The reason for mentioning the twelve years
is now clear: throughout his governorship, Nehemiah did not draw the salary his position allowed. Under the law of the land, a governor had the king-given right to draw a personal salary from the taxes he collected from the population, one large enough to comfortably support those dependent on him. His dependents could legally include a broad definition of family,
that is, the governor’s brothers
(perhaps including all relatives). Though we had earlier met Hanani, one of my brothers
(Nehemiah 1:2), we do not know how big Nehemiah’s (broader) family was. Nehemiah’s decision to take no salary stands in stark contrast to the evident selfishness of the nobles and officials
who lived alongside him in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 5:7).
14 Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor.