Neh 8 notes

8:1–18 Ezra Reads the Law

The last half of 7:73 introduces chapter 8. The seventh month was the most important month of the ceremonial calendar (compare Lev 23). On the first day of the month (compare Num 29:1), the people assembled and called for Ezra to read the law. The purpose of the reading was so they could understand the law (8:1–4). The people stood in reverence when the law was read; and their response included praise, tears, and joy. The Levites interpreted the law for those who did not understand its meaning (8:5–12).

After hearing the law, the elders urged Ezra to call for a general assembly of all the Jews to observe the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles). Tabernacles was traditionally celebrated for seven days at the time of harvest ingathering (Exod 34:22). It commemorated God’s provision during the wilderness when Israel lived in temporary shelters or booths (compare Lev 23:33–43). For these exiles, this festival was particularly meaningful because they had experienced the second “Exodus” from Babylon. The booths, made of tree branches, were constructed in the city. Not since Joshua’s time had the feast been celebrated in this way. The law was carefully followed. The Jews set aside the eighth day (Lev 23:36) for special assembly (Neh 8:13–18).

8:1-18

The Reading of the Law

8:1. chronology. It is presumed that the Israelites gathered together in the year that Nehemiah arrived, 445 b.c. Ezra would have already been there for thirteen years. The seventh month is Tishri (spans September-October), the beginning of the civil new year and the month that Yom Kippur and the Feast of Tabernacles are celebrated.

8:1. Water Gate. The Water Gate (see Neh 3:26) was near the Gihon Spring and thus afforded access to the water source. It has been argued that the gate referred to a preexilic wall that was not rebuilt by Nehemiah. It is not known whether this gate was included in the new wall or was east of it. In any case, Ezra did not read the Torah in or near the temple.

8:1. scribe. In Persian and general Mesopotamian usage, the position was that of a local commissioner charged with maintaining law and order, but a much broader scope is observable in the ancient world. Scribes would have been trained in reading of the various languages in use at the time, in the production of texts (whether copying, receiving dictation or composing), in the knowledge of traditional literature (canonical and noncanonical), in the range of international literature (particularly wisdom literature) and in the interpretation of literature (perhaps including legal literature or ritual literature). Scribes in Israel were, therefore, experts in the Law of Moses. One of their primary duties was to study the Scriptures. They became paramount in Jewish life in the postexilic period. They may have been organized into families and guilds (see 1 Chron 2:55). Later they were originators of the synagogue service. Many scribes were also priests and/or community leaders, as Ezra was. They were guardians of culture and tradition. Persian interest in this is shown in Darius’s commissioning of an Egyptian high priest to reorganize the scribal school and temple practice of Sais. It is likely that scribes had the most significant role in the canonization process of the Old Testament.

8:1. Book of the Law of Moses. The Book of the Law of Moses contained, if not the entirety, at least a large proportion of the first five books of our Old Testament (Genesis— Deuteronomy).

8:3. public reading of state documents. Because of the lack of accessibility of written materials in the ancient Near East, the public reading of state documents by a scribe or herald was a very common occurrence. Letters from Kalhu in Assyria feature an Assyrian official reading a pronouncement in front of the people of Babylon.

8:4. reading platform. The platform referred to here can be compared to the platform Solomon used at the dedication of the first temple (2 Chron 6:13). The term used here has the root meaning of tower, emphasizing the height of the structure, so everyone could view Ezra as he read.

8:5. books or scrolls? Although the Hebrew word is translated as “book,” Ezra certainly read from a scroll. Folded pages in the form of a modern book were not in existence until the second century a.d. and did not fully replace the scroll until some two centuries later.

8:5. stand up for reading. Standing up was a sign of respect in the Old Testament (see Judg 3:20; Job 29:8; Ezek 2:1).

8:6. worshiped. The response to the reading of the Scriptures was one of worship. The raising of the hands showed the people’s dependence on God (see Ezra 9:5; Ps 28:2; 134:2). Prostration demonstrated their humility before God and his word. Prostrating oneself before a superior was a common occurrence throughout the Near East. The princes in the Akkadian letters from Amarna in Egypt symbolically prostrate themselves before Pharaoh.

8:7–8. interpretation of religious documents. The thirteen people mentioned in verse 7 were Levites who were responsible for the interpretation of the Law (2 Chron 17:7–9). They also translated the text, presumably from preexilic Hebrew into Aramaic, the common language of Palestine by the fifth century b.c. It also is possible that the word “translate” means that the Levites “broke down” the text, or in other words translated or interpreted the text paragraph by paragraph. Akkadian documents have various terms for commentaries on documents as well as attesting an oral commentary tradition. These commentaries are connected to canonical literature such as the omens of Enuma Anu Enlil as well as to legal traditions.

8:10. food. We are not told the specific type of feast the Israelites had when they were sent to their homes. It was certainly a feast of thanksgiving, since they were required to give a portion to their neighbors. Eating of the “fat,” or choicest portions, was a common occurrence (see Lev 3; 2 Sam 6:19; 1 Chron 12:40–41; 29:22; 2 Chron 7:8–10; 30:21–26).

8:14–17. celebration of the Feast of Booths. For information on the feast see comments on Exodus 23:16; Leviticus 23:33–36, 39–43; and Deuteronomy 16:13–15. The Feast of Booths was normally celebrated on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. The uniqueness of the celebration appears to have to do with the combination of traditions. Leviticus 23:40 instructs the celebrants to gather branches, and verse 42 tells them to live in booths. But Leviticus does not specify the building of booths, nor does it require pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Deuteronomy 16:15 designates the festival as one of the three pilgrimage feasts but says nothing about gathering branches or living in booths. Ezra’s ruling combines these traditions so that the people are gathering branches and building booths in which to live in Jerusalem for the time of the feast.

8:16. Water Gate and Gate of Ephraim. For the Water Gate see the note on verse 1. The Ephraim Gate was part of the preexilic wall (see comment on 2 Chron 25:23) and was located about six hundred feet from the Corner Gate. This gate may have opened in the direction of Ephraim to the northwest. However, there is no mention of this gate in the list in Nehemiah 3.