Nehemiah 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.