Nehemiah 12:22

22 Deacons in the days of Eliashib, and of Joiada, and of Johanan, and of Jaddua, were written princes of families, and priests, in the realm of Darius king of Persia. (The leaders of the priestly families, in the days of Eliashib, and Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were written down until the reign of Darius the Persian.)

Nehemiah 12:22 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 12:22

The Levites, in the days of Eliashib The third priest of the second temple:

Joiada;
he was the son of Eliashib, and the fourth high priest:

and Johanan;
the same with Jonathan, ( Nehemiah 12:11 ) and whom Josephus ^F15 also calls Joannes:

and Jaddua;
the same as in ( Nehemiah 12:10 ) in the days of each of these were

recorded chief of the fathers;
the principal men among the Levites:

also the priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian;
thought to be Darius Codomannus, the last king of the Persian monarchy, whom Alexander conquered; and if so, this verse must be inserted after the death of Nehemiah, and as the next verse also seems to be; for these two verses interrupt the natural order of the relation: an account is given of the priests in the times of Joiakim, ( Nehemiah 12:12-21 ) , these verses being inserted, the account goes on, ( Nehemiah 12:24 ) of the chief of the Levites in the times of Joiakim only.

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FOOTNOTES:

F15 Antiqu. l. 11. c. 7. sect. 1.

Nehemiah 12:22 In-Context

20 (of) Sallai, Kallai; (of) Amok, Eber;

21 (of) Hilkiah, Hashabiah; (of) Jedaiah, Nethaneel.

22 Deacons in the days of Eliashib, and of Joiada, and of Johanan, and of Jaddua, were written princes of families, and priests, in the realm of Darius king of Persia. (The leaders of the priestly families, in the days of Eliashib, and Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were written down until the reign of Darius the Persian.)

23 The sons of Levi, princes of families, were written in the book of the words of days, and unto the days of Johanan, the son of Eliashib. (But the leaders of the Levite families were written down in The Book of the Words of the Days, that is, in The Official Annals, only until the days of Johanan, the son of Eliashib.)

24 And the princes of deacons were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua, the son of Kadmiel; and the brethren of them by their whiles or times, that they should praise and acknowledge by the commandment of king David, the man of God, and they should keep evenly by order. (And the leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua, the son of Kadmiel, who, along with their kinsmen, gave praise and thanks, each in their turn, the one group answering the other, by the command of King David, the man of God.)