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{{Distinguish|Book of Nahum}}{{short description|Book of the Bible}}
{{Tanakh OT |Ketuvim |historical}} {{Tanakh OT |Ketuvim |historical}}
]
The '''Book of Nehemiah''' in the ], largely takes the form of a first-person ] by ], a Jew who is a high official at the Persian court, concerning the rebuilding of the walls of ] after the ] and the dedication of the city and its people to God's laws (]).


The '''Book of Nehemiah''' has been, since the 16th century, a separate book of the ]. Before that date, it had been included in the ]; but in Latin Christian bibles from the 13th century onwards, the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah become separated; a separation that became canonised with the first printed bibles in Hebrew and Latin. Told largely in the form of a first-person ], it concerns the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem by ], a Jew who is a high official at the Persian court, and the dedication of the city and its people to God's laws (]). Since the 16th century, it has generally been treated as a separate book within the Bible. Before then it had been included in the ] but, in Latin Christian Bibles from the 13th century onwards, the ] Book of Ezra was divided into two texts, called respectively the First and Second books of Ezra. This separation became canonised with the first printed Bibles in Hebrew and Latin. Mid-16th century ] Bible translations produced in ] were the first to introduce the name 'Book of Nehemiah' for the text formerly called the 'Second Book of Ezra'.


== Summary == == Summary ==
The events take place in the second half of the 5th century BCE. Listed together with the Book of Ezra as ], it represents the final chapter in the historical narrative of the Hebrew Bible.<ref>{{cite book|title= The Biblical Period from Abraham to Ezra: An Historical Survey|last= Albright|first= William|authorlink= William F. Albright|year= 1963|publisher= Harpercollins College Div|isbn= 0-06-130102-7|url= https://www.amazon.com/Biblical-Period-Abraham-Ezra-Historical/dp/0061301027}}</ref> The events take place in the second half of the 5th century BC. Listed together with the Book of Ezra as ], it represents the final chapter in the historical narrative of the Hebrew Bible.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Biblical Period from Abraham to Ezra: An Historical Survey|last=Albright|first=William|author-link=William F. Albright|year=1963|publisher=Harpercollins College Div|isbn=0-06-130102-7|url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalperiodfr0000albr|url-access=registration}}</ref>


The original core of the book, the first-person memoir, may have been combined with the core of the ] around 400&nbsp;BC. Further editing probably continued into the ].<ref>Paul Cartledge, Peter Garnsey, Erich S. Gruen (editors), ''Hellenistic Constructs: Essays In Culture, History, and Historiography'', p. 92 (University of California Press, 1997). {{ISBN|0-520-20676-2}}</ref> The original core of the book, the first-person memoir, may have been combined with the core of the ] around 400&nbsp;BC. Further editing probably continued into the ].<ref>Paul Cartledge, Peter Garnsey, Erich S. Gruen (editors), ''Hellenistic Constructs: Essays In Culture, History, and Historiography'', p. 92 (University of California Press, 1997). {{ISBN|0-520-20676-2}}</ref>


The book tells how Nehemiah, at the court of the king in ], is informed that ] is without walls, and resolves to restore them. The king appoints him as governor of ] and he travels to Jerusalem. There he rebuilds the walls, despite the opposition of Israel's enemies, and reforms the community in conformity with the ]. After 12 years in ], he returns to ] but subsequently revisits Jerusalem. He finds that the Israelites have been ] and taking non-Jewish wives, and he stays in Jerusalem to enforce the Law. The book tells how Nehemiah, at the court of the king in ], is informed that ] is without walls, and resolves to restore them. The king appoints him as governor of ] and he travels to Jerusalem. There he rebuilds the walls, despite the opposition of Israel's enemies, and reforms the community in conformity with the ]. After 12 years in ], he returns to ] but subsequently revisits Jerusalem. He finds that the Israelites have been ] and taking non-Jewish wives, and he stays in Jerusalem to enforce the Law.
# In the 20th year of ], Nehemiah, cup-bearer to the King in ] (the Persian capital), learns that the wall of Jerusalem is destroyed. He prays to God, recalling the sins of Israel and God's promise of restoration to the Land, and asks Artaxerxes for leave to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls; the king is receptive and extends his aid to this mission. # In the 20th year of ], Nehemiah, ] to the King in ] (the Persian capital), learns that the wall of Jerusalem is destroyed. He prays to God, recalling the sins of Israel and God's promise of restoration to the Land, and asks Artaxerxes for leave to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls; the king is receptive and extends his aid to this mission.
# Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem, carrying letters of authorisation from the king; he inspects the walls. # Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem, carrying letters of authorisation from the king; he inspects the walls.
# Nehemiah and the Jews (including the 'High Priest' Eliashib), begin rebuilding Jerusalem. # Nehemiah and the Jews (including the 'High Priest' Eliashib) begin rebuilding Jerusalem.
# The enemies of the Jews – Sanballat of Samaria, Tobiah the Ammonite, Geshem the Arab, and the men of Ashdod – plot to attack Jerusalem which necessitates the Jews working with weapons in their hands. # The enemies of the Jews – ], ], ], and the men of ] – plot to attack Jerusalem, which forces the Jews rebuilding the wall to work with weapons in their hands.
# Nehemiah sees that the Jewish nobles are oppressing the poor, and forces the cancellation of all debt and mortgages; while previous governors have been corrupt and oppressive, he has been righteous and just. # Nehemiah, having seen the Jewish nobles oppressing the poor, orders the cancellation of all debt and mortgages; previous governors have been corrupt and oppressive, but he has been righteous and just.
# Sanballat accuses Nehemiah of planning rebellion against Artaxerxes, and he is opposed even by Jewish nobles and prophets, but the wall is completed. # Sanballat accuses Nehemiah of planning rebellion against Artaxerxes, and he is opposed even by Jewish nobles and prophets, but the wall is completed.
# Nehemiah appoints officials and sets guards on the wall and gates; he plans to register the Jews, and finds the Census of those who had returned earlier. # Nehemiah appoints officials and sets guards on the wall and gates; he plans to register the Jews, and finds the Census of those who had returned earlier.
# Nehemiah assembles the people and has Ezra read to them the law-book of Moses; Nehemiah, Ezra and the Levites institute the ], in accordance with the Law. # Nehemiah assembles the people and has Ezra read to them the law-book of Moses; Nehemiah, Ezra and the ]s institute the ], in accordance with the Law.
# The Jews assemble in penance and prayer, recalling their past sins, God's help to them, and his promise of the land. # The Jews assemble in penance and prayer, recalling their past sins, God's help to them, and his promise of the land.
# The priests, Levites and the Israelite people enter into a covenant, agreeing to separate themselves from the surrounding peoples and to keep the Law. # The priests, Levites and the Israelite people enter into a covenant, agreeing to separate themselves from the surrounding peoples and to keep the Law.
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== Historical background == == Historical background ==
The book is set in the 5th century BCE. Judah is one of several provinces within a larger satrapy (a large administrative unit) within the ]. The capital of the empire is at ]. Nehemiah is a ] to king ] – an important official position. The book is set in the 5th century BC. Judah is one of several provinces within a larger satrapy (a large administrative unit) within the ]. The capital of the empire is at ]. Nehemiah is a ] to king ] – an important official position.


At his own request Nehemiah is sent to Jerusalem as governor of Yehud, the official Persian name for Judah. Jerusalem had been conquered and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586&nbsp;BCE and Nehemiah finds it still in ruins. His task is to rebuild the walls and to re-populate the city. He faces opposition from three powerful neighbours, the ], the ], and the ], as well as the city of ], but manages to rebuild the walls. He then purifies the Jewish community by enforcing its ] from its neighbours and enforces the laws of Moses. At his own request Nehemiah is sent to Jerusalem as governor of Yehud, the official Persian name for Judah. Jerusalem had been conquered and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586&nbsp;BC and Nehemiah finds it still in ruins. His task is to rebuild the walls and to re-populate the city. He faces opposition from three powerful neighbours, the ], the ]ites, and the ], as well as the city of ], but manages to rebuild the walls. He then purifies the Jewish community by enforcing its ] from its neighbours and enforces the laws of Moses.


== Textual history == == Textual history ==
{{Books of Ketuvim}} {{Books of Ketuvim}}
{{further|Ezra–Nehemiah}} {{further|Ezra–Nehemiah}}
] version of Nehemiah]]
The single Hebrew book ], with title "Ezra", was translated into Greek around the middle of the 2nd century BC.<ref>Graham, M.P, and McKenzie, Steven L., '''' (Westminster John Knox Press, 1998) p. 202</ref> Slightly later a second, and very different Greek translation was made, in the form of ], from which the deeds of Nehemiah are entirely absent, those sections either being omitted or re-attributed to Ezra instead; and initially early Christians reckoned this later translation as their biblical 'Book of Ezra', as had the 1st century Jewish writer ]. From the third century the Christian ] in Greek supplemented the text of 1 Esdras with the older translation of Ezra–Nehemiah, naming the two books Esdras A and Esdras B respectively; and this usage is noted by the 3rd century Christian scholar ], who remarked that the Hebrew 'book of Ezra' might then be considered a 'double' book. ], writing in the early 5th century, noted that this duplication had since been adopted by Greek and Latin Christians. Jerome himself rejected the duplication in his Vulgate translation of the Bible into Latin from the Hebrew; and consequently all early Vulgate manuscripts present Ezra–Nehemiah as a single book,<ref>{{Cite journal |volume=110|pages=5–26|last=Bogaert|first=Pierre-Maurice|title=Les livres d'Esdras et leur numérotation dans l'histoire du canon de la Bible latin|journal=Revue Bénédictine|date=2000|issue=1–2|doi=10.1484/J.RB.5.100750}}</ref> as too does the 8th century commentary of ], and the 9th century bibles of ] and ]. However, sporadically from the 9th century onwards, Latin bibles are found that separate the Ezra and Nehemiah sections of Ezra–Nehemiah as two distinct books, then called the first and second books of Ezra; and this becomes standard in the ]s of the 13th century. It was not until 1516/17, in the first printed ] of ] that the separation was introduced generally in Hebrew Bibles.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Gallagher|first1=Edmon L.|author-link1=Edmon L. Gallagher|last2=Meade |first2=John D. |title=The Biblical Canon Lists from Early Christianity |pages=269 |publisher=OUP|year=2017}}</ref>


In later medieval Christian commentary, this book is referred to as the 'second book of Ezra', and never as the 'Book of Nehemiah"; equally citations from this book are always introduced as "Ezra says ...", and never as 'Nehemiah says ...".{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}
The single book ], with title "Ezra", was translated into Greek around the middle of the 2nd century BC.<ref> p. 202</ref> It was first proposed to be considered as two books by the early Christian scholar ] in the 3rd century AD; and ], writing in the early 5th century, noted that this division had since been adopted by Greek and Latin commentators; although in all surviving Christian Greek and ] manuscripts Ezra-Nehemiah is one book denoted as ']'. Jerome himself rejected the division in his ] translation of the Bible into Latin from the Hebrew; and consequently no early Vulgate manuscripts separate the two books, <ref>{{Cite journal|volume=110|pages=5-26|last=Bogaert|first=Pierre-Maurice|title=Les livres d’Esdras et leur numérotation dans l’histoire du canon de la Bible latin|journal=Revue Benedictine|date=2000}}</ref> and they remained undivided as a single book in the 8th century commentary of ], and in the 9th century bibles of ] and ]. However, from the 9th century onwards, Latin bibles are found that reintroduce Origen's division; and this becomes standard in the Paris Bibles of the 13th century. It was not until 1516/17, in the first printed ] of ] that the separation was generally introduced into Hebrew Bibles.


== Composition and date == == Composition and date ==
The combined book Ezra–Nehemiah of the earliest Christian and Jewish period was known as Ezra and was probably attributed to ] himself; according to a rabbinic tradition, however, Nehemiah was the real author but was forbidden to claim authorship because of his bad habit of disparaging others.<ref> p. 86</ref> The combined book Ezra–Nehemiah of the earliest Christian and Jewish period was known as Ezra and was probably attributed to ] himself; according to a rabbinic tradition, however, Nehemiah was the real author but was forbidden to claim authorship because of his bad habit of disparaging others.<ref>Blenkinsopp, Joseph, "" (Eerdmans, 2009) p. 86</ref>


The Nehemiah Memorial, chapters 1–7 and 11–13, may have circulated as an independent work before being combined with the Ezra material to form Ezra–Nehemiah.<ref name="books.google"> p. 551</ref> Determining the composition of the Memorial depends on the dates of Nehemiah's mission: It is commonly accepted that "Artaxerxes" was Artaxerxes I (there were two later kings of the same name), and that Nehemiah's first period in Jerusalem was therefore 445–433&nbsp;BC;<ref> p. 205</ref> allowing for his return to Susa and second journey to Jerusalem, the end of the 5th century BC is therefore the earliest possible date for the Memorial.<ref> p. 213</ref> The Nehemiah Memorial is interrupted by chapters 8–10, which concern Ezra. These have sometimes been identified as another, separate work, the Ezra Memorial (EM), but other scholars believe the EM to be fictional and heavily altered by later editors. Both the Nehemiah and Ezra material are combined with numerous lists, Censuses and other material. The Nehemiah Memorial, chapters 1–7 and 11–13, may have circulated as an independent work before being combined with the Ezra material to form Ezra–Nehemiah.<ref name="books.google">La Sor, W.S., William Sanford La Sor, Hubbard, D.A., Bush, F.W., "" (Eerdmans, 1996) p. 551</ref> Determining the composition of the Memorial depends on the dates of Nehemiah's mission: It is commonly accepted that "Artaxerxes" was Artaxerxes I (there were two later kings of the same name), and that Nehemiah's first period in Jerusalem was therefore 445–433&nbsp;BC;<ref>Graham, M.P, and McKenzie, Steven L., "" (Westminster John Knox Press, 1998) p. 205</ref> allowing for his return to Susa and second journey to Jerusalem, the end of the 5th century BC is therefore the earliest possible date for the Memorial.<ref>Graham, M.P, and McKenzie, Steven L., "" (Westminster John Knox Press, 1998) p. 213</ref> The Nehemiah Memorial is interrupted by chapters 8–10, which concern Ezra. These have sometimes been identified as another, separate work, the Ezra Memorial (EM), but other scholars believe the EM to be fictional and heavily altered by later editors. Both the Nehemiah and Ezra material are combined with numerous lists, Censuses and other material.


The first edition of the combined Ezra–Nehemiah may date from the early 4th century BC;<ref name="books.google" /> further editing continued well into the following centuries. The first edition of the combined Ezra–Nehemiah may date from the early 4th century BC;<ref name="books.google" /> further editing continued well into the following centuries.
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==See also== ==See also==
*] *]
*]


== References == == References ==
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== External links == == External links ==
{{Wikisource|Nehemiah (Bible)}} {{Wikisourcepar|Nehemiah (Bible)|The Book of Nehemiah}}


;Commentaries '''Commentaries'''
* *
* *
* (Ecker's Biblical Web Pages, 2007) * (Ecker's Biblical Web Pages, 2007)
* *
* *
* *


;Other '''Other'''
* *
* *
*
*
* *
* *
* *


;Translations '''Translations'''
* *
* *
* {{librivox book | title=Nehemiah}} Various versions * {{librivox book | title=Nehemiah}} Various versions


{{Book of Nehemiah}}
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{{Books of the Bible}} {{Books of the Bible}}


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{{DEFAULTSORT:Book Of Nehemiah}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Book Of Nehemiah}}
]
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Latest revision as of 23:54, 22 November 2024

Not to be confused with Book of Nahum.Book of the Bible
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Building the Wall of Jerusalem
Building the Wall of Jerusalem

The Book of Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, largely takes the form of a first-person memoir by Nehemiah, a Jew who is a high official at the Persian court, concerning the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile and the dedication of the city and its people to God's laws (Torah).

Since the 16th century, it has generally been treated as a separate book within the Bible. Before then it had been included in the Book of Ezra but, in Latin Christian Bibles from the 13th century onwards, the Vulgate Book of Ezra was divided into two texts, called respectively the First and Second books of Ezra. This separation became canonised with the first printed Bibles in Hebrew and Latin. Mid-16th century Reformed Protestant Bible translations produced in Geneva were the first to introduce the name 'Book of Nehemiah' for the text formerly called the 'Second Book of Ezra'.

Summary

The events take place in the second half of the 5th century BC. Listed together with the Book of Ezra as Ezra–Nehemiah, it represents the final chapter in the historical narrative of the Hebrew Bible.

The original core of the book, the first-person memoir, may have been combined with the core of the Book of Ezra around 400 BC. Further editing probably continued into the Hellenistic era.

The book tells how Nehemiah, at the court of the king in Susa, is informed that Jerusalem is without walls, and resolves to restore them. The king appoints him as governor of Judah and he travels to Jerusalem. There he rebuilds the walls, despite the opposition of Israel's enemies, and reforms the community in conformity with the law of Moses. After 12 years in Jerusalem, he returns to Susa but subsequently revisits Jerusalem. He finds that the Israelites have been backsliding and taking non-Jewish wives, and he stays in Jerusalem to enforce the Law.

  1. In the 20th year of Artaxerxes I of Persia, Nehemiah, cup-bearer to the King in Susa (the Persian capital), learns that the wall of Jerusalem is destroyed. He prays to God, recalling the sins of Israel and God's promise of restoration to the Land, and asks Artaxerxes for leave to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls; the king is receptive and extends his aid to this mission.
  2. Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem, carrying letters of authorisation from the king; he inspects the walls.
  3. Nehemiah and the Jews (including the 'High Priest' Eliashib) begin rebuilding Jerusalem.
  4. The enemies of the Jews – Sanballat of Samaria, Tobiah the Ammonite, Geshem the Arab, and the men of Ashdod – plot to attack Jerusalem, which forces the Jews rebuilding the wall to work with weapons in their hands.
  5. Nehemiah, having seen the Jewish nobles oppressing the poor, orders the cancellation of all debt and mortgages; previous governors have been corrupt and oppressive, but he has been righteous and just.
  6. Sanballat accuses Nehemiah of planning rebellion against Artaxerxes, and he is opposed even by Jewish nobles and prophets, but the wall is completed.
  7. Nehemiah appoints officials and sets guards on the wall and gates; he plans to register the Jews, and finds the Census of those who had returned earlier.
  8. Nehemiah assembles the people and has Ezra read to them the law-book of Moses; Nehemiah, Ezra and the Levites institute the Feast of Booths, in accordance with the Law.
  9. The Jews assemble in penance and prayer, recalling their past sins, God's help to them, and his promise of the land.
  10. The priests, Levites and the Israelite people enter into a covenant, agreeing to separate themselves from the surrounding peoples and to keep the Law.
  11. Jerusalem is repopulated by the Jews living in the towns and villages of Judah and Benjamin.
  12. A list of priests and Levites who returned in the days of Cyrus (the first returnees from Babylon) is presented; Nehemiah, aided by Ezra, oversees the dedication of the walls and the rebuilt city.
  13. After 12 years Nehemiah returns to Susa; he later comes back to Jerusalem, and finds that there has been backsliding in his absence. He takes measures to enforce his earlier reforms and asks for God's favour.

Historical background

The book is set in the 5th century BC. Judah is one of several provinces within a larger satrapy (a large administrative unit) within the Achaemenid Empire. The capital of the empire is at Susa. Nehemiah is a cup-bearer to king Artaxerxes I of Persia – an important official position.

At his own request Nehemiah is sent to Jerusalem as governor of Yehud, the official Persian name for Judah. Jerusalem had been conquered and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC and Nehemiah finds it still in ruins. His task is to rebuild the walls and to re-populate the city. He faces opposition from three powerful neighbours, the Samaritans, the Ammonites, and the Arabs, as well as the city of Ashdod, but manages to rebuild the walls. He then purifies the Jewish community by enforcing its segregation from its neighbours and enforces the laws of Moses.

Textual history

Books of the Ketuvim
 
Three poetic books
Five Megillot (Scrolls)
Other books
Hebrew Bible
Further information: Ezra–Nehemiah
Septuagint version of Nehemiah

The single Hebrew book Ezra–Nehemiah, with title "Ezra", was translated into Greek around the middle of the 2nd century BC. Slightly later a second, and very different Greek translation was made, in the form of 1 Esdras, from which the deeds of Nehemiah are entirely absent, those sections either being omitted or re-attributed to Ezra instead; and initially early Christians reckoned this later translation as their biblical 'Book of Ezra', as had the 1st century Jewish writer Josephus. From the third century the Christian Old Testament in Greek supplemented the text of 1 Esdras with the older translation of Ezra–Nehemiah, naming the two books Esdras A and Esdras B respectively; and this usage is noted by the 3rd century Christian scholar Origen, who remarked that the Hebrew 'book of Ezra' might then be considered a 'double' book. Jerome, writing in the early 5th century, noted that this duplication had since been adopted by Greek and Latin Christians. Jerome himself rejected the duplication in his Vulgate translation of the Bible into Latin from the Hebrew; and consequently all early Vulgate manuscripts present Ezra–Nehemiah as a single book, as too does the 8th century commentary of Bede, and the 9th century bibles of Alcuin and Theodulf of Orleans. However, sporadically from the 9th century onwards, Latin bibles are found that separate the Ezra and Nehemiah sections of Ezra–Nehemiah as two distinct books, then called the first and second books of Ezra; and this becomes standard in the Paris Bibles of the 13th century. It was not until 1516/17, in the first printed Rabbinic Bible of Daniel Bomberg that the separation was introduced generally in Hebrew Bibles.

In later medieval Christian commentary, this book is referred to as the 'second book of Ezra', and never as the 'Book of Nehemiah"; equally citations from this book are always introduced as "Ezra says ...", and never as 'Nehemiah says ...".

Composition and date

The combined book Ezra–Nehemiah of the earliest Christian and Jewish period was known as Ezra and was probably attributed to Ezra himself; according to a rabbinic tradition, however, Nehemiah was the real author but was forbidden to claim authorship because of his bad habit of disparaging others.

The Nehemiah Memorial, chapters 1–7 and 11–13, may have circulated as an independent work before being combined with the Ezra material to form Ezra–Nehemiah. Determining the composition of the Memorial depends on the dates of Nehemiah's mission: It is commonly accepted that "Artaxerxes" was Artaxerxes I (there were two later kings of the same name), and that Nehemiah's first period in Jerusalem was therefore 445–433 BC; allowing for his return to Susa and second journey to Jerusalem, the end of the 5th century BC is therefore the earliest possible date for the Memorial. The Nehemiah Memorial is interrupted by chapters 8–10, which concern Ezra. These have sometimes been identified as another, separate work, the Ezra Memorial (EM), but other scholars believe the EM to be fictional and heavily altered by later editors. Both the Nehemiah and Ezra material are combined with numerous lists, Censuses and other material.

The first edition of the combined Ezra–Nehemiah may date from the early 4th century BC; further editing continued well into the following centuries.

See also

References

  1. Albright, William (1963). The Biblical Period from Abraham to Ezra: An Historical Survey. Harpercollins College Div. ISBN 0-06-130102-7.
  2. Paul Cartledge, Peter Garnsey, Erich S. Gruen (editors), Hellenistic Constructs: Essays In Culture, History, and Historiography, p. 92 (University of California Press, 1997). ISBN 0-520-20676-2
  3. Graham, M.P, and McKenzie, Steven L., The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues (Westminster John Knox Press, 1998) p. 202
  4. Bogaert, Pierre-Maurice (2000). "Les livres d'Esdras et leur numérotation dans l'histoire du canon de la Bible latin". Revue Bénédictine. 110 (1–2): 5–26. doi:10.1484/J.RB.5.100750.
  5. Gallagher, Edmon L.; Meade, John D. (2017), The Biblical Canon Lists from Early Christianity, OUP, p. 269
  6. Blenkinsopp, Joseph, "Judaism: The First Phase" (Eerdmans, 2009) p. 86
  7. ^ La Sor, W.S., William Sanford La Sor, Hubbard, D.A., Bush, F.W., "Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament" (Eerdmans, 1996) p. 551
  8. Graham, M.P, and McKenzie, Steven L., "The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues" (Westminster John Knox Press, 1998) p. 205
  9. Graham, M.P, and McKenzie, Steven L., "The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues" (Westminster John Knox Press, 1998) p. 213

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