NéhémieChapitre 13

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On that day the Book of Moses was read aloud to the people, and there it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God,

because they had not met the Israelites with bread and water, but had hired Balaam against them to curse them—though our God turned the curse into a blessing.

When the people heard the Law, they separated from Israel everyone of foreign descent.

Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God and was closely associated with Tobiah,

had provided him with a large room where they had formerly stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, new wine, and oil prescribed for the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers, along with the contributions for the priests.

While all this was going on I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had gone to the king. Some time later I asked the king for leave,

and I came back to Jerusalem. Then I learned of the evil Eliashib had done for Tobiah in providing him a room in the courts of the house of God.

I was deeply grieved, and I threw all of Tobiah's household goods out of the room.

Then I gave orders, and they purified the rooms; and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.

I also learned that the portions due the Levites had not been given, so that the Levites and the singers who did the work had each gone back to his own field.

So I confronted the officials and said, "Why has the house of God been neglected?" Then I gathered them together and stationed them at their posts.

And all Judah brought the tithe of grain, new wine, and oil into the storerooms.

I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites in charge of the storerooms, with Hanan son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, as their assistant, for these men were considered trustworthy. Their duty was to distribute the supplies to their brothers.

Remember me for this, my God, and do not blot out the good I have done for the house of my God and its services.

In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath, bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, figs, and every kind of load, and hauling it all into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them against selling food on that day.

Men from Tyre who lived there were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling it on the Sabbath to the people of Judah, and in Jerusalem itself.

Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, "What is this evil thing you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day?

Did not your fathers do the same, so that our God brought all this disaster on us and on this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by profaning the Sabbath."

So when the gates of Jerusalem began to grow dark before the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be shut and commanded that they not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my own men at the gates, so that no load could be brought in on the Sabbath day.

Once or twice the merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Jerusalem.

But I warned them and said, "Why are you spending the night by the wall? If you do it again, I will lay hands on you." From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath.

Then I ordered the Levites to purify themselves and come and guard the gates, in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember me for this also, my God, and spare me according to your great mercy.

In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to speak the language of Judah.

I confronted them and called down curses on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair, and I made them swear by God: "You shall not give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

Was it not because of such marriages that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel—yet even he was led into sin by foreign women.

Must we then hear of you doing all this great evil, acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?"

One of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite; I drove him away from me.

Remember them, my God, because they defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.

So I purified them from everything foreign, and I assigned duties to the priests and Levites, each to his own task,

and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, my God, for good.

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Résumé2

Chapitre 13

Main Theme: Nehemiah carries out reforms to restore purity in the temple, Sabbath holiness, and the people’s separation from foreigners.

Content: After being away at the Persian king’s court, Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem and discovers several problems. He drives Tobiah out of the temple room that the priest Eliashib had given him, restores support for the Levites, closes the city gates on the Sabbath to prevent trade, and confronts those who had married foreign women. He uses Solomon’s fall as a warning example and concludes with prayers asking God to remember his faithful service.

Key Words/Images:

Temple Cleansing: Nehemiah removes Tobiah’s belongings from the temple chamber and dedicates it again for holy use.
Sabbath Holiness: The city gates are closed to prevent trade and desecration of the day of rest.
Mixed Marriages: Marriages with foreign women threaten Israel’s identity and faithfulness to the covenant.
"Remember me, my God": Nehemiah’s repeated prayer that frames his reform work as service to God.

Contexte historique

People

Eliashib (אֶלְיָשִׁיב) was the high priest in Jerusalem at this time and had a family connection with Tobiah, one of Nehemiah’s main opponents. By giving Tobiah a room within the temple complex itself, Eliashib committed a serious violation of the sanctuary’s holiness.

Tobiah (טוֹבִיָּה) was an Ammonite and had been one of the leading opponents of Jerusalem’s rebuilding (Neh 2:10; 4:3). Ironically, his name is theophoric ("YHWH is good"), which may indicate that his family had some connection to Israelite religion, perhaps through mixed marriages.

Sanballat the Horonite (סַנְבַלַּט הַחֹרֹנִי) was likely the governor of Samaria. The fact that one of the high priest’s grandsons married Sanballat’s daughter (verse 28) shows how political alliances were formed through marriage.

Events and Customs

Exclusion of Ammonites and Moabites (verses 1–3) refers to the legislation in Deut 23:4–6. The reason given was that these nations did not show hospitality during Israel’s wilderness journey and that Moab hired Balaam to curse Israel. The public reading of the Torah followed by immediate practical application was typical for post-exilic assemblies.

Temple storage rooms (לִשְׁכָּה) were chambers in the temple complex used to store tithes, offerings, incense, and sacred vessels. Giving such a room to a foreigner was a serious desecration. Nehemiah’s response—throwing out Tobiah’s belongings and ordering purification—followed the principles for ritually cleansing holy space.

Sabbath breaking (verses 15–22) illustrates the economic temptation that the day of rest presented. Wine pressing, transporting goods, and trading were all forbidden. Phoenician merchants from Tyre sold their wares in Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Nehemiah’s measures to close the city gates at sunset and post guards were practical solutions to a persistent problem.

Key Terms

"Judean" (יְהוּדִית) in verse 24 refers to the Judean language, that is, Hebrew as spoken in Judah at that time. The fact that children could not speak this language but instead spoke "Ashdodite" (a Philistine language) and other foreign tongues was seen as a loss of cultural and religious identity.

"Mixed crowd" (עֵרֶב) in verse 3 means "mixture" or "foreign admixture" and is used here to describe people of mixed descent who were separated from the assembly. The term underscores concern for preserving the people’s religious and ethnic identity.

"Remember me, O my God" (זָכְרָה־לִּי) is a prayer formula that appears several times in this chapter (verses 14, 22, 31). This formula asks God to remember and reward good deeds.

Personnages15

Zadok (High Priest)1 Eliashib3 Balaam1 Solomon1 Jehoiada (The Priest Who Guided King Joash of Judah)1 Tobias1 Sakkur1 Sanballat (the Horonite)1 Artaxerxes (Persian king)1 Jacob2 Zedekiah (son of Kenaanah, prophet under Ahab)1 Tobiah2 Pedaja1 Meshelemiah1 Hanan1

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Mots-clés9

Nehemiah — A leader in Israel who helped rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and reform the Jewish community.
Temple — A holy place where Jews worshiped God and offered sacrifices; in Jerusalem, the temple was the center for religious activity.
Tobiah — An Ammonite official who opposed Nehemiah and the rebuilding of Israel; he had unlawfully obtained a room in the temple.
Levites — Members of the tribe of Levi who had special religious duties, including service in the temple and teaching the people God's laws.
Sabbath — The seventh day of the week, a day of rest dedicated to God, where work was to cease and people were to focus on spiritual matters.
Tithe — A tenth part of income or harvest given to the temple and priests to support their work and help the poor.
God's law — The rules and regulations that God gave his people through Moses and other prophets, including the Ten Commandments and many other instructions.
Purity — Being free from sin and impurity, both spiritual and physical, which was important for being able to worship God and participate in his service.
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