The list of those making the covenant
Those who sealed it were:
Zedekiah, 2 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, 3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malkijah, 4 Hattush, Sebaniah, Malluch, 5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, 6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, 7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, 8 Maaziah, Bilgai and Shemaiah.
These were the priests.
9The Levites:
Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel, 10 and their associates: Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, 11 Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, 12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, 13 Hodiah, Bani and Beninu.
14 The leaders of the people:
Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, 15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, 16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, 17 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, 18 Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, 19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, 20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, 21 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, 22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, 23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, 24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, 25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, 26 Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, 27 Malluch, Harim and Baanah.
In response to the reading of the Law and the admonition of the Levites, the people of Judah promised to obey all the laws and worship regulations the Lord had given to them through Moses. Nehemiah’s name stands in a place of honor at the head of the list. It is surprising that Ezra does not receive similar recognition. If this section is based on Ezra’s own account of the covenant ceremony, he may have omitted his name out of modesty. It is not clear if the name of Zedekiah should be joined with that of Nehemiah or if it is part of the list of priests that follows. In the original Hebrew the names are joined by an “and.” If Zedekiah is supposed to be joined with Nehemiah, as the verse division of our English translations suggests, he was probably Nehemiah’s assistant.
Some of the 21 priests listed here have the same names as well-known biblical characters, but they are not the same men. We do not know anything about any of the men in this list, except Nehemiah. Several of the Levites mentioned here were apparently the same men who assisted Ezra in Nehemiah chapter 8. We know nothing about any of these Levites beyond the fact that they were mentioned in these lists. The first part of the list of lay leaders is very similar to the lists in Ezra chapter 2 and Nehemiah chapter 7. It seems likely, therefore, that these were the names of families, rather than individuals. The additional names that do not appear in the earlier lists were probably families or clans that had achieved independent status since the time of Zerubbabel. No doubt many laypeople, who did not sign the document as the leaders did, made the same commitment as their leaders. They too joined in the covenant ceremony.