Nehemiah 13:1

1 On that day they read the Book of Mosesto the people, and they found that it said no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be allowed in the meeting to worship.

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 the Book of Mosesto the people, and they found that it said no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be allowed in the meeting to worship.

2 The Ammonites and Moabites had not welcomed the Israelites with food and water. Instead, they had hired Balaam to put a curse on Israel. (But our God turned the curse into a blessing.)

3 When the people heard this teaching, they separated all foreigners from Israel.

4 Before that happened, Eliashib the priest, who was in charge of the Temple storerooms, was friendly with Tobiah.

5 Eliashib let Tobiah use one of the large storerooms. Earlier it had been used for grain offerings, incense, the utensils, and the tenth offerings of grain, new wine, and olive oil that belonged to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers. It had also been used for gifts for the priests.