Nehemiah 10:13

Study note

Setting — Nehemiah 10:13 appears within a formal covenant ratification document where the returned exiles pledge obedience to God's law. The verse functions as a continuous list of signatories, following Zaccur, Sherebiah, and Shebaniah in Nehemiah 10:12 and preceding the leaders named in Nehemiah 10:14.

The words — The text records three proper names: הוֹדִּיָּ֥ה (ho.di.Yah), בָנִ֖י (va.Ni), and בְּנִֽינוּ (be.Ni.nu). These transliterated names identify specific individuals who affixed their signatures to the agreement.

The thread — This verse belongs to the covenant witness sequence that runs through Nehemiah 10:1–39, where the community formally binds itself to follow the Torah. The list of names mirrors the pattern of corporate commitment found in the surrounding verses, where signatories are grouped by office and lineage.

Why it lands — It requires the reader to recognize that covenant obedience is a corporate act sustained by named individuals. The text demands acknowledgment that faithfulness is recorded and witnessed, not merely claimed privately.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.