This book, like so many others in the Old Testament, received its title from its principle character. The Septuagint (Greek) translation also had the same title, as does the Hebrew Bible.
As I mentioned in my notes on Ezra, the Jews kept Ezra and Nehemiah together for many years. The reason was the historical continuity that flows from Ezra through Nehemiah.
The use of the first person identifies the author as Nehemiah, the governor of the Persian province of Judah (1:1-2:20; 13:4-31). His name means "Yahweh has comforted."
The mention of Darius the Persian in 12:22 probably refers to Darius II, the successor of Artaxerxes I (Longimanus).1Darius ruled from 423-404 B.C. The text refers to an event that took place in Darius' reign (12:22). Therefore Nehemiah must have written the book sometime after that reign began. Since there are no references to Nehemiah's age in the text, it is hard to estimate how long he may have lived. When the book opens, he was second in command under King Artaxerxes (cf. Daniel). If he was 40 years old then and 41 when he reached Jerusalem in 444 B.C., he would have been 62 years old in 423 B.C. when Darius replaced Artaxerxes. Consequently he probably wrote the book not long after 423 B.C., most likely before 400 B.C.2
The years of history the book covers are 445-431 B.C. or perhaps a few years after that.
In 445 B.C. (the twentieth year of Artaxerxes' reign, 1:1) Nehemiah learned of the conditions in Jerusalem that led him to request permission to return to Judah (2:5). He arrived in Jerusalem in 444 B.C. and within 52 days had completed the rebuilding of the city walls (6:15).
In 432 B.C. Nehemiah returned to Artaxerxes (13:6). He came back to Jerusalem after that, probably in a year or so. The record of his reforms following that return is in the last chapter of this book. Apparently Nehemiah completed all of them in just a few weeks or months.
Even though the book spans about 15 years, most of the activity Nehemiah recorded took place in 445-444 B.C. (chs. 1-12) and in 432-431 B.C. (ch. 13).
For many years, believers regarded Ezra and Nehemiah as twin books. They called them 1 and 2 Ezra (or Esdras, the Greek transliteration of Ezra). Jerome, who lived in the fourth century A.D., gave 2 Ezra the name Nehemiah. This fact illustrates the close relationship that exists between these two books. A single story begins in Ezra and ends in Nehemiah. The history they record covers about 110 years (538-430 B.C.).
Let us notice three things about the returned exiles in this period, the restoration period, that God revealed in this Book of Nehemiah.
The people in view are the approximately 97,000 Israelites who returned from captivity, the remnant. They had no conscious national influence that arose from their purpose as a nation. They did not have much messianic hope either. There is no reference to this hope in Ezra, Nehemiah, or Esther.
The purpose of God was that His people should return to His Law. The civil reformation was secondary to the reading of the Law that took place in Jerusalem. The reading of the Law (ch. 8) led to the praying of the Levites (ch. 9), and that resulted in the making of a covenant (ch. 10). God's purpose was to put Israel back under the Law until Christ would come.
The Potter at work in this book continues the task of reshaping that He began in Ezra. His primary instrument at this time was Nehemiah. Nehemiah was not a king, a priest, or a prophet, but an ordinary citizen. He held a cabinet-level position under Artaxerxes, the Persian monarch. He became the governor of Judah later. Generally the kings of Israel had failed, the people had ignored the prophets, and the priests were corrupt. Therefore God chose a common man who built a wall around Jerusalem in a little over seven weeks so the people could give concentrated attention to the reading and exposition of God's Word. Nehemiah was a man like others God used before him, a man who lived and walked by faith. Joshua was such a person and was also neither king, prophet, nor priest. Nehemiah did for Israel in his day what Joshua had done in his.
Notice next three things about Nehemiah.
Nehemiah had an attitude of faith. He had remarkable confidence in God. This never wavered. He wanted to see God's purposes fulfilled (1:1-4). He expressed his concern in his inquiry and sorrow. His prayer and sorrow show his confidence in God's power (1:5-2:4; 4:9). Furthermore he purposed to cooperate with God so God's will would happen. He expressed this commitment in his activity.
Nehemiah also acted in faith. We can see his faith in three activities.
1. He acted cautiously (5:7). He examined the wall secretly and silently. Then he divided the work so every man built near his own house. This guaranteed the personal interest and diligence of the workers.
2. He acted courageously (13:11, 17). He started by himself, single-handedly. Then he stuck with the work determinedly until he finished it.
3. He acted without compromise.
He did not compromise with the enemies outside the wall. They tried to get him to compromise by using contempt (4:3), then conspiracy (4:8), and then cunning (6:2).
He did not compromise with the Jews inside the wall either. He did not allow the nobles to continue charging their poorer brothers interest (5:5). He did not allow a priest to give lodging to the enemy (13:4-5). Furthermore he did not permit mixed marriages with non-Jews (13:23).
Finally, Nehemiah achieved by faith. The workers built the walls in only 52 days. Nehemiah settled the people in the city and its suburbs. He expounded and enforced the Law of God. He also provided a place where the people could wait for God's salvation.
Combining Nehemiah's times with his character we get the message of this book. Nehemiah proves that seemingly impossible things are possible through prayer and hard work when people determine to trust and obey God, and when they put His interests first.
Like Nehemiah we live in dark times (cf. Isa. 50:10). We too have to deal with indifferent multitudes. As in his day, there is widespread disloyalty to God's truth today. As then, there is lack of enthusiasm for God's plans and purposes now. Not many Christians want to devote their every waking moment to the task God has commanded us to do.
Like Nehemiah we need to walk by faith in these dark times (cf. Hab. 2:4). We need to be as sure of God as he was. We need to act with God and for God even though it means strenuous effort. We also need to decline all compromise with those outside and inside the church. We need to trust God, to do our day's work faithfully, and leave the future to Him. May we all follow this great man's example of faith. May we live one day at a time (Matt. 6:11).
I. The fortification of Jerusalem chs. 1-7
A. The return under Nehemiah chs. 1-2
1. The news concerning Jerusalem 1:1-3
2. The response of Nehemiah 1:4-11
3. The request of Nehemiah 2:1-8
4. The return to Jerusalem 2:9-20
B. The rebuilding of the walls 3:1-7:4
1. The workers and their work ch. 3
2. The opposition to the workers ch. 4
3. The strife among the workers ch. 5
4. The attacks against Nehemiah 6:1-14
5. The completion of the work 6:15-7:4
C. The record of those who returned 7:5-72
II. The restoration of the Jews chs. 8-13
A. The renewal of the Mosaic Covenant chs. 8-10
1. The gathering of the people ch. 8
2. The prayer of the people ch. 9
3. The renewed commitment of the people ch. 10
B. The residents of the land 11:1-12:26
1. The residents of Jerusalem 11:1-24
2. The residents of the outlying towns 11:25-36
3. The priests and Levites 12:1-26
C. The dedication of the wall 12:27-47
1. Preparations for the dedication 12:27-30
2. The dedication ceremonies 12:31-47
D. The reforms instituted by Nehemiah ch. 13
1. The exclusion of foreigners 13:1-3
2. The expulsion of Tobiah 13:4-9
3. The revival of tithing 13:10-14
4. The observance of the Sabbath 13:15-22
5. The rebuke of mixed marriages 13:23-29
6. The summary of Nehemiah's reforms 13:30-31
