BOB – Nehemiah

by Stephen Rodgers

NEHEMIAH IN 10 WORDS OR LESS

“Returning Jewish Exiles rebuild the broken walls of Jerusalem.”

TITLE

In the ear­li­est Hebrew man­u­scripts, Ezra and Nehemiah were con­sid­ered a sin­gle book. They were later divided into two scrolls (by Origin), known to the Jews as 1 Ezra and 2 Ezra, which became known as Ezra and Nehemiah in English Bibles (it is inter­est­ing to note that this diverges from the typ­i­cal pat­tern, as they are 1 and 2 Ezra in both the Greek Septuigent (LXX) and the Latin Vulgate (Vg.)).

The book takes its name from the main character Nehemiah (“Jehovah comforts”), a Jewish leader who served as the cupbearer to King Ataxerxes of Persia. (See AUTHOR &AUDIENCE)

AUTHOR & AUDIENCE

Jewish and Christian tra­di­tion both ascribe author­ship of Ezra-Nehemiah to Ezra. This tra­di­tion is largely inde­pen­dent of whether Ezra was also the author (“the Chronicler”) of 1 and 2 Chronicles. Although the author of Ezra never states his author­ship, inter­nal argu­ments (the use of both Aramaic and Hebrew, access to tem­ple and Persian records, the shift from 1st per­son to 3rd per­son) favor him strongly.

We know the fol­low­ing about Ezra:

  • He was a capa­ble and respected leader, as he led the sec­ond wave of exiles in their return to Israel from captivity
  • He was a godly man, and func­tioned as a scribe of the law (Ezra 7:10)
  • He had access to the royal archives of the Persian Empire (Ezra 1:2–4; 4:9–22; 5:7–17; 6:3–12)
  • He was a con­tem­po­rary of Nehemiah (Neh 8:1–9; 12:36)

According to Jewish tra­di­tion, he was also the founder of the Great Synagogue (aka “Great Assembly”), where the OT canon was first for­mally recognized.

The intended audi­ence of Nehemiah was the gen­er­a­tions of Israelites who returned from exile in Babylon. The author clearly wanted his read­ers to rec­og­nize the power and love of God toward his cho­sen peo­ple and their covenant respon­si­bil­i­ties toward Him.

DATE

Since we know that Nehemiah 1 begins in 446 BC, with Nehemiah returning to Jerusalem in 445 BC, the book could not have been written prior to that.  Furthermore, the book documents both his first (445 BC to 433 BC) and second (approximately 424 BC) terms as governor of Jerusalem (as recorded in Nehemiah 1-12 and 13, respectively). It is likely that Nehemiah was written by Ezra sometime after or during his second term, but prior to 400 BC.

BACKGROUND & SETTING

Hundreds of years prior to the time of Ezra, God had used the prophet Jeremiah to warn His peo­ple that if they broke their covenant with Him, He would allow another nations to take them into slav­ery (Jer 2:14–25). Israel failed to heed that warn­ing, and God brought the Assyrians and Babylonians down upon them as pun­ish­ment. Eventually the Babylonians them­selves were con­quered by the Persians, and the king (Cyrus) decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem.

We know from the previous article that decree is where the book of Ezra begins; Nehemiah begins some 92 years after that (in 446 BC).

HISTORICAL & THEOLOGICAL THEMES

There are three themes that are prevalent in the book of Nehemiah:

  • Renewal. It helps to understand that there are two rebuildings occurring in Nehemiah: there is the obvious rebuilding of the wall, but also the less-obvious rebuilding of the Jewish nation and religious obedience. And just as the beginning of the book is filled with suspense and overwhelming odds regarding the wall, the book ends in a suspenseful manner regarding the people forgetting their obedience to the LORD until Nehemiah returns to personally oversee it.
  • Prayer. Nehemiah is characterized often by his work (in my line of work, he is occasionally referred to as the “patron saint of project managers”), but he should also be recognized for how he brought his work before the LORD in prayer (Neh 1:4; 2:4; 4:4; 5:19; 6:9,14; 13:14,22,29,31).
  • Opposition. Nehemiah did not have an easy job, and he was opposed in almost every imaginable way (Neh 2:19-20; 4:1-15; 5:1-19; 6:1-14). However, with God’s help he was able to overcome the opposition he faced.

INTERPRETIVE CHALLENGES

There are a couple of minor issues that should be understood when reading Nehemiah in order to avoid errors:

  • Since much of Jerusalem is explained in regards to the gates, you should familiarize yourself with a good map of the city.
  • Also, the reader should understand that the events in Nehemiah 1-12 took place over the span of approximately one year, that there is a 20-year gap between chapters 12 and 13, and that Nehemiah actually served two governorships in Jerusalem (see DATE).

LITERARY FEATURES

The pri­mary form of Nehemiah is his­tor­i­cal nar­ra­tive, specif­i­cally…

Nehemiah is a sequel to Ezra. Two main actions occur: the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem and the recommitment of the returned exiles to fulfill their covenant obligations. There is something for virtually everyone—a general’s diary, a governor’s report, a civil record, a management handbook, and a memoir—all in one short book. (ESV Study Bible)

OBJECTIONS

There are two objections that are sometimes raised against Nehemiah, a chronological objection (which was previously addressed in the article on Ezra), and a literary objection.

  • Some scholars claim that Nehemiah was not intended to be read as history, but rather is some sort of allegorical fiction, much like Aesop’s fables.  However, to come to this conclusion, you have to deliberately overlook a number of literary conventions that would seem to ground it solidly in history: 1) the dating of events (Neh 1:1), 2) references to historical settings confirmed by archaelogists (such as Susa), and 3) the naming of historical personages (King Ataxerxes, Sanballat, etc.).

NOTABLE QUOTABLES

  • Nehemiah 1:11
  • Nehemiah 5:19

DID YOU KNOW?

  • The NT does not directly quote the book of Nehemiah.
  • Nehemiah is never mentioned outside of the book of Nehemiah.
  • The cupbearer’s duty was to choose and taste the king’s wine to ensure it was not poisoned. The need for these precautions is obvious when you consider the intrigues that plagued the Persian court: Xerxes (the father of Ataxerxes I), was killed in his own bedchamber by a courtier.
  • The Sheep Gate (Neh 3:1) was still known in NT times as being near the Pool of Bethesda.

Other Works Referenced

  • Apologetics Study Bible, “Nehemiah Introduction”
  • Archaeological Study Bible, “Introduction to Nehemiah”
  • ESV Study Bible, “Introduction to Nehemiah”
  • MacArthur Study Bible, “Nehemiah”
  • NET Bible, Nehemiah
  • NIV Study Bible, “Nehemiah”
  • Reformation Study Bible, “The Book of Nehemiah”
  • The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook, “Nehemiah”
  • Know Your Bible
  • Driscoll, A Book You’ll Actually Read On the Old Testament
  • Knight, The Layman’s Bible Handbook