Meaning of the Name Nehemiah
Nehemiah is connected with the Hebrew semantic field of comforting or consoling. It is often explained as "YHWH comforts" or "God has comforted." This interpretation fits well with familiar theophoric naming patterns.
Origin
The name Nehemiah is of Hebrew origin.
Who is Nehemiah in the Bible?
Nehemiah is the royal official who later leads the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls. He is influential in both administrative and spiritual renewal and stands, together with Ezra, at the center of the post-exilic community's restoration. Others share the name, but the governor in the book of Nehemiah is the best known.
The story of Nehemiah in the Bible
Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah, served as cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes. While he was in the citadel of Susa, visitors from Judah told him that Jerusalem's walls lay in ruins, its gates were burned, and its people were in great distress. He wept for days, fasted and prayed, and then laid the burden of his heart before the king, who granted him leave along with letters for the journey and for building timber. Arriving in Jerusalem, Nehemiah inspected the walls secretly by night, then rallied the people to rise and rebuild together. He had to contend with the mockery, threats, and plots of Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem; the builders worked with one hand while holding a weapon with the other. The wall was finished in fifty-two days, and even the enemies had to admit the work had been accomplished with God's help. As governor he eased the crushing burden of debt, stood beside Ezra at the public reading of the Law, and later carried out further reforms concerning the Sabbath and the temple.
Is Nehemiah mentioned in the Quran?
The name Nehemiah does not appear in the Quran; he is known from the book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament as the governor who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem.
Verses where Nehemiah appears
- Nehemiah 1:1 —
The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,
- Nehemiah 2:17 —
Then I said to them, “You see the evil case that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come, let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we won’t be disgraced.”
- Nehemiah 6:15 —
So the wall was finished in the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days.