Nechemyah 13:23

23 In those days also saw I Yehudim that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moav,

Nechemyah 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.

Nechemyah 13:23 In-Context

21 Then I warned them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? If ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on Shabbos.

22 And I commanded the Levi’im that they should make themselves tahor, and that they should come and be shomer over the gates, to set apart as kodesh Shabbos. Remember me, O Elohai, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Thy mercy.

23 In those days also saw I Yehudim that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moav,

24 And their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the language of the Yehudim, but according to the language of each people.

25 And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by Elohim, saying, Ye shall not give your banot unto their banim, nor take their banot unto your banim, or for yourselves.