Introduction
Nehemyah (Nehemiah) was a servant of Persian King Artahshashta (Artaxerxes) in the city of Shushan. While he was there, he heard an account from some Israelis who’d been allowed to return back to Yerushalem (Jerusalem) about how hard it was to live there. Yahweh’s temple had been rebuilt, however the city wall hadn’t been fixed yet, so their enemies who surrounded them were easily able to ambush and attack them.
Because of that, Nehemyah requested permission from the king to go personally to Yerushalem to supervise the rebuilding of the city walls.
In this document we read how God helped Nehemyah of organise the rebuild of the city wall in the middle of the opposition from their enemies around them.
Main components of this account
Nehemyah’s returning back to Yerushalem 1:1-2:20
The rebuilding of Yerushalem’s city wall 3:1-7:73
The reading of the law and the renewal of their agreement 8:1-10:39
Nehemyah’s other achievements 11:1-13:31
This is still an early look into the unpolished text of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check the text in advance before using in public.
The parsed Hebrew text used to create this file is Copyright © 2019 by https://hb.
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TBI Tyndale Book Intro:
Nehemiah left a comfortable job as an assistant to the king of Persia in order to help the demoralized people of Jerusalem. His new work involved motivating the people to rebuild the city’s walls in spite of their neighbors’ opposition. Nehemiah’s work was not just with bricks and mortar. He also mediated a financial crisis, initiated religious reforms with the help of Ezra the scribe, and reorganized civic responsibilities in Jerusalem. Nehemiah demonstrated that with faith, prayer, integrity, and God’s help, God’s servants can succeed.
Setting
After the Jews had spent several decades in exile in Babylon, God caused the Persian king Cyrus to decree in 538 BC that they could return to their homeland to rebuild their sacred Temple (Ezra 1:2-4 (RV · LV · Read together)). About fifty thousand people returned to Jerusalem at that time. After arriving, they built an altar and joyfully worshiped God (Ezra 3:1-13 (RV · LV · Read together)).
When they started rebuilding the rest of the Temple, the Jews were threatened by local people who had settled in the area. These opponents turned the Persian authorities against the Jews (Ezra 4:1-5 (RV · LV · Read together)). After fifteen years of frustration, work on the Temple finally began again during the reign of Darius I (521–486 BC), primarily through the prophetic encouragement of Haggai and Zechariah (Ezra 5:1-5 (RV · LV · Read together)). This time, the Persians fully supported the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra 6:1-12 (RV · LV · Read together)).
About sixty years later, in 458 BC, Ezra the scribe brought a group of several thousand more Jews to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:1–8:36 (RV EZR 7:1–28 · RV EZR 8:1–36 · LV EZR 7:1–28 · LV EZR 8:1–36 · Read together EZR 7:1–28 · Read together EZR 8:1–36)). Before long, he learned that some of the leaders and priests had married wives who did not worship Israel’s God. Ezra saw this as a threat to the unity and purity of the nation, and he knew it would eventually cause God to punish the people with another exile from the land (Ezra 9:1-15 (RV · LV · Read together)). After Ezra’s emotional prayer confessing their sin, most of the others agreed that the intermarriage was wrong.
Ezra did not solve all the problems in Jerusalem. The people still did not have a secure city with rebuilt walls and gates. Numerous enemies still opposed their presence in Jerusalem. They needed a strong civic leader who could help them preserve the independence, economic vitality, security, and sanctity of Jerusalem. God sent a new leader, Nehemiah, to address these issues.
Summary
The book of Nehemiah traces events from around 445 BC, the twentieth year of Artaxerxes I (2:1 (RV · LV · Read together)), until after 432 BC, the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes (13:6-7 (RV · LV · Read together)).
Nehemiah was the cup-bearer of King Artaxerxes of Persia (1:11 (RV · LV · Read together)). When Nehemiah heard about the ruined condition of Jerusalem (1:1-3 (RV · LV · Read together)), he earnestly prayed for God’s help. God’s answer came through Artaxerxes, who sent Nehemiah to Judah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (ch 3 (RV · LV · Read together)). Nehemiah organized and motivated the people and led them with courage and integrity through times of resistance from outside enemies (4:1-23 (RV · LV NEH 3:33–38 · LV NEH 4:1–17 · Read together); 6:1-14 (RV · LV · Read together)) and conflict within the community (ch 5 (RV · LV · Read together)). Despite strong opposition (6:1-4 (RV · LV · Read together)), under Nehemiah’s leadership the people rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in just fifty-two days (6:15 (RV · LV · Read together)).
Following the completion of the walls, the account focuses on religious reforms led by Ezra and Nehemiah (7:73–10:39 (RV NEH 7:73 · RV NEH 8:1–18 · RV NEH 9:1–38 · RV NEH 10:1–39 · LV NEH 7:72 · LV NEH 8:1–18 · LV NEH 9:1–37 · LV NEH 10:1–40 · Read together NEH 7:73 · Read together NEH 8:1–18 · Read together NEH 9:1–38 · Read together NEH 10:1–39)). At the annual Festival of Shelters, Ezra read to the crowd from the books of Moses (8:5-8 (RV · LV · Read together)), resulting in a revival and a long prayer of confession (9:5-37 (RV · LV · Read together)). During this revival, the Israelites committed not to intermarry with foreigners and not to profane the Sabbath (10:28-39 (RV · LV NEH 10:29–40 · Read together)).
The book’s final section (chs 11–13 (RV NEH 11:1–36 · RV NEH 12:1–47 · RV NEH 13:1–31 · LV NEH 11:1–36 · LV NEH 12:1–47 · LV NEH 13:1–31 · Read together NEH 11:1–36 · Read together NEH 12:1–47 · Read together NEH 13:1–31)) describes Nehemiah’s civic efforts to resettle more people in Jerusalem (11 (RV · LV · Read together)), to dedicate the walls of Jerusalem (12:27-43 (RV · LV · Read together)), and to organize the gatekeepers and Temple storeroom attendants (12:44–13:5 (RV NEH 12:44–47 · RV NEH 13:1–5 · LV NEH 12:44–47 · LV NEH 13:1–5 · Read together NEH 12:44–47 · Read together NEH 13:1–5)). After a time of absence, Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem (13:6-7 (RV · LV · Read together)). When he arrived, he took measures to ensure the purity of the Temple, and he again confronted the people concerning the Sabbath and intermarriage with people who worshiped other gods (13:10-28 (RV · LV · Read together)).
Authorship
The book itself does not identify its author. The Talmud (Baba Batra 15a) says that Ezra wrote both Ezra and Nehemiah, and this is the most likely possibility. Nehemiah 8–10 (RV NEH 8:1–18 · RV NEH 9:1–38 · RV NEH 10:1–39 · LV NEH 8:1–18 · LV NEH 9:1–37 · LV NEH 10:1–40 · Read together NEH 8:1–18 · Read together NEH 9:1–38 · Read together NEH 10:1–39) were probably from Ezra’s own memoirs. Ezra also adapted and arranged a variety of materials to suit his purposes, apparently including Nehemiah’s memoirs and his reports to the Persian court regarding the reconstruction progress in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1–7 and 11–13).
Nehemiah shares several characteristics with the book of Ezra. Both Ezra (Ezra 1–6 (RV EZR 1:1–11 · RV EZR 2:1–70 · RV EZR 3:1–13 · RV EZR 4:1–24 · RV EZR 5:1–17 · RV EZR 6:1–22 · LV EZR 1:1–11 · LV EZR 2:1–70 · LV EZR 3:1–13 · LV EZR 4:1–24 · LV EZR 5:1–17 · LV EZR 6:1–22 · Read together EZR 1:1–11 · Read together EZR 2:1–70 · Read together EZR 3:1–13 · Read together EZR 4:1–24 · Read together EZR 5:1–17 · Read together EZR 6:1–22)) and Nehemiah (Neh 1–7) describe the return of exiles to Jerusalem to complete a rebuilding project. Both books contain stories of neighbors opposing the rebuilding efforts. Most importantly, both Nehemiah and Ezra show how hard work and God’s help enabled the people to complete the construction of important structures in Jerusalem. Both books also tell of spiritual reforms in which the community listened to God’s word, repented of past failures, and instituted religious and social reforms (Ezra 9–10 (RV EZR 9:1–15 · RV EZR 10:1–44 · LV EZR 9:1–15 · LV EZR 10:1–44 · Read together EZR 9:1–15 · Read together EZR 10:1–44); Neh 8–10 (RV NEH 8:1–18 · RV NEH 9:1–38 · RV NEH 10:1–39 · LV NEH 8:1–18 · LV NEH 9:1–37 · LV NEH 10:1–40 · Read together NEH 8:1–18 · Read together NEH 9:1–38 · Read together NEH 10:1–39)).
Several events in Nehemiah have parallels in Ezra that are told in similar ways. There are stories about those who opposed the rebuilding (6:1-14 (RV · LV · Read together); Ezra 4:1-23 (RV · LV · Read together)), processionals to celebrate dedications (12:31-43 (RV · LV · Read together); Ezra 6:16-18 (RV · LV · Read together)), and similar reforms (13:15-29 (RV · LV · Read together); Ezra 9:1–10:44 (RV EZR 9:1–15 · RV EZR 10:1–44 · LV EZR 9:1–15 · LV EZR 10:1–44 · Read together EZR 9:1–15 · Read together EZR 10:1–44)). Like Ezra, Nehemiah has lists of names (3 (RV · LV · Read together); 7:6-73; 10:1-27 (RV · LV NEH 10:2–28 · Read together); 11:1–12:26 (RV NEH 11:1–36 · RV NEH 12:1–26 · LV NEH 11:1–36 · LV NEH 12:1–26 · Read together NEH 11:1–36 · Read together NEH 12:1–26)) and at least one parenthetical section (7:6–10:39) followed by the resumption of a previous account (11:1-4 (RV · LV · Read together)). These factors lead many biblical scholars to believe that one author wrote both Ezra and Nehemiah.
Meaning and Message
Prayer. Nehemiah based his service on prayer. He earnestly prayed for God to rescue the people from their despised situation, and God answered by sending Nehemiah (1:1–2:8 (RV NEH 1:1–11 · RV NEH 2:1–8 · LV NEH 1:1–11 · LV NEH 2:1–8 · Read together NEH 1:1–11 · Read together NEH 2:1–8)). When foreigners opposed restoring the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah asked God to judge them (4:4-5 (RV · LV NEH 3:36–37 · Read together); 6:14 (RV · LV · Read together)). Nehemiah prayed for divine support when he dealt with people who were driving fellow Jews into slavery (5:19 (RV · LV · Read together)), those who were not tithing (13:14 (RV · LV · Read together)), and people who were not keeping the Sabbath (13:22 (RV · LV · Read together)). Prayer provided the power to accomplish God’s will. Six times Nehemiah repeated a refrain asking the Lord to “remember” either him or his opponents (5:19 (RV · LV · Read together); 6:14 (RV · LV · Read together); 13:14 (RV · LV · Read together), 22 (RV · LV · Read together), 29 (RV · LV · Read together), 31 (RV · LV · Read together)).
God’s Providence. The book of Nehemiah emphasizes that God sovereignly controls the lives of individuals and nations. God is able to restore people from exile (1:8-9 (RV · LV · Read together)), to promote one of his servants to be the king’s cup-bearer and later the governor of a province (1:11 (RV · LV · Read together); 2:8 (RV · LV · Read together), 18 (RV · LV · Read together)), and to give success in rebuilding the walls (2:20 (RV · LV · Read together); 6:16 (RV · LV · Read together)). God protects his people (4:4-5 (RV · LV NEH 3:36–37 · Read together), 9 (RV · LV NEH 4:3 · Read together), 20 (RV · LV NEH 4:14 · Read together)) and frustrates the plans of the wicked (4:14-15 (RV · LV NEH 4:8–9 · Read together)). The same God who created heaven and earth (9:6 (RV · LV · Read together)), called Abram from Ur, and gave the land to Israel (9:7-8 (RV · LV · Read together)) was able to accomplish his will through Nehemiah.
Dedication to God’s Word. The authoritative law of Moses contained God’s instructions on how his people should live. God had made a “covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands” (1:5 (RV · LV · Read together)). However, his people had not obeyed the instructions God gave to Moses (1:7-9 (RV · LV · Read together)), so they were in danger of God’s punishment. Ezra read publicly from the law of Moses (8:1-3 (RV · LV · Read together)) to restore the nation. In response, many of the people dedicated themselves to following the law by separating themselves from unbelievers (10:28 (RV · LV NEH 10:29 · Read together)), keeping the Sabbath, and giving their tithe for the Levites (10:29-39 (RV · LV NEH 10:30–40 · Read together); 12:44 (RV · LV · Read together)).
Courage against Opposition. Nehemiah was courageous in dealing with opposition. Sanballat, Geshem, and Tobiah opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls (2:10 (RV · LV · Read together)) and mocked the work of God’s people (2:19 (RV · LV · Read together); 4:1-3 (RV · LV NEH 3:33–35 · Read together)). In addition, Arabs, Ammonites, and people from Ashdod plotted to attack the builders (4:7-9 (RV · LV NEH 4:1–3 · Read together), 11 (RV · LV NEH 4:5 · Read together); 6:1-14 (RV · LV · Read together)). Nehemiah responded to this opposition by posting guards and praying for God’s help (4:6-23 (RV · LV NEH 3:38 · LV NEH 4:1–17 · Read together)). Nehemiah also confronted internal conflict from members of the community who abused the poor (5:1-13 (RV · LV · Read together)), who married foreigners (9:1-2 (RV · LV · Read together); 10:28-30 (RV · LV NEH 10:29–31 · Read together); 13:23-28 (RV · LV · Read together)), and who did not tithe or keep the Sabbath holy (10:31-39 (RV · LV NEH 10:32–40 · Read together); 13:10-22 (RV · LV · Read together)). Nehemiah’s courage and prayer enabled him to succeed in addressing these problems.