Nehemiah 5:18 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Now that which was prepared for me, &c.— Bishop Pococke, in his Travels, vol. 1: p. 266, &c. has given us an account of the way in which the Bey of Tunis lived in 1733; not that his way of living differed from that of other Beys, it should seem; but merely as a curiosity for his readers. After describing some soups taken by him in the morning, he tells us, that he was wont to dine at eleven; that his grandees sat near him; that when they had eaten, others sat down, and the poor took away what was left. His provisions were twelve sheep every day, dressed in three different manners; with a rice pilaw,—with oranges and eggs,—and with onions and butter. Besides the mutton, there was wont to be cuscowsoe, which they ate with the broth; and also boiled fish or fowls, with lemon or orange sauce. An hour before sun-set they ate as before. But this account, beside the curiosity of it, may serve to illustrate what is said here, and in other parts of the Scripture, of some eminent personages; and the comparing the one with the other gives a very sensible pleasure. The Bey of Tunis is not a great prince; he is, however, at the head of a very considerable people; and yet Nehemiah seems to have equalled him in his way of living. For more on the subject see the Observations, p. 184.