Table of Contents
Nehemiah 2
Nehemiah 2
1 And it came to pass in the month Nisan, 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. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.
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,
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?
4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
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.
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.
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;
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.
9 Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.
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.
11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
Notes
Cross Reference
Concordance
Commentary
Rashi
Verse 1
<html><b>of…Artaxerxes</b> That was Darius, and because of his kingship he was called this. <b>wine before him</b> They brought wine before the king in the court. <b>and I carried the wine</b> And I carried the cup of wine and gave it to the king, and so is the custom, that the one who brings wine into the king’s court does not carry it and give it to the king, but the chief butler receives it from the hand of the one who brings it, and carries it and gives it to the king. <b>And I had never been sad in his presence</b> And I was not accustomed to being sad in his presence, to have a sad face, but to be happy and cheerful, but now I was sad with a sad face.</html>
Verse 2
<html><b>You are not ill</b> Is it not so that you are not ill? <b>This is nothing</b> This incident is only wickedness of heart, that you have in your heart to put me to death by poisoning this cup. <b>And I became very frightened</b> And I became very frightened about this, lest the king accuse me falsely.</html>
Verse 3
<html><b>Why should my countenance not be sad</b> [as translated,] why should my countenance not be sad. <b>when the city</b> Jerusalem, which is the place of the graves of my forefathers, is laid waste.</html>
Verse 4
<html><b>For what do you make request</b> What do you request of me and I shall do it for you. <b>And I prayed</b> And I said before the king in my prayer, “May it be Your will, O God of the heavens, that You fulfill my petition and my request.”</html>
Verse 5
<html><b>that you send me</b> that you grant me permission to ascend to Jerusalem and build it.</html>
Verse 6
<html><b>And the king said to me</b> At the time the king spoke to me, his wife, the queen, was sitting beside him. <b>and the queen</b> Heb. וְהַשֵּׁגָל, his wife the queen, as it is stated (Dan. 5:2): “…his queen (שֵּׁגְלָתֵהּ) and his concubine,” for it is customary for Scripture to write “the queen,” next to “the concubine”; his wives and his concubines, like (Song 6:9): “מְלָכוֹת וּפִּילַגְשִּׁים, queens and concubines. “ <b>How long will your trip take</b> When is it your intention to return? <b>and when will you return?</b> When is it your intention to return? <b>and he sent me</b> He gave me permission to go. <b>and I gave him a time</b> I gave him a time of return.</html>
Verse 7
<html><b>may letters be given to me</b> [Let] your scribes [give me letters] by your sanction and your knowledge, sealed with your signet to the governors of the land beyond the river, on the side of the land of Israel. <b>that they escort me through</b> and escort me in peace. <b>until I come</b> to Jerusalem, which is in the province of Judea.</html>
Verse 8
<html><b>And a letter to Asaph</b> and that you send a letter to Asaph. <b>the guardian of the king’s orchard</b> He was appointed over the king’s forests. <b>to make beams</b> This is the intensive conjugation: to make ceilings and beams for the gates of the castles of the Temple Mount, for they had built the Temple as it should be built, but the gates of the walls of the Temple Mount and the wall for the court surrounding the Temple had not yet been built. <b>and for the wall of the city</b> and to make beams for the wall of the city. <b>and for the house to which I shall go</b> and to make a house in which I shall dwell for my needs. <b>and the king gave me</b> all I asked him for. <b>according to the good hand</b> according to the hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, which was good upon me, to cause me to succeed.</html>
Verse 9
<html><b>and I gave them the king’s letters</b> in order that they escort me in peace. <b>officers of the army and horsemen</b> the king sent with me [officers] in my honor, in order that I go in peace.</html>
Verse 10
<html><b>Now Sanballat etc., heard</b> When they heard that I had come to request good for Israel and to build the walls of Jerusalem it displeased them greatly, for they were the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin.</html>
Verse 11
<html><b>and I was there for three days</b> I was in Jerusalem for three days, and at the end of three days, I and a few men with me arose at night, and I did not tell any person what the Holy One, blessed be He, had put into my heart.</html>
Verse 12
<html><b>and there were no animals with me</b> The few men who were with me went by foot and I alone rode on an animal. They did not ride their horses because they wanted to leave the city in secret, without anyone knowing. They went to break and cast down the walls of the city at night and to increase their breaches in order that on the morrow, the people of the city would be eager and agree unanimously with Nehemiah to build the walls of the city. So it appears from the text.</html>
Verse 13
<html><b>And I went out through the Gate of the Valley</b> I went out through that gate at night with the men who were with me toward En Hattannin and the Dung Gate in the wall of the city; and I broke the wall, and the wall was easily cast down and broken because it had been burned with fire. <b>which were breached</b> which are those places that were breached, and they breached them more.</html>
Verse 14
<html><b>And I passed to the Fountain Gate</b> And I wished to pass to those places in the wall of the city and in those breaches, and there was no place in those breaches for riders on animals to pass through because they were so small.</html>
Verse 15
<html><b>And I ascended</b> And I was ascending from one side at night, and I was breaking the wall with the men who were with me. <b>and I returned and came</b> And when I returned, I came by way of the Gate of the Valley.</html>
Verse 16
<html><b>And the prefects</b> who were in the city did not know where I had gone to and what I had done. <b>yet</b> Heb. עַד כֵּן, until now.</html>
Verse 17
<html><b>And I said to them</b> On the morrow I said to them. <b>and we shall no longer be a reproach</b> that our adversaries should not plunder and pillage us.</html>
Verse 18
<html><b>the hand of my God</b> who gave me favor and success before the king. <b>for good</b> They intended everything for good—to build the wall of the city and its towers.</html>
Verse 19
<html><b>and they mocked</b> When our adversaries heard the news of the building of the walls of the city, they mocked us. <b>are…against the king</b> Are you rebelling against the king by building the wall of the city in order to rebel against him?</html>
Verse 20
<html><b>but you have no share</b> What do you have in the building of the wall of this city, for you have no share in it.</html>