In Biblical history, there were two periods known as the exilic periods (captivity; deportation of leaders and people to a foreign land) which marked a significant turning point in the history of the Jewish people. The land of Judah which was united under King David was divided into the northern and southern kingdom with the passing of King Solomon. The first exile happened in the eighth century (722 BC) with Assyrians conquering the northern kingdom (named Israel) and the fall of their capital Samaria and deporting people to Assyria. The second one happened in the sixth century (586 BC) when the Babylonians conquered the southern kingdom (named Judah) and captured the capital of Jerusalem  followed by a deportation of some of the leaders and people to Babylon while the rest were left behind.

（picture from the Internet）

The exiles that took place were watershed events in the history of the people. First, the exile happened as prophesied by the prophets because of the people's disobedience to God (cf. Jer 25:11-12). Second, it cured them of their idolatry completely. Synagogues had their origin in the Babylonian exile since the temple was destroyed. 

When the Persians conquered the Babylonians in 538 BC under Cyrus the Great  (cf. Ezra 1:1-4 and  2 Chron 36:22-23), he issued a decree allowing the people to return to their home land and rebuild the temple at the original site, which had remained a devastated heap during the approximate 70 years of captivity (Dan. 9:1-2). Some returned while others chose to stay back.

The Book of Nehemiah

The book of Nehemiah takes its name from the central character. Nehemiah was the son of Hacaliah, a resident in Susa (capital of the Persian kingdom) working as a official wine taster (aka cupbearer) to King Artaxerxes 1 (465-424 BC). From chapters 1-12, the span was  about 12 years (445 BC) followed by a long gap  of time (over 20 years). After Nehemiah chapter 12 and before Nehemiah chapter 13, he had served 2 governorships in Jerusalem  (first term from 445 BC - 433 BC; cf. Neh 5:14; 13:6) and second term beginning in 424 BC till 410 BC. Twelve years ago, Ezra who had returned with 1,750 people to rebuild Jerusalem, but were stopped from completing their task by divine decree. Hence the city  remained in ruins.

Nehemiah chapters is written in the first person identified as Nehemiah (YHWH has comforted), the governor of the Persian province of Judah (1:1-2:20; 13:4-31). The mention of Darius the Persian in Nehemiah 12:22 is taken by scholars to refer to Darius II (who ruled from 423-404 B.C), the successor of Artaxerxes I (Longimanus).  Nehemiah could have written the book perhaps  sometime after Darius II reign.  The history of the book covers between  445-431 B.C.^[1] 

Originally, Ezra-Nehemiah was read as a single book in the Septuagint (commonly abbreviated as LXX)^[2] and Hebrew Bible^[3] for many years because of the historical narrative flow from Ezra through Nehemiah.

Both the Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate^[4] named the book of Nehemiah as 2^nd Ezra. 

An Exposition on Nehemiah (1-6)

Sad Report and Nehemiah's Reaction 1:1-11

When Nehemiah heard about the conditions in Jerusalem from his brother and others, he became distressed. After prayer, he sought the king's permission to return to the land Judah (2:5) to rebuild the walls and reinstruct the people in the law.  Within 52 days, he completed the rebuilding of the city walls (6:15). He came back to Jerusalem after that (perhaps a year later) and his reforms which he completed perhaps in a few weeks or months are recorded in the book. Even though the book spans about 15 years, most of the activity Nehemiah recorded took place in 445-444 B.C. (chapters 1-12) and in 432-431 B.C (chapter 13).^[5]

Nehemiah's Position

Nehemiah was a cupbearer (Heb masker; it appears 12 x in the OT – Gen 40:1,2,5,9,13,20,21,23; 41:9; 1 Kings 10:5; 2 Chron 9:4; Neh 1:11) to the king of Persia Artaxerxes I who was the son of Ahasuerus (Xerxes) who took Esther to be his queen in place of Vashti. Artarxerxes I was also called "Longimanus" (the Greeks named him that because of his long right hand). 

As a wine taster he had to ensure that the wine served was not poisoned. it is said that wine tasters used a ladle poured out the wine on the left hand swallowed it down before letting the king drink it. Ancient Near Eastern sources tell us that the job of a wine taster involves selecting and tasting the wine before serving it to the king. Being a king's confidante, he could have had have some influence on the king through informal discussion. Only a person with an impeccable character could have assumed the position of a wine taster. Besides tasting wine for the king, appointments to see the king were made through him.

The office of a cupbearer to the king should not be thought of as that of a glorified drink-waiter. It was a lucrative post and was considered one of the most honourable and confidential positions at the court. It admitted Nehemiah into the King's presence on terms of familiarity, though not of equality.  The king spoke to him as an intimate rather than as an inferior. Persians monarchs were served by a number of cupbearers, probably as a safety measure , since they were constantly in danger of being poisoned. Each cupbearer served for four months at a time, a fact that made it possible for Nehemiah to be granted leave (Sanders 1989:118). 

How did Nehemiah end up in that job and be trusted by the king? Unfortunately, his memoirs do not tell us. Nehemiah was a Jew (minority), exiled in a pagan land, and had little chances to rise up to be a cupbearer. Surely the monarch a Persian would want a Persian to be his cupbearer. Yet, the Persian monarch chose him a Jew. What an honour. To have become a wine-taster meant he was trusted by the King. Hence, his integrity and loyalty must have been tested.  it was a risky job because he would have been the first person to die should poison be found in the wine.

Information about the City Walls (1-3)

Hanani his brother and a few others came to seek him out and reported that the city walls were left in ruins. Scholars share of the opinion that these were not the walls destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC.^[6]  What caused the city walls to be in ruins? The text is silent. The ruined walls brought disgrace because foreigners could taunt them about their God who was powerless to protect them (cf. Joel 2:17, Micah 7:8-10).

The walls of Jerusalem had great political, social and religious significance for the people of Judah (2:10, 19; 4:1-15; 6:1-14). Torn walls and gates left inhabitants opened to attacks and plunder by neigbouring countries. More significantly, the destroyed city walls served as a shameful reminder that God had destroyed the city, fulfilling the covenant curses because of the people's sin (1:2, 6-8; 2:17). Consequently, the rebuilt city walls would be a sign of God's blessing and proof that God was bringing  the promised restoration  to his covenant people. Israel's enemies knew that  if the wall was rebuilt, the Jews would gain political power, security and self-determination, and so they opposed it fiercely.       

（picture from the Internet）

Fig 2^[7]