‏ Nehemiah 7:73

Summary for Neh 7:73-10:39: 7:73–10:39  ^a This section, perhaps originally a part of Ezra’s personal memoirs, describes how Ezra’s teaching of God’s law brought renewal of the people’s commitment to serve God and follow his instructions. Spiritual revival accompanied the civic work of Ezra and Nehemiah. 7:73  ^b their own towns throughout Israel: Each family settled in the land that had been inhabited by their ancestors before the Exile.

‏ Nehemiah 8

8:1  ^c The Water Gate was located toward the middle of the eastern wall of Jerusalem, south of the Temple and east of the palace ruins (3:26  ^d; 12:37  ^e). There was plenty of open space so no one would be excluded.
8:2  ^f on October 8: The people came together on this day to celebrate the Festival of Trumpets (Lev 23:24-25  ^g), which marked the beginning of a new year in the postexilic calendar.
8:3  ^h The timeframe from early morning until noon provided about six hours for reading and interpreting (8:7-8  ⁱ).

• understand (see also 8:2  ^j, 8  ^k, 12  ^l): This was not just a ritual reading of the law. It included explanations, insight, and application.
8:4  ^m These thirteen people were apparently community leaders. Some might have helped Ezra roll the scroll as he read.
8:5  ⁿ The people all rose to their feet out of respect for God’s word (Job 29:8  ^o). Apparently, they stood the whole time Ezra was reading.
8:6  ^p Ezra praised the Lord: See also 1:5  ^q; 9:32  ^r; Deut 10:17  ^s; Jer 32:18  ^t; Dan 9:4  ^u.

• Amen! A statement of agreement (see Neh 5:13  ^v). Lifting hands (Ps 28:2  ^w) and bowing in humble worship were signs of reverence for God and submission to his word.
Summary for Neh 8:7-9: 8:7-9  ^x The Levites always had the role of teaching people God’s word (Deut 33:10  ^y; Mal 2:5-6  ^z). In this case, they probably explained the meaning of the Hebrew Scriptures to smaller groups of people in Aramaic. Most of the people spoke Aramaic, the language of Babylon, rather than Hebrew as their first language. Jewish leaders eventually translated large portions of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic, allowing people to hear and study the Bible in a language they understood.
Summary for Neh 8:9-10: 8:9-10  ^aa Ezra the priest and scribe: See study note on Ezra 7:6.

• Don’t mourn or weep ... today is a sacred day: God touched the people’s hearts, prompting them to regret their failures to keep God’s laws. While weeping is an appropriate response to sin (see Ezek 9:4  ^ab; Luke 6:21  ^ac), Ezra and Nehemiah encouraged the people to rejoice at what God had done. Because this New Year’s festival was to be a time of joy (Num 29:1-6  ^ad), weeping would have destroyed the spirit of the day.
8:10  ^ae Rich foods such as meat were eaten only on a special occasion.

• Sweet drinks referred to unfermented juice, in contrast to the vinegar of the common laborer (see Ruth 2:14  ^af).

• It is right to share with those who have need (see Deut 15:11  ^ag; Job 29:16  ^ah; Prov 31:20  ^ai; Matt 6:2-3  ^aj; Acts 4:34-35  ^ak).
8:15  ^al make shelters in which they would live during the festival: The Festival of Shelters commemorated that the people of Israel had lived in tents during their wilderness journey (Lev 23:33-43  ^am; see also Num 29:12-39  ^an; Deut 16:13-15  ^ao).
8:16  ^ap The Ephraim Gate might have been located on the north side of Jerusalem, facing toward the territory of the tribe of Ephraim (see 12:39  ^aq).
8:17  ^ar since the days of Joshua: Although Israel had observed this festival on numerous occasions (1 Kgs 8:2  ^as; 2 Kgs 23:22  ^at; 2 Chr 7:8-10  ^au; 30:26  ^av; 35:18  ^aw; Ezra 3:4  ^ax), this was an exceptional celebration.
8:18  ^ay Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God: The law was to be read every seven years at the Festival of Shelters (Deut 31:10-12  ^az). It reminded the people of the covenant stipulations and of God’s past acts of grace.

‏ Nehemiah 9

9:2  ^ba Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners as they confessed their own sins: This sentence might allude to the problem of intermarriage with foreigners, as narrated in Ezra 9–10  ^bb.
9:3  ^bc They confessed their sins after hearing God’s word (cp. 8:1-9  ^bd, 13-14  ^be, 18  ^bf).
Summary for Neh 9:5-37: 9:5-37  ^bg This long prayer confesses the nation’s sins and praises God for his compassion throughout history (cp. Pss 105–106  ^bh; 135–136  ^bi). It prompted listeners to confess their own unfaithfulness and to call on God to be compassionate and forgive their sins.
Summary for Neh 9:5-6: 9:5-6  ^bj The Levites’ prayer praised God for his glorious reputation, his sole divinity, his creation of the universe, his providential care for life on earth, and his worship by angels. Putting the focus on God brought Israel’s present circumstances into proper perspective.
Summary for Neh 9:7-8: 9:7-8  ^bk God’s actions with Abram—calling him (Gen 12:1-3  ^bl; 15:7  ^bm), giving him a new name and identity (Gen 17:5  ^bn), making a covenant with him (Gen 15:6-21  ^bo; 17:4-5  ^bp), and fulfilling his promises of land and descendants (Gen 15:18-21  ^bq)—demonstrated God’s faithfulness and inspired confidence about what God would do in the future.
9:9  ^br God had paid attention to his people’s misery under foreign domination (Exod 2:23-25  ^bs; 3:7  ^bt; 14:10-14  ^bu), which was analogous to their present situation (Neh 9:32-37  ^bv).
Summary for Neh 9:10-11: 9:10-11  ^bw You have a glorious reputation: In the Exodus, God had demonstrated his character with plagues, parting the sea, and defeating the arrogant Egyptian army (Exod 15:5  ^bx, 9-10  ^by, 19  ^bz).
Summary for Neh 9:12-21: 9:12-21  ^ca This prayer reminded the people of God’s miraculous direction of Israel in the wilderness (Exod 13:21-22  ^cb), his personal appearance at Mount Sinai to reveal his covenant laws through Moses (see Exod 19–20  ^cc), and his faithfulness in providing bread ... and water (see Exod 16:4  ^cd; 17:1-6  ^ce). Despite all of that, Israel’s ancestors had been proud and stubborn and refused to obey (see Exod 32  ^cf; Num 14:4  ^cg). Yet in his grace, God remained faithful and had compassion (see Exod 34:6  ^ch) and provided his Spirit to direct and teach them (cp. Exod 33:2  ^ci; Num 11:17  ^cj).
9:24  ^ck You subdued whole nations: See Josh 6–12  ^cl.
9:25  ^cm Cp. Deut 6:10-11  ^cn; 8:6-10  ^co.

• they were full and grew fat: Prosperity proved to include spiritual danger (see Deut 8:11-20  ^cp).
Summary for Neh 9:26-27: 9:26-27  ^cq The prayer recounts the pattern in the book of Judges (see Judg 2:11-23  ^cr).
Summary for Neh 9:28-31: 9:28-31  ^cs The people did not learn from mistakes made in the period of the judges (9:26-27  ^ct), and the same pattern of disobedience emerged during the subsequent monarchy (cp. 2 Kgs 17  ^cu). Despite the nation’s persistent disobedience (Neh 9:29  ^cv), God was persistent in his love, patience, compassion, and guidance through the Spirit and through the prophets.
Summary for Neh 9:32-37: 9:32-37  ^cw And now: The prayer moves to the current situation, petitioning the great ... God—who has unfailing love—for continued love and mercy to his people in their present difficult situation (9:32  ^cx). The leaders recognized God’s justice in punishing them for their sins (9:33-35  ^cy), and they lamented their enslavement under the Persians (9:36-37  ^cz).
Summary for Neh 9:38-10:39: 9:38–10:39  ^da The people, embracing the prayer, renewed their dedication to God and his word. They signed their names to indicate their commitment (9:38–10:27  ^db) and took an oath to live by the covenant (10:28-39  ^dc). 9:38  ^dd making a solemn promise ... putting it in writing: These actions indicate a serious vow of faithfulness to the covenant. The sealed document had legal standing.

‏ Nehemiah 10

Summary for Neh 10:1-27: 10:1-27  ^de The eighty-four names included the governor: Nehemiah (10:1  ^df), and a group of priests (10:2-8  ^dg; cp. 12:1-7  ^dh), Levites (10:9-13  ^di; cp. 9:4-5  ^dj; 12:8-9  ^dk), and leaders (10:14-27  ^dl; cp. 3:4-31  ^dm).
10:28  ^dn separated themselves from the pagan people: See 9:2  ^do; cp. Ezra 9–10  ^dp.
10:29  ^dq swore a curse on themselves if they failed to obey the Law: Cp. Lev 26:14-35  ^dr; Deut 28:15-62  ^ds.
Summary for Neh 10:30-39: 10:30-39  ^dt Although the community had committed itself broadly to all the instructions in the law of Moses, some specific issues were being addressed in this commitment. These issues related to maintaining the purity of the community and worship at the Temple. 10:30  ^du Cp. Ezra 9–10  ^dv.
10:31  ^dw Ceasing trade on the Sabbath was necessary for covenant faithfulness (cp. 13:15-22  ^dx; see Exod 16:29  ^dy; 20:8-11  ^dz; 31:15  ^ea; Num 15:32-36  ^eb; Amos 8:5  ^ec).

• Every seventh year: See Exod 23:10-11  ^ed; Lev 25:2-7  ^ee; Deut 15:1-3  ^ef.
10:33  ^eg Bread of the Presence: See Lev 24:5-9  ^eh; Num 28:1-8  ^ei.

• everything necessary: With the money from the annual tax, priests could purchase the animals for daily sacrifices and maintain the Temple complex (cp. 2 Kgs 12:11-12  ^ej; see also Exod 30:11-16  ^ek).
10:34  ^el Because the fire on the altar burned continually (Lev 6:12  ^em), a good deal of wood was used. The Gibeonites provided it at an earlier time (Josh 9:27  ^en), but now it was a joint responsibility.
Summary for Neh 10:35-37: 10:35-37  ^eo Offerings from the community provided food for the priests and Levites, who had no allocations of agricultural land and no means of providing for themselves. These provisions came from the first part of every harvest (see Exod 23:19  ^ep; 34:26  ^eq; Num 18:12-13  ^er; Deut 26:1-11  ^es), the redemption money of five shekels paid for the oldest sons and the firstborn of all the herds and flocks (see Exod 13:13  ^et; 34:20  ^eu; Num 18:15-17  ^ev), as well as a tenth of everything (see Num 18:21-24  ^ew; Deut 14:22-29  ^ex).
Summary for Neh 10:37-39: 10:37-39  ^ey The Levites collected the tithes in all ... rural towns and sent a tenth of that collection to the Temple in Jerusalem (see Num 18:25-32  ^ez).