Nehemiah son of Hacaliah was appointed governor of Judah by Artaxerxes I, the king of Persia (464–424 BCE). He was one of the principal leaders of the Jewish national and religious renaissance during the Second Temple period. While serving as head butler in the royal court at Shushan, Nehemiah learned of the serious plight of Jerusalem Jewry and received the king's permission to return to Judah and to supervise its restoration. Under his leadership, Jerusalem's ruined walls were repaired; this in spite of the vigorous opposition of the neighboring peoples led by Sanballat the Horonite, governor of Samaria, Tobias the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arab. In time, the wealthy from other regions of Judah returned to Jerusalem. The conditions for the poor improved after the money-lenders were ordered to return property they had confiscated from those unable to repay their loans. The tax burden was lightened and defaulting borrowers who had previously been sold into slavery were freed. Intermarriage was banned, Sabbath observance intensified, and the Temple service reinstituted, along with the procedures for the priestly gifts and those of the Levites.
In addition to securing the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah succeeded, together with Ezra, in persuading the people to accept Torah law as the law of the land, and to institute the practice of regular public Torah readings. After a stay in Shushan, Nehemiah returned in 432 BCE to Jerusalem to complete his activities. The Book of Nehemiah is part of the post-exilic writings of the Hagiographa.
