(8) Re

commandest thy servant Moses. member, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandest thy servant Moses, saying, "If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: (9) but if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; "though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. (10) Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. (1) O LORD, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.

(1) Nisan.-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 dates, and the two months fell in one year.

(2) Then I was very sore afraid.-Waiting on Providence, Nehemiah 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.

The King grants his Request.

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 1queen 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.

(3) Nehemiah'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 respected the tomb.

(4) So I prayed to the God of heaven.-The first note of that habit of ejaculatory prayer which is a characteristic of this book.

(6) The queen also sitting by him.-Probably Damaspia, the one legitimate queen: Shegal, as in Ps. xlv. 13, where, however, she stands as in the presence of her Divine-human Lord. This was not a public feast, as in that case the queen would not be present (Esther i. 9-12).

I set him a time.-Whatever that was, circumstances afterwards prolonged it.

(7) To the governors beyond the river.Between the Euphrates and Susa protection was not needed.

66

(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, Nehemiah's own house, for his being appointed governor is pre-supposed.

(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

(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 Nehemiah rested three days, to review the past and prepare for the future.

(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.

(11) Three days.-For rest and devotion, after the example of Ezra.

(12-18) Nehemiah's cautious preliminaries.

(13) The gate of the valley, opening on Hinnom, to the south of the city. Nehemiah 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. (14) The gate of the fountain of Siloah (chapter iii. 15), called also "the king's pool."

(15) By the gate of the valley, and so returned. The itineration seems to have completed the circuit of the walls.

(16) The rest that did the work, that is, afterwards. The caution of this procedure is justified by

of the Ruins of Jerusalem.

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.

CHAPTER III-(1) Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep

subsequent events: the city teemed with elements of danger. The nobles and rulers were possessed of no substantial repressive authority.

(17) Then. There is no note of time. When his plans were matured, Nehemiah made an earnest appeal to their patriotism.

(18) Then I told them.-Nehemiah relates his providential call, with the king's commission, and the people were thoroughly enlisted in the good cause.

(19) Geshem the Arabian.-This name completes the triumvirate of the leaders of the opposition to the mission of Nehemiah. 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 Nehemiah with rebellion, as afterwards, in chapter vi. 6.

(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. Nehemiah 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.

III.

(1-32) The memorial of the builders: to succeeding generations of dwellers in Jerusalem a deeply interesting chapter. It contains also a very important topographical account of the ancient city, since repeatedly

gate; they sanctified it and set up the doors of it; even unto the town of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of "Hananeel. (2) And 1 next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri.!

(3) But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. (4) And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz.

B.C. cir. 445.

the Gates of the City.

repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side the river. (8) Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall. (9) And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem. (10) And

the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana. (5) And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.

(6) Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the

(13) The valley gate repaired Hanun,

sure.

destroyed. But no amount of ingenuity will avail to remove every difficulty. The text is in some places defective. It must, further, be remembered that the record does not so much describe the process as sum up the result. Much of the work of the gates must have required time, but all is described here as if everything was finished at once.

(1) Then Eliashib.-The account begins with due honour to the high priest and the priesthood.

The sheep gate was in the neighbourhood of the priests' quarter. Through it the victims passed for sacrifice, first being washed in the neighbouring pool of Bethesda. This being built, "they sanctified it," as an earnest of the subsequent consecration of the entire wall. Their work and the sanctification of it extended to two towns near each other at the north-east corner. (2) Next unto him.-At his hand, the customary phrase throughout the chapter, indicating the order of the building, which, however, involves some difficulty towards the close. The phrase, as first used, does honour to the high priest, who must be supposed to have presided only over the religious ceremonial.

The men of Jericho.-At the point, it will be observed, opposite their own city.

(3) The fish gate.-Through which fish entered from the Jordan and Galilee.

The sons of Hassenaah.-Contrary to custom, their names are not mentioned.

The locks thereof, and the bars thereof.The crossbars thereof, and the catches thereof, the latter holding the former at the two ends. Similarly in several other verses.

(4) Repaired.-Literally, strengthened; as before it was built.

(5) The Tekoites.-This verse is remarkable, as introducing men of Tekoah, not mentioned among Zerubbabel's Returned, who furnish the solitary instance

of internal opposition to the building; and as terming the common work "the work of the Lord." The ordinary people of the place, however, did double duty. (See verse 27.)

(6) The old gate.-Not mentioned elsewhere: probably that of Damascus; but (by a conjectural addition to the text,) it has been translated the gate of the old wall, as if distinguished from "the broad wall."

(7) Unto the throne.-Unto the seat of the pechah of the whole district this side the Euphrates: his residence when he came to Jerusalem.

(8) And they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall.-The word translated "fortified" means literally left, and this yields a good sense: they left Jerusalem untouched as far as a certain portion of the wall extended which needed no restoration. The gate of Ephraim was in this (see chapter xii. 38, 39); and it is significant that nothing is said about the rebuilding of this important gate.

(9) The half part of Jerusalem.-Of the district belonging to Jerusalem.

(11) The other piece.-This expression occurs a few times when the repairers have been mentioned as having repaired a first piece. But it occurs several times when there is no such mention; and in these cases, as here, must mean only what the margin indicates, a second measure, in relation to what had just been referred to.

was

(12) He and his daughters.-Shallum governor of the second half-district around Jerusalem; and it has been thought that the "daughters" here are the villages of the district. But needlessly: the women of Jerusalem might do voluntarily what as females they were not pressed to do.

(13) A thousand cubits.-Not so much" built" as "strengthened." This comparatively large spacementioned in round numbers-had probably suffered less damage, and therefore needed less repairing.

1 Or, Zaccai.

e Jer. 32. 2.

(15) But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of "Siloah by the king's garden, and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David. (16) After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Bethzur, unto the place over against the sepulchres of David, and to the 'pool that was made, and unto the house of the mighty. (17) After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of the half part of Keilah, in his part. (18) After a 2 Chron. 27. 3. him repaired their brethren, Bavai the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half part of Keilah. (19) And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, another piece over against

the going up to the armoury at the turn- 2 or, The tower.

(14) The son of Rechab.-Not "a son," as if it meant that he was a Rechabite.

Part of Beth-haccerem.-The district around that place.

(15) He covered it.-Similar to laid the beams in verses 3, 6.

The pool of Siloah.-Called before "the king's pool," which received its water as "sent" through a long subterranean conduit, and supplied the king's gardens.

The stairs.-Down the steep sides of Ophel, of which traces are thought still to remain. From this point it is very hard to trace the exact course.

on

(16) The sepulchres of David.-Excavated the western side of the Temple, and never yet traced.

The pool that was made.-This may have been the reservoir of Hezekiah (Isa. xxii. 11); and "the house of the mighty" may have been the barracks of David's elect troops (1 Chron. xi. 10).

(17) The Levites.-The circuit is coming round to the Temple.

Rehum the son of Bani.-The Levites were under him as a body.

In his part. The other part of the Keilah district (now Kila) is in the next verse.

(19) At the turning of the wall.-Literally, the armoury of the corner: the north-west corner of the "city of David," with its special wall.

the Gates and Walls.

ing of the wall. (20) After him Baruch the son of 1Zabbai earnestly repaired the other piece, from the turning of the wall unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. (21) After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Koz another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib. (22) And after him repaired the priests, the men of the plain. (23) After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub over against their house. After him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah by his house. (24) After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another piece, from the house of Azariah unto the turning of the wall, even unto the corner. (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. (26) Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in d2Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out. (27) After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, over against the great tower that lieth out, even unto the wall of Ophel.

(28) From above the horse gate repaired the priests, every one over against his