Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Nehemiah 13:22
And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and [that] they should come [and] keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, [concerning] this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy.
22. And I commanded the Levites ] The verse contains an additional precaution taken by Nehemiah to secure the observance of the Sabbath. Its exact character however is somewhat obscure.
Nehemiah delivers to the Levites a special commission to take over the watch of the city gates on the Sabbaths. For this purpose they are to cleanse themselves; the duty was a sacred one, since upon it depended the nation’s fidelity to the Sabbath. We are not told whether these Levites were appointed to serve in addition to, or as substitutes for, the regular watchmen; or whether they were intended to continue the duties temporarily entrusted by Nehemiah to his servants ( Neh 13:19).
come and keep the gates ] The copula is wanting in the Hebrew; and thus has given occasion to a proposal for the rendering, ‘And that they should come to the keepers of the gates’ &c. i.e. that the Levites should on the Sabbath eve go the rounds to the various gates for the purpose of solemnly announcing the advent of the holy day. Even if the grammatical construction, which this translation supposes, be admissible, the sense does not carry with it the ring of probability.
The versions supply the copula. LXX. . Vulg. ‘ut mundarentur et venirent ad custodiendas portas.’
Remember me concerning this also ] R.V. Remember unto me this also. Cf. Neh 13:15.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I commanded the Levites – At first Nehemiah had employed his own retinue Neh 13:19 in the work of keeping the gates. He now assigned the duty to the Levites, as one which properly belonged to them, since the object of the regulation was the due observance of the Sabbath.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Neh 13:22
Spare me according to the greatness of Thy mercy.
Nehemiahs appeal to Gods mercy
The bird which soars the highest builds the lowest nest. The more a man is lifted up in communion with Heaven the deeper is his abasement in his own eyes. The holiest are the humblest. Those who bear most fruit have least confidence in the flesh. How interesting to observe that, though the conceptions of believers under the old dispensation respecting the exact mode of salvation were dim, yet they themselves clung as earnestly to the mercy of the Lord as more privileged believers do now! (Hugh Stowell, M. A.)
Increasing holiness means increasing sensitiveness to the need of mercy
The more holy a mans spirit becomes, the more sensitive will it become; and the more sensitive his spirit, the deeper and livelier will be his sense of sinfulness. Shut up an individual in a dark room, hung round with cobwebs and defiled with dust, and he will be insensible to its condition; then admit a little light, and he will begin to suspect its state, and the more clearly the fight shines, the more clearly will he discern the impurities which were hidden before. (Hugh Stowell, M. A.)
Nehemiah
Here is–
I. An appeal to Gods approbation. Nehemiah often makes appeals of this kind. This was an appeal to God–
1. From mans judgment. He had engaged in an undertaking which was likely enough to appear contemptible in the eyes of his Persian acquaintance. But what then? It was for Gods honour, and therefore he despises this shame, casting himself upon the approbation of God. This principle it was that influenced Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Paul. It is the principle of faith rendering an unseen God visible. Such men look for a future recompense of reward promised by Him who cannot lie.
2. From mans enmity. While one party satisfied themselves with despising, there was another party in Jerusalem itself who hated and opposed his proceedings. It is in reference to their enmity that the appeal of the text is made. Modern enmity.
3. From mans ingratitude. It was here that he found his greatest trial. How painful, when the very persons whom in Gods name he sought to benefit were cold, reluctant, unfeeling! Nehemiahs was no solitary ease. You find in connection with this appeal–
II. A contrite prayer for gods forgiveness.
1. After all he has done for Gods service, Nehemiah cannot forget that there is a load of original and actual sin, recorded against him for which no subsequent obedience can make satisfaction.
2. He finds even his religious actions so stained with sin that though he may appeal from man, he cannot make them a plea for merit before God.
3. He casts himself, with a steadfast faith, on the free grace and covenanted mercies of the Lord. Application: If the despised believer may thus appeal from man to God, what hope can there be for those who compel him so to do? (Joseph Jowett, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 22. Spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy.] By some Nehemiah has been thought to deal with God too much on the principle of merit. That he wished God to remember him for good, is sufficiently evident; and who does not wish the same? But that he expected heaven because of his good deeds, does not appear. Indeed, the concluding clause of this verse proves the contrary, and shows that he expected nothing from God but through the greatness of his mercy. Shame on those who, with this evidence before them, brand this good man with the epithet of workmonger! a man who, in inward holiness, outward usefulness, and genuine love to God and man, was worth ten score of such self-called believers.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
That they should cleanse themselves; partly because the work they were now set upon, though common in its nature, yet was holy in design of it, and had respect unto the sabbath; and partly because the day in which they were to do this was the sabbath day, for the observation whereof they were obliged to prepare and purify themselves.
Keep the gates; either,
1. The gates of the temple. But a particular command was superfluous in that case, because it was their constant work and charge to do this, both sabbath days and every day. Or rather,
2. The gates of the city; for of them he spake last, Neh 13:19; and not daring to trust the common porters of these gates, not being able always to employ his men in that work, he committeth the charge of them for the present season, and upon the sabbath days, to the Levites, to whom the care of sanctifying the sabbath did properly belong.
According to the greatness of thy mercy; whereby he intimates, that though he mentioned his good works as things wherewith God was well pleased, and which he had promised to reward, yet he neither did nor durst trust to their merit or his own worthiness; but when he had done all, he judged himself an unprofitable servant, and one that needed Gods infinite mercy and indulgence to pardon all his sins, and particularly those infirmities and corruptions which adhered to his good deeds.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves,…. From all ceremonial uncleanness, that they might be fit in a ceremonial sense to perform the duties of the office on the sabbath day:
and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day; not the gates of the city, his servants were placed there, nor was this the work of the Levites, and much less did this require a particular purification to fit for it; but the gates of the temple, that no impure person might enter there; and on that day it required the greater diligence, because of the number of people that came to worship:
remember me, O my God, concerning this also; with respect to his care to have the sabbath kept holy, as well as his concern for the honour of the house of God, and the maintenance of his ministers, Ne 13:14,
and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy; he desired to be dealt with, not according to any merits of his own, but according to the abundant mercy of God; that he would kindly and graciously vouchsafe to accept any good that he had done for his mercy sake, and forgive whatever was amiss in him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(22) Cleanse themselves.As for a sacred duty, not without reference to their past neglect, which required to be forgiven. This was a high tribute to the Sabbath ordinance, and as such in harmony with all the details of this episode.
Remember me.In this prayer also Nehemiah commits his fidelity to the merciful estimate of God. But something in connection with the Sabbath, or with his retrospect of his own conduct, gives the passing prayer a peculiar pathos of humility.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
22. The Levites should cleanse themselves By certain ceremonies, as in Neh 12:30.
Come and keep the gates Literally, coming keeping the gates. The meaning is, that in addition to the ordinary gate keepers, certain Levites were detailed to see that the gates of the city were properly guarded during the Sabbath. A reason for this may have been the moral influence which the sacred character of the Levites would be supposed to exert.
To sanctify the sabbath day That is, to secure its sanctity by preventing further profanation, like that mentioned in Neh 13:15-16.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day.’
As a longer term measure Nehemiah called on the Levites, of whom many were experienced gatekeepers, to come and guard the gates. This was not in order to act in a military role, but so as to preserve the sanctity of the Sabbath, a fitting levitical duty. The religious aspect of their appointment is brought out in that they had to purify themselves. They were to have their part in preserving the holiness of Jerusalem without which God’s future promises could not come to fruition, and in order fittingly to do this it was necessary for them to be purified. The use of Levites would have disarmed the population who may well otherwise have become uneasy at the role being carried out exclusively by Nehemiah’s own men, and suggests that Nehemiah’s position enjoyed some considerable support in the Temple. As in Neh 13:1 the subsection then ends with a ‘remember –’ request to God.
Neh 13:22
‘Remember with respect to me, O my God, this also, and spare me according to the greatness of your covenant love.’
His prayer here is that God will take note of what he has done in protecting the sanctity of His Sabbath day, and will thus spare him, not as a reward, but in view of the greatness of the covenant love revealed in that same covenant that he had protected.
It is noteworthy that Nehemiah only asks God to remember what he has done when it is in direct fulfilment of His covenant. (Thus he does not ask to be remembered for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem). In Neh 5:19 it was because he had ensured the carrying out of the provisions of the Law for the poor of the land (e.g. in Deu 15:1-11), and the Law against a ruler piling up wealth (Deu 17:17). In Neh 13:14 it was because he had fulfilled the provisions of the Law by expelling an Ammonite from permanent residence in the Temple in accordance with Deuteronomy 23. Here it is because he has ensured the fulfilment of the fourth commandment (Exo 20:8-10). In Neh 13:31 it is because he has ensured the purity of the priesthood and of the Temple in accordance with the Law, has ensured that the God-chosen priests and Levites have fulfilled their legal responsibilities, has ensured sufficient supplies of wood for the sacrificial fires, and has ensured the gathering of the firstfruits, all in accordance with the Law.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Neh 13:22 And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and [that] they should come [and] keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, [concerning] this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy.
Ver. 22. And I commanded the Levites ] He might do it, as their governor. How then can Popish priests exempt themselves from the power of the civil magistrate? and say, as those shavelings did to our Henry II, when they lashed him on the bare till the blood followed, Domine, noli minari; nos enim de tali curia sumus, quae consuevit imperare regibus, et imperatoribus; that is, Sir, spare your threats; for we are of that high court of Rome which is wont to lord it over kings and emperors? Might he not have well replied, Ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi; or rather, ye limbs of Antichrist?
Come and keep the gates
To sanctify the sabbath day
Remember me, &c.
And spare me
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
greatness = abundance.
mercy = lovingkindness, or, grace.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I commanded: Neh 7:64, Neh 7:65, Neh 12:30, 2Ki 23:4, 1Ch 15:12-14, 2Ch 29:4, 2Ch 29:5, 2Ch 29:24, 2Ch 29:27, 2Ch 29:30, Isa 49:23
cleanse: Neh 12:10
sanctify: Deu 5:12
Remember: Neh 13:14, Neh 13:31, Neh 5:19, Psa 132:1-5, Isa 38:3, 2Co 1:12, 2Ti 4:7, 2Ti 4:8
spare me: Psa 25:6, Psa 25:7, Psa 51:1, Psa 130:3, Psa 130:4, Psa 130:7, Psa 143:1, Psa 143:2
greatness: or, multitude, Psa 5:7, Isa 55:7
Reciprocal: Gen 8:1 – God remembered Gen 19:29 – that God Lev 2:2 – the memorial Num 1:50 – thou shalt Jos 3:8 – command 2Ki 20:3 – remember Psa 26:11 – and Psa 106:4 – Remember Psa 112:6 – the righteous Psa 119:159 – Consider Jer 15:15 – remember Mal 3:17 – and I 2Ti 1:16 – Lord Heb 6:10 – to forget
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Neh 13:22. I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves Because the work they now were set upon, though common in its nature, yet was holy in the design of it, and had respect unto the sabbath: and, because the day in which they were to do this was the sabbath day, for the observation whereof they were obliged to purify themselves; that they should come and keep the gates The gates of the city: not daring to trust the common porters, and thinking that the Levites, by virtue of their character, would be more reverenced, and meet with more deference and respect than his domestic servants, he therefore appointed them to this office of keeping the gates on the sabbath, that all traffic might be prevented, and the day not fail to be sanctified, as it ought to be. O my God, spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy By this he intimates, that though he mentioned his good works as things wherewith God was well pleased, and which he had promised to reward, yet he neither did, nor durst, trust to their merit, or his own worthiness, but, when he had done all, he judged himself an unprofitable servant, and one that needed Gods infinite mercy to pardon all his sins, and particularly those infirmities and corruptions which adhered to his good deeds.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
13:22 And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and [that] they should come [and] {k} keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, [concerning] this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy.
(k) Meaning, of the temple that none that was unclean should enter.