Nehemiah interpretation. Read the book of Nehemiah chapter by chapter. See what "Nehemiah" is in other dictionaries

And in many Jewish codes, also in Greek. Vatican, the beginning of the book. Nehemiah follows the same line with the end of Prince. Ezra (De Rossi, Variae lectiones V. T. IV, 157). In the Christian church, Prince. Ezra was early separated from Prince. Nehemiah, as is evident from the testimonies and Jerome Ortig. in, Hyer., Prol. galeat). Gradually, this division became generally accepted and since 1525, since the advent of the Bomberg edition, it has also been included in the Jewish Bible. The Catholics, however, and hitherto Prince. Nehemiah is regarded as the second part of Prince. Ezra. In the same way, both named books are usually surveyed in scientific bibliological works together, in view of their undoubted close connection.

In its content, Prince. Ezra and Nehemiah present a story of the restoration of the Jewish community after the end of the Babylonian captivity. In particular, Prince. Ezra splits into two parts: I-VI and VII-X. The book begins with the decree of Cyrus on the release of Jews from captivity and the announcement that, according to this decree, the party of prisoners, consisting of members of the Judah and Benjamin tribe and of priests and Levites, returned to Jerusalem under the leadership of Sheshbatsar (1 Ch.). In ch. II provides a list of returned captives and donations to the temple. Then, in chapter III It tells about the construction of the altar, the restoration of worship and the foundation of the temple. B IV ch. the writer reports obstacles to the construction of the temple by the Samaritans and their allies, and letters are given that the enemies of the Jews addressed to the Persian kings. In ch. V-VI, we are talking about the resumption of the construction of the temple, which had ceased due to the slander of the enemies, about its completion and the consecration of the temple around 516. The second part of Prince. Ezra describes the events of the time of Ezra. In particular, it tells about the arrival in the 7th year of King Artaxerxes in Ezra in Jerusalem with a colony of returned captives, and the royal decree defining the powers of Ezra (VII chap.) Is given; then (chap. VIII), a list of prisoners returning with Ezra is given, and finally, narrated about the activities of Ezra in Jerusalem (chapters IX and X).

Prince Nehemiah, in its content is a direct continuation of the story of Prince. Ezra, splits into three parts: I-VII, VIII-X, XI-XVIII. The first part deals with the circumstances of the arrival of Nehemiah in Jerusalem (I-VIII), about the construction of walls (III-IV) by him, about the difficulties he met from the Samaritans and the Jews themselves (IV-VI), and a list of those who returned from captivity is reported ( Vii). The second part describes the reformist activities of Ezra, aimed at the assertion of dominance in the life of the law of Moses (VIII-X). Finally, the third part lists the inhabitants of Jerusalem, priests and Levites (-), reports on the consecration of the walls of Jerusalem () and on the activities of Nehemiah upon his second arrival in the city after traveling to the court of the Persian king (XIII).

Thus, pr. Ezra and Nehemiah recount the events that occurred in the period 537–432 BC. From their contents it is clear that they do not speak of everything that happened at the indicated time. It is especially important to note here that the period of the history of the Jews from the end of the construction of the temple in 516 to the arrival of Ezra in Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes or in 458 BC was completely omitted. Obviously, like other biblical authors, writers pr. Ezra and Nehemiah mean to talk mainly about what is important from a theocratic point of view, in which, in their view, the Lord's care for the chosen people after the Babylonian captivity was especially clearly manifested.

Regarding the form of Prince. Ezra and Nehemiah should note that in and concluding Ch. 10 Ezra is discussed in the third person, and in section –9 in the first; likewise, Nehemiah is spoken of in the first person (I-VII, XII-XIII). then in the third (VIII-X). In addition, a feature of Prince. Ezra lies in the fact that the divisions are written in Aramaic (Chaldean) language, and the rest is in Hebrew.

The question of the origin of Prince. Ezra and Nehemiah are currently difficult to solve with complete certainty, both due to the lack of clear indications of this in the books themselves and the lack of firm leadership in the tradition. Regarding Prince Ezra the tradition testified in the Talmud (Baba Bathra 15-a: "Ezra wrote his book"), in synopsies of St. I. Athanasius and I. Zlatoust (“Ezra himself, who was a priest and a reader, tells and writes in her a return from captivity, etc.), it seems that Ezra was the writer of the book. Partly the title of the book, as well as the established idea of \u200b\u200bthe history of the Old Testament canon, can support this legend. Ezra, and it is precisely the second part of it (chap. 7–10) that also confirms the evidence of tradition. We are talking here about Ezra, and for the most part it is spoken directly from his face (-). Although in Ch. X and at the beginning of XI it is said about Ezra in the third person, but even these parts can be considered written by Ezra: change of persons in the same work is permissible for one writer, and examples of such a literary device can be indicated both in biblical writing (;), so and unbiblical. Moreover, X Ch. closely connected with IX, and the section represents a natural introduction to the future, where the story of Ezra in the third person is narrated. If the section under consideration contains praises of Ezra and his genealogy, then this can hardly be seen as a desire for self-aggrandizement and therefore is considered incompatible with the tradition of writing the section by Ezra himself.

The second part of the book. Ezra () begins with the words: "After these incidents". This indicates, apparently, the close connection of the second part with the first (chap. I-VI) and, therefore, the writing of the latter also by Ezra. But Ezra was not an eyewitness of the events narrated in Chapters I-VI, and therefore could set them out only on the basis of written documents. These documents can be presented either in the form of raw materials, which were independently processed by Ezra, or in the form of an already processed essay, which Ezra just published, adding without changes to the part compiled by him. A remark ( “Then we told them the names of those people”), which would hardly have been used by Ezra if he were the compiler of ch. I-VI; but the first idea in science has its defenders,

The book of Nehemiah, on the basis of its inscription () and some, however, not quite clear - indications of tradition (; Baba bathra 15-a) is considered by many researchers to be a work of Nehemiah. The main evidence of the book of Nehemiah is that, telling about the events of the time of Nehemiah, the book for the most part (I-VII, XII-XIII) speaks of Nehemiah in the first person. As an objection to this opinion, they usually put up a place where the genealogy of the high priest Jesus continued until Jaddue, and where it is reported that Nehemiah expelled the son-in-law of Sanaballat, the ruler of Samaria, from Jerusalem. According to I. Flavius \u200b\u200b(Jude.Drevn. 11: 8, 5), Iaddui was the high priest during Alexander the Great; to this time I. Flavius \u200b\u200b(Jude.Drevn. 11: 7, 2) also refers to the fact of the expulsion of Manasseh. In view of the evidence of I. Flavius, the places and (and, consequently, the whole section XII-XIII), it is believed, could not be written by Nehemiah. But the fact is that the news of I. Flavius \u200b\u200brelating to the 4th century is very confused and they cannot verify biblical instructions. On the other hand, if the reliability of the news of I, Flavius \u200b\u200bwas recognized, these verses could be considered a later addition. Relatively, in addition, it is possible to assume that here, in the genealogy of Jesus, there are not four successive, during one hundred years, high priests who served in the ministry, but only members of the same family, of which the last contemporary was Alexander Mack. “Nehemiah saw only children.

Less clear is the origin of ch. VIII-X. Due to the fact that the section refers to Ezra itself, as well as taking into account some features of the section compared to the rest of the book, some Protestant and Catholic exegetes consider the section to be composed by Ezra, who owned the latest edition of the book. But not without reason indicate that there is too much difference between Ch. VIII-X and the rest does not exist. If in this section we are talking mainly about Ezra, then this is because the section tells about religious activities, in which Ezra, and not Nehemiah, who was the first in civil matters, played the leading role. This can explain the difference between the section and the others in the expressions, namely that Nehemiah in the section is assigned the title of Tirschaf (s), whereas earlier (;) it was called pechah (oblast governor).

To the above I must add that modern negative criticism recognizes the basis of pr. Ezra and Nehemiah genuine records ("memoirs") of Ezra and Nehemiah, reproduced in books partly literally. The difference between criticism and traditional views in this case is that the final edition of the books is postponed to a later time than the age of Ezra, and the writer of pr. Chronic and numerous interpolations are allowed. The main basis for such a view is the unity of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah with pr. Chronicles. To prove this unity, they refer to: a) the general coloring of the language of books, b) the similarity of individual expressions, and c) the identity of the end of 2Pairs. and the beginning of Ezra. But the similarity in language and expressions with the identical subject of the narrative of both books is quite natural and can only indicate that the books in question belong to the same era and may be composed by one author, but not that they are parts of a single whole. The identity of the end is 2 Par. and start Ezd. (Cyrus decree) is easier to understand when assuming the independence of both works. As for those historical errors that prompt representatives of negative criticism to postpone the final version of Prince. Ezra and Nehemiah to a very late time and to allow a lot of interpolation in them, then (as will be seen from the commentary) references to these errors are either unfair or highly controversial.

Prince Ezra and Nehemiah have always been highly respected in the Church and had a divine authority, as a strictly historical work. Since the latest theories of the origin of the Pentateuch, the center of gravity of biblical history and biblical writing was moved to the post-war era, Prince. Ezra and Nehemiah, as the most important source for studying the post-war era, naturally became the subject of numerous studies. At the same time, many authors questioned the historical reliability of the narrative of books in general and in separate parts. So, Schrader rejected the historical credibility of the foundation of the temple in the second year of Cyrus, pushing this event to the second year of Darius Gistasp. Guanaker rejected the accuracy of the chronological sequence of book narratives, attempting to prove that Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem before Ezra arrived. Many scholars rejected the authenticity of the royal decrees and Aramaic documents cited in the books, as well as the list of those who returned from captivity, referring all this to the chronicler’s fabrications, i.e. book editor who lived long after the events described in the books. Finally, Costers and Torrei rejected the fact of the return of the Jews under Cyrus, the testimony of the construction of the temple by the returning Jews, and much more. Recent works, however, especially the work of Meyer (Meyer, Entstechung des Judenthums. Halle. 1896), many objections to Prince. Ezra and Nehemiah are refuted with sufficient conviction. It is especially important in this case that the parallels from non-biblical literature can be considered established reliability of those documents that are given in the book. Ezra. This largely confirms the accuracy of the author’s evidence in other parts. Only the chronology of Prince excites bewilderment. Ezra and Nehemiah. Calling the names of Persian kings (Artaxerxes, Darius), at which certain events took place, the writer does not give these names immediate definitions. And since Persian history knows several kings bearing these names, it is difficult to say with certainty which king the writer speaks about in one case or another. The chronological schedule of events described in the book. Ezra and Nehemiah, therefore indicated differently by exegetes and can only be indicated with probability.

Literature: 1) Russian: Doroshkevich, Chronology of Prince. 1 Ezra and Nehemiah, Christ. Th 1886, July - Aug He is. How books 1 of Ezra and Nehemiah are composed. Really. Common, loves the spirit. enlightenment. December 1891; Yanitsky, The origin and composition of Prince. Nehemiah Orlov. Diocese. Vedas. 1881; Junger, Origin and historicity of Prince. Ezra and Nehemiah. Right Interviewee. 1905.10; V. Popov, The Return of the Jews from the Captivity of Babylon. Kiev, 1905. 2) Foreign: From the extremely extensive Western literature on Prince. Ezra and Nehemiah Most valuable. Comments by Ryssel "I Esra, Nehemia und Ester 1887, Bertholet" a Die Bücher Esra und Nehemia. 1902, Keil "I Bibl. Komment über Chronik, Esra, Nehemia und Ester. For a detailed index of foreign literature, see the above-mentioned book by Bertholet" a and V. Popov

Ezra reads the book of law to the people

1 When the seventh month came and the sons of Israel lived in their cities, then all the people gathered together, as one man, in the square in front of the Water Gate, and they told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord commanded Israel.

2 And the priest Ezra brought the law before the meeting of men and women, and all that they could understand, on the first day of the seventh month;

3 and read from it in the square, which is in front of the Water Gate, from dawn to noon, in front of men and women, and everyone who could understand; and the ears of the whole people were inclined to the book of the law.

4 The scribe Ezra stood on a wooden platform that was made for this, and beside him, on his right hand, stood Matthew, and Shema, and Anahiah, and Uriah, and Helkiah, and Maaseiah, and on his left hand was Fedaiya and Misael, and Malchia, and Hashum, and Hashbaddan, and Zechariah, and Meshullam.

5 And Ezra opened the book before the eyes of the whole people, because he stood above the whole people. And when he opened it, all the people stood up.

6 And Ezra blessed the Lord the great God. And all the people answered: “Amen. Amen ”, raising up his hands; and they worshiped, and were cast before the Lord, face to the ground.

7 Jesus, Vaniah, Shereviya, Jamin, Akkuv, Shavtay, Godiya, Maaseya, Klita, Azariah, Josavad, Hanan, Feliya and the Levites explained the law to the people, while the people stood in their place.

8 And they read from the book, from the law of God, clearly, and added the interpretation, and the people understood what they read.

9 Then Nehemiah, he was a tirshafa, and the scribe Ezra, the priest, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people: “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not be sad and do not cry, ”because all the people cried, listening to the words of the law.

10 And he said to them: “Go, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send the parts to those who have not prepared anything, because this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be sad because joy before the Lord is reinforcement for you. ”

11 And the Levites reassured the whole people, saying: "Stop, for this day is holy, do not be sad."

12 And all the people went to eat, and to drink, and to send shares, and to celebrate with great joy, for they understood the words that were said to them.

Feast of Tabernacles

13 The next day, heads of generations from the whole people, priests and Levites, gathered to the scribe Ezra, so that he would explain to them the words of the law.

14 And they found written in the law, which the Lord gave through Moses, so that the sons of Israel in the seventh month, on a holiday, would live in tabernacles.

15 And therefore they proclaimed and proclaimed in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying: “Go to the mountain and carry the branches of the garden olive, and the branches of the wild olive, and the branches of the myrtle, and the palm branches, and the branches of other broad-leaved trees, to make the cabbage according to the written ".

16 And the people went, and they brought, and they made themselves booths, each on his own roof, and in his courtyards, and in the courtyards of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate, and in the square at the Ephraim Gate.

17 The whole society of those who returned from captivity made booths and lived in booths. From the days of Jesus, the son of Nun, to this day the sons of Israel did not. The joy was very great.

18 And they read from the book of the law of God every day, from the first day to the last day. And they celebrated the holiday for seven days, and on the eighth day the celebration was according to the charter.

B. The Ministry of Ezra (8: 1 - 10:39)

1. ISRAELS SUBMIT TO THE LAW (8: 1-18)

The construction of the text at 8: 1 - 10:39 is consistent with that in the overlord-vassal treaties concluded in antiquity in the Middle East (interpretation at 9: 5b-31). Here, the law book is read aloud and at certain intervals, clearly, with accompanying explanations (chapter 8); behold, the sons of Israel confess their sins (chapter 9) and promise to continue to obey the Lord (chapter 10).

Nope. 8: 1-9. Before the seventh month came (although the text does not say what year it was, there is every reason to believe that the year of the construction of the Jerusalem wall is meant), that is, before September-October (the Calendar in Israel table is close to the comments on Exodus 12: 1), the Israelites settled in their cities (cf. 7:73). And in the “seventh month” all the people gathered ... on the square ... before the Water Gate, or on the east wall (Neh. 3:26 and the map “Jerusalem in the days of Nehemiah”; 3: 1 interpretation) to listen to Ezra, the scribe, and the priest (8: 2,4,9,13; 12: 26,36), how he will read the book of the law of Moses (five books of Moses).

Ezra returned to Jerusalem 14 years earlier than Nehemiah (in 458 BC) and also with the blessing of King Artaxerxes. The main purpose of his return to the land of his fathers was to teach the Jews God's law. In the ride. 7: 6,11-12,21 he is called "knowledgeable in law", "taught him", "teacher of the law." They were contemporaries - Nehemiah and Ezra (Nehem. 12: 33,36). Ezra came from Eleazar, the third son of Aaron (table "The Genealogy of Ezra" in the comments on Ezra. 7: 1-5).

When Ezra came to Jerusalem, the people were in a deep moral and spiritual decline (Ezra. 9: 1-4; 10: 2,10). Struggling with the enemies of the Jews and taking care of arranging the life of the community, Ezra, apparently, took the time to revive the laws of Jehovah in the minds of his fellow tribesmen. He prayerfully taught them the word of God, and gradually it bore fruit.

Ezra paved the way for the adoption of the law, but only after Nehemiah came to Jerusalem, who called on the people to trust God and, relying on His help, to begin to build walls, after the walls were raised and life in the city became safer, Ezra had the opportunity to proceed with the adoption of the law among the people.

The fruitfulness of Ezra's religious enlightenment activity in previous years, apparently, is evidenced by the fact that after a probable break in it (during the erection of walls), people unanimously called on Ezra to continue his ministry (8: 1). And on the first day of the seventh month, when the Feast of Trumpets was celebrated (Lev. 23:24; Numbers 29: 1), the priest Ezra brought ... the book of the law and began to read it aloud, and men and women, probably children, who could understand (verses 2-3), listened carefully to him from dawn until noon.

Ezra stood at the Water Gate (verse 1) on a specially made wooden elevation and read from the law of God. The 13 people (verse 4) who stood on his right hand and on his left hand may have been priests.

Nehemiah does not explain how exactly the reading and interpretation of the read places took place in front of a huge crowd, which could number from 30 to 50 thousand people (7: 66-67). Perhaps Ezra clearly read the Pentateuch in sections, and then the Levites (all of whom were mentioned in verse 7 were Levites) began to walk among the crowd and interpret the readings to individual groups so that there was nothing incomprehensible to the people.

I could not but rejoice at the deep emotion of the people, who all ... cried, listening to the words of the law (verse 9). After all, these were tears of repentance for past crimes against him.

Nope. 8: 10-18. Nehemiah (Tirshafa, governor) and Ezra calmed the crying (verse 9) and urged them not to cry, but to feast and have fun, sending festive food to the poor, because this day is holy in the eyes of the Lord, and because joy before the Lord is a source of strength for the Jews, they said.

The next day ... the heads of family clans and spiritual leaders - representatives (judging by the Hebrew text) of priests and Levites - gathered ... to ... Ezra, so that he would more deeply and in detail explain to them the words of the law.

They found written in the law of the Feast of Tabernacles (in the book of Leviticus; Lev. 23: 37-43), which was to be celebrated in the seventh month (Tishri), from the 15th to the 22nd day. Since this discovery was made on the second day of the 7th month (8: 2,13), they had enough time left (two weeks) to properly prepare for it. The reaction of the people to whom the upcoming holiday was announced is astounding, as is the whole “development of action” in chapter 8: in verses 1-8 we “see” the Jews who carefully listen to the word of God; in verses 9-12 we are witnesses of their emotional reaction to it, and in verses 13-18 - their friendly readiness to act.

So, the people ... went ... and brought ... branches of various trees and everywhere they built booths - on the roofs and in the courtyards (it can be assumed that priests celebrated in the booths in the courtyards) and in the squares at the ... gates - so that to live in the huts during the holidays not tree branches, as written in the law.

Life in tents was supposed to remind them of the days of their ancestors' stay in the wilderness (Lev. 23:43).

It is said that the Feast of Tabernacles was not celebrated so from the days of Jesus ... Joshua. In the ride. 3: 4 we read that more than 90 years before the events described by Nehemiah, namely in 536 BC, after the altar was built for burnt offerings (in the year the foundation of the temple was laid), the Feast of Tabernacles was also celebrated "as prescribed"; however, in 444 he was celebrated incomparably more joyfully. This time, Ezra read from the book of the law of God on each of the seven days of the holiday, apparently in fulfillment of the instruction of Moses that this should be done on the Feast of Tabernacles every 7 years (Deut. 31: 10-13).

1-3. The news of the state of Jerusalem and the people of Judah received by Nehemiah from Hanani. 4–11. The tribulation of Nehemiah and his prayers.

Neh. 1: 1. The words of Nehemiah the son of Achaliin. In the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, I was in Susa, the patron city.

"The words of Nehemiah the son of Achaliin." The Hebrew word debarim in the inscription of historical works, has a broad meaning, cf. (1 Chronicles 29:29) dibrej David; (1 Kings 11:41; 2 Chronicles 9:29) means words and deeds, i.e. history in general. The words of Nehemiah is the story of Nehemiah. The name Nehemiah was common among the Jews. In the aftermath, persons bearing this name are still mentioned (1 Hez. 2: 2; Nehem. 7: 7, 3:16). The origin of Nehemiah is not exactly known. The message of Eusebius and bliss. Jerome, that Nehemiah belonged to the tribe of Judah, can be considered very likely, since most of the Jews who returned from captivity belonged to this tribe. But there is no reason to consider Nehemiah a descendant of David, because he only occupied a position in Judea similar to that of Zorubbabel descended from the David family.

It is also a mistake to call Nehemiah priest in the text of the Vulgate (2Mac. 1: 2). Nehemiah’s father Achaliah is mentioned (Nehemiah 10: 1) (Gahaliah). "In the month of Kislev." According to Jewish reckoning, Kislev is the ninth month corresponding to our November-December. The name of the month was borrowed from the Babylonians and came into use after returning from captivity (cf. Schrader, Keilinschr. Und A. T. 2 Auf I. S, 379). "In the twentieth year." From (Ne. 2: 1) of the same book it is clear that in this place the 20th year of the reign of Artaxerxes and Artaxerxes Longiman (462–427), of 445 BC. R. "I was also Susa, the patron city." Susa (Heb. Schuschan and in the cuneiform texts Susaan) is a city that served as the autumn residence of Persian kings (Est. 1: 2; Dan. 8: 2). Here Nehemiah was, of course, in the position of the royal butler.

Neh. 1: 2. And Hanani came, one of my brothers, he and some man from Judea. And I asked them about the surviving Jews who remained from captivity, and about Jerusalem.

"And Hanani came, alone upon my brothers." Although Hanani could be called the brother of Nehemiah and in the broad sense, as his fellow tribesman, however, in view of (Nehem. 7: 2), he should be considered his brother in the proper sense. Hence the journey of Hanani to Jerusalem and then return to Susa is evidence that the whole family of Nehemiah was infused with love for the holy city and participation in the destinies of the Jewish people. Nehemiah began to question the returning brother about the surviving Jews who remained from captivity, i.e. about the members of the restored community, about the descendants of those who survived captivity.

Neh. 1: 3. And they said to me: those who remained, which remained from captivity, are located   there in the country his,   in great distress and humiliation; and the wall of Jerusalem is destroyed, and its gates burned with fire.

Hananiah and those who arrived with him informed Nehemiah that the Jewish community was in great distress and in humiliation, "and the wall of Jerusalem was destroyed and the gates burned with fire." Obviously, in Art. 3 it is not a question of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, as, for example, Rosenzweig thinks, because in that case it would not be clear why Nehemiah was informed of an event that he knew; then, such old news could not shock Nehemiah so much, as is further reported. It is also impossible to relate the cited words together with Ewald to the alleged destruction of the walls under Zorubbabel, both because we have no news about building them, or because 70 years would have passed from this event, and Nehemiah would have no need for it to ask. Apparently, the verse in question refers to a recent event, that destruction of the wall of Jerusalem, which was probably done by the governor of Samaria, Rehum, on the basis of the royal order he received to stop the construction of the walls (1 Heb. 4:23).

Neh. 1: 4. Hearing these words, I sat down and cried, and was sad for several days, and fasted and prayed before God of heaven

The news of the calamities of Jerusalem greatly saddened Nehemiah. He cried, was sad for several days, fasted and prayed “before the God of heaven” (v. 4)

Neh. 1: 5. and said: Lord God of heaven, a great and terrible God, who keeps a covenant and mercy for those who love you and keep your commandments!

Neh. 1: 6. Thy ears be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant, which I now pray day and night before Thee for the sons of Israel, Your servants, and confess the sins of the sons of Israel, which we have sinned before Thee, and I have sinned my father’s house.

Neh. 1: 7. We have become criminal before Thee and have not kept the commandments and charters and determinations that You have commanded Moses, Thy servant.

Neh. 1: 8. But remember the word that you commanded Moses, thy servant, saying: if   if you become criminals, I will scatter you among the nations;

Neh. 1: 9. when   but turn to Me and you will keep My commandments and fulfill them, even if you were driven out to the edge of heaven, and from there I will gather you and bring you to the place that I have chosen to put My name there.

Neh. 1:10. They are your servants and your people, which you have redeemed by your great strength and by your mighty hand.

Neh. 1:11. I pray to you, Lord! Thy ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and to the prayer of Your servants who love to reverence in Your name. And bless Thy servant now, and bring him into mercy with this man. I was the butler of the king.

The content of the prayer is also stated. The peculiarity of this prayer is that its content and individual expressions are borrowed from Deuteronomy (cf. Deut. 7: 9, 30: 4, 9:26). Prayer is addressed to God in heaven. The name of God in heaven came into use from the time of captivity, when in the minds of the people, who finally broke the connection with idolatry, the idea of \u200b\u200bGod's premium, His superiority over everything earthly began to come out especially clearly.

At the end of the prayer for the people of Nehemiah (v. 11), asks the Lord to bring him in mercy from the king (“this man”), since the fate of the Jewish people was in the immediate hands of the Persian king.

Sire.49:15, and other) son Akhaliin, probably came from the famous Jewish family, as he served as a butler at the Persian king Artaxerxes Longiman. Being at the magnificent royal palace and taking advantage of the king’s location and love, Nehemiah, however, lived the soul of his compatriots in Palestine and prayed for his people. Once one of his brothers, Hanani, came to him with some Jews who were in Jerusalem, and told him that those who had survived from captivity were terribly poor in Jerusalem, that the walls of Jerusalem in ruins and the gates were burned. This greatly saddened Nehemiah; he cried for a long time, days and nights, for 4 months, spent in fasting and prayer, which attracted the attention of the king. Finally, after an earnest prayer, Nehemiah, serving wine during dinner, to the king’s demand for the reason for his grief, decided to reveal to him what illness lay on his heart and asked him for permission to go to his native land in order to renew his native city and restore the destroyed walls his. The king allowed and clothed Nehemiah with extensive power and great powers and means. Upon arriving in Jerusalem, three days later, he traveled around the fortifications of Jerusalem, which were in ruins, and examined them. Then, having gathered the elders and rulers of the city, he announced to them the permission of the king to renew the walls of the city and invited them to start work. His proposal was enthusiastically accepted. Everyone zealously set to work, and soon, at 52 days old, the walls were renewed despite all the dangers, intrigues and obstacles from external enemies ( Nope. ch.   2, 3, 4, 6). When the wall was consecrated, in the presence of many Levites and people gathered for the celebration, many sacrifices were made. This day was a great holiday for the whole people. After this, Nehemiah began to improve the lives of his compatriots; he persuaded the rich to return the fields, vineyards and houses to the poor, and forbade to take growth from their fellow tribesmen ( ch.   5); He ordered a national census to be made and obligated the elders, the noblest citizens and a tenth of the people, by lot, to settle in Jerusalem, and thus the city was sufficiently populated by inhabitants; for security, he instituted a guard in Jerusalem (Nehem. 7: 1 -5, Neh. 11: 1 -2). Then, with the help of especially the priest Ezra, he tried to affirm and elevate the moral and religious condition of his people. On the feast of the New Year, those. on the 1st day of the 7th month, at the gathering of the vast masses of the people, Ezra was solemnly brought and read before the people the book of the Law. The people cried, listening to the reading and explanation of the Law, which lasted from morning to noon. Then Nehemiah ordered that the Tabernacle Jews make tents (booths) for themselves and live there according to the law. "And the Israelites gathered, says holy   recorder, tree branches of oilseeds, myrtle and other   and they made themselves booths and celebrated this feast with great joy. "On the eighth day, the feast of Tabernacles was given according to the Law ( Nope.   8, Lev. 23: 39, 43). On the 24th day, by order of Ezra and Nehemiah, a post was proclaimed. The sons of Israel gathered in front of the temple in sackcloth and with ashes on their heads, having excommunicated all foreigners from their midst, reading the book of the Law, confessing their sins and the crimes of their fathers and praying kneeling before the Lord so that He would not recall their iniquities. In conclusion, Ezra said a touching penitential prayer. Then a written commitment was made, approved by the signatures and seals of the Israelites - to strictly preserve the charters of God. At the same time, special attention was paid not to enter into marital relations with foreigners, not to trade on Saturday, to constantly pay the fee established in favor of the church and to give primaries and tithes to priests and Levites ( Nope. ch.   9, 10). After this, Nehemiah was to return to Babylon. After some time, he arrived again in Jerusalem and found riots and abuses there, and therefore again had to take care of eradicating them. So, for example, by his order, a certain Tobias the Ammonite was removed from the premises at the temple and his household items were thrown away. He restored the liturgical order, which was upset as a result of the failure to fulfill the legal contribution of tithes; again forbade trade, field work and all sorts of work on Saturdays. Together with Ezra, he gathered into one composition books of inspired writers, arranged a book depository at the temple and etc.   Nehemiah is also credited with gaining holy   fire ( 2Mac.1:18), but this narrative has no historical certainty. With such strict and wise measures, he freed the Jews from everything foreign and restored order in the priesthood. In truth, this was the greatest and most respectable husband to whom the Jews owe their rebirth. Place and time of his death from holy   books are unknown.

Bible. Old and New Testaments. Sinoid translation. Bible Encyclopedia.. arch. Nicephorus. 1891.

See what "Nehemiah" is in other dictionaries:

  - (Hebrew נְחֶמְיָה) son of Hahalya, Jewish governor of Judea under the rule of Persia, author of the book of the same name in the Bible (“The Book of Nehemiah”). A companion of Ezra (Ezra) in the struggle for the national religious consolidation of the Jewish population of Judea after ... ... Wikipedia

And, husband. Star Rev. Rev.: Neemic, Neemic. Origin: (Other Heb. name Neemiah Yahweh (god) comforted.) Dictionary of personal names. Nehemiah and, m. Star. rare Rep .: Neemich, Neemichnaya. [Dr. Heb. the name Něḥemiāh Yahweh (god) consoled.] Dictionary of Russian personal names. N ... Dictionary of personal names

  - (Heb. Nehemiah, the Lord comforted): 1) son of Achalia, pers. governor in Judea; see Book of Nehemiah; 2) a noble Israeli who returned from Babylon. captivity with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2: 2; Nehem 7: 7); 3) the son of the ABC, the chief of the Beftsur semicircle, who helped ... ... Brockhaus Bible Encyclopedia

Nehemiah   - (Nehemiah) (5th century BC), Heb. the leader, butler of the Persian, king Artaxerxes I. In 444, the Persian was appointed king of the governor of Jerusalem. Despite the resistance of local authorities and Samaria, he organized a quick restoration of the mountains. walls, encouraged development ... ... The World History

Nehemiah   - Jewish butler of the Persian king Artaxerxes I. Around 445 BC Nehemiah received permission from the king to go to Jerusalem and restore the walls destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Despite the resistance of enemies, he did all the work for ... ... Detailed Dictionary of Bible Names

Nehemiah   - see Nehemiah Gru ... General Embryology: Terminological Dictionary

Nehemiah   - Nehemiah Nehemiah, son of Achaliah, a devout Israelite who, after the Babylonian captivity, held the position of clergy with the Persian king Artaxerxes 1 (Nehem. 1:11; 2: 1). Learning from his brother Hanani and other Jews about the great calamity in Jerusalem, he ... ... Bible Name Dictionary

One of the Jewish patriots who worked hard to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple after the Babylonian captivity. He was the butler of the Persian king Artaxerxes. Upon learning of the plight of the Jews, he took a vacation from the king and, upon arrival in ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Ne’emia (Jehovah consoles) a) (Ezra.2: 2; Nehem.7: 7) one of the heads of the people who returned from captivity with Zerubbabel; b) (Neh. 1: 1; Neh. 8: 9; Neh. 10: 1; Neh. 12: 26, 47) Tirshafa (Persian name), son (descendant) of Akhalia, brother of Hanani, Jewish noble ... ... Bible. Old and New Testaments. Synodal translation. Bible Encyclopedia arch. Nicephorus.