Nehemiah 12:1

“Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, etc.] Who went up from the captivity in Babylon to Jerusalem with them; the one was the prince, the other the high priest, the same with Joshua the high priest, (<380301>Zechariah 3:1), the names of the priests are given in this and the six following verses: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra; not Jeremiah the prophet, who cannot be thought to live so long as through the captivity; but Ezra may be Ezra the priest and scribe, who might come up with Zerubbabel to Jerusalem, and return to Babylon again, and from thence come again as he did, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes, (<150701>Ezra 7:1,6,7),…”

“PRIESTS AND LEVITES WHO CAME UP WITH ZERUBBABEL. (Neh 12:1-9) these are the priests--according to Neh 12:7, "the chief of the priests," the heads of the twenty-four courses into which the priesthood was divided (1Ch. 24:1-20). Only four of the courses returned from the captivity (Neh 7:39-42; Ezr 2:36-39). But these were divided by Zerubbabel, or Jeshua, into the original number of twenty-four. Twenty-two only are enumerated here, and no more than twenty in Neh 12:12-21. The discrepancy is due to the extremely probable circumstance that two of the twenty-four courses had become extinct in Babylon; for none belonging to them are reported as having returned (Neh 12:2-5). Hattush and Maadiah…”

“The priests - The number of the names here given, which is 22, is probably to be connected with that of the Davidic “courses,” which was 24 1 Chronicles 24:7-18. Eight names are identical with those of the heads in David’s time. On comparing the present list with that of the families who sealed to Nehemiah’s covenant Nehemiah 10:2-8, we shall find that the first sixteen recur in that document nearly in the same order; but that the last six are absent from it. It would seem that as these six declined to seal to Nehemiah’s covenant, they were placed below the rest here in a sort of supplementary list. Note especially the “and” which connects the second part of the lists with the earlier part,…”

“Priests - The chief of the priests, the heads of those twenty four courses which David appointed by divine direction, 1Ch. 24:1-19. And whereas there were twenty four, and here but twenty - two, and Neh 12:12, &c. only twenty, the reason of this difference may be, because two of the twenty four courses were extinct in Babylon, and two of the persons here named, Neh 12:2, Neh 12:5, Hattush, and Maadiah, may be omitted in the account of the posterity of these, Neh 12:12, &c. because they had no posterity. Ezra - Either this was another Ezra, or if it were the same mentioned Ezr 7:1, he lived to a great age; which may well be supposed, considering his great sobriety, and his great piety to…”

“12:1-26 These lists of priests and Levites include a list of those who originally returned from exile with Zerubabbel (12:1-9), a chronological list of high priests (12:10-11), and the priests and Levites who served at the time of Joiakim, the high priest at the time of Nehemiah and Ezra (12:12-26). 12:1-9 priests and Levites who returned with Zerubabbel . . . and Jeshua: See Ezra 1:1-5. Only those who could prove their priestly lineage could serve at the Temple, so it was important to maintain an accurate genealogical record of these families.”

“We have in this chapter a record of little more than the names of a great many priests and Levites, that were eminent in their day among the returned Jews. It is good to know what our godly ancestors and predecessors were, that we may learn thereby what we should be. the priests: Neh 7:7; Ezr 2:1, Ezr 2:2 Zerubbabel: Ch1 3:17-19; Ezr 3:8, Ezr 4:2, Ezr 5:2; Hag 1:1, Hag 1:12, Hag 1:14, Hag 2:2, Hag 2:21-23; Zac 4:6-10; Mat 1:12, Mat 1:13, Zorobabel, Salathiel Jeshua: Neh 12:10; Zac 3:1-9, Zac 6:11, Joshua Seraiah: Neh 12:12-21, Neh 10:2-8; Ezr 2:2 Nehemiah 12:2”

“Neh 12:1-7 Neh 12:1 contains the title of the first list, Neh 12:1-9. "These are the priests and Levites who went up with Zerubbabel ... and Joshua;" comp. Ezr 2:1-2. Then follow, Neh 12:1, the names of the priests, with the subscription: "These are the heads of the priests and of their brethren, in the days of Joshua." ואחיהם still depends on ראשׁי. The brethren of the priests are the Levites, as being their fellow-tribesmen and assistants. Two-and-twenty names of such heads are enumerated, and these reappear, with but slight variations attributable to clerical errors, as names of priestly houses in Neh 12:12-21, where they are given in conjunction with the names of those priests who, in…”