a distinguished Jewish patriot, and author of the book of Scripture which bears his name, was the son of Hachaliah (Neh. i. 1), and brother of Hanani (vii. 2). His genealogy is unknown. Some think, however, that he was of priestly descent, because his name appears at the head of a list of priests in chap. x. 1-8; but it is obvious, from chap. ix. 38, that he stands there as a prince, and not as a priest. Others with some probability infer, from his station at the Persian court, and the high commission he received, that he was, like Zerubbabel, of the tribe of Judah and of the house of David (Carpzov, Introductio, &c., p. i. 339). While Nehemiah was cup-bearer to Artaxerxes Longimanus in the royal palace of Shushan, 444 B.C., he learned the mournful and desolate condition of the colony returned to Judea. This filled him with such deep concern, that his sad countenance revealed to the king his sorrow of heart, which induced the monarch to send him with full powers to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and "to seek the welfare of the children of Israel." Nehemiah reached Jerusalem B.C. 444, and remained there till B.C. 432 (v. 14). The principal work then accomplished by him was the repairing of the city wall, which was done "in fifty and two days" (vi. 15); notwithstanding many discouragements and difficulties, caused chiefly by Sanballat, a Nehemiah. Moabite of Horonaim, and Tobiah, an Ammonite, who were leading men in the rival and unfriendly colony of Samaria (iv. 1–3), as well as by certain of the Jewish people themselves. Nehemiah, however, displayed great firmness, sagacity, and zeal; and the completion of the wall was most joyously celebrated by a solemn dedication under his own direction (xii. 27–43).

Having succeeded in fortifying the city, he turned his attention to other measures, in order to secure its good government and prosperity (vii. 1–3; xii. 44–47; viii. 1–12; viii. 13–18; ix.; x.; vii. 4; also xi. 1–19). In these important public proceedings, Nehemiah enjoyed the assistance of Ezra, who had gone up to Jerusalem a number of years previously. (See Ezra.)

At the close of his successful administration Nehemiah returned to Babylon in the year 432 B.C., and resumed, as some think, his duties as royal cup-bearer. He returned, however, to Jerusalem, probably about 424 B.C., where his services became again requisite, in consequence of abuses that had crept in during his absence. (See Prideaux, i. 520; Jahn, Einleitung ins A. Test. ii. 288; Winer, Realwörterbuch; also, Hävernick, Einleitung ins A. Test. ii. 324.) The duration of this second administration, during which he effected many important reforms, both social and religious, cannot be accurately determined, but it probably lasted ten years, namely, from 424 to 413 B.C. It is not unlikely that he remained at his post till about the year 405 B.C., towards the close of the reign of Darius Nothus, who is mentioned in chap. xii. 22. At this time Nehemiah would be between sixty and seventy years old, if we suppose him (as most do) to have been only between twenty and thirty when he first went to Jerusalem. That he lived to be an old man is thus quite probable from the sacred history. Josephus (Antiq. xi. 5, 6) states that he died at an advanced age; but of the place and year of his death nothing is known. Besides the account in Josephus, there are some honourable notices of Nehemiah in the Apocrypha.

The Book of, was anciently connected with Ezra, as if it formed part of the same work (Eichhorn, Einleitung, ii. 627) (See Ezra.) From this circumstance some ancient writers were led to call this book the 2d book of Ezra, and even to regard that learned scribe as the author of it (Carpzov, Introductio, &c., p. 336). There can, however, be no reasonable doubt that it proceeded from Nehemiah, for its style and spirit, except in one portion, are wholly unlike Ezra's.

The canonical character of Nehemiah's work is established by very ancient testimony. It is not expressly named, however, by Melito of Sardis (a.D. 170) in his account of the sacred writings; but this creates no difficulty, since he mentions Ezra, of which, as we have seen, Nehemiah was then considered a part. The work is properly a collection of notices of some important transactions that happened during the first year of Nehemiah's government, with a few scraps from his later history. The contents appear to be arranged in chronological order, with the exception perhaps of ch. xii. 27–43, where the account of the dedication of the wall seems out of its proper place: we might expect it rather after ch. vii. 1–4, where the completion of the wall is mentioned. While the book as a whole is considered to have come from Nehemiah, it consists in part of compilation. He doubtless wrote the greater part himself, but some portions he evidently took from other works. It is allowed by all that he is, in the strictest sense, the author of the narrative from ch. i. to ch. vii. 5 (Hävernick, Einleitung, ii. 304). The account in ch. vii. 6–73 is avowedly compiled, for he says in ver. 5, 'I found a register,' &c. This register we actually find also in Ezra ii. 1–70; hence it might be thought that our author borrowed this part from Ezra; but it is more likely, from their obvious discrepancies, that they both copied from public documents, such as "the book of the chronicles" mentioned in Neh. xii. 23, which were not themselves harmonious. The exegetical helps for the explanation of this book are chiefly Poole's Synopsis, Lond. 1669–76; Jo. Clerici, Comm. in Lib. Historicos V. T., Amst. 1708; Maurer, Comment. Crit. Grammat. in V. T., vol. i., Lips. 1833; Strigelii, Scholia in Nehem., Lips. 1575; and Rambach, Annotationes in Librum Nehemiae, Halv., 1751.