Charles Ellicott 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)

Keeper of the king’s forest. —Asaph, a Jew, was keeper of an artificial park or pleasure ground near Jerusalem: the Persian pardes, from which our word “Paradise” comes. This park was well planted with trees, as timber was to be supplied from it for the gates of the palace (or rather, the fortress, which protected the house, or temple, and was known in Roman times as Antonia); also for the city walls; and also for the house that I shall enter into—that is, Nehemiah’s own house, as his appointment as governor is presupposed.