ty
factors in arousing the men of Jerusalem to those herculean efforts which
alone made possible the rebuilding of the walls in the brief period of
fifty-two days.

III. The Historical Value of Nehemiah 13. In his _Composition of
Ezra-Nehemiah_ (pp. 44-49) Professor Torrey, of Yale, maintains that this
chapter is a pure creation of the Chronicler. Certainly its phraseology
and the subjects with which it deals are characteristic of the Chronicler,
but on the whole it is probable that he has here simply recast what was
originally an extract from the memoirs of Nehemiah. Some of the phrases
peculiar to the Chronicler are loosely connected with the context. The
nucleus which remains has the vigorous style of Nehemiah and many of his
peculiar idioms. Its courageous, assertive spirit is very different from
that of the other writings of the Chronicler. It is also doubtful whether
this later writer, with his strong, priestly interests, would have made
Nehemiah, the layman, a religious reformer and therefore in a sense the
rival of Ezra. Above all, the work attributed to Nehemiah in this
chapter is in harmony with his spirit and attitude, as revealed in the
unquestioned extracts from his memoirs. Already, as stated in 1:20, he had
told Sanballat and Tobiah that they should have no portion or memorial in
Jerusalem. He had already shown himself keen in righting wrongs within the
community. Zeal in preserving the sanctity of the sabbath and in opposing
heathen marriages was characteristic rather of the Jews of the dispersion
than of those of Palestine. It is probable, therefore, that this chapter
records Nehemiah's work when he revisited Jerusalem some time after 432
B.C., although it must be frankly confessed that the historical evidence
is far from conclusive and that the entire account of this second visit,
including the chronological data in 5:14 and the reference to the
expulsion of Sanballat in 1:20, may possibly be due to the Chronicler's
desire to discredit the Samaritans and to enlist the authority of Nehemiah
in support of the later priestly laws and customs.

IV. Regulations Regarding the Temple Service. The expulsion of Tobiah
the Ammonite from the room which had been assigned him in the temple by
Eliashib, the high priest, was apparently due to two reasons, first
because Tobiah was _persona non grata_ to Nehemiah and had already shown
himself a dangerous foe to the Jews. The second and chief reason was
because the roo