Neh 1 | TNotes | STEP | Book of Nehemiah — Quick facts: Purpose: To recount the reconstruction of Jerusalem’s walls and to demonstrate God’s faithfulness to those dedicated to him Author: Ezra, according to tradition Date: Records events that occurred around 445–430 BC Setting: Jerusalem, approximately fifteen years after Ezra had arrived Book of Nehemiah — Overview: 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 ). About fifty thousand people returned to Jerusalem at that time. After arriving, they built an altar and joyfully worshiped God (Ezra 3:1-13 ). 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 ). 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 ). This time, the Persians fully supported the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra 6:1-12 ). 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 ). 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 ). 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 ), until after 432 BC , the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes (13:6-7 ). Nehemiah was the cup-bearer of King Artaxerxes of Persia (1:11 ). When Nehemiah heard about the ruined condition of Jerusalem (1:1-3 ), 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 ). Nehemiah organized and motivated the people and led them with courage and integrity through times of resistance from outside enemies (4:1-23 ; 6:1-14 ) and conflict within the community (ch 5 ). Despite strong opposition (6:1-4 ), under Nehemiah’s leadership the people rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in just fifty-two days (6:15 ). Following the completion of the walls, the account focuses on religious reforms led by Ezra and Nehemiah (7:73–10:39 ). At the annual Festival of Shelters, Ezra read to the crowd from the books of Moses (8:5-8 ), resulting in a revival and a long prayer of confession (9:5-37 ). During this revival, the Israelites committed not to intermarry with foreigners and not to profane the Sabbath (10:28-39 ). The book’s final section (chs 11–13 ) describes Nehemiah’s civic efforts to resettle more people in Jerusalem (11 ), to dedicate the walls of Jerusalem (12:27-43 ), and to organize the gatekeepers and Temple storeroom attendants (12:44–13:5 ). After a time of absence, Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem (13:6-7 ). 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 ). 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 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 ) 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 ; Neh 8–10 ). 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 ; Ezra 4:1-23 ), processionals to celebrate dedications (12:31-43 ; Ezra 6:16-18 ), and similar reforms (13:15-29 ; Ezra 9:1–10:44 ). Like Ezra, Nehemiah has lists of names (3 ; 7:6-73 ; 10:1-27 ; 11:1–12:26 ) and at least one parenthetical section (7:6–10:39 ) followed by the resumption of a previous account (11:1-4 ). 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 ). When foreigners opposed restoring the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah asked God to judge them (4:4-5 ; 6:14 ). Nehemiah prayed for divine support when he dealt with people who were driving fellow Jews into slavery (5:19 ), those who were not tithing (13:14 ), and people who were not keeping the Sabbath (13:22 ). 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 ; 6:14 ; 13:14 , 22 , 29 , 31 ). 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 ), to promote one of his servants to be the king’s cup-bearer and later the governor of a province (1:11 ; 2:8 , 18 ), and to give success in rebuilding the walls (2:20 ; 6:16 ). God protects his people (4:4-5 , 9 , 20 ) and frustrates the plans of the wicked (4:14-15 ). The same God who created heaven and earth (9:6 ), called Abram from Ur, and gave the land to Israel (9:7-8 ) 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 ). However, his people had not obeyed the instructions God gave to Moses (1:7-9 ), so they were in danger of God’s punishment. Ezra read publicly from the law of Moses (8:1-3 ) to restore the nation. In response, many of the people dedicated themselves to following the law by separating themselves from unbelievers (10:28 ), keeping the Sabbath, and giving their tithe for the Levites (10:29-39 ; 12:44 ). Courage against Opposition. Nehemiah was courageous in dealing with opposition. Sanballat, Geshem, and Tobiah opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls (2:10 ) and mocked the work of God’s people (2:19 ; 4:1-3 ). In addition, Arabs, Ammonites, and people from Ashdod plotted to attack the builders (4:7-9 , 11 ; 6:1-14 ). Nehemiah responded to this opposition by posting guards and praying for God’s help (4:6-23 ). Nehemiah also confronted internal conflict from members of the community who abused the poor (5:1-13 ), who married foreigners (9:1-2 ; 10:28-30 ; 13:23-28 ), and who did not tithe or keep the Sabbath holy (10:31-39 ; 13:10-22 ). Nehemiah’s courage and prayer enabled him to succeed in addressing these problems. Summary for Neh 1:1-2:20: 1:1–2:20 Upon hearing about Jerusalem’s ruined condition, Nehemiah prayed for God’s grace (1:1-11 ) and asked the king to send him to Jerusalem (2:1-8 ). When he arrived, he challenged the people to rebuild the city’s wall (2:11-20 ). 1:1 Artaxerxes I reigned over Persia from 465 to 424 BC . • The fortress of Susa was the Persian king’s winter palace.

Book of Nehemiah — Quick facts:

Purpose: To recount the reconstruction of Jerusalem’s walls and to demonstrate God’s faithfulness to those dedicated to him

Author: Ezra, according to tradition

Date: Records events that occurred around 445–430 BC

Setting: Jerusalem, approximately fifteen years after Ezra had arrived

Book of Nehemiah — Overview:

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 ^a). About fifty thousand people returned to Jerusalem at that time. After arriving, they built an altar and joyfully worshiped God (Ezra 3:1-13 ^b).
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 ^c). 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 ^d). This time, the Persians fully supported the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra 6:1-12 ^e).
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 ^f). 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 ^g). 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 ^h), until after 432 BC, the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes (13:6-7 ⁱ).
Nehemiah was the cup-bearer of King Artaxerxes of Persia (1:11 ^j). When Nehemiah heard about the ruined condition of Jerusalem (1:1-3 ^k), 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 ^l). Nehemiah organized and motivated the people and led them with courage and integrity through times of resistance from outside enemies (4:1-23 ^m; 6:1-14 ⁿ) and conflict within the community (ch 5 ^o). Despite strong opposition (6:1-4 ^p), under Nehemiah’s leadership the people rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in just fifty-two days (6:15 ^q).
Following the completion of the walls, the account focuses on religious reforms led by Ezra and Nehemiah (7:73–10:39 ^r). At the annual Festival of Shelters, Ezra read to the crowd from the books of Moses (8:5-8 ^s), resulting in a revival and a long prayer of confession (9:5-37 ^t). During this revival, the Israelites committed not to intermarry with foreigners and not to profane the Sabbath (10:28-39 ^u).
The book’s final section (chs 11–13 ^v) describes Nehemiah’s civic efforts to resettle more people in Jerusalem (11 ^w), to dedicate the walls of Jerusalem (12:27-43 ^x), and to organize the gatekeepers and Temple storeroom attendants (12:44–13:5 ^y). After a time of absence, Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem (13:6-7 ^z). 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 ^aa).

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 ^ab 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 ^ac and 11–13 ^ad).
Nehemiah shares several characteristics with the book of Ezra. Both Ezra (Ezra 1–6 ^ae) and Nehemiah (Neh 1–7 ^af) 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 ^ag; Neh 8–10 ^ah).
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 ^ai; Ezra 4:1-23 ^aj), processionals to celebrate dedications (12:31-43 ^ak; Ezra 6:16-18 ^al), and similar reforms (13:15-29 ^am; Ezra 9:1–10:44 ^an). Like Ezra, Nehemiah has lists of names (3 ^ao; 7:6-73 ^ap; 10:1-27 ^aq; 11:1–12:26 ^ar) and at least one parenthetical section (7:6–10:39 ^as) followed by the resumption of a previous account (11:1-4 ^at). 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 ^au). When foreigners opposed restoring the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah asked God to judge them (4:4-5 ^av; 6:14 ^aw). Nehemiah prayed for divine support when he dealt with people who were driving fellow Jews into slavery (5:19 ^ax), those who were not tithing (13:14 ^ay), and people who were not keeping the Sabbath (13:22 ^az). 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 ^ba; 6:14 ^bb; 13:14 ^bc, 22 ^bd, 29 ^be, 31 ^bf).
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 ^bg), to promote one of his servants to be the king’s cup-bearer and later the governor of a province (1:11 ^bh; 2:8 ^bi, 18 ^bj), and to give success in rebuilding the walls (2:20 ^bk; 6:16 ^bl). God protects his people (4:4-5 ^bm, 9 ^bn, 20 ^bo) and frustrates the plans of the wicked (4:14-15 ^bp). The same God who created heaven and earth (9:6 ^bq), called Abram from Ur, and gave the land to Israel (9:7-8 ^br) 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 ^bs). However, his people had not obeyed the instructions God gave to Moses (1:7-9 ^bt), so they were in danger of God’s punishment. Ezra read publicly from the law of Moses (8:1-3 ^bu) to restore the nation. In response, many of the people dedicated themselves to following the law by separating themselves from unbelievers (10:28 ^bv), keeping the Sabbath, and giving their tithe for the Levites (10:29-39 ^bw; 12:44 ^bx).
Courage against Opposition. Nehemiah was courageous in dealing with opposition. Sanballat, Geshem, and Tobiah opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls (2:10 ^by) and mocked the work of God’s people (2:19 ^bz; 4:1-3 ^ca). In addition, Arabs, Ammonites, and people from Ashdod plotted to attack the builders (4:7-9 ^cb, 11 ^cc; 6:1-14 ^cd). Nehemiah responded to this opposition by posting guards and praying for God’s help (4:6-23 ^ce). Nehemiah also confronted internal conflict from members of the community who abused the poor (5:1-13 ^cf), who married foreigners (9:1-2 ^cg; 10:28-30 ^ch; 13:23-28 ^ci), and who did not tithe or keep the Sabbath holy (10:31-39 ^cj; 13:10-22 ^ck). Nehemiah’s courage and prayer enabled him to succeed in addressing these problems.

Summary for Neh 1:1-2:20: 1:1–2:20 ^cl Upon hearing about Jerusalem’s ruined condition, Nehemiah prayed for God’s grace (1:1-11 ^cm) and asked the king to send him to Jerusalem (2:1-8 ^cn). When he arrived, he challenged the people to rebuild the city’s wall (2:11-20 ^co). 1:1 ^cp Artaxerxes I reigned over Persia from 465 to 424 BC.

• The fortress of Susa was the Persian king’s winter palace.
1:2 ^cq Hanani might have been one of Nehemiah’s blood brothers; this word in Hebrew can also mean “fellow countryman” (e.g., Deut 1:16 ^cr, “fellow Israelite”).

• the Jews who had returned: See Ezra 2:64-65 ^cs; 8:1-14 ^ct.
1:3 ^cu The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down: This probably refers to a recent setback in Jerusalem (see Ezra 4:6-23 ^cv), not to the Babylonian conquest in 586 BC.

• disgrace: Foreigners could gloat about the destroyed city, using it as evidence that Israel’s God was too weak to protect it (cp. Joel 2:17 ^cw; Mic 7:8-10 ^cx).
1:4 ^cy Nehemiah fervently mourned, fasted, and prayed for about four months (cp. 1:1 ^cz; 2:1 ^da), deeply concerned for Jerusalem.
Summary for Neh 1:5-11: 1:5-11 ^db Nehemiah’s prayer includes praise (1:5 ^dc), confession (1:6-7 ^dd), remembrance of God’s promises (1:8-9 ^de), and petition (1:10-11 ^df). Nehemiah recognized that Israel’s current situation was not a failure of God’s covenant of unfailing love. Israel’s persistent sin had brought about the punishments entailed in the covenant.
1:6 ^dg I confess that we have sinned: Like Ezra (Ezra 9:5-15 ^dh) and Daniel (Dan 9:4-19 ^di), Nehemiah identified with the sins of his people, made no excuses, and accepted both his individual responsibility and the responsibility of the larger covenant group that had sinned against God.
Summary for Neh 1:8-9: 1:8-9 ^dj Nehemiah recalls God’s curse on sin and his promise of restoration (Deut 4:25-31 ^dk; 30:1-5 ^dl).

• The place ... for my name to be honored was Jerusalem.
1:10 ^dm Nehemiah alludes to God’s long-standing covenant relationship with the Israelites: He had rescued them in the Exodus (Deut 9:29 ^dn) and made them his servants.
1:11 ^do making the king favorable to me: Nehemiah knew God could influence the king’s heart to be kind to Nehemiah.

• As cup-bearer Nehemiah tasted the king’s wine to make sure it was not poisoned, which provided him daily access to King Artaxerxes.