Nisan was the name given by the Persian Jews to the month previously called “Abib,” the first month of the Jewish year, or that which followed the vernal equinox. It fell four months after Chisleu Nehemiah 1:1.The twentieth year - As Artaxerxes ascended the throne in 465 B.C., his 20th year would correspond to 445-444 B.C. read more
I was very sore afraid - A Persian subject was expected to be perfectly content so long as he had the happiness of being with his king. A request to quit the court was thus a serious matter. read more
The city ... of my fathers’ sepulchres - We may conclude from this that Nehemiah was of the tribe of Judah, as Eusebius and Jerome say that he was. read more
I prayed to the God of heaven - Mentally and momentarily, before answering the king. read more
The queen - Though the Persian kings practiced polygamy, they always had one chief wife, who alone was recognized as “queen.” The chief wife of Longimanus was Damaspia.I set him a time - Nehemiah appears to have stayed at Jerusalem twelve years from his first arrival Nehemiah 5:14; but he can scarcely have mentioned so long a term to the king. Probably his leave of absence was prolonged from time to time. read more
The king’s forest - Rather, park. The word used פרדס pardês; compare παράδεισος paradeisos, found only here, in Ecclesiastes 2:5, and in Song of Solomon 4:13), is of Persian, or at any rate of Aryan origin. The Persians signified by pariyadeza a walled enclosure, ornamented with trees, either planted or of natural growth, and containing numerous wild animals. The “paradise” here mentioned must have been in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, and may have corresponded to the earlier “gardens of... read more
Nehemiah 2:1. In the month Nisan Which answers to part of our March and April. So that there were almost four months between the time of his hearing the fore-mentioned sad tidings respecting the defenceless condition in which Jerusalem lay, and his requesting leave of the king to go thither. The reason of this long delay might be, either that his turn of attending upon the king did not come till that time; or, that till then he wanted a fit opportunity to move it to him. That wine was... read more
Nehemiah 2:2. The king said, Why is thy countenance sad? His fasting, joined with inward grief, had made a sensible change in his countenance. Then I was sore afraid It was an unusual and ungracious thing to come into the king of Persia’s presence with any token of sorrow. And he feared a disappointment, because his request was great and invidious, and odious to most of the Persian courtiers. read more
Nehemiah 2:3. Let the king live for ever My sadness comes not from any disaffection to the king, for whom my hearty prayers are that he may live for ever, but from another cause. Why should I not be sad, when the place of my fathers’ sepulchres lieth waste? Which by all nations are esteemed sacred and inviolable. He says not a word for the temple, as he spake before a heathen king, who cared for none of these things. There is a regard due to one’s own country, which ought not to be... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Nehemiah 2:8
Success ascribed to God. "And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me." Nehemiah, like Ezra before him ( Ezra 7:6 ), ascribes the success of his application to the king to the " good hand of God;" which had, indeed, been conspicuous. The circumstances which had paved the way for the presentation of his petition, the readiness of the king's consent to his requests, the largeness of the facilities granted him, all indicated that his God, whose aid he had sought,... read more