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Nehemiah 2:11

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does Nehemiah 2:11 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
Nehemiah 2:11 — American Standard Version

Context — Nehemiah 2

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
8and 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 castle which appertaineth 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.
9Then I came to the governors beyond the River, and gave them the king`s letters. Now the king had sent with me captains of the army and horsemen.
10And when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly, for that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
11So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
12And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God put into my heart to do for Jerusalem; neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.
13And I went out by night by the valley gate, even toward the jackal`s well, and to the dung gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
14Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the king`s pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.
← Nehemiah 2:10Nehemiah 2:12 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“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, (<150832>Ezra 8:32).”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days--Deeply affected with the desolations of Jerusalem, and uncertain what course to follow, he remained three days before informing any one of the object of his mission [Neh 2:17-18]. At the end of the third day, accompanied with a few attendants, he made, under covert of night, a secret survey of the walls and gates [Neh 2:13-15].”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Ezr 8:32 Nehemiah 2:12”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“Nehemiah's arrival at Jerusalem. He surveys the wall, and resolves to restore it. - Neh 2:11 Having arrived at Jerusalem and rested three days (as Ezra had also done, Ezr 8:32), he arose in the night, and some few men with him, to ride round the wall of the city, and get a notion of its condition. His reason for taking but few men with him is given in the following sentence: "I had told no man what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem." Although he had come to Jerusalem with the resolution of fortifying the city by restoring its circumvallation, he spoke of this to no one until he had ascertained, by an inspection of the wall, the magnitude and extent of the work to be…”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification