Nehemiah 10:29

29 join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oath[a] to follow the law of God given through God's servant Moses and to carefully obey all the commands, ordinances, and statutes of the Lord our Lord.

Nehemiah 10:29 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 10:29

They clave to their brethren, their nobles
Who had signed and sealed the covenant, they declared their approbation of it, attended to it, and ratified what they had done in their name:

and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God's law, which
was given by Moses the servant of God;
they bound themselves with an oath that they would keep the law of God, and added a curse or imprecation on themselves to it should they break it; or, according to Piscator, they went into the space between the two pieces of the calf, which they cut asunder for the confirmation of the covenant, and so they cursed themselves if they should break it, see ( Jeremiah 34:18 )

and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our God, and his
judgments and his statutes;
all the laws, moral, ceremonial, and judicial; this they engaged to do in general; some particulars follow.

Nehemiah 10:29 In-Context

27 Malluch, Harim, Baanah.
28 The rest of the people-the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants, along with their wives, sons, and daughters, everyone who is able to understand and who has separated themselves from the surrounding peoples to [obey] the law of God-
29 join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oath to follow the law of God given through God's servant Moses and to carefully obey all the commands, ordinances, and statutes of the Lord our Lord.
30 We will not give our daughters in marriage to the surrounding peoples and will not take their daughters as wives for our sons.
31 When the surrounding peoples bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or a holy day. We will also leave [the land] uncultivated in the seventh year and will cancel every debt.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Lit and enter in a curse and in an oath
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