Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Nehemiah 3:25
Palal the son of Uzai, over against the turning [of the wall], and the tower which lieth out from the king’s high house, that [was] by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh.
25. Palal the son of Uzai ] R.V. Palal the son of Uzai repaired.
the tower which lieth out from the king’s high house, that was by the court of the prison ] R.V. the tower that standeth out from the upper house of the king, which is by the court of the guard, R.V. marg. ‘Or, the upper tower from the house of the king ’.
It is not easy to determine the meaning of this description. The adjective ‘upper’ may be applied either to the king’s house or to the tower; and the clause ‘which is by the court of the guard’ follows it as a further description either of house or tower. In Jer 32:2 ‘the court of the guard’ is in ‘the king’s house’ (cf. Jer 33:1; Jer 37:21; Jer 38:6; Jer 38:13; Jer 38:28; Jer 39:14-15). In the present passage we have either ‘the king’s upper house,’ so called to distinguish it from the king’s house, in which was the court of the guard; or, as seems more probable, seeing that the passage is a description of the city wall, ‘the upper tower,’ which is identified as the one projecting from the king’s palace and close to the ‘court of the guard.’ In the vicinity of the royal palace and Temple there would probably be several towers. The LXX. accepted the latter explanation.
It is very probable that the base of ‘the tower’ here spoken of was reached by Sir Charles Warren. ‘A great wall still exists, though buried in rubbish, joining the Haram wall at the south-east angle. It was evidently built for purposes of fortification, for it is fourteen feet thick. There are several towers projecting from the wall, one of which is very remarkable, as it projects more than any of the rest, standing upon scarped rock, and having another wall leading from it going down towards the Kedron.’ (Harper, The Bible and Modern Discoveries, P. 509.)
‘the upper house of the king’. This building, erected upon the site of the old palace of the kings of Judah and perhaps at this time occupied by the chief officials of the city, stood apparently on the ‘Ophel’ summit, immediately S. of the Temple precincts.
Pedaiah the son of Parosh ] R.V. Pedaiah the son of Parosh repaired. R.V. marg. ‘ Pedaiah the son of Parosh ( now Ophel) repaired unto, &c.’ See note on Neh 3:26. On Parosh see Ezr 2:3. As in the earlier part of the verse the verb ‘repaired’ has to be understood.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Over against the turning of the wall; in a part of the wall, which jutted out as the tower here following did, and therefore was opposite to or over against that turning.
And the tower, or, even the tower. Out from the kings high house; either from the royal palace; or from some other smaller house which the king formerly built there, either for prospect or for defence.
By the court of the prison; a place oft mentioned; of which see Jer 32:2; 38:6,13.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. the tower which lieth out fromthe king’s high housethat is, watchtower by the royal palace[BARCLAY].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Palal the son of Uzai, over against the turning of the wall,…. Who dwelt there, and so repaired what was right against him:
and the tower which lieth out from the king’s high house: which might be built for prospect, or his upper house:
that was by the court of the prison; and we often read in Jeremiah of the court of the prison being in or near the king’s house, see
Jer 32:2,
after him Pedaiah the son of Parosh; went on from hence with the repair.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(25) The tower which lieth out from the kings high house.Better, the high tower outlying from the kings palace.
That was by the court of the prison.The palace generally had its prison, and near this was the prison-gate of Neh. 12:39.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
25. The tower king’s high house court of the prison These are also unknown. The king’s high house seems most naturally to designate the great palace of Solomon, which stood at the south of the temple area, commanding the slope of Ophel. See note at the beginning of 1 Kings 7.
But in the time of Nehemiah, more than a century after that ancient palace had been laid in ruins, the name may have been given to some other royal house. Hence all attempts to designate its exact location are at best conjectural.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Palal the son of Uzai (repaired) over against the turning (of the wall), and the tower that stands out from the upper house of the king, which is by the court of the guard.’
The next section, which was repaired (the verb is read in) by Palal the son of Uzai, was either near, or contained, a tower which was a part of the Davidic palace complex. The palace probably had a number of towers and this one is identified by its position ‘by the court of the guard’ (compare Jer 32:2). This tower ‘stood out from the upper house of the king’, possibly at the southernmost end of the palace. (The palace was situated near the Temple. The complex must have been very widespread).
Neh 3:25
‘After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh (repaired), and the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that stands out (the projecting tower).’
The writer probably assumes that the reader will realise that where Pedaiah was repairing was the southern point of Ophel (the rising ground leading up to the Temple), and was thus where the Nephinim dwelt. His initial readers would know where the former Water Gate, and the Projecting Tower, were. Note the continuing reference to Ophel in the following verse.
The idea here may be that Pedaiah, with the Nethinim (Temple servants) who dwelt in Ophel (see Isa 32:14; Mic 4:8), were the ones who repaired this section. Alternatively it may simply be indicating that Pedaiah repaired the section which was adjacent to the houses of the Nethinim in Ophel. Either way he repaired as far as the place which was adjacent to the Water Gate towards the east, and as far as the projecting tower. The Water Gate gave access to the Gihon spring. It may not have been rebuilt at this stage as a consequence of the fact that access to the spring at this point was prevented by the build up of rubble from the previous destruction of the walls. This would have been mid-way up the eastern wall.
Pedaiah was the name of a man who stood by Ezra at the reading of the Torah (Neh 8:4), and he may well be identical with this man. It was also the name of a Levite appointed over the treasuries of YHWH’s house (Neh 13:13). A further Pedaiah ben Koliah was a Benjamite, who was forefather of one of the rulers ruling in Jerusalem as a result of its repopulation by Nehemiah (Neh 11:7).
Others who were named Pedaiah were, 1) the father of Joel, who was a ruler of Western Manasseh in David’s day (1Ch 27:20); 2) Pedaiah of Rumah (2Ki 23:36), who was the father of Zebudah, Jehoiakim’s mother; 3) a son of Jechoniah (Jehoiachin) while in captivity, whose sons were Zerubbabel and Shimei (1Ch 3:18-19). Zerubbabel is elsewhere called the son of Shealtiel (Jechoniah’s first son) but the relationship may have been by Levirate marriage, or by adoption as heir to the throne.
The Ophel (‘swelling, rising’) was the rising ground rising up eventually to the Temple, and was a convenient place for the humbler ‘Temple Servants’ (Nethinim – see Ezr 2:43-54) to live so as to be near the Temple. The Nethinim were descended from foreigners (often prisoners of war) who had been enslaved and given by kings to serve in the Temple in a humble capacity. But their returning to Jerusalem with the returnees confirms their present pride in their position and the fact that they saw themselves as genuine Yahwists.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Neh 3:25 Palal the son of Uzai, over against the turning [of the wall], and the tower which lieth out from the king’s high house, that [was] by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh.
Ver. 25. Over against the turning ] Of these turnings there were many, as appeareth above.
The king’s high house] In Spain, not only doth the king dwell in a stately high palace, but also the highest room in every great house is his, and he must be paid for it.
That was by the court of the prison
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
high house: or upper, i.e. the site or ruin of it. Not yet rebuilt. Compare Neh 7:4.
court of the prison. Where Jeremiah had been imprisoned more than once (Jer 32:2; Jer 33:1; Jer 38:7, Jer 38:13).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the king’s: Jer 22:14, Jer 39:8
by the court: Neh 12:39, Jer 32:2, Jer 33:1, Jer 37:21, Jer 39:15
Pedaiah: Neh 8:4
Parosh: Neh 7:8, Ezr 2:3
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Neh 3:25. Over against the turning of the wall In a part of the wall which jutted out. And the tower Or, even the tower. Which lieth out from the kings high house Either from the royal palace, or from some other house which the king formerly built there, either for prospect or for defence. By the court of the prison A place often mentioned: see Jer 32:2; Jer 38:7; Jer 38:13.