Nehemiah 13:1

Israel Separates Itself

1 On that day the book of Moses was read in the hearing of the people and it was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the assembly of God

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 in the hearing of the people and it was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the assembly of God

2 because they did not come to meet the {Israelites} with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them in order to curse them--but our God changed the curse into a blessing.

3 So it happened when they heard the law that they separated all of the foreign people from Israel.

4 Before this, Eliashib the priest who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God--the one related to Tobiah--

5 prepared for [Tobiah] a large chamber where they had formerly put the grain offering, the frankincense, the [temple] objects, tithes of grain, wine, and oil commanded for the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the offerings of the priests.