Exposition of the Whole Bible

care of the repairs of the ‘temple and other things;,

HIS chapter gives an account of the chief of the priefts and Levites in the days of Zerubbabel, Fefoua, Foiakim, Eliafbib, and Nehemiab, y, 1—26. of the dedication of the wall of Feru/alem, and of the joy expreffed on that occafion, ¥. 27—43. and of the appointment of fome perfons over the treafuries for the priefts, Levites, fingers, and porters, ¥. 44—47.

y. 1. Now thefe are the priefts and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the fon of Shealtiel, and Fefoua, &c.] Who went up from the captivity in Babylon to Ferufalem with them; the one was the prince, the other the high-prieft, the fame with Yofbua the high-prieft, Zech. iii. 1. the names of the priefts are given in this and the fix following verfes: Seraiah, Feremiah, Ezra, not Jeremiah the prophet, who cannot be thought to live fo long as through the captivity; but Ezra may be Ezra the prieft and fcribe, who might come up with Zerubbabel to Ferufalem, and return to Babylon again, and from thence come again as he did, in the feventh year of Artaxerxes, Ezra vii. 1. 6, 7. tho’ this by fome ™is not thought very probable.

rieft. 2 ¥. 8. Morecver the Levites, &c.} Who lived in the fame times: were Fefhua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Fudah, and Mattaniah; moft of thefe are made mention of in ch. viii. 7. and x. g, 10. and xi. 15. 17. the laft of them is faid to be over the thank/giving, be and bis brethren; he was the precentor, or had the directing and conducting of the fongs of the temple, particularly the thankfgiving-fong at the daily facrifices; archi takes the word here ufed to be the name of a mufical inftrument, ¥. 9, Alfo Bakbukiab and Unni, &c.] Two other Levites; the firft is mentioned in ch. xi. 17. their brethren, were over againft them in the watches; the Levites were divided into 24 wards, and thefe were placed one againft another, 1 Chron, xxiii. 6. and xxvi. 12.

¥.10, 11, And Fefoua begat Foiakim, Foiakim alfo begat Eliafbib, and “Eliafbib begat ‘foiada, and Foiada begat Fonathan, and Fonathan begat Faddua.| This is an account of the high-priefts in fucceffion in the fecond temple, the firft fix of them; and if JFaddua, the laft-mentioned, is the fame with Jad- dus, as Fofepbus " fappofes, who went forth in his - pontifical robes to meet -d/exander the great returning from his conquefts of Tyre and Gaza, from whom he obtained many favours, and whom he had into the temple, and fhewed him the prophecy of Daniel concerning himfelf; this paragraph muft be written by another hand, and.not Vebemiah, fince it can hardly be thought he fhould live fo long; and as to his times, this account of him, or the hiftory of, his own times, feems not to have gore through the priefthood of Elja/aib, the third of thofe high-priefts, fee ch. xiii. 28. and to reach no farther than to the 32d of Darius Hy/ta/pis, ch. xiii. 6. this fragment therefore might be inferted by fome godly man under a divine dire¢tion in aftertimes, as we have feveral infertions in the books of

Mojfes and Fofoua of the like kind; and particu- - larly in 1 Chron. iii. 19. ec. where the genealogy of Zerubbabel is carried down beyond the times of the Maccabees, and fo could not be placed there by Ezra.

¥. 12—21. And in the days of Foiakim, were prices, the chief of the fathers, &c.| This was the fonand fucceffor of Fefhua, or Fofhua, the firft high-prieft of the fecond temple; the principal men of the priefthood in his time were as follow, and who were the fons, or however the defcendants of the priefts in the time of his father before-mentioned: thefe were Meraiah, Hananiah, Mefbullam, Febohanan, Jonathan, Fofeph, Adna, Helkat, Zechariah, (the prophet of that name) Mefbullam, Zichri, Piltai, Shammua, Febonathan, Mattenai, Uzzs, Kallai, Eber, Hafbabiah, Nethaneel; in all 20, whereas there are 22 named, asin his father’s days, there being no fons or defcendants from two of them, namely, Hattufh and Miamin.

¥. 22. The Levites in the days of Eliafhib, 8c.} The third prieft of the fecond temple: ‘Yoiada; he was the fon of Eliafbid, and the fourth high-prieft: and ‘Fohanan, the fame with Jonathan, ¥. 11. and whom Fofephus ° alfo calls Foannes: and faddua; the fame as in ¥.'10. in the days of each of thele were recorded chief of the fathers, the principal men among the Levites: alfo the priefis, to the reign of Darius the Perfian;, thought to be Darius Codomannus, the laft king of the Per/fian monarchy, whom Alexander conquered; and if fo, this verfe muft be inferted after the death of Nehemiah, and as the next verfe alfo feems to be; for thefe two verfes interrupt the natural order of the relation: an account is given of the priefts in the times of Foiakim, ¥. 12—21. thefe veries being inferted, the account goes on, ¥. 24. &c. of the chief of the Levites in the times of Foiakine only. eee

¥. 23. The fons of Levi, the chi f of the fathers, were written in the book of the chronicles, &c.} Some think this refers to 1 Chron, ix. 14. Se. until the days of fohanan the fon of Eliafbib, from whence Dr. Lightfoot ® concludes, that the Chronicles were written by Ezra in the times of this “fohanan, °:

¥. 24. And the chief of the Levites, &c }) Here the thread of the hiftory of Nehemiah, interrupted by the infertion of the two preceding verles, is carried from the priefts to the Levites in the tintes of the third high-priet: Hafbabiab, Sherebiah, and Fefoua the fon of Kadmiel; thefe were fingers, fince it follows: with their brethren over againft them, to praife and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David ihe man of God, ward over againft ward; which office of theirs they performed by turns in courfes, as David under a divine direction ordered, fee 1 Chron. xxiii. 5. 36. ¥.25. Mattaxiab, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Mefoullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters, &c.] At the gates of the temple, fee 1 Chron. 1X. £5, 16, 17. keeping the ward, at the threfbolds of the gates; of the temple, where they ftood and watched; or at the coll: ction of the gates, meaning either where the people were gathered together, or where money gathered was laid up; and {o fome render it, the treafuries of the gates; unlefs.a place called 4fup: pim fhould be meant, 1 Chron. xxvi. 17. 17. ¥. 26. Thefe were in the days of Foiakim the fon of Fefoua, the fon of Fozadak, &c.} Who was high-prieft in Badylon, and whofe grandfon was now. high-prieft in the time referred to: and in the days of Nehemiah the governor; the writer of this book: and of Ezra the prieft, the feribe; who was cotemporary with him. | ¥. 27. And at the dedication of the wall of Ferufalem, &c.]_ 1n which many priefts and Levites affifted, and feems to be the reafon of the above account of them; the dedication of the wall takes in the whole city, gates and houfes, y. go. and if a new houfe was to be dedicated, much more a new city, and efpecially the holy city, in which ftood the temple of the Lord, fee Deut. xx. 5. this dedication was made by prayer and fongs of praife, as follow, and no doubt by facrifices, and was kept as a feftival; and indeed, according to the Fewi b writers *, it was annually obferved on\the 7th of Elul, or Auguft; it was on the 25th of that month that the wall was finifhed, ch. vi. 15, but the gates were not fet up, and all things for the dedication were not ready till Elu/, or Augu/ft following; and then all being finifhed, they made and obferved the 7th of that month as a feftival: they fought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Ferufa- “lem, to keep the dedication with gladne/s, to afit in the folemnity of the day both with vocal and in- ~ftrumental mufic, as follows: both with thank/- giving, and with finging; with fongs of praife and thanktulne{s vocally, that they had been able, notwithftanding all the malice of their enemies, to build the wall in fo fhort a time; or witha fong, perhaps the 3oth pfalm was fung on this occafion: with eymbals, pfalteries, and with barps; fome playing on one, and fome on another, which were the three principal inftruments of mufic ufed by them, fee 1 Chron. xv. 16. ¥.28. And the fons of the fingers gathered them- Selves together, &c.] Such of the Levites that were _ fingers, and their fons that were trained up as fuch; both out of the plain country round about Ferufalem; the plain of Yordan by Fericho, and the plain of Saron and Lydda: and from the villages of Netophathi; fee 1 Chron. ix. 16. here they dwelt, when not in their courfes, to minifter in the temple; but on this public occafion were fummoned together. ¥. 29. Alfo from the houfe of Gilgal, 8c. ] Which likewife was in a champain country in the plains of Jericho, Deut. xi. 30. Fofo.v. 9, 10. and out of the fields of Geba; which was a Levitical city in the tribe of Benjamin, Fofo. xxi. 17. and Azmaveth, the fame with Beth-azmaveth, ch. vii. 28. where it follows Anathoth and Netcphab, as it does in Ezra ii, 24. and was very probably in the tribe of Benjamin: for the fingers bad builded them villages round about Ferufalem; that they might be near it, to do their duty when required; by which it appears that the faid places were near Ferufalem.

¥.30. And the priefts and the Levites purified themfelves, &c.] By wathing their bodies and their clothes, perhaps by {prinkling the water of purification on them, fee Numb. viii, 6,7. 21, and xix. g.

¥. 31. Then I brought up the princes of Fudab upon the wall, &c.] _ Which was fo broad as to walk upon it, and there was a proceffion of the princes On it at its dedication, and here jis defcribed the manner of it; the princes of Benjamin mutt be included here: and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks; he divided the people who were met together to praife God on this occafion into two companies: whereof one went on the right hand upon the wall; that is, on the fouthern part of it: towards the dung-gate; of which fee ch. ii. 13. fome Fewifh writers, as Farchi and Ben Me- ° lech, give a different fenfe of MIWN ¢nw, which we render ¢wo companies, and take them to be two euchariftical loaves of leavened bread, with which a rite of ceremony was performed at the enlargement of a court or city; at the utmoft boundary of which thofe were carried, and one was eaten and the other burnt *; which rite is thus defcribed by Maimo-

nides *, ** How do they add to a city? the Sanbedrim make two euchariftical facrifices, and the take the leavened bread in them, and the Samhedrim go after the two euchariftical facrifices, which follow one another, and they ftand- with harps, and pfalteries; and cymbals ‘at every corner, and at every ftone in Ferufalem, and fay, 1 will extol thee, for thou haft lifted up, 8c. ( Pf. xxx.) until they come to the end of the place they confecrate, there they ftand and eat the thankfgiving loaf, one of the two, and the other is burnt.”

¥. 32. And after them went Hofhaiah, and half of the princes of Fudab.) The other half of them, with Hofbaiah at the head of them

¥. 33. And Azariah, Ezra, and Mefbullam.} Not Ezra the prieft and the f{cribe, for he has another place afligned him in this proceffion, y¥. 36. but this feems to be one of the princes,

¥. 34. Fudah and Benjamin, &c.] Not the tribes, but the names of the two princes, as Farchi: and Shemaiah and Feremiah; who were two others.

¥. 35. And certain of the priefts fons with trumpets, &c.] To blow with on this occafion; for thefe the priefts founded: namely, Zechariah the Jon of Fonathan, the fon of Shemaiab, the Jon of Mattaniah, the fon of Michaiah, the Jon of Zaccur, the Jon of Afaph; not the Levite, but a prieft of this name.

¥. 36. And his brethren, &c.] The brethren of Zechariah, the prieft’s fon, and fuch are thofe that follow: Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with the mufical inftruments of David the man of God; which were invented by him, and ordered by him to be ufed in religious fervice, under the divine direction: and Ezra the fcribe before them; for he being a prieft alfo, and a man of great eminence, was placed at the head of them in this proceffion.

¥. 37. And at the fountain gate which was over

againft them, of which fee ch. ii, 14. and which was to the fouth of the dung-gate: ¢hey went up s that is, one of the two companies, that which took to the right on the wall, y. 31. with which thefe words are to be connected: Ly the fairs of the city of David; which went up to the city of Zion, built on an eminence: at the going up of the wall, above the boufe of David; where the wall was higher, and there was an afcent to it: even unto the water gate cafiward; of which fee ch, iii. 26. and viii, 16. turning from the fouth to the eaft, and fo drew nigh the temple. ¥. 38. And the other company of them that gave thanks, went over againft them, €Fc.] On the left hand, on the northern part of the wall:

the trumpets, and the fingers fung and playeda their inftruments, the, women and children gave loud fhouts for joy: fa that the joy of Feru was beard even afar off; as‘at the laying of foundation.of the temple, Ezra iii. 13. ¥. 44. And at that time were fome appointed over the chamber for the treafuries, &c.] On the feltfame day the dedication was; whilft the people were - in a good difpofition, and a fuitable frame for fuch fervice, certain perfons from among the pr were appointed to be overfeers of the chaml fixed upon for treafuries, to lay up fafe inthem the following things, and take care of them, that they were putto the,ufe for which they were defigned:

and I after| for the offerings, for the them; Nebemiab, he brought up the rear of his company, as Ezra led the van ot his: and the balf of the people upon the wall; the chief of them, for all could not walk upon it:

of the furnaces; where they baked their bread, their bricks, fee ch. iii. 11. even unto the broad firft-fruits, and for the tithes, 40 gather into them out of the fields of the cities, the portions of the law fer the pricts and Levites; what by the law of God were affigned them for their from beyond the tower maintenance, and which the people had lately or bound themfelves to bring in, ch. x..35—39. for udah rejoiced for the priefs, and for the Levites that wall; where the wall was broader than common, for fome reafon or another, fee ch, iil. 8.

y. 39. And from above the gate of Ephraim, &c.) The gate which led to the tribe of Ephraim, where that tribe formerly dwelt, fee ch. viii, 16.’aud above the old gate; of which mention is made, ch. iii. 6. and above the fifb-gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meab, even unto the foeep-gate, of all which fee ch. iii. 1, 2. and they ftood Jtill in the prifon-gate, which was not a gate of the city, but of the court of the prifon, ch. iii. 25. which was near both the king’s palace and the temple, fee Jer. XX..1, 2, and Xxxii. 2.

¥. 40. So flood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the houfe of God, &c.). Having made their proceffion on the wall in different ways, they met in the temple, that is, in the great court of it, for no other would hold them: aad 1, and the half of the rulers with me, Nebemiah, and the other half with Hofbaiah, y. 32..

¥. 42. And Maafeiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Febohanan, and Malchijab, and Elam, and Ezer, &c.| Thefe feem to be all priefts that blew the trumpets:.and the fingers fang loud, with Fezrakiah their overfeer; thefe were the Levites, that fung the fongs of praife vocally,. and raifed their ‘voices very high, Fezrabiab being precentor, who, led the tune, as well as played on inftruments.

¥. 43. Alfo that day they offered great facrifices,

Or many facrifices, as Ben and ryoiced, &c.] Melech interprets it; and thefe perhaps of» the larger fort of cattle, oxen; and which, at leaft many of them, being peace-offerings, the people. feafted on them, fo that it was a fettival-day: for

God had made them rejoice with great joy; on account of the wall being fet up all around, and fo were in greater fafety from their enemies > ¢he wives alfo and the children rejoiced; while the priefts blew anes chapter relates the reformation of various abufes crept in among the Fews by Nebemiah, who removed the Moabites and Ammonites, mixed) that the Levites had their portion given _with them, y. 1, 2, 3. threw the houfhold-goods.

fingers, and the porters every day Lis portion, waited; at the temple, and performed their fer+ vices there; they were fo pleafed’ with their mini- {trations that day, that they were determined to take care of them, and provide well for them, and that nothing fhould be wanting to them, enjoined by the law of God, and that they might not be obliged to dwell in fields and villages for the fake of their living, ¥. 28, 29. and ch. xiii. ro,

¥. 45. And both the fingers and the por the ward of their God, and the ward of their purification, &c.| ‘The fingers kept their turns in -courfe in the temple, and were not wanting to officiate. ‘on all occafions, befides morning and eveninglervices; and the porters they diligently kept the gates of the temple, that no impure perfon or thing in a ceremonial fenfe entered: according to the commandment of David and Solomon bis fon; who made very good rules and orders relative tothe better and more regular performance of fervice by them; fee 1 Chron, xxv. 1, &c. and xxvi. 1, &e. 2 Chron. viii. 14.

¥. 46. For in the days of David and Afaph of old there were chief of the fingers, &c]. Perfons appointed over the reft to inftruct them, and fee chat they did their work aright, as befides A/aph, Haman, and Feduthun, and their fons, 1 Chrém, xxv. 2—8. and fongs of praife and thank/giving unto Ged; fuch were made by them, fome under divine infpiration, which bear the names of David and d/aph, as may be oblerved in the book of P/alms, ~ y.47- And all Ifrael in the days of Zerrubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the Whilft thefe two men governed they did their. and punétually paid the Levéses their dues at the proper feafon: end they fonéified holy things the Levites; fet them apart for their 1: brought them to them, their offerings, firfts and tithes: and the Levites fandlified 1b: children of Aaron; the Levites fet apart t part of the tithes, and delivered them and fo each had what belonged to ther of Tobiab out of = chaadaie reftored it to its former ufe, ¥. Fark x had been kept front them, 9s! 1014 jad. YEO S * mat

Temy’s canon, and with which Herodotus ° agrees;

‘ eT Sothe; — ( Ch.xu.y.1—11. NEAHE MIA LE, 149 the prophanation of the fabbath by felling goods'whole empire, was in the hands of the king of © on that day, ¥. 15—22. and put a ftop to the Perfia, as it had been from the times of Cyrus: and marrying of ftrange wives, which had prevailed after certain days obtained I leave of the king; to’ again among them, ¥. 23-31. return to Feru/alem again; not after five years, as

‘\Dr. Prideaux * thinks; for it is not likely that Ne-:

¥. 1. On that day, &c ] Not when the wall-of ‘the city was dedicated, nor quickly after; for it bemiah would ftay fo long ete he afked leave of the king to return to Jerufalem, which was fo much cannot be thought that people fhould be fo cor- {his care, and on whofe profperity his heart was fo rupted fo foon as this chapter fhews; but when Nebemiah had. governed them twelve years,-and| much fet; rather at ntoft it was but-a full year he taid ere he got leave to return, as Vatablus and had been at Badylon, and was returned i again, as} Pi/cator interpret it; in which fenfe the phrafe of appears from ¥. 6. compared with ch, ii. 1, 6. vii. 2. they read in the book of Mojfes in the of the people, for from the time of the regding of the law by Zzra, ch. viii. it became a cuftom to read the law publckly: and therein was found writ - ten, that the Ammonite and the Moabite fhould not come into the congregation of the Lord; thatis, be admitted to marry with any of the people of J-|hou and! certain days is ufed in Lev. xxv. 2g. and in other audience places quoted by the laft-mentioned interpreter.

y. 7. And I came ‘to Ferufalem. &c.] Through the king’s leave, and with a commilffion from him: and underftood of the evil that Eliafbib did for Tobiah » was informed of the mal-adminiftration of his office: ix preparing him a chamber in the courts of the e of God whereby it was prophaned and pol-, rae], fee the hote on Deut. xxiii. luted. ' ¥.2. Becaufe they met not the childrenof Ijrael with bread, &c.} The fame.reafon is given, and y. 8. Anait gri.ved me fore, &c.] That fuch a ’ facred place fhould be converted to common ufe, what follows in this verfe is obferved in Deut. xxiii.

and to that of an heathen, and of an enemy to the 4, 5. fee the notes there.

¥. 3. Now it came to pafs when they bad heard the law, &c.] Or the law concerning the Ammoniteand the M/oadite, and which included other nations alfo, and forbad marriage with them: ¢haZ they feparated from Ifrael all the mixed multitude; all of theft, and other nations, they had contract- Jews and their religion: therefore F caf forth all the boufbold-fuff of Tobiab out of the chamber, as being chief magiftrate, and aéting by commiffion under the king of Perfia, and to regulate every thing amifs, according to the Yewi/h laws, as well as thofe of the king, his power being, no doubt, as large as Ezra’s, ch. vii. 25, 26. by hou/bold- ed affinity with. _\Auff is meant what is moveable in the houfe, as

¥. 4. And before this, &c.} Before the above law was read, and obferved and acted upon: L/ia- Sfrid the priest; whom fome take to be a common _prieft; fo bifhop Ufber*; but he feems rather to be the high-prieft by comparing it with y.28. baving the overfight of the chamber of the houfe of our God; which has led fome to the notion of his being _a common prieft; but chamber may be put for chambers, and thofe for the whole houfe or temple, which the high-prieft had the greateft in, and overfight of; was allied to Tobiab, the fervant and Ammonite, an inveterate enemy of Fews, ch. ii. ro, 20. having married a daughter of Shecaniah, and his fon a daughter of Mefhullam, who were both priefts, and fo as it feems related to chairs, tables, veftels for dreffing, eating, drinking, &c. there are various opinions about this with the antients *.

y, 9. Then I commanded, and they cleanfed the chambers, &c.}, By which it appears there were more than one, or that feveral were thrown into one; which was’ done not only. by wafhing them, but as this was a ceremonial uncleannelg, contract ed by the habitation of an heathen in them} their concern purification might be by the water of feparation, Numb. xix. 9. and thither brought I again the velfels thelof the houfe of God, with the meat-offering, and the frankincenfe; replaced them where they were before..

y. 10. And I perceived that the portion of the Le-

_ |vites bad not been given them, &c.| The tithes,

¥. 5. And he bad prepared for hima great chamber, &c.}] Inthe temple, by throwing together chambers, as Pi/cator-oblerves: where afore-time “they laid the meat-offerings, the frankincenfe, and the velfels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Leites, and’ to the fingers, and the porters, and the of - ferings of the prijis; fee ch. x. 37, 38, 39. being removed to fome other place might be confeverallverted to another ufe; or the people feeing what was done by Elia/bib neglected to bring them in, as judging they would not be properly difpofed of; and‘and befides, the Levites had deferted their {tation upon this: for the Levites and the Singers that did the work were fled every one to his field; to look afanditer their country-farms, or to get their living by xil. 44. agriculture, fince there was no care taken of them _ ¥. 6. But in all this.time was not I at Ferufalem, &c.] Nehemiah, who was abfent all the while thefe things were done by Eliafhib, or otherwife they would not have been fuffered:

of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, came I unto the king from Jerufalem; after he had governed there 12 ly years, to whom he came to give an account of afar Ferufalem, fee ch. xii. 28, 29.

YW. 11. Then I contended with the. rulers, &c.} The ecclefiattical rulers, the priefts that were apfor in the 32d year pointed over thofe chambers, ch. xii 44. he expo- {tulated with them warmly, and chode them fevere+ for their conduct: and faid, why is the boufe of God forfaken 2? no care being taken of the mainte- fairs there; this was not Xerxes, as fome ” have|nance of the minifters of it, contrary to the prothought, for he reigned but 21 yea ts; but Darius|mife made ch. x. 37. and I gathered them together; _ Fyftafpis, who reigned 36 years, according to Prothe Levites and fingers that were difperfed in the countries round about: and fet them in their place; in with thejthe temple, and in the courfe of their miniftry there.

heis called king of Babylon, becaufe that, a eee ree ge om E ape -~.

I 59 ‘y. 12. Then brought all Fudab the tithe of corn and the new wine, and the oil, into the treafuries.

When they faw a reformation made, and things were going in their proper channel, and a right ufe would be made of their tithes, thefe given to proper perfons, who were now re-inftated in their office, y¥.13. And I made treafurers over the treafuries, &c.].New ones, fince the others appointed were either dead or unfaithful to their, truft, ch. xvil. 44. Shelemiah the prieft, and Zadok the feribe, who alfo was a prieft, as Ezra was both prieft and {cribe; one that befides his office as a prieft was expert in the law, and capable of inftructing others:

and of the Levites, Pedaiah, and next to them was

Hanan the fon of Zaccur, the fon of Mattaniah, for they were counted faithful; had a good report of all that knew them, for men of fidelity and uprightnefs, and fo fit for fuch a truft: and their office was to diftribute unto their brethren; to deliver to them their fhare in the tithes, firft-fruits, Se.

y¥. 14. Remember me, O my God, concerning this, &c.] Not in a way of ftridt juftice, as if he thought he merited any thing at the hand of God for what he had done; but ina way of grace and mercy, that he would gracioufly accept thereof, as done.

for the honour of his name, and overlook all failings and infirmities therein, fee ¥. 22. and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the houfe of my God, and for the offices. thereof; for the fupport of the worfhip of God in the temple, and} tor the regulating of the wards and courfes in it, both priefts and Levites, and for the maintenance of them; which being done from a right. principle, love to°God, and with a right view, the-glory of his name, might be truly reckoned good works; and which he defites might not be wiped or blotted out of the book of his rememb.ance, fee Ho/. vi. 10.;

y. 15. In thofe days faw lin Fudab fome treading wine-preffes on the fabbath, &c.\ Which was not a work of neceffity, and fo did not drive away the fabbath, as the ews exprefs themfelves, but might have been deferred to another day: and bringing in foeawes, of wheat, it being the time of wheat-harveft: and lading affes; with goods to be carried from place to place, and fold on that day; this, was contrary to the exprefs law, for the afs was to reft, Deut. v. 14. as alfo wine, grapes, and Jigs; it being the time of ingathering the fruits of the earth: and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerufalem on the fabbath-day; be-. fides thofe borne on afies, others were carried on mens fhoulders; this was contrary to the law of the fabbath, which required that. both men and beatts fhould have relt: and I teftified againft them in the day wherein they fold vittuals, that is, the fab-/ bath-day; and if it was not lawful to fell food, then not any thing elfe; fo far from it, that according to the Jewi/h canons‘, fuch that were in partnerthip might not difcourfe together of what they fhould fell or buy on the morrow, the day after the fabbath; and fo far from gathering and carrying grapes and figs, that a man might not go into his gardens and- fields to fee what were wanting, or how the fruits were: now Nehemiah admonifhed the Yews of thefe evils they committed, and teftified againft them as breakers of the law,

>) | Sa and called heaven and earth to teftify againft them fhould they go on to violate it. he

¥. 16. There dwelt men of Tyre alfo therein, whiel brought fih, &c.| From Tyre and Zidon, and the patts adjacent; thefe they brought from Feppa, and from thence to Yeru/alem, and had houles or lodgings near the fifh-gate or fifh-market, where they fold them: aud all manner of ware; or merchandife, which being a trading city, they had from all nations: and fold on the fabbath-day unto the children of Fudab, and in Fernfalem; or even in Ferufalem, the holy city, whcre ftood the temple, and where the worfhip of God was kept, — nd where the magiftrates lived, who fhould have been~ terrors to evil-doers: indeed, the law of the fabbath was not ‘binding on thefe Tyrians, but then they tempted the Yews to break it, by bringing their ware to fell.

y¥.17. Then I contended with the nobles, &c.] The rulers of the city, the civil magiftrates, tharply reproved them for their neglect of duty: and Jaid unto them, what evil thing is this that ye do, and prophane the fabbath-day? by fuffering fervile works to be done in it, and things fold on it. ~ c*

¥. 18, Did not your fathers thus, 8c. ] ’ Profarie the fabbath in like manner: and did not our God others. ‘ y¥.19. And it came to pafs, that when the gates. of Ferusalem began to be dark before the fabbath, &c.]- Or were fhaded* that is, as Farché interprets it, when the fhadows of the eve of the fabbath were ftretched out upon the’gates; the fabbath did not begin till fun-fetting, and the ftars appeared; but before that, as the fun was declining, the fhadows through the houfes in Ferufalem, and mountains about it, fpread themfelves over the gates: and when it was dufkifh, and as foon as it was fo, I commanded that the gates foould be fout, and charged that they foould not be opened till after the fabbath, until 'fun-fetting the next day: and fome of my fervants fet I at the gates, that there foould be no burden brought in on the Sabbath-day; the porters being not to be trufted, being liable to be bribed and corrupted, which he knew his fervants were not; and therefore, fince it might be neceflary on a few occafions to open the gates ‘to let fome perfons in and out, and efpecially fuch who dwelt near, and came to worfhip, he plac his fervants there to take care, that none were admitted that had any burdens upon them, as ¥. 20. For the merchants and fellers 6 of ware, &c.] The Tyrians particularl lodged without Ferufalem. once or twice; © bath-day or two, not being, able to get city, fuch ftrict watch and care being the gates fhut; this they did, hopi would come out to them and buy they were not admitted to Stoel lem called heaven and earth to witnefs what he would do to them, if they did ‘not depart: why lodge ye.

about the wail? of the city, waiting an opportunity to get in, and tempting the Fews to come out and buy their ware: if ye do fo again, I will lay bands on you’, beat them, or flay them, at ‘leaft imprifon theny: from that tiine forth caine they no more on the fabbath, finding there was no likelihood of getting into the city, and that they were liable to be taken up and punifhed.

¥. 22. And I commanded the Levites, that they fhould cleanfe themfelves, &c | From all ceremonial uncleannefs, that they might be fit in a ceremonial fenfe to perform the duties of the office on the fabbath-day: and that they fhould come and keep the gates, to fanéiify the fjabbath-day, not the gates of the city, his fervants were placed there, nor was this the work of the Levites, and much lefs did this require a particular purification to fit for it; but the gates of the, temple, that no impure perfon might enter there;°and on that day it required the greater diligence, becaufe of the number of people that came to worfhip: remember me, O my God, concerning this alfo; with refpect to his care to have the fabbath kept holy, as well as his concern for the honour of the houfe of God, and the maintenance of his minifters, ¥. 14. and fpare me accarding to the greatnefs of thy mercy; he defired 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 gracioufly vouchfafe. to accept any good that he had done for his mercy-fake, and forgive whatever was amifs inhim. |.

¥. 23. In thofe days alfo 1 faw ews that married wives of Afodod, of Ammon, and of Moab,] Afhdod or Azotus, as it is called in és viii. 40. was one of the five cities of the Philifiines; which, though none of the feven nations with whom marriage was forbid, yet it was very unfit and improper to marry with them, 7#dg. xiv. 3. This place was a mart of the Arabians", where they fold their goods, to which theYews might refort, and thereby be enfnared into fuch marriages; and which with the Ammonites and Moabites were unlawful, y. 1.

y.24. And their children {pake half in the fpeech of Afodod, &c.| Which they learned of their mothers, fo that it was a mixed language they {poke, partly Fewifh and partly Philiftine; but fome refer this not to their fpeech, -but to the number of their children; that half of them, which Farchi interprets, many of them, fpoke in the language of Afbdod, even as many as were moft with their mothers, and chiefly brought up by them: and could not {peak in the Fews language; not at all, or fo much as to be underftood well, which inclines to the laft fenfe: but according to the language of each people; their mothers were of, whether of A/hdod, or of Ammon, or of Moab.

¥.25. And I contended with them, &c.] Argued with them, faithfully admonifhed them, and fharply reproved them: and curfed them; affuring them that the curfe of God would come upon them, unlefs they repented. dben Ezra interprets it of excommunicating them, either with Cherem or Niddui, which were two forts of excommunication among the Yews; but it is a queftion, whether as yet thofe were ufed by them: and fmote certain of Z p them, ordered them to be beaten with rods or pointed, &c.] Of which fee ch. x. 39. Levites i 5 I fcourges, as tranfgreflors of the law: and plucked of their bair; or ordered it to be*plucked off by the executioner that fmote them; which fort of punifhmenct, as it was painful, ic was diferaceful and ignominious, fee J |. 6. and made them fwear by God, faying, ye fall not give your daughters unto their fons, nor take their daughters unto your fons, or for yourfelves not intermarry with them; this they had {worn to before, ch. x. 29, 30. ¥. 26. Did not Sclomon king of Ifrael fin by thefe things? &c.| By marrying ftrange wives, by whom he was drawn into idolatry, 1 Kings xi. 3, 4. yet. among many nations was there no king like him; as not for grandeur and riches, fo not for wifdom, and yet was enfnared by. his idolatrous wives: who was beloved of God; alluding to his name Fedidiah, which fignifies beloved of the Lord, 2 Sam. xii. 24, 25. and God made bim king over all Ifrael;,, which was a proof of his love to him, and fo hewas under the greater obligation to ferve him, and him only, and yet his heart, through his wives, was turned after other gods: even bim did outlandi h women caufe to fin; and if fo great and wife a man was inticed by them to idolatry, much more may you, and therefore it was very dangerous to marry with them.:

¥.27, Shall we then bearken unto. you to do all this great evil, &c.] To fuffer it tobe done, and connive at it, and not punifh for it: ¢o tran/gre s

¥.28. And one of the fons of Foiada, the fon of Eliafbib the bigh-prieft, &c.] A grandfon of the high-prieft'; for the high-prieft here is Elia bib, according to our verfion, and not Jotada his fon, according to Dr. Prideaux'; the perfon defigned, Fofepbus * makes to be Manaffeh, the brother of. Faddua the high-prieft: was /on-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite, married a daughter of his, who was the avowed enemy of the fewi/h nation; and for whom, according to the fame writer, Sanballat obtained ‘leave of Alexander to build a temple on mount Gerizzim; but this is to protract the age of Nehemiah and Sanballat to too great a length; befides, Eliafbib feems to have been now high-prieft, and not even his fon foiada, and much lefs Faddua, a grandfon of Yorada: therefore I chafed bim from me; drove him from his court, fuffered him not to minifter at the altar; banifhed him from, the city, as Zarchi, and even from the land of Judea.:

¥. 29. Remember them, O my God, &c.] The priefts, and punifh them: decaufe they have defiled the priefthood,; by marrying ftrange wives, and rendering themfelves unfit to officiate in it: aad the covenant of the priefthood, and of the Levites made with Levi, Aaron, and Phinebas, fee Numb. xxiv. 11—13. of the corruption of ‘which, complaint is made, Ma/. ii. 4—8.

Both people and priefts from ftrange wives, obliging them to put them away, or flee their country: and appointing the wards of the priefts and the Levites, every one in his bufinefs; to do the work of their office in their courfes and turns.

¥. 31. And for the wood-offering, at times apwere

152.. iV eas 77, - » Ch. xit ¥ appointed to receive the wood that was brought -at the times, and by the perfons fixed, and lay itup in its proper place, and carry it to the altar when wanted; and for the firft-fruits, to receive and take care of them, and diftribute them to the perfons to whom they belonged: remember me, O my God, for good; to blefs him with all good things, make him ufeful in church and ftate, and p him from all his enemies: or rather this fpeét what goes before, that as to the w ing and the firft-fruits, that God would remember him as to them, fince the neceflary to the altar, as the other was to. that minifter at it. ae temporal and fpiritual, to keep him faithful, to a tes es

=. perfon, who is the principal fub-: ject of its itis by Clemens ot Alexyet n andria* called the book of Mor- BAYig decai allo; it is commonly called yin the Hebrew copies, Megillat

I ' Eftber, the volume of Ether; and fometimes in the Fewi/h writings only Megillah, by way of eminency, the volume. It was written, according to the Yelmudifts’, by the men of the great’ fynagogue compoled by Ezra; and‘ fome think it was written by Ezra himfelf*; but Aben Ezra is of opinion it was written by Mordecai, fince he was concerned-in, and had perfect knowledge of all things related in it; which is rejected by

Spinofa*, who conceits that this, “and the books of Daniel, Ezra, and Nebemiab, were written by one and the fame hiftorian long after the times of Fzdas Maccabeus: as to the canonical authority of it, it has been generally received by ews and chriftians; our wife men, fays Maimonides °, openly and plainly affirm of the book of Ejfher, that it was dictated by the Holy Spirit; fo Aben Ezra on _ eh, vi. 6. and he himfelf‘ affirms, that “all the books of,the prophets, and all the Hagiographa (or holy writings) fhall ceafe in the days of the Meffiah, except the volume of Ether; and lo, that fhall be as ftable as the pentateuch, and as the conftitutions of the oral law, which fhall never ceafe.” Though the verfions of other books of fcripture might not be read in the fynagogues, verfions of this book might to thofe who did not underftand Hebrew*; and: fo Luther * fays, the ews more efteem the book of E/ther than any of the prophets. Whence Mr, Baxter‘ had that notion, |

Mies ELIS book has its name from the! can’t devife, that the Fezbs ufed to caft to the ground the book of E/ther before they read it, becaufe the name of God was not in it: nor is that any objection to its authenticity, fince the hand and providence of God may be moft clearly feen init; in raifing Effber to fuch grandeur, and that for the deliverance of the people of the Fews, and in counter-working and bringing to nought the plots of their enemies, and in faving them: nor that it is. not quoted in the New Teftament; it is fuficient there is no difagreement between them, yea an entire agreement, particularly in the account of the captivity of Fecoxiah, which is expreffed almoft in the fame words in ch. ii. 6. as in Moz?t. 1, 11,12. It ftands ‘in Origen’s catalogue * of the books of the Old Teftament; nor is it any material objection that it appears not in the catalogue, of Melito', fince in that lift is comprehended under Ezra not Nehemiah only, but Ether alfo, which Ferom™ mentions along with it. This book is not only of ufe to the Fews, as it fhews the original and foundation of a feaft of theirs, ftill kept up by them, the feaft of Purim, and makes for the glory of their nation, and therefore it is no wonder it fhould be fo highly efteemed by them; but ferves to thew the fingular providence of God in taking care of his people in adverfity, in humbling the proud, and exalting the lowly, and faving thofe that pray to him, and truft in him; it furnifhes out various inftructions in the conduct of the feveral perfons herein mentioned; it is a hi- {tory but of ten or eleven years at moft, from the third of Abafuerus, to the twelfth of his reign, ch. i, 3. and iii. 7.

Tt HIS. chapter relates, how that Abafuerus, a - great king of Perfia made a featt, firft for the grandees of his kingdom, and then for his people, as his queen did for the women, y¥. t—g. who being fence for by him, and fhe refufing to come, was, by the advice of one of his counfel-

- Jors divorced from*him, and an order made and publifhed throughout his dominions, that every man fhould bear rule in his own houfe, ¥. 10—22.

y. 3. Jn the third year of his reign, be made @ feaft unto all bis princes, and bis fervants, &c.| The: nobles and officers in his court; on what account this was, cannot be faid with certainty, whether the firft day of it was his birth-day, or the day his coming to the throne, on which day Xerxes ufed to make a feaft annually, as Herodotus relates‘ the power of Perfia and Media, the mighty m therein, the potentates thereof; or the army, the - principal officers of it: the nobles and princes of the provinces being with him. The firlt word Aben © Ezra declares his ignorance of, whether it is Hebrew or Perfic, Farchi interprets it governors; and the perfons intended by both feem. to: be the, de> puty-governors of the 127 provinces who were prefent at this feaft. Xerxes having redue¢ed Egypt, meditated a war with Greece, to which he was preffed by Mardonius, a relation of his; upon which he fummoned the chief men of his kingdom, to have their advice about it *, which perhaps was taken at this time; for it'was in the third year of his reign he refolved upon the war, and began to make*preparations for it; and it was ufual at banquets and feafts, that the Pexfians debated their moft important affairs *, c=, 8 y. 4. When he fhewed the riches of bis glorious kingdom, &c.] Xerxes was the fourth king of the Perfan monarchy, and was far richer than all that went - y. 1. Now it cameto pafs in the days of Abafuerus, &c.] Who he was is not eafy to fay; almoft all the kings of Perfia are fo named by one or another writer. He cannot be the Abafuerus in Dan. ix. 1. he was Aftyages, the father of Cyaxares or Darius the Mede; but this muft be one who had his royal palace in Shufhan, which was never the royal city of the Medes, but of the Perfians only; nor does he feem to be the Aba/uerus in Ezra iv. 6. who is thought to be Camby/es, the fon and fucceffor of Cyrus; fince, according to the canon of Ptolemy, he reigned but eight years, whereas his Abafuerus at leaft reigned twelve, ch. iil. 7. though indeed fome account for it by his reigning in his fathér’s-Jife-time; befides, Camby/es was always an enemy to the Yews, as this was not; and yet this way go many of the Yewi/h writers”; and fo a very learned man, Nicolaus Abram®, according to bifhop Ufler’, this was Darius Hyftafpis, who certainly was a friend to the Fewi/b nation; but he is rather the Artaxerxes of Ezra and Nehemiab; and fo fays the Midrafh*. -Dr. Prideaux* thinks, Zhafuerus was Artaxerxes Longimanus, which is the fenfe of Jofephus*, and who is thought by many to be the “rtaxerxes.in the forefaid books. Capel lus* is of opinion, that Darius Ochus is meant, to which bifhop Patrick inclines; but I rather think with Vitringa“, and others”, that Xerwes is. the Abafuerus that was the hufband of E/fher here fpoken of; fo the Arabic writers *; and as he was the fon and fucceflor of Darius Hy/ta/pis, if he is meant by Artaxerxes in the preceding books, the hiftory of which is carried to the 32d year of his reign, Neb. xiii..6. and who reigned but four years more; this book of Ether ftands ‘in -right order of time to carry on the hiftory of the Fewih affairs in the Perfian monarchy; and Mr. Broughton * owns, that the name of Xerxes in Greek, agrees with Acha/uerus in Hebrew; and in ch. x. 1. his name is Achafhrefh, which, with the Greeks, is Axeres or Xerxes”: this is Abafuerus, which reigned from India even unto Ethiopia, properly fo called; the Ethiopians had been fubdued by Camby/es the fon and fucceffor of Cyrus*, and the Indians by Darius Hyfta/pis the fon of Xerxes”; and both, with other great nations, were retained in fubjection to him ©; and many of both, as well as of other nations, were with him in his.expedition into Greece*: over 127 provinces; there were now feven provinces more under his jurifdi¢tion, than were in the times of Darius the Mede, Dan. vi. t.

¥.2. That in thofe days, when the king Abafuerus fat on the throne of bis kingdom, &c.\ Not only was placed upon it, but fettled in ic; after Xerxes had fubdued Zgypt, in the fecond year of his reign®, and enjoyed great peace and tranquility: which was in Shufhan the palace; that is, the throne of his kingdom was in Shufban, the royal city of the kings of Perfia; of which fee the notes on Ned, i. 1erand Dan. viii. 2.

before him, all their riches coming into his hands,.

Den. xi. 2. and now that prophecy began to be fulfilled, that dy bis firength, through bis riches, be.

ould fiir up all againft the realm of Grecia; which he began to do in the third year of his reign, and, for which thefe his nobles might be called toge-. ther, as to have their advice, fo to animate them to come in the more readily into the expedition, by fhowing them the riches he was poffefled of; for to none of the kings of Perfia does this largenefs. of riches better belong than to Xerwes: and the honour of bis excellent majefty; the grandeur he lived in, the pomp and fplendor of his court; he was the moft grand and magnificent of all the kings of the Medes and Perfians': and this be did mary days, even 180 days; to which feven more being added, as in the following verfe, it made 187, the fpace of full fix months; though fome think the feaft did not laft fo long, only feyen days, and that the 180 days were {pent in preparing for it; but the Perfan feafts were very long, large, and fumptuous. Dr, Frye * fays, this cuftom of keeping an annual feaft 180 days: {till continues in Perfia. Cheus' a Chinefe emperor, ufed frequently to make a feaft which lafted 120 days; tho’ it can’t be well thought that the fame individual perfons here were feafted fo long, but when one company was fufficiently treated, they removed and made way for another; and fo it continued fucceffively fuch a number of days, as here related, which was fix months, or half a year; a year then in ufe confifting of 360 days, as was common with the Hews, and other nations, and fo the Perfians™. ¥. 5. And when thefe days were ended, &c.| The 180, in which the nobles, princes, and great men of the kingdom were feafted: the king made a feaft "unto ei Ch. 1. ¥.6—8. unto all the people, that were prefent in Shufan the palace, both unto great and fmall, of every age, rank, ftate and condition of life; thefe were the common people, whether inhabitants of the city or country-people there on bufinefs, whether na. tives or foreigners; according to the Targum, there were J/raclites there, but not Mordecai and his family; yea, it is faid in the Médra/h*, that they were all Yews, and that their number was. 18,5003 but this is not probable; it is very likely there were fome Fews among them), as there were many in the army of Xerxes, when he made his expedition into Greece, according to the poet Choerilus °; which is not to be wondered at, fince there were fo many of them in his dominions, and they men of 13. perhaps the fame with the room valour and fidelity, and to whofe nation he was fo kind and favourable: and this feaft was kept /even days in the court of the garden of the king’s palace; which no doubt was very large, and fufficient to hold fuch a number as was affembled together on this occafion, when there was not room enough for them in the palace. There is in hiftory an account of a Perfian king that fupped with 15,000 men, and in the fupper fpent 40 talents?.

y. 6. Where were white, green. and blue hangtugs, Scc.] Or curtains of fine linen, as the Zargum, which were of thefe feveral colours; the firft Jetter of the word for white is larger than ufual, to denote the excéeding whitenefs of them. The next word is carpas, which Ben Melech obferves is a dyed colour, faid to be green. Pau/anias * makes mention of Carpafian linen, and which may be here meant; the laft word ufed fignifies blue, fky coloured or hyacinth: fafened with cords of fine linen and purple, to filver rings, and pillars of marble, thefe pillars are faid, in the Zargum, to be of divers colours, red, green, and fhining yellow and white, on which the filver rings were fixed, and into them were put linen ftrings of purple colour, which faftened the hangings to them, and fo made an inclofure,within which the guefts fat at the’ feaft: the beds were of gold and filver 5 the couches on which they fat, or rather reclined at eating, as was the manner of the eaftern nations; thefe, according to the Targum, were of lambs wool, the fineft and the fofteft, and the pofts of them were * of gold, and their feet of filver. Such luxury obtained among the Romans in after-times‘: thefe were placed in a pavement of red and blue, and white and black marble;:which according to fome are the porphyrite, parian, alabafter and marble of various colours; the marble of the Perfians is of four colours, white, black, red and black, and white and black *; but others take them to be precious ftones, asZarchi and Aben Ezra; the firftis by the Targum interpreted cryftal, by others the emerald, one of which Teophraftus‘ {peaks of, as four cubits long, and three broad, which might be laid in a pavement; the third is, by Bochart *, fuppofed to be the pearl; and in the Talmud”, it it aid to be of fuch a nature, that if placed in the middle of a dining-room, will give light in it as at noon- of the eaftern nations. Philofiratus ’ {peaks of a temple in Judia paved with pearls, and which he fays all the Barbarians ufe in their temples 5 particularly it is faid*, that the roofs of the palaces of Shufoban and Ecbatana, the palaces of the kings of Perfia, fhone with gold and filver, ivory and amber; no wonder then that their pavements were of very valuable and precious {tones: and from hence it appears, that the Léthroftrata, the word here ufed by the Septuagint, or tefferated pavements, were in ufe 400 years before the times of Sy//a; where the beginning of them is placed by Pliny *; there was a Lithoftraten in the fecond temple at Ferufalem, by us rendered the pavement; John xix. Gazith, fo called from its being laid with hewn ftone. Avifteas*, who lived in the times of Ptolemy Philadelphus, teftifies, that the whole floor of the temple was a Lithofiraton, or was paved with ftone: it is molt likely therefore that thefe had their original in the eaftern country, and not ih Greece, as Pliny * fuppofed.

¥. 7. They gave them drink in veffels of gold, the veffels being divers one from another, &c.] Inthe pattern and workmanfhip of them, though of the fame metal, which diverfity made the feftival the more grand; earthen cups, with the Perfans, were reckoned very mean; when a king would difgrace a man, he obliged him to ufe earthen cups *. The Zargum reprefents thefe veffels to be the golden veflels of the temple at Ferufalem, Nebuchadnezzar carried away; which could not be, fince they had been delivered by Cyrus to Zerubbabel, Ezra i. 47—10. and royal wine in abundance, according to the fiate of the king; fuch as the king was able to give, the beft he had, and that in great plenty; the wine the kings of Perfia ufed to drink, as Strabo® relates, was Chalybonian wine, or wine of Helbon, as it is called, Ezek. xxvii. 18. fee the hote there; but by the wine of the kingdom, as it may be rendered, is meant wine of the country; the wine of Schiras is reckoned the beft in Perfia ‘.

¥. 8. And the drinking was according to the law, none did compel, &c.| According to the law 4bafuerus gave to: his officers next mentioned, which was not to oblige any man to drink more than he chofe; the Zargum is, ‘‘ according to the cuftom of his body;” that is, asa man is able to bear it, fo they drank: fome * read it, the drinking according to the law, let none exaé? or require it to be, according to the cuftom then in ule in Perfia; for they were degenerated from their former manners, and indulged to intemperance, as Xenophon® fuggetts: the law formerly was not to carry large veffels into feafts; but now, fays he, they drink fo much, that they themfelves muft be carried out, becaufe they can’t go upright: and fo it became a law with the Greeks; at their feftivals, that either a man muft drink or go out"; fo the mafter of a feaft, at which Empedocles was, ordered either that he fhould drink, or the wine be poured on his head‘; but fuch force or compulfion d4ha- day, which feems to be what is called Lychwites; fuerus forbad; and thus with the Chinefe now, they to which Lucian * afcribes a like property: nor need all this feem ftrange, fince great was thé loxury for fo the king bad appointed to all the officers force none to drink, but modeftly invite them *:,

* of fight, at home‘; and therefore Va/bti might. think P an indignity to be treated as an harlot or

‘concubine: therefore was the king very wrth, and

. ” Y bis boufe, that they foould do according to every man’s pleafure, to let them have what wine they would, but not force them to drink. more than

¥. 9. Aljo Vafbti the queen made a feaft for the evomeit, &c.) For it was. not cuftomary with the Perfians, nor, other eaftern nations, to admit of women to their feftivals ", but they feafted by themfelves. Who Vaj/hti was, is not known with any certainty. Bifhop Ujber, who takes Abafuerus to be Darius Hyftafpis, thinks Vajbti was Atofja, the daughter of Cyrus, whom he. married. The Targumifi fays, fhe was the daughter of Evil-merodach, the fon of Nebuchadnezzar. Her name feems to be the fame with Vefa, a deity worfhipped by the Perfians, as Xenophon", and fignifies vehement fire, which was in great veneration with them, and therefore this queen is moft likely to be of Perfian original: fhe kept her fealt sa the royal houfe which belonged to Abafuerus; her guefts not being fo many, there was room enough in the king’s palace for them, and where it was more decent for them to be, than.in the open air in' the garden, and expofed to the fight of men.

v.10. On the feventh day, &c.| Of the feaft, the latt day of it, which the Raddins, as Farchi obferves, fay was the fabbath-day, and fo the Zargum > when the heart of the king was merry with wine; when he was intoxicated with it, and knew not well what he faid or did; and the difcourfe at table ran upon the beauty of women, as the latter Targum when the king afferted there were no women {o beautiful as thofe of Babylon, and as a proof of it, ordered his queen to be brought in: be com- ~manded Mebuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the feven chamberlains, that ferved in the prefence of Abafuerus the king; or eunuchs, as the word is fometimes rendered; and fuch perfons were made ufe of in the eaftern countries to wait upon women, and fo were proper to be fent on the king’s errand to the queen. ' y. 11. To bring Vafhti the cueen before the king, &c.J] Not againft her will, or by force; but they were fent to let her know it was the king’s pleafure, that fhe fhould come to him immediately: with the crown royal; that is, upon her head, to make her look the more grand and majeftic: to foew the people and the princes her beauty; for fhe was fair to look upon; which was not wifely done, neither was it comely nor fafe.

y.12. But the queen refufed to come at the king’s commandment by his chamberlains, &c.| Even tho’ he fent by them again, asthe Zargum; and fo fays Fofephus °; which might not purely arife from pride in her, and contempt of him, but becaufe fhe might conclude he was drunk, and knew not well what he did; and therefore had fhe come at his command, when he was himfelf and fober, he might blame her for coming, nay ufe her ill for it, and efpecially if fhe was to come naked, as fay theFews?; and befides it was contrary to the law of the Perfians, as not only Fofepbus4, but Plutarch.' obferves, which fuffered not women to be feen in public; and particularly did not allow their wives to be with them at feafts, only their concubines and harlots, with whom they could behave with more

‘indecency; as for their wives, they were kept out bis anger burned in him; which was the more fierce,» as he was infamed With wine. ee ¥.13. Then the king foid to the wife men that knew the times, &c.| Aftrologers, as Aben Ezra,’ that knew the fit time for domg any thing; or that had knowledge of ancient times, hiftorians, well read in hiftory, and knew things that had happen= ed fimilar to this:, for fo was the king?s manner to=" wards all that knew law and judgment; it was cultomary with him in any cafe of difficulty to have the opinion and advice of thofe that were expert in the law, and well underftood right and wrong. Thefe are called by Herodotus ', the king’s judges. -

¥. 14. And the next unto him, &c.\ That fat next to the king, and was the chief in dignity and.

authority under him, was Carfbena; and fo every’ one in their rank and order, as next méntioned’: Shethar, Admatha, Tarfifo, Meres, Marfena, and Memucan; who, according to the latter Targum, were of different countries; the 1ft of Africa, the: 2d of India, the third-of Jdumea, the 4th of Egypt, the 5th of Refen, Gen. x. 12. which is framed out of Marfena, who is dropped, and the laft of Feru- Jalem, faid to be Daniel; though the former Tar-. gum makes him to be Haman: the feven princes of Perfia and Media; which cuftom of having feven counfellors with the kings of Perfia, arofe from the feven princes that flew Smerdis the pretender, and made Darius Hy/iafpis king, the father of Xerxes: which faw the king’s face; were intimate and familiar with him, often in his prefence; yea, might go into it when they pleafed, without the ceremony of being introduced; which, privilege the above perfons referved to themfelves, when they placed: Darius on the throne, as Herodotus relates": and which fat the firft in the kingdom; next to the king, and were affifting to him in the adminiftration of government, fee Ezra vii. 14. ¥.15. What fhall we do unto the queen Vafoti, according to law, &c.]. The king defired to know what law was provided in fuch a cafe as her’s, and - what to be done according to it: becaufe fhe bath not performed the commandment of the king by the chamberlains? as this was the crime, difobedience to his commands, he would have thofe who had knowledge of the law, confider what punifhment was to be inflicted on her for it, according to for-' mer laws, ufages and cuftoms, or as reafon and juftice required; and it being a feftival, and they heated with wine, was no objection to a confultation on this head; for it was the manner of the Perfians at feftivals, and when inflamed with wine, to confult and determine’ about matters of the greateft moment”; yea, reckoned their counfels and decrees firmer than when made when they were fober*; fo the ancient Germans’. - a ¥.10. And Memucan anfwered before the king ani the princes, &c.] Who was the Jaft, ind prs the leaft and the youngeft of the counfellors; it being appointed by the king, according to the latter Zargum, that when his counfellors fat, the leaf fhould give their counfel firft; juft as puifne judges, and the youngeft peers with us, give their opinion in a cafe firtt: Vafbti the queen be done wrong to the king only, but alfo to all the