Nehemiah 9
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“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” — John 5:39
1Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.
CHAPTER 9
Ne 9:1-3. A Solemn Fast and Repentance of the People.
1. Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month--that is, on the second day after the close of the feast of tabernacles, which commenced on the fourteenth and terminated on the twenty-second (Le 23:34-37). The day immediately after that feast, the twenty-third, had been occupied in separating the delinquents from their unlawful wives, as well, perhaps, as in taking steps for keeping aloof in future from unnecessary intercourse with the heathen around them. For although this necessary measure of reformation had been begun formerly by Ezra (Ezr 10:1-17), and satisfactorily accomplished at that time (in so far as he had information of the existing abuses, or possessed the power of correcting them) yet it appears that this reformatory work of Ezra had been only partial and imperfect. Many cases of delinquency had escaped, or new defaulters had appeared who had contracted those forbidden alliances; and there was an urgent necessity for Nehemiah again to take vigorous measures for the removal of a social evil which threatened the most disastrous consequences to the character and prosperity of the chosen people. A solemn fast was now observed for the expression of those penitential and sorrowful feelings which the reading of the law had produced, but which had been suppressed during the celebration of the feast; and the sincerity of their repentance was evinced by the decisive steps taken for the correction of existing abuses in the matter of marriage.
With sackclothes, and earth upon them. On the use of sackcloth in mourning see Gen_37:34; 2Sa_3:31; 2Sa_21:10; 1Ki_21:27, etc. Putting earth or dust on the head was less common; but mention of it is made in 1Sa_4:12; 2Sa_1:2; and Job_2:12.
2And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.
2. confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers--Not only did they read in their recent sufferings a punishment of the national apostasy and guilt, but they had made themselves partakers of their fathers' sins by following the same evil ways.
The seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers. Compare Neh_10:28, by which it appears that the "strangers" are "the people of the lands," or neighbouring heathen, of whom there were at all times considerable numbers in Jerusalem (comp. Neh_13:16). It was not fitting that these aliens should take part in a ceremony of which the main object was that the special people of God should renew their covenant with him. Stood and confessed. Attitude is perhaps scarcely intended here, since the Jews confessed their sins kneeling (Ezr_9:5), or prostrate (Ezr_10:1). Hence we hear in the next verse that they "stood up," or "rose up" (consurrexerunt, Vulg.).
3And 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.
3. they ... read in the book of the law--Their extraordinary zeal led them to continue this as before.
one fourth part of the day--that is, for three hours, twelve hours being the acknowledged length of the Jewish day (Joh 11:9). This solemn diet of worship, which probably commenced at the morning sacrifice, was continued for six hours, that is, till the time of the evening sacrifice. The worship which they gave to the Lord their God, at this season of solemn national humiliation, consisted in acknowledging and adoring His great mercy in the forgiveness of their great and multiplied offenses, in delivering them from the merited judgments which they had already experienced or which they had reason to apprehend, in continuing amongst them the light and blessings of His word and worship, and in supplicating the extension of His grace and protection.
In their place. See above, Neh_8:7. The people and the ministers had their appointed "places"in every gathering of a religious character. The former now "stood up" in their proper place, and read, i.e. "engaged in the reading of the law, not, however, as actual readers, but as listeners. The readers would be the Levites (see Neh_8:7, Neh_8:8). One fourth part of the day. The day and the night were alike divided by the Jews into four parts, each of three hours duration. The nocturnal divisions are frequently alluded to in the New Testament (Mar_13:35; Joh_18:28, etc.). Worshipped. Literally, "bowed themselves down," or "prostrated themselves."
4Then stood up upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God.
Ne 9:4-38. The Levites Confess God's Manifold Goodness, and Their Own Wickedness.
4. Then stood up upon the stairs--the scaffolds or pulpits, whence the Levites usually addressed the people. There were probably several placed at convenient distances, to prevent confusion and the voice of one drowning those of the others.
cried with a loud voice unto the Lord--Such an exertion, of course, was indispensably necessary, in order that the speakers might be heard by the vast multitude congregated in the open air. But these speakers were then engaged in expressing their deep sense of sin, as well as fervently imploring the forgiving mercy of God; and "crying with a loud voice" was a natural accompaniment of this extraordinary prayer meeting, as violent gestures and vehement tones are always the way in which the Jews, and other people in the East, have been accustomed to give utterance to deep and earnest feelings.
Upon the stairs, of the Levites. Rather, "upon the platform of the Levites," the same probably as the "pulpit of Neh_8:4. Bani. Rather, "Binnui" (see Neh_10:9; Neh_12:8),the representative of the "sons of Henadad. Jeshua, Binnui, and Kadmiel are the three principal families of the Levites (comp. Ezr_2:40; Ezr_3:9; Neh_3:24; Neh_8:7, etc.). Sherebiah was the head of a family which returned with Ezra (Ezr_8:18). Chenani is probably the "Hanan" of Neh_8:7, and Neh_10:10.
5Then 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 glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.
5. Then the Levites ... said, Stand up and bless the Lord your God--If this prayer was uttered by all these Levites in common, it must have been prepared and adopted beforehand, perhaps, by Ezra; but it may only embody the substance of the confession and thanksgiving.
Stand up. The people had prostrated themselves (see the comment on Neh_9:3) for confession and prayer; they are now bidden to "stand up" for praise. Compare the practice of the Christian Church. Blessed be. Literally, "let them bless." The Levites turn their address, after its opening clause, from the people to Jehovah himself, who henceforth becomes the subject of it. Thy glorious name. The high honour due to the "name" of God is taught by the sacred writers with one uniform voice from Moses (Exo_20:7)to the last 'surviving apostle (Rev_15:4). The "glorious name" of God is an expression which occurs four times in our version of the Old Testament; but the exact phrase here used is found only in Psa_72:19.
6Thou, 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 preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate His mercies and distinguished favors to them as a nation, from the period of the call of their great ancestor and the gracious promise intimated to him in the divinely bestowed name of Abraham, a promise which implied that he was to be the Father of the faithful, the ancestor of the Messiah, and the honored individual in whose seed all the families of the earth should be blessed. Tracing in full and minute detail the signal instances of divine interposition for their deliverance and their interest--in their deliverance from Egyptian bondage--their miraculous passage through the Red Sea--the promulgation of His law--the forbearance and long-suffering shown them amid their frequent rebellions--the signal triumphs given them over their enemies--their happy settlement in the promised land--and all the extraordinary blessings, both in the form of temporal prosperity and of religious privilege, with which His paternal goodness had favored them above all other people, they charge themselves with making a miserable requital. They confess their numerous and determined acts of disobedience. They read, in the loss of their national independence and their long captivity, the severe punishment of their sins. They acknowledge that, in all heavy and continued judgments upon their nation, God had done right, but they had done wickedly. And in throwing themselves on His mercy, they express their purpose of entering into a national covenant, by which they pledge themselves to dutiful obedience in future.
Thou art Lord alone. Compare Psa_86:10 and Isa_27:1-13 :16. In the latter passage the phrase used is almost identical. The heaven of heavens. Compare Deu_10:14; 1Ki_8:27; Psa_148:4. The expression has been explained as—
1. The very highest heaven;
2. The heavens in all their infinity,
The latter sense best suits the various passages where the phrase occurs. With all their host. The "host of heaven" has been taken to mean—
1. The angels;
2. The stars.
By the immediate context the stars would seem to be here intended; but the last clause of the verse is more properly applicable to the angels. Still, it must be remembered that, according to H.S. (Psa_148:3), even the stars "praise" God. Thou preservest them all. The preservation of all created things by him who called them into being is scarcely taught in the Old Testament elsewhere than in this passage. The Psalmist says in one place, "Thou preservest man and beast" (Psa_36:6); but this acknowledgment falls very far short of the universality of the present passage. Man naturally, but foolishly, fancies that things once created are able to preserve themselves. Exact thought sees, that if all things have been produced from nothing, it requires precisely the same power to sustain as originally to produce them. Hence "preservation" has been called "a continual creation."
7Thou 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;
8And 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:
Compare with this long historical resumé the still longer ones in Psa_78:5-72 and Act_7:2-47. God's dealings with his people furnished a moral lesson of extraordinary force, and moral teachers, naturally, made frequent reference to them. But it is not often that we have so complete and elaborate a recapitulation as the present, which, beginning with the call of Abraham, brings the history down to the time of the Persian servitude. God's goodness and his people's ingratitude form the burthen of the whole.
Canaanites, etc. The nations driven out were actually seven (Deu_7:1), but it is a common figure of speech to put the part for the whole. In the present enumeration the Hivites are omitted. Hast performed thy words. Though for a time remnants of the accursed nations were left in the land, "to prove Israel" (Jdg_3:1), yet ultimately all were either driven out or reduced to the condition of slaves (see the comment on Ezr_2:55).
9And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea;
10And shewedst 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.
They dealt proudly. The "proud dealing" of the Egyptians is spoken of in Exo_18:11. That God "got himself a name" by the signs and wonders shown in Egypt is often declared (see Exo_9:16; Exo_14:17; Exo_15:14-16, etc.).
11And thou 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.
As a stone. This phrase is taken from the "song of Moses" (Exo_15:5). The composer of the address has also in his mind Exo_15:10. The epithet given to the "waters" is not, however, the same, as might appear from the A.V.
12Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.
13Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:
Right judgments, true laws, good statutes, etc; are expressions which imply an immutable morality, a standard of right and wrong antecedent to command or precept, which standard is doubtless the eternal goodness of God himself. The repetition of the epithets here shows the composer of the form to be penetrated with the spirit of admiration for God's commandments which breathes so remarkably through the whole of Psa_119:1-176.
14And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:
Madest known unto them thy holy sabbath. The anterior existence of the sabbath to the law is here implied, which accords with Gen_2:2, Gen_2:3, and Exo_20:11. Precepts, statutes, and laws. Rather a periphrasis for "the law" generally, than a logical division of the Law into distinct parts.
15And 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.
Bread from heaven. The manna had been already called the "bread of heaven" (Psa_105:40) and the "corn of heaven" (Psa_78:24) by the national psalmists. The composer of this prayer now for the first time calls it "bread from heaven"—a phrase consecrated to Christians by its employment in Joh_6:1-71. (Joh_6:32, Joh_6:51, Joh_6:58).
16But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,
They and our fathers. Rather, "they, our fathers." The vau is used exegetically. Dealt proudly. i.e. "acted insolently." Compare Deu_1:43, where the same verb is translated "were presumptuous'' (marg.). Hardened their necks. So in 2Ki_17:14.
17And 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, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.
In their rebellion. Several MSS. have b'Mitzraim for b'Miryam, which would give the sense "appointed a captain to return to their bondage in Egypt." So the Septuagint. Appointed a captain. The reference is to Num_14:4, where we are told that the Israelites "said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt." The Levites speak as if the appointment had been made, perhaps regarding the intention as morally equivalent to the act. A God ready to pardon. Literally, "a God of pardons." The word used is a rare one, occurring only in Dan_9:9 and Psa_130:4, besides the present passage. Gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness. This is quoted from Joe_2:13, which is perhaps a conscious reproduction of Jon_4:2.
18Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;
Great provocations. Or "great blasphemies," as the same word is rendered in Eze_35:12.
19Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.
20Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.
Thou gavest them also thy good Spirit to instruct them. The "good Spirit" of God is mentioned in Psa_143:10; and the fact of God's "instructing and teaching" men in Psa_32:8. But instruction by God's Spirit is nowhere else distinctly mentioned in the Old Testament.
21Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.
22Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.
Thou didst divide them into corners. i.e. "didst plant them in every corner of the Holy Land,"—"gave them to possess the whole of it,"—ultimately, that is, not at first (see the comment on Neh_9:8). The land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon. The Levites must have known that Sihon was king of Heshbon, and (if the text is sound) must have expressed themselves as they did, by way of rhetorical amplification; perhaps, however, the vav after "Sihon" is the mistake of a copyist.
23Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.
As the stars of heaven. There is a reference here to the promise made to Abraham (Gen_15:5; Gen_22:17). On the great multiplication which took place in Egypt see Exo_1:7, Exo_1:12.
24So 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 as they would.
The Canaanites. Sometimes, as in Neh_9:8, the Canaanites are spoken of as one of the nations cast out; sometimes the word is used in a larger sense, and includes the other six nations. Here we have the wide sense.
25And 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.
They took strong cities. As Jericho, Ai, Libnah, Lachish, Hazer, Hebron, etc. A fat land. Compare Num_14:7, Num_14:8; Deu_8:7-9; 2Ki_18:32. Houses full of all goods. See Deu_6:11. Fruit trees in abundance. The fruit trees of Palestine are, besides the vine and the olive, the fig tree, the carob or locust tree (ceratonia siliqua), the quince, the apple, the almond, the walnut, the peach, the apricot, the mulberry, the sycamore fig, the prickly pear, the pomegranate, and the orange. Date-palms also were anciently abundant in the valley of the Jordan. They … became fat, Compare Deu_32:15 and Jer_5:28, the only other places where the expression here used occurs. The comparison will show that dispraise is intended—"they grew wanton and self-indulgent." Delighted themselves. Rather, "luxuriated" (ἐτρύφησαν, LXX.).
26Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.
They … slew thy prophets. Compare Mat_23:37; Luk_11:47. Jewish tradition states that Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel were murdered. Many prophets were slain by Jezebel, with Ahab's sanction (1Ki_18:4). Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, was put to death by Joash (2Ch_24:22).
27Therefore thou 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.
Thou gavest them saviours. e.g. Othniel and Ehud (who are called "saviours," Jdg_3:9, Jdg_3:15), Shamgar, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson, Saul, David, etc. The writer seems to have the history of "Judges" especially in his mind (see the next verse).
28But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the land 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;
After they had rest. See Jdg_3:11, Jdg_3:30; Jdg_5:31; Jdg_8:28.
29And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.
Withdrew the shoulder. Compare Hos_4:16 ("Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer") and Zec_7:11. The metaphor is taken from the action of a beast of burthen which, when required to draw, shrinks from the yoke and starts back.
30Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.
Many years didst thou forbear them. The ten tribes for 260 years from the revolt of Jeroboam, the remaining two tribes for 135 years longer. Testifiedst against them by thy Spirit in thy prophets. Compare 2Ki_17:13, where the phrase used is nearly the same, and see also 2Ch_36:15, 2Ch_36:16. There was a continual succession of prophets from the time of Solomon to, and through, the captivity. Besides those whose writings have come down to us, we find mention of Ahijah the Shilonite, Iddo the seer, Shemaiah the prophet, Hanani, Jehu the son of Hanani, Elijah, Elisha, Micaiah the son of Imlah, Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, Huldah, and (perhaps) Hosai. The guilt of the Jewish people was enormously increased by the fact that they would not give ear to the exhortations constantly addressed to them by the messengers of God. Therefore they were delivered into the hands of the heathen, or people of the lands.
31Nevertheless for thy great mercies’ sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.
32Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all 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 of Assyria unto this day.
Our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible. Compare Neh_1:5, with the comment. Who keepest covenant and mercy. This phrase, which occurs also in Neh_1:5, has apparently been derived from the Psalmist's words—"My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him" (Psa_89:28). All the trouble. Literally, "the weariness;" but the word is clearly used here for "suffering'' generally. Since the time of the kings of Assyria. The kings of Assyria, in the strictest sense of the word, had been God's original instrument for punishing his rebellious people. A king not mentioned in Holy Scripture tells us that he defeated Ahab, and forced Jehu to pay him tribute. Another (Pul) took tribute from Menahem (2Ki_15:19, 2Ki_15:20). A third (Tiglath. Pfieser) carried two tribes and a half into captivity (ibid. verse 29; 1Ch_5:26). A fourth (Shalmaneser) laid siege to Samaria (2Ki_17:5), and a fifth (Sargon) took it. A sixth (Sennacherib) took all the fenced cities of Judah from Hezekiah, and forced him to buy the safety of Jerusalem (2Ki_18:13-16). A seventh (Esar-haddon) had Manasseh brought as a prisoner to Babylon (2Ch_33:11). Hence Isaiah calls the Assyrian monarch "the rod of God's anger" (Isa_10:5).
33Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:
34Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them.
Thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them. i.e. the testimony borne by the prophets (see Neh_9:30).
35For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.
They have not served thee in their kingdom. There is no need of altering the reading here. "In their kingdom" means, "while they had a kingdom of their own, and were not subjects, as now, to a foreign power." Thy great goodness. See above, Neh_9:25. The large and fat land. Compare Exo_3:8. Although the limits of Palestine are narrow, yet the land which God flare to his people, extending as it did from the Euphrates to the river of Egypt (Gen_15:18), might well he termed a "large" or "broad" land.
36Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it:
We are servants this day. i.e. we have now no kingdom, we are slaves—the Persian is our master. As we would not be God's servants, we are handed over to him.
37And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.
It yieldeth much increase unto the kings. "The Persian monarchs derive a large revenue from our territory." The amount paid by Judaea is not known; but Syria, in which Judaea was included, paid annually in money 350 talents of silver (Herod. 3:91), or about £90,000. There was also a further contribution in kind. They have dominion over our bodies. They can impress us either as soldiers or sailors, and make us fight their battles for them. Jews probably took part in the expedition of Xerxes against Greece. And over our cattle. They can impress our cattle for their baggage-train.
38And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.
Because of all this. Because of our past sins and their punishment—to prevent a recurrence of similar conduct and similar afflictions. We … seal unto it. In the East it is always the seal that authenticates a document. Babylonian documents were often stamped with half a dozen seals or more. These were impressed upon the moist clay, and then the clay was baked. Sometimes each party to the contract stamped his seal upon a separate piece of sealing clay, which he then attached to the document by means of a string. Any number of seals could be attached in this way.
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