Nehemiah 2:8

2:8 and a letter for Asaph the keeper of the king’s nature preserve, ¹  so that he will give me timber for beams for the gates of the fortress adjacent to the temple and for the city wall ²  and for the house to which I go.” So the king granted me these requests, ³  for the good hand of my God was on me.

Nehemiah 2:18

2:18 Then I related to them how the good hand of my God was on me and what ⁴  the king had said to me. Then they replied, “Let’s begin rebuilding right away!” ⁵  So they readied themselves ⁶  for this good project.

Nehemiah 5:7

5:7 I considered these things carefully ⁷  and then registered a complaint with the wealthy ⁸  and the officials. I said to them, “Each one of you is seizing the collateral ⁹  from your own countrymen!” ¹⁰  Because of them I called for ¹¹  a great public assembly.

Nehemiah 8:15

8:15 and that they should make a proclamation and disseminate this message ¹²  in all their cities and in Jerusalem: ¹³  “Go to the hill country and bring back olive branches and branches of wild olive trees, myrtle trees, date palms, and other leafy trees to construct temporary shelters, as it is written.”

Nehemiah 13:22

13:22 Then I directed the Levites to purify themselves and come and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy.

For this please remember me, O my God, and have pity on me in keeping with your great love.

¹ tn Or “forest.” So HALOT 963 s.v. פַּרְדֵּס 2.

² tc One medieval Hebrew MS, the Syriac Peshitta, Vulgate, and the Arabic read here the plural וּלְחוֹמוֹת (ulÿkhomot, “walls”) against the singular וּלְחוֹמַת (ulÿkhomat) in the MT. The plural holem vav (וֹ) might have dropped out due to dittography or the plural form might have been written defectively.

³ tn The Hebrew text does not include the expression “these requests,” but it is implied.

⁴ tn Heb “the words of the king which he had spoken to me.”

⁵ tn Heb “Arise! Let us rebuild!”

⁶ tn Heb “strengthened their hands.”

⁷ tn Heb “my heart was advised upon me.”

⁸ tn Heb “nobles.”

⁹ tn Heb “taking a creditor’s debt.” The Hebrew noun מַשָּׁא (masha’) means “interest; debt” and probably refers to the collateral (pledge) collected by a creditor (HALOT 641-42 s.v.). This particular noun form appears only in Nehemiah (5:7, 10; 10:32); however, it is related to מַשָּׁאָה (masha’ah, “contractual loan; debt; collateral”) which appears elsewhere (Deut 24:10; Prov 22:26; cf. Neh 5:11). See the note on the word “people” at the end of v. 5. The BHS editors suggest emending the MT to מָשָׂא (masa’, “burden”), following several medieval Hebrew MSS; however, the result is not entirely clear: “you are bearing a burden, a man with his brothers.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “his brothers.”

¹¹ tn Heb “I gave.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “a voice.”

¹¹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.