Глава 12

1–7 List of priests who came with Zerubbabel. 8–26. List of Levites. 27–44. Consecration of the walls of Jerusalem Nehemiah 12:1. These are the priests and Levites who came with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and with Joshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, Considering the priests and Levites to be the main bearers of the spirit that animated the post-captivity community, the writer pays special attention to their lists. From (1 Ezra 2:62–63) it is clear with what care the genealogical lists of the priests were kept. According to the testimony of I. Flavius ​​(Against Apion 1:7), genealogical lists were kept even by Jewish priests who lived in Egypt, Babylon and other places. Then these lists were presented to Jerusalem, where, probably, the Sanhedrin compiled one genealogical book from them. In addition to this, Eusebius reports that the genealogical records mentioned were destroyed by Herod. From Art. On the 7th it is clear that the writer actually names the heads of the priests and their brothers. By analogy with Ch. XI should think, however, that the writer does not name individual individuals, but series that bore the names of certain individuals. The writer lists 22 names. Of these, 15 names are the same as those already given in (Neh. 10:3–9), and the rest are different. This name difference is not clear. It is very likely that when signing an obligation to observe the law, there are some sequences (Neh. 10:3–9) signed not with their exact name, but with the name of the then representative. Some researchers identify the named Ezra (in v. 1) with Ezra the scribe. But, apparently, this is the Ezra who is called Azariah in (Neh. 10:2). Nehemiah 12:3. Shekhania, Rehum, Meremoth, "Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth". Instead of the name Rehum according to (1 Ezra 2:36–39; Neh. 10:5), it is better to read: Harim. Nehemiah 12:7 . Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These are the heads of the priests and their brothers in the days of Jesus. “These are the heads of the priests and their brothers,” i.e. representatives of individual priestly families and the brothers following them. Nehemiah 12:10. Jesus begat Joiakim, Joiakim begat Eliashib, Eliashib begat Joiad, Nehemiah 12:11. Joiad begat Jonathan, Jonathan begat Jaddua. List of high priests. The list is a continuation (1 Chronicles 6:10–14), where the high priests are numbered up to Jozedek, the father of Jesus. Called in Art. 10 Eliashib was high priest in Nehemiah's time (cf. Neh. 3:1, 13:4, 7, 28). O lord Joiad, called Judas by I. Flavius ​​(Jude. Ancient. XI, 2, 1), in (Neh. 13:28) it is reported that his son entered into a family relationship with Sanballat and for this was expelled from Jerusalem. Instead of the name of Joiad's son Jonathan, in view of Art. 22 and 23, it is better to read the name of Johanan or John (Jude Ancient XI, 7, 1). I. Flavius ​​says that this Jochanan killed his brother Jesus, and this served as the reason for the siege of Jerusalem by Vagoz, the commander of Artaxerxes II. The last one named in Art. 11 high priest - Jaddui. I. Flavius ​​presents him as a contemporary of Alexander the Great (336–323). On this basis, some researchers even deny that Nehemiah belongs to the 12th chapter, and at the same time to the entire book. But from the time of Nehemiah to Alexander Maced. (433–330) not much more than 100 liters passed. There is nothing incredible in the fact that Nehemiah saw Jaddua in early childhood - and names him in his genealogy as a candidate for the high priesthood. If we reject such an assumption, then we can assume that the high priestly genealogy in Art. 11 is continued after Nehemiah and brought to Jaddui. Nehemiah 12:12. In the days of Jehoiakim there were priests, heads of generations: from the house of Seraiah Meraiah, from the house of Jeremiah Hananiah, Nehemiah 12:13. from the house of Ezra Meshullam, from the house of Amariah Johanan, Nehemiah 12:14. from the house of Melihu Jonathan, from the house of Shebania Joseph, Nehemiah 12:15. from the house of Harim Adna, from the house of Meraioth Hilkiah, Nehemiah 12:16. from the house of Iddo Zechariah, from the house of Ginnephon Meshullam, Nehemiah 12:17. from the house of Abijah Zichri, from the house of Miniamin, from the house of Moadiah Piltai, Nehemiah 12:18. from the house of Bilga Shammui, from the house of Shemaiah Jonathan, Nehemiah 12:19. from the house of Joiarib Mafnai, from the house of Jedaiah Uzzi, Nehemiah 12:20. from the house of Sallai Kallai, from the house of Amok Eber, Nehemiah 12:21. from the house of Hilkiah Hashabiah, from the house of Jedaiah Nathanael. List of priests, heads of generations, from the time of the first saint. Joachim. Mentioned in Art. 16 Zechariah from the house of Iddo is probably identical with the prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 1:1; 1Ezra 5:1). In Art. 17th after the words: “from the house of Miniamin”, the name of the head of the generation is undoubtedly lost. Nehemiah 12:22. The Levites, the heads of the generations, were recorded in the days of Eliashib, Joiadah, Johanan and Jaddui, and also the priests in the reign of Darius the Persian. Nehemiah 12:23. The sons of Levi, the heads of the generations, are written in the chronicles until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. Nehemiah 12:24. The heads of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Joshua the son of Kadmiel, and their brothers, who were appointed with them to sing the praises at thanksgiving, according to the ordinance of David, the man of God - shift after shift. Nehemiah 12:25. Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub are guards, gatekeepers on guard at the thresholds of the gates. Nehemiah 12:26. They were in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Joshua, the son of Jozedek, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the scribe the priest. List of Levites. According to Art. 22nd, the Levites are recorded in the days of Eliashib, but, according to Art. On the 26th, already during the time of Joachim, the divisions of the Levites were established. Apparently only a record was made in Eliashib's day, which was probably corrected under subsequent high priests. In (1 Ezra 2:40, 42), in addition to the six departments of the gatekeepers, which are not mentioned in (Nehemiah 12), only three kinds of Levites are named: Joshua, Kadmiel, the sons of Asaph. In (Neh. 12:8–9) from the time of the same Zerubbabel, Binnui, Sherebiah, Judah, Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, and Unni are also named. Obviously, after the arrival of Zerubbabel, representatives of the Levitical classes also returned, about the organization of which we do not have exact information. Note Art. 22nd: “also priests during the reign of Darius the Persian” is not clear. The mention of Darius of Persia is also not certain. It is possible that in this remark we have a later gloss. Nehemiah 12:27. During the consecration of the wall of Jerusalem, they demanded the Levites from all their places, ordering them to come to Jerusalem to perform the consecration and joyful celebration with praises and songs at the sound of cymbals, psalms and harp. From 27 Art. begins the description of the solemn consecration of the walls of Jerusalem performed by Nehemiah. The time of this event is not specified. But there is no reason to postpone the event far from the construction of the walls - to the time, for example, of the second arrival of Nehemiah (Rolinson). According to a letter from the Palestinian Jews to the Egyptians, preserved in (2 Mac. 1:18), the solemn consecration of the walls took place on the 25th day of Kislev. If the construction of the walls was completed in Elul (Neh. 6:15), then, apparently, the consecration was completed 3 months later. Probably, the consecration was carried out immediately after care was taken to increase the population of Jerusalem (Neh. 7:5, 11:1), and the community took a solemn oath to keep the law. In Art. The 27th talks about preparations for consecration, namely the invitation of the Levites, who for the most part lived not in Jerusalem itself, but near it. Nehemiah 12:28. And the sons of the singers gathered together from the district of Jerusalem and from the villages of Netophath, “And the sons of the singers gathered from the district of Jerusalem and from the villages of Netophath.” The sons of the singers were members of the Levitical singing choirs who came to Jerusalem on certain days. Netofa, present Ben Netaf, at 3 mil. to the southwest from Jerusalem. Nehemiah 12:29. and from Beth Haggilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, because the singers built themselves villages in the vicinity of Jerusalem. Beth-Gaggilgal can be identified with the present Jiljilia, lying 4 m north of Jerusalem, west of the road to Nablugh. The locations of Geva and Azmavet should also be sought near Jerusalem to the north. Nehemiah 12:30 . And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and cleansed the people, and the gates, and the wall. Before the celebration began, the priests and Levites not only cleansed themselves, but also cleansed the people, the gates and the wall. The latter consisted, as they think on the basis of (2 Chronicles 29:20–24), in the offering of sacrifices for sin and burnt offerings. There is also an opinion (Reiss) that the purification of people consisted of preliminary ablutions and fasting, and for walls and gates - in sprinkling. Rashi suggests that it consisted of removing bones from caves that were within the city. Nehemiah 12:31. Then I led the rulers of Judea to the wall and placed two large choirs for the procession, and one of them walked along the right side of the wall to the Dung Gate. For the celebration of the consecration, two choirs were formed, which went in opposite directions in order to converge at the church. The departure point for the choirs is not specified. But from the context we can conclude that the procession began from the Valley Gate, present-day Jaffa. From here one choir went to the right, i.e. to the south, the other to the north. Ezra followed one choir, and Nehemiah followed the other. Nehemiah 12:32. After them came Goshaiah and half the rulers of Judah, Hoshaiah apparently occupied the same position near Nehemiah as Zedekiah (cf. Nehemiah 10:1). Nehemiah 12:33. Azariah, Ezra and Meshullam, Nehemiah 12:34. Judah and Benjamin and Shemaiah and Jeremiah, Named in Art. Keil considers the names 33–34 to be the names of the above-mentioned “rulers in Judea.” But both the construction of the verses (v. 33: from Hebrew “and Azariah”) and the nature of the names rather give reason to see in Art. 33–34 list of priestly heads who participated in the procession as representatives of the priesthood. Nehemiah 12:35 . and of the sons of the priests with trumpets: Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micah, the son of Zechure, the son of Asaph, Nehemiah 12:36. and his brothers: Shemaiah, Azariel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nathanael, Judah and Hanani with the musical instruments of David, the man of God, and Ezra the scribe in front of them. Priests who performed certain duties in the procession. And the scribe Ezra was ahead of them, i.e. in front of the entire procession, therefore directly behind the choir. Nehemiah 12:37. Near the Fountain Gate, opposite it, they ascended the steps of the city of David, along the stairs leading to the wall above the house of David to the Water Gate to the east. Regarding topographical indications Art. 37 see note. j (Neh. 3:15). Nehemiah 12:38. Another choir walked opposite them, and behind him I and half the people, along the wall from the Furnace Tower to the wide wall, Nehemiah 12:39. and from the gate of Ephraim, past the old gate, and the fish gate, and the tower of Hananel, and the tower of Meah, to the Sheep gate, and stopped at the prison gate. About those mentioned in Art. 38–39 points, see note. to ch. 3. Nehemiah 12:40 . Then both choirs stood at the house of God, and I and half of the rulers with me, Both choirs met at the house of God, or in the square east of the church buildings. Nehemiah 12:41. and the priests: Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micah, Elioenai, Zechariah, Hananiah with trumpets, Nehemiah 12:42. and Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Johanan, and Malchiah, and Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang loudly; Their main one was Izrahiyya. Probably in Art. 41–42 the participants of the second procession are named, not mentioned earlier in the description of the procession of the second choir. Nehemiah 12:43. And they made great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, because God had given them great joy. The wives and children rejoiced, and the joy of Jerusalem could be heard far away. An indication of further celebrations on the day of the consecration of the walls. Nehemiah 12:44. On the same day, people were assigned to the storerooms for the offerings of firstfruits and tithes, to collect from the fields near the cities the portions prescribed by law for the priests and Levites, because the Jews rejoiced to see the priests and Levites standing. “On the same day, people were assigned to the storage rooms.” Note: “on the same day” does not necessarily indicate the day the wall was dedicated; the remark is vague and means: “at that time.” Some exegetes therefore believe that from Art. On the 44th, a description of Nehemiah’s activities begins on his second arrival in Jerusalem (Neh. 13:7). But the context of the speech rather gives reason to conclude that the writer is referring to the near future, when the people still had that upsurge of spirit that they experienced during the consecration of the wall. As can be seen from Art. 44th, the storage of offerings was not previously regulated. Nehemiah 12:47. All the Israelites in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave portions to the singers and porters every day and gave the holy things to the Levites, and the Levites gave the holy things to the sons of Aaron. “All the Israelites in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave portions to the singers and porters every day.” This, of course, does not exclude the possibility that in relation to individuals, as can be seen from (Neh. 10:38, 13:10), coercive measures had to be resorted to. You might be interested in: