The Author of the Book Nehemiah - Research Paper Example

? The of the book Nehemiah in the Bible is probably Ezra. Until 200 BC, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah were combined in one book. There are some traditions in the Jewish culture that say Nehemiah is the actual author, but was forbidden from taking credit because he wrote disparagingly of other people and prophets. Regardless of who wrote it, Nehemiah was a man that was cupbearer or steward to the Persian king Artexerxes. He must have been a person respected by the king because the king granted many things to Nehemiah simply because Nehemiah requested them. Nehemiah will always be remembered in Bible for the role he played in rebuilding the walls that surrounded Jerusalem. The setting for the book of Nehemiah is originally the court of the king in Persia. The people of Israel are still captive in Babylon. Some individuals have returned to Jerusalem with the King’s blessing to rebuild the temple. But nothing has been done to the city walls, gates and other defensive structures. Nehemiah is granted permission to travel to Jerusalem to rebuild the defenses of Jerusalem while the work on the temple continues. In Jerusalem, there is an assortment of Jews that remained behind from the initial captivity, enemies such as Amorites and Arabs, and other Jews working on the temple. Many of the Jews in Persia still had dreams of returning home while others were becoming acculturated. All of this was happening at some time between 450 BC and 400 BC. The Book of Nehemiah follows a narrative for much of the length. It was written as a history of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and as a witness of God’s reward for diligent effort. The book begins with Nehemiah receiving word that the construction of the temple was going as planned but was dangerous because there were no walls to protect the workers and the inhabitants of the city. This troubles Nehemiah to such a degree that King Artexerxes can tell that something is troubling Nehemiah, his steward. Nehemiah courageously tell the king what is on his mind. The king grants Nehemiah permission to rebuild the walls and provides tools, equipment and food. Nehemiah arrives and finds much of the city in ruins. Great breaches have been knocked in the walls, many gates and towers are burned and streets are impassable. Nehemiah announces his plans and immediately become an object of scorn and contempt. Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite and Gehsem the Arab were his main detractors. They said the work could never be completed. Work does begin on the walls and progresses at a very rapid pace. The enemies of Israel are amazed. They begin to issue threats against the effort to rebuild the walls. Nehemiah records that the work continued, that half of the people stood guard while the other half worked on the construction. These threats were just one of the challenges Nehemiah needed to overcome during the reconstruction of the walls of Jerusalem. Soon, a division among the local Jews arises. Many families are concerned that they need to support the workers on the walls and that the construction is taking away sons and daughters that are needed in the fields to grow crops. They threaten to stop giving to support the work of the walls and to withhold their labor. Nehemiah convinces them that this is not the right course of action. He encourages them to first of all, forgive the debts that exist within the community. That way no one needs to fear for losing his or her land. Once the locals agree to do this, they also see the wisdom in completing the walls. They continue to sacrifice to keep constructing the walls. With the construction of the walls complete, Nehemiah makes lists of the families living in the town surrounding Jerusalem. He takes a census according to town and family, making special note of any Levites that can officiate in the temple. In the middle of the book, Ezra takes over, the narrative stops and there is a long account of how the people of Israel are taught from the books of Moses and reestablish temple worship once again in Jerusalem. After sacrificing and offering atonement for past sins, the work of inhabiting the city once again begins. A lottery is held and every tenth man in chosen to live within the city walls with his family. Nehemiah then returns to Babylon for an extended period of time. He returns to find that the walls of Jerusalem are strong and sturdy but many evil practices are beginning. He sees that the people are not paying a tithe to support the Levites. He finds them our working in their own fields instead of working in the temple. He also witnesses commerce on the Sabbath day. Nehemiah issues orders to shut the gates at dusk on the Sabbath and threatens any non-Jewish peoples that attempt to enter the cit on the Sabbath to buy or sell. Finally, Nehemiah purifies the priesthood by expelling people that had married Levite sons or daughters that were not of the people of Israel. The overall message of the book is that God blesses righteous determination. Many smaller lessons about the importance of prayer, tithing and Sabbath observance are interwoven into the fabric of the book, but the main feature is accomplishing a great work by showing a determined faithfulness to God. The imagery of basket bearers hauling stone with one had while carrying swords with another is a powerful way of showing the faith of these people. They would not be deterred from the task that they had set about to accomplish. The people are described as having their hearts in the work. That message is key in the Book of Nehemiah. Having your heart into righteous endeavors well surely yield great results. In the case of Nehemiah, he was able to build a wall to protect the temple and to reestablish the correct traditions among the people of Israel. 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