NEHEMIAH, BOOK OF. This, which bears the title morn Nehemiah's fords, was an ciently connected with Ezra, as if it formed part of the same work (Eichhorn, Einleitung, ii. 627). This connection is still indicated by its first word, And it came to pass.' It arose, doubtless, from the fact that Nehemiah is a sort of tion of Ezra [EzRA]. From this circumstance some ancient writers were led to call this book the 2d book of Ezra, and even to regard that learned scribe as the author of it (Carpzov, Introductio, etc., p. 336). There can, however, be no able doubt that it proceeded from Nehemiah, for its style and spirit, except in one portion, are wholly unlike Ezra's. Here we find no Chaldee documents, as in Ezra, though we might expect some from ch. ii. 7, 8, 9, and ch. vi. 5 ; and here also the writer discovers a species of egotism never manifested by Ezra (Neh. v. 14- t9 ; Eichhom, Einleitung ins A. Test., ii. 619).
The canonical character of Nehemiah's work is established by very ancient testimony. It should be noticed, however, that this book is not expressly named by Melito of Sardis (A.D. 170) in his ac count of the sacred writings ; but this creates no difficulty, since he does mention Ezra, of which Nehemiah was then considered but a part (Eich horn, Einleitung, ii. 627).
The contents of the book have been specified above in the biography of the author. The work can scarcely be called a history of Nehemiah and his times. It is rather a collection of notices of some important transactions that happened during the first year of his government, with a few scraps from his later history. The contents appear to be arranged in chronological order, with the exception perhaps of ch. xii. 27-43, where the account of the dedication of the wall seems out of its proper place : we might expect it rather after ch. vii. 1-4, where the completion of the wall is mentioned.
As to the date of the book, it is not likely that it came from Nehemiah's hand till near the close of his life. Certainly it could not have been all written before the expulsion of the priest, recorded in ch. xiii. 23-29, which took place about the year B.C. 413.
While the book as a whole may be considered to have come from Nehemiah, it consists in part of compilation. He doubtless wrote the greater part himself; but some portions were evidently taken from other works, and some indicate a date later than his day. It is allowed by all that he is, in the strictest sense, the author of the narrative from ch. i. to ch. vii. 5 (Havemick, Einleitung, ii. 304). The account in ch. vii. 6-73 is avowedly compiled, for he says in ver. 5, I found a register,'
etc. This register we actually find also in Ezra ii. 1-7o : hence it might be thought that our author borrowed this part from Ezra; but it is more likely that they both copied from public documents, such as the book of the chronicles' (covri men tioned in Neh. xii. 23. Had Nehemiah taken his list from Ezra, we might expect agreement, if not identity, in the contents ; whereas the two registers present an amazing number of discrepancies, which cannot now be reconciled, though some try to account for them by supposing that they were taken from public records that were discordant. Others, however, think it possible that these dis crepancies arose from the errors of transcribers.
Chapters viii.-x. were probably not written by Nehemiah, since the narrative respecting him is in the third person (ch. viii. 9 ; x. I), and not in the first, as usual (ch. ii. 9-2o). Havemick, indeed (Einleitung, ii. 305-308), makes it appear, from the contents and style, that Ezra was the writer of this portion. The remaining chapters (xi.-xiii.) also exhibit some marks of compilation (ch.
26, 47) ; but there are, on the contrary, clear proofs of Nehemiah's own authorship in ch. xii. 27-43, and in ch. xiii. 6-31 ; and hence Haver nick thinks (Einleitung, ii. 315-319) he wrote the whole except ch. xii. 1-26, which was probably added by a later writer, who took it from the book of the chronicles,' mentioned in ver. 23.
The mention of Jaddua as a high-priest, in ch. xii. I I, 22, has occasioned much perplexity. This Jaddua appears to have been in office in B.C. 332, when Alexander the Great came to Jerusalem (Joseph. Antiq. xi. 8) : how then could he be named by Nehemiah ? The common, and perhaps the fairest, escape from this difficulty, is to regard the naming of Jaddua as an addition by a later hand. Yet it is just credible that Nehemiah wrote it, if we bear in mind that he lived to be an old man, so as possibly to see the year B.c. 370; and if we further suppose that Jaddua had at that time entered on his office, so that he filled it for about forty years, i e., till B.C. 332. In support of this conjecture, see especially Havernick's Einleitung, ii. 320-324.
The exegetical helps for the explanation of this book are chiefly, Poli Synopsis ; Jo. Clerici Comm. in Lib. Historicos V. T., Amst. 1708 ; Maurer, Comment. Grit. Grammat. in V. T., vol. i., Lips. 1533 ; Strigelii Scholia in Nehem., Lips. 1575 ; Rambach, A nnotationes izz Librum Nehenzia ; and Bertheau, Exeget. Handbuch, xvii.—B. D.