Nehemiah 2:9, commentary and pictures

Nehemiah asked for and received still further help after his first request was favorably received. The king's letters were royal authorization for the governors of the provinces beyond the Euphrates, with his authority and privileges carefully defined so there would be no occasion to complain that he had exceeded his commission. He gave and presented the king's letters to the governors beyond the river.

The letters secured him honorable reception and prompt assistance from the governors. The captains of the army and horsemen were a military escort sent by the king, which Nehemiah had requested to give dignity and authority to his mission and to protect him on the journey to Judea through the provinces beyond the Euphrates. Guarded by the escort with the power of the Persian king, he reached Jerusalem in safety, with no enemy daring to molest him on the journey.

His arrival in Jerusalem with a military guard showed that he had come on an important mission and stirred jealousy and hatred among Israel's enemies. Those enemies were the heathen tribes living near the city, who had often indulged their enmity against the Jews by injury and insult, foremost Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, who from the first watched his movements with critical eyes and endeavored by every means to thwart his plans and hinder his work. He carried royal authority requiring the people to help rebuild Jerusalem's walls, but he did not rely on that authority alone and sought the people's confidence and sympathy because success required unity of heart as well as effort. His request and the king's generous response show that God's people may prudently ask people in authority for help in advancing God's work.