Nehemiah (nḕhē̇—mī̀ȧ). [Heb. Nechemyah, “Yahweh has comforted.” The name occurs also on an ancient Hebrew seal, and on one of the ostraca from Arad.]
1. One of the leaders who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:2; Neh 7:7).
2. A ruler of half of the district of Beth-zur. He repaired a section of Jerusalem’s wall under Nehemiah’s direction (Neh 3:16).
3. A Jew of the postexilic period and son of Hachaliah (Neh 1:1). He was appointed governor of Judea by Artaxerxes I, king of Persia, and distinguished himself as the rebuilder of the city wall of Jerusalem. When first mentioned Nehemiah was serving as a trusted officer at the court of Artaxerxes I, king of Persia, in the 20th year of Artaxerxes’ reign (vs 1, 11), or 445/44 b.c.
A serious rebellion in Egypt, and more recently a rebellion in the satrapy Beyond the River, to which Judea belonged, had interrupted communications between Susa (Shushan), the Persian capital, and Palestine. Finally a report reached Nehemiah that his countrymen in Jerusalem suffered “great affliction and reproach” and that the city wall had been broken down and the gates burned (vs 1–3).
Mourning and fasting for a period, Nehemiah was questioned by the king as to the reason for his sad countenance (chs 1:4 to 2:3). Nehemiah took this opportunity to appeal to the king on behalf of his people and, at his request, received a commission to return to Jerusalem for a specified period of time in order to bring his people whatever help they should require (ch 2:4–6).
Supplied with a royal letter of introduction to the necessary officials authorizing his mission and empowering him to requisition materials necessary for the restoration of the wall, the fortress, and the Temple at Jerusalem (vs 7, 8), Nehemiah, who also had been appointed as governor of the province of Judea, journeyed to the satrapy Beyond the River, delivered his royal credentials to the proper authorities, and then went to Jerusalem (vs 9–11).
Keeping his plans to himself for the time being, he inspected the walls by night (vs 12–16) and then laid a plan before the leaders at Jerusalem for restoring the wall (vs 17, 18). The work was begun at once, and despite repeated attempts to halt it (chs 4:1–23; 6:1–19), it was completed in a comparatively short time (ch 6:15).
In his role as governor, Nehemiah also instituted social reforms, particularly with respect to the oppression of the poor by the rich (ch 5:1–14). He also planned and carried out the repopulation of the city of Jerusalem (chs 7; 11). Assisted by Ezra, who had preceded him to Jerusalem, he carried out a series of religious reforms (chs 8–10), including the public reading of the Law and instruction in it (ch 8).
When Nehemiah drew up, and called upon the people to sign, a covenant of reform, leaders, priests, and people entered into a solemn covenant, pledging themselves to the worship of the true God (chs 9; 10). After serving Judah as governor for 12 years (ch 5:14) Nehemiah went back to Susa, but later returned to Jerusalem for a 2d term as governor (ch 13:6, 7). In the interval the people had again lapsed into sin, so that new reform efforts were required.
Nehemiah, Book of.
A historical book from the postcaptivity, or restoration, period of Jewish history. In the ancient Hebrew canon the books of Ezra and Nehemiah appeared as one volume, called Ezra. Jerome, translator of the Latin Vulgate, gave the separate books the titles Ezra and Nehemiah, whence the division into 2 books in English translations and their respective titles. See Ezra, Book of.
Ezra and Nehemiah are the historical continuation of Chronicles, since they take up the thread of Jewish history with the restoration from Babylonian captivity. The style and language of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah strongly suggest a common authorship.
The Talmud (Baba Bathra 15a) identifies Ezra as the chief author and Nehemiah, a contemporary of Ezra, as the one who completed the work. Nehemiah served as governor at Jerusalem, and Ezra, a priest, as a spiritual leader. For a time their cooperative efforts did much to bring both material and spiritual blessings.
Since the list of priests and Levites in Neh 12 does not contain names of any who lived after c. 400 BC., it has been conjectured that the book must have been written at approximately that time. Although we are dependent almost exclusively upon Ezra and Nehemiah for our knowledge of postexilic Judea, these books record only the more important events of the period, and there are large gaps where little information is available.
Ezra records the successive decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes. He reports the building of the Temple and its dedication under Darius. But then skips over nearly 60 years to the decree of 457 BC., in connection with which he was sent back to Judea by Artaxerxes with far-reaching authority to reorganize the national administration in harmony with the Law of Moses. He relates experiences soon after his return to Jerusalem, but the next recorded event is the coming of Nehemiah several years later.
The decree of 457 BC. granted the Jews virtual autonomy under Persia. Civil and judicial powers were returned to the local leadership, and the Law of Moses became once more the official law of the land.
Except for the payment of taxes, the Jews were free to go their own way, but generous royal grants from the treasury of the satrapy Beyond the River were made in return. Ezra’s activities during the 13 years before the arrival of Nehemiah are obscure. However, it is known that he went quietly about the work of reform, one feature of which was regarding mixed marriages (Ezr 9; 10).
During this period Megabyzos, governor of the province known as Beyond the River, which included Judea, rebelled for several years against the king of Persia. The Jews remained loyal to Artaxerxes, but may have been falsely accused by their Samaritan enemies as partisans of Megabyzos.
Artaxerxes gave the Samaritans permission to stop the building of the wall of Jerusalem, and they went so far as to destroy parts of the wall and to burn city gates (Ezr 4:21; Neh 1:3). Near the end of 445 BC. Hanani, the brother of Nehemiah, and other Jews arrived at the Persian capital, apparently bringing the first news of events in Jerusalem since Megabyzos’ rebellion had been quelled.
Though a faithful Jew, Nehemiah had advanced to a position of responsibility in the Persian court. He was apparently well educated and had natural skill as an administrator and organizer. Upon receiving word of the sad state of affairs in Jerusalem, some 12 years after Ezra’s return to Jerusalem, Nehemiah was greatly shocked (Neh 1:1–3) and like Daniel (cf. Dan 9:3) fasted and prayed for many days (Neh 1:4–11).
About 4 months later (ch 2:1; cf. ch 1:1) Nehemiah was ready with an effective plan for bringing relief to his beleaguered and suffering fellow countrymen in Jerusalem. Apparently awaiting a suitable occasion to petition the king (ch 2:1–6), he requested a to royal commission that would permit him to go to Jerusalem and restore the fortunes of his people there (v 5).
Artaxerxes was favourable to the suggestion and granted Nehemiah letters to the governor of the satrapy Beyond the River to provide him with transportation, timber, and other necessary supplies for the rebuilding of the wall of the city (vs 6–8).
Thus equipped with the necessary powers for carrying out his mission, he went to Jerusalem accompanied by a detachment of horsemen and royal army officers (vs 9, 11). After first inspecting the walls of the city by night (vs 12–16), Nehemiah summoned the leaders to rise up and build the wall (vs 17, 18).
They responded heartily, and workmen were organized to repair sections of the wall that had been broken down and to rebuild some of the gates (ch 3). When the work of reconstruction became known, the traditional enemies of the Jews in lands bordering on Judea conspired to defeat Nehemiah’s purpose.
Among these enemies were *Sanballat, governor of Samaria, *Tobiah, a high official or nobleman of Ammon, and *Geshem, a high Arabian official (ch 2:10, 19). But Nehemiah proved himself a capable, fearless, and determined leader. He did not belittle the threat posed by his enemies, but on the other hand he was not unduly disturbed.
He simply continued with his work. Throughout the time during which the rebuilding of the wall was in process, these enemies carried forward their attempts to hinder the work, and apparently gave up the idea only when the task was completed after a brief space of 52 days (Neh 6:15). A solemn and impressive ceremony marked the dedication of the wall (ch 12:27–43).
Following the building of the wall, Nehemiah settled down to his work as governor (Neh 5:14). He championed the cause of the oppressed (vs 1–13), repopulated the city (chs 7; 11:1–19), and, in cooperation with Ezra, provided for the religious needs of the people (chs 8–10).
After an absence of unspecified duration of at Susa, the Persian capital, Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem for a 2d term as governor (Neh 13:6, 7), during which he instituted certain further reforms (vs 10–31).
The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Dictionary; The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Volume 8. 1979; 2002 (786). Review and Herald Publishing Association.