II. Nehemiah's Method of Correcting the Social Evils in the Community. Nehemiah's address recorded in the fifth chapter of his memoirs completes the picture suggested in Isaiah 56 and 58. The poor had been compelled by their poverty to sell their children into slavery to the rich and ruling class. In order to pay their personal taxes they had also mortgaged their inherited fields, vineyards, and houses. Doubtless much of the tax thus raised went into the pockets of their rulers, who preyed mercilessly upon the helpless and needy. These crimes directly violated the laws of Deuteronomy (cf. Deut. 23o, 2o), as well as those in the older Book of the Covenant (Ex. 21–23). Nehemiah's position, therefore, when he demanded that these evils be righted, was unassailable. In the spirit and with the methods of the earlier prophets he gathered together the people, probably within the precincts of the temple court, and plainly and unsparingly denounced their acts. There is much in common between this later Jewish layman and the shepherd Amos. Each spoke on the basis of close personal observation and experience; but Nehemiah possessed many advantages over the prophets who had preceded him. His own personal example lent force to his words. Although it was his right as governor, he had exacted no tribute from the Judean community. Even though the opportunity had probably offered itself, he steadily refused to take their hereditary land from the poor who applied to him for loans of money or grain. Instead of enslaving his countrymen, he had lost no opportunity to free those who had been forced by misfortune or poverty into slavery. He had also entertained lavishly rich and poor alike, and thus given to all an example of practical charity. His authority as Persian governor doubtless carried great weight with the cringing, greedy leaders at Jerusalem. Above all, the force of his personality was irresistible. It is easy to imagine the powerful impression which his words made upon them. The restoration of their lands and the freeing of their children were undoubtedly mighty factors in arousing the men of Jerusalem to those herculean efforts which alone made possible the rebuilding of the walls in the brief period of fifty-two days. III. The Historical Value of Nehemiah 13. In his Composition of Ezra-Nehemiah (pp. 44-49) Professor Torrey, of Yale, maintains that this chapter is a pure creation of the Chronicler. Certainly its phraseology and the subjects with which it deals are characteristic of the Chronicler, but on the whole it is probable that he has here simply recast what was originally an extract from the memoirs of Nehemiah. Some of the phrases peculiar to the Chronicler are loosely connected with the context. The nucleus which remains has the vigorous style of Nehemiah and many of his peculiar idioms. Its courageous, assertive spirit is very different from that of the other writings of the Chronicler. It is also doubtful whether this later writer, with his strong, priestly interests, would have made Nehemiah, the layman, a religious reformer and therefore in a sense the rival of Ezra. Above all, the work attributed to Nehemiah in this chapter is in harmony with his spirit and attitude, as revealed in the unquestioned extracts from his memoirs. Already, as stated in 12o, he had told Sanballat and Tobiah that they should have no portion or memorial in Jerusalem. He had already shown himself keen in righting wrongs within the community. Zeal in preserving the sanctity of the sabbath and in opposing heathen marriages was characteristic rather of the Jews of the dispersion than of those of Palestine. It is probable, therefore, that this chapter records Nehemiah's work when he revisited Jerusalem some time after 432 B.C., although it must be frankly confessed that the historical evidence is far from conclusive and that the entire account of this second visit, including the chronological data in 511 and the reference to the expulsion of Sanballat in 120, may possibly be due to the Chronicler's desire to discredit the Samaritans and to enlist the authority of Nehemiah in support of the later priestly laws and customs. IV. Regulations Regarding the Temple Service. The expulsion of Tobiah the Ammonite from the room which had been assigned him in the temple by Eliashib, the high priest, was apparently due to two reasons, first because Tobiah was persona non grata to Nehemiah and had already shown himself a dangerous foe to the Jews. The second and chief reason was because the room was needed for storing the offerings that were brought in for the support of the temple officials. These offerings were presented in accordance with the demands of the Deuteronomic regulation, which at this time was the code acknowledged by the Judean community (Deut. 184 1423, 27, 28). The narrative adds that, with his practical knowledge of affairs, Nehemiah appointed a representative committee consisting of a priest, a scribe, and a Levite, and to them he intrusted the task of receiving and distributing the temple tithes to their kinsmen. V. Provisions Regarding Sabbath Observation and Foreign Marriages. Far away from the temple, and therefore unable to participate in the distinctive feasts and ceremonials that distinguished the religious life of their race, and confronted by the constant danger of being absorbed by the heathen among whom they found themselves, the Jews of the dispersion placed strong emphasis on two institutions. 1. The return of Ezra and his band to The one was the observation of the sabbath and the other was the preservation of the purity of their blood by abstaining from all marriage alliances with their Gentile neighbors. In Palestine, where they were able to revive the ancient feasts in connection with the temple, and where the danger of absorption was not so imminent, their practices in these regards appear to have been much more lax. Not only had the priests set the example by contracting foreign marriages, but apparently about this time the author of the beautiful story of Ruth, by citing the tradition regarding the Moabite ancestry of their illustrious King David, voiced the belief of many in the community that such marriages were permissible. Nehemiah, however, rigorously opposed this tendency. He also appreciated the menace to the dignity and character of the temple service, if the commercial pursuits of ordinary days were carried into the sabbath. His measure, therefore, in closing the gates and thus excluding all traders, was both sane and effective. In setting his face strongly against foreign marriages he was simply enforcing the laws found in Deuteronomy 71, 3 and 333, which forbade the Hebrews to intermarry with the people of the land. VI. Significance of Nehemiah's Work. In rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem Nehemiah prepared the way for that revival of the Jewish state which characterized the closing years of the Persian period. More important still was his work in re-establishing a close relation between the Jews of the dispersion and those of Palestine. He himself was the connecting link between them, and his activity prepared the minds of the Palestinian Jews for the acceptance of those new principles that were strongly held by leaders like himself. He also enforced the ethical and social ideals of the earlier prophets, and ably advocated the principles that are fundamental in the late priestly laws. Above all, in his own personality as a prophetic layman, he held up before his race an example of patriotism, self-sacrifice, efficiency, and devotion to the service of Jehovah which made a profound and lasting impression upon his own and later generations. SCII. THE TRADITIONAL ACCOUNT OF THE ADOPTION OF In the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra, a descendant of Aaron, went up from Babylon; and he was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which Jehovah, the God of Israel, had given. And the king granted him all his request, inas71, 6-10) much as the hand of Jehovah his God was upon him. And Jerusalem (Ezra some of the Israelites, and of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the porters, and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem [with him]. And he came to Jersualem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. For on the first day of the first month he began the journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, since the good hand of God was with him. For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of Jehovah, and to observe it and to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances. Read nation law to (Neh. 84-6) And when the seventh month drew near, all the people 2 gathered themselves together as one man to the broad place ing and that was before the Water Gate. And they spoke to Ezra explathe priest and scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, of the which Jehovah had commanded Israel. And Ezra the the priest brought the law before the assembly of men and people women, and all who could hear with understanding, upon 773b, the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it before the open place that was before the Water Gate, from early morning until mid-day, in the presence of the men and women and of those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law. And Ezra the priest and scribe stood upon a wooden pulpit, which they made for the purpose and opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was above all the people-and when he opened it all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed Jehovah, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, while they lifted up their hands and bowed their heads and worshipped Jehovah with their faces to the ground. Com joice give gifts to each other Then Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Levites who 3. taught the people said to all the people, This day is holy to mand Jehovah your God; mourn not, nor weep; for all the people to rewept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said and to them, Go away, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be troubled, for the joy of Jehovah is your bulwark. So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, Be still, for the day is holy, and do not be troubled. And all the people went away to eat and drink and to send portions and to make a great rejoicing, for they had understood the words which had been made known to them. (9-12) 4. Cele bration of the taber nacles the new And on the second day the heads of fathers' houses of all the people, the priests and the Levites were gathered tofeast of gether to Ezra the scribe, in order to gain an insight into the words of the law. And they found written in the law, how Jehovah had commanded by Moses that the Israelites should dwell in booths at the feast in the seventh month; and that they should proclaim aloud in all their cities and in Jerusalem: Go forth to the mount and bring olive branches and branches of wild olive and myrtle and palm branches and branches of thick trees to make booths, as it is prescribed. So the people went out and brought them, and made themselves booths, each man upon the roof of his house and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God and in the open space at the Water Gate and in the open space at the Ephraim Gate. And all the assembly of those who had come back from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun to that day the Israelites had not done so. And there was very great gladness. And day by day, from the first to the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they celebrated the feast seven days, and on the eighth day, as was the custom, there was a concluding solemn assembly. 5. Confession of the people (91-3) 6. Ezra's prayer: Jehovah's supreme rule and prom ises to Abraham (6-8) Now in the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites were assembled with fasting, and with sackcloth and earth upon their heads. And the children of Israel had separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place and read in the book of the law of Jehovah their God a fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed and worshipped Jehovah their God. And Ezra said, Thou art Jehovah, even thou alone; thou hast made heaven and the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all things that are on it, the seas and all that is in them, and thou preservest them all and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. Thou art Jehovah the God, who didst choose Abraham and bring him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and didst give him the name Abraham, and find his heart faithful before thee and make a cove |