Nehemiah 1:1

A Prayer of Nehemiah

1:1 1 These are the words of Nehemiah2 son of Hacaliah:

It so happened that in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year,3 I was in Susa4 the citadel.

Sign up for the Verse of the Day

Get beautiful Bible art delivered to your inbox. We’ll send you a new verse every day to download or share.

1	sn In ancient Judaism Ezra and Nehemiah were regarded as a single book with dual authorship. According to the Talmud, “Ezra wrote his book” (b. Bava Batra 15a). The Gemara then asks and answers, “And who finished it? Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.” Accordingly, the two are joined in the Leningrad Codex (ca. A.D. 1008), the manuscript upon which modern printed editions of the Hebrew Bible (e.g., BHK and BHS) are based.
2	sn The name Nehemiah in Hebrew (נְחֶמְיָה, nékhemyah) means “the Lord comforts.”
3	tn That is, the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign (cf. 2:1).
4	tn Heb “Shushan.”