Nehemiah 3:25

Palal the son of Uzai R.V. Palal the son of Uzai repaired.

the tower which lieth out from the king's high house, thatwas by the court of the prison R.V. the tower that standeth out from the upper house of the king, which is by the court of the guard, R.V. marg. -Or, the upper tower … from the house of the king".

It is not easy to determine the meaning of this description. The adjective -upper" may be applied either to the king's house or to the tower; and the clause -which is by the court of the guard" follows it as a further description either of house or tower. In Jeremiah 32:2 -the court of the guard" is in-the king's house" (cf. Jeremiah 33:1; Jeremiah 37:21; Jeremiah 38:6; Jeremiah 38:13; Jeremiah 38:28; Jeremiah 39:14-15). In the present passage we have either-the king's upper house," so called to distinguish it from the king's house, in which was the court of the guard; or, as seems more probable, seeing that the passage is a description of the city wall, -the upper tower," which is identified as the one projecting from the king's palace and close to the -court of the guard." In the vicinity of the royal palace and Temple there would probably be several towers. The LXX. ὁ πύργος … ὁ ἀνώτερος accepted the latter explanation.

It is very probable that the base of -the tower" here spoken of was reached by Sir Charles Warren. -A great wall still exists, though buried in rubbish, joining the Haram wall at the south-east angle. It was evidently built for purposes of fortification, for it is fourteen feet thick.… There are several towers projecting from the wall, one of which is very remarkable, as it projects more than any of the rest, standing upon scarped rock, and having another wall leading from it going down towards the Kedron." (Harper, The Bible and Modern Discoveries, P. 509.)

-the upper house of the king". This building, erected upon the site of the old palace of the kings of Judah and perhaps at this time occupied by the chief officials of the city, stood apparently on the -Ophel" summit, immediately S. of the Temple precincts.

Pedaiah the son of Parosh R.V. Pedaiah the son of Parosh repaired. R.V. marg. - Pedaiah the son of Parosh(now … Ophel) repaired unto, &c." See note on Nehemiah 3:26. On Parosh see Ezra 2:3. As in the earlier part of the verse the verb -repaired" has to be understood.