Advanced Commentary

Texts -- Nehemiah 2:14-20 (NET)

Context
2:14 I passed on to the Gate of the Well and the King’s Pool , where there was not enough room for my animal to pass with me. 2:15 I continued up the valley during the night , inspecting the wall . Then I turned back and came to the Valley Gate , and so returned . 2:16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I had been doing , for up to this point I had not told any of the Jews or the priests or the nobles or the officials or the rest of the workers . 2:17 Then I said to them, “You see the problem that we have: Jerusalem is desolate and its gates are burned . Come on ! Let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that this reproach will not continue .” 2:18 Then I related to them how the good hand of my God was on me and what the king had said to me. Then they replied , “Let’s begin rebuilding right away !” So they readied themselves for this good project. 2:19 But when Sanballat the Horonite , Tobiah the Ammonite official , and Geshem the Arab heard all this, they derided us and expressed contempt toward us. They said , “What is this you are doing ? Are you rebelling against the king ?” 2:20 I responded to them by saying , “The God of heaven will prosper us. We his servants will start the rebuilding . But you have no just or ancient right in Jerusalem .”

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • RULER

    [isbe] RULER - rool'-er: 1. In the Old Testament: (1) moshel, "ruler," "prince," "master" (tyrant), applied to Joseph in Egypt (Gen 45:8; compare Ps 105:21); to the Philistines (Jdg 15:11); to David's descendants, the future kings ...

  • RIGHT

    [isbe] RIGHT - rit (yashar, mishpaT; dikaios, euthus): Many Hebrew words are translated "right," with different shades of meaning. Of these the two noted are the most important: yashar, with the sense of being straight, direct, as ...

  • Pool

    [ebd] a pond, or reservoir, for holding water (Heb. berekhah; modern Arabic, birket), an artificial cistern or tank. Mention is made of the pool of Gibeon (2 Sam. 2:13); the pool of Hebron (4:12); the upper pool at Jerusalem (2 Ki...

  • POOL; POND; RESERVOIR

    [isbe] POOL; POND; RESERVOIR - pool, pond, rez'-er-vwar, rez'-er-vwar ((1) berekhah, "pool"; compare Arabic birkat, "pool"; compare berakhah, "blessing," and Arabic barakat, "blessing"; (2) agham, "pool," "marsh," "reeds"; compare ...

  • NOBLE; NOBLES; NOBLEMAN

    [isbe] NOBLE; NOBLES; NOBLEMAN - no'-b'-l, no'-b'-lz, no'-b'-l-man (chorim, 'addir; eugenes, Kratistos, basilikos): "Nobles" is the translation of the Hebrew chorim (occurring only in the plural), "free-born," "noble" (1 Ki 21:8,11...

  • Moabite

    [ebd] the designation of a tribe descended from Moab, the son of Lot (Gen. 19:37). From Zoar, the cradle of this tribe, on the south-eastern border of the Dead Sea, they gradually spread over the region on the east of Jordan. Rame...

  • MEMORIAL; MEMORY

    [isbe] MEMORIAL; MEMORY - me-mo'-ri-al, mem'-o-ri ('azkarah, zekher, zekher, zikkaron; mnemosunon): "Memorial" as the translation of 'azkdrah is a sacrificial term, that which brings the offerer into remembrance before God, or brin...

  • MAGISTRATE

    [isbe] MAGISTRATE - maj'-is-trat (shephaT, corresponding to shaphaT, "to judge," "to pronounce sentence" (Jdg 18:7)): Among the ancients, the terms corresponding to our "magistrate" had a much wider signification. "Magistrates and ...

  • LAUGHTER

    [isbe] LAUGHTER - laf'-ter (chaq, tsachaq, "to laugh," sechoq, "laughter"; gelao, katagelao): (1) Laughter as the expression of gladness, pleasurable surprise, is the translation of tsachaq (Gen 17:17; 18:12,13,15; 21:6), which, ho...

  • KING'S POOL

    [isbe] KING'S POOL - berekhath hamelekh): This is possibly the Pool of Siloam (Neh 2:14), and may have been so named as being near to the "king's garden."

  • KIDRON, THE BROOK

    [isbe] KIDRON, THE BROOK - (nachal qidhron; in Jn 18:1 (the King James Version Cedron), ho cheimarrhous ton Kedron, according to the Revised Version margin, the last two words are to be considered as meaning "of the cedars." The He...

  • JOEL (2)

    [isbe] JOEL (2) - (yo'el; Ioel): I. THE PROPHET II. THE BOOK 1. Literary Form 2. Outline of Contents 3. Interpretation (1) Literal (2) Allegorical 4. Indications of Date (1) Place in the Canon (2) Language and Style (3) Quotations ...

  • JERUSALEM, 2

    [isbe] JERUSALEM, 2 - IV. General Topography of Jerusalem. From the foregoing description of the "natural site," it will be seen that we have to deal with 5 natural subdivisions or hills, two on the western and three on the eastern...

  • HINNOM, VALLEY OF

    [isbe] HINNOM, VALLEY OF - hin'-om (ge hinnom, Josh 15:8; 18:16; "valley of the son of Hinnom" (ge bhen hinnom), Josh 15:8; 18:16; 2 Ch 28:3; 33:6; Jer 7:31 f; 19:2,6; 32:35; "valley of the children (sons) of Hinnom" (ge bhene hinn...

  • GOVERNOR

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. nagid, a prominent, conspicuous person, whatever his capacity: as, chief of the royal palace (2 Chr. 28:7; comp. 1 Kings 4:6), chief of the temple (1 Chr. 9:11; Jer. 20:1), the leader of the Aaronites (1 Chr. 12:27...
    [isbe] GOVERNOR - guv'-er-ner: The word "governor" is employed in English Versions of the Bible in rendering a great variety of Hebrew and Greek words. In certain cases strict consistency is neither observed nor possible. 1. In the...

  • GATE

    [isbe] GATE - gat (Hebrew normally (over 300 times) sha`ar; occasionally deleth, properly, "gateway" (but compare Dt 3:5); elsewhere the gateway is pethach (compare especially Gen 19:6); Aramaic tera`; Greek pulon, pule; the Englis...

  • EN-

    [isbe] EN- - (`ayin (compare Arabic `Ain)): The Hebrew word for "spring" or "fountain" (Gen 16:7; Nu 33:9; Neh 2:14; Prov 8:28 (feminine plural)). It occurs in numerous compound words, as EN-GEDI, EN-HADDAH, EN-HAKKORE, EN-HAZOR, E...

  • Decision

    [nave] DECISION. Deut. 30:19; Josh. 23:8. Josh. 24:15; 1 Sam. 12:20; 1 Kin. 18:21; Psa. 37:34; Psa. 69:13; Prov. 4:25-27; Isa. 50:7; Matt. 24:13 Mark 13:13; Matt. 10:22. Matt. 25:23; Luke 7:23 Matt. 11:6. John 8:31; John 15:4, 5, ...

  • Country

    [nave] COUNTRY. Love of Judg. 5:1-31; 2 Sam. 10:12; Neh. 1:1-11; Neh. 2:1-20 chapters 3-6.Neh. 5:1-18; Psa. 137:1-6 The Jews held church and country as one, therefore See: Church, Love for. See also Patriotism.

  • Artaxerxes

    [nave] ARTAXERXES 1. A Persian king, probably identical with Ahasuerus. Prohibits the rebuilding of Jerusalem, Ezra 4:7-24. 2. King of Persia. Decrees of, in behalf of the Jews, Ezra 7; Neh. 2; 5:14.

Arts

Hymns

(Note: In "active" or "on" condition, the hymns music will be played automatically when mouse hover on a hymns title)
  • [Neh 2:18] The Fathers Built This City

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • The use of the first person identifies the author as Nehemiah, the governor of the Persian province of Judah (1:1-2:20; 13:4-31). His name means "Yahweh has comforted."The mention of Darius the Persian in 12:22 probably refer...
  • The years of history the book covers are 445-431 B.C. or perhaps a few years after that.In 445 B.C. (the twentieth year of Artaxerxes' reign, 1:1) Nehemiah learned of the conditions in Jerusalem that led him to request permis...
  • I. The fortification of Jerusalem chs. 1-7A. The return under Nehemiah chs. 1-21. The news concerning Jerusalem 1:1-32. The response of Nehemiah 1:4-113. The request of Nehemiah 2:1-84. The return to Jerusalem 2:9-20B. The re...
  • Because of the opposition of the Jews' neighbors, Artaxerxes sent a military escort to accompany Nehemiah to Jerusalem (v. 9). It is not certain how many Jews travelled with Nehemiah on this occasion. The writer gave us no nu...
  • The builders finished the walls only 52 days after construction had begun (v. 15). "Elul"is late August and early September. Israel's enemies viewed their rapid progress as evidence that God had helped the workers (v. 16)."Th...
  • Eliashib was the high priest (3:1, 20; 13:28). He was evidently a close relative of Tobiah, the Jewish Ammonite leader who had opposed Nehemiah's efforts to rebuild the walls (2:19; 6:1, 17-18). Probably Eliashib cleaned out ...
  • Here we have another remarkable example of how God controls the hearts of kings (v. 2; Prov. 21:1; cf. Gen. 39-41; Ezra 1:1-4; Neh. 2; Dan. 2; 3; 4; 5; Acts 2:23). "To half of the kingdom"(v. 3) is hyperbole and means, "I wil...
  • This concluding exhortation contains a title for God unique in the Psalter. It highlights His sovereignty and was a favorite of the postexilic community (2 Chron. 36:23; Ezra 2:1; 5:11-12; 6:9-10; 7:12, 21, 23 [twice]; Neh. 1...
  • What Jeremiah had predicted for so long finally became a reality for Judah. There are four chapters in the Bible that record the fall of Jerusalem reflecting the importance of this event (39; 52; 2 Kings 25; 2 Chron. 36).39:1...
  • The Ammonites lived north of the Moabites, north of the Arnon River for most of their history, and east of the tribal territories of Gad and Reuben. However, the Ammonites had taken over some Israelite territory in Transjorda...
  • Ezekiel previously recorded an oracle against Ammon (21:28-32). Its placement there was evidently due to the presence of "sword of the Lord"terminology in that oracle, which the other prophecies in that chapter also contain.2...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

Back to Commentary Page
Display Bible



Universal Search:

NET Only
Exact Search
Commentary
Study Dictionary
Word Study
Lexicon
Study Maps System
Sermon Illustrations
Expository
Arts
Resource
Daily Bible Reading
Training Video
Classic NET Bible
iPhone NET Bible
Mobile Bible
TIP #21: 'To learn the History/Background of Bible books/chapters use the Discovery Box.' [ALL]
created in 0.06 seconds
powered by
bible.org - YLSA