be harshly judged, for the circumstances of the times demanded, from his point of view, drastic measures.
Neh 13:10-14. The Levites, according to these verses, had not been properly supported; this must necessarily have resulted in the Temple worship being inadequately attended to, for in order to find support they had to go and work in the fields. Nehemiah rectifies this by appointing officers to see to the collection and proper distribution of tithe.
Neh 13:15-22. The specific charges of Sabbath-breaking which Nehemiah brings are that Jews trod out the winepress, brought in corn, wine, grapes, and figs into Jerusalem and sold them there on the Sabbath day; also, that they bought fish and other wares from the men of Tyre. He recalls the fact that their fathers had done such things and had thereby brought evil upon succeeding generations (cf. Jer 17:19-23). The method he adopts to prevent this lawlessness is to cause the city gates to be closed before dark on the eve of the Sabbath and not to be opened again until the Sabbath was over. The merchants try to circumvent this by remaining close to the walls with their wares andas one is led to surmiseselling them to the people on the walls; Nehemiah threatens further coercive measures if this continues, so the merchants desist.
Neh 13:23-29. Another abuse which Nehemiah sets himself to rectify, viz. mixed marriages (cf. Neh 9:2, Neh 10:28; Neh 10:30, Ezr 9:10).
Neh 13:24. half: it is uncertain whether this refers to the children or to the language.the speech of Ashdod: a dialect of Hebrew.the Jews language: i.e. Hebrew (cf. 2Ki 18:26; 2Ki 18:28, Isa 36:11; Isa 36:13, 2Ch 32:18).
Neh 13:26 f. This argumentative strain after Nehemiahs violence described in Neh 13:25 sounds strange; these verses can hardly have come from the memoirs, but are more likely to have been added by the Chronicler.
Neh 13:28. The most grievous part of this offence was that the family of the high priest had become contaminated by a foreign alliance (cf. Neh 13:29).
Neh 13:30 f. A brief summary of what has preceded; it is, however, incomplete, as there is no mention of what had been recounted in Neh 13:15-22 about enforcing the observance of the Sabbath.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
13:4 And before {b} this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, [was] {c} allied unto Tobiah:
(b) That the separation was made.
(c) He was united with Tobiah the Ammonite the enemy of the Jews.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. The expulsion of Tobiah 13:4-9
Eliashib was the high priest (Neh 3:1; Neh 3:20; Neh 13:28). He was evidently a close relative of Tobiah, the Jewish Ammonite leader who had opposed Nehemiah’s efforts to rebuild the walls (Neh 2:19; Neh 6:1; Neh 6:17-18). Probably Eliashib cleaned out one of the temple storerooms and converted it into an apartment for Tobiah because he was an influential relative (Neh 13:7). Nehemiah was very angry when he returned to Jerusalem and discovered this enemy of the faithful remnant living in the temple, so he threw him out.
"With this incident Nehemiah set the example of his new approach to an unnecessarily close relationship with foreigners. The purity of religion had to be maintained at any cost. This was absolutely necessary if the small community, beset as it was with all the temptations of paganism, was to be prevented from reverting to a compromise with the neighboring nations and bringing their ancestral religion into danger." [Note: Ibid., p. 261.]
Nehemiah could legitimately call Artaxerxes the king of Babylon in 431 B.C. Artaxerxes was, of course, a Persian king, not one of the kings of the Babylonian Empire. However, in 431 B.C., Persia ruled Babylon.