Nehemiah 13:4-9

Nehemiah 13:4-9

[4] And before  this, Eliashib  the priest,  having the oversight  of the chamber  of the house  of our God,  was allied  unto Tobiah:  [5] And he had prepared  for him a great  chamber,  where aforetime  they laid  the meat offerings,  the frankincense,  and the vessels,  and the tithes  of the corn,  the new wine,  and the oil,  which was commanded  to be given to the Levites,  and the singers,  and the porters;  and the offerings  of the priests.  [6] But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem:  for in the two  and thirtieth  year  of Artaxerxes  king  of Babylon  came  I unto the king,  and after  certain days  obtained I leave  of the king:  [7] And I came  to Jerusalem,  and understood  of the evil  that Eliashib  did  for Tobiah,  in preparing  him a chamber  in the courts  of the house  of God.  [8] me sore:  therefore I cast forth  all the household  stuff  of Tobiah  out of  the chamber.  [9] Then I commanded,  and they cleansed  the chambers:  and thither brought I again  the vessels  of the house  of God,  with the meat offering  and the frankincense. 

What does Nehemiah 13:4-9 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Eliashib was the high priest ( Nehemiah 3:1; Nehemiah 6:17-1833; Nehemiah 13:28). He was evidently a close relative of Tobiah, the Jewish Ammonite leader who had opposed Nehemiah"s efforts to rebuild the walls ( Nehemiah 2:19; Nehemiah 6:1; 1711635194_3). Probably Eliashib cleaned out one of the temple storerooms and converted it into an apartment for Tobiah because he was an influential relative ( Nehemiah 13:7). Nehemiah was very angry when he returned to Jerusalem and discovered this enemy of the faithful remnant living in the temple, so he threw him out.
"With this incident Nehemiah set the example of his new approach to an unnecessarily close relationship with foreigners. The purity of religion had to be maintained at any cost. This was absolutely necessary if the small community, beset as it was with all the temptations of paganism, was to be prevented from reverting to a compromise with the neighboring nations and bringing their ancestral religion into danger." [1]
Nehemiah could legitimately call Artaxerxes the king of Babylon in431 B.C. Artaxerxes was, of course, a Persian king, not one of the kings of the Babylonian Empire. However, in431 B.C, Persia ruled Babylon.