Nehemiah 9:1
in Nehemiah 9On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackcloth, and earth upon them.
KJV
Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.
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This verse in Nehemiah 9
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The festival lasted from the 15th day of the 7th month to the first. The 22nd day was a day of solemn observance Neh 8:18. One day seems to have been allowed the people for rest; and then the work of repentance, for which they had shown themselves ready Neh 8:9, was taken in hand, and a general fast was proclaimed.
This site's exposition
fasting and wearing sackcloth
on Nehemiah 9:1-2
Two days after the feast of booths, the congregation returns to mourning, "fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads". Those of Israelite descent confessed "their sins and the iniquities of their fathers," one confession spanning the generations. The crowd that rejoiced now owns what its history was.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
The children of Israel assembled in fasting and sackcloth, etc. The devotion of the people corrected after captivity is noteworthy, for once the solemnity mandated by the law of the Lord was duly completed, and after just one day of interval, they themselves willingly gathered …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
What were the heads of the prayer that was made to God on that occasion, wherein they made a thankful acknowledgment of God's mercies, a penitent confession of sin, and a humble submission to the righteous hand of God in the judgments that were brought upon them, concluding with a solemn resolution of new obedience,
Now in the twenty fourth day of this month,.... The seventh month, the month Tisri or September, two days after the feast of tabernacles was ended: the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them; which were all outward tokens of mourning and humiliation, see Joe 1:8 which they could not show during the festival; but that being over, they return to it, see Neh 8:9.
The joy of our holy feasts must give way to the sorrow of our solemn fasts when they come. Every thing is beautiful in its season. It was a day to loose the bands of wickedness, and that is the fast that God has chosen, Isa. lviii.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
A solemn fast was now observed for the expression of those penitential and sorrowful feelings which the reading of the law had produced, but which had been suppressed during the celebration of the feast; and the sincerity of their repentance was evinced by the decisive steps taken for the correction of existing abuses in the matter of marriage.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Now in the twenty and fourth day - The feast of trumpets was on the first day of this month; on the fourteenth began the feast of tabernacles, which, lasting seven days, finished on the twenty-second; on the twenty-third they separated themselves from their illegitimate wives and children; and, on the twenty-fourth, they held a solemn day of fasting and confession of sin, and reading the law, which they closed by renewing their covenants.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
and [with] earth upon them They had put earth on their heads.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבְיוֹם֩ | uveyom | and on day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| עֶשְׂרִ֨ים | ʾesrim | twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| וְאַרְבָּעָ֜ה | vearbaah | and four | H702 → | 318 times |
| לַחֹ֣דֶשׁ | lachodesh | of the month | H2320 → | 284 times |
| הַזֶּ֗ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| נֶאֶסְפ֤וּ | neesfu | they gathered | H622 → | 200 times |
| בְנֵֽי־ | venei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| בְּצ֣וֹם | betzom | with fasting | H6685 → | |
| וּבְשַׂקִּ֔ים | uvesakim | and in sackcloth<s> | H8242 → | |
| וַאֲדָמָ֖ה | vaadamah | and earth | H127 → | 225 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ | ʾaleihem | [was] on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
וּבְיוֹם֩and on day
uveyomH3117 →2304 times
עֶשְׂרִ֨יםtwenty
ʾesrimH6242 →315 times
וְאַרְבָּעָ֜הand four
vearbaahH702 →318 times
לַחֹ֣דֶשׁof the month
lachodeshH2320 →284 times
הַזֶּ֗ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
נֶאֶסְפ֤וּthey gathered
neesfuH622 →200 times
בְנֵֽי־[the] people of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
בְּצ֣וֹםwith fasting
betzomH6685 →
וּבְשַׂקִּ֔יםand in sackcloth<s>
uvesakimH8242 →
וַאֲדָמָ֖הand earth
vaadamahH127 →225 times
עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃[was] on them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezra 8:23So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He granted our request.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:12–13
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
- Matthew 7:7–8
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
- Ezra 8:31
On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem, and the hand of our God was upon us to protect us from the hands…
- 2 Chronicles 33:12–13
And in his distress, Manasseh sought the favor of the LORD his God and earnestly humbled himself before the God of his fathers.
- Deuteronomy 4:29
But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
- Jeremiah 29:12–13
Through
Nehemiah 8:2On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could listen and understand.
it leads to
- Leviticus 23:24
“Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly announced by trumpet blasts.
- Leviticus 23:24
Through
1 Samuel 4:12That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line all the way to Shiloh, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.
it leads to
- Joshua 7:6
Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.
- Joshua 7:6
Through
Joshua 7:6Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.
it leads to
- Genesis 37:29
When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes,
- Genesis 37:29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About Nehemiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament; Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.