Nehemiah 9:25

Neh 9:25 And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.

Ver. 25. And they took strong cities] With no great ado: like as towns are said to come in to Timotheus’ (the Athenian general’s) toils while he slept. This he ascribed to his own prowess and policy (Plut. in Sulla), often interlacing this proud speech, Herein fortune had no part; and from thenceforth never prospered in anything he undertook.

And a fat land] Flowing with plenty of dainties; though Strabo spitefully slandered it as craggy and barren.

And possessed houses full of all goods] Of all pleasant and precious substance; for the Canaanites were great merchants, Isa 23:8 Hos 12:7 Eze 17:4.

Wells digged] A great commodity in that hot country.

Vineyards, and oliveyards] A singular help to housekeeping.

So they did eat, and were filled] They had enough of everything, and did eat while eating was good; as they say Queen Elizabeth did seldom eat but one dish, rose ever with an appetite, and lived about seventy years. King Edward VI was wont to call her his sweet sister Temperance.

And delighted themselves in thy great goodness] They lived in God’s good land, but not by God’s good laws; the refreshing they found by his best creatures was none other but such as his, who "warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire," Isa 44:16.

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 9:25-26. And delighted them in thy great goodness — In all those comforts and blessings which, by thy great goodness, they obtained and enjoyed. Nevertheless they cast thy law behind their backs — They neglected and despised thy laws, would not regard nor observe them; whereas they ought to have had them continually before their eyes, to direct and govern them in all their ways. The good things they enjoyed in the land which God had given them, made them wanton and forgetful of God and his commandments. And slew thy prophets — Of which see the margin.

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

9:25 Cp. Deut 6:10-11; 8:6-10. • they were full and grew fat: Prosperity proved to include spiritual danger (see Deut 8:11-20).

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

Verse 25. Became fat, and delighted themselves] They became effeminate, fell under the power of luxury, got totally corrupted in their manners, sinned against all the mercies of God, and then were destroyed by his judgments. We have an old nervous saying, "War begets poverty, poverty begets peace, peace begets affluence, affluence begets luxury and corruption of manners; and hence civil broils, foreign wars, and desolations." A sensible Roman historian has said the same: "Imperium facile iis artibus retinetur, quibus initio partum est: verum ubi pro LABORE, DESIDIA; pro continentia et aequitate, LIBIDO atque SUPERBIA invasere: fortuna simul cum moribus IMMUTATUR."

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

25. strong cities] R.V. fenced cities. Cf. Deu_9:1; Jos_14:12, e.g. Jericho, Ai, and Hebron, but it was a long time before all the cities were reduced. Thus Jerusalem held out until David’s reign. (Cf. Jdg_1:8; Jdg_1:21.)

a fat land] i.e. fat soil, ‘adamah.’ In Num_13:20 the country (‘erec̣’) is spoken of as ‘fat’ or ‘lean.’ Cf. Deu_8:7-9 for a fuller description of the land’s fatness.

full of all goods] R.V. full of all good things.

wells digged] R.V. cisterns hewn out.

The description is almost literally borrowed from Deu_6:10-11, ‘great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, and houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and cisterns hewn out, which thou hewedst not, vineyards and olive-yards, which thou plantedst not, and thou shalt eat and be full; then beware lest thou forget the Lord.’ A poetical description of the material blessings, into the inheritance of which the Israelites passed, is given in Deu_32:13-14.

became fat] Cf. Deu_32:15, ‘Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked,’ of the ill effects of luxury and prosperity.

delighted themselves] The Hebrew word occurs only here in the O. T. = ‘they luxuriated.’ It is from the same root as ‘Eden.’ LXX. ἐνετρύφησαν.

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.

And they took strong cities,.... Such as, in an hyperbolical way, are said to be walled up to heaven, Deu 1:28

and a fat land; of a good and fruitful soil, abounding with all good things, Deu 8:7

and possessed houses full of all goods; ready built and furnished for them, both with good provisions and good furniture:

wells digged; to supply them with water:

vineyards, and olive yards, and fruit trees in abundance; which they planted not:

and they did eat, and were filled, and became fat; in body, though in mind became wanton and wicked; they made their hearts fat, or stupid, as Aben Ezra interprets it, see Deu 32:15

and delighted themselves in thy great goodness; not in praising the Lord for it, and using it to his honour and glory, but indulged themselves to luxury and intemperance; though it may be understood of a lawful pleasure in the enjoyment of the great affluence they were brought into, which last agrees with what follows.

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

Became fat. - i. e., “grew proud,” or “wanton” - a phrase only occurring here, in the margin reference, and in Jer 5:28.

Delighted themselves - Rather, “luxuriated.” The word in the original does not occur elsewhere; but cognate terms make the sense clear.

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

Goodness. Prosperity was their ruin, (Haydock) as Moses had foretold, Deuteronomy xxxii. 15. (Calmet) --- "Empire is easily retained by the same arts by which it was procured: but when idleness takes the place of industry, when lust and pride banish continence and equity, fortune is changed with manners." (Sallust; Grotius)

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).

i.e. In all these comforts and blessings, which by thy great goodness they obtained and enjoyed.

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

They took strong cities. As Jericho, Ai, Libnah, Lachish, Hazer, Hebron, etc. A fat land. Compare Num_14:7, 8 Deu_8:7-9 2Ki_18:32. Houses full of all goods. See Deu_6:11. Fruit trees in abundance. The fruit trees of Palestine are, besides the vine and the olive, the fig tree, the carob or locust tree (ceratonia siliqua), the quince, the apple, the almond, the walnut, the peach, the apricot, the mulberry, the sycamore fig, the prickly pear, the pomegranate, and the orange. Date-palms also were anciently abundant in the valley of the Jordan. They... became fat, Compare Deu_32:15 and Jer_5:28, the only other places where the expression here used occurs. The comparison will show that dispraise is intended grew wanton and self-indulgent." Delighted themselves. Rather, "luxuriated" (etrufhsan , LXX).

They... slew thy prophets. Compare Mat_23:37 Luk_11:47. Jewish tradition states that Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel were murdered. Many prophets were slain by Jezebel, with Ahab"s sanction. (1Ki_18:4) Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, was put to death by Joash. (2Ch_24:22)

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 captured

The Israelites at the time of Moses captured

a productive land

"a fertile land"

cisterns

holes in the ground where people store water

grew fat

This might be a metaphor for "stopped thinking about Yahweh" or "became complacent." (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

good

vineyard

olive

fruit

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