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History · Old Testament · 13 chapters

The book of Nehemiah

Pray, build and keep watch

Author
Nehemiah, governor of Judah (the book opens with “The words of Nehemiah”)
Written
Around 430 BC (probably)
Time covered
From the 20th year of Artaxerxes (445 BC) to his second stay in Jerusalem, after the 32nd year (around 432 BC)
Key word
Rebuilding

Shaken by the state of Jerusalem, Nehemiah fasts and prays, then obtains King Artaxerxes’ permission to rebuild (1-2). He inspects the walls by night and rallies the people: each family repairs its own section (3). Despite the mockery, threats and traps of Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem, the workers labor with a weapon in hand (4-6). The wall is finished in fifty-two days (6:15). Ezra then reads the law before all the people, who weep, rejoice, confess their sins and sign a covenant (8-10). After the dedication of the walls (12), Nehemiah returns and vigorously corrects the abuses: a defiled temple, forgotten tithes, a broken Sabbath, mixed marriages (13).

Main theme

Through prayer, courage and the Word, God raises the walls of Jerusalem and renews his people in the covenant.

Outline

  1. Nehemiah 1-2 — The burden and the mission

    Nehemiah weeps, prays, wins the king’s consent and inspects the walls by night.

  2. Nehemiah 3-7 — The wall rebuilt despite opposition

    Work by families, resistance to enemies without and injustice within: the wall is finished in 52 days.

  3. Nehemiah 8-10 — Renewal through the Word

    Public reading of the law, the Feast of Tabernacles, a great confession and a signed covenant.

  4. Nehemiah 11-12 — A city repopulated and consecrated

    One in ten comes to live in Jerusalem, then the walls are dedicated with joy.

  5. Nehemiah 13 — The final reforms

    Back again, Nehemiah purifies the temple and restores the tithes, the Sabbath and separation from the surrounding peoples.

Key points

  • Before acting, Nehemiah weeps, fasts and prays for several days (1:4).
  • Before the king, he fires off a quick prayer before answering: prayer accompanies action (2:4).
  • The whole city takes part: priests, goldsmiths, merchants and even the daughters of Shallum (3:1, 12, 32).
  • The right answer to opposition joins prayer and vigilance: “we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch” (4:9).
  • Nehemiah defends the poor against usury and gives up the governor’s allowance (5:7-15).
  • The wall is finished in 52 days, on the 25th of the month of Elul (6:15).
  • The Word read and explained produces tears, joy, confession and a covenant (8:8-10; 9:38).
  • Revival has to be guarded: within a few years, temple, tithes and Sabbath had been neglected (13:10-18).
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,
Nehemiah 1:4 — A burden for God’s work begins with tears, fasting and prayer.
Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 2:20 — The builder’s confidence: it is God who gives success.
Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.
Nehemiah 4:9 — Prayer and vigilance go together.

Jesus in Nehemiah

Nehemiah leaves the king’s palace to raise up a city in ruins, as Christ left glory to rebuild what sin had destroyed (Phil 2:6-7). The Sheep Gate, where the work begins and ends, appears again in John 5:2, near Bethesda, where Jesus heals a paralytic. According to a widespread evangelical interpretation, the decree of the 20th year of Artaxerxes (2:1-8) is the starting point of Daniel’s weeks leading “unto the Messiah the Prince” (Dan 9:25).

Did you know?

  • The work begins and ends at the Sheep Gate (3:1, 32), the very gate near which Jesus would later heal the paralytic of Bethesda (John 5:2).
  • Nehemiah punctuates his account with short prayers like “Remember me, O my God,” and the book ends with one of them (5:19; 13:14, 22, 31).
  • In the Hebrew Bible, Ezra and Nehemiah were originally a single book; the division came later.

Quiz on Nehemiah

What position does Nehemiah hold with King Artaxerxes?

In how many days is the wall of Jerusalem finished?

How do the builders protect themselves from attack?

There are many more questions like these in Bible Academy, each with its explanation and verse. Start your free trial.