Worthy.Bible » STRONG » Nehemiah » Chapter 9 » Verse 1-38

Nehemiah 9:1-38 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

1 Now in the twenty H6242 and fourth H702 day H3117 of this month H2320 the children H1121 of Israel H3478 were assembled H622 with fasting, H6685 and with sackclothes, H8242 and earth H127 upon them.

2 And the seed H2233 of Israel H3478 separated H914 themselves from all strangers, H1121 H5236 and stood H5975 and confessed H3034 their sins, H2403 and the iniquities H5771 of their fathers. H1

3 And they stood up H6965 in their place, H5977 and read H7121 in the book H5612 of the law H8451 of the LORD H3068 their God H430 one fourth part H7243 of the day; H3117 and another fourth part H7243 they confessed, H3034 and worshipped H7812 the LORD H3068 their God. H430

4 Then stood up H6965 upon the stairs, H4608 of the Levites, H3881 Jeshua, H3442 and Bani, H1137 Kadmiel, H6934 Shebaniah, H7645 Bunni, H1138 Sherebiah, H8274 Bani, H1137 and Chenani, H3662 and cried H2199 with a loud H1419 voice H6963 unto the LORD H3068 their God. H430

5 Then the Levites, H3881 Jeshua, H3442 and Kadmiel, H6934 Bani, H1137 Hashabniah, H2813 Sherebiah, H8274 Hodijah, H1941 Shebaniah, H7645 and Pethahiah, H6611 said, H559 Stand up H6965 and bless H1288 the LORD H3068 your God H430 for ever H5769 and ever: H5769 and blessed H1288 be thy glorious H3519 name, H8034 which is exalted H7311 above all blessing H1293 and praise. H8416

6 Thou, even thou, art LORD H3068 alone; thou hast made H6213 heaven, H8064 the heaven H8064 of heavens, H8064 with all their host, H6635 the earth, H776 and all things that are therein, the seas, H3220 and all that is therein, and thou preservest H2421 them all; and the host H6635 of heaven H8064 worshippeth H7812 thee.

7 Thou art the LORD H3068 the God, H430 who didst choose H977 Abram, H87 and broughtest him forth H3318 out of Ur H218 of the Chaldees, H3778 and gavest H7760 him the name H8034 of Abraham; H85

8 And foundest H4672 his heart H3824 faithful H539 before H6440 thee, and madest H3772 a covenant H1285 with him to give H5414 the land H776 of the Canaanites, H3669 the Hittites, H2850 the Amorites, H567 and the Perizzites, H6522 and the Jebusites, H2983 and the Girgashites, H1622 to give H5414 it, I say, to his seed, H2233 and hast performed H6965 thy words; H1697 for thou art righteous: H6662

9 And didst see H7200 the affliction H6040 of our fathers H1 in Egypt, H4714 and heardest H8085 their cry H2201 by the Red H5488 sea; H3220

10 And shewedst H5414 signs H226 and wonders H4159 upon Pharaoh, H6547 and on all his servants, H5650 and on all the people H5971 of his land: H776 for thou knewest H3045 that they dealt proudly H2102 against them. So didst thou get H6213 thee a name, H8034 as it is this day. H3117

11 And thou didst divide H1234 the sea H3220 before H6440 them, so that they went through H5674 the midst H8432 of the sea H3220 on the dry land; H3004 and their persecutors H7291 thou threwest H7993 into the deeps, H4688 as a stone H68 into the mighty H5794 waters. H4325

12 Moreover thou leddest H5148 them in the day H3119 by a cloudy H6051 pillar; H5982 and in the night H3915 by a pillar H5982 of fire, H784 to give them light H215 in the way H1870 wherein they should go. H3212

13 Thou camest down H3381 also upon mount H2022 Sinai, H5514 and spakest H1696 with them from heaven, H8064 and gavest H5414 them right H3477 judgments, H4941 and true H571 laws, H8451 good H2896 statutes H2706 and commandments: H4687

14 And madest known H3045 unto them thy holy H6944 sabbath, H7676 and commandedst H6680 them precepts, H4687 statutes, H2706 and laws, H8451 by the hand H3027 of Moses H4872 thy servant: H5650

15 And gavest H5414 them bread H3899 from heaven H8064 for their hunger, H7458 and broughtest forth H3318 water H4325 for them out of the rock H5553 for their thirst, H6772 and promisedst H559 them that they should go in H935 to possess H3423 the land H776 which thou hadst sworn H3027 H5375 to give H5414 them.

16 But they and our fathers H1 dealt proudly, H2102 and hardened H7185 their necks, H6203 and hearkened H8085 not to thy commandments, H4687

17 And refused H3985 to obey, H8085 neither were mindful H2142 of thy wonders H6381 that thou didst H6213 among them; but hardened H7185 their necks, H6203 and in their rebellion H4805 appointed H5414 a captain H7218 to return H7725 to their bondage: H5659 but thou art a God H433 ready to pardon, H5547 gracious H2587 and merciful, H7349 slow H750 to anger, H639 and of great H7227 kindness, H2617 and forsookest H5800 them not.

18 Yea, when they had made H6213 them a molten H4541 calf, H5695 and said, H559 This is thy God H430 that brought thee up H5927 out of Egypt, H4714 and had wrought H6213 great H1419 provocations; H5007

19 Yet thou in thy manifold H7227 mercies H7356 forsookest H5800 them not in the wilderness: H4057 the pillar H5982 of the cloud H6051 departed H5493 not from them by day, H3119 to lead H5148 them in the way; H1870 neither the pillar H5982 of fire H784 by night, H3915 to shew them light, H215 and the way H1870 wherein they should go. H3212

20 Thou gavest H5414 also thy good H2896 spirit H7307 to instruct H7919 them, and withheldest H4513 not thy manna H4478 from their mouth, H6310 and gavest H5414 them water H4325 for their thirst. H6772

21 Yea, forty H705 years H8141 didst thou sustain H3557 them in the wilderness, H4057 so that they lacked H2637 nothing; their clothes H8008 waxed not old, H1086 and their feet H7272 swelled H1216 not.

22 Moreover thou gavest H5414 them kingdoms H4467 and nations, H5971 and didst divide H2505 them into corners: H6285 so they possessed H3423 the land H776 of Sihon, H5511 and the land H776 of the king H4428 of Heshbon, H2809 and the land H776 of Og H5747 king H4428 of Bashan. H1316

23 Their children H1121 also multipliedst H7235 thou as the stars H3556 of heaven, H8064 and broughtest H935 them into the land, H776 concerning which thou hadst promised H559 to their fathers, H1 that they should go in H935 to possess H3423 it.

24 So the children H1121 went in H935 and possessed H3423 the land, H776 and thou subduedst H3665 before H6440 them the inhabitants H3427 of the land, H776 the Canaanites, H3669 and gavest H5414 them into their hands, H3027 with their kings, H4428 and the people H5971 of the land, H776 that they might do H6213 with them as they would. H7522

25 And they took H3920 strong H1219 cities, H5892 and a fat H8082 land, H127 and possessed H3423 houses H1004 full H4392 of all goods, H2898 wells H953 digged, H2672 vineyards, H3754 and oliveyards, H2132 and fruit H3978 trees H6086 in abundance: H7230 so they did eat, H398 and were filled, H7646 and became fat, H8080 and delighted H5727 themselves in thy great H1419 goodness. H2898

26 Nevertheless they were disobedient, H4784 and rebelled H4775 against thee, and cast H7993 thy law H8451 behind H310 their backs, H1458 and slew H2026 thy prophets H5030 which testified H5749 against them to turn H7725 them to thee, and they wrought H6213 great H1419 provocations. H5007

27 Therefore thou deliveredst H5414 them into the hand H3027 of their enemies, H6862 who vexed H6887 them: and in the time H6256 of their trouble, H6869 when they cried H6817 unto thee, thou heardest H8085 them from heaven; H8064 and according to thy manifold H7227 mercies H7356 thou gavest H5414 them saviours, H3467 who saved H3467 them out of the hand H3027 of their enemies. H6862

28 But after they had rest, H5117 they did H6213 evil H7451 again H7725 before H6440 thee: therefore leftest H5800 thou them in the hand H3027 of their enemies, H341 so that they had the dominion H7287 over them: yet when they returned, H7725 and cried H2199 unto thee, thou heardest H8085 them from heaven; H8064 and many H7227 times H6256 didst thou deliver H5337 them according to thy mercies; H7356

29 And testifiedst H5749 against them, that thou mightest bring them again H7725 unto thy law: H8451 yet they dealt proudly, H2102 and hearkened H8085 not unto thy commandments, H4687 but sinned H2398 against thy judgments, H4941 (which if a man H120 do, H6213 he shall live H2421 in them;) and withdrew H5414 H5637 the shoulder, H3802 and hardened H7185 their neck, H6203 and would not hear. H8085

30 Yet many H7227 years H8141 didst thou forbear H4900 them, and testifiedst H5749 against them by thy spirit H7307 in H3027 thy prophets: H5030 yet would they not give ear: H238 therefore gavest H5414 thou them into the hand H3027 of the people H5971 of the lands. H776

31 Nevertheless for thy great H7227 mercies' H7356 sake thou didst H6213 not utterly consume H3617 them, nor forsake H5800 them; for thou art a gracious H2587 and merciful H7349 God. H410

32 Now therefore, our God, H430 the great, H1419 the mighty, H1368 and the terrible H3372 God, H410 who keepest H8104 covenant H1285 and mercy, H2617 let not all the trouble H8513 seem little H4591 before H6440 thee, that hath come H4672 upon us, on our kings, H4428 on our princes, H8269 and on our priests, H3548 and on our prophets, H5030 and on our fathers, H1 and on all thy people, H5971 since the time H3117 of the kings H4428 of Assyria H804 unto this day. H3117

33 Howbeit thou art just H6662 in all that is brought H935 upon us; for thou hast done H6213 right, H571 but we have done wickedly: H7561

34 Neither have our kings, H4428 our princes, H8269 our priests, H3548 nor our fathers, H1 kept H6213 thy law, H8451 nor hearkened H7181 unto thy commandments H4687 and thy testimonies, H5715 wherewith thou didst testify H5749 against them.

35 For they have not served H5647 thee in their kingdom, H4438 and in thy great H7227 goodness H2898 that thou gavest H5414 them, and in the large H7342 and fat H8082 land H776 which thou gavest H5414 before H6440 them, neither turned H7725 they from their wicked H7451 works. H4611

36 Behold, we are servants H5650 this day, H3117 and for the land H776 that thou gavest H5414 unto our fathers H1 to eat H398 the fruit H6529 thereof and the good H2898 thereof, behold, we are servants H5650 in it:

37 And it yieldeth much H7235 increase H8393 unto the kings H4428 whom thou hast set H5414 over us because of our sins: H2403 also they have dominion H4910 over our bodies, H1472 and over our cattle, H929 at their pleasure, H7522 and we are in great H1419 distress. H6869

38 And because of all this we make H3772 a sure H548 covenant, and write H3789 it; and our princes, H8269 Levites, H3881 and priests, H3548 seal H2856 unto it.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Nehemiah 9

Commentary on Nehemiah 9 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary


Introduction

The day of general fasting and prayer . - On the twenty-fourth day of the month, i.e., two days after the termination of the feast of tabernacles, the children of Israel re-assembled in the temple to humble themselves before God with mourning and fasting, and, after the reading of the law, to confess their own sins and the sins of their fathers (Nehemiah 9:1-3). After the Levites had invited them to praise God (Nehemiah 9:4, Nehemiah 9:5), a general confession was made, in which the congregation was reminded of all the grace and favour shown by God to His people, from the days of Abraham down to the time then present; and all the departures of the people from their God, all their rebellions against Him, were acknowledged, to show that the bondage and oppression to which Israel was not subjected were the well-deserved punishment of their sins (vv. 6-37). This confession of sin much resembles the confession of the faithfulness of God and the unfaithfulness of Israel in the Psalms 106:1, both in its plan and details, but differs from this “Hallelujah Psalm” in the circumstance that it does not rise to the praise of God, to the hallelujah, but stops at the confession that God is righteous and true in all that He has done, and that Israel has done wickedly, without definitely uttering a request for pardon and deliverance from oppression.


Verses 1-3

On the twenty-second of Tishri was the Hazereth of the feast of tabernacles; on the twenty-fourth the congregation re-assembled in the temple, “with fasting and with sackcloths (penitential garments made of hair; see rem. Joel 1:8) and earth upon them,” i.e., spread upon their heads (1 Samuel 4:12; 2 Samuel 1:2; Job 2:12), - the external marks of deep mourning and heaviness of heart.

Nehemiah 9:2

“And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed all their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.” This separation from strangers does not specially relate to the dissolution of the marriages contracted with heathen women, nor to any measures taken that only Israelites should be admitted to this assembly (Bertheau). It was rather a voluntary renunciation of connection with the heathen, and of heathen customs.

Nehemiah 9:3

And they stood up (i.e., remained standing) in their place (comp. Nehemiah 8:7), and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God, i.e., listened to the reading of the law, a fourth part of the day (about three hours), and a fourth part (the next three hours) they confessed (made a confession of their sins), and worshipped the Lord their God. This confession and worship is more nearly described vv. 4-37.


Verse 4-5

There stood upon the scaffold of the Levites, i.e., upon the platform erected for the Levites (comp. Nehemiah 8:4), Jeshua and seven other Levites whose names are given, and they cried with a loud voice to God, and said to the assembled congregation, “Stand up, bless the Lord your God for ever and ever! and blessed be the name of Thy glory, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.” The repetition of the names of the Levites in Nehemiah 9:5 shows that this invitation to praise God is distinct from the crying to God with a loud voice of Nehemiah 9:4, and seems to say that the Levites first cried to God, i.e., addressed to Him their confessions and supplications, and after having done so, called upon the congregation to worship God. Eight names of Levites being given in both verses, and five of these - Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, and Sherebiah - being identical, the difference of the three others in the two verses - Bunni, Bani, and Chenani (Nehemiah 9:4), and Hashabniah, Hodijah, and Pethahiah (Nehemiah 9:5) - seems to have arisen from a clerical error, - an appearance favoured also by the circumstance that Bani occurs twice in Nehemiah 9:4. Of the other names in question, Hodijah occurs Nehemiah 10:14, and Pethahiah Ezra 10:23, as names of Levites, but כּנני and חשׁבניה nowhere else. Hence Bunni, Bani, and Chenani (Nehemiah 9:4), and Hashabniah (Nehemiah 9:5), may be assigned to a clerical error; but we have no means for restoring the correct names. With regard to the matter of these verses, Ramb. remarks on Nehemiah 9:4 : constitisse opinor omnes simul, ita tamen ut unus tantum eodem tempore fuerit precatus, ceteris ipsi adstantibus atque sua etiam vice Deum orantibus , hence that the eight Levites prayed to God successively; while Bertheau thinks that these Levites entreated God, in penitential and supplicatory psalms, to have mercy on His sinful but penitent people. In this case we must also regard their address to the congregation in Nehemiah 9:5 as a liturgical hymn, to which the congregation responded by praising God in chorus. To this view may be objected the circumstance, that no allusion is made in the narrative to the singing of penitential or other songs. Besides, a confession of sins follows in vv. 6-37, which may fitly be called a crying unto God, without its being stated by whom it was uttered. “This section,” says Bertheau, “whether we regard its form or contents, cannot have been sung either by the Levites or the congregation. We recognise in it the speech of an individual, and hence accept the view that the statement of the lxx, that after the singing of the Levites, Nehemiah 9:4, and the praising of God in Nehemiah 9:5, Ezra came forward and spoke the words following, is correct, and that the words καὶ εἶπεν Ἔσδρας , which it inserts before Nehemiah 9:6, originally stood in the Hebrew text.” But if Psalms, such as Ps 105-106, and 107, were evidently appointed to be sung to the praise of God by the Levites or by the congregation, there can be no reason why the prayer vv. 6-37 should not be adapted both in form and matter for this purpose. This prayer by no means bears the impress of being the address of an individual, but is throughout the confession of the whole congregation. The prayer speaks of our fathers (Nehemiah 9:9, Nehemiah 9:16), of what is come upon us (Nehemiah 9:33), addresses Jahve as our God, and says we have sinned. Of course Ezra might have uttered it in the name of the congregation; but that the addition of the lxx, καὶ εἶπεν Ἔσδρας , is of no critical value, and is a mere conjecture of the translators, is evident from the circumstance that the prayer does not begin with the words יהוה הוּא אתּה of v. 6, but passes into the form of direct address to God in the last clause of v. 5: Blessed be the name of Thy glory. By these words the prayer which follows is evidently declared to be the confession of those who are to praise the glory of the Lord; and the addition, “and Ezra said,” characterized as an unskilful interpolation.

According to what has now been said, the summons, יהוה את בּרכוּ קוּמוּ , Nehemiah 9:5, like the introductions to may Hodu and Hallelujah Psalms (e.g., Psalms 105:1; Psalms 106:1), is to be regarded as only an exhortation to the congregation to praise God, i.e., to join in the praises following, and to unite heartily in the confession of sin. This view of the connection of Nehemiah 9:5 and Nehemiah 9:6 explains the reason why it is not stated either in Nehemiah 9:6, or at the close of this prayer in Nehemiah 9:37, that the assembled congregation blessed God agreeably to the summons thus addressed to them. They did so by silently and heartily praying to, and praising God with the Levites, who were reciting aloud the confession of sin. On ויברכוּ R. Sal. already remarks: nunc incipiunt loqui Levitae versus Shechinam s. ad ipsum Deum . The invitation to praise God insensibly passes into the action of praising. If, moreover, vv. 6-37 are related in the manner above stated to Nehemiah 9:5, then it is not probable that the crying to God with a loud voice (Nehemiah 9:4) was anything else than the utterance of the prayer subsequently given, vv. 6-37. The repetition of the names in Nehemiah 9:5 is not enough to confirm this view, but must be explained by the breadth of the representation here given, and is rescued from the charge of mere tautology by the fact that in Nehemiah 9:4 the office of the individuals in question is not named, which it is by the word הלויּם in Nehemiah 9:5. For הלויּם in Nehemiah 9:4 belongs as genitive to מעלה , and both priests and laymen might have stood on the platform of the Levites. For this reason it is subsequently stated in Nehemiah 9:5, that Jeshua, etc., were Levites; and in doing this the names are again enumerated. In the exhortation, Stand up and bless, etc., Bertheau seeks to separate “for ever and ever” from the imp. בּרכוּ , and to take it as a further qualification of אלהיכם . This is, however, unnatural and arbitrary; comp. 1 Chronicles 16:26. Still more arbitrary is it to supply “One day all people” to ויברכוּ , “shall bless Thy name,” etc. וגו וּמרומם adds a second predicate to שׁם : and which is exalted above all blessing and praise, i.e., sublimius est quam ut pro dignitate laudari possit (R. Sal.).


Verses 6-8

In Nehemiah 9:6 this praising of God begins with the acknowledgment that Jahve, the Creator of heaven and earth, chose Abram and made a covenant with him to give the land of Canaan to his seed, and had performed this word (Nehemiah 9:6-8). These verses form the theme of that blessing the name of His glory, to which the Levites exhorted. This theme is then elucidated by facts from Israel's history, in four strophes. a . When God saw the affliction of His people in Egypt, He delivered them by great signs and wonders from the power of Pharaoh, gave them laws and judgments on Sinai, miraculously provided them with food and water in the wilderness, and commanded them to take possession of the promised land (Nehemiah 9:9-15). b . Although their fathers rebelled against Him, even in the wilderness, God did not withdraw His mercy from them, but sustained them forty years, so that they lacked nothing; and subdued kings before them, so that they were able to conquer and possess the land (Nehemiah 9:16-25). c . After they were settled in the land they rebelled again, and God delivered them into the hand of their oppressors; but as often as they cried unto Him, He helped them again, till at length, because of their continued opposition, He gave them into the power of the people of the lands, yet of His great mercy did not wholly cast them off (Nehemiah 9:26-31). d . May He now too look upon the affliction of His people, as the God that keepeth covenant and mercy, although they have deserved by their sins the troubles they are suffering (Nehemiah 9:32-37).

Nehemiah 9:6

“Thou art Jahve alone; Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, and all their host, the earth and all that is thereon, the sea and all therein; and Thou givest life to them all, and the host of heaven worshippeth Thee. Nehemiah 9:7 Thou art Jahve, the God who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham: Nehemiah 9:8 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 to his seed, and hast performed Thy word; for Thou art righteous.” Jahve alone is God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all creatures in heaven and on earth. In order duly to exalt the almightiness of God, the notion of heaven is enhanced by the addition “heaven of heavens,” as in Deuteronomy 10:14; 1 Kings 8:27; and that of earth by the addition ”the sea and all therein;” comp. Psalms 146:6. כּל־צבאם , Genesis 2:1, here refers only to heaven. מחיּה , to cause to live = to give and preserve life. כּלּם relates to all creatures in heaven and earth. The host of heaven who worshipped God are the angels, as in Psalms 148:2; Psalms 103:21. This only God chose Abram; comp. Genesis 12:1 with Genesis 11:31 and Genesis 15:7; Genesis 17:5, where God bestowed upon the patriarch Abram the name of Abraham. The words, “Thou foundest his heart faithful,” refer to בּיהוה האמין there mentioned. The making of a covenant alludes to Genesis 17:5.; the enumeration of six Canaanitish nations to Deuteronomy 7:1; Exodus 3:8; comp. with Genesis 15:20. This His word God performed (fulfilled), for He is righteous. God is called צדּיק , inasmuch as with Him word and deed correspond with each other; comp. Deuteronomy 32:4.


Verses 9-15

The fulfilment of this word by the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and their guidance through the wilderness to Canaan.

Nehemiah 9:9-11

“And Thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red Sea: Nehemiah 9:10 And showedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh and all his servants, and on all the people of his land, because Thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them, and madest Thyself a name, as this day. Nehemiah 9:11 And Thou dividedst the sea before them, and they went through the midst of the sea on dry land; and their persecutors Thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.” In Nehemiah 9:9 are comprised two subjects, which are carried out in Nehemiah 9:10, Nehemiah 9:11 : (1) the affliction of the Israelites in Egypt, which God saw (comp. Exodus 3:7), and out of which He delivered them by the signs and wonders He showed upon Pharaoh (Nehemiah 9:10); (2) the crying for help at the Red Sea, when the Israelites perceived Pharaoh with his horsemen and chariots in pursuit (Exodus 14:10), and the help which God gave them by dividing the sea, etc. (Nehemiah 9:11). The words in Nehemiah 9:10 are supported by Deuteronomy 6:22, on the ground of the historical narrative, Ex 7-10. The expression עליהם הזידוּ כּי is formed according to עליהם זדוּ אשׁר , Exodus 18:11. על הזיד occurs Exodus 21:14 in a general sense. On וגו שׁם לך ותּעשׂ comp. Jeremiah 32:20; Isaiah 58:12, Isaiah 58:14; 1 Chronicles 17:22. A name as this day - in that the miracles which God then did are still praised, and He continues still to manifest His almighty power. The words of Nehemiah 9:11 are supported by Exodus 14:21-22, Exodus 14:28, and Exodus 15:19. אבן כּמו בּמצולות are from Exodus 15:5; עזּים בּמים from Ex 15 and Isaiah 43:16.

Nehemiah 9:12-15

“And 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. Nehemiah 9:13 And Thou camest down upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments and true laws, good statutes and commandments: Nehemiah 9:14 And madest known unto them Thy holy Sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses Thy servant. Nehemiah 9:15 And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst; and Thou commandedst them to go in and possess the land, which Thou hadst lifted up Thine hand to give them.” Three particulars in the miraculous leading of Israel through the wilderness are brought forward: a . Their being guided in the way by miraculous tokens of the divine presence, in the pillar of fire and cloud, Nehemiah 9:12; comp. Exodus 13:21; Numbers 14:14. b . The revelation of God on Sinai, and the giving of the law, Nehemiah 9:13, Nehemiah 9:14. The descent of God on Sinai and the voice from heaven agree with Exodus 19:18, Exodus 19:20, and Exodus 20:1., compared with Deuteronomy 4:36. On the various designations of the law, comp. Psalms 19:9; Psalms 119:43, Psalms 119:39, Psalms 119:142. Of the commandments, that concerning the Sabbath is specially mentioned, and spoken of as a benefit bestowed by God upon the Israelites, as a proclamation of His holy Sabbath, inasmuch as the Israelites were on the Sabbath to share in the rest of God; see rem. on Exodus 20:9-11. c . The provision of manna, and of water from the rock, for their support during their journey through the wilderness on the way to Canaan; Exodus 16:4, Exodus 16:10., Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:8; comp. Psalms 78:24, Psalms 78:15; Psalms 105:40. לרשׁת לבוא like Deuteronomy 9:1, Deuteronomy 9:5; Deuteronomy 11:31, and elsewhere. את־ידך נשׂאת is to be understood according to Numbers 14:30.


Verses 16-25

Even the fathers to whom God had shown such favour, repeatedly departed from and rebelled against Him; but God of His great mercy did not forsake them, but brought them into possession of the promised land.

Nehemiah 9:16-17

“And they, even our fathers, dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to Thy commandments. Nehemiah 9:17 They refused to obey, and were not mindful of Thy wonders that Thou didst amongst them; and hardened their necks, and 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 these verses the conduct of the children of Israel towards God is contrasted with His kindness towards this stiff-necked people, the historical confirmation following in Nehemiah 9:18. והם is emphatic, and prefixed to contrast the conduct of the Israelites with the benefits bestowed on them. The contrast is enhanced by the ו explicative before אבתינוּ , even our fathers (which J. D. Michaelis would expunge, from a misconception of its meaning, but which Bertheau with good reason defends). Words are accumulated to describe the stiff-necked resistance of the people. הזידוּ as above, Nehemiah 9:10. “They hardened their necks” refers to Exodus 32:9; Exodus 33:3; Exodus 34:9, and therefore already alludes to the worship of the golden calf at Sinai, mentioned Nehemiah 9:18; while in Nehemiah 9:17, the second great rebellion of the people at Kadesh, on the borders of the promised land, Num 14, is contemplated. The repetition of the expression, “they hardened their hearts,” shows that a second grievous transgression is already spoken of in Nehemiah 9:17. This is made even clearer by the next clause, וגו ראשׁ ויּתּנוּ , which is taken almost verbally from Numbers 14:4 : “They said one to another, Let us make a captain ( ראשׁ נתּנה ), and return to Egypt;” the notion being merely enhanced here by the addition לעבדתם , to their bondage. The comparison with Numbers 14:4 also shows that בּמרים is a clerical error for בּמצרים , as the lxx read; for בּמרים , in their stubbornness, after לעבדתם , gives no appropriate sense. In spite, however, of their stiff-neckedness, God of His mercy and goodness did not forsake them. סליחות אלוהּ , a God of pardons; comp. Daniel 9:9; Psalms 130:4. וגו ורחוּם חנּוּן is a reminiscence of Exodus 34:6. The ו before חסד came into the text by a clerical error.

Nehemiah 9:18-21

“Yea, they even made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy god that brought thee up out of Egypt, and wrought great provocations. Nehemiah 9:19 Yet Thou, in Thy manifold mercies, didst not forsake them in the wilderness; the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day to lead them, and the pillar of fire by night to show them light in the way wherein they should go. Nehemiah 9:20 Thou gavest also Thy good Spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not Thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst: Nehemiah 9:21 And forty years didst Thou sustain them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.” כּי אף , also (even this) = yea even. On the worship of the golden calf, see Exodus 24:4. The words ”they did (wrought) great provocations” involve a condemnation of the worship of the molten calf; nevertheless God did not withdraw His gracious presence, but continued to lead them by the pillar of cloud and fire. The passage Numbers 14:14, according to which the pillar of cloud and fire guided the march of the people through the wilderness after the departure from Sinai, i.e., after their transgression in the matter of the calf, is here alluded to. הענן עמּוּד is rhetorically enhanced by את : and with respect to the cloudy pillar, it departed not; so, too, in the second clause, האשׁ את־עמּוּד ; comp. Ewald, §277, d . The words, Nehemiah 9:20, “Thou gavest Thy good Spirit,” etc., refer to the occurrence, Numbers 11:17, Numbers 11:25, where God endowed the seventy elders with the spirit of prophecy for the confirmation of Moses' authority. The definition “good Spirit” recalls Psalms 143:10. The sending of manna is first mentioned Numbers 11:6-9, comp. Joshua 5:12; the giving of water, Numbers 20:2-8. - In Nehemiah 9:21, all that the Lord did for Israel is summed up in the assertion of Deuteronomy 2:7; Deuteronomy 8:4, חסרוּ לא ; see the explanation of these passages.

Nehemiah 9:22-25

The Lord also fulfilled His promise of giving the land of Canaan to the Israelites notwithstanding their rebelliousness. Nehemiah 9:22 “And Thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them by boundaries; and they took possession of the land of Sihon, both the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. Nehemiah 9:23 And Thou didst multiply their children as the stars of heaven, and bring them into the land which Thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess. Nehemiah 9:24 And 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, both their kings and the people of the land, to do with them according to their pleasure. Nehemiah 9:25 And they took fortified cities, and a fat land, and took possession of houses filled with all kinds of goods, wells digged, vineyards and olive gardens, and fruit trees in abundance; and they ate and became fat, and delighted themselves in Thy great goodness.” לפאה ותּחלקם is variously explained. Aben Ezra and others refer the suffix to the Canaanites, whom God scattered in multos angulos or varias mundi partes . Others refer it to the Israelites. According to this view, Ramb. says: fecisti eos per omnes terrae Cananaeae angulos habitare ; and Gusset.: distribuisti eis terram usque ad angulum h. l. nulla vel minima regionum particula excepta . But חלק , Piel, generally means the dividing of things; and when used of persons, as in Genesis 49:7; Lamentations 4:16, to divide, to scatter, sensu malo , which is here inapplicable to the Israelites. חלק signifies to divide, especially by lot, and is used chiefly concerning the partition of the land of Canaan, in Kal, Joshua 14:5; Joshua 18:2, and in Piel, Joshua 13:7; Joshua 18:10; Joshua 19:51. The word פּאה also frequently occurs in Joshua, in the sense of a corner or side lying towards a certain quarter of the heavens, and of a boundary; comp. Joshua 15:5; Joshua 18:12, Joshua 18:14-15, Joshua 18:20. According to this, Bertheau rightly takes the words to say: Thou didst divide them (the kingdoms and nations, i.e., the land of these nations) according to sides or boundaries, i.e., according to certain definite limits. Sihon is the king of Heshbon (Deuteronomy 1:4), and the ו before ח את־ארץ מ is not to be expunged as a gloss, but regarded as explicative: and, indeed, both the land of the king of Heshbon and the land of Og. The conquest of these two kingdoms is named first, because it preceded the possession of Canaan (Numbers 21:21-35). The increase of the children of the Israelites is next mentioned, Nehemiah 9:23; the fathers having fallen in the wilderness, and only their children coming into the land of Canaan. The numbering of the people in the plains of Moab (Num 26) is here alluded to, when the new generation was found to be twice as numerous as that which marched out of Egypt; while the words לרשׁת לבוא , here and in Nehemiah 9:15, are similar to Deuteronomy 1:10. The taking possession of Canaan is spoken of in Nehemiah 9:24. ותּכנע recalls Deuteronomy 9:3. כּרצונם , according to their pleasure, comp. Daniel 8:4. Fortified cities, as Jericho and Ai.


Verses 26-31

But even in that good land the fathers were disobedient: they rejected the commands of God, slew the prophets who admonished them, and were not brought back to the obedience of God even by the chastisement inflicted on them, till at length God delivered them into the hands of Gentile kings, though after His great mercy He did not utterly forsake them. - Nehemiah 9:26 “And 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. Nehemiah 9:27 And Thou deliveredst them into the hand of their oppressors, so that they oppressed them; and in the time of their oppression they cried unto Thee. Then Thou heardest them from heaven, and according to Thy manifold mercies Thou gavest them deliverers, who delivered them out of the hand of their oppressors. Nehemiah 9:28 And when they had rest, they again did evil before Thee. Then Thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them; and they cried again unto Thee, and Thou heardest from heaven, and didst deliver them according to Thy great mercy, many times.”

Nehemiah 9:26

Nehemiah 9:26 again contains, like Nehemiah 9:16, a general condemnation of the conduct of the children of Israel towards the Lord their God during the period between their entrance into Canaan and the captivity, which is then justified by the facts adduced in the verses following. In proof of their disobedience, it is mentioned that they cast the commands of God behind their back (comp. 1 Kings 14:19; Ezekiel 23:35), and slew the prophets, e.g., Zechariah (2 Chronicles 24:21), the prophets of the days of Jezebel ( 1 Kings 18:13; 1 Kings 19:10), and others who rebuked their sins to turn them from them. בּ העיד , to testify against sinners, comp. 2 Kings 17:13, 2 Kings 17:15. The last clause of Nehemiah 9:26 is a kind of refrain, repeated from Nehemiah 9:18.

Nehemiah 9:27-28

Nehemiah 9:27 and Nehemiah 9:28 refer to the times of the judges; comp. Judges 2:11-23. מושׁיעים are the judges whom God raised up to deliver Israel out of the power of their oppressors; comp. Judges 3:9. with Nehemiah 2:16. עתּים רבּות , multitudes of times, is a co-ordinate accusative: at many times, frequently; רבּות like Leviticus 25:51.

Nehemiah 9:29-30

“And testifiedst against them, to bring them back again to Thy law; yet they hearkened not to Thy commandments, and sinned against Thy judgments, which if a man do he shall live in them, and gave a resisting shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. Nehemiah 9:30 And Thou didst bear with them many years, and didst testify against them by Thy Spirit through Thy prophets; but they would not hearken, therefore Thou gavest them into the hand of the people of the lands. Nehemiah 9:31 Nevertheless in Thy great mercy Thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for Thou art gracious and merciful.”

Nehemiah 9:29 and Nehemiah 9:30 treat of the times of the kings. בּהם ותּעד is the testimony of the prophets against the idolatrous people; comp. Nehemiah 9:26. וּבמשׁפּטיך is emphatically prefixed, and taken up again by בּם . The sentence, which if a man do he shall live in them, is formed upon Leviticus 18:5, comp. Ezekiel 20:11. On the figurative expression, they gave a resisting shoulder, comp. Zechariah 7:11. The simile is taken from the ox, who rears against the yoke, and desires not to bear it; comp. Hosea 4:16. The sentences following are repeated from Nehemiah 9:16. עליהם תּמשׁך is an abbreviated expression for חסד משׁך , Psalms 36:11; Psalms 109:12; Jeremiah 31:3, to draw out, to extend for a long time favour to any one: Thou hadst patience with them for many years, viz., the whole period of kingly rule from Solomon to the times of the Assyrians. The delivering into the power of the people of the lands, i.e., of the heathen (comp. Psalms 106:40.), began with the invasion of the Assyrians (comp. Nehemiah 9:32), who destroyed the kingdom of the ten tribes, and was inflicted upon Judah also by means of the Chaldeans.

Nehemiah 9:31

But in the midst of these judgments also, God, according to His promise, Jeremiah 4:27; Jeremiah 5:10, Jeremiah 5:18; Jeremiah 30:11, and elsewhere, did not utterly forsake His people, nor make a full end of them; for He did not suffer them to become extinct in exile, but preserved a remnant, and delivered it from captivity.


Verses 32-37

May then, God, who keepeth covenant and mercy, now also look upon the affliction of His people, though kings, rulers, priests, and people have fully deserved this punishment; for they are now bondmen, and in great affliction, in the land of their fathers. Nehemiah 9:32 “And now, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble that hath come upon us, on our kings, our princes our priests, our prophets, and our fathers, and on all Thy people, since the times of the kings of Assyria unto this day, seem little to Thee. Nehemiah 9:33 Thou art just in all that is come upon us; for Thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly. Nehemiah 9:34 And our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept Thy law, nor hearkened to Thy commandments and Thy testimonies, wherewith Thou didst testify against them. Nehemiah 9:35 And 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 up to them, and have not turned from their wicked works. Nehemiah 9:36 Behold, we are now bondmen; and the land that Thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof, and the good thereof, behold, we are bondmen in it. Nehemiah 9:37 And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom Thou hast set over us because of our sins; and they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.” The invocation of God, Nehemiah 9:32, like that in Nehemiah 1:5, is similar to Deuteronomy 10:17. לפניך ימעט אל stands independently, the following clause being emphasized by את , like e.g., Nehemiah 9:19 : Let not what concerns all our trouble be little before Thee; comp. the similar construction with מעט in Joshua 22:17. What seems little is easily disregarded. The prayer is a litotes ; and the sense is, Let our affliction be regarded by Thee as great and heavy. The nouns למלכינוּ , etc., are in apposition to the suffix of מצאתנוּ , the object being continued by ל .

Nehemiah 9:33-34

Thou art just: comp. Nehemiah 9:8, Deuteronomy 32:4; Ezra 9:15. כּל על , upon all, i.e., concerning all that has befallen us; because their sins deserved punishment, and God is only fulfilling His word upon the sinners. In Nehemiah 9:34, את again serves to emphasize the subject. In the enumeration of the different classes of the people, the prophets are here omitted, because, as God's witnesses, they are not reckoned among these who had transgressed, though involved (Nehemiah 9:32) in the sufferings that have fallen on the nation.


Verse 35

(10:1)

הם are the fathers who were not brought to repentance by God's goodness. בּמלכוּתם , in their independent kingdom. הרב טוּבך , Thy much good, i.e., the fulness of Thy goodness, or “in the midst of Thy great blessing” (Bertheau). The predicate הרחבה , the wide, extensive country, is derived from Exodus 3:8. In Nehemiah 9:36., the prayer that God would not lightly regard the trouble of His people, is supported by a statement of the need and affliction in which they still are. They are bondmen in the land which God gave to their fathers as a free people, bondmen of the Persian monarchs; and the increase of the land which God appointed for His people belongs to the kings who rule over them. The rulers of the land dispose of their bodies and their cattle, by carrying off both men and cattle for their use, e.g., for military service. כּרצונם like Nehemiah 9:24.