All three books bear witness to the fact that a persian king could be helpful to the jews in their effort to survive and thrive. The last four books of the hebrew canon are ezra, nehemiah, and 1 and 2 chronicles, in that order. Now in ezra 3 they merely offer sacrifices but dont build booths. The book of nehemiah has been, since the 16th century, a separate book of the hebrew bible.
The text of nehemiah suggests the people gained insight at that time. So how can this book, which has obvious simple math contradictions, be followed. In the ancient hebrew manuscripts the books of ezra and nehemiah were written as if they were one. Though esther follows it in the canon, nehemiah is chronologically the final historical book of the ot. Israel has been disciplined, and is now being restored to her land and her god. The postexilic books of ezra, nehemiah, haggai, zechariah, and malachi were written about the period between 537 and perhaps 430 bc. The books of ezra and nehemiah arent really history books in the modernday sense of the term. Remember, the exiles were frightenedterrified by the inhabitants upon returning in ezra 3. He was a person who understood that his life belonged to. Nehemiah bible story summary what christians want to know. What is however clear is that the books of ezra and nehemiah appeal to these same texts to justify their policy of divorce and deportation of wives and children from their homes.
The reestablishment of the exiles as gods people in jerusalem and judea gradually developed as they returned in waves under the leadership of sheshbazzar, zerubbabel, ezra and nehemiah, as god providentially made provision for them through the persian rulers, as. This bible study unfolds the hidden meaning in these jerusalem gates. The book of nehemiah is a book of the hebrew bible, thought to be a continuation of the book of ezra, and is sometimes called the second book of ezra. Is there a numerical contradiction between ezra and nehemiah. Why are the statistics in ezra 2 and nehemiah 7 different. And all three books show people at work, thus providing an opportunity for us to reflect upon. Second, we should remember that the books of ezra and nehemiah. Following the period of the first return of gods people, nehemiah, the cupbearer for king artaxerxes, hears about the distress of his people in jerusalem due to the city being defenseless, and nehemiah bravely requests permission from the king to help his people. The authorship of ezra and nehemiah in light of differences. Though much of its material was actually compiled by ezra, nehemiah is the most autobiographical of the bibles historical books. Nehemiah held the important position of cupbearer to artaxerxes i. You will remember that 2 chronicles ended with the destruction of jerusalem in 587 b. The books of ezra and nehemiah differ in their definition of the repatriates from.
Like the books of ezra and esther, nehemiah tells us what happened after the jewish exile to babylon. To examine nehemiahs desperate attempt to keep the jewish people pure before god. The three books of ezra, nehemiah, and esther close the section of the old testament that we have called the history books. Nehemiah is the last of the books of the old testament if they are arranged in strict chronological order.
In each book this is followed by a time of opposition, as enemies try to prevent the rebuilding of the temple ezra and wall nehemiah, but in each book gods people emerge victorious and the project is completed ezr. Name and overview of the book ezra and nehemiah were originally considered one book, under the name of ezra. And all the people listened attentively to the book of the law. Overview of the book of nehemiah reformed answers to. Raymond browns the message of nehemiah in intervarsity press excellent the bible speaks today series provides helpful background and excellent application of this sadly neglected but fascinating old testament book. Any errors in this section are probably due to scribal transmission. The books of samuel, kings, and chronicles closed with the southern kingdom judah going into captivity.
That these books constituted a single workreferred to read more. Nehemiah introduction commentary commentary critical. All three feature key leaders whose actions are held up as models of imitation. The book itself, however, was compiled by a later, anonymous writer who apparently also compiled the books of ezra and the chronicles. Nehemiah chronicles gods covenant relationship with israel, and even provides a sweeping overview of the relationship in nehemiah chapter 9. Contradictions in the old testament and why they are a good thing sunday, january 19, 2014. The book of nehemiah was likely written between 445 and 420 b. The themes are returning to jerusalem after the exile, rebuilding the temple, restoring the wall, and then learning to walk before the lord with sincerity and purity. He was a highranking official in the persian kings court.
In the hebrew bible the book of nehemiah comfort of jah forms a unity with the preceding book of ezra compare with the notes on ezra. Title nehemiah jehovah comforts is a famous cupbearer, who never appears in scripture outside of this book. Many jews had returned from the babylonian captivity. This book is of course not inspired by god unless you believe that god can do mistakes. In english bibles, they are usually split into two, with the book of nehemiah appearing as a separate book from ezra, but in the hebrew tradition, they are one book, entitled ezra, and nehemiah is simply the second part of ezra.
Although the books bear different names they follow each other without paragraph and the numeration of the masorah is listed at the end of nehemiah for both books. The books of ezra and nehemiah are the only completely historical books in the third section of the hebrew bible, the ketuvim writings. In nehemiah story is told in the book of nehemiah, part of which indeed seems to be based upon the memoirs of nehemiah. Book of nehemiah encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. Time chart on old testament books of ezra and nehemiah gives dates, leaders, responsibilities and contemporary events. Unfortunately, most christian apologetic sites and books usually end up with the stated position that this is a case of many scribal errors in all hebrew texts, and. The book of nehemiah, one of the history books of the bible, continues. In the month of kislev in the twentieth year, while i was in the citadel of susa, hanani, one of my brothers, came from judah with some other men, and i questioned them about the jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about jerusalem.
With the books of ezra and nehemiah, the continuous historical narrative of the old testament comes to a close. Nehemiahs prayer the words of nehemiah son of hakaliah. It is just and practically necessary to treat the books of ezra and nehemiah. Finally, after ezra had come into existence through the combination of ezra 16 with ezra 710, the accounts of the repopulation and dedication of the city and the friction between temple and torah were added to produce the final book of nehemiah. The covenant renewal of nehemiah and ezra found in the second half of nehemiahs book neh 7 has been the subject of much, and vast, scholarly activity. This reveals not a contradiction in scripture but the. Seventeen times the book mentions that nehemiah and the people prayed to god. The achievements of the two men were complementary. The prophets haggai and zechariah also played important roles in encouraging the people of judah and their leaders zerubbabel, the governor of judah, and the high priest joshua to return to their homeland and rebuild the. This is based on the fact that the books of ezra and nehemiah were originally one. It tells how, under the new leadership of nehemiah, the walls of jerusalem were rebuilt by the returned remnant, and how the people themselves were reinstructed in the law which god. The census of ezra 2 and nehemiah 7 is the bible inerrant.
Before that date, it had been included in the book of ezra. The structure of ezranehemiah and the integrity of the book. And it came to pass in the month chisleu, in the twentieth year, as i was in shushan. The books of ezra and nehemiah and esther cover about 100 years, closing the old testament historical books. This booknaturally divides itself into two parts or sections, the one contained in the first sixchapters, and which relates the. Book of nehemiah simple english wikipedia, the free. An argument of the books of ezranehemiah related media. You may wonder what an old testament saint could teach us about leadership today, but youll discover that these truths are timeless.
The division into two books does not appear in hebrew manuscripts until the fifteenth. This was during the reign of artexerxes, as nehemiah 8 occurred during his reign. Nehemiah was a man of character who loved and feared god. This series is not ment to be an exhaustive, indepth. It happened nearly twentyfive hundred years ago in a land across the world from where you and i.
They show israel fulfilling its storyreturning from exile, triumphing over obstacles posed from without and within, in order to rededicate itself to god. Rather, they express a peoples sense of its own history. Ezra was an early contemporary of nehemiah but ezra records no events later than 457 b. As with the books of ezra and esther, named after his contemporaries see introduct. Ezranehemiah number discrepancies evidence for gods. In the greek tradition they were considered two books as early as the third century ce, by origen, and the latin vulgate followed this tradition in the fourth century. Contradictions in the old testament and why they are a. Problems common to the combined books ezranehemiah have been pointed out in the introduction to the book of ezra. Solving the ezra nehemiah controversy grace thru faith. Ezra is identified as a ready scribe in the law of. A popular handbook on bible difficulties wheaton, ill victor books, 1992. These two books were originally a single work, and most commentaries treat them together.
When god gives a command let us do all within our power to. To realize the high point of this book is found in chapter. Leadership principles from nehemiah christian working woman. This summary of the book of nehemiah provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of nehemiah. Nehemiah was both an outstanding spiritual leader and a very good business manager, and we can learn a great deal from him. Ahlstrom argues the inconsistencies of the biblical tradition are insufficient to say that ezra, with his central position as the father of. Ezra 2are the numbers of israelite clans freed from babylonian captivity correct in ezra or in nehemiah 7. These three books cover the last 100 years of old testament jewish history. The books of ezra and nehemiah are the key literary sources for the period of the restoration, the formation of the jewish religious community after the babylonian captivity.
Examines the chronology of the events described in the books of ezra and. One of the books of the old testament that chronicles the events of gods people israel after the period of the babylonian exile. Nehemiah was a person of prayer who risked his life of power, privilege and lux ury to bring stability, reform and spiritual awakening to the people of jerusalem. These postexile books record the return from babylon after its fall to the persians under cyrus, the rebuilding of the. The following are five of the most helpful commentaries on ezranehemiah. Jerome did likewise in the translation of the latin vulgate a. Top 5 commentaries on the books of ezra and nehemiah. Nehemiah with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. In an individuals life the rebuilding of the walls is a picture of reestablishing the strength of that life. Others may say nehemiah is a book that encourages christians of all gender and race to perform their god given duties no matter the consequences. But nehemiah was burdened by the fact that the city walls were still in. Ezra was, along with nehemiah, reckoned onebook by the ancient jews, who called them the first and second books of ezra, and they arestill designated by roman catholic writers the first and second books of esdras. This is part of the reason some scholars think that ezra wrote both books. I was surprised to see that it adds up to only 31089.
Nehemiah is a gem of a book in the spiritual lessons which it teaches us. The books of ezra and nehemiah were originally combined into a single book. According to james montgomery boice, nehemiahs leadership abilities were born from his submission to god, his ability to focus on the right goals, his wisdom in handling complex situations, and his courage to act decisively. Nicolas simon lessons from the books of ezra and nehemiah. At one time, however, ezra and nehemiah followed 1 and 2 chronicles and were generally considered to be the work of one and the same author known as the chronicler. The book of nehemiah, which is written mostly in first person, contains several of his very personal prayers. Why are the numbers in ezra so different from those in nehemiah. Ezra also called ezra the scribe and ezra the priest in the book of ezra, was a jewish scribe. It is about the return from exile and the rebuilding of jerusalem opening. Did you know that the gates of jerusalem in the book of nehemiah chapter 3 give a picture of spiritual progression today and gods plan for the ages. This is a project that has been on my mind for over four and a half years outlining all the books of the bible, from genesis to revelation.
1306 1156 1132 689 212 975 1260 1395 1122 452 810 1011 1378 680 1398 624 1368 189 941 508 368 69 496 1327 1428 456 1452 620 777 1287 872 1001 1368 1141 643 105