Nehemiah 13:16
“Some men of Tyre also lived there, who brought in fish and all kinds of wares, and sold on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.”
What does Nehemiah 13:16 mean?
During Nehemiah's time, the Jewish people had committed to keeping the Sabbath as a day of rest and worship, following God's law. Merchants from the nearby city of Tyre were taking advantage of this holy day by setting up shops in Jerusalem and selling fish and goods, which meant they were working on the Sabbath and tempting the people of Judah to buy and sell as well. This verse captures a moment of spiritual compromise in the community, where outsiders were profiting from the very people who had promised to honor God's commands. Nehemiah would go on to confront this practice and drive out these merchants to help restore the community's commitment to their covenant with God.