EZRA & NEHEMIAH, BOOKS OF

I. Name and Overview of the Book

Ezra and Nehemiah were originally considered one book, under the name of Ezra. 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. The division into two books does not appear in Hebrew manuscripts until the fifteenth century CE, and even today the masora finalis in the Hebrew Bible appears only at the end of Nehemiah. The name Ezra or Esdras is also applied to a number of other works: 1 Esdras (also known as Esdras α in the Septuagint, 2 Esdras in the Slavonic version, and 3 Ezra in the Vulgate). This is a Greek translation of 2 Chronicles 35-36; Ezra 1-10, and Neh 8:1-13, plus an apocryphal story about three pages, one of whom is Zerubbabel.

2 Esdras (also known as 3 Esdras in the Slavonic version and 4 Esdras in the Vulgate), an apocalyptic work from the end of the first century CE. The introductory and concluding chapters of 2 Esdras are Christian works: 5 Ezra (2 Esdras 1-2); 6 Ezra (2 Esdras 15-16). The translation of Ezra and Nehemiah in the Septuagint is called Esdras β and Esdras γ.

II. Division of the Book

I. Ezra 1:1-6:22, Return from Exile and Rebuilding of the Temple

A. 1:1-11, Imperial Permission to Go Home

B. 2:1-70, The List of Those Who Returned

C. 3:1-13, Erection of Altar and Foundation of the Temple

D. 4:1-24, Opposition to the Jewish Community

E. 5:1-17, A Challenge to the Temple Rebuilding

F. 6:1-22, The Temple is Authorized and Completed

II. Ezra 7:1-10:44, The Initial Work of Ezra

A. 7:1-10, Ezra Comes to Jerusalem

B. 7:11-28, The Persian Authorization of Ezra

C. 8:1-36, Ezra's Trip to Jerusalem

D. 9:1-15, Ezra Faces a Community Challenge

E. 10:1-44, The Great Divorce Proceedings

III. Nehemiah 1:1-7:73a, Return of Nehemiah and Rebuilding of Walls of Jerusalem

A. 1:1-11, Nehemiah Prays for Help

B. 2:1-20, The Beginning of Nehemiah's Efforts in Jerusalem

C. 3:1-32, Workers on the Jerusalem Wall

D. 4:1-23, Nehemiah's Provisions for the Defense of Jerusalem

E. 5:1-19, Internal Threats to the Community

F. 6:1-10, The Wall is Completed Despite Attempts to Intimidate Nehemiah

G. 7:1-73a, Next Steps after the Completion of the Wall

IV. Nehemiah 7:73b-10:39, Torah, Confession, and Firm Agreement

A. 7:73b-8:18, Ezra Reads the Torah to the People

B. 9:1-37, A Great Day of Repentance

C. 9:38-10:30, A Firm Agreement to Keep the Torah

V. Nehemiah 11:1-13:31, The Climax of Nehemiah's Work and Related Matters

A. 11:1-36, The New Settlers in Jerusalem

B. 12:1-26, Lists of Priests, Levites, and High Priests

C. 12:27-43, The Dedication of the City Wall

D. 12:44-13:3, The People Solidify the Reform Measures

E. 13:4-31, Nehemiah's Corrective Measures

III. Detailed Analysis

Introductory issues in Ezra

Since the early part of the nineteenth century, Ezra and Nehemiah have often been considered to be part of the Chronicler's history (1 and 2 Chronicles; Ezra and Nehemiah). This was based on the overlap between 2 Chr 36:22-23 and Ezra 1:1-3a, the arrangement of the text behind 1 Esdras (where 2 Chronicles 35-36 is followed by the story of Ezra, and Nehemiah 8 follows Ezra 10), the vocabulary and style of these works, and their theology or ideology. The first two of these factors can be explained in other ways, and a lengthy debate about the vocabulary and style has proved to be inconclusive. Differences in theology—the doctrine of retribution is more evident in Chronicles than in Ezra-Nehemiah, kings are prominent in Chronicles, but not in Ezra, there is a different concept of prophets and prophecy in the two works—suggests that Ezra and Nehemiah should be considered as a work distinct from Chronicles.

As with the book of Daniel, parts of Ezra are written in Aramaic (4:8-6:18; 7:12-26) and the rest in Hebrew. The reason for this in Ezra probably results from the author including a number of Aramaic source documents in the account: 4:8-16, a letter from Rehum to Artaxerxes; 4:17-22, the reply of Artaxerxes to this letter; 5:6-17, a letter from Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River to Darius, of which 5:13-15 is a paraphrase of the decree of Cyrus; 6:3-17, the reply of Darius, of which 6:3-5 is the citation of the decree of Cyrus; 7:12-26, the decree of Artaxerxes, authorizing the return of Ezra. The parts of Ezra 4:8-6:18 not attributable to source documents are probably written by the author of Ezra 1-6. It is not necessary to reconstruct a pre-canonical Aramaic Chronicle in 4:8-6:18 that has been included in its entirety in the book of Ezra.

Hebrew sources used by the author of Ezra include: 1:9-11, an inventory of the temple vessels (cf. 5:14-15; 6:5); 2:1-3:1, the list of those who returned from Babylon (//Neh 7:7:6-8:1); 4:6-7, summaries of letters from the adversaries of the Jews in the time of Xerxes and Artaxerxes; 8:1-4, the list of those who returned to Jerusalem with Ezra; 10:8-43.

Date of the persons Ezra and Nehemiah

The date for Nehemiah's coming to Jerusalem is fixed at 445 BCE, the twentieth year of Artaxerxes I (Neh 1:1; 2:1; 5:14). Nehemiah's first term as governor lasted for twelve years (Neh 5:14). After a trip to see the Persian king, of an unspecified duration, Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem for a second term (Neh 13:6-7), again for an unspecified length of time. Far more controversial is the date for Ezra (the seventh year of Artaxerxes; Ezra 7:7-8) since it is unclear whether Artaxerxes I or Artaxerxes the second is meant. In the former case, Ezra came in 458 BCE, thirteen years before Nehemiah; in the latter case he came in 398 BCE. Although the MT portrays Ezra and Nehemiah as contemporaries in Neh 8:9 (the reading of the law), 12:26 (the days of the governor Nehemiah and of the priest Ezra, the scribe), and 12:36 (Ezra participated in the dedication of Nehemiah's walls), all of these joint appearances are suspect, and Nehemiah acts by himself in Nehemiah 1-7 and 13. In Neh 8:9 the name Nehemiah does not appear in the corresponding place in 1 Esd 9:49, and the word governor does not appear in Ezra LXX, suggesting that the reference to Nehemiah the governor is a conflation of two different glosses. The arrangement of the canonical books suggests that Ezra came first, in 458. (For the date of his reading of the law, see below). This traditional date might suggest that Ezra failed, at least in some matters, since Nehemiah repeats his efforts to remedy the situation dealing with mixed marriages. The high priest at the time of Nehemiah was Eliashib (Neh 3:1, 20; 12:10, 22-23; 13:4, 7, 28), but in Ezra 10:6 Ezra went to the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. This would put Ezra later than Nehemiah and since a Johanan is mentioned as a high priest in the Elephantine papyri in 407 BCE (AP 30.18), a date during the reign of Artaxerxes II would be required. It is not clear, however, that either Eliashib or Jehohanan in Ezra 10:6 was a high priest. In addition, Johanan is the grandson, rather than the son, of Eliashib in Neh 12:22 (but see 12:10-11). A reference to a wall in Ezra 9:9 is not a reference to the wall Nehemiah rebuilt, but the word wall here is a metaphorical reference to the protection supplied by the Persians. While the evidence is not conclusive, the rest of this article assumes that Ezra preceded Nehemiah. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah were substantially complete by the end of the fifth century BCE.

The Relationship of Nehemiah 8 and Ezra 7-10

If Ezra's main assignment is fulfilled by his reading of the law in Nehemiah 8, it seems strange that he would wait thirteen years to do this since the context in Nehemiah suggests a date no earlier than 445 BCE. There have been various attempts to fit the events of Nehemiah into the chronology of Ezra 7-10 by placing Nehemiah 8 after Ezra 8 (or after Ezra 10), with the result that Ezra's work is completed within one year: Month 1, day 1 or 12: Ezra leaves Babylon (Ezra 7:9; 8:31); month 5 day 1: Ezra arrives in Jerusalem (Ezra 7:9); month 7 day 1, Ezra reads the law; month 9 day 20, assembly called to address question of mixed marriages (Ezra 10:9); month 10 day 1 to month 1 day 1 of the next year, commission deals with those who have married foreign wives (Ezra 10:16-17). While this rearrangement of the material eases the historical or chronological problem, it is also clear that Nehemiah 8-10 has been designed as a literary unity, and these chapters need to be understood theologically as part of that unit (see the discussion of them below).

Ezra 1-6, Return from Exile and Rebuilding of the Temple

Ezra 1 begins by recording a decree of Cyrus that reports that Yahweh had instructed Cyrus to build the temple and that Cyrus was authorizing the Jews to return to Jerusalem, aided by financial support of their neighbors in the Persian empire (1:2-4, in Hebrew; cf. 6:3-5. See also the Cyrus Cylinder, ANET 315-316 ; COS 2.124). The gifts of the neighbors resemble the contributions of the Egyptians to the Exodus (Exod 11:2-3; 12:35-36). Cyrus sent along with Sheshbazzar, the leader of the returnees, the temple vessels taken by Nebuchadnezzar. The list of returnees in ch. 2 takes the place of the account of the return and indicates the whole-hearted response to the invitation to return home. Originally it may have recorded the results of a series of returns in the sixth or fifth centuries or may reflect a census of the community in the fifth century. It lists laity (vv. 3-35; vv. 3-20, a list of people by family names and vv. 21-35, a list of people by city names), priests (vv. 36-39), Levites (vv. 40-42), temple servants (vv. 43-54), and servants of Solomon (vv. 55-57). In ch. 3, Jeshua and Zerubbabel are the leaders of the community, with no mention of the fate of Sheshbazzar, and they mark the erection of an altar by celebrating the Feast of Booths (cf. Neh 18:13-18). According to Hag 1:1, 14, Zerubbabel was the governor of Judah and a descendant of David, but neither of these factors is mentioned in Ezra. Jeshua and Zerubbabel also laid the foundation of the temple, which may represent a foundation deposit ceremony or kalū, in which a stone from the old temple was placed in the new (cf. Zech 4:9). According to Ezra 5:16 Sheshbazzar had already laid the footings for the temple. The text of ch. 3 gives the impression that these events happened under Cyrus, but it is much more likely that they took place during the reign of Darius.

In ch. 4 the leaders of the Jewish community refuse the offer of their "adversaries" to help with building the temple. After a summary of hostile letters that were sent to Persian authorities in 4:6-7, an Aramaic letter by Rehum and his authorities is recorded in vv. 11-16, protesting Jewish work on the walls and indicting Jerusalem as a perpetually rebellious city. While the context implies that this is opposition to the temple, it actually is opposition to the walls and may reflect an incident from the fifth century. In his reply (vv. 17-23), Artaxerxes orders the Jewish work to stop, and the editor interprets this as stoppage of the work on the temple (v. 24).

The work on the temple resumes in ch. 5, thanks to the prodding of Haggai and Zechariah (cf. Ezra 6:14). A letter from Tattenai, the governor of the province, and his associates cites at length the Jews' defense of their building project, appealing especially to its authorization by the decree of Cyrus. The letter asks Darius whether such a decree had actually been issued. Darius found the decree in Ecbatana, the summer residence of the Persian kings (6:3-5), and ordered Tattenai not to interfere with the work of the Jews, but rather their work is to be supported by royal revenues (6:6-12). This letter presumes that prayers will be offered by the Jews on behalf of the Persian king and his family (v. 10). The Jews finished the work (vv. 13-15), dedicated the temple (vv. 16-18), and celebrated the Passover (vv. 19-22). With the report of the Passover celebration, the language of Ezra returns to Hebrew from Aramaic.

Ezra 7-10, The Initial Work of Ezra

There is a fifty-seven year gap between the completion and dedication of the second temple in Ezra 1-6 and the activities associated with Ezra (See also EZRA [PERSON]). The account of the work of Ezra is a combination of first person (7:27-8:34; 9:1-15, an Ezra Memoir) and third person narratives (7:1-11; 8:35-36; 10:1-44; cf. Neh 7:73-9:18). The genealogy in 7:1-5 shows that Ezra is a descendant of the high priest's family although there are major gaps in that genealogy. Ezra's trip to Jerusalem is authorized by the Aramaic firman of Artaxerxes (7:12-26), which most scholars hold to be authentic even though it is conceded that some Jewish coloring may result from Jews who had access to the Persian court or from the redactor who included the firman in his story of Ezra. This document authorizes Israelites—priests, Levites, and laity--to return to Jerusalem with Ezra (v. 13); empowers Ezra to make inquiries in the community about conformity to the law that he is bringing to Jerusalem (v. 14); commissions Ezra to take contributions from the king, his counselors, and the people of the province with him and spend them on sacrificial offerings; and orders Ezra to bring cultic vessels contributed by Artaxerxes to Jerusalem (8:26-27, 33-34; cf. 1:7-11; 6:5). The firman excuses the temple personnel from taxes (v. 24) and commissions Ezra to appoint judges in the province (vv. 25-26). The amount of silver and gold mentioned in this document—estimated by Grabbe as about twenty-five metric tons—seems unrealistic, and it is hard to believe that the Persian king would have let Ezra carry this much wealth without an appropriate bodyguard (Ezra 8:21-22). Herodotus reports that the satrapy of Ebir-nari produced tribute of three hundred fifty talents of silver in a year, and the whole Persian empire yielded 14,560 talents of silver annually, fifteen percent of which, according to this account, would go to the Jewish province of Yehud. The mission of Ezra has been compared to that of Udjahorresnet, an Egyptian priest and scribe who was sent back to his home country by the Persians to restore the cult and to reorganize the institutions of scribalism and religious learning.

The author of the book of Ezra understands the book brought by Ezra to be the Pentateuch (7:6, 10). Modern scholars have noted a number of minor differences with Pentateuchal laws in Nehemiah 8-10, and this suggests that the law brought by Ezra was not the final form of the Pentateuch, but it may have consisted either of Deuteronomy, the priestly document in the Pentateuch, or an undefined groups of laws now contained in the Pentateuch, Some even believe that Ezra's lawbook has been lost. Fried denies the equivalence between the "law of God" and Jewish law.

According to 8:1-14 Ezra's entourage numbered 1,513 men, not counting women and children. When it was discovered that there were no Levites in the group, Ezra sent a delegation to a sanctuary, Casiphia, and obtained thirty-eight Levites to go with him to Jerusalem (8:15-20). Ezra arrived safely in Jerusalem and delivered to the priests the gold, silver, and temple vessels he had brought with him (8:24-36).

Ezra was told that some members of the community had married "foreign wives," whose abominations were considered like those of the pre-Israelite inhabitants of the land (9:1-4). Gathered around Ezra at this time of crisis is a support group who trembled at the words of the God of Israel (Ezra 9:4; 10:4; cf. Isa 66:2, 5). The foreign wives are apparently women from the group of people who did not go into exile or from the residents of Samaria. In a prayer Ezra confessed the sins of the people during the history of Israel, not least by marrying foreign women (9:5-15). At the suggestion of Shecaniah, Ezra leads the people to make an oath to divorce the foreign wives (10:1-5). All members of the community met in assembly at Jerusalem and appointed a commission to handle the matter. When the commission completed its work in two months, the wives of twenty-seven clergy and eighty-three laity were divorced, with their children (10:18-44, a list that seems to be dependent on Ezra 2//Nehemiah 7). This represented less than one percent of the population.

Nehemiah 1:1-7:73a, Return of Nehemiah and Rebuilding of the Walls

The bulk of the book of Nehemiah is made up of a first person narrative called the Nehemiah Memoir (1:1-7:73a; 12:31-32, 37-40; 13:4-31). Chapter 3 (the list of those who worked on the wall) and 7:6-73a (the list of those who returned home; [//Ezra 2:1-70]) were not written by Nehemiah but may have been included in his Memoir. Scholars have sought parallels to Nehemiah's Memoir in ancient Near Eastern royal inscriptions narrating the king's deeds in the first person, in Egyptian tomb and temple inscriptions in which officials report their faithful carrying out of duties, and in the biblical prayers of the falsely accused. None of the parallels is completely satisfactory and the Memoir also may not be preserved in its original form or extent. The materials in 5:14-19 belong with those in ch. 13. One of the most characteristic features of the Memoir is the prayer for God to remember Nehemiah (5:10; 13:14, 22, and 31; cf. other short invocations in 4:4-5; 6:9, 14; and 13:29). Williamson has proposed that these petitions may have been added in a second edition, with the first edition being a report to the Persian king. In the present form of the narrative, however, Nehemiah does not address the Persian king at all.

Nehemiah, a Jewish official of Artaxerxes, located in Susa, the Persian king's winter residence, was informed by his brother Hanani of the bad conditions in Jerusalem, including its destroyed walls and gates. This seems to refer to recent events (cf. Ezra 4:23), and not to the destruction inflicted by the Babylonians in the early 6^th century. In a prayer, Nehemiah confessed the sins of the people and asked for divine support (ch. 1). Later Nehemiah obtained permission from Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem, with lumber supplied by provincial authorities (2:1-10). Upon his arrival in Jerusalem, Nehemiah inspected the walls by night and secured the agreement of Jewish officials to participate in the project. Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem mocked the Jews and accused them of rebelling against the king (2:11-20), and their opposition continues throughout the book. Chapter 3, which does not mention Nehemiah, describes the various groups and individuals who worked on different sections of Jerusalem's fortifications. Much can be learned about the geography and administration of post-exilicYehud from this chapter. The plots of Sanballat and Tobiah were frustrated by the strategies of Nehemiah (ch. 4).

Economic hardship resulting from drought, work on the wall, and the king's tax led to large indebtedness and debt slavery. Nehemiah demanded the restoration of property to its original owners and the end of charging interest for loans (5:1-13). Nehemiah refers to himself as governor of Judah and mentions his predecessors in this office (Neh 5:14, 15), some of whose names have turned up in inscriptions (e.g., Elnathan, Yehoezer, and Azai. Sheshbazzar is called governor in Ezra 5:14 and Zerubbabel in Hag 1:1, 14; cf. Ezra 6:7). Nehemiah claims he did not accept the food allowance of the governor and was a generous host to guests at his table (5:14-19). This paragraph was written after Nehemiah's first term as governor and so should be associated with the materials in ch. 13.

Sanballat accused the Jews of rebelling and Nehemiah himself of wanting to be king. Nehemiah rejected this charge and also the invitation of the prophet Shemaiah to meet with him in the temple. Shemaiah had been hired for this task by Sanballat and Tobiah. Nehemiah uttered an imprecation against them and against the prophetess Noadiah (6:1-14). The wall was completed in only fifty-two days (Neh 6:15), but the wrangling with Tobiah continued (6:15-19). When the construction of the walls was complete, Nehemiah appointed his brother Hanani and a certain Hananiah to administrative responsibilities in Jerusalem, but he also noted the city's sparse population. The list of returnees in 7:6-72a may once have served as a transition to Nehemiah's own account of the transfer of people to Jerusalem, attested to the purity of descent for those moving to Jerusalem, and demonstrated that those who transferred to Jerusalem were dedicated to the law. Nehemiah's account of the transfer has been lost and is replaced by the account of a lot-casting ceremony in 11:1-2. In its present location, the list of returnees suggests that the whole community was present for Ezra's reading of the law in ch. 8.

Nehemiah 7:73b-10:39 A Firm Agreement to Keep the Torah

Nehemiah 8 reports Ezra's reading of the Torah (law) to the people. This event may have been the climax of his mission and belongs historically between Ezra 8 and Ezra 9. In 1 Esdras it follows Ezra 10. An earlier form of Neh 9:1-5 may also once have been placed between Ezra 10:15 and 10:16. In the present context, however, Nehemiah 8 shows that the people who would transfer their residence to Jerusalem had dedicated themselves completely to the law. Nehemiah 9 may have been written in part to modify Nehemiah 8. While true Israel in Nehemiah 8 included primarily only those who had returned home from the exile, true Israel to the writer of Nehemiah 9 consisted of all those who had agreed to separate themselves from non-Israelites and who confessed their sins and showed true repentance. The sequence of reading the law (ch. 8), confession of sin (ch. 9), and the Firm Agreement (ch. 10) displays an ideal response to the law. Ezra read the law to the assembly on the first day of the seventh month, known elsewhere in the Old Testament as a convocation commemorated with trumpet blasts (Lev 23:23-25), and later as New Year's day The Levites helped people understand what was read to them. On the second day of the assembly, they discovered in the law the requirement that people should live in booths during the festival of the seventh month. The people carried out this requirement, which had not been so observed since the days of Jeshua (=Joshua; cf. 2 Chr 30:26 there had been no Passover like Hezekiah's since Solomon; 35:18 there had no Passover like Josiah's since Samuel), and they celebrated the festival for eight days (ch. 8). The festival of booths was also observed at Solomon's dedication of the temple (2 Chronicles 5-7) and at the erection of the altar in Ezra 3:1-4.

After separating themselves from foreigners, the people confessed their sin and read from the book of the law (9:2-3). The prayer in ch. 9 begins with a call to praise (v. 5b; the MT needs correction) and ends with a petition, confession of sins, and complaint (vv. 32-37). In between comes a historical retrospect recounting creation, the election of Abraham, the Exodus, the wilderness wanderings, and life in the land. The rebellions of the people began during the wilderness wanderings and continued during the history in the land. The people acknowledged that their punishment had been just: God's generosity had been met with their disobedience. The last two verses of the prayer show frustration over the Jewish enslavement to the Persians, an opinion not clearly voiced elsewhere in Ezra and Nehemiah. This prayer is similar to Ezra 9:6-15; Daniel 9; and Bar 2:11-3:8.

The Firm Agreement in ch. 10 begins with a list of those who endorsed this document (10:2-8 priests [related to or derived from the lists in 12:1-7. 12-21]; 10:9-13 Levites [all but two of the Levites are known from elsewhere]; 10:14-27 lay leaders [only one name does not appear also in the lists of those who returned]). The Firm Agreement itself deals with mixed marriages, sabbath observance, the wood offering, first fruits, levitical tithes, and proper care of the temple. These pledges are logically and chronologically subsequent to Nehemiah 13 and make Nehemiah's decisions there permanent; their location in this literary context forms a sequel to the reading of the law and the confession of sins (chs. 8-9).

Nehemiah 11-13, The Climax of Nehemiah's Work and Related Matters

According to Neh 11:1-2 ten percent of the people were designated by lot to live in Jerusalem. The list in Neh 11:3-19 names those who settled in Jerusalem at the time of Nehemiah; when this was taken over and revised in 1 Chr 9:2-17, it names those who returned to the land right after the exile. Typologically this list is later than Ezra 2//Nehemiah 7 since singers are now included among the Levites though gatekeepers have not yet attained levitical status. Verses 21-24 (additional information about temple servants and Levites), 25-30 (villages in Judah) and 31-35 (villages in Benjamin) are secondary. The lists of towns in the latter two paragraphs describe a much larger territory for Judah and Benjamin than was occupied by the post-exilic province.

Nehemiah 12:1-26 presents lists of priests (vv. 1-7, 12-21) and Levites (vv. 8-9, 24-25) from two different periods, as well as important information about the post-exilic high priestly line (vv. 10-11, 22-23). Verses 12-21 consist of a master list of twenty-two priestly houses, followed in each case by the name of the head of that house in the time of the high priest Joakim. From this list wass derived the list of priests from the time of Jeshua, Joiakim's father, in vv. 1-7. Thus the list of the priestly houses in vv. 12-21 is treated as if these houses were individuals. Verses 12-21 are also the source used to develop the roster of priestly signatories to the firm agreement in Neh 10:2-8. Nehemiah 12:27 was once joined to Neh 11:20, with Neh 11:21-12:26 comprising a series of supplements. Nehemiah 12:27-43 recounts the dedication of the wall and is a combination of words from the Nehemiah Memoir (vv. 31-32, 37-40) and other material. Nehemiah 12:44-13:3 is secondary and indicates that the actions by Nehemiah in regard to separation from foreigners and the tithe in 13:4-13 were done in conformity with the already constituted theocracy and its laws and decisions.

The last section of Nehemiah consists of units from the Nehemiah Memoir: vv. 4-9, the misuse of the temple chambers by Eliashib to house Tobiah, who was then expelled by Nehemiah; vv. 10-14, measures taken by Nehemiah to restore the full payment of tithes and to give compensation to the Levites; vv. 15-22, correction of Sabbath abuses, vv. 23-29, controversies with those who had married foreign women and whose children could no longer speak the language of Judah and expulsion from the community of the grandson of the high priest who had married the daughter of Sanballat; and vv. 30-31, establishment of the duties of the priests and Levites and provision for wood offering and first fruits (vv. 30-31).

IV. Theological Issues

The books begin with an announcement that Yahweh has remained faithful to the promise spoken by Jeremiah and brought Israel back to its land, with permission to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Despite external opposition, the temple is completed, with prophetic support. A joyful observance of Passover marks this occasion and recognition is given to divine intervention exercised through Persian authorities (Ezra 1-6). This temple is the focus of the religious life of post-exilic Judah, and its importance continues until the destruction of the temple, that had been greatly enlarged by Herod, in 70 CE.

In chs. 7-10 Ezra himself comes to Jerusalem thanks to God's influence on the Persian king, and his mission is to support the temple and to teach the law of the God of heaven which he brings with him. Ezra addresses the issue of mixed marriages, which he perceived as an internal threat to the community. His drastic solution to this problem by forced divorces is quite controversial and a more inclusive view of Israel's relationship to outsiders is presented in the nearly contemporary Books of Chronicles and Ruth. If Ezra deals primarily with the restoration of the temple and the establishment of the community, the first seven chapters of Nehemiah report efforts to provide safety for the city of Jerusalem. The support of Artaxerxes for this project is in response to the prayers of Nehemiah so that once again Persian political support represents divine intervention.

Ezra's reading of the law is followed by repentance and a firm commitment to it and to the temple service (Nehemiah 8-10). The central role of the Pentateuch in the canons of later Judaism and Christianity is here given a firm grounding. Nehemiah then sees to the repopulation of Jerusalem, which is followed by dedication of the walls he has rebuilt (Nehemiah 11-12).

In recognizing the role of the Persian authorities in these events, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah assume that faithful living can take place under foreign rule. Clearly the books are deeply concerned about Jewish identity and the danger of its loss. One can sympathize with this concern if not always with the means chosen to achieve it. The books reassure the community of its legitimacy by comparing the return to the Exodus, by reporting the presence of temple vessels from the pre-exilic temple, by comparing the temple to that of Solomon, and by linking the people genealogically to their ancestors. Above all, the presentation and acceptance of the law (some form of the Pentateuch) provides cohesion and direction for the community.

Two passages in Nehemiah recognize that the accomplishments reported in these books are not the final end for God's people. While the books recognize in general the benevolent rule of the Persians, the prayer in Nehemiah 9 ends with a poignant lament: "[The] rich yield [of the land] goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins…and we are in great distress." (v. 37) The final reforms of Nehemiah in ch. 13, even after the establishment of the temple, the community, and the city, indicate a situation which is "already and not yet."

V. Bibliography

Blenkinsopp, Joseph. Ezra-Nehemiah. The Old Testament Library. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1988.

Fried, Lisbeth S. The Priest and the Great King. Temple-Palace Relations in the Persian Empire. Biblical and Judaic Studies 10. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2004.

Grabbe, Lester L. A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period. Volume 1. Yehud: A History of the Persian Province of Judah. Library of Second Temple Studies 47. London: T & T Clark International, 2004.

Klein, Ralph W. "The Books of Ezra & Nehemiah." Pages 663-851 in The New Interpreter's Bible 3. Edited by L. E. Keck, et al. Nashville: Abingdon, 1999.

Williamson, H. G. M. Ezra, Nehemiah. Word Biblical Commentary 16. Waco, TX: Word Books, 1985.