Nehemiah 1:1

NEHEMIAH GETS THE BAD NEWS ABOUT JERUSALEM

Josephus has a tale regarding the manner in which Nehemiah received this bad news. One day as he was walking around the palace in Susa, he heard some Jews speaking in the Hebrew language and inquired of them regarding conditions in Jerusalem. They told him of the constant enmity of the neighboring people, and of how they were subjected to harassment day and night, and even that many dead people could be found along the roads.[1] The Scriptural account does not exactly correspond with this, unless we should set aside the usual opinion of commentators that Hanani was an actual brother of Nehemiah; but the narratives have one thing in common. Hanani was only one of several people who brought the bad news.

"It cannot be definitely ascertained whether or not Hanani was actually a blood brother of Nehemiah. However, in Nehemiah 7:2, Nehemiah again referred to him as his brother, leading to the speculation that he was really a brother in the ordinary sense."[2] Williamson wrote that, "It is likely that the word (brother) should be taken literally."[3]

"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, 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."

"The words of Nehemiah" (Nehemiah 1:1). This stands as the title of the whole book; and the critical canard that, "These words were probably added by a later scribe,"[4] should be rejected. "No other historical book begins in this manner,"[5] and therefore no `later scribe' could possibly have been so foolish as to make such an unheard of addition. However, all of the prophetic books begin thus; and in all these cases they constitute the title of the book, as they most certainly do here. "Verse 1a (Nehemiah 1:1) here contains the title of the whole book."[6] "This book is one of the outstanding autobiographical masterpieces of the ancient world."[7]

"Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah" (Nehemiah 1:1). The tribe to which Nehemiah belonged is not revealed; but, "Eusebius and Jerome assert that he was of the tribe of Judah."[8] Jamieson supposed that this is true and added further that, "He was of the royal family of David."[9] Matthew Henry, however, stated that, "If 2 Maccabees 1:18 is the truth in their statement that Nehemiah offered sacrifices, then we must conclude that he was a priest and therefore of the tribe of Levi."[10] These references are an excellent example of scholarly comment on something which the sacred Scriptures do not reveal.

"The month Chislev in the twentieth year" (Nehemiah 1:2). The month Chislev corresponded to our November-December; and the twentieth year here is a reference to, "The twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes I (Longimanus), in the year 445 B.C."[11]

"In Shushan the palace" (Nehemiah 1:2). "This is the same place as Susa, where Daniel saw the vision of the ram with two horns (Daniel 8:2),"[12] and, "Where, in the year 478 B.C., Esther became Xerxes' queen in this palace."[13] "This place was the winter residence of Persian kings";[14] "It was located east of the river Tigris and near the head of the Persian gulf."[15]