AUTHOR

The book of Nehemiah is the second part of the two-part sequel to the books of Chronicles (the other part being the book of Ezra). The book of Nehemiah, which covers the period from 445 BC to sometime after 433 BC, relates the continuing efforts of the Jewish people who returned from seventy years of captivity in the Babylonian Empire to reestablish themselves in their homeland. The principal person in this part of the history is Nehemiah, a Jew who had attained the influential position of cupbearer in the court of the Persian King Artaxerxes.

Nehemiah was the last in a succession of Jewish leaders in the biblical record to help the people achieve a stable and vibrant life in the Persian province known as Yehud, or Judah. Nehemiah followed Sheshbazzar (who led the first return), Zerubbabel (who led the temple rebuilding project), and Ezra the priest and scribe (who led the spiritual renewal of the people). Nehemiah’s principal contribution to the emerging community was the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall, which had been destroyed in 586 BC by the Babylonians. The apocryphal text Sirach praises Nehemiah’s successful completion of this task (Sir 49:13).

Scholars are not in agreement about the dates for Nehemiah’s activity. Some suggest that the growing problem of unrest in Egypt in the late fifth century BC prompted the Persians to strengthen the buffer province of Judah for security purposes. The matter is complicated by the fact that Nehemiah credited a Persian king by the name of Artaxerxes for his permission to return to Judah. Two Persian kings from this period were named Artaxerxes: Artaxerxes I (464–424 BC) and Artaxerxes II (404–359 BC). Relating Nehemiah’s mission to these two kings results in very different dates, beginning in either 445 BC or 385 BC.

While credible arguments can be made for either date, the earlier date is preferred by most scholars. There are a couple of key reasons for that preference. First, a letter from the Jewish colony in Elephantine, Egypt, written around 407 BC, indicates that Judah had a different governor (a man named Bagoas) at the end of the fifth century BC. This fact favors the earlier date for Nehemiah’s governorship. Second, the biblical text of Nehemiah places Nehemiah and Ezra together on a couple of occasions, at the covenant renewal (8:9) and at the dedication of the wall (12:36). Consequently, if one accepts the late date for Nehemiah’s mission, then one must also accept a late date for Ezra’s mission—or else reject the reliability of these passages.

THE RELIABILITY OF NEHEMIAH

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).