The Meaning of Nehemiah 13:28 Explained

Nehemiah 13:28

KJV: 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.

YLT: And one of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest, is son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite, and I cause him to flee from off me.

Darby: And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite; and I chased him from me.

ASV: 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Nehemiah 13:28 Mean?

Context Summary

Nehemiah 13:15-31 - A Disobedient And Gainsaying People
Let us remember to keep perpetual Sabbath in the heart, whatever be our outward life. In this life there is a Sabbath rest for the people of God, Hebrews 4:9, but we must labor to enter into it, and must set God's angel of peace to keep the door against all intruders, Philippians 4:7. Twenty years before, Ezra had dismissed the strange wives, but the evil had risen again. Alas, how sadly do children expose the inconsistencies of their parents, and betray the evil of unequal marriages! We see plenty of this around us; and where there is such a union, the balance is almost certain to turn in favor of the world and against vital godliness, Deuteronomy 7:4; 2 Corinthians 6:14. Nehemiah did not hesitate to add strong acts to strong words. Josephus says that this expelled priest was Manasseh, and that he went to his father-in-law, Sanballat, who built for him a temple on Mount Gerizim like that at Jerusalem, and that this was the origin of the religious rivalry and hatred between Samaritans and Jews, John 4:20. The faithful servant and the dying thief join in the same petition, Nehemiah 13:31. To be remembered by Jesus Christ is enough reward for any of us [source]

Chapter Summary: Nehemiah 13

1  Upon the reading of the law, separation is made from the mixed multitude
4  Nehemiah, at his return, causes the chambers to be cleansed
10  He reforms the offices in the house of God;
15  the violation of the Sabbath;
23  and the marriages with the strange wives

What do the individual words in Nehemiah 13:28 mean?

and [one] of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the priest high [was] a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite therefore I drove him from me
וּמִבְּנֵ֨י יוֹיָדָ֤ע בֶּן־ אֶלְיָשִׁיב֙ הַכֹּהֵ֣ן הַגָּד֔וֹל חָתָ֖ן לְסַנְבַלַּ֣ט הַחֹרֹנִ֑י וָאַבְרִיחֵ֖הוּ מֵעָלָֽי

וּמִבְּנֵ֨י  and  [one]  of  the  sons 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
יוֹיָדָ֤ע  of  Joiada 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄויָדָע  
Sense: son of Paseah, who assisted to repair the old gate of Jerusalem.
בֶּן־  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
אֶלְיָשִׁיב֙  of  Eliashib 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֶלְיָשִׁיב  
Sense: a priest in David’s reign.
הַכֹּהֵ֣ן  the  priest 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: כֹּהֵן  
Sense: priest, principal officer or chief ruler.
הַגָּד֔וֹל  high 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
חָתָ֖ן  [was]  a  son-in-law 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חָתָן  
Sense: son-in-law, daughter’s husband, bridegroom, husband.
לְסַנְבַלַּ֣ט  of  Sanballat 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: סַנְבַלַּט  
Sense: a Moabite of Horonaim and the opponent of Nehemiah and the returned exiles in their goal of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.
הַחֹרֹנִ֑י  the  Horonite 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹרֹנִי  
Sense: an inhabitant of Horonaim in Moab.
וָאַבְרִיחֵ֖הוּ  therefore  I  drove  him 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular, third person masculine singular
Root: בָּרַח 
Sense: to go through, flee, run away, chase, drive away, put to flight, reach, shoot (extend), hurry away.
מֵעָלָֽי  from  me 
Parse: Preposition-m, first person common singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.