Nehemiah 2:6
in Nehemiah 2Then the king, with the queen seated beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I set a time.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king said unto me (the queen also sitting by him), For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
KJV
And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
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This verse in Nehemiah 2
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThe queen also sitting by him - Who probably forwarded his suit. This was not Esther, as Dean Prideaux supposes, nor perhaps the same Artaxerxes who had taken her to be queen; nor does שגל shegal signify queen, but rather harlot or concubine, she who was chief favourite. The Septuagint translate it παλλακη, harlot; and properly too. See the introduction.
This site's exposition
if your servant has found favor in your sight
on Nehemiah 2:5-6
Nehemiah asks that the king send him to Judah, and he frames the whole request as a matter of the king's favor. The king asks when Nehemiah will return, so what is granted is leave with a term attached. The queen sits beside him.
This site's exposition
with the queen seated beside him
Wesley notes that Persian kings ate alone, so the queen seated beside the king marks an unusual occasion, and she may have helped the request. Clarke denies that she was Esther. The time set was short, though Nehemiah 5:14 later counts twelve years as governor.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The queen - Which is here noted, as an unusual thing; for commonly the kings of Persia dined alone, and perhaps because the queen expressed some kindness to him, and promoted his request. How long - This question shewed the king's affection to him, and that he was not willing to want his attendance longer than was necessary.
And the king said unto me, the queen also sitting by him,....
He intimated that he was unwilling to lose him, or to be long without him, yet to gratify him, and do a real office of kindness to his people, he would spare him awhile, and let him have what clauses he pleased inserted in his commission,
Whether the queen was his back friend, that would have hindered him, and he observes it to the praise of God's powerful providence that though she was by yet he succeeded, or whether she was his true friend, and it is observed to the praise of God's kind providence that she was present to help forward his request, is not certain. Of the power and grace of God.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
I set him a time--Considering the great despatch made in raising the walls, it is probable that this leave of absence was limited at first to a year or six months, after which he returned to his duties in Shushan.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The queen - Though the Persian kings practiced polygamy, they always had one chief wife, who alone was recognized as “queen.” The chief wife of Longimanus was Damaspia. I set him a time - Nehemiah appears to have stayed at Jerusalem twelve years from his first arrival Neh 5:14; but he can scarcely have mentioned so long a term to the king. Probably his leave of absence was prolonged from time to time.
Modern Voices1 voice
Nehemiah received more than permission—he received provision. God had softened the king's heart before Nehemiah even asked.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמֶר֩ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לִ֨י | li | to me | ||
| הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וְהַשֵּׁגַ֣ל׀ | vehashegal | and the queen-consort | H7694 → | |
| יוֹשֶׁ֣בֶת | yoshevet | [was] sitting | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| אֶצְל֗וֹ | ʾetzlo | beside him | H681 → | 61 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| מָתַ֛י | matai | when? | H4970 → | |
| יִהְיֶ֥ה | yihyeh | will it be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מַֽהֲלָכֲךָ֖ | mahalakhakha | journey your | H4109 → | |
| וּמָתַ֣י | umatai | and when? | H4970 → | |
| תָּשׁ֑וּב | tashuv | will you return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| וַיִּיטַ֤ב | vaiyitav | and it was good | H3190 → | |
| לִפְנֵֽי־ | lifnei- | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וַיִּשְׁלָחֵ֔נִי | vaiyishlacheni | and he sent me | H7971 → | 845 times |
| וָֽאֶתְּנָ֥ה | vaetenah | and I gave ! | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| זְמָֽן׃ | zeman | a time | H2165 → |
וַיֹּאמֶר֩and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לִ֨יto me
li
הַמֶּ֜לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וְהַשֵּׁגַ֣ל׀and the queen-consort
vehashegalH7694 →
יוֹשֶׁ֣בֶת[was] sitting
yoshevetH3427 →1079 times
אֶצְל֗וֹbeside him
ʾetzloH681 →61 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
מָתַ֛יwhen?
mataiH4970 →
יִהְיֶ֥הwill it be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
מַֽהֲלָכֲךָ֖journey your
mahalakhakhaH4109 →
וּמָתַ֣יand when?
umataiH4970 →
תָּשׁ֑וּבwill you return
tashuvH7725 →1056 times
וַיִּיטַ֤בand it was good
vaiyitavH3190 →
לִפְנֵֽי־<to> before
lifnei-H6440 →2123 times
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וַיִּשְׁלָחֵ֔נִיand he sent me
vaiyishlacheniH7971 →845 times
וָֽאֶתְּנָ֥הand I gave !
vaetenahH5414 →2011 times
ל֖וֹto him
lo
זְמָֽן׃a time
zemanH2165 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Isaiah 65:24Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
it leads to
- Daniel 10:12
“Do not be afraid, Daniel,” he said, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response…
- 1 John 5:14–15
And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
- Isaiah 58:9
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and…
- Psalms 91:15
When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
- Daniel 10:12
Through
Isaiah 58:12Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of the Streets of Dwelling.
it leads to
- Isaiah 61:4
They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.
- Amos 9:14
I will restore My people Israel from captivity; they will rebuild and inhabit the ruined cities. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
- Ezekiel 36:33
This is what the Lord GOD says: On the day I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be resettled and the ruins to be rebuilt.
- Isaiah 61:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Nehemiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Darren Stott, Delayed, Not Denied: The Purpose Behind God's Timing (blog); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.