Nehemiah 8:1-8

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        1.  And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was 
        before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of 
        Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.  2.  And Ezra the priest brought the law 
        before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, 
        upon the first day of the seventh month.  3.  And he read therein before the street that 
        was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and 
        those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book 
        of the law.
      
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         4.  And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; 
        and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and 
        Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and 
        Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.  5.  And Ezra opened the book in the 
        sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the 
        people stood up:  6.  And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people 
        answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and 
        worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.  7.  Also Jeshua, and Bani, and 
        Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, 
        Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in 
        their place.  8.  So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the 
        sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
      
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        	How did this revival begin?
      
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        		James 1: 16.  Do not err, my beloved brethren.  17.  Every good gift and every perfect 
        gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no 
        variableness, neither shadow of turning.
      
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        	Notice that the people demanded the law from Ezra.  This was an amazing thing in light of 
        their recent history.
      
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        	Note v 4b, Zechariah was there also.
      
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        	Part of Ezra's emphasis had been that things had continued just as they had before the 
        Babylonian exile.  
      
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        	Ezra was historically considered responsible for the beginnings of revival here.
      
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        	v. 7,8 - 13 Levites were there to help the people understand what was read.
      
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        		Consider just how valuable these were under the circumstances.
      
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        		The usage of Hebrew may have changed since it was originally written.
      
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        		Study the Talmud and the Midrash
      
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        			Talmud
      
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        				Mishnah - the oral law, in existence by the end of 2nd century AD
      
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        					Very brief, clear and comprehensive
      
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        					The earliest collection of Mishnah was @ the time of HIllel & Shammai shcools, during 
        the 2nd temple, Nehemiah's time.
      
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        				Gemara - Comments by Rabbis on the Mishnah from AD 200-500
      
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        				Contents
      
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        					Halakhah - legal enactments & precepts with elaborate discussion
      
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        					Haggadah - Non-legal interpretations
      
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        				The Talmud is binding for faith and life on Orthodox Jews
      
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        				The Talmud represents an uninterrupted line of work from Ezra to the 6th century of 
        the "common era".
      
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        			MIdrash
      
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        				Didactic and Homeletic expositions on narratives we now possess
      
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        				Referred to in 2 Chronicles 13:22 "Iddo"; and 24:27 "kings".
      
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        				Started at Ezra, came to a close soon after the completion of the Babylonian Talmud 
        (Post Christian).
      
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        		Imagine what it was like to grow up as a Levite:
      
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        			Special plans, special destiny, special sacrifices lay down the road.
      
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        			Consider the special scholarship required.  Hebrew learning depended much on 
        memorization and repetition.  Scrolls were used.
      
      
        
      
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