Nehemiah 8:17 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Nehemiah 8:17
And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.
great (in any sense) · adjective, feminine singular absolute
gladness
שִׂמְחָ֖הsim.Chah
H8057
blithesomeness or glee · noun, common feminine singular 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
2 Chronicles 8:13 Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solem…
2 Chronicles 7:8-10 Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath…
Ezra 3:4 They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the…
1 Chronicles 29:22 And did eat and drink before the LORD on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anoi…
2 Chronicles 30:21-23 And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites…
2 Chronicles 30:26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 35:18 And there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a p…
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace a…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 8:13–end
We have here,
I. The people's renewed attendance upon the word. They had spent the greatest part of one day in praying and hearing, and yet were so far from being weary of that new moon and sabbath that the next day after, though it was no festival, the chief of them came together again to hear Ezra expound (Neh 8:13), which they found more delightful and gainful than any worldly pleasure or profit whatsoever. Note, The more we converse with the word of God, if we rightly understand it and be affected with it, the more we shall covet to converse with it, and to increase in our acquaintance with it, saying, How sweet are thy words unto my mouth! Those that understand the scriptures well will…
since the days of Jeshua . . . had not the children of Israel done so--This national feast had not been neglected for so protracted a period. Besides that it is impossible that such a flagrant disregard of the law could have been tolerated by Samuel, David, and other pious rulers, its observance is sufficiently indicated (Kg1 8:2, Kg1 8:65; Ch2 7:9) and expressly recorded (Ezr 3:4). But the meaning is, that the popular feelings had never been raised to such a height of enthusiastic joy since the time of their entrance into Canaan, as now on their return after a long and painful captivity.
Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 8:17
Since the days of Joshua - No feast of tabernacles since Joshua's time had been so heartily and so piously celebrated. The story of the sacred fire now discovered, which had been hidden by the order of Jeremiah in a dry well, and now, some of the mud from the bottom being brought upon the altar, was kindled afresh by the rays of the sun, which suddenly broke out, though before covered with clouds, etc., is worthy of no credit. Those who wish to see the detail may consult 2 Maccabees 1:18-36.
On the subject in Neh 8:8, I beg leave to make a few observations: - So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. The Israelites,…
And the people went out, and brought back, etc. On the house-top, he says, on the roof of the houses. For in Palestine they do not have gabled roofs on the houses, but the tops of all the houses are flat, with beams and boards laid over them. Hence, in the law, it is commanded that when someone builds a new house, they shall make a parapet around the roof, so that no one may fall from it and incur the danger of death (Deut. XXII). In the same way, each of us goes out and makes tabernacles on the house-top, that is, on the roof of his house, when, transcending the dwelling of his flesh with his mind, he diligently tramples upon its harmful desires with meditations of heavenly light and freedom. This same thing we do in our courtyards when, with our mind burning towards heavenly things, we stand as if outside the world, whose dwelling we desire to leave behind more swiftly. We also do this in the courtyards of the house of God, when, even if it is not yet permitted to enter the hall of the heavenly dwelling, we place all the memory and residence of our thoughts in its vicinity. We also do this in the street of the water gate, when, with our heart expanded on the path of God's commandments, just as the servant desires at the fountains of water, so our soul desires the living God (Psalm XLI). We also do this in the street of the Ephraim gate, that is, of the fruitful or growing, when in the same ample freedom of heart we advance in such a way that the gate of righteousness is opened to us by the Lord, and we may always grow in Him for salvation, and may merit to abound in greater fruits of good action day by day.
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…
Jeshua — (1.) Head of the ninth priestly order (Ezra 2:36); called also Jeshuah (1 Chr. 24:11). (2.) A Levite appointed by Hezekiah to distribute offerings in the priestly cities (2 Chr. 31:15). (3.) Ezra…
Tabernacles, Feast of — The third of the great annual festivals of the Jews (Lev. 23:33-43). It is also called the “feast of ingathering” (Ex. 23:16; Deut. 16:13). It was celebrated immediately after the harvest, in the…
Tabernacles, The Feast Of — (Exodus 23:16) (“the feast of ingathering”), the third of the three great festivals: of the Hebrews, which lasted from the 15th till the 22d of Tisri.
Tent — (1.) Heb. ‘ohel (Gen. 9:21, 27). This word is used also of a dwelling or habitation (1 Kings 8:66; Isa. 16:5; Jer. 4:20), and of the temple (Ezek. 41:1). When used of the tabernacle, as in 1 Kings…
Feast Of Tabernacles, The · Remarkable celebrations of: After the captivity — Remarkable celebrations of: After the captivity
Jeshua · 10. Joshua — 10. Joshua
Law Of Moses, The · A means of national reformation — A means of national reformation
Tabernacles, Feast Of · Observance of, after the — Observance of, after the
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).
John Gill on Nehemiah 8:17
And all the congregation of them that were come again out of captivity made booths,.... These came to Jerusalem, and made them booths there; for there only was this feast kept, see John 7:2,
and sat under the booths; there they dwelt during the seven days of it, in commemoration of their ancestors dwelling in booths in the wilderness, see Leviticus 23:42
for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so; Joshua observed it, when be had brought and settled the people of Israel in the land of Canaan; and it had been observed since, before this time, as appears from 1 Kings 8:2 Ezra 3:4; but not so, with such exactness, with such zeal and affecti…
Celebration of the feast of tabernacles. - Neh 8:13 On the second day were gathered together the heads of the houses of all the people, of the priests, and of the Levites to Ezra the scribe, to attend to the words of the law. The infinitive להשׂכּיל may indeed be taken (as by Bertheau) as the continuation of the finite verb, instead of as infinitive absolute (Ewald, 352, c); this is, however, admissible only in cases where the second verb either states what must be done, or further describes the condition of affairs, while להשׂכּיל here states the purpose for which the heads of the people, etc. assembled themselves unto Ezra. Hence we take להשׂכּיל in its usual meaning, and the w before it a…
since the days of Joshua: Although Israel had observed this festival on numerous occasions (1 Kgs 8:2; 2 Kgs 23:22; 2 Chr 7:8-10; 30:26; 35:18; Ezra 3:4), this was an exceptional celebration.
Rashi on Nehemiah 8:15
And that they should announce And they commanded that they announce that they celebrate the Festival of Sukkoth, and so it is customary for Scripture to speak in this manner, like (I Sam. 9: 27): “Tell the servant and he will go ahead of us.”
myrtle leaves It is explained in Tractate Succah (12a) that this is a wild myrtle which is unfit for the lulav and only fit to make a sukkah.
date palm leaves for a lulav.
and leaves of plaited trees This is the myrtle that is fit for the lulav as is explained in Tractate Succah (ad loc.).
