The author of these two books is the author of the two Books of Chronicles which immediately preceed. He is known to scripture scholars as the Chronicler. He lived after the Exile when the Chosen People were seeking their identity amidst the remains of their homeland. It is likely that the Chronicler wrote these four books around the year 400 B.C. but it is possible that they were written at any time from 538 to the year 300. The Israelites began to return from Babylon in 538 B.C.
The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah are the most important literary source for the Restoration period in Jewish history. They cover one hundred years of events from the Edict of Cyrus in 538 B.C. which allowed the Jews to return to their homeland to the conclusion of the reforms by the principal characters of these books, Ezra and Nehemiah.
Although these books are concerned with historical events, at the same time the Chronicler is primarily concerned with writing religious and theological history. When, where, and who are subordinated in the why of the events. The author never intended to give an eye-witness account. He meant to teach the people their origins, their vocation as God’s Chosen People, their responsibilities to Yahweh – the one, true God who will continue to take care of them if they remain faithful to the Covenant accepted by their ancestors. Thus, as strange as it might seem to us today, scripture scholars are unable to state with assurance or agreement whether Ezra lived before or after Nehemiah. If we read these books for historical knowledge of times and events, we miss the point of the author. However, we will gain a respect and insight into exceptional religious leadership in the persons of Ezra and Nehemiah. The Chronicler would be pleased for that is why he wrote the books.
Ezra is presented with a genealogy that traces his priesthood to Aaron, the brother of Moses. His credentials prove that he truly belongs to the priestly office. He is described as a scribe in the Law of Moses who by long training was qualified to explain the Law and to be a consultant on difficult points of interpretation. It is very likely that Ezra served in the royal Persian court as an adviser on Jewish affairs. What we know of him is found almost exclusively in Ezra, Chapters 7 to 10, and in Nehemiah, Chapters 8 and 9. King Artaxerxes gave Ezra permission to return to Palestine with other volunteers. Their purpose was to resume the proper worship of Yahweh and to settle questions about the Jewish religion. It is very likely that Ezra made necessary adjustments in the liturgy as it was celebrated in the Second Temple constructed by the returned exiles.
Nehemiah held a high position in the Persian court as cupbearer to Artaxerxes I. He must have been a person of extraordinary ability and charm to rise to such a position. At the same time he remained loyal and dedicated to his own people. Nehemiah left his memoirs which begin with a fixed date, December, 445 B.C., when the royal court settled at the winter palace at Susa. The Chronicler incorporates these memoirs in his text in the autobiographical passages of Nehemiah, Chapter 7 and parts of Chapters 11, 12, and 13. Ike Ezra, Nehemiah obtained permission to go to Palestine. His was the task of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem destroyed by the Babylonians almost 150 years previously.
Nehemiah’s task was made extremely difficult by the opposition of Sanballat, governor of Samaria. Rebuilding the wall was essential to repopulating the city. Jerusalem could then become once again the great rallying-point of God’s people it was in the days of David and Solomon. Nehemiah remained steadfast despite threats, ridicule, false prophets, and offers of bribery. His determination is summed up in his famous reply: “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down…” (Neh. 6:3).
Nehemiah remained for twelve years as governor of Judah before returning to the royal court in Persia. He succeeded in rebuilding the wall, repopulating the city of Jerusalem, alleviating the pitiful conditions of the poor by tax reforms, and establishing a system of adequate support for the Levites who carried out the Temple liturgy. He returned to Persia in 433 but was back in Palestine again before the year 424. Again he undertook reforms, for much of what he had accomplished had been destroyed by abuses which had crept in during his absence.
Rarely has a man made more generous use of his talents and opportunities in the service of God and of his own people than Nehemiah. He was a layman with practical good sense and great faith, dedicated to the good of his people. Nehemiah reminds us of another layman St. Thomas More, who fell victim to a king’s displeasure due to his unbending conviction that God must come first. Nehemiah showed the same kind of conviction in the service he contributed to reconstructing the land and people of Yahweh.
Ezra and Nehemiah were the two men responsible for the re-organization of Judaism after the Exile. From the time of Ezra, it was fidelity to the Law of Moses which identified the authentic Jewish way of life. Ezra established a society directed by constitutional law which was an innovation in the ancient Near East. The two working together succeeded in establishing a restored community, gathered around the Temple and obedient to the Law – an ideal of the God-governed society. Theirs was quite an accomplishment and a model of ecclesiastical-lay cooperation.