Nehemiah 8:8

8:8 They read from the book of God’s law, explaining it ¹  and imparting insight. Thus the people ²  gained understanding from what was read.

Nehemiah 9:3

9:3 For one-fourth of the day they stood in their place and read from the book of the law of the LORD their God, and for another fourth they were confessing their sins ³  and worshiping the LORD their God.

Nehemiah 8:18

8:18 Ezra ⁴  read in the book of the law of God day by day, from the first day to the last. ⁵  They observed the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day they held an assembly ⁶  as was required. ⁷ 

Nehemiah 13:1

Further Reforms by Nehemiah

13:1 On that day the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing ⁸  of the people. They found ⁹  written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God,

[8:8]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:3]  ³ tn Heb “confessing.” The words “their sins” are not present in the Hebrew text of v. 3, but are clearly implied here because they are explicitly stated in v. 2.

[8:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “He”; the referent (Ezra) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “the last day.”

[8:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “on the eighth day an assembly.” The words “they held” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “according to the judgment.”

[13:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “ears.”

[13:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “it was found.” The Hebrew verb is passive.