nehemiah
Nehemiah reads from the book of the law to the people gathered at the Water Gate.
Proper noun 1. A book of the Old Testament: Nehemiah is a book in the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. It is a historical narrative that tells the story of the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls and the spiritual renewal of the Jewish people after their exile in Babylon. 2. The primary figure in that book: Nehemiah is the name of the Jewish official who served as cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes I and later became the governor of Judah, leading the project to rebuild Jerusalem's walls in the 5th century BC.
- As a book title:
- The Book of Nehemiah provides a first-person account of the reconstruction.
- We studied the reforms in Nehemiah during the Bible study.
- Referring to the person:
- Nehemiah was deeply grieved when he heard about Jerusalem's broken walls.
- The leadership of Nehemiah was crucial for the project's success.
- "Nehemiah's prayer": Often refers to the penitent prayer of confession and petition found in Nehemiah Chapter 1, which he prays upon hearing news of Jerusalem's distress.
- The pastor preached on the model of intercession found in Nehemiah's prayer.
- "The Nehemiah Project" or "Nehemiah Model": In modern contexts, these phrases are sometimes used metaphorically in religious or community organizing to describe a concerted effort to rebuild, restore, or revitalize something that has been broken down.
- The community launched a Nehemiah Project to restore the historic downtown district.
- Nehemian (adj): A rarely used adjective meaning pertaining to Nehemiah or the Book of Nehemiah.
- The scholar focused on Nehemian historiography.
- Book: (When referring to the text) The Book of Nehemiah.
- Figure/Person: (When referring to the man) The Governor, The Cupbearer, The Rebuilder.
The term "Nehemiah" almost exclusively refers to the biblical context. Its two primary meanings—the book and the person—are intrinsically linked. In academic or theological discussion, it is important to specify whether one is discussing the literary work or the historical figure, though context usually makes this clear.
Nehemiah reads from the book of the law to the people gathered at the Water Gate.
- an Old Testament book telling how a Jewish official at the court of Artaxerxes I in 444 BC became a leader in rebuilding Jerusalem after the Babylonian Captivity