Book of Nehemiah ESV

Summary of the Book of Nehemiah

This summary of the book of Nehemiah provides information about the title, author(s), date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the Book of Nehemiah.

Outline

• Nehemiah's First Administration (chs. 1-12)
  • Nehemiah's Response to the Situation in Jerusalem (ch. 1)
    1. News of the plight of Jerusalem (1:1-4)
    2. Nehemiah's prayer (1:5-11)
  • Nehemiah's Journey to Jerusalem (2:1-10)
    1. The king's permission (2:1-8)
    2. The journey itself (2:9-10)
  • Nehemiah's First Actions upon Arrival (2:11-20)
    1. His nocturnal inspection of the walls (2:11-16)
    2. His exhortation to rebuild (2:17-18)
    3. His response to opposition (2:19-20)
  • List of the Builders of the Wall (ch. 3)
    1. The northern section (3:1-7)
    2. The western section (3:8-13)
    3. The southern section (3:14)
    4. The eastern section (3:15-32)
  • Opposition to Rebuilding the Wall (ch. 4)
    1. The derision of Sanballat and Tobiah (4:1-5)
    2. The threat of attack (4:6-15)
    3. Rebuilding the wall (4:16-23)
  • Social and Economic Problems (ch. 5)
    1. The complaints of the poor (5:1-5)
    2. The cancellation of debts (5:6-13)
    3. Nehemiah's unselfish example (5:14-19)
  • The Wall Rebuilt Despite Opposition (ch. 6)
    1. Attempts to snare Nehemiah (6:1-9)
    2. The hiring of false prophets (6:10-14)
    3. The completion of the wall (6:15-19)
  • List of Exiles (7:1-73a)
    1. Provisions for the protection of Jerusalem (7:1-3)
    2. Nehemiah's discovery of the list of returnees (7:4-5)
    3. The returnees delineated (7:6-72)
    4. Settlement of the exiles (7:73a)
  • Ezra's Preaching and the Outbreak of Revival (7:73b;10:39)
    1. The public exposition of the Scriptures (7:73b;8:12)
    2. The Feast of Tabernacles (8:13-18)
    3. A day of fasting, confession and prayer (9:1-5a)
    4. A recital of God's dealings with Israel (9:5b-31)
    5. Confession of sins (9:32-37)
    6. A binding agreement (9:38)
    7. A list of those who sealed it (10:1-29)
    8. Provisions of the agreement (10:30-39)
  • New Residents of Judah and Jerusalem (ch. 11)
    1. New residents for Jerusalem (11:1-24)
       1. Introductory remarks (11:1-4a)
       2. Residents from Judah (11:4b-6)
       3. From Benjamin (11:7-9)
       4. From the priests (11:10-14)
       5. From the Levites (11:15-18)
       6. From the temple staff (11:19-24)
    2. New residents for Judah (11:25-36)
       1. Places settled by those from Judah (11:25-30)
       2. Places settled by those from Benjamin (11:31-35)
       3. Transfer of Levites from Judah to Benjamin (11:36)
  • Lists of Priests and the Dedication of the Wall (ch. 12)
    1. Priests and Levites from the first return (12:1-9)
    2. High priests and Levites since Joiakim (12:10-26)
    3. Dedication of the wall of Jerusalem (12:27-43)
    4. Regulation of the temple offerings and services (12:44-47)
• Nehemiah's Second Administration (ch. 13)
  • Abuses during His Absence (13:1-5)
    1. Mixed marriages (13:1-3)
    2. Tobiah's occupation of the temple quarters (13:4-5)
  • Nehemiah's Return (13:6-9)
    1. His arrival (13:6-7)
    2. His expulsion of Tobiah (13:8-9)
  • Reorganization and Reforms (13:10-31)
    1. Offerings for the temple staff (13:10-14)
    2. Abuse of the Sabbath (13:15-22)
    3. Mixed marriages (13:23-29)
    4. Provisions of wood and firstfruits (13:30-31)

From the NIV Study Bible, Introductions to the Books of the Bible, Nehemiah
Copyright 2002 © Zondervan. All rights reserved. Used with permission.