Nehemiah 5:14 - Exposition

From the day that I was appointed . Literally, "from the day that he ( i.e. Artaxerxes) appointed me." From the twentieth year . See above, Nehemiah 2:1 . The appointment, having taken place in Nisan, was in b.c. 444. Unto the two and thirtieth year . We see here that this chapter, and therefore, probably, the entire first section ( Nehemiah 1:1-11 .-7.) of this Book, was not written until b.c. 432, the year in which Nehemiah returned to the Persian court from Jerusalem ( Nehemiah 13:6 ). I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor . i.e. "have not lived at the expense of our subjects, as Persian governors do ordinarily." Nehemiah's brethren here are probably not his brothers only, but his entire court.