NEHEMIAH, BOOK OF

This book contains the inspired record of Israel's final return from the Babylonian captivity. The leader of the trek was Nehemiah, who brought the Hebrews back in 444 B.C. It is the story of the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls in a time of great discouragement. Though the people had been zealous in the days of Ezra (about a dozen years earlier), they were despondent again. The Jews were persecuted by their enemies and the city walls were in a state of disarray. Nehemiah becomes governor and leads the people to a state of renewal.