Nehemiah 12:27 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Nehemiah 12:27
And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.
a song · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
cymbals
מְצִלְתַּ֖יִםme.tzil.Ta.yim
H4700
(only dual) double tinklers · noun, common feminine dual absolute
psalteries
נְבָלִ֥יםne.va.Lim
H5035
a skin-bag for liquids (from collapsing when empty) · noun, common masculine plural absolute
harps
וּבְכִנֹּרֽוֹתu.ve.khi.no.Rot
H3658
a harp · conjunction + preposition + noun, common feminine plural absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Chronicles 15:16 And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and…
Deuteronomy 20:5 And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go a…
1 Chronicles 15:28 Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymb…
2 Chronicles 5:13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when t…
2 Chronicles 29:30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer…
1 Chronicles 15:4 And David assembled the children of Aaron, and the Levites:
1 Chronicles 15:12 And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the…
Deuteronomy 16:11 And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 12:27-43
We have read of the building of the wall of Jerusalem with a great deal of fear and trembling; we have here an account of the dedicating of it with a great deal of joy and triumph. Those that sow in tears shall thus reap.
I. We must enquire what was the meaning of this dedication of the wall; we will suppose it to include the dedication of the city too (continens pro contentothe thing containing for the thing contained), and therefore it was not done till the city was pretty well replenished, Neh 11:1. It was a solemn thanksgiving to God for his great mercy to them in the perfecting of this undertaking, of which they were the more sensible because of the difficulty and opposition they had me…
at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem--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 especially because that city was the place which He had chosen. It also contained 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, restored to its rightful proprietor. The dedication cons…
At the dedication of the wall - They sent for the Levites from all quarters, that this dedication might be as solemn and majestic as possible; and it is likely that this was done as soon as convenient after the walls were finished. The dedication seems to have consisted in processions of the most eminent persons around the walls, and thanksgivings to God, who had enabled them to bring the work to so happy a conclusion: and no doubt to all this were added a particular consecration of the city to God, and the most earnest invocation that he would take it under his guardian care, and defend it and its inhabitants against all their enemies.
The ancients consecrated their cities to the gods, and…
The Church Fathers
At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, etc. The city had already been built for some time, but it was not fitting to dedicate it until inhabitants were gathered, appropriate ministers for the temple were assigned, and guards were appointed for the gates and vestibules. Once the holy city is established, it is dedicated when, at the end of the age, the number of the elect is completed and the Universal Church is brought into heaven to behold its Creator. Whenever we are uplifted in this life with the desires for that life, we rejoice as if at the dedication of our figurative city. Thus, this same dedication can be understood in two ways signification-wise: at one time, in the hope of those desiring and purifying the eyes of their heart, by which they may be able to see God; and then in the actual enjoyment of the divine vision by blessed people in spiritual bodies among the angelic host of spirits.
They sought out the Levites from all their dwellings, etc. Spiritual Levites, that is, those chosen for the lot of the kingdom, are also sought from all their places, when the Son of Man shall send His angels, and gather His elect from the four winds, from the highest part of the earth to the highest part of the heavens. And they make dedication with joy, song, thanksgiving; and with various musical instruments, for in the perception of eternal life they will rejoice together, giving thanks to Him by whose gift they have deserved to enter that city. Moreover, cymbals, psalteries, and lyres can be understood as the bodies of the saints, now immortal, rendering the sweetest sounds of their praise to the Lord. But in the present life, the Levites are gathered in Jerusalem when the faithful, inflamed by the memory of supernal peace, place their whole mind's delight in it, and of that eternal inheritance in the heavens which they hope to receive; and if they cannot yet see it, at least they rejoice in the hope, according to the words of the Psalmist: Rejoice, you just, in the Lord, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness (Ps. XCVI). For they make dedication in song and thanksgiving, receiving with a mind rejoicing in the Lord whatever occurs in the world, whether adversity or prosperity. They also make it in cymbals, psalteries, and lyres, when they cause the grateful sounds of good works to ascend to the ears of their Creator, and also kindle the hearts of their neighbors to the love of the same Creator and Savior.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Ezra — Help. (1.) A priest among those that returned to Jerusalem under Zerubabel (Neh. 12:1). (2.) The “scribe” who led the second body of exiles that returned from Babylon to Jerusalem B.C. 459, and…
Nehemiah — Comforted by Jehovah. (1.) Ezra 2:2; Neh. 7:7. (2.) Neh. 3:16. (3.) The son of Hachaliah (Neh. 1:1), and probably of the tribe of Judah. His family must have belonged to Jerusalem (Neh. 2:3). He was…
Cymbal · . — .
Dedication · Of the wall of — Of the wall of
Ezra · . — .
Harp · When the new walls of — When the new walls of
Levites, The · Services of: Conducting the sacred music — Services of: Conducting the sacred music
Music · The Jews used: At dedication of city walls — The Jews used: At dedication of city walls
Psaltery · At the — At the
Walls · Of cities: Custom of dedicating — Of cities: Custom of dedicating
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem,.... In which many priests and Levites assisted, and seems to be the reason of the above account of them; the dedication of the wall takes in the whole city, gates, and houses, Nehemiah 12:30, and if a new house was to be dedicated, much more a new city, and especially the holy city, in which stood the temple of the Lord, see Deuteronomy 20:5, this dedication was made by prayer and songs of praise, as follow, and no doubt by sacrifices, and was kept as a festival; and indeed, according to the Jewish writers (q), it was annually observed on the seventh of Elul, or August; it was on the twenty fifth of that month that the wall was finished, Nehemi…
The dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. - The measures proposed for increasing the numbers of the inhabitants of Jerusalem having now been executed (Neh 7:5 and Neh 11:1.), the restored wall of circumvallation was solemnly dedicated. Neh 12:27-29 treat of the preparations for this solemnity.
Neh 12:27
At the dedication (i.e., at the time of, בּ denoting nearness of time) they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to keep the dedication. Only a portion of the Levites dwelt in Jerusalem (Neh 11:15-18); the rest dwelt in places in the neighbourhood, as is more expressly stated in Neh 12:28 and Neh 12:29. ושׂמחה, to keep the dedication and joy, is not suitable,…
The dedication of the new wall probably happened shortly after its completion (6:15-19). This account probably came from Nehemiah’s personal memoirs.
12:27-29 Since few Levites had returned to live in Jerusalem (see Ezra 2:40-42; 8:15-19), all those throughout the land were recruited to create two impressive choirs and orchestras. • Netophathites were from near Bethlehem (1 Chr 2:54). • Beth-gilgal was near Jericho. • Geba and Azmaveth were in the territory of Benjamin.
Rashi on Nehemiah 12:27
And in the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem at the completion of the wall of the city, to sanctify the city.
and with thanksgivings Heb. וּבְתוֹדוֹת, and with thanksgivings.
