Tyndale Open Study Notes

Verse 1

1:1–2:20 Upon hearing about Jerusalem’s ruined condition, Nehemiah prayed for God’s grace (1:1-11) and asked the king to send him to Jerusalem (2:1-8). When he arrived, he challenged the people to rebuild the city’s wall (2:11-20).

1:1 Artaxerxes I reigned over Persia from 465 to 424 BC. • The fortress of Susa was the Persian king’s winter palace.

Verse 2

1:2 Hanani might have been one of Nehemiah’s blood brothers; this word in Hebrew can also mean “fellow countryman” (e.g., Deut 1:16, “fellow Israelite”). • the Jews who had returned: See Ezra 2:64-65; 8:1-14.

Verse 3

1:3 The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down: This probably refers to a recent setback in Jerusalem (see Ezra 4:6-23), not to the Babylonian conquest in 586 BC. • disgrace: Foreigners could gloat about the destroyed city, using it as evidence that Israel’s God was too weak to protect it (cp. Joel 2:17; Mic 7:8-10).

Verse 4

1:4 Nehemiah fervently mourned, fasted, and prayed for about four months (cp. 1:1; 2:1), deeply concerned for Jerusalem.

Verse 5

1:5-11 Nehemiah’s prayer includes praise (1:5), confession (1:6-7), remembrance of God’s promises (1:8-9), and petition (1:10-11). Nehemiah recognized that Israel’s current situation was not a failure of God’s covenant of unfailing love. Israel’s persistent sin had brought about the punishments entailed in the covenant.

Verse 6

1:6 I confess that we have sinned: Like Ezra (Ezra 9:5-15) and Daniel (Dan 9:4-19), Nehemiah identified with the sins of his people, made no excuses, and accepted both his individual responsibility and the responsibility of the larger covenant group that had sinned against God.

Verse 8

1:8-9 Nehemiah recalls God’s curse on sin and his promise of restoration (Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-5). • The place . . . for my name to be honored was Jerusalem.

Verse 10

1:10 Nehemiah alludes to God’s long-standing covenant relationship with the Israelites: He had rescued them in the Exodus (Deut 9:29) and made them his servants.

Verse 11

1:11 making the king favorable to me: Nehemiah knew God could influence the king’s heart to be kind to Nehemiah. • As cup-bearer Nehemiah tasted the king’s wine to make sure it was not poisoned, which provided him daily access to King Artaxerxes.