Nehemiah 2:1

The month Nisan. Nisan in Artaxerxes I’s year 20 began April 2, 444 B.C. according to the table on page 108. This text, taken with Neh. 1:1, shows that Nehemiah reckoned the regnal years of a Persian king according to the Jewish civil calendar, which began in the autumn (see pp. 102, 103; also Vol. II, pp. 110, 116).

It may seem strange that Nehemiah waited three or four months after receiving the report from Jerusalem before approaching the king with his request. Several reasons may have been responsible for this delay. For one thing, the king may have been absent from his capital. But even when the king was there, his moody character (see Additional Note on Ezra 4) may have made it seem desirable to await an opportune moment for placing the petition before him. During all this time Nehemiah sought to conceal his true feelings, since he was expected to be cheerful in the presence of his king.

Artaxerxes the king. That the Artaxerxes mentioned in the book of Nehemiah is the first Persian king who bore this name, and the same king under whom Ezra returned to Jerusalem, can be demonstrated by the evidence from the Elephantine Jewish papyri (see Additional Note 2 at close of chapter).