CHAPTER 1
. NEHEMIAH,
UNDERSTANDING BY HANANI
THE AFFLICTED STATE
OF JERUSALEM,
MOURNS, FASTS,
AND PRAYS.
1. Nehemiah the son of
Hachaliah—This eminently pious and patriotic Jew is to be
carefully distinguished from two other persons of the same name—one
of whom is mentioned as helping to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (), and the other is noticed in the list of those who
accompanied Zerubbabel in the first detachment of returning exiles
(Ezra 2:2; Nehemiah 7:7).
Though little is known of his genealogy, it is highly probable that
he was a descendant of the tribe of Judah and the royal family of
David.
in the month
Chisleu—answering to the close of November and the larger part
of December.
Shushan the palace—the
capital of ancient Susiana, east of the Tigris, a province of Persia.
From the time of Cyrus it was the favorite winter residence of the
Persian kings.
2, 3. Hanani, one of my brethren,
came, he and certain men of Judah—Hanani is called his brother
(Nehemiah 7:2). But as that term was
used loosely by Jews as well as other Orientals, it is probable that
no more is meant than that he was of the same family. According to
JOSEPHUS, Nehemiah, while
walking around the palace walls, overheard some persons conversing in
the Hebrew language. Having ascertained that they had lately returned
from Judea, he was informed by them, in answer to his eager
enquiries, of the unfinished and desolate condition of Jerusalem, as
well as the defenseless state of the returned exiles. The commissions
previously given to Zerubbabel and Ezra extending only to the repair
of the temple and private dwellings, the walls and gates of the city
had been allowed to remain a mass of shattered ruins, as they had
been laid by the Chaldean siege.
Nehemiah 7:2. HIS PRAYER.
4. when I heard these words, that I
sat down . . . and mourned . . . and fasted, and prayed—The
recital deeply affected the patriotic feelings of this good man, and
no comfort could he find but in earnest and protracted prayer, that
God would favor the purpose, which he seems to have secretly formed,
of asking the royal permission to go to Jerusalem.
11. I was the king's cupbearer—This
officer, in the ancient Oriental courts, was always a person of rank
and importance; and, from the confidential nature of his duties and
his frequent access to the royal presence, he possessed great
influence.
CHAPTER 1
. NEHEMIAH, UNDERSTANDING BY HANANI THE AFFLICTED STATE OF JERUSALEM, MOURNS, FASTS, AND PRAYS.
1. Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah—This eminently pious and patriotic Jew is to be carefully distinguished from two other persons of the same name—one of whom is mentioned as helping to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (), and the other is noticed in the list of those who accompanied Zerubbabel in the first detachment of returning exiles (Ezra 2:2; Nehemiah 7:7). Though little is known of his genealogy, it is highly probable that he was a descendant of the tribe of Judah and the royal family of David.
in the month Chisleu—answering to the close of November and the larger part of December.
Shushan the palace—the capital of ancient Susiana, east of the Tigris, a province of Persia. From the time of Cyrus it was the favorite winter residence of the Persian kings.
2, 3. Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah—Hanani is called his brother (Nehemiah 7:2). But as that term was used loosely by Jews as well as other Orientals, it is probable that no more is meant than that he was of the same family. According to JOSEPHUS, Nehemiah, while walking around the palace walls, overheard some persons conversing in the Hebrew language. Having ascertained that they had lately returned from Judea, he was informed by them, in answer to his eager enquiries, of the unfinished and desolate condition of Jerusalem, as well as the defenseless state of the returned exiles. The commissions previously given to Zerubbabel and Ezra extending only to the repair of the temple and private dwellings, the walls and gates of the city had been allowed to remain a mass of shattered ruins, as they had been laid by the Chaldean siege.
Nehemiah 7:2. HIS PRAYER.
4. when I heard these words, that I sat down . . . and mourned . . . and fasted, and prayed—The recital deeply affected the patriotic feelings of this good man, and no comfort could he find but in earnest and protracted prayer, that God would favor the purpose, which he seems to have secretly formed, of asking the royal permission to go to Jerusalem.
11. I was the king's cupbearer—This officer, in the ancient Oriental courts, was always a person of rank and importance; and, from the confidential nature of his duties and his frequent access to the royal presence, he possessed great influence.