(BA) Ezra-Nehemiah

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22 July 2022

Ezra-Nehemiah is a work which picks up where Chronicles leaves off. Shortly after his conquest of the Babylonian Empire in 539, Cyrus gave permission for Jews to return to Yehud and rebuild their city and temple. Working out the precise chronology of the events involved is difficult, but it is generally agreed that Ezra-Nehemiah reflects to a significant degree the actual history of temple rebuilding in Persian-era Yehud. In Christian Bibles, Ezra and Nehemiah are counted as two works, and because it is in Christian Bibles that chapter divisions were invented, chapter citations below will be either to "Ezra X" or "Nehemiah X" in format.

Ezra 1 opens with a proclamation by Cyrus^[1] in the first year of Cyrus, allowing for the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. People volunteer supplies for the trip, and Cyrus takes an inventory of the articles of the temple that had been previously looted by Nebuchadnezzar (587/6 BCE). Sheshbazzar, "prince of Judah", is given these vessels to return to Jerusalem.

Ezra 2 gives a list of people returning from captivity with Zerubbabel and Joshua, divided into "the people of Israel", priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers, nethinim and the "sons of Solomon's servants", returnees without proper genealogical records to testify to their Israelite origins, and priests without proper genealogical records. Some of the people, especially those genealogically connected to the temple service, settle in Jerusalem, with the rest in surrounding towns.

In Ezra 3, the altar is rebuilt and the regular sacrifices resumed, even before the rebuilding of the temple. Zerubbabel and Joshua begin rebuilding the temple in the second year from the return. The text explicitly says at this point that when the foundation is dedicated, many older people are present who remember the previous temple, destroyed in 587.^[2]

Ezra 4 records that opposition emerged to the rebuilding project of Zerubbabel and Joshua, and then, in a chronologically confusing manner, dates some of this opposition to the time of Zerubbabel and Joshua, some to the beginning of the reign of Xerxes (at 486 or slightly thereafter), and in the days of Artaxerxes (465-424). From reading Ezra 4 alone it would seem that the events in the reign of Artaxerxes I (465-424) lead to a stop of work until the second year of Darius II (423-404).^[3]

Ezra 5 records that Haggai and Zechariah, prophets, prophesied preceding the beginning of rebuilding work by Zerubbabel and Joshua. Now Zerubbabel and Joshua encounter opposition, but continue work on the temple, and send a letter to Darius (now apparently I), asking for his support.^[4]

In Ezra 6, Darius finds that Cyrus did indeed authorize construction, and gives his support, legal and financial, to the rebuilding effort. The temple is completed in the sixth year of Darius.^[5] The people of Israel dedicate the temple and celebrate Passover.

"After these things" (Ezra 7), Ezra comes from Babylon in the "seventh year of king Artaxerxes".^[6] Ezra is determine to promulgate the "law of Yahweh", and arrives with imperial authorization to impose this law on Yehud. In this chapter the book begins to be told in the first person perspective of Ezra.

Ezra 8 gives a list of persons "that went up with me from Babylon in the reign of Artaxerxes the king."^[7] Ezra and those persons make the journey to Jerusalem.

In Ezra 9, Ezra learns the troubling fact that Jewish men have been marrying women of the surrounding peoples, and is deeply concerned, and prays a long prayer to God in his sorrow about this misbehavior. In Ezra 10, Ezra begins the process of dissolving these marriages, and includes a list of people who had taken foreign wives.

Nehemiah 1 begins, "The words of Nehemiah ben Hacaliah." "In the twentieth year" (of what?), Nehemiah hears that the walls and gates are Jerusalem are in disrepair. Nehemiah prays to Yahweh, acknowledging that the plight of the Jews is due to their misbehavior, and praying that Yahweh will help him in a mission of restoration. Nehemiah closes the chapter by noting that he was cupbearer to the king. This chapter, and some that follow, are told in the voice of Nehemiah in the first person.

At the beginning of Nehemiah 2, we learn that "the twentieth year" is that of Artaxerxes -- the text does not distinguish whether it is Artaxerxes I or II. The king sees that Nehemiah is sad, and asks why. Nehemiah explains that Jerusalem is in ruins, and the king agrees to send Nehemiah to restore the wall. The king sends Nehemiah off with letters of authorization, allowing him to pass through on the way and collect the necessary things to do his work. Nehemiah surveys the damage in Jerusalem and begins explaining his plans, and immediately meets some resistance from Sanballat, Tobiah, and Gashmu.

In Nehemiah 3, various persons repair various parts of the wall of Jerusalem. The whole chapter is devoted to recounted who worked on what section. In Nehemiah 4, Sanballat and his allies plan to attack Nehemiah's workers, but they are prevented as the workers arm themselves. The work continues in this state of readiness for fighting.

In Nehemiah 5, Nehemiah is concerned that impoverished Jews are trapped in debt-bondage to other Jews, and becomes very angry. He demands, and receives, a general cancellation of debts. Nehemiah claims that in twelve years of governing (from the twentieth to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes^[8]) he has foregone his salary because he did not want to contribute to the difficult economic situation of the Jews.

In Nehemiah 6, as the work of repairing the wall draws to a close, the enemies make a last-ditch effort, first to draw Nehemiah into an ambush, and afterward to accuse the Jews of seeking independence from the Persian Empire. Threatening letters are exchanged, but nonetheless the wall is completed in fifty-two days. In Nehemiah 7, Nehemiah is lead by God to review the genealogical records of the 42,360 people who had returned from the exile.

In Nehemiah 8, Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Levites read the law of God and explain it to the people. The people are horrified by their lack of obedience to this law, and weep, but are instructed instead to celebrate the reinstitution of the law. Curiously, we read here that the feast of sukkot was celebrated for the first time in the days of Ezra, even though it had not been celebrated from the days of Joshua bin Nun till then.

In Nehemiah 9, a day of reading the law and worship again occurs, and a collection of Levites give a retrospective look at the history of God's people, leading up to the present, when the people turn from their rebellion and make a written and sealed covenant with God.

In Nehemiah 10 the signatories to this document are listed, and the people take an oath and a curse, agreeing to follow the law of Moses, not to intermarry with surrounding peoples, to observe the sabbath day, to observe the sabbath year, and not to collect debts. The people also agree to fully fund the temple and the associated priests and Levites.

In Nehemiah 11, one-tenth of the people are required to live in Jerusalem, with the rest in surrounding areas. Lists are given of who and how many of the people lived in Jerusalem, and the surrounding areas are listed.

Nehemiah 12 opens with an interesting set of lists: the leading priests "in the days of Jeshua" and the Levites. Then a lineage is given from Jeshua extending down five generations. The leaders are then listed for the time of Jeshua's son Joiakim, and then in the days of Jeshua's grandson Eliashib as well. The celebration at the dedication of the temple is described, and the priests and Levites are provided with their dues.

Nehemiah 13 notes that the book of Moses was read to the people, and that they found the passage in which Ammonites and Moabites are forbidden from entering the "assembly of God". Nehemiah claims that in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes he returned to Babylon, and then received permission to return to Jerusalem, where he expelled Tobiah the Ammonite's property from the temple. Nehemiah finds that the Levites had not been supported, and as a result had left their work at the temple. Nehemiah restores the collection of offerings for the temple. Nehemiah sees business being carried out on the sabbath, and enforces strict observance. He also sees intermarriage occurring, and reinstitutes strict separation from foreigners. Nehemiah ends the book with a plea, which is made before in the book, for God to remember his good deeds.