Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Nehemiah 13:16

There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.

16. Traffic on the Sabbath.

therein ] i.e. in the city.

which brought fish ] R.V. which brought in fish. These would be the salted and dried fish from the Mediterranean, cf. Neh 3:3.

ware ] i.e. anything offered for sale.

sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah ] The fault lay with the buyers, as is shown in the next verse.

and in Jerusalem ] The words are added emphatically, as if Nehemiah had said ‘to think of such a thing being possible in the holy city.’

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Friendly relations subsisted between the Phoenicians and the Jews, after the captivity Ezr 3:7. It was, however, a new fact, and one pregnant with evil consequences, that the Tyrians should have established a permanent colony at Jerusalem. Its influence on the other inhabitants weakened the hold of the Law upon mens consciences, and caused it to be transgressed continually more and more openly.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Which brought fish, which they might take in the sea near Joppa, or bring from Tyre to Joppa by sea, and thence to Jerusalem, which was but a small journey.

In Jerusalem, the holy city, where Gods house and presence was, and where the great judicatories of the nation were. So this is added as an aggravation of their sin, that this was done with manifest contempt both to God and men.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish,…. From Tyre and Zidon, and the parts adjacent: these they brought from Joppa, and from thence to Jerusalem, and had houses or lodgings near the fish gate or fish market, where they sold them:

and all manner of ware; or merchandise, which, being a trading city, they had from all nations:

and sold on the sabbath day unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem; or even in Jerusalem, the holy city, where stood the temple, and where the worship of God was kept, and where the magistrates lived, who should have been terrors to evildoers: indeed, the law of the sabbath was not binding on these Tyrians, but then they tempted the Jews to break it, by bringing their ware to sell.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(16) Men of Tyre.They brought timber for the building of the Temple, and received food in payment Ezr. 3:7). Now they seem to have established themselves as a colony, and supplied fish, especially to the inhabitants. But their offence was the doing this on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. The verse closes emphatically.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

16. There dwelt men of Tyre These Tyrians are not to be understood as having permanent abodes in Jerusalem, but dwelling only temporarily there in order to carry on the traffic here mentioned.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Neh 13:16 There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.

Ver. 16. There dwelt men of Tyre also ] Phoenician merchants had their factors in Jerusalem.

And all manner of ware ] Merchandise; for Tyre was a great market town, and famous for fishing, Eze 27:1-36

And sold on the sabbath ] Which they ought not to have done; for that was God’s market day, and not man’s.

Unto the children of Judah ] Who were, therefore, worse than the Tyrians, because they ought to have been better; therefore wrath shall be upon the Jew first, and then upon the Gentile, Rom 2:10

And in Jerusalem ] This holy city was become a harlot. Filthiness in a stew is nothing so odious as in a virgin; a nettle in a wilderness is not so unsightly as in a garden. In a land of uprightness to do wickedly is an aggravating circumstance, Isa 26:10 .

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

and. Some codices, with six early printed editions, Syriac, and Vulgate, omit this “and”.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

men of Tyre: Exo 23:12, Deu 5:14

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge