And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews’ language, but according to the language of each people.
Their children spoke half in the language of Ashdod, and couldn't speak Hebrew properly, but instead spoke in the language of whatever people group their mothers came from.
This verse shows how the children of mixed marriages were losing their Jewish identity and couldn't even speak Hebrew, their ancestral language.
📚 Historical Context
Nehemiah had returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile to rebuild the city and restore Jewish religious practices. He discovered that many Jewish men had married women from surrounding pagan nations like Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. This was creating a crisis of cultural and religious identity, as the next generation was being raised speaking foreign languages and following foreign customs rather than maintaining their covenant relationship with God.
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