Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition)
Succession of the High Priests. NEPIEMIAH XII, XIII. Israel Separated from the Strangen.
procession commmces. Then (t>. 31)1 brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall (near the Valley Gate), and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks, whereof one went on the right hand upon tlie wall towards the dung-gate (Ihrouyh Bethzo). And after tliem went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah. And trlbuted in settlements throngliout the provinces of Judah and Benjamin.
CHAPTER XII.
Ver. 1-9. Priests aud Levites who came up with Zerubbabel. 1. these are the priests—According to v. 7 "the chief of the priests," tlie heads of the twenty-four courses into which the priestliood were divided (1 Chron-
(v. 37) at tlie fountain-gate, which was over against tliem, they {descending by the Tower of Siloam on the interior, and then reascending) went up by the stairs of tiie city of David, at the going up of the wall, above tiie liouse of David, even unto the water-gate eastward (by the staircase of the rampart, having descended to dedicate the fountain structures). And the otiier company of them that gavo thanks went over against them (both parties having started from the junction of the first and second walls), and I after them, and the half of tlie people upon the wall, from beyond the tower of the furnaces even unto the broad wall (beyond the corner-gate). And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate (and the gate of Benjamin), and above the fish-gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even unto the sheep-gate; and they stood still in the prison-gate (o?- high gate, at the east end of the bridge). So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God, and I, and half of the rulers witli me (having thus performed the circuit of the investing walls), and arrived in the courts of the temple." [Barclay's City of the Great King.] 43. the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar otf—Tlie events of the day, viewed in connection with the now repaired and beautified state of the city, raised tlie popular feeling to the highest pitch of enthusiasm, and the fame of their rejoicings was spread far and near. 44. portions of the law i. e., prescribed by the law. for Judah rejoiced for the priests and . . . Levites that waited—Tlie cause of this general satisfaction was eitlier the full restoration of the temple service, and the reorganized provision for the permanent support of the ministrj', or it was th« pious cliaracter and eminent gifts of the guardians of re» llgion. 45. the singers and the porters kept . . the ward of the purification i. e., toolj care that no unclean person was allowed to enter witliin the prt'(^ncts of the sacred building. Tiiiswas the official duty of the porters icles 24. 1-20). Only four of the courses returned from the captivity (ch. 7. 39-42; Ezra 2. 36-39). But these were divided by Zerubbabel, or Jeshua, into the original number of twenty-four. Twenty-two only are enumerated here, and no more than twenty in v. 12-21. The discrepancy is owing to tlie extremely probable circumstance tliat two of the twenty-four courses had become extinct in Babylon; for none belonging to them are reported as having returned {v. 2-5), viz., Hattush and Maadiah may be omitted in the account of those persons' families (v. 12), for these had no sons. Shealflel—or Salathiel. Ezra This was a different person from the pious and patriotic leader. If he were the same person, he must now have reached a very patriarchal age—and this longevity was doubtless owing to his eminent piety and temperance, which are greatly conducive to the prolongation of life, but, above all, to the special blessing of God, who had preserved and strengthened him for the accomplishment of the Important work he was called to undertake in that critical period of the Church's history. 4. Abijah—One of the ancestors of John the Baptist (Luke 1. 5). 9. tliclr brethren were over against them in the watches i, e., according to some, their stations—the places where they stood wlien officiating—" ward over against ward" {v. 24); or, according to others, In alternate watches, in course of rotation.
10-47. Succession or the High Priests. 10. Jeshna begat Joiakim, &c.—This enumeration was of great importance, not only as establishing their individual purity of descent, but because the chronology of the Jews was henceforth to be reckoned not as formerly by tlie reigns of their king*, l)ut by the successions of their higli priests. 11. Jaddna—It is an opinion entertained by many commentators that this person was the high priest whose dignified appearance, solemn manner, and splendid costume overawed and interested so strongly the proud mind of Alexander the Great; and if lie were not this person, as some object that this Jaddua was not in office
(2 Chronicles 2'?. 19), with whom, owing to the pressure of circumstances, it was deemed expedient that the singers should be associated as assistants. 47, all Israel . . . sanctiiied holy tilings unto the Ijevites, itc—Tiie people, selecting tlie tithes and first-fruits, devoted tliem to the use of tlie Levites, to wliom they belonged liy appointment of the law. The Levites acted in the same way with the tithes due from them to tlie priests. Tiius ail classes of the people displayed a conscientious fidelity in paying the dues to the temple and the servants of God who were appointed to minister in It.
till a considerable period after the death of Nehemiah, It miglit probably be his father, called by the same name. 12. in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chief of the fathers—i.e., as there had been priests in the days of Jeshua, so In the time of Joiakim, the son and successor of Jeshua, the sons of those persons filled the priestly office in room of their fathers, some of whom were still alive, though many were dead. 33. Tlic sons of licvi . . . were written in the book of tlie Chronicles i. e., the public registers in which the genealogies were kept with great regularity and exactness. 37-43. at the dedication of the wall of .Terusalem—This ceremony of consecrating the wall and gates of the city was an act of piety on the part of Nehemiah, not merely to thank God in a general way for having been enabled to bring the building to a happy completion, but on the special ground of that city being the place which lie had chosen, and Us containing the temple which was hallowed by the manifestation of His presence, and anew set apart to His service. It was on these accounts that Jerusalem was called "the holy city," and by this public and solemn act of religious observance, after a long period of neglect and desecration, it was, as it were, re Btored to Its riglitful proprietor. The dedication consisted in a solemn ceremonial. In which tlie leading authorities, accompanied by the Levitlcal singers, summoned from all parts of the country, and by a vast concourse of people, marched In Imposing procession round the city walls, and, pausing at intervals to engage in united praises, prayer, and sacrifices, supplicated the continued preseu'-e. favour, and blessing on "the holy city." " The astembty convened near Jaffa Oale, where the
CHAPTER XIII.
Ver. 1-9. Upon the Reading of the Law Separation IS made from the Mixed Multitude. 1. On that day—This was not immediately consequent on the dedication of the city wail and gates, but after Nehemiah's return from the Persian court to .Jerusalem, his absence having extended over a consideralile period. The transaction here described prol)ably toolc place on one of the periodical occasions for tlie public readings of the law, when the people's attention was particularly directed to some violations of it which called lor immediate correction. Tliere is another instance aflbrded. In addition to those which have ali-eady fallen under our notice, of the great advantages resulting from the public and periodical reading of the Divine law. It was an established provision for the religious instruction of tlie people, for diffusing a knowledge and a reverence for tlie sacred volume, as well as for removing those errors and corruptions which might, in the course of time, have crept In, the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever—i. e., not l)e incorporated into tlie Israelitish kingdom, nor united in marriage relations with that people (Deuteronomy 2;5. 3, 4). This ap-
A hasuerus makes Royal Feasts ESTHER I. to his Princes and Senand.
House of God. 10. And I perceived that tlie portioua of the Levltes had not been given them—The people, di.sgusted witii tlie malversations of Eliashib, or the lax and irregular performance of tlie sacred rites, withheld the tithes, so that the ministers of religion were fompelled for their livelihood to withdraw to their patrimonial possessions in tlie country; the temple services had ceased; all religious duties fallen into neglect; and the money put into the sacred treasury squandered in the entertainment of an Ammonite heathen, an open and contemptuous enemy of God and his people. The return of the governor put an end to these disgraceful and pi ofane proceedings. He administered a sharp rebuke to tliose priests to whom the management of the temple and its services was committed, for the total neglect of their duties, and the violation of the solemn promises which they had made to him at his departure. He upbraided tiiem with the serious charge of having not only witlilield from men their dues, but of having robbed God, by neglecting the care of his house and service. And thus liaviug roused them to a sense of duty, and incited tliem to testify their godly sorrow for their criminal negligence by renewed devotedness to their sacred work, Nehemiali restored the temple services, by recalling the dispersed Levites to the regular discharge of their duties, while the people at large, perceiving that their contributions would be no longer perverted to improper uses, willingly brought in their tithes as formerly. Men of integrity and good report were appointed to act as trnstees of the sacred treasures, and thus order, regularity and active service were re-established in the temple.
peal to the authority of the Divine law led to a dissolution of all heathen alliances (ch. 9. 2; Ezra 10. 3). 4. before tliis —The practice of these mixed marriages, in open neglect or violation of the law, had become so common, tliat even the pontifical house, whicli ought to have set a belter example, was polluted by such an impure mixture. Eliashibtliv priest , . . was allied unto Toblnli—Tiiis person was the high priest (u. 28; also ch. 3. 1), wlio, by virtue of his dignified office, had the superintendence and control of the apartments attached to the temple. The laxity of liis principles, as well as of his practice, is sufficiently apparent from his contracting a family connection with so notorious an enemy of Israel as Tobiah. But liis obsequious attentions had carried liim mucli fartlier, for to accommodate so important a person as Tobiah on his occasional visits to Jerusalem, Eliashib had provided him a splendid apartment in tlie temple. Tlie introduction of so gross an impropriety can be accounted for in no otiier way tlian by supposing that in tlie absence of the priests, and the cessation of the services, the temple wa-s regarded as a common public building, whicli might, in the circumstances, be appropriated as a palatial residence. 6. But In all tills time was not 1 at Jeriisalem —Eliashib—concluding that, as Nehemiah had ileparted from Jerusalem, and, on the expiry of his allotted term of absence, had resigned his government, he had gone not to return—began to use great liberties, and, there being none left whose authority or frown he dreaded,, allowed himself to do things most unwort hy of his sacred office, and which, thougli in unison with his own irreligious cliaracter, lie would not have dareil to attempt during the residence of the pious governor. Neliemiali resided twelve years as governor of Jerusalem, and liaving succeeded in repairing and refortifying the city, he at the end of that period returned to his duties in Sliushan. How long he remained there is not expressly said, but "after certain days," which is a Scripture phraseology for a year or a number of years, he obtained leave to resume the government of Jerusalem, and, to his deep mortification and regret, found matters in the neglected and disorderly statfe here described. Such gross irregularities as were practised, such extraordinary corruptions as had crept in, evidently imply the lapse of a considerable time. ISesides, they exhibit the character of Eliashib, the high priest, in a most unfavourable light; for while he ought, b,y his office, to have preserved the inviolable sanc'tity of the temple and its furniture, his influence had been directly exerci.sed for evil; especially he liad given permission and countenance to a most indecent outrage the appropriation of the best apartments in llie sacred building to a heathen governor, one of the worst and most determined enemies of the people and the worship of God. Tiie very first reform Nehemiah on his second visit resolved upon, was the stopping of this gross profanation, and the chamber which had been polluted by tlie residence of the idolatrous Ammonite was, after undergoing the process of ritual purification (Numbers 15. 9), restored to its proper use—a store-house for the sacred vessels.
1.5-81. The Violation of the Sabb.\th. 15. In (hose days saw I in Jndah some treading wlnc-pi;es Mes on tlie Sabbath—The cessation of the temple services was necessarily followed by a public profanation of the Sabbath, and this had gone so far that labour was carried on in the fields, and fish brought to the markets on the sacred day. Nehemiah took the decisive step of ordering the city gates to be shut, and not to be opened, till the Sal)bath was past; and in order to ensure the faithful execution of this order, he stationed some of his own servants as guards, to prevent the introduction of any coniinodilies on that day. On the merchants and various dealers limling admission denied them, they set up booths oulsidu the walls, in hopes of still driving a traffic with the peasantry, but the governor threatened. If they continued, to adopt violent measures for their removal. For this purpose a liody of Levites were stationed as sentinels at the gate, with discretionary powers to protect the .sanctification of the Sabbath. could not speak in tlie Jews' language, but according to tlie language of eacli people— A mongrel dialect Imbibed from their mothers, together with foreign principles and hal)its. ^J.'i. rursed them i. c, pronounced on tliein an anathema whkdi entailed excommunication. smote . . . and plucked oir their hair—To cut oil' the hair of ofiendcrs seems to be a punishment rather disgraceful tlian severe; yet It is supposed tluit pain was added to disgrace, and that they tore otr the hair with violence, as If they were plucking a bird alive.
10-U. Nehemiah Reforms the Oiticeiis in the
TIIP] BOOK OF ESTHER.
CHAPTER I.
not been nnfrequently provided by the luxurious nionarchsof Eastern countries, bolli in ancient and modern times. The early portion of this festive season, however, seems to have been dedicated to amusement, particularly an exhibition of the magnificence and treasures of the court, and It was closed by n special feiist of seven days' continuance, given within the gardens of the royal palace. The ancient palace of .Siisa has been recently disinterred from
Ver. 1-22. Ahasuerus makes Royai, F'kasts. I. Ahasuerus— It is now generally agreed amongst learned men that the Ahasuerus mentioned In this episode Is the Xerxes who figures In Grecian history. 3. made a feast nnto all his princes and his servanis— I!anr|Ucts on so grand a scale, and extending over so great a jieriod, have
Thuhli He/uses to attend the Feast.\ ESTHER 11. Es-fher Chosen to be iueenpeased—On recovering from the violent excitement of his revelry and I'age, tlie king was pici-< e.l with poignant regret for the unnuM ited treatnii iit he li;iil given to his beau-
Rn incumbent mass of earth and ruins, and In that pahice, wliich is, l)ey<)nil all doubt, tlie actual edifice referred to
In tliis passage, there is a great hall of marble pillars. "The position of tliegreatcolounade corresponds with the account here given. It staiidson an elevation in the centiful and dignified queen. Rut, according to the law, wliicli made the word of a Persian liing irrevocable, she could not be restored. Illscouiiscllors, for theirown sake, were solicitous to remove his disquietude, and hastened to recommend tlie adoption of all suilahlemeansforgratifying their royal master witli another consort of equal or superior attractions to those of Ills divorced queen, lu the despotic countries of the East the custom obtains that when an order is sent to a family for a young damsel to repair to tlie royal palace, the parents, however unwilling, dare not refuse the honour for their daugliter; and although they know that wiien she is once in the royal harem, they will never see her again, they are obliged to yield a silent and passive compliance. On the occasion referred to, a general search was commanded to be made tre of tlie mound, the remainder of vvhicli we may well inin,t,ine to have been occupied, after the Persian fashion, with a gard(-n and fountains. Thus the colonnade would represent the ' court of the garden of the king's palace' with its ' pillarsof marble.' I am even inclined tobelieve the expression, 'Shushan the palace,' applies especially to this portion of the existing ruins, in contradistinction to the citadel and the city of Shushan." [Loftus' CiialDxKA AND SUSIANA.] 6. Wliere Were wliite, grecii, niid blue liangiiigs, &c.—The fashion, in the houses of the great, on festive occasions, was to decorate the chambers trom the middle of the wall downward with damask or velvet hangings of variegated colours suspended on hooks, or taken down at pleasure, the beils were of gold ami sliver—t. e., the couches on which, according to Oriental fashion, the guests reclined, and which were either formed entirely of gold and silver, or inlaid with ornaments of those costly metals, stood on an elevated floor of particoloured marble. 7. they gave tlicni drinU In vessels of gold—There is reason to believe from this account, as well as from ch. 5. G ; 7. 2, 7, 8, where the drinking of wine occupies by far the most prominent place in the descripfor the greatest beauties throughout the empire, in the hope tliat, from their ranks, the disconsolate monarch might select one for the honour of succeeding to the royal honours of Vashtl. The damsels, on arrival at the palace, were placed under the custody of " Hege, the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women," i. e., the chief eunuch, usually a repulsive old man, on whom the court ladies are very dependent, and whose favour tin y are always desirous to secure. 5. Now In Shushan <hc palace there was a certain Jew—Mordecai held some office about the court. But his " sitting at the king's gate" (i'. 21) does not necessarily imply that he was in tlie humble condition of a porter; for, according to an institute of Cyrus, all state tion., that tills was a li)anquet rather than a feast. 9. Also Vasliti the queen made a feast for tlie women—The celebration was double; for, as according to the Oriental fashion, the sexes do not intermingle in society, the court ladies were entertained in a separate apartment by the queen. 10-13. On tlie seventh day, wlien the heart of the king was meri-y with wine—As the feast-days advanced, the drinking was more freely indulged in, so that the close was usually marked by great excesses of reveli-y. he commanded , . . the seven chnmberlalus— these were the eunuchs who had charge of the royjil harem. The refusal of Vashtl to obey an order which required her to make an indecent exposure of herself before a company of drunken revellers, was becoming both the modesty of her sex and her rank as queen ; for, according to Persian customs, the queen, even more than the wives of other men, was secluded from the public gaze; and had not the king's blood been heated with wine, or his reason overpowered by force of offended pride, he would have perceived that his own honour, as well as hers, was consulted by her dignified conduct. 13. Then the king said to the wise men—These we?e probably the magi, without whose advice as to the proper time of doing a thing the Persian kings never did take any step whatever; and the persons named in the following verse were the "seven counsellors" (of. Ezra 7. 14) who formed the state ministry. The combined wisdom of all. It seems, was enlisted to consult with the king what course should be taken after so unprecedented an occurrence as Vashti's disobedience of the royal summons. It is scarcely possible for us to Imagine tlie astonishment produced by such a refusal in a country and a court where the will of the sovereign was absolute. The assembled grandees were petrified with horror at the daring aflfront; alarm for the consequences that might ensue to each of them In his own household next seized on their minds, and the sounds of bacchanalian revelry were hushed intodeep and anxious consultation what punishment to inflict on the refractory queen. But a purpose was to be served by the flattery of the king and the enslavement of all women. The counsellors were too intoxicated or obsequious to oppose the courtly advice of Memucan. It was unanimously resolved, with a wise regard to tlie public Interests of the nation, that the punishment of Vashtl could be nothing short of degradation from her royal dignity. The doom was accordingly pronounced and made known In all parts of the empire.
officers were required to wait in the outer courts till they were summoned into the presence-chamber. He might, therefore, have been a person of some official dignity. This man had an orphan niece, born during the exile, under hiscare, whobeingdistinguislud by great personal beauty, was one of the young damsels taken into the royal harem on this occasion, and had had the good fortune at once to gain the good-will of the cliief eunuch. Her sweet and amiable appearance made her a favourite with all who looked upon her {v. 15, last clause). Her Ho brew name {v. 7) was Hadassah, i. e., myrtle, which, on her introduction into the royal harem, was changed for Ksther, i. e., the star Venus, indicating beauty and good fortune. [GeseniuS.] 11. Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house—Tlie liarmi is an inviolable sanctuary, and what is transacted within its walls is as much a secret to those witlioat as if they were thousands of miles away. But hints were given him through the eunuchs. 13. Now Avlien every maid's turn was come to go in to King Altasuerus—A whole year was spent in preparation for the intended honour. Considering that this took place in a palace, the long perio'J prescribed, together with the profusion of costly and fragrant cosmetics employed, was probably required by state etiquette. 17. the king loved Esther above all the women—The choice fell on Esther, who found favour in the eyesof Ahasuerus,and elevated her to the dignity of chief wife, or queen. The other competitors had apartments assigned them in the royal harem, and were retained in the rank of secondary wives, of Avhom Orii ntal princes have a great nitmlier. he set the royal crown upon her head—This consisted only of a purple ribbon, streaked with white, bound round the forehead. The nuptials were celebrated by a magnificent entertainment, and, in honour of the auspicious occasion, " he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state ot tlie king." The dotation of Persian queens consisted in consigning to them the revenue of certain cities, in various parts of the kingdom, for defraying their personal and domestic expenditure. Some of these imjiosts the king remitted or lessened at this time.
21-23. Mordecai, Discovering a Treason, is Recorded in the Chronicles. 21. In those days . . . two of the king's chamberlains . . , were wroth and sought to lay hand on the king, &c.—This secret conspiracy against the king's life probably ai-ose out of revenge for the divorce of Vasliti, in whose Interest, and
CHAPTER II.
Ver. 1-20. ESTHER Chosen TO BE Queen. 1. After these things, when the wrath of King Ahasucfus was n\t-