CHAPTER ONE

 

 

1:2: “Hanani, one of my brethren” = The term used for “Hanani one of my brothers” most likely refers to a blood brother, because there is a similar but more familial-sounding reference to Hanani in Nehemiah 7:2; although it could be a reference to just a fellow Israelite.  This conversation with Hanani most likely happened in about B.C. 445, some 13 years after Ezra’s return to Jerusalem.

 

It bears mention that King Artaxerxes crushed the hope of the returnees by stopping the progress of the construction after the people beyond the river complained (Ezra, Chapter 4).  This allowed the enemies to destroy the walls of the city (Ezra 4:23).  Nehemiah would have heard rumors of such disaster, but he didn’t have definite answers until this time.

 

1:11: “cupbearer” = Herodotus points out that the Persians held cupbearers in high honor, as they were regarded as high officials.  For instance, the cupbearer of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon, was also the chief minister of the kingdom.

 

 

CHAPTER TWO

 

 

2:1: “in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king” = Roughly in the month of April of B.C. 444.  Four months have passed since Hanani and the Jews brought the disturbing news about Jerusalem to Nehemiah.

 

“Four months Nehemiah waited for a favorable opportunity to present his request to the king.” PK:630.1.

 

It was not an everyday occurrence to have the cupbearer relieved of his duties for a time to be a governor in a different land.  God spoke through Nehemiah and impressed the Persian King Artaxerxes I to make Nehemiah a governor over the territory of Judah.  The mention of the queen (verse 6) suggests that this was possibly a private occasion, as it was not customary for the queen always to be present for formal banquets.

 

“Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence” = In Nehemiah 1:1 we are told it is the month “Chisleu,” with “Chisleu,” being the 9th month.  And in the verse we have the month “Nisan,” which would be the first month.  Therefore, “four months” have passed before Nehemiah worked up the courage through the power of the Holy Spirit to submit his request.

 

“Four months he was compelled to wait for a favorable opportunity to present his request to the king.” ST, November 29, 1883.

 

2:6: “I set him a time” = I find it remarkable that this “time” was “twelve years,” Nehemiah 5:14 (see also Neh. 13:6).

 

2:10: “Tobiah” = Although Tobiah is a Jewish name, which meant “The Lord is good” (his son Jehohanan [Neh. 6:18] also carried a Jewish name, “the Lord is gracious”), indicating that he came from a Jewish background, he served as a governor of Ammon.  His wife’s family, the descendants of Arah, Nehemiah 6:18, are believed to have been related to Eliashib’s family.

 

Additionally, Sanballat the Horonite, Nehemiah’s other opponent, had a daughter who was married to Eliashib’s grandson (Neh. 13:28).  Therefore, the circle of intrigue around Nehemiah must have been intense as the highest-ranked officials in the land were related and in an alliance against Nehemiah’s leadership.

 

Thus, Jerusalem was surrounded by enemies:  Sanballat, the governor of Samaria to the north; Tobiah the governor of Ammon to the east; and Geshem the Arab (Neh. 2:18 & 19) to the south, who took hold of Edom and Moab.

 

“His [Nehemiah’s] arrival at Jerusalem, however, with the attendance of a military guard, showing that he had come on some important mission, excited the jealousy and hatred of the enemies of Israel.  The heathen tribes settled near Jerusalem had previously indulged their enmity against the Jews by heaping upon them every insult and injury which they dared inflict.  Foremost in this evil work were certain chiefs of these tribes, Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian; and from this time those leaders watched with jealous eye the movements of Nehemiah, and endeavored by every means in their power to thwart his plans and hinder his work.” ST, December 6, 1883 paragraph 2; PK:635.

 

2:12: “neither was there any beast with me” = This would be so that no other unnecessary noise would be made. Another thought is put forth by the Bible Commentator J. Vernon McGee, in that:  “He had no entourage of servants with him.  It was no parade.  He was a layman -- this is the way a businessman would do it.”  That would be considering that if he was discovered, this company would not stand out.

 

 

CHAPTER THREE

 

 

3:ALL:  What is interesting to note is that each family had a vested interest in their particular section of the wall.  First of all, if there were to be a breach in the wall, you would not want it to be where your family house is.  One, because you would most likely be wiped out.  And two, your family would be known as the ones that caused the downfall of the city.  Second of all, when you woke up in the morning, aesthetically you would want to be looking at a proud section of the wall you were responsible for.  I’ll let you think of other reasons.

 

 

CHAPTER FOUR

 

 

4:16: “Habergeon” = An old English word for “breastplate.” In First Samuel 17:5 & 38 (Hebrew “H8302; shiryah”) it is properly called a “coat of mail.” In Exodus 28:32 and Exodus 39:23 ‘Habergeon” denotes a military garment strongly and thickly woven and covered with mail around the neck and breast.

 

4:22: “with his servant lodge” = Every builder had a “servant,” or a “lad,” or “boy,” as the Hebrew word “H5288; na’ar” signifies, to wait upon him, to bring mortar or stone, or what he wanted; and some of these builders, with their lads, came out of the country towns and villages in the morning, and returned at night.  Nehemiah proposed, for the safety of the city and its walls and the people, that for the present they would lodge in Jerusalem.

 

4:23: “servant” = See my verse 22 Note, for the same Hebrew word “na’ar” is used.

 

 

CHAPTER FIVE

 

 

5:3: “mortgaged” = See my Nehemiah 5:11 Note.

 

5:4: “the king’s tribute” = “The Persian government required a tax of 350 talents of silver annually from the province of Judah.” “The Andrews Study Bible,” page 598.  If a person couldn’t pay the designated portion of the mandatory tax, the family would usually mortgage their property or borrow money first.  If, however, they couldn’t earn the money the next year, then they had to do something about the debt they now owed.  Usually debt slavery was the next option.  They had already lost their land, and now they had to send someone from the family, usually children, to be in the service of the creditor in order to work off the debt.

 

5:7: “I set a great assembly against them” = Nehemiah is most likely counting on the possibility that when all the people are present, the leaders will be ashamed, perhaps even afraid to continue their oppression.

 

5:10: “I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money” = Notice that Nehemiah sets the example by already doing what he is asking his brethren to do.  I believe all leaders should never ask a servant (subordinate) to do something they would not do themselves if one is to be a good (great) leader.

 

5:11: “the hundredth part of the money” = According to “David Guzik’s Enduring Word Commentary:” “the rich were taking advantage of the crisis to make money off the poor, charging 12% interest a year.”  Although lending was permitted by the Law of God, charging interest was not (see Exo. 22:25-27; Lev. 25:36-37; Deu. 23:19-20).

 

5:13: “shook my lap” = That is, the fore skirts of his garment, shaking the dust out of them, as a symbol of what follows.  Nehemiah performs a symbolic act of gathering up his garments as if to hold something in them and then shaking them out as a sign of losing it.  Thus, those who would go against this oath would lose everything.  It was customary to utter curses in order to impress upon others the significance of a certain law or rule.  The people were also less likely to go against the law when a curse was associated with the breaking of it.  Nehemiah apparently felt that this was such an important issue that he needed to do something drastic in order to enhance the probability of its success.

 

5:15: “the former governors” = When Nehemiah says “the former governors,” he is most likely referring to the governors in between Zerubbabel and himself. 

 

 

CHAPTER SIX

 

 

6:2: “in the plain of Ono” = The meeting was to be in the plain of Ono, which was in enemy territory, and as such, this gave away the true intent of the invitation.

 

6:6: “Gashmu” = A variation of the name “Geshem” as found in verse one, one of Nehemiah’s two chief conspirators.

 

6:10: “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple” = Nehemiah knew that temple courts were for everyone, but not the inner rooms.  By his words, about meeting inside the temple, Shemaiah not only shows himself to be a false prophet by suggesting something that was contrary to God’s directive, but also exposes himself as a traitor.

 

“In Nehemiah’s firm devotion to the work of God, and his equally firm reliance on God, lay the reason of the failure of his enemies to draw him into their power.  The soul that is indolent falls an easy prey to temptation; but in the life that has a noble aim, an absorbing purpose, evil finds little foothold.  The faith of him who is constantly advancing does not weaken; for above, beneath, beyond, he recognizes Infinite Love, working out all things to accomplish His good purpose.  God’s true servants work with a determination that will not fail because the throne of grace is their constant dependence.” PK:660.

 

 

CHAPTER SEVEN

 

 

7:65 & 70: “Tirshatha” = This is none other than Nehemiah (see Neh. 8:9; 10:1).  This word is probably of Persian origin according to “John Gills Exposition Of The Entire Bible.” The word means “severity,” which denotes a high civil dignity.  The Persian governor of Judea is so called this in Ezra 2:63.

 

 

CHAPTER EIGHT

 

 

8:1: “and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses” = Notice that it was the people’s idea to bring the Book.  That is revival.

 

8:2: “the first day of the seventh month” = The Feast Of Trumpets = Leviticus 23:24.

 

8:4: “beside him” = According to this verse and verse 7 there were two groups of 13 men besides Ezra.  The first group helped with the reading of the Law, while the second group, along with “the Levites” helped in explaining the Law (verse 8).

 

8:8: “they read in the Book in the Law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand” = Herein lies the secret of all Godly teachers.  First, you read and study the Bible for yourself.  Then you make common sense of It.  Then you teach others.  Herein is illustrated a Bible Study.

 

According to Deuteronomy 31:10-13, the people were to gather every “seven years” during “the Feast of Tabernacles” (15th day of the month of Tishri) for the reading of “the Law,” which most likely what was read was the Books of Moses (first five Books of the Bible).

 

“caused them to understand” = This can either refer to interpretation or translation of the passages.  Both are just as likely in this instance.  But most likely, they had not fully understood and lost sight of the God they were supposed to be serving.  The people had returned from Babylon, where they had lived for many years, and the primary language there was Aramaic.  Plus, they “wept,” verse 9, for they now understood that which was clouded over in their minds, or what was now made understandable to them which they had lost when they were in Babylon.

 

 

CHAPTER NINE

 

 

9:19-21: “Yet” = This passage is called “the Levites’ hymn,” PP:406.

 

Nehemiah 9:29; Leviticus 18:5; Ezekiel 20:11 & 13 & 21; Romans 10:5; Galatians 3:12: “he shall live in them” = Here is my Leviticus 18:5 Note:  Having thus received life, he “lives,” that is, maintains, enjoys, and exercises this life only in so far as he walks “in them,” or “by them,” as Romans and Galatians have it, that is, the Laws of God.

 

“The statues and judgments given of God were good for the obedient.  ‘They should live in them.’  But they were not good for the transgressor; for in the civil Law given to Moses, punishment was to be inflicted on the transgressor, that others should be restrained by fear.” 1SP:266.

 

 

CHAPTER TEN

 

 

10:29: “God’s Law, which was given by Moses” = Here is my Malachi 4:4 Note:  From “Gill’s Bible Commentary”we read: “. . .for though the Law came by Moses, and is therefore called his, yet God was the Author and efficient cause of it; Moses was only a servant and minister; and this was given in Horeb, the same with Sinai:  these are names of one and the same mountain, at least of the parts of it; one part of it was called Horeb, from its being a dry desert and desolate place; and the other Sinai, from its bushes and brambles.  So, Jerome (in De locis Hebr. fol. 92. E.) states, ‘Horeb, the mountain of God, is in the land of Midian, by Mount Sinai, above Arabia in the wilderness, to which are joined the mountain and wilderness of the Saracens, called Pharan; but to me it seems the same mountain is called by two names, sometimes Sinai, and sometimes Horeb.’ ”

 

10:31: “on the holy day” = This passage would be better translated, “on a holy day.”

 

10:38: “tithe of the tithes” = The Levites were to give a tenth of the tenth to the priests (see Num. 18:26).

 

 

CHAPTER TWELVE

 

 

12:26: “Jozadak” = This is one and the same man as “Jehozadak,” for they both have the same father and son.

 

 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

 

 

13:1: “they read in the Book of Moses. . . that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever” = “Under the labors of Ezra and Nehemiah, the people of Judah had in the most solemn and public manner, pledged themselves to render obedience to the Law of God.  But when the influence of these teachers was for a time withdrawn, there were many who departed from the Lord.  During the absence of Nehemiah from Jerusalem, idolaters not only gained a foot-hold in the city, but contaminated by their presence the very precincts of the temple.  Certain families of Israel, having intermarried with the family of Tobiah the Ammonite, had brought about a friendship between this man, one of Judah’s most bitter and determined enemies, and Eliashib the high priest.  As a result of this unhallowed alliance, Tobiah had been permitted to occupy a commodious apartment connected with the temple, which had been devoted to the storing of various offerings brought for the service of God. {ST, January 17, 1884, paragraph 1}

 

“Thus not only was the temple of the Lord profaned, but His people were constantly exposed to the corrupting influence of this agent of Satan.  Because of their cruelty and treachery toward Israel, the Ammonites and Moabites had by the Word of the Lord been forever excluded from the congregation.  And yet, in defiance of this solemn interdict, the high priest himself casts out the consecrated oblations from the chamber of God’s House, to make a place for the most violent and treacherous of a proscribed people.  Greater contempt for God could not have been manifested than was expressed in this favor conferred on this enemy of God and His truth. {ST, January 17, 1884, paragraph 2}

 

“When Nehemiah learned of this bold profanation, he promptly exercised his authority to expel the intruder. ‘It grieved me sore; therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber.  Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers; and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat-offering and the frankincense.’ {ST, January 17, 1884, paragraph 3}

 

“Not only had the Temple been profaned, but the offerings had been misapplied.  This tended to discourage the liberality of the people.  They lost their zeal and fervor in the cause of God, and were reluctant to pay their tithes.  The treasuries of the Lord’s House were but poorly supplied; and the singers and others employed in the Temple service not receiving a sufficient support, many left the work of God to labor elsewhere for the maintenance of their families.  Nehemiah promptly corrected these abuses.  He gathered together those who had forsaken the service of the House of God, and caused the tithes and offerings to be restored.  Faithful men were appointed to take charge of the means raised, confidence was restored, and all Judah brought their tithes to the treasuries of the Lord. {ST, January 17, 1884, paragraph 4}

 

“Another result of intercourse with idolaters was disregard of the Sabbath.  Heathen merchants and traders from the surrounding country had been intent upon leading the children of Israel to engage in traffic upon the Sabbath.  While there were some who would not be induced to sacrifice principle, and transgress the Commandment of God, others were more easily influenced, and joined with the heathen in their endeavor to overcome the scruples of their more conscientious countrymen; and the idolaters boasted of the success that had attended their efforts.  Many dared openly to violate the Sabbath.  While some engaged in traffic with the heathen, others were treading in wine-presses, and others bringing in sheaves upon the Sabbath day. {ST, January 17, 1884, paragraph 5}

 

“Had the rulers exerted their influence and exercised their authority, this state of things might have been prevented; but their desire to advance their own secular interest led them to favor the ungodly.  It is mingling our interest with the interest of unbelievers that leads to apostasy and the ruin of the soul. {ST, January 17, 1884, paragraph 6}

 

“Nehemiah rebuked them for their shameful neglect of duty, which was largely responsible for the fast-spreading apostasy.” ST, January 17, 1884, paragraph 7; ARA:324; SW, June 21, 1904; PK:672.

 

13:6: “the king” = This was not Xerxes, for he reigned but twenty one years; but Darius Hystaspis, who reigned thirty-six years, according to “Ptolemy’s Canon,” “Polymnia, sive,” l. 7. c. 1.

 

13:7: “understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God” = This was a way of establishing him as one of the leaders of the nation and a way of displacing Nehemiah, in that they could be in charge themselves.  Although Nehemiah had appointed faithful men over the organization of the Temple, the corrupt High Priest Eliashib did not lose his position, because it was handed down through the lineage of Aaron.  His work in the temple might have been crippled by Nehemiah’s measures of appointing others over some of the High Priest’s responsibilities, but his position of High Priest must have overruled any efforts to correct him.

 

13:15 & 19: “[15] burdens. . . [19] burden” = Here might be a clue as to what a Biblical “burden” is.

 

13:17: “What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath Day” = The Sabbath is kept by Sabbath keepers; but the Sabbath keeps (makes holy) Sabbath keepers.

 

13:19: “my servants set I at the gates” = “[671] . . .having more confidence in his own servants [672] than in those that the magistrates of Jerusalem might appoint, he stationed them at the gates to see that his orders were enforced.” ST, January 17, 1884, paragraph 7; SW, June 21, 1904 paragraph 7; PK:671-672.

 

13:23: “married wives of Ashdod” = “There were some in sacred office who pleaded for their heathen wives, declaring that they could not bring themselves to separate from them.  But no distinction was made; no respect was shown for rank or position.  Whoever among the priests or rulers refused to sever his connection with idolaters was immediately separated from the service of the Lord.  A grandson of the high priest, having married a daughter of the notorious Sanballat, was not only removed from office, but promptly banished from Israel.” PK:674.1.

 

“[674] Many who had married idolaters chose to go with them into exile; and these, with those who had been expelled from the congregation, joined the Samaritans.  Hither some who had occupied high positions in the work of God found their way, and after a time cast in their lot fully with them.  Desiring to strengthen this alliance, the Samaritans promised to adopt more fully the Jewish faith and customs; and the apostates, determined to outdo their former brethren, erected a temple on Mount Gerizim, in opposition to the House of God at Jerusalem.  Their religion continued to be [675]

 

“a mixture of Judaism and heathenism; and their claim to be the people of God was the source of schism, emulation, and enmity between the two nations, from generation to generation.” PK:674-675.