[[Neh-02]] Prev: [[Prophecies in Neh-01]] | Next: [[Prophecies in Neh-03]] --- ### In the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king... I said to the king... 'send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may build it.' ... The king granted my requests, because of the good hand of my God on me. *Type*: fulfillment *Summary*: King Artaxerxes I issues an official decree and provides resources for Nehemiah to return and rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem. *Historical context*: Theologians and historians, notably Sir Robert Anderson, identify the 'twentieth year of Artaxerxes' as 445 or 444 BC. This event is widely recognized as the 'going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem' which serves as the chronological starting point for the 'Seventy Weeks' prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah. *Related to*: [[Dan-09#v25|Daniel 9:25]] ### When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly... they ridiculed us, and despised us, and said, 'What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?' *Type*: fulfillment *Summary*: The work of restoring Jerusalem begins under intense opposition and mockery from local governors and neighboring groups. *Historical context*: This realized the specific detail of the prophecy in [[Dan-09#v25|Daniel 9:25]] that the city would be rebuilt 'even in troublous times.' The historical record in Nehemiah describes constant threats of violence and political sabotage that characterized the entire reconstruction period. *Related to*: [[Dan-09#v25|Daniel 9:25]] ### The God of heaven will prosper us. Therefore we, his servants, will arise and build; but you have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem. *Type*: prophecy *Summary*: Nehemiah predicts that despite the debris and the opposition, God will grant the Jewish people success in completing the walls, while their enemies will have no lasting claim or heritage in the city. *Historical context*: This prediction was fulfilled in [[Neh-06#v15|Nehemiah 6:15]] when the massive wall project was completed in just 52 days, an achievement that even their enemies recognized as being accomplished with the help of God. Historically, the Samaritans and Ammonites remained excluded from the religious and political life of the restored Jerusalem. *Related to*: ### I went out by night by the valley gate, even toward the jackal's well, then to the dung gate... Then I went on to the spring gate and to the king's pool... and inspected the wall... Then I said to them, 'You see the bad situation that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste... Come, let's build up the wall of Jerusalem.' *Type*: fulfillment *Summary*: Nehemiah's inspection and subsequent mobilization of the people to rebuild the specific perimeter of the city. *Historical context*: [[Jer-31#v38|Jeremiah 31:38]]-40 prophesied that Jerusalem would be rebuilt 'unto the Lord' along a specific geographical line, including markers like the Tower of Hananel and the Corner Gate. Nehemiah's survey and the subsequent work in [[Cha|Chapter 3]] follow this precise topographical restoration of the city's boundaries after the Babylonian exile. *Related to*: [[Jer-31#v38|Jeremiah 31:38]]-40 --- #ai_prophecy