Nehemiah

Nehemiah is the sixteenth book of the Bible and closely related to Ezra. It covers the same general period, the Jewish community rebuilding itself after the Babylonian exile, and focuses on Nehemiah, a Jewish official in the Persian court who returns to Jerusalem to rebuild its walls. The book is largely written in the first person and is traditionally attributed to Nehemiah himself.

The book opens around 445 BC. Nehemiah, serving as cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes, learns that Jerusalem's walls are in ruins. He asks the king for permission to go and rebuild them; the king grants it and provides a military escort and timber.

In Jerusalem, Nehemiah inspects the walls by night, then rallies the people to start the work. They build in fifty-two days despite constant opposition, including threats, mockery, attempted assassinations, and political pressure from neighboring officials. Nehemiah organizes the workers to build with weapons at hand.

Once the walls are complete, the second half of the book turns to religious reform. Ezra reads the Law publicly; the people respond with confession and worship; the Feast of Tabernacles is observed properly for the first time in centuries. The book ends with a series of further reforms (Sabbath observance, intermarriage, temple support) and Nehemiah's record of putting them into effect.