Nehemiah 13:3

Neh 13:3 Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.

Ver. 3. Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law] And were transformed into the same image therewith, by the Spirit of grace, who had made their flinty hearts to become fleshy, &c. We used to say, As hard hearted as a Jew. But they that relent not, repent not at the hearing of the word, are worse than these Jews; and it may be feared that the Lord hath a purpose to destroy them. "The law of the Lord," when but read only, "is perfect, converting the soul," Psa 19:7, but woe to the irreformable, 2Co 4:4.

That they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude] Vulgus promiscuum, the rabble of strangers, wherewith this people were haunted and pestered from the very first, Exo 12:38 Num 11:4. These, moved with miracles, removed with them out of Egypt, but for a mischief to them, for they drew them into sin then, as those here did also; and were, therefore, worthily put away, as the law required.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Neh 13:3. They separated from Israel all the mixed multitude — All the Ammonites, Moabites, and other heathenish people, with whom they had contracted alliances. All these were cast out from the congregation of Israel, together with the children born of them; that is, they would not look upon them as Israelites, or as entitled to the same privileges with themselves.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That is, all such which had joined in unlawful marriage, and also those with whom God had forbidden them to have society.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 3. They separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.] They excluded all strange women, and all persons, young and old, who had been born of these illegal connections.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. Now] R.V. And. The A.V. begins a new paragraph with this verse; which however continues the preceding verses, giving the result of the action taken.

they separated] ‘They,’ impersonal, but evidently the leaders of the people are referred to. It does not appear whether the words ‘they separated from Israel’ denote merely ceremonial exclusion from participation in the worship and festivals of the holy people, or the forcible ejectment from their borders. The practical impossibility of so summary a policy is an objection to the latter interpretation. The parallel in Neh_9:2 gives some support to the former alternative; and the instance recorded by Nehemiah in the following Neh_13:4-14, shows that Nehemiah’s anger was kindled not at the presence of a stranger but at his connexion with the high-priest, and at the fact of his not being ‘separated from’ the Temple.

all the mixed multitude] The use of the Hebrew word ‘’ereb’ here without an article may be illustrated by Exo_12:38. There, as here, the word denotes the large body of strangers, members of other races, attached by ties of marriage or by commercial interests to the people of Israel. Their proneness to lead the Israelites astray was proverbial, cf. Num_11:4.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And before this,.... Before the above law was read, and observed and acted upon:

Eliashib the priest; whom some take to be a common priest; so Bishop Usher (a); but he seems rather to be the high priest, by comparing it with Neh 13:28,

having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God; which has led some to the notion of his being a common priest; but chamber may be put for chambers, and those for the whole house or temple, which the high priest had the greatest concern in, and oversight of:

was allied to Tobiah; the servant and Ammonite, an inveterate enemy of the Jews, Neh 2:10, having married a daughter of Shecaniah, and his son a daughter of Meshullam, who were both priests, and so as it seems related to Eliashib, Neh 6:18.

(a) Annal. Vet. Test. p. 200.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

A separation like that made by Ezra, some 20 years previously Ezra 10:15-44, seems to be intended. The pagan wives were divorced and sent back, with their offspring, to their own countries.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Stranger. Hebrew hereb, "mixture," (Haydock) infidel women and their offspring.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

i.e. All the heathenish people with whom they had contracted alliances. See Neh 9:2; Ezr 10:3.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. They separated from Israel all the mixed multitude — Literally, separated all mixture from Israel. The word ערב, mixed multitude, is used of the people of foreign blood who accompanied the Hebrews out of Egypt, (Exo_12:38,) and afterwards lusted after flesh. Num_11:4. It may, therefore, refer to any non-Israelitish people. So according to the true spirit of the law they separated themselves from all foreigners, not from Ammonites and Moabites only. Marriage with unbelievers is fraught with so much danger that it is discountenanced in the New Testament also. 2Co_6:14. Intermarriage and association with foreigners was an evil against which both Ezra and Nehemiah had to fight repeatedly. Compare Neh_13:23-30, and Neh_9:2; also Ezra 9-10, notes.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They separated from Israel all the mixed multitude. Some lengthy process, like that pursued by Ezra, (Ezr_10:10-19) is probably glanced at in these words, and again in the opening words of ver. 30 cleansed I them from all strangers." The rebukes of Nehemiah (vers. 25-27) did not suffice to produce a voluntary putting away of the foreign wives. Judicial proceedings had to be taken, and the "mixed multitude" separated off by authority.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Multitude - All the heathenish people with whom they had contracted alliance.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

This law being understood, all strangers were separated from Israel. ערב is taken from Exo 12:38, where it denotes the mixed multitude of non-Israelitish people who followed the Israelites at their departure from Egypt. The word is here transferred to strangers of different heathen nationalities living among the Israelites. The date of the occurrence here related cannot be more precisely defined from the ההוּא בּיּום. Public readings of the law frequently took place in those days, as is obvious from Neh 8 and 9, where we learn that in the seventh month the book of the law was publicly read, not only on the first and second days, but also daily during the feast of tabernacles, and again on the day of prayer and fasting on the twenty-fourth of the month. It appears, however, from מזּה לפני, Neh 13:4, compared with Neh 13:6, that the reading Neh 13:1-3 took place in the interval between Nehemiah's first and second stay at Jerusalem. This view is not opposed by the facts mentioned Neh 13:4. and 23f. The separation of the ערב could not be carried out at once; and hence, notwithstanding repeated resolutions to sever themselves from strangers (Neh 9:2; Neh 10:31), cases to the contrary might be discovered, and make fresh separations needful.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

all mixtures Every mixture of heathens, like (Exodus 12:38): “A great mixed multitude (עֵרֶב רַב) also went up with them.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.