Nehemiah 5:14

Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
time	מִיּ֣וֹם mi.Yom	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
appointed	צִוָּ֣ה tzi.Vah	H6680	(intensively) to constitute · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
governor	פֶּחָם֮ pe.Cham	H6346	a prefect (of a city or small district) · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
land	בְּאֶ֣רֶץ be.'E.retz	H776	the earth (at large · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
Judah	יְהוּדָה֒ ye.hu.Dah	H3063	Jehudah (or Judah) · proper noun, a place name
twentieth	עֶשְׂרִ֗ים 'es.Rim	H6242	twenty · cardinal number, masculine plural absolute
year	מִשְּׁנַ֣ת mi.she.Nat	H8141	a year (as a revolution of time) · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
two	וּשְׁתַּ֙יִם֙ u.she.Ta.yim	H8147	two · conjunction + cardinal number, feminine dual absolute
thirtieth	שְׁלֹשִׁ֤ים she.lo.Shim	H7970	thirty · cardinal number, masculine plural absolute
year	שְׁנַ֨ת she.Nat	H8141	a year (as a revolution of time) · noun, common feminine singular construct
Artaxerxes	לְאַרְתַּחְשַׁ֣סְתְּא le.'ar.tach.Shast'	H783	Artachshasta (or Artaxerxes) · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
king	הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
twelve	שְׁתֵּ֣ים she.Teim	H8147	two · cardinal number, feminine dual absolute
years	שָׁנִ֖ים sha.Nim	H8141	a year (as a revolution of time) · noun, common masculine plural absolute
brethren	וְאַחַ֔י ve.'a.Chai	H251	a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
eaten	אָכַֽלְתִּי 'a.Khal.ti	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular
bread	לֶ֥חֶם Le.chem	H3899	food (for man or beast) · noun, common masculine singular construct
governor	הַפֶּ֖חָה ha.Pe.chah	H6346	a prefect (of a city or small district) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Nehemiah 13:6 But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and after…
1 Corinthians 9:4-15 Have we not power to eat and to drink?
1 Corinthians 9:18 What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in…
2 Thessalonians 3:8-9 Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of…
Ezra 4:13-14 Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom,…
Nehemiah 2:1 And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and…
Romans 13:6-7 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 5:14–end

Nehemiah had mentioned his own practice, as an inducement to the nobles not to burden the poor, no, not with just demands; here he relates more particularly what his practice was, not inn pride or vain-glory, nor to pass a compliment upon himself, but as an inducement both to his successors and to the inferior magistrates to be as tender as might be of the people's ease. I. He intimates what had been the way of his predecessors, Neh 5:15. He does not name them, because what he had to say of them was not to their honour, and in such a case it is good to spare names; but the people knew how chargeable they had been, and how dearly the country paid for all the benefit of their government. The g…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 5:14

Moreover from the time that I was appointed . . . I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor--We have a remarkable proof both of the opulence and the disinterestedness of Nehemiah. As he declined, on conscientious grounds, to accept the lawful emoluments attached to his government, and yet maintained a style of princely hospitality for twelve years out of his own resources, it is evident that his office of cup-bearer at the court of Shushan must have been very lucrative.

Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 5:14

I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor. - From what is related here, and in the following verse, we find that the table of the governor was always supplied by the people with bread and wine; and, besides, they had forty shekels per diem for their other expenses. The people were also greatly oppressed by the servants and officers of the governor; but, during the twelve years that Nehemiah had been with them, he took not this salary, and ate none of their bread. Nor were his servants permitted to take or exact any thing from them. Having such an example, it was scandalous for their chiefs, priests, and nobles, thus to oppress an afflicted and distressed people.

John Gill on Nehemiah 5:14

Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah,.... That is, by the king of Persia, which was not done when he was first sent into Judea; but very probably when he had finished the wall in fifty two days, he returned to Persia, and gave the king an account of his success, and how things stood in those parts, when he judged it necessary to send him again in the character of a governor, and which was still within the same year, as follows: from the twentieth year, even unto the thirty second year of Artaxerxes, that is, twelve years; see Nehemiah 13:6. I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor; which was fit and proper for him, and used…

The Church Fathers

From the day on which he commanded me to be their leader, etc. Explaining this typologically, the Apostle says: "For the Lord has ordained that those who preach the Gospel should live by the Gospel; but I have used none of these things" (I Cor. IX). Nehemiah, along with his brothers, lived in such a way for twelve years during his leadership that they did not consume the provisions owed to the leaders, thereby mystically indicating that it is an apostolic work when someone promoted to the governance of the people of God nobly exercises the work of leadership by building up the Church, but does not seek material gain from those he governs by preaching and living well.
— Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Governor — (1.) Heb. nagid, a prominent, conspicuous person, whatever his capacity: as, chief of the royal palace (2 Chr. 28:7; comp. 1 Kings 4:6), chief of the temple (1 Chr. 9:11; Jer. 20:1), the leader of…
Jubilee — A joyful shout or clangour of trumpets, the name of the great semi-centennial festival of the Hebrews. It lasted for a year. During this year the land was to be fallow, and the Israelites were only…
Taxes — First mentioned in the command (Ex. 30:11-16) that every Jew from twenty years and upward should pay an annual tax of “half a shekel for an offering to the Lord.” This enactment was faithfully…
Civil Service · REFORM IN — REFORM IN
Country · LOVE OF — LOVE OF
Example · GOOD — GOOD
Kindness · .The Jews to the people — .The Jews to the people
Unselfishness · .Nehemiah — .Nehemiah

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Nehemiah 5:14

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 5:14–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 5:14

Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 5:14

John Gill on Nehemiah 5:14

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Nehemiah 5:14

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 5:14–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 5:14

Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 5:14

John Gill on Nehemiah 5:14

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Nehemiah 5:14–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Nehemiah 5:14-19

Rashi on Nehemiah 5:14