Reading for July 30th

 THE POSTLOGUE

13.4-31: Having described the communal confession of sin, the entry into a solemn covenant, the dedication of the walls, and the redefinition of the community as the "house of God," it remains for the author to clarify what happened to Nehemiah. This postlogue offers a sort of conclusion to Nehemiah's mission, showing the reformer forcefully addressing a number of wrongs in the community. The section as a whole is based on the covenant contents of ch 10, but in reverse order. For example, where the covenant begins with a vow to end intermarriage (10.30), the present section ends with the same issue (vv. 23-27). Nehemiah's efforts are aimed at  trying to get the community to live up to its own promises.

Read Nehemiah 4-22. In verse 5: Prepare for Tobiah a large room in the Temple precinct: Tobiah was not only one of Nehemiah's primary adversaries, but was an Ammonite, a group to be excluded from the Temple (13.1-2). They had previously put grain offering suggests that the offerings are not coming in as they had been, allowing for the room to be put to other uses. In verse 6: I was not in Jerusalem: Nehemiah apparently was called back to the court for reasons not directly relating to his governance of the district. The thirty-second year of Artaxerxes would be 432 BCE. In verse 8: I was very angry: By making such a public show, Nehemiah may have been hoping to bring the priest Eliashib, an relative of Tobiah, under control. This entire incident is followed up to the actions of the community in 13.1-3. In verse 10: The portions of the Levites had been given to them: This contrary to the pledge made in 10.35-39 not to "neglect the house of God." It also specifically violates the pledges made in 12.44-47 to ensure the singers could remain at their posts. In verse 17: Profaning the sabbath day? This is contrary to the pledges made in 10.31 to keep the sabbath, even if foreign merchants come with goods to sell. In verse 19: I set some of my servants over the gates, apparently to ensure that Nehemiah's orders to shut the city gates at the beginning of the sabbath were fulfilled. Cordoning off the city on the sabbath makes the entire city a holy precinct on that day. In verse 22: This  explains why Nehemiah commands the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates. With the entire community turned into a "house of God" the Levites should guard the entryways just as they had previously guarded the entrances in the the Temple precincts. Comments or Questions..