Reading for July 25th

 Read Nehemiah 11.25-36. In 11.25-36: A note about villages outside Jerusalem. This brief account touches on some of the settlements outside Jerusalem that constituted the territory of Judah. Several of the places on the list were not settled by Jews until the Hellenistic period, so this list may be an idealized fiction, approximating the settlements of Judah as described in the tribal allotments of the book of Joshua (Jos 15.1-12). In effect, this makes the same point as the notice of the Festival of Booths earlier (8.17). Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 24th

 11.1-24. In 11.1-24: The community repopulates Jerusalem. Further focusing on the community's dedication to the law, this section depicts the repopulation of Jerusalem, ending with another lengthy list of those who moved into Jerusalem. In verse 1; One out of ten: This applies the tithe (Deut 12.17) to the community's total population. This is the first time Jerusalem is called the holy city,  an extension of the temple precinct's sacredness to the entire city now that it is marked by the completed walls. In verse 2: The people blessed ... live in Jerusalem: The community's desire to undertake this task is emphasized. The listing that follows offers leaders (divided into those of Judah and Benjamin, priests, Leveites, and gatekeepers. Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 23rd

Read Nehemiah 10.1-39. In 10.28-39: The terms of the covenant.  Having made an extensive confession before God, the community now offers a solemn covenant that covers a wide range of obligations. All of these will reform the community and bring it into accord with the law of God. In verse 28: The rest of the people, that is, other than the named signatories. In verse 30: We will not give our daughters ... take their daughters: The first major commitment is to oppose intermarriage and cease its practice. The dissolution of existing ethically mixed marriages is not called for. In verse 31: We  will not buy ... on the sabbath or on a holy day: This involves observing the sabbath with new rigor, since the law does not prohibit buying on the sabbath, though selling on the sabbath may have been customarily forbidden (Am 8.5). Forego the crops of the seventh year: Crop land is to receive a sabbath (Lev 25.1-7), combined with rules regarding the release of debts (Deut 15.1-18). These rules had not previously been linked. In verse 32: On-third of a shekel: This was the annual temple tax that continued into the Roman period (Mt 17.24-27). The Temple tax was instituted after the exile since there was no source of regular royal underwriting of temple functions. In verse 34: The community also commits to supply the wood offering to support the temple service. In verse 35: First fruits: While the fist cuttings pf grain are specified in the law (Deut 26.1-11), no provision is required for the produce of fruit trees. The remaining obligations commit the community to support of various aspects of Temple service, In verse 39: The main thrust of this covenant extends the coverage of the law, placing a larger sphere of life into the realm of the holy as part of service for the house of God. Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 22nd

 Read Nehemiah 9.9-38. In verse 32: Keeping the covenant and steadfast love emphasizes God's enduring relationship with Israel. Do not treat lightly all the hardship that has come upon us is an appeal that God not add to the community's burden but accept the deep contrition being expressed. In verse 36: Here we are, slaves to this day: Though it is a bound condition under imperial constraints. In verse 38: We make firm agreement: The confession has noted the community's present predicament, which now calls for a response that takes the law very seriously, not repeating the sins of the past. To commit to the agreement in writing further affirms the serious intent here. The author has made this intent more apparent by listing the names of the community leadership affirming this covenant in 10.1-27. Surprisingly, Ezra is absent from this list. Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 21st

 Read Nehemiah 9.1-8.  In 9.1-10.27: A day of community confession. This account explains a solemn covenant to which the community will bind itself. Most of the section is a lengthy prayer, possibly offered  by Ezra, which implores God to see the sufferings of the community in the present. The people hope that seeing how they have suffered, God will spare them any additional hardship in spite of their failure to observe the law. The account closes with the names of those who affirmed the covenant. Many have suggested that all or parts of the account fit best after the materials of Ezra 10. In 9.1: The twenty-four day of this month: Following the author's chronology, the Feast of Weeks, lasting eight days, would have ended on the tenth day of the month. The community had clearly prepared for the expression of grief by fasting and being dressed in sackcloth. In verse 2: Separated themselves: Possibly a reflection of the "sending away" of the foreign wives of Ezra 10, though the wording here clearly relates to foreign men as well. Since the confession is rooted in the particular experiences of Israel, the wording may simply mean that only those who have continuity with pre-exilic Israel continued with the confession, while converts to Judaism did not participate. In verse 6: Ezra said: This reading follows the Greek translation of Nehemiah. The Hebrew text implies the prayer is offered by the congregation as a whole. The prayer goes on the recount God's special kindness to Israel and the coming into the land of Israel. The prayer also notes the problem of idolatry that led to judgment, though characterizing these transgressions by the more general casting of the "law behind their backs" (v. 26). Of particular note is the emphasis on God as a "gracious and merciful God" (v. 31). Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 20th

 Read Nehemiah 8.13-18. In 8.13-18: The community keeps the Festival of Booths. One of the specified holy times of the seventh month was the Festival of Booths (Lev 23.33-43), slated to be observed for a week beginning on the fifteenth day of the month. Along with the celebration of the deliverance from Egypt that is the prime focus of the festival, this account continues the reading, and presumably explanation, of the law. In verse 13: On the second day keeps the chronology of 8.2, even though it technically does not observe the festival specifications of the law. This may be an indication that the precise limits of the festival had not yet been set in the Persian period. In  place of the community as a whole, this gathering consists only of the leadership. In verse 17: All the assembly ... made booths: the whole community is involved. From the days of Jeshua is a reference to the period of conquest and Israel's inheritance of the land. The completion of the city walls and the reformation of the community are parallel to israel's beginnings. Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 19th

 Read Nehemiah 7.18b-8.12. In 73b-8.12: The community gathers to hear the law. This section brings back into the narrative the figure Ezra, of whom nothing has been said since the close of the book of Ezra. This sudden reemergence of Ezra and the focus on the importance of the law has led many scholars to conclude that this narrative was originally part of the account of Ezra and was moved to its present position by the editor who has brought Ezra-Nehemiah into its present form. The focus, however, remains on the community's request for the reading of the law, and the way the section is placed makes it clear that the goal is to reform itself into a more obedient community on the eve of the dedication of the city's walls. This ceremony also forms the backdrop to the conclusion of this larger section in 13.1-13. In 73b: When the seventh month came: The walls were completed in the month of Elul (6.15), the sixth month of the year. A rough chronological sequence is maintained by the placement, though there is some question if enough time is allowed for the people to return to be settled in their town before reassembling in Jerusalem. The seventh month was traditionally the time of the Day of Atonement (on the tenth day) and the Feast of Tabernacles (for a week starting on the fifteenth day). Several scholars have noted that this was also the month specified in Deut 31.10-13 for an assembly of the people to hear a reading of the law every seven years. This is apparently the model on which the account is structured. In 8.1: They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book: The way Ezra is portrayed as  subservient to the wishes of the "assembly,"rather  than the forceful leader of the community as in the book of Ezra tends to weigh against the idea that this narrative was originally part of the book of Ezra. In the account of this gathering, Ezra is variously termed the scribe (vv. 1, 4), the priest (v. 2), and the priest and scribe (vv. 9), both being roles attributed to him in the book of Ezra. In verse 7: The levites helped the people to understand: One of the traditional roles of the levites was to teach the meaning of the law to Israel (Deut 33.10), and this may have involved a brief exposition of the passage. The Levities may have moved about the crowd answering queries since the people remained in their paces. In verse 9: Nehemiah ... and Ezra: This on of only two places in the Hebrew text of Ezra-Nehemiah where the two reformers appear together. This day is holy: The day of the assembly is a specific sacred occasion. While the specified time of the reading of the law could be considered a holy day, the account may imply that the day is the Feast of Trumpets, set on the first day of the seventh month, which was sacred day (Lev 23.23-25), although no reading of the law is connected witht he Feast of Trumpets. Possibly recognizing how far they had strayed from the law, the people wept. In verse 10: Then he said to them: The he may be Ezra. The specified foods are typical of a festive meal celebrating a sacred occasion. The phrase the joy of the Lord is your strength uses an unusual term for joy, one that occurs here and 1 Chr 16.27, "where strength and joy are in his place." In verse 12: All the people went their way ... to make great rejoicing: Unlike 1 and 2 Chronicles, where the rejoicing takes place in great corporate scenes, this account portrays the people retiring to their homes to rejoice. Their ability to understand the law provides the opportunity to live in accord with the divine will (Ps 119.34-35). Comments or Questions..