Chapter One

1–3. A report about the condition of Jerusalem and the Jewish people received by Nehemiah from Hanani. 4–11. Nehemiah’s sorrow and his prayers.

Nehemiah 1:1. The words of Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah. In the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, I was in Susa, the capital city. “The words of Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah.” The Hebrew word debarim (words) in the inscription of historical works has a broad sense; compare (1 Chr 29:29) dibrej David; (1 Kgs 11:41; 2 Chr 9:29), meaning words and deeds—that is, history in general. The words of Nehemiah—the history of Nehemiah. The name Nehemiah was common among the Jews. In the post-exilic period persons bearing this name are mentioned further (Ezra 2:2; Neh 7:7). The origin of Nehemiah is not precisely known. The report of Eusebius and Jerome that Nehemiah belonged to the tribe of Judah can be considered very probable, since the majority of those who returned from captivity belonged to this tribe. But there is no basis for considering Nehemiah a descendant of David, merely because he held in Judea a position analogous to that of Zerubbabel, who was descended from the house of David. It is also incorrect to call Nehemiah a priest in the text of the Vulgate (2 Macc 1:2). The father of Nehemiah, Hacaliah, is also mentioned at (Neh 10:1) (Gachaliah). “In the month of Kislev.” According to Hebrew reckoning, Kislev is the ninth month, corresponding to our November-December. The name of the month is borrowed from the Babylonians and came into use after the return from captivity (cf. Schrader, Keilinschr. und A. T. 2 Aufl. I, S. 379). “In the twentieth year.” From (Neh 2:1) of the same book it is evident that in the given passage the twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes is meant, and precisely Artaxerxes I Longimanus (462–427), that is, 445 BC. “I was in Susa, the capital city.” Susa (Hebrew Shuschan and in cuneiform texts Susaan)—a city which served as the autumn residence of the Persian kings (Esth 1:2; Dan 8:2). Here Nehemiah was, of course, in the position of the king’s cupbearer.

Nehemiah 1:2. And Hanani came, one of my brothers, he and several men from Judah. And I asked them about the surviving Jews who remained from the captivity and about Jerusalem. “And Hanani came, one of my brothers.” Although Hanani could be called a brother of Nehemiah in the broader sense, as his fellow countryman, yet in view of (Neh 7:2), he should be considered a brother in the proper sense. From this the journey of Hanani to Jerusalem and then his return to Susa is evidence that the whole family of Nehemiah was filled with love for the sacred city and concern for the fate of the Jewish people. Nehemiah began to ask the returning brother about the surviving Jews, who remained from the captivity—that is, about members of the restored community, about the descendants of those who survived the captivity.

Nehemiah 1:3. And they said to me: The survivors who remained from the captivity are there in their land in great distress and in shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire. Hanani and those who came with him told Nehemiah that the Jewish community was in great distress and shame “and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.” Clearly in verse 3 the narrative does not refer to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, as some suppose, for then it would be unclear why they would report to Nehemiah about an event which he knew; furthermore, such an ancient report could not have affected Nehemiah so deeply as is described further. To refer with Ewald these words to the presumed destruction of the walls during the time of Zerubbabel is also impossible, both because we have no report of their building, and because from that event seventy years had already passed, and about it Nehemiah would have had no need to ask. Apparently in the verse under consideration the narrative refers to a recent event—that destruction of the wall of Jerusalem which was probably made by the governor of Samaria Rehum on the basis of a royal order he received to stop the building of the walls (Ezra 4:23).

Nehemiah 1:4. When I heard these words, I sat down and wept, and was sad for several days, and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven The report of the calamities of Jerusalem deeply grieved Nehemiah. He wept, was sad for several days, fasted and prayed “before the God of heaven” (verse 4).

Nehemiah 1:5. And he said: O Lord, God of heaven, God great and awesome, keeping covenant and mercy toward those who love you and keep your commandments! Nehemiah 1:6. Let your ears be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant, which I now pray day and night before you on behalf of the sons of Israel, your servants, and I confess the sins of the sons of Israel, which we have committed against you—I and the house of my father have sinned. Nehemiah 1:7. We have become unfaithful before you and have not kept the commandments and statutes and ordinances which you commanded to Moses, your servant. Nehemiah 1:8. But remember the word which you commanded to Moses, your servant, saying: if you become unfaithful, then I will scatter you among the nations; Nehemiah 1:9. but when you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, then even if you were driven away to the edge of heaven, from there I will gather you and bring you to the place which I chose to establish my name there. Nehemiah 1:10. Now they are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed with your great power and your mighty hand. Nehemiah 1:11. I pray you, O Lord! Let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name. And prosper your servant now, and grant him mercy before this man. I was cupbearer to the king. The content of the prayer is set forth. The distinctive feature of this prayer is that its content and individual expressions are borrowed from Deuteronomy (cf. Deut 7:9). The prayer is addressed to the God of heaven. The designation of God as the God of heaven came into use from the time of the captivity, when in the consciousness of the people, who had finally broken with idolatry, the idea of God’s transcendence, his superiority over all earthly things, became especially evident. In conclusion, Nehemiah (verse 11) prays that the Lord would grant him mercy before the king (“before this man”), since the fate of the Jewish people was directly in the hands of the Persian king.