So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God ,.... Having made their procession on the wall in different ways, they met in the temple, that is, in the great court of it, for no other would hold them: and I, and the half of the rulers with me ; Nehemiah, and the other half with Hoshaiah, Nehemiah 12:32 . read more
Ministers of the Lord. Twenty-six verses of this chapter are given to the record of the names of priests and Levites. That fact itself is suggestive. It is indicative of the high place which the ministers of God held in the national estimation. We meet in these chronicles with the names of few men of comparative wealth, or rank, or soldierly ability; but the names of the ministers of religion are recorded, and are thus immortalised. Concerning these we may learn— I. THEIR RELATIVE ... read more
Joy of Jerusalem. "That day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off" ( Nehemiah 12:43 ). I. THE CONSTITUENTS OF TRUE JOY . These are— 1. Thankfulness and praise in the remembrance of the past and in confident anticipation of the future. The people recounted the mercies of the Lord. Their dedication of the completed walls... read more
The dedication of the wall. As soon as possible after the completion of the wall, a joyful celebration of the event was made, in which all the people participated. As Jerusalem was "the holy city," this took the form of a "dedication." I. THE SOLEMNITIES WITH WHICH THE DEDICATION WAS MADE . 1. The preparations. The gathering of the Levites, especially the singers and musicians, who were to take a leading part in the ceremonies ( Nehemiah 12:27-29 ). 2. The... read more
A joyous dedication. Knowing all that we do know of God's ancient people, of the devoutness of their spirit, and their disposition to connect closely the human and the Divine, we should expect that the building of the wall round the sacred city would be followed by some religious service. The verses of the text give a graphic description of this interesting scene. The Levites who had been dispersed through the province were "sought out of all their places" ( Nehemiah 12:27 ), and the... read more
PART IV . DEDICATION OF THE WALL OF JERUSALEM UNDER NEHEMIAH AND EZRA , WITH NEHEMIAH 'S ARRANGEMENT OF THE TEMPLE OFFICERS , AND HIS EFFORTS FOR THE REFORM OF RELIGION ( Nehemiah 12:27-47 , AND , Nehemiah 13:1-31 .). The dedication of a city wall was, so far as we know, a new thing in Israel; but it had been customary from a remote time to dedicate houses ( Deuteronomy 20:5 ); and natural piety extended this practice to... read more
So stood the two companies . Having performed their respective portions of the perambulation, and reached the central portion of the eastern wall, opposite the temple area, the two companies came to a stand, one over against the other, not in the house of God , but by it, or near it, which is a meaning that the preposition ב often has. The half of the rulers . Compare Nehemiah 12:32 . read more
Nehemiah 12:39-40 . They stood still in the prison-gate Waiting, as also their brethren did, that they might go together in due order into God’s house, there to perfect the solemnity. So stood the two companies, &c. That is, they met together at the temple, and gave thanks in the courts of it. And I and the half of the rulers with me And Ezra and the other half with him, as appears by comparing this with Nehemiah 12:35-36. The order wherein they marched in this pompous manner round... read more
Dedication of the wall (12:27-13:3)The story continues from where it left off in 10:39. After the reading of the law, the celebration of the Festival of Tabernacles and the people’s oath of loyalty to the covenant, the wall was dedicated. Priests, Levites, singers, musicians and leading citizens joined in the ceremony (27-30). The people assembled at a point beside the wall on one side of the city. They then divided into two groups and set off marching in opposite directions around the wall.... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 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 contento?the thing containing for the thing contained), and therefore it was not done till the city was pretty well replenished,... read more