Albert Barnes Commentary Nehemiah 2:8

"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 castle which appertaineth 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." — Nehemiah 2:8 (ASV)

The king’s forest - Rather, park. The word used פרדס pardês; compare παράδεισος paradeisos—found only here, in Ecclesiastes 2:5 and Song of Solomon 4:13—is of Persian, or at any rate of Aryan origin. The Persians used pariyadeza to signify a walled enclosure, ornamented with trees, either planted or of natural growth, and containing numerous wild animals. The “paradise” here mentioned must have been in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, and may have corresponded to the earlier “gardens of Solomon.”

The palace - Rather, “the fortress.” The word in the original has the double meaning of “palace” and “fortress,” the fact being that in ancient times palaces were always fortified. “The fortress which pertained to the house (temple)” is first spoken of here. Under the Romans it was called “Antonia.”