Nehemiah 13:17
Ver. 17. Then I contended with the nobles,.... The rulers of the city, the civil magistrates, sharply reproved them for their neglect of duty:
and said unto them, what evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? by suffering servile works to be done in it, and things sold on it. Nehemiah 13:18Ver. 18. Did not your fathers thus,.... Profane the sabbath in like manner:and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon our city? suffered them to be carried captive into a strange land, and their city destroyed for their sins, and for this of sabbath breaking among the rest, see Jer 17:21,yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath; additional judgments to those that had been already upon them for the same evil with others. Nehemiah 13:19Ver. 19. And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath,.... Or "were shaded" {g}; that is, as Jarchi interprets it, when the shadows of the eve of the sabbath were stretched out upon the gates; the sabbath did not begin till sun setting, and the stars appeared; but before that, as the sun was declining, the shadows through the houses in Jerusalem, and mountains about it, spread themselves over the gates: and when it was near dusk, and as soon as it was so,I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath; until sun setting the next day:and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should be burden brought in on the sabbath day; the porters being not to be trusted, being liable to be bribed and corrupted, which he knew his servants were not; and therefore, since it might be necessary on a few occasions to open the gates to let some persons in and out, and especially such who dwelt near, and came to worship, he placed his servants there, to take care that none were admitted that had any burdens upon them.{g} wllu "obumbratae", Pagninus, Montanus; "obumbrarentur", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Rambachius; "incidentibus umbris", Tigurine version. Nehemiah 13:20Ver. 20. For the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware,.... The Tyrians particularly, Ne 13:16 lodged without Jerusalem once or twice; one sabbath day or two, not being able to get into the city, such strict watch and care being taken to keep the gates shut; this they did, hoping the Jews would come out to them and buy their goods, though they were not admitted to bring them within the city. Nehemiah 13:21Ver. 21. Then I testified against them,.... Against their continuance there, and threatened them, and called heaven and earth to witness what he would do to them, if they did not depart:why lodge ye about the wall? of the city, waiting an opportunity to get in, and tempting the Jews to come out and buy their ware:if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you; beat them, or slay them, at least imprison them:from that time forth came they no more on the sabbath; finding there was no likelihood of getting into the city, and that they were liable to be taken up and punished. Nehemiah 13:22Ver. 22. And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves,.... From all ceremonial uncleanness, that they might be fit in a ceremonial sense to perform the duties of the office on the sabbath day:and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day; not the gates of the city, his servants were placed there, nor was this the work of the Levites, and much less did this require a particular purification to fit for it; but the gates of the temple, that no impure person might enter there; and on that day it required the greater diligence, because of the number of people that came to worship:remember me, O my God, concerning this also; with respect to his care to have the sabbath kept holy, as well as his concern for the honour of the house of God, and the maintenance of his ministers, Ne 13:14,and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy; he desired to be dealt with, not according to any merits of his own, but according to the abundant mercy of God; that he would kindly and graciously vouchsafe to accept any good that he had done for his mercy sake, and forgive whatever was amiss in him. Nehemiah 13:23Ver. 23. In those days also I saw Jews that married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab. Ashdod, or Azotus, as it is called in Ac 8:40, was one of the five cities of the Philistines; which, though none of the seven nations with whom marriage was forbid, yet it was very unfit and improper to marry with them, Jud 14:3. This place was a mart of the Arabians {h}, where they sold their goods, to which the Jews might resort, and thereby be ensnared into such marriages; and which with the Ammonites and Moabites were unlawful, Ne 13:1.{h} Mela de Situ Orbis, l. 1. c. 10. Nehemiah 13:24Ver. 24. And their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod,.... Which they learned of their mothers, so that it was a mixed language they spoke, partly Jewish and partly Philistine; but some refer this not to their speech, but to the number of their children; that half of them, which Jarchi interprets many of them, spoke in the language of Ashdod, even as many as were most with their mothers, and chiefly brought up by them:and could not speak in the Jews' language; not at all, or so much as to be understood well, which inclines to the last sense:but according to the language of each people; their mothers were of, whether of Ashdod, or of Ammon, or of Moab. Nehemiah 13:25Ver. 25. And I contended with them,.... Argued with them, faithfully admonished them, and sharply reproved them:and cursed them; assuring them that the curse of God would come upon them, unless they repented. Aben Ezra interprets it of excommunicating them, either with "Cherem" or "Niddui", which were two sorts of excommunication among the Jews; but it is a question whether as yet those were used by them:and smote certain of them; ordered them to be beaten with rods or scourges, as transgressors of the law:and plucked off their hair; or ordered it to be plucked off by the executioner that smote them; which sort of punishment, as it was painful, it was disgraceful and ignominious, see Isa 1:6,and made them swear by God, saying, ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves; not intermarry with them; this they had sworn to before, Ne 10:29. Nehemiah 13:26Ver. 26. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things?.... By marrying strange wives, by whom he was drawn into idolatry, 1Ki 11:3,yet among many nations was there no king like him; as not for grandeur and riches, so not for wisdom, and yet was ensnared by his idolatrous wives:who was beloved of God; alluding to his name Jedidiah, which signifies beloved of the Lord, 2Sa 12:24and God made him king over all Israel; which was a proof of his love to him, and so he was under the greater obligation to serve him, and him only, and yet his heart, through his wives, was turned after other gods:even him did outlandish women cause to sin; and if so great and wise a man was enticed by them to idolatry, much more may you, and therefore it was very dangerous to marry with them. Nehemiah 13:27Ver. 27. Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil,.... To suffer it to be done, and connive at it, and not punish for it:to transgress against our God; his law, his mind, and will:in marrying strange wives? forbidden by him, De 7:1. Nehemiah 13:28Ver. 28. And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest,.... A grandson of the high priest; for the high priest here is Eliashib, according to our version, and not Joiada his son, according to Dr. Prideaux {i}; the person designed, Josephus {k} makes to be Manasseh, the brother of Jaddua the high priest: wasson in law to Sanballat the Horonite; married a daughter of his, who was the avowed enemy of the Jewish nation; and for whom, according to the same writer, Sanballat obtained leave of Alexander to build a temple on Mount Gerizim; but this is to protract the age of Nehemiah and Sanballat to too great a length; besides, Eliashib seems to have been now high priest, and not even his son Joiada, and much less Jaddua, a grandson of Joiada:therefore I chased him from me; drove him from his court, suffered him not to minister at the altar; banished him from the city, as Jarchi, and even from the land of Judea.{i} Connect. par. 1. p. 412. {k} Antiqu. l. 11. c. 8. sect. 2, 4. Nehemiah 13:29Ver. 29. Remember them, O my God,.... The priests, and punish them: because they have defiled the priesthood; by marrying strange wives, and rendering themselves unfit to officiate in it:and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites; made with Levi, Aaron, and Phinehas, see Nu 24:11, of the corruption of which, complaint is made, Mal 2:4. Nehemiah 13:30Ver. 30. Thus cleansed I them from all strangers,.... Both people and priests from strange wives, obliging them to put them away, or flee their country:and appointing the wards of the priests and the Levites, everyone in his business: to do the work of their office in their courses and turns. Nehemiah 13:31Ver. 31. And for the wood offering, at times appointed,.... Of which see Ne 10:34. Levites were appointed to receive the wood that was brought at the times and by the persons fixed, and lay it up in its proper place, and carry it to the altar when wanted:and for the first fruits; to receive and take care of them, and distribute them to the persons to whom they belonged:remember me, O my God, for good; to bless him with all good things, temporal and spiritual, to keep him faithful, to make him useful in church and state, and protect him from all his enemies: or rather this may respect what goes before, that as to the wood offering and the firstfruits, that God would graciously remember him as to them, since the one was as necessary to the altar as the other was to those that minister at it.