The Book of Nehemiah (The Bible in Outline Form)

This is accomplished despite the opposition of the surrounding peoples. Nehemiah and His Mission Nehemiah 1: Nehemiah Supervises the Rebuilding Nehemiah 2: Ezra and the Law Nehemiah 7: Nehemiah's Work Continues Nehemiah Nehemiah concludes with a brief description of reforms during his second term as governor. Ezra-Nehemiah one book in the earliest manuscripts was compiled a century after the events it relates to help the Jewish community in Jerusalem understand who they were by describing the beginnings of Second Temple Judaism.

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The disastrous events of B. What had happened to them? Had they been abandoned? Were the gods of Babylon victorious or was God responsible for their situation? Would they be delivered from exile? Israel's answers to these questions in exile had been largely negative, interpreting the events as God's judgment on an unrepentant Israel in fulfillment of the prophetic warnings of the past, especially those of Second Isaiah:.

Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they would not walk, and whose law they would not obey? Eventually, however, they began to accept the necessity of judgment and exile, and realized that, though justified, this was not God's final word. Once again, the proclamation of Second Isaiah was formative, this time as a message of hope.

The community addressed by Ezra-Nehemiah, the sons and daughters of those who had returned and experienced the first fruits of that hope, needed to hear who they were and needed to be encouraged in the situations they now faced. They needed to be reminded of the institutions that had been developing for the last hundred years and to see that their sense of identity and continuity with the past was nurtured and sustained through such endeavors.

The content of Ezra's law book has interested scholars who are persuaded by the findings of the so-called documentary hypothesis of pentateuchal sources J, E, D, and P. Early scholars tended to believe that Ezra brought some version of the Priestly Code P with him from Babylon. Others have argued for the entire Pentateuch Genesis through Deuteronomy , or simply Deuteronomy itself D. No consensus exists, but a close reading of the material in Ezra 9: This means, however, that we are speaking of what we generally call our Pentateuch.

Many commentators are troubled by the placement of Ezra's reading of the law in the book of Nehemiah Nehemiah 7: While these verses probably have been taken from their original setting in Ezra and inserted into Nehemiah, scholars now ask theological rather than historical questions, such as why the move was made, and attempt to deal with the text as it now stands. Israel organized itself differently at different periods of its history.

In the days of the Judges, charismatic leaders were raised up to govern the people. During the monarchy, kings naturally held sway. But in the postexilic period neither of these political avenues was possible. Ezra-Nehemiah reflects a type of theocracy in which God rules through the priestly hierarchy. Though Yehud the name given "Israel" by the Persian empire in the postexilic period was technically ruled by the Achaeminids, there was some notion of God ruling in a theocracy through the priests.

Nevertheless, several weighty matters seem to have been decided by "assemblies" of the people, such as the reading of the Torah 8: Theological differences between Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah have caused a revision of the view that Ezra, Nehemiah, and the books of Chronicles share a common authorship and comprise the so-called "Chronicler's History.

Currently, most scholars suggest that Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah are separate literary entities. God's people were no longer identified as Israelites living under the rule of a Davidic king.

Ezra, in fact, came to personify the claim that to be a Jew meant that one adhered to the Torah, God's law Nehemiah 8: It was believed that adherence to the norms and stipulations of Torah would in and of itself produce a community steeped in the traditions of God's people. During this period following the exile, Israel began to realize that the identity change resulting from a life based upon adherence to the Torah meant that one's religious identity was no longer tied to the nationalistic state of Israel.

Torah-based living could occur anywhere, even if the cult could only be practiced in the Jerusalem temple. Shame plays an important role in Nehemiah. The plight of Jerusalem that motivated Nehemiah's return was its "shame" Nehemiah 1: Following his personal examination of the city, Nehemiah determined that the city's "disgrace" 2: Thus, the problem was not merely one of defense; the walls symbolized God's honor.

Upon their completion, Jerusalem's enemies "were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem" 6: Later, Nehemiah will similarly be "disgraced" and suffer "reproach" 6: The assumption that Nehemiah was a "eunuch" is long-standing and arises from the fact that some cupbearers in the Achaeminid period were eunuchs and that the Vaticanus text of the Septuagint in Nehemiah 1: This, however, is probably not the case since many cupbearers in this period were not eunuchs; several texts from the Achaeminid period distinguish between eunuchs and cupbearers; and the Alexandrinus Septuagint text of Nehemiah 1: The close similarity of the two Greek words suggests that "eunuch" most likely is a scribal error for "cupbearer.

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Ezra and Nehemiah may be the protagonists, the leaders of the community, but both these books emphasize the importance of community action. Earlier accounts of Israel laid emphasis upon the activity of the judge, king, or prophet; here Ezra and Nehemiah devise ways for the people to help themselves. Nehemiah doesn't build the walls; the people do Nehemiah 3. Ezra doesn't deal with mixed marriages; the people take care of this themselves Ezra A close reading of Ezra-Nehemiah finds David mentioned only in conjunction with worship for example, Nehemiah This is striking, compared with Chronicles, often seen as a part of the same history of Israel, where David dominates the narrative and often replaces the exodus in parallel passages in Samuel and Kings.

Especially jarring is the lack of interest in God's promise to David of an eternal dynasty 2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17 , and only Hattush Ezra 8: If the omission of David is deliberate, as it must probably be, the relevance of David for the postexilic community is called into question. Since they thought of themselves as "slaves" to the Persian crown Nehemiah 9: This also becomes a fruitful way to speak of God's grace since "God's hand" is usually nudging those around the Jewish community to provide for them in caring ways. In five of the above references the Hebrew wording "according to the hand of" is a technical expression for royal benevolence in each of its other canonical occurrences 1 Kings This may be a covert way of claiming that God is still king, despite the Persian rule of Yehud, and that it is God's grace and beneficence that sustains them.

In both Ezra and Nehemiah, mixed marriage is seen as a serious sin that threatens the community. Ezra had dealt with the problem by insisting on the divorce of foreign wives Ezra , but apparently the problem persisted thirty years later in the time of Nehemiah Nehemiah An honor guard from the king accompanies Nehemiah. The people are encouraged to begin the undertaking.

He would look to God and not to them. They make light of the zeal of the workmen and laugh at their workmanship, saying that even a nimble fox could knock down the wall. Nehemiah continues to pray and build. Nehemiah arms the workmen. Chapter 5 — Opposition again rises from within their own ranks. This display of covetousness is the same as the idolatry which sent them into captivity.

Book of Nehemiah Overview - Insight for Living Ministries

His example should have been an inspiration and example to his brethren. Chapter 6 — In spite of crafty opposition, the wall is finished. The enemy reverses the opposition. Since they could not stop the work, they now propose to get together with Nehemiah and work out a compromise. However, their intention is not to promote the welfare of Nehemiah. It is interesting to note v.

They circulate a false report that Nehemiah is attempting to rebel against Persia and set up a separate state. Gashmu the gossip is spreading the report v.

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The enemy still persists in its opposition by circulating letters to the nobles of Judah, as Tobiah had evidently married a daughter of one of the nobles. He instructs them to keep the gates closed at certain times to prevent the enemy from entering. Unnecessary though this may seem to us, it is repeated because it is important to God and He challenges us to read it.

God never forgets the faithful. This chapter comes from the book of eternity. The Word of God is spiritual water. Ezra reads in the Law of Moses from morning until noon. The Word is to be read distinctly and explained so that the people can understand it. Nehemiah urges the people not to weep but to rejoice. See also Philippians 4: Reading the Word of God studying and understanding it is essential and basic.

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Fasting, sackcloth, and ashes reveal their attitude and sincerity. Confession and worship follow. Stephen recited this same history in Acts 7 , but it led to murder, not to revival; to his condemnation, not to their confession. Note the confession of their sins vv. Chapter 10 — The people make and sign a covenant to serve God. Chapter 11 — The rulers cast lots to see who is to dwell in Jerusalem and who is to live elsewhere in the land.

Notice the joy of the people. Chapter 13 — Nehemiah, who had returned to Persia, comes again to Jerusalem and institutes reforms. Nehemiah forces the rulers to see that the Levites receive their portion. Men of Tyre bring fish to sell in Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. Nehemiah forces them to leave and orders the gates of Jerusalem to be closed on the Sabbath. Nehemiah uses extreme means v. Verse 28 would be humorous if it were not so serious.

Note the humility and dedication of Nehemiah in his desire to please and to serve God vv. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry. Blue Letter Bible study tools make reading, searching and studying the Bible easy and rewarding. Individual instructors or editors may still require the use of URLs.

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