Nehemiah 9:17 - Exposition

In their rebellion . Several MSS . have b'Mitzraim for b'Miryam, which would give the sense "appointed a captain to return to their bondage in Egypt." So the Septuagint. Appointed a captain . The reference is to Numbers 14:4 , where we are told that the Israelites "said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt." The Levites speak as if the appointment had been made, perhaps regarding the intention as morally equivalent to the act. A God ready to pardon . Literally, "a God of pardons." The word used is a rare one, occurring only in Daniel 9:9 and Psalms 130:4 , besides the present passage. Gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness . This is quoted from Joel 2:13 , which is perhaps a conscious reproduction of Jonah 4:2 .