Old Testament · Historical narrative (memoir)

The Book of Nehemiah: Author, Context and Complete Study

Nehemiah tells how a Jewish cupbearer to the Persian king left the palace of Susa to rebuild the broken walls of Jerusalem in fifty-two days. With Ezra he then led the people to hear God's law, confess their sins and renew the covenant.

Updated on November 14, 2026

What is Nehemiah about?

Nehemiah is the first-person story of a Jewish official at the Persian court who hears that Jerusalem's walls lie in ruins, prays and asks King Artaxerxes for permission to rebuild them. Despite mockery, threats and plots from Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem, the wall is finished in fifty-two days (Nehemiah 6:15). Then Ezra reads the Law to the people, who confess their sins and sign a covenant, and Nehemiah later returns to correct abuses that had crept back.

Author: Much of the book is the first-person memoir of Nehemiah himself (1:1). An editor, perhaps the same one who shaped Ezra, joined it with lists and records; Ezra and Nehemiah were once a single book.
Date: Its events run from 445 BC to Nehemiah's second term after 433 BC; the book was probably completed c. 430-400 BC.
First readers: The Jews of Jerusalem and Judah after the exile, a poor and threatened community under Persian rule, who needed security, justice and renewed faithfulness to God's covenant.
Genre: Historical narrative (memoir)
Chapters: 13 chapters
Key verse: Nehemiah 6:16

Historical context

Nehemiah's story begins in 445 BC, the twentieth year of Artaxerxes I (1:1; 2:1). Almost a century had passed since the first exiles returned under Cyrus in 538 BC, seventy years since the temple was rebuilt in 515 BC, and thirteen since Ezra came to teach the Law. Yet Jerusalem still lay exposed, its wall broken down and its gates burned (1:3). Ezra 4:7-23 records that an earlier attempt to rebuild the walls had been stopped by a royal order of this same Artaxerxes after accusations from officials in Samaria, which makes the king's change of heart in Nehemiah 2 all the more striking.

The Persian Empire was at the height of its power. Judah was a small province within the region Beyond the River, ringed by hostile neighbors: Sanballat, linked with Samaria to the north; Tobiah, an Ammonite official to the east; and Geshem the Arab, representing the Arab tribes to the south. Inside the community, famine, the king's tax and debt were forcing poor families to mortgage their fields and sell their children into slavery (5:1-5). Nehemiah served twelve years as governor (5:14), went back to the king in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes (433 BC) and later returned to Jerusalem (13:6-7).

Geographical context

The book opens in Susa, the Persian royal city in what is today southwestern Iran, where Nehemiah served as cupbearer to the king (1:1, 11). With royal letters he traveled to Jerusalem through the territory of the governors of the province Beyond the River, and he received timber from the king's forest for the gates of the fortress by the temple, for the city wall and for his own house (2:7-9).

Jerusalem is the heart of the book. Nehemiah inspects the ruined walls by night, leaving by the Valley Gate and passing the Dragon Spring, the Dung Gate, the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, where there was no room for his animal to pass (2:13-15). Chapter 3 walks around the wall counterclockwise from the Sheep Gate near the temple, through the Fish Gate, the Valley Gate, the Water Gate and the Horse Gate, and back to the Sheep Gate. Beyond the city, Nehemiah's enemies try to lure him to a village in the plain of Ono, near the edge of Judah's territory (6:2).

Why does the book of Nehemiah exist?

Nehemiah shows how God restores a broken people and what faithful leadership looks like in that work. The wall mattered: without it Jerusalem was exposed to raids and lived in disgrace (1:3; 2:17). By recording the prayers, planning, courage and integrity of one man, the book shows God's good hand guiding events through ordinary means, such as letters, timber, guards and hard work (2:8, 18), and it reminds discouraged readers that the God of heaven makes his servants prosper (2:20).

The book also insists that walls alone cannot make a holy city. Chapters 8-10 put the Word of God at the center: the Law is read and explained, and the people weep, celebrate, confess and bind themselves by a written covenant. Chapter 13, however, shows the same people breaking several of those promises within a few years. Nehemiah thus exposes the limits of every reform and leaves readers longing for the deeper renewal of the heart that the prophets had promised (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:26-27).

Outline of Nehemiah

Chapters 1-2
Nehemiah's burden and the king's permission
In Susa, Nehemiah hears that Jerusalem's wall is broken and its gates burned. He mourns, fasts and prays (1:4-11). Months later the king notices his sadness; Nehemiah prays silently, asks to rebuild the city, inspects the walls by night and calls the people to build (2:17-18).
- 1
- 2
Chapters 3-4
Building under threat
Priests, goldsmiths, perfumers, rulers and families each repair a section near the gates or opposite their own houses. Sanballat and Tobiah mock and plot an attack, so Nehemiah sets guards; half the men work while half hold spears, and every builder wears a sword (4:16-18).
- 3
- 4
Chapter 5
Justice inside the community
Poor families cry out: they have mortgaged fields to buy grain, borrowed to pay the king's tax and sold children into slavery. Nehemiah rebukes the nobles for charging interest, makes them restore what they took and refuses the governor's food allowance for twelve years (5:14-18).
- 5
Chapters 6-7
The wall completed and the city organized
Nehemiah refuses invitations to the plain of Ono, ignores a slanderous letter and rejects a hired prophet's advice to hide in the temple. The wall is finished on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days (6:15). He appoints gatekeepers and guards and finds the register of the first returnees (7:5-73).
- 6
- 7
Chapters 8-10
The Word, confession and covenant
In the seventh month Ezra reads the Law from early morning until midday while the Levites explain it (8:1-8). The people weep, then celebrate the Feast of Booths. On the twenty-fourth day they fast and confess (9:1-37), and they seal a covenant to keep the Law, the Sabbath and the offerings (9:38-10:39).
- 8
- 9
- 10
Chapters 11-12
A repopulated city and a dedicated wall
One in ten is chosen by lot to live in Jerusalem (11:1-2), and lists record the residents, priests and Levites. At the dedication two thanksgiving choirs march on the wall in opposite directions and meet at the temple, and the joy of Jerusalem is heard far away (12:27-43).
- 11
- 12
Chapter 13
Nehemiah's final reforms
Back from the king's court, Nehemiah throws Tobiah out of a temple storeroom, restores the Levites' portions, shuts the gates on the Sabbath and confronts marriages to women of Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. The book ends with his prayer that God remember him for good (13:31).
- 13

Famous passages in Nehemiah

Nehemiah 1:4-11
Nehemiah's prayer for Jerusalem
When he hears of Jerusalem's ruin, Nehemiah sits down and weeps, mourning and fasting for days. His prayer praises the great and awesome God who keeps covenant, confesses the sins of Israel and of his own family, recalls God's promise through Moses to gather the scattered who return to him and asks for favor before the king. It is a model of intercession rooted in Scripture.
Study Nehemiah 1 →
Nehemiah 2:1-8
A silent prayer before the king
Some four months later, in the month of Nisan, King Artaxerxes notices that his cupbearer looks sad. Very much afraid, Nehemiah explains the ruin of the city where his fathers are buried. When the king asks what he wants, Nehemiah prays to the God of heaven and then makes his request (2:4-5). The king grants it, with letters and timber, because the good hand of God was on him.
Study Nehemiah 2 →
Nehemiah 4:7-23
Working with one hand, armed with the other
As enemies plot an attack, the people pray to God and set a guard day and night (4:9). Nehemiah stations families with swords, spears and bows and tells them to remember the Lord, great and awesome. From then on those who carried loads worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other (4:17), and a trumpeter stood ready to call everyone to the place of attack.
Study Nehemiah 4 →
Nehemiah 6:1-16
A great work finished in fifty-two days
Sanballat and Geshem invite Nehemiah four times to meet in the plain of Ono, but he replies that he is doing a great work and cannot come down (6:3). He rejects a slanderous letter and a hired prophet's advice to hide in the temple. The wall is completed in fifty-two days, and the surrounding nations perceive that the work was done with the help of God.
Study Nehemiah 6 →
Nehemiah 8:1-12
Ezra reads the Law: the joy of the Lord
The people gather in the square before the Water Gate, and Ezra reads the Book of the Law from a wooden platform from early morning until midday. The Levites read clearly and give the sense, so the people understand (8:8). When the people weep, Nehemiah, Ezra and the Levites tell them to celebrate, because the joy of the Lord is their strength (8:10).
Study Nehemiah 8 →
Nehemiah 9:5-38
The great prayer of the Levites
On a day of fasting, the Levites lead a prayer that retells Israel's story: creation, Abraham, the exodus, Sinai, the wilderness, the conquest, the judges and the exile. Again and again Israel rebels, and God, gracious and merciful, does not forsake them (9:17, 31). The prayer ends with the people binding themselves in a written, sealed covenant (9:38).
Study Nehemiah 9 →
Nehemiah 12:27-43
The joyful dedication of the wall
Levites and singers are gathered from the villages, and the priests purify the people, the gates and the wall. Two great thanksgiving choirs walk on top of the wall in opposite directions, one with Ezra at its head and the other followed by Nehemiah, and they meet at the house of God. They offer great sacrifices, and the joy of Jerusalem is heard far away.
Study Nehemiah 12 →

Main themes

Prayer and action together: Nehemiah prays before, during and after every decision: a long prayer in Susa (1:5-11), a silent prayer before the king (2:4), prayer and a guard against attack (4:9) and short requests that God remember him (5:19; 13:14, 22, 31). Prayer never replaces planning; it directs it.
God's hand in ordinary means: There are no miracles in Nehemiah. God works through a king's favor, letters, timber, organized teams and guards, and Nehemiah credits the good hand of his God (2:8, 18). Even his enemies perceive that the work was done with God's help (6:16).
Opposition from outside and inside: The builders face mockery (4:1-3), threats of attack (4:8), invitations meant as traps (6:2), slander (6:5-7) and a hired prophet (6:10-13). Inside, they face exhaustion (4:10), injustice (5:1-5) and nobles who keep corresponding with Tobiah (6:17-19).
Justice for the poor: Nehemiah treats economic oppression as a sin against God: charging interest and enslaving fellow Jews contradicts the fear of God (5:9). He gives up interest on his own loans, refuses the governor's allowance and feeds 150 Jews and officials at his own table (5:10, 14-18).
The Word read, understood and obeyed: The turning point of the book is a public reading of Scripture (8:1-8). The Levites explain the text, the people respond with tears and joy, rediscover the Feast of Booths (8:14-17), confess their sins (9) and commit in writing to obey (10:29).
Covenant faithfulness and its fragility: The people promise to keep the Sabbath, avoid marriages with the surrounding peoples and support the temple (10:30-39), yet chapter 13 shows each promise broken. The book honestly shows that God's people need continual reform and, ultimately, a new heart.

Main characters

Nehemiah: Son of Hacaliah and cupbearer to King Artaxerxes (1:1, 11). He becomes governor of Judah, rebuilds the walls, defends the poor and reforms the community over twelve years and a later second term. His memoir shows a leader who prays, plans and confronts sin.
Artaxerxes I: King of Persia (465-424 BC). In his twentieth year, with the queen sitting beside him, he grants Nehemiah leave, letters and timber to rebuild Jerusalem (2:1-8), reversing an earlier order that had halted the work (Ezra 4:21).
Hanani: One of Nehemiah's brothers, who brings the news of Jerusalem's distress to Susa (1:2-3). Nehemiah later gives him charge over Jerusalem, together with Hananiah, commander of the citadel, a faithful man who feared God more than many (7:2).
Sanballat the Horonite: Nehemiah's chief opponent, linked with the army of Samaria (4:1-2). He mocks the builders, plots attacks, tries to lure Nehemiah to Ono and hires a prophet to frighten him. A grandson of the high priest Eliashib became his son-in-law (13:28).
Tobiah the Ammonite: An official allied with Sanballat, who jokes that a fox could break down the wall (4:3). He had family ties with nobles of Jerusalem (6:17-18), and a priest gave him a storeroom in the temple courts, which Nehemiah emptied (13:4-8).
Geshem the Arab: The third leader of the opposition (2:19; 6:1-2). He joins in ridiculing the builders and in the plot to meet Nehemiah at Ono, and he backs the rumor that Nehemiah and the Jews plan a revolt (6:6).
Ezra: The priest and scribe who reads the Book of the Law to the assembled people from a wooden platform (8:1-8). He leads one of the two choirs at the dedication of the wall (12:36), a sign of the cooperation between the scribe and the governor.
Eliashib: The high priest who, with his fellow priests, rebuilds the Sheep Gate (3:1). Later a priest named Eliashib, related to Tobiah and in charge of the temple chambers, gives Tobiah a large room there (13:4-5); many think he is the same man.
Shemaiah son of Delaiah: A man confined to his house who urges Nehemiah to hide inside the temple because killers are coming by night. Nehemiah realizes that Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him to make him sin out of fear (6:10-13).

In-depth study of Nehemiah

Introduction

Nehemiah is one of the most personal books of the Old Testament. Its author speaks in the first person, tells us when he was afraid and when he was angry, and keeps interrupting his own story with short prayers. A royal cupbearer in the Persian palace, he hears that Jerusalem's walls are still in ruins nearly a century after the first exiles returned, and the news breaks his heart.

The book has two movements. In chapters 1-7 Nehemiah obtains permission from King Artaxerxes, organizes the people and rebuilds the wall in fifty-two days in the face of ridicule, threats and plots. In chapters 8-13 the focus shifts from stones to people: Ezra reads the Law, the people confess their sins and sign a covenant, the city is repopulated and the wall is dedicated with joy. The book ends not with a triumph but with Nehemiah correcting abuses that had returned while he was away, a realistic picture of spiritual renewal.

Who wrote Nehemiah and when?

Nehemiah's memoir

The opening line presents the book as the words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah (1:1). Large sections are told in the first person: 1:1-7:5, the dedication in 12:31-43 and most of chapter 13. This memoir reads like a report to God as much as to people, punctuated by the request that God remember what Nehemiah has done (5:19; 13:31).

The editor and the lists

Other sections are in the third person or consist of records: the list of the first returnees (7:6-73, nearly identical to Ezra 2), the names of those who sealed the covenant (10:1-27), the residents of Jerusalem and Judah (11:3-36) and the priests and Levites (12:1-26). Because Ezra and Nehemiah were one book in the Hebrew Bible, many scholars think one editor joined Ezra's and Nehemiah's memoirs with these documents. Jewish tradition connects that work with Ezra; others suggest a later editor from the same circle.

Dating

Nehemiah heard the news in the month of Chislev and spoke to the king in Nisan of the twentieth year of Artaxerxes I, that is, late 446 and early 445 BC. He was governor for twelve years (5:14), returned to the king in 433 BC and came back to Jerusalem after some time (13:6-7). The book was probably completed between about 430 and 400 BC; the mention of the high priest Jaddua (12:11, 22) may reflect a slightly later update of the priestly lists.

Literary style and structure

A memoir full of prayers

Nehemiah's voice gives the book its energy. He prays in long form (1:5-11), in an instant (2:4) and in short cries: four times he asks God to remember him for good (5:19; 13:14, 22, 31), and three times he asks God to deal with his enemies (4:4-5; 6:14; 13:29). The narrative moves quickly, with vivid dialogue, sharp contrasts between Nehemiah and his opponents and frequent notes of time.

Two halves

The book can be outlined in two parts:

Rebuilding the walls (1-7): the burden (1), the mission (2), the builders (3), opposition from outside (4) and inside (5), the completion (6) and the guarding of the city (7).
Renewing the people (8-13): the Word read (8), sin confessed (9), the covenant sealed (10), the city filled (11-12) and the covenant tested (13).

Lists with a message

Like Ezra, Nehemiah includes long lists. Chapter 3 is more than a roster: it shows the whole community at work, from the high priest to goldsmiths, perfumers, merchants, district rulers and even Shallum with his daughters (3:12), while noting that the nobles of Tekoa would not stoop to serve (3:5). The lists of chapters 10-12 show who committed to the covenant and who carried the burden of living in the vulnerable city.

An ending without a bow

Chapter 13 deliberately reverses the joy of chapter 12. Point by point, the people break the commitments of chapter 10: the house of God is neglected, the Sabbath is profaned and marriages to the surrounding peoples resume. The book closes with a short prayer rather than a celebration.

Nehemiah in the story of the Bible

Nehemiah continues the story of Ezra and records the last events of Old Testament history, around 430 BC. The prophet Malachi, probably active in the same years, rebukes the same sins: corrupt priests, withheld tithes and broken marriages (Malachi 1:6-14; 2:10-16; 3:8-10). After Nehemiah, the Old Testament falls silent for about four centuries, until the New Testament opens in the Jerusalem whose walls and temple life Nehemiah had restored.

The book is soaked in earlier Scripture. Nehemiah's first prayer recalls God's promise through Moses to gather the scattered who return to him (1:8-9; Deuteronomy 30:1-4). The great prayer of chapter 9 retells the history from Genesis to the exile. Nehemiah enforces the law excluding Ammonites and Moabites from the assembly by citing the story of Balaam (13:1-2; Deuteronomy 23:3-5), and he warns against mixed marriages by recalling how foreign wives led even Solomon into sin (13:26). The New Testament does not quote Nehemiah directly, but the city of the Gospels, with its temple, its walls and its debates about the Sabbath, is the city he rebuilt and reformed.

Nehemiah and Jesus Christ

A builder who leaves the palace. Nehemiah gives up the comfort of the court to identify with a broken city. Many readers see a faint echo of the Son of God, who did not cling to his glory but took the form of a servant (Philippians 2:6-8), though the New Testament does not make this comparison directly.
The greater builder. Nehemiah rebuilt walls of stone; Jesus promised to build his church (Matthew 16:18), a household of living stones built on him as the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:4-5).
Cleansing the house of God. Nehemiah throws Tobiah's furniture out of the temple storeroom (13:8). Jesus, zealous for his Father's house, drives out the merchants and the money changers (John 2:13-17; Mark 11:15-17).
Lord of the Sabbath. Nehemiah shuts the gates to protect the Sabbath (13:19). Jesus calls himself Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27-28) and offers the rest the Sabbath pointed to (Matthew 11:28-30; Hebrews 4:9-10).
A better covenant. The covenant of chapter 10 is broken within a few years. Hebrews explains that God promised a new covenant, written on the heart, and that Jesus is its mediator (Hebrews 8:6-13; Jeremiah 31:31-34).
A city with open gates. Nehemiah's Jerusalem needed guarded gates (7:3). The new Jerusalem of Revelation has gates that will never be shut, because there will be no night there (Revelation 21:25).

Interpretive challenges

Was Nehemiah too harsh?

In chapter 13 Nehemiah confronts the men who married women of Ashdod, Ammon and Moab, curses them, beats some of them and pulls out their hair (13:25). Some readers see a godly zeal; others see a flawed leader whose methods the narrator simply records. The text explains his alarm: half the children could not speak the language of Judah (13:24), and the community was losing its identity and faith. Describing what he did is not the same as prescribing it for church leaders today.

Did Nehemiah pray for revenge?

Nehemiah asks God to turn the enemies' taunts back on their own heads (4:4-5) and to remember their deeds (6:14; 13:29). Like the imprecatory psalms, these prayers hand vengeance over to God instead of taking it personally. Christians read them in light of Jesus' command to pray for enemies (Matthew 5:44) and Paul's reminder that vengeance belongs to the Lord (Romans 12:19).

Why repeat the list of Ezra 2?

Nehemiah 7 reproduces, with small differences in names and figures, the list of the first returnees from Ezra 2. Nehemiah finds the register while planning to repopulate the city (7:4-5), and the list identifies the families who could legitimately settle there. The variations probably come from copying numbers over time or from different stages of the same register.

Is Nehemiah a leadership manual?

Many books draw leadership principles from Nehemiah, and his prayer, planning, delegation and integrity are worth imitating. But the book is first about God, who answers prayer, keeps his covenant and restores his people. Reading it only as a manual risks missing its main subject and its sober ending.

Little-known facts

The name Nehemiah means the Lord comforts.
In the Hebrew text, English 4:1-6 is numbered 3:33-38, and English 9:38 is 10:1, so chapter 10 is numbered one verse higher in Hebrew.
The word for the king's forest in 2:8, pardes, is a Persian loanword that later came into English as paradise.
A papyrus letter dated 407 BC from Elephantine, an island in the Nile, mentions the sons of Sanballat, governor of Samaria, and a high priest Johanan in Jerusalem, the Johanan of Nehemiah 12:22.
An inscription on a silver bowl found in Egypt names Qaynu son of Gashmu, king of Kedar, and many scholars identify Gashmu with Geshem the Arab.
Medieval Hebrew scribes counted the verses of Ezra and Nehemiah as a single book and marked its middle in Nehemiah 3.

How to study Nehemiah

Reading plan

At one chapter a day, Nehemiah takes less than two weeks. For a group, seven sessions follow the outline: the burden and the mission (1-2), building under threat (3-4), justice for the poor (5), completion and organization (6-7), the Word and the covenant (8-10), repopulation and dedication (11-12) and the final reforms (13).

What to look for

Every prayer Nehemiah prays, and what happens right after it.
The forms of opposition and how Nehemiah answers each one.
The phrase the good hand of my God and other signs of God's providence.
The promises of chapter 10 and how chapter 13 tests them.

Teaching it in a Sunday school class or small group

Nehemiah connects naturally with church building projects, ministry teams and anyone facing discouragement. Ask: What breaks our heart the way Jerusalem's ruins broke Nehemiah's? Where are we tempted to come down from the work God gave us? How do we keep prayer and planning together? With youth groups, chapter 4 offers a vivid picture of perseverance, and 8:10 a lesson on joy. Close the series with chapter 13 and the new covenant in Hebrews 8, so the group sees that only Christ can make the renewal lasting.

Nehemiah chapter by chapter

Every chapter of Nehemiah with a summary, key verses explained, themes, people, questions with answers and application.

Frequently asked questions about Nehemiah

Who wrote the book of Nehemiah?

The book opens with the words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah (1:1), and much of it, especially 1:1-7:5, parts of chapter 12 and most of chapter 13, is his first-person memoir. Lists and records were added to it, probably by the editor who joined Ezra and Nehemiah into one book; Jewish tradition connects that work with Ezra. The memoir itself is widely accepted as Nehemiah's own account.

When was Nehemiah written?

Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem in 445 BC, the twentieth year of Artaxerxes I, served twelve years as governor and returned again some time after 433 BC (5:14; 13:6-7). The book was probably completed soon after, around 430-400 BC. The list of high priests reaches Jaddua (12:11, 22), which some take as a sign of later updating.

What is the main message of Nehemiah?

God answers prayer and works through faithful, courageous people to restore what is broken. Nehemiah rebuilds the walls despite fierce opposition, but the book shows that true restoration also needs the Word of God, confession and covenant obedience, and that even sincere reforms fail without a lasting change of heart.

How many chapters does Nehemiah have and how is it organized?

Nehemiah has 13 chapters. Chapters 1-7 tell of the rebuilding of Jerusalem's wall: Nehemiah's prayer and mission (1-2), the work and the opposition (3-6) and the organization of the city (7). Chapters 8-13 tell of the renewal of the people: the reading of the Law and the covenant (8-10), the repopulation and dedication (11-12) and Nehemiah's final reforms (13).

How long did it take to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem?

Nehemiah 6:15 says the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days, in the late summer or early autumn of 445 BC. The speed was possible because many groups worked at once on different sections, stones from the rubble were reused (4:2) and the people had a mind to work (4:6). Even the enemies recognized that God had helped (6:16).

What does the joy of the Lord is your strength mean?

In Nehemiah 8:9-10 the people weep as they hear the Law and realize their sin. Their leaders tell them the day is holy, so they should eat, drink, send portions to those who have nothing and stop grieving. The joy that comes from the Lord, from his mercy and presence, is a stronghold that sustains them. Grief over sin leads to a celebration of grace.

Who were Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem?

They were neighboring leaders who opposed the rebuilding: Sanballat the Horonite, linked with Samaria; Tobiah, an Ammonite official with family ties to Jerusalem's nobles; and Geshem the Arab (2:10, 19). A letter from the Jewish community at Elephantine in Egypt, dated 407 BC, mentions the sons of Sanballat, governor of Samaria, confirming his historical role.

What is the relationship between Ezra and Nehemiah?

The two books were once one in the Hebrew Bible. Ezra, a priest and scribe, came to Jerusalem in 458 BC to teach the Law; Nehemiah, a royal official, came in 445 BC to rebuild the walls and serve as governor. They appear together at the reading of the Law (8:9) and at the dedication of the wall (12:36), the scribe and the governor working side by side.