Name means in Hebrew: "Yah Comforts"
Son of Halkaliah
Likely from the tribe of Judah (Ne 2:5)
Born during Babylonian exile and lived around the 5th century B.C.
Central figure in the Book of Nehemiah, likely written in the 400s B.C. by Nehemiah or Ezra, a priest a teacher of the Law
Cupbearer to Artaxerxes I, King of Persia
Nehemiah Was A Man Of Prayer
One day, he learned that the walls and city gates of Jerusalem (capital of the kingdom of Judah) were destroyed.
He sat down and wept, mourned and fasted and prayed, confessing his sins the the sins of his people, asking God to remember his covenant with Israel, and for God to grant him favor before the king
Possibly prayed and fasted for four months (month of Kislev - month of Nisan)
Nehemiah Appointed Governor of Judah
While serving the king one day, the king notices Nehemiah's sadness and inquires.
Nehemiah tells Artaxerxes I that Jerusalem laid in ruins and asked for permission to return and rebuild the city
The king agrees, grants him resources to ensure a safe trip and the rebuilding of the city gates, and appoints Nehemiah as governor of Judah (Ne 1:7-9)
Nehemiah Inspects the Walls of Jerusalem and
Talks to The Officials of Judah
When Nehemiah got to Jerusalem, he inspected the city walls and after seeing how damaged they were,
He went to talk to the priests, nobles and officials of Jerusalem so they could start rebuilding the city, which they agreed onto.
However, the Samaritans and Arabs were upset when the repairing works began.
Opposition of the Samaritans and Arabs
To Rebuilding the Walls
They mocked, ridiculed the work, planted seeds of discouragement in the hearts of the people, plotted to fight them and even to kill and discredit Nehemiah.
They would say things like: “what are those feeble Jews doing?” “Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble?” “What they are building - even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!” (Ne 4:2-3).
Nehemiah Was a Wise Leader
He and the Jews prayed for God to strengthen them
He helped instill courage and hope in the hearts of the people
He assigned half of his men to work and equipped the other half with weapons.
Workers carried materials with one hand and held a weapon in another hand, and builders wore their sword at their side as they worked.
Men served as guards by night and as workers by day.
The walls of Jerusalem and its 10 city gates were rebuilt in 52 days under Nehemiah's leadership
Besides rebuilding Jerusalem,
Nehemiah did other important works
He made the officials of Judah stop charging the people interest and give them back their possessions( Ne. 5:11-12)
He was instrumental, alongside Ezra the priest, in bringing the heart of the people back to God
He put order in the house of God by appointing workers, purifying the priests and Levites, re-consecrating the Sabbath, and making men swear not to take foreign wives.
He founded a library of the Holy Scriptures through a collection of the books of the kings and prophets and royal letters (2 Mac 13)
And, while he served as a governor, he cared very much for the poor, and never demanded the food allotted to a governor because it placed a heavy burden on the people (Ne 5:14)
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