Nehemiah Introduction

As with the book of Ezra, the book of Nehemiah consists of a number of source documents. Its principal source is known as the Nehemiah Memoir, attributed to Nehemiah. The full extent of the Nehemiah Memoir is uncertain, but it definitely includes the autobiographical sections (1:1–7:73; 12:27-43; 13:4-31). The other major section is attributed to the Ezra Memoir (chap. 8 and probably chaps. 9–10). This unit is written in the third person and mentions Ezra numerous times (8:1-2,4-6,9,13). One also finds a number of lists, including these: (1) a list of the residents of Jerusalem (11:3-24); (2) a list of the farming settlements occupied by members of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (11:25-36); and (3) a list of priests and Levites (12:1-26).

While the book of Nehemiah can be read independently of the book of Ezra, it probably was not intended to be read in isolation, for it comprises a crucial part of the message begun in the book of Ezra. For a description of the function of this book in the work Ezra/Nehemiah, refer to the introduction to the book of Ezra.

Many people treat the Old Testament historical texts as works of fiction that attempt to communicate certain values or lessons. They must overlook a good amount of evidence of history telling in order to do this. In Nehemiah, this evidence includes such history telling devices as: (1) the dating of events (e.g., “the month of Chislev in the twentieth year,” which was November–December 445 BC; 1:1); (2) references to historical settings confirmed by the archaeological record (e.g., Susa is known to have been one of the three capitals of the Persian Empire as well as the spring residence of the Persian kings; 1:1); and (3) the naming of historical personages (e.g., King Artaxerxes; Sanballat, who is known from the Elephantine Papyri to have been governor of Samaria; 2:1,10).