Nehemiah 9:16

Neh 9:16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,

Ver. 16. But they and our fathers] God’s mercies have been hitherto mentioned, that their sins might thereby be aggravated; for good turns aggravate unkindness; and men’s sins are much increased by their obligations. It is charged upon Solomon as a foul fault, that he departed from the Lord, who had appeared unto him twice, 1Ki 11:9.

Dealt proudly] Pride is the master pock of the soul, and the root of rebellion against God, Psa 119:21.

And hardened their necks] As unruly beasts, that will not bear the yoke; lawless and aweless persons, that refuse to be reformed, hate to be healed.

And hearkened not to thy commandments] But rather to the devil’s whistle, calling them off from better practices.

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_9:16

But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks.

Hardened by sin

Dr. Manton says: As a delicate constitution is more capable of pain than a robust and stubborn one, and the tender flesh of a child will sooner feel the lash than the thick skin of a slave, so the children of God, having a more serious apprehension of things, and a more tender spirit, soonest feel the burden of their Fathers displeasure, and do more lay it to heart than careless and stupid spirits, who laugh at their cross, or drink away their sorrows. Tenderness of heart is thus an attribute of the child of God, and a very precious attribute, too. Hard-hearted men are not men after Gods own heart. In proportion as feeling declines, life has declined. Spiritual men are sensitive men. Ossification of the heart is a fatal disease. Declensions in grace are a searing of the soul. When water is warmed by the summer sun, the smallest stone sinks into it; when it is frozen in the northern blast, a huge block will be borne up upon the surface of it, and will never penetrate to its depths. So, when the soul grows cold with distance from God, it will sustain an enormous weight of sin; but when grace returns, and the soul is in a fight spiritual condition, an ounce of sin will be more than the soul can bear. Oh, for more of this holy sensitiveness! (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Neh 9:16-17. But our fathers dealt proudly, &c. — Notwithstanding all thy singular and wonderful mercies, they sinned presumptuously, and with a high hand, scorning to submit their wills to thine. Having hitherto recounted God’s mercies toward them, with a view to aggravate their guilt, he now comes to confess their sins, in order that he might lead them to a sincere and ingenuous grief for them, not only on account of the sufferings which they had brought on themselves, but for the injury and indignity which they had offered to God; and refused to obey — Persisted in disobedience after many admonitions and invitations to repentance. And in their rebellion appointed a captain — That is, designed, purposed, and resolved to do so, (Num 14:4,) and therefore they are said to do it; as Abraham is said to have offered up Isaac, (Heb 11:17,) because he intended and attempted to do it.

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

Even the fathers to whom God had shown such favour, repeatedly departed from and rebelled against Him; but God of His great mercy did not forsake them, but brought them into possession of the promised land.

Neh 9:16-17

"And they, even our fathers, dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to Thy commandments. Neh 9:17 They refused to obey, and were not mindful of Thy wonders that Thou didst amongst them; and hardened their necks, and appointed a captain to return to their bondage. But Thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not." In these verses the conduct of the children of Israel towards God is contrasted with His kindness towards this stiff-necked people, the historical confirmation following in Neh 9:18. והם is emphatic, and prefixed to contrast the conduct of the Israelites with the benefits bestowed on them. The contrast is enhanced by the ו explicative before אבתינוּ, even our fathers (which J. D. Michaelis would expunge, from a misconception of its meaning, but which Bertheau with good reason defends). Words are accumulated to describe the stiff-necked resistance of the people. הזידוּ as above, Neh 9:10. "They hardened their necks" refers to Exo 32:9; Exo 33:3; Exo 34:9, and therefore already alludes to the worship of the golden calf at Sinai, mentioned Neh 9:18; while in Neh 9:17, the second great rebellion of the people at Kadesh, on the borders of the promised land, Num 14, is contemplated. The repetition of the expression, "they hardened their hearts," shows that a second grievous transgression is already spoken of in Neh 9:17. This is made even clearer by the next clause, וגו ראשׁ ויּתּנוּ, which is taken almost verbally from Num 14:4 : "They said one to another, Let us make a captain (ראשׁ נתּנה), and return to Egypt;" the notion being merely enhanced here by the addition לעבדתם, to their bondage. The comparison with Num 14:4 also shows that בּמרים is a clerical error for בּמצרים, as the lxx read; for בּמרים, in their stubbornness, after לעבדתם, gives no appropriate sense. In spite, however, of their stiff-neckedness, God of His mercy and goodness did not forsake them. סליחות אלוהּ, a God of pardons; comp. Dan 9:9; Psa 130:4. וגו ורחוּם חנּוּן is a reminiscence of Exo 34:6. The ו before חסד came into the text by a clerical error.

Neh 9:18-21

"Yea, they even made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy god that brought thee up out of Egypt, and wrought great provocations. Neh 9:19 Yet Thou, in Thy manifold mercies, didst not forsake them in the wilderness; the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day to lead them, and the pillar of fire by night to show them light in the way wherein they should go. Neh 9:20 Thou gavest also Thy good Spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not Thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst: Neh 9:21 And forty years didst Thou sustain them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not." כּי אף, also (even this) = yea even. On the worship of the golden calf, see Exo 24:4. The words "they did (wrought) great provocations" involve a condemnation of the worship of the molten calf; nevertheless God did not withdraw His gracious presence, but continued to lead them by the pillar of cloud and fire. The passage Num 14:14, according to which the pillar of cloud and fire guided the march of the people through the wilderness after the departure from Sinai, i.e., after their transgression in the matter of the calf, is here alluded to. הענן עמּוּד is rhetorically enhanced by את: and with respect to the cloudy pillar, it departed not; so, too, in the second clause, האשׁ את־עמּוּד; comp. Ewald, 277, d. The words, Neh 9:20, "Thou gavest Thy good Spirit," etc., refer to the occurrence, Num 11:17, Num 11:25, where God endowed the seventy elders with the spirit of prophecy for the confirmation of Moses' authority. The definition "good Spirit" recalls Psa 143:10. The sending of manna is first mentioned Num 11:6-9, comp. Jos 5:12; the giving of water, Num 20:2-8. - In Neh 9:21, all that the Lord did for Israel is summed up in the assertion of Deu 2:7; Deu 8:4, חסרוּ לא; see the explanation of these passages.

Neh 9:22-25

The Lord also fulfilled His promise of giving the land of Canaan to the Israelites notwithstanding their rebelliousness. Neh 9:22 "And Thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them by boundaries; and they took possession of the land of Sihon, both the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. Neh 9:23 And Thou didst multiply their children as the stars of heaven, and bring them into the land which Thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess. Neh 9:24 And the children went in and possessed the land, and Thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, both their kings and the people of the land, to do with them according to their pleasure. Neh 9:25 And they took fortified cities, and a fat land, and took possession of houses filled with all kinds of goods, wells digged, vineyards and olive gardens, and fruit trees in abundance; and they ate and became fat, and delighted themselves in Thy great goodness." לפאה ותּחלקם is variously explained. Aben Ezra and others refer the suffix to the Canaanites, whom God scattered in multos angulos or varias mundi partes. Others refer it to the Israelites. According to this view, Ramb. says: fecisti eos per omnes terrae Cananaeae angulos habitare; and Gusset.: distribuisti eis terram usque ad angulum h. l. nulla vel minima regionum particula excepta. But חלק, Piel, generally means the dividing of things; and when used of persons, as in Gen 49:7; Lam 4:16, to divide, to scatter, sensu malo, which is here inapplicable to the Israelites. חלק signifies to divide, especially by lot, and is used chiefly concerning the partition of the land of Canaan, in Kal, Jos 14:5; Jos 18:2, and in Piel, Jos 13:7; Jos 18:10; Jos 19:51. The word פּאה also frequently occurs in Joshua, in the sense of a corner or side lying towards a certain quarter of the heavens, and of a boundary; comp. Jos 15:5; Jos 18:12, Jos 18:14-15, Jos 18:20. According to this, Bertheau rightly takes the words to say: Thou didst divide them (the kingdoms and nations, i.e., the land of these nations) according to sides or boundaries, i.e., according to certain definite limits. Sihon is the king of Heshbon (Deu 1:4), and the ו before ח את־ארץ מ is not to be expunged as a gloss, but regarded as explicative: and, indeed, both the land of the king of Heshbon and the land of Og. The conquest of these two kingdoms is named first, because it preceded the possession of Canaan (Num 21:21-35). The increase of the children of the Israelites is next mentioned, Neh 9:23; the fathers having fallen in the wilderness, and only their children coming into the land of Canaan. The numbering of the people in the plains of Moab (Num 26) is here alluded to, when the new generation was found to be twice as numerous as that which marched out of Egypt; while the words לרשׁת לבוא, here and in Neh 9:15, are similar to Deu 1:10. The taking possession of Canaan is spoken of in Neh 9:24. ותּכנע recalls Deu 9:3. כּרצונם, according to their pleasure, comp. Dan 8:4. Fortified cities, as Jericho and Ai.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

(16) Dealt proudly.—Like the Egyptians themselves (Neh_9:10). It is remarkable that the same word is used as in the Hebrew of Exo_18:11 and Deu_1:43.

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

16. But they and our fathers] The ‘and’ here seems not to be necessary. It is found, however, in all the MSS., and is represented in all the Versions, and must clearly be retained in the text. As the following Neh_9:17-22 continue to refer to the Mosaic generation, no distinction of meaning can be drawn between ‘they’ and ‘our fathers.’ It seems best therefore to regard the ‘and’ as an instance of the explanatory or exegetical copula. ‘They and (= that is to say) our fathers.’ Cf. Neh_9:22.

dealt proudly] Cf. Neh_9:10. In this verse and in Neh_9:29 the word is used with reference to the children of Israel, as in Deu_1:43, ‘ye rebelled … and were presumptuous.’ Deu_17:13, ‘all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.’

hardened their necks] R.V. neck. Cf. Neh_9:17; Neh_9:29. For the phrase ‘a stiff-necked people’ cf. Exo_32:9; Exo_33:3; Exo_34:9; Deu_9:6; Deu_9:13. ‘To stiffen’ or ‘harden the neck’ is found in Deu_10:16, ‘Be no more stiff-necked,’ 2Ki_17:14, ‘they would not hear, but hardened their neck, like to the neck of their fathers.’ Cf. Job_9:4.

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.

But they and our fathers dealt proudly,.... Behaved in a haughty manner towards God, their kind benefactor:

and hardened their necks; refused to take the yoke of his law, as refractory oxen, that withdraw their necks from the yoke:

and hearkened not to thy commandments; to do them, though they promised they would, Exo 24:7.

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

Notwithstanding all these singular and wonderful mercies; which he hitherto recounted to aggravate their sins, which he now comes to confess, and to lead them to a sincere and ingenuous grief and repentance for their sins, not only for the mischief which they brought upon themselves, but for the injury and indignity which they offered to God.

Dealt proudly, i.e. sinned presumptuously, and with contempt of God, as scorning to submit their wills to God’s.

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

16. They and our fathers — This should be rendered, and they, even our fathers.

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

They and our fathers. Rather, "they, our fathers." The vau is used exegetically. Dealt proudly. i.e. "acted insolently." Compare Deu_1:43, where the same verb is translated were presumptuous" ( marg.). Hardened their necks. So in 2Ki_17:14.

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

Connecting Statement:

In these verses, the Levites continue to praise Yahweh in the presence of the people of Israel.

they and our ancestors

the Israelites at the time of Moses and the people of Israel after the time of Moses

they were stubborn ... became stubborn

The literal statement is "they hardened their necks." If your language has a different idiom for being stubborn, you may want to use it here. (See: Idiom)

the wonders that you had done among them

"the miracles that you had done among them"

they appointed a leader to return to their slavery

The Israelites would know that this referred to their ancestors wanting to return to Egypt. AT: "they appointed a leader to take them back to Egypt where they had been slaves" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

who is full of forgiveness

The desire to forgive is spoken of as if it were a liquid that could fill a container. AT: "who is ready to forgive" (See: Metaphor)

abounding in steadfast love

Love is spoken of as if it were a food crop that Yahweh could share with people. AT: "loves his people very much" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

command

miracle

rebel

appoint

servant

God

forgive

grace

compassion

anger

love

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