.

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209

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THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

Nal;lman (I;f ul. 95b), :e:anan (~id. 81 b; Niddah 66b),

Simai (Sheb. 12b; Mak_ 16a). Ad<la b. Minyomi
was called the" judge of Nehardea" (Sanh. 17b).
Al;ia of Be-I,'Iatim from the vicinity of Nehardea is
mentiL'ned by Sherira Gaon (Halevy, l.c. i. 25) as
one of the saboraic authorities of the s.ixth century.
Mar R. .I;Ianiua is mentioned, among the earliest
geonim of Pumbedita, as residing at Nehar<lea at
the time of Mohammed. This is the last reference
in Jewish history to Nehar<lea. Benjamin of Tudela,
.however, mentions the ruins of the synagogue ShafYatib, two days' journey from Sura, and one and
one-half from Pumbedita ("Itinerary," ed. Grun.hut, p. 64).
A few scattered data concerning Nehardea may be
added. It was an ancient liturgical custom there to
read pericopesfrom the Hagiographa on Sabbath afternoons (Shab. 116b). The surrounding country was
13aid to be unsafe because of Bedouin robbers (B. B.
36a). An ancient rule of procedure of the court of
Nehardea is mentioned in Ket. 87a. Lydda in Pal~stine, and Nehardea are mentioned in the third century as cities whose inhabitants were proud and ignorant (Yer. Pes. 32a; comp. Bab. Pes. 62b; see
Bacher, "Ag. Pal. Amur." i. 60). Nehardea is
famous in the history of the ::M:asorah because of an
anci~nt tradition relating to the number of verses in
the Bible; it is here said that Hamnuna (Bacher,
l.c. i. 2) brought this tradition from Nehardea, where
he had received it from Nal~~ai (see "M. J. C." i.
174; Strack, "Di~du~ 'fe'amim," p. 56). Certain
readings of the Biblical text are characterized by
tradition-especially by the Masorah to the Pentateuch Targum {On~elos)-as being those of Sura,
and certain others as of Nehardea (see Berliner, "Die
Massorah zum Targum Onkelos," pp. xiii. et seq.,
-01-70, Leipsic, 1877).
Neubauer, G. T. pp. 230, 350; Hlrschensohn,
Sheba' J;lokmot, p. 10-1, Lemberg, 1885.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

w. B.
NEHEMIAH: Son of Hachaliah; re builder of
the walls of Jerusalem. The sole source of information about Nehemiah is the ranonical book that
bears his name, parts of which, at any rate, furnished
Ben Sira with the matter for the short notice which
11e gives of Nehemiah. He was cupbearer to Artaxerxes (identified by De Saulcy with Artaxerxes
II., whose reign began 404 B.C.). Owing to a painful report that had reached him of the condition of
the Jews in Palestine, he, perhaps with the countenance of the queen-mother or queen, obtainetl permission to visit Jerusalem, and to rebuild the walls,
for which purpose he was furnished with firmans
and a supply of timber. Incidentally it is mentioned that he had the title" pel;iah" or" tirshatha,"
-equivalent to "viceroy," for twelve successlvcyears
{384-372), and apparently again at a later period.
The rebuilding of the walls (a task which had before Nehemiah's time been repeatedly attempted)
was commenced by him with caution, and excited
.enmity and even armed intervention, which latter,
lwwever, Nehemiah showed himself able to resist.
The account of the details of the building is not,
apparently, from Nehemiah's hand, and would seem
to represent the work as more of a national enterprise than would be inferr~ from Nehemiah's own
IX.-14
G.

Nehardea
Nehemiah

statements. The account of the inaugural ceremony

after completion comes rather late in the book, and
was probably written some years after
Rebuilds theevent,. Nehemiah'sopponentsappear to have been wealthy landownthe
Walls of ers. not themselves IRraelites, but allied
Jerusalem. with leading families within the city.
After the completion of the walls Nehemiah had to occupy himself with political reforms
also, of which one was the restoration to their original owners of lands taken for debt by the wealthier
members of the community-a scheme not unlike the
"novre tabulre "of the clas;ical republics, and regarded by the owners as an ultra-revolutionary measure;
for it meant the abandonment without consideration
of much property lawfully acquired. According
to Nehemiah's account, it was effected-with a minimum of friction, owing to his own disinterestedness
in relinquishing his claim to the governor's allowances; and it took the form of a cheerful sacrifice
on the part of the moneyed class. He tells, however, almost immediately afterward, of attempts on
his own life, which he dexterously escaped, and of
endeavors to represent his restoration of the walls
as the prelude to a declaration of independence. In
these attempts residents of Jerusalem took part,
either having conspired with or being in the pay of
external enemies. Among these instruments were a
false prophet and a false prophetess, whom Nehemiah was able to unmask.
Nehemiah's next measure would appear to have
lleen as aristocratic in tendency as the last was democratic. Ile instituted an inquiry into the pedigrees
of the residents of Jerusalem with the view of degra<ling aliens, and for this purpose olltaincd a copy
of the roll of the families that returned with Zerubbabel. His narrative, however, breaks off without
describing the nature of the measure which he
adopted or the smoothness with which it worked.
It appears from other parts of the book that priestly
families were connected by marriage with the aliens,
and, though Nehemiah resumed his inquisition on
his second visit to Jerusalem, it required the arbitrary exercise of power to carry it through. It is
possible that the danger of offending the humbler
classes, whom he had won over by his "uovre
tabulre," prevented him from inquiring too strictly
into this matter on his first visit.
The rest of his reforms appear to have been of a
religious nature, although, the chapters in which
they are recorded being by other hands, there is a
want of clearness in the details. He appears with
the aid of Ezra to have enforced or reenforced the
Mosaic law, especially the provision relating to the
sanctity of the Sabbath, which on his
second visithe had again to empha~!,;e.
His
Reforms. He also provided by a regular system
of forced contributions for the maintenance of the Temple services and of the various
castes who took part in performing them. He
writes with unusual naivete; and the accuracy of
his- personal narrative has rarely been quesdo~ed.
It seems, however, surprising that the accredited
representative of the sovereign court should, in carrying out his commission, have met 'vith fierce opposition, leading to the imminent risk of skirmishes

Nehemiah

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

and battles ; but the classical historians give no high

idea of the administrative capacity of Artaxerxes
II. Further, there appears to be some contradiction
between the statements that he went to Jerusalem
on a visit for a strictly limited ti!I}e (ii. 6), and that
he went to Judea as "pel;lah" and held office for
twelve years (v. 14 and xiii. 6); but this may also
be due to the fragmentary nature of his memoirs.
From Nehemiah's own account of his conduct it
may be gathered that he was an adroit politician, a
wary leader and soldier, and a skilful organizer,
though not free from pedantry and fanaticism; and
' it is probable that Ben Sira, in naming him after
Zerubbabel as one of those to whom the Jews owed
their restoration and reconstitution as a nation, only
does him'. justice. For without walls Jerusalem
could not, according to ancient ideas, have ranked as
a place of importance, and the measure, of which
there is an obscure mention (xi. 1), of obtaining a
resident population fitted for its size, by drawing
lots, would also do much toward restoring its former
grandeur. His name was, however, not popular
with the tradition which has come down in the Talmuds; but in that which is preserved in the Second
Book of Maccabees many services are attributed to
him of which the Bible knows nothing. Among
these are the miraculous production of fire, celebrated by a feast called "N aphthar" (II Mace. i.
36); the compilation of a sacred library (ib. ii. 13);
and even the building of the Temple and the altar
(ib. verse 18). These statements are not worthy of
credit; and it is evident that Nehemiah's personality
was overshadowed by that of Ezra, whose services,
though less brilliant, were more lasting.
E. G. H.
D. s. JH.
--In Rabbinical Literature: Nehemiah is
identified in one haggadah with Zerubbabel, the latter name being considered an epithet of Nehemiah
and as indicating that he was born at Babylon
(" Zera'+Babel"; Sanh. 38a). With Ezra, he marks
the spring-time in the national history of Judaism
(Cant. R. ii. 12). A certain mishnah is declared by
the Rabbis to have originated in the school of
Nehemiah (Shab. 123b). Still, Nehemiah is blamed
by the Rabbis for his seemingly boastful expression,
"Think upon me, my God, for good" (Neh. v. 19,
xiii. 31), and for his disparagement of his predecessors (ib. v. 15), among whom was Daniel. The
Rabbis thfok that these two faults were the reason
that .this book is not mentioned under its own name,
but forms part of the Book of Ezra (Sanh. 93b).
According to B. B. 15a Nehemiah completed the
Book of ChronlCies, which was written by Ezra.

w.

B.

JH.

SEL.

NEHEMIAH, BOOK OF : A work ascribed to

Nehemiah, but bearing ih some canons the title
Esdras II. or Esdras III., having been attributed
to Ezra on the ground that Nehemiah's self-assertion
deserved some punishment (Sanh. 93b), or because,
having ordinarily been written on the same scroll
with the Book of Ezra, it came to be regarded as an
appendix to it. The book consists ostensibly (i. 1) of
the memoirs of Nehemiah, compiled, or at any rate
completed, toward the close of his life, since he alludes to a second visit to Jerusalem "at the end of
days" (xiii. 6, A. V. margin), which must mean a

210

long time after the first. In xiii. 28 he speaks pf a

grandson (comp. xii. 10, 11) of the high priest Eliashib as being of II}ature?ears; whence it appear!
that.the latest event mentioned in the book, the highpriesthood of Jaddua, contemporary of Alexande1
the Great (xii. 11, 22), may have fallen within Nehemiah's time. The redaction of his memoirs cccurred probably later than 360 n.c., but how much
later can not easily be determined. The first person
is employed in ch. i.-vii. 5, xii. 31-42, xiii. 6 et seq.
Sometimes, however, Nehemiah prefers to speak in
the name of the community (ii. 19, iii. 33-38, x.),
and in some places he himself is spoken of in the
third person, either with the title "tirshatha"
(viii. 9, x. 2) or "pel;lah" (xii. 26, claimed by him
in v. 14; A. V. "governor"), or without tit.le (xii.
47). The style of these last passages implies somewhat that Nehemiah is not the writer, especially
that of the third and fourth: "in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra"; "in the days of
Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah." The
portions of the book in which the first person is used
are marked by repeated praye~s for recognition of
the author's services, and imprecations on his enemies (iii. 36, 67; v. 19; vi. 13; xiii. 14, 22, 29, 31),
which may be taken as chaiacteristic of an individual's style; and indeed the identity of the traits of
character which are manifested by the writer of
the opening and closing chapters can not escape
notice. Moreover, the author's enemies, Sanballat
and Tobiah, figure in both parts.
The unity of the book is marred by the insertion
of a variety of documents, chiefly lists of names.
These are the following~ (1) Ch. iii. 1-32, a list of
persons who helped to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
This document agrees with ch. xii. in exhibiting remarkable acquaintance with the toDocuments pography of Jerusalem; and it also
Inserted. gives some curious details about ~he
persons who took part in the work,
some of whose names figure in other contexts. It is,
however, observable that Eliashib is said to have
been high priest at the time of Nehemiah's first
visit; and the same is suggested by xiii. 7, whereas
in Ezra x. 6 it is suggested that Eliashib's grandson
(Neh. xii. 11, 12) was in office thirteen years before
Nehemiah came. If the list of high priests in ch.
xii. be correct, it is clear that Eliashib could not
have been in office in Nehemiah's time; and this fact
discredits the historical character of the document,
at any rate to a certain->extent; for the possibility of
Nehemiah, at a great distance from the scene of the
events, having mistaken some of the details, can
not be quite excluded. The account of the building
given in this chapter represents it as more elaborate and national than would be imagined from
iii. 33-38.
(2) Oh. vii. 6-73, a list of the exiles who returned
with Zerubbabel. This is a document which Nehemiah says he discovered (vii. 5); and it is embodied iu the narrative of Ezra also (Ezra ii.). The
difference between the copies is such as can be attributed to the not overstrict ideas of accuracy current in antiquity.. Some difficulty is occasioned by
the fact that the narrative which deals with the days
of Zerubbabel is continued without break into a