CHAPTER II _Artaxerxes, observing the sorrow of Nehemiah, inquires into the_ _cause_, 1, 2. _Nehemiah shows him the cause, and requests permission to go and_ _rebuild the walls of Jerusalem_, 3-6. _The king grants it, and gives him letters to the governors beyond_ _the river_, 7, 8. _He sets... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Nehemiah 2:2. _THEN I WAS VERY SORE AFRAID._] Probably the king spoke as if he had some suspicion that Nehemiah harboured some bad design, and that his face indicated some conceived treachery or remorse.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Nehemiah 2:3. _LET THE KING LIVE FOR EVER_] Far from wishing ill to my master, I wish him on the contrary to live and prosper for ever. AELIAN, _Hist. Var_. lib. i. c. 32, uses the same form of speech in reference to Artaxerxes Mnemon, one of the Persian kings, Βασιλευ Αρταξερξη, δι' αιωνος βα... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Nehemiah 2:4. _SO I PRAYED TO THE GOD OF HEAVEN._] Before he dared to prefer his request to the king, he made his prayer to God, that his suit might be acceptable: and this he does by mental prayer. To the spirit of prayer every place is a _praying place_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Nehemiah 2:5. _THE CITY OF MY FATHERS' SEPULCHRES_] The tombs of the dead were sacred among the ancients, and nothing could appear to them more detestable than disturbing the ashes or remains of the dead. Nehemiah knew that in mentioning this circumstance he should strongly interest the feelin... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Nehemiah 2:6. _THE QUEEN ALSO SITTING BY HIM_] Who probably forwarded his suit. This was not Esther, as Dean Prideaux supposes, nor perhaps the same Artaxerxes who had taken her to be queen; nor does שגל _shegal_ signify _queen_, but rather harlot or concubine, she who was chief favourite. The... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Nehemiah 2:8. _ASAPH THE KEEPER OF THE KING'S FOREST_] הפרדס _hapardes_ of the _paradise_ of the king. This I believe is originally a _Persian_ word; it frequently occurs in Arabic, [Arabic] _ferdoos_, and in Greek, παραδεισος, and in both signifies a _pleasant garden, vineyard, pleasure garde... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Nehemiah 2:10. _SANBALLAT THE HORONITE_] Probably a native of Horonaim, a _Moabite_ by birth, and at this time governor of the Samaritans under the king of Persia. _TOBIAH THE SERVANT_] He was an _Ammonite_; and here, under the Persian king, joint governor with Sanballat. Some suppose that th... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Nehemiah 2:13. _THE DRAGON WELL_] Perhaps so called because of the representation of a dragon, out of whose mouth the stream issued that proceeded from the well. _DUNG PORT_] This was the gate on the eastern side of the city, through which the filth of the city was carried into the valley of... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 14. _THE GATE OF THE FOUNTAIN_] Of _Siloah_. _THE KING'S POOL_] Probably the _aqueduct_ made by Hezekiah, to bring the waters of Gihon to the city of David. See 2 Chronicles 32:30.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 15. _BY THE BROOK_] _Kidron_. _BY THE GATE OF THE VALLEY_] The valley through which the brook Kidron flowed. It was by this gate he went out; so he went all round the city, and entered by the same gate from which he had gone out.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 16. _THE RULERS KNEW NOT WHITHER I WENT_] He made no person privy to his design, that he might hide every thing as much as possible from their enemies till he had all things in readiness; lest they should take measures to defeat the work.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 18. _THEN I TOLD THEM_] He opened to them his design and his commission.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 19. _GESHEM THE ARABIAN_] Some chief of the Arabs contiguous to Samaria, who had joined with Sanballat and Tobiah to distress the Jews, and hinder their work. _WILL YE REBEL AGAINST THE KING?_] This they said in order to raise jealousies in the king's mind, and induce him to recall his ordina... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Nehemiah 2:20. _YE HAVE NO PORTION, NOR RIGHT_] To be a citizen of Jerusalem was a high honour; and they would not permit those who did not belong to the tribes of Israel to dwell there. Zerubbabel gave the same answer to the Samaritans, Ezra 4:3.... [ Continue Reading ]