Study Rosh Hashanah folio 3B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
למנינא אחרינא הוא? אמר רב פפא: ״שנת עשרים״ ״שנת עשרים״ — לגזירה שוה: מה התם לארתחשסתא, אף הכא לארתחשסתא.
it follows some other count. Rav Pappa said: The meaning of the first instance of the expression “the 20th year” may be inferred from the second instance of the expression “the 20th year” by way of a verbal analogy: Just as there the reference is to the 20th year of Artaxerxes, so too, here the reference is to the 20th year of Artaxerxes.
וממאי דמעשה דכסליו קדים, דילמא מעשה דניסן קדים?
The Talmud raises another question: Even though those two events took place in the same year, from where is it known that the incident that occurred in Kislev took place first? Perhaps the incident that occurred in Nisan took place first, in which case it is possible that even the years of non-Jew kings are counted from Nisan.
לא סלקא דעתך, דתניא: דברים שאמר חנני לנחמיה בכסליו, אמרן נחמיה למלך בניסן.
The Talmud answers: It should not enter your mind to say this, as it is taught in a baraita: The words that Hanani told Nehemiah in the month of Kislev, Nehemiah told the king in the month of Nisan.
דברים שאמר חנני לנחמיה בכסליו — שנאמר: ״דברי נחמיה בן חכליה ויהי בחדש כסליו שנת עשרים ואני הייתי בשושן הבירה. ויבא חנני אחד מאחי הוא ואנשים מיהודה ואשאלם על היהודים הפליטה אשר נשארו מן השבי ועל ירושלם. ויאמרו לי הנשארים אשר נשארו מן השבי שם במדינה ברעה גדולה ובחרפה וחומת ירושלם מפורצת ושעריה נצתו באש״.
The baraita explains: The words that Hanani said to Nehemiah in Kislev are as it is stated: “The words of Nehemiah, son of Hachaliah: And it came to pass in the month Kislev, in the 20th year, as I was in Shushan the capital, that Hanani, one of my brothers, came out of Judah, he and certain men; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me: The remnant who are left of the captivity there in the province suffer much hardship and insult; and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire” (Nehemiah 1:1–3).
Text data via Sefaria: William Davidson Edition - English and William Davidson Edition - Vocalized Aramaic, CC-BY-NC; edition provenance: Koren. Display terminology has been modernized for readability.