(א) דִּבְרֵ֥י נְחֶמְיָ֖ה בֶּן־חֲכַלְיָ֑ה וַיְהִ֤י בְחֹֽדֶשׁ־כסלו [כִּסְלֵיו֙] שְׁנַ֣ת עֶשְׂרִ֔ים וַאֲנִ֥י הָיִ֖יתִי בְּשׁוּשַׁ֥ן הַבִּירָֽה׃ (ב) וַיָּבֹ֨א חֲנָ֜נִי אֶחָ֧ד מֵאַחַ֛י ה֥וּא וַאֲנָשִׁ֖ים מִֽיהוּדָ֑ה וָאֶשְׁאָלֵ֞ם עַל־הַיְּהוּדִ֧ים הַפְּלֵיטָ֛ה אֲשֶֽׁר־נִשְׁאֲר֥וּ מִן־הַשֶּׁ֖בִי וְעַל־יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ (ג) וַיֹּאמְרוּ֮ לִי֒ הַֽנִּשְׁאָרִ֞ים אֲשֶֽׁר־נִשְׁאֲר֤וּ מִן־הַשְּׁבִי֙ שָׁ֣ם בַּמְּדִינָ֔ה בְּרָעָ֥ה גְדֹלָ֖ה וּבְחֶרְפָּ֑ה וְחוֹמַ֤ת יְרוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙ מְפֹרָ֔צֶת וּשְׁעָרֶ֖יהָ נִצְּת֥וּ בָאֵֽשׁ׃ (ד) וַיְהִ֞י כְּשָׁמְעִ֣י ׀ אֶת־הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה יָשַׁ֙בְתִּי֙ וָֽאֶבְכֶּ֔ה וָאֶתְאַבְּלָ֖ה יָמִ֑ים וָֽאֱהִ֥י צָם֙ וּמִתְפַּלֵּ֔ל לִפְנֵ֖י אֱלֹקֵ֥י הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃
(1) The narrative of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Kislev of the twentieth year, when I was in the fortress of Shushan, (2) Hanani, one of my brothers, together with some men of Judah, arrived, and I asked them about the Jews, the remnant who had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. (3) They replied, “The survivors who have survived the captivity there in the province are in dire trouble and disgrace; Jerusalem’s wall is full of breaches, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.” (4) When I heard that, I sat and wept, and was in mourning for days, fasting and praying to the God of Heaven.
- Nehemiah places himself in the 20th year of Artaxerxes reign, in Shushan, in what is introduced as his "Memoir" material.
- We can assume "Men of Judah" here means not only Judeans or Jews, but perhaps specifically those who went with one of the first two delegations back to Judah and have chosen to return to Persia, though we have no information on whether or why such returns to "captivity" might have happened.
- Nehemiah's response to the news from Judah mirrors Ezra's behavior in the marriage crisis scene at the end of the previous book. Fasting and behaving as if in mourning is not terribly uncommon response to bad news in the Bible, but literary scholars of the Bible believe this is repeating trope is significant for the connections between Ezra and Nehemiah.
(א) וַיְהִ֣י ׀ בְּחֹ֣דֶשׁ נִיסָ֗ן שְׁנַ֥ת עֶשְׂרִ֛ים לְאַרְתַּחְשַׁ֥סְתְּא הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ יַ֣יִן לְפָנָ֑יו וָאֶשָּׂ֤א אֶת־הַיַּ֙יִן֙ וָאֶתְּנָ֣ה לַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וְלֹא־הָיִ֥יתִי רַ֖ע לְפָנָֽיו׃ (ב) וַיֹּאמֶר֩ לִ֨י הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ מַדּ֣וּעַ ׀ פָּנֶ֣יךָ רָעִ֗ים וְאַתָּה֙ אֵֽינְךָ֣ חוֹלֶ֔ה אֵ֣ין זֶ֔ה כִּי־אִ֖ם רֹ֣עַֽ לֵ֑ב וָאִירָ֖א הַרְבֵּ֥ה מְאֹֽד׃ (ג) וָאֹמַ֣ר לַמֶּ֔לֶךְ הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ לְעוֹלָ֣ם יִחְיֶ֑ה מַדּ֜וּעַ לֹא־יֵרְע֣וּ פָנַ֗י אֲשֶׁ֨ר הָעִ֜יר בֵּית־קִבְר֤וֹת אֲבֹתַי֙ חֲרֵבָ֔ה וּשְׁעָרֶ֖יהָ אֻכְּל֥וּ בָאֵֽשׁ׃ (ס)
(1) In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, wine was set before him; I took the wine and gave it to the king—I had never been out of sorts in his presence. (2) The king said to me, “How is it that you look bad, though you are not ill? It must be bad thoughts.” I was very frightened, (3) but I answered the king, “May the king live forever! How should I not look bad when the city of the graveyard of my ancestors lies in ruins, and its gates have been consumed by fire?”
- Ezra is introduced to us as a priest and a scribe, so we can deduce much about his role in the Persian court from his labels and his appointment as head of the second delegation back to the Holy Land. It's not fully spelled out, but we are given a fair amount of information about his importance.
- Nehemiah is not introduced with any such information, but we are immediately shown that he has a fairly close relationship with the King. We are left to wonder what his role was and how the King knows him well enough to read his moods and why Nehemiah is comfortable in responding rather casually to the King of Persia.
(ו) וַיֹּאמֶר֩ לִ֨י הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ וְהַשֵּׁגַ֣ל ׀ יוֹשֶׁ֣בֶת אֶצְל֗וֹ עַד־מָתַ֛י יִהְיֶ֥ה מַֽהֲלָכֲךָ֖ וּמָתַ֣י תָּשׁ֑וּב וַיִּיטַ֤ב לִפְנֵֽי־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ וַיִּשְׁלָחֵ֔נִי וָֽאֶתְּנָ֥ה ל֖וֹ זְמָֽן׃
(6) With the consort seated at his side, the king said to me, “How long will you be gone and when will you return?” So it was agreeable to the king to send me, and I gave him a date.
(טז) וְהַסְּגָנִ֗ים לֹ֤א יָדְעוּ֙ אָ֣נָה הָלַ֔כְתִּי וּמָ֖ה אֲנִ֣י עֹשֶׂ֑ה וְלַיְּהוּדִ֨ים וְלַכֹּהֲנִ֜ים וְלַחֹרִ֣ים וְלַסְּגָנִ֗ים וּלְיֶ֙תֶר֙ עֹשֵׂ֣ה הַמְּלָאכָ֔ה עַד־כֵּ֖ן לֹ֥א הִגַּֽדְתִּי׃
(16) The prefects knew nothing of where I had gone or what I had done, since I had not yet divulged it to the Jews—the priests, the nobles, the prefects, or the rest of the officials.
- If Nehemiah is there with the permission of King Artaxerxes to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (not only the King of Persia, but the same one who tried to stop the first delegation from their building projects for fear that the rebuilding of the city would lead the the appointment of a Jewish King to self-govern and reestablish the Davidic monarchy), why is he skulking around in the dead of night and hiding his goings-on from the local officials and the Jewish people?
(א) וַיָּ֡קָם אֶלְיָשִׁיב֩ הַכֹּהֵ֨ן הַגָּד֜וֹל וְאֶחָ֣יו הַכֹּהֲנִ֗ים וַיִּבְנוּ֙ אֶת־שַׁ֣עַר הַצֹּ֔אן הֵ֣מָּה קִדְּשׁ֔וּהוּ וַֽיַּעֲמִ֖ידוּ דַּלְתֹתָ֑יו וְעַד־מִגְדַּ֤ל הַמֵּאָה֙ קִדְּשׁ֔וּהוּ עַ֖ד מִגְדַּ֥ל חֲנַנְאֵֽל׃ (ס)
(1) Then Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests set to and rebuilt the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and set up its doors, consecrating it as far as the Hundred’s Tower, as far as the Tower of Hananel.
(כב) וְאַחֲרָ֛יו הֶחֱזִ֥יקוּ הַכֹּהֲנִ֖ים אַנְשֵׁ֥י הַכִּכָּֽר׃
(22) After him, the priests, inhabitants of the plain, repaired.
(לג) וַיְהִ֞י כַּאֲשֶׁ֧ר שָׁמַ֣ע סַנְבַלַּ֗ט כִּֽי־אֲנַ֤חְנוּ בוֹנִים֙ אֶת־הַ֣חוֹמָ֔ה וַיִּ֣חַר ל֔וֹ וַיִּכְעַ֖ס הַרְבֵּ֑ה וַיַּלְעֵ֖ג עַל־הַיְּהוּדִֽים׃ (לד) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ׀ לִפְנֵ֣י אֶחָ֗יו וְחֵיל֙ שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מָ֛ה הַיְּהוּדִ֥ים הָאֲמֵלָלִ֖ים עֹשִׂ֑ים הֲיַעַזְב֨וּ לָהֶ֤ם הֲיִזְבָּ֙חוּ֙ הַיְכַלּ֣וּ בַיּ֔וֹם הַיְחַיּ֧וּ אֶת־הָאֲבָנִ֛ים מֵעֲרֵמ֥וֹת הֶעָפָ֖ר וְהֵ֥מָּה שְׂרוּפֽוֹת׃ (לה) וְטוֹבִיָּ֥ה הָעַמֹּנִ֖י אֶצְל֑וֹ וַיֹּ֗אמֶר גַּ֚ם אֲשֶׁר־הֵ֣ם בּוֹנִ֔ים אִם־יַעֲלֶ֣ה שׁוּעָ֔ל וּפָרַ֖ץ חוֹמַ֥ת אַבְנֵיהֶֽם׃ (פ)
(33) When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, it angered him, and he was extremely vexed. He mocked the Jews, (34) saying in the presence of his brothers and the Samarian force, “What are the miserable Jews doing? Will they restore, offer sacrifice, and finish one day? Can they revive those stones out of the dust heaps, burned as they are?” (35) Tobiah the Ammonite, alongside him, said, “That stone wall they are building—if a fox climbed it he would breach it!”
- Sanballat and Tobiah were both non-Jews who had married Judean women of distinguished families. Tobiah's name also indicated that he himself was a worshiper of HaShem in some way that was inconsistent with what the golah group wanted to establish as mainstream Judaism.
- It is possible that they were kicked out of the community and Jerusalem for their behavior as much as for their lineages, and it is possible that these behaviors were exaggerated by Nehemiah and the editors/chroniclers to justify the treatment Tobiah and Sanballat got due to their lineages and marriages.
(לח) וַנִּבְנֶה֙ אֶת־הַ֣חוֹמָ֔ה וַתִּקָּשֵׁ֥ר כָּל־הַחוֹמָ֖ה עַד־חֶצְיָ֑הּ וַיְהִ֧י לֵ֦ב לָעָ֖ם לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃ (פ)
(38) We rebuilt the wall till it was continuous all around to half its height; for the people’s heart was in the work.