Nehemiah 13:1

Foreigners Excluded

1 On that day ¹they read aloud from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and there was found written in it that ²no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter 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 they read aloud from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and there was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God,

2 because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing.

3 So when they heard the law, they excluded all foreigners from Israel.

4 Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being related to Tobiah,

5 had prepared a large room for him, where formerly they put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils and the tithes of grain, wine and oil prescribed for the Levites, the singers and the gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.

Cross References

• 1. Nehemiah 9:3
• 2. Deuteronomy 23:3-5; Nehemiah 13:23