Nehemiah 3:25

Neh 3:25 Palal the son of Uzai, over against the turning [of the wall], and the tower which lieth out from the king’s high house, that [was] by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh.

Ver. 25. Over against the turning] Of these turnings there were many, as appeareth above.

The king’s high house] In Spain, not only doth the king dwell in a stately high palace, but also the highest room in every great house is his, and he must be paid for it.

That was by the court of the prison] Here Jeremiah was prisoner more than once, Jer 32:2; Jer 38:7; Jer 38:13. And therefore other good people that came after him thither might be as well apaid as Dr Taylor, martyr, who blessed God that ever he was fellow-prisoner to that earthly angel (as be called him), John Bradford; or, as that other good woman, who rejoiced that she might have her foot in the hole of the stocks in which Mr Philpot had been before her.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Neh 3:25. Over against the turning of the wall — In a part of the wall which jutted out. And the tower — Or, even the tower. Which lieth out from the king’s high house — Either from the royal palace, or from some other house which the king formerly built there, either for prospect or for defence. By the court of the prison — A place often mentioned: see Jer 32:2; Jer 38:7; Jer 38:13.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3:25-26 The tower that projects up from the king’s upper house and the court of the guard might refer to a royal complex on the hill of Ophel, just south of the Temple area.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

the tower which lieth out from the king's high house--that is, watchtower by the royal palace [BARCLAY].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(25) The tower which lieth out from the king’s high house.—Better, the high tower outlying from the king’s palace.

That was by the court of the prison.—The palace generally had its prison, and near this was the “prison-gate” of Neh_12:39.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25. Palal the son of Uzai] R.V. Palal the son of Uzai repaired.

the tower which lieth out from the king’s high house, that was by the court of the prison] R.V. the tower that standeth out from the upper house of the king, which is by the court of the guard, R.V. marg. ‘Or, the upper tower … from the house of the king’.

It is not easy to determine the meaning of this description. The adjective ‘upper’ may be applied either to the king’s house or to the tower; and the clause ‘which is by the court of the guard’ follows it as a further description either of house or tower. In Jer_32:2 ‘the court of the guard’ is in ‘the king’s house’ (cf. Jer_33:1; Jer_37:21; Jer_38:6; Jer_38:13; Jer_38:28; Jer_39:14-15). In the present passage we have either ‘the king’s upper house,’ so called to distinguish it from the king’s house, in which was the court of the guard; or, as seems more probable, seeing that the passage is a description of the city wall, ‘the upper tower,’ which is identified as the one projecting from the king’s palace and close to the ‘court of the guard.’ In the vicinity of the royal palace and Temple there would probably be several towers. The LXX. ὁ πύργος … ὁ ἀνώτερος accepted the latter explanation.

It is very probable that the base of ‘the tower’ here spoken of was reached by Sir Charles Warren. ‘A great wall still exists, though buried in rubbish, joining the Haram wall at the south-east angle. It was evidently built for purposes of fortification, for it is fourteen feet thick.… There are several towers projecting from the wall, one of which is very remarkable, as it projects more than any of the rest, standing upon scarped rock, and having another wall leading from it going down towards the Kedron.’ (Harper, The Bible and Modern Discoveries, P. 509.)

‘the upper house of the king’. This building, erected upon the site of the old palace of the kings of Judah and perhaps at this time occupied by the chief officials of the city, stood apparently on the ‘Ophel’ summit, immediately S. of the Temple precincts.

Pedaiah the son of Parosh] R.V. Pedaiah the son of Parosh repaired. R.V. marg. ‘Pedaiah the son of Parosh (now … Ophel) repaired unto, &c.’ See note on Neh_3:26. On Parosh see Ezr_2:3. As in the earlier part of the verse the verb ‘repaired’ has to be understood.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

After them the Tekoites repaired another piece,.... Having finished what they undertook in another part of the wall, Neh 3:5, they engage in this part of it; which shows their great zeal and diligence, when their nobles were so backward to it, and withdrew from it:

over against the great tower that lieth out; the same as in the preceding verse:

even unto the wall of Ophel; from right against the great tower unto the wall the Tekoites repaired.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Over against the turning of the wall; in a part of the wall, which jutted out as the tower here following did, and therefore was opposite to or over against that turning.

And the tower, or, even the tower. Out from the king’s high house; either from the royal palace; or from some other smaller house which the king formerly built there, either for prospect or for defence.

By the court of the prison; a place oft mentioned; of which see Jer 32:2; 38:6,13.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

25. The tower… king’s high house… court of the prison — These are also unknown. The king’s high house seems most naturally to designate the great palace of Solomon, which stood at the south of the temple area, commanding the slope of Ophel. See note at the beginning of 1 Kings 7.

But in the time of Nehemiah, more than a century after that ancient palace had been laid in ruins, the name may have been given to some other royal house. Hence all attempts to designate its exact location are at best conjectural.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The tower which lieth out from the king"s high house. In the original it is uncertain whether the word translated "high" belongs to "tower" or "house." Most commentators attach it to "tower." The "king"s house" of this place can be nothing but the old palace of David, which was in this quarter, while Solomon"s was on the opposite, or western, hill This palace, like Solomon s, (Jer_32:2) would naturally have its prison, which would stand in its own court. From this prison, the "prison gate" of Neh_12:39 took its name.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Palal ... repaired ... Parosh repaired ... servants ... repaired ... repaired another section

These phrases refer to repairing the wall. AT: "Palal ... repaired the wall ... Parosh repaired the wall ... servants ... repaired the wall ... repaired another section of the wall"

Palal ... Uzai ... Pedaiah ... Parosh

These are the names of men. (See: How to Translate Names)

the tower that extends upward

"the tower that rises up"

upper house of the king

"higher palace of the leader of Israel"

the courtyard of the guard

This is the place where the guards stayed.

After him

"Next to him"

Ophel

This is the name of a place. (See: How to Translate Names)

opposite the Water Gate

"in front of the Water Gate"

the projecting tower ... the great projecting tower

"the tall tower ... the tall tower." The phrase "the projecting tower" means a tall tower that juts out from the wall. It is likely that both of these phrases refer to the same tower.

the Tekoites

These are people from the town of Tekoa. See how you translated this in Nehemiah 3:5. (See: How to Translate Names)

translationWords

son

house

king

court

temple

servant

life

water

gate

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

and the tower that juts out There was one tower in the wall that jutted out and protruded from within.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.