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
Remember H2142 the sabbath H7676 day, H3117 to keep it holy. H6942 Six H8337 days H3117 shalt thou labour, H5647 and do H6213 all thy work: H4399 But the seventh H7637 day H3117 is the sabbath H7676 of the LORD H3068 thy God: H430 in it thou shalt not do H6213 any work, H4399 thou, nor thy son, H1121 nor thy daughter, H1323 thy manservant, H5650 nor thy maidservant, H519 nor thy cattle, H929 nor thy stranger H1616 that is within thy gates: H8179 For in six H8337 days H3117 the LORD H3068 made H6213 heaven H8064 and earth, H776 the sea, H3220 and all that in them is, and rested H5117 the seventh H7637 day: H3117 wherefore the LORD H3068 blessed H1288 the sabbath H7676 day, H3117 and hallowed H6942 it.
Now these are the judgments H4941 which thou shalt set H7760 before H6440 them. If thou buy H7069 an Hebrew H5680 servant, H5650 six H8337 years H8141 he shall serve: H5647 and in the seventh H7637 he shall go out H3318 free H2670 for nothing. H2600 If he came in H935 by himself, H1610 he shall go out H3318 by himself: H1610 if he were married, H1167 H802 then his wife H802 shall go out H3318 with him. If his master H113 have given H5414 him a wife, H802 and she have born H3205 him sons H1121 or daughters; H1323 the wife H802 and her children H3206 shall be her master's, H113 and he shall go out H3318 by himself. H1610 And if the servant H5650 shall plainly H559 say, H559 I love H157 my master, H113 my wife, H802 and my children; H1121 I will not go out H3318 free: H2670 Then his master H113 shall bring H5066 him unto the judges; H430 he shall also bring H5066 him to the door, H1817 or unto the door post; H4201 and his master H113 shall bore H7527 his ear H241 through with an aul; H4836 and he shall serve H5647 him for ever. H5769 And if a man H376 sell H4376 his daughter H1323 to be a maidservant, H519 she shall not go out H3318 as the menservants H5650 do. H3318 If she please H7451 H5869 not her master, H113 who hath betrothed H3259 her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: H6299 to sell H4376 her unto a strange H5237 nation H5971 he shall have no power, H4910 seeing he hath dealt deceitfully H898 with her. And if he have betrothed H3259 her unto his son, H1121 he shall deal H6213 with her after the manner H4941 of daughters. H1323 If he take H3947 him another H312 wife; her food, H7607 her raiment, H3682 and her duty of marriage, H5772 shall he not diminish. H1639 And if he do H6213 not these three H7969 unto her, then shall she go out H3318 free H2600 without money. H3701 He that smiteth H5221 a man, H376 so that he die, H4191 shall be surely H4191 put to death. H4191 And if a man lie not in wait, H6658 but God H430 deliver H579 him into his hand; H3027 then I will appoint H7760 thee a place H4725 whither he shall flee. H5127 But if a man H376 come presumptuously H2102 upon his neighbour, H7453 to slay H2026 him with guile; H6195 thou shalt take H3947 him from mine altar, H4196 that he may die. H4191 And he that smiteth H5221 his father, H1 or his mother, H517 shall be surely H4191 put to death. H4191 And he that stealeth H1589 a man, H376 and selleth H4376 him, or if he be found H4672 in his hand, H3027 he shall surely H4191 be put to death. H4191 And he that curseth H7043 his father, H1 or his mother, H517 shall surely H4191 be put to death. H4191 And if men H582 strive H7378 together, and one H376 smite H5221 another H7453 with a stone, H68 or H176 with his fist, H106 and he die H4191 not, but keepeth H5307 his bed: H4904 If he rise again, H6965 and walk H1980 abroad H2351 upon his staff, H4938 then shall he that smote H5221 him be quit: H5352 only he shall pay H5414 for the loss of his time, H7674 and shall cause him to be thoroughly H7495 healed. H7495 And if a man H376 smite H5221 his servant, H5650 or his maid, H519 with a rod, H7626 and he die H4191 under his hand; H3027 he shall be surely H5358 punished. H5358 Notwithstanding, H389 if he continue H5975 a day H3117 or two, H8147 he shall not be punished: H5358 for he is his money. H3701 If men H582 strive, H5327 and hurt H5062 a woman H802 with child, H2030 so that her fruit H3206 depart H3318 from her, and yet no mischief follow: H611 he shall be surely H6064 punished, H6064 according as the woman's H802 husband H1167 will lay H7896 upon him; and he shall pay H5414 as the judges H6414 determine. And if any mischief follow, H611 then thou shalt give H5414 life H5315 for life, H5315
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on Nehemiah 9
Commentary on Nehemiah 9 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO NEHEMIAH 9
In this chapter we have an account of a fast kept by the Jews, which was observed, as by outward acts of humiliation, so by confession of sin, reading the law, and worshipping the Lord, Nehemiah 9:1 and of a long prayer that the Levites made, in which they celebrate the divine perfections, take notice of various instances of the goodness of God to the people of Israel, acknowledge their manifold transgressions, observe the Lord's correction of them for them, in which they own he was righteous, Nehemiah 9:4.
Now in the twenty fourth day of this month,.... The seventh month, the month Tisri or September, two days after the feast of tabernacles was ended:
the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them; which were all outward tokens of mourning and humiliation, see Joel 1:8 which they could not show during the festival; but that being over, they return to it, see Nehemiah 8:9.
And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers,.... Such as were genuine Israelites, of the seed of Abraham, who had married wives of the Gentiles, strangers to the commonwealth of Israel, either before the reformation by Ezra, not being then discovered, or had fallen into this evil since; but now, on the reading of the law, were convinced of it, and so separated themselves from such wives, which was a proof of the truth of their repentance:
and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers: particularly their taking of strange wives, which their fathers had also done, and set them a bad example, which they had followed; of standing and confessing, see Luke 18:13.
And they stood up in their place,.... In the outward court of the temple, where men used to stand when they prayed and confessed their sins: and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God; that they might the better know the mind and will of God, and do their duty: this they did
one fourth part of the day; the space of three hours, from sun rising, or six o'clock in the morning, to the time of the morning sacrifice, which was about nine o'clock:
and another fourth part they confessed; the goodness of God to them, and the sins they had been guilty of:
and worshipped the Lord their God; bowed down before him in prayer and supplication, and so spent three hours more, which reached to noon or twelve o'clock; and from thence to three o'clock, about the time of the evening sacrifice, and from thence to sun setting, or six o'clock, and so spent the whole day in the above exercises alternately.
Then stood up upon the stairs of the Levites,.... On an ascent; an elevated place where the Levites used to stand when they sang at the time of sacrifice, and where they might be seen and heard by the people:
Jeshua and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani; who seem to be all Levites, see Nehemiah 8:7,
and cried with a loud voice unto the Lord their God; praying with great fervency, and making bitter lamentation for the sins of the people and their own.
Then the Levites, Jeshua,.... Or, then the Levites, even Jeshua:
and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah; the same as before, with a little variation of their names, and perhaps some of them might have two names:
and said; to the men that stood and confessed their sins, Nehemiah 9:2
stand up; for though they are before said to stand, yet, through shame and confusion of face, and awe of the Divine Majesty, might be fallen on their faces to the ground:
and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever; for all the great and good things he had done for them, notwithstanding their sins; and particularly for his pardoning grace and mercy they had reason to hope for:
and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise: the glory of which name, nature, and perfections of his, cannot be set forth by the highest praises of men, and the largest ascriptions of blessing and honour to him.
Thou, even thou art Lord alone,.... Whose name alone is Jehovah, the one only true and living God:
thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host; the airy and starry heavens, and the sun, moon, and stars in them, and the third heaven, the seat of God, angels, and saints:
the earth, and all things that are therein; men, beasts, trees, metals, minerals, &c.
the seas, and all that is therein; fishes, sea plants, &c. see Acts 4:24,
and thou preservest them all; they consist in thee, and are upheld in their being by thee, Hebrews 1:3
and the host of heaven worshipped thee; not the sun, moon, and stars, only in their way, Psalm 148:2 but the angels chiefly, Hebrews 1:6.
Thou art the Lord the God, who didst choose Abram,.... From among the Chaldeans, and out of his father's family:
and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees; by calling him from thence, of which see Genesis 11:28, to which may be added what AmamaF24Anti-barbar. Biblic. l. 3. p. 652. on that place observes; that some think that the sacred fire, which the Chaldeans worshipped, was kept in this city, from whence it was called Ur, that being worshipped by them and by the Assyrians under the name of UrF25Fortunati Schaech. Elaeochrism. Myrothec. l. 1. c. 9. col. 44. :
and gavest him the name of Abraham; which was changed when the covenant of circumcision was given him, Genesis 17:5.
And foundest his heart faithful before thee,.... A true believer in his word and promises, Genesis 15:6 and closely attached to the fear of him, and observance of his commands, as abundantly appeared in the trial of him, in offering up his son, Genesis 22:1,
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; not to him personally, but to his posterity, at least including and chiefly designing them; of which covenant see Genesis 15:18,
and hast performed thy words, for thou art righteous; in all his ways and works, faithful to his promise, a covenant keeping God, and who kept and fulfilled this covenant, assisting Joshua to conquer the land of Canaan, and put Israel into the possession of it.
And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt,.... The hard bondage in which their lives were made bitter; and was not a mere spectator of it, but looked upon them in it with pity and compassion, and sent them a deliverer, Exodus 2:23
and heardest their cry by the Red sea; which was before them, and the rocks on both sides of them, and the host of Pharaoh behind, pressing upon them, when he heard them, and wrought salvation for them, Exodus 14:10.
And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land,.... By inflicting the ten plagues upon them:
for thou knowest that they dealt proudly against them; behaved haughtily to them, and despised them, see Exodus 18:11
so didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day; displayed his power on Pharaoh, and his goodness to Israel, the fame of which reached all over the world, and continued to that day, see Exodus 9:16.
And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land,.... That is, the Israelites, see Exodus 14:21,
and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps; with great ease, and with indignation, meaning the Egyptians, that pursued hotly after them, and were thrown into the sea:
as a stone into the mighty waters; where they sunk and perished, see Exodus 15:4.
Moreover, thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar,.... The Israelites, to shelter them from the heat of the sun in a dry and barren wilderness:
and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go; through a trackless desert, see Exodus 13:21.
Thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai,.... By some visible tokens of his presence, as a cloud, fire, smoke, &c. which must be understood consistent with his omniscience, see Exodus 19:18,
and spakest with them from heaven; the decalogue or ten commandments, Exodus 20:1,
and gavest them right judgments and true laws, good statutes and commandments; both judicial and ceremonial, which were of excellent use to them in their civil and ecclesiastical polity; these were not spoken to Israel, but given to Moses on the mount, to be delivered to them.
And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath,.... Which was not made known to others, and was peculiar to the Jewish nation, and a privilege granted to them, to have rest corporeal and spiritual, typical of the rest in Christ:
and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant; moral, ceremonial, and judicial, such as other nations had not, Deuteronomy 4:8.
And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger,.... To satisfy that, meaning the manna, Exodus 16:3
and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock, for their thirst; to quench it; this was done both quickly after they came out of the land of Egypt, and a little before their entrance into the land of Canaan, see Exodus 17:6
and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them; which oath was made to them and to their fathers also, see Numbers 14:30.
But they and our fathers dealt proudly,.... Behaved in a haughty manner towards God, their kind benefactor:
and hardened their necks; refused to take the yoke of his law, as refractory oxen, that withdraw their necks from the yoke:
and hearkened not to thy commandments; to do them, though they promised they would, Exodus 24:7.
And refused to obey,.... Though exhorted, admonished, and threatened, such was their obstinacy:
neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; in delivering them at the Red sea, in raining manna about them, and giving them water out of the rock:
but hardened their necks; see the preceding verse:
and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage; they not only proposed it, but determined upon it, which is reckoned the same as if they had done it, see Numbers 14:4,
but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; as he had proclaimed his name before Moses, and as the whole of his conduct towards the people of Israel abundantly shewed, see Exodus 34:6
and forsookest them not; when in the wilderness, where otherwise they must have perished, but still fed and protected them, notwithstanding their provocations.
Yea, when they had made them a molten calf,.... In imitation of the Apis, or ox of the Egyptians:
and said, this is thy god that brought thee out of Egypt; or the image of thy god, as the Arabic version, see Exodus 32:4,
and had wrought great provocations; of all which nothing was greater than idolatry.
Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness,.... Where no supply could be had, if he had cast them off, see Nehemiah 9:17,
the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; which, if it had, they would have been scorched by the heat of the sun:
neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way wherein they should go; or otherwise they would have lost their way, and not have known which way to have gone.
Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them,.... In the knowledge of the laws delivered to them; the spirit of prophecy, according to Ben Melech, and which Aben Ezra interprets of the spirit put upon the seventy elders, Numbers 11:17,
and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth; all the while they were in the wilderness, until they came to Canaan's land; called the Lord's manna, because prepared by him, and given by him to them; a part or portion and gift from the Lord, as Ben Melech, from whence it had its name, see Exodus 16:15
and gavest them water for their thirst; which seems to have respect to the last rock stricken for them, after their many provocations in the wilderness, Numbers 20:11.
Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing,.... As not for food, so neither for raiment, as follows:
their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not; of which see Deuteronomy 8:4.
Moreover, thou gavest them kingdoms and nations,.... The two kingdoms of Sihon and Og, and the seven nations of Canaan:
and didst divide them into corners; or "corner"; into every corner of the land of Canaan, so that they possessed the whole of it, a few cities excepted; Jarchi interprets it of one corner, that they might not be mixed with the people of the land, but be all together in one place; but Aben Ezra understands it of the Canaanites, of their being divided and scattered into corners, when they fled from the Israelites; but the former sense seems best:
so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon; or "eren", or "namely"F26So Piscator, Patrick, Rambachius. , "the land of the king of Heshbon"; for Sihon was king of Heshbon, and so the land the same:
and the land of Og king of Bashan; those lands both lay on the other side Jordan, and were possessed by the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh.
Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven,.... Fulfilling the promise made to Abraham, Genesis 15:5 their number when they came out of Egypt, and just before they entered into the land of Canaan, being upwards of 600,000 men, besides women and children, Exodus 12:37
and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it; the land of Canaan, promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their seed, into which the Lord brought them by Joshua; he was the instrument, but the thing was of God.
So the children went in and possessed the land,.... Not the fathers of the Israelites that came out of Egypt, they died in the wilderness, all excepting two, but their children, which seems to be the reason of this manner of expression, see Numbers 14:30
and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites; by means of Joshua, the general of the armies of Israel; there is an elegant paronomania in the word for "subdue", and the Canaanites, which cannot be expressed in our language:
and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would; no less than thirty one kings, see Joshua 12:9.
And they took strong cities,.... Such as, in an hyperbolical way, are said to be walled up to heaven, Deuteronomy 1:28
and a fat land; of a good and fruitful soil, abounding with all good things, Deuteronomy 8:7
and possessed houses full of all goods; ready built and furnished for them, both with good provisions and good furniture:
wells digged; to supply them with water:
vineyards, and olive yards, and fruit trees in abundance; which they planted not:
and they did eat, and were filled, and became fat; in body, though in mind became wanton and wicked; they made their hearts fat, or stupid, as Aben Ezra interprets it, see Deuteronomy 32:15
and delighted themselves in thy great goodness; not in praising the Lord for it, and using it to his honour and glory, but indulged themselves to luxury and intemperance; though it may be understood of a lawful pleasure in the enjoyment of the great affluence they were brought into, which last agrees with what follows.
Nevertheless, they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee,.... Notwithstanding all these favours and mercies bestowed upon them, which was great ingratitude:
and cast thy law behind their backs; as of no account, and unworthy of their regard; that which they should have had continually before their eyes, as the rule and guide of their actions, they cast behind them, not caring to look into it, and read it:
and slew thy prophets, which testified against them to turn them to thee; the prophets that bore a testimony against their sins, admonished them of them, called heaven and earth to record against them should they continue in them, and all to turn them from them by repentance to the Lord; those they were so wroth with on this account as to slay them, see Matthew 23:37,
and they wrought great provocations; serving Baalim and Ashtaroth, and other gods of the nations, than which nothing was more provoking to the Lord.
Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them,.... As the kings of Mesopotamia, Moab, Canaan, and others:
and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee; as they usually did, Judges 3:9,
thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hands of their enemies; such were judges, Othniel, Ehud, Barak, Gideon, &c. and this was, done for them, not on account of their merits, but the abundant unmerited mercy of the Lord towards them.
But after they had rest,.... From their enemies, enjoyed their liberty, and were in prosperity:
they did evil again before thee; relapsed into idolatry:
therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them; as the Philistines had for the space of forty years, Judges 13:1,
yet when they returned and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven, and many times didst thou deliver them, according to thy mercies; this was their case frequently in the times of the judges; they sinned and fell into the hands of their enemies, then they repented, and cried to God for help, and he had compassion upon them, and saved them.
And testifiedst against them,.... By sending prophets to them, to admonish them of their sins, and remind them of their duty:
that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law; to regard it, and walk according it:
yet they dealt proudly; with an haughty air rejected the counsel of God:
and hearkened not unto thy commandments; yielded not obedience to them:
but sinned against thy judgments; transgressed his laws, which were so just, righteous, reasonable, and equitable:
which if a man do, he shall live in them; or by them, in the land of Canaan, see Leviticus 18:5,
and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear; like oxen, that wriggle and struggle, and draw back, and will not admit the yoke upon them.
Yet many years didst thou forbear them,.... Throughout the reigns of several kings, such was God's longsuffering towards them: or, "thou didst draw upon them"; that is, his mercy, as Jarchi interprets it; he drew it out of his heart, and prolonged it towards them:
and testifiedst against them by thy Spirit in thy prophets; who reproved and admonished them, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit of God in them, who spoke in his name, and what he suggested to them:
yet they would not give ear; to what the prophets said, and the Spirit of God in them:
therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands: people that were lords of many countries, as the Assyrians and Chaldeans.
Nevertheless, for thy great mercies' sake, For the displaying of that, and the glorifying of it, which is so large and exceeding abundant:
thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; some were left in the land, and those that were carried captive found favour in the eyes of those that carried them away, and were suffered to live, and many of them now had returned to their own land:
for thou art a gracious and merciful God; of which they had abundant proof and evidence.
Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy,.... The same titles Nehemiah gives to the Lord, Nehemiah 1:5 and it may be reasonably thought the whole prayer is his composure, which was delivered by him to the Levites:
let not all the trouble seem little before thee; as if it was not enough; let it be judged sufficient, and no more be added, but mercy shown; Aben Ezra thinks the word "little" is not to be connected with "trouble", but with the nearest antecedent "mercy", and so GussetiusF26Ebr. Comment. p. 937. ; as if the sense was, let not thy mercy be small with thee, but let it be largely extended along with all the trouble, or at the time when trouble of every kind
comes 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 times of the kings of Assyria unto this day; but this sense is not clear, and makes it have respect to times to come; whereas it relates to time past, and to all the trouble and affliction they had met with from the Assyrian kings, from the time they invaded their land, and carried them captive, until this very time.
Howbeit, thou art just in all that is brought upon us,.... They own the justice of God, could not complain of any wrong done them; and had he shown them no mercy at all, it was but what they deserved:
for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly; he had done according to the truth of his word of promise, he had faithfully kept it, but they had transgressed his righteous law.
Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law,.... All ranks of men, from the highest to the lowest, had shown no regard, nor yielded obedience to the holy law of God:
nor hearkened unto thy commandments, and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them; moral and ceremonial, which were a testification of the will of God to them, and a testimony against them if they observed them not.
For they have not served thee in their kingdom,.... When in it, whether of Israel or of Judah, and when in the most flourishing circumstances:
and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them; amidst all the prosperity and affluence of good things they enjoyed, which was an obligation upon them to serve the Lord:
and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them; the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk, which lay open for them, their enemies being driven out before them, see Nehemiah 9:25,
neither turned they from their wicked works; their idolatries more especially.
Behold, we are servants this day,.... For though they had leave to return to their land, and rebuild their city and temple, yet they were still in subjection to the kings of Persia:
and for the land thou gavest unto our fathers, to eat the fruit thereof, and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it; though the rightful owners and proprietors of it by the gift of God to their ancestors, to hold it and enjoy the good of it, and yet were obliged to pay tribute for it to the kings of Persia, all excepting priests and Levites; see Ezra 6:8.
And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us, because of our sins,.... Though a very fruitful land, and brought forth much, yet not for them, but for foreign kings, that had the sovereignty over them, and enacted much toll, tribute, and custom from them, which greatly lessened the profit of the earth to them:
also they have dominion over our bodies; and could oblige them to work for them, and do any service they should command:
and over our cattle, at their pleasure; to carry burdens for them, or ride post with them:
and we are in great distress; being servants and tributaries to a foreign power.
And because of all this,.... Of all this distress, and that it might be removed, and be clear of it; or "in all this distress and evil", as Jarchi and Aben Ezra, in the midst of it all:
we make a sure covenant; or faithfully promise to observe the law of God, and particularly put away strange wives, and not intermarry with the people of the land:
and write it; that it may remain and be a testimony against them should they break it, being their own handwriting:
and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it; as witnesses of it, and thereby binding themselves to observe the same things; their names that sealed are given in the next chapter.