Nehemiah 1:1
The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,
The verse introduces Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It places him in Shushan, also called Susa, the Persian royal palace and residence, in the month Chisleu of the twentieth year. There he is presented as he receives news that Jerusalem lies desolate.
He was a Hebrew exile serving in the Persian court as the king's cup-bearer. That was a position of honor and influence that gave him close access to the king, the king's friendship, and a role as counselor. Despite his standing in a foreign court, he remained devoted to God and deeply concerned for Jerusalem and his people.
The opening chapter states the true condition of God's people. There he learns of Jerusalem's distress and desolation: the returned exiles face affliction and reproach, restoration is hindered, temple services are disturbed, and much of the city wall remains in ruins, leaving the people in alarm. The chapter presents him as a faithful man through whom God worked to oppose false principles and restore the principles that had been displaced. His service in the Persian court prepared him for the work through which God would bless the people in their ancestral land.