nehemiah-1:1-4,-nehemiah-2:16-20-niv

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Nehemiah 1:1-4

What a tribe Nehemiah was of does nowhere appear; but, if it be true (which we are told by the author of the Maccabees, 2 Macc. 1:18) that he offered sacrifice, we must conclude him to have been a priest. Observe, I. Nehemiah's station at the court of Persia. We are here told that he was in Shushan the palace, or royal city, of the king of Persia, where the court was ordinarily kept (Neh. 1:1), and (Neh. 1:11) that he was the king's cup-bearer. Kings and great men probably looked upon it as a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Nehemiah 1:1

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah ,.... Or his transactions and deeds; for דברי "dibre" signifies things done, as well as words spoken; who Hachaliah his father was is not known; the Arabic version adds, the high priest, without any foundation; though some have thought that Nehemiah was a priest, from a passage in"Therefore whereas we are now purposed to keep the purification of the temple upon the five and twentieth day of the month Chisleu, we thought it necessary to certify you... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Nehemiah 1:2

That Hanani, one of my brethren ,.... Either in natural relation, Nehemiah 7:2 , or being a Jew of the same nation and religion; so Jarchi interprets it, one of my companions or acquaintance: he and certain men of Judah ; who came from thence to Shushan on some account or another: and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity ; who were returned from it to their own land; he inquired of their health and prosperity, in what circumstances... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Nehemiah 1:3

And they said unto me, the remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province ,.... In Judea, now reduced to a province of the Persian empire: are in great affliction and reproach ; harassed and distressed, calumniated and vilified, by their enemies the Samaritans: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire ; that is, its wall and gates were in the same condition in which Nebuchadnezzar had left them, for since his times as yet they... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Nehemiah 1:4

And it came to pass, when I heard these words ,.... This sad and melancholy account of things: that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days ; sat down upon the ground in dust and ashes, after the manner of mourners, and wept bitterly, and mourned in a most sorrowful manner, see Job 2:8 , and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven ; that made it, and dwells in it. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Nehemiah 1:1

The words of Nehemiah - That this book was compiled out of the journal or memoranda made by Nehemiah himself, there can be no doubt: but that he was not the compiler is evident from several passages in the work it. self. As it is written consecutively as one book with Ezra, many have supposed that this latter was the author: but whoever compares the style of each, in the Hebrew, will soon be convinced that this is not correct; the style is so very different, that they could not... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Nehemiah 1:2

I asked them concerning the Jews - Josephus gives a probable account of this business: "Nehemiah, being somewhere out of Susa, seeing some strangers, and hearing them converse in the Hebrew tongue, he went near; and finding they were Jews from Jerusalem, he asked them how matters went with their brethren in that city, and what was their state?" And the answer they gave him is, in substance, that recorded in the text; though with several aggravations in Josephus. - Joseph. Ant. lib.... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Nehemiah 1:3

The wall of Jerusalem also is broken down - This must refer to the walls, which had been rebuilt after the people returned from their captivity: for it could not refer to the walls which were broken down and levelled with the dust by Nebuchadnezzar; for to hear of this could be no news to Nehemiah. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Nehemiah 1:4

And mourned certain days - From the month Chisleu to the month Nisan; about four months from the time he received the above information, till the time that Artaxerxes noticed his grief, Nehemiah 2:1 . All this time he probably spent in supplication to God; waiting for a favorable opening in the Divine providence. Every good work is not to be undertaken hastily; prayer and watchfulness are necessary to its completion. Many good works have been ruined by making haste. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Nehemiah 1:1

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah . Compare Jeremiah 1:1 ; Hosea 1:2 ; Amos 1:1 , etc. No other historical book commences in this manner, and we may best account for the introduction of the clause by the consideration that "Nehemiah" having been originally appended to "Ezra," it marked the point at which a new narrative began by a new author. The month Chisleu . The word Chisleu, or rather Kislev, is probably Persian. It was unknown to the Jews before the captivity, and is... read more

Nehemiah-1:1-4,-nehemiah-2:16-20-niv

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Nehemiah 1:1-4

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Nehemiah 1:1

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Nehemiah 1:2

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Nehemiah 1:3

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Nehemiah 1:4

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Nehemiah 1:1

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Nehemiah 1:2

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Nehemiah 1:3

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Nehemiah 1:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Nehemiah 1:1

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