Nehemiah ends the first chapter of his memoir with the statement “Now I was cupbearer to the king” (Nehemiah 1:11). What position is this?
The next verses indicate that he actually served wine to the king (2:1). As that scene progresses, Nehemiah acts with a boldness that suggests his position is something more than this. Would even a highly favored butler be bold enough to ask for letters of passage, permission to use wood from the king’s forest, and permission to put the king’s laborers to work for the temple (Nehemiah 2:7-8)? Would even a highly favored wine taster be sent out with army officers and horsemen (2:9)? Maybe he is just an extraordinarily bold butler who doesn’t feel a need to show deference to an emperor.
Perhaps, though, we are to recognize some symbolic overtones in the term “cupbearer.” It is a participial noun of the verb shaqah , to drink. “The one who causes the king to drink” captures the sense of the word. Being a cupbearer to the king means causing the king to have his fill of wine. Since wine is often a symbol of judgment and wrath in Scripture, the cupbearer is the one who serves the king his “wine” of judgment. Being a cupbearer thus means being a judicial advisor to the king.
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