Nehemiah 13:23

23 And in those days I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, of Ammon, of 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 Then I testified against them, and said to them, Why do ye lodge in front of the wall? if ye do so again, I will stretch out my hand upon you. From that time they came not on the sabbath.

22 and I told the Levites who were purifying themselves, and came and kept the gates, that they should sanctify the sabbath-day. Remember me, O God, for these things, and spare me according to the abundance of thy mercy.

23 And in those days I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, of Ammon, of Moab:

24 and their children spoke half in the language of Ashdod, and did not know how to speak in the Jewish language.

25 And I strove with them and cursed them; and I smote some of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, Ye shall not give your daughters to their sons, and ye shall not take of their daughters to your sons.