31 and the peoples of the land who are bringing in the wares and any corn on the sabbath-day to sell, we receive not of them on the sabbath, and on a holy day, and we leave the seventh year, and usury on every hand.
In those days I have seen in Judah those treading wine-vats on sabbath, and bringing in the sheaves, and lading on the asses, and also, wine, grapes, and figs, and every burden, yea, they are bringing in to Jerusalem on the sabbath-day, and I testify in the day of their selling provision. And the Tyrians have dwelt in it, bringing in fish, and every ware, and selling on sabbath to the sons of Judah and in Jerusalem. And I strive with the freemen of Judah, and say to them, `What `is' this evil thing that ye are doing, and polluting the sabbath-day? Thus did not your fathers do? and our God bringeth in on us all this evil, and on this city, and ye are adding fierceness on Israel, to pollute the sabbath.' And it cometh to pass, when the gates of Jerusalem have been dark before the sabbath, that I speak, and the doors are shut, and I say, that they do not open them till after the sabbath; and of my servants I have stationed at the gates; there doth not come in a burden on the sabbath-day. And they lodge -- the merchants and sellers of all ware -- at the outside of Jerusalem, once or twice, and I testify against them, and say unto them, `Wherefore are ye lodging over-against the wall? if ye repeat `it', a hand I put forth upon you;' from that time they have not come in on the sabbath. And I say to the Levites, that they be cleansed, and, coming in, keeping the gates, to sanctify the sabbath-day. Also, this, remember for me, O my God, and have pity on me, according to the abundance of Thy kindness.
`And six years thou dost sow thy land, and hast gathered its increase; and the seventh thou dost release it, and hast left it, and the needy of thy people have eaten, and their leaving doth the beast of the field eat; so dost thou to thy vineyard -- to thine olive-yard.
and the seventh day `is' a Sabbath to Jehovah thy God; thou dost not do any work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and thy cattle, and thy sojourner who is within thy gates, --
Is not this the fast that I chose -- To loose the bands of wickedness, To shake off the burdens of the yoke, And to send out the oppressed free, And every yoke ye draw off?
Let no one, then, judge you in eating or in drinking, or in respect of a feast, or of a new moon, or of sabbaths,
and the lord of that servant having been moved with compassion did release him, and the debt he forgave him. `And, that servant having come forth, found one of his fellow-servants who was owing him an hundred denaries, and having laid hold, he took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that which thou owest. His fellow-servant then, having fallen down at his feet, was calling on him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all; and he would not, but having gone away, he cast him into prison, till he might pay that which was owing. `And his fellow-servants having seen the things that were done, were grieved exceedingly, and having come, shewed fully to their lord all the things that were done; then having called him, his lord saith to him, Evil servant! all that debt I did forgive thee, seeing thou didst call upon me, did it not behove also thee to have dealt kindly with thy fellow-servant, as I also dealt kindly with thee? `And having been wroth, his lord delivered him to the inquisitors, till he might pay all that was owing to him; so also my heavenly Father will do to you, if ye may not forgive each one his brother from your hearts their trespasses.'
Thus said Jehovah, Take ye heed to yourselves, And ye bear not a burden on the day of rest, Nor have ye brought `it' in by the gates of Jerusalem. Nor do ye take out a burden from your houses on the day of rest, Yea, any work ye do not do, And ye have sanctified the day of rest, As I have commanded your fathers.
If thou dost turn from the sabbath thy foot, Doing thine own pleasure on My holy day, And hast cried to the sabbath, `A delight,' To the holy of Jehovah, `Honoured,' And hast honoured it, without doing thine own ways, Without finding thine own pleasure, And speaking a word. Then dost thou delight thyself on Jehovah, And I have caused thee to ride on high places of earth, And have caused thee to eat the inheritance of Jacob thy father, For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken!
And there is a great cry of the people and their wives, concerning their brethren the Jews, yea, there are who are saying, `Our sons, and our daughters, we -- are many, and we receive corn, and eat, and live.' And there are who are saying, `Our fields, and our vineyards, and our houses, we are pledging, and we receive corn for the famine.' And there are who are saying, `We have borrowed money for the tribute of the king, `on' our fields, and our vineyards; and now, as the flesh of our brethren `is' our flesh, as their sons `are' our sons, and lo, we are subduing our sons and our daughters for servants, and there are of our daughters subdued, and our hand hath no might, and our fields and our vineyards `are' to others.' And it is very displeasing to me when I have heard their cry and these words, and my heart reigneth over me, and I strive with the freemen, and with the prefects, and say to them, `Usury one upon another ye are exacting;' and I set against them a great assembly, and say to them, `We have acquired our brethren the Jews, those sold to the nations, according to the ability that `is' in us, and ye also sell your brethren, and they have been sold to us!' and they are silent, and have not found a word. And I say, `Not good `is' the thing that ye are doing; in the fear of our God do ye not walk, because of the reproach of the nations our enemies? And also, I, my brethren, and my servants, are exacting of them silver and corn; let us leave off, I pray you, this usury. Give back, I pray you, to them, as to-day, their fields, their vineyards, their olive-yards, and their houses, and the hundredth `part' of the money, and of the corn, of the new wine, and of the oil, that ye are exacting of them.' And they say, `We give back, and of them we seek nothing; so we do as thou art saying.' And I call the priests, and cause them to swear to do according to this thing; also, my lap I have shaken, and I say, `Thus doth God shake out every man, who doth not perform this thing, from his house, and from his labour; yea, thus is he shaken out and empty;' and all the assembly say, `Amen,' and praise Jehovah; and the people do according to this thing.
to fulfil the word of Jehovah in the mouth of Jeremiah, till the land hath enjoyed its sabbaths; all the days of the desolation it kept sabbath -- to the fulness of seventy years.
`When there is with thee any needy one of one of thy brethren, in one of thy cities, in thy land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, thou dost not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy needy brother; for thou dost certainly open thy hand to him, and dost certainly lend him sufficient for his lack which he lacketh. `Take heed to thee lest there be a word in thy heart -- worthless, saying, Near `is' the seventh year, the year of release; and thine eye is evil against thy needy brother, and thou dost not give to him, and he hath called concerning thee unto Jehovah, and it hath been in thee sin;
`At the end of seven years thou dost make a release, and this `is' the matter of the release: Every owner of a loan `is' to release his hand which he doth lift up against his neighbour, he doth not exact of his neighbour and of his brother, but hath proclaimed a release to Jehovah; of the stranger thou mayest exact, and that which is thine with thy brother doth thy hand release;
`Observe the day of the sabbath -- to sanctify it, as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee; six days thou dost labour, and hast done all thy work, and the seventh day `is' a sabbath to Jehovah thy God; thou dost not do any work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and thine ox, and thine ass, and all thy cattle, and thy sojourner who `is' within thy gates; so that thy man-servant, and thy handmaid doth rest like thyself;
And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, in mount Sinai, saying, `Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, When ye come in unto the land which I am giving to you, then hath the land kept a sabbath to Jehovah. `Six years thou dost sow thy field, and six years thou dost prune thy vineyard, and hast gathered its increase, and in the seventh year a sabbath of rest is to the land, a sabbath to Jehovah; thy field thou dost not sow, and thy vineyard thou dost not prune; the spontaneous growth of thy harvest thou dost not reap, and the grapes of thy separated thing thou dost not gather, a year of rest it is to the land. `And the sabbath of the land hath been to you for food, to thee, and to thy man-servant, and to thy handmaid, and to thy hireling, and to thy settler, who are sojourning with thee; and to thy cattle, and to the beast which `is' in thy land, is all thine increase for food.
on the first day `is' a holy convocation, ye do no servile work, seven days ye bring near a fire-offering to Jehovah, on the eighth day ye have a holy convocation, and ye have brought near a fire-offering to Jehovah; it `is' a restraint, ye do no servile work.
and ye have proclaimed on this self-same day: a holy convocation is to you, ye do no servile work -- a statute age-during in all your dwellings, to your generations.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on Nehemiah 10
Commentary on Nehemiah 10 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO NEHEMIAH 10
In this chapter we have the names of the persons that signed and sealed the covenant mentioned in the last chapter, Nehemiah 10:1, and the things they agreed unto and promised to perform; in general to observe the law of God, in particular not to marry with the people of the land, to keep the sabbaths weekly and yearly, to pay annually the third part of the shekel for the service of the temple, to bring into it the wood offerings, first fruits, firstborn, and tithes, Nehemiah 10:28.
Now those that sealed were,.... That sealed the covenant, made Nehemiah 9:38.
Nehemiah the Tirshatha, the son of Hachaliah; the governor of the Jews:
and Zidkijah; who seems also to have been a prince, since, without, it could not be said it was sealed by their princes, Nehemiah 9:38 though some think both these were priests, and then the princes must be supposed to be among the chief of the people, Nehemiah 10:14, from hence to the end of the twenty seventh their names follow; the names of the priests, Nehemiah 10:2, who were in all twenty one; no mention is made either of Eliashib the high priest, nor of Ezra the priest and scribe; some think the former had not behaved well in his office, and that the latter was either sick, or returned to Babylon, or however hindered by some providence or another, since we hear of him both a little before and after, Nehemiah 8:2 then the names of the Levites, Nehemiah 10:9, in all seventeen, most of which we have met with in this book before; next follow the names of the chief of the people, Nehemiah 10:14, their number in all forty four; and their names may be observed in the list of those that came out of Babylon with Zerubbabel; the whole number of those that sealed, princes, priests, Levites, and chief of the people, were eighty four.
And the rest of the people,.... That did not sign and seal:
the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinims; the porters and singers were Levites; but those so called were such as waited upon the priests, as the Nethinims were persons that waited on them:
and all they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God; proselytes, who had renounced Heathenism, and embraced the true religion, had received the law of God, and professed to walk according to it:
their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone having knowledge, and having understanding; of the nature of the covenant, and the things contained in it, of what was required of them, and of what they promised, of the nature of an oath they entered into, and of the sin of perjury.
They clave to their brethren, their nobles,.... Who had signed and sealed the covenant, they declared their approbation of it, attended to it, and ratified what they had done in their name:
and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God's law, which was given by Moses the servant of God; they bound themselves with an oath that they would keep the law of God, and added a curse or imprecation on themselves to it should they break it; or, according to Piscator, they went into the space between the two pieces of the calf, which they cut asunder for the confirmation of the covenant, and so they cursed themselves if they should break it, see Jeremiah 34:18
and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our God, and his judgments and his statutes; all the laws, moral, ceremonial, and judicial; this they engaged to do in general; some particulars follow.
And that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons,.... Intermarry with them as they had done, and were prone to do, and even did after this, Nehemiah 13:23.
And if the people of the land bring ware,.... Any thing to be sold, any sort of goods, that being sold might be taken away, as the word signifies:
or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell; anything to make food of; wheat or barley, as Aben Ezra interprets it; the same word is rendered corn; see Gill on Genesis 42:1; to sell which was not lawful on the sabbath day, see Amos 8:5
that we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day; any festival, as the feast of the passover, pentecost, and tabernacles:
and that we would leave the seventh year: the ground untilled in that year, the vines unpruned, and the fruits of the earth, which sprung of themselves, for the poor to gather, Leviticus 25:4,
and the exaction of every debt; that they would not demand the payment of any debt on the seventh year, as the law required they should not, Deuteronomy 15:2.
Also we made ordinance, for us,.... Laws among themselves, binding them to that which the laws of God did not:
to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel, for the service of the house of our God; the particulars of which follow in the next verse; for the defraying of which there used to be a treasury in the temple; but now there was none, and therefore they took this method to assess themselves; and being poor, instead of the half shekel, which in some cases was required, they only charged themselves with the third part of one; though Aben Ezra thinks this was added to the half shekel, and was paid over and above that; according to BrerewoodF1De Pond. & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 1. , it was of the value of ten pence of our money: WaserusF2De Antiqu. Num. Heb. l. 2. has given us the figure of one of these coins, with this inscription, a "third" part of a shekel of Israel.
For the shewbread,.... To defray the expenses of the twelve loaves, which every week were set on the table of shewbread, Leviticus 24:5,
and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering; for the daily sacrifice, morning and evening, which always had a meat offering along with it, Exodus 29:38,
of the sabbaths, and of the new moons; on which were additional sacrifices, Numbers 28:9,
and for the set feasts; of passover, pentecost, and tabernacles; in which also were offered other sacrifices, besides the daily one, Numbers 28:16,
and for the holy things: which were both by way of thanksgiving to God, and that they might feast and rejoice together:
and for the sin offerings, to make an atonement for Israel; for the whole body of the people, and so were made at the public expense:
and for all the work of the house of our God; whatever else was necessary that is not mentioned.
And we cast the lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people,.... The priests and Levites were in one lot, and the people in another, as Aben Ezra:
for the wood offering; for providing wood to burn upon the altar continually, concerning which MaimonidesF3Hilchot Cele Hamikdash, c. 6. sect. 9, 10. Vid. Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Taanith, c. 4. sect. 5. thus writes:"what is the wood offering? there was a time fixed for families to go out unto the forests, and bring in wood of disposition (to be laid in order on the altar); and the day when it came to the turn of a family to bring the wood, they offered up freewill burnt offerings, which were called a wood offering; and it was to them as a good day (or festival), and they were forbid to mourn, fast, or do any work on it;'and he observes, that if a single person brought wood of his own free will, he was obliged to the same; and JosephusF4De Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 17. sect. 6. speaks of a feast called χυλοφορια, when it was customary for all to bring wood to the altar, to keep alive the sacred fire, that it might not go out, which, according to him, was on the fourteenth of the month Lois, or August; but this was not the business of all the people, lots were cast, as here said, who should do it, and when:
to bring it into the house of our God; the temple, where there was a place called the "wood room", into which the wood was brought after it had been wormed by the priestsF5See Lightfoot's Prospect of the Temple, ch. 25. .
after the houses of our fathers; or families on whom the lot fell to do it: some render it:
into the house of our fathers, meaning the same as before; the temple so called, because they built it, and worshipped God in it; so Jarchi and Aben Ezra:
at times appointed, year by year; as the lot directed; these, according to the Jewish doctorsF6Misn. Taanith, c. 4. sect. 5. , were nine times in the year; on the first of Nisan (or March), the sons of Arach, of the tribe of Judah, brought the wood; on the twentieth of Tammuz (or June), the posterity of David, of the tribe of Judah; on the fifth of Ab (or July), the children of Parosh, of the tribe of Judah; on the seventh of the same month, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab; on the tenth of the same month, the posterity of Senaah, of the tribe of Benjamin; on the fifteenth of the same month, the children of Zattu, and with them the priests and Levites, and all who were of an uncertain tribe, &c. on the twentieth of the same month, the posterity of Pahathmoab, of the tribe of Judah; on the twentieth of Elul (or August), the children of Adin, of the tribe of Judah; on the first of Tebeth (or December), the posterity of Parosh again brought the wood:
to burn upon the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the law; the wood should be burnt upon it, and fire kept on it continually, Leviticus 6:12, for this refers only to that, the wood offering is nowhere spoken of in the law.
And to bring the firstfruits of our ground,.... Not that they cast lots to do this, but they bound themselves with an oath, according to the law, to do it; this is the first of all the fruits of the earth, Exodus 23:19, though Aben Ezra restrains it to the sheaf of the firstfruits, and to the two wave loaves, Leviticus 23:10,
and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees; which, as Aben Ezra observes, their wise men restrain to the seven kinds only mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:8.
Also the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle,.... Such as were unclean, as Aben Ezra notes, as the ass, &c. and are distinguished from clean ones mentioned in the following clause; now both these, their sons, and this sort of cattle, were to be redeemed by a price paid to the priests: as it is written in the law, Exodus 13:2,
and the firstlings of our herds, and of our flocks; clean cattle, which were to be offered, Numbers 18:17,
to bring to the house of our God, unto the priests that minister in the house of our God; a price for the one sort, and the other for sacrifice.
And that we should bring the first fruits of our dough,.... According to the law in Numbers 15:20
and our offerings; their heave offerings, Numbers 18:8
and the fruit of all manner of trees; bore by them on the fourth year after their planting, Leviticus 19:23
of wine and oil; to which Aben Ezra restrains the fruit of the trees, see Numbers 18:12, all these they were to bring
unto the priests, to the chambers the house of our God; there to be laid up for the use of it; and oil and wine were frequently used in sacrifices:
and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our village; the tenth part of the produce of their agriculture everywhere throughout the land, see Numbers 18:21.
And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes,.... There was always to be a priest with the Levites at such times, to take notice what quantity they received, that they might not be under any temptation, or lie under any suspicion of defrauding the priests of their due, who were to have a part in the tithes, as follows:
and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house: which were in the court of the priests for that purpose; for out of the tithes of the Levites there was another tithe or tenth part taken, and given to the priests, see Numbers 18:26.
For the children of Israel, and the children of Levi, shall bring the offering of the corn, of the new wine, and the oil, unto the chambers,.... In the temple:
where are the vessels of the sanctuary; to put the said things into, that they might be ready at hand when wanted, as they often were for the meat and drink offerings:
and the priests that minister, and the porters, and the singers; who dwelt there when in their ministrations, and were supported by the above tithes and gifts:
and we will not forsake the house of our God; neither forsake the assembling themselves there for worship, nor neglect to make the necessary provisions for the service of it, as they had too much done, but now resolve for the future to behave better.