Chapter Nine

1–5. A day of national repentance. 6–38. The penitential prayer of Ezra. 39. A commitment to observe the Law.

Nehemiah 9:1. On the twenty-fourth day of this month, all the sons of Israel gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and with ashes upon their heads. The day of repentance, spoken of in ch. IX, was not a fixed day of “atonement” established by the Law (Lev 16:29-34): it was a special day appointed to express those feelings of repentance which stirred the people when hearing the Law. Outward signs of these feelings among the Hebrews from ancient times were fasting, sackcloth and the sprinkling of ashes on the head (cf. 1 Sam 4:12; 2 Sam 1:2; Joel 1:13).

Nehemiah 9:2. And the seed of Israel separated itself from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. “And the seed of Israel separated itself from all foreigners.” Some exegetes (Keil, Schultz, Bertholet) understand this remark as an indication of a final break with all the heathen, while others, more rightly, as an indication that admission to the gathering described on the 24th day of the seventh month was allowed only to Israelites (Ryssel).

Nehemiah 9:3. And they stood in their place, and for a quarter of a day they read from the book of the Law of the Lord their God, and for a quarter of a day they confessed and worshipped the Lord their God. “And they stood in their place”: more precisely, “and they rose in their place” (each), – evidently, to listen to the book of the Law of God. For a quarter of a day the reading of the book of the Law lasted, and for a quarter of a day, according to v. 3, they “confessed and worshipped the Lord their God.” The form of confession and worship is described further in v. 4–37.

Nehemiah 9:4. And they stood on the platform of the Levites: Jesus, Banaiah, Kadmiel, Shebania, Bunni, Sherebiah, Banaiah, Chenani, and they cried aloud to the Lord their God. Nehemiah 9:5. And the Levites said – Jesus, Kadmiel, Banaiah, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebania, Pethahiah: Stand up and bless the Lord our God from everlasting to everlasting. And blessed be Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise! Instead of the eight names of Levites enumerated in v. 5, the Greek (and in Slavonic) names only five, since the names Banaiah, Bunni and Banaiah, the Greek apparently understood in the sense of the nomen rectum bnej, ben, sons, son. Hence, instead of reading the Heb. text Jesus, Banaiah, Kadmiel, Shebania, the Greek received: Jesus sons of Kadmiel, Shebania and so on. But undoubtedly, Banaiah is a proper name of the lineage of Levites (Neh 3:17). According to v. 4, the Levites, standing on the platform, “cried aloud to the Lord their God,” i.e., probably, they pronounced aloud some penitential prayer. Following this, as is evident from v. 5, the Levites called the people to prayer. In v. 5 the names of these Levites are given. From the identity of the majority of the names (five out of eight) with those named in v. 4, it should be concluded that both verses refer to the same persons. Three different names (Bunni, Banaiah and Chenani in v. 4, Hashabniah, Hodiah and Pethahiah in v. 5) may have arisen from scribal error.

Nehemiah 9:6. [And Ezra said:] You, O Lord, are alone; You created the heavens, the heavens of heavens and all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve all of them; and the heavenly host worship You. The penitential prayer beginning from v. 6 in the Greek text is preceded by a remark not found in the Masoretic text, καὶ ἔιπεν Εσδρας, and Ezra said. Thus, the Greek translators understood the narrative in the sense that after the Levites, Ezra came forward and pronounced the prayer given in v. 6–37. Keil objects to such an understanding and considers the remark of the Greek καὶ ἔιπεν Εσδρας an unsuccessful conjecture. In his opinion, the prayer is not the speech of one person, but the confession of the whole community, since the praying one speaks of himself in the plural (v. 9: “our fathers,” v. 33 “we”). But such a form of speech is intelligible if one keeps in mind that the one praying speaks on behalf of the community. The accidental omission of the brief remark “and Ezra said” in the Heb. text is also quite understandable. The prayer set forth in v. 6–37 is commonly called penitential. But strictly speaking, its main subject is the praise of God for His covenant with the people of Israel and His mercies toward them. In the prayer are pointed out the greatest blessings which the people received in the name of the covenant. Together with this are shown the relations of the people toward Jehovah. In v. 6–8 the theme of the prayer is indicated: the Lord, Creator and Almighty, chose Abraham and made a covenant with him – to give to his seed the land of Canaan and fulfilled His promise. This theme is unfolded in four stanzas (9–15, 16–25, 26–31, 32–37), and to unfold it, facts from the past history of Israel are cited, and at the conclusion the mercy of God toward the people in their present situation is shown. “Heaven, the heavens of heavens.” To more distinctly set forth the divine power, the concept of heaven is strengthened by the addition – “the heavens of heavens” (cf. Deut 10:14; 1 Kgs 8:27; 2 Chr 2:6), and the concept of earth – by the words “the seas and all that is in them” (cf. Ps 145:6). “All their host” – indication of the heaven (cf. Gen 2:1). “And the heavenly host worship You.” In this expression, already the heavenly host, as in (Ps 148:2), are called angels.

Nehemiah 9:7. You, O Lord, God, chose Abram, and brought him from Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name Abraham, Nehemiah 9:8. and found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him, to give to him and to his seed the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites and the Girgashites. And You have fulfilled Your word, because You are righteous. Cf. (Gen 12:1). “Because You are righteous”: the divine righteousness (zadik) in v. 8 is understood in a special sense, as faithfulness to promises.

Nehemiah 9:9. You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea, Nehemiah 9:10. and showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and against all his servants, and against all the people of his land, for You knew that they acted arrogantly against them, and You made a name for Yourself to this day. Nehemiah 9:11. You divided the sea before them, and they passed through the midst of the sea on dry land, and those who pursued them You cast into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters. V. 9 represents a brief reproduction of what is described in (Exod 3:7).

Nehemiah 9:12. By a pillar of cloud You led them in the day and by a pillar of fire in the night, to light for them the way in which they should go. Nehemiah 9:13. And You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them just statutes, true laws, good ordinances and commandments. Nehemiah 9:14. And You made known to them Your holy Sabbath and commanded them ordinances, statutes and law through Your servant Moses. Cf. (Exod 13:21; Num 14:14; Deut 4:36).

Nehemiah 9:15. And You gave them bread from heaven in their hunger, and brought water forth from the rock for them in their thirst, and told them to go and take possession of the land which You swore to give them, raising Your hand. Cf. (Exod 16:4; Num 20:10; Ps 77:24).

Nehemiah 9:16. But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not listen to Your commandments; Nehemiah 9:17. they refused to obey and did not remember Your wonders which You did for them, and stiffened their neck, and according to their stubbornness, appointed a leader to return to their slavery. But You are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and You did not abandon them. Cf. (Exod 32:9; Deut 9:6). “According to their stubbornness, appointed a leader to return to their slavery.” Slavonic: “gave a beginning (Greek ἕδωκαν ἀρχήν) to return to their service in Egypt.” In this remark there is an indication (Num 14:4). However, the fact when the Hebrews appointed a leader instead of Moses is unknown. Hence it is rightly proposed that the Heb. vaittnu rosch “appointed a leader” be understood in a general sense: “and turned their heads,” i.e. made a decision, resolved. A translation by Gulyaev: “and in their stubbornness turned their heads to their former slavery.”

Nehemiah 9:18. Even when they made themselves a molten image and said: This is your god who brought you out of Egypt, and committed great blasphemies, Concerning the worship of the golden calf, see (Exod 32:4).

Nehemiah 9:19. but You, in Your great mercy, did not abandon them in the wilderness; the pillar of cloud did not depart from them in the day, to lead them in the way, and the pillar of fire in the night, to give them light in the way in which they should go. There is meant the place (Num 14:14), according to which even after the sin of the people, the miraculous pillar continued to precede it.

Nehemiah 9:20. And You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, and did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst. The words of v. 20 have in mind the fact when the Lord, to raise the authority of Moses, granted the spirit of prophecy to seventy elders (Num 11:17). “And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth” (cf. Num 11:6-9, Josh 5:12). “And gave them water for their thirst” (cf. Num 20:2-8).

Nehemiah 9:21. Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell. In v. 21, there is a summary of all that was done by the Lord for the chosen people in the wilderness (cf. Deut 2:7).

Nehemiah 9:22. And You gave them kingdoms and peoples and divided them, and they took possession of the land of Sihon, the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, king of Bashan. “You gave them kingdoms and peoples, and divided them.” In the Greek (and in Slavonic) λαοὺς (peoples) is an object of the verb εμέρισας (“and divided peoples among them”). But the expression of the original vattchlkem lepeah (Russ. “and divided them”; lepeah left untranslated) is not fully clear. It is not clear to whom the suffix of the 2nd person masculine in the verb vattchlkem “and divided them” refers, – to the Canaanites or to the Hebrews. If the verb chalak is understood (in the form piel) in the sense of “scatter” (Gen 49:7; Lam 4:16), then the reference will be to the Canaanites (Aben Ezra). Concerning the conquest of the land of Sihon and Og, see (Num 21:21-26).

Nehemiah 9:23. And You multiplied their sons like the stars of heaven, and brought them into the land of which You said to their fathers that they should enter to possess it. “And You multiplied their sons like the stars of heaven.” There is meant the numbering of the people on the plains of Moab (Num 26).

Nehemiah 9:25. And they captured fortified cities and fertile land, and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns hewn out of stone, vineyards, olive groves and many trees with fruit for food. They ate, were satisfied, grew fat and delighted in Your great goodness; “Fortified cities” – Jericho, Ai (Josh 6:1).

Nehemiah 9:26. and they became stubborn and rebelled against You, and despised Your law, killed Your prophets who had warned them to turn back to You, and committed great blasphemies. “Killed the prophets” (cf. 2 Chr 24:21; 1 Kgs 18:13). According to later Jewish tradition (cf. Matt 5:12; Luke 11:47), the majority of the great prophets were killed.

Nehemiah 9:27. And You gave them into the hand of their enemies who afflicted them. But when, in their time of distress, they cried out to You, You heard them from heaven, and according to Your great mercy, You gave them saviors, and they saved them from the hand of their enemies. Nehemiah 9:28. But when they rested, they began again to do evil before You, and You abandoned them into the hand of their enemies, and they dominated over them. But when they cried out to You again, You heard them from heaven, and according to Your great mercy, You rescued them many times. The time of the judges is recalled (Judg 2:11-23). “You gave them saviors” (moschiim), i.e. judges (cf. Judg 3:9).

Nehemiah 9:29. You warned them to turn back to Your law, but they acted presumptuously and did not listen to Your commandments, and turned away from Your statutes, by following which a person would live if he kept them, and stiffened their necks and did not listen. Nehemiah 9:30. For many years You bore with them and warned them by Your Spirit through Your prophets, but they would not listen. And You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. In v. 29–30 the period of the kings is recalled. “And You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.” According to v. 32, the dominion of these peoples began from the time of the invasion of the Assyrians, who destroyed the ten-tribe kingdom.

Nehemiah 9:37. And its fruits are abundant and they are given to the kings whom You have appointed over us because of our sins. And they have power over our bodies and over our livestock at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. “And they have power over our bodies.” It is believed that the reference is to the requirement for the Jews to perform military service in the Persian armies (cf. Herodotus, Histories VII, 89).

Nehemiah 9:38. Because of all this, we make a firm covenant and write it, and on the sealed document are the seals of our princes, our Levites and our priests. V. 38 in the original text is attached to the beginning of the next chapter. Conscious of the discrepancy between their deeds in the past and their calling as a people chosen by God, the Jews make a solemn commitment to observe the law. At this time a document is prepared and its seals are affixed by representatives of the people. Because of this, the Heb. becol zoth is better translated – “on account of this,” “on the basis of all that has been said” (in the penitential prayer). And on the sealed document are the seals (chattum) of our princes. Chattum – a sealed document (Jer 32:11). The document was usually folded for sealing, and then on the outer surface, where perhaps the content of the document was briefly set out, signatures were made or seals were affixed. Thus the representatives of the people did with the document, in which they set forth the decision of all the people.