Synopsis of the Chapter
Nehemiah, having heard of the afflictions of the Jews in Judea, mourns and groans, and with fasts and prayers implores the help of God.
Verse 1: The Words of Nehemiah ¶
1. THE WORDS OF NEHEMIAH. — For Nehemiah is speaking here, and he narrates his own deeds on behalf of the Jews, and by narrating writes them down. Whence it is clear that he is the author of this book. Note: Nehemiah under Cyrus had led the Jews back from Babylon to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel; then when Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, impeded the construction of the city and temple, he returned to Babylon, and by his industry, holiness, and obedience attached King Artaxerxes to himself and to the Jews.
IN THE MONTH OF CASLEU (which corresponds partly to our November, partly to December) IN THE TWENTIETH YEAR — of Artaxerxes, not of Mnemon, as Scaliger and Pererius would have it, but of Longimanus, as the interpreters everywhere teach.
AND I WAS IN THE CASTLE OF SUSA. — Susa was the seat and palace of Artaxerxes and the kings of Persia, so called from lilies and the fertility of lilies. For Susan means lily. See the commentary on Daniel VIII, 2. This city was very well fortified, and therefore is called a castle.
Verse 2: Hanani, One of My Brethren ¶
2. AND HANANI, ONE OF MY BRETHREN, CAME — that is, of my fellow tribesmen, namely one descended from the tribe of Levi, from which I descend.
Verse 3: The Wall of Jerusalem Is Broken Down ¶
3. AND THE WALL OF JERUSALEM IS BROKEN DOWN, AND ITS GATES ARE BURNED WITH FIRE — by the Chaldeans, IV Kings, last chapter, 10. But Nehemiah had known this for a long time, indeed had seen it, when he returned under Cyrus to Jerusalem. Therefore it seems that the Jews under Darius Hystaspes, while building the temple, at the same time restored the city, walls, and gates with light work. For where would so many thousands of Levites, and priests serving the temple, and citizens brought back from Babylon, have lived safely and securely, unless in Jerusalem surrounded by walls and closed with gates? Here it appears that, after the return of Nehemiah from Jerusalem to Babylon, the Samaritans and other enemies of the Jews invaded Jerusalem, broke down the walls, and burned the gates, and this is what Hanani here reports to Nehemiah, who, hearing it, groaned, and deplored the calamity of his homeland, of which he was most fond. For it seems that many of the Jews who had returned from Babylon to Jerusalem, when they saw the desolation of the city and the frequent attacks of the enemies, returned to Babylon, and therefore it was easy for the enemies to break down the walls of the city and burn the gates: but not the temple, because this served as a fortress and was strenuously defended by a few Jews fighting for their altars and hearths.
Verse 9: The Farthest Parts of Heaven ¶
9. The farthest parts of heaven, that is, the most remote regions of the earth: for those places that are at the extreme of our horizon appear to touch the extremity of the curved and round sky. So judges the eye of the common people, to whose perception Sacred Scripture from time to time conforms itself. The Septuagint translates, at the summit of the foundation of heaven, that is, from that part where the sky appears to be founded, and as it were to rest upon and lean against the extremity of the earth. So it is said in Deuteronomy XXX, 4: 'If to the hinges of heaven,' that is to the extremities of the earth, which seem to be like hinges supporting heaven, 'you shall have been scattered, from there He will bring you back.'
Verse 10: Whom You Have Redeemed ¶
10. Whom You have redeemed — from Egyptian servitude, and thereafter often from the yoke of the Philistines, Ammonites, Midianites, etc., as is evident from the books of Judges and Kings.
Verse 11: Give Him Mercy Before This Man ¶
11. And give him (me, Nehemiah) mercy before this man — King Artaxerxes, whose cupbearer I am, so that I may obtain from him what I desire to request when the opportunity arises, namely the restoration of Jerusalem.