Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Nehemiah 12:26 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 26. 26These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse locates these personnel in Joiakim's, Nehemiah's, and Ezra's days, exposing compiled temporal horizons.
Read It With
- Nehemiah 12:22–12:26
Read Nehemiah 12:22–12:26 together. This verse locates these personnel in Joiakim's, Nehemiah's, and Ezra's days, exposing compiled temporal horizons. Read Nehemiah 12:22–12:26 as one complete scene: The archive records heads in later generations, refers to Darius the Persian and a book of chronicles, then locates named personnel in the days of Joiakim, Nehemiah, and Ezra.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Levite and priestly recording through Darius, a chronicle notice, thanksgiving watches, and the closing temporal notice form one editorial-chronological block. Its placement advances the book. The received text places archival horizons beside the dedication story and makes later editorial preservation visible. Within that movement, this verse locates these personnel in Joiakim's, Nehemiah's, and Ezra's days, exposing compiled temporal horizons.
Read Nehemiah 12:22–26 together
Why these verses belong together: Levite and priestly recording through Darius, a chronicle notice, thanksgiving watches, and the closing temporal notice form one editorial-chronological block.
Verse 22. 22 The Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were recorded chief of the fathers: also the priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian.
Verse 23. 23 The sons of Levi, the chief of the fathers, were written in the book of the chronicles, even until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib.
Verse 24. 24 And the chief of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brethren over against them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, ward over against ward.
Verse 25. 25 Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters keeping the ward at the thresholds of the gates.
Verse 26. 26 These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe.
Follow the Context
- The archive records heads in later generations, refers to Darius the Persian and a book of chronicles, then locates named personnel in the days of Joiakim, Nehemiah, and Ezra.
- The received text places archival horizons beside the dedication story and makes later editorial preservation visible.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Nehemiah 12:26 does not reduce its distinct role—locates these personnel in Joiakim's, Nehemiah's, and Ezra's days, exposing compiled temporal horizons—to a standalone claim or rule; read it within Nehemiah 12:22–12:26. These notices do not prove one uncontested chronology for Ezra, Nehemiah, Darius, Jaddua, or the book's final edition.
What Remains True
Within Nehemiah 12:22–12:26, Nehemiah 12:26 locates these personnel in Joiakim's, Nehemiah's, and Ezra's days, exposing compiled temporal horizons. Historical faithfulness includes visible alternatives when documents from different periods are collected together.
How It Can Shape Life
- At Nehemiah 12:26, attend to how the verse locates these personnel in Joiakim's, Nehemiah's, and Ezra's days, exposing compiled temporal horizons. Label each chronological inference, distinguish normal reconstruction from certainty, and do not make one disputed date carry the whole interpretation.
Teach It Back
Explain Nehemiah 12:26's precise role in Nehemiah 12:22–12:26. Include the first historical horizon, the surrounding verses, one person or cost that could be obscured, material uncertainty, and one conclusion this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Nehemiah 12:22–12:26 — Later records reach Darius and the Nehemiah-Ezra periodSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Interpreters debate which Darius is meant, the dates of Jaddua and Ezra, and whether several notices are later additions.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Nehemiah 12:22–12:26, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Nehemiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, clause relationships, repeated roots, Persian titles, names, and translation controls.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Neh.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 12:22–12:26
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Nehemiah with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: A unit-bounded KJV comparison plus only the lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, literary, or older-English notes actually printed for these verses; silence in the notes is not treated as positive evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible Nehemiah PDF, printed pp. 778–779, translation text and any translator notes printed for 12:22–12:26
Open source ↗