8 and a letter unto Asaph, keeper of the paradise that the king hath, that he give to me trees for beams `for' the gates of the palace that the house hath, and for the wall of the city, and for the house into which I enter;' and the king giveth to me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
Ezra himself hath come up from Babylon, and he `is' a scribe ready in the law of Moses, that Jehovah God of Israel gave, and the king giveth to him -- according to the hand of Jehovah his God upon him -- all his request.
and I charge Hanani my brother, and Hananiah head of the palace, concerning Jerusalem -- for he `is' as a man of truth, and fearing God above many --
And ye have seen, and rejoiced hath your heart, And your bones as tender grass do flourish, And the hand of Jehovah hath been known unto His servants, And He hath been indignant with His enemies.
And God giveth Daniel for kindness and for mercies before the chief of the eunuchs;
and they make the feast of unleavened things seven days with joy, for Jehovah made them to rejoice, and turned round the heart of the king of Asshur unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
for on the first of the month he hath founded the ascent from Babylon, and on the first of the fifth month he hath come in unto Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him,
Blessed `is' Jehovah, God of our fathers, who hath given such a thing as this in the heart of the king, to beautify the house of Jehovah that `is' in Jerusalem, and unto me hath stretched out kindness before the king and his counsellors, and before all the mighty heads of the king: and I have strengthened myself as the hand of Jehovah my God `is' upon me, and I gather out of Israel heads to go up with me.
and I say unto them, `Ye are seeing the evil that we are in, in that Jerusalem `is' waste, and its gates have been burnt with fire; come and we build the wall of Jerusalem, and we are not any more a reproach.' And I declare to them the hand of my God that is good upon me, and also the words of the king that he said to me, and they say, `Let us rise, and we have built;' and they strengthen their hands for good.
And Eliashib the high priest riseth, and his brethren the priests, and they build the sheep-gate; they have sanctified it, and set up its doors, even unto the tower of Meah they have sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel; and by his hand have men of Jericho built; and by their hand hath Zaccur son of Imri built; and the fish-gate have sons of Hassenaah built, they have walled it, and set up its doors, its locks, and its bars. And by their hand hath Merimoth son of Urijah, son of Koz, strengthened; and by his hand hath Meshullam son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabeel, strengthened; and by his hand hath Zadok son of Baana strengthened; and by his hand have the Tekoites strengthened, and their honourable ones have not brought in their neck to the service of their Lord. And the old gate have Jehoiada son of Paseah, and Meshullam son of Besodeiah, strengthened; they have walled it, and set up its doors, and its locks, and its bars. And by their hand hath Melatiah the Gibeonite strengthened, and Jadon the Meronothite, men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, to the throne of the governor beyond the River. By his hand hath Uzziel son of Harhaiah of the refiners strengthened; and by his hand hath Hananiah son of `one of' the compounders strengthened; and they leave Jerusalem unto the broad wall. And by their hand hath Rephaiah son of Hur, head of the half of the district of Jerusalem, strengthened. And by their hand hath Jedaiah son of Harumaph strengthened, and over-against his own house; and by his hand hath Hattush son of Hashabniah strengthened. A second measure hath Malchijah son of Harim strengthened, and Hashub son of Pahath-Moab, even the tower of the furnaces. And by his hand hath Shallum son of Halohesh, head of the half of the district of Jerusalem, strengthened, he and his daughters. The gate of the valley hath Hanun strengthened, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they have built it, and set up its doors, its locks, and its bars, and a thousand cubits in the wall unto the dung-gate. And the dung-gate hath Malchijah son of Rechab, head of the district of Beth-Haccerem, strengthened; he doth built it, and set up its doors, its locks, and its bars. And the gate of the fountain hath Shallum son of Col-Hozeh, head of the district of Mizpah, strengthened: he doth build it, and cover it, and set up its doors, its locks, and its bars, and the wall of the pool of Siloah, to the garden of the king, and unto the steps that are going down from the city of David. After him hath Nehemiah son of Azbuk, head of the half of the district of Beth-Zur, strengthened, unto over-against the graves of David, and unto the pool that is made, and unto the house of the mighty ones. After him have the Levites strengthened, `and' Rehum son of Bani: by his hand hath Hashabiah, head of the half of the district of Keilah, strengthened, for his district. After him have their brethren strengthened, `and' Bavvai son of Henadad, head of the half of the district of Keilah. And Ezer son of Jeshua, head of Mizpah, doth strengthen, by his hand, a second measure, from over-against the ascent of the armoury at the angle. After him hath Baruch son of Zabbai hastened to strengthen a second measure from the angle unto the opening of the house of Eliashib the high priest. After him hath Meremoth son of Urijah, son of Koz, strengthened, a second measure, from the opening of the house of Eliashib even unto the completion of the house of Eliashib. And after him have the priests, men of the circuit, strengthened. After them hath Benjamin strengthened, and Hashub, over-against their house; after him hath Azariah son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, strengthened, near his house. After him hath Binnui son of Henadad strengthened, a second measure, from the house of Azariah unto the angle, and unto the corner. Palal son of Uzai, from over-against the angle, and the tower that is going out from the upper house of the king that `is' at the court of the prison; after him Pedaiah son of Parosh. And the Nethinim have been dwelling in Ophel, unto over-against the water-gate at the east, and the tower that goeth out. After him have the Tekoites strengthened, a second measure, from over-against the great tower that goeth out, and unto the wall of Ophel. From above the horse-gate have the priests strengthened, each over-against his house. After them hath Zadok son of Immer strengthened, over against his house; and after him hath Shemaiah son of Shechaniah, keeper of the east gate, strengthened. After him hath Hananiah son of Shelemiah strengthened, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, a second measure; after him hath Meshullam son of Berechiah strengthened, over-against his chamber. After him hath Malchijah son of the refiner strengthened, unto the house of the Nethinim, and of the merchants, over-against the gate of the Miphkad, and unto the ascent of the corner. And between the ascent of the corner and the sheep-gate, have the refiners and the merchants strengthened.
and did deliver him out of all his tribulations, and gave him favour and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he did set him -- governor over Egypt and all his house.
`Having obtained, therefore, help from God, till this day, I have stood witnessing both to small and to great, saying nothing besides the things that both the prophets and Moses spake of as about to come,
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Nehemiah 2
Commentary on Nehemiah 2 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 2
Ne 2:1-20. Artaxerxes, Understanding the Cause of Nehemiah's Sadness, Sends Him with Letters and a Commission to Build Again the Walls of Jerusalem.
1. it came to pass in the month Nisan—This was nearly four months after he had learned the desolate and ruinous state of Jerusalem (Ne 1:1). The reasons for so long a delay cannot be ascertained.
I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king—Xenophon has particularly remarked about the polished and graceful manner in which the cupbearers of the Median, and consequently the Persian, monarchs performed their duty of presenting the wine to their royal master. Having washed the cup in the king's presence and poured into their left hand a little of the wine, which they drank in his presence, they then handed the cup to him, not grasped, but lightly held with the tips of their thumb and fingers. This description has received some curious illustrations from the monuments of Assyria and Persia, on which the cupbearers are frequently represented in the act of handing wine to the king.
2-5. the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad?—It was deemed highly unbecoming to appear in the royal presence with any weeds or signs of sorrow (Es 4:2); and hence it was no wonder that the king was struck with the dejected air of his cupbearer, while that attendant, on his part, felt his agitation increased by his deep anxiety about the issue of the conversation so abruptly begun. But the piety and intense earnestness of the man immediately restored [Nehemiah] to calm self-possession and enabled him to communicate, first, the cause of his sadness (Ne 2:3), and next, the patriotic wish of his heart to be the honored instrument of reviving the ancient glory of the city of his fathers.
6-9. the queen also sitting by him—As the Persian monarchs did not admit their wives to be present at their state festivals, this must have been a private occasion. The queen referred to was probably Esther, whose presence would tend greatly to embolden Nehemiah in stating his request; and through her influence, powerfully exerted it may be supposed, also by her sympathy with the patriotic design, his petition was granted, to go as deputy governor of Judea, accompanied by a military guard, and invested with full powers to obtain materials for the building in Jerusalem, as well as to get all requisite aid in promoting his enterprise.
I set him a time—Considering the great despatch made in raising the walls, it is probable that this leave of absence was limited at first to a year or six months, after which he returned to his duties in Shushan. The circumstance of fixing a set time for his return, as well as entrusting so important a work as the refortification of Jerusalem to his care, proves the high favor and confidence Nehemiah enjoyed at the Persian court, and the great estimation in which his services were held. At a later period he received a new commission for the better settlement of the affairs of Judea and remained governor of that province for twelve years (Ne 5:14).
7. letters be given me to the governors beyond the river—The Persian empire at this time was of vast extent, reaching from the Indus to the Mediterranean. The Euphrates was considered as naturally dividing it into two parts, eastern and western (see on Ezr 5:3).
8. according to the good hand of my God upon me—The piety of Nehemiah appears in every circumstance. The conception of his patriotic design, the favorable disposition of the king, and the success of the undertaking are all ascribed to God.
10. Sanballat the Horonite—Horonaim being a town in Moab, this person, it is probable, was a Moabite.
Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite—The term used indicates him to have been a freed slave, elevated to some official dignity. These were district magistrates under the government of the satrap of Syria; and they seem to have been leaders of the Samaritan faction.
11, 12. So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days—Deeply affected with the desolations of Jerusalem, and uncertain what course to follow, he remained three days before informing any one of the object of his mission [Ne 2:17, 18]. At the end of the third day, accompanied with a few attendants, he made, under covert of night, a secret survey of the walls and gates [Ne 2:13-15].
13-15. I went out by night by the gate of the valley—that is, the Jaffa gate, near the tower of Hippicus.
even before the dragon well—that is, fountain on the opposite side of the valley.
and to the dung port—the gate on the east of the city, through which there ran a common sewer to the brook Kedron and the valley of Hinnom.
14. Then—that is, after having passed through the gate of the Essenes.
I went on to the gate of the fountain—that is, Siloah, from which turning round the fount of Ophel.
to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass—that is, by the sides of this pool (Solomon's) there being water in the pool, and too much rubbish about it to permit the passage of the beast.
15. Then went I up … by the brook—that is, Kedron.
and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned—the gate leading to the valley of Jehoshaphat, east of the city. He went out by this gate, and having made the circuit of the city, went in by it again [Barclay, City of the Great King].
16-18. the rulers knew not—The following day, having assembled the elders, Nehemiah produced his commission and exhorted them to assist in the work. The sight of his credentials, and the animating strain of his address and example, so revived their drooping spirits that they resolved immediately to commence the building, which they did, despite the bitter taunts and scoffing ridicule of some influential men.