Ezra's marathon undertaking - what an occasion!

Chapter 7 is big on “who was there”. These amazing listings must have been so helpful. 

I love the reading of the book of the law of Moses as recorded in Nehemiah, Chapter 8. I found that this reading was required to be done, as recorded in Deuteronomy 31:10-13. These verses are here copied from Concord –

10And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,

11When all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.

12Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:

13And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

This reading had fallen into neglect and the people who had been exiled could no longer read Hebrew.  So dear Ezra read, and it was translated sentence by sentence into Chaldee, the dialect which they had spoken in Babylon.  How glad the people were to hear it! 

No too long ago, I read this story on a Wednesday evening as part of the readings.  When I finished verse 4 with all the difficult names of the translators (6 on his right hand, and 7 on his left) I said, “Or something like that.”  (Giggle)

What a marathon undertaking by Ezra!  Verse 18 has, “Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God.”  That is 7 days of reading.

Joyce Voysey

Ed. I love the NLT (New Living Translation) for verses 4 and 5:

Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform that had been made for the occasion. To his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Kilkiah, and Maaseiah. To his left stood Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

Ezra stood on the platform in full view of all the people. When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet.

What a moving occasion it must have been!