Reading for December 8th

Read Nehemiah 4.1-9. In 4.1-23: Opposition and the community's response. Though written as a first-person narrative, presumably from Nehemiah's view, the focus is on the community. The account alternates between the scorn and plots of the adversaries of the rebuilding, and the community's determination to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Will they restore things? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? The taunt relates to restoring Jerusalem to its former glory, a task that would take a great deal of time. The coomunity's enthusiasm maybe strong at the moment, but as time passes, Sanballat believes they will give up the task. The issue of sacrifce relates to dedicating the walls at the completion of the project (see 12.43). In verse 6: All the wall was joined together to half its height: it is unclear if this was half the original hieght, or half of its planned height (which may have been considerably less, given the restricted resources). In verse 8: All plotted together to come and fight, maybe not as an "offical" military force, but perhaps in a series of raids designed to destablize the building project. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 7th

Read Nehemiah 3.1-14. In 3.1-32: The community organizes to rebuild the walls. This section marks the center point of the combined work Ezra-Nehemiah and places th emphahsis squarely on the community' efforts. While Ezra and Nehemiah are marked by having "the hand of God" on them, the heros of the narrative are the community members, elaborated in various lists, who willingly undertake the formation of the "house of God." The historical value of this list has been under discussion, and many believe it reflects an authentic, if only partial record of the organization of the rebuilding effort. In verse 1: Then the high priest ... with his fellow priests ... rebuilt the Sheep Gate: This gate was located in the northeast corner of the city adjacent to the Temple precinct and was the principal entry for animals brought for sacrifice. Perhaps because of this, the section of wall is consecrated or "made holy." Another possiblity is that this section was most vulnerable to attack, and consecrating the wall in effect called on God to help defend it. In verse 5: Tekoites: Tekoa was on the fringe of the Judean desert to the south of Jerusalem. It was the traditional village of the prophet Amos (Am 1.1). The common people's willingness is contrasted with the nobles, whose reasons for opposing Nehemiah are not given. It is possible that Tekoa lay near the boundary between Yehud's administrative area and Gershem's, and the nobles may have feared their involvement would bring difficulies with Gershem. Their Lord is a probable reference to Nehemiah. In verse 7: Gibeon and of Mizpah ... under the jurisdiction of the governor of the province Beyond the River: the Hebrew phrasing is difficult, but it may be that Mizpah and the city of Gibeon which lies slightly south of it, were under some special status. Mispah was not destroyed by the Babylonians and it became the administrative center for their rule over the devastated Judean kingdom (Jer 40.7-10). It may have retained some special status as a provincial center as Jerusalem reemerged as the regional capital. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 6th

Read Nehemiah 2.17-20. In 2.17-20: Nehemiah's decree to the people and opposition to the project. Just as the previous section introduced Nehemiah's determination to fulfill the commision given him, and introduced the main personalities who would oppose him, this section brings the community into the picture by Nehemiah's leadership, yet notes the opposition. In verse 17: Then I said to them: The whole community, as defined in v. 16. Disgrace was a term often associated with the Exile as God's punishment of the community, in other words, the refortification of the city would finally put to an end the negative results of God's punishment of the community. In verse 18: They committed themselves to the common good: Just as Ezra had found a willingness to undertake the difficult task of separation from the surrounding poples, Nehemiah finds the community ready to undertake rebuilding the walls. In verse 19: Geshem the Arab is a new figure among the opponents, thought to be the governor of a region in the Shephelah with an adminsitrative center at Lachish. Are you rebelling against your king? would be a normal assumption about the effort to rebuild a city's fortifications since it would provide the means to defy imperial power. It is a hallow taunt since Nehemiah was directly commissioned by the imperial court. In verse 20: You have no share or claim or historic right in Jerusalem was a stinging rebuke to his opponents that essentially undercut their intrusion into Nehemiah's admisnistrative affairs. THe expression strongly parallels the rejection of help from "adversaries" in rebuilding the Temple (Ezra 4.3), joining the theme of reestablishing the "house of God" to the rebuilding of the walls. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 5th

Read Nehemiah 2.9-16. In 2.9-16: Nehemiah's coming to Jerusalem. As with the account of Ezra, there are few details of the lengthy journey from Persia to Jerusalem. The focus is on significant opposition to Nehemiah's task and his consequent need to be cautious in his planning. In verse 9: Gave them the king's letters: Since Nehemiah came directly fromthe imperial court, it would be convenient for him to carry vital dispatches as well as offical declarations of his office. The king had sent officers of the army and calvalry with me highlights both the military nature of Nehemiah's comminssion and the importance the imperial court placed on his success. In verse 10: Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite offical: Sanballat is a Babylonian name and is known from Aramaic documents of the persian period to have been the name of the governor of the Persian district of Samaria. Horonite probably means his family was from Beth-honron, two Israelite cities located some 12 miles north of Jerusalem (2 Chr 8.5) and controlling a strategic pass. Tobiah is a Hebrew name; his exact role is less certain. The Ammonite offical is perhaps a reference to his region of administrative responsiblity. Some have linked him to a powerful family of the same name of a later period that had significant interests in the Transjordan. Others have suggested he is the same as the Tabeel of Ezra 4.7, apparently a junior offical inthe regional administration. As an Ammonite (if this is a reference to family orgin), Tobiah would be excluded fromthe "assembly" of Israel (Deut 23.3-6). It displeased them: Perhaps because of the new perfence the imperial court is showing to Jerusalem, which will bring new revenues and pestige to the city. In verse 11: The account of the rest of the three days parallels Ezra's account (Ezra 8.32). In verse 13: I went out by night by the Valley Gate: Nehemiah's inspection of the city's fortifications, ahd it been obeserved, might have raised objections that could be communicated to the king and cause a delay in the project. His inspection tour seems to follow the area known as the "City of David," a spur of land that lies along the western edge of the Kidron Valley south of the Temple area. Nehemiah moves from the northwest corner of this region along the city walls, which streched southwestward until they turned an went back north above the Kidron. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 4th

Read Nehemiah 2.1-8. In 2.1-8: Artaxerxes' grant to Nehemiah. Just as Ezra's mission was the result of a gracious act by Artaxerxes, so nehemiah's appointment as governor is by the favor of the same king. This account shows the conditions of Nehemiah's appointment and underscores God's working through both Artaxerxes and Nehemiah. In verse 1: In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year: Nisan, is in early Spring, roughly March-April in our calendar, some three months after receiving the report of 1.3. The twentieth year of Artaxerxes would place this in 445 BCE, about 13 years after Ezra's mission. In verse 3: The city, the place of my ancestors' graves, lies waste is a some what exaggerted descritption, though it is probable that sectionns of the city remained uninhabitable from the ruins of the Babylonian conquest. In verse 6: How long will you be gone, and when will you return? Artaxerxes' reply assumes the granting of Nehemiah's request to rebuild Jerusalem, and the value of Nehemiah to the court. In verse 8: To give me timber to make beams for the gates of the temple fortress, and for the wall of the city: Nehemiah's task in rebuilding the city will include refortification, something the Persian empire would not allow without royal dispensation. Since the beams over the gateways need to be of larger and stronger wood than is redily avavilable in the region, Nehemiah asks for timber from the imperially controlled sources, probably the cedar forests of Lebanon. The granting of timber supplies was also the empowering of nehemiah to refortify the city, an act undertaken because of troubled conditions inthe Egyptian holdings of the empire. The gracious hand of my God was upon me parallels Ezra's claim of divine support (Ezra 7.6, 28). Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 3rd

Read Nehemiah 1.1-11. I. 1-11: Nehemiah's concern over Jerusalem. The opening explains Nehemiah's appointment as governor and his relentess pursuit of the rebuilding of the city walls. The section ends with a lenghty prayer that gives voice to another concept of the proper approach to God. In verse 1: The words of Nehemiah: the Hebrew term for words can also be rendered "matters." The opening does not necessarily support the existence of a "Nehemiah memoir." In the twentieth year: Apparently the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes (see 2.1). Susa was a seasonal palace for the Persian monarchs, though Artaxerxes seemed to have favored it and spent protracted periods there. In verse 2: One of my brothers may indicate a family member (see 7.2) or may simply mean a colleage. The Jews that survived: It is unclear what specific group or groups Nehemiah is asking about, but the main point is his concern with the entire community's welfare as well as the city's. In verse 3: The wall of Jerusalem is broken down: This should have been well known, following on the destruction of the city by the Babylonians in 587 BCE. Some believe the report must relate to a more recent event, and suggest that the events of Ezra 4.23 may provide the background, through nothing in that account would suggest a destruction of the work that had been accomplished. Possibly the report is taken as a sign of the royal diapproval of Ezra 4.23: the wall of Jerusalem is still broken down, and thus Nehemiah must try a different means to aid Jerusalem. Given the use of terms such as great trouble and shame, another possiblity is that the wall and its gates are metaphors for the separation that Ezra was trying to achieve. In verse 4: I sat down and wept, and mourned for days: This is a sign of grief, and also a sign of the literary character of the account, since it is hard to conceive of a figure as forceful as Nehemiah acting so victimized for several months. In verse 5: God of Heaven was a characteristic title for God in the Persian period (see Ezra 7.12, 23). In verse 10: They are your servants and your people: After confessing his own guilt, Nehemiah calls on God to remember his people since Nehemiah's prayer is on their behalf. In verse 11: Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man: Nehemiah apparently has formed a plan to address the misfortunes of Jerusalem, but the reader does not yet know what it is. Man is clearly a reference to Artaxerxes. In the Persian court, cupbearer was a formal office, with reponsiblity for ensuring the safety of the king's wine supply as well as acting as a royal adviser. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 2nd

Read Titus 3.12-15. In 3.12-15: Epistolary closing. In verse 12: Artemas, Tychicus, those coming to Crete to replace Titus. Tychicus, see Acts 20.4; Eph 6.21; Col 4.7-9; 2 Tim 4.2. Nicopolis, possibly a city in Epirus on the western coast of Greece. In verse 13: Apollos, see Acts 18.24-28; 19.1; 1 Cor 1.12; 3.4-9; 4, 6; 16.12. In verse 15: Though the letter is addressed to Titus, its use of the second person plural form (all of you) here suggests that it was intended for a wider audience. Comments or Questions..