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Nehemiah 2:1

in Nehemiah 2

Now in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

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

KJV

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.

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This verse in Nehemiah 2

Commentary

7 notes on this verse
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 Neh 1:1. The twentieth year - As Artaxerxes ascended the throne in 465 B.C., his 20th year would correspond to 445-444 B.C.

This site's exposition

in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes

on Nehemiah 2:1-2

Four months pass between the news in Chislev and the wine Nehemiah sets before the king in Nisan. The king reads the change: "This could only be sadness of the heart" (2:2). Nehemiah is "overwhelmed with fear," since a sad face before a Persian king was itself a danger.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah · Written before 735.

proposed

Now it happened in the month of Nisan, etc. Nisan is the first month of the year according to the Hebrews, in which they always used to celebrate Passover, which we call April. Therefore, what was said above, that he mourned, fasted, and prayed for …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And it came to pass in the month Nisan; in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

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.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Month Nisan - Answering to a part of our March and April. I took up the wine - It is supposed that the kings of Persia had a different cup-bearer for each quarter of the year, and that it had just now come to Nehemiah’s turn.

Modern Voices1 voice

At first glance, it appears trivial. But the weight of this statement is staggering.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

of..Artaxerxes That was Darius, and because of his kingship he was called this.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Nehemiah 2:1:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 1 further source is cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיְהִ֣י׀and it was

    vayhiH1961 →3559 times

  • בְּחֹ֣דֶשׁin [the] month of

    bechodeshH2320 →284 times

  • נִיסָ֗ןNisan

    nisanH5212 →

  • שְׁנַ֥תyear

    shenatH8141 →877 times

  • עֶשְׂרִ֛יםtwenty

    ʾesrimH6242 →315 times

  • לְאַרְתַּחְשַׁ֥סְתְּאof Artaxerxes

    leartachshast'H783 →15 times

  • הַמֶּ֖לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • יַ֣יִןwine

    yayinH3196 →141 times

  • לְפָנָ֑יו[was] <to> before him

    lefanavH6440 →2123 times

  • וָאֶשָּׂ֤אand I took

    vaesa'H5375 →656 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הַיַּ֙יִן֙the wine

    haiyayinH3196 →141 times

  • וָאֶתְּנָ֣הand I gave [it] !

    vaetenahH5414 →2011 times

  • לַמֶּ֔לֶךְto the king

    lamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • וְלֹא־and not

    velo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • הָיִ֥יתִיI had been

    hayitiH1961 →3559 times

  • רַ֖עsad

    ra'H7451 →662 times

  • לְפָנָֽיו׃<to> before him

    lefanavH6440 →2123 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

9 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Nehemiah 1:11O Lord, may Your ear be attentive to my prayer and to the prayers of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” (At that time I was the cupbearer to the king.)11 worksEzra 7:1Many years later, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,7 worksNehemiah 1:1These are the words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,4 worksGenesis 40:21Pharaoh restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.4 worksNehemiah 5:14Furthermore, from the day King Artaxerxes appointed me to be their governor in the land of Judah, from his twentieth year until his thirty-second year (twelve years total), neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor.2 worksEzra 7:7So in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, he went up to Jerusalem with some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants.2 works
The other 3 cross-references, with their words ▾
Nehemiah 13:6While all this was happening, I was not in Jerusalem, because I had returned to Artaxerxes king of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his reign. Some time later I obtained leave from the king2 worksEsther 3:7In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the Pur (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman to determine a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar.2 worksGenesis 40:11Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into his cup, and placed the cup in his hand.”0 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Nehemiah 1:11

    O Lord, may Your ear be attentive to my prayer and to the prayers of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success this day, I pray, and grant him…

    it leads to

    • Nehemiah 1:6

      let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to hear the prayer that I, Your servant, now pray before You day and night for Your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins that…

    • Nehemiah 2:8

      And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel to the temple, for the…

    • Proverbs 21:1

      The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases.

    • Hebrews 13:18

      Pray for us; we are convinced that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.

    • Ezra 7:6

      this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted Ezra all his requests, for…

  • Through

    Nehemiah 1:1

    These are the words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,

    it leads to

    • Zechariah 7:1

      In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev.

    • Nehemiah 10:1

      Now these were the ones who sealed the document: Nehemiah the governor, son of Hacaliah, and also Zedekiah,

    • Esther 1:2

      In those days King Xerxes sat on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa.

Where this verse is studied

About Nehemiah

Nehemiah Views the Ruins of Jerusalem's Walls — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Nehemiah Views the Ruins of Jerusalem's Walls — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Nehemiah: the study guide →Read Nehemiah 2 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; Darren Stott, Delayed, Not Denied: The Purpose Behind God's Timing (blog); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.

Read on in Nehemiah 2 →