Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• Scope
  The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
• Writer and Date
  The use of the first person identifies the author as Nehemiah, the governor of the Persian province of Judah (1:1-2:20; 13:4-31). His name means "Yahweh has comforted."The mention of Darius the Persian in 12:22 probably refer...
• Scope
  The years of history the book covers are 445-431 B.C. or perhaps a few years after that.In 445 B.C. (the twentieth year of Artaxerxes' reign, 1:1) Nehemiah learned of the conditions in Jerusalem that led him to request permis...
• Message3
  For many years, believers regarded Ezra and Nehemiah as twin books. They called them 1 and 2 Ezra (or Esdras, the Greek transliteration of Ezra). Jerome, who lived in the fourth century A.D., gave 2 Ezra the name Nehemiah. Th...
• Outline
  I. The fortification of Jerusalem chs. 1-7A. The return under Nehemiah chs. 1-21. The news concerning Jerusalem 1:1-32. The response of Nehemiah 1:4-113. The request of Nehemiah 2:1-84. The return to Jerusalem 2:9-20B. The re...
• 2. The response of Nehemiah 1:4-11
  Nehemiah's reaction to this bad news was admirable. He made it a subject of serious prolonged prayer (vv. 4, 11; 2:1). Daniel had been another high-ranking Jewish official in the Persian government, and he too was a man of pr...
• 3. The request of Nehemiah 2:1-8
  Nehemiah prayed for four months about conditions in Jerusalem before he spoke to Artaxerxes about them (cf. 1:1; 2:1). Artaxerxes' reign began in the seventh Jewish month, Tishri (late September and early October), of 464 B.C...
• 5. The completion of the work 6:15-7:4
  The builders finished the walls only 52 days after construction had begun (v. 15). "Elul"is late August and early September. Israel's enemies viewed their rapid progress as evidence that God had helped the workers (v. 16)."Th...
• 1. The king's feast 1:1-9
  Ahasuerus is the Hebrew name of the Persian king, Khshayarsha, whom we know better in ancient history by his Greek name, Xerxes.22He reigned over the Persian Empire from 486 to 464 B.C. and was the son of Darius I (521-486 B....
• 1. The rewarding of Esther and Mordecai 8:1-2
  Haman's "house"(v. 1) was his estate. Esther received this probably to compensate her for her suffering. The king gave Mordecai Haman's place as second in authority (cf. Joseph, Gen. 41:42; Daniel, Dan. 5:7, 29; 6:3; and Nehe...
• 3. Reminder to thank God 136:26
  This concluding exhortation contains a title for God unique in the Psalter. It highlights His sovereignty and was a favorite of the postexilic community (2 Chron. 36:23; Ezra 2:1; 5:11-12; 6:9-10; 7:12, 21, 23 [twice]; Neh. 1...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• A Reformer's Schooling
  The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, 2. That Hanani, one of my brethren. came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked t...
• II. The Prayer (Neh. 1:5-11). The Course Of Thought In This Prayer Is Very Instructive.
  It begins with solemnly laying before God His own great name, as the mightiest plea with Him, and the strongest encouragement to the suppliant. That commencement is no mere proper invocation, conventionally regarded as the ri...
• II. The Calm Heroism Of Nehemiah And His Wise Action In The Emergency Are Told In Neh. 4:13-15.
  He made a demonstration in force, which at once showed that the scheme of a surprise was blown to pieces. It is difficult to make out the exact localities in which he planted his men. The lower places behind the wall' probabl...