Adna was the priestly head of the family of Harim, and Helkai was the priestly head of the family of Meraioth. These names belong to the roster of priests present at the dedication of Jerusalem's restored walls. That dedication was a celebration marked by thanksgiving and rejoicing.
The verse stands in the portion of Nehemiah covering about 446 to 408, concerning the final reform at Nehemiah's return to Jerusalem. In this setting Nehemiah worked always for Jerusalem's highest good, being impatient at slackness in God's work and indignant at sin in uniting with heathen peoples even to bringing them into the temple itself. His zealous manner as a reformer is not always to be copied, yet with all the surrounding circumstances he is not to be condemned. He stood for God, and the city was the Lord's city and the people were the Lord's people.
Adna was the priestly head of the family of Harim, and Helkai was the priestly head of the family of Meraioth. These names belong to the roster of priests present at the dedication of Jerusalem's restored walls. That dedication was a celebration marked by thanksgiving and rejoicing.
The verse stands in the portion of Nehemiah covering about 446 to 408, concerning the final reform at Nehemiah's return to Jerusalem. In this setting Nehemiah worked always for Jerusalem's highest good, being impatient at slackness in God's work and indignant at sin in uniting with heathen peoples even to bringing them into the temple itself. His zealous manner as a reformer is not always to be copied, yet with all the surrounding circumstances he is not to be condemned. He stood for God, and the city was the Lord's city and the people were the Lord's people.