Nehemiah II: Internal Threats in the Quest for a Jewish Identity

The Israelites are back in Jerusalem after their exile in Babylon. Reconstruction of the wall around the city has been completed, and for a time the Israelites do not have to worry about external threats from governors in the area such as Sanballat and Tobiah. With God and a physical wall for protection, the Jews no longer have to expend energy worrying about attacks. This energy is instead expended on reforming life within the city walls. The Israelites have forgotten some of the practices and laws of their ancestors, and now must return to God.

[To read more about the external threats to Israel during the period of Nehemiah's leadership leading to the completion of the wall, see Tuesday's post: Nehemiah I: External Threats in the Quest for a Jewish Identity.]

Inside
I am not trying to impose this idea of external to internal on the text; the biblical author, in fact, is the one that cleverly keeps the externally-focused and internally-focused sections of Nehemiah separated by the completion of the wall. Starting with Nehemiah 7, we are held within the wall, as the Israelites rediscover the proper worship of God from within.

Nehemiah 7 is comprised mainly of a genealogy of the people living in Jerusalem. Note that once the narrative shifts its focus to the people of Israel, the major characters are now listed.

In Nehemiah 8, Ezra reestablishes regular worship of the Lord through his reading of the book of the law of Moses. [Read more about outside sources and sources of shame that inform the book that bears Ezra's name] Interestingly, Levites move among the people while the book is being read, in order that the people may better understand the text. Whether this is translation or interpretation, the author does not specify. However, it is clear that correct understanding of and therefore adherence to the Law of Moses is of the utmost importance, even for the laity. The Jewish faith is to be one based on the rules God establishes: an orthopraxic faith instead of an orthodox one (i.e. a faith based on proper practice, as Islam is, rather than proper belief, as Christianity is). The detail also helps to establish the active role of the Levites as intermediaries between the divine and mundane realms.

The return to old sources continues the next day, as the heads of the ancestral households join the priests, Levites, and Ezra to study the law. In this way, the festival of booths is rediscovered and reestablished.

Nehemiah 9 features the national confession of the Israelite religion, and emphasizes the holiness (meaning "separateness") of Israelite religion. This separation of Israel from the rest of the world is clear in certain practices in Judaism, such as kosher laws. Actions of separation serve to emphasize that the Jews are "a people apart."

This is further emphasized in Nehemiah 13, when it is found in the book of Moses that "no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God" (Nehemiah 13.1), based on Balaam's historic curse against the Israelites. In fact, the people interpret this prohibition to include all foreigners, further removing Israel from the other people of the land.

Nehemiah 9 also contains the history of the Israelites, as read by Ezra. Throughout, the dialectical tensions are apparent: this is the cyclical framework on which the Bible is written. The oration ends with a clear statement of the present situation:

Now therefore, our God—the great and mighty and awesome God, keeping covenant and steadfast love—do not treat lightly all the hardship that has come upon us, upon our kings, our officials, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until today. You have been just in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly; our kings, our officials, our priests, and our ancestors have not kept your law or heeded the commandments and the warnings that you gave them. Even in their own kingdom, and in the great goodness you bestowed on them, and in the large and rich land that you set before them, they did not serve you and did not turn from their wicked works. Here we are, slaves to this day—slaves in the land that you gave to our ancestors to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts. Its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins; they have power also over our bodies and over our livestock at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.
Nehemiah 9.32-37

Even in their present condition, the Israelites are still in debt to God for the actions of their ancestors. God's steadfast love has always been accessible, but it has been rejected time and time again. This is the beauty of the bible, and comprises the biblical narrative itself. The constant back-and-forth between God and his people is based on humankind's disposition to disobey God, and God's promise of steadfast love. It is a story we can even read into today, if we wish. [Well, maybe not today. It's getting late.]

A new covenant is signed in Nehemiah 10, reaffirming the law of Moses, as well as putting a contemporary spin on some of the laws in order to suit the time period. The law evidently must change over time as society and the Israelites' situation evolves.

Even by the end of the chapter, the dialectical tensions express themselves in full force as the people of Jerusalem revert to abhorrent practices. The once-reviled governor Tobiah has been given a room in the house of God, and the Levites have not received their just portions.

As a final measure of reform and expression of separateness, Nehemiah reemphasizes the Sabbath and forbids mixed marriage. The Israelites have been separated from outsiders, and must remain separate.

The chapter ends with a fitting request from Nehemiah, who has done so much as governor to reestablish a just Israelite society:

Remember me, O my God, for good.
(Nehemiah 13.31)