Bible Strands
Nehemiah 12:46
For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there were directors for the singers and for the songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator addresses the post-exilic community completing Jerusalem's restoration, explaining the reorganization of temple worship. The statement clarifies that the current musical leadership follows an established historical precedent rather than a new innovation.
The words — מִקֶּ֑דֶם (miqqedem) translates literally as "from antiquity," marking the ancient origin of the practice. רָאשֵׁי֙ הַמְשֹׁרְרִ֔ים (roshê ha-meshorerîm) means "leaders of the singers," denoting the appointed directors over musical worship.
The thread — This institutional structure traces back to David and Asaph in 1 Chronicles 25:1 and is later reaffirmed under Hezekiah in 2 Chronicles 29:30. The psalmic tradition attributed to Asaph in Psalm 73:1 preserves the liturgical content these directors originally oversaw.
Why it lands — It requires the reader to recognize that current religious order depends on historical continuity rather than spontaneous innovation. The text demands acceptance of established liturgical leadership as a necessary framework for communal worship.
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
For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 29:30 Then King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to sing praises to the LORD in the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness and bowed down and worshiped.
- 1 Chronicles 25:1 Additionally, David and the commanders of the army set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to prophesy with the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. The following is the list of the men who performed this service:
- Psalms 73:1 A Psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
- Psalms 83:1 A song. A Psalm of Asaph. O God, be not silent; be not speechless; be not still, O God.