So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. Before he entered on any business, resting himself from the fatigue of the journey, and receiving the visits of his friends, as Ezra before him did, Ezra 8:32 . read more
And I arose in the might, I and some few men with me ,.... Both the season of the night, and the small number of men to accompany him, were chosen for greater secrecy, that the business he came upon might not as yet be known, and so no schemes formed to obstruct or discourage: neither told I any man what God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem ; he was satisfied that what he had in view was from the Lord, who had stirred him up to it, but thought it prudent for the present to conceal... read more
And I went out by night, by the gate of the valley ,.... Where that formerly stood, for the gates had been burnt, and were not as yet rebuilt; this was the gate that led to the valley of Jehoshaphat, according to some; or rather to the valley of dead bodies, through which the brook Kidron ran, see 2 Chronicles 26:9 it is the gate through which Christ went to Calvary; it led to Shiloh, Bethhoron, and Golan: even before the dragon well ; so called from its winding about, just as a... read more
Then I went on to the pool of the fountain, and to the king's pool ..... That led to the fountain Siloah or Gihon, so called; it was the way to the potter's field, to Bethlehem, Hebron, Gaza, and Egypt. Rauwolff says F20 Travels, par. 3. c. 3. p. 227. there is still standing on the outside of the valley Tyropaeum (which distinguishes the two mountains Zion and Moriah) the gate of the fountain, which hath its name, because it leadeth towards the fountain of Siloah, called the king's... read more
Then went I up in the night by the brook ,.... The brook Kidron: and viewed the wall ; that was on that side: and turned back ; did not go quite round the wall, the way perhaps being obstructed with rubbish, and was unpassable or he had not time to do it: and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned ; into the city, the same way he went out of it, Nehemiah 2:13 . read more
And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did ..... The rulers of the city of Jerusalem, who seem to be officers of the king of Persia, since they are distinguished from Jewish rulers in the next clause: neither had I as yet told it to the Jews ; what he came about and designed to do: nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers ; the principal men among the Jews, both ecclesiastical and civil: nor to the rest that did the work ; of building and repairing;... read more
Then said I unto them ,.... The priests and princes of the Jews: you see the distress that we are in ; lie open to our enemies, and exposed to their insults: how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire , Nehemiah 1:3 , come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem that we be no more a reproach ; to their neighbours about them, who scoffed at them as a defenceless people and frequently came in upon them, and spoiled and plundered them of their goods... read more
The dragon well - Perhaps so called because of the representation of a dragon, out of whose mouth the stream issued that proceeded from the well. Dung port - This was the gate on the eastern side of the city, through which the filth of the city was carried into the valley of Hinnom. read more
The gate of the fountain - Of Siloah. The king ' s pool - Probably the aqueduct made by Hezekiah, to bring the waters of Gihon to the city of David. See 2 Chronicles 32:30 . read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Nehemiah 2:9-20
We are here told, I. Now Nehemiah was dismissed by the court he was sent from. The king appointed captains of the army and horsemen to go with him (Neh. 2:9), both for his guard and to show that he was a man whom the king did delight to honour, that all the king's servants might respect him accordingly. Those whom the King of kings sends he thus protects, he thus dignifies with a host of angels to attend them. II. How he was received by the country he was sent to. 1. By the Jews and their... read more