Nehemiah 2:1. Nehemiah receives His Commission 1. _Nisan_ See note on Nehemiah 1:1. This name only occurs elsewhere in the O.T. in Esther 3:7, -in the first month, which is the month Nisan," cf. Josephus, _Ant._xi. 4, 8, -The first month, which according to the Macedonians is called Xanthicus, but a... [ Continue Reading ]
_Wherefore_ R.V. AND. _sad_ The Hebrew adjective which means literally -bad" is used constantly in this sense, just as we speak of -bad news" when we mean -sad news." For this usage cf. Genesis 40:7 -sadly," Proverbs 25:20 -an heavy heart." _sorrow of heart_ The substantive, being derived from the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let the king live for ever_ For this formula opening an address to a king see Daniel 2:4; Daniel 3:9. Cf. 1 Kings 1:31. _why should not my countenance be sad?_ i.e. how could it be otherwise than sad? _the place of my fathers" sepulchres_ -the place," literally -the house:" compare 1 Samuel 25:1;... [ Continue Reading ]
_For what dost thou make request_ See Esther 4:8; Esther 7:1; Esther 7:7. The king is favourable, and asks how he can render assistance. _So I prayed_ Literally, -And I prayed". Nehemiah instantaneously turns from the great king of Persia to the King of kings. The simplicity with which Nehemiah narr... [ Continue Reading ]
_If it please the king, and if thy servant,_&c. A double conditional sentence precedes the request. On the king's approbation of the policy and on the king's personal favour to Nehemiah must depend the issue. The words run literally, -If it is good before the king and if thy servant be good in thy... [ Continue Reading ]
_b_ 73 _a_. The Register of those who returned with Zerubbabel = Ezra 2:1-70 _a register of the genealogy_ R.V. THE BOOK. _of them which came up at the first_ The only natural explanation of these words is that Nehemiah found in the archives of Jerusalem the list of those that accompanied Zerubbabe... [ Continue Reading ]
The account is very condensed. Nehemiah's request is favourably received, but only the general results of the conversation are related. The king seems at once to have appointed Nehemiah to be -governor" at Jerusalem (cf. Nehemiah 5:14), and to have approved the policy of restoring the walls. _the q... [ Continue Reading ]
_letters_ see note on Ezra 4:8. _the governors beyond the river_ The -Pekhahs" of the province on the west bank of the Euphrates (Ezra 8:36). A reference to Ezra 4:7-10; Ezra 4:17 shows the importance of securing the recognition of these provincial governors. _convey me over … into Judah_ R.V. LET... [ Continue Reading ]
_Asaph the keeper of the king's forest_ R.V. marg. -or _park_". The forest or park from which the timber was to be supplied has been identified by some with the forests of Lebanon, by others with the well-wooded -plain" abounding in olives and sycomores (1 Chronicles 27:28) near the coast. In the pr... [ Continue Reading ]
_the governors beyond the river_ The governors of the provinces W. of the Euphrates. According to Josephus the chief governor of Syria, Phœnicia and Samaria was Adæus (_Ant._XI. 5. 6). The statement that Nehemiah went to the various -governors beyond the river" may indicate the line of his journey,... [ Continue Reading ]
_When_ R.V. AND WHEN. This is the first mention of the opposition which Nehemiah encountered. The news of his mission quickly spread, although its precise object was not known (cf. Nehemiah 2:12_; Nehemiah 2:16_). Sanballat and Tobiah appear throughout the book as the bitterest foes he had to enco... [ Continue Reading ]
After his arrival at Jerusalem, Nehemiah waited three days before taking any steps. Ezra had done the same (Ezra 8:32). It was necessary to rest after the journey, and to interchange the formalities of Eastern courtesy with the principal people of the city.... [ Continue Reading ]
Nehemiah 2:11 to Nehemiah 7:5. The Commission performed Nehemiah 2:11-20. The Work undertaken The incidents of this passage may be grouped as follows: (_a_) 11. Nehemiah's arrival: (_b_) 12 15, His preliminary investigation: (_c_) 16 18, the resolution to undertake the work: (_d_) 19, 20, Nehemia... [ Continue Reading ]
Nehemiah went out -by night" with only a few attendants. He did not wish to excite the curiosity of the people or to arouse the suspicion of his foes with respect to his intended project. _neither told I_any _man_ He preserved a discreet silence, until he had personally formed some estimate of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_by the gate of the valley_ R.V. BY THE VALLEY GATE. The R.V. rendering is preferable, showing that Nehemiah is not merely defining the position of the gate but is referring to it by its recognised name. The valley-gate is mentioned again in Nehemiah 3:13. The king Uzziah according to 2 Chronicles... [ Continue Reading ]
Nehemiah's tour of inspection [1] [1] The Topography of the Walls of Jerusalem, in pre-Maccabean times, remains in great obscurity. The places mentioned in Nehemiah 2:13-15; Nehemiah 2:3; Nehemiah 12:37-39 cannot as yet be said to have been certainly identified except in one or two instances. So lo... [ Continue Reading ]
_I went on_ Literally -I crossed" or -passed over." _to the gate of the fountain_ R.V. TO THE FOUNTAIN GATE. On the disputed identification of -the fountain gate," see Nehemiah 3:15; Nehemiah 12:37. It seems to have stood almost at the southernmost part of the city, at the mouth of the narrow valle... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then went I up_ The tense in the original denotes the gradual progress. _by the brook_ i.e. the -nakhal" or -brook" (χείμαρρος) of Kedron. Leaving the ruined line of wall, he goes down to the hollow of the Kedron valley, and proceeds northward -up" the stream, surveying the remains of the walls th... [ Continue Reading ]
The Nation's Resolve 16. _the rulers_ R.V. marg. Or _deputies. -S'ganim_" is the title used in Ezra 9:2, and in this book (Nehemiah 4:8; Nehemiah 4:13; Nehemiah 5:7; Nehemiah 7:5; Nehemiah 12:40) for the chief magistrates and officials of the city. _whither I went, or what I did_ More literally -w... [ Continue Reading ]
Nehemiah's appeal. It is implied that Nehemiah having satisfied himself as to the practicability of his plan called an assembly of those mentioned in the previous verse. How soon after his nocturnal ride is not stated. _the distress_ R.V. THE EVIL CASE, the same word as in Nehemiah 1:1 _Jerusalem_... [ Continue Reading ]
_the hand of my God_ Cf. Nehemiah 2:8. The blessing which had so far attended his plan. _as also the king's words_ R.V. AS ALSO OF, &c. He reported the substance of the king's words, which the compiler has not given us. _Let us rise up and build_ The people responded with enthusiasm. _So they str... [ Continue Reading ]
The Derision of the Enemy 19. _Sanballat … Tobiah_ See Nehemiah 2:10. _Geshem the Arabian_ A third prominent adversary of Nehemiah is here introduced. His name occurs again in Nehemiah 6:1-2. In Nehemiah 6:6, the name is written as -Gashmu," a dialectical variety agreeing, as it is said, with North... [ Continue Reading ]
_The God of heaven_ see on Nehemiah 1:4. _will prosper us_ See Nehemiah 1:11. The Vulgate -juvat nos," the present tense corresponding to the following clause -we are his servants," is quite permissible: but is not so suitable to the occasion of Nehemiah's reply. _we his servants_ as in Nehemiah 1... [ Continue Reading ]