Nehemiah 9:7

Neh 9:7 Thou [art] the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham;

Ver. 7. Thou art the Lord the God] Heb. That Lord, with an emphasis, with an accent; and besides thee there is none other. See Neh 9:6. This is proved by his free favours to Israel, and patient bearing with their evil manners in the wilderness; there being not any God like unto our God, for pardoning of sin, and passing by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage, Mic 7:18.

Who didst choose Abram] God first chose him for his love, and then loved him for his choice.

And broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees] Pulling him as a brand out of that fire, where, till then, he had lived (and might else have died) an idolater, Jos 24:2.

And gavest him the name of Abraham] {See Trapp on "Gen 17:5"}

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 9:7. Thou art the Lord who didst choose Abraham — Here follows a compendious history of the affairs of the Hebrew nation, which, it is likely was composed by Ezra or Nehemiah in the form of a prayer, and delivered to the Levites, that they might pronounce it distinctly before the whole congregation, from their several scaffolds, which were conveniently placed, in several parts of the assembly, for that purpose.

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

9:7-8 God’s actions with Abram—calling him (Gen 12:1-3; 15:7), giving him a new name and identity (Gen 17:5), making a covenant with him (Gen 15:6-21; 17:4-5), and fulfilling his promises of land and descendants (Gen 15:18-21)—demonstrated God’s faithfulness and inspired confidence about what God would do in the future.

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

Verse 7. Who didst choose Abram] See the notes on the passages referred to in the margin.

The name of Abraham] For the explanation of this name, See Clarke on Ge 17:5.

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

7, 8. The Patriarch Abraham; the choice, the call, the name, and the character of the man, and the covenant made with him

Thou art the Lord the God] R.V. marg. ‘Or, O Lord’, i.e. Thou, O Jahveh (Jehovah), art the God, as in 1Ki_18:37.

didst choose Abram] The Divine ‘choice’ is only mentioned here in reference to the calling of Abraham. The selection of the ‘chosen people’ was the free act of God’s love. This thought lay at the root of the covenant relation between Him and Israel; cf. Deu_4:37, ‘and because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them,’ Neh_7:7, Neh_9:4-6.

and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees] Ur of the Chaldees is only mentioned here and Gen_11:28; Gen_11:31; Gen_15:7, and from these passages the present allusion is almost certainly drawn. According to some scholars, ‘Ur of the Chaldees’ is to be found in S. Babylonia, on the right bank of the Euphrates, and to be identified either with Warka (= Erech, Gen_10:10) or Mugheir = Uru, one of the oldest Babylonian cities. According to others, it was situate in Northern Assyria, with which would agree the descent of Terah from Aram (Gen_10:23) and the home of Abraham’s kinsfolk being Padan-Aram (Gen_25:20). The latter view is perhaps most favoured by Israelite tradition, cf. Deu_26:5; Isa_41:9. It was Terah who moved from Ur of the Chaldees to Haran; but Jewish tradition always regarded this as the expression of a Divine call to Abraham. Compare Act_7:4 with Gen_11:31. The Vulgate ‘de igne Chaldaeorum’ treats ‘Ur’ as if it were the Hebrew word (spelt with the same consonants) meaning ‘light.’

the name of Abraham] The change of the patriarch’s name from Abram to Abraham is recorded in Gen_17:5, to which the reference is probably made. That Abram means ‘lofty father’ and Abraham ‘the father of a multitude’ is probably only an instance of popular Israelite etymology. ‘Abu-ra-mu’ is found as the proper name of a man in Assyrian inscriptions; and the change from the shorter to the longer form, is perhaps a return to an older and more venerated form of the name. The precise meaning of the name is of slight moment. The important point to notice is, that the change of name corresponds with the institution of the covenant sign of circumcision. The change of the name was a pledge of the new relation, into which Abraham and his seed passed; cf. ‘Jacob’ and ‘Israel’ (Gen_35:10).

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 art the Lord the God, who didst choose Abram,.... From among the Chaldeans, and out of his father's family:

and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees; by calling him from thence, of which see Gen 11:28, to which may be added what Amama (x) on that place observes; that some think that the sacred fire, which the Chaldeans worshipped, was kept in this city, from whence it was called Ur, that being worshipped by them and by the Assyrians under the name of Ur (y):

and gavest him the name of Abraham; which was changed when the covenant of circumcision was given him, Gen 17:5.

(x) Anti-barbar. Biblic. l. 3. p. 652. (y) Fortunati Schaech. Elaeochrism. Myrothec. l. 1. c. 9. col. 44.

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

The fire of the Chaldeans. The city of Ur, in Chaldea, the name of which signifies fire. Or out of the fire of tribulations and temptations, to which he was there exposed. The ancient Rabbins understood this literally, affirming that Abraham was cast into the fire by the idolaters, and brought out by a miracle without any hurt. (Challoner) --- The Chaldeans adored fire, (St. Jerome, q. Heb. in Genesis xi. 31.) and the Persians probably imitated them. (Strabo xv.) --- The emperor Heraclius destroyed their Pyreia. (Suidas.) --- St. Jerome translates Ur of the Chaldeans, in all other places. (Amama) --- Septuagint, "the country of," &c. (Calmet) --- It is supposed that he sacred fire preserved in this city, gave name to it, (Ur, "fire,") as Heliopolis was so called, from the particular worship of "the sun." (Haydock) --- Abraham, to imply some mystery, Genesis xvii. (Worthington) --- See Isaias xliii. 27.

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).

Didst choose Abram out of the midst of all his nation and family. When thou didst pass by and neglect the rest of them, suffering them to walk on in their idolatrous and destructive courses; thou didst choose and single out him to serve and glorify thee, to be father of all the faithful, the progenitor of the Messias, and the person in whom, not we only, but all nations, should be blessed, and to enjoy thee to all eternity.

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

7. Abram… Abraham — See Gen_17:5. For the various historical allusions throughout the chapter, see the marginal references.

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

Vers. 7-31. Compare with this long historical resume the still longer ones in Psa_78:5-72 and Act_7:2-47. God"s dealings with his people furnished a moral lesson of extraordinary force, and moral teachers, naturally, made frequent reference to them. But it is not often that we have so complete and elaborate a recapitulation as the present, which, beginning with the call of Abraham, brings the history down to the time of the Persian servitude. God"s goodness and his people"s ingratitude form the burthen of the whole.

Vers. 7, 8. God"s favour to Abraham.

The multitude, led by the Levites, now begin the recital of God"s gracious dealings with their race; and, first, with their great ancestor, Abraham. By the words, "Thou art Jehovah God," they allege that it was the only living and true God, the Creator of all things, who distinguished Abraham, and through him their nation, by his favour. They then recount

I His CHOICE of Abraham. Of his own gracious will separating him from others, to preserve the knowledge and worship of himself, and to be the Father of the people whom he appointed to be peculiarly his own.

II His LEADING him from Chaldaea to Canaan.

III His CHANGE of his name from Abram to Abraham. Thus promising him a numerous posterity.

IV His RECOGNITION Of his faithfulness. A reference to Gen_15:6, where "believed" is part of the same verb as the word "faithful" here. (comp. Gal_3:9 faithful Abraham) Abraham was faithful in heart, and that before God. He trusted God, and continued to trust him through all trials of his faith. He was faithful in maintaining the worship of God in the midst of idolaters, and in teaching his household to "keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment". (Gen_18:19) And God marked and rewarded his fidelity.

V His COVENANT with him. Gen_15:18-21 seems especially referred to. The larger promises, that Abraham and his posterity should be a blessing to all men, do not here come into view.

VI His PERFORMANCE Of the covenant. In which God"s righteousness is recognised (ver. 6).

Reflections:

1. All blessings enjoyed by men have their origin in the free grace and choice of God.

2. Yet God in his treatment of men has regard to their faithfulness to him.

3. The righteousness, as well as the goodness, of God assures us that he will fulfil all his promises.

4. We as well as the Jews have reason to praise God for the grace shown to Abraham. For he is our spiritual ancestor, "the father of all them that believe". (Rom_4:11)

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:

The Levites continue their prayer before all the people.

Ur of the Chaldees

"Ur, where the Chaldean people group lived"

You found his heart was faithful before you

The heart, the inner being of the person, represents the person. AT: "You saw that he was completely faithful to you" (See: Synecdoche)

Canaanites ... Hittites ... Amorites ... Perizzites ... Jebusites ... Girgashites

people group names (See: How to Translate Names)

translationWords

Yahweh

God

Abraham

Ur

Chaldea

name

heart

faithful

covenant

descend

Canaan

Hittite

Amorite

Perizzite

Jebus

promise

righteous

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

and made Heb. וְשַּׂמְתָּ. The accent is on the first syllable on the “sin,” because its meaning is in the past tense.

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.