Ezra, Nehemiah (Anchor Bible Commentaries)

Description

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah, treated here as one larger work, continue the story of Israel’s experience begun in the biblical books of I and II Chronicles. In the wake of Persia replacing Babylon as the ruling empire in the ancient Near East, the Judahites exiled in Babylon find reason to hope again. Their hope is rooted in the fulfillment of the prophetic promises that they would one day return to their homeland. Not only do the exiles return from Babylon with the support of the Persian ruler, but they renew their commitment to God. Two remarkable personalities – with strikingly different approaches to the same objective – are the architects of this rebuilding of a people so long without roots. Ezra, “the second Moses,” bases the renewal on the Torah and spiritual reform. Nehemiah, the accomplished politician and diplomat, keeps the renewal alive with his deft administrative hand. For all its usefulness in painting the historical picture, Ezra-Nehemiah presents an exceedingly complex textual jigsaw puzzle. The heart of the matter lies not in reconciling all the parallel lists, quotes, and different accounts of the same story, but in coming to a better understanding of how and when the Bible came to be written. The factors of spiritual renewal, national reconstruction, and biblical composition make Ezra-Nehemiah a key to biblical interpretation then and now. Title Page Preface Contents Principal Abbreviations Introduction History The Jews in the Exilic Period The Early Returns Literary and Historical Order The Present Order of Ezra-Nehemiah Attempts ot Rearrange the Literary Materials of Ezra-Nehemiah The Sources The Use of the Sources The Achievements of Nehemiah and Ezra Nehemiah Ezra Text and Related Matters The Hebrew Text The Versions Authorship and Date Selected Bibliography Ezra 1. Cyrus Releases the Jews (1:1–11) 2. The Return to Jerusalem (2:1–70) 3. Renewal of Religious Institutions (3:1–13) 4. Work on the Temple Suspended Because of Samaritan Opposition (4:1–24) 5. Persian Officials Investiage the Rebuilding of the Temple (5:1–17) 6. Darius I Permits the Completion of the Temple (6:1–22) 7. Ezra and His Mission (7:1–28) 8. Ezra's Departure from Babylon: His Enlistment and Selection of Personnel (8:1–36) 9. Ezra Reprimands the Jerusalem Jews for Their Sins (9:1–15) 10. Repentance of the Jews (10:1–44) Nehemiah 1. Nehemiah Distressed by News of the Conditions in Jerusalem (1:1–11) 2. Nehemiah Goes to Jerusalem by Permission of Artaxerxes (2:1–10) 3. Nehemiah's Secret Inspection of Jerusalem Angers the Officials (2:11–20) 4. Reconstruction of the City Walls (3:1–32) 5. Samaritan Opposition and Harassment Necessitate Protective Measures (3:33—4:17) 6. Economic Problems: Nehemiah's Solution (5:1–13) 7. Nehemiah's Administration (5:14–19) 8: Plots against Nehemiah (6:1–14, 17–19) 9. Completion of the Wall (6:15–16; 7:1–3) 10. Population Records (7:4–72a) 11. The Reading of the law (7:72b—8:12) 12. Celebration of the Feast of Booths (8:13–18) 13. Penance (9:1–37) 14. The Written Pledge of Reform: Signers and Provisions (10:1–40) 15. Distribution of the Jews in and outside Jerusalem (11:1–36) 16. Postexilic Clearical Genealogies (12:1–26) 17. Dedication of the Wall (12:27–43) 18. Temple Provisions, Expulsion of Foreigners (12:44—13:3) 19. Nehemiah's Reforms (13:4–31) Appendixes I. Comparison of Nehemiah VII and Ezra II (1 Esdras V) II. Comparison of Lists A. Priest Lists in Ezra-Nehemiah B. Lists of Levites C. Lists of Laymen D. Builder's List of Neh 3 E. Town Lists of Benjamin F. Town Lists of Judah III. Levite Families Index of Place and Personal Names Key to the Text