Part II. RELIGIOUS REFORM Ch. Nehemiah 7:73; Nehemiah 7:73; Nehemiah 8:12. The Public Reading of the Law. 13 18. The Celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. Ch. 9. The National Confession, preliminary to the Covenant. Ch. Nehemiah 10:1-29. The Sealing of the Covenant. 30 39. Certain Oblig... [ Continue Reading ]
Nehemiah 10:1-29. The List of -those that sealed": Nehemiah 10:30-39 Special Obligations of the Covenant 1. _those that sealed_ Literally -at the sealings," the plur. of the word used in Nehemiah 9:38. As in Jeremiah 32:14, the singular and plural are used apparently of the same documents. Some co... [ Continue Reading ]
Priests: 9 13, Levites: 14 28, Chiefs of the people The 21 names here given are those of the priestly houses. The list of Nehemiah 12:1-3 agrees with it in 16 names. The number 21 is peculiar; in chap. 12 the number is larger by one. In Ezra 2; Nehemiah 7, only four priestly houses are recorded, vi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Obadiah_ It has been suggested that Iddo's name has accidentally dropped out after Obadiah's. (Cf. Nehemiah 12:4; Nehemiah 12:16.) If this were the case, the number of houses mentioned in this passage would agree with that in chap. 12.... [ Continue Reading ]
_these_were _the priests_ The names of Seraiah, Jeremiah, Amariah are found in both lists (_a_) Nehemiah 12:1-7 and (_b_) Nehemiah 12:12-22. Shebaniah is found in (_b_) Nehemiah 12:14 but appears as Shechaniah in (_a_) Nehemiah 12:3. Malluch is found in (_a_) Nehemiah 12:2, but appears as Malluchi ... [ Continue Reading ]
The Levites 9. _both Jeshua_ R.V. NAMELY, JESHUA. The -copula" is used definitively as in Nehemiah 9:16-22. But some of the best MSS. omit it altogether.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hodijah_ R.V. HODIAH and in Nehemiah 10:13.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Micha_ R.V. MICA. There are 17 names of -Levites" or -Levitical houses": of these 17, we find four, i.e. Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel and Sherebiah, mentioned in Nehemiah 12:8 among -those that went up with Zerubbabel"; and seven (i.e. Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Kelita, Hanan and Pelaiah) in Nehe... [ Continue Reading ]
_The chief of the people_ R.V. THE CHIEFS OF THE PEOPLE. A comparison with Ezra 2; Nehemiah 7. puts it beyond doubt that here again we have to do with the names of houses, not of individuals. _Zatthu_ R.V. ZATTU.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hizkijah_ R.V. HEZEKIAH.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hodijah_ R.V. HODIAH.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Nebai_ R.V. NOBAI. Marg. -Another reading is _Nebai_".... [ Continue Reading ]
_Meshezabeel_ R.V. MESHEZABEL.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hashub_ R.V. HASSHUB.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Pileha_ R.V. PILHA.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ahijah_ R.V. AHIAH. We have here 44 names: or, if Bunni (Nehemiah 10:15) be the accidental repetition of Bani, and if -Ater, Hezekiah" stand for -Ater, of Hezekiah" (Ezra 2:16; Ezra 7:21), no more than 42. This figure is considerably in excess of the number of names under the same head in Ezra 2;... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the rest of the people_ This may be understood in two different ways: (_a_) according to some it denotes the mass of the laity, as distinguished from their princes and elders, like -the people" (Nehemiah 10:35), -the residue of Israel" (Nehemiah 11:20), and -Israel" (1 Chronicles 9:2); (_b_) ac... [ Continue Reading ]
Prohibition of Intermarriage with the Heathen _we_ Observe the first person plural here introduced and maintained to Nehemiah 10:39 throughout the rest of the Covenant details. _people_ R.V. PEOPLES. This prohibition of intermarriage with the people of the land had been strenuously upheld by Ezra... [ Continue Reading ]
Prohibition of Traffic on the Sabbath; and Observance of Sabbatic Year _people_ R.V. PEOPLES. -The peoples of the land (_"ammey haârec̣_) are the heathen dwellers in the land. The title -the people of the land" ("am haârec̣) w as used in later days of the unlearned multitude -which knoweth not the... [ Continue Reading ]
A poll-tax of ⅓ of a shekel imposed for the maintenance of the service of the Temple 32. _we made ordinances for us_ The verse shows that Ezra and his colleagues, although establishing the authority of the written law, were ready to expand or modify it according to the requirements of the time a si... [ Continue Reading ]
This verse gives in detail -the service of the house of God." (Nehemiah 10:31). _the shewbread_ See Exodus 25:23-30; Exodus 37:10-16; Leviticus 24:5-9. The shewbread consisted of 12 unleavened cakes of fine meal, which were laid fresh every Sabbath in two rows of six upon the table in the Holy Place... [ Continue Reading ]
_And we cast the lots_ R.V. AND WE CAST LOTS. The use of the article in the Heb. does not here call attention to the use of any peculiarly sacred -lots," but generally to the means employed for ascertaining the Divine will. For decision by the casting of lots, cf. the choosing of the goat on the day... [ Continue Reading ]
First-fruits and tithe 35. _the firstfruits of our ground_ Cf. Exodus 23:19; Exodus 34:26. -The first of the firstfruits of the ground thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God;" so also in greater detail Deuteronomy 26:2-10. Cf. Proverbs 3:9; Ezekiel 44:30. _of all trees_ R.V. OF ALL MAN... [ Continue Reading ]
_the firstborn of our sons_ The firstborn of the children of Israel -from a month old" were redeemed -for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary." Numbers 18:16; cf. Exodus 13:13; Exodus 34:20. _of our cattle, as it is written in the law_ The firstlings of oxen, sheep and goats... [ Continue Reading ]
_and_that _we should bring_ The change of construction (cf. the infinitive -to bring" in Nehemiah 10:35) somewhat favours the suggestion that this and the next two verses are a later insertion, introduced for the purpose of recording in detail the Jewish practice of paying firstfruits and tithes. _... [ Continue Reading ]
_the priest the son of Aaron_ This is not the high-priest; but in every -city of their tillage" one of priestly descent was to superintend the paying in of the tithe which had been collected by the Levites, so that the interests of the priesthood should not suffer. _the tithe of the tithes_ This was... [ Continue Reading ]
_For_ Explaining the mention of -the chambers" as the receptacles of all these offerings. _the children of Israel_ i.e. the laity as distinguished from the priests and the Levites. _the offering_ R.V. HEAVE OFFERING. This -heave offering" includes both -the firstfruits" of the children of Israel ... [ Continue Reading ]