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Nehemiah
Chapter Eight
New King James Version
(NKJV)
Nehemiah 8:1. Now all the people gathered together as one
man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they
told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded
Israel.
YLT And all the people are
gathered as one man unto the broad place that [is] before the water-gate, and
they say to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, that Jehovah
commanded Israel.
And all the
people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before
the watergate,....
A large and commodious
street for such a company of people, which led to the water gate, of which see Nehemiah 3:26
hither the people gathered with great unanimity, zeal, and affection:
and they spoke
unto Ezra the scribe;
the same who is called
Ezra the priest, and scribe of the law of God, and said to be a ready one, Ezra 7:6, who came
to Jerusalem thirteen years before this time; but very probably returned to
Babylon again, and was lately come from thence:
to bring the
book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel;
to observe what was
commanded in it, and which he had ordered to be read, particularly every
seventh year, at the feast of tabernacles, Deuteronomy 31:10
which was now drawing near, though this was not the precise time of reading it;
hence some have thought this year was the sabbatical year; see Nehemiah 5:11.
Nehemiah 8:2.
So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and
women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the
seventh month.
YLT And Ezra the priest
bringeth the law before the assembly, both of men and women, and every one
intelligent to hear, on the first day of the seventh month,
And Ezra the
priest brought the law before the congregation,....
Having a perfect copy of
it, which the people knew, and therefore desired him to bring it; he brought it
either out of his own case or chest, or out of the temple where it was laid up;
some restrain this to the book of Deuteronomy; this he produced in sight of the
whole assembly:
both of men and
women;
adult persons of each sex,
who met promiscuously; though Grotius thinks the women had a separate place:
and all that
could hear with understanding;
all under age, who yet
were capable of hearing the law read to some advantage to them:
upon the first
day of the seventh month;
the month Tisri, answering
to part of September and October; this was a high day, for not only the first
of every month was a festival, but the first of the seventh month was the feast
of blowing of trumpets, Leviticus 23:24,
and besides, this was New Year's day, the first day of their civil year, as the
first of Nisan was of their ecclesiastical year, and was of greater antiquity
than that; and so Jarchi says, this was the first day of the year; to which may
be added, that this was the day on which the altar was first set up, on the Jews'
return from captivity, Ezra 3:6.
Nehemiah 8:3.
Then he read from it in the open square that was in front
of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those
who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to
the Book of the Law.
YLT and he readeth in it
before the broad place that [is] before the water-gate, from the light till the
middle of the day, over-against the men, and the women, and those intelligent,
and the ears of all the people [are] unto the book of the law.
And he read
therein,....
Some passages in it, here
and there, which it was necessary the people should have knowledge of; for it
can hardly be thought be began and read on just in the order in which it was:
this he did
before the
street; at the top of it, at one end of it:
that was before
the water gate;
which looked directly to
that:
from the
morning until midday;
from the rising of the sun
to noon, so that he must read six hours; but very probably was relieved at
times by the men with him, after mentioned:
before the men
and the women, and those that could understand; see Nehemiah 8:2,
and the ears of
all the people were attentive unto the book of the law;
to the hearing of it read,
and to the things contained in it; hence MaimonidesF8Hilchot
Tephillah, c. 12. sect. 9. gathers, that as soon as the reader begins the
reading of the law, it is not lawful to speak about anything, not even the
constitutions of the law, but silently to attend to what is read.
Nehemiah 8:4.
So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made
for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithiah, Shema,
Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and at his left hand Pedaiah, Mishael,
Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
YLT And Ezra the scribe
standeth on a tower of wood that they made for the purpose, and Mattithiah
standeth near him, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and
Maaseiah, on his right; and on his left Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchijah,
and Hashum, and Hashbaddana, Zechariah, Meshullam.
And Ezra the
scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose,....
Or to speak out of, as the
Syriac and Arabic versions; this, in the Hebrew text, is called a
"tower"F9על מגדל
עץ "super turrem ligni", Montanus; so
Dionysius is said, "concionari ex turri alta", Ciceron. Tuscul.
Quaest. l. 5. , partly because of its height, and partly because in the form of
one; and also for its largeness, considering the use it was for; for it was so
large as to hold fourteen men, as appears by what follows: a pulpit of wood was
made for the king in the court, to read the law fromF11Schulchan
Aruch, par. 1. c. 141. sect. 7. ; though, according to Jacob Leo, it was a
throne like an high tower; see Gill on 2 Kings 11:14, the
pulpits, in the Jewish synagogues, made after the same manner, as Aben Ezra
observes, are called by the sameF12Misn. Sotah, c. 7. sect. 8. name:
and beside him
stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah; and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah,
on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah,
and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam;
in all thirteen; there
were six on his right, and seven on his left, who stood here, not merely in
honour to him, and as approvers and supporters of the truth of what he read,
but to relieve him when weary.
Nehemiah 8:5.
And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he
was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people
stood up.
YLT And Ezra openeth the
book before the eyes of all the people -- for above all the people he hath been
-- and at his opening [it] all the people have stood up,
And Ezra opened
the book in the sight of all the people (for he was above all the people),....
So plainly seen by them,
and what he did, and the more easily heard, for which purpose the pulpit was
made for him to stand in:
and, when he
opened it, all the people stood up;
that they might the better
hear the law read, as well as in honour and reverence of it; the Jews sayF13T.
Bab. Megillah, fol. 21. 1. , that from the times of Moses to Rabban Gamaliel,
they learned the law only standing; but after his death a disease came into the
world, and they learned it sitting; and now it is a canon with them, that it is
not necessary to stand at the reading of the lawF14Schulchan Aruch,
par. 1. Orach Chayim, c. 146. sect. 4. .
Nehemiah 8:6.
And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all
the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands. And they bowed
their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces
to the ground.
YLT and Ezra blesseth
Jehovah, the great God, and all the people answer, `Amen, Amen,' with lifting
up of their hands, and they bow and do obeisance to Jehovah -- faces to the
earth.
And Ezra
blessed the Lord, the great God,....
Before he began to read in
the book of the law, he addressed himself to God in a short prayer, wholly in
the benedictory way; ascribing blessing, honour, and glory to him, celebrating
his being and perfections, setting forth his greatness and his excellency, who
was the author and giver of the law he was about to read; and this he the
rather did, that what he read might be the more carefully attended to, and come
with the greater authority, weight, and influence on those that heard it; and
so, MaimonidesF15Hilchot Tephillah, c. 12. sect. 5. says, it is the
custom with the Jews, in their synagogues, for the reader, after he has opened
the book, and looked out the place he reads, to say this blessing,"Blessed
art thou, O Lord our God, King of the world, who hath chosen us out of all
people, and hath given us his law; blessed art thou, O Lord, who hast given us
the law; and all the people answer, Amen;'as they now did, as follows:
and all the
people answered, Amen, Amen:
repeating the word, to
declare their hearty assent to what Ezra had expressed; the Jews have many
rules concerning pronouncing the "Amen", that it must not be too
quick, curt, and short, nor with too high a voiceF16Schulchan Aruch,
ut supra, (par. 1.) c. 124. sect. 12. :
with lifting up
their hands;
a prayer gesture, to which
the apostle refers, 1 Timothy 2:8,
and they bowed
their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground;
expressing hereby the
awful sense they had of the Divine Being, and their profound adoration of him.
Nehemiah 8:7.
Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah,
Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, helped the
people to understand the Law; and the people stood in their place.
YLT And Jeshua, and Bani,
and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah,
Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, giving the people understanding in
the law, and the people, [are] on their station,
Also Jeshua, and
Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita,
Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites,....
That is, others of them
besides those named; for they seem all to be Levites, unless they can be
thought to be priests, and so the Levites are distinguished from them; but the
former seems evident from Nehemiah 9:4 these
also
caused the
people to understand the law;
as well as Ezra; from
whence it is plain that he did not only read the law, but gave the sense of it,
especially where there was any seeming difficulty, and these men were assisting
in the same work: and the people stood in their place; to hear the law read and
explained; they did not move from their first station, but continued in it from
morning to noon; they were both attentive and constant.
Nehemiah 8:8.
So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they
gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.
YLT and they read in the
book, in the law of God, explaining -- so as to give the meaning, and they give
understanding to the convocation.
So they read in
the book,....
Ezra and those with him;
he first began to read and expound, and when weary they relieved him, and did
the same:
in the law of
God distinctly;
which was the book they
read in, and which they read plainly and intelligibly, so as to be heard and
understood; this seems to respect the clear and distinct pronunciation of the
words of it, and not the explanation or meaning of it, which is after
expressed; some think the sense is, that they first read it in Hebrew, and then
translated it into Chaldee, that the people might better understand it, being
just come out of Babylon, where they had been used to the Chaldee language; but
though this was a practice in later times, it does not seem to have obtained so
early, or that there was a necessity of it:
and gave the
sense, and caused them to understand the reading;
not hereby how to read it,
but chiefly to understand what was read, that they might clearly know their
duty to God and men: the TalmudistsF17T. Bab. Nedarim, fol. 37. 2.
& Megillah, fol. 3. 1. & Hieros. Megillah, fol. 74. 4. give the meaning
of the text thus; "by the law of God" they understand the Scripture;
by the phrase "distinctly", the Targum or translation of it into
Chaldee; by "the sense", the verses or the accents; and by "the
reading", the distinction of the accents: some think from hence came the
practice of reading the law in the synagogues every sabbath day, Acts 13:15.
Nehemiah 8:9.
And Nehemiah, who was the governor,[a] Ezra the
priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the
people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn
nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.
YLT And Nehemiah -- he [is]
the Tirshatha -- saith (and Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Levites who
are instructing the people) to all the people, `To-day is holy to Jehovah your
God, do not mourn, nor weep:' for all the people are weeping at their hearing
the words of the law.
And Nehemiah
which is the Tirshatha,....
Or governor, as Zerubbabel
had been, and now Nehemiah, see Ezra 2:63
and Ezra the
priest and scribe;
see Nehemiah 8:1,
and the Levites
that taught the people;
see Nehemiah 8:7
said unto all
the people, this day is holy unto the Lord your God;
being both the new moon
and the feast of blowing of trumpets:
mourn not, nor
weep;
which was unsuitable to a
festival, and especially such an one as this, in which trumpets were to be
blown, and gladness to be shown, Numbers 10:10
for all the
people wept when they heard the words of the law;
perceiving they had not
kept it, but had broke it in many instances, and so liable to the wrath and
judgment of God in case of disobedience.
Nehemiah 8:10.
Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet,
and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is
holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your
strength.”
YLT And he saith to them,
`Go, eat fat things, and drink sweet things, and sent portions to him for whom
nothing is prepared, for to-day [is] holy to our Lord, and be not grieved, for
the joy of Jehovah is your strength.'
Then he said
unto them,....
Nehemiah the Tirshatha or
governor:
go your way;
to their own houses, and
refresh themselves; it being noon, and they had stood many hours attentive to
the reading and expounding of the law:
eat the fat,
and drink the sweet:
not a common meal, but a
feast, consisting of the richest provisions, the best of food and liquors
and send
portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared;
for the poor, who had no
food at home provided for them; the widow, fatherless, and stranger, who at
festivals were to partake of the entertainment, Deuteronomy 16:11
for this day is
holy unto our Lord: neither be you sorry;
confirming what the
Levites had said and exhorted to, Nehemiah 8:9
for the joy of
the Lord is your strength;
to rejoice, as the Lord
commanded them on such days as these, was a means both of increasing their
bodily strength and their inward strength, and of fitting them the more to
perform their duty to God and men with cheerfulness, which sorrow and heaviness
made unfit for; and the joy which has the Lord for its object, and comes from
him, is the cause of renewing spiritual strength, so as to run and not be
weary, walk and not faint, in the ways of God.
Nehemiah 8:11. So the Levites quieted all the people,
saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.”
YLT And the Levites are
keeping all the people silent, saying, `Be silent, for to-day [is] holy, and be
not grieved.'
So the Levites
stilled all the people,....
Made them quiet and easy,
being backed by the governor:
saying, hold
your peace;
refrain from weeping and
mourning:
for the day is
holy;
a festival, set apart for
joy and gladness:
neither be ye
grieved;
inwardly; as they were not
to show any signs of sorrow outwardly, so they were not to cherish grief
inwardly.
Nehemiah 8:12.
And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send
portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were
declared to them.
YLT And all the people go to
eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great joy, because they
have understood concerning the words that they made known to them.
And all the
people went their way to eat and to drink,....
Freely and cheerfully:
and to send
portions;
to the poor, who had
nothing to eat and drink:
and to make
great mirth;
with music, vocal and
instrumental:
because they
had understood the words that were declared unto them;
the meaning of the several
laws read and explained unto them, whereby they better understood their duty,
and in what instances and in what manner it was to be performed; how much more
reason is there for joy and gladness, when the Gospel, and the doctrines of it,
are clearly known and understood? Psalm 89:15.
Nehemiah 8:13.
Now on the second day the heads of the fathers’ houses of
all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe,
in order to understand the words of the Law.
YLT And on the second day
have been gathered heads of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the
Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to act wisely concerning the words of the
law.
And on the
second day were gathered together,....
The second day of the
month, and of the new year, the day after the feast of blowing of trumpets, and
after the law had been read and explained:
the chief of
the fathers of all the people:
heads of tribes and
families: the priests and the Levites; who, though they were instructors of
others, needed to be taught themselves, of which they were sensible: and
therefore came
unto Ezra the
scribe, even to understand the words of the law;
some things in it, which,
upon reading the day before, they observed had some difficulty in them, and
which they did not clearly and thoroughly understand; and therefore applied to
Ezra, a ready scribe in the law, for better information, and that they might be
better able to teach the people; which was highly commendable in them.
Nehemiah 8:14.
And they found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded
by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast
of the seventh month,
YLT And they find written in
the law that Jehovah commanded by the hand of Moses, that the sons of Israel
dwell in booths in the feast, in the seventh month,
And they found
written in the law which the Lord had commanded by Moses,....
The children of Israel, to
be observed by them; either by hearing it read the day before, or by
conversation with Ezra, they perceived it was enjoined in the law, particularly
in Leviticus 23:39
that the
children of Israel should dwell in booths, in the feast of the seventh month:
which was the same month,
and this the second day of it, and therefore the time drew near for keeping it;
for it was to begin the fifteenth.
Nehemiah 8:15.
and that they should announce and proclaim in all their cities and
in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the mountain, and bring olive branches,
branches of oil trees, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of leafy
trees, to make booths, as it is written.”
YLT and that they proclaim
and cause to pass over all their cities, (and in Jerusalem,) saying, `Go ye out
to the mount, and bring leaves of the olive, and leaves of the oil tree, and
leaves of the myrtle, and leaves of the palms, and leaves of thick trees, to
make booths as it is written.'
And that they
should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem,....
That is, as Jarchi
interprets it, by supplying it thus:
and they
commanded that they should publish, &c.
Ezra and those with him
gave orders that heralds should proclaim in all cities where the Jews dwelt
that the feast of tabernacles would be kept, and they should prepare for it;
and which seems to be the true sense, since it is not written in the law that
such a proclamation should be made; but this was an order of their own, thereby
to give notice of it, that all might be provided:
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;
in Leviticus 23:40,
where the first three of these seem to be called boughs of goodly trees; though
the JewsF18T. Bab. Succah, fol. 35. 1. commonly understand them of
pomecitrons, of which the Syriac version here interprets the myrtle branches;
and by them are meant the citron branches, with the leaves and fruit, and which
the Jews make absolutely necessary to the keeping of the feast, and for
beautiful ones will give a large price; some of them go every year to Spain,
and buy as many as they can, and dispose of them wherever Jews liveF19Buxtorf.
Synagog. Jud. c. 21. p. 454. : and those branches were to be fetched, not
properly speaking to make the booths of, which were made of boards and planks,
but for the decoration of them; and it was not necessary, according to Aben
Ezra, that some of each of these should be gathered for that purpose, but of
any sort of them; for he interprets the words disjunctively olive branches, or
pine branches, or myrtle branches, &c. these, according to the common
notion of the Jews, were tied up in little bundles, and carried in the hand,
which they call "lulabs"; and they observeF20Succah, fol.
12. 1. , the thick branches were for them, which included the rest; now these
they were to fetch from the mount of Olives, and other mountains about
Jerusalem; near to which also there was a place called MotzaF21Misn.
Saccah, c. 4. sect. 5. ; whither they went, and gathered the willows of the
brook mentioned in Leviticus 23:39.
Nehemiah 8:16.
Then the people went out and brought them and made themselves
booths, each one on the roof of his house, or in their courtyards or the courts
of the house of God, and in the open square of the Water Gate and in the open
square of the Gate of Ephraim.
YLT And the people go out,
and bring in, and make for themselves booths, each on his roof, and in their
courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the broad place of the
water-gate, and in the broad place of the gate of Ephraim.
So the people
went forth, and brought them,....
Went out of Jerusalem to
the mountains adjacent, and fetched in branches of the said trees, one or
another:
and made
themselves booths, everyone upon the roof of his house;
which were flat, Deuteronomy 22:8,
and they might be made anywhere, so be it they were open to the air:
and in their
courts, and in the courts of the house of God;
the common people in the
courtyards belonging to their houses, and the priests and Levites in the courts
of the temple, the yards or open places adjoining to them:
and in the
street of the watergate;
which led to that, and
seems to have been a very large street, in which many booths might be built, Nehemiah 3:26
and in the
street of the gate of Ephraim;
which led to the gate
through which the road lay to the tribe of Ephraim, see 2 Kings 14:13, none
were erected without the walls of the city, for fear of the enemy.
Nehemiah 8:17.
So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity
made booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of
Nun until that day the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very
great gladness.
YLT And they make -- all the
assembly of the captives of the captivity -- booths, and they sit in booths;
for the sons of Israel had not done, from the days of Jeshua son of Nun, so
unto that day, and there is very great joy.
And all the
congregation of them that were come again out of captivity made booths,....
These came to Jerusalem,
and made them booths there; for there only was this feast kept, see John 7:2,
and sat under
the booths;
there they dwelt during the
seven days of it, in commemoration of their ancestors dwelling in booths in the
wilderness, see Leviticus 23:42
for since the
days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done
so;
Joshua observed it, when
be had brought and settled the people of Israel in the land of Canaan; and it
had been observed since, before this time, as appears from 1 Kings 8:2 Ezra 3:4; but not
so, with such exactness, with such zeal and affection, with such a regard to
the law of God, as to read it every day of the feast, as in the next verse, and
with such joy and gladness; wherefore there is no reason to suspect a
corruption in the text, as a learned manF23Delancy's Life of King
David, vol. 1. p. 395. marg. does, who supposes that Joshua is put for Josiah:
and there was
very great gladness;
that they were restored
unto and settled in their land, had the book of the law, and the knowledge of
it, and were directed and enabled to observe it.
Nehemiah 8:18.
Also day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read
from the Book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the
eighth day there was a sacred assembly, according to the prescribed
manner.
YLT And he readeth in the
book of the law of God day by day, from the first day till the last day, and
they make a feast seven days, and on the eighth day a restraint, according to
the ordinance.
Also day by
day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of
God,....
That is, Ezra; this was
done by him every day during the feast, whereas only the first and last days
were the holy convocations on which it seems to have been read:
and they kept
the feast seven days, and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according to
the manner;
prescribed in Leviticus 23:39.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New
King James Version (NKJV)
a.
Nehemiah 8:9
Hebrew Tirshatha