Nehemiah 9:20

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.

Ver. 20. Thou gavest also thy good spirit] viz. To their governors and teachers, Num 11:16-17; Num 11:25-26. Yea, to every good soul, that they might be all taught of God, led into all truth and holiness, Eph 5:9. For which end God hath promised to pour his Spirit upon all flesh, that is, the best thing upon the basest, Joe 2:28. Next to the sending of his Son in the flesh (which is called the gift, Joh 4:10, and the benefit, 1Ti 6:2), what can God do more for his people than to give them his good spirit? this is to give them all good things in one, Mat 7:11 Luk 11:13.

And withheldest not thy manna] See Neh 9:15. It is twice mentioned, as a singular and signal mercy. And it is well observed by a reverend writer, that this manna and water from the rock (which was Christ in the gospel) were given this people before the law, the sacraments of grace before the legal covenant. The grace of God preventeth our obedience; therefore shall we keep the law of God, because we have a Saviour.

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 9:20. Thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them — Which thou didst graciously and plentifully impart, first unto Moses, and then unto the seventy elders, (Num 11:17-26,) to the end that they might be able to direct and govern thy people wisely, and in thy fear.

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

(20) Thy good spirit.—Probably a reference to Num_11:17; Num_11:25. The epithet given to the Spirit is in Psa_143:10. But His teaching function occurs here only, and is a remarkable anticipation of the New Testament.

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

20. thy good spirit] Referring possibly to Num_11:17 ‘And I will take of the spirit which is upon thee and will put it upon them,’ 23–29, but mainly to the general Divine teaching of the people, cf. Isa_63:11, ‘Where is he that brought them out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he that put his holy spirit in the midst of them?’ For the expression ‘thy good spirit’ cf. Psa_143:10, Marg. ‘Let thy good spirit lead me.’

to instruct] i.e. to make them understand. For the use of the verb ‘sakal,’ see note on Neh_8:12; cf. Psa_32:8, ‘I will instruct thee and lead thee in the way which thou shalt go.’

thy manna] The reference here seems to be to Num_11:6-9; that in Neh_9:15 had been to Exo_16:14-36.

Similarly ‘water for their thirst’ refers to the second miraculous gift of water described in Num_20:2-8 (not to Exo_17:3-6).

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 gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them,.... In the knowledge of the laws delivered to them; the spirit of prophecy, according to Ben Melech, and which Aben Ezra interprets of the spirit put upon the seventy elders, Num 11:17,

and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth; all the while they were in the wilderness, until they came to Canaan's land; called the Lord's manna, because prepared by him, and given by him to them; a part or portion and gift from the Lord, as Ben Melech, from whence it had its name, see Exo 16:15

and gavest them water for their thirst; which seems to have respect to the last rock stricken for them, after their many provocations in the wilderness, Num 20:11.

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

Spirit. The conducting angel. (Menochius) --- God enlightened and moved the hearts of the people, by his grace; which he gave in abundance to Moses. (Calmet)

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).

Thou gavest also thy good spirit; which thou didst graciously and plentifully impart unto Moses, and then unto the seventy eiders, Num 11:17,25,26, to the end that they might be able to direct and govern thy people wisely, and in thy fear.

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

Thou gavest them also thy good Spirit to instruct them. The "good Spirit" of God is mentioned in Psa_143:10; and the fact of God"s "instructing and teaching" men in Psa_32:8. But instruction by God"s Spirit is nowhere else distinctly mentioned in the Old Testament.

The Holy Spirit as a Teacher.

"Thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them." This assertion is more emphatically true of Christians than of Israel. We live under "the dispensation of the Spirit," when the "promise of the Spirit" is more abundantly fulfilled. We have here

I A WONDERFUL DISPLAY OF DIVINE MERCY. It is in the midst of the narration of Israel"s pride and stubbornness that this statement is made. So it is to a rebellious world that God"s Spirit comes to instruct, restore, and save.

II AN INVALUABLE GIFT.

1. Its nature. Special Divine influence and operation the Holy Spirit acting on and in the minds and hearts of men.

(1) In and through inspired men and their utterances by speech or writing. "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." By such inspiration what might have been otherwise learned is taught more clearly and authoritatively, and the truths which especially relate to salvation, which could not have been otherwise known, are revealed.

(2) In the hearts of men generally. Those especially to whom the gospel comes enjoy this great blessing, for their enlightenment, conviction, conversion, regeneration, and sanctification.

(3) Through the Church. That is, through the speech and life of Christians, and in connection with Christian fellowship, worship, and ordinances. Not, however, as a magical influence to be dispensed at the will of men.

2. Its goodness. "Thy good Spirit." Intended not to describe the personal goodness of the Holy Spirit, but the value of his influence to men. Amongst the gifts of God to Israel named in the context, this was incalculably the best. The gifts of God which we call providential are invaluable; those of his grace are of far higher value, and of these this is the greatest. Without the Spirit no other Divine gift would avail for our highest and everlasting well-being. This renders all other blessings truly blessed. The good Spirit makes all things good to us, even those which we call evil, yea, those which in themselves are evil.

III A GRAND OPPORTUNITY. "To instruct them." Each one of us may have the inestimable advantage of a Divine Teacher who not only speaks to the ear, or the eye, but enters the heart, and whose instructions are the most essential to our welfare. He makes "wise unto salvation." The only conditions are faith in him and his teaching, willingness to learn and practise his lessons, and prayer for his influences.

IV A HEAVY RESPONSIBILITY. In proportion to the value of God"s gifts are the responsibilities they impose. No responsibility can, therefore, be so heavy as that which arises from the gift of the Holy Ghost; the presence amongst us, the influence upon us, of a Divine Person proffering and pressing his aid to lead us to God, goodness, and heaven. Happy those who receive him into. their hearts as a permanent guest and guide the life of their life, the soul of their soul. But let us take heed lest we "grieve the Holy Spirit of God," or "do despite unto the Spirit of grace," and he depart from us utterly and for ever, leaving us to the "sorer punishment" which falls on those to whom God comes most nearly and graciously, and is rejected by them.

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.

Your good Spirit ... your manna ... water

The writer changes the usual word order to emphasize the good things Yahweh gave his people. Your language may have another way of emphasizing these items.

instruct

teach

your manna you did not withhold from their mouths

This litotes can be expressed positively. AT: "you generously gave them manna" (See: Litotes)

from their mouths

The mouth is a synecdoche for the whole person. AT: "from them" (See: Synecdoche)

translationWords

good

Holy Spirit

manna

water

desert

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