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Nehemiah 10 Bible study: Sealed and sworn
Nehemiah 10 isn't only a list of names: they seal the covenant written at the end of chapter 9, the rest of the people bind themselves with a curse and an oath, and the promises end at God's house: "We will not forsake the house of our God" (10:39), the house chapter 13 finds forsaken (13:11).
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“For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the wave offering of the grain, of the new wine, and of the oil, to the rooms where the vessels of the sanctuary are, and the priests who minister, with the gatekeepers and the singers. We will not forsake the house of our God.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“Nehemiah 10:1 names Nehemiah first among those who sealed.”
Is that in Nehemiah 10, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Written, then sealed
Chapter 9's prayer ended, "Yet for all this, we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, our Levites, and our priests, seal it" (9:38). In the Hebrew text that verse is numbered 10:1, so there the covenant and the names that seal it open the same chapter. Chapter 10 gives the names: "Now those who sealed were: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah" (10:1) (tap governor and sealed). The list marks its groups as it goes: "These were the priests" (10:8), "The Levites" (10:9), "The chiefs of the people" (10:14). Then "The rest of the people" (10:28), with "their wives, their sons, and their daughters—everyone who had knowledge and understanding" (10:28), "joined with their brothers, their nobles, and entered into a curse and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God" (10:29) (tap curse and oath). The names are quoted here as the chapter gives them; nothing in them is counted.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Nehemiah 10
That was a taste
The rest of Nehemiah 10 is waiting in Favor
- The promises end at God's house
- What chapter 13 finds
- The curse and the oath
- Set beside the law
- Sworn to keep, in Jesus' words
- 19 questions as you read
- 13 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Nehemiah 10 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
עָזַבazavsay a-ZAV
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "leave, forsake, loose". Strong's: "to loosen, i.e. relinquish, permit, etc.". The covenant's last words are "We will not forsake the house of our God" (10:39). The prayer of chapter 9 had used the same verb of God: he "didn’t forsake them" (9:17), "didn’t forsake them in the wilderness" (9:19), and "didn’t make a full end of them, nor forsake them" (9:31). Here the people use it of themselves. It comes again when Nehemiah asks, "Why is God’s house forsaken?" (13:11), and Brown-Driver-Briggs lists that use: "be forsaken, of house of God".
For your group
Nehemiah 10 Bible study questions
- 1They wrote their covenant down and sealed it, and the chapter names those who sealed (9:38, 10:1). Is there something you've promised God that you'd be willing to write down? What would it change to see it in writing?
- 2The rest of the people "joined with their brothers, their nobles" (10:29) to make the same promise. Who do you need beside you to keep what you've promised God? Who needs you beside them?
- 3The covenant's promises were plain and practical, and they ended, "We will not forsake the house of our God" (10:39). What would one plain, practical step look like for you this week?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Nehemiah 10 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Can I read Nehemiah 10 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Nehemiah 10 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
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The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home