Genealogical Reckoning 3 NEHEMIAH, VII. 2 Or, Azmaveth. and twelve. (25) The children of 'Gibeon, j1 Or, Gibbar. (39) The priests: the children of 'Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three. (40) The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two. (41) The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven. (42) The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen. a See ver. 12. b 1 Chron. 24. 7. 4 Or, Hodavíah, of the People. children of Bazlith, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha,(55) the children of Barkos, the children of Sisera. the children of Tamah, (5) the children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha. (57) The children of Solomon's servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Perida, (58) the children of Jaala, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel, (59) the children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth of Zebaim, the children of 5Amon. (60) All the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's servants, were three hundred ninety and two. (61) And these were they which went up also from Tel-melah, Tel-haresha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer: but they could not shew their father's house, nor their "seed, whether they were of Israel. (62) The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred forty and two. (63) And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai, which took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite to wife, and was called after their name. Ezra 2.40; or (64) These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood. (65) And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim. (43) The Levites: the children of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, and of the children of Hodevah, seventy and four. (44) The singers the children of Asaph, an hun- 5 Or, Ami. dred forty and eight. (45) The porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, an hundred thirty. Ezra 2.50. and eight. (46) The Nethinims: the children of Ziha, the children of Hashupha, the children of Tabbaoth, (47) the children of Keros, the children of Sia, the children 7 Or, the governor. of Padon, (48) the children of Lebana, the 6 Or, pedigree. (66) The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore, (67) beside their manservants and their maidservants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and they had two hundred forty and five singing men and singing women. (68) Their horses, seven hundred thirty and six: their mules, two hundred forty and five: (69) their camels, four hundred thirty and five six thousand seven hundred and twenty asses. 8 (70) And some of the chief of the fathers gave unto the work. The Tirshatha gave to the treasure a thousand drams of gold, fifty basons, five hundred and thirty priests' garments. (71) And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure of the work twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand the porters, and the singers, and some of a Ezra 3. 1 & 7. 6. people ;) and when he opened it all the the people, and the Nethinims, and all Israel, dwelt in their cities; and when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities. stood in hearing. people stood up: (6) and Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed. 1 Heb., that under their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground. (7) Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. (8) So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. 2 Heb., from the CHAPTER VIII.-(1) And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; "and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel. (2) And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. (3) And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book 4 Heb., eyes. of the law. (4) And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, 3 Heb., tower of (9) And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. (10) Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, 5 Or, the governor. unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for VIII. Chap. vii. 73-chap. viii.12.-Ezra instructs the people in the law. Chap. vii. 73.-And when the seventh month came. Here a new subject begins, as in Ezra, whom Nehemiah copies: adopting a sentence, just as Ezra adopted the last words of the Chronicles, and with similar slight changes. (1) As one man. The unanimity rather than the number is emphatic here. And they spake unto Ezra.-Who appears in this book for the first time, having probably been at the court for twelve years. (2) Both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding.-Men, women, and children who had reached years of discretion. Upon the first day of the seventh month.-As the seventh was the most important month, in a religious sense, so the first day, the Feast of Trumpets, was the most important new moon (Lev. xxiii. 24). (3) From the morning.-From daylight. Book of the Law must have been a comprehensive one. Out of it Ezra and his companions read hour after hour, selecting appropriate passages. The And the ears of all the people . . . unto the book.-A general statement; the detail now follows. (4) Pulpit of wood.-Literally, a tower of wood. Fourteen persons, however, were on what is afterwards called a platform, or stair, by his side. (6) And Ezra blessed the Lord.-The book was formally and solemnly opened in the sight of the people. At this request the multitude arose, and, after a doxology offered by Ezra, they all uttered a double Amen, “with lifting up of their hands," in token of their most fervent assent; and then "with faces bowed to the ground," in token of adoration. The great God is Nehemiah's expression, not Ezra's; the sentence used is not reported. (8) Gave the sense. They expounded obscurer passages, and in doing so naturally translated into the vernacular Aramaic dialect. Caused them to understand the reading.This simply explains the former: they expounded as they read. (9) Mourn not, nor weep.-The days of high festival were unsuitable for public and, as it were, objective sorrow. The Day of Atonement was coming for that; as also the special day of fasting and covenant, which was already in the plan of Nehemiah and Ezra. (10) For the joy of the Lord is your strength. This beautiful sentence is, literally, delight in Jehovah Or, that they the words of the might instruct in law. The Fast and Confession. in the street of the gate of Ephraim. (17) And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the the joy of the LORD is your strength. (11) So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. (12) And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had un- 2 Heb, by the hand children of Israel done so. And there derstood the words that were declared unto them. of. 16. 13. : was very great gladness. (18) Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven a Lev. 23.34; Deut. days; and on the eighth day was 3 a solemn assembly, according unto the manner. CHAPTER IX. (1) Now in the - (13) And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law. (14) And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded 2by Moses, that the children of Israel 3 Heb.,a restraint. twenty and fourth day of 'this month should dwell in "booths in the feast of the seventh month: (15) and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written. (16) So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and 5 Or, scaffold. b ch. 8. 2. 4 Heb., strange is a strong refuge. It is capable of unlimited appli cation in preaching and devotion. (11) So the Levites.-As before, what Ezra said was repeated to the people in various directions by the Levites. But there was evidently an almost irrepressible emotion. (12) They had understood.-They had caught the meaning of the command to rejoice. (13-18) The Feast of Tabernacles. (13) The chief of the fathers.-Not the vast multitude now, as the great feast was not yet. Even to understand.-To consider, or give attention to that is, to learn the full meaning of the almost forgotten festival. The dwelling in booths had fallen into disuse. (15) Saying.-There is no such command in Leviticus; the Septuagint inserts, " And Ezra spake." But it is better to adopt Houbigant's slight emendation of the text, which thus runs: "And when they heard it, they proclaimed," &c. The command, then, is to go out to the Mount of Olives, and gather, not precisely the branches which the ancient law required, but such as circumstances allowed. (16) And in their courts.-Not only on the roofs, but in the internal courtyards. Of the house of God.-The ministers of the Temple made these; and strangers to Jerusalem made them in the streets or open spaces near the gates. (17) The children of the captivity.-The pathos of this designation is evident here. the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them. (2) And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all *strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. (3) And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God. (4) Then stood up upon the 5 stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Done so.-Though the feast had been kept (1 Kings viii.; Ezra iii.), it had never thus been kept with universal dwelling in booths. (18) According unto the manner.-For the Azeroth, or supplementary feast day, see Lev. xxiii. 36. IX. (1-38) The Fast, the Confession, and the Covenant. (1) In the twenty and fourth day.-After one day of rest, the people assembled with all the tokens of sorrow, even to dust on the head (1 Sam. iv. 12): the external signs and the internal spirit were one. (2) The seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers.-The change to "seed" has here a deep propriety. They carefully avoided the many aliens among them throughout this fast. And stood and confessed.-It must be remem bered that these verses give the programme of what is afterwards filled up the very praise for which they "stood" was filled with confession. (3) One fourth part.-Both day and night were divided into four parts. All orders standing in their respective place, the reading occupied the morning and the worship the afternoon. It is the latter which is now made prominent, as the former had been prominent in the preceding chapter. (4) Stairs, of the Levites. The scaffold of the Levites, without the comma: the steps of ascent to the pulpit of Ezra (chap. viii. 2). Ja Gen. 1. 1. b Gen. 11. 31; & 12. of God's Goodness. didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters. (12) Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God. (5) Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy d Gen. 12. 7;& 15 cloudy pillar; and in the night by a glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. c Gen. 15. 6. 18; & 17. 7, 8. e Ex. 3. 7 & 14. 10. Ex. 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, (6) Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; "thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou pre- Ex. 14. 22. servest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. d (7) Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose 'Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; (8) and foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous: (9) and didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea; (10) and fshewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day. (11) 9And thou h Ex. 15. 10. Ex. 19. 20 & 20. 1. Heb., lanes of truth. k Ex. 16. 15 & 17.6; ! Deut. 1. 8. pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. (13) j Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and 'true laws, good statutes and commandments: (14) and madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant: (15) and gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should 'go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them. (16) But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, (17) and refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed "a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gra3 Heb., a God of cious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. (18) Yea, "when they had made m Num. 14. 4. pardons. n Ex. 32. 4. (5) Hashabniah.-Not found elsewhere. No reason is given why this company is somewhat different from the former; the LXX. arbitrarily omit all names after Kadmiel. Similarly, they insert "and Ezra said' before verse 6. The psalm was perhaps composed by Ezra, but uttered by the Levites in the name of the congregation. Stand up and bless Blessed be.-Or, let them bless. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone.-The three phrases mark how the address to the people glides into direct adoration of God. (11) As a stone into the mighty waters.Compare the Song of Moses, and mark in the Hebrew both the identity and the variation. (13) Right judgements.-Five of the names given to the law of God in Ps. cxix. are singled out and applied to the Sinaitic legislation first, and then to the subsequent ordinances of Moses generally. But the emphasis here is on the adjectives "right," "true," "good," as belonging rather to the eternal principles of the Decalogue. (14) Madest known unto them thy holy sabbath.-Every word here, as well as the prominence given to this among the other "commandments," must be noted as illustrating the importance of this ordinance in the covenant of chapter x. and throughout the book. (15) Bread from heaven.-A change of phrase, which our Lord consecrated for ever (John vi.). (16) Dealt proudly.-Like the Egyptians themselves (verse 10). It is remarkable that the same word is used as in the Hebrew of Exod. xviii. 11 and Deut. i. 43. (17) In their rebellion-Rather, appointed a captain to return to their bondage in Egypt. This is the reading of some MSS., followed by the Septuagint, The wickedness NEHEMIAH, IX. of the People. them a molten calf, and said, This is a Ex. 13. 22: Num. great provocations. (27) Therefore thou 14. 14; 1 Cor. 10. 1. thy God that brought thee up out of (20) Thou gavest also thy 'good spirit c Ex. 16. 15 & 17.6; 1 Heb., according : deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. (28) But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times. didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies; (29) and testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law yet they dealt proudly, to instruct them, and withheldest note Num. 21. 21, &c. thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. (21) Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not. (22) Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so 3 Heb., tree of food. and hearkened not unto thy command 2 Or, cisterns. they possessed the land of Sihon, and ed to do evil. : ments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and 5withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not stars of heaven, and broughtest them Heb..they return hear. (30) Yet many years didst thou into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that ❝forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit 7in thy prophets: yet they should go in to possess it. (24) So 5 Heb., they gave Would they not give ear: therefore a withdrawing 6 Heb., protract g 2 Kings 17. 13; 2 7 Heb., in the hand gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands. (31) Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God. the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them 1as they would. (25) And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, "wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness. (26) Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thys Heb., weariness. of Assyria unto this day. (33) Howbeit law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought found us. 8 (32) Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all of thy prophets. the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings h Ex. 34. 6. 9 Heb., that hath and is in harmony with Num. xiv. 4, though there the appointment is only proposed. A God ready to pardon.-A God of pardons: only in Dan. ix. 9 and Ps. cxxx. 4. (20) Thy good spirit.-Probably a reference to Num. xi. 17, 25. The epithet given to the Spirit is in Ps. cxliii. 10. But His teaching function occurs here only, and is a remarkable anticipation of the New Testament. (22) Divide them into corners.-Strict usage of the term would require: Thou didst divide unto them [these nations] in their boundaries. And the land.-There is a double reference to thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly: (34) neither have Sihon, king of Heshbon. This and Bashan were taken as the earnest of the possession of Canaan. (27) Their enemies who vexed them.-The phraseology in this and the following verse shows that the Book of Judges is carefully remembered in the prayer. (32) Here begins the prayer proper. Kings of Assyria.-"The rod of God's anger" (Isa. x. 5). Pul, Tiglath-pileser, Shalmaneser, Sargon, Sennacherib, Esar-haddon, are traced in the sacred record as successive scourges. (34) Our kings-Note that the prophets are omitted in this enumeration. |
