The Theology of the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah

by Roger S. Nam

In the opening verses of the Book of Ezra-Nehemiah, King Cyrus exhorts the exiled Judeans to return to Jerusalem to restore worship in Jerusalem. It then narrates this restoration through the construction of the temple, the repair of the city walls, and the commitment to the written Torah. In this volume, Roger Nam offers a new and compelling argument regarding the theology of   that the Judeans' return migration, which extended over several generations, had a totalizing effect on the people. Repatriation was not a single event, but rather a multi-generational process that oscillated between assimilation and preservation of culture. Consequently, Ezra-Nehemiah presents a unique theological perspective. Nam explores the book's prominent theological themes, including trauma, power, identity, community, worship, divine presence, justice, hope, and others – all of which take on a nuanced expression in diaspora.  He also shows how and why Ezra-Nehemiah naturally found a rich reception among emerging early Christian and Jewish interpretive communities.

276 pages, Hardcover

Published November 21, 2024

Reviews

[Erik Champenois · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Theology of the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah" briefly covers the critical scholarship on Ezra-Nehemiah before covering theological themes in Ezra-Nehemiah more in depth: including trauma, power, identity, and other areas. The book then situates Ezra-Nehemiah within the rest of the Hebrew Bible, showing how Ezra-Nehemiah draws on the Torah, Prophets, and the Writings, and finishes with a chapter on Ezra-Nehemiah's reception and interpretation in later postbiblical writings, the New Testament, early Judaism, early Christianity, and early Islam. This is a well written book helpful for anybody as a guide to the book(s) of Ezra and Nehemiah.

What stood out the most to me about Ezra and Nehemiah was the description of Ezra's group's journey to Jerusalem in Ezra 8:21-23, contrasted with that of Nehemiah's group in Nehemiah 2 - and especially contrasted with the story of Moses and the Exodus. Ezra's group goes unarmed to Jerusalem, as Ezra is afraid to ask the king for soldiers since they had assured the king that their God would be with them. So the group fasts and prays and safely arrives at Jerusalem. In contrast, Nehemiah's group goes armed (with captains and horsemen) - and stays armed as they rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. We see here, and in other ways (the rebuilding of the temple vs. the walls of Jerusalem most explicitly) a division between spiritual/ecclesiastical (Ezra) and temporal (Nehemiah) authority. We also see a marked contrast to the miraculous delivery of the Israelites by Moses - whereas God miraculously defended and delivered the Israelites of the Exodus, Ezra demonstrates anxiety and uncertainty that God will even let his group non-miraculously arrive safely in Jerusalem. I think most believers experience God more the Ezra way than the Moses way. Of course, the latter is mythological and ahistorical, but still, Ezra-Nehemiah shows God acting more implicitly - through His spirit, through Persian kings, through safe journeying, than God acting directly and miraculously in the lives of His people.