Moreover. — Literally, And he said to the people, to wit, to the dwellers in Jerusalem. (Comp. 2 Chronicles 24:8; 1 Chronicles 21:17.)
The portion of the priests and the Levites. — The firstfruits and tithes, ordained in Exodus 23:19; Leviticus 27:30-33; Numbers 18:12; Numbers 18:20-24; Deufc. 26
That they might be encouraged in the law. — Rather, that they might stick fast unto the law. For this use of châdzaq, comp. 2 Samuel 18:9, “his head stuck fast in the terebinth.” The meaning is, that they might be enabled to devote themselves wholly and solely to their religious duties, without being distracted by any secular anxieties. (See Nehemiah 13:10, “And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given, for the Levites and the singers that did the work were fled every one to his field.”)