Nehemiah 11:1-36

Following The Making Of The Renewed Covenant The Establishment Of The New Jerusalem And Of The Renewed Israel Is Described (Nehemiah 11:1).

Having renewed the covenant it was now necessary for the new Israel to be soundly established, and the words ‘we will not forsake the house of our God' (Nehemiah 10:39) are now shown to be carried into effect by the establishment of Jerusalem as ‘the holy city' (Nehemiah 11:1), surrounded by the ‘encamped' tribes (Nehemiah 11:20), and by the assurance of the legitimacy of its priests and Levites who were responsible for worship (Nehemiah 12:1), headed up by the legitimate High Priests (Nehemiah 12:10).

Chapter 11 is important in emphasising that the holy city was now to be re-established, with the portions of Judah and Benjamin in the land being restored to them. It indicates that YHWH was fulfilling His promises towards Israel. It also emphasises that His true worship is being consolidated as centred on Jerusalem as ‘the holy city'. The writer is not so much concerned with the very limited Persian province/district of Judah, as with demonstrating that the land as a whole had been restored to Judah/Benjamin much in line with what was described in the Book of Joshua. This was demonstrated by ignoring the fact that much of southern Judah was now occupied by the Idumaeans, and by including within the new Israel all Jewish settlements, whether in or outside the province of Judah. Such settlements were found in both in the Negeb (the southernmost part of old Israel), and in the Shephelah (the lowlands to the west). This enabled the presentation of a picture which depicted Judah/Benjamin as settled among the peoples and restored to its inheritance, with their holy city at the centre, a picture of the triumph of YHWH,. (We can compare how in the Book of Joshua we are given the impression that the land has been possessed, while at the same time it is made clear that not all the land has yet been possessed. It was a vision of what would be, rather than of the present reality, and yet given in accordance with the facts).