Nehemiah 8:7

Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Nehemiah 8:7. The Levites caused the people to understand the law — As well the words, which, being Hebrew, needed to be translated into the Chaldee or Syriac language, now the common language of that people; who, together with their religion, had also, in a great part, lost their language; as also the meaning of them: they expounded the mind and will of God in what they read, and applied it to the people’s present condition. The people stood in their place — That is, in their several places and stations, into which the company seems to have been distributed for convenience of hearing; it not being likely that so vast a congregation could distinctly hear one man’s voice. Or, by their stations; that is, by the several stations of the Levites, and persons last named, who seem to have had several scaffolds, by comparing this with Nehemiah 9:4, upon which they stood, as Ezra, and those mentioned Nehemiah 8:4, did upon their pulpit.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

8:1-8 Sacrifices were to be offered only at the door of the temple; but praying and preaching were, and are, services of religion, as acceptably performed in one place as in another. Masters of families should bring their families with them to the public worship of God. Women and children have souls to save, and are therefore to acquaint themselves with the word of God, and to attend on the means of grace. Little ones, as they come to reason, must be trained up in religion. Ministers when they go to the pulpit, should take their Bibles with them; Ezra did so. Thence they must fetch their knowledge; according to that rule they must speak, and must show that they do so. Reading the Scriptures in religious assemblies is an ordinance of God, whereby he is honoured, and his church edified. Those who hear the word, should understand it, else it is to them but an empty sound of words. It is therefore required of teachers that they explain the word, and give the sense of it. Reading is good, and preaching is good, but expounding makes reading the better understood, and preaching the more convincing. It has pleased God in almost every age of the church to raise up, not only those who have preached the gospel, but also those who have given their views of Divine truth in writing; and though many who have attempted to explain Scripture, have darkened counsel by words without knowledge, yet the labours of others are of excellent use. All that we hear must, however, be brought to the test of Scripture. They heard readily, and minded every word. The word of God demands attention. If through carelessness we let much slip in hearing, there is danger that through forgetfulness we shall let all slip after hearing.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The names here (and in Nehemiah 9:4, Nehemiah 9:5; Nehemiah 10:9) seem not to be the personal appellations of individuals, but rather designations of Levitical families, the descendants respectively of Jeshua, etc., who lived not later than the time of Zerubbabel Nehemiah 7:43; Nehemiah 12:8.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

7, 8. caused the people to understand the law … gave the sense—Commentators are divided in opinion as to the import of this statement. Some think that Ezra read the law in pure Hebrew, while the Levites, who assisted him, translated it sentence by sentence into Chaldee, the vernacular dialect which the exiles spoke in Babylon. Others maintain that the duty of these Levites consisted in explaining to the people, many of whom had become very ignorant, what Ezra had read.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Caused the people to understand the law; as well the words, which being Hebrew, now needed to be translated into the Chaldee or Syriac language, which was now and henceforth the common language of that people, who together with their religion had also in a great part lost their language; as also the sense and meaning of them; they expounded the mind and will of God in what they read, and applied it to the people’s present condition, as they saw fit, as the manner of the prophets generally was. And hence the people were so deeply affected with it.

The people stood in their place, i.e. in their several places and stations into which the company seems to have been distributed for conveniency of hearing; it not being likely that so vast a congregation could distinctly hear one man’s voice. Or, by their stations, i.e. by the several stations of the Levites and persons last named; who seem to have had several scaffolds, by comparing this with Nehemiah 9:4, upon which they stood, as Ezra did upon his pulpit, Nehemiah 8:4.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites,.... That is, others of them besides those named; for they seem all to be Levites, unless they can be thought to be priests, and so the Levites are distinguished from them; but the former seems evident from Nehemiah 9:4 these also

caused the people to understand the law; as well as Ezra; from whence it is plain that he did not only read the law, but gave the sense of it, especially where there was any seeming difficulty, and these men were assisting in the same work: and the people stood in their place; to hear the law read and explained; they did not move from their first station, but continued in it from morning to noon; they were both attentive and constant.

Geneva Study Bible

Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

7. Also Jeshua &c.] Of the 13 names here mentioned we find four, i.e. Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Hodiah, mentioned among the Levites in chap. Nehemiah 9:5, and seven, i.e. Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Kelita, Hanan, Pelaiah, among the Levites in chap. Nehemiah 10:9-14. Perhaps these seven were representative of Levitical houses, whose names they bore; if so, the remaining six mentioned here, whose names do not occur again, possibly represented branches of some other Levitical families mentioned under different collective names in chaps. 10 and 12. The LXX. here only gives the first three names.

Hodijah] R.V. Hodiah.

and the Levites] So the LXX. But 1 Esdr. οἱ Λευῖαι, Vulg. ‘Levitæ,’ omitting the copula which gives the better rendering. The ‘copula’ if the text is correct, must define the list of names just given in the sense of ‘even.’ The writer adds that they were Levites. The rendering ‘And the Levites’ in the sense of ‘And all the rest of the Levites’ would give a scene of confusion. For the use of the copula = ‘even,’ cf. Nehemiah 8:13. But very possibly the words have been interpolated.

caused the people … the law] i.e. they expounded what Ezra read. We must suppose that only short passages were read at a time.

stood in their place] Literally, ‘And the people were upon their standing.’ LXX. καὶ ὁ λαὸς ἐν τῇ στάσει αὐτοῦ. Cf. 2 Chronicles 30:16, ‘And they stood in their place,’ 2 Chronicles 35:10. It will be noticed that in this passage the Levites share with the priests the duty of instructing the people out of the Law; and we are led to infer that this was customary from the Chronicler’s statements in 2 Chronicles 15:3; 2 Chronicles 17:8-9; 2 Chronicles 35:3. In the Levitical law we only find the priests entrusted with this duty (Leviticus 10:10-11).

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 7. - Joshua, Bani, Sherebiah, etc. Levitical families, not individual Levites (see Nehemiah 9:4, 5; Nehemiah 10:10-13; Nehemiah 12:8, etc.). And the Levites. i.e. "the rest of the Levites." Caused the people to understand the law. Expounding it, during pauses in the reading. The people stood in their place. Rather, "were in their place" - remained throughout the whole of the reading and exposition without quitting their places. It is not probable that they stood. Nehemiah 8:7

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

And Jeshua, Bani, etc., the Levites, expounded the law to the people (הבין, to cause to understand, here to instruct, by expounding the law). The ו copulative before הלויּם must certainly have been inserted in the text by a clerical error; for the previously named thirteen (or fourteen) persons are Levites, of whom Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, and Hodijah occur again, Nehemiah 9:4-5. The names Jeshua, Sherebiah, Shabtai, and Jozabad are also met with Nehemiah 12:14; Nehemiah 11:16, but belong in these latter passages to other individuals who were heads of classes of Levites.