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Passage Research

Nehemiah 1 — Sermon Preparation

Nehemiah, serving as cupbearer to the Persian king, hears of Jerusalem's broken walls and weeps, fasting and praying for God's mercy on his people. Below is a research summary for Nehemiah 1, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.

11
verses
202 / 111
Hebrew words / lemmas
7
classic sermon excerpts
4
preachers & commentators

Nehemiah 1 in the Hebrew

Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.

HebrewTransliterationStrong'sCountGlosses
עֶבֶדʻebedH56508servant
שָׁמַרshâmarH81044hedge, guard
תְּפִלָּהtᵉphillâhH86053intercession, supplication
שָׁאַרshâʼarH76043swell, be
קַשָּׁבqashshâbH71832hearkening
מִצְוָהmitsvâhH46873command, Law
שָׁמַיִםshâmayimH80643sky, aloft

How preachers through history handled this text

7 public-domain excerpts on Nehemiah 1, from the church fathers to the Puritans.

Alexander MacLaren4Matthew Henry1Spurgeon1John Wesley1

“Here we first meet with Nehemiah at the Persian court, where we find him, I. Inquisitive concerning the state of the Jews and Jerusalem, ver. 1, 2. II. Informed of their deplorable condition, ver. 3. III. Fasting and praying thereupon (ver. 4), with a particular account of his prayer, ver. 5-11. Such is the rise of this great man, by piety, not by policy. Nehemiah's Distress. (b. c. 445.) 1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. …”

— Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, Vol. 2 (Joshua to Esther), on Nehemiah 1:1–30 (Public Domain)

Places in the text

Based on ancient-geography data

  • Susa— Neh 1:1
  • Jerusalem— Neh 1:2

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