Nehemiah 8:4 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Nehemiah 8:4
And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
properly · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
stood
וַֽיַּעֲמֹ֞דvai.ya.'a.Mod
H5975
to stand · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
pulpit
מִגְדַּלmig.dal-
H4026
a tower (from its size or height) · noun, common masculine singular construct
wood
עֵץ֮'etz
H6086
a tree (from its firmness) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
made
עָשׂ֣וּ'a.Su
H6213
to do or make · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
purpose
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
Ezra 10:29 And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth.
Ezra 10:33 Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.
Nehemiah 11:5 And Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Col-hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the s…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 8:1-8
We have here an account of a solemn religious assembly, and the good work that was done in that assembly, to the honour of God and the edification of the church.
I. The time of it was the first day of the seventh month, Neh 8:2. That was the day of the feast of trumpets, which is called a sabbath, and on which they were to have a holy convocation, Lev 23:24; Num 29:1. But that was not all: it was one that day that the altar was set up, and they began to offer their burnt-offerings after their return out of captivity, a recent mercy in the memory of many then living; in a thankful remembrance of that, it is likely, they had kept this feast ever since with more than ordinary solemnity. Divine…
Ezra . . . stood upon a pulpit of wood--Not made in the form known to us, but only a raised scaffold or platform, broad enough to allow fourteen persons to stand with ease upon it. Ezra's duty was very laborious, as he continued reading aloud from morning until midday, but his labor was lightened by the aid of the other priests present. Their presence was of importance, partly to show their cordial agreement with Ezra's declaration of divine truth; and partly to take their share with him in the important duty of publicly reading and expounding the Scripture.
Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 8:4
Stood upon a pulpit of wood - מגדל migdal, a tower, a platform, raised up for the purpose, to elevate him sufficiently for the people both to see and hear him; for it is said, Neh 8:5, that he was above all the people. This is the first intimation we have of a pulpit, or structure of this kind. But we must not suppose that it was any thing similar to those tubs or barrels ridiculously set up in churches and chapels, in which a preacher is nearly as much confined, during the time of his preaching, as if he was in the stocks.
John Gill on Nehemiah 8:4
And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose,.... Or to speak out of, as the Syriac and Arabic versions; this, in the Hebrew text, is called a "tower" (i), partly because of its height, and partly because in the form of one; and also for its largeness, considering the use it was for; for it was so large as to hold fourteen men, as appears by what follows: a pulpit of wood was made for the king in the court, to read the law from (k); though, according to Jacob Leo, it was a throne like an high tower; see Gill on 2 Kings 11:14, the pulpits, in the Jewish synagogues, made after the same manner, as Aben Ezra observes, are called by the same (l) name:
and…
The Church Fathers
Ezra the scribe stood upon a wooden platform, etc. This place seems to be remembered in the Scripture of Chronicles, where it is said: Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord, facing the multitude of Israel, and stretched out his hands. For Solomon had made a bronze platform and had placed it in the middle of the basilica, measuring five cubits in length, five cubits in width, and three cubits in height, and he stood upon it (II Chronicles VI). Indeed, in the middle of the basilica, in the middle of the priests' courtyard, where the main basilica was surrounded on all sides by the outer courtyards of the temple. About these it is also written earlier in the same book: He also made the courtyard of the priests and a great basilica (II Chronicles IV). However, Solomon, as a king, made a bronze platform; while Ezra, as of lesser authority, set up a wooden platform to speak from, much like Solomon or Moses made a bronze altar for holocausts, for which the sons of the captivity replaced with stone. But it should not be thought that a wooden platform has a lesser degree of perfection than a bronze base. For it has often been said, as bronze endures through the passage of time or through the sweetness of sound, divine sacraments never fail through the passage of ages, and their sound goes out into all the earth; thus also wood is very fittingly appropriate for them, especially on account of the trophy of the Lord's passion. Therefore, the high priest stands above the entire people when he who takes the position of a teacher, by the merit of a more perfect life, surpasses the actions of the crowd. He stands on a wooden platform made to speak from, when by the singular imitation of the Lord's passion, he makes himself loftier than the others. Hence, he worthily gained the confidence to freely preach the word of God. For he who scorns to imitate the Lord's passion according to his own measure has not yet ascended the wooden platform from which he can stand above the weak. Therefore, such a scribe must either tremble or blush to preach the commandments of God, fearing or being ashamed to propose for others to do what he himself has not done. Hence it aptly follows in the subsequent paragraphs:
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
Anaiah — (whom Jehovah answers).
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…
Hashbadana — Consideration in judging, stood at Ezra’s left hand when he read the law (Neh. 8:4).
Hashum — Opulent. (1.) Ezra 2:19; Neh. 7:22. (2.) Stood on Ezra’s left hand while he read the law (Neh. 8:4).
Hilkiah — Portion of Jehovah. (1.) 1 Chr. 6:54. (2.) 1 Chr. 26:11. (3.) The father of Eliakim (2 Kings 18:18, 26, 37). (4.) The father of Gemariah (Jer. 29:3). (5.) The father of the prophet Jeremiah (1:1).…
Maaseiah — The work of Jehovah. (1.) One of the Levites whom David appointed as porter for the ark (1 Chr. 15:18, 20). (2.) One of the “captains of hundreds” associated with Jehoiada in restoring king Jehoash…
Malchiah — Jehovah’s king. (1.) The head of the fifth division of the priests in the time of David (1 Chr. 24:9). (2.) A priest, the father of Pashur (1 Chr. 9:12; Jer. 38:1). (3.) One of the priests appointed…
Mattithiah — Gift of Jehovah. (1.) One of the sons of Jeduthun (1 Chr. 25:3, 21). (2.) The eldest son of Shallum, of the family of Korah (1 Chr. 9:31). (3.) One who stood by Ezra while reading the law (Neh. 8:4).…
Meshullam — Befriended. (1.) One of the chief Gadites in Bashan in the time of Jotham (1 Chr. 5:13). (2.) Grandfather of Shaphan, “the scribe,” in the reign of Josiah (2 Kings 22:3). (3.) A priest, father of…
Mishael — Who is like God! (1.) A Levite; the eldest of the three sons of Uzziel (Ex. 6:22). (2.) One of the three Hebrew youths who were trained with Daniel in Babylon (Dan. 1:11, 19), and promoted to the…
Pedaiah — Redemption of the Lord. (1.) The father of Zebudah, who was the wife of Josiah and mother of king Jehoiakim (2 Kings 23:36). (2.) The father of Zerubbabel (1 Chr. 3:17-19). (3.). The father of Joel,…
לַדָּבָר֒
la.da.Var
H1697
a word · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
beside
אֶצְל֡וֹ'etz.Lo
H681
a side · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
stood
וַיַּֽעֲמֹ֣דvai.ya.'a.Mod
H5975
to stand · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Mattithiah
מַתִּתְיָ֡הma.tit.Yah
H4993
Mattithjah · proper noun, a man's name
Shema
וְשֶׁ֡מַעve.She.ma'
H8087
Shema · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Anaiah
וַ֠עֲנָיָהVa.'a.na.yah
H6043
Anajah · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Urijah
וְאוּרִיָּ֧הve.'u.ri.Yah
H223
Urijah · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Hilkiah
וְחִלְקִיָּ֛הve.chil.ki.Yah
H2518
Chilhijah · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Maaseiah
וּמַעֲשֵׂיָ֖הu.ma.'a.se.Yah
H4641
Maasejah · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
hand
יְמִינ֑וֹye.mi.No
H3225
the right hand or side (leg · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
hand
וּמִשְּׂמֹאל֗וֹu.mi.se.mo.Lo
H8040
properly · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Pedaiah
פְּ֠דָיָהPe.da.yah
H6305
Pedajah · proper noun, a man's name
Mishael
וּמִֽישָׁאֵ֧לu.mi.sha.'El
H4332
Mishael · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Malchiah
וּמַלְכִּיָּ֛הu.mal.ki.Yah
H4441
Malkijah · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Hashum
וְחָשֻׁ֥םve.cha.Shum
H2828
Chashum · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Hashbadana
וְחַשְׁבַּדָּ֖נָהve.chash.ba.Da.nah
H2806
Chasbaddanah · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Neh 8:1-2. The public reading of the law. - Neh 8:1-3. The introduction to this narrative (Neh 7:73b-8:1a) is identical with Ezr 3:1. The same matter, the assembling of the people on the approach of the seventh month, is described in the same words. But the object of this assembling of the people was a different one from that mentioned in Ezr 3:1-13. Then they met to restore the altar of burnt-offering and the sacrificial worship; now, on the contrary, for the due solemnization of the seventh month, the festal month of the year. For this purpose the people came from the cities and villages of Judah to Jerusalem, and assembled "in the open space before the water-gate," i.e., to the south-east…
Scribes — Anciently held various important offices in the public affairs of the nation. The Hebrew word so rendered (sopher) is first used to designate the holder of some military office (Judg. 5:14; A.V.,…
Shema — Rumour. (1.) A Reubenite (1 Chr. 5:8). (2.) A Benjamite (1 Chr. 8:13). (3.) One who stood by Ezra when he read the law (Neh. 8:4). (4.) A town in the south of Judah (Josh. 15:26); the same as Sheba…
Synagogue — (Gr. sunagoge, i.e., “an assembly”), found only once in the Authorized Version of Ps. 74:8, where the margin of Revised Version has “places of assembly,” which is probably correct; for while the…
Urijah — The lord is my light. (1.) A high priest in the time of Ahaz (2 Kings 16:10-16), at whose bidding he constructed an idolatrous altar like one the king had seen at Damascus, to be set up instead of…
Zechariah — Jehovah is renowned or remembered. (1.) A prophet of Judah, the eleventh of the twelve minor prophets. Like Ezekiel, he was of priestly extraction. He describes himself (1:1) as “the son of…
Anaiah · A priest, probably, who stood by Ezra while reading the law — A priest, probably, who stood by Ezra while reading the law
Ananiah · 1. — 1.
Church Of Israel · Worship of, consisted in: Preaching — Worship of, consisted in: Preaching
Commandments · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Hashbadana · A companion of Ezra — A companion of Ezra
Hashum · 2. A priest — 2. A priest
Hilkiah · 4. Two priests — 4. Two priests
Maaseiah · 10:18,21,22; — 10:18,21,22;
Malchiah · the people — the people
Mattithiah · to the people — to the people
Meshullam · 12. A prince who stood by Ezra when he read the law to the people — 12. A prince who stood by Ezra when he read the law to the people
Mishael · 2. A Jew who stood by Ezra when he read the law to the people — 2. A Jew who stood by Ezra when he read the law to the people
Pedaiah · 5. A Levite appointed as treasurer by Nehemiah — 5. A Levite appointed as treasurer by Nehemiah
Pulpit · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Scribes · Acted as: Religious teachers — Acted as: Religious teachers
Shema · law to the people — law to the people
Synagogue · The Scriptures were read and expoun — The Scriptures were read and expoun
Synagogues · Revival of, after the captivity — Revival of, after the captivity
Urijah · .Assistant to Ezra — .Assistant to Ezra
Word Of God · To be read publicly — To be read publicly
Zechariah (Zecharias) · 15. Name of various Jews after the — 15. Name of various Jews 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).
