Nehemiah 2:1

And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

II.

(1-8) Nehemiah’s appeal to the king.

(1) Nisan.—The old Abib, the first month of the Jewish year, following the vernal equinox. As we are still in the twentieth year of the king, the beginning of his reign must be dated before Chisleu. The record adopts Persian dates, and the two months fell in one year.

Benson Commentary

Nehemiah 2:1. In the month Nisan — Which answers to part of our March and April. So that there were almost four months between the time of his hearing the fore-mentioned sad tidings respecting the defenceless condition in which Jerusalem lay, and his requesting leave of the king to go thither. The reason of this long delay might be, either that his turn of attending upon the king did not come till that time; or, that till then he wanted a fit opportunity to move it to him. That wine was before him — He was at dinner or supper, and called for wine, which was ready for him. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence — But always appeared cheerful and well pleased, as young men, so advanced, are wont to do.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

2:1-8 Our prayers must be seconded with serious endeavours, else we mock God. We are not limited to certain moments in our addresses to the King of kings, but have liberty to go to him at all times; approaches to the throne of grace are never out of season. But the sense of God's displeasure and the afflictions of his people, are causes of sorrow to the children of God, under which no earthly delights can comfort. The king encouraged Nehemiah to tell his mind. This gave him boldness to speak; much more may the invitation Christ has given us to pray, and the promise that we shall speed, encourage us to come boldly to the throne of grace. Nehemiah prayed to the God of heaven, as infinitely above even this mighty monarch. He lifted up his heart to that God who understands the language of the heart. Nor should we ever engage in any pursuit in which it would be wrong for us thus to seek and expect the Divine direction, assistance, and blessing. There was an immediate answer to his prayer; for the seed of Jacob never sought the God of Jacob in vain.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Nisan was the name given by the Persian Jews to the month previously called "Abib," the first month of the Jewish year, or that which followed the vernal equinox. It fell four months after Chisleu Nehemiah 1:1.

The twentieth year - As Artaxerxes ascended the throne in 465 B.C., his 20th year would correspond to 445-444 B.C.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 2

Ne 2:1-20. Artaxerxes, Understanding the Cause of Nehemiah's Sadness, Sends Him with Letters and a Commission to Build Again the Walls of Jerusalem.

1. it came to pass in the month Nisan—This was nearly four months after he had learned the desolate and ruinous state of Jerusalem (Ne 1:1). The reasons for so long a delay cannot be ascertained.

I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king—Xenophon has particularly remarked about the polished and graceful manner in which the cupbearers of the Median, and consequently the Persian, monarchs performed their duty of presenting the wine to their royal master. Having washed the cup in the king's presence and poured into their left hand a little of the wine, which they drank in his presence, they then handed the cup to him, not grasped, but lightly held with the tips of their thumb and fingers. This description has received some curious illustrations from the monuments of Assyria and Persia, on which the cupbearers are frequently represented in the act of handing wine to the king.Artaxerxes, understanding the cause of Nehemiah’s sadness, Nehemiah 2:1-5, sendeth him with letters to Jerusalem, Nehemiah 2:6-8. Nehemiah, to the grief of the enemies, cometh to Jerusalem, Nehemiah 2:9-11, and secretly by night vieweth the ruins of Jerusalem, Nehemiah 2:12-16. He encourageth the Jews to build, Nehemiah 2:17,18. The enemies, deriding, charge them with rebellion against the king, Nehemiah 2:19. Nehemiah’s answer, Nehemiah 2:20.

In the month Nisan; which was four months after he had heard those sad tidings. The reason of this long silence and delay might be manifold; either because he thought fit that some time should be spent by himself, and possibly others of his brethren, in seeking God by solemn prayer and fasting, for God’s blessing and the good success of this great affair; or because he could not take so long and dangerous a journey in the depth of winter; or because his turn of attending upon the king did not come to him till that time; or because till then he wanted a fit opportunity to move it to the king, by reason of the king’s indisposition, or occasions, or multitude of attendants, among whom there probably were divers enemies to the Jews, who, he feared, might hinder his design and desire.

In the twentieth year of Artaxerxes; Artaxerxes Longimanus, the son of the great Xerxes, who reigned both with his father, and after his death alone: whence the years of his reign are computed two ways, one from the death of Xerxes, and the other from his first entrance upon the administration of the kingdom, which was committed to him in the fifth year of Xerxes, when he began the Grecian war, and left his son king or viceroy in his stead, as the manner of the Persians was. It may seem doubtful, and is not much material, which way of computation is here used. Others understand this of Artaxerxes Mnemon.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And it came to pass in the month Nisan; in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes,.... It was still but in the twentieth year of his reign; for though Nisan or March was the first month of the year with the Jews, and from whence the reigns of their kings were dated (l); yet, with other nations, Tisri or September was the beginning of the reigns of their kings (m); so that Chisleu or November being since, see Nehemiah 1:1, it was no more in Nisan or March than the twentieth of the said king's reign, and was three or four months after Nehemiah had first heard of the distress of his people; which time he either purposely spent in fasting and prayer on that account, or until now his turn did not come about to exercise his office, in waiting upon the king as his cupbearer: but now it was

that wine was before him; the king; it was brought and set in a proper place, from whence it might be taken for his use:

and I took up the wine, and gave it to the king; according to Xenophon (n), the cupbearer with the Persians and Medes used to take the wine out of the vessels into the cup, and pour some of it into their left hand, and sup it up, that, if there was any poison in it, the king might not be harmed, and then he delivered it to him upon three fingers (o):

now I had not been before time sad in his presence; but always pleasant and cheerful, so that the sadness of his countenance was the more taken notice of.

(l) Misn. Roshhashanah, c. 1. sect. 3.((m) T. Bab. Rashhashanah, fol. 3. 1. (n) Cyropaedia, l. 1. c. 11. (o) Vid. Heliodor. Ethiopic. l. 7. c. 27.

Geneva Study Bible

And it came to pass in the month {a} Nisan, in the twentieth year of {b} Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.

(a) Which was the first month of the year, and contains part of March and part of April.

(b) Who is also called Darius, Ezr 7:1 and was the son of Hystaspis.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Nehemiah 2:1-11. Nehemiah receives His Commission

1. Nisan] See note on Nehemiah 1:1. This name only occurs elsewhere in the O.T. in Esther 3:7, ‘in the first month, which is the month Nisan,’ cf. Josephus, Ant. xi. 4, 8, ‘The first month, which according to the Macedonians is called Xanthicus, but according to us Nisan.’ Its meaning is uncertain; according to some its root-idea is ‘fruitfulness,’ according to others ‘beginning’ or ‘origin.’ It corresponds to the month of which the older Israelite name was ‘Abib’ (Exodus 13:4; Exodus 23:15; Exodus 34:18; Deuteronomy 16:1), ‘the harvest month,’ equivalent to our latter part of March and beginning of April.

The same month appears in the Assyrian dialect as Nisannu, and it is quite possible that the Jews may have adopted the name from Babylonian usage.

the twentieth year of Artaxerxes] 445 b.c.: Artaxerxes reigned 41 years (465–424 b.c.). In the year 445 Pericles had obtained control of Athenian affairs; and a thirty years’ truce was concluded between Athens and Sparta. At Rome the conflict between patricians and plebeians was being waged; the deposition of the Decemvirs had occurred only four years before.

that wine] R.V. when wine. The R.V. shows the connexion of the sentences. The present clause states the occasion, when Nehemiah preferred his request. ‘When wine was before him;’ i.e. when the king was at a repast, and the cupbearers were (or a cupbearer was) in attendance. At such a time the king would naturally remark upon any alteration of demeanour in a favourite ‘cupbearer.’

According to Rawlinson (Ancient Monarchies, vol. iii. p. 214) the Persian king himself rarely dined with his guests. For the most part he dined alone. Sometimes he admitted to his table the queen and two or three of his children. Sometimes at a ‘banquet of wine’ (Esther 7:2) a certain number of privileged boon companions were received.

before him] Another reading is found in the LXX. ‘before me,’ (καὶ ἦν ὁ οἶνος ἐνώπιον ἐμοῦ), which is followed in the Arabic version and was known to the translators of the Syriac. The change needed in the Hebrew to give this rendering is very slight, being only the omission of a single letter (vaw), which is read once instead of being repeated (l’phânâ(y) vaessa instead of l’phânâv vaessa). It has been very ingeniously maintained that this is the right reading, and that the words ‘when wine was before me’ denote ‘when my turn came round to attend as cupbearer at the royal table.’ According to this explanation, the clause accounts for the delay of three or four months, before Nehemiah made his appeal to the king; it also accounts for the king not having before recognised the sadness of his cupbearer, this being the first occasion on which he had appeared in the royal presence since the sad news arrived in the month Chislev.

But it does not seem likely that a cupbearer, who enjoyed the favour of the king, should have appeared so rarely in his presence as this view supposes. The LXX. reading makes practically no distinction in meaning between the clauses ‘wine was before me’ and ‘I took up the wine,’ and it is a pure assumption, that the former was a phrase for the rotation of the cupbearer’s office.

On the other hand, the Hebrew text gives with great minuteness full circumstances of the event: (1) the month and year; (2) the time of day, at the dinner; (3) the stage at the dinner, when the cupbearer offered the king wine. It distinguishes between ‘wine … before him,’ the occasion of the repast, and ‘I took up … the wine,’ the act of presenting the royal cup.

and I took up] R.V. that I took up. The cupbearer’s duties were to pour out the wine, to taste it so as to prevent any scheme of poisoning, and to present it to the king. Perhaps the words ‘took up’ relate to the reverential gesture with which the goblet was offered.

the wine] ‘The vines of Helbon were cultivated for the special purpose of supplying the Persian king with wine’ (Rawlinson, Anc. Mon., 3. p. 226). Helbon, a village near Damascus (see Ezekiel 27:18), seems to be the place intended by Strabo and Athenaeus, who call it ‘Chalybon.’

Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence] These words have given rise to considerable difficulty. There is nothing to show that this was the first occasion on which Nehemiah had stood before the king since the month Chislev. To suppose that the king had been absent for several months from Shushan would of course get over the difficulty. But we have no evidence upon which to base such an assertion. The passage, as it stands, suggests that Nehemiah was performing his usual duties as on former days. If so, how are we to explain Nehemiah’s words? For surely we may suppose his sadness to have dated from the arrival of the distressing news (ch. Nehemiah 1:2). Various explanations of the words have been attempted; e.g.,

(1) ‘Now I was not evil in his sight,’ i.e. he was well disposed to me. The rendering ‘evil’ instead of ‘sad’ is equally in accordance with the Hebrew, but the use of the same adjective in the sense of ‘sad’ in Nehemiah 2:2 (see note) is fatal to this interpretation.

(2) ‘To suppose that I should not have been sad in his presence!’ Grammatically possible, an exclamation is not a probable turn of the sentence.

(3) ‘And I was not sad in his presence.’ The preterite tense is understood to refer to this particular occasion, and not generally to past time. This interpretation supposes that Nehemiah did not wear a sad countenance, but that the quick eye of his royal master perceived that something was wrong with his favourite. This, it is claimed, would account for the perturbation of Nehemiah described in Nehemiah 2:2. But it is sufficient to object that (a) Nehemiah 2:2, leaves us to suppose that Nehemiah’s sadness was clearly visible; (b) the 1st pers. sing. of the preterite of the auxiliary is used in three other passages in this book and refers to past time indefinitely (Nehemiah 1:1; Nehemiah 1:11, Nehemiah 13:6). Had, Nehemiah wished to say that he was not sad on this occasion he would not have employed the auxiliary at all.

(4) Accepting the English rendering, ‘Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence,’ it seems necessary to assume that Nehemiah chose his opportunity and deliberately gave occasion for the king’s enquiry. It was forbidden for royal servants to appear before the king gloomy and unhappy. It was ill-omened, and suggested discontent and plotting at the court, cf. Esther 4:2. Nehemiah had not therefore beforetime been sad in the king’s presence. He had not made up his mind up to this time what steps to take or what petition to present. Now, however, after his prayer to God (ch. Nehemiah 1:5-11), he had been able to resolve upon his course of action. He appeared before the king at the banquet table in a state of sadness and dejection, which could not possibly escape the king’s notice when he stood before him as cupbearer and presented him the cup.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 1. - In the month Nisan. The fourth month after Chisleu, corresponding nearly to our April. How it came about that Nehemiah did not put the king's favour to the proof until more than three months had gone by we can only conjecture. Perhaps the court had been absent from Susa, passing the winter at Babylon, as it sometimes did, and he had not accompanied it. Perhaps, though present at the court, he had not been called on to discharge his office, his turn not having arrived. Possibly, though performing his duties from time to time, he had found no opportunity of unbosoming himself, the king not having noticed his grief. He. may even have done his best to conceal it, for Persian subjects were expected to be perfectly happy in the presence of their king. He had probably formed no plan, but waited in the confident hope that God's providence would so order events, that some occasion would arise whereof he might take advantage. In the twentieth year of Artaxerxes. Like Daniel, Zechariah, Haggai, and Ezra, Nehemiah dates events by the regnal year of the existing Persian king. His Artaxerxes is, by common consent, the same as Ezra's, and can scarcely be supposed to be any monarch but Longimanus, who reigned from B.C. 465 to B.C. 425. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. Other renderings have been proposed, but this is probably the true meaning. Hitherto I had always worn a cheerful countenance before him - now it was otherwise - my sorrow showed itself in spite of me. Nehemiah 2:1

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

In the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, Nehemiah as cupbearer took the wine and handed it to the king. Nisan is, according to the Hebrew calendar, the first month of the year; yet here, as in Nehemiah 1:1-11, the twentieth year of Artaxerxes is named, and the month Chisleu there mentioned (Nehemiah 1:1), which, after the Hebrew method of computing the year, was the ninth month and preceded Nisan by three months, is placed in the same year. This can only be explained on the grounds that either the twentieth year of Artaxerxes did not coincide with the year of the calendar, but began later, or that Nehemiah here uses the computation of time current in anterior Asia, and also among the Jews after the captivity in civil matters, and which made the new year begin in autumn. Of these two views we esteem the latter to be correct, since it cannot be shown that the years of the king's reign would be reckoned from the day of his accession. In chronological statements they were reckoned according to the years of the calendar, so that the commencement of a year of a reign coincided with that of the civil year. If, moreover, the beginning of the year is placed in autumn, Tishri is the first, Chisleu the third, and Nisan the seventh month. The circumstances which induced Nehemiah not to apply to the king till three months after his reception of the tidings which so distressed him, are not stated. It is probable that he himself required some time for deliberation before he could come to a decision as to the best means of remedying the distresses of Jerusalem; then, too, he may not have ventured at once to bring his request before the king from fear of meeting with a refusal, and may therefore have waited till an opportunity favourable to his desires should present itself. לפניו יין, "wine was before the king," is a circumstantial clause explanatory of what follows. The words allude to some banquet at which the king and queen were present. The last sentence, "And I have not been sad before him" (רע according to רעים פּניך of Nehemiah 2:2, of a sad countenance), can neither mean, I had never before been sad before him (de Wette); nor, I was accustomed not to be sad before him; but, I had not been sad before him at the moment of presenting the cup to him (Bertheau), because it would not have been becoming to serve the king with a sad demeanour: comp. Esther 4:2. The king, however, noticed his sadness, and inquired: "Why is thy countenance sad, since thou art not sick? this is nothing but sorrow of heart, i.e., thy sadness of countenance can arise only from sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid;" because the unexpected question obliged him to explain the cause of his sorrow, and he could not tell how the king would view the matter, nor whether he would favour his ardent desire to assist his fellow-countrymen in Judah.