NEHEMIAH.
His Lineage (§ 1).
His Commission and Its Purpose (§ 2). External and Internal Opposition (§ 3). His Achievements and Character (§ 4).
Post-exilic Jewish patriot and governor. According to Neh. viii. 9, xii. 26, he bore the titles of tirshatha and pehah (governor), the first of which is probably a Persian title given to royal commissioners, and the second is in origin Babylonian. The inference of the Syriac and Arabic translators from the title tirshatha and from Neh. x. 9 that Hacaliah and his son were priests is unfounded, the words " these were the priests " (verse 8) not referring to the opening verse, and quite opposed to such an office is the passage Neh. vi. 11. More i. His probable is the very early and persist-
Lineage. ent tradition that Nehemiah was of the family of David. This is supported by the fact that he calls Jerusalem " the place of my fathers' sepulchers " (ii. 3, 5) and agrees with the known liking of Persian kings to have about them the descendants of royal families (Dan. i. 3). Accordant also with this supposition is the confession in i. 6-7.
RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Negro Evangelization Nehemiah.
It was in the month Chisleu of the twentieth year of Artaxerxes I. Longimanus (445 B.C.) that Nehemiah first heard directly from Jerusalem of the pitiful condition at the capital, of the breaches in the wall, and the burning of the gates. The sadness induced by these tidings manifested itself in his countenance and came to the notice of the king as he exercised his office of cupbearer. The latter asked for an explanation, which brought to the king's ear the cause of Nehemiah's sorrow, and gave to the latter opportunity to ask to be sent home with the commission to build the walls of Jerusalem (Neh. ii. 5) . That the mission was an extraordinary one is shown by the appointment of a definite time for his return (ii. 6), and the circumstances of his return to the king twelve years later imply that during that time the king appointed him to the permanent office of governor. Furnished with a letter of safe-conduct to the governors of the region beyond the Euphrates and with orders to take from 2. His the king's forest the necessary mate- Commission rials for repair of the gates and walls, and its and provided with orders that an offi-
Purpose. cial residence be furnished him, and also with an official escort, he arrived at Jerusalem (Neh. ii. 7-12). After three days' residence, he made a visit by night to the wall and gates of the city and observed the conditions. He then made an appeal to the national pride of the Jews and succeeded in stirring them up to the work of reconstruction, showing them the authority which he had from the king to accomplish the work. The zeal, cleverness, and energy of the man are sufficiently revealed by the account of the work and by the shortness of the time in which Jerusalem became again a fortified city. The work of construction was done by the community under the leadership of the principal people, associations, and gilds within fifty-two days. The result was intense disappointment to the enemies of the Jews (Neh. vi. 15), and great thankfulness on the part of Nehemiah for the accomplishment of his plan and for the triumph over hindrances both external and internal.
Nehemiah was aware from the first that the accomplishment of his purpose would go contrary to the political plans of the enemies of his people. These at first charged the Jews with harboring rebellious intentions (ii. 20), went on to the use of insult and mockery (iv. 1-3), and finally prepared for actual hostilities, a plan foiled by the military readiness and foresightedness of Nehemiah. They went on to treacherous attempts to lure Nehemiah outside the walls that they might seize him, and attempted to compromise him by inducing him to invade as for personal security the tem- 3. External pie area (vi. 2 sqq., 10). Especially and noteworthy among the active enemies
Internal were three men, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Opposition. Geshem. Geshem doubtless had at heart the interests of the settlers in the south and southwest of Judea; Tobiah was related to some of the first families of the land and had a strong following among them; while Sanballat (called "the Horonite," ii. 10, 19) enjoyed the authority and prestige of the position of priest at Samaria, a position which possibly was a conse-
quence of the event narrated in II Kings xvii. 28. The internal hindrances Nehemiah had to combat were despondency arising from the nature of the work, the rumors of attacks in force by the neighboring people (iv. 10, 12), and the hard economic conditions of the country (v. 1-8) . The first obstacle was overcome by Nehemiah's encouragement and leadership and example, the last by inducing the voluntary release by creditors of the conditions which made life so hard for the poor. Besides the foregoing hindrances is to be mentioned the fact that while part of the people were tractable, another part wished to maintain their relations with the foes on the outside, and assisted in the carrying out of plots against the leader (vi. 9-14, 17-19), even to the procuring of false prophecy.
When the honor of the city was restored by the completion of the walls, Nehemiah turned to the maintenance of that position. The city was half depopulated, and that condition had to be altered, but in accordance with legal and moral rights. To that end a search of the records and a census were ordered (vii. 4-5). The latter process was a lengthy one, and it is possible that to carry this through Nehemiah sought the office of governor. The former was accomplished by the casting of lots and the bringing of one out of ten to dwell in 4. His the city (xi. 1-2), the " princes of the Achieve- people " taking up their residence ments and there. The narrative of events is some- Character, what confused under the editing which the memoirs of Nehemiah have undergone. It is not improbable that the great feast detailed in chaps, viii.-x. took place in the year 444 B.C., while the consecration of the wall fell in the year 430 B.C., after the return of the governor from the king. Other accomplishments were the purifying of the temple by the exclusion of those unlawfully domiciled therein (xiii. 4-9, 28), provision was made for the orderly conduct and maintenance of the public service, and enforcement of the law against intermarriage with the heathen (xiii. 10, 23). The accomplishments of Nehemiah which are worthy of note then are the awakening of the sense of national honor and of regard for the law, and the reestablishment of Jerusalem as the capital of the country and the rallying-point of the community. While Ezra brought together the Jewish communities of the diaspora and the homeland under the dominion of the law, Nehemiah brought about " the national-political organization as the amphictyony of the holy state." His character appears as that of a man with a lively sense of honor and distinction. He was true to his family, to the God of Israel, and to his duty to his people. He used his high rank, his official position, and his powers in the service he had undertaken, the purpose of which was to preserve the glory of God and to further the welfare of his nation. He permitted no opposition to stand in the way of this service, and employed his own means with great liberality. His first concern was to keep a good conscience toward God, and the memoirs which he left are a testimony to the honesty of his purposes and the diligence and discretion with which he carried them out. II Mace. ii. 13 attributes to Nehemiah also the creation of a library
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