Prophet Nehemiah

Nehemiah was a leader of the Jewish people in the period following the Babylonian captivity, known chiefly for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and for governing the restored community of Judea. He served as cup-bearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes I, a position of considerable trust at the royal court, before being sent to Jerusalem to undertake the work of restoration. His account is preserved in the Old Testament book that bears his name, much of which is written in the first person.

According to the biblical record, Nehemiah returned from the Persian capital in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, dated to 445 or 444 B.C. Having received the king's permission, he organized the inhabitants of Jerusalem to repair the city's broken walls and gates. Despite hostility from officials in the neighbouring districts, the work was completed in fifty-two days. He then served as governor of the province of Judea, by tradition for a period of twelve years.

Alongside the scribe Ezra, Nehemiah carried out a series of religious and social reforms among the returned exiles. These included repopulating the city of Jerusalem, the cancellation of debts, the public reading and observance of the Mosaic Law, and the requirement that Jewish men dissolve marriages to non-Jewish wives. The Orthodox Church numbers Nehemiah among the holy prophets and forefathers and commemorates him as a righteous figure of the Old Testament; he is also remembered during the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers.