Nehemiah 1:10

Neh 1:10 Now these [are] thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.

Ver. 10. Now these are thy servants and thy people] And therefore thou art concerned, in point of honour, to see to them, and to work for them, as every master will do for his servants, and king for his subjects. Otherwise, the neighbouring nations our enemies may possibly say as Aigoland, king of Saragossa, in Aragon, did; of whom it is reported, that he long time made Charlemagne believe that he would be baptized. And when he came for that purpose to the French court, and saw many diseased and poor people expecting alms from the emperor’s table, he asking what they were? was answered, that they were the servants and people of God. On these words he speedily returned, desperately protesting that he would not serve that God which could keep his servants no better.

Whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power] And wilt thou part with thy purchase, or obscure the glory of thy conquest over the gods and people of Egypt, by leaving this thy people destitute?

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Neh 1:10. Whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, &c. — In days of old, and thy power is still the same; wilt thou not therefore still redeem them, and perfect their redemption? Let not them be overpowered by the enemy that have a God of infinite power on their side.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1:10 Nehemiah alludes to God’s long-standing covenant relationship with the Israelites: He had rescued them in the Exodus (Deut 9:29) and made them his servants.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

10. This verse states the ground on which the privilege of the promise is claimed.

Now these are thy servants, &c.] The connexion of thought, which is not very obvious at first sight, seems to be as follows. Having stated the Divine promise, Nehemiah returns in thought to ‘the children of thy servants’ of Neh_1:6. They, by their confession of sin, had fulfilled the condition, they had ‘returned’ unto their God. They could claim the fulfilment of His promise. They were not aliens. They were His own people whom He Himself had redeemed.

whom thou hast redeemed] Of the two Hebrew words, rendered by the English ‘redeem,’ i.e. ‘ga’al’ and ‘padah,’ the word here used is ‘padah.’ It is noteworthy that in the similar expression, Exo_6:6, ‘redeem you with a stretched out arm,’ the word ‘ga’al’ is used, while here, as always in Deuteronomy (Deu_7:8, Deu_9:26, Deu_13:5, Deu_15:15, Deu_21:8, Deu_24:18), the word ‘redeem’ is ‘padah.’ LXX. ἐλυτρώσω; Vulg. redemisti. The redemption, here spoken of, looks back, beyond the recent restoration from Babylon, to the original deliverance from Egypt, which sealed for ever the relation between Jehovah and His people.

by thy great power, and by thy strong hand] Nehemiah combines two familiar phrases which do not seem to be elsewhere combined except in Exo_32:11 ‘thy people which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand.’ Along with ‘great power’ we frequently find ‘a stretched out arm,’ as in Deu_9:29; 2Ki_17:36; Jer_27:5; Jer_32:17 : and again ‘a stretched out arm’ following upon ‘a strong (or mighty) hand,’ as in Deu_4:34; Deu_5:15; Deu_7:19; Deu_11:2; 1Ki_8:42; 2Ch_6:32; Psa_136:12; Jer_32:21; Eze_20:33-34.

It is possible that Nehemiah here has the Jehovist Exo_32:11 in his thoughts. But as the reading there is doubtful, both the Samaritan and the LXX. texts having ‘a stretched out arm’ instead of ‘a mighty hand,’ we cannot be confident that we have here a quotation.

The words ‘yad hakhezakah’ are rendered by the R.V. ‘strong hand’ here and Exo_3:19; Exo_6:1; Exo_13:9; Num_20:20; Psa_136:12; Jer_32:21 (Eze_30:22), and ‘mighty hand’ in Exo_32:11; Deu_4:34; Deu_5:15; Deu_6:21; Deu_7:8; Deu_7:19; Deu_9:26; Deu_11:2; Deu_26:8; Deu_34:12; Jos_4:24; 1Ki_8:42; 2Ch_6:32; Eze_20:33-34.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now these are thy servants, and thy people,.... Meaning those that were in Jerusalem and Judah, gathered out of several countries, and returned to Jerusalem:

whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand; touching and moving the heart of Cyrus to proclaim liberty to them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Redeemed, or liberated from great evils. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Thy people whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power. It would be better to translate, "Whom thou didst redeem." The reference is especially to the deliverance from Egypt, which is so constantly spoken of as effected "with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm". (Deu_9:29 Deu_26:8, etc.)

A powerful plea with God.

"Now these are thy servants," etc.

I When such an appeal is SUITABLE. When praying for a Church

(1) declining,

(2) divided,

(3) distressed, or

(4) persecuted.

II The NATURE of the appeal. It is an appeal to God"s

(1) relation to his people a relation he has himself established;

(2) love for them;

(3) regard for his own honour as involved in their welfare; (Deu_9:26-29 Jer_14:21)

(4) pity in view of their condition;

(5) past deeds on their behalf showing kindness; a pledge of more; manifesting purposes not yet completed. The appeal is suitable for individual Christians, praying for themselves. (see Psa_119:94)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

redeemed

(See Scofield "Exo 14:30").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Nehemiah continues his prayer.

Now

This word is used here to mark a break in Nehemiah's prayer. Here he begins to make his request based on Yahweh's promise.

they are your servants

The word "they" refers to the Israelite people.

by your great power and by your strong hand

Here "hand" represents strength or power. Together, these two phrases form a doublet that emphasizes the intensity of Yahweh's power. AT: "by your great power and by your mighty strength" or "by your very powerful strength" (See: Metonymy and Doublet)

the prayer of your servant

Here "servant" refers to Nehemiah. This is how a person would address his superior in order to show humility and respect. See how you translated this in Nehemiah 1:6.

the prayer of your servants

Here "servants" refers to the rest of the Israelite people who would have been praying for Yahweh to act on behalf of his people and on behalf of Jerusalem.

who delight to honor your name

Here "name" represents Yahweh himself. AT: "who delight to honor you" (See: Metonymy)

grant him mercy in the sight of this man

Here "him" refers to Nehemiah, who refers to himself in the third person to express his humility before God, and "this man" refers to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia.

in the sight of this man

Nehemiah speaks of the king's attitude or disposition as if it were how the king viewed something. AT: "grant that the king will have mercy on me" (See: Metaphor)

I served as cupbearer to the king

This is background information about Nehemiah's role in the king's court. Your language may have a special way to mark background information. (See: Background Information)

translationWords

servant

people of God

power

hand

Yahweh

beg

pray

honor

name

mercy

servant

cupbearer

king

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.