Nehemiah - 12:12



12 In the days of Joiakim were priests, heads of fathers' (houses): of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;

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Explanation and meaning of Nehemiah 12:12.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
And in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chief of the fathers: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
And in the days of Joiakim were priests, heads of fathers houses : of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
And in the days of Joacim the priests and heads of the families were : Of Saraia, Maraia: of Jeremias, Hanania:
And in the days of Joiakim were priests, chief fathers: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
And in the days of Joiakim have been priests, heads of the fathers; of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
And in the days of Joiakim there were priests, heads of families: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
In the days of Joiakim were priests, heads of ancestral houses: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
And in the days of Joiakim, the priests and the leaders of the families were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

And in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chief of the fathers: of (e) Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
(e) That is, next to Seraiah or rather of the order, who was called after the name of Seraiah.

And in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chief of the fathers,.... This was the son and successor of Jeshua, or Joshua, the first high priest of the second temple; the principal men of the priesthood in his time were as follow, and who were the sons, or however the descendants of the priests in the time of his father before mentioned: these were Meraiah, Hananiah, Meshullam, Jehohanan, Jonathan, Joseph, Adna, Helkai, Zechariah, (the prophet of that name,) Meshullam, Zichri, Piltai, Shammua, Jehonathan, Mattenai, Uzzi, Kallai, Eber, Hashabiah, Nethaneel; in all twenty, whereas there are twenty two named, as in his father's days, there being no sons or descendants from two of them, namely, Hattush and Miamin.

in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chief of the fathers--As there had been priests in the days of Jeshua, so in the time of Joiakim, the son and successor of Jeshua, the sons of those persons filled the priestly office in the place of their fathers, some of whom were still alive, though many were dead.

Nehemiah 12:12-21 contains the list of the priestly houses and their heads, which has been already explained in conjunction with that in Nehemiah 12:1-7. Nehemiah 12:22-26. The list of the heads of the Levites, Nehemiah 12:22 and Nehemiah 12:24, is, according to Nehemiah 12:26, that of the days of Joiakim, and of the days of Nehemiah and Ezra. Whence it follows, that it does not apply only to the time of Joiakim; for though Ezra might indeed have come to Jerusalem in the latter days of Joiakim's high-priesthood, yet Nehemiah's arrival found his successor Eliashib already in office, and the statements of Nehemiah 12:22 and Nehemiah 12:23 must be understood accordingly.

Priests - As their fathers were priests in the days of Joshua, so in the days of Joiakim the son of Joshua, the sons of those persons executed the priesthood in their father's steads, some of their fathers probably being yet living, and many of them dead.

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