Bible Strands
Nehemiah 2:8
And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house I will occupy.” And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Nehemiah addresses King Artaxerxes during a private court audience, requesting official documents to secure safe passage and timber for Jerusalem’s restoration. He makes this appeal after the king notices his mourning and before Nehemiah details the rebuilding project.
The words — The Hebrew אִגֶּרֶת ('igge-ret) refers to a formal royal warrant, and שֹׁמֵר הַפַּרְדֵּס (sho-mer ha-par-des) designates Asaph as the royal warden managing the king’s timber reserves.
The thread — The pattern of imperial authorization for sacred construction reappears in Ezra 7:6, where a scribe receives similar royal support, while the phrase “gracious hand of my God” echoes the theological motif found in Isaiah 66:14.
Why it lands — The text states that the king granted Nehemiah’s requests because God’s hand was upon him, establishing divine provision as the primary cause of political success. It asks the reader to observe how institutional authority and sovereign purpose function together without conflating the two.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
Cross-references
- Ezra 7:6 this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted Ezra all his requests, for the hand of the LORD his God was upon him.
- Isaiah 66:14 When you see, you will rejoice, and you will flourish like grass; then the hand of the LORD will be revealed to His servants, but His wrath will be shown to His enemies.
- Nehemiah 7:2 Then I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah the commander of the fortress, because he was a faithful man who feared God more than most.
- Daniel 1:9 Now God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official,
- Nehemiah 2:17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned down. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”
- Genesis 32:28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”
- Ezra 5:5 But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, so that they were not stopped until a report was sent to Darius and written instructions about this matter were returned.
- Ezra 6:22 For seven days they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread with joy, because the LORD had made them joyful and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to strengthen their hands in the work on the house of the God of Israel.
- Ezra 7:9 He had begun the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was upon him.
- Ezra 7:27 Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put into the heart of the king to so honor the house of the LORD in Jerusalem,