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.
Ver. 8. Keeper of the king's forest] Heb. Paradise; probably so called for the pleasantness of it. Tho French Protestants called their temple or church at Lyons, Paradise, David's delight, Psa 27:1-14 Psalms 84:1,12 .
Of the palace that appertained to the house] i.e., to the Temple, which is called the house, by an excellency; as the Scriptures are called the Bible, that is, the Book, as being the only best book, in comparison whereof all other books in the world are no better than waste paper.
And for the house that I shall enter into] i.e., A dwelling house for myself, when once the public is served. Junius understands it of a common hall or shire house, wherein he might sit and judge causes brought before him.
And the king granted me] It was but ask and have, and so it is between God and his people. When there was a speech among some holy men, what was the best trade? one answered, beggary; it is the hardest and richest trade. Common beggary is indeed the poorest and easiest; but prayer he meant. A courtier gets more by one suit oft than a tradesman or merchant haply with twenty years' labour; so doth a faithful prayer, &c.
According to the good hand] He calleth him his God, as if he loved or cared more for him than for the rest of the world. It is the property of true faith, ιδιοποιεισθαι, to make all its own that it can lay hold upon. See Trapp on " Ezr 7:6 "