The document provides an overview of the Books of Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah. It discusses: 1) The historical periods covered by each book - Esther during the Persian king Xerxes' reign, Ezra covering two returns of exiles to Jerusalem led by Zerubbabel and Ezra, and Nehemiah focusing on rebuilding Jerusalem's walls. 2) Key figures in each book - Esther, Mordecai, and Haman in Esther; Zerubbabel and Ezra in the two parts of Ezra; and Nehemiah rebuilding the walls. 3) The overall theme of restoration across the three books - restoration of the temple under Z

3. The Books of Esther,
Ezra & Nehemiah

4. Overview of the 3 Books
Ezra 1-6 Esther Ezra 7-10
13
year
gap
Nehemiah
Restoration under
Zerubbabel
58
year
gap
Reformation
under Ezra
Reconstruction
under Nehemiah
538-515 B.C. 457 B.C. 444-425 B.C
Temple People Walls
Prophets:
Haggai & Zechariah –
Prophet:
Malachi
1st return
(about 50,000 or 2%)
2nd return
(about 2,000)
3rd return

5. Persian Kings in the 3 Books
559-530 B.C. Cyrus “the Great”
Ezra 1-6
530-522 B.C. Cambyses (also called
Artaxerxes or Ahasuerus)
522 B.C. Smerdis (not mentioned)
521-486 B.C. Darius I “the Great”
Esther 486-464 B.C. Ahasuerus (also called
Xerxes) (Esther’s husband)
Ezra 7-10 &
Nehemiah
464-423 B.C. Artaxerxes I (Esther’s stepson,
Ezra’s supporter
& Nehemiah’s boss)
423-404 B.C. Darius II (briefly mentioned
in Neh.12:22)

6. Susa - Capital of the Persian Empire
6

7. Mordecai
• Esther’s cousin
• Raising Esther
• Continually demonstrates
courage, faith and a
desire to do what is right
no matter the cost.
• God fearing Jew

8. Mordecai
 Advised Esther
 Would not bow to Haman
 Later advised
the king

9. Haman
• The antagonist
• Second in command
• Incredibly prideful
• Cowardly
• Manipulative
9

10. Haman
 Insisted that the king's
servants bow to him
 Got angry when Mordecai
didn't bow to him
 Made a plot to kill all the
Jews of ancient Persia
 Had his plot foiled by
Queen Esther
 Got hanged with his 10
sons from the gallows he
had originally ordered built
to hang Mordecai

11. 11

12. Main Theme
The Providence of God
12

13. Esther • Young Jewish
orphan
• Jewish name is
Hadassah,
which means
myrtle
• Courageous
• Faith
• Wise

14. Esther
 Became queen of Persia
 Risked her life to save her people

15. Esther 4:14
For if you remain silent at this time,
relief and deliverance for the Jews
will arise from another place, but you
and your father’s family will perish.
And who knows but that you have
come to your royal position for such a
time as this?”
15

16. EZRA-NEHEMIAH
God’s People Return
to the Land

17. EZRA - GENERAL INTRODUCTION
 Ezra continues the OT narrative of 2
Chronicles by showing how God
fulfills his promise to return His
people to the Land of Promise after
70 years of exile.
 The return is viewed as a “second
exodus,” but, this time, from Babylon.

18. EZRA
Ezra relates the story of two returns from
Babylon:
1) The first led by Zerubbabel to rebuild
the Temple (chaps. 1-6)
2) The second under the leadership of
Ezra to rebuild the spiritual condition of
the people (chaps. 7-10)

19. EZRA
 Ezra and Nehemiah were treated as a
unit in the original Hebrew as and in
the Septuagint.
 The two were separated in the Latin
translation, and English translations
have likewise treated them as
separate works.

20. AUTHORSHIP
 Although not specifically mentioned as
the author, Ezra is the best candidate.
 The Talmud attributes the book to Ezra,
and portions of the book (7:28-9:15) are
written in the first person, from Ezra’s
point of view.
 There is a strong priestly emphasis, and
Ezra was a direct priestly descendant of
Aaron through Eleazar, Phineas, and
Zadok.

21. DATE
Just as the Israelites were taken into
exile in three stages (605,597,586 B.C.),
they returned in three stages.
1) The first occurred under the
leadership of Zerubbabel (c. 538
B.C.). After a long delay, the Temple
was rebuilt (c. 520-516 B.C.),
encouraged by the prophets Haggai
and Zechariah.

22. DATE
2) Ezra led the second return in the year
of Artaxerxes I (c. 458 B.C.)
3) Nehemiah led the final return in the
twentieth year of Artexerxes I (c. 444
B.C.)
Ezra probably wrote this book between
457 B.C. (The events of chapters 7-10)
and 444 B.C. (Nehemiah’s arrival in
Jerusalem).

23. THEME AND LITERARY STRUCTURE
Ezra divides his book into two sections:
1) The Restoration of the Temple
(Chaps. 1-6)
2) The Reformation of the People
(Chaps. 7-10)

24. THEME
 The basic theme of Ezra is restoration.
 This theme is played out in the
restoration of the temple and the
spiritual, moral and social restoration of
the returned remnant in Jerusalem
under the leadership of Zerubbabel
and Ezra.
 Both are undertaken despite opposition
and difficulty.

25. CONTEXT
 The restoration of temple and people
required a reassertion of the distinctive
identity of Israel and her faith, together
with separation from other peoples and
pagan beliefs.
 This restoration was taking place in the
context of the Persian empire, in which
the dominant religious tendency was
the merging of religious beliefs into
one.

26. CONTEXT
 In this context, the reestablishment
of a temple worship purified of pagan
religious influences and the
purification of the people from
intermarriage with other peoples
were both necessary.

27. EZRA’S REFORMS
1) The problem of foreign wives (9-10)
Discovering that many of the Jews
had married non-Jewish women, Ezra
tore his clothes, pulled his hair, and
went into a state of mourning. Those
who had married non-Jewish women
divorced them and sent them away
with any children born to them.

28. EZRA’S REFORMS
2) The Renewing of the Covenant
(Neh. 8-9)
Ezra called the people together for a
covenant renewal ceremony.
First, there was the reading of the Torah (in
Hebrew)
Second, the Scriptures were translated into
Aramaic (the language of the people). This
is the first recorded attempt to paraphrase
the Scriptures into Aramaic.

29. NEHEMIAH
 Nehemiah was a contemporary of Ezra,
and cupbearer to the king of Persia. He
led the third return to Jerusalem from
exile.
 He gained the king’s permission to
return to Jerusalem and lead his people
in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.
 The task was completed in 52 days,
while the task of reviving and reforming
the people of God demanded years.

30. AUTHORSHIP
 Because of the close connection
between Ezra and Nehemiah, many
scholars believe that the same person
compiled both books, probably Ezra.
 Neh. 1:1 describes the contents as
being “the words of Nehemiah.”
 The narrative is also in first person, so
Ezra, as compiler, was apparently
quoting from the writings of Nehemiah.

31. AUTHORSHIP
 Nehemiah was the cupbearer to King
Artexerxes. This was more like an
advisor than a butler.
 That the king made Nehemiah the
governor of Judah bears witness to
his administrative abilities.

32. DATE
 The book of Nehemiah focuses on the
events surrounding the third return from
Exile, in 444 B.C.
 Nehemiah served twice as governor of
Judah. His first term lasted 12 years.
 His second term began prior to 424 B.C.
(The death of the king).
 Thus the book was probably written
between 430 and 420 B.C.

33. THEMES AND STRUCTURE
 The book of Nehemiah completes the
historical account of God's people in
the OT. This is about 400 years before
the birth of the promised Messiah.
 The book is divided in two sections:
 The reconstruction of the wall (1-7)
 The restoration of the people (8-13)

34. CONTENTS
o While Ezra deals with the religious
restoration of Judah, Nehemiah is
primarily concerned with Judah's
political and geographical restoration.
o Great attention is devoted to the
rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls, for
the city was the spiritual and political
center of Judah.

35. Nehemiah's mission

36. The temple stood unprotected
without city walls

37. Prayer and vision

38. King’s Help
Granted

39. Nehemiah
wisely
investigated
the situation
before
getting
started

40. Mount
of
Olives
Sheep Gate
Tower
of 100
Tower of
Hananel
Fish Gate
Jeshanah
(Old Gate?)
Broad Wall
Tower of the
Ovens?
Valley Gate
Dung Gate
Pool of Shelah
(Siloam)
Fountain Gate
The Angle
Water Gate
Great Projecting Tower
Wall of Ophel
Horse Gate
East Gate
Inspection Gate
304

41. Enemies in
Nehemiah’s Time
Geshom
the Arab
Sanballat
the Samaritan
Tobiah
the Ammonite
NEHEMIAH

42. The Initial Challenge: Discouraging Ridicule (1-
3)
 “Angry and Greatly Incensed”
 Ridicule
 “Feeble Jews”

43. The Initial Challenge: Discouraging Ridicule (1-
3)
 Will they restore the wall?
 Will they offer sacrifices?
 Will they finish in a day?
 Can they “resurrect” the wall from a pile of rubble?

44. The Initial Challenge: Discouraging Ridicule (1-3):
Tobiah’s Fox

46. The Initial Comeback: Prayer
(4:4-5)
 Hear us
 Note our situation
 Repay in kind

47.  Return their insults upon themselves!
 Let them become plundered and taken captive!
 Do not forgive their sin!
Nehemiah’s “Imprecatory” Prayer (4: 4-5)

48. The Initial Outcome: The Work Continues (6)

49. The Next Challenge: Dangerous Threats (7-8, 11-12)
 Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of
Ashdod became very angry.
 They plotted to fight together against Jerusalem and cause
trouble for the builders.
 They promised to kill the builders if they had to in order to stop
them from succeeding.

50. The Next Comeback:
Prayer with Wise Action
(9, 13-14, 16-20, 22-23)

51. How to Defeat the Enemy’s Dangerous
Discouragements:
 God-dependent Prayer
 God-informed Planning
 God-empowered Action

52. The Ultimate Outcome: The Work Continues
(15, 21)

53. Summary and Conclusion:
 When opposition and discouragement arose, Nehemiah first
sought God in prayer.
 The work of God continued.
 When dangerous threats arose, Nehemiah first sought God
in prayer and acted with wisdom.
 The work of God continued.

54. Personal Application:
 What discouragement or danger are you facing in your
own life right now that is trying to keep you from
serving God fearlessly and whole-heartedly?
 What steps might you take to seek God in this
situation and act with His wisdom?

55. Dr. Pothana
+91-8309511427
bhaktapothana@gmail.com
Old Testament Survey:
Book of 1 Kings