Friendly relations subsisted between the Phoenicians and the Jews, after the captivity Ezra 3:7. It was, however, a new fact, and one pregnant with evil consequences, that the Tyrians should have established a permanent colony at Jerusalem. Its influence on the other inhabitants weakened the hold of the Law upon men’s consciences, and caused it to be transgressed continually more and more openly. read more
Nehemiah 13:15-16. I testified against them I protested against the action, and admonished them to forbear it. Men of Tyre brought fish, and sold on the sabbath in Jerusalem The holy city, where God’s house was; and where the great judicatories of the nation were. So this is added as an aggravation of their sin, that it was done with manifest contempt of God and men. read more
Nehemiah’s later reforms (13:4-31)After serving twelve years as governor of Jerusalem, Nehemiah returned to Persia for a period (see 5:14; 13:6). During his absence the religion of the Jews deteriorated, while the Jews’ old enemies, Sanballat and Tobiah, gained some influence in Jerusalem. The high priest Eliashib was especially blameworthy in this. He allowed a member of the high priestly family to marry the daughter of Sanballat (see v. 28), and gave permission to Tobiah to live in one of the... read more
winepresses. Hebrew. gath, a wine press; not yekeb, a wine vat. read more
and. Some codices, with six early printed editions, Syriac, and Vulgate, omit this "and". read more
THEIR WANTON VIOLATION OF THE SABBATH DAY"In those days saw I in Judah men treading winepresses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses therewith; as also with wine, grapes, figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, who brought in fish, and all manner of wares, and sold on the sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.... read more
15-22. In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine-presses on the sabbath—The cessation of the temple services had been necessarily followed by a public profanation of the Sabbath, and this had gone so far that labor was carried on in the fields, and fish brought to the markets on the sacred day. Nehemiah took the decisive step of ordering the city gates to be shut, and not to be opened, till the Sabbath was past; and in order to ensure the faithful execution of this order, he stationed... read more
D. The Reforms Instituted by Nehemiah ch. 13To understand when the events described in this chapter took place, it is necessary to read Nehemiah 13:1-7, not just Nehemiah 13:1. Nehemiah returned to Artaxerxes in 432 B.C. (Nehemiah 13:6). It was customary in the ancient Near East for kings to require their servants to return to them periodically to reaffirm their allegiance. "Some time" later Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 13:6). The text does not say how much later this was. The... read more
4. The observance of the Sabbath 13:15-22Nehemiah discovered that foreign merchants were selling goods in Jerusalem on the Sabbath, and that the Jews were also preparing and transporting goods on that holy day. He rebuked both the merchants and the Jewish nobles (cf. Nehemiah 10:31). Furthermore, he locked the city gates on the Sabbath and kept traders from gathering outside and tempting the Jews to buy and sell. He asked God to remember him for his fidelity to the Mosaic Law (Nehemiah 13:22... read more
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Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Nehemiah 13:15
The desecration of the Sabbath is first brought into prominence among the sins of the Jewish people by Jeremiah Jeremiah 17:21-27. It could not but have gained ground during the captivity, when foreign masters would not have allowed the cessation of labor for one day in seven. On the return from the captivity, the sabbatical rest appears to have been one of the institutions most difficult to re-establish.In the day - Some render, “concerning the day.” read more