Bible Commentaries
Nehemiah 12

Verses 1-47

Here the story of the settlement of the people in Jerusalem is completed. This is followed by an account o f the solemn dedication of the wall. It would seem as though it had been postponed for some considerable time. Differences of opinion exist as to the length of time, some placing the dedication in immediate relation to what succeeds, which undoubtedly happened twelve years after Nehemiah's first coming. Others would place it within a few months of the actual completion of the wall. It is difficult to decide, and the matter is of no moment.

The dedication ceremony proceeded in three stages. First, the two processions of singers who chanted the praises of God; second, the reading of the Law; and, finally, the separation of the mixed multitude from the people of God. Thus the reformers perpetually sought to bring these people back in every way to a recognition of the deepest truth concerning the national life, namely, its relation to God.