CHAPTER 8
Hey look – it’s Ezra!
The top priest and title character of the previous book makes an
appearance here to read the Law of Moses to the people. He reads the entire bleeping Torah to all in
Israel who are old enough to understand.
He wants them to all understand it.
As I noted, Richard Elliot Friedman believes that this is probably the
first time the Torah as we know it has been put together, compiled by the
various sources from before the Captivity and edited together by Ezra. Now everyone is told to follow these
laws. The centralization and
solidification of Jewish law is underway.
The Jews go celebrate the Feats of Booth, and we’re told
that nothing like this has happened since the time of Joshua. I believe there was a reading of the law
back then, too.
CHAPTER 9
Most of this chapter is just a poem, telling the story of
the Jewish people from Creation to the present day. It’s nice, but it’s just a brief recap of what I’ve already
read. Also, we’re told that Israelites
here separate from their foreign wives, just as Ezra told them to do in the
last book.
CHAPTER 10
Some of the Israelite leaders join a pact that says they
won’t let their kids marry outside the faith.
If they do, their spouses won’t be accepted as family. As in Ezra, there is a firm effort to
enforce some blood purity.
This has a bit of resonance in my family history. My great-grandfather (by father’s father’s father)
was a Jew who married a Catholic girl.
Their kids were raised Catholic, and this section shows why. If you marry outside the faith, tradition
dictates that this isn’t an opportunity to grow the community by letting new
blood in, but a reason to exclude the half-breeds. My grandfather briefly met his grandfather when he went to the
Old World for a few months (long story).
The old man barely said three words to his grandson the entire time they
were there. Great-great grandpa had
some bug up his butt, and I wonder if it wasn’t the fact the kid was some
half-breed whose mom was from outside the flock.
CHAPTER 11
This is about resettling in Jerusalem, but its mostly just a
list of names and boring stuff.
CHAPTER 12
This chapter is mostly just a list of priests and the
like. Oh, and they dedicate the wall,
finally. The footnotes say this part
probably belongs after Chapter 6, when they’ve finished building the wall, but
its way back here instead. Go
figure.
CHAPTER 13
After several slow chapters without much Nehemiah, our
favorite Biblical problem solver is back in action – and boy and how!
He apparently went back to the Persian capital to stay in
the good graces with Xerxes. After
spending enough time there, he heads back to Jerusalem – and dammit, these
people can’t do anything right in his absence.
Some jerk has taken up residence in God’s house. People aren’t giving portions of what they
harvest to the Levites. So the Levites
have to go out into the field. People
aren’t observing the Sabbath worth a fart (especially not merchants). Oh, and people have gone back into mixed
marriages. Will these Children of
Israel ever grow up?
Never fear – Capt. Problem Solver is here! He has the jerk thrown out of the temple,
berates everyone into giving tithes to the Levites (so they don’t have to work
in the fields anymore and can concentrate on their jobs). He first fires a few warning shots about
observing the Sabbath, and then clamps down.
The upshot is the gets it observed without really hurting people. He does beat some people for mixed
marriages, but gets that cleared up.
Yup, just another day in the life of our favorite problem solver.
Interestingly, he justifies the mixed marriage ban not by
saying its necessary for group cohesion, but by pointing at Solomon. If even the great wise Solomon, the heir and
son of the beloved David – if even he can’t manage to stay on the straight and
narrow when marrying foreign women, what hope do the rest of you have.
Also, Nehemiah goes out of his way to point out the great
job he’s doing. He writes down at one
point, “Remember this to my credit, my God!
Do not forget the good deeds I have done for the house of my God and its
services!” There is something just
charmingly self-promotional about all that.
In “Who Wrote the Bible,” Richard Elliot Friedman notes that
the heir/descendent of David is among those going back with Ezra, and
Nehemiah. He’s mentioned in passing (so
much in passing that I missed it even though I was looking for it) with the
rest – but then never mentioned again.
Odd, given the primacy placed on the House of David in the Bible,
especially Chronicles.
Well, it’s less odd when you look at Ezra and Nehemiah. What odds does an heir have against those two? One is a great priest central in the solidification of the religion. The other is Captain Problem Solver. The heir can’t stand up to Ezra in religion, and the latter dynamo can push him aside with no problem if he needs to. Heck, I wonder if the heir was in charge when things went to hell just before Nehemiah’s return in Chapter 13 here.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
It’s a mixed bag.
Many of the chapters are pretty dull and forgettable. But Nehemiah himself is the most engaging
Biblical character since …….since Elijah or Elisha? Yeah, maybe. Or Ahab and
Jezebal. Someone from around that
era. But that was way back in Kings I
and Kings II, so it’s been a while.
And what makes Nehemiah so notable is that he comes to life
through his own writings. He isn’t
doing miraculous things, but just getting shit done.
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