Nehemiah 12:13

. See Gill on "Nehemiah 11:25" Nehemiah 11:29 Ver. 29. See Gill on "Nehemiah 11:25" Nehemiah 11:30 Ver. 30. See Gill on "Nehemiah 11:25" Nehemiah 11:31 Ver. 31. The children also of Benjamin, from Geba, dwelt at Michmash,.... Geba was a city on the southern border of Benjamin, Joshua 18:24 and Michmash on the northern, of which see 1 Samuel 13:2 in this and the four following verses are the names of several cities in the tribe of Benjamin, inhabited by the men of that tribe, as Alia, the same with Ai, that lay on the east of Bethel, here also mentioned, see Joshua 7:2 Anathoth, the birth place of Jeremiah the prophet, Jeremiah 1:1. Nob, a city of the priests, 1 Samuel 21:1. Ananiah is nowhere else mentioned; Hazor is to be distinguished from another of this name in the tribe of Naphtali, Joshua 19:36. Ramah, a place well known in Benjamin, Joshua 18:25. Gittaim, of which see 2 Samuel 4:3. Hadid, the same with Adida, which lay in a plain, "Simon also set up Adida in Sephela, and made it strong with gates and bars.'' (1 Maccabees 12:38) Zeboim, a valley of this name, is read in 1 Samuel 13:18. Neballat we read of nowhere else; of Lod and Ono, see 1 Chronicles 8:12 and the valley of craftsmen, or Chorasin, 1 Chronicles 4:14. Nehemiah 11:32 Ver. 32. See Gill on "Nehemiah 11:31". Nehemiah 11:33 Ver. 33. See Gill on "Nehemiah 11:31". . And in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chief of the fathers,.... This was the son and successor of Jeshua, or Joshua, the first high priest of the second temple; the principal men of the priesthood in his time were as follow, and who were the sons, or however the descendants of the priests in the time of his father before mentioned: these were Meraiah, Hananiah, Meshullam, Jehohanan, Jonathan, Joseph, Adna, Helkai, Zechariah, (the prophet of that name,) Meshullam, Zichri, Piltai, Shammua, Jehonathan, Mattenai, Uzzi, Kallai, Eber, Hashabiah, Nethaneel; in all twenty, whereas there are twenty two named, as in his father's days, there being no sons or descendants from two of them, namely, Hattush and Miamin. Nehemiah 12:13 Ver. 13. See Gill on "Nehemiah 12:12" Nehemiah 12:14 Ver. 14. See Gill on "Nehemiah 12:12". Nehemiah 12:15 Ver. 15. See Gill on "Nehemiah 12:12". Nehemiah 12:16 Ver. 16. See Gill on "Nehemiah 12:12". Nehemiah 12:17 Ver. 17. See Gill on "Nehemiah 12:12". Nehemiah 12:18 Ver. 18. See Gill on "Nehemiah 12:12". Nehemiah 12:19

And in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chief of the fathers,.... This was the son and successor of Jeshua, or Joshua, the first high priest of the second temple; the principal men of the priesthood in his time were as follow, and who were the sons, or however the descendants of the priests in the time of his father before mentioned: these were Meraiah, Hananiah, Meshullam, Jehohanan, Jonathan, Joseph, Adna, Helkai, Zechariah, (the prophet of that name,) Meshullam, Zichri, Piltai, Shammua, Jehonathan, Mattenai, Uzzi, Kallai, Eber, Hashabiah, Nethaneel; in all twenty, whereas there are twenty two named, as in his father's days, there being no sons or descendants from two of them, namely, Hattush and Miamin.

12. in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chief of the fathers—As there had been priests in the days of Jeshua, so in the time of Joiakim, the son and successor of Jeshua, the sons of those persons filled the priestly office in the place of their fathers, some of whom were still alive, though many were dead.

Nehemiah 12:12-21 contains the list of the priestly houses and their heads, which has been already explained in conjunction with that in Nehemiah 12:1-7 . Nehemiah 12:22-26 . The list of the heads of the Levites, Nehemiah 12:22 and Nehemiah 12:24 , is, according to Nehemiah 12:26 , that of the days of Joiakim, and of the days of Nehemiah and Ezra. Whence it follows, that it does not apply only to the time of Joiakim; for though Ezra might indeed have come to Jerusalem in the latter days of Joiakim's high-priesthood, yet Nehemiah's arrival found his successor Eliashib already in office, and the statements of Nehemiah 12:22 and Nehemiah 12:23 must be understood accordingly.

NEHEMIAH 12: 12 In the days of Joiakim were priests, heads of fathers’ households: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; NEHEMIAH 12: 13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; NEHEMIAH 12: 14 of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; NEHEMIAH 12: 15 of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; NEHEMIAH 12: 16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; NEHEMIAH 12: 17 of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; NEHEMIAH 12: 18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; NEHEMIAH 12: 19 and of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; NEHEMIAH 12: 20 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; NEHEMIAH 12: 21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel. NEHEMIAH 12: 22 As for the Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, there were recorded the heads of fathers’ households; also the priests, in the reign of Darius the Persian. Verse 22 Jaddua - This was probably the high priest who went in his pontifical robes, accompanied by his brethren, to meet Alexander the Great, when he was advancing towards Jerusalem, with the purpose to destroy it, after having conquered Tyre and Gaza. Alexander was so struck with the appearance of the priest, that he forbore all hostilities against Jerusalem, prostrated himself before Jaddua, worshipped the Lord at the temple, and granted many privileges to the Jews. See Josephus, Ant. lib. xi., c. 3, and Prideaux's Connections, lib. 7, p. 695.

The fact that the Artachshasta of the book of Nehemiah ( Nehemiah 1:1 ; Nehemiah 5:14 ; Nehemiah 13:6 ) can be no other than Artaxerxes, is decisive of this point: for in Nehemiah 13:6 the thirty-second year of Artachshasta is mentioned; while according to Nehemiah 8:9 ; Nehemiah 12:26 , Nehemiah 12:36 , Ezra and Nehemiah jointly exercised their respective offices at Jerusalem. (Note: Very superficial are the arguments, and indeed the whole pamphlet, Etude Chronologique des livres d'Esdras et de Nhmie, Paris 1868, p. 40, etc., by which F. de Saulcy tries to show that the Artachshasta of Ezra 7 and of Nehemiah is Artaxerxes II((Mnemon).) Ezra is called Ben Seraiah, whose pedigree is traced to Eleazar the son of Aaron; Seraiah the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, was the father of Josedec the high priest carried into captivity (1 Chronicles 6:14, etc.), and was himself the high priest whom Nebuchadnezzar slew at Riblah (2 Kings 25:18-21). Between the execution of Seraiah in the year 588 and the return of Ezra from Babylon in 458 b.c., there is a period of 130 years. Hence Ezra could have been neither the son nor grandson of Seraiah, but only his great or great-great-grandson. When we consider that Joshua, or Jeshua (Ezra 2:2), the high priest who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, was the grandson of Seraiah, we cannot but regard Ezra, who returned thence 78 years later, as a great-great-grandson of Seraiah.

The fact that the Artachshasta of the book of Nehemiah ( Nehemiah 1:1 ; Nehemiah 5:14 ; Nehemiah 13:6 ) can be no other than Artaxerxes, is decisive of this point: for in Nehemiah 13:6 the thirty-second year of Artachshasta is mentioned; while according to Nehemiah 8:9 ; Nehemiah 12:26 , Nehemiah 12:36 , Ezra and Nehemiah jointly exercised their respective offices at Jerusalem. (Note: Very superficial are the arguments, and indeed the whole pamphlet, Etude Chronologique des livres d'Esdras et de Nhmie, Paris 1868, p. 40, etc., by which F. de Saulcy tries to show that the Artachshasta of Ezra 7 and of Nehemiah is Artaxerxes II((Mnemon).) Ezra is called Ben Seraiah, whose pedigree is traced to Eleazar the son of Aaron; Seraiah the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, was the father of Josedec the high priest carried into captivity (1 Chronicles 6:14, etc.), and was himself the high priest whom Nebuchadnezzar slew at Riblah (2 Kings 25:18-21). Between the execution of Seraiah in the year 588 and the return of Ezra from Babylon in 458 b.c., there is a period of 130 years. Hence Ezra could have been neither the son nor grandson of Seraiah, but only his great or great-great-grandson. When we consider that Joshua, or Jeshua (Ezra 2:2), the high priest who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, was the grandson of Seraiah, we cannot but regard Ezra, who returned thence 78 years later, as a great-great-grandson of Seraiah.