[Sidenote: Neh. 13:30, 31] Thus I cleansed them from all foreigners and fixed the duties for the priests and the Levites, each for his appointed task, and the bringing of wood for the service at appointed times, and the first-fruits. Remember it, O my God, to my credit.
I. Cruelty and Hypocrisy of the Jewish Leaders. The fifty-sixth chapter of Isaiah presents a sharp contrast: on the one hand a high ideal of justice toward the oppressed and tolerance toward all foreigners who sincerely desired to unite in Jehovah's worship; on the other the sordid selfishness of the Jewish leaders, who disregarded their responsibilities and thought of religion only as a round of ceremonial observances. The situation is very similar to that in Northern Israel in the days of Amos. The II Isaiah stands on the same platform as did his predecessors of the Assyrian period. He strips fearlessly from the rulers of the community the mantle of hypocrisy with which they sought to cover their shame. In clearest terms he declares that their first duty to God is to loose the fetters of injustice and to share their bread with the hungry. This stirring prophetic message is the natural introduction to the reformatory work of Nehemiah.
II. Nehemiah's Method of Correcting the Social Evils in the Community. Nehemiah's address recorded in the fifth chapter of his memoirs completes the picture suggested in Isaiah 56 and 58. The poor had been compelled by their poverty to sell their children into slavery to the rich and ruling class. In order to pay their personal taxes they had also mortgaged their inherited fields, vineyards, and houses. Doubtless much of the tax thus raised went into the pockets of their rulers, who preyed mercilessly upon the helpless and needy. These crimes directly violated the laws of Deuteronomy (cf. Deut. 23:9, 20), as well as those in the older Book of the Covenant (Ex. 21-23). Nehemiah's position, therefore, when he demanded that these evils be righted, was unassailable. In the spirit and with the methods of the earlier prophets he gathered together the people, probably within the precincts of the temple court, and plainly and unsparingly denounced their acts. There is much in common between this later Jewish layman and the shepherd Amos. Each spoke on the basis of close personal observation and experience; but Nehemiah possessed many advantages over the prophets who had preceded him. His own personal example lent force to his words. Although it was his right as governor, he had exacted no tribute from the Judean community. Even though the opportunity had probably offered itself, he steadily refused to take their hereditary land from the poor who applied to him for loans of money or grain. Instead of enslaving his countrymen, he had lost no opportunity to free those who had been forced by misfortune or poverty into slavery. He had also entertained lavishly rich and poor alike, and thus given to all an example of practical charity. His authority as Persian governor doubtless carried great weight with the cringing, greedy leaders at Jerusalem. Above all, the force of his personality was irresistible. It is easy to imagine the powerful impression which his words made upon them. The restoration of their lands and the freeing of their children were undoubtedly mighty factors in arousing the men of Jerusalem to those herculean efforts which alone made possible the rebuilding of the walls in the brief period of fifty-two days.
III. The Historical Value of Nehemiah 13. In his Composition of Ezra-Nehemiah (pp. 44-49) Professor Torrey, of Yale, maintains that this chapter is a pure creation of the Chronicler. Certainly its phraseology and the subjects with which it deals are characteristic of the Chronicler, but on the whole it is probable that he has here simply recast what was originally an extract from the memoirs of Nehemiah. Some of the phrases peculiar to the Chronicler are loosely connected with the context. The nucleus which remains has the vigorous style of Nehemiah and many of his peculiar idioms. Its courageous, assertive spirit is very different from that of the other writings of the Chronicler. It is also doubtful whether this later writer, with his strong, priestly interests, would have made Nehemiah, the layman, a religious reformer and therefore in a sense the rival of Ezra. Above all, the work attributed to Nehemiah in this chapter is in harmony with his spirit and attitude, as revealed in the unquestioned extracts from his memoirs. Already, as stated in 1:20, he had told Sanballat and Tobiah that they should have no portion or memorial in Jerusalem. He had already shown himself keen in righting wrongs within the community. Zeal in preserving the sanctity of the sabbath and in opposing heathen marriages was characteristic rather of the Jews of the dispersion than of those of Palestine. It is probable, therefore, that this chapter records Nehemiah's work when he revisited Jerusalem some time after 432 B.C., although it must be frankly confessed that the historical evidence is far from conclusive and that the entire account of this second visit, including the chronological data in 5:14 and the reference to the expulsion of Sanballat in 1:20, may possibly be due to the Chronicler's desire to discredit the Samaritans and to enlist the authority of Nehemiah in support of the later priestly laws and customs.
IV. Regulations Regarding the Temple Service. The expulsion of Tobiah the Ammonite from the room which had been assigned him in the temple by Eliashib, the high priest, was apparently due to two reasons, first because Tobiah was persona non grata to Nehemiah and had already shown himself a dangerous foe to the Jews. The second and chief reason was because the room was needed for storing the offerings that were brought in for the support of the temple officials. These offerings were presented in accordance with the demands of the Deuteronomic regulation, which at this time was the code acknowledged by the Judean community (Deut. 18:4. 14:23, 27, 28). The narrative adds that, with his practical knowledge of affairs, Nehemiah appointed a representative committee consisting of a priest, a scribe, and a Levite, and to them he intrusted the task of receiving and distributing the temple tithes to their kinsmen.
V. Provisions Regarding Sabbath Observation and Foreign Marriages. Far away from the temple, and therefore unable to participate in the distinctive feasts and ceremonials that distinguished the religious life of their race, and confronted by the constant danger of being absorbed by the heathen among whom they found themselves, the Jews of the dispersion placed strong emphasis on two institutions. The one was the observation of the sabbath and the other was the preservation of the purity of their blood by abstaining from all marriage alliances with their Gentile neighbors. In Palestine, where they were able to revive the ancient feasts in connection with the temple, and where the danger of absorption was not so imminent, their practices in these regards appear to have been much more lax. Not only had the priests set the example by contracting foreign marriages, but apparently about this time the author of the beautiful story of Ruth, by citing the tradition regarding the Moabite ancestry of their illustrious King David, voiced the belief of many in the community that such marriages were permissible. Nehemiah, however, rigorously opposed this tendency. He also appreciated the menace to the dignity and character of the temple service, if the commercial pursuits of ordinary days were carried into the sabbath. His measure, therefore, in closing the gates and thus excluding all traders, was both sane and effective. In setting his face strongly against foreign marriages he was simply enforcing the laws found in Deuteronomy 7:1, 3 and 33:3, which forbade the Hebrews to intermarry with the people of the land.
VI. Significance of Nehemiah's Work. In rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem Nehemiah prepared the way for that revival of the Jewish state which characterized the closing years of the Persian period. More important still was his work in re-establishing a close relation between the Jews of the dispersion and those of Palestine. He himself was the connecting link between them, and his activity prepared the minds of the Palestinian Jews for the acceptance of those new principles that were strongly held by leaders like himself. He also enforced the ethical and social ideals of the earlier prophets, and ably advocated the principles that are fundamental in the late priestly laws. Above all, in his own personality as a prophetic layman, he held up before his race an example of patriotism, self-sacrifice, efficiency, and devotion to the service of Jehovah which made a profound and lasting impression upon his own and later generations.
Section CII. THE TRADITIONAL ACCOUNT OF THE ADOPTION OF THE PRIESTLY LAW
[Sidenote: Ezra 7:1, 6-10] In the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra, a descendant of Aaron, went up from Babylon; and he was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which Jehovah, the God of Israel, had given. And the king granted him all his request, inasmuch as the hand of Jehovah his God was upon him. And some of the Israelites, and of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the porters, and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem [with him]. And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. For on the first day of the first month he began the journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, since the good hand of God was with him. For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of Jehovah, and to observe it and to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances.
[Sidenote: Neh. 7:73b, 8:4-6] And when the seventh month drew near, all the people gathered themselves together as one man to the broad place that was before the Water Gate. And they spoke to Ezra the priest and scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Jehovah had commanded Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men and women, and all who could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it before the open place that was before the Water Gate, from early morning until mid-day, in the presence of the men and women and of those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law. And Ezra the priest and scribe stood upon a wooden pulpit, which they made for the purpose and opened the book in the sight of all the people—for he was above all the people—and when he opened it all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed Jehovah, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, while they lifted up their hands and bowed their heads and worshipped Jehovah with their faces to the ground.