Nehemiah 13:1

1 On that day the Book of Moses was read while the people were listening. They heard the passage that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into God's assembly.

Nehemiah 13:1 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 13:1

On that day
Not when the wall of the city was dedicated, nor quickly after; for it cannot be thought that people should be so corrupted so soon as this chapter shows; but when Nehemiah had governed them twelve years, and had been at Babylon, and was returned again, as appears from ( Nehemiah 13:6 ) , compared with ( Nehemiah 2:1 Nehemiah 2:6 ) ( 7:2 ) ,

they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people;
for from the time of the reading of the law by Ezra, ( Nehemiah 8:1 ) it became a custom to read the law publicly:

and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should
not come into the congregation of the Lord;
that is, be admitted to marry with any of the people of Israel; (See Gill on Deuteronomy 23:3).

Nehemiah 13:1 In-Context

1 On that day the Book of Moses was read while the people were listening. They heard the passage that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into God's assembly.

2 (After all, they didn't welcome the Israelites with food and water. Instead, they hired Balaam to curse the Israelites. But our God turned the curse into a blessing.)

3 After the people heard this Teaching, they separated the non-Israelites from the Israelites.

4 Even before this, the priest Eliashib, who was related to Tobiah and had been put in charge of the storerooms of our God's temple,

5 had provided a large room for Tobiah. Previously, this room had been used to store grain offerings, incense, utensils, a tenth of all the grain harvested, new wine, and olive oil. These things belonged by law to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers. The contributions for the priests had also been stored there.