Nehemiah 1:2

2 Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived from Judah with another group, and I asked them about Jerusalem and about the other Jews who had returned from exile in ^[a] Babylonia.

Nehemiah 1:2 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 1:2

That Hanani, one of my brethren
Either in natural relation, ( Nehemiah 7:2 ) , or being a Jew of the same nation and religion; so Jarchi interprets it, one of my companions or acquaintance:

he and certain men of Judah;
who came from thence to Shushan on some account or another:

and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left
of the captivity;
who were returned from it to their own land; he inquired of their health and prosperity, in what circumstances they were, whether prosperous or adverse, whether they flourished, or were in distress:

and concerning Jerusalem;
whether it was rebuilt, the houses and walls of it, and in what condition it was.

Nehemiah 1:2 In-Context

1 This is the account of what Nehemiah son of Hacaliah accomplished. In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year that Artaxerxes was emperor of Persia, I, Nehemiah, was in Susa, the capital city.

2 Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived from Judah with another group, and I asked them about Jerusalem and about the other Jews who had returned from exile in Babylonia.

3 They told me that those who had survived and were back in the homeland were in great difficulty and that the foreigners who lived nearby looked down on them. They also told me that the walls of Jerusalem were still broken down and that the gates had not been restored since the time they were burned.

4 When I heard all this, I sat down and wept. For several days I mourned and did not eat. I prayed to God,

5 "Lord God of Heaven! You are great, and we stand in fear of you. You faithfully keep your covenant with those who love you and do what you command.

Footnotes

• [a]. had returned from exile in; [or] had not been exiled to.