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The Histories · Old Testament

Nehemiah 2

Nehemiah 2: the king's leave, the night ride, and the call to build

General context

In the month Nisan of the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, Nehemiah serves wine and the king notices a sadness he had never shown before. Afraid, Nehemiah says his face is sad because the city of his fathers' sepulchres lies waste and its gates are burned. The king asks what he requests; Nehemiah prays to the God of heaven and asks to be sent to Judah to build the city. With the queen sitting by, the king asks how long he will be gone, and Nehemiah sets a time. He also asks for letters to the governors beyond the river and to Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, for timber for the palace gates, the wall and his own house. The king grants it, and Nehemiah credits the good hand of his God. He travels with captains and horsemen and delivers the letters. Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, are grieved that someone has come to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. After three days in Jerusalem, Nehemiah rides out at night with a few men, telling no one what God has put in his heart, and inspects the broken walls and burned gates past the valley gate, the dragon well, the dung port, the fountain gate and the king's pool, where his beast cannot pass, then up by the brook and back. He then tells the Jews, priests, nobles and rulers of the distress, reports God's hand and the king's words, and they say, Let us rise up and build. Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem the Arabian laugh and ask whether they rebel against the king; Nehemiah answers that the God of heaven will prosper his servants and that the mockers have no portion, right or memorial in Jerusalem.

Cited passages: Nehemiah 2:1, Nehemiah 2:2, Nehemiah 2:3, Nehemiah 2:4, Nehemiah 2:5, Nehemiah 2:6, Nehemiah 2:8, Nehemiah 2:9, Nehemiah 2:10, Nehemiah 2:12, Nehemiah 2:13, Nehemiah 2:14, Nehemiah 2:17, Nehemiah 2:18, Nehemiah 2:19, Nehemiah 2:20

Nehemiah 2 (KJV)

1And 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.

2Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,

3And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?

4Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

5And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it.

6And 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.

7Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;

8And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

9Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.

10When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.

11So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.

12And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.

13And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.

14Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.

15Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.

16And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.

17Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.

18Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.

19But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?

20Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The king is named here for the first time as Artaxerxes, and the date is the month Nisan of his twentieth year, after the Chisleu of chapter 1, though both are called the twentieth year. Nehemiah's request describes Jerusalem as the city of his fathers' sepulchres and asks to build the city, its gates and wall; it does not ask to build the temple, which the book treats as already standing. The queen is mentioned as present but is not named and does not speak. The time Nehemiah sets is not given here; chapter 5 later refers to twelve years as governor. Asaph the keeper of the king's forest is named only in this verse, and the text does not locate the forest. Sanballat is called the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite; Geshem is the Arabian. The text gives their titles and origins but not their offices, and it does not say why the arrival grieved them beyond Nehemiah's own explanation. Nehemiah reports that the king sent captains and horsemen with him, which contrasts with Ezra's refusal of an escort in Ezra 8, though neither book comments on the other. The night ride names gates and a pool but gives no distances. The rebellion charge is the mockers' question; Nehemiah's reply rests on God's prospering rather than on the king's letters he has just delivered.

Cited passages: Nehemiah 2:1, Nehemiah 1:1, Nehemiah 2:5, Nehemiah 2:6, Nehemiah 5:14, Nehemiah 2:8, Nehemiah 2:10, Nehemiah 2:19, Nehemiah 2:9, Ezra 8:22, Nehemiah 2:20

Literary context

The chapter has three scenes, each ending in a decision: the audience with the king, the secret survey, and the public appeal. In the first, a single question from the king, why is thy countenance sad, opens the way, and Nehemiah's silent prayer sits between the king's question and his answer. The refrain the good hand of my God upon me, used at the grant of the letters and again in the appeal to the people of Jerusalem, is the same phrase Ezra used for his own journey. The night ride is told in the first person with the repeated I went, and its secrecy is stressed twice, neither told I any man and the rulers knew not, so the reader knows the plan before the city does. The chapter sets two groups of hearers against each other: the Jews, priests, nobles and rulers, who answer Let us rise up and build, and the three mockers, who ask about rebellion. Nehemiah's last words, no portion, nor right, nor memorial, close the door the adversaries of Ezra 4 also found shut, and they set up the opposition that runs through chapters 4 and 6.

Cited passages: Nehemiah 2:2, Nehemiah 2:4, Nehemiah 2:8, Nehemiah 2:18, Ezra 7:9, Nehemiah 2:12, Nehemiah 2:16, Nehemiah 2:15, Nehemiah 2:19, Nehemiah 2:20, Ezra 4:3

Key moments

  1. The king notices (Nehemiah 2:2). Artaxerxes asks why his cupbearer is sad, and Nehemiah is very afraid.
  2. A prayer between question and answer (Nehemiah 2:4). Asked what he requests, Nehemiah prays to the God of heaven before replying.
  3. Leave and letters granted (Nehemiah 2:8). The king gives letters for safe passage and timber, which Nehemiah credits to God's hand.
  4. Sanballat and Tobiah grieved (Nehemiah 2:10). Two opponents are troubled that someone has come to seek Israel's welfare.
  5. The night ride (Nehemiah 2:13). Nehemiah rides out secretly and views the broken walls and burned gates.
  6. Let us rise up and build (Nehemiah 2:18). The Jews, priests, nobles and rulers hear of God's hand and the king's words and commit to the work.
  7. No portion in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:20). Nehemiah answers the mockers' charge of rebellion by denying them any share in the city.

For reflection

Nehemiah inspects the ruins at night and tells no one until he has seen them himself. What might be gained, and what risked, by keeping a plan private until one has looked at the damage firsthand?

People in this chapter

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