Nehemiah 9:13

Neh 9:13 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:

Ver. 13. Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai] A place of many bushes and briers. The law there delivered, pricketh and pierceth the consciences of evildoers. Thither God came with ten thousands of his saints, as Moses (who climbed up that hill, and alone saw it) saith, Deu 33:2.

And spakest with them from heaven] He came down upon Sinai, and yet spake from heaven. See a like text, Joh 3:13. There he spake also with us, Hos 12:4. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh from heaven, see that ye shift him not off, much less turn away from him, Heb 12:25.

And gavest them right judyments, &c.] All these high praises are far below the worth and excellency of God’s holy laws. They were given in the wilderness, because (saith Philo) they are to be learnt in a wilderness; seeing there we cannot be hindered by the multitude. But this is no way solid, as one hath well observed.

Good statutes and commandments] Good they are in respect, 1. Of the author; 2. Of the matter; 3. Of the effect: for they make those good that observe them. This is true of the moral law; as for the judicial, it was fitted to the Jews, and best for them: but Carolostadius did ill to seek to force it, as needful for all Christian commonwealths. Solon being asked whether he had given the best laws to the Athenians? answered, the best for them, the best that they could suffer. So here.

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 9:13. And gavest them good statutes — The moral and judicial precepts were all founded on natural equity. And even the ceremonial were tokens of God’s goodness, being types of gospel grace.

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

(13) Right judgements.—Five of the names given to the law of God in Psalms 119 are singled out and applied to the Sinaitic legislation first, and then to the subsequent ordinances of Moses generally. But the emphasis here is on the adjectives “right,” “true,” “good,” as belonging rather to the eternal principles of the Decalogue.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. The Sinaitic Legislation

13. mount Sinai] It will be observed that Sinai, not Horeb, is referred to. The reference is taken from Exo_19:18, ‘And mount Sinai … the Lord descended upon it.… 19. Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.’ Deu_4:36, ‘Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice.’ For other references to Sinai cf. Deu_33:2; Jdg_5:5.

judgments] R.V. judgements. For ‘judgements,’ ‘laws,’ ‘statutes,’commandments,’ cf. Deu_4:44-45; Deu_11:1; Deu_12:1, and Psalms 119. passim. ‘Right judgements’ or ‘equitable decisions’ (κρίματα εὐθέα, ‘judicia recta’) opposed to the perversions of justice by partiality or bribery; ‘true laws’ or ‘teachings of truth’ (Plur. not as Vulg. ‘legem veritatis’), to erroneous teachings. ‘Good statutes and commandments’ relate, the one to positive enactments upon religious matters, the other to legislation generally.

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.

Thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai,.... By some visible tokens of his presence, as a cloud, fire, smoke, &c. which must be understood consistent with his omniscience, see Exo 19:18,

and spakest with them from heaven; the decalogue or ten commandments, Exo 20:1,

and gavest them right judgments and true laws, good statutes and commandments; both judicial and ceremonial, which were of excellent use to them in their civil and ecclesiastical polity; these were not spoken to Israel, but given to Moses on the mount, to be delivered to them.

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

True laws; not such laws as some of the heathen laws were, which taught them falsehood, superstition, idolatry, and other errors; but such as discover the truth, and the true mind and will of God, and the true and only way to life.

Good statutes; both in themselves, and to us also, being useful to teach, and comfort, and save us.

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

Right judgments, true laws, good statutes, etc., are expressions which imply an immutable morality, a standard of right and wrong antecedent to command or precept, which standard is doubtless the eternal goodness of God himself. The repetition of the epithets here shows the composer of the form to be penetrated with the spirit of admiration for God"s commandments which breathes so remarkably through the whole of Ps 119.

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

Good statutes - The moral and judicial precepts were all founded on natural equity. And even the ceremonial were tokens of God's goodness, being types of gospel-grace.

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

and spoke Heb. וְדַּבֵּר, like וּלְדַבֵּר, and to speak, as it says (Deut. 4:36): “From the heavens He let you hear His voice to chastise you.”

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.