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.
And I also need a letter to Asaph, who is in charge of the king's forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress next to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house where I will live. And the king granted me everything I asked for, because my God's good hand was upon me.
Nehemiah asked the Persian king for building materials to rebuild Jerusalem, and God blessed his request so that the king gave him everything he needed.
📚 Historical Context
Nehemiah was a Jewish cupbearer to the Persian King Artaxerxes around 445 BC, about 90 years after the first Jewish exiles had returned from Babylon. Jerusalem's walls were still in ruins, leaving the city defenseless and the people discouraged. Nehemiah was requesting official permission and resources to rebuild the city's fortifications.
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