Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Nehemiah 5:18
Now [that] which was prepared [for me] daily [was] one ox [and] six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine: yet for all this required not I the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people.
18. for me daily ] R.V. for one day. Compare Solomon’s daily provision, 1Ki 4:22-23.
choice ] i.e. picked or chosen for their fatness and good condition. The word in the Hebrew is used of men chosen for a purpose, 1Ch 7:40; 1Ch 9:22 ; 1Ch 16:41. In 1Sa 9:2 Saul is called a ‘choice’ (R.V. marg.) man.
once in ten days store of all sorts of wine ] Literally ‘within the interval of ten days, of every wine in abundance.’ The construction is peculiar. The specification of 10 days and the preposition before ‘sorts of wine’ lead us to expect the mention of some particular quantity. The conjecture is possible that this was originally expressed by a word denoting a measure, unfamiliar to later copyists, who substituted a general expression for the word. According to the present text, fresh supplies of wine were furnished every ten days, i.e. thrice a month. LXX. . Vulg. ‘Vina diversa et multa alia tribuebam.’
yet for all this ] Lit. ‘with this,’ i.e. ‘in spite of this heavy outlay.’
required not I ] R.V. I demanded not. The sense is ‘I did not demand my rights.’ At the time of the A.V. translation ‘to require’ was equivalent to ‘to ask,’ in which sense the A.V. employs it here; see Ezr 8:22; Psa 38:16 (P.B.V.) ‘I have required that they, even mine enemies, should not triumph over me.’ The usage of ‘require’ for ‘demanding by authority,’ ‘making requisition for’ (see Wright, Bible Word-Book) is more modern. But inasmuch as ‘I did not require’ could now be understood to mean ‘I did not need,’ the change to the less equivocal ‘demand’ is a gain in clearness and accuracy.
the bread of the governor ] See Neh 5:14.
the bondage was heavy, &c.] i.e. the tribute exacted from the Jews by the Persian Imperial government. The word rendered ‘bondage’ occurs twice elsewhere in this book, Neh 3:5, ‘the work of their lord,’ Neh 10:37, ‘cities of our tillage.’ Used of oppressive ‘service’ it is familiar to us in Exodus (Exo 1:14, (Exo 2:23, Neh 5:9, &c.).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Compare the far grander provision for Solomons table (see the marginal reference).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 18. One ox, and six choice sheep] This was food sufficient for more than two hundred men.
Once in ten days store of all sorts of wine] It is supposed that every tenth day they drank wine; at all other times they drank water; unless we suppose the meaning of the phrase to be, that his servants laid in a stock of wine every ten days. Though the Asiatics drank sparingly of wine, yet it is not very likely that, in a case such as that above, wine was tasted only thrice in each month.
Bishop Pococke mentions the manner in which the bey of Tunis lived. He had daily twelve sheep, with fish, fowls, soups, oranges, eggs, onions, boiled rice, c., c., His nobles dined with him after they had done, the servants sat down and, when they had finished, the poor took what was left. Here is no mention of a fat ox; but there were six sheep at the bey’s table more than were at the table of Nehemiah: so the twelve sheep were equal to six sheep and one ox. Probably the mode of living between these two was nearly alike.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
But bore it out of my own estate; which was very considerable, his office in the Persian court being a place of very great profit as well as honour, and that profit no doubt continued to him in this his absence from the king. From this great and daily expense, it seems more than probable that Nehemiah did not continue here for twelve years together, as some would think, or at least that he did not this all that time, but only during the great and present exigencies and distresses of the Jews, which ceased in good part after the walls were built, and the hearts of all the Jews revived, and their enemies dispirited thereby.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Now that which was prepared for me daily was one ox and six choice sheep,…. Or fat ones; of beef and mutton a considerable quantity, abundantly sufficient for his guests and servants, and shows what a good table he kept:
also fowls were prepared for me; what number is not said:
and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine; the country afforded; that is, either once in ten days his stock of wine was renewed, or a more liberal entertainment was made, a banquet of wine, Es 5:6,
yet for all this required not I the bread of the governor; the salary that used to be given him, but did this at his own expense, out of his own estate in Judea; or what he had got by his office as cupbearer to the king of Persia, the salary of which perhaps was continued:
because the bondage was heavy upon the people; the tribute of the king of Persia, and their labour and expense in building the walls of the city.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
18. That which was prepared for me daily To show what a burden he bore at his own expense, Nehemiah here mentions a few of the more important items that were daily required for his table. Yet to maintain all this he made no claim for official salary and expense, but met all himself through sympathy with the distressed populace and the cause of his God. Clarke here quotes Pococke’s description of “the manner in which the Bey of Tunis lived. He had daily twelve sheep, with fish, fowls, soups, oranges, onions, boiled rice, etc. His nobles dined with him; after they had done, the servants sat down, and when they had finished, the poor took what was left.”
Once in ten days wine Wine could be obtained in quantities, and kept for any length of time, but other provisions must be furnished every day.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Neh 5:18. Now that which was prepared for me, &c. Bishop Pococke, in his Travels, vol. 1: p. 266, &c. has given us an account of the way in which the Bey of Tunis lived in 1733; not that his way of living differed from that of other Beys, it should seem; but merely as a curiosity for his readers. After describing some soups taken by him in the morning, he tells us, that he was wont to dine at eleven; that his grandees sat near him; that when they had eaten, others sat down, and the poor took away what was left. His provisions were twelve sheep every day, dressed in three different manners; with a rice pilaw,with oranges and eggs,and with onions and butter. Besides the mutton, there was wont to be cuscowsoe, which they ate with the broth; and also boiled fish or fowls, with lemon or orange sauce. An hour before sun-set they ate as before. But this account, beside the curiosity of it, may serve to illustrate what is said here, and in other parts of the Scripture, of some eminent personages; and the comparing the one with the other gives a very sensible pleasure. The Bey of Tunis is not a great prince; he is, however, at the head of a very considerable people; and yet Nehemiah seems to have equalled him in his way of living. For more on the subject see the Observations, p. 184.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Neh 5:18 Now [that] which was prepared [for me] daily [was] one ox [and] six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine: yet for all this required not I the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people.
Ver. 18. Now that which was prepared for me daily ] A very great table he kept, at his own charge all, yet nothing so great as Solomon, 1Ki 4:22-23 , or as once Cardinal Wolsey here; who, besides all strangers that came, had four hundred of family, whereof one was an earl, nine barons, very many knights and esquires. But then he had more yearly revenue than all the bishops and deans in the land had, take them all together.
And once in ten days
Yet for all this I required not
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
See Neh 5:14 for a longer note that applies to this verse.
prepared. At Nehemiah’s own cost.
wine. Hebrew. yayin. App-27.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Now that: 1Ki 4:22, 1Ki 4:23
one ox: This was food sufficient for more than two hundred men. Bp. Pococke says that the bey of Tunis had daily twelve sheep, with fish and fowls, soups, oranges, eggs, onions, boiled rice, etc., etc. His nobles dined with him; after they had done, the servants sat down; and when they had finished, the poor took what was left. Here the bey’s twelve sheep are equal to Nehemiah’s one ox and six choice sheep; and probably the mode of living between the two was nearly alike. It is still the practice in the East to calculate the expenses of the table, not by the money paid, but by the provisions consumed by the guests.
required: Neh 5:14, Neh 5:15
because the bondage: Psa 37:21, Psa 37:26
Reciprocal: Ecc 5:11 – they Isa 3:7 – neither bread 1Th 2:9 – chargeable
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Neh 5:18. Now that which was prepared for me daily, &c., was one ox, &c. It is evident, says Dr. Dodd, from the great and daily expenses of Nehemiah, here mentioned, that either he had large remittances from the Persian court, besides his own estate, to answer them; or that he did not continue at Jerusalem for the whole twelve years together; or that, if he did, he did not keep up this expensive way of living all the time, but only during the great and present exigencies of the Jews, which ceased in a good measure after the walls were built, the act against usury passed, and the people discharged to their ordinary course of maintaining themselves and families.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
5:18 Now [that] which was prepared [for me] daily [was] one ox [and] six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days store of {n} all sorts of wine: yet for all this required not I the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people.
(n) While at other times they had by measure, at this time they had most liberally.