Book Introduction - Nehemiah Read first chapter of Nehemiah
Fourteen years after the return of Ezra to Jerusalem, Nehemiah led up a company (B.C. 444) and restored the walls and the civil authority. Of those events this book is the record. It is in eight divisions:
- The journey to Jerusalem, 1:1-2:20
- The building of the wall, 3:1-6:19.
- The census, 7:1-73.
- The revival, 8:1-11:36.
- The census of the priests and Levites, 12:1-26.
- Dedication of the wall, 12:27-43.
- Restoration of the temple worship, 12:44-47.
- The legal order restored, 13:1-31.
The moral state of the time is disclosed by the prophet Malachi. This book affords many instances of individual faith acting on the written word (e.g. Nehemiah 1:8 Nehemiah 1:9 ; 13:1 ). It is the principle of 2 Timothy 2.
The events recorded in Nehemiah cover a period of 11 years (Ussher).