Nehemiah 10:32

32 And also we shall ordain upon us commandments, that by each year we give the third part of a shekel to the work of the Lord our God, (And we shall ordain the command upon us, that each year we give the third part of a shekel to the work of the Lord our God,)

Nehemiah 10:32 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 10:32

Also we made ordinance, for us
Laws among themselves, binding them to that which the laws of God did not:

to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel, for the
service of the house of our God;
the particulars of which follow in the next verse; for the defraying of which there used to be a treasury in the temple; but now there was none, and therefore they took this method to assess themselves; and being poor, instead of the half shekel, which in some cases was required, they only charged themselves with the third part of one; though Aben Ezra thinks this was added to the half shekel, and was paid over and above that; according to Brerewood F1, it was of the value of ten pence of our money: Waserus F2 has given us the figure of one of these coins, with this inscription, a "third" part of a shekel of Israel.


FOOTNOTES:

F1 De Pond. & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 1.
F2 De Antiqu. Num. Heb. l. 2.

Nehemiah 10:32 In-Context

30 and that we should not give our daughters to the people of the land, and that we should not take their daughters to our sons. (and that we shall not give our daughters to be wives for the peoples of the land, and that we shall not take their daughters as wives for our sons.)
31 Also the peoples of the land, that bring in things set to sale, and all things to use, by the day of sabbath, for to sell, we shall not take of them in the sabbath, and in a day hallowed; and we shall leave (the land) without tilth and sowing and gathering, the seventh year, and the asking of all hand, that is, (to) release debts, and (to) deliver (our) Hebrew servants. (And if the peoples of the land bring in food, and things to sell, on the Sabbath day, we shall not buy anything from them on the Sabbath, or on any other holy day. And in the seventh year, we shall leave the land without tilth, or sowing, or gathering, and we shall leave off asking for repayment of all manner of debt, that is, we shall discharge all debts, and also set free our Hebrew slaves.)
32 And also we shall ordain upon us commandments, that by each year we give the third part of a shekel to the work of the Lord our God, (And we shall ordain the command upon us, that each year we give the third part of a shekel to the work of the Lord our God,)
33 to the loaves of setting forth, and to the everlasting sacrifice, and into burnt sacrifice everlasting, in sabbaths, in calends, that is, (the) beginnings of months, in solemnities, in hallowed days, and for sin, that prayer be made for Israel, and into all the uses of the house of our God. (for the loaves of setting forth, that is, the loaves of proposition, and the everlasting offering, and the everlasting burnt sacrifice, for the Sabbaths, and the calends, that is, the beginning of months, and the Feasts, or the Festivals, and the holy gifts, and the sin offerings, to make amends for Israel, and for all the needs in the House of our God.)
34 Also we casted lots on the offering of wood, betwixt priests and deacons and the people, that those should be brought into the house of our God, by the families of our fathers in certain times, from the times of a year sufficient unto a year, that that wood should burn upon the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the law of Moses; (And we, the priests, and the Levites, and the people, have thrown lots for the wood offering, so that it can be brought into the House of our God, by the families of our fathers, each in their turn, at certain times year after year, to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the Law;)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.