The Book Of Nehemiah

Introduction to the Hebrew Bible has provided me with a critical analysis of the Hebrew Bible and introduced a wide variety of interpretive strategies, including African American, anthropological, feminist, historical-critical, Jewish, and literary perspectives. These approaches were presented by our author’s, L. Juliana M. Claassens, Peter Enns, Walter Brueggemann, and John L. Collins. Each author provides a unique interpretation to help us comprehend how the text is an expression of one’s interpretive understanding. Having said that, the biggest influence has been how I will seek to present Old Testament scriptures more effectively while remembering the context and the audience in which I am presenting. For example, I believe the greatest lessons that I have been reminded of are, the Old Testaments Scriptures from my childhood, which have become a big part of my relationship with God and are based on a childlike faith, which must now grow in the richness of the different interpretations, it is this message that I can apply to life.

The Old Testament is the largest part of the bible nestled behind the leather binding in the front of the book. Unlike most books, told from one-person or even two this is comprised of multiple, some stories even having two different versions in another point of view; over time it has become a large collection of ancient texts written and re-written by different authors and editors over the many years. The stories show the ancient Israelites, they show the laws, and rituals, which make up their religion and the small embers, which will one day, turn to a flame that is Christianity. The Jewish people view these stories as collected in what they call the Torah, is the collection for what makes up their history and the promise that God gave to them, as well as their laws and what they worship today. For the Christians the Old Testament is still seen as sacred, but most place a stronger importance to the New Testament.

This is when Jonah is anointed the role of a prophet that is a persuader, as a publicizer of the Lord's mercy, and the gift of repentance. Ezra and Nehemiah believe when they returned to the promise land that the lord had returned to them must be at its utmost holiest. That means the the people of the old Israel that were left behind and married foreign wives had to leave. This is not right in the meaning that we have today and if you're a follower of the Lord. Most people conclude you are entitled to follow or not follow at your leisure. God is a God that cares for Jews and gentiles akin. This is where you could battle equally Jonah’s, Ezra’s and Nehemiah’s because both bring valid reasoning to their accustoms. Jonah’s who believes all should be given the chance and Ezra-Nehemiah’s view that this land should have foreign idols worshipped in their land. I conclude that this is presented to us in the book of the bible because we must make the choice in whether what's correct and what's not correct within our

The Book of Nehemiah is narrative that continues the history of the Israelites after they return from exile. Nehemiah prays to God about Jerusalem and God’s promises. Nehemiah is sent from Babylon to Jerusalem where he inspects Jerusalem’s walls. Different sections were rebuilt by different groups of people. Through prayer, they were able to complete the rebuilding even when there was opposition. Nehemiah helped the poor by summoning the priests to make the nobles and officials take an oath to follow God’s law. A genealogical record is listed of the exiles who returned. Ezra read The Book of the Law to the Israelites. The Israelites prayed to God and confessed their sins and signed the Law of God. The Levites were brought to

Nehemiah and Ezra were instrumental in trying to persuade the people back to the teachings of God. “God’s work demands all that we have, and sometimes challenges us to go beyond what we think we are capable of doing” (Arnold & Beyer, 2008, p. 266).They uplifted their spirits by providing them the covenant laws of Moses and helping them rebuild the temple. “Now the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the

The book of Lamentations is deconstructed by characteristics and contents. The two main characteristics of the book are the dirge rhythm and placement of certain stresses. The contents of Lamentations include Jerusalem (the abandoned widow), the punishment of Jerusalem, a personal lament, advice about God’s righteousness and mercy, a prayer for help, siege conditions, and the request of restoration. The next section in chapter nine is about the lives of the survivors. Some of the survivors remained in Judah, moved to egypt, and were held in captivity in Babylon. Those in Babylon began to use Aramaic, instead of Hebrew. The fear of losing the traditions and stories of the Israelites inspired writers to record documentation of the Israelites traditions and stories. Once Nebuchadnezzar passed on, Babylon slowly perished. Nabonidus fled Babylon, thus allowing Cyrus to move in without any resistance. Cyrus allowed those in exile to return to their former homes, and authorized the reconstruction of the Temple. Tullock then discusses Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra was a priest that was known for bringing people back to Jerusalem and reforming some of the old practices. These include the problem with foreign wives and renewing of the covenant. Nehemiah , a builder, was chosen as a governor for the province of Yehud. He strove to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, free any slaves, and to

Nehemiah responds, "Why should my face not look so sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruin, and its gates have been destroyed by fire." (Nehemiah 1: 3)

Religious spaces, characterized by Thomas Tweed, are “differentiated,” “interrelated,” and “kinetic.” As a sacred city with spiritual significance in three major religions, Jerusalem is depicted thoroughly in the Hebrew Bible and illustrated as one of the spaces Tweed defines. The Bible emphasizes that Jerusalem was chosen by God and honored by Israelites, which differentiates it as a special, singular space; the description of Solomon’s Temple shows that the Holy City was interrelated to economic power and involved in the judgment of civil cases. Moreover, the conquest, development and destruction of Jerusalem illustrate the city as a kinetic space, reflecting the unsettled history of the Iron Age. These characteristics all make Jerusalem

The physical restoration of Jerusalem and the social restoration of the community would need to continue, and question about the composition of that community would have to be resolved. These issues became pressing in the mid fifth century BCE…” (Cogan 424). Again we get the theological and existential question of “who are we” in the return to Israel just like what was happening for them during their exile. Some tension came from the Persia giving authority to Zerubbabel (descendant of Jehoiachin) as civil governor and Joshua (descendant of Zakok) as high priest which we see in Haggai 1:1; 2:2. Supported by Chronicles and in Ezra 3-6 describes the rebuilding of the Temple under these 2 leaders. Zerubbabel responsible to king for tribute and tax payments from Yehud province Official agent of imperial policy Joshua managed money brought in by priesthood to Temple; chief legal authority Returning exiles are cream of crop, in charge. Other theological implication that are at play during this time is that “God of Israel” is also the God of history and the whole world once again we see tangible integrations with the world. The Era of return we see the the establishment of boundary makers of their faith to prove their Jewishness. Several of these boundary makers include the Sabbath, Circumcision, Physical walls around Jerusalem and the establishment of the Torah as Canonical and Marriage, and leads to Apocalyptic messages for

God has a plan to reconcile His relationship with man after sin entered the world. This plan revolves around making His name known throughout all tribes and nations. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, the Bible presents God’s missionary purpose for humanity. For this reason, Christians involved in missions will travel to dangerous places to proclaim God’s name and saving power.

The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah of the Old Testament are essential works in understanding history of the fifth century before Christ. In order to discuss why these books are essential, and exegetical investigation of each is necessary, comparing and contrasting regarding the literary and historical contexts of each, including the religious and cultural challenges that each book discusses. An exegetical investigation of the historical context of the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah indicates that both books have similar religious and cultural challenges of ethnic division and exclusivity in community, intermarriage, and restoration, as well as similar methods of addressing those challenges in their respective communities both men prophesied to

Nehemiah the Israelite leader displays numerous traits of a Servant Leader in the biblical book, Nehemiah. Nehemiah sets out on a quest to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the wall that surrounds his beloved home. During this time, he encounters many obstacles and will overcome all roadblocks put in front of him. This paper will provide an analysis of two significant events, building the wall around Jerusalem and organizing Jerusalem’s people to rebuild the city.

The first 39 books of the larger work called the Bible, is called the Old Testament. The Bible itself is arguably the best selling and most read book of all time, yet it’s well known to be quite challenging to read through and understand. The Old Testament portion of the Bible, notably the most difficult portion of the Bible for most to study and follow, yields 39 books from multiple authors, and spans over 4000 years of crucial world and church history. If that were not enough to take on, the Old Testament comes our way through multiple styles of authorship and formats, including but not limited to, books of history, law, proverbs, ethics,

After the temple was completed, Zechariah gave several prophecies about Israel’s future. It vividly describes the first and second coming of our lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This book contains more about the person, work, and glory of Christ than any other minor prophets combined. Israel’s king would come, but his people would reject him. They would later repent and be restored to God. The king is going to come again for the Judgment, we pray that when he comes again that we have been faithful and he will find us pure in his sight. The building of the temple is important here. Our bodies are our temple and we must continue to work on them until Christ comes again to claim us, the Church the people of

The book of Nehemiah is about the physical and spiritual restoration in Jerusalem. Nehemiah is viewed as one of the great leaders in the Old Testament. He led a group of Jews to rebuild the walls in Jerusalem. He shows his leadership through his prayers, sensitivity, boldness, and many other characteristics.