10:1 U VE
CHOL ZOT ANACHNU KORTIM AMANAH VE CHOTVIM VE AL HE CHATUM SAREYNU LEVIY'ENU
KOHANEYNU
וּבְכָל זֹאת אֲנַחְנוּ כֹּרְתִים אֲמָנָה וְכֹתְבִים וְעַל הֶחָתוּם שָׂרֵינוּ לְוִיֵּנוּ כֹּהֲנֵינוּ
KJ (King James translation, 9:38): And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.
BN (BibleNet translation): But despite all this, we hereby commit ourself to the covenant, and confirm it; and our rulers, our Leviyim, and our Kohanim, set their seals to it.
BN (BibleNet translation): But despite all this, we hereby commit ourself to the covenant, and confirm it; and our rulers, our Leviyim, and our Kohanim, set their seals to it.
This verse is a continuation of the previous chapter, where, for thirty-two verses (5-37), the Levites have been leading what is presented as a prayer, but is really an abbreviated history of the times in which the Beney Yisra-El have behaved badly towards their gods, and been punished for it with bad things happening (9:2); all of it leading to the covenant renewal ceremony in which they will declare themselves deeply sorry on behalf of themelves and their ancestors, and promise to struggle harder in future.
What
exactly are they signing? Have they passed a law that makes the Torah their
formal constitution, as a secular as well as a religious document? Or is it simply
a religious covenant, and Ezra having scribed it, each of the Kohanim etc sign
their acceptance of it as a binding document? Whatever the status, signatures
are being appended. This is now it.
My fascination with the methodology of the Masoretes continues - if methodology is an accurate description. SAREYNU and KOHANEYNU are given a Yud, but LEVIY'ENU is not; the ending of all three is grammatically identical, so either it is EYNU or ENU, and nothing about the noun that precedes it affects that. We have witnessed this variant throughout the Tanach... but then we look more closely, and notice the tiniest dot on the left-hand side of the Yud in Leviyenu, a dagesh in fact, indicating a double letter. So really this is LEVIY'EYNU.
My fascination with the methodology of the Masoretes continues - if methodology is an accurate description. SAREYNU and KOHANEYNU are given a Yud, but LEVIY'ENU is not; the ending of all three is grammatically identical, so either it is EYNU or ENU, and nothing about the noun that precedes it affects that. We have witnessed this variant throughout the Tanach... but then we look more closely, and notice the tiniest dot on the left-hand side of the Yud in Leviyenu, a dagesh in fact, indicating a double letter. So really this is LEVIY'EYNU.
10:2 VE AL
HA CHATUMIM NECHEM-YAH HA TIRSHAT'A BEN CHACHAL-YAH VE TSIDKI-YAH
וְעַל הַחֲתוּמִים נְחֶמְיָה הַתִּרְשָׁתָא בֶּן חֲכַלְיָה וְצִדְקִיָּה
KJ (10:1): Now those that sealed were, Nehemiah, the Tirshatha, the son of Hachaliah, and Zidkijah,
BN: Now those that set their seal were Nechem-Yah ben Chachal-Yah, the Tirshat'a, and Tsidki-Yah...
HA CHATUMIM: Traditionally, covenants with the deity were sealed through the act of circumcision at eight days; but all of these Yehudim were, we have to assume, already circumcised at that age, and this is a covenant renewal, so it requires something different. The deity could no doubt put up a rainbow, if a divine signature was also needed, but again this is a renewal ceremony, and the thirty-two verses have stated and restated the "steadfastness" of the gods through these past thousand years of unremitting backsliding and stiff-neckery, so he/they have no need to formally resign. A prayer of this length ought, you would think, to be sufficient, and then some serious barbecuing of sacrificial beasts to formalise it; but no, the rulers need something in writing, that they can hold the people to, a Magna Carta, so to speak, signed with the official seal.
CHACHAL-YAH: see my note to Nehemiah 1:1.
TSIDKI-YAH: see the link for the many other bearers of this name in the Tanach. We know absolutely nothing about this one, not even, typical of Nechem-Yah, his patronymic.
10:3
SERA-YAH AZAR-YAH YIRME-YAH
שְׂרָיָה עֲזַרְיָה יִרְמְיָה
KJ (10:2): Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
BN: Sera-Yah, Azar-Yah, Yirme-Yah...
SERA-YAH: One of the first returnees with Zeru-Bavel had this name - see Ezra 2:2 and Nehemiah 7:7.
AZAR-YAH: I wonder if this is Ezra himself, and an official document requires the full name, not the abbreviation? See my note to Ezra 7:1. Or if his grandfather was still alive, it would have been a great honour to call him up for the sealing.
YIRME-YAH: Not the Prophet, who was exiled to death-in-Egypt a long time ago; but note that this one is Yirme-Yah, still honouring the great mother-goddess, and not yet the patriarchalised Yirme-Yahu that the later versions of the Book of Jeremiah will insist on renaming him.
10:4
PASH'CHUR AMAR-YAH MALKI-YAH
פַּשְׁחוּר אֲמַרְיָה מַלְכִּיָּה
KJ (10:3): Pashur, Amariah, Malchijah,
BN: Pash'chur, Amar-Yah, Malki-Yah...
PASH'CHUR: see Ezra 2:8 and 10:22, Nehemiah 7:43.
AMAR-YAH: see Ezra 7:3 and 10:42.
MALKI-YAH: see Ezra 10:25 and Nehemiah 3:31.
10:5
CHATUSH SHEVAN-YAH MALUCH
חַטּוּשׁ שְׁבַנְיָה מַלּוּךְ
KJ: Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,
BN: Chatush, Shevan-Yah, Maluch...
BN: Chatush, Shevan-Yah, Maluch...
CHATUSH: see Nehemiah 3:10 and Ezra 8:2. On this occasion it probably is the same person named in those two verses, though again the absence of a patronymic makes it hard to be certain.
SHEVAN-YAH: One of the Leviyim who led the covenant renewal prayers in chapter 9 (verse 4) was named Shevan-Yah; however, this cannot be him, as verse 9 tells us that this is a list of Kohanim, and verse 10 ff lists the Leviyim - unless 9:4 is in error, and there were both Kohanim and Leviyim on the platform. It must be one of the two named in verses 11 and 13, though it is impossible, without a patronymic, to say which.
MALUCH: see Ezra 10:29.
10:6 CHARIM
MEREMOT OVAD-YAH
KJ (10:5): Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
חָרִם מְרֵמוֹת עֹבַדְיָה
KJ (10:5): Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
BN: Charim, Meremot, Ovad-Yah...
CHARIM: See Ezra 2:32 and 39, 10:21 and 31, Nehemiah 3:11 and 7:42.
MEREMOT: See Nehemiah 3:4, Ezra 8:33 and 10:36.
OVAD-YAH: See Ezra 8:9.
10:7
DANI-EL GINTON BARUCH
דָּנִיֵּאל גִּנְּתוֹן בָּרוּךְ
KJ (10:6): Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
BN: Dani-El, Ginton, Baruch...
BN: Dani-El, Ginton, Baruch...
GINTON: The name will come up again later (12:4), either mis-scribed as Ginto'i, or in its Aramaic form, on the list of the priests who returned from Babylon with Zeru-Bavel. It is probably rooted in, and sprouts from, the word GAN, meaning "a garden".
BARUCH: See Nehemiah 3:20.
10:8
MESHULAM AVI-YAH MI-YAMIN
מְשֻׁלָּם אֲבִיָּה מִיָּמִן
KJ (10:7): Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,
BN: Meshulam, Avi-Yah, Mi-Yamin...
MESHULAM: See Ezra 8:16, 10:15 and 29, Nehemiah 3:30, 6:18 and 8:4.
AVI-YAH: Not mentioned previously, he too will appear on the list of the priests who returned from Babylon with Zeru-Bavel (12:4).
MI-YAMIN: See Ezra 10:25 and Nehemiah 12:5.
10:9
MA'AZ-YAH VILGAI SHEM'A-YAH ELEH HA KOHANIM
מַעַזְיָה בִלְגַּי שְׁמַעְיָה אֵלֶּה הַכֹּהֲנִים
KJ (10:8): Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah: these were the priests.
BN: Ma'az-Yah, Vilgai, Shem'a-Yah. These were the Kohanim.
MA'AZ-YAH: The name is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 24:18.
VILGAI: Appears as Bilgah in Nehemiah 12:5 and 18. Probably, like Ginton in verse 7, this is the Aramaic form of the name.
SHEM'A-YAH: See Nehemiah 3:29, 6:10, Ezra 8:13 and 10:31.
samechbreak - and surprising that there haven't been samechs after each line. The reason lies in the final word of the verse: this was a list of the Kohanim, so it was regarded as a single block, the equivalent of a horizontal line of columns in a spreadsheet. The Leviyim in the next verse move us to the next block, the next horizontal line.
10:10 VE HA
LEVIYIM VE YESHU'A BEN AZAN-YAH BINU'I MI BENEY CHENADAD KADMI-EL
וְהַלְוִיִּם וְיֵשׁוּעַ בֶּן אֲזַנְיָה בִּנּוּי מִבְּנֵי חֵנָדָד קַדְמִיאֵל
KJ (10:9): And the Levites: both Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel;
BN: And the Leviyim: [and] Yeshu'a ben Azan-Yah, Binu'i of the Beney Chenadad, Kadmi-El...
VE YESHU'A:
Why is there a conjunction? KJ translates it as "both", but in fact there are three names in the verse, so it isn't that. I think it simply is example another of man writing in foreign language he not have learned very well.
YESHU'A BEN AZAN-YAH: See Ezra 2:40, 3:2, 4:3, 5:2, 8:33 and 10:18, Nehemiah 7:7, 11, 39 and 43, 8:7, 9:4/5.
YESHU'A BEN AZAN-YAH: See Ezra 2:40, 3:2, 4:3, 5:2, 8:33 and 10:18, Nehemiah 7:7, 11, 39 and 43, 8:7, 9:4/5.
BINU'I: See Ezra 8:33, 10:30 and 10:38, Nehemiah 3:24 and 7:15.
BEN CHENEDAD: At last a patronymic; and at last we can confirm that this is definitely the same man as 3:24.
KADMI-EL: See Ezra 2:40 and 3:9, Nehemiah 7:43, 9:4/5.
10:11 VA
ACHEYHEM SHEVAN-YAH HODI-YAH KELIYT'A PEL'A-YAH CHANAN
וַאֲחֵיהֶם שְׁבַנְיָה הוֹדִיָּה קְלִיטָא פְּלָאיָה חָנָן
KJ: (10:10): And their brethren, Shebaniah, Hodijah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,
BN: And their brethren, Shevan-Yah, Hodi-Yah, Keliyt'a, Pela-Yah, Chanan...
SHEVAN-YAH: See my note to verse 5, and also look at verse 13. By not giving the patronymic, we cannot tell if these names are people we have encountered before, or simply the repetition of a common name.
KELIYT'A: See Nehemiah 8:7.
PEL'A-YAH: Ditto.
CHANAN: Lots of Chanans get named in both Ezra and Nechem-Yah, but our man has to be the one in that same list at 8:7.
10:12
MIYCH'A RICHUV CHASHAVI-YAH
מִיכָא רְחוֹב חֲשַׁבְיָה
KJ (10:11): Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah,
BN: Miych'a, Rechuv, Chashav-Yah...
MIYCH'A: The name recurs in Nehemiah 11:22, though it is unlikely to be this Miych'a.
RECHUV: Rather more familiar to us as Rachav, the name of a person, or sometimes a goddess.
CHASHAV-YAH: Not to be confused with Chashavnah, at verse 26, or with Chashavne-Yah, who appears in Nehemiah 3:10 and 9:5, this one appears in 3:17 and also in Ezra 8:19 and 24. Nor indeed with Shevan-Yah, who appears in the very next verse and alongside Chashavne-Yah in 9:5.
10:13
ZACHUR SHEREV-YAH SHEVAN-YAH
זַכּוּר שֵׁרֵבְיָה שְׁבַנְיָה
KJ (10:12): Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
BN: Zakur, Sherev-Yah, Shevan-Yah...
ZAKUR: See also Nehemiah 3:2 and Ezra 8:14, though the latter may be an error for Zabud.
SHEREV-YAH: See Ezra 8:18 and 24, Nehemiah 8:7 and 9:4/5.
SHEVAN-YAH: See the note to CHASHAV-YAH, above.
10:14 HODI-YAH VANI BENIYNU
הוֹדִיָּה בָנִי בְּנִינוּ
KJ (10:13): Hodijah, Bani, Beninu.
BN: Hodi-Yah, Vani, Beniynu.
HODI-YAH: see verse 11.
VANI: See Ezra 2:10 and 10:34, Nehemiah 8:7 and 9:4; VANI is really just a grammatical variation of BANI, who appears in that form at Ezra 10:29 and 38, and in Nehemiah 3:17, and always as BANI in English translations
BENIYNU:
samech
break
10:15
RA'SHEY HA AM PAR'OSH PACHAT MO-AV EYLAM ZAT'U BANI
רָאשֵׁי הָעָם פַּרְעֹשׁ פַּחַת מוֹאָב עֵילָם זַתּוּא בָּנִי
KJ (10:14): The chief of the people; Parosh, Pahathmoab, Elam, Zatthu, Bani,
PAR'OSH: Beney Phar'osh, the clan, in Ezra 2:3 and 10:25, Par'osh as a patronymic in Nehemiah 3:25, but as a clan again at 7:8.
PACHAT MO-AV: see my note to Ezra 2:63.
EYLAM: see the link.
BANI: see verse 14.
Is he
naming the chiefs, or the clans? Pachat Mo-Av and Eylam are definitely peoples in the plural,
but the others, and below, we have come across as individuals' names. It is entirely
possible of course that the individuals have taken their names from their land or
town of origin.
10:16 BUNI
AZ-GAD BEVAI
בֻּנִּי עַזְגָּד בֵּבָי
KJ (10:15): Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
BN: Buni, Az-Gad, Bevai...
BUNI: One of the Leviyim who led the prayers at Nehemiah 9:4 was named Buni. Again we need a patronymic to distinguish them, but probably they are two different men.
AZ-GAD: A clan at Ezra 8:12 and Nehemiah 7:17.
BEVAI: A clan at Ezra 8:11 and 10:28.
10:17
ADONI-YAH VIGVAI ADIN
אֲדֹנִיָּה בִגְוַי עָדִין
KJ (10:16): Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
BN: Adoni-Yah, Bigvai, Adin...
ADONI-YAH: A very famous son of King David, but no other mention in the Books of the Return from Exile. This one for certain is an individual being named.
BIGVAI: Named as one of the men who returned with Zeru-Bavel in Ezra 2:2, but then as a clan at 2:14 and 8:14; again as a clan at Nehemiah 7:19.
ADIN: A clan at Ezra 2:15 and 8:6; ditto at Nehemiah 7:20.
10:18 ATER CHIZIKI-YAH AZUR
אָטֵר חִזְקִיָּה עַזּוּר
KJ (10:17): Ater, Hizkijah, Azzur,
BN: Ater, Chiziki-Yah, Azur...
CHIZKI-YAH: As with Ater, but see also Ezra 2:16.
AZUR: No mention of this name elsewhere in these books, though he does make an appearance as a very minor Prophet in Jeremiah 28:1 and as one of several fairly random characters encountered by Yechezke-El in Ezekiel 11:1.
10:19
HODI-YAH CHASHUM BETSAI
הוֹדִיָּה חָשֻׁם בֵּצָי
KJ (10:18): Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai,
BN: Hodi-Yah, Chashum, Betsai...
HODI-YAH: see verses 11 and 14.
CHASHUM: A clan at Ezra 2:19 and 10:33; ditto at Nehemiah 7:22, but one of the indivisuals who stood beside Ezra for the reading of the Torah at Nehemiah 8:4.
BETSAI: A clan at Ezra 2:17 and Nehemiah 7:23.
10:20 CHARIPH ANATOT NOVAI (NEYVAI)
חָרִיף עֲנָתוֹת נוֹבָי
KJ (10:19): Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,
BN: Chariph,
Anatot, Novai (Neyvai)...
CHARIPH: A clan at Nehemiah 7:24, but see the note there.
ANATOT: Nobody in the Yehudi world would ever name their child Anatot; amongst other Kena'anim, yes, but not among the Yehudim. Anat was the wife of Ba'al, and Beit Anatot her principal shrine - Bethany in the Christian world. Clearly this clan-chief represented the former population of that town, among whom, incidentally, was the Prophet Yirme-Yah, whose father was a priest of Anat (see also my note at verse 3).
NOVAI: Need to
check other texts to know why the editor of this one thinks it's an error; Novai
would recall the shrine at Nov, on the eastern hills of Yeru-Shala'im, which King
Sha'ul destroyed because it had given refuge to the fleeing David (1 Samuel 22:6 ff), and which David later rebuilt.
10:21
MAGPI'ASH MESHULAM CHEZIR
מַגְפִּיעָשׁ מְשֻׁלָּם חֵזִיר
KJ (10:20): Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
BN: Magpi'ash,
Mishulam, Chezir...
MAGPI'ASH: We shall have to leave this one as a mystery, and then even more so when Gesenius tries to solve it, and argues for "killer of moths" as its root meaning (ASH - עש - being "a moth", MAGEPHA "a slaughter", as in 1 Samuel 4:17, though he could as well have gone for "plague of moths", based on Exodus 9:14, Numbers 14:37, 17:13, several others).
MESHULAM: See verse 8.
CHEZIR: No, there is more to this text than meets the eye. The spice boys in the previous verse, moths, and now pigs - yes, pigs, a CHAZIR is what you can't eat because it's pork. I am beginning to wonder if "clans" is too restrictive a title. We have seen previously that Beney could mean Guilds, and is even used for the members of choirs and orchestras. Are these RA'SHEY HA AM perhaps the "heads of the people" in other ways too: Anatot gave us what was probably a town's mayor, so why can't these be the head of some of the key aspects of the economy, the equivalent of today's Chamber of Commerce perhaps. I am simply speculating.
10:22
MESHEYZAV-EL TSADOK YADU'A
מְשֵׁיזַבְאֵל צָדוֹק יַדּוּעַ
KJ (10:21): Meshezabeel, Zadok, Jaddua,
BN: Mesheyzav-El, Tsadok, Yadu'a...
MESHEYZAV-EL: Nehemiah 3:4 has this name for the grandfather of one of the wall-repairers, and the name will recur in 11:24. Brown-Driver-Briggs reckon that it was a Yehudisation of an Assyrian name that they picked up during the exile in Babylon, though there is also an Aramaic equivalent - "God delivers" the meaning. The Aramaic would be שֵׁיזֵיב - Sheyzav - the Assyrian Shûzubu or possibly Shaph'el ezêbu, the Babylonian Mushizib as in two known names from the cuneiform documents: Mushizib-Marduk and Mushizib-ílu.
TSADOK: The first Kohen Gadol of them all, at the time of King David (click here for George Handel's version), and the one who anointed King Shelomoh (Solomon), which is why Handel set it for his own monarch's coronation hymn; though the Tsadok who gave his name to the Sadducees was a later bearer of the name.
YADU'A: Having a Tsadok among the "chiefs of the people", when the Kohanim and Leviyim have been listed separately, may very well just be coincidence, because the man's parents liked the name, and his grandfather had it... having two such names in the same verse, however, requires at least noting the fact. And jumping forward to Nehemiah 12, which lists all the Kohanim and Leviyim who accompanied Zeru-Bavel on the original return from Babylon, and at verse 11 specifically the heads of the priestly families, almost every name in this chapter re-appears... but the easiest is to go there yourself and see it.
10:23
PELAT-YAH CHANAN ANA-YAH
פְּלַטְיָה חָנָן עֲנָיָה
KJ (10:22): Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,
BN: Pelat-Yah, Chanan, Ana-Yah...
PELAT-YAH: Reckoned by most etymologists (click here) to be the Yehudit equivalent of MESHEYZAV-EL, in the previous verse, as in "whom Yah delivers". Pelet, however, is the other possible explanation for PELISHTIM, the "Philistines", for which see my link under their name. Worth looking at 1 Chronicles 3 as well, especially verse 21, which reckons Pelat-Yah was a grandson of Zeru-Bavel, and if that is our Zeru-Bavel,as it appears to be, then that has a significant impact on our dating, and our understanding, of the Book of Chronicles.
CHANAN: Not the same one listed at verse 11.
ANA-YAH: One of those who stood with Ezra for the reading of the Torah at Nehemiah 8:4 was named Ana-Yah; highly likely it was the same man as here.
CHANAN: Not the same one listed at verse 11.
ANA-YAH: One of those who stood with Ezra for the reading of the Torah at Nehemiah 8:4 was named Ana-Yah; highly likely it was the same man as here.
10:24
HOSHE'A CHANAN-YAH CHASHUV
הוֹשֵׁעַ חֲנַנְיָה חַשּׁוּב
KJ (10:23): Hoshea, Hananiah, Hashub,
BN: Hoshe'a,
Chanan-Yah, Chashuv...
HOSHE'A: No other mention in the Books of the Return from Exile, the name is one of many from the root that means "saviour", including Yehoshu'a, David's father Yishai, the prophets Hoshe'a (Hosea) and Yesha-Yahu (Isaiah), and Jesus later on.
CHANAN-YAH: See my note to CHANANI at Nehemiah 1:2, and also 3:30 and 7:2. The name is also included at Ezra 10:28.
CHASHUV: See Nehemiah 3:11 and 23.
10:25
HALOCHESH PILCH'A SHOVEK
הַלּוֹחֵשׁ פִּלְחָא שׁוֹבֵק
KJ (10:24): Hallohesh, Pileha, Shobek,
BN: Halochesh, Pilch'a, Shovek...
HALOCHESH:
Is that a name or a title? As Nechem-Yah himself is Ha Tirshat'a. The root means "to whisper", but it is used in Isaiah 26:16 for the recitation of prayers in a quiet voice, and it is entirely imaginable that this was regarded as, even trained as, a specialist skill in the Temple community, in which case the name would be a title. Having said which, Isaiah 3:3 uses it for that somewhat melodramatic manner in which sorcerers and fakirs pronounce their oracles, and Jeremiah 8:18 makes it hiss rather than whisper, the NACHASH - the serpent - as well as the LACHASH; from the same root.
PILCH'A: Again I suspect a job-title rather more than a name. The word is Aramaic - the fourth-letter Aleph is the give-away of that. The Yehudit equivalent is PELACH, which has to do with "slicing" and "splitting open" (Song of Songs 4:3, 1 Samuel 30:12), and is used for a mill-stone (Judges 9:53, the upper part being the PELACH RECHEV and the lower the PELACH TACHTIT (2 Samuel 11:21, Job 41:16. How we get from this to a prayer-service is difficult to deduce, but in Ezra 7:19 we find PALCHAN with precisely that meaning. My longer note at Judges 9:53 might help explain some at least of this. And remember that the grinding of the corn was an ancient tradition in the Temple in Yeru-Shala'im - the site was purchased by King David, but previously it had been a threshing-floor, dedicated to Ornah, or Ornan, or Araunah, depending on which text you prefer.
SHOVEK: This one defeats me. The root suggests "leaving", even "forsaking", but it is rarely used. Not an obvious name for a normal child, even less so for the title of a leader of the people.
10:26
RECHUM CHASHAVNAH MA'ASEY-YAH
רְחוּם חֲשַׁבְנָה מַעֲשֵׂיָה
KJ (10:25): Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,
BN: Rechum,
Chashavnah, Ma'asey-Yah...
RECHUM: See Ezra 2:2 and 4:8 ff, Nehemiah 3:17 and 7:7; all four different bearers of the same name.
CHASHAVNAH: See my note to CHASHAV-YAH at verse 12.
MA'ASEY-YAH: See Ezra 10:18 and 30, Nehemiah 3:23, 8:4 and 7.
10:27 VA
ACHI-YAH CHANAN ANAN
וַאֲחִיָּה חָנָן עָנָן
KJ (10:26): And Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,
BN: And Achi-Yah, Chanan, Anan...
BN: And Achi-Yah, Chanan, Anan...
ACHI-YAH: Yet one more time I feel the need to point out just how many Yah names there were at this time.
CHANAN: See verses 11 and 23.
ANAN: The word means "cloud", which makes it as problematic as SHOVEK in the previous verse. I can imagine a priest taking it as his clerical name - I once played Chief Red Cloud in a school production of Arthur Kopit's "Indians"; a Yehudi equivalent would be alluding to the pillar of cloud that guided the Habiru through the Mosaic wilderness (Exodus 13:21).
10:28
MALUCH CHARIM BA'ANAH
מַלּוּךְ חָרִם בַּעֲנָה
KJ (10:27): Malluch, Harim, Baanah.
BN: Maluch, Charim, Ba'anah.
MALUCH: The name also occurred in verse 5.
CHARIM: As did this one in verse 6.
BA'ANAH: And this one in Ezra 2:2 and Nehemiah 7:7.
10:29 U
SHE'AR HA AM HA KOHANIM HA LEVIYIM HA SHO'ARIM HA MESHORERIM HA NETIYNIM VE CHOL
HA NIVDAL ME AMEY HA ARATSOT EL TORAT HA ELOHIM NESHEYHEM BENEYHEM U VENOTEYHEM
KOL YODE'A MEVIN
וּשְׁאָר הָעָם הַכֹּהֲנִים הַלְוִיִּם הַשּׁוֹעֲרִים הַמְשֹׁרְרִים הַנְּתִינִים וְכָל הַנִּבְדָּל מֵעַמֵּי הָאֲרָצוֹת אֶל תּוֹרַת הָאֱלֹהִים נְשֵׁיהֶם בְּנֵיהֶם וּבְנֹתֵיהֶם כֹּל יוֹדֵעַ מֵבִין
KJ (10:28): And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinims, and all they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one having knowledge, and having understanding;
BN: And the rest of the people, the Kohanim, the Leviyim, the porters, the singers, the Netinim, and everyone who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands through the Torah of their god, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one that had knowledge and understanding...
NETIYNIM: See the link; they have come up repeatefly in both Ezra and Nechem-Yah (eg Ezra 2:43, Nehemiah 3:26).
10:30
MACHAZIYKIM AL ACHEYHEM ADIYREYHEM U VA'IM BE ALAH U VISHVU'AH LALECHET BE
TORAT HA ELOHIM ASHER NITNAH BE YAD MOSHEH EVED HA ELOHIM VI LISHMOR VE
LA'ASOT ET KOL MITSVOT YHVH ADONEYNU U MISHPATAV VE CHUKAV
מַחֲזִיקִים עַל אֲחֵיהֶם אַדִּירֵיהֶם וּבָאִים בְּאָלָה וּבִשְׁבוּעָה לָלֶכֶת בְּתוֹרַת הָאֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר נִתְּנָה בְּיַד מֹשֶׁה עֶבֶד הָאֱלֹהִים וְלִשְׁמוֹר וְלַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת כָּל מִצְוֹת יְהוָה אֲדֹנֵינוּ וּמִשְׁפָּטָיו וְחֻקָּיו
KJ (10:29): They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God's law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes;
BN: ...joined with their kinsmen, and their leaders, both taking the oath and accepting the sanctions, to follow the Torah of Elohim, which was given by the hand of Mosheh the servant of YHVH, and to observe and follow all the commandments of YHVH our lord, and his ordinances and his statutes...
ALAH U VISHVU'AH: This is not the "cursings and blessings" of Mounts Eyval and Gerizim, but rather a part of the broader understanding of KOL YODE'A MEVIN atthe end of the previous verse: an acceptance that laws carry punishments if they are disobeyed.
The mixing
of Elohim and YHVH here, as throughout the Torah, but it is unusually explicit in its precise separation of the two: the Torah belongs to all the gods, but it was given to Mosheh by YHVH, and now YHVH has predominance.
10:31 VA
ASHER LO NITEN BENOTEYNU LE AMEY HA ARETS VE ET BENOTEYHEM LO NIKACH LE VANEYNU
וַאֲשֶׁר לֹא נִתֵּן בְּנֹתֵינוּ לְעַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ וְאֶת בְּנֹתֵיהֶם לֹא נִקַּח לְבָנֵינוּ
KJ (10:30): And that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons:
BN: And that we would not give our daughters to the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons.
Confirming
that patrilocal marriage is now the norm - and note the variant word-order, which double confirms it: women in this world go to live with their husbands. And racial purity!
10:32 VE
AMEY HA ARETS HA MEVIY'IM ET HA MAKACHOT VE CHOL SHEVER BE YOM HA SHABAT LIMKOR
LO NIKACH ME'HEM BA SHABAT U VE YOM KODESH VE NITOSH ET HA SHANAH HA SHEVIY'IT
U MAS'A CHOL YAD
וְעַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ הַמְבִיאִים אֶת הַמַּקָּחוֹת וְכָל שֶׁבֶר בְּיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת לִמְכּוֹר לֹא נִקַּח מֵהֶם בַּשַּׁבָּת וּבְיוֹם קֹדֶשׁ וְנִטֹּשׁ אֶת הַשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִית וּמַשָּׁא כָל יָד
KJ (10:31): And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.
BN: And if the peoples of the land bring goods or any victuals to sell on Shabat, that we would not buy them on Shabat, or on any holy day; and that we would forego [the produce of] the seventh year, and release all debtors from their debts.
HA SHANAH HA SHIVIY'IT: Tthe Jubilee laws are given in both Leviticus 25 and Deuteronomy 15:1. See especially my notes to Leviticus 25:9, which makes the 7x7x7 link formal.For an overview of the Laws of the Yovel (Jubilee), click here.
10:33 VE
HE'EMADNU ALEYNU MITSVOT LATET ALEYNU SHELIYSHIT HA SHEKEL BA SHANAH LA AVODAT
BEIT ELOHEYNU
וְהֶעֱמַדְנוּ עָלֵינוּ מִצְוֹת לָתֵת עָלֵינוּ שְׁלִישִׁית הַשֶּׁקֶל בַּשָּׁנָה לַעֲבֹדַת בֵּית אֱלֹהֵינוּ
KJ (10:32): Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God;
BN: And we also established local bye-laws for ourselves, to tax ourselves annually a third of a shekel for the maintenance of the Temple...
This is
really the first time that the Temple has been mentioned in any active sense by Nechem-Yah, and even then he does not use the word Mikdash, and still insists on ELOHEYNU, not YHVH.
10:34 LE
LECHEM HA MA'ARECHET U MINCHAT HA TAMID U LE OLAT HA TAMID HA SHABATOT HE
CHADASHIM LA MO'ADIM VI LA KADASHIM VE LA CHATA'OT LECHAPER AL YISRA-EL VE CHOL
MELE'CHET BEIT ELOHEYNU
לְלֶחֶם הַמַּעֲרֶכֶת וּמִנְחַת הַתָּמִיד וּלְעוֹלַת הַתָּמִיד הַשַּׁבָּתוֹת הֶחֳדָשִׁים לַמּוֹעֲדִים וְלַקֳּדָשִׁים וְלַחַטָּאוֹת לְכַפֵּר עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְכֹל מְלֶאכֶת בֵּית אֱלֹהֵינוּ
KJ (10:33): For the shewbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.
BN: For the Shewbread, and for the continual meal-offering, and for the continual burnt-offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the appointed seasons, and for the holy things, and for the sin-offerings to make atonement for Yisra-El, and for all the work of the house of our god.
"take fine flour, and bake twelve chalot with it: two tenth parts of an ephah shall be in each chalah. And you shall set them in two rows, six on each row, on the pure table before YHVH. And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, to flavour the bread which is the memorial-part of the fire-offering to YHVH. Every Sabbath day, for ever, he shall arrange this offering before YHVH; it is part of the eternal covenant of the Beney Yisra-El."
So, yes, the Lechem Panim clearly is the same as the Lechem ha Ma'arechet, but it is also significant to note which term was used in Nechem-Yah's time, because Leviticus is regarded by many scholars as belonging to the epoch after Ezra and Nechem-Yah; if correct, it would suggest that Lechem Panim, or Lechem ha Panim, were introduced later, and then the text modified accordingly.
samech
break.
For a fuller account of the Shewbread, click here. For a kletzmer-driven recipe for baking your own chalah, click here.
HA TAMID...OLAT HA TAMID: Click here.
HE CHADASHIM LA MO'ADIM: New moons and fixed festivals. Only three of these latter appear to have existed at this time, the "Pilgrim" festivals Pesach, Shavu'ot and Sukot; Rosh ha Shanah, as we have seen in both Ezra and Nechem-Yah, was in process of being shifted from the spring to the autumn, while Yom Kippur was either not yet there, or in process of being created. All other festivals in the modern Jewish calendar, including those like Purim and Chanukah which belong historically to the Biblical epoch, are Rabbinic festivals inaugurated at whatever later date.
CHATA'OT LECHAPER: these "sin-offerings to make atonement for Yisra-El" are more likely the regular Vidu'i and Selichot which Ezra is performing in Ezra 9:3 ff, and Nechem-Yah in Nehemiah 1:4 ff, than the inauguration of Yom Kippur. See my notes to each of those texts.
HA TAMID...OLAT HA TAMID: Click here.
HE CHADASHIM LA MO'ADIM: New moons and fixed festivals. Only three of these latter appear to have existed at this time, the "Pilgrim" festivals Pesach, Shavu'ot and Sukot; Rosh ha Shanah, as we have seen in both Ezra and Nechem-Yah, was in process of being shifted from the spring to the autumn, while Yom Kippur was either not yet there, or in process of being created. All other festivals in the modern Jewish calendar, including those like Purim and Chanukah which belong historically to the Biblical epoch, are Rabbinic festivals inaugurated at whatever later date.
CHATA'OT LECHAPER: these "sin-offerings to make atonement for Yisra-El" are more likely the regular Vidu'i and Selichot which Ezra is performing in Ezra 9:3 ff, and Nechem-Yah in Nehemiah 1:4 ff, than the inauguration of Yom Kippur. See my notes to each of those texts.
10:35 VE HA
GORALOT HIPALNU AL KURBAN HA ETSIM HA KOHANIM HA LEVIYIM VE HA AM LEHAV'I LE
VEIT ELOHEYNU LE VEIT AVOTEYNU LE I'TIM MEZUMANIM SHANAH VI SHANAH LEVA'ER AL
MIZBACH YHVH ELOHEYNU KA KATUV BA TORAH
וְהַגּוֹרָלוֹת הִפַּלְנוּ עַל קֻרְבַּן הָעֵצִים הַכֹּהֲנִים הַלְוִיִּם וְהָעָם לְהָבִיא לְבֵית אֱלֹהֵינוּ לְבֵית אֲבֹתֵינוּ לְעִתִּים מְזֻמָּנִים שָׁנָה בְשָׁנָה לְבַעֵר עַלמִזְבַּח יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ כַּכָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה
KJ (10:34): And we cast the lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, after the houses of our fathers, at times appointed year by year, to burn upon the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the law:
BN: And we cast lots, the Kohanim, the Leviyim, and the people, for the wood-offering, to bring it into the house of our gods, to the shrine of our ancestors, at times appointed, year by year, to burn upon the altar of YHVH our god, as it is written in the Torah.
GORALOT: Is
this the same "lots" as at the festival of Purim? How is it undertaken. Bingo? Urim and Tumim? Lots were also cast in the Book of Joshua, to determine which tribe inherited which area of land (see, for example, Joshua 14:2, 16:1).
BEIT AVOTEYNU: The first time, I believe, that ancestor-worship has been stated quite this explicitly, at all, let alone in relation to the Temple.
10:36 U
LEHAV'I ET BIKUREY ADMATENU U VIKUREY KOL PERI CHOL ETS SHANAH VE SHANAH LE
VEIT YHVH
וּלְהָבִיא אֶת בִּכּוּרֵי אַדְמָתֵנוּ וּבִכּוּרֵי כָּל פְּרִי כָל עֵץ שָׁנָה בְשָׁנָה לְבֵית יְהוָה
KJ (10:35): And to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the house of the LORD:
BN: And to bring the first-fruits of our land, and the first-fruits of all fruit of every kind of tree, year by year, to the house of YHVH.
BIKUREY ADMATENU: Shavu'ot to this day goes by the secondary name CHAG HA BIKURIM, the festival of the first-fruits. See Deuteronomy 26:1-11, which may well be the very text that Nechem-Yah is referring to here.
LE VEIT YHVH: The third name for the Temple in as many verses. BEIT ELOHEYNU. BEIT AVOTEYNU. BEIT YHVH. So many very different religious backgrounds that needed to be accommodated, so that everyone could feel that they belonged in the new theology now being imposed universally. Exactly the same is true of the "historical" legends recorded in the Torah, and in Judges, Joshua, Samuel as well.
10:37 VE ET
BECHOROT BANEYNU U VEHEMTENU KA KATUV BA TORAH VE ET BECHOREY VEKAREYNU VE
TSO'NEYNU LEHAV'I LE VEIT ELOHEYNU LA KOHANIM HA MESHARITIM BI VEIT ELOHEYNU
וְאֶת בְּכֹרוֹת בָּנֵינוּ וּבְהֶמְתֵּנוּ כַּכָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה וְאֶת בְּכוֹרֵי בְקָרֵינוּ וְצֹאנֵינוּ לְהָבִיא לְבֵית אֱלֹהֵינוּ לַכֹּהֲנִים הַמְשָׁרְתִים בְּבֵית אֱלֹהֵינוּ
KJ (10:36): Also the firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, unto the priests that minister in the house of our God:
BN: Also the first-born of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the Torah, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our god, to the Kohanim who minister in the house of our gods.
BECHOROT BANEYNU: Not for sacrifice however. The law of Pidyon Ha Ben is already in force - see Exodus 34:20.
VEHEMTENU: That should be VEHEMOTENU, but I can't see a dot above the Mem. Probably just my fading eyesight.
The words as written are not in the Torah anywhere; Nechem-Yah is paraphrasing, not quoting. The source is Exodus 22:28-29.
10:38 VE ET
RE'SHIT ARIYSOTEYNU U TERUMOTEYNU U PERI CHOL ETS TIYROSH VE YITS'HAR NAV'I LA
KOHANIM EL LISHCHOT BEIT ELOHEYNU U MA'SAR ADMATENU LA LEVIYIM VI HEM HA
LEVIYIM HA ME'ASIRIM BE CHOL AREY AVODATENU
וְאֶת רֵאשִׁית עֲרִיסֹתֵינוּ וּתְרוּמֹתֵינוּ וּפְרִי כָל עֵץ תִּירוֹשׁ וְיִצְהָר נָבִיא לַכֹּהֲנִים אֶל לִשְׁכוֹת בֵּית אֱלֹהֵינוּ וּמַעְשַׂר אַדְמָתֵנוּ לַלְוִיִּם וְהֵם הַלְוִיִּם הַמְעַשְּׂרִים בְּכֹל עָרֵי עֲבֹדָתֵנוּ
KJ (10:37): And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.
BN: And that we should bring the first of our dough, and our heave-offerings, and the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our god; and the tithes of our land to the Leviyim; for they, the Leviyim, take the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.
ARIYSENU: My instinct is to translate this as "leaven", and to assume that it is the chamets that is burned before the start of Pesach (Exodus 12:20 and 13:7); and to some degree it may be, because chamets can include wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt or any other breed of grass that happens to grow in your locality. But the word used here is ARIYSAH, and it is rather more specific. Numbers 15:20 and 21 is its only occurrence in the Torah, and clearly it is to this that Nechem-Yah is referring here. Ezekiel 44:30 is its only other occurrence in the Tanach, besides the one here, and from it we can state categorically that this is not the Pesach chamets being set aside, but a very specific recipe for the feeding of the priests. The Talmud picks up its explanation from here (Nedarim 41b and 49a), though it uses the Aramaic ARSAN rather than the Yehudit ARIYSAH, and regards it quite specifically as polenta made from barley, though most Europeans reckon you can make polenta just as well from cornmeal.
TERUMOTEYNU: AS with VEHEMTENU in the previous verse; this time I have put the dot in, to show the difference.
LISHCHOT
BEIT ELOHEYNU : Solomon's Temple had side-chapels (1 Kings 6:5 ff); is
that what they have echoed in this one? If so - why? Cathedrals and churches
have side-chapels because Christianity embraces multiple religions, so while
Tammuz is being worshipped at the altar or in the nave, various "saints", or the
Lady Inanna in her Virgin Mary robes of lapis lazuli blue, are worshipped
separately in the "chambers". Is this why we have the apparent ambiguity of
YHVH and Eloheynu throughout these verses - because even now the proto-Jews are still
fundamentally polytheistic, because patriarchal monotheism is yet to become
predominant?
וְהָיָה הַכֹּהֵן בֶּן אַהֲרֹן עִם הַלְוִיִּם בַּעְשֵׂר הַלְוִיִּם וְהַלְוִיִּם יַעֲלוּ אֶת מַעֲשַׂר הַמַּעֲשֵׂר לְבֵית אֱלֹהֵינוּ אֶל הַלְּשָׁכוֹת לְבֵית הָאוֹצָר
KJ (10:38): And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house.
BN (literal translation): And the priest the son of Aharon shall be with the Leviyim, when the Leviyim take tithes; and the Leviyim shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our god, to the chambers, into the treasure-house.
BN (explanatory translation): And a priest who is a descendant of Aharon shall accompany the Leviyim at the time that the tithes are collected, and the Leviyim will take all the tithes that have been collected, at one and the same time, up to the secure-room in the Treasury.
BEN AHARON: Returns us to a theme much explored throughout these commentaries, the point of time at which it became a Law that only true descendants of the tribe of Levi could serve as Leviyim, and only those who were direct descendants of Aharon himself could serve as Kohanim. It would appear from this verse that this still has not come into full force, though the phrasing suggests that it must be very close.
VEIT HA
OTSAR: takes us by surprise, but then so does the English Finance Ministry
being called the Treasury: the place where you keep the treasure - which in the
English case was most definitely stolen goods, the results of the piracies of
Drake and Raleigh et al. Were the Kohanim guilty of the same when they
collected the tithes? This was not, after all, what Jesus later complained
about, when he complained about the Temple; that was its misuse, like St Paul's
Cathedral in Elizabethan London, as a covered market. But then look at Nehemiah 13. The whole point here is that he doesn't trust the Leviyim to take every last shekel to the cashpoint, and needs someone he can trust to be with them; we shall return to this when we get to chapter 13.
10:40 KI EL
HA LESHACHOT YAVIY'U VENEY YISRA-EL U VENEY HA LEVI ET TERUMAT HA DAGAN HA
TIYROSH VI HA YITS'HAR VE SHAM KELEY HA MIKDASH VI HA KOHANIM HA MEISHARTIM VI
HA SHO'ARIM VE HA MESHORERIM VE LO NA'AZOV ET BEIT ELOHEYNU
כִּי אֶל הַלְּשָׁכוֹת יָבִיאוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וּבְנֵי הַלֵּוִי אֶת תְּרוּמַת הַדָּגָן הַתִּירוֹשׁ וְהַיִּצְהָר וְשָׁם כְּלֵי הַמִּקְדָּשׁ וְהַכֹּהֲנִים הַמְשָׁרְתִים וְהַשּׁוֹעֲרִים וְהַמְשֹׁרְרִים וְלֹא נַעֲזֹב אֶת בֵּית אֱלֹהֵינוּ
KJ (10:39): For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the corn, of the new wine, and the oil, unto the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God.
BN: For the Beney Yisra-El and the Beney Ha Levi shall bring the heave-offering of the corn, of the wine, and of the oil, to the chambers, where the vessels of the sanctuary are stored, and where the priests who minister, and the porters, and the singers [have their offices]; and we will not forsake the house of our gods.
VENEY HA
LEVI: where does that definite article come from? It isn't there for the Beney
Yisra-El, so it can't be dismissed as a matter of grammar.
And obviously there is no verse 40 in the King James version.
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