Nehemias with commission from king Artaxerxes cometh to Jerusalem: and exhorteth the Jews to rebuild the walls.
Nehemias obtaining commission from king Artaxerxes cometh to Ierusalem: 11. secretty vieweth the broken walles, and ruines of the citie, 17. and exhorteth al the Iewes to the reedifying therof.
1And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king: that wine was before him, and I took up the wine, and gave it to the king: and I was as one languishing away before his face.Or egli avvenne, che l'anno ventesimo del re Artaserse, nel mese di Nisan, essendo portato il vino dinanzi al re, io lo presi, e lo presentai al re; ma io era come languente davanti a lui.AND it came to passe in the moneth of Nisan, the twentith yeare of Artaxerxes the king: and there was wine before him, and I lifted vp the wine, and gaue to the king: and I was as it were languishing before his face.Factum est autem in mense Nisan, anno vigesimo Artaxerxis regis: et vinum erat ante eum, et levavi vinum, et dedi regi: et eram quasi languidus ante faciem ejus. 2And the king said to me: Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou dost not appear to be sick? this is not without cause, but some evil, I know not what, is in thy heart. And I was seized with an exceeding great fear:E il re mi disse: Per qual motivo la tua faccia è maninconiosa non vedendo, che tu abbi alcun male? questo non è senza motivo; ma tu covi in cuor tuo non so che di sinistro. E io ebbi paura grandissima:And the king sayd to me: Why is thy countenance sad, whereas I doe not see thee sicke? this is not without cause, but some euil I know not what, is in thy hart. And I was very much and excedingly afrayd:Dixitque mihi rex: Quare vultus tuus tristis est, cum te ægrotum non videam ? non est hoc frustra, sed malum nescio quod in corde tuo est. Et timui valde, ac nimis: 3And I said to the king: O king, live for ever: why should not my countenance be sorrowful, seeing the city of the place of the sepulchres of my fathers is desolate, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire?E dissi al re: O re, sia eterno il tuo vivere: come vuoi tu, che la mia faccia non sia dolente, mentre la città, casa de' sepolcri de' padri miei, è deserta, e le sue porte consunte dal fuoco?and I sayd to the king: O king for euer mayst thou liue: why should not my countenance be heauie, because the citie of the house of the sepulchres of my fathers is desolate, and the gates therof are burnt with fire?et dixi regi: Rex, in æternum vive: quare non mœreat vultus meus, quia civitas domus sepulchrorum patris mei deserta est, et portæ ejus combustæ sunt igni ? 4Then the king said to me: For what dost thou make request? And I prayed to the God of heaven,E il re mi disse: Che domandi? E io pregai il Dio del cielo,And the king sayd to me: For what thing makest thou request? And I prayed the God of heauen,Et ait mihi rex: Pro qua re postulas ? Et oravi Deum cæli, 5And I said to the king: If it seem good to the king, and if thy servant hath found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldst send me into Judea to the city of the sepulchre of my father, and I will build it.E dissi al re: Se il re lo crede ben fatto, e se il tuo servo ha incontrato favore dinanzi a te, mandami nella Giudea alla città, dove posa il sepolcro del padre mio, e io la riedificherò.and I sayd to the king: If it seme good to the king, and if thy seruant do please before thy face, thou send me into Iewrie to the citie of the sepulchre of my father, and I wil build it.et dixi ad regem: Si videtur regi bonum, et si placet servus tuus ante faciem tuam, ut mittas me in Judæam ad civitatem sepulchri patris mei, et ædificabo eam.
6And the king said to me, and the queen that sat by him: For how long shall thy journey be, and when wilt thou return? And it pleased the king, and he sent me: and I fixed him a time.E il re, e la regina, che gli sedeva accanto, mi dissero: Quanto durerà il tuo viaggio, e quando ritornerai? E io fissai il tempo, e il re mostrò di esser contento: e mi diede licenza.And the king sayd to me, and the Queene that sate by him: Vnto what time wil thy iourney be, and when wilt thou returne? And it pleased before the king, and he sent me: and I appoynted him a time.Dixitque mihi rex, et regina quæ sedebat juxta eum: Usque ad quod tempus erit iter tuum, et quando reverteris ? Et placuit ante vultum regis, et misit me: et constitui ei tempus. 7And I said to the king: If it seem good to the king, let him give me letters to the governors of the country beyond the river, that they convey me over, till I come into Judea:Ma io dissi al re: Se al re così pare, mi dia lettere ai governatori del paese di là dal fiume, affinchè mi diano scorta, sino al mio arrivo nella Giudea:And I sayd to the king: If it seme good to the king, let him geue me letters to the gouernours of the country beyond the Riuer, that they conduct me, til I come into Iewrie:Et dixi regi: Si regi videtur bonum, epistolas det mihi ad duces regionis trans flumen, ut traducant me, donec veniam in Judæam: 8And a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, to give me timber that I may cover the gates of the tower of the house, and the walls of the city, and the house that I shall enter into. And the king gave me according to the good hand of my God with me.E una lettera ad Asaph custode dei boschi reali, affinchè mi somministri del legname, ond'io possa formare le porte della torre del tempio, e le mura della città, e la casa, dov'io abiterò. E il re mi esaudì, perchè la mano aiutatrice del mio Dio era meco.and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the kings forest, to geue me timber that I may couer the gates of the towre of the house, and the walles of the citie, and the house that I shal enter into. And the king gaue according to the good hand of my God with me.et epistolam ad Asaph custodem saltus regis, ut det mihi ligna, ut tegere possim portas turris domus, et muros civitatis, et domum quam ingressus fuero. Et dedit mihi rex juxta manum Dei mei bonam mecum. 9And I came to the governors of the country beyond the river, and gave them the king’s letters. And the king had sent with me captains of soldiers, and horsemen.E io giunsi presso ai governatori del paese di là dal fiume, e diedi loro le lettere del re. Ma il re avea mandati meco dei capitani delle milizie, e de' cavalieri.And I came to the dukes of the countrie beyond the Riuer, and gaue them the kings letters. And the king had sent with me captaynes of soldiers, and horsemen.Et veni ad duces regionis trans flumen, dedique eis epistolas regis. Miserat autem rex mecum principes militum, et equites.
10And Sanaballat the Horonite, and Tobias the servant, the Ammonite, heard it, and it grieved them exceedingly, that a man was come, who sought the prosperity of the children of Israel.E fu portata questa nuova a Sanaballath Horonita, e Tobia servo Ammonita: ed ebbero grandissimo dolore dell'arrivo di un uomo, che proccurava il bene de' figliuoli d'Israele.And Sanaballat an Horonite, and Tobias a seruant an Ammonite heard it, and were greiued with great affliction, that a man was come, which sought the prosperitie of the children of Israel.Et audierunt Sanaballat Horonites, et Tobias servus Ammanites: et contristati sunt afflictione magna, quod venisset homo qui quæreret prosperitatem filiorum Israël. 11And I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.E giunsi a Gerusalemme, e mi riposai per tre giorni.And I came to Ierusalem and was there three dayes.Et veni Jerusalem, et eram ibi tribus diebus. 12And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me, and I told not any man what God had put in my heart to do in Jerusalem, and there was no beast with me, but the beast that I rode upon.E di notte tempo mi alzai io, e pochi altri con me, e non manifestai a veruno quel, che Dio mi aveva ispirato di fare in Gerusalemme; e non aveva meco altro giumento, che quello, ch'io cavalcava.and I arose in the night, I and a few men with me, and I told not anie man what God had put in my hart to doe in Ierusalem, and there was no beast with me, but the beast wheron I sate.Et surrexi nocte ego, et viri pauci mecum, et non indicavi cuiquam quid Deus dedisset in corde meo ut facerem in Jerusalem: et jumentum non erat mecum, nisi animal cui sedebam. 13And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, and before the dragon fountain, and to the dung gate, and I viewed the wall of Jerusalem which was broken down, and the gates thereof which were consumed with fire.E uscii di notte per la porta della valle, e dinanzi alla fontana del dragone, e presso la porta stercoraria, e considerava le mura di Gerusalemme atterrate, e le sue porte consunte dalle fiamme.And I went out by the gate of the valley by night, and before the fountayne of the dragon, and to the gate of the dung, and I viewed the wal of Ierusalem broken downe, and the gates therof consumed with fire.Et egressus sum per portam vallis nocte, et ante fontem draconis, et ad portam stercoris, et considerabam murum Jerusalem dissipatum, et portas ejus consumptas igni. 14And I passed to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s aqueduct, and there was no place for the beast on which I rode to pass.E andai innanzi fino alla porta della fontana, e all'acquidotto del re; ma non v'era tanto di strada, per cui passasse il giumento, ch'io cavalcava.And I passed to the gate of the fountayne, and to the kinges conduite, and there was no place for the beast where on I sat, to passe.Et transivi ad portam fontis, et ad aquæductum regis, et non erat locus jumento cui sedebam ut transiret.
15And I went up in the night by the torrent, and viewed the wall, and going back I came to the gate of the valley, and returned.Ed essendo ancor notte, salii pel torrente, e considerava le mura, e data volta indietro arrivai alla porta della valle, e tornai (a casa.)And I went vp by the torrent in the night, and viewed the wal, and going backe I came to the gate of the valley, and returned.Et ascendi per torrentem nocte, et considerabam murum, et reversus veni ad portam vallis, et redii. 16But the magistrates knew not whither I went, or what I did: neither had I as yet told any thing to the Jews, or to the priests, or to the nobles, or to the magistrates, or to the rest that did the work.Ma i magistrati non sapevano, dov'io fossi andato, né quel, ch'io mi facessi: e sino a quel punto io non mi era aperto di niente co' Giudei sia sacerdoti, sia magnati, e capi, né con alcuno di quelli, che erano destinati ai lavori.But the magistrastes knew not whither I went, or what I did: yea and to the Iewes, and the Priestes, and the nobles, and the magistrates, and the rest that did the worke vntil then I had shewed nothing.Magistratus autem nesciebant quo abiissem, aut quid ego facerem: sed et Judæis, et sacerdotibus, et optimatibus, et magistratibus, et reliquis qui faciebant opus, usque ad id loci nihil indicaveram. 17Then I said to them: You know the affliction wherein we are, because Jerusalem is desolate, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire: come, and let us build up the walls of Jerusalem, and let us be no longer a reproach.Quindi io dissi loro: Voi vedete in quale afflizione ci troviamo: Gerusalemme è deserta, e le sue porte consunte dal fuoco: venite, edifichiamo le mura di Gerusalemme, e non istiamo più in questa ignominia.And I sayd to them: You know the affliction wherin we are, because Ierusalem is made desolate, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire: Come, and let vs build the walles of Ierusalem, and let vs be no longer a reproch.Et dixi eis: Vos nostis afflictionem in qua sumus: quia Jerusalem deserta est, et portæ ejus consumptæ sunt igni: venite, et ædificemus muros Jerusalem, et non simus ultra opprobrium. 18And I shewed them how the hand of my God was good with me, and the king’s words, which he had spoken to me, and I said: Let us rise up, and build. And their hands were strengthened in good.E indicai loro come la mano aiutatrice di Dio era meco, e le parole dettemi dal re; e soggiunsi: Su via, mettiamoci a fabbricare. E quelli preser vigore a ben fare.And I shewed them the hand of my God, that it was good with me, and the kings wordes, which he had spoken to me, and I sayd: Let vs rise, and let vs build. And their handes were incouraged in good.Et indicavi eis manum Dei mei, quod esset bona mecum, et verba regis quæ locutus esset mihi, et aio: Surgamus, et ædificemus. Et confortatæ sunt manus eorum in bono.
19But Sanaballat the Horonite, and Tobias the servant, the Ammonite, and Gossem the Arabian heard of it, and they scoffed at us, and despised us, and said: What is this thing that you do? are you going to rebel against the king?Ma Sanaballath Horonita, e Tobia servo Ammonita, e Gosem Arabo, saputa la nuova, ci dileggiavano, e per ispregio dicevano: Che è quel, che voi fate? Vi ribellate forse contro del re?But Sanaballat the Horonite, and Tobias the seruant an Ammanite, and Gosem an Arabian heard of it, and they scorned vs, and despysed vs, and sayd: What is this thing, that you doe? Why do you rebel against the king?Audierunt autem Sanaballat Horonites, et Tobias servus Ammanites, et Gosem Arabs, et subsannaverunt nos, et despexerunt, dixeruntque: Quæ est hæc res quam facitis ? numquid contra regem vos rebellatis ? 20And I answered them, and said to them: The God of heaven he helpeth us, and we are his servants: let us rise up and build: but you have no part, nor justice, nor remembrance in Jerusalem.Ma risposi a coloro, e dissi: Il Dio del cielo egli è, che ci aiuta, e noi siamo suoi servi, e anderemo avanti, e fabbricheremo: ma voi non avete comunanza, né diritto, né ricordanza in Gerusalemme.And I answered them, and sayd to them: The God of heauen he helpeth vs, and we are his seruants: let vs rise and build: but you haue no part, nor iustice, nor memorie in Ierusalem.Et reddidi eis sermonem, dixique ad eos: Deus cæli ipse nos juvat, et nos servi ejus sumus: surgamus et ædificemus: vobis autem non est pars, et justitia, et memoria in Jerusalem.
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Year of the World 3550, Year before Christ 454.
Year. It seems the Persians began the year with Tizri, since both Casleu (the third) and Nisan (the seventh month of the civil year) fall on the twentieth of the king.
Strabo xv
Wine. These kings drunk only that of Syria. (Strabo xv.)
Calmet
People of distinction were appointed cup-bearers; and even the children of kings did not esteem the office beneath them. (Herodotus 3:34.) (Athen. 10:6.) (Homer, etc.) (Calmet)
Haydock
I was. Protestants, "I had not been before-time sad in his presence." (Haydock)
Haydock
Hebrew literally, "I was not evil." Septuagint, "an enemy, or stranger." Arabic, "disagreeable." Syriac, "sorrowful." Septuagint also, "there was not another (ouk en eteros) present," 2 Esdras 5:6. St. Jerome seems not to have read the negation. (Haydock)
2:2
Menochius
Is not. Hebrew, "nothing but sorrow of heart;" (Syriac; Calmet; Protestants) or rather, thou art meditating only treason. Septuagint, "This is nothing but wickedness of heart," (Haydock) which often shews itself on the countenance. The king might suspect that he was giving him poison. (Menochius)
Tirinus
Hence Nehemias feared, (Calmet) dreading such suspicions, (Haydock) and aware lest the company might frustrate his good design, as contrary to the interests of the crown. (Tirinus)
2:3
Live; an usual salutation, Daniel 3:9., and 5:10. So Aelian (var. 1:32.) says, "O king Artaxerxes, mayst thou reign for ever."
Father, ver. 5. He knew that the Persians shewed great regard to the dead, (Calmet; Tirinus) whose bodies they sometimes cover with wax, and keep in their house, (Cic.[Cicero?] Tusc. i.; Alex. Genial 3:2.) or inter. (Herodotus 1:140.)
2:4
Menochius
Heaven, a fervent ejaculation, in secret, (Tirinus) to touch the king's heart, (Calmet) and to enable me to speak in a proper manner. (Menochius)
2:6
Calmet
And, etc. In private the queen might dine with her husband, but not in public, Esther 1:(Calmet)
Menochius
Queen; probably Esther, if she were married to this king. (Menochius)
Haydock
But this is uncertain. (Haydock)
Calmet
Usher thinks it was Damaspia, mentioned by Ctesias. (Calmet)
Calmet
Time, when I should return. Some say a year (Tirinus) or two afterwards; but it is generally believed that he begged to be absent twelve years. He then waited on the king eight or ten years, and returned into Judea towards the end of the reign of Artaxerxes, 2 Esdras 13:6. (Calmet)
Menochius
He perhaps asked permission to visit Jerusalem for only a short period, at first, but his presence being deemed necessary, he was permitted to continue there as governor full twelve years. (Menochius)
2:7
Menochius
Over; give me a guard, (Haydock) or accompany me to Jerusalem. (Menochius)
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Grotius
Forest. Hebrew pordes, "paradise," or garden planted with trees. Pliny ([Natural History?] 5:23.) mentions a "paradise," in Coelosyria. (Grotius)
Haydock
But Nehemias might petition to be supplied with cedars from Libanus, (Tirinus) as they had been given for the temple, 1 Esdras 3:7. (Haydock)
Menochius
Tower. Hebrew bira, means also "a palace or temple." It may designate the porch of the temple, which was 120 cubits high; (2 Paralipomenon 3:4.; Calmet) though that had been lately repaired by Esdras. (Menochius)
Vatable
Others think the doors of the courts are meant, as they were as strong as those of towers. (Vatable)
Tirinus
They were not yet finished, 2 Esdras 10:9. Many believe that (Calmet) Nehemias speaks of the royal palace, which had been almost contiguous to the temple, (Menochius) where he intended to build one for himself, while he should reside in the city. (Tirinus)
Calmet
But this might give umbrage to the king. (Calmet)
Haydock
He could not, however, intend his favourite to remain without a suitable palace; and the latter seems to have designed not only to repair that which Solomon had founded, but also to erect another house for the governor. (Haydock)
Haydock
Good hand; favour, (Menochius) and powerful aid. (Haydock)
2:10
Horonite, a native, not (Calmet) a petty king (Grotius) of Horonaim, in the country of Moab, Jeremias 48:3. He must have been very old, if he lived till the temple was built at Garizim: (Josephus and Scaliger) but Petau supposes that there were two of the name.
Calmet
Servant; an officer appointed over the Samaritans, as well as Sanaballat. The Persian monarchs styled all their subjects servants or slaves. (Calmet)
Worthington
Grieved. Thus unbelievers repine when any one endeavours to propagate the truth, (Haydock) or to establish the Church. (Worthington)
2:12
Haydock
Any man, at Jerusalem, (ver. 16.) though he had informed the king, ver. 8. (Haydock)
No beast; that none might be alarmed.
2:13
Tirinus
Valley of Cedron, on the east, (Calmet) or west, near Calvary. (Menochius) (Tirinus)
Calmet
Dragon. Hebrew Tannin, or "great fish," which might be kept there, unless the fountain was famous for the appearance of some dragon, or the water proceeded from the mouth of a brazen one. Septuagint have read thanim, "figs." The fountain of Siloe might have many names. (Calmet)
Haydock
Viewed. Septuagint, "I walked upon the wall of Jerusalem, which these men are demolishing or clearing away," etc. (Haydock)
2:14
Aqueduct, or reservoir, made by Ezechias, 2 Paralipomenon 32:30.
2:15
Calmet
Torrent of Cedron, having gone round the city. (Calmet)
2:16
Calmet
Magistrates. Septuagint, "guards." Seganim denotes various officers. (Calmet)
Haydock
Work, or to any workmen. (Haydock)
Tirinus
None were now employed. (Tirinus)
2:18
Worthington
Hand. God had manifested his goodness and power, at the court of Persia. (Worthington)
2:19
Calmet
Arabian governor. He afterwards accuses Nehemias, 2 Esdras 6:6. (Calmet)
2:20
Haydock
Answered. Septuagint, "returned them an account (logon) ....we are his pure servants, and we will build." (Haydock)
Part, or business, 1 Esdras 4:4.
Calmet
Justice, or right to the city. (Calmet)
Tirinus
You may mind your own affairs. (Tirinus)
Remembrance. It was esteemed a high honour to be a citizen of Jerusalem, Psalm 86:5.
2:10
Infideles & Heretikes are greued, that others endeuoure to repayre the ruines of the Church in any countrie.
2:18
Gods hand was clearly shewed in the effect of obtaining the kings fauourable letters.
2:1
1. NOW IT CAME TO PASS IN THE MONTH OF NISAN IN THE TWENTIETH YEAR OF ARTAXERXES — Longimanus; for he (and not Xerxes his father, to whom Josephus therefore wrongly ascribes this) reigned for thirty-two years and more, as is said in chapter XIII, 6. Thus Julius Africanus, St. Jerome, Augustine, Eusebius, Chrysostom, Theodoret, Bede, Rupert and others whom Pererius cites, lib. XI in Daniel, who therefore begin the seventy weeks of Daniel, chapter IX, 25, from this twentieth year of Artaxerxes, when he himself gave Nehemiah permission to rebuild Jerusalem. See the things said there. For I have treated this passage at length in that place. Wherefore I shall not repeat those things here. AND I TOOK UP THE WINE (from the table) AND GAVE IT TO THE KING, — into his hands, so that he might drink, as his cupbearer. You will ask how Nehemiah became so elevated that he was familiar with the monarch Artaxerxes, indeed from the cups, which office in the court is primary, and is committed to none except the great and most faithful. I answer: The first cause was the wisdom, virtue and grace of Nehemiah, as I said, by which he insinuated himself into the minds of Princes, so that he might win them over to himself and to his Jewish nation. The second cause was that many believe Esther was the wife of this Artaxerxes, who bound him to herself, to Nehemiah and to the Jews. But this is to be examined in the book of Esther. The third cause was more particular, namely that the kings of the Persians drank Syrian wine or wine brought from Syria, as testified by Suidas, lib. XV, and Athenaeus; moreover Judea is a part or appendage of Syria. Wherefore Artaxerxes wished Nehemiah, a Jew, to be his cupbearer, so that he, as one thoroughly expert in the wines of his country, might take care to have better wines brought to him from Judea or Syria, and might carefully preserve and manage them with the art and manner in which they were accustomed to be preserved and managed in Syria, lest they contract sourness or some other defect. Hear Athenaeus, lib. I, cap. XXIX: "The kings of the Persians," he says, "drank only Chalibonian wine. Posidonius reports that it is produced in Damascus of Syria, and that vines were planted there by the Persians." Furthermore concerning their water, which they drank, the same Athenaeus writes thus, lib. II, cap. VI: "Herodotus," he says, "writes in lib. I that water was conveyed to the king of the Persians from the Choaspes river flowing past Susa, from which alone and from no other he drank." This was a wonderful superstition of kings, that they considered it unworthy of royal dignity to drink any other water. Hear Aelian, lib. XII: When other provisions full of magnificence and display followed Xerxes, then also water from the Choaspes was conveyed at the same time. But when they were in a desert place and thirsted, and no remedy for thirst could be found, it was proclaimed in the army that if anyone had water from the Choaspes, he should give it to the king to drink, and someone was found who had a little, and it was putrid. Xerxes therefore drank it, and he held him who gave it in the place of a benefactor; because, unless that water had been found, he would have perished. AND I WAS AS IT WERE SICK BEFORE HIS FACE. — The Hebrew, and before I had not been evil (that is sad) before him. Thus Vatablus and Pagninus. But our translator, for אל lo by א, that is not, reads זל lo by ז, that is to him; whence he translates: And I was as it were evil, that is sad, lean, exhausted, sick before him; namely sorrow, vigils, fasts had made his face pale, lean and sick. Moreover the Septuagint, reading for רע ra, that is evil, with other points rea, that is companion, translate: And there was not another (that is companion) before him, as if to say: I alone was with the king.
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2. AND THE KING SAID TO ME: WHY IS THY COUNTENANCE SAD, SEEING THOU ART NOT SICK? THIS IS NOT WITHOUT CAUSE, BUT SOME EVIL IS IN THY HEART. — The king suspected from Nehemiah's downcast face that he had something that greatly afflicted him, or certainly that he was plotting some deed, and perhaps laying some snares against himself. Whence he inquires the cause of his sadness, and speaks ambiguously, so that Nehemiah might set forth the cause sincerely, and says: "Some evil is in thy heart;" "evil," that is affliction, sorrow, sadness, as if to say, Thy countenance is sad; therefore there is some sadness in thy heart: for this shows itself and is revealed by a sad countenance; or "evil," that is malice, malignant scheming, as if perhaps thou wert meditating something evil against me; whence the Septuagint translates: This is nothing but poneria, that is, depravity of heart. For in Hebrew רע ra, that is evil, signifies both depravity and malice, and also sadness and affliction, as in Matthew VI: "sufficient for the day is the evil thereof," that is the affliction "thereof;" just as on the other hand "good" signifies both goodness and honesty of virtue, and also pleasantness and happiness, according to that: "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity," Psalm CXXXIII, 2. The king seems to have feared lest Nehemiah should give him poison in wine. For kings, who fear for themselves and their station and have many rivals, fear all things unsafe, and especially poisons in food and drink; for, as Seneca says in the Thyestes: "Poison is drunk from gold;" especially if Nehemiah, being offered the same by the king, refused to drink it from sadness, which is not incredible.
2:3
3. The King, live forever, — as if to say, I wish that thou mayest live as long as possible and forever, if it be possible. He says this, so that he might remove fear from the king, and that he might know that he is plotting nothing against his life. BECAUSE THE CITY OF THE HOUSE OF THE SEPULCHRES OF MY FATHERS IS DESOLATE, — as if to say, I am sad, because Jerusalem, in which my fathers are buried, and their sepulchres stand, is desolate. He calls sepulchres houses, because house among the Hebrews signifies any place, cave, case, receptacle, which surrounds and contains some body: thus nests are called houses of birds, a river and sea are called houses of fishes. Moreover, the ancients had great care and reverence for the sepulchre of their fathers and ancestors, lest their bones be exhumed and cast out, or profaned, and mixed with profane or unclean things. Whence Baruch, chapter II, 24, mourns and bewails this very thing done by the Chaldeans, saying: "Thou hast set thy words which thou spokest by the hands of thy servants the Prophets, that the bones of our kings and the bones of our fathers should be removed from their place, and behold they are cast in the heat of the sun and in the frost of the night. For God had threatened this to them through Jeremiah, chapter VIII, 1. "They shall cast out," he says, "the bones of the kings of Juda; and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of them that dwelt in Jerusalem out of their sepulchres." Among all nations indeed the violation of sepulchres was held to be a very grave injury and infamy. Whence Horace in the Epode, Ode 16, fearing this very thing thus mourns: The barbarian, alas, shall tread upon the ashes of the victor, and the horseman shall scourge the city with resounding hoof. And the bones of Quirinus (dreadful to see), which lack winds and suns, the insolent one shall scatter. Wherefore Artaxerxes received this just and grave complaint of Nehemiah with fair ears, mindful of what the Scythians had answered to Darius his ancestor. Valerius Maximus relates the deed, book V, chapter IV: "To Darius," he says, "who was making repeated attacks on their regions with all the forces of his kingdom; gradually retreating to the uttermost solitudes of Asia they had come. Then when asked by him through legates what end of fleeing, or what beginning of fighting they would make, they answered that they had neither any cities, nor cultivated fields, for which they would fight. But when he should come to the monuments of their fathers, he would know how the Scythians were accustomed to fight." So even now the Arabs, although fierce and barbarous, protect the sepulchres of their leaders and fathers, and fight for them as if for altars and hearths, as the Maronites, their neighbors, told me at Rome.
2:4
4. I PRAYED TO GOD, — with a brief ejaculatory prayer, but ardent, so that just as he himself had begun to make the king benevolent toward me and mine, so he would continue, that he might grant my petition which I was about to set before him concerning the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
2:6
6. AND THE KING AND QUEEN SAID TO ME, (namely Esther, says Torniellus, Gordonus, Serarius, Salianus, Sanchez and Bellarmine, vol. I, book I, cap. VII, concerning which more in the preface to Esther:) HOW LONG SHALL THY JOURNEY BE? that is to say, How much time will you consume in going and returning? For we desire you to return as quickly as possible, so that in your office of cupbearer, which you discharge so excellently, you may continue to serve us; for we do not wish to be long deprived of your presence, which is so pleasing to us. What Nehemiah answered to these things the text does not relate; it is certain, however, that he did answer and assigned some time, and that a brief one, although perhaps he was detained in Jerusalem longer than he said and thought; for he was set over them as governor for twelve years, namely from the twentieth year of Artaxerxes until the thirty-second, as is evident from cap. VI, 1, and cap. XIII, 6. Whence some think that he was absent from the king for the whole of this time, twelve years, but the desire of the king and queen does not seem to have tolerated so long an absence; wherefore it is probable that Nehemiah returned to the king shortly after the fifty-two days in which he completed the building of the walls, as will appear in cap. VI, verse 14.
2:7
7. BEYOND THE RIVER (the Euphrates) THAT THEY MAY CONDUCT ME, UNTIL I COME INTO JUDEA. — For on this side of the Euphrates almost all nations as far as Judea were rivals and enemies of the Jews, so that they would not wish Jerusalem, once so powerful and celebrated and formidable to them, to be restored. For God had given to the Jews all regions from Jerusalem to the Euphrates, and had given them the Euphrates as their boundary. Whence also David extended his victorious arms as far as the Euphrates. Hence also Josephus, book XI, cap. v, says that these nations in the time of Nehemiah harassed the fields of the Jews day and night, mixing everything with slaughter, rapine and destruction. Wherefore, knowing this, Nehemiah rightly asked the king to take care that he be conducted safely to Jerusalem; and the king not only granted this to him but added more; for he also gave him a garrison of soldiers for his protection.
2:8
8. AND A LETTER TO ASAPH, KEEPER OF THE KING'S FOREST, — who was on Mount Lebanon, so that timber might be given to me from there, and sent by sea to Joppa for the building of the city of Jerusalem. Thus Sanchez and Vilalpandus, vol. III, book III. THAT I MAY COVER THE GATES OF THE TOWER OF THE HOUSE — of God, namely of the temple, as the Complutensian edition has it. For although the temple had already been built, nevertheless the appendages of the temple had not yet been constructed. Thus Vatablus. Whence in Hebrew it is: That I may cover the gates of the royal palace, which was attached to the house, namely of God, that is to the temple.
2:11
11. AND I WAS THERE THREE DAYS, — hidden and concealed, so that at night I might survey the ruins of the city, and see what ought to be repaired immediately, lest Sanballat and his associates should learn of my plans and hinder them.
2:12
12. AND NO BEAST WAS WITH ME, EXCEPT THE ANIMAL ON WHICH I RODE, that is to say, I alone, on account of old age and fatigue, was carried on a horse or ass; but my companions went on foot, so that from the number and noise of horses and horsemen our enemies might not be stirred up to harass us.
2:13
13. I WENT OUT BY THE GATE OF THE VALLEY. (This gate was not that eastern one, which led into the valley of Josaphat, but another western one, which looked toward the valleys of cadavers and Calvary. Thus the Septuagint.) And before the dragon's fountain, (from which namely waters sprang forth and were discharged through the mouth of a bronze or stone dragon:) and the dung gate, — through which dung was carried out. Thus Borchard, Vilalpandus, Adrichomius, Salianus. AND I CONSIDERED THE WALL OF JERUSALEM BROKEN DOWN. — The Hebrew, הם פרוצים hem parutsim, that is they, namely the walls broken down, where in hem the final mem, which is usually closed, is open, to indicate that the wall of the city was gaping and open, because it was scattered and broken down.
2:14
14. AND I PASSED TO THE GATE OF THE FOUNTAIN (of Siloe) AND TO THE KING'S AQUEDUCT — of Hezekiah; for Hezekiah derived the waters of the fountain of Siloe through an aqueduct, by boring through the rock, into the cisterns of the city of Jerusalem, so that the citizens besieged by Sennacherib might have water to drink, and the Assyrians besieging, laboring under lack of water, might be consumed by thirst. This is evident from the book II Paralipomenon, cap. XXXII, verse 30: "This is Hezekiah, who stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it down on the west side of the city of David." And more clearly Ecclesiasticus, cap. XLVIII, verse 19: "Hezekiah fortified his city, and brought water into the midst of it, and digged the rock with iron, and built a pool for water." See the remarks there. AND THERE WAS NO PLACE FOR THE BEAST TO PASS, — because on one side there were sheer cliffs, on the other the ruins of scattered walls, and water covering everything; wherefore I was forced to turn back my journey.
2:15
15. And I went up by the torrent (of Cedron) at night, AND I CONSIDERED THE WALL, — so that I might see what ought first to be restored in it, and to which part I ought immediately to apply my hand: AND I RETURNED AND CAME TO THE GATE OF THE VALLEY of cadavers and Calvary, of which verse 12.
2:16
16. AND THE REST WHO WERE DOING THE WORK, — that is the workmen and overseers of the works, who namely were appointed for the building of the walls, but on account of the incursions and vexations of enemies had interrupted the work, or were carrying it out slowly and remissly.
2:18
18. AND I MADE KNOWN TO THEM THE HAND OF MY GOD, THAT IT WAS GOOD WITH ME. — The hand is a symbol of aid and assistance, likewise of direction and protection; for Nehemiah had felt this from God, both because he had made King Artaxerxes so benevolent and generous toward him, and because he had prospered his journey through so many enemies and difficulties, overcoming them. Therefore Nehemiah, signifying to the Jews partly God's, partly the king's benevolence toward himself and them, encouraged them to resume generously and fervently the construction of the walls of the city, which had been abandoned or negligently maintained on account of the insults of the Samaritans.
2:19
19. BUT SANABALLAT THE HORONITE HEARD — This is a different person from Sanaballat the father-in-law of Manasses, the first High Priest of the Samaritans on Mount Gerizim. For that Horonite preceded this father-in-law of Manasses by 109 years, as Salianus says, of whom more below. And Tobias the servant, an Ammonite, — who, elevated from servitude and slavery, had been appointed by the king of the Persians as Prefect of the Ammonites, just as Sanaballat was of Samaria, and Geshem of Arabia. These three therefore, Prefects of the neighboring regions, were hostile to Nehemiah and the Jews and adversaries in the construction.
2:20
20. YOU HAVE NO PART AND JUSTICE AND MEMORY IN JERUSALEM. — "Justice," that is, right, as if to say: You, as Samaritans (formerly brought by the Assyrians to dwell in Samaria, IV Kings XVII). Ammonites and Arabs, you have received from the Persians the right to administer Samaria, Ammonitis, and Arabia, but not Judea and Jerusalem, nor have you ever dwelt in Jerusalem; for there is no memory of you in it. Wherefore attend to your own affairs among your own people committed to you, but do not meddle with our affairs; for I have received from the king of the Persians the full right to rebuild Jerusalem: wherefore beware lest you oppose me; otherwise you will oppose the king of the Persians, and you will experience him as your avenger. Thus Cajetan, Sanchez and others.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
2:1
… The mission of Nehemiah (Neh. 2, 1) is from the 20th year of A. I (445). …
Nisān (From Babylonian Nisannu)
NISĀN (From Babylonian Nisannu). - First month of the year in Israel; in the oldest biblical literature, it is identified with ḥōdheṣ hā-'ābhībh "month of the ripening ears of grain" (v. 'ABIB): Neh. 2:1; Esth. 3:7 (Vulgate, also Esth. 3:12; 11:2). On the first of N. the construction of the tabernacle was completed (Ex. 40:17); from the 1st to the 12th, the inauguration of …
T. is among the month names of Babylonian origin, introduced into Palestine at a rather late period, since they are encountered only in the post-exilic biblical texts (tēbhēth in Esth. 2:16; nīsān in Esth. 3:7; Neh. 2:1; 'ādhār in Esth. 3:13; 8:12; kislēw in Neh. 1:1).
2:7
… nominally and on particular occasions, this boundary seems to have been reached (cf. II Sam. 8, 3; I Kings 4, 24). In the Persian period the E. marked the limit of the satrapy Abur Nahara (Hebrew 'ebher han-nâhâr, "beyond the river"; cf. Ezra 8, 36; Neh. 2, 7, 9), which comprised the zone extending between it and the Mediterranean.
2:8
Three other A.s occur in the Old Testament: the father of Joab the annalist of Hezekiah's court (II Kings 18:18, 37; Is. 36:3, 22), a Levite who was head of the singers under Nehemiah (Neh. 11:17), the chief keeper of the royal forests of Artaxerxes (ibid. 2:8).
The Hebrew term pardēs appears only in post-exilic literature (Neh. 2:8; Eccles. 2:5; Cant. 4:13); it is of Persian origin: pairi daeza, "enclosure, hedge" and therefore "walled garden," or "reserve." The Septuagint (παράδεισος), followed by the Latin …
2:10
… centuries B.C., the A. were ruled by various Tobiahs (papyri of Zenon, 259/8 B.C.; inscription of ʿArāq el-Emīr, ca. 175; Fl. Josephus, Ant. Jud., XII, 4, 2-11; 2 Macc. 3:11); it is a dynasty (Tobiads) descended, it seems, from the Tobiah of the 5th century (Neh. 2:10-13:4).
Sanballat (Heb. Sanballat, in Akkadian Sin-uballit "[the god] Sin gave life")
… Like the two colleagues, he was a foreigner: he is called "the Horonite" (from Hōrōnajim in Moab) with a disparaging intent in Neh. 2:10, 19.
2:19
… After the Babylonian exile, the Arabs were a serious obstacle to the restoration of Jerusalem (Neh. 2:19, etc.). …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.