Even though 70 years have passed since the Destruction of Jerusalem, Nehemiah still mourns for the city and the Temple.
This chapter (ch. 1) brings to mind studies from many years ago that had to do with the critical importance of paying attention to detail.
Chapter 2 is often cited for calculating the arrival time of the Messiah [as it presumably relates to Daniel 9], but whose command (word) was it, and when did it go forth? That is to say, whose really in charge of the narrative, and when does His word go forth? A: as soon as His servants pray.
Considering the timing, here's a recap:
Neh 1
1. The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah; And it came to pass in the month Kislev, in the twentieth year, when I was in Shushan the capital:
2. That Hanani, one of my brothers, came, he and some men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem:
3. And they said to me, The remnant of the captivity, who are left there in the province, suffer great affliction and insult; the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire:
4. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned several days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven:
5. And I said, I pray you, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and grace with those who love him and observe his commandments:
6. Let your ear now be attentive, and your eyes open, that you may hear the prayer of your servant, which I pray before you now, day and night, for the people of Israel your servants, and confess the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you; both I and my father's house have sinned:
Dan 9
1. In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans:
2. In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years, which, according to the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem; seventy years:
3. And I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
4. And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and awesome God, keeping the covenant and mercy to those who love him, and to those who keep his commandments:
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21. And while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, came to be in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice:
22. And he made me understand, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I have now come out to give you wisdom and understanding:
23. At the beginning of your supplications the command came out, and I have come to tell it to you; for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the word, and understand the vision:
24. Seventy weeks are decreed upon your people and upon your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place:
25. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and to build Jerusalem until the coming of an anointed prince shall be seven weeks; then for sixty two weeks it shall be built again, with squares and moat, but in a troubled time...
In the book of Nehemiah, this occured in chapter 1, when Nehemiah prayed, not when the eartly king issued his decree in the following spring.
Jesus was baptized in the fall (cf. Tashlich). Forty days after R'osh Hashanah is the 11th of Cheshvan just to give a rough idea of the time frames. 1 Kislev 19 days after that, Chanukah another 24 days.
Meaning that his appearance in the synagogue in Nazareth, when he announced his arrival through the reading from Isaiah, was right in the neighborhood of Cheshvan/Kislev.
Luke 4
18 The Spirit of the Lord (Ruach Adonai YHVH, Is 61.1) is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6-1-1 reminds me of Bill and Ted, who preached the Torah ("Be excellent to each other.")
In comparing the verses (Isa 61.1) and the funny play on Bill and Ted's phone booth issues... (yeah I know, a tad unorthodox), this came to light so I thought I would toss it in:
The only place in the Tanakh with the term "Ruach Adonai Elohim" is in that verse. The gematria is 305.
There is much commentary about the Spirit of God - Ruach *Elohim* - of Gen 1:2, as it pertains to souls and the Messiah, e.g. here. In that verse, the phrase is actually v'ruach Elohim - "and [the] spirit of God". The gematria is therefore 306.
If you join them together as they appear in the texts, the "Ruach Adonai YHVH and [the] Ruach Elohim", 305 + 306 = 611 = Torah. Joined, kind of like soul mates.
So there we are, right back at Bill and Ted's pay phone. Good-hearted souls, but they were having trouble dialing into history. :)
