Nehemiah, who served as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, appeared sad while serving wine to the king. This caught the king's attention, as Nehemiah had always appeared cheerful in the king's presence before. When questioned, Nehemiah explained that he was grieving over the destroyed state of Jerusalem, including its broken-down walls and burned gates. The king granted Nehemiah's request to travel to Jerusalem as the king's representative to oversee the rebuilding of the city walls. Nehemiah was given letters of introduction and support from the king to ensure safe passage and resources for the project.

1. EHEMIAH 2 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
Artaxerxes Sends ehemiah to Jerusalem
1 In the month of isan in the twentieth year of
King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him,
I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not
been sad in his presence before,
BAR ES, "Nisan was the name given by the Persian Jews to the month previously
called “Abib,” the first month of the Jewish year, or that which followed the vernal
equinox. It fell four months after Chisleu Neh_1:1.
The twentieth year - As Artaxerxes ascended the throne in 465 B.C., his 20th year
would correspond to 445-444 B.C.
CLARKE, "Month Nisan - Answering to a part of our March and April.
I took up the wine - It is supposed that the kings of Persia had a different cup-
bearer for each quarter of the year, and that it had just now come to Nehemiah’s turn.
GILL, "And it came to pass in the month Nisan; in the twentieth year of
Artaxerxes,.... It was still but in the twentieth year of his reign; for though Nisan or
March was the first month of the year with the Jews, and from whence the reigns of their
kings were dated (l); yet, with other nations, Tisri or September was the beginning of the
reigns of their kings (m); so that Chisleu or November being since, see Neh_1:1, it was
no more in Nisan or March than the twentieth of the said king's reign, and was three or
four months after Nehemiah had first heard of the distress of his people; which time he
either purposely spent in fasting and prayer on that account, or until now his turn did
not come about to exercise his office, in waiting upon the king as his cupbearer: but now
it was
that wine was before him; the king; it was brought and set in a proper place, from
whence it might be taken for his use:

2. and I took up the wine, and gave it to the king; according to Xenophon (n), the
cupbearer with the Persians and Medes used to take the wine out of the vessels into the
cup, and pour some of it into their left hand, and sup it up, that, if there was any poison
in it, the king might not be harmed, and then he delivered it to him upon three fingers
(o):
now I had not been before time sad in his presence; but always pleasant and
cheerful, so that the sadness of his countenance was the more taken notice of.
HE RY, "When Nehemiah had prayed for the relief of his countrymen, and perhaps
in David's words (Psa_51:18, Build thou the walls of Jerusalem), he did not sit still and
say, “Let God now do his own work, for I have no more to do,” but set himself to forecast
what he could do towards it. our prayers must be seconded with our serious endeavours,
else we mock God. Nearly four months passed, from Chisleu to Nisan (from November
to March), before Nehemiah made his application to the king for leave to go to
Jerusalem, either because the winter was not a proper time for such a journey, and he
would not make the motion till he could pursue it, or because it was so long before his
month of waiting came, and there was no coming into the king's presence uncalled, Est_
4:11. Now that he attended the king's table he hoped to have his ear. We are not thus
limited to certain moments in our addresses to the King of kings, but have liberty of
access to him at all times; to the throne of grace we never come unseasonably. Now here
is,
I. The occasion which he gave the king to enquire into his cares and griefs, by
appearing sad in his presence. Those that speak to such great men must not fall abruptly
upon their business, but fetch a compass. Nehemiah would try whether he was in a good
humour before he ventured to tell him his errand, and this method he took to try him.
He took up the wine and gave it to the king when he called for it, expecting that then he
would look him in the face. He had not used to be sad in the king's presence, but
conformed to the rules of the court (as courtiers must do), which would admit no
sorrows, Est_4:2. Though he was a stranger, a captive, he was easy and pleasant. Good
men should do what they can by their cheerfulness to convince the world of the
pleasantness of religious ways and to roll away the reproach cast upon them as
melancholy; but there is a time for all things, Ecc_3:4. Nehemiah now saw cause both to
be sad and to appear so. The miseries of Jerusalem gave him cause to be sad, and his
showing his grief would give occasion to the king to enquire into the cause. He did not
dissemble sadness, for he was really in grief for the afflictions of Joseph, and was not like
the hypocrites who disfigure their faces; yet he could have concealed his grief if it had
been necessary (the heart knows its own bitterness, and in the midst of laughter is often
sad), but it would now serve his purpose to discover his sadness. Though he had wine
before him, and probably, according to the office of the cup-bearer, did himself drink of
it before he gave it to the king, yet it would not make his heart glad, while God's Israel
was in distress.
JAMISO , "Neh_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.
it came to pass in the month Nisan — This was nearly four months after he had
learned the desolate and ruinous state of Jerusalem (Neh_1:1). The reasons for so long a
delay cannot be ascertained.

3. 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.
K&D, "Neh_2:1-2
In the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, when wine was before him,
Nehemiah as cupbearer took the wine and handed it to the king. Nisan is, according to
the Hebrew calendar, the first month of the year; yet here, as in Neh_1:1-11, the
twentieth year of Artaxerxes is named, and the month Chisleu there mentioned (Neh_
1:1), which, after the Hebrew method of computing the year, was the ninth month and
preceded Nisan by three months, is placed in the same year. This can only be explained
on the grounds that either the twentieth year of Artaxerxes did not coincide with the year
of the calendar, but began later, or that Nehemiah here uses the computation of time
current in anterior Asia, and also among the Jews after the captivity in civil matters, and
which made the new year begin in autumn. Of these two views we esteem the latter to be
correct, since it cannot be shown that the years of the king's reign would be reckoned
from the day of his accession. In chronological statements they were reckoned according
to the years of the calendar, so that the commencement of a year of a reign coincided
with that of the civil year. If, moreover, the beginning of the year is placed in autumn,
Tishri is the first, Chisleu the third, and Nisan the seventh month. The circumstances
which induced Nehemiah not to apply to the king till three months after his reception of
the tidings which so distressed him, are not stated. It is probable that he himself
required some time for deliberation before he could come to a decision as to the best
means of remedying the distresses of Jerusalem; then, too, he may not have ventured at
once to bring his request before the king from fear of meeting with a refusal, and may
therefore have waited till an opportunity favourable to his desires should present itself.
‫יו‬ָ‫נ‬ ָ‫פ‬ ְ‫ל‬ ‫ן‬ִ‫י‬ַ‫,י‬ “wine was before the king,” is a circumstantial clause explanatory of what
follows. The words allude to some banquet at which the king and queen were present.
The last sentence, “And I have not been sad before him” (‫ע‬ ַ‫ר‬ according to ‫ים‬ ִ‫ע‬ ָ‫ר‬ ָ‫יך‬ֶ‫נ‬ ָ of
Neh_2:2, of a sad countenance), can neither mean, I had never before been sad before
him (de Wette); nor, I was accustomed not to be sad before him; but, I had not been sad
before him at the moment of presenting the cup to him (Bertheau), because it would not
have been becoming to serve the king with a sad demeanour: comp. Est_4:2. The king,
however, noticed his sadness, and inquired: “Why is thy countenance sad, since thou art
not sick? this is nothing but sorrow of heart, i.e., thy sadness of countenance can arise
only from sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid;” because the unexpected
question obliged him to explain the cause of his sorrow, and he could not tell how the
king would view the matter, nor whether he would favour his ardent desire to assist his
fellow-countrymen in Judah.
COFFMA , "Verse 1

4. EHEMIAH ARRIVES I JERUSALEM WITH AUTHORITY TO REBUILD
THE WALLS OF THE CITY;
ARTAXERXES GRA TED EHEMIAH'S REQUEST
" ow I was cupbearer to the king. And it came to pass in the month isan, in the
twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was beside him, that I took up the
wine and gave it unto the king. ow I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.
And the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick?
this is nothing but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid. And I said unto the
king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the
city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are
consumed with fire? Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request?
So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and
if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah,
unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it. And the king said unto
me (the queen sitting beside him), For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt
thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. Moreover I said
unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond
the River, that they let me pass through till I come unto Judah; and a letter unto
Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for
the gates of the castle that pertaineth to the house, and for the wall of the city, and
for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good
hand of my God upon me." ( ehemiah 1:11b-2:8)
In all of the wonderful things that God did for the children of Israel, there are few
things any more astounding than this. That a Persian king should have reversed a
former decision stopping the work of the Jews on the walls of their city, and then
have sent a trusted emissary, accompanied by a military escort, and endowed with
full authority to reconstruct the walls and fortify the city of Jerusalem - only God
could have caused a thing like that to happen.
"In the month isan" ( ehemiah 2:1). This was four months after the time
mentioned in ehemiah 1:1, during which time ehemiah had fasted and prayed
"night and day" that something could be done to aid Jerusalem. During this period,
ehemiah had diligently tried to maintain his customary happy appearance; but his
great grief finally became evident in his appearance.
"I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king" ( ehemiah 2:1). Jamieson has a
description of how a cupbearer performed his service. "He washed the cup in the
king's presence, filled it with wine, then poured from the cup into his own left hand
a sufficient amount. Then he drank that in the king's presence and handed the cup
of wine to the king."[1]
ELLICOTT, "(1) isan.—The old Abib, the first month of the Jewish year,
following the vernal equinox. As we are still in the twentieth year of the king, the
beginning of his reign must be dated before Chisleu. The record adopts Persian

5. dates, and the two months fell in one year.
TRAPP, " And it came to pass in the month isan, in the twentieth year of
Artaxerxes the king, [that] wine [was] before him: and I took up the wine, and gave
[it] unto the king. ow I had not been [beforetime] sad in his presence.
Ver. 1. And it came to pass in the month isan] Time and place is to be registered of
special mercies received. "This shall be written for the generation to come: and the
people which shall be created shall praise the Lord," Psalms 102:18.
In the twentieth year of Artaxerxes] Surnamed Longhand, as our Edward I was
called Longshanks, and another Longespee, or Longsword. This Longhand is
renowned for the fairest among men in that age, Mακροχειρ, Omnium hominum
puleherrimus (Aemil. Prob.); of all men most handsome; and no wonder, if he were
(as is generally thought) the son of that fairest Esther.
That wine was before him] There was a feast, as ehemiah 2:6. ot by chance, but
by God’s providence; who of small occasions worketh greatest matters many times,
as he put small thoughts into the heart of Ahasuerus for great purposes, Esther 6:1.
And I took up the wine, &c.] As Esther was come to the kingdom, so ehemiah to
this office, for such a time as this, Esther 4:14. Though he were a prisoner, a
stranger, one of another religion, yet is he the king’s cupbearer and taster; and once
of great trust and credit. This was a strange work of God, to cause heathen princes
thus to favour the religion that they knew not, and to defend that people which their
subjects hated.
ow I had not been beforetime sad in his presence] Princes are usually set upon the
merry pin; and all devices are used, by jesters and otherwise, to make them merry;
no mourner might be seen in Ahasuerus’s court, Esther 4:4. But good ehemiah had
been, for certain months’ time, afflicting his soul and macerating his body, as in the
former chapter: hence his present sadness, which the king (being a wise man and a
loving master) soon observed.
BE SO , " ehemiah 2:1. In the month isan — Which answers to part of our
March and April. So that there were almost four months between the time of his
hearing the fore-mentioned sad tidings respecting the defenceless condition in which
Jerusalem lay, and his requesting leave of the king to go thither. The reason of this
long delay might be, either that his turn of attending upon the king did not come till
that time; or, that till then he wanted a fit opportunity to move it to him. That wine
was before him — He was at dinner or supper, and called for wine, which was ready
for him. ow I had not been beforetime sad in his presence — But always appeared
cheerful and well pleased, as young men, so advanced, are wont to do.

6. WHEDO , "1. The month isan — The name, after the exile, of the first month of
the Jewish year, corresponding nearly with April, and more anciently called Abib.
Exodus 13:4; comp. ehemiah 12:2. This was the first isan that followed the
Chisleu ( ehemiah 1:1) when ehemiah heard the sad tidings from Judah, and four
months after that time, but both these months fell in the twentieth year of
Artaxerxes. For a notice of this king, see note on Ezra 7:1.
Took up the wine, and gave it unto the king — This was a part of the business of the
royal cupbearer. See note above, on ehemiah 1:11.
Had not been beforetime sad — We may better omit beforetime and translate the
past tense of the verb, as is often proper, so as to express an habitual state or
condition, I was not accustomed to be sad in his presence. The Hebrew word for sad
( ‫רע‬ ) commonly means bad, ill-favoured, evil; and is appropriately used of the
troubled and dejected countenance of a cupbearer, which should naturally be
cheerful and happy, as became his business, to cheer the heart of the king. Various
ancient authors attest the propensity of the Persians for wine. Herodotus says, (i,
133,) “They are very fond of wine, and drink it in large quantities.” And, according
to H. Rawlinson, it is customary at the present day for the high livers among the
Persians “to sit for hours before dinner drinking wine and eating dried fruits. A
party often sits down at seven o’clock, and the dinner is not brought in till eleven.”
COKE, "Verse 1
ehemiah 2:1. In the month isan— Which answers to part of our March and
April. So that it was almost four months between his hearing of the disconsolate
condition wherein Jerusalem lay, and his requesting leave of the king to go thither.
ow, besides that it might not come to his own turn of waiting sooner, there might
be these further reasons assigned for his long silence and delay: that he could not
take so long and dangerous a journey in the winter; that he could not sooner meet
with a seasonable opportunity of speaking with the king upon so critical an affair:
or, as others will have it, that he retired all this intermediate while, and spent it in
fasting and prayer. See Patrick and Poole.
CO STABLE 1-8, " ehemiah prayed for four months about conditions in
Jerusalem before he spoke to Artaxerxes about them (cf. ehemiah 1:1; ehemiah
2:1). Artaxerxes" reign began in the seventh Jewish month, Tishri (late September
and early October), of464 B.C. [ ote: Edwin R. Thiele, The Mysterious umbers of
the Hebrew Kings, pp28-30 , 161.] Therefore ehemiah presented his request in late
March or early April of444 B.C.
ehemiah was probably very fearful ( ehemiah 2:2) because Artaxerxes could
have interpreted sadness in his presence as dissatisfaction with the king (cf. Esther
4:2). [ ote: J. Carl Laney, Ezra and ehemiah , p77.]
"Persian works of art such as the great treasury reliefs from Persepolis indicate that
those who came into the king"s presence did so with great deference, placing the

7. right hand with palm facing the mouth so as not to defile the king with one"s own
breath ..." [ ote: Edwin Yamauchi, " Ezra -, ehemiah ," in1Kings- Job , vol4of
The Expositor"s Bible Commentary, p684.]
ehemiah realized that the moment had arrived for him to ask Artaxerxes to revise
his official policy toward Jerusalem ( ehemiah 1:11; Ezra 4:21). This too could
have incurred the king"s displeasure. ehemiah"s walk with God is evident in that
he talked to God as he was conversing with the king ( ehemiah 2:4; cf. 1
Thessalonians 5:17). ehemiah 2:4 contains a beautiful example of spontaneous
prayer, one of the best in the Bible.
"One of the most striking characteristics of ehemiah was his recourse to prayer
(cf. ehemiah 4:4; ehemiah 4:9; ehemiah 5:19; ehemiah 6:9; ehemiah 6:14;
ehemiah 13:14)." [ ote: Ibid, p685.]
"Quick prayers are possible and valid if one has prayed sufficiently beforehand. In
this case ehemiah"s prayer is evidence of a life lived in constant communion with
God. ehemiah had prayed for months, but he knew he was completely dependent
on God"s work in the king"s heart at this moment." [ ote: Breneman, p176.]
Divine working and human planning are not necessarily contradictory.
"Prayer is where planning starts." [ ote: J. White, Excellence in Leadership, p35.]
ehemiah returned to Artaxerxes12years after the king had appointed him
governor of Judah ( ehemiah 5:14; ehemiah 13:6). evertheless he may have also
gone back sooner than that ( ehemiah 2:6). One writer calculated the date of
Artaxerxes" decree to rebuild Jerusalem as March5 , 444 B.C. [ ote: Harold W.
Hoehner, "Daniel"s Seventy Weeks and ew Testament Chronology," Bibliotheca
Sacra132:525 (January-March1975):64.]
"This date marks the beginning of Daniel"s Seventy Weeks ( Daniel 9:24-27). Sixty-
nine of those seventy weeks (173 ,880 days) were literally fulfilled when Jesus
entered Jerusalem, presented Himself at His "royal entry" as Israel"s messiah, on
March30 , A.D33. The prophecy of Daniel was fulfilled to the very day (cf. Luke
19:40-42). The seventieth week of Daniel , the Tribulation (cf. Matthew 24:4-28;
Revelation 6-19), will find its fulfillment in the future." [ ote: Laney, pp78-79.]
The fortress by the temple ( ehemiah 2:8) was a citadel that stood just north of the
temple. Its name in Hebrew was Birah (or in Greek, Baris). It was the forerunner of
the Antonia Fortress that Herod the Great built and to which Luke referred in the
Book of Acts ( Acts 21:37; Acts 22:24). [ ote: See Dan Bahat, "Jerusalem Down
Under: Tunneling along Herod"s Temple Mount Wall," Biblical Archaeology
Review21:6 ( ovember-December1995):45-46. This interesting article walks the
reader through archaeological discoveries along the Western Wall of Herod"s
Temple Mount from south to north.]

8. ". . . there were good political reasons for Artaxerxes to grant ehemiah"s request.
Inaros had led a revolt in Lower Egypt in the late460s, aided and abetted by Athens.
The Persians had largely squashed this rebellion by455 , but pockets of resistance
held out in the delta marshes thereafter. Then, early in the440s, Megabyxos had led
a revolt in Syria, which was probably put down just before ehemiah made his
request. Also, just about445 the Athenians negotiated the Peace of Kallias with the
Persians and hostilities between the two powers ceased. At this point in time
Artaxerxes certainly recognized that a stronger Judah populated by loyal Jews
would help to bring greater stability to Syria and would provide a bulwark on the
border with Egypt." [ ote: Vos. p91.]
LA GE, " ehemiah 2:1. The month isan (called “Abib” in the Pentateuch,
Exodus 13:4)—the first month of the Hebrew national year. This name isan is
found in the Assyrian, but its derivation is obscure. It corresponded to parts of our
March and April. The twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king.—Artaxerxes’ reign-
years counted from some other month than isan, for the preceding Chisleu was in
the 20 th year. The unlikely supposition (as by Bp. Patrick) that the “twentieth
year” of chapter ehemiah 1:1 refers to ehemiah’s life, is thus unnecessary. (See
on ehemiah 1:1.) Wine was before him.—It is the custom among the modern
Persians to drink before dinner, accompanying the wine-drinking with the eating of
dried fruits. (See Rawlinson’s Herod. I:133, Sir H. C. R.’s note.) Compare the
“banquet of wine” in Esther 5:6. ow I had not been beforetime sad in his
presence.—Lit. And I was not sad in his presence. That Isaiah, it was not his wont to
be sad in the king’s presence. The exactions of Persian monarchs would not endure
any independence of conduct in their presence. Everybody was expected to reflect
the sunlight of the king’s majesty.
EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMME TARY, "THE PRAYER A SWERED
ehemiah 2:1-8
EHEMIAH’S prayer had commenced on celestial heights of meditation among
thoughts of Divine grace and glory, and when it had stooped to earth it had swept
over the wide course of his nation’s history and poured out a confession of the whole
people’s sin, but the final point of it was a definite request for the prospering of his
contemplated interview with the king. Artaxerxes was an absolute despot,
surrounded with the semi-divine honours that Orientals associate with the regal
state, and yet in speaking of him before "the God of heaven," "the great and
terrible God," ehemiah loses all awe for his majestic pomp, and describes him
boldly as "this man." [ ehemiah 1:10-11] In the supreme splendour of God’s
presence all earthly glory fades out of the worshipper’s sight, like a glow-worm’s
spark lost in the sunlight. Therefore no one can be dazzled by human magnificence
so long as he walks in the light of God. Here, however, ehemiah is speaking of an
absent king. ow it is one thing to be fearless of man when alone with God in the
seclusion of one’s own chamber, and quite another to be equally imperturbable in
the world and away from the calming influence of undisturbed communion with

9. Heaven. We must remember this if we would do justice to ehemiah, because
otherwise we might be surprised that his subsequent action did not show all the
courage we should have expected.
Four months passed away before ehemiah attempted anything on behalf of the city
of his fathers. The Jewish travellers probably thought that their visit to the court
servant had been barren of all results. We cannot tell how this interval was
occupied, but it is clear that ehemiah was brooding over his plans all the time, and
inwardly fortifying himself for his great undertaking. His ready reply when he was
suddenly and quite unexpectedly questioned by the king shows that he had made the
troubles of Jerusalem a subject of anxious thought, and that he had come to a clear
decision as to the course which he should pursue. Time spent in such fruitful
thinking is by no means wasted. There is a hasty sympathy that flashes up at the
first sign of some great public calamity, eager "to do something," but too blind in its
impetuosity to consider carefully what ought to be done, and this is often the source
of greater evils, because it is inconsiderate. In social questions especially people are
tempted to be misled by a blind, impatient philanthropy. The worst consequence of
yielding to such an influence-and one is strongly urged to yield for fear of seeming
cold and indifferent-is that the certain disappointment that follows is likely to
provoke despair of all remedies, and to end in cynical callousness. Then, in the
rebound, every enthusiastic effort for the public good is despised as but the froth of
sentimentality.
Very possibly ehemiah had no opportunity of speaking to the king during these
four months. A Persian sovereign was waited on by several cupbearers, and it is
likely enough that ehemiah’s terms of service were intermittent. On his return to
the court in due course he may have had the first occasion for presenting his
petition. Still it is not to be denied that he found great difficulty in bringing himself
to utter it, and then only when it was dragged out of him by the king. It was a
petition of no common kind. To request permission to leave the court might be
misconstrued unfavourably. Herodotus says that people had been put to death both
by Darius and by Xerxes for showing reluctance to accompany their king. Then had
not this very Artaxerxes sanctioned the raid upon Jerusalem which had resulted in
the devastation which ehemiah deplored and which he desired to see reversed? If
the king remembered his rescript to the Syrian governors, might he not regard a
proposal for the reversal of its policy as a piece of unwarrantable impertinence on
the part of his household slave-nay, as an indication of treasonable designs? All this
would be apparent enough to ehemiah as he handed the wine-cup on bended knee
to the Great King. Is it wonderful then that he hesitated to speak, or that he was
"very sore afraid" when the king questioned him about his sadness of countenance?
There is an apparent contradiction in ehemiah’s statement concerning this sad
appearance of his countenance which is obscured in our English translation by the
unwarrantable insertion of the word "beforetime" in ehemiah 2:1, so that the
sentence reads, " ow I had not been beforetime sad in his presence." This word is a
gloss of the translators. What ehemiah really says is simply, " ow I had not been
sad in his presence"-a statement that evidently refers to the occasion then being

10. described, and not to previous times nor to the cup-bearer’s habitual bearing. Yet in
the very next sentence we read how the king asked ehemiah the reason for the
sadness of his countenance. The contradiction would be as apparent to the writer as
it is to us, and if he left it ehemiah meant it to stand, no doubt intending to suggest
by a dramatic description of the scene that he attempted to disguise his sorrow, but
that his attempt was ineffectual-so strong, so marked was his grief. It was a rule of
the court etiquette, apparently, that nobody should be sad in the king’s presence. A
gloomy face would be unpleasant to the monarch. Shakespeare’s Caesar knew the
security of cheerful associates when he said:-
"Let me have men about me that are fat,
Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o’ nights;
Yond’ Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much; such men are dangerous."
Besides, was not the sunshine of the royal countenance enough to drive away all
clouds of trouble from the minds of his attendants? ehemiah had drilled himself
into the courtier’s habitual pleasantness of demeanour. evertheless, though
passing, superficial signs of emotion may be quite reined in by a person who is
trained to control his features, indications of the permanent conditions of the inner
life are so deeply cut in the lines and curves of the countenance that the most
consummate art of an actor cannot disguise them. ehemiah’s grief was profound
and enduring. Therefore he could not hide it. Moreover, it is a king’s business to
understand men, and long practice makes him an expert in it. So Artaxerxes was not
deceived by the well-arranged smile of his servant; it was evident to him that
something very serious was troubling the man. The sickness of a favourite attendant
would not be unknown to a kind and observant king. ehemiah was not ill, then.
The source of his trouble must have been mental. Sympathy and curiosity combined
to urge the king to probe the matter to the bottom. Though alarmed at his master’s
inquiry, the trembling cup-bearer could not but give a true answer. Here was his
great opportunity-thrust on him since he had not had the courage to find it for
himself. Artaxerxes was not to be surprised that a man should grieve when the city
of his ancestors was lying desolate. But this information did not satisfy the king. His
keen eye saw that there was more behind. ehemiah had some request which as yet
he had not been daring enough to utter. With real kindness Artaxerxes invited him
to declare it.
The critical moment had arrived. How much hangs upon the next sentence - not the
continuance of the royal favour only, but perhaps the very life of the speaker, and,
what is of far more value to a patriot, the future destiny of his people! ehemiah’s
perception of its intense importance is apparent in the brief statement which he here
inserts in his narrative: "So I prayed to the God of heaven." [ ehemiah 2:4] He is
accustomed to drop in suggestive notes on his own private feelings and behaviour
along the course of his narrative. Only a few lines earlier we came upon one of these

11. characteristic autobiographical touches in the words, " ow I had not been sad in
his presence," [ ehemiah 2:1] soon followed by another, "Then I was very sore
afraid." [ ehemiah 2:2] Such remarks vivify the narrative, and keep up an interest
in the writer. In the present case the interjection is peculiarly suggestive. It was
natural that ehemiah should be startled at the king’s abrupt question, but it is an
indication of his devout nature that as the crisis intensified his fear passed over into
prayer. This was not a set season of prayer; the pious Jew was not in his temple, nor
at any proseuche; there was no time for a full, elaborate, and orderly utterance,
such as that previously recorded. Just at the moment of need, in the very presence of
the king, with no time to spare, by a flash of thought, ehemiah retires to that most
lonely of all lonely places, "the inner city of the mind," there to seek the help of the
Unseen God. And it is enough; the answer is as swift as the prayer; in a moment the
weak man is made strong for his great effort.
Such a sudden uplifting of the soul to God is the most real of all prayers. This at
least is genuine and heartfelt, whatever may be the case with the semiliturgical
composition the thought and beauty of which engaged our attention in the previous
chapter. But then the man who can thus find God in a moment must be in the habit
of frequently resorting to the Divine Presence; like the patriarchs, he must be
walking with God. The brief and sudden prayer reaches heaven as an arrow
suddenly shot from the bow, but it goes right home, because he who lets it off in his
surprise is a good marksman, well practised. This ready prayer only springs to the
lips of a man who lives in a daily habit of praying. We must associate the two kinds
of prayer in order to account for that which is now before us. The deliberate
exercises of adoration, confession, and petition prepare for the one sudden
ejaculation. There we see the deep river which supplies the sea of devotion from
which the momentary prayer is cast up as the spray of a wave. Therefore it was in a
great measure on account of his deliberate and unwearying daily prayers that
ehemiah was prepared with his quick cry to God in the crisis of need. We may
compare his two kinds of prayer with our Lord’s full and calm intercession in John
17:1-26 and the short agonised cry from the cross. In each case we feel that the
sudden appeal to God in the moment of dire necessity is the most intense and
penetrating prayer. Still we must recognise that this comes from a man who is much
in prayer. The truth is that beneath both of these prayers-the calm, meditative
utterance, and the simple cry for help-there lies the deep, true essence of prayer,
which is no thing of words at all, but which lives on, even when it is voiceless, in the
heart of one of whom it can be said, as Tennyson says of Mary, -
"Her eyes are homes of silent prayer."
Fortified by his moment’s communion with God, ehemiah now makes known his
request. He asks to be sent to Jerusalem to repair its ruins and fortify the city. This
petition contains more than lies on the surface of the words. ehemiah does not say
that he wishes to be appointed Governor of Jerusalem in the high office which had
been held by Zerubbabel, but the subsequent narrative shows that he was assigned
to this position, and his report of the king’s orders about the house he was to dwell
in at Jerusalem almost implies as much. [ ehemiah 2:8] For one of the royal

12. household servants to be appointed to such a position was doubtless not so strange
an anomaly in the East, in ehemiah’s day, as it would be with us now. The king’s
will was the fountain of all honour, and the seclusion in which the Persian monarchs
lived gave unusual opportunities for the few personal attendants who were admitted
into their presence to obtain great favours from them. Still ehemiah’s attitude
seems to show some self-confidence in a young man not as yet holding any political
office. Two or three considerations, however, will give a very different complexion
to his request. In the first place, his city was in a desperate plight, deliverance was
urgently needed, no help appeared to be forthcoming unless he stepped into the
breach. If he failed, things could hardly become worse than they were already. Was
this an occasion when a man should hold back from a sense of modesty? There is a
false modesty which is really a product of the self-consciousness that is next door to
vanity. The man who is entirely oblivious of self will sometimes forget to be modest.
Moreover, ehemiah’s request was at the peril of his life. When it was granted he
would be launched on a most hazardous undertaking. The ambition-if we must use
the word-which would covet such a career is at the very antipodes of that of the
vulgar adventurer who simply seeks power in order to gratify his own sense of
importance. "Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not." [Jeremiah 45:5]
That humbling rebuke may be needed by many men, but it was not needed by
ehemiah, for he was not seeking the great things for himself.
It was a daring request, yet the king received it most favourably. Again, then, we
have the pleasing spectacle of a Persian monarch showing kindness to the Jews. This
is not the first time that Artaxerxes has proved himself their friend, for there can be
no doubt that he is the same sovereign as the Artaxerxes who despatched Ezra with
substantial presents to the aid of the citizens of Jerusalem some twelve or thirteen
years before.
Here, however, a little difficulty emerges. In the interval between the mission of
Ezra and that of ehemiah an adverse decree had been extracted from the
compliant sovereign-the decree referred to in Ezra 4:1-24. ow the semi-divinity
that was ascribed to a Persian monarch involved the fiction of infallibility, and this
was maintained by a rule making it unconstitutional for him to withdraw any
command that he had once issued. How then could Artaxerxes now sanction the
building of the walls of Jerusalem, which but a few years before he had expressly
forbidden? The difficulty vanishes on a very little consideration. The king’s present
action was not the withdrawal of his earlier decree, for the royal order to the
Samaritans had been just to the effect that the building of the walls of Jerusalem
should be stopped. [Ezra 4:21] This order had been fully executed; moreover it
contained the significant words, "until another decree shall be made by me." [Ezra
4:21] Therefore a subsequent permission to resume the work, issued under totally
different circumstances, would not be a contradiction to the earlier order, and now
that a trusty servant of the king was to superintend the operations, no danger of
insurrection need be apprehended. Then the pointed notice of the fact that the chief
wife-described as "The Queen"-was sitting by Artaxerxes, is evidently intended to
imply that her presence helped the request of ehemiah. Orientalists have
discovered her name, Damaspia, but nothing about her to throw light on her

13. attitude towards the Jews. She may have been even a proselyte, or she may have
simply shown herself friendly towards the young cup-bearer. o political or
religious motives are assigned for the conduct of Artaxerxes here. Evidently
ehemiah regarded the granting of his request as a direct result of the royal favour
shown towards himself. "Put not your trust in princes" [Psalms 146:3] is a
wholesome warning, born of the melancholy disappointment of the pilgrims who
had placed too much hope in the Messianic glamour with which the career of poor
Zerubbabel opened, but it does not mean that a man is to fling away the advantages
which accrue to him from the esteem he has won in high places. Ever since the
Israelites showed no scruple in spoiling the Egyptians-and who could blame them
for seizing at the eleventh hour the overdue wages of which they had been
defrauded for generations?-"the people of God" have not been slow to reap harvests
of advantage whenever persecution or cold indifference has given place to the brief,
fickle favour of the world. Too often this has been purchased at the price of the loss
of liberty-a ruinous exchange. Here is the critical point. The difficulty is to accept
aid without any compromise of principle. Sycophancy is the besetting snare of the
courtier, and when the Church turns courtier she is in imminent danger of that, in
her, most fatal fault. But ehemiah affords a splendid example to the contrary. In
his grand independence of character we have a fine instance of a wise, strong use of
worldly advantages, entirely free from the abuses that too commonly accompany
them. Thus he anticipates the idea of the Apocalypse where it is said, "The earth
helped the woman." [Revelation 12:16]
The interest of the king in his cup-bearer is shown by his repeated questions, and by
the determined manner in which he drags out of ehemiah all his plans and wishes.
Every request is granted. The favourite servant is too much valued to get his leave of
absence without some limit of time, but even that is fixed in accordance with
ehemiah’s desire. He asks and obtains letters of introduction to the governors west
of the Euphrates. The letters were most necessary, because these very men had
bestirred themselves to obtain the adverse decree but a very few years before. It is
not likely that they had all veered round to favour the hated people against whom
they had just been exhibiting the most severe antagonism. ehemiah therefore
showed a wise caution in obtaining a sort of "safe conduct." The friendliness of
Artaxerxes went still further. The king ordered timber to be provided for the
building and fortifying operations contemplated by his cup-bearer; this was to be
furnished from a royal hunting park-a "Paradise," to use the Persian word-
probably one which formerly belonged to the royal demesne of Judah, somewhere in
the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, as the head-forester bore a Hebrew name,
"Asaph." [ ehemiah 2:8] Costly cedars for the temple had to be fetched all the way
from the distant mountains of Lebanon, in Phoenician territory, but the city gates
and the castle and house carpentry could be well supplied from the oaks and other
indigenous timber of Palestine.
All these details evince the practical nature of ehemiah’s patriotism. His last word
on the happy conclusion of the interview with Artaxerxes, which he had anticipated
with so much apprehension, shows that higher thoughts were not crushed out by the
anxious consideration of external affairs. He concludes with a striking phrase,

14. which we have met with earlier on the lips of Ezra. [Ezra 7:28] "And the king
granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me." [ ehemiah 2:8] Here
is the same recognition of Divine Providence, and the same graphic image of the
"hand" of God laid on the writer. It looks as though the younger man had been
already a disciple of the Great Scribe. But his utterance is not the less genuine and
heartfelt on that account. He perceives that his prayer has been heard and
answered. The strength and beauty of his life throughout may be seen in his
constant reference of all things to God in trust and prayer before the event, and in
grateful acknowledgment afterwards.
PARKER, ""And it came to pass in the month isan [the name given by the Persian
Jews to the month previously called "Abib," the first month of the Jewish year, or
that which followed the vernal equinox. It fell four months after Chisleu (see ch.
ehemiah 1:1)], in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes [it is generally agreed that the
Artaxerxes intended is Longimanus, who reigned from b.c465 to b.c425] the king,
that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king" (
ehemiah 2:1).
The Result of Hanani"s Message
The urn which held the ashes of Artaxerxes is in the British Museum, so that those
who have any curiosity about the urn which held the ashes of the king can easily
satisfy that curiosity. In the month of isan ehemiah had his chance. He received
the message about the month of December, and for some three months, more or less,
he had been turning over this message in his mind, wondering what to do with it,
eagerly looking for the gate being set ajar, that he might push it back a little farther
and go through it, and do the work upon which his heart was set. For three months
the gate seemed not to be opened at all, but in the month isan the opportunity
came. Whether Artaxerxes took a little more wine than usual is not stated in the
Scripture: we simply know that, whilst Artaxerxes had the wine in his hand and was
enjoying his goblet, a certain conversation took place between him and his
cupbearer which ended in very important consequences.
For three months ehemiah was steady to his vow. How long are you going to keep
that best vow you ever made in your life dumb in your heart? How long are you
going to allow it to lie unredeemed, unrealised? The king"s gate stands ajar: on it is
written "Welcome,"—on it is written, "Knock and it shall be opened;" still further,
" ow is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation!" Speak the word, it will be a
sound in thine ear for ever: repeat the oath, and say thou wilt fulfil it to the letter;
and the very utterance of the oath and the very repetition of the desire to be better
will themselves be elements in your education, and will help you onward a step or
two heavenward, Godward.
Let us follow the history and see what its modern applications may possibly be.
" ow I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. Wherefore the king said unto
me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but

15. sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid" ( ehemiah 2:1-2).
How beautifully, how exquisitely human and true is this! You have been waiting for
your chance: the chance suddenly comes, and you who were on tiptoe of expectation
for it, seeing it as it were face to face, fall back, and feel the chill of a great fear in
your half-misgiving heart It is so with all great crises in life. Little things may
happen, and we may say we expected these—they may come as mere matters of
course—we have been looking for them, and now they have come we care next to
nothing for them. But the great messages that make the soul new, that inspire the
life with a new determination, the great gospels, the infinite evangels that regenerate
and sanctify the soul, these, though waited for long, always awaken inexpressible
surprise, and in not a few cases they first create a great fear before bringing in their
complete and final joy. For three months ehemiah said, "O that he would speak to
me! I would be so glad." Artaxerxes spoke to him and he was sore afraid. Is that a
contradiction? Only to a wooden life and to a dullard, not to a living soul, not to a
sympathetic spirit, not to a man who has lived everywhere and through all time,
who by the variety of his experience has been the contemporary of all ages. Do you
know what is meant by waiting for a great opportunity—having a great opportunity
set before you, and then falling back from it out of the fear of a great surprise? Such
was ehemiah"s experience on that memorable day when Artaxerxes read the
writing of sorrow on the face of his faithful cupbearer.
PETT, " ehemiah’s Successful Approach To The King And His Subsequent
Commission ( ehemiah 2:1-8).
Having reached his decision before God ehemiah now carried it out into practise.
He came into the king’s presence revealing something of his grief while performing
his service.
ehemiah 2:1
‘And it came about in the month isan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king,
when wine was before him, that I took up the wine, and gave it to the king. ow I
had not (previously) been sad in his presence.’
The timing of the event may well have been important. isan was the first month of
the calendar year, and the new year may well have been a time when the king was
inclined to dispel favours. Thus ehemiah may well have been awaiting this
propitious time. In view of ehemiah 1:1, however, it appears that for dating
purposes ehemiah is using the regnal year, as there Chislev was also in the
twentieth year of Artaxerxes. This may have been with the intentional purpose of
linking ehemiah 2:1 with ehemiah 1:1 by placing them in the same regnal year.
isan would still, however, have been the month of the new year celebrations.
‘When wine was before him’ is simply a general indication that this occurred at
mealtime. It was, of course, then that ehemiah would be called on to perform his
duty of receiving the king’s wine, tasting it, and passing it on to the king something
which he proceeded to do. He then makes the general comment, ‘I had not been sad

16. in his presence’. The time indicator ‘previously’ is not strictly necessary, although
helping us with the sense. The point is that he was never ‘sad in his presence’ at any
time. It was something that was unheard of. Or alternately it may signify that even
though he had been fasting and praying he had not been sad in his presence. The
implication is that now he was, and deliberately so. His heart must have been
beating fast as he awaited the king’s reaction. He was aware that at any moment he
might immediately be arrested for ‘making the king sad’.
PULPIT, "In the month isan. The fourth month after Chisleu, corresponding
nearly to our April. How it came about that ehemiah did not put the king's favour
to the proof until more than three months had gone by we can only conjecture.
Perhaps the court had been absent from Susa, passing the winter at Babylon, as it
sometimes did, and he had not accompanied it. Perhaps, though present at the court,
he had not been called on to discharge his office, his turn not having arrived.
Possibly, though performing his duties from time to time, he had found no
opportunity of unbosoming himself, the king not having noticed his grief. He. may
even have done his best to conceal it, for Persian subjects were expected to be
perfectly happy in the presence of their king. He had probably formed no plan, but
waited in the confident hope that God's providence would so order events, that some
occasion would arise whereof he might take advantage. In the twentieth year of
Artaxerxes. Like Daniel, Zechariah, Haggai, and Ezra, ehemiah dates events by
the regnal year of the existing Persian king. His Artaxerxes is, by common consent,
the same as Ezra's, and can scarcely be supposed to be any monarch but
Longimanus, who reigned from b.c. 465 to b.c. 425. ow I had not been beforetime
sad in his presence. Other renderings have been proposed, but this is probably the
true meaning. Hitherto I had always worn a cheerful countenance before him—now
it was otherwise—my sorrow showed itself in spite of me
BI 1-8, "And it came to pass in the month Nizan.
Divine interposition
I. Was opportune.
1. That God’s plans are worked out with the utmost precision.
2. That God often interferes on His people’s behalf when they least expect it.
3. That God generally interferes on His people’s behalf in their most urgent
extremity.
II. required human co-operation.
III. was accompanied by providential coincidences.
1. Nehemiah was unusually sad.
2. The king was unusually friendly.
3. The queen also was present. (Homiletic Commentary.)
A true patriot

17. That is only a small part of the gospel which leads a man to ask, “What must I do to be
saved?” The glorious gospel of the blessed God goes forth with us interested in
everything that concerns us as men—at home, in business, in town, in country, in all
national affairs, in the whole world. A Christian may thoughtlessly throw himself into
political exitement with no other motive than that of party feeling; but because he is a
Christian he will be glad to let the light of God shine in upon his aims and motives, and
will be glad to see his duty in the quietness and sacredness of this hour. The Bible, which
gives us examples of men in every position where duty leads, has given us amongst its
most brilliant and noble characters this of the statesman. If any should think such a
position inseparable from ambitious craft and party ends, let them note this fact.
Nehemiah is living at the court of the king, occupying a position of high rank, of much
influence, of great trust. If the chief thing in life is to take care of one’s own ease and
luxury, and not to trouble much about the wants and sorrows of other people, then here
is a man who has all that heart can wish. There are men, thousands of them, who have
no thought or purpose in life beyond themselves. Surely that is to degrade our manhood.
But what of any man who should call himself a Christian and yet should live all taken up
in himself as if nothing were worth a thought but how he may be as happy as possible on
earth—and then happier still in another world? Now to the court where Nehemiah
dwells come certain Jews from Jerusalem, and he goes forth to inquire about the state of
his countrymen and the beloved city. As a man, as a brother, as a servant of the Living
God, he is bound to feel the deepest concern in the welfare of his nation. It is easy
enough to think of what Nehemiah might have said, if he had been easy-going and
selfish, “I really am sorry, very sorry—but I do not see that I can do anything, you know.
It is as much as I can do to look after my own duties here without troubling myself about
the affairs of the nation.” There are some good people who talk so to-day and think it
sounds pious. He might have given them a subscription, say of a guinea. And then he
could have turned into the palace thankful not to be mixed up in these worldly matters.
Or he might have sipped his wine out of a golden goblet and thought what a pity it was
that everybody could not be as comfortable as he was. Well, if he had, you may be sure
that neither this Book of God nor any other would have found a place for his name. Or he
might have pleaded that he was in a very delicate and responsible position, holding
office under the king, and that it would never do for him to get mixed up in these
matters. Those good people who separate themselves from the duties of citizenship can
find no example in the Scriptures. Of all false notions about regenerating the world, the
most utterly false, as well as the laziest, is to think that this is the victory which
overcometh the world to run away from it. This Book does not teach that the world is the
devil’s, and the less we can have to do with it the better. No, indeed! “The earth is the
Lord’s and the fulness thereof.” The men of the Bible are not monks and recluses; but
they are in the very midst of the world and busied with its affairs. Its prophets and
messengers are men whose whole life has to do with the councils of kings, with the ways
of cities and courts. Surely it is impossible to think of the religion of Jesus Christ as
anything but a profound and eager interest in the welfare of our fellow-men—of their
bodies as well as their souls; of their work as well as their worship; of their homes on
earth as well as their getting to heaven. Nor have any the right to hold themselves aloof
from politics because it is mixed up with party strife. We deplore and condemn the
bitterness of party politics—but is there not a great deal of nonsense talked about party
politics? How are you going ever to have polities at all without party politics? If you want
abuses overthrown, and iniquities set right, and the privileges of the few shared by the
many, and abominations like the opium trade swept away, and the great curses of drink
and lust and gambling east out, are we to fold our hands because we are Christians, and
let the devil have his own way because these things involve strife! Of course they do, and

18. always will. We must expect opposition, excitement, abuse. The blessed Lord Jesus
accepted and discharged the duties of citizenship. Together with His holiness, His
meekness, His majesty, there is another grace and virtue—there is in Him a perfect
patriotism. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets and stonest them that
are cent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together as a hen doth
gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold your house is left unto you
desolate.” And this example, sublime it is, is followed closely by the apostle Paul, whose
passionate love to his countrymen prompts that daring utterance (Rom_9:1). And now
to turn to ourselves. What think you? Can we dare to call ourselves by the name of Jesus
Christ and yet be indifferent to the needs, the sorrows, the wants, the burdens of our
country? Lastly, see how this brave man served his country. Nehemiah sees that his
power to help his country is not mostly in his rank, nor in his influence with royalty; it is
in his power to pray. This is the great truth we want to lay hold of. The greatest power to
bless this land is in our power to pray for it. Here all are on a level. Women as well as
men. We need not wait for Parliament in this matter. Women’s rights are as ours at the
throne of the heavenly grace. Beginning thus in prayer right speedily a glorious
reformation is wrought in the face of plotting foes. In spite of the poverty and fewness of
the people the city is rebuilt. So shall the city of God once more be set up in the midst of
men, if every Christian man and woman will take in upon their heart the wants, the
woes, the wrongs, the sorrows of our land, and will plead with God to send us a
parliament that shall seek first in all things His kingdom and its righteousness. (M. G.
Pearse.)
Religious patriotism exemplified in the history of Nehemiah
The patriotism of Nehemiah was based on religion; and hence the interest which he
discovered in his far distant but afflicted countrymen, and the sacrifices which he made
for their welfare. The love of country, because it is the country of our birth, and of
countrymen, is no narrow-minded bigotry, as some shallow infidels in their pretended
love of universal mankind have imagined. It is a principle of human nature implanted in
our hearts for the wisest purposes. There is a patriotism which is quite selfish in its
nature. Their own aggrandisement, or that of their friends and partisans, is the sum and
substance of their patriotism. True patriotism, like every other great virtue, must be
founded in true religion. Had not Nehemiah been a pious man, and loved the God of his
fathers with all his heart, and loved his countrymen because they bore the image of God,
he never would have relinquished his high advantages in the palace of Artaxerxes, and
sacrificed so largely for their benefit. The true way to love man is to begin by loving God.
On hearing of the affliction of his countrymen, who he might have expected by this time
would have been in prosperous circumstances, Nehemiah betakes himself to prayer. All
this shows Nehemiah’s acquaintance with his Bible, and also the warmth of his piety. We
might have expected that living at heathen court, remote from the means of grace, with
few to strengthen or encourage him, he, though a good man, would have discovered in
his piety the disadvantage of the circumstances in which he had been placed. But no—
God can and often does compensate in richer effusions of His grace, for an adverse
outward situation. And here let us mark the course which he pursued in seeking to
relieve and restore his afflicted countrymen. He did not say, as many would have done,
in a proud, vaunting spirit, “I am the king’s cup-bearer. Backed by his authority, and
armed besides with wealth and power, I will soon reduce Jerusalem and its people to a
right condition; I will soon quell all opposition, rebuild the wall, and set up the gates,
and make the city glorious as of old.” This had been the spirit of man flushed with the

19. pride of power; but he had been taught of God, and so begins with humility and prayer.
Let us, and let all, follow his example. All are occasionally in the providence of God
required to discharge great duties. Important undertakings, involving the glory of God
and the good of others, ever and anon call for our services. How should we engage in
them? In a spirit of pride and self-confidence? No. But in a spirit of prayer and
penitence. We are apt to despair of an undertaking when it is suspended on the will of
man, and he is high above us, and we have ground to apprehend his hostility. Let this
encourage us to be much in prayer for a good cause, even where it seems to hang upon
the will of man, and that will appear hopelessly opposed. Nehemiah having thus
prepared himself by prayer, is not slow in setting out in his work. Here we may notice
the prudence and piety of this excellent Jew. He showed prudence in addressing a
motive to the mind of the king for his journey, which the monarch could understand and
appreciate. He did not ask leave to go to Jerusalem for the sake of his religion, but for
the sake of his fathers’ sepulchres. This was an argument to which even a heathen would
defer. With regard, again, to his piety, he did not only pray to God for counsel before
making his request, but he strengthened and emboldened himself by prayer at the very
time he stood in the presence of Artaxerxes. And then, after he had been successful in
the petition, he did not refer the success to his own wisdom, or to his services as a
faithful servant, but to the good hand of God upon him. He arrogated nothing to himself;
he ascribed all to God. How much piety is here, and how beautiful is the union between
piety and prudence! Considering the difficulties with which Christians have to struggle,
well may the Saviour exhort His followers to be wise as serpents, at the same time that
they are harmless as doves. It is worthy of notice, that deeply prayerful and dependent
on God as Nehemiah was, he was not unmindful of the duty of using all legitimate means
to secure the important object which he had in view. Prayer rightly understood does not
destroy the use of means; it only strengthens and regulates its application. Prayer
without means, and means without prayer, are equally presumptuous. Duty lies in
employing both, but keeping both in their right place. This excellent man now set out on
his journey, received the aid of the heathen governors upon the way, and soon reached
Jerusalem in safety. With his usual prudence he did not, in the first instance, inform any
one—priests, nobles, or rulers—what his intentions were. He wished to see the city with
his own eyes, and draw his own conclusions, before acquainting them with the object of
his mission. This enabled him to speak from personal observation, and so to speak with
greater effect. (J. G. Lorimer.)
Why is thy countenance sad?—
Royal dislike of the sight of suffering
A late empress of Russia enacted a severe penalty, if any funeral procession should pass
within sight of her palace. A princess of France, on her way to the capital, once ordered
all beggars and persons suffering under disease to be removed from the line of her
journey that she might not behold them. This Persian monarch notes signs of grief on
his faithful servant with signs of displeasure. How different it is with our Saviour King!
His heart is the seat of compassion for the afflicted. (W. Ritchie.)
So I prayed to the God of heaven.
Effective ejaculatory prayer the outcome of the habit of prayer

20. It is he that cultivates the habit of prayer that will seize the fitting opportunity for such
ejaculations. Some think because they may pray in any place and at all times that
therefore seasons of prayer may be neglected with impunity; but only he who delights in
communion with God, and does not omit set times for such communion, finds that when
the emergency arises, and but a moment is given, he can pray as truly and with as much
calmness as in his own closet. (W. P. Lockhart.)
Ejaculatory prayer
I. The nature of ejaculatory prayer. It differs from other kinds of prayer, in that—
1. It is dependent upon no place. Prayer is founded upon a full conviction of the
natural perfection of God; His omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. On the
conviction that the object of prayer is everywhere present, and that we may in every
place make known our request. Artisan, merchant, physician can pray wherever they
may be.
2. It is dependent on no particular time.
3. It is dependent on no particular occasion. No need to wait for Sabbath or hour of
public worship.
II. Examples of ejaculatory prayer. Abraham’s servant (Gen_24:12); Samson (Jdg_
16:28); Stephen (Act_7:59-60); Christ on various occasions.
III. Necessary occasions for ejaculatory prayer.
1. When suddenly called to important and difficult duties.
2. The Sabbath day and the assembly of the faithful. If hearers were more engaged in
ejaculatory prayer, ministers would be more successful preachers.
3. The hour of temptation.
4. The hour of sickness.
IV. The advantages of ejaculatory prayer.
1. It main-rains an habitual sense of our dependence upon God.
2. It preserves our minds in a proper tone for the various exercises of devotion.
3. It is a powerful preventive against sin.
4. It makes us bold to contend with enemies or difficulties.
5. It quickens our zeal and activity in the cause of God. (J. A. James.)
Spiritual recollectedness
This is a remarkable illustration of religious presence of mind.
I. The outcome of a consecrated life.
II. The result of long habit.
III. A mark of self-distrusting humility.
IV. A source of incalculable blessing. (Homiletic Commentary.)

21. Ejaculatory prayer
It was—
I. Suddenly required.
II. Silently offered.
III. Suitably addressed.
IV. Very brief.
V. Completely successful. (Homiletic Commentary.)
Ejaculatory prayer
Nehemiah had made inquiry as to the state of the city of Jerusalem, and the tidings he
heard caused him bitter grief. “Why should not my countenance be sad,” he said, “when
the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are
consumed with fire?” He could not endure that it should be a mere ruinous heap. Laying
the matter to heart, he did not begin to speak to other people about what they would do,
nor did he draw up a wonderful scheme about what might be done if so many thousand
people joined in the enterprise; but it occurred to him that he would do something
himself. This is just the way that practical men start a matter. The unpractical will plan,
arrange, and speculate about what may be done, but the genuine, thorough-going lover
of Zion puts this question to himself—“What can you do?” Coming so far, he resolved to
set apart a time for prayer. He never had it off his mind for nearly four months. When he
slept he dreamed about Jerusalem. When he woke, the first thought was “Poor
Jerusalem!” The man of one thing, you know, is a terrible man; and when one single
passion has absorbed the whole of his manhood something will be sure to come of it.
Before long Nehemiah had an opportunity. Men of God, if you want to serve God and
cannot find the propitious occasion, wait awhile in prayer and your opportunity will
break on your path like a sunbeam. There was never a true and valiant heart that failed
to find a fitting sphere somewhere or other in His service. That opportunity came, it is
true, in a way which he could not have expected. It came through his own sadness of
heart. This matter preyed upon his mind till he began to look exceedingly unhappy. But
you see when the opportunity did come there was trouble with it, for he says, “I was very
sore afraid.” You want to serve God, young man; you want to be at work. Perhaps you do
not know what that work involves It is not all pleasure. Thus have we traced Nehemiah
up to the particular point where our text concerns him.
I. The fact that nehemiah prayed challenges attention. He had been asked a question by
his sovereign. The proper thing you would suppose was to answer it. Not so. Before he
answered he prayed to the God of heaven. I do not suppose the king noticed the pause.
Probably the interval was not long enough to be noticed, but it was long enough for God
to notice it. We are the more astonished at his praying, because he was so evidently
perturbed in mind. When you are fluttered and put out you may forget to pray. Do you
not, some of you, account it a valid excuse for omitting your ordinary devotion? At least,
if any one had said to you, “You did not pray when you were about that business,” you
would have replied, “How could I?” So habitually was he in communion with God that as
soon as he found himself in a dilemma he flew away to God, just as the dove would fly to

22. hide herself in the clefts of the rock.
1. His prayer was the more remarkable on this occasion, because he must have felt
very eager about his object. The king asks him what it is he wants, and his whole
heart is set upon building up Jerusalem. Are not you surprised that he did not at
once say, “O king, live for ever. I long to build up Jerusalem’s walls. Give me all the
help thou canst”? But no, eager as he was to pounce upon the desired object, he
withdraws his hand until it is said, “So I prayed to the God of heaven.” I would that
every Christian’s heart might have just that holy caution that did not permit him to
make such haste as to find ill-speed.
2. It is all the more surprising that he should have deliberately prayed just then,
because he had been already praying for the past three or four months concerning
the selfsame matter. Some of us would have said, “That is the thing I have been
praying for; now all I have got to do is to take it and use it. Why pray any more?” But
no, you will always find that the man who has prayed much is the man to pray more.
If you are familiar with the mercy-seat you will constantly visit it.
3. One thing more is worth recollecting, namely, that he was in a king’s palace, and
in the palace of a heathen king, too; and he was in the very act of handing up to the
king the goblet of wine. But this devout Israelite, at such a time and in such a place,
when he stands at the king’s foot to hold up to him the golden goblet, refrains from
answering the king’s question until first he has prayed to the God of heaven.
II. The manner of this prayer.
1. It was what we call ejaculatory prayer—prayer which, as it were, hurls a dart and
then it is done. It was not the prayer which stands knocking at mercy’s door.
2. Notice, how very short it must have been. It was introduced—slipped in,
sandwiched in—between the king’s question and Nehemiah’s answer.
3. We know, also, that it must have been a silent prayer; and not merely silent as to
sounds but silent as to any outward signs—perfectly secret. Artaxerxes never knew
that Nehemiah prayed, though he stood probably within a yard of him. In the
innermost shrine of the temple—in the holy of holies of his own secret soul—there
did he pray. It was a prayer on the spot. He did not go to his chamber as Daniel did,
and open the window.
4. I have no doubt from the very wording of the text that it was a very intense and
direct prayer. That was Nehemiah’s favourite name for God—the God of heaven. He
knew whom he was praying to. He did not draw a bow at a venture and shoot his
prayers anyhow.
5. It was a prayer of a remarkable kind. I know it was so, because Nehemiah never
forgot that he did pray it.
III. To recommend to you this excellent style of praying.
1. To deal with this matter practically, then, it is the duty and privilege of every
Christian to have set times of prayer.
2. But now, having urged the importance of such habitual piety, I want to impress on
you the value of another sort of prayer, namely, the short brief, quick, frequent
ejaculations of which Nehemiah gives us a specimen. And I recommend this, because
it hinders no engagement and occupies no time. It requires you to go to no particular
place. No altar, no church, no so-called sacred place is needed, but wherever you are,

23. just such a little prayer as that will reach the ear of God, and win a blessing. Such a
prayer as that can be offered anywhere, under any circumstances. The advantage of
such a way of praying is that you can pray often and pray always. Such prayer may be
suggested by all sorts of surroundings.
3. These prayers are commendable, because they are truly spiritual. This kind of
prayer is free from any suspicion that it is prompted by the corrupt motive of being
offered to please men. If I see sparks coming out of a chimney I know there is a fire
inside somewhere, and ejaculatory prayers are like the sparks that fly from a soul
that is filled with burning coals of love to Jesus Christ. Short, ejaculatory prayers are
of great use to us. Oftentimes they check us. Bad-tempered people, if you were
always to pray just a little before you let angry expressions fly from your lips, why
many times you would not say those naughty words at all. The bit of offering these
brief prayers would also check your confidence in your self. It would show your
dependence upon God.
4. Besides, they actually bring us blessings from heaven. I believe it is very suitable
to some persons of a peculiar temperament who could not pray for a long time to
save their lives. Their minds are rapid and quick. But if I must give you a selection of
suitable times I should mention such as these. Whenever you have a great joy, cry,
“Lord, make this a real blessing to me.” Do not exclaim with others, “Am I not a
lucky fellow?” but say, “Lord, give me more grace, and more gratitude, now that
Thou dost multiply Thy favours.” When you have got any arduous undertaking on
hand or a heavy piece of business, do not touch it till you have breathed your soul out
in a, short prayer. When you have a difficulty before you, and you are seriously
perplexed, when business has got into a tangle or a confusion which you cannot
unravel or arrange, breathe a prayer. Are the children particularly troublesome to
you? Do you think that there is a temptation before you? Do you begin to suspect
that somebody is plotting against you? Now for a prayer, “Lead me in plain path,
because of mine enemies.” Are you at work at the bench, or in a shop, or a
warehouse, where lewd conversation and shameful blasphemies assail your ears?
Now for a short prayer. Does sin begin to fascinate you? Now for a prayer—a warm,
earnest, passionate cry, “Lord, hold Thou me up.” And when the shadow of death
gathers round you, and strange feelings flush or chill you, and plainly tell that you
near the journey’s end, then pray. Oh! that is a time for ejaculation. “Hide not Thy
face from me, O Lord”; or this, “Be not far from me, O God,” will doubtless suit you.
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” were the thrilling words of Stephen in his extremity.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Ejaculatory prayer
Such a sudden uplifting of the soul to God is the most real of all prayers. The man who
can thus find God in a moment must be in the habit of frequently resorting to the Divine
presence. This ready prayer only springs to the lips of a man who lives in a daily habit of
prayer. The deliberate exercises of adoration, confession, and petition prepare for the
one sudden ejaculation. There we see the deep river which supplies the sea of devotion
from which the momentary prayer is cast up as the spray of a wave. We may compare
Nehemiah’s two kinds of prayer with our Lord’s full and calm intercession in Joh_17:1-
26. and the short, agonised cry from the Cross. (W. F. Adeney, M. A.)

24. Ejaculatory prayer
I. The person named.
1. As patriot.
2. As statesman.
3. As a man of God. Not guided by the policy of the world. He did nothing without
prayer.
II. The occasion. A moment needing great wisdom.
III. The lesson taught. The great duty of ejaculatory prayer. Various uses:
1. Throws light on such texts as 1Th_5:17 and 1Co_10:31.
2. Comfort in bodily pain (Psa_103:13; Psa_119:2).
3. Helps to victory over sin. (Canon Titcomb, M. A.)
Prayer before choosing
At the outset two things strike us here.
1. A rare opportunity for worldly advancement. Here is a king saying to his
cupbearer, “What dost thou want me to do for thee?” What a chance this for any
man! Wealth, dignity, influence, all put within his reach, left to depend upon his
choice.
2. A rare treatment of such an opportunity. What should we say if our sovereign
should speak thus to us? Most would say, “Give us a mansion to live in, lordly estate
as our inheritance, dazzling titles and extensive patronage.” What said Nehemiah?
He paused and reflected, and then he prayed. He would not choose for himself. Man
is a choosing creature; his daily life is made up of a series of choices; he has to reject
and accept in order to live.
I. God alone knows what is best for us. “Who knoweth what is good for man in this life,
all the days of his vain life?” Man is constantly making mistakes in this matter. What he
wants and struggles for as a prize sometimes turns out to be one of his sorest calamities.
Because Moses looked to heaven in such a case, he chose a life which to unregenerate
man would be revolting.
II. God always desires what is best for us. He made us to be happy. That He desires our
happiness is clear—
1. From the capacity of enjoyment with which He has endowed us.
2. From the elements of happiness with which the world abounds.
3. From the mission of His only-begotten Son.
III. God, in answer to prayer, is ever ready to bestow what is best for us. “Ask, and it
shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.”
Conclusion: Let us act ever upon the principle that prayer should precede choice.
(Homilist.)

25. The spiritual telegraph
I. How great is the privilege of prayer. Great indeed is the privilege of all this access to
the mercy-seat, but how unspeakable is the joy and the consolation of habitual
communion with God, and of taking occasion from duties, trials, or mercies, as they
follow one another, to lift up the heart in pious ejaculation. The word ejaculation is
derived from the Latin “jaculum,” an arrow, and suggests the rapidity and earnestness
with which such a prayer can be winged up to the God of heaven. We have seen how
Nehemiah interposed a prayer of this kind as a devout parenthesis between the king’s
request and his own reply. And there is no book of Scripture so remarkable for
ejaculatory prayer as the Book of Nehemiah. Such an acknowledgment of God in our
ways is no hindrance, but rather a mighty help in business. That which calms the mind,
fixes the purpose, and strengthens moral principle, must be a great assistance, whether
in duty or trial. As Fuller remarks, “Ejaculations take not up any room in the soul. They
give liberty of callings, so that at the same instant one may follow his proper vocation.
The husbandman may dart forth an ejaculation, and not make a halt the more. The
seaman nevertheless steers his ship right in the darkest night. The field wherein the bees
feed is no whir the barer for their biting: when they have taken their full repast on
flowers or grass, the ox may feed, the sheep fatten on their reversions. The reason is
because those little chemists distil only the refined part of the flower, leaving the greaser
substance thereof. So ejaculations bind not men to any bodily observance, only busy the
spiritual half, which maketh them consistent with the prosecution of any other
employment.” The rapidity and brevity of ejaculatory prayer has frequently been
illustrated by a reference to the electric telegraph, the greatest achievement of modern
science. Christ has opened a pathway down which redeeming mercy may flow into the
heart of the sinner, and by which the aspirations and longings of that penitent sinner
may climb up to his reconciled God and Father. Christians, however, can tell of
something quicker far than electricity. Thought, winging its way by prayer, travels
instantaneously from the depths of a penitent’s need to the height of God’s throne in
heaven. Who can estimate the distance thus travelled, or the relief thus experienced?
The child cries, and the Father answers. The sinner weeps, and the Saviour draws near to
wipe away his tears, and to fill him with an overflowing gladness.
II. But if the privilege of prayer be great, How intensely joyous is the answer. Recurring
to the narrative, let us observe in the gracious answer to Nehemiah’s prayer that delay is
not denial. Four weary months passed before Nehemiah had the opportunity of bringing
under the king’s notice the desolation of Zion. The answer to prayer is as sure as Divine
power, faithfulness, and love can make it. The providence of God concurs sweetly with
His grace in this answer. The answer, moreover, to Nehemiah’s request, through the
good hand of his God upon him, was overflowing and abundant. The utmost, probably,
that he had anticipated would be a full permission to resign his duties at court, and to go
to Jerusalem. But he received much more than this. He had the large-hearted sanction of
his master for all his undertakings. He was provided with a cavalry escort, with letters
for safe conduct beyond the river, and ample material for his work. Our God is able to do
exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think. (J. M. Randall.)
Ejaculatory prayer in critical junctures
This kind is a short petition, hurled like a dart at its mark.
I. When? In critical junctures.

26. 1. Before choice.
2. Before sudden action.
3. In danger. (The sinking Peter.)
II. Why?
1. Because critical junctures admit of no other kind.
2. Because it leads to wisdom (Pro_3:6).
3. Because it tranquilises the mind.
4. Because it would prevent sudden action.
III. How?
1. Do we pray at all?
2. Do we cultivate the spirit of prayer? (1Th_5:17).
3. Do occasions arise for ejaculatory prayer?
4. Would it help us when buying or selling, when making calls and tempted to gossip
or tell “white lies”? (L. O. Thompson.)
The praying patriot
The true secret of his success was Divine interposition in his behalf.
1. Nehemiah, under God, made the most of this opportunity. He had waited patiently
for it; and now, when it came, he did not fail to turn it to the best account. It is not
always that this is done. Many, we fear, if they had the chance, would be more ready
to injure the servants of Christ than to do them good, and to cripple and damage His
cause rather than extend it. And where another spirit prevails, have we not often to
mourn over lost opportunities of doing good? or over opportunities of doing good
that have been very imperfectly improved?
2. We are reminded that prayer does not supersede efforts in other directions.
Nehemiah did not content himself with the thought that he had prayed for
Jerusalem, and for its poor inhabitants. He supple mented his praying by using his
best endeavours to secure such help as man could render. And did he under-estimate
the power of prayer by this procedure? We think not. His conduct showed that he
was neither irreligious, on the one hand, nor fanatical on the other. Some objects are
best accomplished by prayer alone. Some persons are so placed now that all we can
do in their behalf is to pray for them; and some objects are of such a nature that we
cannot advance them other wise than by giving them an interest in our prayers. But,
as a rule, we may, and ought, to do something more than this for a good cause.
3. Answers to prayer should be gratefully acknowledged. (T. Rowson.)
Ejaculatory prayer
In hard havens, so choked up with the envious sands that great ships, drawing many feet
of water, cannot come near, lighter and lesser pinnaces may freely and safely arrive.
When we are time-bound, place-bound, so that we cannot compose our selves to make a

27. large, solemn prayer, this is the right instant for ejaculations, whether orally uttered or
only poured forth inwardly in the heart. (A. Fuller.)
The flame of devotion constant
The sacrifices of prayer and praise cannot be always ascending; but the flame of devotion
to kindle them, as opportunity may serve, ought never to wax dim. (Hugh Stowell, M.
A.)
The devotional spirit
Of all the habits of the new man, there is none more distinctive, none more conducive to
his soul’s health and happiness, none more essential to his consistency of conduct and
beauty of holiness, than the devotional spirit. (Hugh Stowell, M. A.)
Prayer in few words
We make a great many mistakes about prayer; and one of them is that we don’t think we
have prayed properly unless we have prayed a certain time. But a few moments of real
prayer are better than many minutes of only formal prayer. “For my own part,” says a
friend, “if one may talk of a ‘best’ in the matter of one’s prayers, I find that the best
prayers I can make are very short ones indeed. Sometimes they have only one sentence,
and they are by no means always said upon my knees. They are offered up while I am
walking about, or lying awake at night, or riding in the train.” When Bengel, the great
commentator, was too weary to pray, all he said was, “Lord, Thou knowest that it is
between us to-day as it was yesterday”; and so he went to sleep. A young man, who was
worn by sick ness and suffering, had only strength to pray in short and broken sentences
His heart was filled with foreboding as Satan whispered that the great God could never
listen to such a prayer. Suddenly he came upon these words: “God is in heaven, and thou
upon earth, therefore let thy words be few.” “Ah!” he said, “I have found a verse written
expressly for me. God will accept the few words I can utter; now I will trust and not be
afraid.” If no man is heard for his much speaking, no man is rejected for his little
speaking—if compressed into that little be the earnestness of his heart. (Signal.)
Prayer in perplexity
A little child, playing with a handful of cords, when they begin to get into a tangle, goes
at once to her mother, that her patient fingers may unravel the snarl. How much better
this than to pull and tug at the cords till the tangle becomes inextricable I May not many
of us learn a lesson from the little child? Would it not be better for us, whenever we find
the slightest entanglement in any of our affairs, or the arising of any perplexity, to take it
at once to God, that His skilful hands may set it right?
Prayer heard in heaven
Ejaculatory prayer is like the rope of a belfry; the bell is in one room, and the end of the
rope which sets it a-ringing in another. Perhaps the bell may not be heard in the
apartment where the rope is, but it is heard in its own apartment. Moses laid hold of the

28. rope and pulled it hard on the shore of the Red Sea; and though no one heard or knew
anything about it in the lower chamber, the bell rang loudly in the upper one. (Williams
of Wern.)
The swiftness of prayer
We may, if we please, have a mail to heaven, conveying in a moment intelligence of our
condition and concerns, our wants and our desires, to our God and Father, and bringing
back to us a gracious answer, with advice and comfort, protection and help. Prayer is the
swift courier, and sighs are the winged messengers. Doves have been trained to fly from
place to place, carrying letters in a little casket fastened to their neck or foot. They are
swift of flight; but our prayers and sighs are swifter, for they take but a moment to pass
from earth to heaven, and bear the troubles of our heart to the heart of God. (R. Scriver.)
Ejaculatory prayer possible to busy people
The following extract is from a letter addressed by a poor woman to the editor of the
Banner of Faith: “Poor women with large families often think they have little time for
prayer or praise. As I am a poor woman with a large family, and know the value of prayer
and praise, I will tell them how I find time for it. Whilst I am cleaning the house I lift my
heart to God and say, ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within
me, for Christ’s sake. Amen.’ When I am washing the clothes I say, ‘Wash me in Thy
blood, O Jesus; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.’ Then as I get to each of my
children’s clothes I pray for them separately, not aloud, but in my heart. Again, if I pick
up the shirt of one who drinks, I ask God to change his heart, to show him his state in
God’s sight, and to help him to give up drink and become a sober, godly youth. If I am
washing the shirt of another who has a horrid temper, that is a terror to us all, I pray to
God to break his stubborn temper, to soften his heart of stone, and give him a heart of
flesh. If I am washing anything belonging to a girl who is idle, then I pray God to show
her her sin, and change her whole nature, by the Holy Spirit. Yes, I pray for each as I
know their need. Then when I am sewing I find lots of time both for prayer and praise.
When I light or mend the fire, I say in my heart, ‘Kindle, O Lord, a sacred fire in this cold
heart of mine.’“ (E. J. Hardy, M. A.)
2 so the king asked me, “Why does your face look
so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing
but sadness of heart.”
I was very much afraid,

29. BAR ES, "I was very sore afraid - A Persian subject was expected to be perfectly
content so long as he had the happiness of being with his king. A request to quit the
court was thus a serious matter.
CLARKE, "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.
GILL, "Wherefore the king said unto me, why is thy countenance sad,
seeing thou art not sick?.... He had no disorder upon him to change his countenance
and make him sorrowful, and therefore asks what should be the reason of it:
this is nothing else but sorrow of heart; this is not owing to any bodily disease or
pain, but some inward trouble of mind; or "wickedness of heart" (p), some ill design in
his mind, which being conscious of, and thoughtful about, was discovered in his
countenance; he suspected, as Jarchi intimates, a design to kill him, by putting poison
into his cup:
then I was very sore afraid; lest the king should have suspicion of an ill design on
him; or lest, since he must be obliged to give the true reason, he should not succeed in
his request, it being so large, and perhaps many about the king were no friends to the
Jews.
HE RY, " The kind notice which the king took of his sadness and the enquiry he
made into the cause of it (Neh_2:2): Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not
sick? Note, 1. We ought, from a principle of Christian sympathy, to concern ourselves in
the sorrows and sadnesses of others, even of our inferiors, and not say, What is it to us?
Let not masters despise their servants' griefs, but desire to make them easy. The great
God is not pleased with the dejections and disquietments of his people, but would have
them both serve him with gladness and eat their bread with joy. 2. It is not strange if
those that are sick have sad countenances, because of what is felt and what is feared;
sickness will make those grave that were most airy and gay: yet a good man, even in
sickness, may be of good cheer if he knows that his sins are forgiven. 3. Freedom from
sickness is so great a mercy that while we have that we ought not to be inordinately
dejected under any outward burden; yet sorrow for our own sins, the sins of others, and
the calamities of God's church, may well sadden the countenance, without sickness.
JAMISO 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 (Est_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

30. self-possession and enabled him to communicate, first, the cause of his sadness (Neh_
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.
COFFMA , "Then I was sore afraid" ( ehemiah 2:2). "It was contrary to court
behavior for a servant to appear sad."[2]"Being sad in the king's presence was a
serious offense in Persia (Esther 4:2); and, besides that, ehemiah was well aware
that the request which he would ultimately make of the king might indeed anger
him."[3]
ELLICOTT, "(2) Then I was very sore afraid.—Waiting on Providence, ehemiah
had discharged his duties for three months without being sad in the king’s presence;
but on this day his sorrow could not be repressed. His fear sprang from the king’s
abrupt inquiry. A sad countenance was never tolerated in the royal presence; and,
though Artaxerxes was of a milder character than any other Persian monarch, the
tone of his question showed that in this respect he was not an exception.
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:2 Wherefore the king said unto me, Why [is] thy countenance
sad, seeing thou [art] not sick? this [is] nothing [else] but sorrow of heart. Then I
was very sore afraid,
Ver. 2. Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad?] Some would
have chided him, and bid him be packing, for they liked not his looks, there might
be treason hatching in his heart; he was a man of an ill aspect. But love thinks no
evil.
Seeing thou art not sick?] Sickness will cause sadness in the best. Those stoics that
said a wise man must be merry, though sick, when sickness came, were convinced, se
magnificentius locutos esse quam verius, that they spake rather bravely than truly.
And therefore Cicero to a merry life requireth three things: 1. To enjoy health. 2. To
possess honour. 3. ot to suffer necessity. Faith in Christ is more to the purpose
than any or all of these.
This is nothing else but sorrow of heart] The heart commonly sitteth in the
conntenance, and there showeth how it stands affected. Momus needeth not carp at
man’s make, and wish a window in his breast, that his thoughts might be seen; for,
"a merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of heart the spirit is
broken," Proverbs 15:13. The Hebrews say that a man’s inside is turned out and
discovered, in oculis, in loculis, in poculis, in his eyes, purse, and cup.
Then I was very sore afraid] Grieved before, now afraid. Thus, aliud ex alio malum:
fluctus fluctum trudit, One sorrow followeth another, and a Christian’s faith and
patience is continually exercised. But in the multitude of ehemiah’s perplexed
thoughts within him, God’s comforts refreshed his soul, Psalms 94:19. He casts his

31. suit or his burden upon the Lord, Psalms 55:22, and doubteth not but he will effect
his desire.
BE SO , " ehemiah 2:2. The king said, Why is thy countenance sad? — His
fasting, joined with inward grief, had made a sensible change in his countenance.
Then I was sore afraid — It was an unusual and ungracious thing to come into the
king of Persia’s presence with any token of sorrow. And he feared a disappointment,
because his request was great and invidious, and odious to most of the Persian
courtiers.
WHEDO , "2. I was… sore afraid — The king’s question was probably altogether
unexpected, and coming on that public occasion, when the queen was also present,
( ehemiah 2:6,) and, perhaps, many nobles of the court, he was filled with
confusion, and feared that the presenting of his cause on such an occasion might
expose it to failure, and himself to scorn and punishment. Perhaps he feared, too,
that the king might suspect some foul designs in his heart.
PETT, "‘And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick?
This is nothing else but sorrow of heart.” Then I was very deeply afraid.’
The king, who was always surrounded by smiling faces, immediately discerned what
the situation was. ehemiah was clearly not sick, so why the sad face? What was the
sad news that ehemiah wanted to convey to him? Perhaps he expected to hear of
the death of a beloved relative. That alone could justify ehemiah bringing his
sorrows to the king’s attention. The fact that the queen was present at the feast
( ehemiah 2:6) was probably an indication that it was a private feast.
‘Then I was very deeply afraid.’ He had reason to be afraid. He was about to ask
Artaxerxes to put aside his temporary decree which had prevented the building of
the walls of Jerusalem (Ezra 4:21). Depending on how serious a matter the king saw
that to be it could have been seen as a request of great significance, and it might
certainly be seen as questionable whether such a political plea justified ‘making the
king sad’. An element of treason might even have been seen as involved. If the king
was annoyed about it he could order his immediate execution. But ehemiah had
not come unprepared. He had considered carefully how to phrase his request. He
presented it in terms of the disgrace brought on his father’s sepulchre. He was
indicating that his concern was a matter of family honour. This was something that
the king would appreciate for to both royalty and the aristocracy the family
sepulchre was seen as of huge importance. It will be noted that ehemiah makes no
mention of Jerusalem.
PULPIT, "The king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad? This "kindly
question" put by the great king to his humble retainer is his best claim to the
favourable judgment of later ages. History puts him before us as a weak monarch,
one who could compromise the royal dignity by making terms with a revolted
subject, while he disgraced it by breaking faith with a conquered enemy. But if
weak as a king, as a man he was kind-hearted and gentle. Few Persian monarchs
would have been sufficiently interested in their attendants to notice whether they

32. were sad or no; fewer still would have shown sympathy on such an occasion. A
Xerxes might have ordered the culprit to instant execution. Longimanus feels
compassion, and wishes to assuage the grief of his servant. Then I was very sore
afraid. otwithstanding the king's kind and compassionate words, ehemiah feels
his danger. He has looked sad in the king's presence. He is about to ask permission
to quit the court. These are both sins against the fundamental doctrine of Persian
court life, that to bask in the light of the royal countenance is the height of felicity.
Will the king be displeased, refuse his request, dismiss him from his post, cast him
into prison, or will he pardon his rudeness and allow his request?
3 but I said to the king, “May the king live
forever! Why should my face not look sad when
the city where my ancestors are buried lies in
ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
BAR ES, "The city ... of my fathers’ sepulchres - We may conclude from this
that Nehemiah was of the tribe of Judah, as Eusebius and Jerome say that he was.
CLARKE, "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 βασιλευοις, “O King Artaxerxes, may you reign for ever,”
when speaking of the custom of presenting them annually with an offering of earth and
water; as if they had said, May you reign for ever over these!
GILL, "And I said unto the king, let the king live for ever,.... Which some think
he said to take off the king's suspicion of his having a design upon his life, though it
seems to be a common salutation of the kings in those times, see Dan_6:6,
why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my
fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with
fire? a man's native place, and where his ancestors lie interred, being always reckoned
near and dear, the king and his nobles could not object to his being concerned for the

33. desolations thereof.
HE RY, "The account which Nehemiah gave the king of the cause of his sadness,
which he gave with meekness and fear. 1. With fear. He owned that now (though it
appears by the following story that he was a man of courage) he was sorely afraid,
perhaps of the king's wrath (for those eastern monarchs assumed an absolute power of
life and death, Dan_2:12, Dan_2:13; Dan_5:19) or of misplacing a word, and losing his
request by the mismanagement of it. Though he was a wise man, he was jealous of
himself, lest he should say any thing imprudently; it becomes us to be so. A good
assurance is indeed a good accomplishment, yet a humble self-diffidence is not man's
dispraise. 2. With meekness. Without reflection upon any man, and with all the respect,
deference, and good-will, imaginable to the king his master, he says, “Let the king live
for ever; he is wise and good, and the fittest man in the world to rule.” He modestly
asked, “Why should not my countenance be sad as it is when (though I myself am well
and at east) the city” (the king knew what city he meant), “the place of my fathers'
sepulchres, lieth waste?” Many are melancholy and sad but can give no reason for being
so, cannot tell why nor wherefore; such should chide themselves for, and chide
themselves out of, their unjust and unreasonable griefs and fears. But Nehemiah could
give so good a reason for his sadness as to appeal to the king himself concerning it.
Observe, (1.) He calls Jerusalem the place of his fathers' sepulchres, the place where his
ancestors were buried. It is good for us to think often of our fathers' sepulchres; we are
apt to dwell in our thoughts upon their honours and titles, their houses and estates, but
let us think also of their sepulchres, and consider that those who have gone before us in
the world have also gone before us out of the world, and their monuments are momentos
to us. There is also a great respect owing to the memory of our fathers, which we should
not be willing to see injured. All nations, even those that have had no expectation of the
resurrection of the dead, have looked upon the sepulchres of their ancestors as in some
degree sacred and not to be violated. (2.) He justifies himself in his grief: “I do well to be
sad. Why should I not be so?” There is a time even for pious and prosperous men to be
sad and to show their grief. The best men must not think to antedate heaven by
banishing all sorrowful thoughts; it is a vale of tears we pass through, and we must
submit to the temper of the climate. (3.) He assigns the ruins of Jerusalem as the true
cause of his grief. Note, All the grievances of the church, but especially its desolations,
are, and ought to be, matter of grief and sadness to all good people, to all that have a
concern for God's honour and that are living members of Christ's mystical body, and are
of a public spirit; they favour even Zion's dust, Psa_102:14.
K&D, "Neh_2:3
He nevertheless openly expressed his desire, prefacing it by the accustomed form of
wishing the king prosperity, saying: “Let the king live for ever;” comp. Dan_2:4; Dan_
3:9. “Why should not my countenance be sad? for the city, the place of my fathers'
sepulchres, lieth waste, and its gates are burned with dire.” The question, Why ... ?
means: I have certainly sufficient reason for sadness. The reason is, that (‫ר‬ ֶ‫שׁ‬ ֲ‫)א‬ the city
where are the graves of my fathers lieth waste.
ELLICOTT, "(3) ehemiah’s family was of Jerusalem. He does not as yet betray to
the king the deepest desire of his heart, but simply refers to the desecration of his
fathers’ sepulchres, an appeal which had great force with the Persians, who

34. respected the tomb.
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:3 And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why
should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’
sepulchres, [lieth] waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?
Ver. 3. And I said unto the king] After he had pulled up his best heart, and
recovered his spirits, he declareth unto the king the cause of his sadness. How ready
should our tongues be to lay open our cares to the God of all comfort, when we see
ehemiah so quick in the expressions of his sorrow to an uncertain ear.
Let the king live for ever] i.e. Very long. Let him not suspect, by my sadness, that I
have any evil intent or treasonable design against him; for I heartily wish his
welfare. It was not court holy water (as they call it) wherewith he here besprinkles
his prince; it was not counterfeit courtesy; such as was that of Squier the traitor,
A.D. 1597, sent by Walpole the Jesuit, to poison the pummel of Queen Elizabeth’s
saddle, when she was to ride abroad; which also he did (but without effect), saying
cheerfully at the same time, God save the Queen. Saluta libenter greet gladly, is by
many practised, from the teeth outward; but by ehemiah, heartily.
Why should not my countenance be sad?] In time of common calamities there is just
cause of a general sadness, "should we then make mirth?" Ezekiel 21:10. The
Romans severely punished one that showed himself out of a window with a garland
on his head in the time of the Punic war, when it went ill with the commonwealth.
Justinus, the good emperor of Constantinople, took the downfall of the city of
Antioch by an earthquake so much to heart, that it caused him a grievous fit of
sickness, A.D. 527. When Pope Clement and his cardinals were imprisoned by the
duke of Bourbon’s men in St Angelo, Caesar in Spain forbade all interludes to be
played, &c. In France, the duke of Bourbon was condemned of treason, his name
and memorial were accursed, his arms pulled down, his lands and goods
confiscated. In England, King Henry was extremely displeased. Cardinal Wolsey
wept tenderly, and emptied the land of 288,000 pounds to relieve and ransom the
distressed pope.
When the city, the place of my fathers’ sepalchres] A good argument to a heathen,
who set great store by (as now the Papists keep great stir about) their burial places;
as if one place were holier than another for that purpose: a mere device to pick poor
men’s purses.
And the gates thereof are consumed with fire] The Jews at this day, when they build
a house, they are, say the Rabbis, to leave one part of it unfinished, and lying rude,
in remembrance that Jerusalem and the temple are, at present, desolate (Hist. of
Rites of Jews, by Leo Moden.). At least, they use to leave about a yard square of the
house unplastered, on which they write in great letters that of the Psalmist, If I

35. forget Jerusalem, then let my right hand forget her cunning, Psalms 137:5, or else
these words, Zecher Lechorbon, The memory of the desolation.
BE SO , " ehemiah 2:3. Let the king live for ever — My sadness comes not from
any disaffection to the king, for whom my hearty prayers are that he may live for
ever, but from another cause. Why should I not be sad, when the place of my
fathers’ sepulchres lieth waste? — Which by all nations are esteemed sacred and
inviolable. He says not a word for the temple, as he spake before a heathen king,
who cared for none of these things. There is a regard due to one’s own country,
which ought not to be extinguished by the pleasure or plenty of any other. It is not a
weakness to be deeply affected with the distresses, or for the death of our friends
and relations, at what distance secret we are from them; nor can any prosperity in
another country excuse a man for not being so much afflicted for any calamity that
befalls his own as not to entertain mirth and jollity in his heart. ehemiah was in no
mean station when he was cup-bearer to Artaxerxes, and we may very reasonably
suppose, from the grace and bounty which that great king showed him, that he
might have had any honour or preferment he would have requested in that great
and flourishing empire; yet when that great king discerned that there was sorrow of
heart in his countenance, and demanded the reason of it, he made no other excuse
but, Jerusalem lay waste: and when the king so graciously invited him to ask some
favour worthy of his royal bounty, he would require nothing else but permission
and power to go and relieve his country. The grievances of the church, but
especially its desolations, ought to be a grief to all good people, and will to all that
have a concern for God’s honour, and are of a public spirit.
WHEDO , "3. Let the king live forever — A common form of royal salutation.
Compare marginal references.
The city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres — A touching allusion, calculated to
affect the hearts both of the king and the queen. ehemiah here calls Jerusalem,
literally, the house of the graves of his fathers, and hence it has been inferred that he
was of the seed of David, whose royal sons were “buried in the city of David,” (1
Kings 14:31; 1 Kings 15:24, etc.;) so that city was, in fact, the very house of their
graves.
COKE, " ehemiah 2:3. Why should not my countenance be sad, &c.— There is a
piety due to one's own country, which cannot be extinguished by the pleasure or
plenty of any other. It is no weakness to be deeply affected with the misfortunes or
for the death of our nearest friends and relations, at what distance soever we are
from them; nor can any prosperity in another country hinder or excuse a man from
being grieved for a calamity which befals his own. ehemiah was in no mean station
when he was cup-bearer to Artaxerxes; and we may very reasonably believe, by the
grace and bounty which the king shewed him, that he might have had great
preferment in that flourishing empire, if he had asked it; yet, when that great king
discerned that there was sorrow of heart in his countenance, and demanded the

36. reason of it, he made no other excuse than this: the place of my fathers' sepulchres
lieth waste: and when the king so graciously invited him to ask some favour worthy
of his royal bounty, he would require nothing else but, Send me unto Judah, unto
the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it. A generous spirit can think of
nothing but relieving his country, while it is under a general misery, and calamity.
ote; (1.) When we take in hand God's work, we cannot but be deeply concerned for
the success. (2.) The afflictions of God's church and people draw forth the
sympathetic tear from every friend of Zion. (3.) In our passage through this mortal
vale, the best of men must expect to meet with trials. (4.) There is a king who
minutes our sorrows, and will not suffer us to mourn long.
PARKER, ""And I said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my
countenance be sad,. when the city, the place of my fathers" sepulchres, lieth waste,
and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?" ( ehemiah 2:3).
Here is the beautifulness of an unselfish sorrow; here is an individual magnifying
himself into a nation; here is one poor heart taking upon itself the sorrows of a
kingdom. Do you know what such suffering is? You say your own burden is heavy
enough, without taking any additional weight upon you. Then you can never enter
into the meaning of the experience of ehemiah. But you who do know what it is to
have every orphan to keep, every poor soul to help, every blind man to lead over a
corner in our streets—you who by the vastness and tenderness of your sympathy
have every poor creature to take care of, will enter into ehemiah"s feeling when he
assumed to represent the condition of the whole Jewish people under the
circumstances narrated in the text. How could he be glad when his fathers"
sepulchres were torn to pieces and the gates of his fathers" city were consumed? He
entered into other people"s feelings—he was more than a mere unit in the great
aggregate, he was human; he took upon himself the sufferings of others, and when
he did Song of Solomon , he was but preparing himself to take also upon his own
heart the joys of others. He who can go deepest in sympathy with sorrow can rise
highest in sympathy with laughter. If we have never had any keen, deep, devouring
woe, we have never had any pure, lofty, inexpressible delight.
We have been told about a man who in the time of the Punic Wars had put a chaplet
on his empty head and put his head out of the window to look at the difficulties, the
struggles, the hazards of the people, and we know how the Romans treated that
man: they took his chaplet off his head, and would have put his head itself in great
danger if the head had been worth taking off. Ay, poor fool! could he put on his
little green chaplet and say, "I am happy, what do I care for what is occurring in the
commonwealth? I have bread enough: why should I think about those who are
hungering? my thinking about them cannot help them." There have always been
men of that kind, who have lifted their chaplets to their heads and worn individual
joys in the midst of great public sorrows—men who could fatten themselves on the
sepulchre of the commonwealth, who had no public soul, no sympathy with public
distress, who could see an empire—their own empire—rending, aggravated by a
thousand sorrows, and tormented by an unconquerable spirit of unrest, and yet take

37. their four meals a day and their airing in the park. Of little use are such people in
society, or to the state; they render no service to the body politic. Who would not
rather be ehemiah , sad in the public sorrow, bowed down by the general distress,
feeling the agony of the commonwealth at heart, dejected and sad because the city of
their fathers" traditions and sepulchres lying waste, and its gates black with fire?
The Jews always remembered this state of Jerusalem. For many a long century at
least they never, even in their wealthiest times, built a great house to live in without
leaving part of the wall, if it were only one square yard, unplastered, or leaving
some out-building unfinished, and writing upon the incomplete parts in large
Hebrew letters these words—"If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand
forget her cunning." Do you understand the pathos of that feeling, or are you so
wrapped up in your own little concerns, saying, Jerusalem is so far away, and the
time of her desolation so remote, that we now plaster every inch of our walls, paper
and paint the house throughout, and think of nothing but ourselves? Who could
look on that square yard of unplastered wall, and see the expression upon it in
memory of the desolation, without at once entering into complete sympathy with the
people who did so? It is better to live thus: it gives us larger life, we take in more:
life is more absorbent because more sympathetic, and we get things that help us to
see into the deepest parts of human history.
LA GE, " ehemiah 2:3. Let the king live for ever.—Heb. hammelek l’olam yihyeh.
Compare 1 Kings 1:31; Daniel 2:4; Daniel 5:10; Daniel 6:6; Daniel 6:21. The mere
formula of address to an Oriental king, so that even a Daniel used it without
compunction. The city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres.—Lit. the city, house of
graves of my fathers. This emphasis of “the house of graves” not only seems to prove
ehemiah a Jerusalemite in descent, i.e., of the tribe of Judah, but also of the royal
house. An obscure person would scarcely have chosen such a way of designating the
city before the king. (Comp. on ehemiah 1:6.)
PETT, " ehemiah 2:3
‘And I said to the king, “Let the king live for ever. Why should not my face be sad,
when the city, the house of my fathers’ sepulchres, lies waste, and its gates are
consumed with fire?”
‘Let the king live forever.’ This was a normal way of addressing kings. It was a
prayer for the king’s continual well-being. And ehemiah then asserted that the
reason why he was so upset was because of the condition of the city with which his
father’s sepulchre was connected. It was in ruins. The city lay waste, and its gates
had been burned with fire. And this could only rebound on the condition of the
family sepulchre. ‘The house of my fathers’ sepulchres’ may well reflect the fact
that Persian kings attempted to give their sepulchres the appearance of a house or
palace, even when they were utilising rock tombs.
The king, who might well have been troubled had ehemiah mentioned Jerusalem,
was seemingly only full of sympathy. He could fully appreciate his favourite’s

38. distress.
PULPIT, "May the king live for ever. A common form of Oriental compliment (1
Kings 1:31; Daniel 2:4; Daniel 3:9, etc. ), but said now with special intention to
conciliate, and meant to express a deep interest in the royal life and person. The city,
the place of my fathers' sepulchres. We see by this that ehemiah's family must
have belonged to the capital. The Persians, like the Jews, had a great respect for the
tomb, and regarded its violation with horror. Artaxerxes would naturally
sympathise with the wish of his follower to give security to the city where his
ancestors were interred. It would seem that the Persians generally at this time
(Herod; 1.140), the kings certainly, buried their dead. Lieth waste. ehemiah's
warmth of feeling exaggerates the fact; but he may have been unconscious of the
exaggeration. He repeats the phrase to the chief men of Jerusalem after making his
survey of the wall (verse 17).
4 The king said to me, “What is it you want?”
Then I prayed to the God of heaven,
BAR ES, "I prayed to the God of heaven - Mentally and momentarily, before
answering the king.
CLARKE, "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.
GILL, "Then the king said unto me, for what dost thou make request?.... The
king supposed that there was a meaning in those looks and words of his, that he had a
favour to ask of him, and therefore encourages him to it; or the king of himself moved
this, as being desirous of doing anything for him he would propose, to make him easy:
so I prayed to the God of heaven; secretly, in an ejaculatory way, giving him thanks
for thus disposing the king's heart towards him, and entreating he might be directed
what to ask, and in a proper manner, and that he might succeed.

39. HE RY, "The encouragement which the king gave him to tell his mind, and the
application he thereupon made in his heart to God, Neh_2:4. The king had an affection
for him, and was not pleased to see him melancholy. It is also probable that he had a
kindness for the Jews' religion; he had discovered it before in the commission he gave to
Ezra, who was a churchman, and now again in the power he put Nehemiah into, who
was a statesman. Wanting therefore only to know how he might be serviceable to
Jerusalem, he asks this its anxious friend, “For what dost thou make request?
Something thou wouldst have; what is it?” He was afraid to speak (Neh_2:2), but this
gave him boldness; much more may the invitation Christ has given us to pray, and the
promise that we shall speed, enable us to come boldly to the throne of grace. Nehemiah
immediately prayed to the God of heaven that he would give him wisdom to ask
properly and incline the king's heart to grant him his request. Those that would find
favour with kings must secure the favour of the King of kings. He prayed to the God of
heaven as infinitely above even this mighty monarch. It was not a solemn prayer (he had
not opportunity for that), but a secret sudden ejaculation; he lifted up his heart to that
God who understands the language of his heart: Lord, give me a mouth and wisdom;
Lord, give me favour in the sight of this man. Note, It is good to be much in pious
ejaculations, especially upon particular occasions. Wherever we are we have a way open
heaven-ward. This will not hinder any business, but further it rather; therefore let no
business hinder this, but give rise to it rather. Nehemiah had prayed very solemnly with
reference to this very occasion (Neh_1:11), yet, when it comes to the push, he prays
again. Ejaculations and solemn prayers must not jostle out one another, but each have
its place.
K&D 4-5, "Then the king, feeling interested, asked him: For what dost thou make
request? ‫ל‬ ַ‫ע‬ ‫שׁ‬ ֵ ִ , to make request for or concerning a thing, like Ezr_8:23; Est_4:8; Est_
7:7. The question shows that the king was inclined to relieve the distress of Jerusalem
which had been just stated to him. “And so I prayed to the God of heaven,” to ensure
divine assistance in the request he was about to lay before the king. Then Nehemiah
answered (Neh_2:5), “If it please the king, and if thy servant is well-pleasing before thee,
(I beg) that thou wouldest send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I
may build it.” ‫י‬ֵ‫נ‬ ְ‫פ‬ ִ‫ל‬ ‫ב‬ ַ‫יט‬ִ‫,י‬ here and Est_5:14, is of like meaning with ‫י‬ֵ‫ינ‬ ֵ‫ע‬ ְ ‫ב‬ ַ‫יט‬ִ‫י‬ or ‫ּוב‬ , Est_
8:5; 2Sa_18:4 : if thy servant is right in thine eyes, i.e., if he thinks rightly concerning the
matter in question. The matter of his request is directly combined with this conditional
clause by ‫ר‬ ֶ‫שׁ‬ ֲ‫,א‬ the connecting term, I beg, being easily supplied from the king's question:
For what dost thou beg?
COFFMA , ""For what dost thou make request" ( ehemiah 2:4)? This was the
moment of truth for ehemiah. If the king was displeased, ehemiah would lose his
head; and therefore his first reaction was that, "I prayed to the God of heaven."
There can be no doubt that God answered his prayer; because, "That prayer
brought about one of the most astonishing reversals of royal policy in all
history."[4]Furthermore, it happened in Persia, of all places, where their favorite
proverb was, "The law of the Medes and Persians which altereth not."
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make

40. request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
Ver. 4. Then the king said unto me] Some think that ehemiah looked thus sad
before the king on purpose, to make way to this his request.
For what dost thou make request?] ot for any other honour or great office about
the court or in the country; not for any private friend, or the like, but the good of
the Church. Thus ebridius, in Jerome, though a courtier and nephew to the
empress, yet never made suit but for the relief of the poor afflicted. Thus Terence,
that noble general under Valens, the emperor, being bidden to ask what he would,
asked nothing but that the Church might be rid of Arians. And when the emperor,
being himself an Arian, tore his petition, he said he would never ask anything for
himself if he might not prevail for the Church (Theodoret).
So I prayed to the God of heaven] Darting up an ejaculation, a sudden and secret
desire to God, to order and speed his petition. Begin all with prayer, and then expect
a blessing. Call in the Divine help, if it be but by darting out our desires to God.
Thus Moses cried to God, yet said nothing, Exodus 14:15. Hannah was not heard,
and yet she prayed. Austin reports the custom of the Egyptian Churches, to pray
frequently and fervently, but briefly, and by way of ejaculation, ne fervor
languesceret, lest their heat should abate, Crebras habere orationes, sed brevissimas
et raptim eiaculatas.
BE SO , " ehemiah 2:4. Then the king said, For what dost thou make request? —
Something thou wouldest have, what is it? The king had an affection for him, and
was not pleased to see him dejected, and thus gave him encouragement to tell his
mind. So I prayed to the God of heaven — I silently in my mind besought God to
direct my thoughts and words, and to incline the king’s heart to grant my request.
WHEDO , "4. For what dost thou make request — The king’s heart was at once
touched with sympathy for the sorrow of his cupbearer, and prompted to offer him
assistance. Thus God disposeth the hearts of kings.
I prayed — That he might so order his request as to secure the king’s favour. He
that would prevail with men and kings must first know how to prevail in prayer
with God.
PARKER, ""Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I
prayed to the God of heaven" [mentally and momentarily before answering the
king] ( ehemiah 2:4).
But he had been praying for three months. Yes. Why then did he pray to the God of
heaven now? Because you must always have just a little supplementary prayer, if
you are a true man. Did you ever finish a prayer? For three months ehemiah had
been opening his window and looking Godward, and pouring out his poor afflicted

41. soul on account of what Hanani had told him, and now, when the king says, "What
is thy request?" he stood and prayed to the God of heaven—one word more,
gathering up all the three months" prayer in one final cry. Sometimes we have to
gather up the prayers of a whole lifetime in one poignant, keenly accentuated
petition; sometimes the prayers of a whole lifetime escape us in one deep heartfelt
sigh, which the fool standing near, of unsympathetic heart, can never understand.
He calls it but a sigh; yet that sigh has blood in it, and life and agony, and that sigh
will move the almightiness of God. He knows what it costs. He knows how much
heart goes up in that yearning pang to him. "So I stood and prayed to the God of
heaven." For three months he had been kneeling, morning, noon, and night, and
more frequently still, and now he stands and prays. Is it right to stand and pray?
Certainly. Is it right to kneel and pray? Unquestionably. Is it right to pray in a
crowd? Yes. Is it right to go into sandy places, and desert paths, and empty, dreary
solitudes, and there to pray? Indisputably so. Pray always—pray without ceasing.
othing depends on the mere form or the mere phrase. Stand and pray—kneel and
pray—think and pray—speak and pray. Many a time we have prayed to God
without ever saying a word—just the lifting of a speechless heart, and a lifting that
is never without peculiar blessing.
This was what is called ejaculatory prayer. We need not change the word
ejaculatory. There is a great deal of Latin in it, no doubt, but still it seems now to
belong to the English tongue. It signifies thrown out—darted forth. It implies
suddenness, terseness, earnestness. It was not a literary prayer; it was not
artistically divided into sections; it was like an arm suddenly thrown out and
thrown up. You can pray Song of Solomon , in the warehouse or in the crowded
thoroughfare. Do not say that if you only had a little private place of your own to
which you could retire, you would enjoy now and then a few moments" communion
with God. Make a private place, create silence in the city, in the great seething,
tumultuous mob find a sanctuary. A brief prayer, a cry, a sigh, the upward lifting of
an eye may bring to thee all-needful angels and chariots of fire and help divine. We
must get our ideas of prayer very much simplified. You really do not need a carpet
and a hassock, that is unnecessary; you do not need fine words, beautiful phrases,
well-turned sentences, bold and resonant literature. You need earnestness, fire,
yearning, vehement desire, determination to take the kingdom of heaven by
violence. Why, in that way you can always pray. You can say, "God be merciful to
me a sinner!"—A brief prayer, all prayers in one, the liturgies of the universe
condensed into one sentence. It is an endless prayer, because it involves an endless
confession of sin, and weakness, and self-helplessness, and confidence in God.
ehemiah opened his lips and told the king freely what he wanted. "Moreover I said
unto the king------" When ehemiah once got his lips opened he spoke with
wondrous practical eloquence to Artaxerxes the king. "Moreover"—now what will
he say?—"If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the
river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah."
"So I stood and prayed unto the God of heaven—then I asked the king to give me
letters." That is the true model of prayer—to pray and then to ask for your letters—

42. to pray to the King of kings and then to accept the ordinary appointments of life—to
invoke Omnipotence, and then to use your senses. How have you been praying? Did
you sit in the chair and pray that you might be able at the end of the week to make
both ends meet, and then fall asleep until the time came, and wake up to find that
both ends did not meet. That was not prayer at all; that was puerility, and
sentiment, and nonsense, and profanity. I will pray God to help me to pay every
debt I owe, to overcome every difficulty in my way, to beat down every mountain
that intercepts my progress. Lord, help me to accomplish a faithful and noble
ministry in thinking, in literature, in commerce, in the family—wherever my lot
may be cast. ow, having said my prayer, let me go out and do it. There are people
who do not believe in prayer, simply because they do not know what prayer is. The
prayer they talk about is something defined in the dictionary. ever go to the
dictionary for the meaning of a great heart-word. Such meaning you can only get in
the agony of your own personal experience. Referring to that as a proof and test of
prayer, we may call upon a thousand hearts to say if God be not the hearer and
answerer of prayer. ever yet has God denied prayer, when the granting of it would
have been a blessing in the true sense of the word, to our own spirit.
LA GE, " ehemiah 2:4. For what dost thou make request?—Lit. On what account
this thou art asking? The king takes for granted that the look of sadness is an
assumed preliminary to asking a favor. There is a true Oriental touch in this. So I
prayed to the God of heaven.—A beautiful mark of ehemiah’s piety. He first
addresses the King of kings, and then the earthly monarch. He knew in whose hands
were kings’ hearts. For the phrase “God of heaven,” see on ehemiah 1:5.
PETT, " ehemiah 2:4
‘Then the king said to me, “For what are you asking?” So I prayed to the God of
heaven.’
So the king asked ehemiah what the heart of his request was. What was it that his
faithful servant wanted from him? ehemiah, with his heart no doubt somewhat
relieved, flashed a silent prayer to Heaven and then explained his heart’s desire. It is
a reminder that when we are going about God’s business we should ensure that we
keep in close touch with God.
ISBET, "EJACULATORY PRAYER
‘So I prayed to the God of heaven.’
ehemiah 2:4
Our thoughts are now upon that moment of ejaculatory prayer, and its lesson for
our own faith and our own prayers.
What has ehemiah to say to us?
I. He bids us cherish and cultivate the habit of ejaculation.—In other words, he bids
us “tell Him all,” freely while reverently, at all times and in all places. What an
unspiritual environment was ehemiah’s at that moment! What an unspiritual
position and office were ehemiah’s amidst that scene! It was not the position of the

43. great trusted adviser, like Daniel, sharing the cares of empire with his prince; still
less was it the prophetic position of a Daniel preaching righteousness to the
frightened revellers from the text upon the wall. Yet there and then he knew the way
to God, and instantly he took it; the communication was open, and it worked as
effectually in the Persian palace at the hour of wine, as if ehemiah, like Hezekiah,
had been kneeling in the temple with his eyes upon the sanctuary.
The message is direct to you and me. ‘Strength and calm for every crisis come with
telling Jesus all!’ And ‘every crisis’ implies occasions whose outside is altogether
secular, surroundings which seem to be entirely unreligious, if not actively hostile to
religion. Where is the Lord God of ehemiah? He is here now. He is with you on the
journey, in the drawing-room, in the counting-house, in the shop, in the study,
amidst the company from which you shrink, but in which it is your duty to be. He is
with you while you hear or read the assault upon the Bible, upon the Gospel, upon
the Lord; the question which puts some anxious problem of practical right or wrong
before you. ‘So I prayed unto the God of heaven,’ who was also the God of
ehemiah, and the Master of Artaxerxes and his will. For you, as for ehemiah,
that ‘way of escape, that you may be able to bear it’—that blessed way of escape,
into the heart of the Lord Who lives and hears—is wide open, anywhere and
everywhere.
II. Another message which this servant of God brings us is concerning the answers
which come to such prayers.—In ehemiah’s case nothing ostensibly supernatural
occurred. This whole book records no miracle, nor does that of Ezra. o finger
wrote upon the wall to tell Artaxerxes what to say, and to alarm him into a
consciousness of ehemiah’s relations with the Eternal. The king thought the matter
over, consulted the queen beside him, asked another simple question, felt a
sympathy with ehemiah’s plans and wishes, saw no reason to the contrary, and
gave him exactly the leave he wanted. The God of heaven answered at once, and to
the very purpose; but He answered through the channel of the Persian’s mind and
volition, not forced but sovereignly manipulated by Him ‘who worketh all things
after the counsel of His own will.’
We read such an incident in the Bible, and we accept it as true, and perhaps let it
pass as true; true for days when ‘the miraculous’ was in the air. But it is just such
an incident as offers itself for the closest repetition now. There was no miracle in
that air, save the miracle of the presence of the faithfulness, of the power of God,
and of His welcome to His servant to ‘tell him all.’ Then let us each be a ehemiah,
in intercourse with God in our twentieth-century surroundings, and accept His
answers as they commonly come through His silent handling of those surroundings,
and of us amidst them.
III. But ehemiah’s messages from the king’s palace are not all delivered. One, and
a most important one, remains.—This prayer of ejaculation is not the first prayer
recorded in the book; the first chapter gives us another, which is long, deliberate,
imploring, and in secret. ‘I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and
fasted and prayed before the God of heaven’; the last petition in that prayer being

44. that God would ‘prosper His servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of
this man.’
Let us ponder this. That secret and sustained intercourse with God prepared
ehemiah for the momentary prayer in the strange publicity so soon to follow. His
ejaculation was the prompt utterance of a soul which cultivated beforehand, in holy
readiness for instant use, the sense of the blessed Presence, and by faith abode in
that invisible sanctuary. It was habitual prayerfulness in special action.
So it must be with us too in the common hours of life, so pregnant with deadly perils
and temptations if we are not men of prayer. We must prepare in secret for our
spiritual victories out of doors. We must make time for deliberate confession and
supplication alone, if we are to be ready in the social circle, to dart our word-long
petition unerringly to the throne of grace, and bring the blessing down. We must
pray, if we would pray. It shall not be in vain for us, any more than for ehemiah.
Bishop H. C. G. Moule.
PULPIT, "Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request?
Artaxerxes understood that a complaint was contained in ehemiah's speech, and
that he must have a request to make. With gracious kindliness he facilitates its
utterance. So I prayed to the God of heaven. ehemiah was emphatically a man of
prayer. In every danger, in every difficulty, still more at any crisis, prayer rose to
his lips (see ehemiah 4:4, ehemiah 4:9; ehemiah 5:19; ehemiah 6:9, ehemiah
6:14; ehemiah 13:14, etc.). Sometimes, as now, the prayer was offered silently and
swiftly.
PULPIT, " ehemiah 2:4
Ejaculatory prayer.
"So I prayed to the God of heaven." ehemiah, saddened by the report he had
received of the condition of the Jews who had returned to their land, had formed a
purpose to visit them, that he might encourage them, and take the lead in fortifying
the city, and putting affairs into a more hopeful condition. His doing so depended on
the consent of the monarch whose cupbearer he was, and his obtaining a
commission from him. Already he had prayed for success in his intended
application, and now that the desired opportunity presented itself he felt the
importance of the moment, and in the king's presence sent up mentally another
prayer. We have here—
I. PRAYER BY A GREAT A D WEALTHY MA . Such have many temptations to
neglect prayer; temptations to pride and self-dependence, to worldliness and self-
indulgence, tending to the loss of all sense of their need of God and spiritual good; to
entire absorption in the cares of their position; to false shame before their equals,
etc.; yet they need prayer as much as the poorest, and in some respects more. They
equally need Divine mercy as sinners, and Divine help and guidance; and they have

45. special responsibilities, temptations, and power for good or evil, and so need special
grace. In undertaking such a work as ehemiah proposed to himself, the greatest
may well feel their need of Divine aid. It is pleasing to contemplate such men when
they are men given to prayer. Many instances in the Bible: Abraham, Jacob, Moses,
David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Daniel, Cornelius.
II. PRAYER AT A U USUAL PLACE A D TIME. ot in temple or synagogue
or secret chamber; but in the presence of a king and queen, and while engaged in
ministering to them. Learn that no place is unsuitable, no time unseasonable, for
prayer; for God is everywhere, and his ear always open.
III. SILE T PRAYER. Was perhaps an exercise of mind and heart, unknown to the
king. Prayer is not confined to audible utterance. This is desirable where
practicable, even in private worship; for utterance aids thought and feeling; and it is
indispensable to common prayer. One must speak that all may unite. A silent
meeting, as amongst the Friends, may be a true prayer-meeting to individuals, but
hardly a meeting for united prayer. But in ehemiah's circumstances audible words
would have been unsuitable: and always the worth and efficacy of prayer spring not
from the words, but the principles and feelings they represent. It is ever what passes
in the mind and heart which makes prayer to be prayer. As much as there is of
desire, directed to God in faith, so much is there of prayer.
"Prayer is the soul's sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire,
That trembles in the breast."
Much of the truest prayer cannot be spoken. "Groanings which cannot be uttered."
IV. A SHORT PRAYER. Length is in some measure, and under some
circumstances, an element of true prayer. He who satisfies himself, in his regular
seasons of worship, with a sentence or two, is guilty of irreverence, and shows that
he has no delight in communion with God. But on such an occasion as that in the
text, only brief prayer is possible or needful. And how much may be expressed or
implied in a few words; how much love, or trust, or longing! In like manner much
meaning may be in a short prayer. Instances: the Lord's prayer; the publican's; that
of the thief on the cross.
V. A EJACULATORY PRAYER. A short, fervent prayer "darted" upwards on a
sudden occasion, when special need of God's help was unexpectedly felt. The habit
of thus praying is much to be desired.
1. Occasions for such prayers are as numerous as the varying exigencies of life,
especially the sudden and unanticipated, and when longer prayer is impossible.

46. 2. The value of such prayers.
5 and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king
and if your servant has found favor in his sight,
let him send me to the city in Judah where my
ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”
CLARKE, "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 feelings of the Persian king.
GILL, "And I said unto the king; if it please the king, and if thy servant have
found favour in thy sight,.... He submits what he had to say wholly to the pleasure of
the king, and puts it upon his unmerited favour, and not on any desert of his own:
that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers'
sepulchres, that I may build it; the wall of it, and the houses in it; the favour was,
that he might have leave to go thither, and set about such a work, for which he was so
much concerned.
HE RY, " His humble petition to the king. When he had this encouragement he
presented his petition very modestly and with submission to the king's wisdom (Neh_
2:5), but very explicitly. He asked for a commission to go as governor to Judah, to build
the wall of Jerusalem, and to stay there for a certain time, so many months, we may
suppose; and then either he had his commission renewed or went back and was sent
again, so that he presided there twelve years at least, Neh_5:14. He also asked for a
convoy (Neh_2:7), and an order upon the governors, not only to permit and suffer him
to pass through their respective provinces, but to supply him with what he had occasion
for, with another order upon the keeper of the forest of Lebanon to give him timber for
the work that he designed.
JAMISO , "

47. K&D, "
COFFMA , "Send me unto Judah ... that I may build it" ( ehemiah 2:5). A more
daring request was never made. It had been only a few years since, "Artaxerxes had
commissioned Rehum and Shimshai to bring a stop to the rebuilding and fortifying
of Jerusalem (Ezra 4:8-23)."[5]The amazing thing is that Artaxerxes granted
ehemiah's request, lock, stock and barrel - all of it.
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:5 And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy
servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah,
unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it.
Ver. 5. If it please the king] Silken words must be given to kings, as the mother of
Darius said ( η διστα, η ηκιστα); neither must they be rudely and roughly dealt
with, as Joab dealt with David, 2 Samuel 19:5, who, therefore, could never well
brook him afterward, but set another in his place.
And if thy servant have found favour] Pellican observeth here, that ehemiah was a
great favourite of this king’s; as appeared in that having so many nobles, he chose
him to this office, rather than any of them. He, therefore, pleads it as a pledge of
further favour; so may we with God, as being no small favourites in the beloved one,
Ephesians 1:5.
That thou wouldest send me unto Judah] ot only give me leave to go, but also send
me with a commission to be governor. This was a bold request, but modestly
proposed, and easily obtained. The king is not he that can deny you anything,
Jeremiah 38:5. Love is liberal, charity is no churl.
BE SO , " ehemiah 2:5. I said, If it please the king, &c. — My request, whatever
it is, I humbly and wholly submit to the king’s good pleasure, in which I am resolved
to acquiesce. If thy servant have found favour in thy sight — I plead no merit, but
humbly supplicate thy grace and favour, of which, having received some tokens, I
am imboldened to make this farther request. That thou wouldst send me unto
Judah, &c. — Wouldst give me a commission to go and build the walls of Jerusalem,
and thereby make it a city again, for it is now in a defenceless state, as an open town,
exposed on all sides to the attacks of its enemies. “A generous spirit,” says Lord
Clarendon, “can think of nothing but relieving his country while it is under a
general misery and calamity.”
LA GE, " ehemiah 2:5. That I may build it.—This was ehemiah’s first great
aim, to rebuild the city. Without walls and fortifications, it was but a large village,
exposed to sudden ruin. Could the walls be rebuilt, its permanence would be
secured, and the province of Judah have a strong centre. That ehemiah saw that
this was the true course to conserve the special interests of God’s people, there can
be no doubt. A man of his piety could not rest in the mere external view of things.

48. PETT, " ehemiah 2:5
‘And I said to the king, “If it please the king, and if your servant has found favour
in your sight, that you would send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ sepulchres,
that I may rebuild it.”
His request was, that if it pleased the king, and if he ehemiah had found favour in
his sight, he would send him to Judah to restore the city of his fathers where his
fathers’ sepulchres were found. He still gives no hint that he is referring to
Jerusalem.
6 Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him,
asked me, “How long will your journey take, and
when will you get back?” It pleased the king to
send me; so I set a time.
BAR ES, "The queen - Though the Persian kings practiced polygamy, they always
had one chief wife, who alone was recognized as “queen.” The chief wife of Longimanus
was Damaspia.
I set him a time - Nehemiah appears to have stayed at Jerusalem twelve years from
his first arrival Neh_5:14; but he can scarcely have mentioned so long a term to the king.
Probably his leave of absence was prolonged from time to time.
CLARKE, "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 Septuagint translate it παλλακη, harlot; and
properly too. See the introduction.
I set him a time - How long this time was we are not told; it is by no means likely
that it was long, probably no more than six months or a year; after which he either
returned, or had his leave of absence lengthened; for in the same year we find he was
made governor of the Jews, in which office he continued twelve years, viz., from the
twentieth to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes, Neh_5:14. He then returned to Susa;
and after staying a short time, had leave to return to rectify some abuses that Tobiah the
Ammonite had introduced into the temple, Neh_13:6, Neh_13:7, and several others of
which the people themselves were guilty. After having performed this service, it is likely

49. he returned to the Persian king, and died in his office of cup-bearer; but of this latter
circumstance we have no mention in the text.
GILL, "And the king said unto me, the queen also sitting by him,.... Which it
seems was not very common for the queens of Persia to dine with the kings their
husbands; though this may be observed, not so much for the singularity of it, as for the
providence of God in it, that so it should be, she having a good respect for Nehemiah,
and the Jewish nation, and forwarded the king in his grant to him: if this king was
Darius Hystaspis, this his queen was Atossa, daughter of Cyrus (q), who might be the
more friendly to the Jews, on account of her father's great regard unto them:
for how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? what time
would he ask to do this business in? this shows the king had a great respect for him, and
was loath to part with him, at least for any great length of time:
so it pleased the king to send me, when he promised to return unto him, not in
twelve years, which was the time of his government in Judea, but in a lesser space,
perhaps a year at most, since in less than two months the wall of Jerusalem was finished;
and it may be that he then returned to the king of Persia, who sent him again under the
character of a governor, finding it was for his interest to have such a man in those parts.
HE RY, " The king's great favour to him in asking him when he would return, Neh_
2:6. He intimated that he was unwilling to lose him, or to be long without him, yet to
gratify him, and do a real office of kindness to his people, he would spare him awhile,
and let him have what clauses he pleased inserted in his commission, Neh_2:8. Here
was an immediate answer to his prayer; for the seed of Jacob never sought the God of
Jacob in vain. In the account he gives of the success of his petition he takes notice, 1. Of
the presence of the queen; she sat by (Neh_2:6), which (they say) was not usual in the
Persian court, Est_1:11. Whether the queen was his back friend, that would have
hindered him, and he observes it to the praise of God's powerful providence that though
she was by yet he succeeded, or whether she was his true friend, and it is observed to the
praise of God's kind providence that she was present to help forward his request, is not
certain. 2. Of the power and grace of God. He gained his point, not according to his
merit, his interest in the king, or his good management, but according to the good hand
of his God upon him. Gracious souls take notice of God's hand, his good hand, in all
events which turn in favour of them. This is the Lord's doing, and therefore doubly
acceptable.
JAMISO 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 dispatch 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

50. 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 (Neh_5:14).
K&D, "The king and the queen, who was sitting near him (‫ל‬ָ‫ג‬ ֵ‫,שׁ‬ Psa_45:10), grant him
permission to depart after he has, in answer to their inquiry, fixed the period of his
absence. Nehemiah makes the result of the conversation, “And it pleased the king,” etc.,
follow immediately upon the question of the king and queen: For how long shall thy
journey be, and when wilt thou return? before telling us what was his answer to this
question, which is not brought in till afterwards, so that ‫ן‬ ָ‫מ‬ְ‫ז‬ ‫ּו‬‫ל‬ ‫ה‬ָ‫נ‬ ְ ֶ‫א‬ָ‫ו‬ must be understood
as expressing: since I had determined the time.
COFFMA , "The queen also sitting beside him" ( ehemiah 2:6). Polygamy was
popular among Persian kings, nevetheless they also had one principal wife whom
they designated as "the Queen." "The legitimate queen of Artaxerxes was
Damaspia."[9]Williamson noted that the word is used here in the plural, and that
upon occasions the word was applied to some favorite woman in the harem, or even
to the queen-mother of the king, as in the Book of Daniel. Some have concluded that
the presence of the queen here indicated that this was a private banquet.
Rawlinson's comment was that, "It appears that Artaxerxes Longimanus had only
one legitimate wife, a certain Damaspia."[10]He backed this up with a reference to a
statement by Ctesias in Persian history.
"And I set him a time" ( ehemiah 2:6). ehemiah's first term as governor lasted
twelve years; but it seems unlikely that he would have set such a time for his
journey. ehemiah evidently promised to return within a much shorter period, after
which his leave of absence was extended. The speed with which he tackled the
problem of building the wall suggests this. The journey itself would require three or
four months each direction, and allowing enough time for the fortifications, suggests
that his request must surely have been for, "a year or two."[11]
ELLICOTT, "(6) The queen also sitting by him.—Probably Damaspia, the one
legitimate queen: Shegal, as in Ps. , where, however, she stands as in the presenco of
her Divine-human Lord. This was not a public feast, as in that case the queen would
not be present (Esther 1:9-12).
I set him a time.—Whatever that was, circumstances afterwards prolonged it.
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:6 And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,)
For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the
king to send me; and I set him a time.

51. Ver. 6. And the king said unto me] He yields for the thing, only indents for the time;
as being loth to deny ehemiah his suit, and yet as loth to forego so faithful a
servant. Ipse aspectus viri boni delectat (Seneca).
The queen also sitting by him] And assisting his cause likely. Some think this was
Esther, the queen mother. But the Hebrew word here is, wife: now the kings of
Persia were noted for uxorious.
For how long, &c.] The departure of a dear friend is so grievous, that death itself is
called by that name.
So it pleased the king to send me] As a governor, ehemiah 5:14. This was the fruit
of prayer, and, therefore, so much the sweeter.
And I set him a time] sc. Twelve years, ehemiah 5:14. But more probably a shorter
time at first.
BE SO , " ehemiah 2:6. The queen also sitting by him — Which is here noted as
an unusual thing, for commonly the kings of Persia dined alone; and perhaps
because the queen expressed some kindness to him, and promoted his request. How
long shall thy journey be? — This question showed the king’s affection for him, and
that he was not willing to want his attendance longer than was necessary. So it
pleased the king to send me — Having told the king how long he desired to be
absent from his office, the king permitted him to go. How long that was, is not
certain. But it is not likely it was for twelve years, mentioned ehemiah 5:14;
ehemiah 13:6, but rather, he asked leave for a year, or perhaps for half that time:
which made him so quick in despatching the building of the wall, which he finished
in fifty-two days, chap. ehemiah 6:15. After which, it is likely, he returned to
Shushan, according to his appointment, and that the king sent him back as his
governor for twelve years; his presence being very serviceable, or perhaps necessary
there, for the better ordering of that province to the king’s satisfaction.
WHEDO , "6. The queen also sitting by him — Probably the queen consort, the
principal wife, is meant; not one of his concubines, or a mistress, as the Septuagint
translates it. The influence of a wife over a Persian monarch is shown in the Book of
Esther.
How long — The king did not wish to lose this noble officer of his court for a great
length of time.
I set him a time — This may have been altered afterwards, and ehemiah’s leave of
absence extended. This would necessarily follow from his being appointed governor,

52. which appointment was made that same year. ehemiah filled that office for the
twelve succeeding years. ehemiah 5:14.
COKE, " ehemiah 2:6. And I set him a time— How long this was is not certain. It
is said, indeed, that he was governor of the land of Judah for twelve years, chap.
ehemiah 5:14, ehemiah 13:6. But, considering what haste he made for
dispatching the building of the walls, which he finished in fifty-two days, the leave
that he asked might be but for a year, or perhaps half so long; after which time, it is
likely, he returned to Shushan according to his promise; but some time after was
sent back again by the king (who found his presence there serviceable, or perhaps
necessary for the better regulation of that province), to be his governor for twelve
years.
REFLECTIO S.—1. The king, perceiving the meaning of ehemiah's sorrows, and
his fear to ask, kindly bids him make his request. ote; Christ our king has given us
an unlimited promise; and shall we be backward to make our requests known to
him?
2. Encouraged by this condescension, he lifts up his heart to God for power to speak
aright, and a blessing on his request; a warm ejaculation fled to the throne of grace,
and God strengthened and prospered him. He begs permission to rebuild his native
city, a convoy to guard him safe, and an order upon the governors to supply him
with necessaries for the work. ote; (1.) Whatever we set about, let prayer prepare
the way. (2.) Frequent ejaculations tend to preserve the spirituality of our temper.
(3.) othing is too much to ask when we come to Jesus, who will do for us exceeding
abundantly above all we can ask or think.
3. The king consented that he should go; but, unwilling to part with him long,
engages him to return within a stipulated time. The queen, who providentially was
now present, probably stood his friend; and he had peculiar reason that day to
acknowledge the good hand of God in his success. ote; (1.) The prayer of faith
never ascends in vain. (2.) Providential help is often given when little expected; and
friends unknown to us before are raised up of God in our difficulties. (3.) Whatever
mercy we receive, let God's good hand be acknowledged with thankfulness.
LA GE, " ehemiah 2:6. The queen also sitting by him.—We have a good
illustration of this scene in a sculpture from Asshur-bani-pal’s palace (Koyunjik).
The king reclines on one side of the table, and is in the act of drinking. The queen
sits upright in a chair of state at the side of the table, near the king’s feet, but facing
him. She is also in the act of drinking. Attendants with large fans stand behind each.
(See copy of this interesting scene in Rawlinson’s Ancient Monarchies, Vol. I, p493).
That the word “shegal” refers to the principal wife of the king seems clear from its
use in Psalm 45:10. The chief wife of Artaxerxes at one time was Damaspia,
according to Ctesias.
PETT, " ehemiah 2:6

53. ‘And the king said to me (the queen also sitting by him), “For how long will your
journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I set
him a time.’
The mention of the queen sitting by suggests that she may well have approved
ehemiah’s request, and have added her voice to his. ehemiah may well have been
one of her favourite courtiers. But the king was very happy with his request and
only wanted to know how long it would take him to fulfil it. When would he be
coming back? So the king gave his permission, and ehemiah set a date for his
return.
On the other hand it has been suggested that the sudden introduction of the queen
quietly introduces a change from a public feast to a more private one. The questions
that the king asks may well have been retained for such a private occasion, with the
king initially having simply indicated his approval.
PULPIT, "The queen. It appears from Ctesias ('Exc. Pers.,' § 44) that Artaxerxes
Longimanus had but one legitimate wife—a certain Damaspia. othing more is
known of her besides this mention, and the fact that she died on the same day as her
husband. Sitting by him. ot an unusual circumstance. Though, when the monarch
entertained guests, the queen remained in her private apartments (Esther 1:9-12),
yet on other occasions she frequently took her meals with him. I set him a time.
ehemiah probably mentioned some such time as a year, or two years—such a space
as would suffice for the double journey, and the restoration of the fortifications. He
stayed away, however, as he tells us ( ehemiah 5:14), twelve years, obtaining no
doubt from time to time an extension of his leave (Bertheau).
7 I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I
have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates,
so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I
arrive in Judah?
GILL, "Moreover, I said unto the king, let letters be given me to the
governors beyond the river,.... The river of Euphrates, on that side of it towards the
land of Judea:
that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; furnish him with

54. provisions, and a guard to protect him.
JAMISO , "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).
K&D 7-8, "Hereupon Nehemiah also requested from the king letters to the governors
beyond (west of) the river (Euphrates), to allow him to travel unmolested through their
provinces to Judah (‫י‬ ִ‫ל‬ ‫נוּ‬ ְ ִ‫,י‬ let them give me = let there be given me; ‫יר‬ ִ‫ב‬ ֱ‫ע‬ ֶ‫,ה‬ to pass or
travel through a country, comp. Deu_3:20); and a letter to Asaph, the keeper (inspector)
of the royal forests, to give him timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the
temple, and for the walls of the city, and for the governor's own house. These requests
were also granted. ‫ס‬ ֵ ְ‫ר‬ ַ in Son_4:13; Ecc_2:5, signifies a park or orchard; it is a word of
Aryan origin (in Armenian pardez, the garden round the house, in Greek παράδεισος),
and is explained either from the Sanscrit parta-dêça, a superior district, or (by Haug)
from the Zend. pairi-daêza, a fenced-in place. In Old-Persian it probably denoted the
king's pleasure-grounds, and in our verse a royal wood or forest. Of the situation of this
park nothing reliable can be ascertained. As wood for extensive buildings was to be taken
from it, the sycamore forest in the low plains, which had been the property of King David
(1Ch_27:28), and became, after the overthrow of the Davidic dynasty, first a Babylonian,
and then a Persian possession, may be intended.
(Note: Older expositors supposed a regio a Libano ad Antilibanum protensa et
arboribus amoenissimus consita to be meant. In this view, indeed, they followed
Son_4:13, but incorrectly. Cler. thought it to be a tractus terrarum in Judaea, qui
Paradisus regius dicebatur. Josephus speaks (Ant. viii. 7. 3) of fine gardens and
ponds at Etham, seven miles south of Jerusalem, where Solomon often made
pleasure excursions. Hence Ewald (Gesch. iv. p. 169, comp. iii. p. 328) thinks that the
‫ס‬ ֵ ְ‫ר‬ ַ which belonged to the king must have been Solomon's old royal park at Aetham,
which in the time of Nehemiah had become a Persian domain, and that the hill town
lying not far to the west of it, and now called by the Arabs Fureidis, i.e., paradisaic,
may have received its Hebrew name Beth-Kerem, i.e., house of vineyards, from
similar pleasure-grounds. Hereupon Bertheau grounds the further conjecture, that
“the whole district from Aetham to the hill of Paradise, situate about a league east-
south-east of Aetham, may from its nature have been once covered with forest; and
no hesitation would be felt in connecting the name of the mountain Gebel el-Fureidis
or el-Feridis (Paradise-hill - hill which rises in a Pardes) with the Pardes in question,
if it could be proved that this name was already in existence in prae-Christian times.”
All these conjectures rest on very uncertain bases. The Dshebel Fureidis is also called
the Hill of the Franks. See the description of it in Robinson's Palestine, ii. p. 392f.,
and Tobler, Topographie von Jerusalem, ii. pp. 565-572.)
‫ּות‬‫ר‬ ָ‫ק‬ ְ‫,ל‬ to timber, to overlay, to cover with beams (comp. 2Ch_34:11) the gates of the
citadel which belongs to the house, i.e., to the temple. This citadel - ‫ה‬ ָ‫יר‬ ִ , in Greek Βᇰρις -
by the temple is mentioned here for the first time; for in 1Ch_29:1, 1Ch_29:19, the whole
temple is called ‫ה‬ ָ‫יר‬ ִ . It was certainly situate on the same place where Hyrcanus I, son of

55. Simon Maccabaeus, or the kings of the Asmonean race, built the akro'polis and called it
Baris (Jos. Ant. xv. 11. 4, comp. with xviii. 4. 3). This was subsequently rebuilt by Herod
when he repaired and enlarged the temple, and named Antonia, in honour of his friend
Mark Antony. It was a citadel of considerable size, provided with corner towers, walls,
chambers, and spacious courts, built on a north-western side of the external chambers of
the temple, for the defence of that edifice, and did not extend the entire length of the
north side of the present Haram, as Robinson (see Biblical Researches, p. 300) seeks to
show; comp., on the other hand, Tobler, Topographic von Jerusalem, i. p. 688f., and
Rosen, Haram von Jerusalem, p. 25f. ‫ת‬ ַ‫ּומ‬‫ח‬ ְ‫וּל‬ is coordinate with ‫ּות‬‫ר‬ ָ‫ק‬ ְ‫:ל‬ “and for the walls
of the city;” the timber not being used for building the wall itself, but for the gates (Neh_
3:3, Neh_3:6). “And for the house into which I come (to dwell).” This must be
Nehemiah's official residence as Pecha. For though it is not expressly stated in the
present chapter that Nehemiah was appointed Pecha (governor) by Artaxerxes, yet
Nehemiah himself tells us, Neh_5:14, that he had been Pecha from the twentieth year of
Artaxerxes. Former governors had perhaps no official residence becoming their position.
By ‫ת‬ִ‫י‬ ַ ַ‫ל‬ the temple cannot, as older expositors thought, be intended. This request also
was granted by the king, “according to the good hand of my God upon me;” comp. rem.
on Ezr_7:6.
COFFMA , "Perhaps it is permissible for us to speculate a little on why Artaxerxes
did so. Of course, the great reason is that God willed it; but, as is always the case,
God uses ordinary men and events to achieve his purpose. Some of the satraps
beyond the River had grown too powerful. "There is evidence that Megabyzos, one
of the satraps beyond the River, had recently revolted; and the creation of a
strengthened and fortified Jerusalem under a friendly governor might have
appeared to Artaxerxes at that particular time as a wise strategy."[6]Also, by
separating Judah from the powerful coalition of the peoples known collectively as
"Samaritans," and by fortifying it, the aggressiveness of the Samaritan coalition
would be dramatically checkmated. And of course, Artaxerxes' commission to
ehemiah definitely "Involved the separation of Judea from Samaria."[7] This
substantially weakened the power of Sanballat.
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:7 Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let
letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over
till I come into Judah;
Ver. 7. Moreover I said unto the king] He taketh further boldness upon the former
encouragement; so may we with Almighty God, the Sun of our righteousness, the
Sea of our salvation. Conclude as she did, A company comes. God never left bating
till Abraham left begging.
Let letters be given me to the governors] Those nearest neighbours, but greatest
enemies.

56. That they may convey me over] He committed himself to God, and yet petitions the
king for a convoy. In all our enterprises God is so to be trusted as if we had used no
means; and yet the means is so to be used as if we had no God to trust in.
BE SO , "Verse 7-8
ehemiah 2:7-8. That they may convey me over till I come into Judah — May
conduct me with safety through their several territories, and furnish me with
necessaries on my journey. And a letter unto Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest
— The forest of Lebanon, famous for choice trees. That he may give me timber for
the gates — The gates of the temple. For though the temple itself was built, yet the
several courts seem not to have been walled about, nor the gates made leading to the
temple. Of the palace — The king’s palace, which adjoined to the house of God. And
for the house that I shall enter into — He desired leave to build a convenient house
for himself, and for those that should be future governors. According to the good
hand of my God upon me — By the divine favour, which inclined the king to do
what he desired; which he calls God’s good hand, because we extend favour with
our hands.
LA GE, " ehemiah 2:7. The governors.—Heb. pahawoth, from pechah, the
modern pacha, the Oriental name for a viceroy used by Assyrians, Babylonians, and
Persians. Beyond the river, i.e., the river Euphrates. The course to Judea would
leave the Euphrates probably at Tiphsah, 700 miles from Susa or Shushan, whence
there would be400 miles of travel through the Syrian countries before reaching
Jerusalem. They were letters to governors or pachas in this Syrian region that
ehemiah requested.
PETT, " ehemiah 2:7-8
‘Moreover I said to the king, “If it please the king, let letters be given to me to the
governors of Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through till I come to
Judah. And a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me
timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress which appertains to the house
(the temple), and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into.”
As an experienced courtier who had thought it all out beforehand, and in response
to the king’s request, ehemiah now outlines his requirements. Firstly he asks for
letters demonstrating that he has the king’s authority, to all governors of the
Province of Beyond the River (Syria, Palestine, and the surrounding area). These
would provide him, at least officially, with safe conduct on his way to Judah.
Secondly he asks for a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, requiring him
to provide the necessary timber for the proposed construction, including beams for
the gates of the fortress which was by the Temple, which was a huge construction
securing the frontal approach to Jerusalem; the beams necessary for the building of
the walls with their gates; and beams for the restoration of ehemiah’s own family
residence, or residence as governor. Whilst he would prove to be very generous to
his fellow Jews he was nevertheless aware (as Artaxerxes also was), of his own
importance.

57. The fact that he knew the name of the keeper of the king’s forest in Palestine (Asaph
was a Jewish name) suggests that he had fully researched his intended visit to
Jerusalem. It is never spiritual to be careless. We have no certain information as to
where the king’s forest was, but Palestine and its surrounds were at the time well
forested, and the king of Persia would no doubt have taken over from Babylon
ownership of the royal forests of the kings of Judah and Israel.
PULPIT, "The king's forest. Patrick supposes the forest on Mount Lebanon to be
intended; but ehemiah would scarcely have desired to transport timber for
ordinary building purposes from such a distance. Moreover, the word used is one
not applicable to a natural forest, but only to a park, or pleasure-ground planted
with trees, and surrounded by a fence or wall. The word is pardes, the Hebrew
representative of that Persian term which the Greeks rendered by παράδεισος,
whence our "paradise." We must understand a royal park in the vicinity of
Jerusalem, of which a Jew, Asaph, was the keeper. The palace which appertained to
the house. The "house" here spoken of is undoubtedly the temple; and the birah,
appertaining to it is, almost certainly, the fortress at the north-west angle of the
temple area, which at once commanded and protected it. Josephus says ('Ant. Jud.,'
15.11, § 4) that this fortress was called βάρις originally. In Roman times it was
known as the "Turris Antonia." The house that I shall enter into. The governor's
residence. ehemiah assumes that the powers for which he asks involve his being
appointed governor of Judaea. The king granted me, according to the good hand of
my God upon me. Through God's special favour towards me, the king was induced
to grant my request.
8 And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the
royal park, so he will give me timber to make
beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple
and for the city wall and for the residence I will
occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my
God was on me, the king granted my requests.

58. BAR ES, "The king’s forest - Rather, park. The word used ‫פרדס‬ pardês; compare
παράδεισος paradeisos, found only here, in Ecc_2:5, and in Son_4:13), is of Persian, or at
any rate of Aryan origin. The Persians signified by pariyadeza a walled enclosure,
ornamented with trees, either planted or of natural growth, and containing numerous
wild animals. The “paradise” here mentioned must have been in the neighborhood of
Jerusalem, and may have corresponded to the earlier “gardens of Solomon.”
The palace - Rather, “the fortress.” The word in the original has the double meaning
of “palace” and “fortress,” the fact being that in ancient times palaces were always
fortified. “The fortress which pertained to the house (temple)” is first spoken of here.
Under the Romans it was called “Antonia.”
CLARKE, "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, ferdoos, and in Greek, παραδεισος, and in both signifies a pleasant garden,
vineyard, pleasure garden, and what we call a paradise.
Above the hall of audience, in the imperial palace at Dehli, the following Persian
couplet is inscribed: -
“If there be a paradise on the face of the earth, this is it, this is it, this is
it.”
Thus we find that the word is applied to denote splendid apartments, as well as fine
gardens; in a word, any place of pleasure and delight. The king’s forest mentioned in the
text might have been the same to Artaxerxes, as the New Forest was to William the
Conqueror, or Windsor Forest to the late amiable sovereign of the British people, George
the Third.
And the king granted me, etc. - This noble spirited man attributes every thing to
God. He might have said, I had been long a faithful servant to the king; and he was
disposed, in reward of my fidelity, to grant my request; but he would not say so: “He
granted my request, because the good hand of my God was upon me.” God favored me,
and influenced the king’s heart to do what I desired.
GILL, "And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest,.... The forest or
mountain of Lebanon, which, because of its odoriferous and fruit bearing trees, was
more like an orchard or paradise, as this word signifies, and so it is translated in Ecc_2:5
and at the extreme part of it, it seems, there was a city called Paradisus (r); such an
officer as here was among the Romans, called Saltuarius (s), and is now among us:
that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which
appertaineth to the house; not the king's palace near the temple, for that might have
occasioned suspicion in the king, that his view was to set up himself as king in Judea;
but for the gates of the courts adjoining to the temple, and of the wall of the outward
court, and of the wall which was to encompass the mountain of the house, the whole
circumference of it:

59. and for the wall of the city; to make gates of in various places for that, where they
stood before:
and for the house which I shall enter into; and dwell in during his stay at
Jerusalem:
and the king granted me; all the above favours:
according to the good hand of my God upon me; the kind providence of God,
which wrought on the heart of the king, and disposed it towards him, and overruled all
things for good.
JAMISO , "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.
COFFMA , "The castle which appertaineth to the house" ( ehemiah 2:8). This is a
reference to the combination palace and fortress, "That protected the Temple and
overlooked the northwest corner of the courts ... Herod later rebuilt it in .T. times,
and it was known as the Tower of Antonio. ehemiah contemplated using it as his
residence."[8]
Some critics have questioned how it came about that ehemiah was in possession of
such detailed knowledge of specific buildings in Jerusalem; but a man in
ehemiah's high official position was in possession of all kinds of options for
procuring any kind of information that he might have desired.
ELLICOTT, "(8) Keeper of the king’s forest.—Asaph, a Jew, was keeper of an
artificial park or pleasure ground near Jerusalem: the Persian pardes, whence our
“Paradise.” It was well planted with trees, as timber was to be supplied from it “for
the gates of the palace,” rather the fortress, which protected “the house,” or temple,
and was known in Roman times as Antonia; also for the city walls; also “for the
house that I shall enter into,” that is, ehemiah’s own house, for his being
appointed governor is pre-supposed.
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:8 And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that
he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which
[appertained] to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall
enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon
me.
Ver. 8. Keeper of the king’s forest] Heb. Paradise; probably so called for the
pleasantness of it. Tho French Protestants called their temple or church at Lyons,
Paradise, David’s delight, Psalms 27:1-14, Psalms 84:1-12.
Of the palace that appertained to the house] i.e., to the Temple, which is called the

60. house, by an excellency; as the Scriptures are called the Bible, that is, the Book, as
being the only best book, in comparison whereof all other books in the world are no
better than waste paper.
And for the house that I shall enter into] i.e., A dwelling house for myself, when
once the public is served. Junius understands it of a common hall or shire house,
wherein he might sit and judge causes brought before him.
And the king granted me] It was but ask and have, and so it is between God and his
people. When there was a speech among some holy men, what was the best trade?
one answered, beggary; it is the hardest and richest trade. Common beggary is
indeed the poorest and easiest; but prayer he meant. A courtier gets more by one
suit oft than a tradesman or merchant haply with twenty years’ labour; so doth a
faithful prayer, &c.
According to the good hand] He calleth him his God, as if he loved or cared more
for him than for the rest of the world. It is the property of true faith, ιδιοποιεισθαι,
to make all its own that it can lay hold upon. {See Trapp on "Ezra 7:6"}
WHEDO , "8. Keeper of the king’s forest — The Hebrew word here rendered
forest, is ‫,פרדס‬ pardes, a Persian word, from which comes (through the Greek) the
word paradise. It occurs in only two other passages, Ecclesiastes 2:5, and Song of
Solomon 4:13, and seems to designate an inclosed garden or park, planted with trees
and shrubs. “A wide open park, inclosed against injury, yet with its natural beauty
unspoiled, with stately forest trees, many of them bearing fruit, watered by clear
streams on whose banks roved large herds of antelopes or sheep — this was the
scenery which connected itself in the mind of the Greek traveller with the word
paradise, and for which his own language supplied no precise equivalent.” —
SMITH’S Bib. Dict. The forest, or paradise, mentioned in this verse was one from
which ehemiah wished to procure timber for building purposes, and must have
been somewhere in Palestine, and probably not far from Jerusalem. There is no
evidence that ehemiah went as far as Lebanon for materials. Some suggest that the
king’s forest may mean the beautiful and well watered gardens which Josephus (viii,
7, 3) mentions as being at Etham, about fifty furlongs from Jerusalem, to which
Solomon was wont to ride out in the morning. But the reference may be to all the
groves and forests of Palestine, which seem to have been at that time carefully
guarded by the kings of Persia, who appointed a special officer to guard them, and
see that they were not wantonly destroyed.
The palace which appertained to the house — That is, the palace, fortress, or castle,
which was connected with the temple. ot the palace of Solomon, which probably
stood on the southern slope of Ophel, and from which that king had a magnificent
ascent to the temple, (1 Kings 10:5,) for we have elsewhere no hint of any attempt to

61. rebuild the royal palace at Jerusalem, and least of all would ehemiah have
proposed at such a time to build it, for that would look like a design to re-establish
the kingdom of Judah. But this palace of the temple, which ehemiah proposed to
build, was probably some such fortress or citadel as that subsequently known as
Antonia, called also Baris, ( βαρις seems to have come from ‫,בירה‬ birah, here
rendered palace, and includes the meaning both of fortress and palace,) and used
under the Asmonean princes as a depository for the vestments of the high priest.
Josephus, 15:11, 4.
For the wall — Timber would be used for building the gates of the wall.
The house that I shall enter into — His own residence, or headquarters, while he
superintended the building of the wall and gates of the city.
According to the good hand — Compare Ezra 7:6, note.
PARKER, ""And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon
me" [comp. Ezra 7:6, Ezra 7:9, Ezra 7:28; Ezra 8:22] ( ehemiah 2:8).
How very seldom we have the prayer and the answer on the same page! We have
now and then just to keep our courage up. For years together we seem to have no
literal proof of the existence and nearness of God to our life, and then, just when we
can bear it no longer, when the little sand-glass—so little!—o our poor faith" is
nearly run out, he meets us in burning bush, or in dream wherein the ladder is
revealed, or in vision of the night, or in Bethlehem"s leading star—somehow—and
in that one moment we recover our years" experience, our years" loss, and become
young and strong again. But these specialties are granted only now and then. A
daily miracle would be a daily commonplace. Let him come as he will—but from the
particular argue the universal, from the one instance of prayer answered argue the
readiness of the Almighty to answer every prayer that he himself has inspired.
The arrangements were then made. ehemiah went upon his journey—came to the
governors beyond the river and gave them the king"s letters. And now we read—
LA GE, " ehemiah 2:8. Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, may have been a
Jew, as the name is Israelitish. It may, however, be a form of Aspatha ( Esther 9:7),
from the Persian Aspa (horse). The word translated “forest” is pardes, which is our
familiar paradise. It is an Aryan word (Zend, pairidaeza), and signifies a walled
round place, a preserve of trees and animals. There was probably a royal park set
off for the king in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, and Asaph was its keeper. The
word pardes is found in the Scriptures only here and in Sol. S. ehemiah 4:13 and
Ecclesiastes 2:5. As it is not an old Persian word, but found in the Sanscrit and
Armenian, no argument for the late date of Solomon’s Song and Ecclesiastes can be
derived from it. In Solomon’s day, with that king’s extensive connections with
distant countries, the word may readily have entered into his vocabulary from any
Aryan source. The palace which appertained to the house.—It is supposed by some

62. that this is the well-known Birah or Baris (afterward Antonia) at the north side of
the temple-area. But that was probably constructed at a later date. ehemiah
sought simply to reconstruct the old buildings. ow the palace next to the house (i.e.,
to the temple, the house, as the house of God) was Solomon’s palace, inhabited by all
the kings after him, which was situated at the south-east corner of the temple-area.
(See 2 Chronicles 23:12-15). The house that I shall enter into.— ot ehemiah’s own
house (he was too high-minded to think of that), but the house of God, spoken of
before. He desired timber (1) for the palace gates, (2) for the walls, and (3) for the
house of God. “That I shall enter into” means “which I shall visit and inspect.”
According to the good hand of my God upon me.—For this beautiful expression of
piety, compare Ezra 7:9; Ezra 8:18. In ehemiah 2:18 of this chapter we see it
again, slightly varied in form.
PETT, " ehemiah 2:8
‘And the king granted it to me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.’
That the king granted his requests he saw as due to the good hand of his God upon
him. And it was no doubt so. But part of the reason undoubtedly lay in the fact that
he was a faithful and trusted servant of the king. God can often bless us because we
have ourselves laid the foundation for such blessing.
PULPIT, " ehemiah 2:8
Success ascribed to God.
"And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me."
ehemiah, like Ezra before him (Ezra 7:6), ascribes the success of his application to
the king to the "good hand of God;" which had, indeed, been conspicuous. The
circumstances which had paved the way for the presentation of his petition, the
readiness of the king's consent to his requests, the largeness of the facilities granted
him, all indicated that his God, whose aid he had sought, had ordered events and
influenced the monarch's heart.
I. THE GOOD HA D OF GOD IS I ALL THE SUCCESSES OF HIS
SERVA TS. The hand of God is, indeed, in the successes of all; and in their failures
and reverses too; and it is always a good hand. For it is the hand of him who is good,
who seeks the good of his creatures, and will surely "do good unto those that be
good" (Psalms 125:4). or is it easy to say whether the goodness of God's hand is
most shown in successes or reverses. It is of success, however, that the text speaks;
and this comes from God, as he—
1. Arranges the events which conduce to success.
2. Supplies the qualities which contribute to it. Wisdom, power, goodness, in
ourselves or others.

63. 3. Overrules adverse circumstances or endeavours.
4. Works in ways inconceivable and indescribable to render all efficient.
II. THE GOOD HA D OF GOD IS ESPECIALLY CO SPICUOUS I SOME
SUCCESSES. We pass over those effected by the display of Divine power in
miracles. ehemiah records no miracle. The hand of God is especially apparent in
successes obtained where
All these were combined in the successes of the gospel in early times, and in many a
revival, reformation, or deliverance in later days.
III. THE GOOD HA D OF GOD SHOULD EVER BE DEVOUTLY
RECOG ISED A D ACK OWLEDGED. With admiration, gratitude, and praise.
This is meet and right and profitable. To be unable to see God's hand is to be in the
condition of a brute. To shut our eyes and refuse to see it is the part of a determined
infidel. To see, and not in suitable ways to acknowledge, is at least to be guilty of
impiety, ingratitude, and cowardice.
IV. THE GOOD HA D OF GOD WILL BE RECOG ISED A D
ACK OWLEDGED BY GODLY ME . They have the faith which discerns it, the
love which delights to trace its operation, the gratitude which impels to the
acknowledgment of it. Especially will this be the case when the success achieved is a
manifest answer to their prayers.
9 So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates
and gave them the king’s letters. The king had
also sent army officers and cavalry with me.
GILL, "Then I came to the governors beyond the river,.... Who these governors
were, whether the same who were in the second year of this king's reign eighteen years
ago, Tatnai and Shetharboznai, is not certain:
now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me; both to do
him honour, and for his safety; and coming thus attended, must serve to recommend

64. him to the governor, who received him from them at the river Euphrates, and conducted
him to Judah.
HE RY 9-12, "I. Now Nehemiah was dismissed by the court he was sent from. The
king appointed captains of the army and horsemen to go with him (Neh_2:9), both for
his guard and to show that he was a man whom the king did delight to honour, that all
the king's servants might respect him accordingly. Those whom the King of kings sends
he thus protects, he thus dignifies with a host of angels to attend them.
II. How he was received by the country he was sent to.
1. By the Jews and their friends at Jerusalem. We are told,
(1.) That while he concealed his errand they took little notice of him. He was at
Jerusalem three days (Neh_2:11), and it does not appear that any of the great men of
the city waited on him to congratulate him on his arrival, but he remained unknown. The
king sent horsemen to attend him, but the Jews sent none to meet him; he had no beast
with him, but that which he himself rode on, Neh_2:12. Wise men, and those who are
worthy of double honour, yet covet not to come with observation, to make a show, or
make a noise, no, not when they come with the greatest blessings. Those that shortly are
to have the dominion in the morning the world now knows not, but they lie hid, 1Jo_3:1.
K&D, "Nehemiah delivered the letter when he came to the governors on this side
Euphrates. The king had also sent with him captains of the army and horsemen. The
second half of Neh_2:9 contains a supplementary remark, so that ‫ח‬ ַ‫ל‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ַ‫ו‬ must be
expressed by the pluperfect. Ezra had been ashamed to request a military escort from the
Persian monarch (Ezr_8:22); but the king gave to the high dignitary called Pecha a
guard of soldiers, who certainly remained with him in Jerusalem also for his protection
(Ezr_4:17). Besides these, there were in his retinue his brethren, i.e., either relations or
fellow-countrymen, and servants, comp. Neh_4:10; Neh_5:10. That this retinue is not
mentioned in the present verses, is owing to the fact that the journey itself is not further
described, but only indirectly alluded to.
COFFMA , " EHEMIAH SHOWS HIS CREDE TIALS TO THE SATRAPS;
ARRIVES I JERUSALEM; A D SURVEYS THE BROKE WALLS BY IGHT
"Then I came to the governors beyond the River, and gave them the king's letters.
ow the king had sent with me captains of the army and horsemen. And when
Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it
grieved them exceedingly, for that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the
children of Israel. So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. And I arose in
the night, and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God put in
my heart to do for Jerusalem; neither was there any beast with me, save the beast
that I rode upon. And I went out by night by the valley gate, even toward the
jackars well, and to the dung gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were
broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. Then I went on to the
fountain gate, and to the king's pool.' but there was no place for the beast that was
under me to pass. Then I went up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall;
and I turned back, and entered by the valley gate, and so returned. And the rulers

65. knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor
to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rest that did the work."
"And I came to the governors beyond the River, and gave them the king's letters"
( ehemiah 2:9). This must indeed have been a shock to Sanballat and Tobiah. The
mention of "captains of the army, and horsemen," ( ehemiah 2:9) indicates a very
considerable military escort; and they were strengthened by the full authority,
permission and credentials of the king of Persia. This was particularly bad news to
Sanballat, who, "According to the Elephantine Papyrus, was governor of Samaria,
which at that time included Judea. He was possibly an Ephraimite."[12]
Sanballat would have been a fool not to have read this sudden arrival of ehemiah
in command of a division of the Persian army as the end of his domination of Judah.
ELLICOTT, "(9-11) His journey to Jerusalem, occupying some three months, and
safe under good escort, is passed over in the narrative, as Ezra’s had been. It is
mentioned, however, that Sanballat, one of the “governors,” was roused to hostility.
After the laborious travelling ehemiah rested three days, to review the past and
prepare for the future.
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:9 Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave
them the king’s letters. ow the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen
with me.
Ver. 9. Then I came to the governors] Josephus saith that the next day he took his
journey and delivered his letters to Saddeus, governor of Syria, Phoenicia, and
Samaria. A strange example, saith one, to see a courtier leave that wealth, ease, and
authority that he was in, and go dwell so far from court in an old, torn, and decayed
city, among a rude poor people, where be should not live quietly, but toil and
drudge like a day labourer, in dread and danger of his life. But this is the case of
earnest and zealous men in religion, &c.
ow the king had sent captains] This was more than ehemiah had desired; and as
much as he could have done for the greatest lord in the land. God is likewise usually
better to his people than their prayers; and when they ask but one talent, he,
aaman like, will force them to take two.
BE SO , " ehemiah 2:9. ow the king had sent captains of the army and
horsemen with me — This the king had done over and above what ehemiah had
desired; and it procured him the greater respect from the governors, when they saw
the care which the king took for the safety of his person.
CO STABLE, "Verses 9-20
4. The return to Jerusalem2:9-20

66. Because of the opposition of the Jews" neighbors, Artaxerxes sent a military escort
to accompany ehemiah to Jerusalem ( ehemiah 2:9). It is not certain how many
Jews traveled with ehemiah on this occasion. The writer gave us no numbers.
Sanballat may have originated in Horonaim in Moab, but he seems more likely to
have come from one of the Beth-horons (Upper or Lower) located just a few miles
northwest of Jerusalem (cf. Joshua 10:10-11). [ ote: H. H. Rowley, "Sanballat and
the Samaritan Temple," Bulletin of the John Rylands Library38:1
(September1955):166-67.] The Elephantine papyri (ca400 B.C.) name him as the
governor of Samaria, which he may have been then or after this event took place.
[ ote: James B. Prichard, ed, Ancient ear Eastern Texts, p492.] There was
evidently a series of governors of Samaria named Sanballat. [ ote: Yamauchi, "
Ezra -, ehemiah ," pp768-71.] Tobiah seems to have been a Jew-his name means
"Yahweh is good"-who had attained a position similar to that of Sanballat in
Ammon, east of Judah, under the Persians. [ ote: L. H. Brockington, Ezra ,,
ehemiah , and Esther , p130.] Scholars have traced nine generations of his
influential family. [ ote: Benjamin Mazar, "The Tobiads," Israel Exploration
Journal7 (1957):137-45 , 229-38.]
Probably ehemiah wanted to survey the damage to the walls secretly ( ehemiah
2:12) because, had Israel"s enemies observed him, they might have stirred up the
people of the land to riot against him.
"He wished to lay his plans without any possibility of leakage to the enemy before
their execution began, and then to let the execution be so swift that the work would
be finished before they could successfully appeal to the king against it once more."
[ ote: H. H. Rowley, " ehemiah"s Mission and Its Background," Bulletin of the
John Rylands Library37:2 (March1955):559.]
Perhaps ehemiah only surveyed the southern parts of Jerusalem"s wall because
those were the only sections still standing.
"Jerusalem was always attacked where she was most vulnerable, from the north;
thus there was little preserved in that direction." [ ote: Yamauchi, " Ezra -,
ehemiah ," p689.]
Another reason for ehemiah"s secrecy was probably that he wanted to formulate a
plan before the Jews could marshal arguments why they could not rebuild the walls
( ehemiah 2:16). When he did present his ideas ( ehemiah 2:17-18), the people
responded positively. This is an evidence of ehemiah"s wisdom as a leader.
"There is evidence that Geshem [ ehemiah 2:19] (cf. ehemiah 6:1 ff.), far from
being a negligible alien, was an even more powerful figure than his companions,
though probably less earnestly committed to their cause.... From other sources it
emerges that Geshem and his son ruled a league of Arabian tribes which took
control of Moab and Edom (Judah"s neighbors to the east and south) together with
part of Arabia and the approaches to Egypt, under the Persian empire." [ ote:

67. Kidner, pp83-84. Cf. Olmstead, pp295 , 316.]
ehemiah continued the policy of not allowing the people of the land to help rebuild
Jerusalem, that Zerubbabel had begun ( ehemiah 2:20; cf. Ezra 4:3). He also
continued to trust in God"s enabling power primarily, rather than in his own ability
( ehemiah 2:20; cf. John 15:5).
" ehemiah was clearly a shaker, a mover, and a doer." [ ote: Yamauchi, " Ezra -,
ehemiah ," p690.]
Donald Campbell identified21principles of effective leadership that ehemiah
demonstrated in chapter2.
"He established a reasonable and attainable goal
He had a sense of mission
He was willing to get involved
He rearranged his priorities in order to accomplish his goal
He patiently waited for God"s timing
He showed respect to his superior
He prayed at crucial times
He made his request with tact and graciousness
He was well prepared and thought of his needs in advance
He went through proper channels
He took time (three days) to rest, pray, and plan
He investigated the situation firsthand
He informed others only after he knew the size of the problem
He identified himself as one with the people
He set before them a reasonable and attainable goal
He assured them God was in the project
He displayed self-confidence in facing obstacles

68. He displayed God"s confidence in facing obstacles
He did not argue with opponents
He was not discouraged by opposition
He courageously used the authority of his position." [ ote: Donald K. Campbell,
ehemiah: Man in Charge, p23.]
EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMME TARY, "THE MID IGHT RIDE
ehemiah 2:9-20
EHEMIAH’S journey up to Jerusalem differed in many respects from Ezra’s
great expedition, with a host of emigrants, rich stores, and all the accompaniments
of a large caravan. Burdened with none of these encumbrances, the newly appointed
governor would be able to travel in comparative ease. Yet while Ezra was
"ashamed" to ask for a military escort to protect his defenceless multitude and the
treasures which were only too likely to attract the vulture eyes of roving hordes of
Bedouin, because, as he tells us, he feared such a request might be taken as a sign of
distrust in his God, ehemiah accepted a troop of cavalry without any hesitation.
This difference, however, does not reflect any discredit on the faith of the younger
man.
In the first place, his claims on the king were greater than those of Ezra, who would
have had to petition for the help of soldiers if he had wanted it, whereas ehemiah
received his bodyguard as a matter of course. Ezra had been a private subject
previous to his appointment, and though he had subsequently been endowed with
large authority of an indefinite character, that authority was confined to the
execution of the Jewish law; it had nothing to do with the general concerns of the
Persian government in Syria or Palestine. But ehemiah came straight from the
court, where he had been a favourite servant of the king, and he was now made the
official governor of Jerusalem. It was only in accordance with custom that he should
have an escort assigned him when he went to take possession of his district. Then,
probably to save time, ehemiah would travel by the perilous desert route through
Tadmor, and thus cover the whole journey in about two months-a route which
Ezra’s heavy caravan may have avoided. When he reached Syria the fierce
animosity which had been excited by Ezra’s domestic reformation-and which
therefore had been broken out after Ezra’s expedition-would make it highly
dangerous for a Jew who was going to aid the hated citizens of Jerusalem to travel
through the mixed population.
evertheless, after allowing their full weight to these considerations, may we not still
detect an interesting trait of the younger man’s character in ehemiah’s ready
acceptance of the guard with which Ezra had deliberately dispensed? In the eyes of
the world the idealist Ezra must have figured as a most unpractical person. But
ehemiah, a courtier by trade, was evidently well accustomed to "affairs."

69. aturally a cautious man, he was always anxious in his preparations, though no one
could blame him for lack of decision or promptness at the moment of action. ow
the striking thing about his character in this relation-that which lifts it entirely
above the level of purely secular prudence-is the fact that he closely associated his
careful habits with. his faith in Providence. He would have regarded the rashness
which excuses itself on the plea of faith as culpable presumption. His religion was all
the more real and thorough because it did not confine itself to unearthly
experiences, or refuse to acknowledge the Divine in any event that was not visibly
miraculous. o man was ever more impressed with the great truth that God was
with him. It was this truth, deeply rooted in his heart, that gave him the joy which
became the strength, the very inspiration of his life. He was sure that his commonest
secular concerns were moulded by the hand of his God. Therefore to his mind the
detachment of Persian cavalry was as truly assigned to him by God as if it had been
a troop of angels sent straight from the hosts of heaven.
The highly dangerous nature of his undertaking and the necessity for exercising the
utmost caution were apparent to ehemiah as soon as he approached Jerusalem.
Watchful enemies at once showed themselves annoyed "that there was come a man
to seek the welfare of the children of Israel." [ ehemiah 2:10] It was not any direct
injury to themselves, it was the prospect of some favour to the hated Jews that
grieved these people, though doubtless their jealousy was in part provoked by dread
lest Jerusalem should regain the position of pre-eminence in Palestine which had
been enjoyed during her depression by the rival city of Samaria. Under these
circumstances ehemiah followed the tactics which he had doubtless learnt during
his life among the treacherous intrigues of an Oriental court. He did not at first
reveal his plans. He spent three days quietly in Jerusalem. Then he took his famous
ride round the ruins of the city walls. This was as secret as King Alfred’s
exploration of the camp of the Danes. Without breathing a word of his intention to
the Jews, and taking only a horse or an ass to ride on himself and a small body of
trusty attendants on foot, ehemiah set out on his tour in the dead of night. o
doubt the primary purpose of this secrecy was that no suspicion of his design should
reach the enemies of the Jews. Had these men suspected it they would have been
beforehand with their plans for frustrating it; spies and traitors would have been in
the field before ehemiah was prepared to receive them; emissaries of the enemy
would have perverted the minds even of loyal citizens. It would be difficult enough
under any circumstances to rouse the dispirited people to undertake a work of great
toil and danger. If they were divided in counsel from the first it would be hopeless.
Moreover, in order to persuade the Jews to fortify their city, ehemiah must be
prepared with a clear and definite proposal. He must be able to show them that he
understands exactly in what condition their ruined fortifications are lying. For his
personal satisfaction, too, he must see the ruins with his own eyes. Ever since the
travellers from Jerusalem who met him at Susa had shocked him with their evil
tidings, a vision of the broken walls and charred gates had been before his
imagination. ow he would really see the very ruins themselves, and ascertain
whether all was as bad as it had been represented.
The uncertainty which still surrounds much of the topography of Jerusalem, owing

70. to its very foundations having been turned over by the ploughshare of the invader,
while some of its sacred sites have been buried under huge mounds of rubbish,
renders it impossible to trace ehemiah’s night ride in all its details. If we are to
accept the latest theory, according to which the gorge hitherto regarded as the
Tyropaeon is really the ancient Valley of Hinnom, some other sites will need
considerable readjustment. The "Gate of the Valley" seems to be one near the head
of the Valley of Hinnom; we know nothing of the "Dragon Well": the "Dung Port"
would be a gateway through which the city offal was flung out to the fires in the
Valley of Hinnom; the "King’s Pool" is very likely that afterwards known as the
"Pool of Siloam." The main direction of ehemiah’s tour of inspection is fairly
definite to us. He started at the western exit from the city and passed down to the
left, to where the Valley of Hinnom joins the Valley of the Kidron; ascending this
valley, he found the masses of stones and heaps of rubbish in such confusion that he
was compelled to leave the animal he had been riding hitherto and to clamber over
the ruins on foot. Reaching the northeastern corner of the valley of the Kidron, he
would turn round by the northern side of the city, where most of the gates had been
situated, because there the city, which was difficult of access to the south and the
east on account of the encircling ravines, could be easily approached.
And what did he gain by his journey? He gained knowledge. The reformation that is
planned by the student at his desk, without any reference to the actual state of
affairs, will be, at best, a Utopian dream. But if the dreamer is also a man of
resources and opportunities, his impracticable schemes may issue in incalculable
mischief. " othing is more terrible," says Goethe, "than active ignorance." We can
smile at a knight-errant Don Quixote; but a Don Quixote in power would be as
dangerous as a ero. Most schemes of socialism, though they spring from the brains
of amiable enthusiasts, break up like empty bubbles on the first contact with the
real world. It is especially necessary, too, to know the worst. Optimism is very
cheering in idea, but when it is indulged in to the neglect of truth, with an impatient
disregard for the shady side of life, it simply leads its devotees into a fools’ paradise.
The highest idealist must have something of the realist in him if he would ever have
his ideas transformed into facts.
Further, it is to be noted that ehemiah would gather his information for himself;
he could not be content with hearsay evidence. Here again he reveals the practical
man. It is not that he distrusts the honesty of any agents he might employ, nor
merely that he is aware of the deplorable inaccuracy of observers generally and the
inability of nearly all people to give an un-coloured account of what they have seen,
but he knows that there is an impression to be obtained by personal observation
which the most correct description cannot approach. o map or book will give a
man a right idea of a place that he has never visited. If this is true of the external
world, much more is it the case with those spiritual realities which the eye hath not
seen, and which therefore it has not entered into the heart of man to conceive..
Wordsworth frequently refers to his sensations of surprise and disappointment
passing over into a new delight when he first beheld scenes long ago described to
him in verse or legend. He finds "Yarrow visited" very unlike "Yarrow unvisited."
One commonplace distinction we must all have noticed under similar circumstances-

71. viz., that the imagination is never rich and varied enough to supply us with the
complications of the realty. Before we have looked at it our idea of the landscape is
too simple, and an invariable impression produced by the actual sight of it is to
make us feel how much more elaborate it is. Indeed a personal investigation of most
phenomena reveals an amount of complication previously unexpected. Where the
investigation is, like ehemiah’s, concerned with an evil we propose to attack, the
result is that we begin to see that the remedy cannot be so simple as we imagined
before we knew all the facts.
But the chief effect of ehemiah’s night ride would be to impress him with an
overwhelming sense of the desolation of Jerusalem. We may know much by report,
but we feel most keenly that of which we have had personal experience. Thus the
news of a gigantic cataclysm in China does not affect us with a hundredth part of
the emotion that is excited in us by a simple street accident seen from our own
windows. The man whose heart will be moved enough for him to sacrifice himself
seriously in relieving misery is he who will first "visit the fatherless and widows in
their affliction." [James 1:27] Then the proof that the impression is deep and real,
and not a mere idle sentiment, will be seen in the fact that it prompts action.
ehemiah was moved to tears by the report of the ruinous condition of Jerusalem,
which reached him in the far-off palace beyond the Euphrates. What the scene
meant to him as he slowly picked his way among the huge masses of masonry is seen
by his conduct immediately afterwards. It must have stirred him profoundly. The
silence of the sleeping city, broken now and again by the dismal howls of packs of
dogs scouring the streets, or perhaps by the half-human shrieks of jackals on the
deserted hills in the outlying country; the dreary solitude of the interminable heaps
of ruins, the mystery of strange objects half-descried in the distance by starlight, or,
at best, by moonlight, the mournful discovery, on nearer view, of huge building
stones tumbled over and strewn about on mountainous heaps of dust and rubbish,
the gloom, the desolation, the terror, -all this was enough to make the heart of a
patriot faint with despair. Was it possible to remedy such huge calamities?
ehemiah does not despair. He has no time to grieve. We hear no more of his
weeping and lamentation and fasting. ow he is spurred on to decisive action.
Fortified by the knowledge he has acquired in his adventurous night ride, and urged
by the melancholy sights he has witnessed, ehemiah loses no time in bringing his
plans before the oligarchy of nobles who held the rule in Jerusalem previous to his
coming, as well as the rest of the Jews. Though he is now the officially appointed
governor, he cannot arrange matters with a high hand. He must enlist the sympathy
and encourage the faith, both of the leaders and of the people generally.
The following points in his speech to the Jews may be noticed. First, he calls
attention to the desolate condition of Jerusalem. [ ehemiah 2:17-18] This is a fact
well known. "Ye see the evil case that we are in," he says, "how Jerusalem lieth
waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire." The danger was that apathy
would succeed to despair, for it is possible for people to become accustomed to the
most miserable condition. The reformer must infuse a "Divine discontent ," and the

72. preliminary step is to get the evil plight well recognised and heartily disliked. In the
second place, ehemiah exhorts the nobles and people to join him in building the
walls.
So now he clearly reveals his plan. The charm in his utterance here is in the use of
the first person plural, not the first person singular- he cannot do the work alone,
nor does he wish to, not the second person-though he is the authoritative governor,
he does not enjoin on others a task the toil and responsibility of which he will not
share himself. In the genuine use of this pronoun "we" there lies the secret of all
effective exhortation. ext ehemiah proceeds to adduce reasons for his appeal. He
calls out the sense of patriotic pride in the remark, "that we be no more a reproach
," and he goes further, for the Jews are the people of God, and for them to fail is for
reproach to be cast on the name of God Himself. Here is the great religious motive
for not permitting the city of God to lie in ruins, as it is today the supreme motive
for keeping all taint of dishonour from the Church of Christ.
But direct encouragements are needed. A sense of shame may rouse us from our
lethargy, and yet in the end it will be depressing if it does not give place to the
inspiration of a new hope. ow ehemiah has two fresh grounds of encouragement.
He first names that which he esteems highest - the presence and help of God in his
work. "I told them," he says, "of the hand of my God which was good upon me."
How could he despair, even at the spectacle of the ruined walls and gateways, with
the consciousness of this great and wonderful truth glowing in his heart? ot that he
was a mystic weaving fantastic dreams out of the filmy substance of his own vague
feelings. It is true he felt impelled by the strong urging of his patriotism, and he
knew that God was in that holy passion. Yet his was an objective mind and he
recognised the hand of God chiefly in external events-in the Providence that opens
doors and indicates paths, that levels mountains of difficulty and fills up impassable
chasms, that even bends the wills of great kings to do its bidding. This action of
Providence he had himself witnessed; his very presence at Jerusalem was a token of
it. He, once a household slave in the jealous seclusion of an Oriental palace, was now
the governor of Jerusalem, appointed to his post for the express purpose of restoring
the miserable city to strength and safety. In all this ehemiah felt the hand of God
upon him. Then it was a gracious and merciful Providence that had led him.
Therefore he could not but own further that the hand of God was "good." He
perceived God’s work, and that work was to him most wonderfully full of loving
kindness. Here indeed was the greatest of all encouragements to proceed. It was well
that ehemiah had the devout insight to perceive it; a less spiritually minded man
might have received the marvellous favour without ever discovering the hand from
which it came. Following the example of the miserable, worldly Jacob, some of us
wake up in our Bethel to exclaim with surprise, "Surely the Lord is in this place,
and I knew it not." [Genesis 28:16] But even that is better than to slumber on in dull
indifference, too dead to recognise the Presence that guides and blesses every
footstep, provoking the melancholy lamentation: "The ox knoweth his owner, and
the ass his master’s crib, but Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider."
[Isaiah 1:3]

73. Lastly, ehemiah not only perceived the hand of God and took courage from his
assurance of the fact, he made this glorious fact known to the nobles of Jerusalem in
order to rouse their enthusiasm. He had the simplicity of earnestness, the openness
of one who forgets self in advocating a great cause. Is not reticence in religion too
often a consequence of the habit of turning one’s thoughts inward? Such a habit will
vanish at the touch of a serious purpose. The man who is in dead earnest has no
time to be self-conscious, he does not indulge in sickly reflections on the effect of
what he says on other people’s opinions about himself, he will not care what they
think about him so long as he moves them to do the thing it is laid on his soul to urge
upon them. But it is difficult to escape from the selfish subjectivity of modern
religion, and recover the grand naturalness of the saints alike of Old and of ew
Testament times.
After this revelation of the Divine Presence, ehemiah’s second ground of
encouragement is of minor interest, it can be but one link in the chain of
providential leading. Yet for a man who had not reached his lofty point of view, it
would have filled the whole horizon. The king had given permission to the Jews to
rebuild the walls, and he had allowed ehemiah to visit Jerusalem for the very
purpose of carrying out the work. This king, Artaxerxes, whose firman had stopped
the earlier attempt and even sanctioned the devastating raid of the enemies of the
Jews, was now proving himself the friend and champion of Jerusalem! Here was
cheering news!
It is not surprising that such a powerful appeal as this of ehemiah’s was successful.
It was like the magic horn that awoke the inmates of the enchanted castle. The spell
was broken. The long, listless torpor of the Jews gave place to hope and energy, and
the people braced themselves to commence the work. These Jews who had been so
lethargic hitherto were now the very men to undertake it. ehemiah brought no new
laborers, but he brought what was better, the one essential requisite for every great
enterprise-an inspiration. He brought what the world most needs in every age. We
wait for better men to arise and undertake the tasks that seem to be too great for
our strength; we cry for a new race of God-sent heroes to accomplish the Herculean
labours before which we faint and fail. But we might ourselves become the better
men; nay, assuredly we should become God’s heroes, if we would, but open our
hearts to receive the Spirit by the breath of which the weakest are made strong and
the most indolent are fired with a Divine energy. Today, as in the time of ehemiah,
the one supreme need is inspiration.
PETT, "Verse 9-10
ehemiah Takes The Road To Jerusalem With A Suitable Armed Guard ( ehemiah
2:9-10).
Having received the king’s permission, and having obtained his letters of authority,
ehemiah set off for Jerusalem accompanied by a suitable armed escort. He was a
leading Persian courtier travelling in a way that befitted his dignity. The king would
hardly have allowed otherwise. This was not an Ezra travelling with a large party of
returnees. This was a king’s favourite and royal official who was travelling in style,

74. and it was the king who would decide on his escort. This was all to the good for it no
doubt made the right impression on the governors of the Province when they
received the king’s letters. They would know what manner of man this was.
ehemiah 2:9
‘Then I came to the governors of Beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters.
ow the king had sent with me captains of the army and horsemen.’
Arriving in the Province of Beyond The River in style, he handed over the king’s
letters to the various governors. He was accompanied by his royal escort which
would in itself speak volumes. All would acknowledge his importance and would no
doubt help him on his way.
PULPIT, "HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSO
ehemiah 2:9-11
Ungodly (unchristian) jealousy.
ehemiah, attended by a Persian escort, came safely to Jerusalem. The king had
dealt liberally with him; he provided him with a military guard to protect him from
the dangers of the road, and with letters of instruction to use at his journey's end
(verse 9). But the prophet soon found—what we all find soon enough—that the
work we attempt for God can only be accomplished by triumphing over difficulty.
The path of holy service lies over many a scorching plain, up many a steep
mountain, along many a "slippery place." . ehemiah's great obstacle was to be
found in the virulent enmity of Sanballat and Tobiah. When these men heard of his
arrival, "it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare
of the children of Israel" (verse 10). Looking at this statement concerning these men,
we notice—
I. THEIR COMPARATIVE I OCE CY WHE JUDGED BY HUMA
STA DARDS. At first thought it seems almost incredible that they should have
been "grieved exceedingly" because a man had come to seek the welfare of their
neighbours. But when we ask if Sanballat and Tobiah were so very much worse
than mankind in general, we are compelled to own that theirs was but an instance of
ordinary human selfishness. In every land and through every age men have been
jealous of their rivals' prosperity. These men concluded that the elevation of
Jerusalem virtually meant the depression of Samaria; that, indirectly, ehemiah
had come to lower the dignity if not to lessen the prosperity of their state, and they
counted him an enemy. So have men argued everywhere even until now. Wars that
were avowedly waged on some small pretext were really fought because one strong
nation was jealous of the growing vigour of some neighbouring power. ot only
nations, but tribes, families, societies, and (it must be sorrowfully admitted)
Christian Churches have allowed themselves to be jealous of the growth of other
nations, other tribes, other Churches, and have been grieved when men "sought"
and promoted "their welfare." So general and widespread is this selfishness, taking

75. the form of jealousy of the prosperity of others, that it is not for us to "cast the first
stone" of bitter reproach. But we must see—
II. THEIR ACTUAL GUILT I THE SIGHT OF GOD. A selfish jealousy like this
of Sanballat and Tobiah, a grief at the prosperity of neighbours and competitors,
whether in the civil or religious world, is in the sight of God
(a) unrighteous. Our neighbours have every whit as much right to make the most of
their powers and opportunities as we have of ours; to rise above us by lawful means
as we to remain above them. We, as well as they, have received our heritage from
men and from God, and we have no moral right to limit their success, or to object to
their power, or be offended at their superiority.
(b) Short-sighted. We ought to understand that we are enriched by one another's
prosperity. "We are members one of another, and should rejoice in one another's
welfare. This is so with
The more one prospers, the more another will prosper too. If a man comes to "seek
the welfare" of any "Israel," we should not be "exceedingly grieved," but heartily
glad.
(c) Sinful. Though we may not denounce one another, we are all, together, under the
condemnation of God. How can he be otherwise than grieved with us when we envy
the welfare of our own brethren? That those who are children of the same Divine
Father and members of the same family should wish ill to one another must vex his
loving spirit.
(d) Something of which we shall live to be utterly ashamed. How many have to
remember with shame that when men "came seeking the welfare of God's people,"
they were antagonistic when they should have been friendly.—C.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the
Ammonite official heard about this, they were
very much disturbed that someone had come to
promote the welfare of the Israelites.

76. BAR ES, "The name Sanballat is probably Babylonian the first element being the
same which commences “Sennacherib,” namely, “Sin,” the moon-God, and the second
balatu, “eminent” (?),which is found in the Assyrian name, Bel-balatu. As a Horonite, he
was probably a native of one of the Bethhorons, the upper or the lower (see Jos_16:3,
Jos_16:5; 2Ch_8:5), and therefore born within the limits of the old kingdom of Samaria.
Tobiah seems to have been an Ammonite slave, high in the favor of Sanballat, whom he
probably served as secretary Neh_6:17-19 and chief adviser.
It grieved them - Compare Ezra 4:4-24; Ezr_5:6-17. The revival of Jerusalem as a
great and strong city, which was Nehemiah’s aim, was likely to interfere with the
prosperity, or at any rate the eminence, of Samaria.
CLARKE, "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 the Sanballat here mentioned was the same
who persuaded Alexander to build a temple on Mount Gerizim in favor of the
Samaritans. Pelagius thinks there were two governors of this name.
GILL, "When Sanballat the Horonite,.... Who either presided at Horonaim, or
sprung from thence, a city of Moab, Isa_15:5
and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite; who was formerly a slave, but now raised,
from a low mean estate, to be governor in the land of Ammon, though still a vassal of the
king of Persia:
heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there came a man to seek the
welfare of the children of Israel; to which the Moabites and Ammonites were
always averse, and ever bore an hatred to Israel, and envied everything that tended to
their happiness.
HENRY, "By those that wished ill to the Jews. Those whom God and his Israel blessed
they cursed. (1.) When he did but show his face it vexed them, Neh_2:10. Sanballat and
Tobiah, two of the Samaritans, but by birth the former a Moabite, the latter an
Ammonite, when they saw one come armed with a commission from the king to do
service to Israel, were exceedingly grieved that all their little paltry arts to weaken Israel
were thus baffled and frustrated by a fair, and noble, and generous project to strengthen
them. Nothing is a greater vexation to the enemies of good people, who have
misrepresented them to princes as turbulent, and factious, and not fit to live, than to see
them stand right in the opinion of their rulers, their innocency cleared and their
reproach rolled away, and that they are thought not only fit to live, but fit to be trusted.
When they saw a man come in that manner, who professedly sought the welfare of the
children of Israel, it vexed them to the heart. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved
JAMISO , "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.

77. K&D, "When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite heard of his coming,
it caused them great annoyance (‫ם‬ ֶ‫ה‬ ָ‫ל‬ ‫ע‬ ַ‫ר‬ֵ‫י‬ is strengthened by ‫ה‬ ָ‫ּול‬‫ד‬ְ ‫ה‬ ָ‫ע‬ ָ‫,ר‬ as in Jon_4:1) that
a man (as Nehemiah expresses himself ironically from their point of view) was come to
seek the welfare of the children of Israel. Sanballat is called the Horonite either after his
birthplace or place of residence, yet certainly not from Horonaim in Moab, as older
expositors imagined (Isa_15:5; Jer_48:34), since he would then have been called a
Moabite, but from either the upper or nether Beth-horon, formerly belonging to the tribe
of Ephraim (Jos_16:3, Jos_16:5; Jos_18:13), and therefore in the time of Nehemiah
certainly appertaining to the region of the Samaritans (Berth.). Tobiah the Ammonite is
called ‫ד‬ ֶ‫ב‬ ֶ‫ע‬ ָ‫,ה‬ the servant, probably as being a servant or official of the Persian king. These
two individuals were undoubtedly influential chiefs of the neighbouring hostile nations
of Samaritans and Ammonites, and sought by alliances with Jewish nobles (Neh_6:17;
Neh_13:4, Neh_13:28) to frustrate, whether by force or stratagem, the efforts of Ezra
and Nehemiah for the internal and external security of Judah. Nehemiah mentions thus
early their annoyance at his arrival, by way of hinting beforehand at their subsequent
machinations to delay the fortifying of Jerusalem.
ELLICOTT, "(10) Sanballat the Horonite.—Satrap of Samaria under the Persians,
whose secretary or minister was “Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite.” Sanballat was
from one of the Beth-horons, which had been in Ephraim, and were now in the
kingdom of Samaria. His name is seemingly Babylonian, while that of Tobiah is
Hebrew. The revival of Jerusalem would be a blow to the recent ascendency of
Samaria.
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:10 When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the
Ammonite, heard [of it], it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to
seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
10. When Sanballat the Horonite] That is, the Moabite, Isaiah 15:4, Jeremiah 48:3;
Jeremiah 48:5; Jeremiah 48:34. His name signifieth, saith one, a pure enemy; he was
come of that spiteful people, who were anciently irked because of Israel, umbers
22:3-4, or did inwardly fret and vex at them, as Exodus 1:12, who yet were allied
unto them, and did them no harm in their passage by them, yea, had done them
good by the slaughter of the Amorites, their encroaching neighbours.
And Tobiah the servant] A servant or bondslave once he had been, though now a
Toparch, a lieutenant to the king of Persia. ow such are most troublesome,
Proverbs 30:22.
Asperlus nihil est humili, cum surgit in altum.
Aφορητος εστιν ευτυχων µαστιγιας.

78. Heard it] As they might soon do by means of their wives, who were Jewesses. And
the Jews to this day are generally found the most nimble and mercurial wits in the
world. Every vizier and bashaw of state among the Turks useth to keep a Jew of his
private counsel; whose malice, wit, and experience of Christendom, with their
continual intelligence, is thought to advise most of that mischief which the Turk puts
in execution against us.
It grieved them exceedingly] Heb. It seemed to them an evil, a great evil; it
displeased them sore, and vexed them at the very heart, such was their spleen and
spite. Envy is a deadly mischief; and because it cannot feed upon other men’s hearts,
it feedeth upon its own, drinking up the most part of its own venom. The envious
man is not like the maid in Avicen, who, feeding upon poison, was herself healthy,
yet infected others with her venomous breath; but like the serpent Porphyrius,
which is full of poison, but, wanting teeth, hurteth none but himself; or as the hill
Aetna, &c.
That there was come a man to seek the welfare, &c.] This they looked upon with an
evil eye, and were vexed, Invidia Siculi, &c. Who can stand before envy? Proverbs
27:4. It espieth with great grief the smallest things the good man doth or hath, and
is, therefore, absolutely the best thing to clear the eyesight, said Actius Sincerus, a
nobleman, to King Frederick.
BE SO , " ehemiah 2:10. Sanballat the Horonite — So called either from the
place of his birth or residence, which is supposed to have been Horonaim, an
eminent city of Moab. This Sanballat was the person who afterward instigated
Alexander the Great to build the temple of Gerizim, in order to occasion a division
among the Jews. Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite — So called, probably, from the
condition from which he had been advanced to his present power and dignity;
which also may be mentioned as one reason why he now carried himself so
insolently, it being usual for persons suddenly raised from a low state so to demean
themselves. It grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man — With such
authority from the king, and in such favour with him, as appeared by the letters he
brought with him, and the guard that attended him, and the diligence of the several
governors, through whose provinces he passed, to serve him.
WHEDO , "10. Sanballat the Horonite — This noted man seems to have been an
officer of the Persian government, holding a military command at Samaria.
Compare ehemiah 4:2. He is conspicuous in this history solely from his bitter
hostility to the Jews. The Horonite designates him as a native of Horonaim, in the
land of Moab: (see Isaiah 15:5; Jeremiah 48:3; Jeremiah 48:5; Jeremiah 48:34 :)
and his Moabite origin may partly account for his hostility towards Israel.
Tobiah the servant — What gave him this title of the servant is not clear. Perhaps he
had been a slave and had gained his freedom, but never lost the title and

79. associations of his former servitude; and in such a case a Jewish writer would
naturally emphasize the opprobrious epithet. His own and his son’s marriage with
the daughter of a Jew created family relationships which proved a source of trouble,
( ehemiah 6:17-19,) and being allied to the high priest Eliashib ( ehemiah 13:4) he
secured a chamber in the courts of the temple, from which ehemiah finally cast out
all his household stuff. ehemiah 13:7-8. He is here designated as the Ammonite,
having sprung from that hated race; and, perhaps, his bitterness towards the Jews
was owing largely to Ezra’s recent legislation in requiring all Jews to put away their
foreign wives, (Ezra 10,) for they had intermarried with the Ammonites and
Moabites. Ezra 9:1. And these two men, Sanballat and Tobiah, were fit
representatives of the ancient and hereditary hatred of their respective races
towards Israel.
COKE, " ehemiah 2:10. Sanballat the Horonite— This person was probably a
petty prince of Moab; for Horonaim was an eminent city in that country, Isaiah
15:5. This Sanballat was the person who afterwards instigated Alexander the Great
to build the temple of Gerizim, in order to occasion a division among the Jews. See
Grotius.
REFLECTIO S.—The king having permitted ehemiah to go, and given him an
order upon the governors, grants him withal an honourable escort to protect him.
ote; Each child of God, whom the king of heaven delights to honour, is attended
with mightier angelic guards. We have here,
1. The vexation of Tobiah and Sanballat, the enemies of the Jews, on hearing of
ehemiah's journey, and the design of it. ote; Every favour shown to the servants
of God awakens the envy and provokes the rage of a wicked world.
2. The survey that ehemiah took of the state of the walls. He rested on his arrival
three days; and by night, with a few select persons for secresy, that the design he
was forming might not be known or counteracted, went round the walls to observe
the breaches, and what repairs would be needful. ote; (1.) Secresy and silence are
very necessary when our enemies are so ready to take the alarm. The wisdom of the
serpent is useful when joined to the innocence of the dove. (2.) A well-settled plan of
procedure is the way to ensure success in every enterprize.
3. The discovery that he made to the rulers, of his commission. He assembled them,
intimated the ruinous state of the city, and the reproach which their defenceless
state brought on them from their wicked neighbours; then informed them of God's
good providence in advancing him at court, and giving him favour with the king;
and produced his commission for repairing their desolations; encouraging them
thereupon to set about the work. Animated by such an exhortation, they eagerly
seize the opportunity, and strengthen each other immediately to arise and build the
wall. ote; (1.) A good minister, or magistrate, who is active and zealous, will find
many ready to second his labours, who of themselves had not courage to lead. (2.)
They who would work heartily for God must begin out of hand. Delays are
dangerous.

80. 4. The opposition which the work met with. Their old and sworn foes derided their
attempts, and maligned their intentions; but ehemiah, undismayed, and confident
in God's blessing, despised their taunts, and persisted in the work; nor would he
suffer these Samaritans to have any portion or lot among them. ote; (1.) Every
arrow of envenomed malice, derision, slander, and threatening, will be shot against
God's saints; but they are clad in armour that is weapon-proof. (2.) Instead of being
discouraged, we should be quickened by opposition: if God prosper us, we need not
fear.
LA GE, " ehemiah 2:10. Sanballat the Horonite.—There were two Horons (“Beth-
horons” in full) in Palestine, a few miles north of Jerusalem. There was also a
Horonaim (lit. “the two Horons”) in Moab ( Isaiah 15:5). Sanballat was probably
from the latter, and was a Moabite, as we find his associate is Tobiah, an Ammonite.
He was probably satrap or pacha of Samaria under the Persians, and Tobiah was
his vizier or chief adviser. The hatred of the Moabites and Ammonites toward
Israel, and the equal hatred of the Israelites to Moab and Ammon appear to have
grown stronger in the later ages of the Jewish state. In David’s time, his family
found refuge in Moab, as Elimelech’s family had done long before, and Ruth a
Moabitess was ancestress of the line of kings in Israel and Judah. After the attack
upon Moab by Jehoshaphat and the terrible scene upon the wall of Mesha’s capital (
2 Kings 3:27), there was probably nothing but intense bitterness between the
children of Lot and the children of Israel. Sanballat and Tobiah represented the
Moabitish and Ammonitish hatred.[F 1] The origin of the name Sanballat is
uncertain. It seems akin to the Assyrian Ass-uruballat, and may be, in its correct
form, “Sinuballat,” Sin being the moon (comp. Sin-akhi-irib or Sennacherib), or it
may be San-uballat, San being the sun.
Tobiah, the servant, the Ammonite.—Tobiah is a Jewish name (see Ezra 2:60 and
Zechariah 6:10). We could scarcely expect to find the element Jah in the name of an
Ammonite. Tobiah was probably a renegade Jew, who had become a slave among
the Ammonites, and, by his talents and cunning, had risen into prominence, and was
now chief adviser of Sanballat. Hence the epithet, which probably his enemies had
fastened on him: “Tobiah the slave.”—It grieved them.—Samaria had become the
leading state west of the Jordan, and any restoration of Jerusalem would threaten
this predominance.
PETT, " ehemiah 2:10
‘And when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of
it, it grieved them greatly, in that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the
children of Israel.’
There were, however, two officials who were not pleased at his arrival. These were
Sanballat the Horonite, who was probably the governor of the district of Samaria,
which up to this time had probably included Judah, (we know that he certainly was
later), and Tobiah the Servant, the Ammonite, who may well have been his deputy,
but was certainly closely connected with him. They were ‘greatly grieved’ that such

81. an important and influential man had come in order to look after the welfare of ‘the
children of Israel’. This is not surprising. They had looked on them as easy pickings,
but now they had to recognise that, with the arrival of ehemiah, duly appointed by
the king, the situation had changed.
That the returnees were thought of as ‘the children of Israel’ hints at the fact that
the returnees now indeed saw themselves as the true Israel, something already made
clear in Ezra 2:2; Ezra 3:8; Ezra 9:8. But it also made clear that the returnees, while
an identifiable group, were scattered among the local population (they were ‘the
children of Israel’ not ‘Israel’), and were probably looked on as fair game, both to
be excessively taxed and to be treated contemptuously, and even violently. This was
undoubtedly why they were experiencing such anguish and reproach ( ehemiah
1:3). The coming of Ezra would unquestionably have uplifted them spiritually, but
he had not had the authority to outface the Governor of Samaria. ehemiah,
however, was of a different standing. It was clear from his royal escort that he was
an important Persian official, and the letters had no doubt made clear that he was
appointed as the independent Governor of Judah. He therefore had the authority to
stand up to Sanballat, and the self-confidence with which to back it up ( ehemiah
6:11). Sanballat and Tobiah, on the other hand, were probably not aware how close
he stood to the king, otherwise they would not have later thought that they could
traduce him.
Both Sanballat, whose sons names (Delaiah and Shelemiah) included the ame of
Yah, and Tobi-yah, were apparently syncretistic Yahwists, the consequence of this
being that much of their opposition to the returnees was probably religious. They
still took offence at the fact that the returnees had never allowed their fathers, or
themselves, a part in the worship of the Temple at Jerusalem (Ezra 4:2-4). And they
therefore did everything possible to make life difficult for the returnees. There were
indeed large numbers of Yahwists in the district of Samaria (which probably
included Judah), some of whom were descended from the newcomers introduced by
various kings (2 Kings 17:24; 2 Kings 17:33; Ezra 4:9-10), and others of whom were
descended from the old Israel and Judah which had become so involved in idolatry
(Jeremiah 39:10; Jeremiah 40:5). These were now all excluded from the new Israel
because of their connections with idolatry.
We know from the Elephantine papyri that Sanballat was governor of Samaria in
408 BC, but clearly then ageing in that his sons were acting for him. And in view of
his prominence in the opposition and the way that he treated ehemiah on equal
terms ( ehemiah 6), and that ehemiah never resents it, it must be seen as probable
that he was already governor. ehemiah, it is true, never gives him the title. But that
may simply have been due to the fact that ehemiah was indicating his contempt for
him, preferring to call him ‘the Horonite’ (probably ‘resident of Beth-Horon’
(Joshua 16:3; Joshua 16:5) and therefore not to be seen as a genuine Yahwist). We
can compare the similar ‘Tobiah -- the Ammonite’. Meanwhile the title given to
Tobiah of ‘the Servant’, while it could indicate ‘servant of the king’ and be an
honourable title, was probably rather intended by ehemiah to indicate Tobiah’s
slavish obedience to Sanballat. In later centuries the name Tobiah was linked with a

82. prominent Ammonite family, but Tobiah was a common Jewish name (‘YHWH is
good’), and there may have been no connection.
PULPIT, "Sanballat. According to Josephus, Sanballat was "satrap of Samaria"
under the Persians, and by descent a Cuthaean ('Ant. Jud.,' ehemiah 11:7, § 2). He
was probably included among the governors to whom ehemiah had brought
letters, and learnt the fact that "a man was come to seek the welfare of the children
of Israel" by the delivery of the letters to him. The Horonite, Born, i.e; at one of the
two Beth-horons, the upper or the lower, mentioned in Joshua (Joshua 16:3, Joshua
16:5) as belonging to Ephraim, and now under Samaria. Tobiah the servant, the
Ammonite. It has been usual to regard Tobiah as a native chief of the Ammonites,
who, after having been a page or other servant at the Persian court, had been made
head of the nation. But it seems to be quite as likely that he was a servant of
Sanballat's, who stood high in his favour, gave him counsel, and was perhaps his
secretary ( ehemiah 6:17, ehemiah 6:19). It grieved them exceedingly. From the
time that Zerub-babel rejected the co-operation of the Samaritans in the rebuilding
of the temple (Ezra 4:3), an enmity set in between the two peoples which continued
till the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. The two capitals were too near not to be
rivals; and the greater (general) prosperity of Jerusalem made Samaria the bitterer
adversary.
EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMME TARY, "O GUARD
ehemiah 2:10;, ehemiah 2:19;, ehemiah 4:1-23
ALL his arrangements for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem show that ehemiah
was awake to the dangers with which he was surrounded. The secrecy of his night
ride was evidently intended to prevent a premature revelation of his plans. The
thorough organisation, the mapping out of the whole line of the wall, and the
dividing of the building operations among forty-two bands of workpeople secured
equal and rapid progress on all sides. Evidently the idea was to "rush" the work,
and to have it fairly well advanced, so as to afford a real protection for the citizens,
before any successful attempts to frustrate it could be carried out. Even with all
these precautions, ehemiah was harassed and hindered for a time by the malignant
devices of his enemies. It was only to be expected that he would meet with
opposition. But a few years before all the Syrian colonists had united in extracting
an order from Artaxerxes for the arrest of the earlier work of building the walls,
because the Jews had made themselves intensely obnoxious to their neighbours by
sending back the wives they had married from among the Gentile peoples. The
jealousy of Samaria, which had taken the lead in Palestine so long as Jerusalem was
in evidence, envenomed this animosity still more. Was it likely then that her
watchful foes would hear with equanimity of the revival of the hated city-a city
which must have seemed to them the very embodiment of the anti-social spirit?
ow, however, since a favourite servant of the Great King had been appointed
governor of Jerusalem, the Satrap of the Syrian provinces could scarcely be

83. expected to interfere. Therefore the initiative fell into the hands of smaller men, who
found it necessary to abandon the method of direct hostility, and to proceed by
means of intrigues and ambuscades. There were three who made themselves
notorious in this undignified course of procedure. Two of them are mentioned in
connection with the journey of ehemiah up to Jerusalem. [ ehemiah 2:10] The
first, the head of the whole opposition, is Sanballat, who is called the Horonite,
seemingly because he is a native of one of the Beth-horons, and who appears to be
the governor of the city of Samaria, although this is not stated. Throughout the
history he comes before us repeatedly as the foe of the rival governor of Jerusalem.
ext to him comes Tobiah, a chief of the little trans-Jordanic tribe of the
Ammonites, some of whom had got into Samaria in the strange mixing up of peoples
after the Babylonian conquest. He is called the servant, possibly because he once
held some post at court, and if so he may have been personally jealous of
ehemiah’s promotion.
Sanbaltat and his supporter Tobiah were subsequently joined by an Arabian Emir
named Geshem. His presence in the group of conspirators would be surprising if we
had not been unexpectedly supplied with the means of accounting for it in the
recently deciphered inscription which tells how Sargon imported an Arabian colony
into Samaria. The Arab would scent prey in the project of a warlike expedition
The opposition proceeded warily. At first we are only told that when Sanballat and
his friend Tobiah heard of the coming of ehemiah, "grieved them exceedingly that
there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel." [ ehemiah 2:10]
In writing these caustic words ehemiah implies that the jealous men had no
occasion to fear that he meant any harm to them, and that they knew this. It seems
very hard to him, then, that they should begrudge any alleviation of the misery of
the poor citizens of Jerusalem. What was that to them? Jealousy might foresee the
possibility of future loss from the recovery of the rival city, and in this they might
find the excuse for their action, an excuse for not anticipating which so fervent a
patriot as ehemiah may be forgiven; nevertheless the most greedy sense of self-
interest on the part of these men is lost sight of in the virulence of their hatred to the
Jews. This is always the case with that cruel infatuation-the Anti-Semitic rage. Here
it is that hatred passes beyond mere anger. Hatred is actually pained at the welfare
of its object. It suffers from a Satanic misery. The venom which it fails to plant in its
victim rankles in its own breast.
At first we only hear of this odious distress of the jealous neighbours. But the
prosecutions of ehemiah’s designs immediately lead to a manifestation of open
hostility-verbal in the beginning. o sooner had the Jews made it evident that they
were responsive to their leader’s appeal and intended to rise and build, than they
were assailed with mockery. The Samaritan and Ammonite leaders were now joined
by the Arabian, and together they sent a message of scorn and contempt, asking the
handful of poor Jews whether they were fortifying the city in order to rebel against
the king. The charge of a similar intention had been the cause of stopping the work
on the previous occasion. [Ezra 4:13] ow that Artaxerxes’ favourite cup-bearer
was at the head of affairs, any suspicion of treason was absurd, but since hatred is

84. singularly blind-far more blind than love-it is barely possible that the malignant
mockers hoped to raise a suspicion. On the other hand, there is no evidence to show
that they followed the example of the previous opposition and reported to
headquarters. For the present they seem to have contented themselves with bitter
raillery. This is a weapon before which weak men too often give way. But ehemiah
was not so foolish as to succumb beneath a shower of poor, ill-natured jokes.
His answer is firm and dignified. [ ehemiah 2:20] It contains three assertions. The
first is the most important. ehemiah is not ashamed to confess the faith which is
the source of all his confidence. In the eyes of men the Jews may appear but a feeble
folk, quite unequal to the task of holding their ground in the midst of a swarm of
angry foes. If ehemiah had only taken account of the political and military aspects
of affairs, he might have shrunk from proceeding. But it is just the mark of his true
greatness that he always has his eye fixed on a Higher Power. He knows that God is
in the project, and therefore he is sure that it must prosper. When a man can reach
this conviction, mockery and insult do not move him. He has climbed to a serene
altitude, from which he can look down with equanimity on the boiling clouds that
are now far beneath his feet. Having this sublime ground of confidence, ehemiah is
able to proceed to his second point-his assertion of the determination of the Jews to
arise and build. This is quite positive and absolute. The brave man states it, too, in
the clearest possible language. ow the work is about to begin there is to be no
subterfuge or disguise. ehemiah’s unflinching determination is based on the
religious confession that precedes it. The Jews are God’s servants, they are engaged
in His work, they know He will prosper them, therefore they most certainly will not
stay their hand for all the gibes and taunts of their neighbours. Lastly, ehemiah
contemptuously repudiates the claim of these impertinent intruders to interfere in
the work of the Jews, he tells them that they have no excuse for their meddling, for
they own no property in Jerusalem, they have no right of citizenship or of control
from without, and there are no tombs of their ancestors in the sacred city.
In this message of ehemiah’s we seem to hear an echo of the old words with which
the temple-builders rejected the offer of assistance from the Samaritans, and which
were the beginning of the whole course of jealous antagonism on the part of the
irritated neighbours. But the circumstances are entirely altered. It is not a friendly
offer of co-operation, but its very opposite, a hostile and insulting message designed
to hinder the Jews, that is here so proudly resented. In the reply of ehemiah we
hear the church refusing to bend to the will of the world, because the world has no
right to trespass on her territory. God’s work is not to be tampered with by insolent
meddlers. Jewish exclusiveness is painfully narrow, at least in our estimation of it,
when it refuses to welcome strangers or to recognise the good that lies outside the
sacred enclosure, but this same characteristic becomes a noble quality, with high
ethical and religious aims, when it firmly refuses to surrender its duty to God at the
bidding of the outside world. The Christian can scarcely imitate ehemiah’s tone
and temper in this matter, and yet if he is loyal to his God he will feel that he must
be equally decided and uncompromising in declining to give up any part of what he
believes to be his service of Christ to please men who unhappily as yet have "no
part, or right, or memorial" in the ew Jerusalem, although, unlike the Jew of old,

85. he will be only too glad that all men should come in and share his privileges.
After receiving an annoying answer it was only natural that the antagonistic
neighbours of the Jews should be still more embittered in their animosity. At the
first news of his coming to befriend the children of Israel, as ehemiah says,
Sanballat and Tobiah were grieved, but when the building operations were actually
in process the Samaritan leader passed from vexation to rage-"he was wroth and
took great indignation." [ ehemiah 4:1] This man now assumed the lead in
opposition to the Jews. His mockery became more bitter and insulting. In this he
was joined by his friend the Ammonite, who declared that if only one of the foxes
that prowl on the neighbouring hills were to jump upon the wall the creature would
break it down. [ ehemiah 4:3] Perhaps he had received a hint from some of his
spies that the new work that had been so hastily pressed forward was not any too
solid. The "Palestine Exploration Fund" has brought to light the foundations of
what is believed to be a part of ehemiah’s wall at Ophel, and the base of it is seen
to be of rubble, not founded on the rock, but built on the clay above, so that it has
been possible to drive a mine under it from one side to the other-a rough piece of
work, very different from the beautifully finished temple walls.
ehemiah met the renewed shower of insults in a startling manner. He cursed his
enemies. [ ehemiah 4:4] Deploring before God the contempt that was heaped on the
Jews, he prayed that the reproach of the enemies might be turned on their own
head, devoted them to the horrors of a new captivity, and even went so far as to beg
that no atonement might be found for their iniquity, that their sin might not be
blotted out. In a word, instead of himself forgiving his enemies, he besought that
they might not be forgiven by God. We shudder as we read his terrible words. This
is not the Christ spirit. It is even contrary to the less merciful spirit of the Old
Testament. Yet, to be just to ehemiah, we must consider the whole case. It is most
unfair to tear his curse out of the history and gibbet it as a specimen of Jewish piety.
Even strong men who will not give way before ridicule may feel its stabs-for
strength is not inconsistent with sensitiveness. Evidently ehemiah was irritated,
but then he was much provoked. For the moment he lost his self-possession. We
must remember that the strain of his great undertaking was most exhausting, and
we must be patient with the utterances of one so sorely tried. If lethargic people
criticise adversely the hasty utterances of a more intense nature, they forget that,
though they may never lose their self-control, neither do they ever rouse themselves
to the daring energy of the man whose failings they blame. Then it was not any
personal insults hurled against himself that ehemiah resented so fiercely. It was his
work that the Samaritans were trying to hinder. This he believed to be really God’s
work, so that the insults offered to the Jews were also directed against God, who
must have been angry also. We cannot justify the curse by the standard of the
Christian law, but it is not reasonable to apply that standard to it. We must set it by
the side of the Maledictory Psalms. From the standpoint of its author it can be fully
accounted for. To say that even in this way it can be defended, however, is to go too
far. We have no occasion to persuade ourselves that any of the Old Testament saints
were immaculate, even in the light of Judaism. ehemiah was a great and good man,
yet he was not an Old Testament Christ.

86. But now more serious opposition was to be encountered. Such enemies as those
angry men of Samaria were not likely to be content with venting their spleen in idle
mockery. When they saw that the keenest shafts of their wit failed to stop the work
of the citizens of Jerusalem, Sanballat and his friends found it necessary to proceed
to more active measures, and accordingly they entered into a conspiracy for the
double purpose of carrying on actual warfare and of intriguing with disaffected
citizens of Jerusalem-"to cause confusion therein." [ ehemiah 4:8; ehemiah 4:11]
ehemiah was too observant and penetrating a statesman not to become aware of
what was going on, the knowledge that the plots existed revealed the extent of his
danger, and compelled him to make active preparations for thwarting them. We
may notice several important points in the process of the defence.
1. Prayer.- This was the first, and in ehemiah’s mind the most essential defensive
measure. We find him resorting to it in every important juncture of his life. It is his
sheet-anchor. But now "he uses the plural number. Hitherto we have met only with
his private prayers." In the present case he says, "We made our prayer unto our
God." [ ehemiah 4:9] Had the infection of his prayerful spirit reached his fellow-
citizens, so that they now shared it? Was it that the imminence of fearful danger
drove to prayer men who under ordinary circumstances forgot their need of God?
Or were both influences at work? However it was brought about, this association in
prayer of some of the Jews with their governor must have been the greatest comfort
to him, as it was the best ground for the hope that God would not now let them fall
into the hands of the enemy. Hitherto there had been a melancholy solitariness
about the earnest devotion of ehemiah. The success of his mission began to show
itself when the citizens began to participate in the same spirit of devotion.
2. Watchfulness.- ehemiah was not the fanatic to blunder into the delusion that
prayer was a substitute for duty, instead of being its inspiration. All that followed
the prayer was really based upon it. The calmness, hope, and courage won in the
high act of communion with God made it possible to take the necessary steps in the
outer world. Since the greatest danger was not expected as an open assault, it was
most necessary that an unbroken watch should be maintained, day and night.
ehemiah had spies out in the surrounding country, who reported to him every
planned attack. So thorough was this system of espionage, that though no less than
ten plots were concocted by the enemy, they were all discovered to ehemiah, and
all frustrated by him.
3. Encouragement.- The Jews were losing heart. The men of Judah came to
ehemiah with the complaint that the labourers who were at work on the great
heaps of rubbish were suffering from exhaustion. The reduction in the numbers of
workmen, owing to the appointment of the guard, would have still further increased
the strain of those who were left to toil among the mounds. But it would have been
fatal to draw back at this juncture. That would have been to invite the enemy to
rush in and complete the discomfiture of the Jews. On ehemiah came the
obligation of cheering the dispirited citizens. Even the leading men who should have
rallied the people, like officers at the head of their troops, shared the general

87. depression. ehemiah was again alone-or at best supported by the silent sympathy
of his companions in prayer, There was very nearly a panic, and for one man to
stand out under such circumstances as these in solitary courage, not only resisting
the strong contagion of fear, but stemming the tide ant counteracting its movement,
this would be indeed the sublimity of heroism. It was a severe test for ehemiah,
and he came out of it triumphant. His faith was the inspiration of his own courage,
and it became the ground for the encouragement of others. He addressed the people
and their nobles in a spirited appeal. First, he exhorted them to banish fear. The
very tone of his voice must have been reassuring; the presence of one brave man in a
crowd of cowards often shames them out of their weakness. But ehemiah
proceeded to give reasons for his encouragement. Let the men remember their God
Jehovah, how great and terrible He is! The cause is His, and His might and terror
will defend it. Let them think of their people and their families, and fight for
brethren and children, for wives and homes! Cowardice is unbelief and selfishness
combined. Trust in God and a sense of duty to others will master the weakness.
4. Arms.- ehemiah gave the first place to the spiritual and moral defences of
Jerusalem. Yet his material defences were none the less thorough on account of his
prayers to God or his eloquent exhortation of the people and their leaders. They
were most complete.
His arrangements for the military protection of Jerusalem converted the whole city
into an armed camp. Half the citizens in turn were to leave their work, and stand at
arms with swords and spears and bows. Even in the midst of the building operations
the clatter of weapons was heard among the stones, because the masons at work on
the walls and the labourers while they poised on their heads baskets full of rubbish
from the excavations had swords attached to their sashes. Residents of the suburbs
were required to stay in the city instead of returning home for the night, and no
man could put off a single article of clothing when he lay down to sleep. or was this
martial array deemed sufficient without some special provision against a surprise.
ehemiah therefore went about with a trumpeter, ready to summon all hands to any
point of danger on the first alarm.
Still, though the Jews were hampered with these preparations for battle, tired with
toil and watching, and troubled by dreadful apprehensions, the work went on. This
is a great proof of the excellency of ehemiah’s generalship. He did not sacrifice the
building to the fighting. The former was itself designed to produce a permanent
defence, while the arms were only for temporary use. When the walls were up the
citizens could give the laugh back to their foes. But in itself the very act of working
was reassuring. Idleness is a prey to fears which industry has no time to entertain.
Every man who tries to do his duty as a servant of God is unconsciously building a
wall about himself that will be his shelter in the hour of peril.
PARKER, ""When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite,
heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the
welfare of the children of Israel" ( ehemiah 2:10).

88. Sanballat and Tobiah are everywhere. There was a great vocalist singing recently—
a great master of the divine art. And there was an encore. And a person who was
there said, "That is not genuine, you know: that encore is got up by somebody just
for the purpose of increasing her reputation or her popularity." It was some man
who had come up from some village in some extra-rural district, who sat himself
down in the great assembly and knew exactly how the encores were manufactured.
Distressing man that—very sad to live with a person so acute—a dreadful
martyrdom to have to sit near a person who can chatter such idiocy. But there are
always a few people who understand everything—see through it—mark it: saw it
just in time to observe how it was and to explain it to the infinite satisfaction of their
own folly. Let us not be disagreeable with anybody, but pleasant and sympathetic—
even with a preacher.
ehemiah arrived on the scene of operation, and then he says—"I went out by night
by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well... and viewed the walls of
Jerusalem which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with
fire." Was there ever a picture touched with so delicate a hand? Ruins seen at night-
time—think of that solemn picture, think of that scene that might have made the
reputation of a Royal Academician—the ruins of the most famous city in the world,
seen at night by a lonely man. He took with him some few men; the fewer the better,
but probably he left even these at a distance. At a certain point he went out himself:
he took his own measure of the situation—ruins—ruins softened by moonlight,
ruins aggravated by shadows, ruins seen by a lonely Prayer of Manasseh , ruins
looked at by a heart that meant to restore them, and bring back every beam of the
ancient glory. If we could paint that picture we might entrance the world!
Take your own measure of the destitution of the world. Every Christian man should
go about in the world, so far as he is able to do Song of Solomon , by the aid of
reports—to take his own measure of the situation—steal out by night and see what
the devil has done with this human nature of ours, and whilst he is walking out
under the soft light of the moon and viewing the ruined humanity, he should say,
"God helping me, I will do my utmost to undo this mischief and to repair the
shattered house of the Lord." Ye are the house of the Lord—ye are God"s living
temples: the house and the temple have been defiled and desolated, and every man
who has the spirit of ehemiah in him should take his own estimate—be his own
missionary secretary, be his own missionary observer, and be his own missionary so
far as it is possible for him to be Song of Solomon , and then he will do some good in
his day and generation in the name of the Lord.
Then ehemiah spoke unto the people, stated the case to them, and called upon
them to co-operate with him in his great purpose, and gave them as a sign and token
of good a repetition of the king"s words that had been spoken unto him. And they
said, "Let us arise and build." See what one man can do! One man can set fire to a
thousand: Caesar was more than all Caesar"s legions. When the Philistines saw that
their champion was dead, they fled. We cannot all be Goliaths; we cannot all be
Cæsars and Hannibals; we cannot all be inspirers; but we can all follow the great
inspiration of biblical testimony, and the great lead of the patriotic philanthropic

89. class of noble and godly men. Though we be but a cipher, yet with a unit at our head
that unit shall strike individual value into that which of itself is of minor—of almost
infinitesimal consequence. Who will arise and build? The people did; ehemiah did.
ehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Walls
11 I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there
three days
GILL, "So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. Before he entered on
any business, resting himself from the fatigue of the journey, and receiving the visits of
his friends, as Ezra before him did, Ezr_8:32.
JAMISO , "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 [Neh_2:17,
Neh_2:18]. 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 [Neh_2:13-15].
K&D, "Nehemiah's arrival at Jerusalem. He surveys the wall, and resolves to
restore it. - Neh_2:11 Having arrived at Jerusalem and rested three days (as Ezra had
also done, Ezr_8:32), he arose in the night, and some few men with him, to ride round
the wall of the city, and get a notion of its condition. His reason for taking but few men
with him is given in the following sentence: “I had told no man what my God had put in
my heart to do for Jerusalem.” Although he had come to Jerusalem with the resolution
of fortifying the city by restoring its circumvallation, he spoke of this to no one until he
had ascertained, by an inspection of the wall, the magnitude and extent of the work to be
accomplished. For, being aware of the hostility of Sanballat and Tobiah, he desired to
keep his intention secret until he felt certain of the possibility of carrying it into
execution. Hence he made his survey of the wall by night, and took but few men with
him, and those on foot, for the sake of not exciting attention. The beast on which he rode
was either a horse or a mule.
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.

90. Ver. 11. So I came to Jerusalem] Thither God brought him, as on eagles’ wings,
maugre the malice of his enemies. The Jews had great reason to rejoice, and to
welcome him with great solemnity; which yet they did not, for aught we read; but
that he taketh not for any discouragement; his reward was with God. He was of
another spirit than his countrymen, who were all for their own ends and interests,
and little cared for the public.
And was there three days] Resting his body, Quod caret alterna requie (Ovid). {See
Trapp on "Ezra 8:32"} but casting about in his mind how best to effcct that he came
for, and to persuade with others to join with him. And now he found that he was
come from the court to the cart, from a pleasant life to a careful and cumbersome.
PETT, " ehemiah Secretly Inspects The Walls Of Jerusalem And The Decision Is
Made To Rebuild Them ( ehemiah 2:11-18).
Having arrived safely in Jerusalem ehemiah rested, prior to a secret surveillance
of the condition of the walls. His men would have to be quartered, although that
might have been in a camp outside the city. Meanwhile he and his officers no doubt
had to endure a ceremonious welcome. A high Persian official would always be
welcomed with due ceremony, especially when accompanied by a formidable armed
escort. But he was clearly keen to get on with his task, for he was well aware of the
opposition that would arise once the idea that he was to rebuild the walls got
around, and he wanted to delay that opposition as long as possible. So, after making
a secret survey in the dead of night, he called on the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem
to commence the rebuilding.
ehemiah 2:11
‘So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.’
Arriving in Jerusalem he rested ‘for three days’. Three days only signifies ‘a short
period’, with each part of a day counting as a day. Thus he may only have taken one
day of rest, after the day of arrival, using it to acclimatise himself and get to know
the Jewish leaders, and to prepare for his surveillance. He knew what a daunting
task the building of the walls might prove to be, and that he must move quickly. o
one but himself was aware of what he had in mind.
PULPIT, " ehemiah 2:11
I… was there three days. Compare Ezra 8:32. After the long journey, three days of
rest were necessary.
STEPS TAKE BY EHEMIAH PRELIMI ARY TO HIS BUILDI G OF THE
WALL, A D FIRST APPEARA CE OF OPPOSITIO ( ehemiah 2:12-20).
Hitherto ehemiah had communicated his purpose to no one but the king and
queen of Persia. He expected opposition, and resolved to baffle his opponents, as

91. long as possible, by concealing his exact designs. Even when further concealment
was on the point of becoming impossible, he made his survey of the wall by night,
that it might escape observation. At last, the time for action being come, he was
obliged to lay the matter before the head men of the city (verse 17), whom he easily
persuaded when he assured them of Artaxerxes' consent and goodwill Preparations
then began to be made; and immediately murmurs of opposition arose. Three
opponents are now spoken of—Sanballat, Tobiah, and an Arabian, Geshem or
Gashmu, not previously mentioned. These persons appear to have sent a formal
message to the authorities of Jerualem (verse 19), taxing them with an intention to
rebel ehemiah made no direct reply to this charge, but boldly stated his resolve to
"arise and build," and denied Sanballat's right to interfere with him (verse 20).
12 I set out during the night with a few others. I
had not told anyone what my God had put in my
heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts
with me except the one I was riding on.
GILL, "And I arose in the might, I and some few men with me,.... Both the
season of the night, and the small number of men to accompany him, were chosen for
greater secrecy, that the business he came upon might not as yet be known, and so no
schemes formed to obstruct or discourage:
neither told I any man what God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; he
was satisfied that what he had in view was from the Lord, who had stirred him up to it,
but thought it prudent for the present to conceal it, until things were prepared to put it
in execution:
neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon; he only
rode perhaps on a mule, being not yet recovered quite from the fatigue of his journey,
and for the sake of honour; the rest went on foot, that there might be no noise made, and
so pass on unheard and unobserved.
HE RY, "That when he disclosed his design to the rulers and people they cheerfully
concurred with him in it. He did not tell them, at first, what he came about (Neh_2:16),
because he would not seem to do it for ostentation, and because, if he found it
impracticable, he might retreat the more honourably. Upright humble men will not

92. sound a trumpet before their alms or any other of their good offices. But when he had
viewed and considered the thing, and probably felt the pulse of the rulers and people, he
told them what God had put into his heart (Neh_2:12), even to build up the wall of
Jerusalem, Neh_2:17. Observe, [1.] How fairly he proposed the undertaking to them:
“You see the distress we are in, how we lie exposed to the enemies that are round about
us, how justly they reproach us as foolish and despicable, how easily they may make a
prey of us whenever they have a mind; come, therefore, and let us build up the wall.” He
did not undertake to do the work without them (it could not be the work of one man),
nor did he charge or command imperiously, though he had the king's commission; but
in a friendly brotherly way he exhorted and excited them to join with him in this work.
To encourage them hereto, he speaks of the design, First, As that which owed it origin to
the special grace of God. He takes not the praise of it to himself, as a good thought of his
own, but acknowledges that God put it into his heart, and therefore they all ought to
countenance it (whatever is of God must be promoted), and might hope to prosper in it,
for what God puts men upon he will own them in. Secondly, As that which owed its
progress hitherto to the special providence of God. He produced the king's commission,
told them how readily it was granted and how forward the king was to favour his design,
in which he saw the hand of his God good upon him. It would encourage both him and
them to proceed in an undertaking which God had so remarkably smiled upon. Thus he
proposed it to them; and, [2.] They presently came to a resolution, one and all, to concur
with him: Let us rise up and build. They are ashamed that they have sat still so long
without so much as attempting this needful work, and now resolve to rise up out of their
slothfulness, to bestir themselves, and to stir up one another. “Let us rise up,” that is,
“let us do it with vigour, and diligence, and resolution, as those that are determined to go
through with it.” So they strengthened their hands, their own and one another's, for this
good work. Note, First, Many a good work would find hands enough to be laid to it if
there were but one good head to lead in it. They all saw the desolations of Jerusalem, yet
none proposed the repair of them; but, when Nehemiah proposed it, they all consented
to it. It is a pity that a good motion should be lost purely for want of one to move it and
to break the ice in it. Secondly, By stirring up ourselves and one another to that which is
good, we strengthen ourselves and one another for it; for the great reason why we are
weak in our duty is because we are cold to it, indifferent and unresolved. Let us now see
how Nehemiah was received,
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:12 And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me;
neither told I [any] man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem:
neither [was there any] beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.
Ver. 12. And I arose in the night] His cares would not suffer him to sleep, Oυ χρη
παννυχιον (Homer), but up he gets, and about the walls; taking the night, as fittest
for secrecy and safety.
I and some few men with me] He went not alone, lest he should fall into some danger
of life, Vae soli; alas alone, nor yet with many, lest he should make a disturbance,
and betray his counsel. "Be wise as serpents," Matthew 10:16.
either told I any man what God had put into my heart] That the thing was of God

93. he nothing doubted; hence his fervour in following it; he knew there was a curse to
those that do the Lord’s work negligently. That he might not be defeated from his
purpose, he tells no man. He that would have his counsel kept, let him keep it to
himself. Hardly shall a man meet with such a counsel keeper as he was, who, being
upbraided with his stinking breath, answered, that he had kept his friends’ secrets
committed to him so long in his breast that there they rotted; and thence was the
unsavouriness of his breath.
Si sapis, arcane vina reconde cado.
Qui sapit, arcano gaudeat ipse sinu.
either was there any beast] For the avoiding of noise.
BE SO , " ehemiah 2:12. I arose in the night — Concealing both his intentions
and actions as far and as long as he could, as knowing that the life of his business
lay in secrecy and expedition. either was there any beast with me, &c. — To
prevent noise, and that no notice might be taken of what he did.
WHEDO , "12. I arose in the night — Probably the first night after his arrival. He
wished to see how great a work was before him, and he yearned to take a view of the
city of his fathers’ sepulchres, of which he had heard so much, but had never seen
till now; and so with only some few attendants, and the solitary beast on which he
rode, he made this night survey. Peculiarly touching and impressive is the thought
of this tender-hearted child of the exile viewing by night, and alone, the ruins of the
holy city of his fathers.
EXPOSITOR'S DICTIO ARY, "Purpose in Life
ehemiah 2:12
ehemiah was called to a great work, but he kept his own counsel and waited for
the time to declare the purpose that lay in his heart like a glowing seed in good soil.
I. The Secret of Strength;—As you start out upon life"s cross-roads be sure that
your heart"s purpose is prompted by the Lord.
How can we tell whether the secret purpose hidden away in our heart"s deepest
desire is implanted by God?
1. Look at the purpose in your heart, the one thing which, if you could, you would
supremely desire to do. Can you pray about it? If He put the purpose in your heart
you will not find it hard or unnatural to seek His blessing upon it.
2. If our heart"s purpose were accomplished, would it be for the good of others as

94. well as ourselves? That is a sensible test. Any success that injures our fellows is not
in accord with the mind of Christ.
3. Would the accomplishment of our purpose be for God"s glory? ehemiah was
satisfied that his aim was a seed of the Divine planting.
II. Some Results of Knowing that our Heart"s Purpose was Implanted by God;—It
will create steadfastness as we realize that our undertaking is part of the Divine will.
ehemiah"s faith gave him the grace to endure. The difficulties of his task might
well have excused a strong man in turning back. The barriers to our achievement
may be many and high, but we shall overcome, we shall endure as seeing the
invisible.
III. A Part in a Divine Drama.—We may be among the majority of featureless
persons who make no impression. If we are not called to do great things, we can do
little things in the spirit of greatness. Our lives cannot be failures if we are working
out the Divine purpose. Perhaps this alone will deliver us from the increasing
irritation over life"s littleness. We are common clay, but God is the potter, and He
chose us for the purpose He has in view. We may be as gold cups with elaborate
ornament, or as plain clay mugs; but if we are used by the Pierced Hand to carry
water to thirsty lips we shall have an equal honour.
—J. C. Carlile, Christian World Pulpit, vol. LXXII:1907 , p3.
LA GE, " ehemiah 2:12. In the night—few men—neither told I any man.—These
facts and that of only one animal being used in the night-survey show the prudence
of ehemiah, who would avoid calling the attention of Sanballat to any survey of the
walls until all was ready for building. Any formal survey made in the day-time
would soon have reached Sanballat’s ears, for he and Tobiah were both closely
allied by marriage-alliances with the Jerusalem Jews ( ehemiah 6:18; ehemiah
13:28).
PETT, " ehemiah 2:12
‘And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me, nor did I tell any man what
my God put into my heart to do for Jerusalem, nor was there any beast with me,
except the beast that I rode on.’
In consequence when night came (the beginning of a new day for the Jews, so
possibly the second night after his arrival), without telling anyone of his purpose, he
took with him a few trusted men, and set off on his surveillance, without telling
anyone what God had put on his heart to do for Jerusalem. o doubt he had a
trusted Jerusalem guide, as well as a small armed escort. But he did not want to
draw attention to what he was doing. The limitation to a single beast, no doubt an
ass, may have been because of his awareness of his own importance, or it may have
been because he feared that if others called on such beasts the secret might leak out.
PULPIT, " ehemiah 2:12

95. God-given thoughts and impulse.
" either told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem."
I. WHE WE MAY SAFELY ASCRIBE TO GOD WHAT HAS ARISE I OUR
HEARTS. There is a danger, to which fervent religiousness exposes men, of
delusion, fanaticism, and impiety in ascribing their thoughts, feelings, or purposes to
God. When may we safely say, "God put it into my heart"?
1. When the thought, feeling, or purpose is manifestly good. God is the author of all
good, and only of good. He cannot put evil into the heart. To ascribe it to him is
blasphemy. Hatred, malice, uncharitableness, misrepresentation, injustice, cruelty,
even though they assume the garb of piety, cannot be from him. They bear upon
them the stamp of their father, the devil. Let furious bigots, calumniators of their
Christian brethren, and persecutors, lay this to heart. Before ascribing to God what
is in our heart, we must compare it with what we know to be from him—the
teaching of our Lord, his character, the enumerations of the fruits of the Spirit
(Galatians 5:22, Galatians 5:23; Ephesians 5:9). Whatever corresponds with these
we may safely conclude to be from God. And the closer the correspondence, the
more certain the conclusion.
2. When it issues in great good. ehemiah, writing after he had executed his purpose
and seen its beneficial results, could speak confidently as to its source. This rule for
determining the Divine origin of our mental operations must, however, be applied
with caution. It is only subordinate, not sufficient of itself. For
II. WHY WE SHOULD ASCRIBE TO GOD THE GOOD WHICH ARISES I
OUR HEARTS.
1. It is manifestly according to truth.
2. It is required by gratitude A great benefit and honour is thus conferred upon us.
3. Humility demands and is promoted by it. Yet the human heart is so deceitful, that
under a show of humility pride and self-complacency may hide, and be fostered by
the thought of the distinction thus enjoyed.
4. Due regard for the glory of God will induce us to do this.
5. It is acceptable to God, who will reward by "more grace."
III. THE PROPRIETY A D WISDOM OF SOMETIMES CO CEALI G FROM
ME WHAT GOD HAS PUT I TO OUR HEARTS. There is "a time to be silent;"
yet there is also "a time to speak."
1. Reticence as to our pious thoughts, emotions, and purposes may be right. As for

96. instance when indulged—
2. Reticence may be, or become, wrong. It is so—
13 By night I went out through the Valley Gate
toward the Jackal[a] Well and the Dung Gate,
examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been
broken down, and its gates, which had been
destroyed by fire.
BAR ES, "The gate of the valley - A gate opening on the valley of Hinnom, which
skirted Jerusalem to the west and south. The exact position is uncertain; as is also that
of “the dragon well.”
The dung port - The gate by which offal and excrements were conveyed out of the
city, and placed eastward of the valley-gate.
CLARKE, "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 Hinnom.
GILL, "And I went out by night, by the gate of the valley,.... Where that formerly
stood, for the gates had been burnt, and were not as yet rebuilt; this was the gate that led
to the valley of Jehoshaphat, according to some; or rather to the valley of dead bodies,
through which the brook Kidron ran, see 2Ch_26:9 it is the gate through which Christ
went to Calvary; it led to Shiloh, Bethhoron, and Golan:
even before the dragon well; so called from its winding about, just as a crooked
winding river is called serpentine; though some think here stood an image of a dragon,
either in wood, or stone, or brass, out of the mouth of which the water flowed from the
well; and others, that since the desolations of Jerusalem, serpents or dragons had their
abode here:
and to the dung port; by which they used to carry the dung out of the city, and by

97. which they went to Joppa, the sea, and all the western parts:
and viewed the walls of Jerusalem: in what condition they were, what was
necessary to be wholly taken down, and where to begin to build: it must have been a
moonlight night or he could not have taken a view; for to have carried torches or lamps
with them would have discovered them:
and the gates thereof were consumed with fire; nothing of them remained.
HE RY, "
JAMISO , "
K&D, "
COFFMA , ""I went out by night by the valley gate" ( ehemiah 2:13). One must
admire the skill, wisdom and ability of ehemiah, who secretly developed his whole
program of action, concealing it from every person who might have been in a
position to discourage or hinder it.
"The valley gate" ( ehemiah 2:13). This was one of the nine gates of the city,
located at the southwest corner of Jerusalem;[13] and ehemiah's exploration of the
walls extended along the southern elevation of the city, past the southeast corner
and some distance up the Kidron valley as far as the king's pool. He did not go
around the whole city, but turned back and reentered by the valley gate.
ELLICOTT, "(13) The gate of the valley, opening on Hinnom, to the south of the
city. ehemiah passed by “the dragon well,” nowhere else mentioned, and not now
to be traced, and surveyed the ruins from the “dung port,” whence offal was taken
to the valley of Hinnom.
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even
before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem,
which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
Ver. 13. By the gate of the valley] By which men went into the valley of Jehoshaphat,
Joel 3:2; Joel 3:12. The Septuagint call it Portam Galilae, the gate of dead men’s
skulls; because that way they went out to Golgotha.
Even before the dragon well] So called, either because some venomous serpent had
been found there; or because the waters ran out of the mouth of a brazen serpent;
or because they ran creepingly, softly, as the waters of Shiloah, Isaiah 8:6.
And to the dung port] Where was their common dunghill, a sewer to the city; near
whereunto ran the brook Kidron, or the town sewer.
And viewed the wall of Jerusalem] Junius rendereth it, Ubi effringebam de muris,
Where I broke off a piece of the wall; sc. that I might try the soundness or

98. unsoundness of that which remaineth of it, that I might know whether it needed to
be all pulled down, or whether it might be built upon. Our translators read it, sober,
not shober; and thence the different interpretation.
Which were broken down] Asher hem perutsim: Hem, with an open Mem, which is
not usual ( ‫הס‬ pro ‫;)המ‬ to set forth, as some think, the rupture and openness of the
walls, so much bewailed by this good man in this chapter. The final form for the ‫מ‬
was not used. {Hebrew Text ote}
BE SO , " ehemiah 2:13. I went out by night — The footmen who accompanied
him directing and leading him in the way. His design was to go around the city, to
observe the compass and condition of the walls and gates, that he might make
sufficient provisions for the work. By the gate of the valley — Of which see
ehemiah 3:13. Even before the dragon-well — A fountain of water so called, either
from some figure of a dragon or serpent which was by it, or from some living
dragon which had taken up its abode there when the city was desolate. To the dung-
port — Through which they used to carry the dung out of the city.
WHEDO , "13. The gate of the valley — The gate that opened into the valley of
Gihon, on the west side of the city, and just at the point where that valley takes a
bend off towards the northwest. This would be at the northwestern corner of Zion,
where afterwards stood the Tower of Hippicus, erected by Herod.
Before the dragon well — The modern upper pool of Gihon, towards which the gate
just mentioned must have opened. What gave it this name is now unknown.
The dung port — Why our translators rendered the same word port here, which
they render gate above, is not apparent. This dung gate is supposed to have been at
or near the southwestern corner of the city wall, where the filth and garbage of this
part of the city were carried out and thrown down into the deep valley below. See on
ehemiah 3:13.
LA GE, " ehemiah 2:13. The gate of the valley, Sha’ar Haggai -gai ( 2 Chronicles
26:9; ehemiah 3:13), was probably a gate overlooking the great valley of Hinnom,
which is called in Jeremiah 2:23 simply “the valley.” It was between the Tower of
the Furnaces (Migdal hat-tannurim) and the Dung-gate. We may place it about
twelve hundred feet south of the present Jaffa, Gate.—The dragon-well (Ain
hattannin) is perhaps the present great pool, Birket Sultan, along the eastern side of
which and above it would be ehemiah’s course southward from the Jaffa-gate. The
strange name (Fountain of the Sea-monster) may have been given to it because some
curious large water-snake or crocodile was kept in it in ehemiah’s time.—The
dung-port (Sha’ar ha-ashpoth) is rather the rubbish-gate, and was probably the
gate in the valley before which the rubbish of the city was cast and burned. It was
the “east gate” (lit. pottery-gate) of Jeremiah 19:2. So the Jewish authorities. We
may suppose this gate was at the southern extremity of Zion. The false rendering of
“dung-port” has given rise to the idea that it was near the temple; that through it

99. the filth from the animals offered in sacrifice was carried. It is possible that this filth
may have been carried over the bridge to Zion, and through this gate to the brink of
Hinnom’s deepest portion, and there dumped with the other rubbish. But the
rubbish-gate or dung-port was only one thousand cubits from the valley gate (see
ehemiah 3:13), and no gate near the temple could have been thus near the valley-
gate, if the valley-gate were anywhere on the west of the city. We should consider
the Rubbish-gate as directly before that part of Hinnom known as Tophet (
Jeremiah 7:31-32; Jeremiah 19:6; Jeremiah 19:11-14). (But see Excursus.)
PETT, " ehemiah 2:13
‘And I went out by night by the valley gate, even toward the jackal’s well, and to the
dung gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and its
gates were consumed with fire.’
Initially he went out by night by the Valley Gate (compare ehemiah 3:13; 2
Chronicles 26:9), a gate probably in the West wall 1000 cubits (approximately 1500
feet, a little less than five hundred metres) from the Dung Gate which was at the
southern end of Jerusalem, examining its condition as he passed through. Then he
moved along southward outside the remains of the wall towards the Jackal’s Well
(or Dragon’s Eye), a site now unknown, examining the walls as they went along,
before arriving at the Dung Gate, which was probably almost at the southern end of
the city. This was the gate through which rubbish would be carried out of the city to
be hurled into the valley below, and was by the Pool of Siloam. It may be identified
with the Potsherd Gate of Jeremiah 19:2. He discovered during his examination the
condition of the gates and walls. The gates had been consumed with fire, and the
walls were broken down.
PULPIT, "The valley gate. A gate on the western or south-western side of
Jerusalem, opening towards the valley of Hinnom. There are no means of fixing its
exact position. It was one of those which Uzziah fortified (2 Chronicles 26:9). The
dragon well. Dean Stanley suggests that "the dragon well" is the spring known
generally as "the pool of Siloam," and that the legend, which describes the
intermittent flow of the Siloam water as produced by the opening and closing of a
dragon s mouth, had already sprung up; but the Siloam spring seems to lie too far to
the eastward to suit the present passage, and is most likely represented by the
"king's pool" of ehemiah 2:14. The dung port. "The gate outside of which lay the
piles of the sweepings and offscourings of the streets" ('Stanley,' 1. s.c.); situated
towards the middle of the southern wall
14 Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate
and the King’s Pool, but there was not enough

100. room for my mount to get through;
BAR ES, "The gate of the fountain - A gate on the eastern side of the Tyropoeon
valley, not far from the pool of Siloam (probably “the king’s pool.” (Compare Neh_3:15).
CLARKE, "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 2Ch_32:30.
GILL, "Then I went on to the pool of the fountain, and to the king's pool.....
That led to the fountain Siloah or Gihon, so called; it was the way to the potter's field, to
Bethlehem, Hebron, Gaza, and Egypt. Rauwolff says (t) there is still standing on the
outside of the valley Tyropaeum (which distinguishes the two mountains Zion and
Moriah) the gate of the fountain, which hath its name, because it leadeth towards the
fountain of Siloah, called the king's pool:
but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass; because of the
heaps of rubbish that lay there.
JAMISO , "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.
K&D, "“And I went on to the fountain-gate, and to the king's pool, and there was no
room for the beast to come through under me.” The very name of the fountain-or well-
gate points to the foundation of Siloah (see rem. on Neh_3:15); hence it lay on the
eastern declivity of Zion, but not in the district or neighbourhood of the present Bâb el
Mogharibeh, in which tradition finds the ancient dung-gate, but much farther south, in
the neighbourhood of the pool of Siloah; see rem. on Neh_3:15. The King's pool is
probably the same which Josephus (bell. Jud. v. 4. 2) calls Σολοµራνος κολυµβήθρα, and
places east of the spring of Siloah, and which is supposed by Robinson (Palestine, ii. pp.
149, 159) and Thenius (das vorexil. Jerus., appendix to a commentary on the books of
the Kings, p. 20) to be the present Fountain of the Virgin. Bertheau, however, on the
other hand, rightly objects that the Fountain of the Virgin lying deep in the rock, and
now reached by a descent of thirty steps, could not properly be designated a pool. He
tries rather to identify the King's pool with the outlet of a canal investigated by Tobler

101. (Topogr. i. p. 91f.), which the latter regards as a conduit for rain-water, fluid impurities,
or even the blood of sacrificed animals; but Bertheau as an aqueduct which, perhaps at
the place where its entrance is now found, once filled a pool, of which, indeed, no trace
has as yet been discovered. But apart from the difficulty of calling the outlet of a canal a
pool (Arnold in Herzog's Realencycl. xviii. p. 656), the circumstance, that Tobler could
find in neither of the above-described canals any trace of high antiquity, tells against this
conjecture. Much more may be said in favour of the view of E. G. Schultz (Jerusalem, p.
58f.), that the half-choked-up pool near Ain Silwan may be the King's pool and
Solomon's pool; for travellers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries mention a
piscina grandis foras and natatoria Siloë at the mouth of the fountain of Siloah (comp.
Leyrer in Herzog's Realencycl. xvi. p. 372). See also rem. on Neh_3:15. Here there was
no room for the beast to get through, the road being choked up with the ruins of the
walls that had been destroyed, so that Nehemiah was obliged to dismount.
COFFMA , ""There was no place for the beast that was under me to pass"
( ehemiah 2:14). Recent archaeological discoveries explain why ehemiah was
compelled to dismount and continue a part of his exploration on foot. "Excavations
by Kathleen Kenyon[14] have revealed dramatically why ehemiah's mount could
not pass along the eastern wall. The steep slopes had been built up with gigantic
stone terraces. When ebuchadnezzar destroyed the city, those terraces with the
buildings constructed on them collapsed into the valley below; and when ehemiah
came the entire area (around that southeastern section) was an incredible mass of
fallen stones. ehemiah abandoned the pre-exilic line of the east wall altogether and
constructed a new wall along the crest of the hill."[15]
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:14 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the
king’s pool: but [there was] no place for the beast [that was] under me to pass.
Ver. 14. Then I went to the gate of the fountain] Or well-gate; where was great
plenty of water ponds, watering places, &c. Junius saith it was that whereby men
went out to the pool of Siloah and Rogel.
And to the king’s pool] The water course made, or repaired, at least, by King
Hezekiah, 2 Kings 20:20.
But there was no place for the beast, &c.] There was so much rubbish, and such
ruins. This was the fruit of sin, which makes of a city a heap, as the prophet speaks,
and hurls such confusion over the world, that had not Christ, our true ehemiah,
undertaken the shattered condition thereof to uphold it, it had surely fallen about
Adam’s ears.
BE SO , " ehemiah 2:14-16. I went on to the gate of the fountain — That is,
which led to the fountain, to wit, of Siloah or Gihon. And to the king’s pool — That
which King Hezekiah had made, of which see 2 Chronicles 32:3-30. But there was
no place for the beast, &c. — The way being obstructed with heaps of rubbish. Then
went I up by the brook — Of Kidron, of which see on 2 Samuel 15:23. And so

102. returned — Having gone around about the city. or to the rest that did the work —
Or were to do it, that is, whom he intended to employ in it.
WHEDO , "14. Gate of the fountain — This was doubtless the gate situated at the
mouth of the Tyropoeon, and near the fountain, or pool of Siloam. It is to be
identified with “the gate between two walls,” (2 Kings 25:4,) by which king
Zedekiah fled from the city.
The king’s pool — Probably that now commonly known as the fountain of the
Virgin, a little north of the pool of Siloam, and connected with it by a subterranean
passage. By many this is now believed to be the same as the Bethesda of the ew
Testament. John 5:2.
o place for the beast… to pass — So filled had the narrow valley become with the
rubbish of the long desolate city.
LA GE, " ehemiah 2:14. The gate of the fountain, Sha’ar ha-ayin, is certainly a
gate in front of the pool of Siloam (see ehemiah 3:15). It would be where the
ancient wall turned northward beyond its south-eastern corner.—The king’s pool,
berechath hammelek, must be the pool of Siloam. Comp. ehemiah 3:15. The
“virgin’s fountain” of to-day is too far away. It probably received this name from its
watering the king’s garden ( ehemiah 3:15). See Joseph. Ant. 7, 14, 4. Also Jerom.
Com. on Jeremiah 7:30.
There was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.—The ruin was so great,
and the rubbish so accumulated, along Ophel, that ehemiah could not pursue his
course along the wall any further ( ehemiah 2:15), but was obliged to go down into
the valley of the Kidron (the brook, nachal), up which he went and surveyed the
wall, and then turned back and pursued the same route back again to the valley-
gate. It is evident that this survey was confined to the southern and eastern walls,
which were perhaps the most ruined and the most neglected, as being on the sides of
greater natural defence.[F 2]
PETT, " ehemiah 2:14
‘Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the king’s pool, but there was no place
for the beast that was under me to pass.’
Then he moved northward up the East wall until he reached the Fountain (or
Spring) Gate, which no doubt led out onto a spring-fed pool of water (possibly En
Rogel). They then moved on to the King’s Pool, the site of which is unknown,
although it may well have had connection with the King’s Garden. But it was at this
point that they discovered that it was impossible to proceed further because of the
rubble caused by the previous destruction of the walls by ebuchadnezzar, rubble
which has since been confirmed by excavation. Even his sure-footed ass was unable
to proceed.
PULPIT, "The gate of the fountain. A gate near the pool of Siloam (which, though

103. bearing that name in ehemiah 3:15, seems to be here called "the king's pool" );
perhaps the "gate between two walls of 2 Kings 25:4. There was no place for the
beast that was under me to pass. The accumulated rubbish blocked the way. The
animal could not proceed. ehemiah therefore dismounted, and "in the night, dark
as it was, pursued his way on foot.
15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the
wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through
the Valley Gate.
BAR ES, "The brook - The Kidron watercourse, which skirted the city on the east.
Turned back - i. e. he turned westward, and having made the circuit of the city, re-
entered by the valley-gate.
CLARKE, "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.
GILL, "Then went I up in the night by the brook,.... The brook Kidron:
and viewed the wall; that was on that side:
and turned back; did not go quite round the wall, the way perhaps being obstructed
with rubbish, and was unpassable or he had not time to do it:
and entered by the gate of the valle
JAMISO , "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].

104. K&D, "Then I (went on) ascending the valley and viewing the wall, and so entered by
the valley-gate, and returned. ‫י‬ ִ‫ה‬ ֱ‫א‬ָ‫ו‬ with the participle expresses the continuance of an
action, and hence in this place the continuous ascent of the valley and survey of the wall.
The ‫ל‬ ַ‫ח‬ַ‫נ‬ which he ascended was doubtless the valley of Kidron (‫ּון‬‫ר‬ ְ‫ד‬ ִ‫ק‬ ‫ל‬ ַ‫ח‬ַ‫,נ‬ 2Sa_20:23; 1Ki_
2:37, and elsewhere). ‫ּוא‬‫ב‬ፎָ‫ו‬ ‫שׁוּב‬ፎָ‫ו‬ are connected, ‫שׁוּב‬ expressing merely the idea of
repetition (Gesenius, heb. Gram. §142, 3): I came again into the valley-gate. Older
expositors incorrectly explain these words to mean, I turned round, traversing again the
road by which I had come; Bertheau: I turned to go farther in a westerly direction, and
after making the circuit of the entire city, I re-entered by the valley-gate. This sense is
correct as to fact, but inadmissible, as requiring too much to complete it. If we take ‫שׁוּב‬ፎ
adverbially, these completions are unnecessary. Nehemiah does not give the particulars
of the latter portion of his circuit, but merely tells us that after having ascended the
valley of Kidron, he re-entered by the valley-gate, and returned to his residence,
obviously assuming, that from the upper part of the vale of Kidron he could only return
to the valley-gate at the west by passing along the northern part of the wall.
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:15 Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the
wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and [so] returned.
Ver. 15. Then went I up in the night] sc. By moonlight; for the moon is mistress of
the night, Psalms 136:9, by the brightness she borroweth from the body of the sun,
which the moon receiveth and reflecteth, like a lookingglass.
And viewed the wall] That which was left of it, τα λειψανα, as Scaliger’s epitaph is,
Scaligeri quod reliquum est, Scaliger’s relics.
And entered by the gate of the valley] Where he first went out; so he walked the
round, not caring to observe that rule of Pythagoras, Eadem via qua progressus
fueris ne regrediare, Go not back the same way you came out.
WHEDO , "15. Then went I up… by the brook — He probably left his beast by the
king’s pool, and went on foot up the brook, or valley of the Kedron, and viewed the
wall on the east side of the city; then he turned back, walking down the brook
Kedron again to the place where he left his beast, and then rode back around the
southern and western walls, and again entered the city by the same gate of the valley
through which he had gone out.
PETT, " ehemiah 2:15

105. ‘Then I went up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and I turned back,
and entered by the valley gate, and so returned.’
Possibly at this stage he dismounted, or it may be that going up in the night by the
brook he was able to skirt the rubble. There he viewed the eastern wall. He had
seemingly seen enough for he now turned back and returned round the southern
end of Jerusalem to the Valley Gate from which he had first emerged ( ehemiah
2:13). He had probably been able to survey the other walls quietly from the inside
during the day without attracting attention. ow, therefore, he was aware of the
difficulties that lay ahead.
Some, however, see him as indicating by this that he completed the circuit of the
wall before re-entering by the Valley Gate, but without making further comment.
PULPIT, "By the brook. "The brook Kidron," which skirted the city on the east.
From this he would be able to "look up at the eastern wall" along its whole length,
and see its condition. Following the brook, he was brought to the north-eastern
angle of the city; on reaching which he seems to have "turned back" towards the
point from which he had started, and skirting the northern wall, to have re-entered
by the gate of the valley.
16 The officials did not know where I had gone or
what I was doing, because as yet I had said
nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or
officials or any others who would be doing the
work.
BAR ES, "The rulers - The principal authorities of the city, in the absence of the
special governor.
The rest that did the work - i. e. “the laboring class that (afterward) actually built
the wall.”
CLARKE, "The rulers knew not whither I went - He made no person privy to

106. 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.
GILL, "And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did..... The rulers of
the city of Jerusalem, who seem to be officers of the king of Persia, since they are
distinguished from Jewish rulers in the next clause:
neither had I as yet told it to the Jews; what he came about and designed to do:
nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers; the principal men among
the Jews, both ecclesiastical and civil:
nor to the rest that did the work; of building and repairing; neither those that were
employed in it, nor those that overlooked it.
JAMISO 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.
K&D 16-17, "He had spoken to no one of his purpose (Neh_2:12); hence the rulers of
the city knew neither whither he was going nor what he was doing (i.e., undertaking)
when he rode by night out of the city gate accompanied by a few followers. As yet he had
said nothing either to the Jews (the citizens of Jerusalem), the priests, the nobles, the
rulers, or the rest who did the work. ‫ים‬ ִ‫ּר‬‫ח‬ ַ‫ה‬ and ‫ים‬ִ‫נ‬ָ‫ג‬ ְ ַ‫ה‬ are connected, as in Ezr_9:2 ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ ָ ַ‫ה‬
and ‫ים‬ִ‫נ‬ָ‫ג‬ ְ ַ‫.ה‬ The nobles (‫ים‬ ִ‫ּר‬‫ח‬, nobiles) or princes are the heads of the different houses or
races of the people; ‫ים‬ִ‫נ‬ָ‫ג‬ ְ‫,ס‬ the rulers of the town, the authorities. ‫ה‬ ָ‫אכ‬ ָ‫ל‬ ְ ַ‫ה‬ ‫ה‬ ֵ‫ּשׂ‬‫ע‬, the doers of
the work, are the builders; comp. Ezr_3:9. When these are, in comparison with the
priests, nobles, and rulers, designated as ‫ר‬ ֶ‫ת‬ֶ‫,י‬ the remnant, this is explained by the fact
that the priests and rulers of the people were not actively engaged in building. ‫ה‬ ָ‫אכ‬ ָ‫ל‬ ְ ַ‫,ה‬
the work in question, i.e., here the building of the walls. ‫ן‬ ֵⅴ ‫ד‬ ַ‫,ע‬ until thus, i.e., until now,
until the time apparent from the context. Nehemiah then, having inspected the
condition of the ruined walls, and being now persuaded of the possibility of restoring
them, made known his resolution to the nobles, the rulers, and the community, i.e., to a
public assembly called together for this purpose (Neh_2:17). “Ye see (have before your
eyes, know from experience) the distress that we are in, that Jerusalem lieth waste: come
(‫כוּ‬ ְ‫,)ל‬ let us build up the walls of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.” In other
words: Let us by building our walls put an end to the miserable condition which gives
our adversaries occasion to reproach us.
COFFMA , ""And the rulers knew not ..." ( ehemiah 2:16). The `rulers' were the

107. local officials; and the fact that ehemiah laid his plans secretly, excluding both the
priests and the nobles from his confidence, at first, indicates that he was in
possession of prior information regarding the opposition to be expected from them.
Those people whom he had interviewed in Shushan had probably apprised him of
the evil attitude of the priests and nobles.
ELLICOTT, "(16) The rest that did the work, that is, afterwards. The caution of
this procedure is justified by subsequent events: the city teemed with elements of
danger. The nobles and rulers were possessed of no substantial repressive authority.
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:16 And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did;
neither had I as yet told [it] to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to
the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
Ver. 16. And the rulers knew not whither I went] Taciturnity, in some cases, is a
virtue; and everything is beautiful in its season. There is a time to keep silence, and
a time to speak, Ecclesiastes 3:7. And he is a truly wise man that can discern his
season for both. Discamus prius non loqui, saith Jerome, Let us first learn not to
speak, that we may afterwards open our mouths and minds with discretion. Silence
is by Solomon first set before speaking; and first takes its time and turn, as it did
here in ehemiah, the prudent. {See Trapp on " ehemiah 2:12"} The word here
rendered rulers is rather Chaldee than Hebrew.
or to the nobles] Heb. White ones. Among the Jews great men affected to go in
white; as among the Romans in purple or scarlet. Hence Pilate’s soldiers clad Christ
in purple; Herod’s, in white, Luke 23:11, Matthew 27:28.
or to the rest, &c.] So, as to ask their advice.
WHEDO , "16. Jews… priests… nobles… rulers — The various ranks and classes
among the Jewish community. ehemiah did not at that time make known his night
journey around the walls to any one of these various classes. The Jews here means
the common body of the people, the laity, as distinguished from the priests. The
nobles were those who were known and honoured as descendants of the royal family
of David. The rulers were the chief officers of the Jewish community living in and
about Jerusalem.
or to the rest that did the work — The workmen among the people, as
distinguished from the other classes previously mentioned. In every great public
work such as ehemiah was now contemplating, the builders, (Ezra 3:10,) and all
classes of workmen, would have an important interest; yet ehemiah means to say
that while he held important papers from the king, and had come to build the walls
and gates of Jerusalem, and made his night survey with this end in view, he had not
as yet communicated his design to any of the people, nor to their officers and leading
men, nor to the workmen upon whom would fall the chief burden of rebuilding the

108. fallen gates and walls.
LA GE, " ehemiah 2:16. either had I as yet told it to the Jews.—Rather: either
did I, until I had done thus, tell it to the Jews.—The rulers (seganim, a Persian
word) were the executive officers of the colony. either to the Jews in general nor to
the rulers, priests or nobles specially had ehemiah communicated the fact of his
survey. Hebrews, however, now summons an assembly, and urges them to build the
walls, showing them as arguments God’s mercies to him and the king’s favor.—The
rest that did the work, i.e. the others engaged in the public service. Or (more
probably) it may be proleptic for “those that afterward engaged in the wall-
building.”
PETT, " ehemiah 2:16
‘And the rulers did not know where I went, or what I did, nor had I as yet told it to
the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest who
would do the work.’
He now makes clear that no one knew where he had gone, or what he had gone to
do. The initial mention of the rulers may suggest that he was staying in their palace.
They would thus have been aware that he had gone out. But as far as they were
concerned he may have been visiting his escort. They were unaware of his
intentions. or had he given any explanation of his intentions to anyone, not the
people, nor the priests, nor the nobles, nor the rulers, nor even those on whom he
would call to do the work. He did not want to risk word leaking out.
PULPIT, "The rulers. On ehemiah's arrival at Jerusalem he found no single
individual exercising authority, but a number of persons, a sort of town-council,
whom he calls khorim and saganim. It is not clear that he made his commission
known to them at first, or indeed that he divulged it before the interview mentioned
in verses 17 and 18. The rest that did the work This seems to be said by anticipation,
and to mean those who subsequently built the wall.
17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we
are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have
been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the
wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in
disgrace.”

109. GILL, "Then said I unto them,.... The priests and princes of the Jews:
you see the distress that we are in; lie open to our enemies, and exposed to their
insults:
how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire, Neh_
1:3,
come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem that we be no more a
reproach; to their neighbours about them, who scoffed at them as a defenceless people
and frequently came in upon them, and spoiled and plundered them of their goods and
substance.
COFFMA , "A D THEY SAID, "LET US RISE UP A D BUILD"
"Then said I unto them, Ye see the evil case that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth
waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall
of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. And I told them of the hand of my
God which was good upon me, as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me.
And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the
good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the
Ammonite, and Gershem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and
despised us, and said, What is this thing which ye do? will ye rebel against the king?
Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us;
therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor
memorial in Jerusalem."
"Ye see the evil case we are in" ( ehemiah 2:17). ot merely the physical state of
ruin of the city, but the shameful subservience they suffered under the Samaritan
governor, the constant reproach and hatred of their neighbors, and their current
low estate compared to their former glory - all of these things oppressed and
discouraged the people. What a surge of new hope and joy must have energized and
excited the people with the sudden appearance of ehemiah, and his challenge to
Rise Up and Build!
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we [are] in,
how Jerusalem [lieth] waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and
let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.
Ver. 17. Then said I unto them] Then, when I saw it a fit season to say it. It is an
excellent skill to time a word, Isaiah 50:4. To circumstantiate it aright, Proverbs
25:11. That it may run as upon wheels: ehemiah’s words do so, notably. Verba
prius ad limam revocata, quam ad linguam, words well weighed ere uttered. escit

110. paenitenda loqui qui proferenda prius sue tradidit examini, He cannot but speak
wisely who speaketh warily.
Jerusalem lieth waste] i.e., open to the spoiler; as the pope made account this land
was in Henry VIII’s time, when he had given it primo occupaturo, to him that
should first invade and seize it.
Come, and let us build, &c.] With forces united, with one shoulder, Multorum
manibus grande levatur onus.
That we be no more a reproach] Quam multa quam paucis! How much in a little!
said Cicero of Brutus’s laconical epistle; and the like may we say of this pithy and
pathetic speech. Those that love to hear themselves talk, saith Bishop Pilkington
upon this text, and with many words to colour their ill meaning, may here learn how
a simple truth, plainly told in few words, worketh more in good men’s hearts than a
painted tale that hath little truth and less good meaning in it. An honest matter
speaketh for itself, and needeth no colouring; and he that useth most flattering and
subtle words maketh wise men mistrust the matter to be ill. A few words well placed
are much better than a long unsavoury tale. Thus he.
BE SO , " ehemiah 2:17-18. That we be no more a reproach — Exposed to the
scorn and insults of the people around about. I told them of the hand of my God,
&c. — That is, he informed them how favourable God had made the king to him,
and what discourse he had had with him, and what authority and commission he
had received from him. They said, Let us rise up and build — Let us begin and
proceed with vigour, diligence, and resolution, as those that are determined to go
through with the work. They strengthened their hands — Their own and one
another’s.
WHEDO , "PREPARATIO S TO BUILD, ehemiah 2:17-18.
17. Ye see the distress — The same word is rendered affliction in ehemiah 1:3.
ehemiah had now seen with his own eyes that the report was true which informed
him in Shushan of the desolation of Jerusalem. The distress to which the Jews were
subjected by inability to rebuild their city, so long desolate, could be regarded by
them in no other light than as a reproach.
PETT, " ehemiah 2:17
‘Then I said to them, “You see the evil situation that we are in, how Jerusalem lies
waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come, and let us build up the wall of
Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.”
But now, having satisfactorily concluded his survey he called them all together and
pointed out the precarious and reproachful situation that they were in without walls

111. or gates. It was dangerous and an embarrassment. Then he called on them to work
with him in building the walls of Jerusalem so that they might once more be a proud
independent city, without the reproach that came from them not being able to
rebuild the walls. o longer need they be trodden down by their local enemies.
PULPIT, "Then said I unto them. Ewald boldly assumes that this happened the next
day; but there is nothing to show that it was so soon. The original contains, no note
of time—not even the word "then." ehemiah simply says, "And I said to them."
The distress. Or "affliction," as the word is translated in ehemiah 1:3. o special
suffering seems to be intended, beyond that of lying open to attack, and being a
"reproach" in the sight of the heathen. Lieth waste. On this hyperbole see the
comment upon ehemiah 1:3.
18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my
God on me and what the king had said to me.
They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they
began this good work.
BAR ES, "The king’s words - These have not been given; but the royal permission
to restore the walls is implied in Neh_2:5-6.
CLARKE, "Then I told them - He opened to them his design and his commission.
GILL, "Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me.....
Of the kind providence of God in exalting him in the court of the king of Persia, in giving
him an opportunity of laying the sad case of Jerusalem before him, and in inclining his
heart to show favour to him, and grant his request:
as also the king's words that he had spoken to me; what passed between them on
this subject, the commission he gave him, and the letters he sent by him to his governors
on this side the river:

112. and they said, let us rise up and build; encouraged by this account of things, they
proposed to set about the work immediately:
so they strengthened their hands for this good work; animated and encouraged
one another to proceed to it at once with cheerfulness, and to go on in it with spirit and
resolution.
K&D, "To gain the favourable regard of the assembly for his design, he informs them
how God had so far prospered his undertaking: I told them of the hand of my God, that
it = that the hand my God had graciously provided for me, i.e., that God had so
graciously arranged my journey to Jerusalem; and the king's words that he had spoken
to me, sc. with respect to the building of the wall, of which we are told Neh_2:8 only
thus much, that the king gave orders to the keeper of the royal forest to give him wood
for building. Encouraged by this information, the assembly exclaimed, “Let us arise and
build;” and “they strengthened their hands for good,” i.e., they vigorously set about the
good work.
COFFMA , ""And I told them ..." ( ehemiah 2:18). Having carefully laid his
plans, and being then ready to act, ehemiah explained to the people his full power
and permission of the king to rebuild the wall and fortify the city. The response of
the people was spontaneous and jubilant, "Let us rise up and build," they said.
Sanballat and Tobiah responded to the situation with scornful laughter, taunting
and spiteful remarks, and accusations of rebellion against the king. ehemiah had
not told them of his full authority and power to rebuild and fortify Jerusalem.
However ehemiah did not tell them, even then, that he was acting with the king's
full support and permission, saying rather that, "The God of heaven, he will
prosper us." We may well suppose that Sanballat and Tobiah at once dispatched
messengers to Artaxerxes; and we may only imagine their consternation and disgust
when they got the bad news from the king himself.
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good
upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us
rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for [this] good [work].
Ver. 18. Then I told them of the hand of my God] i.e., of his gracious providence in
prospering me in all.
As also the king’s words] Which were likewise very gracious and comfortable. ow
he that hath both God and the king on his side, what would he have more?
And they said, Let us rise up and build] So forcible are right words, delivered in a
mild and moderate manner, as here. Let us rise, say they. Let us linger no longer,
but speedily fall to labour; and recover that with our diligence that our fathers lost
by their disobedience.

113. So they strengthened their hands for this good work] They took courage, and went
an end with it. So much good may one man of place, power, and zeal do for the
Church, by stirring up to love and good works. It is said of the precious stone
Pyrites, that it puts not forth its fiery power till well rubbed; and then it is so hot
that it burneth one’s fingers.
WHEDO , "18. The king’s words — ehemiah informed them, doubtless, not only
of what the king had spoken to him, but also of the letters of authority which he held
from the king.
They strengthened their hands — Encouraged each other, and set vigorously about
the work.
For this good work — Literally, for good. Vatablus explains it, on account of the
favour of God and of the king. But the words seem better taken in the more general
sense which the literal rendering gives; they encouraged one another for good, not
for evil; they set about the work with a good will.
PETT, " ehemiah 2:18
‘And I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me, as also of the
king’s words that he had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.”
So they strengthened their hands for the good work.’
He then informed them how clearly God had been at work in making his appeal to
the king of Persia successful, and what the king had said to him. This put a new
light on things and strengthened their resolve with the result that they were all in
agreement. ‘Let us rise up and build’, they all declared. And in view of this they
prepared themselves and nerved themselves for the huge task ahead.
That the divisions which later appear, such as ehemiah’s conflicts with Eliashib
the High Priest, were not yet apparent, is clear. And it is what we would expect.
ehemiah was an unknown quantity and all that was in mind at the time was the
rebuilding of the wall, which almost all saw as a good thing. Thus disparate groups
were getting together with a will in order to see the task accomplished.
PULPIT, " ehemiah 2:18
Then I told them of the hand of my God. ehemiah sketched the history of his past
life, and showed how God's providence had always shielded him and supported him.
This, however, would scarcely have had any great effect had he not been able to
appeal further to the king's words that he had spoken. These words clearly
contained permission to rebuild the wall, and took away the danger of their so doing
being regarded as an act of rebellion by the Persians. What others might think was

114. not of very much account. And they said, Let us rise up and build. ehemiah's
address had all the effect he hoped for from it. He was anxious to carry the nation
with him, and induce them, one and. all, to engage heartily in the work, which must
be accomplished, if it was to be accomplished at all, by something like a burst of
enthusiasm. Such a burst he evokes, and its result is seen in the next chapter. Almost
the whole people came forward, and set to work with zeal So they strengthened their
hands for this good work. The original is briefer, and more emphatic—"And they
strengthened their hands for good." They embraced the good cause, took the good
part, set themselves to work heartily on the right side.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the
Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard
about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is
this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you
rebelling against the king?”
BAR ES, "Geshem the Arabian - The discovery that Sargon populated Samaria in
part with an Arab colony explains why Arabs should have opposed the fortification of
Jerusalem.
CLARKE, "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 ordinance.
GILL, "But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the
Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian,.... This third man might be both an Arabian
by birth, and governor of some part of Arabia near Judea:
heard it; of their beginning to build:
they laughed us to scorn, and despised us; as very silly people, that undertook

115. what they could never perform:
and said; adding threatenings to their scoffs:
what is this thing that ye do? do ye know what ye are about? have ye any authority to
do it? it is unlawful, you will certainly suffer for it:
will ye rebel against the king? the king of Persia; it will be deemed rebellion and
treason, and you will be taken up and treated as rebels and traitors; take care what you
do, be it at your peril if you proceed.
HE RY 19-20, " By those that wished ill to the Jews. Those whom God and his Israel
blessed they cursed. (1.) When he did but show his face it vexed them, Neh_2:10.
Sanballat and Tobiah, two of the Samaritans, but by birth the former a Moabite, the
latter an Ammonite, when they saw one come armed with a commission from the king to
do service to Israel, were exceedingly grieved that all their little paltry arts to weaken
Israel were thus baffled and frustrated by a fair, and noble, and generous project to
strengthen them. Nothing is a greater vexation to the enemies of good people, who have
misrepresented them to princes as turbulent, and factious, and not fit to live, than to see
them stand right in the opinion of their rulers, their innocency cleared and their
reproach rolled away, and that they are thought not only fit to live, but fit to be trusted.
When they saw a man come in that manner, who professedly sought the welfare of the
children of Israel, it vexed them to the heart. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved. (2.)
When he began to act they set themselves to hinder him, but in vain, Neh_2:19, Neh_
2:20. [1.] See here with what little reason the enemies attempted to discourage him.
They represented the undertaking as a silly thing: They laughed us to scorn and
despised us as foolish builders, that could not finish what we began. They represented
the undertaking also as a wicked thing, no better than treason: Will you rebel against
the king? Because this was the old invidious charge, though now they had a commission
from the king and were taken under his protection, yet still they must be called rebels.
[2.] See also with what good reason the Jews slighted these discouragements. They bore
up themselves with this that they were the servants of the God of heaven, the only true
and living God, that they were acting for him in what they did, and that therefore he
would bear them out and prosper them, though the heathen raged, Psa_2:1. They
considered also that the reason why these enemies did so malign them was because they
had no right in Jerusalem, but envied them their right in it. Thus may the impotent
menaces of the church's enemies be easily despised by the church's friends.
K&D, "When the adversaries of the Jews heard this, they derided their resolution.
Beside Sanballat and Tobiah (comp. Neh_2:10), Geshem the Arabian is also named as
an adversary: so, too, Neh_6:1-2, and Neh_6:6, where Gashmu, the fuller pronunciation
of his name, occurs. He was probably the chief of some Arab race dwelling in South
Palestine, not far from Jerusalem (comp. the Arabians, Neh_6:1). These enemies
ironically exclaimed: What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? The
irony lies in the fact that they did not give the Jews credit for power to build
fortifications, so as to be able to rebel. Comp. Neh_6:6, where Sanballat, in an open
letter to Nehemiah, again reproaches them with rebellion.
ELLICOTT, "(19) Geshem the Arabian.—This name completes the triumvirate of

116. the leaders of the opposition to the mission of ehemiah. They were not independent
chieftains: Tobiah was Sanballat’s servant and counsellor, while Geshem was
probably the leader of an Arabian company mostly in his service. The account of
their contemptuous opposition is given in a few touches, as is the contempt with
which it was met They charged ehemiah with rebellion, as afterwards, in chapter .
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant,
the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard [it], they laughed us to scorn, and
despised us, and said, What [is] this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?
Ver. 19. But when Sanballat the Horonite, &c.] At first these men were sad, but now
mad with malice. Wicked men grow worse and worse, in peius proficiunt, but they
shall proceed no further: for their madness shall appear to all men.
And Geshem the Arabian] Lieutenant of Arabia for the king of Persia. He also joins
himself to the two former to hinder the work in hand. Such opposition met Luther
with, when he began to reform. The pope excommunicated him; the emperor
proscribed him; Henry, king of England, and Lewis, king of Hungary, wrote against
him; but the work went on, nevertheless, because it was of God.
They laughed us to scorn and despised us] As a company of fools, that could never
effect what we attempted. So Erasmus and Sir Thomas More thought to have
mocked the Lutherans out of their religion, otum est Erasmi dicterium, Qualem a
se decimum Capito fore sperat? &c. This the Scripture calleth cruel mocking,
Hebrews 11:36; and ranks it with bloody persecution. Indeed, the favourablest
persecution, saith one, of any good cause is the lash of lewd tongues; whether by
bitter taunts or scurrilous invectives; which it is as impossible to avoid as necessary
to condemn, &c. Bravely condemn, saith another worthy, all contumelies and
contempts for thy conscience; taking them as crowns and confirmations of thy
conformity to Christ.
And said, What is this thing that ye do?] Scoffingly they said it; like as Pilate said to
our Saviour, What is truth? Oh how easy is it to wag a wicked tongue! ihil tam
volucre quam maledictum, nihil facilius emittitur (Cicero). One while they charge
this people with folly; another while with treachery. If to accuse a man only were
sufficient to make him guilty, none should be innocent.
Will ye rebel against the king?] This was ever, saith Lipsius, Unicum crimen eorum,
qui crimine vacabant, the only and ordinary charge laid upon the most innocent.
Elias is a troubler, Jeremiah a traitor, Paul a pest, Luther a trumpet of rebellion, all
the orthodox antimagistratical. To colour the massacre of Paris, and to accuse it to
the world, there was coin stamped in the forepart, whereof (together with the king’s
picture) was this inscription: Virtus in Rebelles, Valour against the rebels; and on

117. the other side, Pietas excitavit iustitiam, Piety hath excited justice.
BE SO , " ehemiah 2:19-20. When Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, &c. — These
three seem to have been chief men among the Samaritans, and perhaps were
invested with some offices or authority by the king of Persia. You have no portion
nor right — Do not trouble yourselves about this matter, who have no possession
among us, no authority over us, nor interest in our church or state; nor memorial in
Jerusalem — o testimony or monument either of your relation to us by birth or
religion, or of your kindness to us or to this place, but you are aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel: therefore mind your own business, and do not meddle with
ours.
WHEDO , "SCOR OF THE SAMARITA S, ehemiah 2:19-20.
19. Sanballat… Tobiah — See on ehemiah 2:10.
Geshem the Arabian — Written Gashum in ehemiah 6:6. Whether he was
associated with Sanballat and Tobiah in the government at Samaria, or represented
some Arab tribe in another quarter, is uncertain; but in either case he was in league
with the Samaritans against the Jews, and most malignant was his enmity to the
latter. Compare his vile slander, ehemiah 6:6. The Arabians of the desert south of
Palestine would naturally oppose the re-establishment of the kingdom of Jerusalem,
for it might oppose a barrier to their predatory invasions of that section of the
country.
Will ye rebel — The building of the walls was construed into a design to fortify
themselves, and then revolt and become an independent state.
PARKER, ""When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite,
and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn and despised us" (
ehemiah 2:19).
ehemiah and a handful of men, come to rebuild Jerusalem! and Sanballat nudged
Tobiah, and Tobiah nodded to Geshem, and the three drank wine together, and
laughed uproariously and with derisive accent, because the instrument was so little
adapted to the end that was proposed to be accomplished. "Why do the heathen
rage and the people imagine a vain thing?"—"It pleased God by the foolishness of
preaching to save them that believe.... The foolishness of God is wiser than men....
God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath
chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty... and
things that are not, to bring to nought things that are." The instrument which God
has chosen is evidently out of all proportion to the end he seeks to accomplish. He
will give to his Son the heathen for an inheritance and the uttermost parts of the
earth for a possession; and the men going out in twos and threes, with cheap Bibles
under their arms, and with the Cross to talk about—with this instrumentality they
are going to convert the world! And to-day Sanballat has had his laugh, and Tobiah
his rude merriment, and Geshem has declared that he never heard of anything so

118. unreasonable—and from a human point of view they are quite right. But "if God be
for us, who can be against us?"—"God is our refuge and strength, a very present
help in trouble"—"It is God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth?" It is God
who says, "Go ye into all the world and rebuild the waste places, and call the
wanderers home, and tell the story of the Cross;" and he who sent us has said, "For
as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but
watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the
sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my
mouth: for it shall not return unto me void." If this be a merely human
arrangement, nothing so preposterous was ever conceived in the world, but because
of the very preposterousness of the conception from an earthly and temporal point
of view, is our faith in the divinity of its inspiration, and in the perfectness of its
ultimate success.
What is true of great public movements—building city walls, restoring city gates,
converting heathen nations—is also true of the building of character. To men of
shattered character we say, Arise and build. To men all broken down, utterly
dismantled and distressed, we say, Arise and build. Have you a withered hand? Put
it out. But you cannot, except at God"s bidding: if he had not bid thee put it out,
thou couldst not, but his bidding, his telling thee to put it out is the first pledge that
he means to make thee a whole man. God"s promises are God"s fulfilment.
PETT, "Opposition From Local Leaders In High Places ( ehemiah 2:19-20).
The news that they were to commence building inevitably leaked out, for there were
many collaborationists in Jerusalem who had opted to compromise with their
neighbours and would gladly therefore win favour by passing on the information.
The result was that it reached the ears of Sanballat the Horonite, who was probably
even at that time either the acting Governor, or the duly appointed Governor, of the
District of Samaria, a District which had formerly included Judah. (He was
certainly the duly appointed Governor later as we know from the Elephantine
papyri).
He was powerful enough himself, but he also held counsel with his Deputy, Tobiah
the servant, the Ammonite, and with Geshem the Arabian. Geshem was an
important ruler over combined tribes of Arabians to the east and south of Judah,
which at this time had good relations with the Persian Empire. His name has been
found as ‘King of Qedar’ on a silver vessel dedicated by his son Qainu to the
goddess Han-’Ilat discovered in Lower Egypt (the inscription reads, ‘what Qainu,
son of Geshem, king of Qedar, brought (as an offering) to Han-’Ilat’). Geshem may
also well have been the one referred to as ‘the King of Qedar’ in a Lihyanite
inscription. He was thus a formidable opponent. He was probably the Gashmu
mentioned in ehemiah 6:6. His interest in opposing the building of the walls of
Jerusalem may well have been his fear that Jerusalem would become a trading
centre which would rival his own trading activities. Trading rights were very
carefully guarded. And besides, the fortifying of Jerusalem could only add another
political power in the area, especially in view of the presence of ehemiah, a king’s

119. favourite. A weak Judah was favoured by all three.
otice the deliberate way in which ehemiah demonstrates how the opposition to
what he had come to do was gradually increasing. In ehemiah 2:10 Sanballat and
Tobiah had been grieved at the thought of his arrival to assist the Jews, now they
were accumulating friends and actually mocking what he was seeking to achieve
and suggesting that it was treason. (In ehemiah 4:1-3 we will learn of their
growing anger at what is being achieved, and in ehemiah 4:7-8 they will actually
plan violence against the builders).
ehemiah 2:19
‘But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and
Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said,
“What is this thing that you do? Will you rebel against the king?”
Thus when Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem learned of the plans they jeered at them,
not believing that they could achieve them. But they also took steps to ensure that
the men of Judah knew that in their view this was nothing less than rebellion
against the king of Persia by asking, ‘Will you rebel against the king?’. As the
rebuilding of the walls was not seen as a political activity in the eyes of the King of
Persia, but rather as a safeguarding of the sepulchres of the ancestors of his
favourite, ehemiah, they may well not have been warned that what was afoot had
the backing of the king. They had previously prevented the rebuilding of the walls
by warning the king of the danger of fortifying Jerusalem (Ezra 4:11-23), and they
probably hoped that this reminder would bring the rebuilding to a halt. o one
would wish to be thought of as rebelling against the king. But they had not reckoned
on the influence that ehemiah knew that he had with the king, nor on his
confidence as one of the great men of Persia. or did they realise the depth of his
faith in God. It is this last which is brought out in is reply.
PULPIT, "Geshem the Arabian, elsewhere called Gashmu ( ehemiah 6:6), may
have been an independent sheikh possessing authority in Idumea, or in the desert
country adjoining upon Ammon; but it seems quite as likely that he was merely the
head of a body of Arab troops maintained by Sanballat at Samaria ( ehemiah 4:7).
Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem are united so closely, and act so much together
( ehemiah 4:1-7; ehemiah 6:1, ehemiah 6:2, ehemiah 6:6, ehemiah 6:12,
ehemiah 6:14), that it is difficult to suppose them to be three chieftains residing on
three sides of Judaea, the north, the east, and the south, merely holding diplomatic
intercourse with each other, which is the ordinary idea. ote that Tobiah is present
with Sanballat in Samaria on one occasion ( ehemiah 4:3), and that Geshem and
Sanballat propose a joint interview with ehemiah on another ( ehemiah 6:2).
They laughed us to scorn, and said. Either by messengers, like Sennacherib (2 Kings
18:17-35), or by a formal written communication, as Ewald supposes. Will ye rebel?
Compare ehemiah 6:6; and see also Ezra 4:12-16. Had Artaxerxes not granted
permission, ehemiah's proceedings might naturally have borne this interpretation.

120. 20 I answered them by saying, “The God of
heaven will give us success. We his servants will
start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share
in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”
CLARKE, "Ye have no portion, nor right - To be a citizen of Jerusalem was a
high honor; 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, Ezr_4:3.
GILL, "Then answered I them, and said unto them,.... With much spirit and
boldness, not at all intimidated by their scoffs or threats:
the God of heaven, he will prosper us; whom we serve, and under whose
protection we are, who will supply us with everything we want, and succeed this
undertaking, in whose name we engage in it, and on whom we depend, and we care not
what man can do to us:
therefore we his servants will arise and build; in spite of all opposition,
difficulties, and discouragements:
but you have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem; no part of
the city belonged to them; they had no jurisdiction there; they had no name there, nor
their ancestors, in times past; nor had they done anything to perpetuate their memory in
it: in short, they had nothing to do with them, neither in religious nor in civil things; and
it was best for them to mind their own affairs where they presided, and not trouble
themselves about th
K&D, "Neh_2:20
Nehemiah replied with impressive gravity: “The God of heaven, He will prosper us,
and we His servants will arise and build; but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial
in Jerusalem.” ‫ה‬ ָ‫ק‬ ָ‫ד‬ ְ‫צ‬ like 2Sa_19:29. ‫ּון‬‫ר‬ ָⅴִ‫,ז‬ memorial; only members of the congregation,
who may hope to live in their descendants in Jerusalem, can be said to have a memorial
there.

121. ELLICOTT, "(20) He will prosper us.—The reply is a defiance in the name of the
God of heaven. The closing words imply that, as in the days of Zerubbabel, the
Samaritan enemies desired really to have their share in the undertaking. ehemiah
makes Zerubbabel’s answer, but strengthens it; they had nothing in common with
Jerusalem, not even a place in its memorials, save one of shame.
TRAPP, " ehemiah 2:20 Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of
heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye
have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
Ver. 20. Then answered I them, and said unto them] He would not honour them so
far as to tell them of the king’s licence; but shapes them a sharp answer, and shakes
them up as having nothing there to do. This was true Christian courage; this was
right, and much better than railing for railing; for that were but lutum lute purgare,
to wash off one dirt with another.
The God of heaven] Who does whatsoever he pleases in heaven and earth; who
looks and laughs at your malice.
He will prosper us] He will break his heavens, and come down amongst us, and give
good success. Oh the force of a heroic faith! Though Sense says, It will not be,
Reason, it cannot be; yet Faith gets above and says, It shall be; God will prosper us.
It eats its way through the alps of whatsoever difficulties.
But ye have no portion] othing to do here, neither ought you to interpose in aliena
republica, in a foreign land, as busy braggers and quarrellers; meddle where you
have command.
or right] sc. Of interest or any good desert.
or memorial] Or enrolment there, as free denizens; therefore we neither accept
you as friends nor fear you as enemies, &c.
PETT, " ehemiah 2:20
‘Then I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven, he will prosper us.
Therefore we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, nor right,
nor cult-participation rights, in Jerusalem.”
In his reply ehemiah does not refer to the fact that he had the king’s permission.
He knew that they were already aware of that. Rather he cites the fact that ‘the God

122. Of Heaven’ was on the side of His people. It was He Who would prosper them in the
task ahead. On those grounds therefore they would press ahead. As servants of the
God of Heaven they would arise and build, whilst their adversaries were to
recognise that Jerusalem was none of their business. They had no portion there. It
was now a separate district. They had no political rights there. It belonged to Judah.
They had no right to participation in the cult there. Jerusalem was for YHWH, and
for His faithful people.
PULPIT, "Then answered I. It is remarkable that ehemiah takes no notice of the
serious charge brought against him, does not say that he had the king's permission,
but rather leaves the "adversaries" to suppose that he had not. Perhaps he thought
that to reveal the truth would drive them to some desperate attempt, and therefore
suppressed it. The God of heaven, he will prosper us. Instead of a human, ehemiah
claims a Divine sanction for his proceedings. He and his brethren will build as
servants of the God of heaven. Compare the answer made to Tatnai in Zerubbabel's
time—"We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house
that was builded these many years ago" (Ezra 5:11). Ye have no portion, nor right,
nor memorial, in Jerusalem. As the claim of the Samaritans to interfere in the
affairs of the Jews had been disallowed when they came with an offer of aid (Ezra
4:2, Ezra 4:3), so now, when their interference is hostile in character, it is still more
fiercely and indignantly rejected. They are told that they have no part in Jerusalem,
no right, not even so much as a place in the recollections of the inhabitants. Their
interference is officious, impertinent—what have they to do with ehemiah, or the
Israelites, or Jerusalem? Let them be content to manage the affairs of their own
idolatrous community, and not trouble the worshippers of the true God. ehemiah
avoids opposition by concealment as long as he can; but when opposition
nevertheless appears, he meets it with defiance.
SIMEO , "THE ZEAL OF EHEMIAH
ehemiah 2:20. The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants
will arise and build.
WHOEVER engages diligently in the work of God, must expect trials: as it is said in
the apocryphal Book of Ecclesiasticus, “My son, if thou come to serve the Lord,
prepare thy soul for temptations [ ote: Ecclesiastes 2:1.].” The ungodly will deride
our efforts, and put the most unfavourable construction upon them, that the most
ingenious malice can invent. The pious labours of ehemiah to rebuild the walls of
Jerusalem, though sanctioned by the monarch himself, were regarded by his
enemies as indications of folly, and as preparatives for rebellion [ ote: ver. 19.]. But
ehemiah, as David had done before him, “encouraged himself in the Lord his God
[ ote: 1 Samuel 30:6.].”
It is my intention,
I. To set before you the graces he exercised—

123. In the words which we have just read, we behold,
1. His confidence—
[I am not aware that ehemiah received from God any particular commission to
engage in the work he had undertaken, or any direct promise of success: yet did he
assure himself that God would prosper him. And this displayed a proper confidence
in God. For he felt a consciousness, that in all that he had undertaken, he was
seeking no interest of his own, but simply the honour of his God. In any matter that
was purely personal, he would not have been justified in indulging so confident an
expectation: but in a work like that in which he was engaged, and to the prosecution
of which he was impelled by a high principle of love to God, he could have no doubt
but that he should receive from heaven such a measure of support as should bring
his labours to a happy issue. The desire to embark in it had been stirred up in him
by the Spirit of God: he trusted, therefore, that the blessing of God would
accompany his endeavours.
This confidence, though right to be indulged, by no means warrants us to limit God
as to the time, or manner, or measure of the success which he shall vouchsafe unto
us. These things must be left to his all-wise disposal: for he alone knows what will
tend most to the advancement of his own glory. But so far as the attainment of our
objects will bring glory to him, we may assure ourselves, that we shall never be
suffered to labour for him in vain.]
2. His zeal—
[Great were the difficulties which he had to encounter. For an hundred years since
the return of the Jews from Babylon, had the walls of Jerusalem continued in a most
dilapidated state, and all the gates had been destroyed by fire. o attempt had yet
been made even to remove the rubbish [ ote: ver. 13, 14.]. or were the princes
among the people at all disposed to cooperate with him in an effort to repair the
ruins: they, alas! “would not put their neck to the work [ ote: ehemiah 3:5.].” His
brethren of Judah, also, who should have been foremost in the work, discouraged it,
by representing the task as hopeless and impracticable [ ote: ehemiah 4:10.]. His
enemies at the same time exerted themselves to defeat his enterprise, by pouring
contempt upon it, and conspiring, by all possible means, to counteract it [ ote:
ehemiah 4:8.]. But ehemiah was determined to execute the purpose which he had
conceived: and for that end set all hands to work, every one in his own proper
district, that, by a great and simultaneous effort, the desired object might be
attained. And whereas he was menaced by armed bands who threatened to destroy
him, he armed the labourers, each with his sword or spear, that they might be ready
at an instant to repel any assault that might be made upon them; so that, as it were,
they held the sword in one hand, and carried on the work with the other [ ote:
ehemiah 4:16-18.]. This was a conduct worthy of a servant of the Most High God.
In fact, the confidence he expressed, and the determination he formed, had a strict
reference to each other. A servant of God was authorized to maintain the
confidence, and was bound, in dependence on God, to form and execute the

124. determination: “The Lord God, he will prosper us; therefore we, his servants, will
arise and build,” neither regarding difficulties, however great, nor fearing enemies,
however powerful.]
Admiring the virtues of this eminent saint, I proceed,
II. To commend them to your imitation—
Be ye, my Brethren, followers of him,
1. In reference to God’s work in the world at large—
[The world is one great kingdom that belongs to Christ. But far is it from being in a
state worthy of its Great Proprietor! Truly it is, as it were, in ruins; one great and
shapeless mass of desolation, bearing upon the whole face of it the relentless efforts
of the destroyer. And should not we, when informed of its miserable condition, be
filled with grief, as ehemiah for Jerusalem, and implore mercy for it, as he did for
that ruinated city? Should we not improve our influence for its good; and be ready,
by our own personal exertions, to promote to the uttermost its welfare? What, if
they who should take the lead are careless and supine? What, if many of our own
brethren are lukewarm and desponding? What, if our means for helping forward its
concerns are very narrow and contracted? What, if those who are hostile to such an
attempt, exert themselves to intimidate and counteract us? Should we therefore sit
down in listlessness and despair? o: we should encourage ourselves in God, and
put forth all our energies in his service. In the incredibly short space of fifty-two
days, ehemiah, in the midst of all his discouragements, accomplished his work: for,
we are told, “the people had a mind to work [ ote: ehemiah 4:6.].” And who shall
say what Christians might effect, if they were but penetrated with becoming zeal,
and would combine their efforts in a judicious way. From the state both of the
Jewish and Gentile world, any one would have supposed it impossible for a few
devout and pious persons to effect any thing in so short a space of time as twenty or
thirty years: yet, behold, plans originating with a few, who contemplated nothing
but a little partial benefit, have spread almost over the world itself their beneficial
efficacy; insomuch that what was at first but as a cloud, the size of a man’s hand,
has already overspread the heavens, and descended in fertilizing showers on every
quarter of the globe. Let us take courage from what we have seen, and press
forward in the work that is yet before us; not contemplating difficulties, but
confiding in our God, and going on in his strength to fulfil his holy and blessed will.]
2. In reference to God’s work in our own souls—
[These, too, are in a fearfully dilapidated state; so that one who looks at an arm of
flesh only would be ready to despair. And need I say what discouragements are put
in the way of those who would serve their God? Amidst princes that are supine,
friends that are lukewarm, and spectators that are arrayed in hostility against us, it
requires much faith and patience to carry us forward in so arduous an undertaking.
But we should address ourselves to the work, and combine all our energies to repair

125. the breaches which sin has made upon our souls. We should put on, too, the whole
armour of God, and fight the good fight of faith. We should suffer neither men nor
devils to deter us from our work, but should proceed with diligence till the whole
work of God is wrought within us. If we would proceed with the zeal which such a
cause should inspire, what might we not effect, perhaps in the space of a few days or
weeks? Surely we should make our profiting to appear, to the honour of God, and to
the confusion of all our enemies. Doubtless those who united not with ehemiah
would pour contempt upon his efforts, and deride him as a weak or wicked
enthusiast. But is there a man in the universe that does not applaud him now? Thus
must you expect to be derided now: but the day is coming, when God himself will
applaud you before the assembled universe, and they who now condemn you will
bitterly regret that they did not follow your steps.]
LA GE OTES, " ehemiah 2:20. Ye have no portion nor right nor memorial in
Jerusalem.—This was ehemiah’s firm protest against the slightest interference on
the part of these heathen chiefs. He will not acknowledge their right even to
complain, and refuses to answer their false charge implied in their question. With
such enemies there should be a clear understanding from the first. One of the strong
points of ehemiah’s character was his uncompromising and prompt method in all
things.
LA GE, "HISTORICAL A D ETHICAL
1. Like Joseph and Daniel, ehemiah carried into a high office near the throne of an
Oriental despot the vigor of a holy life. It did not make him a recluse, nor yet a sad-
faced servant of the king. His sad visage at this time was a thing remarkable. He had
been an acceptable officer of the court, and the king’s treatment of his request
shows the high favor in which he stood. True religion does not incapacitate one from
office, but furnishes the man with a power to please, while it preserves him from the
temptations of rank.
2. o doubt there had been from the foundation of the Persian empire a sincere
sympathy on the part of the Persians with the Jews. The monotheism of the Jews
gained them favor with the Persian throne, and was, doubtless, the chief reason of
Cyrus’s edict concerning their return to Jerusalem. By the twentieth year of
Artaxerxes this sympathy had probably diminished (as under Magian influences it
had been previously hindered), and yet the king’s readiness to send an escort with
ehemiah ( ehemiah 4:23), and to make his way easy, may be attributed in part to
this traditional regard for the Jewish hostility to polytheism.

126. 3. ehemiah’s secresy was a part of his executive ability. Although he had the king’s
endorsement, he knew the value of keeping his own counsel, for there were jealous
foes around the Jews ready to throw hindrances in his way. Moreover these had
allies among the Jews themselves—men high in rank and position—and the distance
was so great from the Persian capital that ehemiah’s firman needed great wisdom
on his part to make it efficient.
4. The encouragement which ehemiah held out to his countrymen to rebuild the
walls was not simply the king’s willingness, but the guiding hand of God. He saw
behind the throne of Persia the power of Israel’s Jehovah, and sought to strengthen
his brethren by the same view. Piety teaches the heart to see second causes as only
indicators of the Divine will and action, and law, whether it be from man’s mouth or
in the forces of external nature, is rightly referred to an overruling Providence that
guides and guards the people of God. It was this consideration that formed
ehemiah’s answer to Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem.
HOMILETICAL A D PRACTICAL
ehemiah 2:1-9. Love towards suffering Jerusalem: 1) Its sorrow ( ehemiah 2:1-2),
in spite of personal prosperity, and even in the midst of the enjoyments of the royal
banquet2) Its confession ( ehemiah 2:2-3); it is not ashamed of belonging to the
congregation of the Lord; neither is it ashamed of its poor brethren, but declares
itself candidly as love, and indeed in spite of the danger of displeasing in a very
hazardous way3) Its petition ( ehemiah 2:4-5): it begs for help, first indeed of God
the Lord, and then also of men, but particularly for the permission to give its own
aid, and that too with self-denial4) Its joy ( ehemiah 2:6; ehemiah 2:9): its prayer
is not only granted, but it receives almost more than it could hope for. Brentius:
Hæc enim est vera amicitia, quæ in afflictionibus perdurat. Exemplum imitandum:
si quid petendum est ab homine, primum a Deo petamus, qui hominis cor nobis
amicum reddere potest.
Starke: To speak to princes of weighty matters demands great precaution. 2 Samuel
14:2. O Soul, if a heathen lord takes a servant’s griefs so tenderly to heart, how
should not the Father of mercy allow thy griefs to penetrate His heart! Jeremiah
31:20; Jeremiah 31:25. The sighs of the godly are powerful petitions before God.
Psalm 12:6. One should not frighten timid supplicants still more, but speedily
encourage their petition by generous bounty. Matthew 5:32; Romans 12:8. Princes
and lords should willingly listen to the complaints of their subjects, and grant as
much as possible. 2 Samuel 3:16. God gives according to His great goodness more
than we can hope or ask for. Ephesians 3:20; 1 Kings 3:13.
The sorrow for suffering Jerusalem: 1) In spite of our own prosperity; 2) On
account of the sad position of the congregation; 3) In presence of those who are able
to help, and must be gained over.—The self-denial of a patriot: 1) He grieves in spite
of his own prosperity, for the misery of his country; 2) He risks his position by a
frank confession; 3) He wishes to relinquish his position, in order to aid his
fatherland.

127. Starke: It is a token of a godless spirit when one does not reverence his fatherland;
but it is villainy when one desires to injure it. 2 Maccabees 5:8.
ehemiah 2:10. The conduct of the worldly-minded towards the congregation of the
Lord: 1) Their latitudinarianism: Sanballat and Tobiah maintained friendship with
the Jerusalemites. ehemiah 6:10; ehemiah 6:17; ehemiah 13:4-9; ehemiah
13:28. 2) Their narrowness: they cannot endure that any one should seek to advance
the welfare of the congregation of the Lord, as such.
Venerable Bede: otanda animarum rerumque diversitas, quia supra quidem dicti
sunt hi, qui remanserunt de captivitate in Juda, in afflictione magna et opprobrio
fuisse; sed et ehemiam longum cum fletu et precibus duxisse jejunium, eo quod
muros. Hierusalem dissipatos, et portæ illius essent igne combustæ, et nunc versa
vice hostes ejusdem sanctæ civitatis contristati et in afflictione sunt magna
constituti, eo quod ædificia illius restauranda. Unde colligendum, etiam in hac vita
sententiam domini posse compleri, qui cum dixissit: Amen, amen, dico vobis, quia
plorabitis et flebitis vos, mundus autem gaudebit, vos autem contristabimini,
continuo subjecit: sed tristitia vestra vertetur in gaudium.
ehemiah 2:11-18. Bright zeal in the concerns of God: 1) It foresees ( ehemiah
2:11-12) and hastens at times because dangers threaten; 2) It looks around (
ehemiah 2:13-15) to fully estimate the difficulty of the work to be performed; 3) it
looks, and points, on high ( ehemiah 2:17-18), to God’s help, to the hand of God,
which is extended in favor above it, and therefore succeeds with those whose help is
necessary.
Venerable Bede: Diversa urbis destructæ loca lustrandro pervagatur.…. Sic et
doctorum est spiritualium, sæpius nocte surgere ac solerte indagine statum sanctæ
ecclesiæ quiescentibus ceteris inspicere, ut vigilanter inquirant, qualiter ea, quæ
vitiorum bellis. … dejecta sunt, castigando emendent et erigant.
Starke: When one has suitable means at hand for avoiding the danger, he must not
despise them. Joshua 2:15; 2 Corinthians 11:33. When something is granted to us by
the authorities through favor, we must ascribe it to God. When one will perform
anything great, he must keep it secret. 1 Samuel 14:1. When the Church sleeps, God
awakens pious people, who work and watch for its welfare. There is a time for
speaking and a time for silence. Well begun is half gained.
ehemiah 2:19-20. In our work for the kingdom of God what position must we take
towards the objections of the world? 1) We must be prepared for scorn, contempt,
and anxiety. The worldly-minded consider the aim which we truly have as foolish,
as it is too elevated for them; they therefore attribute to us another aim, which is
foreign to us; and in this way they give a most suspicious look to our activity2) We
must not, however, lay any importance upon this; that which they consider foolish is
our highest task, that we should keep ourselves unspotted from the world, and
therefore concede to them, in so far as they are the world, no part or right in our

128. intercourse.
ehemiah 2:17-20. The admonition to build up the kingdom of God1) It complains:
you see the distress, etc., for it always finds again the reason that it may pass beyond
to the demand: come, let us build, resting upon the former proofs of the Lord, who
also has known how to make the kings of the earth serviceable to His ends2) It
excites the ridicule and the suspicions of the world, but overcomes them through
reference to the God of heaven, who causes His people to succeed, but never allows
the evil to prevail.—Venerable Bede: Doctores sancti, immo omnes, qui zelo Dei
fervent, in afflictione sunt maxima, quamdiu Hierusalem, hoc Esther, visionem
pacis, quam nobis Dominus reliquit et commendavit, per bella dissensionum cernunt
esse desertam, et portas virtutum, quas juxta Esaiam laudatio occupare debuerat,
prævalentibus inferorum portis dejectas atque opprobrio habitas contuentur.—
Starke: It is a good sign when envious people combat a work; for one can conclude
from that that it provokes the devil, and that makes us the more joyful. Genesis
37:4; 1 Samuel 17:28. The devil is never idle: therefore when he can undertake
nothing actively against the people of God, he makes use of poisonous tongues; but
whoever fears God has a secure fortress. Sirach 14:26, 31. One should be firm in his
confidence in God, and allow nothing to be abstracted from it.
Footnotes:
F #1 - The Sanballat of Josephus is evidently a very different person, living a
century later. He may have been a descendant of this one, inheriting his office and
his hostile tactics toward the Jews.
F #2 - It is generally thought that ehemiah made the full circuit of the walls; but,
although the language might allow such an interpretation, the want of any hint of
another way back (no mention of the Fish-gate or Old-gate or any other prominent
land-mark on the north and west side) seems to force us to take shuv in the sense of
going back in the way he went out.