“In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.”
Nehemiah 9:38
Last time we saw the Levites confess to Yahweh their great distress at Persian kings ruling their land, cattle, and their own bodies. Today we see the community’s next move: to make a binding agreement.
“In view of all this (zoth– [pronoun, feminine singular] hereby in it, likewise, the one other, same; Irregular feminine of zeh– sheep, lamb)…”
In light of all this (everything, feminine for lamb)…
Based on all this history we’ve recounted, this rebellion of us and faithfulness of You, the Israelites will be taking a certain course of action. It is important to look back and recall the ways He has been faithful – especially when we weren’t. To remind ourselves of our “all this.”
It is interesting to me the term for this in our verse can also mean a feminine lamb. And it is also used in the verse “This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh” in Genesis 2:23, referring to Adam’s reaction to God creating Eve. And it is in the singular feminine form even here.
Before we quickly jump to how the past rebellion of Israel is somehow related to a particular gender, let’s remember who all had not followed God’s standards: everyone. All we like sheep have gone astray. This is more like how we call tropical storms by female names, or refer to inanimate objects as “she’s a beaut.” In this instance, the recounted past is coming together in a collective pronoun she.
We will see coming up in the book of Nehemiah how not marrying women who worship pagan gods is part of this covenant all leaders would sign, pointing to the enormous influence women have over their households. But to somehow jump to gender bashing is to ignore the blatant disrespect toward God’s Law by all – leadership on down.
“…We cut (karath– cut, make in writing) a sure covenant/binding agreement (amanah– faith, support, firm regulation, certain portion, sure; feminine of ‘amen– very truly, Amen, so be it, truth; something fixed. An allowance.)…”
[Because of this] we are cutting a covenant, something fixed and true.
This is, again, a good idea. To recount their mistakes and make a covenant to not repeat them. And not simply in words:
“…Puting it in writing (kathab– to write, decree, inscribe, record, prescribe, sign, write down)…”
Writing it down, making an inscribed decree. Sounds pretty permanent to me. After all, God had put down His covenant toward them in writing with His own hand; now the Israelites were following suit.
“…And our leaders (sar– chief, leaders, officials, officers), our Levites (Levi) and our priests (kohen) are affixing their seals to it (chatham– seal up, obstruct, shut, stop, make an end)…”
And all our leading officials, temple workers, and priests are sealing it, making it official and shutting it.
Well, that pretty much covers everyone in leadership: political, spiritual, civic. And, remember, that seal they all use is what makes it official, the permanent signature of each leader. They were coming together in agreement on this and sealing the matter for their community. “Never again do we want to rebel against God and His ways. And we especially do not want to fall back into slavery.”
These unifying steps matter. Agreeing to obey God’s Law and honor fellow humans is crucial. As we will find out, God’s people could not follow through on this perfectly. If they had, we would not have needed Jesus to do it on our behalf.
But to take obedient steps forward is the next right thing for our returned exiles. Make we take ours today.