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Texts -- Nehemiah 8:10-18 (NET)

Context
8:10 He said to them, “Go and eat delicacies and drink sweet drinks and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared . For this day is holy to our Lord . Do not grieve , for the joy of the LORD is your strength .” 8:11 Then the Levites quieted all the people saying , “Be quiet , for this day is holy . Do not grieve .” 8:12 So all the people departed to eat and drink and to share their food with others and to enjoy tremendous joy , for they had gained insight in the matters that had been made known to them. 8:13 On the second day of the month the family leaders met with Ezra the scribe , together with all the people , the priests , and the Levites , to consider the words of the law . 8:14 They discovered written in the law that the LORD had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month , 8:15 and that they should make a proclamation and disseminate this message in all their cities and in Jerusalem : “Go to the hill country and bring back olive branches and branches of wild olive trees , myrtle trees , date palms , and other leafy trees to construct temporary shelters , as it is written .” 8:16 So the people went out and brought these things back and constructed temporary shelters for themselves , each on his roof and in his courtyard and in the courtyards of the temple of God and in the plaza of the Water Gate and the plaza of the Ephraim Gate . 8:17 So all the assembly which had returned from the exile constructed temporary shelters and lived in them. The Israelites had not done so from the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day . Everyone experienced very great joy . 8:18 Ezra read in the book of the law of God day by day , from the first day to the last . They observed the festival for seven days , and on the eighth day they held an assembly as was required .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Ezra

    [ebd] help. (1.) A priest among those that returned to Jerusalem under Zerubabel (Neh. 12:1). (2.) The "scribe" who led the second body of exiles that returned from Babylon to Jerusalem B.C. 459, and author of the book of Scriptur...
    [nave] EZRA 1. A famous scribe and priest, Ezra 7:1-5, 6, 10, 21; Neh. 12:36. Appoints a fast, Ezra 8:21. Commissioned by Artaxerxes, returns to Jerusalem with a large company of Jews, Ezra 7:8. His charge to the priests, Ezra 8...

  • Tabernacles, Feast of

    [ebd] the third of the great annual festivals of the Jews (Lev. 23:33-43). It is also called the "feast of ingathering" (Ex. 23:16; Deut. 16:13). It was celebrated immediately after the harvest, in the month Tisri, and the celebra...
    [nave] TABERNACLES, FEAST OF, called also Feast of Ingathering. Instituted, Ex. 23:16; 34:22; Lev. 23:34-43; Num. 29:12-40; Deut. 16:13-16. Design of, Lev. 23:42, 43. The law read in coection with, every seventh year, Deut. 31:10-...

  • Feasts

    [nave] FEASTS Ancient customs at: Men alone present at, Gen. 40:20; 43:32, 34; 1 Sam. 9:22; Esth. 1:8; Mark 6:21; Luke 14:24; women alone, Esth. 1:9. Men and women attend, Ex. 32:6, with vs. 2,3;Dan. 5:1-3. Riddles propounded at,...

  • Nehemiah

    [nave] NEHEMIAH 1. Son of Hachaliah, Neh. 1:1. Cupbearer of Artaxerxes, Neh. 1:11; 2:1. Is grieved over the desolation of his country, Neh. 1. Is sent by the king to rebuild Jerusalem, Neh. 2:1-8. Register of the people whom he...

  • Joy

    [nave] JOY Attributed to God, Deut. 28:63; 30:9; Jer. 32:41. In heaven, Luke 15:10-32. See: Shouting. Unclassified Scriptures Relating to Deut. 12:18; 1 Sam. 2:1; 1 Chr. 16:27; 2 Chr. 7:10; Ezra 6:22; Neh. 8:10, 12; Neh. 12:43;...

  • Law

    [nave] LAW. Psa. 19:7-9; Psa. 119:1-8; Prov. 28:4, 5; Matt. 22:21 Luke 20:22-25. Luke 16:17; Rom. 2:14, 15; Rom. 7:7, 12, 14; Rom. 13:10; 1 Tim. 1:5, 8-10; Jas. 1:25; 1 John 3:4; 1 John 5:3 See: Litigation; Commandments; Duty to G...

  • Zeal

    [nave] ZEAL, Religious Josh. 24:15, 16; 2 Sam. 24:24, 25; 1 Kin. 9:4; 1 Kin. 15:14; 1 Chr. 29:17; 2 Chr. 15:15; 2 Chr. 19:3; Ezra 7:23; Job 16:19; Psa. 42:1, 2; Psa. 60:4; Psa. 96:2, 3, 10; Psa. 119:139; Prov. 11:30; Eccl. 9:10; ...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • Gates

    [nave] GATES Of cities, Deut. 3:5; Josh. 6:26; 1 Sam. 23:7; 2 Sam. 18:24; 2 Chr. 8:5. Made of iron, Acts 12:10; wood, Neh. 1:3; bronze, Psa. 107:16; Isa. 45:2. Double doors, Isa. 45:1; Ezek. 41:24. The open square of, a place fo...

  • TABERNACLES, THE FEAST OF

    [smith] (Exodus 23:16) ("the feast of ingathering"), the third of the three great festivals: of the Hebrews, which lasted from the 15th till the 22d of Tisri. The following are the principal passages in the Pentateuch which refer to...

  • Worship

    [nave] WORSHIP, to be rendered to God only, Ex. 20:3; Deut. 5:7; 6:13; Matt. 4:10; Luke 4:8; Acts 10:26; 14:15; Col. 2:18; Rev. 19:10; 22:8. See: Homage. Of Jesus, See: Jesus, Worship of. Acceptable to God, Gen. 4:4; 8:21. Of th...

  • LEVITICUS, 1

    [isbe] LEVITICUS, 1 - le-vit'-i-kus: I. GENERAL DATA 1. Name 2. Character of Book 3. Unity of Book: Law of Holiness Examination of Critical Theory II. STRUCTURE 1. Modern Analyses (1) Theories of Disintegration (2) Reasons for Dism...

  • Levites

    [nave] LEVITES The descendants of Levi. Set apart as ministers of religion, Num. 1:47-54; 3:6-16; 16:9; 26:57-62; Deut. 10:8; 1 Chr. 15:2. Substituted in the place of the firstborn, Num. 3:12, 41-45; 8:14, 16-18; 18:6. Religious ...

  • SABBATH

    [smith] (shabbath), "a day of rest," from shabath "to cease to do to," "to rest"). The name is applied to divers great festivals, but principally and usually to the seventh day of the week, the strict observance of which is enforced ...

  • Myrtle

    [ebd] (Isa. 41:19; Neh. 8:15; Zech. 1:8), Hebrew hadas, known in the East by the name as, the Myrtus communis of the botanist. "Although no myrtles are now found on the mount (of Olives), excepting in the gardens, yet they still e...
    [isbe] MYRTLE - mur'-t'-l (hadhac; mursine (Isa 41:19; 55:13; Neh 8:15; Zec 1:8,10 f); also as a name in Hadassah in Est 2:7, the Jewish form of ESTHER (which see)): The myrtle, Myrtus communis (Natural Order Myrtaceae), is a very ...
    [smith] a plant mentioned in (Nehemiah 8:15; Isaiah 41:19; 55:13; Zechariah 1:8,10,11) The modern Jews still adorn with myrtle the booths and sheds at the feast of tabernacles. Formerly, as we learn from Nehemiah, (Nehemiah 8:15) myr...
    [nave] MYRTLE, Neh. 8:15; Isa. 41:19; 55:13; Zech. 1:8.

  • FESTIVALS

    [smith] I. The religious times ordained int he law fall under three heads: Those formally connected with the institution of the Sabbath; This historical or great festivals; The day of atonement. Immediately connected with the instit...

  • TRUMPETS, FEAST OF

    [isbe] TRUMPETS, FEAST OF - 1. Description: In Lev 23:23-25 the first day (new moon) of the seventh month is set apart as a solemn rest, "a memorial of blowing of trumpets" (the Hebrew leaves "of trumpets" to be understood), signal...

  • Month

    [nave] MONTH Ancient use of, Gen. 7:11; 8:4. Twelve months reckoned to a year, 1 Chr. 27:1-15. 1. Abib (April). The Jewish calendar began with, Ex. 12:2; 13:4; Deut. 16:1. Passover instituted and celebrated in, Ex. 12:1-28; 23:1...

  • PINE TREE

    [ebd] Heb. tidhar, mentioned along with the fir-tree in Isa. 41:19; 60:13. This is probably the cypress; or it may be the stone-pine, which is common on the northern slopes of Lebanon. Some suppose that the elm, others that the oa...
    [isbe] PINE TREE - pin tre: (1) `ets shemen, translated the Revised Version (British and American) "wild olive," the King James Version "pine" (Neh 8:15); the Revised Version (British and American) "oil-tree," m "oleaster" (Isa 41:...
    [smith] Heb. tidhar . (Isaiah 41:19; 60:13) What tree is intended is not certain: but the rendering "pine," seems least probable of any. Shemen , (Nehemiah 8:16) is probably the wild olive.

  • Repentance

    [nave] REPENTANCE Attributed to God, Gen. 6:6, 7; Ex. 32:14; Deut. 32:36; Judg. 2:18; 1 Sam. 15:11, 29, 35; 2 Sam. 24:16; 1 Chr. 21:15; Psa. 106:45; 110:4; 135:14; Jer. 15:6; 18:8, 10; 26:3; 42:10; Joel 2:13; Amos 7:3, 6; Jonah 3:9...
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Arts

Questions

  • God gives joy and Christ was appointed to give it, since the Gospels, which treat of him, are the "good tidings" (Ecc. 2:26; Is. 61:3; Luke 2:10,11) and God's Word affords joy (Neh. 8:12; Jer. 15:16). Joy is promised to saint...

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • A period of 58 years separates Ezra 6 from Ezra 7 (515-458 B.C.). During this time the events in the Book of Esther took place in Persia and, in particular, Susa, one of the Persian capitals.Darius I (Hystaspes; 521-486 B.C.)...
  • "These things"(v. 1) refers to the events of the first return that the writer described in chapters 1-6.Ezra's genealogy (vv. 1-5) shows that he was a man of importance whom his fellow Jews would have respected. He was a desc...
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. I and II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah. London: SCM Press, 1973._____. "The Temple Vessels--A Continuity Theme."Vetus Testamentum Supplement23 (1972):166-81.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmilla...
  • The years of history the book covers are 445-431 B.C. or perhaps a few years after that.In 445 B.C. (the twentieth year of Artaxerxes' reign, 1:1) Nehemiah learned of the conditions in Jerusalem that led him to request permis...
  • For many years, believers regarded Ezra and Nehemiah as twin books. They called them 1 and 2 Ezra (or Esdras, the Greek transliteration of Ezra). Jerome, who lived in the fourth century A.D., gave 2 Ezra the name Nehemiah. Th...
  • I. The fortification of Jerusalem chs. 1-7A. The return under Nehemiah chs. 1-21. The news concerning Jerusalem 1:1-32. The response of Nehemiah 1:4-113. The request of Nehemiah 2:1-84. The return to Jerusalem 2:9-20B. The re...
  • This is not a list of the people who accompanied Nehemiah to Jerusalem in 444 B.C. but a record of those who returned with Sheshbazzar, Zerubbabel, and Jeshua in 537 B.C. (v. 7). It is almost identical to the list in Ezra 2.W...
  • One writer viewed chapters 8-13 (really 7:73-13:37) as the third part of the tripartite structure of Ezra-Nehemiah. Ezra 1:1-4 deals with "potentiality,"the decree to the community to build God's house. Ezra 1:5--Nehemiah 7:7...
  • "The reading of Scripture (Neh 8) and the act of prayer (Neh 9) followed by community commitment (Neh 10) is a model for worshiping communities."62This was another instance in Israel's history of a covenant renewal accompanyi...
  • The fact that Nehemiah did not move back to Susa when he finished the wall and secured the city shows that his concern was not primarily those projects. The larger goal of reestablishing the Jews in the land to which God had ...
  • Conviction of their departure from God's will fell on the people as they heard the Law read. Their initial reaction was to mourn and weep (v. 9). However the Law specified that the Feast of Trumpets was to be a joyous occasio...
  • Note that the spiritually revived people had an insatiable appetite to learn more about God's Word. This is a normal outcome of true revival.Apparently part of what Ezra and his associates read to the people, or at least to t...
  • Two days after the solemn assembly (8:18) the people were still mourning over their sins (9:1). This was a genuine spiritual revival. In obedience to God's Law the people broke off forbidden alliances with non-Jews (cf. Deut....
  • Nehemiah explained the agreement he previously referred to in 9:38 in this chapter. Conviction of sin (ch. 8) led to confession of sin (ch. 9) and resulted in a covenant with God (ch. 10)."Nehemiah 10, despite its forbidding ...
  • This portion of the book resumes the historical narrative in chronological order from 11:2 where it stopped. Probably the dedication took place soon after the covenant renewal ceremonies (chs. 8-10)....
  • The Book of Nehemiah records the fortification of Jerusalem and the restoration of the Jews, two essential steps that were necessary to reestablish God's people in His will and in their land.Nehemiah continued the good work t...
  • 11:14-15 The Lord then replied that many of the Jews in Jerusalem were saying that the Judahites who had gone into captivity were the ones that God was judging. They believed that the Jews left in Jerusalem were the remnant t...
  • The amount of detail devoted to the descriptions of the gate complexes, both outer and inner, emphasizes that access into the temple will be strictly controlled.40:6 Ezekiel's guide next measured the gate of the city that fac...
  • 1:7 Zechariah received another revelation from the Lord three months after his previous one in Darius' second year, 520 B.C.35"On the same day (24 Shebat), five months earlier, the rebuilding of the temple had been resumed (c...
  • The priests and the kings in Israel were responsible for justice in the nation (cf. Deut. 17:9; 2 Sam. 15:2-3), though neither group could prevent wickedness from proliferating. The sixth and seventh visions deal with the rem...
  • 14:16 The remaining former enemies of Israel who would not die would bow to the sovereignty of Yahweh (cf. 8:20-23; Isa. 2:2-4; 45:21-24; 60:4-14; Ezek. 40-48; Phil. 2:10). They would be expected to make annual pilgrimages to...
  • This event is the climax of the "identity of Jesus"motif in all the Synoptics. Here the disciples saw and heard who Jesus really was. Luke's particular emphasis was the sufferings of Jesus that were coming. This comes through...
  • Having announced His departure Jesus proceeded to offer the Holy Spirit for those who believed on Him (cf. chs. 14-16).7:37 The feast of Tabernacles lasted seven days (cf. Deut. 16:13). However the day following the feast was...
  • There are a number of contrasts between the 144,000 and this great multitude. The number of the first group is not only smaller but definite whereas the number of the second group is larger and indefinite. People from the 12 ...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. 2. ...
  • The joy of the Lord is your strength.'--Neh. 8:10.JUDAISM, in its formal and ceremonial aspect, was a religion of gladness. The feast was the great act of worship. It is not to be wondered at, that Christianity, the perfectin...
  • It is a commandment here, and it is a command in the New Testament as well. Neither be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.' I need not quote to you the frequent repetitions of the same injunction which the Apo...
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