Nehemiah 1:11-2:8

Nehemiah 1:11 “O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king.”

Lord- adon (Master, God)

Fear- to be honored

This Man- Unusual for a title of a king

Artexerxes Stopped the Work in Jerusalem some time before

Ezra 4:21 “Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me.”

CUPBEARER (מַשְׁקֶה, mashqeh). An officer of high rank in ancient Egyptian, Persian, Assyrian, and Jewish courts. It was the duty of the cupbearer to fill the king’s cup and deliver it to him. Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer is mentioned as part of Joseph’s story (Gen 40:1–23; 41:9). Nehemiah was cupbearer to King Artaxerxes of Persia (Neh 1:11). King Solomon also had cupbearers (1 Kgs 10:5; 2 Chr 9:4) According to Xenophon, ancient cupbearers drank some of the king’s wine to see if it was poisoned before they offered the cup to him (Cyropaedia 1.3.9). Cupbearers could also have other duties, as indicated by Tobit 1:22: “Ahikar was cupbearer, keeper of the signet ring, administrator, and accountant.”

19 places in scripture most in Genesis 40

Genesis 40 (ESV)

Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.

And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer. Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.”

When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.” And Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat the flesh from you.”

On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

Nisan: 1st month March / Apri

Chislev: Kislew, ninth month (postex.) = Nov.-Dec.

The Queen: the queen also sitting by him—As the Persian monarchs did not admit their wives to be present at their state festivals, this must have been a private occasion. The queen referred to was probably Esther, whose presence would tend greatly to embolden Nehemiah in stating his request; and through her influence, powerfully exerted it may be supposed, also by her sympathy with the patriotic design, his petition was granted, to go as deputy governor of Judea, accompanied by a military guard, and invested with full powers to obtain materials for the building in Jerusalem, as well as to get all requisite aid in promoting his enterprise.

1:11 this man Refers to the Persian king, Artaxerxes. As the king’s cupbearer, Nehemiah would ordinarily use a title of honor and respect for his king. Nehemiah may use this phrase to emphasize that the powerful Persian king was a mere man in comparison to Nehemiah’s God.

cupbearer for the king An important occupation in the ancient Near East (see note on Gen 40:1). Nehemiah’s occupation as cupbearer demonstrates that he was already a person of impeccable character with excellent administrative skill.

2:1 the month of Nisan March or April of 444 BC, four months after the events of chapter one. Nisan was the first month of the year in the Jewish calendar.

Cyrus allows Jews to return to Jerusalem: 538 BC

Temple is completed: 516 BC

Ezra leads a group of exiles to Jerusalem: 458 BC

Nehemiah goes to Jerusalem: 444 BC

King Artaxerxes The ruler of the Persian Empire from 464: 424 BC.

King Artaxerxes

Artaxerxes I, third son of Xerxes and Amestris, ruler of the Persian Empire from 464–424 BC. Plutarch notes that Artaxerxes was the “most remarkable” of all the kings of Persia for a “gentle and noble spirit” (Artaxerxes 1.1). “Artaxerxes” is the Greek form of the Old Persian artakhshassa, meaning “having a kingdom of justice.” It was not unusual for a ruler to adopt a new name upon coming to the throne; first-century AD Jewish historian Josephus records that Artaxerxes I’s name before his accession was Cyrus (Josephus, Antiquities 11.6). According to the Greek writer Plutarch, Artaxerxes I was nicknamed “long-armed” because his right arm was longer than his left (Plutarch, Artaxerxes 1.1). There were two other Persian kings identified by this name: Artaxerxes II (404–358 BC), and Artaxerxes III (359–338 BC).

2:2 Why is your face sad Nehemiah’s activities of the past few months—mourning, fasting, and praying—began to affect him physically. Compare note on v. 1.

I was very much afraid Nehemiah may have feared the loss of his livelihood, since court etiquette required those in the king’s presence to have a cheerful countenance. It is also possible that Nehemiah was nervous because he knew that if his request were refused he might not get another opportunity.

2:3 May the king live forever A common form of address to kings in the ancient Near East (1 Kgs 1:31; Dan 2:4).

my ancestors’ burial site Ancestral tombs were universally respected throughout the ancient Near East, especially among the nobility and royalty. Nehemiah is presenting his case in a way that Artaxerxes can sympathize with.

2:6 the queen According to the Greek historian Ctesias, the wife of Artaxerxes was named Damaspia (Persika 15.44).

and I set for him an appointed time The specific time is not given here, but it is later mentioned that Nehemiah returned to Susa after 12 years in Jerusalem (Neh 5:14; 13:6).

2:7 Beyond the River Refers to the name of a Persian province. See note on Ezra 4:10.

2:8 the king’s land reserve The location of this park or forest is unclear. Since Asaph is a Hebrew name, it may refer to a forest within Israel such as Solomon’s Garden at Etham, about six miles south of Jerusalem. It may also refer to a forest in Lebanon, a region famed for its magnificent cedar trees (see note on Isa 14:8). King Cyrus previously allowed for the importation of cedars from Lebanon to rebuild the temple (Ezra 3:7). However, the relative cost of importing the cedars from Lebanon—especially for the task of building city walls—makes this alternative unlikely.

the gates of Wooden gates allowed easy access into the city. Stone gates would have been much too heavy to open and close on a regular basis.

the walls of the city While most of the city wall was likely made of stone and brick, wood was needed for placement and support.

gave permission to me Artaxerxes may have allowed the return to ensure that Judah remained loyal to the Persians. The land of Judah presented a natural buffer against the many rebellions in the western portion of the empire, assuming it stayed loyal to the Persians. From a political standpoint, it was imperative that the Persians retain loyalties in the Judaean region. With someone as trusted as Nehemiah as the governor of the territory, the king could feel relatively secure that Judah would not join the occasional uprisings. Regardless of the Persian king’s reasoning, Nehemiah attributes his success to God.

the good hand of God Reminiscent of similar phraseology used throughout the book of Ezra (Ezra 7:6, 9, 28; 8:18, 22, 31).