Глава 2

1–5. Nehemiah's request for permission to travel to Judea. 7–8. The King's Letters Given to Nehemiah. 9–10. Arrival of Nehemiah in Jerusalem. 11–16. Nehemiah's inspection of the destroyed walls of Jerusalem. 17–16. The decision to restore the walls. 19–20. The attitude of the enemies of the Jewish people towards Nehemiah's enterprise. Nehemiah 2:1. In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, there was wine before him. And I took the wine and served it to the king, and it seemed that I was not sad before him. Nehemiah 2:2. But the king said to me: why is your face sad? You’re not sick, that’s not true, but is there really sadness in your heart? I was very scared Neh.2:3. and said to the king: May the king live forever! How can my face not be sad when the city, the house of the tombs of my fathers, is desolate, and its gates are burned with fire! Nehemiah 2:4. And the king said to me: what do you want? I prayed to the God of heaven Nehemiah 2:5. And he said to the king: If it pleases the king, and if your servant is well pleased before you, then send me to Judea, to the city where the tombs of my fathers are, so that I can build it. Nehemiah 2:6. And the king and the queen, who was sitting next to him, said to me: How long will your journey last, and when will you return? And it pleased the king to send me after I had appointed the time. What is told in Art. 1–6, the event occurred in the same year, but a month later than what is mentioned in Chapter I. According to the church reckoning, Kislev was the ninth month, and Nisan the first; according to civil law, Kislev was the third month, and Nisan was the seventh. Obviously, Nehemiah uses the civil reckoning. It is not clear from the biblical account why, in fact, Nehemiah made a request to the king only four months after receiving news of the sad state of affairs in Jerusalem. It is possible that he did not perform the duty of cupbearer constantly, but in turn with others, and therefore had to wait for the time when he could see the king. Nehemiah made a request to the king during the feast (“there was wine before him”; LXX and Sir. read: “there was wine before me,” ἐνώπιον ἐμοῦ), giving the king a cup of wine. The conversation was started by the king himself, who drew attention to the fact that Nehemiah, contrary to the customs of the court (Esther 4:2), had sad look, although he tried to hide his sadness. In LXX, instead of the Hebrew: “and seemed not sad in front of him,” καὶ ὀυκ ἤ ἕτεπος ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, glav.: “and not in front of him.” Despite the king’s sympathetic question, Nehemiah, in his words, was “greatly afraid,” perhaps for the outcome of his request, which could anger the king. In parallel to Art. 2 we can put the report of the historian Herodotus about Darius and Xerxes that they put to death courtiers suspected of unwillingness to accompany them during campaigns and in their desire to leave the court. The words “may the king live forever!” constituted the usual expression of goodwill, which usually began an appeal to the king (cf. Dan. 2:4, 3:9; 1 Kings 1:31). In response to the king's question, Nehemiah points out the cause of his grief - the desolation of Jerusalem. He calls Jerusalem the home of the “coffins of the fathers,” wishing to signify the closeness of the city’s fate to his heart. Nehemiah does not indicate the higher religious significance of the city, perhaps because it was not entirely clear to the pagan king. The word beith "house" is used in the expression instead of ir "city" in the broad sense in which it is used in the names of the cities of Bet-Galchal, Bet-Nimra, etc. When asked by the king about Nehemiah’s desire, the latter, having mentally raised a prayer to God, asks to send him to Judea to build Jerusalem. After he indicated the time required for the journey, the king agreed to fulfill the request. The exact time Nehemiah appointed is not stated in the narrative. But in the course of speech, we can conclude that Nehemiah appointed a short time, and if he stayed in Jerusalem for 12 years (Neh. 5:14, 13:6), then, probably, due to subsequent requests for an extension of the journey. Nehemiah 2:7. And I said to the king: if it pleases the king, he would give me letters to the governors of the regions beyond the river, so that they would give me a pass until I reach Judea, Nehemiah 2:8. and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the royal forests, so that he would give me wood for the gate of the fortress, which is near the house of God, and for the city wall, and for the house in which I would live. And the king gave it to me, because the benevolent hand of my God was upon me. In order to more successfully achieve his goals, Nehemiah asks the king for letters to those beyond the river, i.e. to the Trans-Euphrates regional governors and to the keeper of the royal forests, Asaph. These letters given to Nehemiah apparently contained detailed explanations of what Nehemiah was planning. “Keeper of the Royal Forests” (pardes), cf. (Song. 4:3; Eccl. 2:5). It is unknown which forests are being referred to here. According to the ancient interpreters, here of course is regio a Libano ad Antilibanum protensa et arboribus amoenissimis consita, - the northern tip of Kelesyria. But this is hardly fair, since the forest in question in the place in question should have been located near Jerusalem. Keil believes that in (Neh. 2:7), of course, the forest of olives and sycamores in the valley mentioned in (1 Chronicles 27:28), which belonged to David and then probably became the property of the conquering kings. But it can hardly be understood in Art. 7. and this forest, since it could not provide material for the construction Nehemiah was undertaking. I. Josephus (Jude. Ancient VIII, 7, 3) speaks of the beautiful gardens of Solomon in Etham, not far from Jerusalem to the south. It is possible that in the place in question the book. Nehemiah refers to these gardens, which once belonged to the royal house. Probably the whole country from Epham to the so-called. The Frankish mountains or Jebel el-Ferdis (pardes) were once covered with forest. The keeper of the king's forests was to supply Nehemiah with material 1) for the gates of the fortress (birah) that was at the house of God, 2) for the city wall, and 3) for the construction of his own house. Mentioned in Art. 8 fortress of the church, birah, or in Greek. pronunciation βᾶρις was probably built where the kings and high priests of the Maccabean family subsequently built a fortress (Jude. Ancient XV, 11, 4) and which later, during the restoration of the temple by Herod, was called Antonia. The position of Antonia, which was a large quadrangular fortification with towers, courtyards and wide areas for soldiers, is only known for sure that it was located north of the church area. Whether the birah was equal to the time of Nehemiah - βᾶρις of the Maccabean princes and Anthony, we do not know. From the place we are considering, it is only clear that many gates led into it and that its walls surrounded, therefore, a considerable space. 2) We are talking about only one wall of the city. The wood was not used for the wall, but for the gate in the wall (Neh. 3:3, 6). The request for material to build a house for Nehemiah is probably explained by the fact that Nehemiah came to Jerusalem as a governor (pechah), (Neh. 5:14). Nehemiah 2:9. And I came to the regional governors beyond the river and gave them the royal letters. The king sent military commanders with horsemen with me. “And I came to the regional governors beyond the river.” I. Flavius ​​(Jude. Ancient. XI, 5, 6–7) reports that the then head of the regions - Syria, Phenicia and Samaria was Adaios. As an official and holding a high position, Nehemiah was accompanied by a detachment of horsemen, who later, no doubt, remained with him in Jerusalem. Nehemiah 2:10. When Sanballat, Horonite, and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, they were very annoyed that a man had come to care for the welfare of the children of Israel. The arrival of Nehemiah with the intention of arranging the affairs of the Jews alarmed the enemies of the Jews and especially those persons who stood at their head. Sanballat is a name of Assyro-Babylonian origin (“Sin gives life”). The nickname Horonith was given to him on behalf of Beth-Horon. Two cities are known with this name, lying on the way from Jerusalem to Lydda, which once belonged to the tribe of Ephraim (Joshua 16:3, 5, 18:13, 21:22), and during the time of Nehemiah were part of the Samaria region (III, 34). Tobiah, the "Slave of Ammon" was probably an official appointed by the Persian king over the Ammonites. He was apparently Sanballat's favorite and his chief adviser. The reason for the dissatisfaction of these persons with the fact of the arrival of Nehemiah was the fear that Samaria, which had risen after the fall of Jerusalem, would lose importance with the restoration of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 2:11. And I came to Jerusalem. And after staying there for three days, Nehemiah 2:12. I got up at night with the few people who were with me, and I didn’t tell anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem; There was no animal with me except the one on which I was riding. Nehemiah 2:13. And I rode at night through the Gate of the Valley in front of the Drakensberg Spring to the Gate of Dung, and I looked at the destroyed walls of Jerusalem and its gates burned with fire. After three days' rest, Nehemiah, intending to begin to implement his plans for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, made a first inspection of them. Fearing intrigues from enemies, Nehemiah inspected the walls secretly, at night and without companions. “Gate of the Valley”, mentioned back in (2 Chron. 26:9; Neh. 3:13), received its name from the fact that it led to the Valley of Gennom (II, 20), which encircles Jerusalem from the west and south. Most archaeologists point to this gate in the west, on the site of the Jaffa Gate, while others believe in the south, on the site of the so-called. Gate of the Essenes. The Valley Gate probably corresponds to the current Jaffa Gate on the west side. The mention of the Dragon Spring (LXX πρὸς στόμα πηγῆς τῶν συκῶν, slav.: “to the mouth of the fig spring”) is found only here. The exact location of this source is unknown. Different authors indicated it in different places and identified it with the present Birket Hammam Sitti Mariam, or with the spring of Rogel mentioned in (1 Kings 1:9), with the spring of the Virgin, or with the spring of Siloam, or with the upper pond (Birket Mamilla) or with the lower pond (Birket es-Sultan). The dung gate lay on the western side of the city. Thus, Nehemiah first of all paid attention to the western wall, since it was, due to the nature of the area, especially important. Nehemiah 2:14. And I drove up to the gate of the Source and to the royal reservoir, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass through - “And I drove up to the gate of the Source and to the royal reservoir.” The "Source Gate" was located on the southeast side of the city. By “the king’s reservoir” we probably mean the pond that Joseph (Jude. War V, 4, 2) calls the pond of Solomon and which, according to his testimony, lay east of the Siloam spring. According to Tenius, this is the current “spring of the Virgin,” which is located where the Kidron valley forms a gorge. Here, as a result, fragments of walls and houses could easily block the path, so the passage was impossible. Nehemiah 2:15. and I climbed back up the ravine at night and examined the wall, and passing again through the gates of the Valley, I returned. "And I climbed (Vachi oleh) back along the ravine." According to the meaning of the Hebrew text, Nehemiah rose or stood on his feet to inspect part of the wall (glory: “and sighed at the wall”). Heb. standing in this place. The participle of the text (rose - oleh) indicates the long time Nehemiah used to examine part of the wall. Nehemiah probably walked all the way through the Kidron Valley or Valley of Jehoshaphat to the northern end of the city and then, after examining the northern wall, returned by the same “Valley Gate” by which he came out. Nehemiah 2:16. And the rulers did not know where I went and what I was doing: I had not revealed anything to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to other workers. Nehemiah 2:17. And I said to them: You see the disaster in which we are; Jerusalem is empty and its gates are burned with fire; let's go, let's build the wall of Jerusalem, and we won't be in such humiliation anymore. Nehemiah 2:18. And I told them about the hand of my God that had been good to me, and also the words of the king that he spoke to me. And they said, “Let us build,” and they strengthened their hands for a good work. An inspection of the wall, done in secret to avoid premature publicity of the matter, convinced Nehemiah of the possibility of restoring the wall, and so he apparently convened a meeting of representatives of the people and invited them to begin construction. To excite the energy of his future employees, Nehemiah pointed out to them the divine favor shown in the attitude of the king towards the undertaking. After this, those gathered agreed to begin construction and, in the words of the writer, “strengthened their hands for a good deed,” that is, they firmly decided to see it through to the end. Nehemiah 2:19. When Sanballat, Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arabian heard this, they laughed at us and said with contempt, “What is this work that you are doing?” Are you already thinking about rebelling against the king? Nehemiah 2:20. I gave them an answer and said to them: God of Heaven, He will prosper us, and we, His servants, will begin to build, but you have no part, no right, no memory in Jerusalem. The rumor about the intentions of the Jews reached their enemies - Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem. The latter (according to (Neh. 6:1, 2, 6) - Gashm) was probably the head of some Arab tribe living in the south of Palestine near Jerusalem. Nehemiah's enemies treated Nehemiah's enterprise with ridicule and contempt, but at the same time they tried to cast a shadow on it as an enterprise directed against the king. By covering the matter in this way, the enemies discovered how to create great obstacles to the cause in the future. And so Nehemiah confesses his hope in God. You might be interested in: