Bible Strands
Nehemiah 10:32
We also place ourselves under the obligation to contribute a third of a shekel yearly for the service of the house of our God:
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The covenant community, including priests, Levites, and officials, formally binds itself to a financial commitment after the public reading of the Law in Jerusalem.
The words — The phrase וְהֶעֱמַדְנוּ עָלֵינוּ (ve/he'emednu 'aleinu) literally means "we establish upon ourselves," indicating a self-imposed obligation rather than a divinely mandated tax.
The thread — This structured giving echoes the half-shekel census offering in Exodus 30:11 and the two-drachma temple tax noted in Matthew 17:24, while aligning with the principle of honoring God with wealth in Proverbs 3:9.
Why it lands — The text demands a fixed, annual financial contribution to sustain temple operations, requiring the reader to commit resources systematically to religious duties rather than relying on voluntary or sporadic giving.
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.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God;
Cross-references
- Exodus 30:11 Then the LORD said to Moses,
- Matthew 17:24 After they had arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your Teacher pay the two drachmas?”
- Proverbs 3:9 Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your crops;
- 2 Corinthians 8:12 For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
- Genesis 28:22 And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”