[8] The scene of this part is the banqueting hall of King Artaxerxes, where Nehemiah carries out his duties as a cup-bearer.

McConville argues that the display of a long face before the king shows three significant aspects of Nehemiah: courage, godliness and wisdom, which bear dire risk of his life (cf.

[14] The military escort given by the king to Nehemiah consisted of officers ("captains"; sārê), army (ḥayil), and cavalry ("horsemen"; pārāšîm).

[19] The three enemies geographically surrounded Nehemiah: Sanballat the Horonite to the north, Tobiah the Ammonite to the east, and Geshem ("Kedarites") to the south.

[28] Verse 10 shows most pointed contrast, where "it displeased them" is literally "it was evil to them", whereas "welfare" of the Jews is "their good".