Nehemiah 13:23

23 In those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

Nehemiah 13:23 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 13:23

In those days also I saw Jews that married wives of Ashdod,
of Ammon, and of Moab.
] Ashdod, or Azotus, as it is called in ( Acts 8:40 ) , was one of the five cities of the Philistines; which, though none of the seven nations with whom marriage was forbid, yet it was very unfit and improper to marry with them, ( Judges 14:3 ) . This place was a mart of the Arabians ^F8, where they sold their goods, to which the Jews might resort, and thereby be ensnared into such marriages; and which with the Ammonites and Moabites were unlawful, ( Nehemiah 13:1 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 Mela de Situ Orbis, l. 1. c. 10.

Nehemiah 13:23 In-Context

21 So I warned them, "Why are you spending the night by the wall? If you do it again, I will force you away." After that, they did not come back on the Sabbath.

22 Then I ordered the Levites to purify themselves and to guard the city gates to make sure the Sabbath remained holy. Remember me, my God, for this. Have mercy on me because of your great love.

23 In those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

24 Half their children were speaking the language of Ashdod or some other place, and they couldn't speak the language of Judah.

25 I argued with those people, put curses on them, hit some of them, and pulled out their hair. I forced them to make a promise to God, saying, "Do not let your daughters marry the sons of foreigners, and do not take the daughters of foreigners as wives for your sons or yourselves.