should also acknowledge their venerable ances- | sæculi numero electorum, ecclesia universaliter in tors as their heads. Who can estimate the bless- cælis ad visionem sui conditoris introducitur.— ing there is, when descendants remain conscious of dedication? 1. With joyful thanks, that the How must the congregation celebrate the feast that they are preceded by many and ancient an- power and salvation of the Lord has surcestors in piety and the service of God, when in rounded them as a wall for their protection families piety too becomes a matter of tradition, against the world, and for their separation from when the children know that parents and grand- the same. 2. With firm trust, that the Lord will parents have prayed for them, and particularly still farther protect them. 3. With the sincere for their spiritual prosperity, and when they feel vow to hold themselves separate from the world, themselves called upon by this to pray again in and to live to the Lord. True joy. 1. Its right, turn for their children and grandchildren. It was the God who has given us life, wishes also that an enviable time when in the Christian church it shall move joyfully; the God who always anew likewise there were Aaronic families, when the overwhelms us with favors, wishes that they children received an impulse from the example should fulfil their mission, that is, make us hapof parents and ancestors to devote themselves to py, in the end holy. 2. Its occasion is God's the service of the word, and when the parents grace, which has strengthened, protected, asknew no higher joy than to see their children sured, or elevated our lower or higher life. The advancing to the same high office which their chief sites in Jerusalem testified to this, and in fathers had occupied. The first condition of a the Christian church, yes, indeed, in our lives, proper, worthy exercise of the office, which shall all the heights testify thereof. 3. Its kindbe rich in blessing, is indeed the pouring out of it raises itself to God, is a joy in Him, that is, the Spirit, and the Spirit breathes where He becomes a service to God and our neighbor.listeth, but even in the Christian church the or- BEDE: Requiruntur et Levitæ spirituales, hoc est, dained ways hold an important position by the assumpti in sortem regni de omnibus locis suis, quando side of extraordinary ones. In connection with mittet filius hominis angelos suos et congregabit electhe fact that the number of the priests' classes tos suos a quatuor ventis, a summo terræ usque ad was about the same as before the exile, Beda's summum cœli. Faciunt illi dedicationem in leremark is applicable: "Sic sæpe sancta ecclesia ex titia, cantico, gratiarum actione, atque in organis detrimentis suis majora recepit incrementa, cum uno musicorum variis, cum in perceptione æternæ vitæ per incuriam lapso in peccatum plures exemplo ejus invicem gaudebunt.-STARKE: Dedications shall territi ad persistendum in castitate fidei fiunt cautiores. take place with praise and thanks, singing and Sæpe idem ipsi, qui peccaverunt, majores post actam praying, not with sins and wantonness. That pænitentiam bonorum operum fructus ferre incipi- should be the delight and joy of our hearts when unt, quam ante incursum peccati ferre consuerant. we see that the city of God, that is, the Christian Sæpe ab hæreticis ecclesia vastata, postquam instan- church, is protected by God within by the defence tia catholicorum doctorum lucem veritatis recepit, of faithful authorities. (Ps. lviii. 2.) Christian plures ad cognoscendam tuendamque rationem recu- joy, at the proper time, does not displease God. perantes ejusdem veritatis filios procreavit. Neque Vers. 44-47. What is also needful: 1. That enim unquam beati patres Athanasius, Ambrosius, there should be teachers and servants in the Hilarius, Augustinus, et ceteri tales tot et tam mag-church. 2. That they should perform their sernificos in sanctam scripturam tractatus conderent, | vice without being hindered in it by lower cares. si non contra fidem rectam tam multifarius hæretico- 3. That the congregation should joyfully supply rum fuisset error ortus." them with what is necessary for their support.BEDE: Hujus autem capituli nobis expositio allegorica in promptu est; quia dominus statuit eos, qui evangelium annuntiant, de evangelio vivere. Sed væ illis sacerdotibus ac ministris sanctorum, qui sumptus quidem cum gaudio debitos sumere a populo delectantur, sed nihil pro ejusdem populi student salute laborare, non aliquid sacri ducatus ei recte vivendo præbere, non de suavitate regni cœlestis ei quippiam dulce prædicando canere, sed nec januam ei supernæ civitatis aperire, municipatum in cœlis habendo, verum potius occludere perverse agendo probantur.-STARKE: It is God's will and command that with the treasure of the godly word and for the maintenance of the same, we should make a provision that churches, schools, and those who serve in them may be supported. (1 Chr. xxvii. · 20; 2 Chr. xxiv. 8; xxxi. 4; xxxiv. 9.)

Vers. 27-43. The feast of dedication. 1. Whose part is it? The congregation's, to which God has anew given protection and power against its enemies, but also the individual believer's, when the Lord has secured to him his position, and has even enclosed it with a wall. 2. How is it to be celebrated? In that we purify ourselves from all that displeases the Lord, that we thankfully consecrate His gifts, that is, put them at His service, that we rejoice in them as a proof of the grace that desires our salvation, and thereby cause our faith to be strengthened, etc. 3. What blessing has it? It appropriates thus truly God's gifts to us, and enkindles thus our zeal to honor God with new desire by consecration, devotion, and homage.-BEDA: Facta autem civitas sancta dedicatur, cum, completo in fine

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1

CHAP. XIII. 1-30.

On that day [of dedication] they read [it was read] in the book of Moses in the audience [ears] of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite 2 and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever; because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but [and] hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit [and] our God turned the 3 curse into a blessing. Now [And] it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.

4

[Events of 12 years' later date].

And before this, [in the face of this], Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of [being set over] the chamber [chambers] of the house of our God was allied unto 5 Tobiah: And he had prepared [and he prepared] for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat-offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to 6 the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests. But [and] in all this time was not I at Jerusalem; for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, came I unto the king, and after certain days [at the 7 end of days] obtained I leave of the king: And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the 8 courts of the house of God. And it grieved me sore: therefore [and] I cast forth 9 all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. Then [and] I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the 10 house of God, with the meat-offerings and the frankincense. And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them: for [and] the Levites and the 11 singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field. Then [and] contended I with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them [i. e., the Levites and singers] together, and set them in their place. Then brought all Judah [And all Judah brought] the tithe of the corn and the new wine 13 and the oil unto the treasuries. And I made treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah: and next to them [at their hand] was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah: for they were counted faithful, and their office was [and it was upon them] to distribute unto 14 their brethren. Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds [kindnesses] that I have done for the house of my God, and for the 15 offices thereof. In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine-presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also [and besides] wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought [and bringing them] into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they 16 sold victuals. There dwelt men of Tyre also therein [And the Tyrians dwelt therein], which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto 17 the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Then [And] I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the 18 sabbath day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet [and] ye bring more wrath upon Israel by pro19 faning the sabbath. And it came to pass that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark [were shaded] before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut [and the gates were shut], and charged [commanded] that they should not be opened till after the sabbath, and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there 20 should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. So [and] the merchants and 21 sellers of all kinds of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or [and] twice. Then

[and] I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about [before] the wall? if ye do 80 again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no 22 more on the sabbath. And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare [pity] me according to the greatness [abundance] of thy mercy.

23

In those days saw I also [the] Jews that had married [carried to dwell with them] 24 wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab: and their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod (and could not speak [were not acquainted with speaking] in the Jews' language), but [and] according to the language [tongue] of each people [of 25 people and people]. And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain [men] of them, and plucked off [tore out] their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their 26 daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin by these things? yet [and] among many nations was there no king like him, who [and he] was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: never27 theless even him did outlandish [foreign] women cause to sin. Shall we then [and shall we] hearken unto you to do [hear that ye do] all this great evil, to transgress 28 against our God in marrying [carrying to dwell with us] strange wives? And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high-priest was son-in-law to Sanbal29 lat the Horonite; therefore [and] I chased him from me. Remember them, O God, because they have defiled [on account of the defilings of] the priesthood, and 30 the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites. Thus cleansed I [And I cleansed] them from all strangers, and appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business; and for the wood-offering, at times appointed, and for the first-fruits. Remember me, O God, for good.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

[Ver. 6. A. The lexicographers interpret this Niphal as Kal. But both here and in 1 Sam. xx. 6, 28 (the only places where the Niph. occurs), the meaning "to receive permission" seems to be necessary. It would be a quasi passive of the Kal meaning.

.לא-יבוא omitted before אשר .19 .Ver 2

3 Ver. 22. Dip. Way omitted. Yet we may read "come as keepers of the gates."

♦ Ver. 24. □ stands absolutely, for 777 being singular takes

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. Ver. 1. On that day, i. e. the day of dedication of the walls, as in xii. 43, 44.

The part of the law which forbade mingling with the other nations was specially read on the dedication-day. Deut. xxiii. 8 would naturally be read, as also Deut. vii. 1-6. The reference to the former passage here uses the words adh olam (forever), which are not found alone in Deuteronomy. There it reads: "Even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord forever," where the "forever" seems to signify the perpetuity of this ordinance, and not the perpetuity of their exclusion. It is quoted here in brief, without any design to change the meaning. No Moabite or Ammonite family could be admitted to the privileges of Jewry until in the tenth generation after quitting heathenism and formally allying itself with Israel.

Ver. 2. The reference to Deut. xxiii. 3-5 continues through this verse, the passage being condensed throughout. In the Heb. we have the singular, he hired (i. e. Balak) as in Deut.

xxiii. 4.

as its nominative.

Ver. 3. The result of this reading was a careful exclusion of the mixed multitude (erev) from Israel. This was a different act from that of the 24th of Tisri. Then Israel separated itself from the strangers. Now they separate the erev from Israel. The former was a withdrawal; this an expulsion. For erev, see Ex. xii. 38.

Nehemiah's Reform Movement on his Return to
Jerusalem.

Ver. 4. Before this.-This should be "in the presence of this" (in conspectu ejus), with the circumstantial and not the temporal signification of liphne mizzeh. For Eliashib's evil conduct occurred while Nehemiah was away on his visit to Susa in Artaxerxes' thirty-second year, and not before the dedication-day. The meaning is, that Eliashib, the high-priest, notwithstanding all this reform wrought by Nehemiah in Artaxerxes' twentieth year, in the face of it all, dared, twelve years after, when Nehemiah was far away, to introduce Tobiah into the courts of the temple.

Nehemiah closes his record with a brief sketch of a new reform movement which he had to make twelve years later, owing to a long absence from Jerusalem at the Persian Court, in which

time evil men had sought to undo his former work.

Between ver. 3 and ver. 4 we have therefore a gap of twelve years in the chronology.

We have no reason to suppose that Eliashib allied himself with Tobiah or (through his grandson) with Sanballat until this season of Nehemiah's absence, when Eliashib may have supposed that he would never return.

Nehemiah in all probability did not write this book of his doings at Jerusalem till late in life, when his second visit to Jerusalem was a thing of the past, as well as his first visit.

Eliashib, the priest (i. e. the high-priest), having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God.-The participle is being set over (as in the margin). The "chamber" (lishcah) is used collectively for the "chambers." As high-priest, he would have control of all the various buildings in the temple-courts where the treasures of corn, oil and wine were preserved.

Was allied to Tobiah.-In what way we know not. Karov letoviyyah. A predicate adjective after so long a sentence, not in apposition ("being allied"), but as in E. V. a distinct assertion ("was allied"). A new fact is stated, and we are led to believe that this alliance marked a fearful period of falling away, after Nehemiah had turned his back. If it had existed before, we should have had mention made of it.

Ver. 5. A second fact in the miserable business. The high-priest prepared for Tobiah a great chamber, probably by knocking many into one (see ver. 9), in which Tobiah resided when at Jerusalem (see ver. 8). This desecration Eliashib may have defended on the score of Tobiah being by blood a Jew (see on ch. ii. 10), and the necessity of keeping on good terms with the influential men of the surrounding provinces.

These chambers had held all the unbloody sacrificial offerings and the tithes.

The Levites are distinguished from the singers and porters, although the singers and porters were Levites. So, on the other hand, the Levites are distinguished from the priests, although the priests were Levites. The Levites, as here designated, were those engaged in the more immediate sacrificial services, in attendance on the priests.

Ver. 6. In the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, i. e. in B. C. 434-3. Probably the "time set" by Nehemiah and approved by the king (ch. ii. 6) was twelve years. At the expiration of this term he was obliged to leave the superintendence of affairs at Jerusalem and return to the court. Artaxerxes is called "king of Babylon," instead of "king of Persia," probably because at this time of Nehemiah's return the court was removed to Babylon for some special state reason.

After certain days.-Lit. at the end of days, a very general expression, and may here mean several years.

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Ver. 9. The chambers. See on ver. 5. The tithes are omitted in the enumeration, because, as we see by the next verse, the people had ceased paying tithes, and hence there were none to put in the store-chambers.

Ver. 10. For the Levites, etc., were fled. Rather: and the Levites, etc., were fled. They fled to their own fields to work for their living, because their tithes were withheld. Their own fields were those belonging to the Levitical cities.-The singers, that did the work, is a pregnant phrase for "the singers and porters who performed service."

Ver. 11. The rulers (seganim). The Pers. word does not necessarily refer to rulers set over the people by the Persians, although it may include such, but extends to all who might exercise authority by birth, election or otherwise. The Pers. word is used as a familiar term for magistrates.

Set them in their place.-That is, put the
Levites back into their positions.
Ver. 12. Unto the treasuries (or store-
houses). Or for stores.

Ver. 13. I made treasurers.-The Hiphil of Atzar, "to store." Lit.: "I caused to store over the store-houses." That is: "I placed men over the store-houses, whom I caused to store the stores in them."

Shelemiah.-See ch. iii, 30.
Zadok. See ch. iii, 29.

Pedaiah. See ch. iii. 26 and ch. viii. 4. Next to them.-Lit. at their hand, as their assistant.

Ver. 14. This prayer is not one of self-glorification, but of faith in God's truth. A man who knows he is doing right in the sight of God can say so to God without presumption. It is a testimony of God's grace, and he can rejoice in it.

Ver. 15. In those days of my return to Jerusalem. The Sabbath had become desecrated in Nehemiah's absence, so that in some cases the works of the farm were wrought on that day, and produce brought to Jerusalem, and there sold on the Sabbath.

Ver. 16. Tyrian traders in fish and other products were plying their trade in the city on the Sabbath.

Ver. 17. The nobles (horim), not the "rulers" of ver. 11, but the higher classes generally.

Ver. 18. See Jer. xvii. 20-27.

Ver. 19. When the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath.— This seems to show that the day among the Jews did not begin at sunset. For here after sunset when it began to be dark, it was before the Sabbath. Only a special Sabbath was counted from the evening before. See Lev. xxiii. 32.

Ver. 20. The merchants, or traffickers.-On arriving with their wares, according to their wont, they find the gates shut, and are obliged to pass the night outside the walls until the Sabbath is over.

Ver. 21. When this hint was not enough,

Obtained I leave, to wit, to return to Je-Nehemiah sends them word that if they make rusalem.

Ver. 8. This decided action shows that Nehemiah returned with full powers from the Court.

their appearance again before the gates on the Sabbath to lodge there, they will be arrested. This broke up the evil.