“And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son in law to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I chased him from me.”
My Notes
What Does Nehemiah 13:28 Mean?
"And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son in law to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I chased him from me." Nehemiah discovers that the high priest's grandson has married the daughter of Sanballat — Nehemiah's most persistent enemy, the man who mocked the wall-building, conspired against Nehemiah's life, and tried to sabotage the restoration at every turn. The enemy has literally married into the priesthood. And Nehemiah's response is physical: he chases the man away.
The word "chased" (barach — drove away, expelled) suggests forceful action, not gentle correction. Nehemiah physically expels a member of the high priestly family because the marriage represents exactly the kind of compromise that got Israel exiled in the first place.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Where has an 'enemy' gained access to something sacred in your life through relationship rather than force?
- 2.When is the most loving response to compromise actually the most forceful one?
- 3.How do you recognize when a relationship represents an infiltration rather than a bridge?
- 4.What has Nehemiah's willingness to confront even the high priest's family teach about the cost of protecting what God has built?
Devotional
The enemy married into the priesthood. Sanballat — the man who mocked, threatened, conspired, and did everything possible to stop the rebuilding of Jerusalem — now has a grandson-in-law serving in the temple. His DNA is in the high priestly family. The opposition didn't conquer through force. It conquered through a wedding.
Nehemiah chased him away. Physically. The governor of Jerusalem personally expelled a priest because the marriage represented a compromise that couldn't be tolerated. This isn't diplomatic. It isn't gentle. Nehemiah recognizes that the enemy who couldn't break through the walls has gotten in through the bedroom.
This is how the most dangerous infiltration happens — not through warfare but through relationship. The enemy you couldn't defeat at the gate marries your daughter. The opposition you spent years resisting becomes family. And suddenly confronting them means confronting your own household. The marriage makes the compromise permanent and the correction painful.
Nehemiah's response is uncompromising because the stakes are existential. The priestly family intermarrying with Sanballat isn't just a questionable relationship choice. It's the undoing of everything the restoration stood for. The walls were rebuilt to separate Jerusalem from its enemies. The marriage dissolves the separation from the inside.
Sometimes the most faithful thing a leader can do is chase someone away. Not because you don't love them. Because the compromise they represent will destroy what God built if it's allowed to remain.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And for the wood offering, at times appointed,.... Of which see Neh 10:34. Levites were appointed to receive the wood…
One of the sons of Joiada - This was Manasseh, brother of Jaddua, son of Joiada, and grandson of Eliashib the high…
We have here one instance more of Nehemiah's pious zeal for the purifying of his countrymen as a peculiar people to God;…
one of the sons of Joiada We should gather that Eliashib the grandfather was still alive, since the emphasis lies on the…
Cross References
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