Nehemiah 8:7

Neh 8:7 Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people [stood] in their place.

Ver. 7. Also Jeshua, and Bani, &c., caused the people to understand the law] As the audience was great, so, great was the company of preachers, Psa 68:11. The people were too many to be taught by one; therefore they made sundry companies and congregations, and had several teachers; as had likewise those primitive Christians, Act 6:1, when once they grew numerous.

And the people stood in their places] Heb. And the people upon their stand; they kept their stations according to their divisions; not shuffling or shifting from preacher to preacher, but abiding and attending with utmost intention and retention.

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 8:7. The Levites caused the people to understand the law — As well the words, which, being Hebrew, needed to be translated into the Chaldee or Syriac language, now the common language of that people; who, together with their religion, had also, in a great part, lost their language; as also the meaning of them: they expounded the mind and will of God in what they read, and applied it to the people’s present condition. The people stood in their place — That is, in their several places and stations, into which the company seems to have been distributed for convenience of hearing; it not being likely that so vast a congregation could distinctly hear one man’s voice. Or, by their stations; that is, by the several stations of the Levites, and persons last named, who seem to have had several scaffolds, by comparing this with Neh 9:4, upon which they stood, as Ezra, and those mentioned Neh 8:4, did upon their pulpit.

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

8:7-9 The Levites always had the role of teaching people God’s word (Deut 33:10; Mal 2:5-6). In this case, they probably explained the meaning of the Hebrew Scriptures to smaller groups of people in Aramaic. Most of the people spoke Aramaic, the language of Babylon, rather than Hebrew as their first language. Jewish leaders eventually translated large portions of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic, allowing people to hear and study the Bible in a language they understood.

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

caused the people to understand the law . . . gave the sense--Commentators are divided in opinion as to the import of this statement. Some think that Ezra read the law in pure Hebrew, while the Levites, who assisted him, translated it sentence by sentence into Chaldee, the vernacular dialect which the exiles spoke in Babylon. Others maintain that the duty of these Levites consisted in explaining to the people, many of whom had become very ignorant, what Ezra had read.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

7. Also Jeshua &c.] Of the 13 names here mentioned we find four, i.e. Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Hodiah, mentioned among the Levites in chap. Neh_9:5, and seven, i.e. Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Kelita, Hanan, Pelaiah, among the Levites in chap. Neh_10:9-14. Perhaps these seven were representative of Levitical houses, whose names they bore; if so, the remaining six mentioned here, whose names do not occur again, possibly represented branches of some other Levitical families mentioned under different collective names in chaps. 10 and 12. The LXX. here only gives the first three names.

Hodijah] R.V. Hodiah.

and the Levites] So the LXX. But 1 Esdr. οἱ Λευῖαι, Vulg. ‘Levitæ,’ omitting the copula which gives the better rendering. The ‘copula’ if the text is correct, must define the list of names just given in the sense of ‘even.’ The writer adds that they were Levites. The rendering ‘And the Levites’ in the sense of ‘And all the rest of the Levites’ would give a scene of confusion. For the use of the copula = ‘even,’ cf. Neh_8:13. But very possibly the words have been interpolated.

caused the people … the law] i.e. they expounded what Ezra read. We must suppose that only short passages were read at a time.

stood in their place] Literally, ‘And the people were upon their standing.’ LXX. καὶ ὁ λαὸς ἐν τῇ στάσει αὐτοῦ. Cf. 2Ch_30:16, ‘And they stood in their place,’ 2Ch_35:10. It will be noticed that in this passage the Levites share with the priests the duty of instructing the people out of the Law; and we are led to infer that this was customary from the Chronicler’s statements in 2Ch_15:3; 2Ch_17:8-9; 2Ch_35:3. In the Levitical law we only find the priests entrusted with this duty (Lev_10:10-11).

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.

Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites,.... That is, others of them besides those named; for they seem all to be Levites, unless they can be thought to be priests, and so the Levites are distinguished from them; but the former seems evident from Neh 9:4 these also

caused the people to understand the law; as well as Ezra; from whence it is plain that he did not only read the law, but gave the sense of it, especially where there was any seeming difficulty, and these men were assisting in the same work: and the people stood in their place; to hear the law read and explained; they did not move from their first station, but continued in it from morning to noon; they were both attentive and constant.

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

The names here (and in Neh 9:4, Neh 9:5; Neh 10:9) seem not to be the personal appellations of individuals, but rather designations of Levitical families, the descendants respectively of Jeshua, etc., who lived not later than the time of Zerubbabel Neh 7:43; Neh 12:8.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Caused the people to understand the law; as well the words, which being Hebrew, now needed to be translated into the Chaldee or Syriac language, which was now and henceforth the common language of that people, who together with their religion had also in a great part lost their language; as also the sense and meaning of them; they expounded the mind and will of God in what they read, and applied it to the people’s present condition, as they saw fit, as the manner of the prophets generally was. And hence the people were so deeply affected with it.

The people stood in their place, i.e. in their several places and stations into which the company seems to have been distributed for conveniency of hearing; it not being likely that so vast a congregation could distinctly hear one man’s voice. Or, by their stations, i.e. by the several stations of the Levites and persons last named; who seem to have had several scaffolds, by comparing this with Neh 9:4, upon which they stood, as Ezra did upon his pulpit, Neh 8:4.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. And the Levites — Or, even the Levites. We understand that the persons named in this verse were all Levites, in distinction from the priests named in Neh_8:4.

Caused the people to understand the law — This was a part of the regular work of the priests and Levites. See marginal references. On this occasion it was probably necessary for them to translate and explain the law in the vulgar tongue for the benefit of a large part of the people. See note on next verse.

The people… in their place — That is, around the platform, and in sight and hearing of the priests and Levites.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joshua, Bani, Sherebiah, etc. Levitical families, not individual Levites. (see Neh_9:4, 5 10:10-13 12:8, etc.) And the Levites. i.e. "the rest of the Levites." Caused the people to understand the law. Expounding it, during pauses in the reading. The people stood in their place. Rather, were in their place remained throughout the whole of the reading and exposition without quitting their places. It is not probable that they stood.

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

Understand - As well the words, which being Hebrew, now needed to be translated into the Chaldee or Syriack language, now, the common language of that people, who together with their religion, had also in a great part lost their language; as also the meaning of them: they expounded the mind and will of God in what they read, and applied it to the peoples present condition. Place - That is, In their several places and stations into which the company seems to have been distributed for conveniency of hearing; it not being likely that so vast a congregation could distinctly hear one man's voice. Or, by their stations, that is, by the several stations of the Levites, and persons last named; who seem to have had several scaffolds, by comparing this with chap. ix, 4, upon which thy stood, as Ezra did upon his pulpit, ver. viii, 4.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

explained...to the people meaning that they would translate the words of the Torah to the people.

in their place meaning that they were standing on their feet.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.