John Gill Commentary Nehemiah 2

And it came to pass in the month Nisan; in the twentieth
year of Artaxerxes It was still but in the twentieth year of his reign; for though Nisan or March was the first month of the year with the Jews, and from which the reigns of their kings were dated {l}; yet, with other nations, Tisri or September was the beginning of the reigns of their kings ^F13; so that Chisleu or November being since, see (Nehemiah 1:1) , it was no more in Nisan or March than the twentieth of the said king's reign.

And was three or four months after Nehemiah had first heard of the distress of his people; which time he either purposely spent in fasting and prayer on that account, or until now his turn did not come about to exercise his office, in waiting upon the king as his cupbearer: but now it was

that wine was before him ; the king; it was brought and set in a proper place, from where it might be taken for his use:

and I took up the wine, and gave it to the king ; according to Xenophon {n}, the cupbearer with the Persians and Medes used to take the wine out of the vessels into the cup, and pour some of it into their left hand, and sup it up, that, if there was any poison in it, the king might not be harmed, and then he delivered it to him upon three fingers {o}:

now I had not been before time sad in his presence ; but always pleasant and cheerful, so that the sadness of his countenance was the more taken notice of.

FOOTNOTES:

• F13: T. Bab. Rashhashanah, fol. 3. 1.

Wherefore the king said unto me, why is your countenance sad,
seeing you are not sick ?
He had no disorder upon him to change his countenance and make him sorrowful, and therefore asks what should be the reason of it:

this is nothing else but sorrow of heart;
this is not owing to any bodily disease or pain, but some inward trouble of mind; or "wickedness of heart" ^F16 , some ill design in his mind, which being conscious of, and thoughtful about, was discovered in his countenance; he suspected, as Jarchi intimates, a design to kill him, by putting poison into his cup:

then I was very sore afraid ;
lest the king should have suspicion of an ill design on him; or lest, since he must be obliged to give the true reason, he should not succeed in his request, it being so large, and perhaps many about the king were no friends to the Jews.

FOOTNOTES:

• F16: (bl er) (ponhria kardiav) , Sept. "malum nescio quod in corde tuo est", V. L.

And I said to the king, let the king live for ever
Which some think he said to take off the king's suspicion of his having a design upon his life, though it seems to be a common salutation of the kings in those times, see (Daniel 6:6Daniel 6:21) ,

why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my
fathers' sepulchres, [lies] waste, and the gates thereof are
consumed with fire ?
a man's native place, and where his ancestors lie interred, being always reckoned near and dear, the king and his nobles could not object to his being concerned for the desolations thereof.

Then the king said to me, for what do you make request ?
&c.] The king supposed that there was a meaning in those looks and words of his, that he had a favour to ask of him, and therefore encourages him to it;

or the king of himself moved this, as being desirous of doing anything for him he would propose, to make him easy:

so I prayed to the God of heaven ;
secretly, in an ejaculatory way, giving him thanks for thus disposing the king's heart towards him, and entreating he might be directed what to ask, and in a proper manner, and that he might succeed.

And I said to the king; if it please the king, and if your
servant has found favour in your sight
He submits what he had to say wholly to the pleasure of the king, and puts it upon his unmerited favour, and not on any desert of his own:

that you would send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers'
sepulchres, that I may build it ;
the wall of it, and the houses in it; the favour was, that he might have leave to go there, and set about such a work, for which he was so much concerned.