Nehemiah or Nechemya (נְחֶמְיָה "Comforted of/is the LORD (YHWH)," Standard Hebrew Nəḥemya, Tiberian Hebrew Nəḥemyāh, /ˌniəˈmaɪə/) is a major figure in the post-exile history of the Jews as recorded in the Bible, and is believed to be the primary author of the Book of Nehemiah. See also Yahweh Tetragrammaton (from the Greek, meaning ' of four letters' (tetra "four" + gramma (gen Tiberian Hebrew is an extinct (yet very well documented Oral tradition of pronunciation for ancient Hebrew, especially the Hebrew of the Tanakh, that was The Babylonian captivity, Babylonian exile, is the name typically given to the deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible, historically regarded as a continuation of the Book of Ezra, and is sometimes called the second book He was the son of Hachaliah, (Neh. Hachaliah was the father of Nehemiah, the author of the Book of Nehemiah, which is a book of the Hebrew Bible, known to Jews as the Tanakh and The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible, historically regarded as a continuation of the Book of Ezra, and is sometimes called the second book 1:1) and probably of the Tribe of Judah. The Tribe of Judah ( was one of the Tribes of Israel. At its height it was the leading tribe of the Kingdom of Judah, and occupied most of the territory of the kingdom His ancestors resided in Jerusalem before his service in Persia. Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia (Neh. 2:3).
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Personal history
Nehemiah lived during the period when Judah was a province of the Persian Empire, (see also History of ancient Israel and Judah)[1] having been appointed royal cup-bearer at the palace of Shushan. Judea is a term used for the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia The history of Ancient Israel and Judah is known to us from classical sources including Judaism 's Tanakh or Hebrew Bible (known Susa ( Biblical שושן ( Shushan) also Greek: Σοῦσα Transliterated as Sousa; Latin Susa) The king, Artaxerxes I (Artaxerxes Longimanus), appears to have been on good terms with his attendant, as evidenced by the extended leave of absence granted him for the restoration of Jerusalem. Artaxerxes I (Latin Greek Ἀρταξέρξης Persian اردشیر یکم (Ardeshir corruption of Old Persian 𐎠𐎼𐎭𐎧𐎨𐏁𐎨 Artaxšacā [2]
Primarily by means of his brother Hanani, (Neh. The word Hanani means "God has gratified me" or "God is gracious 1:2; 2:3) Nehemiah heard of the mournful and desolate condition of Jerusalem, and was filled with sadness of heart. For many days he fasted and mourned and prayed for the place of his fathers' sepulchres. A sepulchre, or sepulcher, is a type of Tomb or Burial chamber At length the king observed his sadness of countenance and asked the reason of it. Nehemiah explained this to the king, and obtained his permission to go up to Jerusalem and there to act as tirshatha, or governor of Judea. Judea or Judæa ( Hebrew: יהודה Standard Yəhuda Tiberian Yəhûḏāh, "praised [3]
He arrived in Jerusalem in the 20th year of Artaxerxes I, (445/444 BC)[3] with a strong escort supplied by the king, and with letters to all the pashas of the provinces through which he had to pass, as also to Asaph, keeper of the royal forests, directing him to assist Nehemiah. Pasha or pacha, formerly bashaw, (paşa پاشا ( Persian: پاشا ( Armenian: Փաշա was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire
Alternative Biblical history
The chronology of Nehemiah is dischordant with other ancient texts, leading to an unresolved controversy. Per the Bible, Nehemiah returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel and thus would have been over 143 years of age to be able to live down to the time of Darius II (if at least 30 when he first returned) (Neh 12:22). Thus both the Bible and some rabbinical timelines are much shorter for the Persian Period than the conventional timeline. Recent research taking a closer look at Persepolis and Naqshi-Rustam (where Persian kings are buried) tend to confirm the suspicion that Xerxes and Artaxerxes (Longimanus) were, indeed, the same king—Xerxes claiming he was "Artaxerxes" to avoid a retaliation by the Athenians after having destroyed their city's great monuments. This counterintelligence was masterminded by Themistocles who fled to Persia after himself being ostracized in Greece and discovering that Xerxes was "also known as Artaxerxes," which is confirmed by at least one extant text dated to year 36 of "Arses also known as Artaxerxes. "[4] Thus per strict Biblical and Jewish history, Nehemiah's service as the Tirshatha would have been his original position under Cyrus as the king's "secretary. " Later on he would become the cupbearer to Artaxerxes, a position equivalent to prime minister. However, the bas-reliefs at Persepolis show the same cupbearer for Artaxerxes as being cupbearer during the co-rulership between Xerxes and Darius I; thus, again tending to confirm, again, that Xerxes and Artaxerxes were indeed the same king. [5]
The Bible indicates that Darius' successor who would fight against Greece became king in the 6th year of Darius, meaning Darius died in his 6th year, contrary to the contemporary chronology that claims Darius I ruled for 36 years. (Compare Ezra 6:14,15 with Daniel 11:2). Thus the history of Nehemiah per the Bible is in conflict with the adaptive history of Nehemiah to an apparently revised timeline. Whether the Biblical record or the contemporary history is more correct remains an ongoing debate among Biblical scholars and historians, with the conflictive history of Nehemiah a key issue in the discussion.
Although not all scholars are agreed, there is textual and other evidence that Nehemiah was a eunuch. A eunuch (ˈjuːnək is a Castrated man in particular one castrated early enough to have major hormonal consequences the term usually refers to those castrated in order to He certainly seems to have been regarded as such in later Judaism - a usually reliable text of the Septuagint, describes him as a eunochos (eunuch), rather than an oinochoos. Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut The Septuagint (ˈsɛptuədʒɪnt or simply " LXX " is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the Further, he served in the presence of both the king and queen, which increases the probability of his having been castrated. According to Jewish law, no one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. Thus Nehemiah could not enter certain areas of the temple. His enemy Shemaiah attempted to trick him into doing so.
Without children to remember him for posterity, Nehemiah prayed repeatedly: Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people. Later tradition relaxed the Deutoronomic prohibition and pledged posterity for eunuchs in the divine memory. Nehemiah's service to his people and nation - despite prejudice and social and religious disadvantage - did indeed make a difference to the accommodation, if not yet the affirmation, of a denigrated sexual minority.
Rebuilding of Jerusalem
On his arrival in Jerusalem, Nehemiah began to survey the city secretly at night, and formed a plan for its restoration; a plan which he carried out with great skill and energy, so that the whole wall was completed over an astounding 52-day span. "So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days" (Nehemiah 6:15).
He rebuilt the walls from the Sheep Gate in the North, the Hananel Tower at the North West corner, the Fish Gate in the West, the Furnaces Tower at the Temple Mount's South West corner, the Dung Gate in the South, the East Gate and the gate beneath the Golden Gate in the East. The Dung Gate ( also known as Sha'ar Ha'ashpot Gate of Silwan Mograbi Gate) is one of the gates in the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.
He remained in Judea for thirteen years as governor, carrying out many reforms, despite the opposition that he encountered (Neh. 13:11). He built up the state on the old lines, "supplementing and completing the work of Ezra," and making all arrangements for the safety and good government of the city. At the close of this important period of his public life, he returned to Persia to the service of his royal master at Shushan or Ecbatana. Ecbatana ( Old Persian: Haŋgmatana, written Agbatana in Aeschylus and Herodotus, Agámtanu by Nabonidos Very soon after this the old corrupt state of things returned.
Some commentators believe that Malachi now appeared among the people with words of stern reproof and solemn warning;[6] and when Nehemiah again returned from Persia, (after an absence of some two years) he was grieved to see the widespread moral degeneracy that had taken place during his absence. Malachi or Mal'achi ( was a Prophet in the Bible, the Christian Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh. He set himself with vigour to rectify the flagrant abuses that had sprung up, and restored the orderly administration of public worship and the outward observance of the Law of Moses. Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ (Neh. 13:6-31)
Of his subsequent history we know nothing. Probably he remained at his post as governor till his death (about 413 BCE) in a good old age. Events By place Greece After suffering a defeat in which the Athenian commander Lamachus is killed Demosthenes suggests The place of his death and burial is, however, unknown.
Nehemiah was the last of the governors sent out from the Persian court. Judea was annexed to the satrapy of Coele-Syria after this point, and was governed by the Syrian-appointed high priest. See also the related deity Satrapes. Satrap (Persian ساتراپ was the name given to the governors of the Provinces of ancient Coele-Syria, meaning 'hollow' Syria was the region of southern Syria disputed between the Seleucid dynasty and the Ptolemaic dynasty. Kohen Gadol or Kohen ha-Gadol ( Heb כהן גדול "Great Priest" is the title of High Priest of early Israelite [2]
Book of Nehemiah
The book of Nehemiah puts the historical record of Nehemiah's mission in a theological context. Viewed from a political angle his actions were the result of the Persians' desire for increased security in the Levant and enhancement of Imperial control. See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the [7]
The reality of the 5th century BCE was that the Egyptian revolt[8] continued with an increasing Greek military presence. The security concerns of the Persian Empire required some strategic reforms, namely the refortification of Jerusalem and proper categorisation of people living within the Levant. Hence the rebuilding of the walls and the ban on inter-marriage. (Ezr. 10: 1-3, Neh. The Book of Ezra is a book of the Bible in the Old Testament and Hebrew Tanakh. 13:23-25)
This however is highly unlikely. As Christian Hauer and William Young note, "Nehemiah, Ezra, and prophets like Malachi were vexed by Israelite marriages to foreign women. The two reformers obliged citizens of Jerusalem to rid themselves of foreign wives. This policy was not racist. The women who troubled the reformers were those who remained pagan and foreign. Women who converted to Judaism were no longer foreigners. "[9]
Rabbinic literature
Nehemiah is identified in one haggadah with Zerubbabel, the latter name being considered an epithet of Nehemiah and as indicating that he was born at Babylon ("Zera'+ Babel"; Sanh. Zerubbabel (זְרֻבָּבֶל Zərubbāvel; Greek: ζοροβαβελ Zŏrobabel) was the grandson of Jehoiachin, penultimate King of 38a). With Ezra, he marks the spring-time in the national history of Judaism (Cant. R. ii. 12). A certain mishnah is declared by the Rabbis to have originated in the school of Nehemiah (Shab. 123b). Still, Nehemiah is blamed by the Rabbis for his seemingly boastful expression, "Think upon me, my God, for good" (Neh. v. 19, xiii. 31), and for his disparagement of his predecessors (ib. v. 15), among whom was Daniel. The Rabbis think that these two faults were the reason that this book is not mentioned under its own name, but forms part of the Book of Ezra (Sanh. 93b). According to B. B. 15a Nehemiah completed the Book of Chronicles, which was written by Ezra. nice'Bold text'
See also
References
- ^ Ackroyd, Peter R. Sanballat the Horonite or Sanballat I (in Neo-Assyrian Aramaic, Sinballidh or " The god Sin has vivified" was Tobiah was an Ammonite official (possibly a governor of Ammon who incited the Ammonites to hinder Ezra and Nehemiah 's efforts to rebuild Jerusalem (1968), Exile And Restoration, p. 141, SCM Press Ltd. , Library of Congress Catalog card No. 68-27689
- ^ a b Easton's Bible Dictionary, Entry: Nehemiah
- ^ a b Blenkinsopp, Joseph (1988), Ezra-Nehemiah, A Commentary, pp. 212-213, 140, The Westminster Press, ISBN 0-664-21294-8
- ^ Alexander and Artaxerxes fragment (BCHP 4)
- ^ Nehemiah At Persepolis
- ^ "The Book of Malachi," Introduction to the Books of the Bible from the NIV Study Bible
- ^ Entry: Persia at the Holman Bible Dictionary
- ^ The Persians at the International World History Project
- ^ Hauer, Christian E. , and William A. Young (2008), An Introduction to the Bible: A Journey into Three Worlds 7th ed. , p. 201, Pearson/Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-615530-8
This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.
External links
Dictionary
Nehemiah
-proper noun
- (Biblical) A book of the Old Testament of the Bible, and of the Tanakh.
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