Nehemiah 8:7-8

8:7 Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah – all of whom were Levites ¹  – were teaching the people the law, as the people remained standing. 8:8 They read from the book of God’s law, explaining it ²  and imparting insight. Thus the people ³  gained understanding from what was read.

Nehemiah 8:2

8:2 So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly which included men and women and all those able to understand what they heard. (This happened on the first day of the seventh month.)

Nehemiah 1:3

1:3 They said to me, “The remnant that remains from the exile there in the province are experiencing considerable ⁴  adversity and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been burned down!” ⁵ 

Nehemiah 1:1

A Prayer of Nehemiah

1:1 ⁶ These are the words of Nehemiah ⁷  son of Hacaliah:

It so happened that in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, ⁸  I was in Susa ⁹  the citadel.

Nehemiah 1:3

1:3 They said to me, “The remnant that remains from the exile there in the province are experiencing considerable ¹⁰  adversity and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been burned down!” ¹¹ 

Hosea 4:6

4:6 You have destroyed ¹²  my people

by failing to acknowledge me!

Because you refuse to acknowledge me, ¹³ 

I will reject you as my priests.

Because you reject ¹⁴  the law of your God,

I will reject ¹⁵  your descendants.

[8:7]  ¹ tc The MT reads “and the Levites.” The conjunction (“and”) should be deleted, following the LXX, Aquila, and the Vulgate. That the vav (ו) of the MT is the vav explicativum (“even the Levites”) is unlikely here.

[8:8]  ² tn The exact meaning of the pual participle מְפֹרָשׁ (mÿforash) in this verse is uncertain. The basic sense of the Hebrew word seems to be “to make distinct.” The word may also have the sense of “to divide in parts,” “to interpret,” or “to translate.” The context of Neh 8:8 does not decisively clarify how the participle is to be understood here. It probably refers to the role of the Levites as those who explained or interpreted the portions of biblical text that had been publicly read on this occasion. A different option, however, is suggested by the translation distincte (“distinctly”) of the Vulgate (cf. KJV, ASV). If the Hebrew word means “distinctly” here, it would imply that the readers paid particular attention to such things as word-grouping and pronunciation so as to be sure that the listeners had every opportunity to understand the message that was being read. Yet another view is found in the Talmud, which understands translation of the Hebrew text into Aramaic to be what is in view here. The following explanation of Neh 8:8 is found in b. Megillah 3a: “‘And they read in the book, in the law of God’: this indicates the [Hebrew] text; ‘with an interpretation’: this indicates the targum; ‘and they gave the sense’: this indicates the verse stops; ‘and caused them to understand the reading’: this indicates the accentuation, or, according to another version, the Masoretic notes.” However, this ancient rabbinic view that the origins of the Targum are found in Neh 8:8 is debatable. It is not clear that the practice of paraphrasing the Hebrew biblical text into Aramaic in order to accommodate the needs of those Jews who were not at home in the Hebrew language developed this early. The translation of מְפֹרָשׁ adopted above (i.e., “explaining it”) understands the word to have in mind an explanatory function (cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, NLT) rather than one of translation.

[8:8]  ³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “great.”

[1:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “have been burned with fire” (so also in Neh 2:17). The expression “burned with fire” is redundant in contemporary English; the translation uses “burned down” for stylistic reasons.

[1:1]  ⁶ sn In ancient Judaism Ezra and Nehemiah were regarded as a single book with dual authorship. According to the Talmud, “Ezra wrote his book” (b. Bava Batra 15a). The Gemara then asks and answers, “And who finished it? Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.” Accordingly, the two are joined in the Leningrad Codex (ca. A.D. 1008), the manuscript upon which modern printed editions of the Hebrew Bible (e.g., BHK and BHS) are based.

[1:1]  ⁷ sn The name Nehemiah in Hebrew (נְחֶמְיָה, nÿkhemyah) means “the LORD comforts.”

[1:1]  ⁸ tn That is, the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign (cf. 2:1).

[1:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “Shushan.”

[1:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “great.”

[1:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “have been burned with fire” (so also in Neh 2:17). The expression “burned with fire” is redundant in contemporary English; the translation uses “burned down” for stylistic reasons.

[4:6]  ¹² tn Heb “they have destroyed” or “my people are destroyed” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[4:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “Because you reject knowledge”; NLT “because they don’t know me.”

[4:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “have forgotten”; NAB, NIV “have ignored.”

[4:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “forget” (so KJV, NRSV); NLT “forget to bless.”