Book of Nehemiah: Difference between revisions

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The '''Book of Nehemiah''' in the [[Hebrew Bible]] largely takes the form of a first-person [[memoir]] by [[Nehemiah]], a Hebrew prophet and high official at the Persian court, concerning the rebuilding of the walls of [[Jerusalem]] after the [[Babylonian exile]] and the dedication of the city and its people to God's laws ([[Torah]]).

Since the 16th century, Nehemiah has generally been treated as a separate book within the Bible. Before then, it had been combined with the [[Book of Ezra]]; but in Latin [[Christian Bible]]s from the 13th century onwards, the [[Vulgate]]'s Book of Ezra was divided into two texts called the First and Second Books of Ezra, respectively. This separation became canonised with the first printed Bibles in Hebrew and Latin. Mid-16th century [[Reformed Protestant]] Bible translations produced in [[Geneva]], such as the [[Geneva Bible]], were the first to introduce the title "Book of Nehemiah" for the text formerly called the "Second Book of Ezra".

Since the 16th century, Nehemiah has generally been treated as a separate book within the Bible. Before then, it had been [[Ezra–Nehemiah|combined with]] the [[Book of Ezra]]; but in Latin [[Christian Bible]]s from the 13th century onwards, the [[Vulgate]]'s Book of Ezra was divided into two texts called the First and Second Books of Ezra, respectively. This separation became canonised with the first printed Bibles in Hebrew and Latin. Mid-16th century [[Reformed Protestant]] Bible translations produced in [[Geneva]], such as the [[Geneva Bible]], were the first to introduce the title "Book of Nehemiah" for the text formerly called the "Second Book of Ezra".

The [[historicity]] of Nehemiah, his objectives, and the "Nehemiah memoir" have recently become very controversial in [[biblical scholarship]], with [[Biblical maximalism|maximalists]] viewing it as a historical account and [[Biblical minimalism|minimalists]] doubting whether Nehemiah existed.<ref>{{cite book

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;''Chapters''

# In the 20th year of [[Artaxerxes I of Persia]], Nehemiah, [[cup-bearer]] to the king in [[Susa]] (the Persian capital), learns that the wall of Jerusalem is destroyed. He prays to God, confessing the sins of Israel, then reminding God of His promise to restore the [[Promised Land]]. He asks God for success in asking King Artaxerxes for permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild its wall.

# While Nehemiah is serving wine the king notices his sadness. Nehemiah humbly confesses it is because the city of his ancestors is in ruins and asks permission to rebuild the city wall. The king agrees. Nehemiah then asks for letters of safe-conduct and for permission to obtain timber from the royal forest. The king agrees to these requests and additionally dispatches a military escort to accompany Nehemiah to Jerusalem. When Nehemiah arrives he secretly inspects the wall before encouraging the local leaders to join him in rebuilding. However, when [[Sanballat the Horonite|Sanballat of Samaria]], [[Tobiah (Ammonite)|Tobiah the Ammonite]], and [[Geshem the Arabian|Geshem the Arab]] hear about it they mock the Israelites and ~~accused~~ them of rebelling against the king.

# While Nehemiah is serving wine the king notices his sadness. Nehemiah humbly confesses it is because the city of his ancestors is in ruins and asks permission to rebuild the city wall. The king agrees. Nehemiah then asks for letters of safe-conduct and for permission to obtain timber from the royal forest. The king agrees to these requests and additionally dispatches a military escort to accompany Nehemiah to Jerusalem. When Nehemiah arrives he secretly inspects the wall before encouraging the local leaders to join him in rebuilding. However, when [[Sanballat the Horonite|Sanballat of Samaria]], [[Tobiah (Ammonite)|Tobiah the Ammonite]], and [[Geshem the Arabian|Geshem the Arab]] hear about it they mock the Israelites and accuse them of rebelling against the king.

# The families and leaders of Jerusalem each take a gate or a section of wall and begin rebuilding.

# The leaders of the opposing tribes – Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, Geshem the Arab, and the men of [[~~Isdud~~|Ashdod]] – plot together to attack Jerusalem, which forces the Hebrews rebuilding the wall to work with weapons in their hands.

# The leaders of the opposing tribes – Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, Geshem the Arab, and the men of [[Ashdod (ancient city)|Ashdod]] – plot together to attack Jerusalem, which forces the Hebrews rebuilding the wall to work with weapons in their hands.

# Nehemiah, having seen the Hebrew nobles oppressing the poor, orders the cancellation of all debt and mortgages; previous governors have been corrupt and oppressive, but he has been righteous and just.

# Sanballat accuses Nehemiah of planning rebellion against Artaxerxes, and Nehemiah is opposed even by Hebrew nobles and prophets, but the wall is completed.

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The book is set in the 5th century BC. Judah is one of several provinces within a larger satrapy (a large administrative unit) within the [[Achaemenid Empire]]. The capital of the empire is at [[Susa]]. Nehemiah is a [[cup-bearer]] to king [[Artaxerxes I of Persia]] – an important official position.

At his own request Nehemiah is sent to Jerusalem as governor of Yehud, the official Persian name for Judah. Jerusalem had been conquered and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC and Nehemiah finds it still in ruins. His task is to rebuild the walls and to re-populate the city. He faces opposition from three powerful neighbours, the [[Samaritans]], the [[Ammon]]ites, and the [[Arabs]], as well as the city of [[~~Isdud~~|Ashdod]], but manages to rebuild the walls. He then purifies the Hebrew community by enforcing its [[Racial segregation|segregation]] from its neighbours and enforces the laws of Moses.

At his own request Nehemiah is sent to Jerusalem as governor of Yehud, the official Persian name for Judah. Jerusalem had been conquered and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC and Nehemiah finds it still in ruins. His task is to rebuild the walls and to re-populate the city. He faces opposition from three powerful neighbours, the [[Samaritans]], the [[Ammon]]ites, and the [[Arabs]], as well as the city of [[Ashdod (ancient city)|Ashdod]], but manages to rebuild the walls. He then purifies the Hebrew community by enforcing its [[Racial segregation|segregation]] from its neighbours and enforces the laws of Moses.

== Textual history ==

~~{{Books of Ketuvim}}~~

[[File:Book of Nehemiah, Roman (Sixtine) Septuagint (1587).jpg|thumb|[[Septuagint]] version of Nehemiah]]

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 The '''Book of Nehemiah''' in the [[Hebrew Bible]] largely takes the form of a first-person [[memoir]] by [[Nehemiah]], a Hebrew prophet and high official at the Persian court, concerning the rebuilding of the walls of [[Jerusalem]] after the [[Babylonian exile]] and the dedication of the city and its people to God's laws ([[Torah]]).
-Since the 16th century, Nehemiah has generally been treated as a separate book within the Bible. Before then, it had been combined with the [[Book of Ezra]]; but in Latin [[Christian Bible]]s from the 13th century onwards, the [[Vulgate]]'s Book of Ezra was divided into two texts called the First and Second Books of Ezra, respectively. This separation became canonised with the first printed Bibles in Hebrew and Latin. Mid-16th century [[Reformed Protestant]] Bible translations produced in [[Geneva]], such as the [[Geneva Bible]], were the first to introduce the title "Book of Nehemiah" for the text formerly called the "Second Book of Ezra".
+Since the 16th century, Nehemiah has generally been treated as a separate book within the Bible. Before then, it had been [[Ezra–Nehemiah|combined with]] the [[Book of Ezra]]; but in Latin [[Christian Bible]]s from the 13th century onwards, the [[Vulgate]]'s Book of Ezra was divided into two texts called the First and Second Books of Ezra, respectively. This separation became canonised with the first printed Bibles in Hebrew and Latin. Mid-16th century [[Reformed Protestant]] Bible translations produced in [[Geneva]], such as the [[Geneva Bible]], were the first to introduce the title "Book of Nehemiah" for the text formerly called the "Second Book of Ezra".
 The [[historicity]] of Nehemiah, his objectives, and the "Nehemiah memoir" have recently become very controversial in [[biblical scholarship]], with [[Biblical maximalism|maximalists]] viewing it as a historical account and [[Biblical minimalism|minimalists]] doubting whether Nehemiah existed.<ref>{{cite book
@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 ;''Chapters''
 # In the 20th year of [[Artaxerxes I of Persia]], Nehemiah, [[cup-bearer]] to the king in [[Susa]] (the Persian capital), learns that the wall of Jerusalem is destroyed. He prays to God, confessing the sins of Israel, then reminding God of His promise to restore the [[Promised Land]]. He asks God for success in asking King Artaxerxes for permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild its wall.
-# While Nehemiah is serving wine the king notices his sadness. Nehemiah humbly confesses it is because the city of his ancestors is in ruins and asks permission to rebuild the city wall. The king agrees. Nehemiah then asks for letters of safe-conduct and for permission to obtain timber from the royal forest. The king agrees to these requests and additionally dispatches a military escort to accompany Nehemiah to Jerusalem. When Nehemiah arrives he secretly inspects the wall before encouraging the local leaders to join him in rebuilding. However, when [[Sanballat the Horonite|Sanballat of Samaria]], [[Tobiah (Ammonite)|Tobiah the Ammonite]], and [[Geshem the Arabian|Geshem the Arab]] hear about it they mock the Israelites and accused them of rebelling against the king.
+# While Nehemiah is serving wine the king notices his sadness. Nehemiah humbly confesses it is because the city of his ancestors is in ruins and asks permission to rebuild the city wall. The king agrees. Nehemiah then asks for letters of safe-conduct and for permission to obtain timber from the royal forest. The king agrees to these requests and additionally dispatches a military escort to accompany Nehemiah to Jerusalem. When Nehemiah arrives he secretly inspects the wall before encouraging the local leaders to join him in rebuilding. However, when [[Sanballat the Horonite|Sanballat of Samaria]], [[Tobiah (Ammonite)|Tobiah the Ammonite]], and [[Geshem the Arabian|Geshem the Arab]] hear about it they mock the Israelites and accuse them of rebelling against the king.
 # The families and leaders of Jerusalem each take a gate or a section of wall and begin rebuilding.
-# The leaders of the opposing tribes – Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, Geshem the Arab, and the men of [[Isdud|Ashdod]] – plot together to attack Jerusalem, which forces the Hebrews rebuilding the wall to work with weapons in their hands.
+# The leaders of the opposing tribes – Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, Geshem the Arab, and the men of [[Ashdod (ancient city)|Ashdod]] – plot together to attack Jerusalem, which forces the Hebrews rebuilding the wall to work with weapons in their hands.
 # Nehemiah, having seen the Hebrew nobles oppressing the poor, orders the cancellation of all debt and mortgages; previous governors have been corrupt and oppressive, but he has been righteous and just.
 # Sanballat accuses Nehemiah of planning rebellion against Artaxerxes, and Nehemiah is opposed even by Hebrew nobles and prophets, but the wall is completed.
@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 The book is set in the 5th century BC. Judah is one of several provinces within a larger satrapy (a large administrative unit) within the [[Achaemenid Empire]]. The capital of the empire is at [[Susa]]. Nehemiah is a [[cup-bearer]] to king [[Artaxerxes I of Persia]] – an important official position.
-At his own request Nehemiah is sent to Jerusalem as governor of Yehud, the official Persian name for Judah. Jerusalem had been conquered and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586&nbsp;BC and Nehemiah finds it still in ruins. His task is to rebuild the walls and to re-populate the city. He faces opposition from three powerful neighbours, the [[Samaritans]], the [[Ammon]]ites, and the [[Arabs]], as well as the city of [[Isdud|Ashdod]], but manages to rebuild the walls. He then purifies the Hebrew community by enforcing its [[Racial segregation|segregation]] from its neighbours and enforces the laws of Moses.
+At his own request Nehemiah is sent to Jerusalem as governor of Yehud, the official Persian name for Judah. Jerusalem had been conquered and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586&nbsp;BC and Nehemiah finds it still in ruins. His task is to rebuild the walls and to re-populate the city. He faces opposition from three powerful neighbours, the [[Samaritans]], the [[Ammon]]ites, and the [[Arabs]], as well as the city of [[Ashdod (ancient city)|Ashdod]], but manages to rebuild the walls. He then purifies the Hebrew community by enforcing its [[Racial segregation|segregation]] from its neighbours and enforces the laws of Moses.
 == Textual history ==
-{{Books of Ketuvim}}
 {{further|Ezra–Nehemiah}}
 [[File:Book of Nehemiah, Roman (Sixtine) Septuagint (1587).jpg|thumb|[[Septuagint]] version of Nehemiah]]

Book of Nehemiah: Difference between revisions

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