Nekoda

February 11, 2015

The disputed captives returning (Neh 7:61-7:65)

“The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove their ancestral houses or their descent, whether they belonged to Israel. The descendents of Delaiah, the descendents of Tobiah, and the descendents of Nekoda were six hundred forty-two. Also, of the priests were the descendents of Hobaiah, the descendents of Hakkoz, and the descendents of Barzillai. They had married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and were called by their name. These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but it was not found there. Thus they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. The governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food, until a priest with Urim and Thummim should come.”

Once again, this is almost word for word from Ezra, chapter 2. This poses a dilemma. What if you could not prove that you were an Israelite? Could you say you wanted land in Israel without being an Israelite? Apparently there were some genealogical records that could be consulted. Like many things, they may not have been 100% accurate. There is a slight difference in the number of people in the category of whether they were Israelites, with 642 here as opposed to 652 in Ezra. The second group claimed to be priests. In the first group the only slight discrepancy is with Addon instead of Addan, while in the 2nd group there is Hobaiah instead of Habaiah. Barzillai had been a friend of King David. I believe that the only questions here were how these people were related to the groups that they claimed that they were from. The unnamed governor told them that they had to consult with a priest because they were unclean. The priests would go to the lots of Urim and Thummim. Urim and Thummim were in the breastplate of the ephod that the priests wore. They would consult with these stones on the breastplate to find out the will of Yahweh on what was to be done. Generally one was positive and the other negative. In fact, this was one of the ways that Yahweh communicated with his people. The other 2 ways were through dreams and prophets, which was also common among the Assyrians and Babylonians. This third way was like the tablets of destiny in Babylonia. Sometime in Jewish history it died out as a usage. However, this mysterious Urim and Thummim have found their way into novels and the writings of Joseph Smith, the first Mormon.

February 11, 2015

The Temple servants returning (Neh 7:46-7:56)

“The temple servants were the descendents of Ziha, the descendents of Hasupha, the descendents of Tabbaoth, the descendents of Keros, the descendents of Sia, the descendents of Padon, the descendents of Lebana, the descendents of Hagaba, the descendents of Shalmai, the descendents of Hanan, the descendents of Giddel, the descendents of Gahar, the descendents of Reaiah, the descendents of Rezin, the descendents of Nekoda, the descendents of Gazzam, the descendents of Uzza, the descendents of Paseah, the descendents of Besai, the descendents of Meunim, the descendents of Nephushesim, the descendents of Bakbuk, the descendents of Hakupha, the descendents of Harhur, the descendents of Bazlith, the descendents of Mehida, the descendents of Harsha, the descendents of Barkos, the descendents of Sisera, the descendents of Temah, the descendents of Neziah, and the descendents of Hatipha.”

This is the list of the hereditary Temple servants, the Nethinim, people dedicated to the Temple. Often they were not Israelites, but captured slave laborers given to the Temple. They became hereditary slaves dedicated to the Temple. However, there was no Temple, so it is not clear why they were returning.   Thus these names were not common biblical names since most of these names only appear here and in Ezra, but nowhere else in the biblical literature. Of the 35 temple servants, 27 names are exactly the same as in Ezra, chapter 2. The minor exceptions are Sia for Siaha, Lebana for Lebanah, Hagaba for Hagabah, Nephushesim for Nephisim, and Bazlith for Bazluth. Akkub, Hagab, and Asnah were in Ezra, but are not here.

January 27, 2015

Those unable to find to prove their Israelite ancestry (Ezra 2:59-2:63)

“The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, though they could not prove their families or their descent, whether they belonged to Israel. The descendents of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda were six hundred fifty-two. Also, the descendents of the priests Habaiah and Hakkoz were not clear. The Barzillai had married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite. So he was called by their name. These looked for their entries in the genealogical records, but they were not found there. Thus they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. The governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food, until there should be a priest to consult Urim and Thummim.”

This poses a dilemma. What if you could not prove that you were an Israelite? Could you say you wanted land in Israel without being an Israelite? Apparently there were some genealogical records that could be consulted. Like many things, they may not have been 100% accurate. The first group was about whether they were Israelites, while the second group claimed to be priests. These names only appear here, and nowhere else in the biblical literature except for Immer who was one of the leaders in the preceding section going back to Jerusalem. There was a Hakkoz who served in King David’s time as a priest. Barzillai had been a friend of King David. I believe that the only question here was whether these people were related to the groups that they claimed to be from. The unnamed governor, who earlier was named Sheshbazzar, told them that they had to consult with a priest. The priests would go to the lots of Urim and Thummim. Urim and Thummim were in the breastplate of the ephod that the priests wore. They would consult with these stones on the breastplate to find out the will of Yahweh on what was to be done. Generally one was positive and the other negative. In fact, this was one of the ways that Yahweh communicated with his people. The other 2 ways were through dreams and prophets, which was also common among the Assyrians and Babylonians. This third way was like the tablets of destiny in Babylonia. Sometime in Jewish history it died out as a usage. However, this mysterious Urim and Thummim have found their way into novels and the writings of Joseph Smith, the first Mormon.

January 26, 2015

The list of the Temple servants returning (Ezra 2:43-2:54)

“The temple servants were the descendents of Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, Keros, Siaha, Padon, Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub, Hagab, Shamlai, Hanan, Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah, Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam, Uzza, Paseah, Besai, Asnah, Meunim, Nephisim, Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha, Barkos, Sisera, Temah, Neziah, and Hatipha.”

This is the list of the hereditary Temple servants, the Nethinim, people dedicated to the Temple. Often they were not Israelites, but captured slave laborers given to the Temple. Thus they became hereditary slaves dedicated to the Temple. However, there is no Temple, so it is not clear why they were returning. Most of these names only appear here and in Nehemiah but nowhere else in the biblical literature. Akkub and Uzza appear as a name for 3 other biblical persons. There was a King Rezin of Damascus who invaded Judah, but this is not him. There also was a Sisera who was the warrior killed in his sleep in Josiah. Otherwise, these were not common biblical names.