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Nehemiah 1

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Nehemiah Hears of Jerusalem's Distress 1–4

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The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it came to pass in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, ​
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that Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men out of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, that were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. ​
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And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. ​
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And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven, ​

The Prayer of Confession and Petition 5–11

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and said, I beseech thee, O Jehovah, the God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments: ​
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let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee. Yea, I and my father’s house have sinned: ​
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we have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
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Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye trespass, I will scatter you abroad among the peoples: ​
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but if ye return unto me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the uttermost part of the heavens, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen, to cause my name to dwell there.
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Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
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O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who delight to fear thy name; and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. Now I was cupbearer to the king. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Nehemiah 1

Verse 1

the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year — Chisleu is the ninth month (Zech 7:1). The king is Artaxerxes, and Nehemiah speaks to him in Nisan of the 'twentieth year' (2:1). 'Shushan the palace' (birah, the citadel) is where Ahasuerus sat (Esth 1:2) and where Daniel saw a vision (Dan 8:2). His father is Hachaliah (10:1).

Verse 2

Hanani, one of my brethren — Neh 7:2 says 'my brother Hanani', whom Nehemiah later puts in charge of Jerusalem. 'Escaped' is peletah, the word of Ezra 9:8, 13–15 ('a remnant to escape'), so the question covers the survivors of the exile as well as the city. The men come from Judah to Shushan.

Verse 3

the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down — The ruin is the one the Chaldees made when they 'brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about' (2 Kgs 25:10); 'broken down' is parats, to breach. 'Province' is Judea, as in Ezra 5:8. 'Reproach' (cherpah) returns in 2:17: 'that we be no more a reproach'.

Verse 4

the God of heaven — The title the exiles use before the Persian kings: Cyrus says 'The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth' (Ezra 1:2), and Nehemiah prays to him again before answering Artaxerxes (2:4). He 'sat down and wept', as Ezra did (Ezra 9:3; 10:1), and fasted, as Daniel did (Dan 9:3).

Verse 5

the great and terrible God — 'Terrible' is from yare, to fear: a God to be feared, as in Deut 7:21, 'a mighty God and terrible'. 'Keepeth covenant and mercy' is the wording of Deut 7:9 and of Daniel's prayer for the same exile, 'keeping the covenant and mercy' (Dan 9:4). 'I beseech thee' is anna, again in v.11.

Verse 6

thine eyes open — Solomon asked the same at the temple's dedication: 'That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant' (1 Kgs 8:52). Nehemiah prays 'day and night' and confesses the sins of Israel as his own: 'both I and my father's house have sinned', as Daniel confesses 'my sin and the sin of my people' (Dan 9:20).

Verse 8

If ye transgress, I will scatter you — 'Transgress' is maal, breach of faith, the verb of Ezra 10:2, 'We have trespassed'. The warning is in Deut 4:27, 'the LORD shall scatter you among the nations', and Lev 26:33. Verse 9 turns to the promise that follows: 'if ye turn unto me… yet will I gather them from thence'.

Verse 11

the king's cupbearer — Shaqah, 'to give drink': the officer who served the king's cup. Solomon's cupbearers are among what the queen of Sheba saw (1 Kgs 10:5). 'Mercy' is rachamim, compassion, asked 'in the sight of this man'. 'Fear thy name' is yare, the root of 'terrible' in v.5.