Albert Barnes Commentary Nehemiah 2
Albert Barnes Commentary
Nehemiah 2
Albert Barnes Commentary
Nehemiah 2
"And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, that I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been [beforetime] sad in his presence." — Nehemiah 2:1 (ASV)
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.
"And the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid." — Nehemiah 2:2 (ASV)
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.
"And I said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers` sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?" — Nehemiah 2:3 (ASV)
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.
"Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven." — Nehemiah 2:4 (ASV)
I prayed to the God of heaven - Mentally and momentarily, before answering the king.
"And the king said unto me (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time." — Nehemiah 2:6 (ASV)
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.
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