Nehemiah 13
1 Upon the reading of the law, separation is made from the mixed multitude.
4 Nehemiah, at his return, causes the chambers to be cleansed.
10 He reforms the offices in the house of God;
15 the violation of the sabbath;
23 and the marriages with the strange wives.
day <03117> [that day.]
Some suppose that the events recorded in these verses took place several years after those related in the preceding chapter, while Nehemiah was absent at the Persian court; but the introductory language, on that day, seems rather to imply that they occurred immediately, or at least about that time.
read <07121> [they read. Heb. there was read.]
hearing <0241> [audience. Heb. ears. the Ammonite.]
Moabite <04125> [Moabite.]
met <06923> [Because.]
hired Balaam <01109 07936> [hired Balaam.]
God <0430> [our God.]
heard <08085> [when they.]
removed from <0914> [that they.]
mixed ancestry <06154> [the mixed.]
Eliashib <0475> [Eliashib.]
appointed over ... storerooms <05414 03957> [having the oversight of. Heb. being set over.]
relative <07138> [allied.]
large <01419> [a great.]
commanded .... Levites <04687 03881> [which was commanded to be given to the. Heb. the commandment of the.]
Jerusalem <03389> [But.]
Jerusalem <03389> [was.]
Nehemiah came to Jerusalem in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, and remained there till the thirty-second, being twelve years; then returned to Babylon; and probably, after about a year, got leave to revisit his brethren, and found matters as here stated.
thirty-second <08147> [the two.]
After ... time <03117 07093> [after certain days. Heb. at the end of days.]
requested <07592> [obtained I. or, I earnestly requested.]
Then ... discovered <0995> [understood.]
done ..... supplying <06213> [in preparing.]
<03415> [it grieved.]
threw <07993> [I cast.]
purified <02891> [they cleansed.]
grain offerings <04521> [the portions.]
fields <07704> [to his field.]
[contend.]
temple <01004> [Why is the house.]
positions <05977> [place. Heb. standing.]
brought <0935> [brought.]
storerooms <0214> [treasuries. or, storehouses.]
gave instructions <0686> [I made.]
Shelemiah <08018> [Shelemiah.]
Pedaiah <06305> [Pedaiah.]
assistant <03027> [next to them. Heb. at their hand. Zaccur.]
Mattaniah <04983> [Mattaniah.]
regarded <02803> [counted.]
distribution <02505> [their office. Heb. it was upon them. to distribute.]
remember ....... God .................. God <02142 0430> [Remember me.]
wipe out <04229> [wipe not.]
If thou wert strict to mark what is done amiss, even my good deeds must be wiped out: but, Lord, remember me in thy mercy, and let my upright conduct be acceptable to Thee! By some, Nehemiah has been thought to deal too much with God on the principle of merit. That he wished God to remember him for good is sufficiently evident, and who does not wish the same? But that he expected heaven for his good deeds does not appear; for it is perfectly clear that he expected nothing from God but through the greatness of his mercy.
kindness ..... done <02617 06213> [good deeds. Heb. kindnesses. house.]
services <04929> [offices. or, observations.]
treading winepresses <01869 01660> [treading wine.]
loads <04853> [burdens.]
warned <05749> [I testified.]
Tyre <06876> [men of Tyre.]
So ... registered <07378> [I contended.]
ancestors acted <06213 01> [Did not your.]
causing ..... bring ............... causing <0935 03254> [ye bring more.]
evening shadows began to fall <06751> [began to be.]
ordered ......... directed <0559> [I commanded.]
warned <05749> [I testified.]
by ... wall <02346 05048> [about the wall. Heb. before the wall. I will lay.]
<0559> [I commanded.]
purify <02891> [cleanse.]
holy <06942> [sanctify.]
remember <02142> [Remember.]
pity ........ great <02347 07230> [spare me.]
great <07230> [greatness. or, multitude.]
Ammon <03427> [married. Heb. made to dwell with them.]
Ashdod <0796> [Ashdod.]
Ammon <05984> [Ammon.]
spoke .................. unable ... speak <01696 05234> [could not speak. Heb. they discerned not to speak. each people. Heb. people and people.]
So ..... complaint <07378> [I contended.]
curse <07043> [cursed. or, reviled.]
struck <05221> [smote.]
pulled <04803> [plucked.]
swear <07650> [made them.]
you will <05414> [Ye shall not.]
Solomon <08010> [Did not Solomon.]
many <07227> [yet among.]
loved <0157> [who was beloved.]
hear <08085> [Shall we then.]
unfaithful <04603> [to transgress.]
sons .... son <01121> [And one.]
Josephus relates, that this young man was named Manasseh; and that at his request, Sanballat and the Samaritans built their temple upon mount Gerizim, in opposition to that at Jerusalem, at which he officiated, in some measure, according to the Mosaic ritual.
Joiada <03111> [Joiada.]
Eliashib <0475> [Eliashib.]
son-in-law <02860> [son in law.]
Sanballat <05571> [Sanballat.]
banished ... from <01272> [I chased.]
remember <02142> [Remember.]
defiled <01352> [because they have defiled. Heb. for the defilings of.]
covenant <01285> [the covenant.]
purified <02891> [cleansed.]
assigned <05975> [appointed.]
wood <06086> [the wood.]
remember <02142> [Remember.]
CONCLUDING REMARKS ON THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH. Of Nehemiah, the author and principal actor in the events recorded in this book, the Jews speak as one of the greatest men of their nation. His concern for his country entitles him to the character of the first patriot that ever lived. Descended, according to some, of the family of Aaron, or according to others, of the tribe of Judah and allied to the royal family of David, in the course of Divine Providence, he was a captive in Babylon: but there his excellences were so apparent, that he was chosen by the Persian king to fill an office the most respectable and the most confidential in the whole court. Here he lived in ease and affluence: he lacked no good thing; and here he might have continued to live, in the same affluence, and in the same confidence; but he could enjoy neither, so long as he knew his people distressed, the sepulchres of his fathers trodden under foot, the altars of his God overturned, and his worship either totally neglected or corrupted. He sought the peace of Jerusalem; prayed for it; and was willing to sacrifice wealth, ease, safety, and even life itself, if he might be the instrument of restoring the desolations of Israel. And God, who saw the desire of his heart, and knew the excellences with which he had endowed him, granted his request, and gave him the high honour of restoring the desolated city of his ancestors, and the pure worship of their God. The opposition of Sanballat and the Samaritans, and the firmness and zeal with which he repelled their insults and ineffectual efforts cannot be read without the liveliest emotions; and will afford to the latest times, a noble and animating example of distinguished patriotism, united with the sincerest devotion to the interests of religion. The virtue and piety of this great and good man, appear with equal lustre in the numerous and important reformations he effected. He relieved the people from their hardships and oppressions, by abolishing the harsh and usurious practices of the nobles and rulers; gave up his own revenue, as governor of the province, for the benefit of the people; and, as a further means of conciliating their affections, exhibited an example of the most princely hospitality. As the best security for good morals, and the better observance of the laws of God, he re-established the offices of public worship, and prevented the profanation of the sabbath, which had arrived at a shameful excess; he furnished the returned captives with authentic registers, and enabled them, in the best manner possible, after so long and calamitous an interval, to trace the genealogies, and claim the inheritance of their respective families; and further, he accomplished the separation of the Jewish people from the mixed multitude, with which they had been incorporated, and annulled the numerous marriages which they had made with heathens and idolaters of every description. For disinterestedness, philanthropy, patriotism, prudence, courage, zeal, humanity, and every virtue that constitutes a great mind, and proves a soul in deep communion with God, Nehemiah will ever stand conspicuous among the greatest men of the Jewish nation; and an exemplar worthy of being copied by the first patriots in every nation under heaven.
