I. THE FORTIFICATION OF JERUSALEM chs. 1--7

 

"The first seven chapters of Nehemiah as well as 12:31-13:31 are written in the first person. This, as well as all or part of Neh 11 and the rest of Neh 12, constitutes what is called the Nehemiah Memoirs. As such it offers an extensive look into the life and heart of an outstanding servant of God that is unique to the Old Testament."⁴

 A. The Return under Nehemiah chs. 1-2 

The focus of restoration activities in Nehemiah is on the walls of Jerusalem. In Ezra it was the altar of burnt offerings and especially the temple in Jerusalem.

"The orientation of Nehemiah is more civil and secular than that of Ezra, but it is also written from the priestly point of view."⁵

The walls of the city had lain in ruins since 586 B.C. Then Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had breached them, entered Jerusalem, burned the temple, carried most of the remaining Jews off to Babylon, and knocked the walls down. Consequently the few Jews who remained could not defend themselves (2 Kings 25:1-11). The returned exiles had attempted to rebuild the walls in or shortly after 458 B.C., but that project failed because of local opposition (Ezra 4:12, 23).

The returned exiles had received permission to return to their land and to reestablish their unique national institutions. Therefore they needed to rebuild the city walls to defend themselves against anyone who might want to interfere with and to interrupt their way of life.

 B. The Rebuilding of the Walls 3:1-7:4

Nehemiah described the reconstruction of the walls starting with the Sheep Gate near the city's northeast corner moving counterclockwise. This record honors those who by building helped reestablish Israel in the Promised Land in harmony with God's will (cf., e.g., Isa. 52:11-12).

 C. The Record of Those who Returned 7:5-73

This is not a list of the people who accompanied Nehemiah to Jerusalem in 444 B.C. but a record of those who returned with Sheshbazzar, Zerubbabel, and Jeshua in 537 B.C. (v. 7). It is almost identical to the list in Ezra 2.

Why did Nehemiah repeat this list? Apparently he wanted to encourage the Jews to move into Jerusalem (11:1-2). This was one of the goals of the return. To determine who were pure-blooded Israelites, he did some research and uncovered this list. He then used it as the basis for his plan (cf. 11:1-24). The repetition of this list also confirms God's faithfulness in preserving His chosen people and God's loyal love in bringing them back into the land that He promised to give their ancestors. It is a second witness to His faithfulness and love, the first list being the first witness.

The Nehemiah of verse 7 therefore is not Nehemiah the wall-builder (cf. Ezra 2:2).

The total number who returned was 49,942 (vv. 66-67; Ezra 2:64-65). However the sum of the individuals the writer mentioned in this chapter is 31,089 (and 29,818 in Ezra 2).⁵⁹

The "seventh month"(v. 73) must refer to the month Tishri in the year 537 B.C. This was the year in which the returned exiles just named gathered in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (cf. Ezra 3). It could hardly be the "seventh month"in the year the walls were completed (444 B.C.) since the people were in Jerusalem on the first day of that seventh month (8:2), not in their various towns. Probably we should add verse 73b to the end of this list.

"Nehemiah appears to be reminding the reader of that great gathering with the hopes that a comparison will be made with the gathering recorded in Nehemiah 8."⁶⁰