Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Nehemiah 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.
8. Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest ] R.V. marg. ‘or park ’. The forest or park from which the timber was to be supplied has been identified by some with the forests of Lebanon, by others with the well-wooded ‘plain’ abounding in olives and sycomores (1Ch 27:28) near the coast. In the present day scholars incline to identify it with ‘Solomon’s Garden’ at Etan or Etam, described by Josephus ( Ant. VIII. 7.3) as richly wooded and well watered ( ) distant about six or seven miles S. from Jerusalem. The ‘pleasure-grounds’ of Solomon may have been handed down as ‘royal domains.’
In a scantily-wooded country like Palestine a well-preserved forest would have constituted a valuable piece of property.
The management of the ‘timber’ was committed to a royal officer, ‘the keeper of the king’s forest’ or ‘park.’ The name Asaph suggests that ‘the keeper’ was a Jew, which would favour the view of the forest being not far from Jerusalem.
‘forest,’ ‘park’ or ‘pleasure-garden.’ The Hebrew word “pards” (Gr. = English ‘paradise’) is found in the O.T. only in Son 4:13; Ecc 2:5. It is said to be of Persian (= Zend pairidaza) origin, signifying an ‘enclosure.’ It seems to have been used especially of ‘the royal parks’ or ‘enclosed hunting-grounds’ of the Persian kings, and in this sense to have been received into Hebrew and Greek literature. It occurs with the meaning of a ‘garden’ in Sir 24:30 ; Sir 40:17 ; Sir 40:27 , Susann. passim. For its technical usage among the Jews for ‘the abode of the blest,’ see, on Luk 23:43, Lightfoot’s Horae Hebraicae.
that he may give me timber ] Nehemiah asks for timber for the purpose of building (1) the castle or citadel of Jerusalem, (2) the walls generally, (3) his own house of residence as governor.
the gates of the palace which appertained to the house ] R.V. the gates of the castle which appertaineth to the house. The word ‘Birah’ rendered ‘castle’ by the R.V. is of foreign, possibly Babylonian origin, and is represented in the Greek by . See note on Neh 1:1.
The building here referred to was destined to play an important part in the later history of Jerusalem. It lay on the north side of the Temple (‘the house’), which it was intended to defend, and with which it communicated. It is not mentioned in Neh 12:39, and therefore probably lay inside the circuit of the wall. A special officer commanded it (Neh 7:2) on account of its great importance.
It was rebuilt by the Asmonean princes ( 1Ma 13:52 ), and again by Herod the Great, who gave it the name of ‘Antonia,’ after his friend and patron Mark Antony. Into this castle St Paul was carried by the Roman soldiers, when they rescued him from the hands of the mob in the Temple precincts (Act 21:37; Act 22:24).
the wall of the city ] The timber would be required especially for the gates and for the towers which commanded the gates.
the house that I shall enter into ] By this is apparently intended Nehemiah’s official residence, where he afterwards so generously entertained, Neh 5:17-18. The old interpretation which explained it to mean the Temple gives no satisfactory meaning to the words ‘that I shall enter into.’ Nehemiah was not a priest; and had no right to enter the Temple (see Neh 6:11).
according to the good hand, &c.] Cf. Neh 2:18; Ezr 7:6; Ezr 8:18-22.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The kings forest – Rather, park. The word used pardes; compare 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.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Neh 2:8
And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon us.
The power of God in the individual Christian
The secret of success is to have God with us, and what we want in our day is not more machinery or new methods of work, but more of the power of God in individual Christians. Nehemiah, in his prolonged prayerfulness, shows us how this power is to be obtained, for it is when we know God in His fulness and have enlightened communion with the Lord, that we are fitted to become workers together with Him. (W. P. Lockhart.)
Gods hand
I. A spirit of dependence. There breathes forth a feeling of insignificance. The speaker feels scarcely able to trust himself.
1. Mans technical skill. Having arrived at so high a standard in design, construction, and art, we are very apt to think very highly of ourselves. We gaze on the railway, the steam-engine, the ocean-steamer, the tunnel under the hills, and the canal through the land, and fancy we can do anything.
2. Mans natural conceit. There is a great tendency to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. Satan employs this tendency to induce man to lift up his hand against God.
II. A spirit of trust. This spirit of reliance will save us from many trials. It will prevent–
1. Anxious care. If we leave our concerns in Gods hand, we shall not be careful and cumbered about many things. It will prevent–
2. Worldly-mindedness of disposition. The spirit that leaves its cares in Gods hand will leave its joys there also.
3. All bitterness of sorrow. (Homilist.)
The recognition of God
He recognised God in all. Not to his favourable circumstances, nor to the opportunity of presenting his petition, nor to the good mood the monarch was in, nor to all of these combined, did he ascribe his success. Secondary causes would not explain the result; it must be traced to its true source–God and God alone must have all the glory. (W. P. Lockhart.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 8. Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest] hapardes of the paradise of the king. This I believe is originally a Persian word; it frequently occurs in Arabic, [Arabic] ferdoos, and in Greek, , 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:-
[Persian]
[Persian]
“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, c.] 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 favoured me, and influenced the king’s heart to do what I desired.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The kings forest; the forest of Libanus, famous for pleasure, and for plenty of choice trees.
Which appertained to the house, to wit, of the kings palace, which was adjoining to the house of God. Or, of the tower or fence belonging to the house of God, to wit, for the gates of the courts of the temple; for though the temple was built, the courts and other buildings belonging to the temple might yet be unfinished.
The house that I shall enter into; wherewith I may build a house in which I may dwell whilst I am there, and which I may dispose of as I see fit.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. according to the good hand of myGod upon meThe piety of Nehemiah appears in everycircumstance. The conception of his patriotic design, the favorabledisposition of the king, and the success of the undertaking are allascribed to God.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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 Ec 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:
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.
r Ptolem. Geograph. l. 5. c. 15. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 23. s Vid. Servium in Virgil. Aeneid. l. 2. ver. 485.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(8) Keeper of the kings 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, Nehemiahs own house, for his being appointed governor is pre-supposed.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. Keeper of the king’s forest The Hebrew word here rendered forest, is , pardes, a Persian word, from which comes (through the Greek) the word paradise. It occurs in only two other passages, Ecc 2:5, and Son 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 Nehemiah 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 Nehemiah 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. Not 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, (1Ki 10:5,) for we have elsewhere no hint of any attempt to rebuild the royal palace at Jerusalem, and least of all would Nehemiah 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 Nehemiah proposed to build, was probably some such fortress or citadel as that subsequently known as Antonia, called also Baris, ( seems to have come from , 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 Ezr 7:6, note.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Neh 2:8. Which appertained to the house Which appertained to the house of the Lord. Houbigant.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Neh 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, Psa 27:1-14 Psa 84:1-12 .
Of the palace that appertained to the house
And for the house that I shall enter into
And the king granted me
According to the good hand
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
forest = park. Hebrew. pardes. A Persian word which occurs only here, Ecc 2:5, and Son 4:13, where it is rendered “orchards”. Septuagint renders it “paradise”, which occurs twenty-eight times: (nine times = Eden, nineteen times = garden, Hebrew. gan.)
wall. Some codices, with one early printed edition, Syriac, and Vulgate, read “walls” (plural) These walls are the main subject of Nehemiah’s section of the joint book.
that I shall enter into: or, whereunto I shall come.
hand. Figure of speech Anthropopatheia. Also put by Figure of speech Metonymy for God’s purpose (Act 4:28, Act 4:30); power (1Ch 29:16), &c.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the wall: Neh 2:17, Neh 3:1-32
the house: Neh 3:7, Neh 7:2
the king: Neh 2:18, Gen 32:28, Ezr 5:5, Ezr 6:22, Ezr 7:6, Ezr 7:9, Ezr 7:27, Ezr 7:28, Pro 21:1, Isa 66:14, Dan 1:9, Act 7:10, Act 26:22, 2Co 8:16
Reciprocal: Ezr 8:18 – by the good hand Neh 1:11 – grant Neh 3:3 – the beams Est 2:9 – she obtained Psa 68:29 – shall Mic 7:11 – shall Act 11:21 – the hand
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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 {d} the good hand of my God upon me.
(d) As God moved me to ask, and as he gave me success in it.