�EHEMIAH 10 COMME�TARYEDITED BY GLE�� PEASE

1 [a]Those who sealed it were:�ehemiah the governor, the son of Hakaliah.Zedekiah,

BAR�ES, "The “Zidkijah” of this passage is probably the same as “Zadok” Neh_13:13. “Zadok” is expressly called “the scribe,” and it was probably as the scribe who drew up the document that “Zidkijah” signed it immediately after Nehemiah.

CLARKE, "Now those that sealed - Four classes here seal. Nehemiah first, as their governor. And after him, secondly, The priests, Neh_10:2-8. Thirdly, The Levites, Neh_10:9-13. Fourthly, The chiefs of the people, Neh_10:14-27.

It is strange that, among all these, we hear nothing of Ezra, nor of the high priest Eliashib. Nor are any of the prophets mentioned, though there must have been some of them at Jerusalem at this time.

The whole of this chapter, the two first verses excepted, is wanting in the Arabic; the word Pashur of the third verse is retained; and the rest of the chapter is summed up in these words, and the rest of their assembly.

GILL 1-27, "Now those that sealed were,.... That sealed the covenant, made Neh_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, Neh_9:38 though some think both these were priests, and then the princes must be supposed to be among the chief of the people, Neh_10:14, from hence to the end of the twenty seventh their names follow; the names of the priests, Neh_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, Neh_8:2 then the names of the Levites, Neh_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, Neh_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.

HENRY, "When Israel was first brought into covenant with God it was done by sacrifice and the sprinkling of blood, Ex. 24. But here it was done by the more natural and common way of sealing and subscribing the written articles of the covenant, which bound them to no more than was already their duty. Now here we have,

I. The names of those public persons who, as the representatives and heads of the congregation, set their hands and seals to this covenant, because it would have been an endless piece of work for every particular person to do it; and, if these leading men did their part in pursuance of this covenant, their example would have a good influence upon all the people. Now observe, 1. Nehemiah, who was the governor, signed first, to show his forwardness in this work and to set others a good example, Neh_10:1. Those that are above others in dignity and power should go before them in the way of God. 2. Next to him subscribed twenty-two priests, among whom I wonder we do not find Ezra, who was an active man in the solemnity (Ezr_8:2) which was but the first day of the same month, and therefore we cannot think he was absent; but he, having before done his part as a scribe, now left it to others to do theirs. 3. Next to the priests, seventeen Levites subscribed this covenant, among whom we find all or most of those who were the mouth of the congregation in prayer, Ezr_9:4, Ezr_9:5. This showed that they themselves were affected with what they had said, and would not bind those burdens on others which they themselves declined to touch. Those that lead in prayer should lead in every other good work. 4. Next to the Levites, forty-four of the chief of the people gave it under their hands for themselves and all the rest, chiefly those whom they had influence upon, that they would keep God's commandments. Their names are left upon record here, to their honour, as men that were forward and active in reviving and endeavouring to perpetuate religion in their country. The memory of such shall be blessed. It is observable that most of those who were mentioned, Ezr_7:8, etc., as heads of houses or clans, are here mentioned among the first of the chief of the people that subscribed, whoever was the present head bearing the name of him that was head when they came out of Babylon, and these were fittest to subscribe for all those of their father's house. Here are Parosh, Pahathmoab, Elam, Zatthu, Bani (Neh_10:14), Azgad, Bebai, Bigvai, Adin, Ater, Hashum, Bezai, Hariph, Anathoth, and some others in the following verses, that are all found in that catalogue. Those that have interest must use it for God.

JAMISON, "Neh_10:1-27. The names of those who sealed the covenant.

Nehemiah, the Tirshatha — His name was placed first in the roll on account of his high official rank, as deputy of the Persian monarch. All classes were included in the subscription; but the people were represented by their elders (Neh_10:14), as it would have been impossible for every one in the country to have been admitted to the sealing.

K&D, "A covenant made (vv. 1-32), and an engagement entered into, to furnish what was needed for the maintenance of the temple, its services, and ministers (Neh_10:33-39). - Vv. 1-28. For the purpose of giving a lasting influence to this day of prayer and fasting, the assembled people, after the confession of sin (given in Neh 9), entered into a written agreement, by which they bound themselves by an oath to separate from the heathen, and to keep the commandments and ordinances of God, - a document being prepared for this purpose, and sealed by the heads of their different houses.

And because of all this we make and write a sure covenant; and our princes, Levites,

and priests sign the sealed (document). כל־זאת does not mean post omne hoc, after all

that we have done this day (Schmid, Bertheau, and others); still less, in omni hoc malo, quod nobis obtigerat (Rashi, Aben Ezra), but upon all this, i.e., upon the foundation of

the preceding act of prayer and penitence, we made אמנה, i.e., a settlement, a sure

agreement (the word recurs Neh_11:23); hence �רת is used as with רית, Neh_9:8. אמנה

may again be taken as the object of תבים�, we write it; החתום be understood as “our ועל

princes sealed.” החתום is the sealed document; comp. Jer_22:11, Jer_22:14. החתום עלmeans literally, Upon the sealed document were our princes, etc.; that is, our princes sealed or signed it. Signing was effected by making an impression with a seal bearing a

name; hence originated the idiom החתום על ”,he who was upon the sealed document“ ,אשר

meaning he who had signed the document by sealing it. By this derived signification is

the plural חחתומים they who were upon the document,” explained: they“ ,(Neh_10:2) על

who had signed or sealed the document.

COFFMA�, "Verse 1THOSE WHO SEALED THE COVE�A�T; TERMS OF THE COVE�A�T

This writer finds it impossible to believe the flat declaration of Bowman that, "�ehemiah 10:1-27 are interpolated,"[1] there being no historical evidence whatever of such a thing. The critical scholars seek to connect those verses with the Book of Ezra, but that notion is refuted absolutely by the fact that, of the families who returned (in the Book of Ezra), only fourteen of them are found in the list here of those who sealed the covenant; therefore these twenty seven verses belong exactly where they are in the Book of �ehemiah. We have already noted the defense of Y. Kaufmann who maintained that this chapter is a unit with �ehemiah 8 and �ehemiah 9, and that it belongs exactly where it is.[2]

The last verse of �ehemiah 9 states that, "Our princes, our Levites, and our priests seal unto it" (�ehemiah 9:38); and some scholars state that the list of these appears in reverse order,[3] but the principle difference is that in �ehemiah 10 (1) the princes are first (�ehemiah the governor), (2) then the priests, and (3) then the Levites. Thus, the principal difference is the reversal of the position of the priests and Levites, which is explained by the fact that in �ehemiah 9 the Levites are clearly the religious leaders of the confession and prayer, whereas in �ehemiah 10, where the sealing of the document takes place, the priests, who ranked higher than the Levites, naturally had preference in the order of their signing.

The actual signing of the covenant was apparently made by various groups, heads of houses, and officials, including some individuals, who affixed their seal instead of writing a signature. "The large number of such seals uncovered in recent excavations in Palestine shows that there is nothing improbable about this."[4]

We have noted already the reluctance of the priesthood, and even the treachery of some of them; but it is not surprising that they, seeing the popularity of the covenant, and following the lead of the governor �ehemiah, readily affixed their seals to it.

THE �AMES OF THOSE WHO SEALED

"�ow those that sealed were �ehemiah, the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah, Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, Hattasuh, Shebaniah, Malluch, Harim, Maremoth, Obadiah, Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah: these were the priests. And the Levites: namely, Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the son of Henadad, Kadmiel; and their brethren, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, Micah, Rehob, Hashabiah, Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Bani, Beninu. The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, Hariph, Anathoth, �obai, Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, and Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, Malluch, Harim, Baanah."

"Zedekiah" (�ehemiah 10:1). The identity of this person is not known. Some have supposed him to have been the same as Zadok (but Zadok is found in �ehemiah 10:21); others have imagined that he must have been the governor's secretary, which is as good a guess as any.

For all who wonder where the name of Ezra may be in this list, Cook's opinion offers the solution that, "The seal of the high-priestly house of Seraiah was probably appended, either by Ezra personally, or by Eliashib, both of whom were members of that house."[5]

COKE, "�ehemiah 10:1. Those that sealed were, �ehemiah, &c.— It appears from this, that the government of the Jews was an aristocracy, or a government in which the nobles were the rulers. This mode of administration continued till the time of the Asmodean princes; and thence, by a natural transition, passed into an absolute monarchy, or rather a tyranny.

BE�SO�, ". �ow those that sealed — Both in their own names, and in the name of all the rest. It may seem strange that Ezra doth not appear among them. But that might be because he was prevented by some sickness, or other extraordinary impediment. It is true we meet with Ezra after this, at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, (�ehemiah 12:36,) and therefore he was then freed from this impediment, whatsoever it was. It appears from hence, that the government of the Jews was an aristocracy, or a government in which the nobles were the rulers. This mode of administration continued till the time of the Asmodæan princes, and from thence, by a natural translation, passed into an absolute monarchy, or rather tyranny.

CO�STABLE, "Verses 1-393. The renewed commitment of the people ch10

�ehemiah explained the agreement he previously referred to in �ehemiah 9:38 in

this chapter. Conviction of sin (ch8) led to confession of sin (ch9) and resulted in a covenant with God (ch10).

" �ehemiah 10 , despite its forbidding portal of27 verses of proper names, is in reality a small treasure house of post-exilic interpretations of earlier Israelite law." [�ote: David Clines, " �ehemiah 10 as an Example of Early Jewish Biblical Exegesis," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament21 (1981):111.]

EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMME�TARY, "THE COVE�A�T

�ehemiah 10:1-39

THE tenth chapter of �ehemiah introduces us to one of the most vital crises in the History of Israel. It shows us how the secret cult of the priests of Jehovah became a popular religion. The process was brought to a focus in the public reading of The Law; it was completed in the acceptance of The Law which the sealing of the covenant ratified. This event may be compared with the earlier scene, when the law book discovered in the temple by Hilkiah was accepted and enforced by Josiah. Undoubtedly that book is included in Ezra’s complete edition of The Law. Generations before Ezra, then, though nothing more than Deuteronomy may have been forthcoming, that vital section of The Law, containing as it did the essential principles of Judaism, was adopted. But how was this result brought about? �ot by the intelligent conviction, nor by the voluntary action of the nation. It was the work of a king, who thought to drive his ideas into his subjects. �o doubt Josiah acted in a spirit of genuine loyalty to Jehovah, and yet the method he followed could not lead to success. The transient character of his spasmodic attempt to save his people at the eleventh hour, followed by the total collapse of the fabric he had built up, shows how insecure a foundation he had obtained. It was a royal reformation, not a revival of religion on the part of the nation. We have an instance of a similar course of action in the English reformation under Edward VI, which was swept away in a moment when his Catholic sister succeeded to the throne, because it was a movement originating in the court and not supported by the country, as was that under Elizabeth when Mary had opened the eyes of the English nation to the character of Romanism.

But now a very different scene presents itself to our notice. The sealing of the covenant signifies the voluntary acceptance of The Law by the people of Israel, and their solemn promise to submit to its yoke. There are two sides to this covenant arrangement. The first is seen in the conduct of the people in entering into the covenant. This is absolutely an act of free will on their part. We have seen that Ezra never attempted to force The Law upon his fellow-countrymen-that he was slow in producing it; that when he read it he only did so at the urgent request of the people, and that even after this he went no further, but left it with the audience for them to do with it as they thought fit. It came with the authority of the will of God, which to religious men is the highest authority, but it was not backed by the secular arm, even though Ezra possessed a firman from the Persian court which would have

justified him in calling in the aid of the civil government. �ow the acceptance of The Law is to be in the same spirit of freedom. Of course somebody must have started the idea of forming a covenant. Possibly it was �ehemiah who did so. Still this was-when the people were ripe for entering into it, and the whole process was voluntary on their part. The only religion that can be real to us is that which we believe in with personal faith and surrender ourselves to with willing obedience. Even when the law is recorded on parchment, it must also be written on the fleshy table of the heart if it is to be effective.

But there is another side to the covenant-sealing. The very existence of a covenant is significant. The word "covenant" suggests an agreement between two parties, a mutual arrangement to which each is pledged. So profound was the conviction of Israel that in coming to an agreement with God it was not possible for man to bargain with his Maker on equal terms, that in translating the Hebrew name for covenant into Greek the writers of the Septuagint did not use the term that elsewhere stands for an agreement among equals, but employed one indicative of an arrangement made by one party to the transaction and submitted to the other. The covenant, then, is a Divine disposition, a Divine ordinance. Even when, as in the present instance, it is formally made by men, this is still on lines laid down by God; the covenanting is a voluntary act of adhesion to a law which comes from God. Therefore the terms of the covenant are fixed, and not to be discussed by the signatories. This is of the very essence of Judaism as a religion of Divine law. Then, though the sealing is voluntary, it entails a great obligation; henceforth the covenant people are bound by the covenant which they have deliberately entered into. This, too, is a characteristic of the religion of law. It is a bondage, though a bondage willingly submitted to by those who stoop to its yoke. To St. Paul it became a crushing slavery. But the burden was not felt at first, simply because neither the range of The Law, nor the searching force of its requirements, nor the weakness of men to keep their vows, was yet perceived by the sanguine Jews who so unhesitatingly surrendered to it. As we look back to their position from the vantage ground of Christian liberty, we are astounded at the Jewish love of law, and we rejoice in our freedom from its irksome restraints. And yet the Christian is not an antinomian; he is not a sort of free lance, sworn to no obedience. He too has his obligation. He is bound to a lofty service-not to a law, indeed, but to a personal Master, not in the servitude of the letter, but, though with the freedom of the spirit, really with far higher obligations of love and fidelity than were ever recognised by the most rigorous covenant-keeping Jews. Thus he has a new covenant, sealed in the blood of his Saviour, and his communion with his Lord implies a sacramental vow of loyalty. The Christian covenant, however, is not visibly, exhibited, because a formal pledge is scarcely in accordance with the spirit of the gospel. We find it better to take a more self-distrustful course, one marked by greater dependence of faith on the preserving grace of God, by turning our vows into prayers. While the Jews "entered into a curse and into an oath" to keep the law, we shrink from anything so terrible, yet our duty is not the less because we limit our professions of it.

The Jews were prepared for their covenant by two essential preliminaries. The first

was knowledge. The reading of The Law preceded the covenant, which was entered into intelligently. There is no idea of what is called "implicit faith." The whole situation is clearly surveyed and The Law is adopted with a consciousness of what it means as far as the understanding of its requirements by the people will yet penetrate into its signification. It is necessary to count the cost before entering on a course of religious service. With a view to this our Lord spoke of the "narrow way" and the "cross," much to the disappointment of His more sanguine disciples, but as a real security for genuine loyalty. With religion, of all things, it is foolish to take a leap in the dark. Judaism and Christianity absolutely contradict the idea that "Ignorance is the mother of devotion."

The second preparation consisted in the moral effect on the Jews of the review of their history in the light of religion and their consequent confession of sin and acknowledgment of God’s goodness. Here was the justification for the written law. The old methods had failed. The people had not kept the desultory Torah of the prophets. They needed a more formal system of discipline. Here too were the motives for adopting the covenant. Penitence for the nation’s miserable past prompted the desire for a better future, and gratitude for the overwhelming goodness of God roused an enthusiasm of devotion. �othing urges us to surrender ourselves to God so much as these two motives-our repentance and His goodness. They are the two powerful magnets that draw souls to Christ.

The chronicler-always delighting in any opportunity to insert his lists of names-records the names of the signatories of the covenant. The seals of these men were of importance so long as the original document to which they were affixed was preserved, and so long as any recognised descendants of the families they represented were living. To us they are of interest because they indicate the orderly arrangement of the nation and the thoroughness of procedure in the ratification of the covenant. �ehemiah, who is again called by his Persian title Tirshatha, appears first. This fact is to be noted as a sign that as yet even in a religious document the civil ruler takes precedence of the hierarchy. At present it is allowed for a layman to head the list of leading Israelites. We might have looked for Ezra’s name in the first place, for he it was who had taken the lead in the introduction of The Law, while �ehemiah had retreated into the background during the whole month’s proceedings. But the name of Ezra does not appear anywhere on the document. The probable explanation of its absence is that only heads of houses affixed their seals, and that Ezra was not accounted one of them. �ehemiah’s position in the document is official. The next name, Zedekiah, possibly stands for Zadok the Scribe mentioned later, [�ehemiah 13:13] who may have been the writer of the document, or perhaps �ehemiah’s secretary. Then come the priests. It was not the business of these men to assist in the reading of The Law. While the Levites acted as scribes and instructors of the people, the priests were chiefly occupied with the temple ritual and the performance of the other ceremonies of religion. The Levites were teachers of The Law, the priests were its administrators. In the question of the execution of The Law, therefore, the priests have a prominent place, and after remaining in obscurity during the previous engagements, they naturally come to the front when the national acceptance of the Pentateuch is being confirmed. The hierarchy is so far

established that, though the priests follow the lay ruler of Jerusalem, they precede the general body of citizens, and even the nobility. �o doubt many of the higher families were in the line of the priesthood. But this was not the case with all of them, and therefore we must see here a distinct clerical precedence over all but the very highest rank.

Most of the names in this list of priests occur again in a list of those who came up with Zerubbabel and Jeshua, [�ehemiah 12:1-7] from which fact we must infer that they represent families, not individuals.. But some of the names in the other list are missing here. A most significant omission is that of the high-priest. Are we merely to suppose that some names have dropped out in course of transcription? Or was the high-priest, with some of his brethren, unwilling to sign the covenant? We have had earlier signs that the high-priest did not enjoy the full confidence of Ezra. The heads of the hierarchy may have resented the popularising of The Law. Since formerly, while the people were often favoured with the moral Torah of the prophets, the ceremonial Torah of the priests was kept among the arcana of the initiated, the change may not have been pleasing to its old custodians. Then these conservatives may not have approved of Ezra’s latest recension of The Law. A much more serious difficulty lay with those priests who had contracted foreign marriages, and who had favoured the policy of alliance with neighbouring peoples which Ezra had so fiercely opposed. Old animosities from this source were still smouldering in the bosoms of some of the priests. But apart from any specific grounds of disaffection, it is clear that there never was much sympathy between the scribes and the priests. Putting all these considerations together, it is scarcely too much to conjecture that the absentees were designedly holding back when the covenant was signed. The only wonder is that the disaffected minority was so small.

According to the new order advised by Ezekiel and now established, the Levites take the second place and come after the priests, as a separate and inferior order of clergy. Yet the hierarchy is so far honoured that even the lowest of the clergy precede the general body of the laity. We come down to the porters, the choristers, and the temple-helots before we hear of the mass of the people. When this lay element is reached, the whole of it is included. Men, women, and children are all represented in the covenant. The Law had been read to all classes, and now it is accepted by all classes. Thus again the rights and duties of women and children in religion are recognised, and the thoroughly domestic character of Judaism is provided for. There is a solidity in the compact. A common obligation draws all who are included in it together. The population generally follows the example of the leaders. "They clave to their brethren, their nobles," [�ehemiah 10:29] says the chronicler. The most effective unifying influence is a common enthusiasm in a great cause. The unity of Christendom will only be restored when the passion of loyalty to Christ is supreme in every Christian, and when every Christian acknowledges that this is the case with all his brother Christians.

It is clear that the obligation of the covenant extended to the whole law. This is called "God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God." [�ehemiah 10:29] �othing can be clearer than that in the eyes of the chronicler, at all events, it

was the Mosaic law. We have seen many indications of this view in the chronicler’s narrative. Can we resist the conclusion that it was held by the contemporaries of Ezra and �ehemiah? We are repeatedly warned against the mistake of supposing that the Pentateuch was accepted as a brand-new document. On the contrary, it was certainly received on the authority of the Mosaic origin of its contents, and because of the Divine authority that accompanied this origin. By the Jews it was viewed as the law of Moses, just as in Roman jurisprudence every law was considered to be derived from the "Twelve Tables." �o doubt Ezra also considered it to be a true interpretation of the genius of Mosaism adapted to modern requirements. If we keep this clearly before our minds, the Pentateuchal controversy will lose its sharpest points of conflict. The truth here noted once more is so often disregarded that it needs to be repeatedly insisted on at the risk of tautology.

After the general acceptance of the whole law, the covenant specifies certain important details. First comes the separation from the heathen-the burning question of the day. �ext we have Sabbath observance-also made especially important, because it was distinctive of Judaism as well as needful for the relief of poor and oppressed labourers. But the principal part of the schedule is occupied with pledges for the provision of the temple services. Immense supplies of fuel would be required for the numerous sacrifices, and therefore considerable prominence was given to the collecting of wood; subsequently a festival was established to celebrate this action. According to a later tradition, �ehemiah kindled the flames on the great altar of the burnt-offerings with supernatural fire. {RAPC 2 Maccabees 1:19-22} Like the Vestal virgins at Rome, the temple officials were to tend the sacred fire as a high duty, and never let it go out. "Fire shall be kept burning upon the altar continually," [Leviticus 6:13] was the Levitical rule. Thus the very greatest honour was given to the rite of sacrifice. As the restoration of the religion of Israel began with the erection of the altar before the temple was built, so the preservation of that religion was centred in the altar fire-and so, we may add, its completion was attained in the supreme sacrifice of Christ.

Finally, special care was taken for what we may call "Church finance" in the collection of the tithes. This comes last, yet it has its place. �ot only is it necessary for the sake of the work that is to be carried on, it is also important in regard to the religious obligation of the worshipper. The cry for a cheap religion is irreligious, because real religion demands sacrifices, and, indeed, necessarily promotes the liberal spirit from which those sacrifices flow. But if the contributions are to come within the range of religious duties, they must be voluntary. Clearly this was the case with the Jewish tithes, as we may see for two reasons. First, they were included in the covenant, and adhesion to this was entirely voluntary. Secondly, Malachi rebuked the Jews for withholding the payment of tithes as a sin against God, [Malachi 3:8-12] showing that the payment only rested on a sense of moral obligation on the part of the people. It would have been difficult to go further while a foreign government was in power, even if the religious leaders had desired to do so. Moreover, God can only accept the offerings that are given freely with heart and will, for all He cares for is the spirit of the gift.

LA�GE, "�ehemiah 10:1-8. Because of these twenty-three names fifteen are supposed to be found in the list ( �ehemiah 12:1-7) of the priests who came with Zerubbabel in the preceding century, it is held by many that this list contains only family names, and that these families were represented by descendants in the signing, Ezra, for example, signing for his ancestor Seraiah. But as we find �ehemiah in the list, and also the very Levites ( �ehemiah 10:9-13), who individually stood upon the stairs on the 24 th of Tisri ( �ehemiah 9:4-5), it is better to suppose that the similarity of the names is accidental, and that family names only occur in the list of the people, �ehemiah 10:14-27, if even there. The only alternative is harsh in two features: first, that the Levites on the stairs should be called, in a plain historical statement, by their family names; and secondly, that family names and personal names should be so strangely mixed. Moreover, it is to be noted that the family names of chap7 and of Ezra 2. are not all repeated here. We have abundant evidence of the very common use of the same names among the Israelites, and a theory, which that fact will explain, seems the easier one here.

PETT, "The �ames Of The Leaders Of Families Who Sealed The Sure Agreement (�ehemiah 10:1 a-27).

�ehemiah 10:1

‘�ow those who sealed were:’Literally ‘on the seal were --.’ The names are now given of the family heads who sealed the agreement. As we would expect the name of the Governor came first.

�ehemiah 10:1 b

The Governor (�ehemiah 10:1 b).

�ehemiah 10:1

‘ �ehemiah the governor (tirshatha), the son of Hacaliah,’�ehemiah is named as the Tirshatha, a Persian title used of him elsewhere in this book (�ehemiah 8:9). It is used, probably of Sheshbazzar, in �ehemiah 7:65; �ehemiah 7:70 and in Ezra 2:63. Unusually for the list, where patronyms are not given, his father’s name is given, but that was probably because he used the name with pride, and saw it as a matter of honour. It is the name by which he was identified when the book was introduced. It denoted his high status (�ehemiah 1:1).

�ehemiah 10:1

‘And Zidkijah.’ This may have been the name of �ehemiah’s Scribe, or of his Deputy Governor. Compare Ezra 4:17; Ezra 4:23; Ezra 6:13 where the chancellor’s scribe is referred to along with the chancellor. Alternately he could be the first of the priestly families, but this would go contrary to the parallel lists.

PULPIT, "THE �AMES OF THOSE WHO SEALED, A�D THE TERMS OF THE

COVE�A�T (�ehemiah 10:1-39.). The covenant which the Levites had recommended, probably at the suggestion of �ehemiah and Ezra, whose hand may perhaps be traced in the long address of the preceding chapter (verses 6-38), was at once accepted by the heads of the nation in Church and State, and was "sealed to" by �ehemiah, by his secretary, by the heads of the priestly and Levitical families, each sealing for his house, by the heads of various lay families or communities, and by a certain number of individual laymen, sealing (as it would seem) for themselves only. The rest of the people, those who did not actually seal, still "clave to their brethren," i.e. agreed with them, and accepted the obligations of the covenant as fully as if they had put their seals to it. There was no opposition, no dissentient voice, no party even which stood sullenly aloof. That sort of enthusiasm had come upon the nation which carries everything before it, and causes a whole multitude to become "as one man" for good or for evil. This time it was for good. The people bound themselves, first of all, in general terms, to keep the whole law, "to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord their Lord, and his judgments and his statutes" (verse 29); after which they went on to particularise certain special points of the law, recently infringed upon, which they bound themselves to observe in future. These were chiefly the following:—

1. The prohibition of intermarriage with the neighbouring idolatrous nations (verse 30);

2. The command to hallow the sabbath;

3. The law concerning the sabbatical year (verse 31);

4. The law of firstfruits (verses 35-37);

5. The obligation to pay tithes to the sacerdotal order (verses 37, 38).

Finally, they undertook certain new obligations, not expressly contained in the law, but perhaps regarded as flowing from it by way of natural consequence, or else as desirable modes of carrying out its provisions.

These were three in number, viz.—

1. The entire abolition of the custom which had grown up of lending money to their brethren upon pledge (see �ehemiah 5:3-13);

2. The support of the temple service by an annual tax upon each adult male, which was fixed for the present at the rate of one-third part of a shekel (verse. 32); and,

3. The supply of the wood requisite for keeping the fire alight upon the great altar, and for consuming the various offerings (verse 34).

It is-remarkable that these two latter regulations became permanent national institutions, maintaining themselves into Roman times, when we find them still

continuing (see Matthew 17:24; Joseph; 'Bell. Jud.,' Matthew 2:17, § 6).

�ehemiah 10:1

�ehemiah, as Tirshatha, or civil ruler, naturally appended his seal first of all. He was followed by Zidkijah, or Zadok, probably his secretary (�ehemiah 13:13).

BI 1-39, "Now those that sealed were, Nehemiah.

Covenanting with God -

I. The parties entering the covenant.

1. Nehemiah the governor. This is true greatness in the sight of God, to be foremost in consecration to the service of religion, and to stand among His people in trying times.

2. The priests. It is remarkable that the name of Eliashib, the high-priest does not appear in this list. It is honourable to the rest of the priests that notwithstanding this defection of their chief, so many of them set their hands to this holy bond.

3. The Levites. We observe among them almost all the names of those who took part in the previous solemnities of this memorable day. It is well, when those who are eminent in devotion are also eminent for devotedness. It sometimes happens that those who are gifted in prayer are not distinguished for holy practice.

4. The chiefs of the nation. This fidelity to the cause of truth adds a lustre to all earthly glory, and sets an ornament of grace on the noblest brow.

5. The rest of the people. It is a blessed thing when whole families thus unite together in the faith of Christ and the life of religion.

II. The engagements of the covenant.

1. Sins to be renounced. It is vain to make loud profession of spiritual experience, and of devotion to the Saviour, unless besetting sins are abandoned and a new course of obedience begun.

2. Duties to be performed.

(1) To give to God.

(2) To work for God (verse 34).

All vow to work for God, each in his own place, according to the Divine will, at the appointed times, and unwearied in well-doing. Henry Martyn wrote: “With resignation and peace, I can look forward to a life of labour and seclusion from earthly comforts, while Jesus stands near changing me into His holy image. How happy and honoured am I in being suffered to be a missionary.” And Levi Parsons testified: “I can subscribe with my hand to be for ever the Lord’s, to be sent anywhere, to do anything, to endure any hardship, live and die a missionary.”

(3) To wait on God.

III. The inferences deducible from the covenant.

1. We here see the propriety of religious covenanting.

2. The obligation in covenanting established. When you devote yourself to the Lord

in covenant, to obey the precepts of His Word, your essential obligation is not strengthened or altered; it is merely recognised by you, and promised to be fulfilled.

3. The benefits from covenanting illustrated. (W. Ritchie.)

Covenant comfort

Christmas Evans, after being sorely tried, was led to enter afresh into personal, covenant,, with God; and such was the joy in God which followed, that he said of it, After forming this covenant I felt great calmness and peace. I had the feelings of a poor man who has just come under the protection of the Royal Family, and has obtained a pension for life, the dreadful tear of poverty and want having left his house for ever. I felt the safety and shelter which the little chickens feel under the wings of the hen.” (The Thinker.)

A national covenant

On February 25, 1688, a memorable scene was witnessed in the churchyard of Greyfriars, Edinburgh. The National Covenant to maintain Presbyterianism, and to resist contrary errors, having been numerously signed within the church, the parchment was subsequently placed upon the flat tombstone, still extant, of Boswell of Auchinleck, where many others, to show their determination to die rather than yield, signed it with blood from their arms. History testifies that numbers of them endured much suffering rather than violate their pledge. If frail men will so keep their promise, much more must the Omnipotent (God honour His covenant. (The Thinker.)

2 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,

BAR�ES 2-8, "The names are not personal, but designate families. The seal of the high-priestly house of Seraiah was probably appended either by Ezra or Eliashib, both of whom belonged to it.

K&D 2-9, "At the head of the signatures stood Nehemiah the Tirshatha, as governor of the country, and Zidkijah, a high official, of whom nothing further is known, perhaps (after the analogy of Ezr_4:9, Ezr_4:17) secretary to the governor. Then follow (in vv. 3-9) twenty-one names, with the addition: these, the priests. Of these twenty-one names, fifteen occur in Neh_12:2-7 as chiefs of the priests who came up with Joshua and Zerubbabel from Babylon, and in Neh_12:11-20 as heads of priestly houses. Hence it is obvious that all the twenty-one names are those of heads of priestly classes, who signed the agreement in the names of the houses and families of their respective classes. Seraiah is probably the prince of the house of God dwelling at Jerusalem, mentioned Neh_11:11, who signed in place of the high priest. For further remarks on the orders of

priests and their heads, see Neh_12:1.

PETT, "The Priestly Families (�ehemiah 10:2-8).

Following the governor were named the priestly families, who would clearly be important in anything involving an agreement with God. It was they who represented Israel before God.

One problem we have in comparing these names with those used elsewhere is firstly that some of those who sealed the agreement may well have been using the family name, and secondly that at that time names were passed down in families by custom from grandfather to grandson. We can compare how the names given to the priestly houses in the time of Zerubbabel and Joshua over fifty years previously (�ehemiah 12:1-7) included names such as Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra (Azariah), Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, Shecaniah (Shebaniah), Rehum ( Harim), Meremoth, Ginnethol (Ginnethon), Abijah, Mijamin, Maadiah (Maaziah), Bilgah (Bilgai), and Shemaiah. It will be noted that these are paralleled below. Hattush and Harim were also the names of priestly families which arrived with Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel (�ehemiah 7:41-42; Ezra 2:38-39). But as some of those below would have sealed in the family name this is not as surprising as it might at first appear. Indeed, they may well have taken the family name on becoming head of the family. Others may have followed the custom at the time of being named after their grandfathers. Compare how the names reoccur in the list of fathers in the generation after the return (�ehemiah 12:12-21). The fact that Ezra is missing from the list is explained in terms of the fact that he was a son of Seraiah (Ezra 7:1), the latter sealing on behalf of the family. Unique to the list here are Passhur, Malchijah (see �ehemiah 3:11; �ehemiah 3:14; �ehemiah 3:31), Obadiah, Daniel, Baruch and Meshullam (see �ehemiah 3:4; �ehemiah 3:6; �ehemiah 3:30). But Daniel (of the sons of Ithamar) was a leading priest in Ezra’s expedition (Ezra 8:2)

The names of the priestly families are now given:

�ehemiah 10:2

‘Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,10:3 ‘Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,’10:4 ‘Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,’105 ‘Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,’10:6 ‘Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,’10:7 ‘Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,’10:8a Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah;’

PULPIT, "�ehemiah 10:2-8

The heads of the priestly houses attached their seals next; and among these the high-priestly house of Seraiah had, very properly, the precedence. The other names of

this list recur for the most part in �ehemiah 12:1-6, where they designate "priests" (i.e. priestly houses) "which went up with Zerubbabel." Eliashib, the high priest of the time, probably appended the seal of the house of Seraiah.

3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malkijah,4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluk,5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,8 Maaziah, Bilgai and Shemaiah.These were the priests.

BE�SO�, "�ehemiah 10:8. These were the priests — That is, the chief of them; for there are but twenty-one of them named here.

PETT, "�ehemiah 10:8

‘These were the priests.’It is unusual in these lists to find the explanation for those listed following their names. Elsewhere it is prior to the giving of their names (�ehemiah 7:39; �ehemiah 12:1; �ehemiah 12:12). But this may well have been done deliberately here because the writer wants to see them as sharing equal authority with the governor and his scribe, in view of the nature of the document. It is an agreement with God through His representatives. And indeed was probably prepared by the priests as the religious experts. To have headed them with ‘these were the priests’ would have relegated them rather to rank with those who followed, and separated them off from �ehemiah’s authority and from their prime part in the agreement. We can also compare how Jeshua, the High Priest, is named with others alongside Zerubbabel (�ehemiah 7:7).

9 The Levites:

Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,

PETT, "The �ames Of The Leading Levites Who Sealed The Agreement (�ehemiah 10:9-13).

�ehemiah 10:9

‘And the Levites:’�ext come the names of the leading Levites. But they were much more involved with the people than the priests (as chapter 9 has made clear). Thus their heading comes prior to their names.

�ehemiah 10:9

‘�amely, Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel;’The three chief Levites are named first. Compare for these names �ehemiah 8:7, where these three also come first, and �ehemiah 12:8 which makes clear that they are family names (for that three came with Zerubbabel).

They are then followed by ‘their brothers’.

PULPIT, "�ehemiah 10:9-13

Jeshua, Binnui, and Kadmiel represent the three chief families of returned Levites (see Ezra 2:40; Ezra 3:9; �ehemiah 7:43, �ehemiah 7:44; �ehemiah 9:4, �ehemiah 9:5, etc.). Binnui, it may be remarked, has now supplanted Kadmiel, and stepped into the second place. Of the remaining names, those of Hashabiah and Sherebiah designate families which returned with Ezra (Ezra 8:18, Ezra 8:19). The remaining names are probably also those of families.

10 and their associates: Shebaniah,Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,

PETT, "�ehemiah 10:10

‘And their brothers, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,’10:11 ‘Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,’10:12 ‘Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,’10:13 ‘Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.’�ote how six of these are named among the Levites involved in the expounding of the Law in chapter �ehemiah 8:7, namely Jeshua, Bani (Binnui), Sherebiah, Hodiah (Hodijah), Kelita, Hanan (Hanin). Furthermore a Sherebiah was a prominent Levite member of Ezra’s expedition (Ezra 8:18). The repetition of names such as Shebaniah and Hodiah is an indication of how common such names were, especially among the Levites.

K&D 10-14, "The Levites who sealed were: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel, and their brethren, fourteen names. Sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel returned, together with seventy-four other Levites, with Zerubbabel and Jeshua; Ezr_2:4; Neh_7:42. Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, and Sherebiah are also named in Neh_12:8 as heads of orders of Levites. Of the rest nothing further is known, but we may regard them as heads of Levitical houses.

11 Mika, Rehob, Hashabiah,12 Zakkur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,13 Hodiah, Bani and Beninu.14 The leaders of the people:Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,

BE�SO�, "�ehemiah 10:14. The chief of the people — It would have been tedious to make all the people subscribe and seal the writing, therefore the chiefs and princes of each family signed and sealed it in the name of the rest; and they seem to have subscribed in the name of him from whom the family was derived.

PETT, "�ehemiah 10:14

‘The chiefs of the people:’�ehemiah 10:14

‘ Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,’

PULPIT, "�ehemiah 10:14-27

The chief of the people. Down to Magpiash the names correspond to those of lay families which returned with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:3-30; �ehemiah 7:8-33), the first eighteen being personal, and the last three names of localities. �ebai is the same as "�ebo" (�ehemiah 7:33), and Magpiash the same as Magbish (Ezra 2:30). From Meshullam to Baanah (�ehemiah 10:20-27) the names seem to be again personal; but they are new, and therefore probably those of individuals who were not authorised to represent either clans or localities. In �ehemiah 10:17, the two names Ater and Hizkijah should be united by a hyphen, since it is clear that they represent the single family, Ater of Hezekiah, mentioned in Ezra it. 16 and �ehemiah 7:21. "Hizkijah"and "Hezekiah" are in the original identical.

10:15 ‘Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,’

K&D 15-28, "The heads of the people. Forty-four names, thirteen of which are found in the list (Ezra 2) of the kindreds who returned with Zerubbabel; see Ezra 2. The rest are names either of the heads of the different houses into which these kindreds were divided, or of the elders of the smaller towns of Benjamin and Judah. The fact that, while only thirty-three kindreds and placed are enumerated in Ezra 2, forty-four occur here, -although names of kindreds mentioned in Ezra 2, e.g., Shephatiah, Arah, Zaccai, etc., are wanting here, - is to be explained partly by the circumstance that these kindreds included several houses whose different heads all subscribed, and partly by fresh accessions during the course of years to the number of houses.

10:16 ‘Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,’10:17 ‘Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,’10:18 ‘Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,’10:19 ‘Hariph, Anathoth, �obai,’10:20 ‘Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,’10:21 ‘Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,’10:22 ‘Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,’10:23 ‘Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,’10:24 ‘Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,’10:25 ‘Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,’10:26 ‘And Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,’10:27 ‘Malluch, Harim, Baanah.’Of these names thirteen are found in the list of clans of returnees with Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel in chapter 7 (Ezra 2). These names therefore include the leaders of those clans. The remainder would be leaders of sub-clans into which the unmentioned clans of returnees were divided, or clans which had arrived subsequently, or leading city elders.

15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,17 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,18 Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,19 Hariph, Anathoth, �ebai,20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,21 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,26 Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,27 Malluk, Harim and Baanah.

28 “The rest of the people—priests, Levites, gatekeepers, musicians, temple servants and all who separated themselves from the neighboring peoples for the sake of the Law of God, together with their wives and all their sons and daughters who are able to understand—

CLARKE, "And the rest of the people - All had, in one or other of the classes which sealed, their representatives; and by their sealing they considered themselves

bound.

GILL, "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.

JAMISON, "Neh_10:28. The rest of the people bound themselves to obseve it.

Those who were not present at the sealing ratified the covenant by giving their assent, either in words or by lifting up their hands, and bound themselves, by a solemn oath, to walk in God’s law, imprecating a curse upon themselves in the event of their violating it.

COFFMA�, "Verse 28GE�ERAL ACCEPTA�CE OF THE COVE�A�T A�D TERMS THEREOF

"And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the �ethinim, and all they that had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one that had knowledge and understanding; they clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God's law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of Jehovah our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes; and that we would not give our daughters unto the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons; and if the peoples of the land bring wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy of them on the sabbath, or a holy day; and that we would forego the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt."

In this paragraph, four provisions of the covenant are given: (1) A strict promise to abide by all the divine commandments as revealed in the Law of Moses (�ehemiah 10:29); (2) the prohibition against mixed marriages with the pagans (�ehemiah 10:30); (3) strict observance of the sabbath day (�ehemiah 10:31); and (4) the honoring of the seventh year and its requirement of forgiving all debts (�ehemiah 10:31).

"Restriction against marriage with pagans." Ezra had dealt with this problem (Ezra 9-10); but the problem persisted, and there was constant need to address it.

"Keeping the sabbaths." " Jeremiah 17:21,22, and Amos 8:5 indicate clearly that trading on the sabbath day was prohibited."[6]

"The sabbatical year a time of release of debts."; Deuteronomy 15 required that all debts (among Israelites) be canceled, although that release did not apply to foreigners. Also, the fields were to lie fallow and remain uncultivated on the seventh year (Leviticus 25:2-7). "Such provisions would have greatly alleviated the distress in Jerusalem and all Judea (described in �ehemiah 5:1-4), but these regulations had apparently not been observed in Israel until this point."[7]

BE�SO�, "�ehemiah 10:28. And the rest of the people, &c. — Those that did not subscribe and seal, because there were too many, yet gave their consent to what the fore-named persons did. And not only the men, but their wives and their children, who were arrived at years of discretion, engaged themselves to abide by what their brethren the nobles had done. And all that had separated themselves — All those of the heathen who had abjured idolatry and joined themselves to the worship of the Jews.

CO�STABLE, "Verses 28-39The pledge to keep the Law10:28-39

The rest of the restoration community joined those who signed their names pledging to obey the Mosaic Law ( �ehemiah 10:28-29). The "curse" they took on themselves was submission to the curse that God promised would come on those who did not keep His Word ( �ehemiah 10:29; Deuteronomy 28:15-68). "Law" (Heb. torah) refers to all God"s instructions, "commandments" are His rules, "ordinances" are His judicial pronouncements, and "statutes" are His permanent decrees ( �ehemiah 10:29; cf. Deuteronomy 4:45).

These Jews promised, specifically, not to intermarry with pagans ( �ehemiah 10:30) and to keep the Sabbath day and the sabbatical year ( �ehemiah 10:31). They further committed to support the temple service financially ( �ehemiah 10:32-34), to give their firstfruits to God ( �ehemiah 10:35-37 a), and to pay their basic tithe tax ( �ehemiah 10:37-39). The last sentence in �ehemiah 10:39 shows that the primary concern of the people was the worship that was the heart of their national life. Their priorities were proper.

The Law required Israelites20 years old and older to pay one-half a shekel as a temple tax ( Exodus 30:11-16). This particular congregation only promised one-third of a shekel ( �ehemiah 10:32). Perhaps �ehemiah reduced the amount since the returned exiles were now poor (cf. �ehemiah 5:1-5). [�ote: Laney, p109; Whitcomb, p442.] Another explanation is that the people may have pledged this one-third shekel in addition to the other one-half. [�ote: Judah J. Slotki, Daniel ,, Ezra ,,

�ehemiah , p246.] A third possibility is that a different system of evaluating the shekel had replaced the older one. [�ote: McConville, p133.] The text is not specific on this point. In any case the people responded sacrificially.

ELLICOTT, "(28) All they that had separated themselves.—If these meant proselytes from heathenism, this verse would be a perfect description of the constituents of the people. But we have no record as yet of a recognised body of such proselytes; and the word “separated” is the same as we find, with another meaning, in �ehemiah 9:2. Moreover, the following verses show that the covenant bears specially in mind the danger to God’s law arising out of commerce with the heathen.

Having understanding.—Children who could intelligently take the oath were included.

LA�GE, "�ehemiah 10:28. The rest of the people,i.e., besides the chiefs given in �ehemiah 10:14-27. The word rest (Heb. shear) seems to carry its force to the other classes enumerated, to wit, the rest of the priests, etc.; that Isaiah, besides those enumerated. Every one having knowledge and having understanding.—This evidently qualifies the general phrase before it. �ot all the rest, but those who had knowledge and understanding, joined their brethren in the reform.

PETT, "The Remainder Of The People, Both Male And Female, The Priests, The Levites, The Temple Servants, �ew Converts To Yahwism, And The Children At An Age Of Understanding, All Enter Into The Solemn Agreement (�ehemiah 10:28-29 a).

So serious was the intent that the whole of the people solemnly subscribed to the agreement under oath.

�ehemiah 10:28-29

‘And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the �ethinim, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one who had knowledge, and understanding, they clove to their brothers, their nobles,’The list of those who subscribed is comprehensive. It included the remainder of the adult males, of the priest, of the Levites, of the gate-keepers, of the singers, of the �ethinim (the Temple servants), and of all who since they had returned to the land had united with them in the pure worship of YHWH in accordance with His Law from among the peoples of the lands (compare Ezra 6:21), together with their wives, sons and daughters, including all of an age to understand. �o one was omitted. They stood firm with their leaders in the agreement.

PULPIT, "�ehemiah 10:28

The rest of the people. i.e. those who had not appended their seals, whether others had sealed for them or no. The writer makes no exception, and thereby indicates a

very general, if not a universal, concurrence on the part of the nation. His enumeration of classes is the same as Ezra's (Ezra 2:70). All they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God. Such proselytes from the heathen as had joined themselves to the Jewish people since their return from the captivity (comp. Ezra 6:21). Every one having knowledge, and having understanding. All who were of age to understand the nature of the covenant and what was meant by sealing to it—not a specially "intelligent" or "learned" class, as Ewald supposes.

29 all these now join their fellow Israelites the nobles, and bind themselves with a curse and an oath to follow the Law of God given through Moses the servant of God and to obey carefully all the commands, regulations and decrees of the Lord our Lord.

CLARKE, "They clave to their brethren - Though they did not sign this instrument, yet they bound themselves under a solemn oath that they would fulfill the conditions of the covenant, and walk according to the law of Moses.

GILL, "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 Jer_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.

JAMISO�, "Neh_10:29-39. Points of the Covenant.

to observe and do all the commandments, etc. — This national covenant,

besides containing a solemn pledge of obedience to the divine law generally, specified their engagement to some particular duties, which the character and exigency of the times stamped with great urgency and importance, and which may be summed up under the following heads: that they abstain from contracting matrimonial alliances with the heathen; that they would rigidly observe the sabbath; that they would let the land enjoy rest and remit debts every seventh year; that they would contribute to the maintenance of the temple service, the necessary expenses of which had formerly been defrayed out of the treasury of the temple (1Ch_26:20), and when it was drained, given out from the king’s privy purse (2Ch_31:3); and that they would make an orderly payment of the priests’ dues. A minute and particular enumeration of the first-fruits was made, that all might be made fully aware of their obligations, and that none might excuse themselves on pretext of ignorance from withholding taxes which the poverty of many, and the irreligion of others, had made them exceedingly prone to evade.

K&D, "Neh_10:29

And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the door-keepers, the singers, the Nethinim, and all that had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, all who had knowledge and understanding, held with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into an oath and

curse, etc. מצזיקים is the predicate of the subjects in Neh_10:29 : they were holding with

their brethren, i.e., uniting with them in this matter. “The rest of the people, the priests,” etc., are the members of the community, exclusive of the princes and heads of the priestly and Levitical orders. The Nethinim, to whom belonged the servants of Solomon (see rem. on Ezr_2:43.), were probably also represented in the assembly by the heads of the Levites. To these are added all who had separated themselves, etc., i.e., the descendants of those Israelites who had been left in the land, and who now joined the

new community; see rem. on Ezr_6:21. The connection of ל� :is significant אל־�ורת with נב

separated from the heathen to the law of God, i.e., to live according thereto; comp. Ezr_6:21. Not, however, the men only, but also women and children of riper years, acceded to

the covenant. �ל־יודע"מבין, every one knowing, understanding (מבין and "יודע being

connected as an asyndeton, to strengthen the meaning), refers to sons and daughters of

an age sufficient to enable them to understand the matter. רריהם�$, their nobles, is

connected in the form of an apposition with אחיהם, instead of the adjective ירים� The .ה$

princes and the heads of the community and priesthood are intended. ב%לה וא, to enter

into an oath, comp. Eze_17:13. לה% is an oath of self-imprecation, grievous punishments

being imprecated in case of transgression; שבועה, a promissory oath to live conformably

with the law. We hence perceive the tenor of the agreement entered into and sealed by the princes. Non subscripsit quidem populus, remarks Clericus, sed ratum habuit, quid-quid nomine totius populi a proceribus factum erat, juravitque id a se observatum iri.Besides the general obligation to observe all the commandments, judgments, and statutes of God, two points, then frequently transgressed, are specially mentioned in Neh_10:31 and Neh_10:23. In Neh_10:31 : that we would not give our daughters to the people of the lands, etc.; see rem. on Ezr_9:2. In Neh_10:32 : that if the people of the land brought wares or any victuals on the Sabbath-day to sell, we would not buy if of them on the Sabbath, or on a holy day; and would let the seventh year lie, and the loan of

every hand. The words וגו ה%רץ are prefixed absolutely, and are afterwards ע)י

subordinated to the predicate of the sentence by מ(חות .מהם, wares for sale, from לקח, to

take, in the sense of to buy, occurs only here. מהם קדש .to take from them, i.e., to buy ,נ(ח

means the other holy days, the annual festivals, on which, according to the שת beside יום

law, Num 28 and 29, no work was to be done. To the sanctification of the Sabbath pertained the celebration of the sabbatical year, which is therefore named immediately

afterwards. The words הש את־ה*נה to let the seventh year lie, i.e., in the seventh year ,נטש

to let the land lie untilled and unsown, is an abbreviation taken from the language of the

law, Exo_28:10. כל־יד being ,מ-א not ,מ*א) This expression .נ,ש also depends upon מ*א

the reading of the best editions) is to be explained from Deu_15:2, and means the loan, that which the hand has lent to another; see rem. on Deu_15:2.

BE�SO�, "�ehemiah 10:29. They clave to their brethren, their nobles — The commonalty owned and ratified what the nobles had done in their names, declaring their assent to it by their words, or by lifting up of their hands, as the manner was. Great men never look so great as when they encourage religion, and are examples of it: and they would by that, as much as any thing, make an interest in the most valuable of their inferiors, who would cleave to them closer than they can imagine. Observe, their nobles are called their brethren; for in the things of God, rich and poor, high and low, meet together. And entered into a curse, and into an oath —That is, an oath under an execration. They obliged themselves by an oath to walk in God’s law, with an imprecation upon themselves, if they violated it; wishing, probably, that all the curses written in the law might fall upon them, if they did not observe it in all things.

COKE, "�ehemiah 10:29. And entered into a curse, and into an oath— 1:e. An oath under a conditional execration. Houbigant renders it, ut jus jurandum juremus, that we may take an oath. He supposes this verse to be connected with the preceding one, and accordingly renders it thus: Their nobles promising for their brethren, we come to enter into an oath, that we will walk, &c.

REFLECTIO�S.—1st, As in prayer they had engaged to join themselves anew to God, we have here the persons who subscribed, and the particulars of their engagement.

1. The persons who subscribed were, the chief of the fathers, with �ehemiah the governor, and the chief of the priests and Levites; the persons who by duty and office were most especially obliged to set the good example, and to use their influence to engage the people to the service of their covenant-God; and to this deed of their rulers, the people expressed their solemn consent; Jews and proselytes, women and children, all who were come to years of understanding, binding their souls under an awful imprecation to abide by the engagements they had entered into. �ote; (1.) In every good work they who are highest in dignity should be the first to lead. (2.) They who teach others what is right, must commend by their practice the word that they preach, and shew themselves examples of all that is

praise-worthy. (3.) When we give up ourselves to God, it becomes us to take heed to the simplicity and sincerity of our hearts before him, lest rash engagements involve our souls in guilt.

2. The covenant they entered into was, generally, a careful observance of all God's commands and institutions, which was before their bounden duty, and now declared to be their hearty choice; and particularly a separation of themselves from all forbidden intercourse with the heathen nations, a door at which most of their abominations had crept in; the strict observance of the sabbath-day, the great token of their peculiarity as a people set apart for God's service; the observance of the sabbatical year, when the ground was to rest; and the free discharge of their debtors at that time, according to Deuteronomy 15:2. �ote; (1.) A faithful heart will have respect to all God's commandments. (2.) Peculiar guard had need be placed over those temptations which we have seen to be the occasion of the fall of others, and proved most dangerous to ourselves. (3.) A careful observance of God's sabbaths is a chief means to preserve us in a constant course of fidelity in his service.

2nd, As the diligent and exact observance of the temple-worship would most effectually engage them to continue faithful to God, according to their vows, we have,

1. A general contribution agreed upon, of the third part of a shekel, about ten-pence annually, to be employed in purchasing the necessary provision for God's table and altar. �ote; Few or none are so poor, but, if they have a love of God's service, they will be able and willing to contribute their mite for the maintenance of a gospel-ministry.

2. They agreed, by lot, in turn to provide the wood for God's altar as it was needed, that there might be a regular and constant supply.

3. They engaged, according to the law, for the exact payment of their first-fruits, tithes, and redemption-money, and whatsoever was appointed for the maintenance of those who ministered at the altar. �ote; They who have lying upon them the great care of men's souls, ought not to be exposed to any anxiety about a worldly provision.

PETT, "The Details of The Agreement (�ehemiah 10:29-39).

Throughout the books of Ezra and �ehemiah certain particular contemporary issues stand out. These include the taking of idolatrous foreign wives (�ehemiah 13:23-27; Ezra 9-10), the failure to strictly observe the Sabbath (�ehemiah 13:15-22), and the exaction of debt from the poor (�ehemiah 5:1-13). In the prophecy of Malachi (roughly contemporary) the bringing in of the tithes is also emphasised (Malachi 3:7-12). Added to these was a requirement to maintain the cult (which was also of great concern to the Persian kings who wanted the gods on their side). That is why these were the main things which were dealt with here, although in the context of the whole Law.

�ehemiah 10:29

‘And they entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s Law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of YHWH our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes,’By entering into a solemn agreement with YHWH they knew that they were bringing themselves under the curses of Deuteronomy 27-28, which were a curse on all who did not ‘confirm the words of the Law to do them’ (Deuteronomy 27:26). That was the negative side. On the positive side they swore by an oath that they would walk in God’s Law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and that they would observe and do all the commandments, ordinances and statutes of YHWH their Lord. These were precisely what their fathers had been guilty of not doing (�ehemiah 9:16; �ehemiah 9:29; �ehemiah 9:34). As what follows makes clear, they saw as central to the statutes and ordinances those which related to the maintenance of their worship. The reading of the Law had seemingly brought home to them how neglectful they had been. We too should remember that whatever we get ‘involved in’, the worship of God must always remain central.

For ‘observing and doing’ compare Deuteronomy 5:1, which related to the ten commandments, and Deuteronomy 5:32; Deuteronomy 6:3; Deuteronomy 6:24-25; Deuteronomy 8:1, etc. which related to all God’s commands. For ‘walking in God’s Law’ compare Exodus 16:4; and for the equivalent ‘walking in God’s ways’ see Exodus 16:20; Deuteronomy 5:33; Deuteronomy 8:6; Deuteronomy 10:12; Deuteronomy 11:22; Deuteronomy 19:9; Deuteronomy 26:17; Deuteronomy 28:9; Deuteronomy 30:16; Joshua 22:5; Judges 2:22. Thus they were swearing on oath that they would do away with the sins of the past.

PULPIT, "�ehemiah 10:29

They clave to their brethren, their nobles. They gave their support and adherence to their more distinguished brethren who had attached their seals to the document, approving what they had done, and ratifying it. Entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God's law. Something of this kind seems to have occurred in the wilderness, when God's law was first given to his people (Deuteronomy 29:12); and therefore, when renewals of the covenant were made, and the people were required to ratify the act, it was natural to recur to the old sanction, An oath was probably taken of the people in the time of Josiah (2 Kings 23:3), when they are said to have "stood to the covenant." Moses the servant of God. The epithet "servant of God," or "servant of the Lord," attaches to Moses in a peculiar way. God called him (�umbers 12:7) "my servant Moses, who is faithful in all my house;" and henceforward "servant of God" was his epitheton usitatum (see Joshua 1:1; Joshua 8:31, Joshua 8:33; 1 Chronicles 6:49; 2 Chronicles 24:9; Daniel 9:11; Hebrews 3:5; Revelation 15:3). St. Paul contrasts "Moses, the servant" with "Christ, the Son" (Hebrews 3:1-6).

30 “We promise not to give our daughters in marriage to the peoples around us or take their daughters for our sons.

GILL, "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, Neh_13:23.

HE�RY 30-31, ". Some of the particular articles of this covenant, such as were adapted to their present temptations. 1. That they would not intermarry with the heathen, Neh_10:30. Many of them had been guilty of this, Ezr_9:1. In our covenants with God we should engage particularly against those sins that we have been most frequently overtaken in and damaged by. Those that resolve to keep the commandments of God must say to evil doers, Depart, Psa_119:115. 2. That they would keep no markets on the sabbath day, or any other day of which the law had said, You shall do no work therein. They would not only not sell goods themselves for gain on that day, but they would not encourage the heathen to sell on that day by buying of them, no not victuals, under pretence of necessity; but would buy in their provisions for their families the day before, Neh_10:31. Note, Those that covenant to keep all God's commandments must particularly covenant to keep sabbaths well; for the profanation of them is an inlet to other instances of profaneness. The sabbath is a market day for our souls, but not for our bodies. 3. That they would not be severe in exacting their debts, but would observe the seventh year as a year of release, according to the law, Neh_10:31. In this matter they had been faulty (ch. 5), and here therefore they promise to reform. This was the acceptable fast, to undo the heavy burden, and to let the oppressed go free, Isa_58:6. It was in the close of the day of expiation that the jubilee trumpet sounded. It was for the neglect of observing the seventh year as a year of rest for the land that God had made it enjoy its sabbaths seventy years (Lev_26:35), and therefore they covenanted to observe that law. Those are stubborn children indeed that will not amend the fault for which they have been particularly corrected.

BE�SO�, "�ehemiah 10:30. And that we would not give our daughters — �amely, in marriage. Having sworn obedience to God’s laws in the general, they now specify some particular instances, wherein they had lately transgressed, or were most prone to transgress. In our covenants with God, we should engage particularly against those sins that we have been most frequently overtaken in and injured by.

PETT, "�ehemiah 10:30

‘And that we would not give our daughters to the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons,’This command originally related to the Canaanites and their like in the land. See Exodus 34:16; Deuteronomy 7:1-4; Ezra 9:1-2; Ezra 9:12. The stated point was that the Canaanites and their like would drag them down into idolatry. Here it is being more widely applied to all the inhabitants of the land who were not true worshippers of YHWH, and this would include many syncretistic Jews. The ‘peoples of the land’ were all those who did not conform to the pure worship of YHWH. And the point was that they too would drag them down into idolatry. It was not a question of race, for men of most races could quickly become Israelites by submitting to YHWH (Exodus 12:48). It was a question of involvement in idolatry and false religious principles.

Compare how the same principle was applied to the people of Benjamin when they sinned grievously (Judges 21:7; Judges 21:18). Apart from the last example, the point in all the above verses was that, being involved in idolatry, the idolatrous wives and husbands would drag their husbands and wives down with them, as Ezra emphasises in Ezra 9:1-2 (and as had happened to Solomon long before). This is a good example of the way in which the Law was being modified to suit the circumstances while still following the principles of the Law. It was no longer restricted to the Canaanites etc. It had been widened to refer to all ‘the peoples of the land’ who indulged in syncretism and idolatry.

We should recognise that there was a great temptation to become involved with the peoples of the land, for they were often wealthy and influential. But to become involved with them was to become involved with idolatry. In the same way Christians are warned, ‘Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers’ (2 Corinthians 6:14).

31 “When the neighboring peoples bring merchandise or grain to sell on the Sabbath, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day. Every seventh year we will forgo working the land and will cancel all debts.

BAR�ES, "Bring ware ... on the sabbath day - Compare Neh_13:16, where this

desecration of the Sabbath is shown to have commonly taken place.

Leave the seventh year ... - i. e., “let the land rest in the sabbatical year” (margin reference) and give up the “pledge-taking” Neh_10:2-10.

CLARKE, "Bring ware - We will most solemnly keep the Sabbath. Leave the seventh year - We will let the land have its Sabbath, and rest every seventh year. See on Exo_23:10-11 (note).

GILL, "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 Gen_42:1; to sell which was not lawful on the sabbath day, see Amo_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, Lev_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, Deu_15:2.

BE�SO�, "�ehemiah 10:31. And if the people of the land — The heathen; bring ware or victuals on the sabbath day to sell, we would not buy it — They not only would not sell goods themselves for gain on that day, but they would not encourage the heathen to sell by buying of them, no, not victuals, under pretence of necessity, but would buy in their provisions for their families the day before. They that covenant to keep all the commandments of God, must particularly covenant to keep the sabbath holy. For the profanation of this is a sure inlet to all manner of profaneness. Or on the holy day — That is, on days of rest from labour, such as the passover, the first and seventh day of unleavened bread, Exodus 12:16, the feast of trumpets, Leviticus 23:25, and others. And that we would leave the seventh year —Let the land rest from ploughing or tilling in that year, and leave the fruit of it, which grew of itself, for the poor, as the law required. See the margin. And the exaction of every debt — Would remit, in that year, the debts owed by the poor. The Hebrew משא כל יד, masse cal jad, is literally, the burden of every hand. Debts may be so called, because they are commonly contracted or confirmed by a bill, declaration, or promise, given under the debtor’s hand. Or the meaning is, as in Isaiah 58:6, that they engage to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and to break off every yoke.

LA�GE, "�ehemiah 10:31. We would leave the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.—The verb natash (leave) here seems to have a pregnant meaning. We would leave fallow the land each seventh year (comp. Exodus 23:11), and remit at

that time (lit.) the debt of every hand. See Deuteronomy 15:2.

PETT, "�ehemiah 10:31

‘And if the peoples of the land bring wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy of them on the sabbath, or on a holy day.’Since Exodus 16 onwards doing any servile work on the Sabbath day had been forbidden (apart from what was essential for the wellbeing of their cattle and herds). It was an essential element in the redemption covenant, i.e. in the ten commandments (Exodus 20:9-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15), and it was an idea that was constantly repeated (e.g. Leviticus 23:3 and often). It applied equally to certain festal sabbaths (e.g. Leviticus 23:7), and it applied to ‘strangers’ in their midst, who were also to benefit by it (Exodus 23:12). Amos 8:5 makes clear that it was seen to include trading on the Sabbath. It was to be a day of rest and delight in the Lord (see Isaiah 58:13-14). But it was so easy to say, ‘we are not working by buying from foreigners, and they are not bound by the Sabbath laws’. This would, however, have been untrue. Lading an ass with purchased goods was undoubtedly ‘work’, and servants would regularly be involved in it.

Thus they promised that when the peoples of the land came with their goods to trade on the Sabbath day, they would not trade with them, or buy from them. For to do so would be to take their minds off delighting in the Lord, and would involve some of their number in servile work (loading up and unloading what was bought). It is clear later that this kind of abstinence from work had been neglected in this case, along with other examples such as pressing wine, gathering crops and loading up asses (�ehemiah 13:22). Thus the promise here, in respect of what might have been a doubtful situation to some (was buying work?) was resolved in a way which included observance of the Sabbath in every respect.

�ehemiah 10:31

‘And that we would forego the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.’As we saw in chapter 5 lending on interest and exacting debt had become a real problem among the poorest members of the Jewish community. But there the problem had been resolved by �ehemiah’s prompt action. Here then recourse is taken to the old laws on relieving poverty. Crops and fruit would not be gathered in the seventh year, but would be left so that the poor could gather them (Exodus 23:10-11). And all outstanding debt would be cancelled (Deuteronomy 15:1-2). �or were loans to be made in such a way as to have the year of release in mind (Deuteronomy 15:7-11). They were to be willing to suffer loss because they themselves had been redeemed from bondage. It is clear that these laws had been neglected. �ow they were to be reapplied.

PULPIT, "�ehemiah 10:31

If the people of the land bring ware … on the sabbath. If the heathen of this region will insist on bringing their wares into our cities and offering them for immediate

sale on the sabbath, we Jews bind ourselves not to deal with them on that day. Subsequently, �ehemiah carried out more stringent regulations (�ehemiah 13:15-22). Or on the holy day. Rather, "or on a holy day." The people bind themselves to abstain from trade not only on the sabbath, but on any holy day. That we would leave the seventh year. By "leaving the seventh year," leaving the lands untilled every seventh or sabbatical year is meant. This precept of the law had been frequently neglected during the times of the monarchy, and its neglect was one of the sins which the captivity was expressly intended to punish (2 Chronicles 36:21). It now appears that after the return the precept had been again disobeyed. The exaction of every debt. Literally, "the pledge of every hand." Compare �ehemiah 5:2-13, and note that, notwithstanding �ehemiah's curse and the people's assent to it (verse 13), the practice of lending upon pledge had recommenced.

32 “We assume the responsibility for carrying out the commands to give a third of a shekel[b] each year for the service of the house of our God:

BAR�ES, "The third part of a sheckel - This appears to have been the first occasion on which an annual payment toward the maintenance of the temple service and fabric was established. The half-shekel of the Law Exo_30:13 was paid only at the time of a census (which rarely took place), and was thus not a recurring tax. In later times, the annual payment was raised from the third of a shekel to half a shekel Mat_17:24.

CLARKE, "Charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel -According to the law, every one above twenty years of age was to give half a shekel to the sanctuary, which was called a ransom for their souls. See Exo_30:11-16. But why is one third of a shekel now promised instead of the half shekel, which the law required? To this question no better answer can be given than this: the general poverty of the people, occasioned by their wars, overthrows, heavy tributes, etc., in the land of their captivity: and now on their return, having little property, it was impossible for them to give more; and we know, from the terms of the law in this case, that the poor and the rich were obliged to give alike, because it was a ransom for their souls; and the souls of the poor and the rich were of like value, and stood equally in need of redemption; for all were equally fallen, and all had come equally short of the glory of God.

Though only a third part of a shekel was given at this time, and probably for the reason above assigned, yet when the people got into a state of greater prosperity, the half shekel was resumed: for it is clear that this sum was paid in the time of our Lord, though not to the temple, but to the Roman government. Hence when those who collected this

as a tribute came to our Lord, it was for the διδραχµα, didrachma, which was half a

shekel; and the coin with which our Lord paid for himself and Peter was a stater, which

contained exactly two half shekels. See Mat_17:24-27.

GILL, "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 Brerewood (a), it was of the value of ten pence of our money: Waserus (b) has given us the figure of one of these coins, with this inscription, a "third" part of a shekel of Israel.

HENRY, "Having covenanted against the sins they had been guilty of, they proceed in obliging themselves to revive and observe the duties they had neglected. We must not only cease to do evil, but learn to do well.

JAMISON, "the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God — The law required every individual above twenty years of age to pay half a shekel to the sanctuary. But in consequence of the general poverty of the people, occasioned by war and captivity, this tribute was reduced to a third part of a shekel.

COFFMA�, "Verse 32FURTHER PROVISIO�S OF THE COVE�A�T

"Also we made ordinances for us to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of God; for the showbread, and for the continual meal-offering, and for the continual burnt-offering, for the sabbaths, for the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin-offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of God."

"Also we made ordinances for ourselves" (�ehemiah 10:33). "This was merely a revival of a charge levied by Moses upon every Israelite twenty years old and upward to pay a half shekel (Exodus 30:13),"[8] the only difference being in their reduction of it to one third of a shekel.

This one-third of a shekel annual tax was levied against every Israelite and continued in force until the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Of course, through the years, the tax increased to the original half a shekel. Jesus Christ himself paid this tax for himself and the apostle Peter, in spite of our Lord's being exempt from it. This he did by sending Peter to take up the fish out of the sea of Galilee with a whole shekel in its mouth (Matthew 17:24-27). By this action, the Christ endorsed and approved the ordinance mentioned here. It was God's ordinance, despite the statement in �ehemiah 10:33 that "we made it." They only renewed an old duty.

The mention here of the showbread and of various kinds of sacrifices is only a detailed way of saying that the tax was for everything connected with the work in the house of God. For comments on the various things mentioned here, see our commentaries on the Pentateuch where all these things are first mentioned.

BE�SO�, "�ehemiah 10:32. To charge ourselves — Every particular person among us; yearly with a third part of a shekel — About ten-pence of our money; for the service of the house of our God — To provide the show-bread for the table, two lambs for the daily offerings, four for the sabbaths, and more costly sacrifices for other festivals, occasional sin-offerings, and meat offerings, and drink-offerings for them all, the charge of which was great and constant. Formerly these things had been provided from the treasures of the temple, (1 Chronicles 26:20,) and when these failed, from the king’s treasures: but now, both these failing, provision is here properly made for them another way.

ELLICOTT, "(32) Also we made ordinances for us.—The covenant proceeds now to certain new regulations and resumption of neglected duties.

To charge ourselves.—Origin of that annual rate for the general service of the Temple which afterwards was raised to a half shekel (Matthew 17:24). The more ancient half shekel of the law was only an occasional tax (Exodus 30:13).

LA�GE, "�ehemiah 10:32. The third part of a shekel.—This tax, thus first laid, became afterward a half shekel. (See Matthew 17:24, where the Greek is didrachma,i.e, a half shekel.) The half shekel tax of Exodus 30:13 is another matter, not an annual tax, but ransom money to be taken at a census as a mark of the Lord’s ownership.

PETT, "�ehemiah 10:32

‘Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God,’The interesting phrase ‘wemade ordinances’ is an acknowledgement of the fact that what they determined on here was an extension of the Law, although based on that Law. This was a man made ordinance (‘WE made’). Yet it followed godly examples. There is nothing in the Law about a yearly Temple Tax. However, there are precedents for the idea, in tithes themselves, and in the half shekel tax payable when there was a census (Exodus 30:11-16; Exodus 38:25-26), which would be used to enhance Tabernacle funds. But there may well have been a yearly census at the great feasts, in the times when those took place. These could be seen as supporting the idea of regular payments to the Temple. But in the end it was an act of benevolence and gratitude on the part of a people, many of whom were poor and would find a third of a shekel a large amount to have to pay. It was a sign of the depth of feeling that this revival had brought about. The cult must be effectively maintained in a way that honoured YHWH at all costs.

Indeed it is an indication of the depths of the poverty of the people as a whole that the tithes would later prove insufficient for what were quite clearly a small number of Levites, leaving them to have to neglect their office and fend for themselves (�ehemiah 13:10). For they were dependent on the tithes. Even though it be granted that the problem there was that the tithes had not been handed over to the level that they should have been, it is difficult to believe that in so short a time after the oath sworn here the whole of Israel/Judah should have ceased to pay any tithes at all, so that in view of the small number of Levites there should still have been sufficient to maintain them, unless dire poverty had also considerably reduced the amount of tithes given. �ote in this regard Israel’s own view that they were an ‘afflicted’ people (�ehemiah 10:32; �ehemiah 1:3), and the fact that even when they genuinely renewed their tithes, they were still not seen as sufficient to meet the needs of the Temple, hence the tax. In theory, given the small number of Levites, the tithes should have been overabundant. But whilst the Persian kings may have been relatively benevolent, their taxes were heavy, and most of the returnees were probably struggling to survive (as chapter 5 has revealed).

In their recent past much of the cost of the cult had often been met by the ‘generosity’ of the Persian kings (Ezra 6:9-10; Ezra 7:21-24). But this was spasmodic and not permanent. Thus the people were now providing for the permanent support of the cult.

PULPIT, "�ehemiah 10:32

To charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel. Hitherto the Jews had had no impost analogous to our "church-rate." The "half-shekel of the sanctuary," as it is called, being only payable on the rare, and forbidden, occasion of a census of the whole people (Exodus 30:13-16), could not possibly have served for the ordinary support of the temple service; but it was calculated to suggest to thoughtful minds the need of some regular fund, and the persons on whom the obligation lay to provide it. While the Jews were an independent nation, with their own kings and their own revenue, no difficulty had been felt in keeping up the service, since the kings easily provided for it; but in the existing condition of affairs the case was different. .A "governor" was not like a king; he was responsible; he was removable; he was bound to remit the great bulk of the taxes to the court. Under these circumstances, and probably in connection with an immediate need, the idea arose of a special (voluntary) tax, to be paid annually by all adult males, for the support of the service, the continual provision of the morning and evening sacrifice, the incense, the shew-bread, the red heifers, the scape-goat, the numerous victims, and the numerous meat and drink offerings required on various occasions, and especially at each of the great festivals. It was felt that the provision in the law ruled two things—

1. The uniformity of the tax; and,

2. The sphere of its incidence—that it should be paid by all adult males.

With regard to its proper amount, that had to be fixed by a consideration of existing needs in comparison with existing means. The third part of a shekel was determined on, as sufficient at the time; but it was not long ere for the third part the half-shekel was substituted, a return being thus made to the standard fixed by the law, and an ample provision made for the maintenance of the established rites in full completeness and efficiency (comp. Matthew 17:24-27).

33 for the bread set out on the table; for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings; for the offerings on the Sabbaths, at the �ew Moon feasts and at the appointed festivals; for the holy offerings; for sin offerings[c] to make atonement for Israel; and for all the duties of the house of our God.

GILL, "For the shewbread,.... To defray the expenses of the twelve loaves, which every week were set on the table of shewbread, Lev_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, Exo_29:38,

of the sabbaths, and of the new moons; on which were additional sacrifices, Num_28:9,

and for the set feasts; of passover, pentecost, and tabernacles; in which also were offered other sacrifices, besides the daily one, Num_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.

HENRY 33-37, "I. It was resolved, in general, that the temple service should be carefully kept up, that the work of the house of their God should be done in its season, according to the law, Neh_10:33. Let not any people expect the blessing of God unless they make conscience of observing his ordinances and keeping up the public worship of him. Then it is likely to go well with our houses when care is taken that the work of God's house go on well. It was likewise resolved that they would never forsake the house of their God (Neh_10:39), as they and their fathers had done, would not forsake it for the house of any other god, or for the high places, as idolaters did, nor forsake it for their farms and merchandises, as those did that were atheistical and profane. Those that forsake the worship of God forsake God.

II. It was resolved, in pursuance of this, that they would liberally maintain the temple service, and not starve it. The priests were ready to do their part in all the work of God's house, if the people would do theirs, which was to find them with materials to work upon. Now here it was agreed and concluded, 1. That a stock should be raised for the furnishing of God's table and altar plentifully. Formerly there were treasures in the house of the Lord for this purpose, but these were gone, and there was no settled fund to supply the want of them. It was a constant charge to provide show-bread for the table, two lambs for the daily offerings, four for the sabbaths, and more, and more costly, sacrifices for other festivals, occasional sin-offerings, and meat-offerings, and drink-offerings for them all. They had no rich king to provide these, as Hezekiah did; the priests could not afford to provide them, their maintenance was so small; the people therefore agreed to contribute yearly, every one of them, the third part of a shekel, about ten pence a-piece for the bearing of this expense. When every one will act, and every one will give, though but little, towards a good work, the whole amount will be considerable. The tirshatha did not impose this tax, but the people made it an ordinance for themselves, and charged themselves with it, Neh_10:32, Neh_10:33. 2. That particular care should be taken to provide wood for the altar, to keep the fire always burning upon it, and wherewith to boil the peace-offerings. All of them, priests and Levites as well as people, agreed to bring in their quota, and cast lots in what order they should bring it in, which family first and which next, that there might be a constant supply, and not a scarcity at one time and an overplus at another, Neh_10:34. Thus they provided the fire and the wood, as well as the lambs for the burnt-offerings. 3. That all those things which the divine law had appointed for the maintenance of the priests and Levites should be duly paid in, for their encouragement to mind their business, and that they might not be under any temptation to neglect it for the making of necessary provision for their families. Then the work of the house of God is likely to go on when those that serve at the altar live, and live comfortably, upon the altar. First-fruits and tenths were then the principal branches of the ministers' revenues; and they here resolved, (1.) To bring in the first-fruits justly, the first-fruits of their ground and trees (Exo_23:19; Lev_19:23), the first-born of their children (even the money wherewith they were to be redeemed) and of their cattle, Exo_13:2, Exo_13:11, Exo_13:12 (this was given to the priests, Num_18:15, Num_18:16), also the first-fruits of their dough (Num_15:21), concerning which there is a particular order given in the prophecy concerning the second temple, Eze_44:30. (2.) To bring in their tenths likewise, which were due to the Levites (Neh_10:37), and a tenth out of those tenths to the priest, Neh_10:38. This was the law (Num_18:21-28); but these dues had been withheld, in consequence of which God, by the prophet, charges them with robbing him (Mal_3:8, Mal_3:9), at the same time encouraging them to be more just to him and his receivers, with a promise that, if they brought the tithes into the store-house, he would pour out blessings upon them, Neh_10:10. This therefore they

resolved to do, that there might be meat in God's house, and plenty in the store-chambers of the temple, where the vessels of the sanctuary were, Neh_10:39. “We will do it (say they) in all the cities of our tillage,” Neh_10:37. In all the cities of our servitude, so the Septuagint, for they were servants in their own land, Neh_9:36. But (as Mr. Poole well observes), though they paid great taxes to the kings of Persia, and had much hardship put upon them, they would not make that an excuse for not paying their tithes, but would render to God the things that were his, as well as to Caesar the things that were his. We must do what we can in works of piety and charity notwithstanding the taxes we pay to the government, and cheerfully perform our duty to God in our servitude, which will be the surest way to ease and liberty in God's due time.

K&D 33-34, "Neh_10:33-34

We ordained for ourselves (עלינו, upon us, inasmuch as such things are spoken of as

are taken upon one). עלינו to lay upon ourselves the third part of a shekel yearly for ,לתת

the service of the house of our God. It is not said who were to be bound to furnish this contribution, but it is assumed that it was a well-known custom. This appointed payment is evidently only a revival of the Mosaic precept, Exo_30:13, that every man of

twenty years of age and upwards should give half a shekel as a רומה� to the Lord, - a

tribute which was still paid in Christ's days, Mat_17:24. In consideration, however, of the poverty of the greater portion of the community, it was now lowered to a third of a shekel. The view of Aben Ezra, that a third of a shekel was to be paid in addition to the

half shekel levied in conformity with the law, is unsupported by the text. העבודה, the

service of the house of God, is not the building and repairs of the temple, but the regular worship. For, according to Neh_10:34, the tax was to be applied to defraying the expenses of worship, to supplying the shew-bread, the continual meat and burnt offerings (Num_28:3-8), the sacrifices for the Sabbaths, new moons (Num_28:9-15),

and festivals (Num_28:16-29, 38), - for the קדשים, holy gifts, by which, from their

position between the burnt-offering and the sin-offering, we may understand the thank-offerings, which were offered in the name of the congregation, as e.g., the two lambs at Pentecost, Lev_23:19, and the offerings brought at feasts of dedication, comp. Exo_24:5; Ezr_6:17, - for the sin-offerings which were sacrificed at every great festival; and finally for all the work of the house of our God, i.e., whatever else was needful for

worship ("ל must be supplied from the context before �ל־מלאכת). The establishment of

such a tax for the expenses of worship, does not justify the view that the contributions promised by Artaxerxes in his edict, Ezr_7:20., of things necessary to worship had ceased, and that the congregation had now to defray the expenses from their own resources. For it may readily be supposed, that besides the assistance afforded by the king, the congregation might also esteem it needful to furnish a contribution, to meet the increased requirements of worship, and thus to augment the revenues of the temple, -the royal alms being limited to a certain amount (see Ezr_7:22).

LA�GE, "�ehemiah 10:33. The shew-bread.—Heb. lehem hammaareketh (bread of arrangement). The older phrase is lehem happanim (bread of the face). The continual meat-offering.—Heb. minhath hattamidh.—The continual burnt-offering.—Heb. olath hattamidh. So the shew-bread is called lehem hattamidh ( �umbers 4:7). So called as oft-recurring in distinction from the occasional offerings.

Here, as we see, the offerings are those of each day, of the sabbaths, and of the new moons.—The set feasts are mentioned separately with lamedh (for).

PETT, "�ehemiah 10:33

‘For the showbread, and for the continual meal-offering, and for the continual burnt-offering, for the sabbaths, for the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin-offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.’The Law never specifically says how these central offerings for the whole of Israel were to be provided. Possibly it was by means of the census contribution. But the showbread had to be supplied weekly, the daily offerings twice daily, and there were many offerings ‘for all Israel’ at the different feasts. To say nothing of the sin offerings which were to make atonement for the whole of Israel. Personal offerings and sacrifices would be the responsibility of the individual, but nothing is said about who would provide the offerings for the whole of Israel. �ow they were to be provided for by this ‘Temple tax’.

PULPIT, "�ehemiah 10:33

For the shew-bread. See Le 24:5-8. Small as the cost of the shew-bread was, consisting, as it did, of no more than twelve cakes of fine flour weekly, it is yet placed first on account of its importance, being the bread of God's presence, the type of the sacramental bread of the new covenant. The continual meat offering is that offering of flour mingled with fine olive oil which God had required to be offered twice a day, at morning and at evening, in conjunction with the two lambs, which constituted the continual burnt offering (�umbers 28:5). Of the sabbaths. i.e. "for the offering of the sabbath days," which consisted of two lambs with appropriate meat and drink offerings, in addition to the offering of every day (�umbers 28:9, �umbers 28:10). Of the new moons. Two bullocks, one ram, seven lambs, with appropriate meat and drink offerings (ibid. �ehemiah 10:11-14). For the set feasts. The passover, the feast of Pentecost, the feast of trumpets, and the feast of tabernacles. The offerings required at each are given with great exactness in �umbers 28:1-31, and �umbers 29:1-40. The holy things. "Wave-offerings" and "peace-offerings" (Le �umbers 23:10, �umbers 23:17, �umbers 23:19) are probably intended. They were "holy to the Lord for the priest" (ibid. �umbers 29:20). The sin offerings are those commanded in �umbers 28:15, �umbers 28:22, �umbers 28:30; �umbers 29:5, �umbers 29:11, �umbers 29:16, �umbers 29:19, etc. And for all the work of the house. The internal "work" of cleansing and keeping in proper order the apparatus of worship is probably intended, not external repairs.

34 “We—the priests, the Levites and the people—

have cast lots to determine when each of our families is to bring to the house of our God at set times each year a contribution of wood to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the Law.

BAR�ES, "No special provision was made by the Law, by David, or by Solomon, for the supply of wood necessary to keep fire ever burning upon the altar. Nehemiah established a system by which the duty of supplying the wood was laid as a burden in turn on the various clans or families, which were regarded as constituting the nation. The lot was used to determine the order in which the several families should perform the duty. A special day (the 14th of the fifth month, according to Josephus) was appointed for the bringing in of the supply; and this day was after a time regarded as a high festival, and called “the feast of the wood-offering.”

CLARKE, "Cast the lots - for the wood-offering - There does not appear to have been any wood-offering under the law. It was the business of the Nethinim to procure this; and hence they were called hewers of wood and drawers of water to the congregation. But it is very likely that after the captivity few Nethinim were found; for as such, who were the descendants of the Gibeonites, were considered only as slaves among the Israelites, they would doubtless find it as much, if not more, their interest to abide in the land of their captivity, than to return with their former masters. As there was not enough of such persons to provide wood for the fires of the temple, the people now cast lots, not who should furnish the wood, but what class or district should furnish it at a particular time of the year, so that there might be a constant supply. One district furnished it for one whole year, or for the first month or year; another, for the second month or year; and so on. Now the lot was to determine which district should bring the supply on the first month or year; which on the second; and so on. When the wood was brought, it was delivered to the Levites: they cut, prepared, and stacked it; and when wanted, delivered it to the priests, whose business it was to lay it upon the altar. Perhaps this providing of the wood was done only once a year by one district, the next year by another district, and so on: and this bringing the wood to the temple at last became a

great day; and was constituted into a feast, called by Josephus Ξυλοφορια, the carrying of

the wood. - See De Bell. Jud. lib. ii., cap. xvii., sec. 6, p. 194. This feast is not mentioned in the sacred writings: then there was no need for such an institution, as the Nethinim were sufficiently numerous.

GILL, "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 Maimonides (c) 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 Josephus (d) 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 priests (e).

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 doctors (f), 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, Lev_6:12, for this refers only to that, the wood offering is nowhere spoken of in the law.

JAMISON, "we cast the lots ... for the wood offering — The carrying of the wood had formerly been the work of the Nethinims. But few of them having returned, the duty was assigned as stated in the text. The practice afterwards rose into great importance, and Josephus speaks [The Wars of the Jews, 2.17, sect. 6] of the Xylophoria, or certain stated and solemn times at which the people brought up wood to the temple.

COFFMA�, "Verse 34THE WOOD-OFFERI�G; THE FIRST-FRUITS; A�D THE TITHES

"And we cast lots, the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood-offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn upon the altar of Jehovah our God, as it is written in the law; and to bring the first-fruits of our ground, and the first-fruits of all fruit of all manner of trees, year by year, unto the house of Jehovah; also the first-born of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, unto the priests that minister in the house of our God; and that we should bring the first-fruits of our dough, and our heave-offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, the new wine, and the oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites; for they, the Levites take the tithes in all the cities of our tillage. And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure-house. For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the heave-offering of the grain, of the new wine, and of the oil, unto the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God."

This paragraph merely spells out, very briefly, the obligations which had existed from the times of Moses in the Pentateuch; and for comments on these various kinds of gifts and offerings, our writings on all of these are somewhat extensive in our commentaries on the Pentateuch. There is no need whatever to rehearse such comments here.

The only thing new here is the casting of lots to determine who would bring the wood for use in the temple, and when they would bring it. Wood was probably much more plentiful in the early years of the monarchy; but, "The times had changed. Judah had been stripped of her forests; the Temple was relatively poor, and some permanent arrangement for the supply of wood was necessary. Lots were cast to determine who would bring it, and when they would do it."[9]

Another arrangement, which this writer does not remember from the Pentateuch is that of requiring the Levite to take the tithe in the presence of a priest. That, of course, was to prevent the Levite from cheating on the tithe of the tithe he paid to the priesthood!

BE�SO�, "�ehemiah 10:34. And we cast lots among the priests, &c. They now determined, by casting lots, how much wood every one should bring in, for his share, to maintain the fire continually upon the altar to burn the sacrifices; and in what order it should be brought; and at what times of the year.

ELLICOTT, "(34) As it is written in the law.—Leviticus 6:12 prescribes that the fire on the altar should be kept burning by wood. But here we have the origin of the “feast of the wood-offering”—a special day, subsequently substituted for the “times appointed year by year.” The lot determined the order in which the various classes

should supply the wood.

LA�GE, "�ehemiah 10:34. For the wood-offering.—Heb. kurban haetzim. The feast of the wood-offering (Josephus, B. J, II:17, 6) on the 14 th of Ab arose from this institution of �ehemiah. It was the day when those assigned to the duty brought in the wood for the altar. (See Leviticus 6:12)

PETT, "�ehemiah 10:34

‘And we cast lots, the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood-offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers’ houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of YHWH our God, as it is written in the Law,’Another example of something which was for the benefit of all, but the responsibility of none, was the provision of wood to keep the sacrificial fires burning (Leviticus 6:12-13). �ow this was to be provided for by those chosen by lot to have the privilege. All were involved. Priests, Levites and people. This was to be a permanent responsibility for those concerned, no doubt arranged by family. Each would in turn bring the wood-offering to keep the sacrificial fires burning, and it was itself seen as an offering. It is probable that we must assume that this had been a real problem in the past, otherwise it would not have required specific legislation.

PULPIT, "�ehemiah 10:34

We cast the lots for the wood offering. The "wood offering" is now first heard of. Fuel had probably been more plentiful in the times of the monarchy than it had now become, and the temple treasury had been rich enough to provide what was needed in order to keep the altar fire perpetually burning (Le �ehemiah 6:13). But times had changed. The hill-country of Judaea had gradually been stripped of its forests. The temple was, comparatively speaking, poor, and some permanent arrangement for the supply of the required fuel had become necessary. It would seem, from the present passage, that the arrangement actually made was one by which different families or districts undertook the duty of furnishing the wood in turn, and lots were cast to determine the order in which they should discharge the office. According to Josephus ('Bell. Jud.,' it. 17, § 6), the wood needed for a year was brought in on a particular day—the fourteenth day of the fifth month—which was kept as a festival, and known as the "Xylophoria." At times appointed year by year. It may be gathered from this that, originally, no single day was selected for bringing in all the wood; much less one and the same day appointed for every year. The original system was variable and elastic; but in course of time a rigid uniformity was introduced and established. As it is written in the law. See Le �ehemiah 6:12.

35 “We also assume responsibility for bringing to

the house of the Lord each year the firstfruits of our crops and of every fruit tree.

GILL, "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, Exo_23:19, though Aben Ezra restrains it to the sheaf of the firstfruits, and to the two wave loaves, Lev_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 Deu_8:8.

K&D, "Neh_10:35

“And we cast lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people for the wood-offering, to bring it into the house of our God, after our houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn upon the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the law.” In the law we merely find it prescribed that wood should be constantly burning on the altar, and that the priest should burn wood on it every morning, and burn thereon the burnt-offering (Lev_6:12.). The law gave no directions concerning the procuring of the wood; yet the rulers of the people must, at all events, have always provided for the regular delivery of the necessary quantity. Nehemiah now gives orders, as he himself tells us, Neh_13:31, which make this matter the business of the congregation, and the several houses have successively to furnish a contribution, in the order decided by casting lots. The words, “at times appointed, year by year,” justify the conclusion that the order was settled for several years, and not that all the different houses contributed in each year.

(Note: Josephus (bello Jud. ii. 17. 6) speaks of a τ:ν"ξυλοφορίων"?ορτή, which he

places on the fourteenth day of the month Λ:ος, i.e., Ab, the fifth month of the

Jewish year. From this Bertheau infers that the plural מז)נים _here and Neh ,ע�ים

13:31, denotes the one season or day of delivery in each year. But though the name of

this festival is derived from the present verse, the lxx translating העצים קרן"העצי ,על

πιρE"κλήρον"ξυλοφορίας, it appears even from what Josephus says of this feast, Gν"H"

πIσιν"Kθος"Mλην"τO"βωµO"προσφέρειν, that the feast of wood-carrying does not

designate that one day of the year on which the wood was delivered for the service of the altar. According to Mishna Taanit, ch. 4 (in Lightfoot's horae hebraicae in Matth. i. 1), nine days in the year were appointed for the delivery of wood, viz., 1st Nisan, 20th Tammuz, 5th, 7th, and 10th Ab, etc. Further particulars are given in Lundius, jüd. Heiligtümer, p. 1067f. The feast of wood-carrying may be compared with our harvest festival; and Bertheau's inference is not more conclusive than would be the inference that our harvest festival denotes the one day in the year on which the harvest is gathered in.)

BE�SO�, "�ehemiah 10:35. And to bring in the first-fruits — That is, they took an oath to do it; for this is to be understood, and not that they cast lots about it, as they did about the wood-offering mentioned in the foregoing verse. All the particulars of the first-fruits are exactly and distinctly mentioned, that none might pretend ignorance when they withheld any part of the priests’ dues, which, at that time especially, the people were very prone to do, through poverty, or covetousness, or profaneness, and that the priests’ rights might be firmly assured to them. Thus encouragement was given to the priests to mind their duty, and care was taken that they should be under no temptation to neglect it, in order to make the necessary provision for their families. Then the work of the house of God is likely to go on, when those who serve at the altar live comfortably upon the altar.

ELLICOTT, "(35) And to bring.—Following “we made ordinances” (�ehemiah 10:32). The various firstfruits are specified according to the Mosaic law, which made this expression of natural piety an obligation; and the minuteness of the specification implies that neglect had crept in.

LA�GE, "�ehemiah 10:36. The first born of our sons.—That Isaiah, by bringing redemption-money, as ordered in �umbers 18:15-16. Cattle.—Heb. behemoth. Here unclean beasts, as contrasted with the herds and flocks below. These were also redeemed. (See �um. l. c.)

PETT, "Verses 35-39Regulation In Respect Of Various Offerings (�ehemiah 10:35-39).

We do not know how far these offerings had been neglected. There is no reason for arguing that they had hitherto been unknown. Even granted that the Law had not been read out, some memory of them would have survived. But when they were living in Babylonia and elsewhere they would not have been observed, and the details may well have been forgotten by most. The priests, however, would undoubtedly have had a good knowledge of them (some who had served in the first Temple were still alive when the second Temple was built). Thus if there was a problem it was one of neglect or not paying heed to the priests, not one of total ignorance. But clearly the reading aloud of the Law had brought a number of things as reflected here, home to the listeners, and they now determined to be meticulous in meeting God’s requirements.

�ehemiah 10:35

‘And to bring the first-fruits of our ground, and the first-fruits of all fruit of all manner of trees, year by year, to the house of YHWH,’They swore also that they would bring the first-fruit offerings which would benefit the priests (Exodus 23:19; Exodus 34:26; compare Deuteronomy 26:1-11, which, however, may have been once for all). Once again it may well be that these had been neglected, partly through ignorance, and partly though negligence.

In Exodus the firstfruits are stated to be ‘the firstfruits of your ground’, but that necessarily includes fruit grown on trees which are rooted in the ground, in a similar way to that in which ‘the tithe of the land’ was to include ‘the fruit of the tree’ (Leviticus 27:30). Indeed �umbers 18:13 speaks of ‘whatever is first ripe in the land’. Here in �ehemiah all is made clear by speaking of ‘the first-fruits of all fruit of all manner of trees’. Trees were, however, a special case as their fruit in the first three years of their existence was not to be eaten, and all the fruit of the fourth year was YHWH’s (Leviticus 19:23-25).

The term ‘house of YHWH’ was regularly used of both the Tabernacle (Exodus 23:19; Exodus 34:26; Deuteronomy 23:18; Joshua 6:24; Judges 19:18; 1 Samuel 1:7; 1 Samuel 1:24; 1 Samuel 3:15; 2 Samuel 12:20) and the Temple.

PULPIT, "�ehemiah 10:35

And to bring the first-fruits … unto the house of the Lord. The idea of offering "first-fruits" may be ascribed to natural piety. They were well known to the Greeks and Romans ( ἀπαρχαί, primitiae). But in the Mosaic law they were commanded (Exodus 22:29; Exodus 23:19; Leviticus 23:10, Leviticus 23:17, etc.), and thenceforth became a matter of religious obligation. The present passage furnishes, however, distinct evidence that the obligation had now for some time been disregarded. The first-fruits of all fruit. First-fruits were required not merely of wheat and other grain, bat also expressly of wine and oil, the produce of the vine and olive, and by implication of all other fruit trees (see �umbers 18:12; Deuteronomy 18:4, etc.).

36 “As it is also written in the Law, we will bring the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, of our herds and of our flocks to the house of our God, to the priests ministering there.

CLARKE, "Also the first-born - See this law, and the reasons of it, Exo_13:1-13. As by this law the Lord had a right to all the firstborn, instead of these he was pleased to take the tribe of Levi for the whole; and thus the Levites served at the tabernacle and temple, instead of the first-born of all the tribes.

GILL, "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, Exo_13:2,

and the firstlings of our herds, and of our flocks; clean cattle, which were to be offered, Num_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.

K&D 36-38, "Neh_10:36-38

It was also arranged to contribute the first-fruits prescribed in the law. The infinitive

Neh_10:33. The first-fruits of the ,לתת and is co-ordinate with ,העמדנו depends on להביא

ground, comp. Exo_23:19; Exo_34:26; Deu_26:2; the first-fruits of all fruit trees, comp. Num_18:13; Lev_19:23; the first-born of our sons who were redeemed according to the estimation of the priest, Num_18:16, and of our cattle (i.e., in the case of the unclean, the required redemption, Exo_13:12., Num_18:15), and the firstlings of the herds and of the flocks, the fat of which was consumed on the altar, the flesh becoming the share of the priests, Num_18:17. In Neh_10:38 the construction is altered, the first person of the

imperfect taking the place of the infinitive: and we will bring the first-fruits. ערסות,

probably groats or ground flour; see rem. on Num_15:20, etc. תרומות, heave-offerings,

the offering in this connection, is probably that of wheat and barley, Eze_45:13, or of the fruits of the field, which are suitably followed by the “fruit of all manner of trees.” On “the first of the wine and oil,” comp. Num_18:12. These offerings of first-fruits were to be brought into the chambers of the house of God, where they were to be kept in store, and distributed to the priests for their support. “And the tithes of our ground (will we bring) to the Levites; and they, the Levites, receive the tithes in all our country towns. (Neh_10:39) And a priest, a son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites take tithes; and the Levites shall bring the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, into the

chambers of the treasury.” The parenthetical sentences in these verses, המעשרים הלוWם והם

and םWהלו עשר, have been variously understood. עשר in the Piel and Hiphil meaning

elsewhere to pay tithe, comp. Deu_14:22; Deu_26:12; Gen_28:22, many expositors adhere to this meaning in these passages also, and translate Neh_10:38 : for they, the Levites, must give again the tenth (to the priests); and Neh_10:39 : when the Levites give the tenth; while the lxx, Vulgate, Syriac, Rashi, Aben Ezra, Clericus, Bertheau, and

others, take ע-ר and העשיר in these sentences as signifying to collect tithe. We prefer the

latter view, as giving a more suitable sense. For the remark that the Levites must give back the tenth (Neh_10:38) does not present so appropriate a motive for the demand that the tithes should be paid, as that the tithes are due to the Levites. Still less does the addition, in our agricultural towns, suit the sentence: the Levites must give back the tithe to the priests. Again, the fact that it is not said till Neh_10:39 that the Levites have to give the tenth of the tenth to the priests, speaks still more against this view. A priest is to be present when the Levites take the tenth, so that the share of the priests may not be lessened. On “the tenth of the tenth,” comp. Num_18:26. Hezekiah had provided store-chambers in the temple, in which to deposit the tithes, 2Ch_31:11.

ELLICOTT, "(36) The firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle.—Similarly collocated in �umbers 16:15-16; but there the cattle are defined as “unclean beasts,” thus distinguished from “the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks.” The latter were to be brought to “the priests that minister” for sacrifice; the former were, with the sons, to be redeemed by money, according to the priests’ valuation.

PETT, "�ehemiah 10:36

‘Also the first-born of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God,’The law of the redemption of firstborn sons was also to be catered for. These had to be ‘redeemed’ by a replacement sacrifice (Exodus 13:12-13; Exodus 34:19-20). The responsibilities for service in the Tabernacle had originally been theirs, but it been taken over by the Levites (�umbers 3:12-13). But their redemption was necessary as a reminder of how they firstborn had been spared in Egypt. It would appear that in the course of this they were to be presented before the priests in the house of God. The firstborn of the ‘clean’ cattle, herds and flocks would themselves be offered as sacrifices. In the case of unclean animals, such as asses, they had either to be redeemed by offering a replacement sacrifice, or their necks had to be broken (being unclean they could not be offered to YHWH). These firstlings were to be brought to the Temple as ‘the house of our God’. Their flesh (but not their fat) was to be available, firstly for the benefit of the priests as with other offerings (�umbers 18:11-13), and secondly as something to be partaken in by all at a sacred feast when there was an abundance (Deuteronomy 12:17-19). Between �umbers 18 and Deuteronomy the situation had changed. Instead of struggling in the wilderness, with a long period of such struggling ahead, with tithes being limited, they were enjoying better pasturage and the fruitfulness of the promised land lay ahead. Thus it was recognised that there would be an abundance of tithes.

Some see ‘cattle, beast’ here as signifying unclean animals which had to be redeemed in the same way as the firstborn sons (compare �umbers 18:15). But in �umbers the word ‘unclean’ is included in order to distinguish between beast and beast. The argument is that that is why it says ‘as it is written in the Law’ (per Leviticus 13:13). But it is unlikely that firstborn asses were presented before the priests, especially if their necks had been broken. Here the idea is of the presentation at the house of God of that which is hallowed by God.

37 “Moreover, we will bring to the storerooms of the house of our God, to the priests, the first of

our ground meal, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees and of our new wine and olive oil. And we will bring a tithe of our crops to the Levites, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all the towns where we work.

GILL, "And that we should bring the first fruits of our dough,.... According to the law in Num_15:20

and our offerings; their heave offerings, Num_18:8

and the fruit of all manner of trees; bore by them on the fourth year after their planting, Lev_19:23

of wine and oil; to which Aben Ezra restrains the fruit of the trees, see Num_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

BE�SO�, "Verse 37-38�ehemiah 10:37-38. That the Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage — That is, the tithes of all the fruits of the ground belonging to our several cities. And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites — As the people gave the tithe of their land to the Levites, so the Levites gave a tithe of their tithes to the priests. And it is here ordered, that when the people brought them to the Levites, one of the priests should be present to inspect them, and to see that they tithed the tithes, that is, set apart the tenth of the tithes they had received for the priests, which were brought to the chambers of the house of God, wherein they were deposited for their use.

ELLICOTT, "(37) To the chambers of the house of our God.—To the store-chambers, minutely described as they were of old in 1 Kings 6, Hezekiah appears to have added formerly a treasure-house for the tithes, referred to in the next verse (2 Chronicles 31:11).

In all the cities of our tillage.—Agricultural towns, so called here with reference to

the fruits of the earth, which were deposited first in certain selected places.

LA�GE, "�ehemiah 10:37. First fruits of our dough (groats or ground meal).—See �umbers 15:20. Offerings—i.e., all special offerings. Chambers.—Heb. lishcoth. The cells or chambers in the courts of the temple. Might have the tithes.—Many read might pay tithes, anticipating the statement of the next verse. Tillage.—There may be a reasonable doubt whether anodhah ever means tillage, unless, as in 1 Chronicles 27:26, it is qualified by another noun. It may mean here “service” in the relation of servants to God, as elsewhere. To suppose that the cities of work or service must mean the country towns, is scarcely credible.

PETT, "�ehemiah 10:37

‘And that we should bring the first-fruits (or ‘the best’) of our dough (or ‘ground flour’), and our heave-offerings (of wheat and barley), and the fruit of all types of trees, the new wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God,’We are not sure here of the significance and or meaning of one or two of the technical terms. ‘Firstfruits’ is not the same word as that previously used for firstfruits and means ‘prime’. It could therefore refer to the ‘first’ or it could signify the ‘best, choicest’. The word translated ‘dough’ possibly means ‘ground flour’. In �umbers 15:19 a heave-offering is mentioned which is composed of the first/best of the dough (ground flour). It may be then that here we are to translate as ‘the best of our ground flour, even our heave-offerings’ (of wheat and barley). In Ezekiel 44:30 that is for the priests, and resulted in a special blessing. The tithe of the tithes, which was for the priests, was also seen as a heave-offering (�umbers 18:24-26). They were called ‘heave-offerings because they were ‘waved’ or ‘heaved’ before YHWH. For ‘the first/best of the oil and wine’ see �umbers 18:12. These were to be brought ‘to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God’ as was the tithe of tithes (�ehemiah 10:38).

The overall point behind all this is that God’s servants are to be given the very best (of ‘necessities’), because thereby we are giving it to God.

�ehemiah 10:37

‘And the tithes of our ground to the Levites; for they, the Levites, take the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.’In contrast the tithes were to be brought, not to the house of God, but to the Levites, ‘in all the cities of our tillage’, who would store them in their storehouses. These were to consist of one tenth of all produce, grain, fruit, wine and oil, and of all animals (Leviticus 27:30-32). Only one tenth of that tenth was brought to the priests (�ehemiah 10:38; �umbers 18:26). It is true that part of the tithe to the Levites, every third year, was to be for the poor (Deuteronomy 14:28-29). But given that the priests at this time considerably outnumbered the Levites (very few Levites had returned. In �ehemiah 7:39-45 there were 360 Levites who returned initially, compared with 4,289 priests, and few returned with Ezra - Ezra 8:15-19) it is quite

clear that these proportions of nine tenths to the Levites and one tenth to the priests must have been determined long before, in a time when the situation was very different. In �umbers 3 there were 22,000 Levites (�umbers 3:39), and few priests (�umbers 3:2). The tithes were in fact the means of sustenance for the Levites as they served God in the Tabernacle/Temple (�umbers 18:21; �umbers 18:24). YHWH was their inheritance.

PULPIT, "The first-fruits of our dough. See �umbers 15:18-21. And our offerings. Literally, "our heave offerings" (�umbers 15:20; Le �umbers 23:11, �umbers 23:17). To the chambers of the house. The store-chambers attached to the temple-building (see �ehemiah 13:4, �ehemiah 13:5). The tithes of our ground. As with the law of first-fruits, so with that of tithes (which was more burthensome), there had grown up a practice of neglecting it on the part of many, if not of all. The natural result would be the non-attendance of Levites at Jerusalem, and so a falling-off in the solemnity and grandeur of the temple-worship (comp. �ehemiah 13:10). It was now covenanted afresh on the part of the people that they would resume the legal practice, at any rate to the extent of paying what has been called "the first tithe," or that due to the Levites for their sustentation. In all the cities of our tillage. The Levitical tithe was not taken to Jerusalem. but stored up in some neighbouring, generally Levitical, city.

38 A priest descended from Aaron is to accompany the Levites when they receive the tithes, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of the tithes up to the house of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury.

CLARKE, "Tithe of the tithes - The tithes of all the produce of the fields were brought to the Levites; out of these a tenth part was given to the priests. This is what is called the tithe of the tithes. The law for this is found, Num_18:26.

GILL, "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 Num_18:26.

JAMISO�, "the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes — This was a prudential arrangement. The presence of a dignified priest would ensure the peaceful delivery of the tithes; at least his superintendence and influence would tend to prevent the commission of any wrong in the transaction, by the people deceiving the Levites, or the Levites defrauding the priests.

the tithe of the tithes — The Levites, having received a tenth of all land produce, were required to give a tenth of this to the priests. The Levites were charged with the additional obligation to carry the tithes when received, and deposit them in the temple stores, for the use of the priests.

ELLICOTT, "(38) The son of Aaron.—Consult �umbers 18:22-26, which gives the reason for the distinction, here so marked, between the priest, the son of Aaron, and the Levites, the children of Levi. A priest was present when the tithes were gathered in the Levitical cities, to secure their own “tithe of the tithe,” which then the Levites carried to Jerusalem.

LA�GE, "�ehemiah 10:38. To the chambers, Into the treasure house.—Rather, to the chambers of the treasure house, one of the buildings in the temple area. The tithe of the tithes belonged to the priests ( �umbers 18:26-28), the children of Aaron.

PETT, "�ehemiah 10:38

‘And the priest the son of Aaron will be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes, and the Levites will bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure-house.’The provision of a priest to oversee the Levites in their work was a wise precaution. It would ensure that the Levites were not ‘overzealous’ in their collection of tithe (they were collecting it for God). It would guard against possible misuse of the tithe. And it would act as a guarantee that the priests’ share was correctly allocated. It was a wise precaution rather than an indication that the Levites were not trustworthy, for it would counter any suspicions that might be aroused.

Then, once the tithes were gathered, one tenth of what was gathered (the tithe of the tithe) was to be brought up to Jerusalem, ‘to the house of our God’, and there it was to be placed in ‘the treasure house’, the place provided in the Temple for storing valuable things (which would include the hides of sacrifices which belonged to the priests, and the Temple vessels). This one tenth was for the use of the priests.

PULPIT, "�ehemiah 10:38

The priest shall be with the Levites when the Levites take tithe. Some representative (or representatives) of the priestly order was to be present whenever the Levites received their tithes, to take note of the quantity, and prevent the Levites from depriving the priests of their due share—the tithe of the tithe. This tenth, being thus ascertained, was to be conveyed to Jerusalem at the expense of the Levites, and deposited in its appropriate store-chamber.

39 The people of Israel, including the Levites, are to bring their contributions of grain, new wine and olive oil to the storerooms, where the articles for the sanctuary and for the ministering priests, the gatekeepers and the musicians are also kept.

“We will not neglect the house of our God."

CLARKE, "Wewill not forsake the house of our God - Here was a glorious resolution; and had they been faithful to it, they had been a great and good people to the present day. But what is implied in, We will not forsake the house of our God? I answer: -

I. The Church of God is the house of God; there he has his constant dwelling-place.

II. True believers are his family in this house; and this family consists of,

1. Fathers and mothers;

2. Young persons;

3. Little children; And

4. Servants.

III. The ministers of the word of God are the officers and overseers of this house and family.

IV. The worship of God is the grand employment of this family.

V. The ordinances of God are the food of the members of this family; or the means of their spiritual support.

VI. Those who do not forsake the house of their God are those,

1. Who continue in the faith;

2. Who grow in grace;

3. Who labor in the vineyard;

4. Who bring forth fruit;

5. Who conscientiously attend all the ordinances; and

6. Who take care that the offerings of the house of God shall be duly made, providing for those who labor in the word and doctrine.

Reader,

1. Art thou of this house?

2. Art thou in this house?

3. To what part of the family dost thou belong?

4. Art thou still an infant in this house?

5. Dost thou attend the ordinances of this house?

6. Hast thou forsaken this house?

These questions are of great importance; answer them as in the sight of God.

GILL, "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.

JAMISON, "and we will not forsake the house of our God — This solemn pledge was repeated at the close of the covenant as an expression of the intense zeal by which the people at this time were animated for the glory and the worship of God. Under the pungent feelings of sorrow and repentance for their national sins, of which apostasy from the service of the true God was the chief, and under the yet fresh and painful remembrance of their protracted captivity, they vowed, and (feeling the impulse of ardent devotion as well as of gratitude for their restoration) flattered themselves they would never forget their vow, to be the Lord’s.

K&D, "Neh_10:39

Neh_10:39 is confirmatory of the preceding clause: the Levites were to bring the tithe of the tithes for the priests into the chambers of the temple; for thither are both the children of Israel and the Levites, to bring all heave-offerings of corn, new wine, and oil: for there are the holy vessels for the service of the altar (comp. Num_4:15), and the priests that minister, and the doorkeepers and the singers, for whose maintenance these gifts provide. “And we will not forsake the house of our God,” i.e., we will take care that

the service of God's house shall be provided for; comp. Neh_13:11-14.

BE�SO�, "�ehemiah 10:39. The offering of the corn, of the new wine, and the oil — See the margin. Unto the chambers where are the vessels, &c. — Where holy things were kept, and where God’s ministers attended, for whose use they were designed, and they were brought thither at the charge of those who offered them. And we will not forsake the house of our God — We do here solemnly declare and engage ourselves, that we will take care, from time to time, that the house and service of God be not neglected or forsaken, for want of necessary provisions to support it. Though they paid great taxes to the kings of Persia, and had much hardship put upon them, they would not make that an excuse for not paying their tithes; but would render to God the things that were his, as well as to Cesar the things that were his. We must do what we can in works of piety and charity, notwithstanding the taxes we pay to the government; and cheerfully perform our duty to God amidst our burdens, which will be the surest way to ease and liberty in God’s due time.

ELLICOTT, "(39) Shall bring.—The priests themselves were exempted from the care of gathering the tithes.

We will not forsake the house of our God.—Both the pledge and the violation of it in the sequel are explained by �ehemiah 13:11-14.

PETT, "�ehemiah 10:39

‘For the children of Israel and the children of Levi will bring the heave-offering of the grain, of the new wine, and of the oil, to the chambers, where the vessels of the sanctuary are, and the priests who minister, and the porters, and the singers; and we will not forsake the house of our God.’The final summing up oath is now given. They swear that the house of God will not be neglected. Both the children of Israel and the children of Levi (the Levites), will combine in bringing the heave offering of grain, wine and oil to the chambers in the Temple where the vessels of the sanctuary are, and where the priests who minister and the singers and the gatekeepers are. They will by no means forsake the house of their God. The mention of the singers and gatekeepers may suggest that they would be sharing in the priest’s portion. This was a suitable note on which to end the agreement, confirming that, in all that they had promised, God and His house were central.

PULPIT, "�ehemiah 10:39

The children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering. The priests were not to be troubled with the conveyance of any of the offerings. The first-fruits and other oblations of the people were to be brought to the temple by the people themselves; .and the "tithe of the tithe,' which was the priests' due, by the Levites. Thus the priests would not be drawn away from their duty of ministering in the

temple by secular employments and matters of mere worldly business. We will not forsake, or neglect, the house of our God. We will not suffer, that is, any interruption of the continual service of the temple, we will not be parties to any neglect or slovenliness in the conduct of it. So far as we are concerned, everything shall be done to enable the priests and Levites to remain constantly at Jerusalem in full numbers, and to devote themselves wholly to their sacred duties in God's house. With this emphatic declaration of their intentions the people concluded the engagements by which they voluntarily bound themselves.

LA�GE, "HISTORICAL A�D ETHICAL

1. The natural leaders of a people are largely responsible for the people’s conduct. The priests, Levites, and chiefs, the nobles of the nation readily find a following. �ehemiah, as Tirshatha, puts his own name first to the solemn reform-document, and then he causes the nobles to set their names to the instrument. A reform begun the other way in the lower circles of society is apt to degenerate into the excesses of revolution. The healing Salt should be thrown in at the sources of the streams, if the waters are to be cured.

2. The points specially indicated, wherein the reform was most pressing, are (1) marriage alliances, (2) Sabbath-observance, (3) usury, (4) temple-taxes of the third part of a shekel, of first-fruits and of tithes. On these points we may believe the people had been especially remiss. They were the points where their covetousness would operate to undermine their piety, and thus the integrity of the commonwealth. Was not that, which has become a distinctive trait of the Israelitish race, already in �ehemiah’s time beginning to develop itself?

3. When a people grow remiss in the support of religious privileges, the foundations of society are shaken: The moral tone of any people can only be cultivated and sustained by systematized methods, for natural depravity must take advantage of the lack of discipline, and prove too strong for morality. Religion, in any true and high sense, is an exotic, and must be tenderly cared for in this sin-grown earth. The zeal of �ehemiah and other reformers for the thorough establishment of religious rites is a wise example to all who come after them. Where the state cannot enforce such a result, public opinion can be made.

HOMILETICAL A�D PRACTICAL

�ehemiah 10:1. To what the consideration of the Lord’s faithfulness to the covenant leads us: 1) To penitence and conversion which shows itself through obedience2) To faith—particularly in the fact that the Lord always keeps His covenant with us, and

that it is only necessary that we on our part should confirm and maintain it3) To hope that the Lord will set us free, and evermore aid us to the glorious liberty of the children of God.

�ehemiah 10:31-32. The principal duties of the congregation and its members: 1) To keep themselves unspotted, and particularly separated from the world2) To practice communion with the Lord, and especially in the way that is beneficial to us in this mortal state. Bede: Porro sabbatismus orationum ac devotionis nostrœ, in qua vacamus a temporalibus agendis, ut œternitatis gaudia dulcius gustare mereamur, recte diei septimo adsignatur quia futurœ quietem vitœ ac beatœ laudationis imitatur: sed diem sabbathi alienigenœ quœrunt profanare, cum terrcnœ cogitationes in tempore nostrœ orationis importune nos conturbant, et memoria sive delectatione temporalium rerum ab amore intimo nituntur extrahere.—Imponunt asinis vinum, uvas et ficus et omne onus, et inferunt in Hierusalem, cum oblectamentis carnalibus stultos animi nostri motus onerantes, per hœc et hujus modi tentamenta quietem nostri cordis deo debitam violare conantur. Comp. �ehemiah 13:15.

�ehemiah 10:33-39. The tasks to which each member of the congregation must submit himself1) The offerings which must be made directly to the Lord for the erection of His buildings, expenses of the service, etc. 2) The doing that which assists the servants of the Lord. Starke: My God! I remember that I too made a covenant with Thee at my baptism. I beseech thee seal the same also in me, and give me in my heart the pledge, the Holy Spirit ( 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; 2 Corinthians 5:5). We must not only ourselves have a Christian zeal for true religion, but also incite others to it, and admonish them ( Hebrews 10:24; Psalm 49:2). Marriages with the godless are displeasing to God, and dangerous ( 1 Timothy 2:14). �othing must be so near to us that it withdraws us from the service of God.