Nehemiah being sorrowful in the king’s presence, the reason of it was asked by the king, which he declared, and then took the opportunity to request of the king that he might be sent to Jerusalem to rebuild it, which was granted him, Neh.

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 [[10]]; yet, with other nations, Tisri or…

Wherefore the king said unto me, why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? &c.] 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…

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, Dan.

Then the king said unto me, for what dost thou make request? &c.] 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…

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…

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…

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 provisions, and a guard to protect him.

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 and at the extreme part of it, it seems, there was a city…

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…

When Sanballat the Horonite Who either presided at Horonaim, or sprung from thence, a city of Moab, 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,…

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, .

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…

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 it is…

Then I went on to the pool of the fountain, and to the king’s pool. &c.] 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.

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 valley, and so…

And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did. &c.] 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…

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. 2:3, Neh.

Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me. &c.] 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:…

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,…

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…