Nehemiah 8:10

Context

After the return from exile, once the wall of Jerusalem was completed (Nehemiah 6:15), the people gathered on the first day of the seventh month in the square before the Water Gate. The Law had appointed this day as a holy convocation, "a memorial of blowing of trumpets" (Leviticus 23:24). The scribe Ezra read from the book of the Law from early morning until midday, and the Levites explained it so that the people could understand its meaning (Nehemiah 8:8). When the people wept at hearing the words, Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites urged them not to mourn, because the day was "holy unto the LORD" (8:9). Verse 10 continues this exhortation.

On hearing this, the people rejoiced greatly, eating and sharing portions, "because they had understood the words" (8:12). They then kept the Feast of Tabernacles (8:13-18), and on the twenty-fourth day of the same month they fasted and confessed their sins (9:1-3). Repentance was not forbidden; rather, the sequence shows the people coming before God with joy on the holy day and with fasting at the appointed time.

Interpretations

• Joy in God: This reading, reflected in translations such as the Korean Revised Version, which renders the phrase as "delighting in the LORD," holds that a person's rejoicing in God becomes that person's strength.
• God's own joy: Because the Hebrew expression literally reads "the joy of the LORD," some take it to mean that God's delight in his people is what protects them. The Hebrew word ma'oz, translated "strength," can also mean a stronghold or refuge, so in this reading the joy is understood in terms of protection and refuge.
• Community and sharing: This reading focuses on the command to "send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared," seeing in it a continuation of the Old Testament tradition that festival joy is to be shared with poor neighbors (Deuteronomy 16:14). A similar custom of "sending portions" appears in the account of Purim (Esther 9:22).

Questions Concerning Application

There is little clear doctrinal dispute among denominations over this verse. Several points, however, have been raised.

• The speaker: The Hebrew text begins simply "And he said," without naming a subject. The Korean Revised Version identifies the speaker as Nehemiah, but some scholars hold that Ezra was the speaker. Some critical scholars also suggest that the name of Nehemiah in 8:9 may be a later addition.
• Quotation out of context: It has been observed that the verse is sometimes used as an emotional slogan to "always stay in a good mood" or as a basis for positive thinking. Commentators emphasize that in the text the joy arises from understanding the word (8:12) and leads to sharing with one's neighbors.
• The relationship between repentance and joy: The common interpretation holds that the exhortation to stop weeping should not be read as making light of repentance. The fasting and confession that follow in chapter 9 are offered as evidence for this view.

Related Passages

• Nehemiah 8:12
• Leviticus 23:24
• Deuteronomy 16:14
• Psalm 16:11
• Philippians 4:4