Commentaries on Nehemiah

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Ezra  ⇐ ⇒  Esther

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More commentaries on Nehemiah:
Whole Old Testament Commentaries,
Whole Bible Commentaries

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Order of Contents

Commentaries  6
Early & Medieval  2
Nehemiah Generally  2
Life & Times of Nehemiah  4
Bible Study  1
Sanballat  1


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Commentaries

The Reformation

Pilkington, James

A Godly Exposition of Nehemiah 1-5  (d. 1576)

Against the Gross Sin of Oppression, Taken out of the Exposition of Mr. James Pilkington upon the 5th Chapter of Nehemiah  in Two Godly and Fruitful Treatises of the Foul & Gross Sin of Oppression...  (Cambridge, 1585)  This is different than the work above.

Bishop Pilkington was one of the English reformers.

** – “Very old fashioned and singular, somewhat in the style of Latimer and perhaps a little coarser.  Pilington’s downright onslaughts upon the vices and follies of his times are fine instances of personal, faithful preaching; they are, however, so minutely descriptive of the manners which then prevailed that they are less useful now.  The style is cramped, and even grotesque, yet Pilkington is a grand old author.  He has only written upon five chapters.” – Spurgeon

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Beginner

Anonymous – Scenes from the Life of Nehemiah; or Chapters for Christian Workers  n.d.  92 pp.

**  “The heads of these chapters would serve exceedingly well for the key-notes of a series of sermons.” – Spurgeon

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Intermediate

Adeney, Walter – Ezra, Nehemiah & Esther  in The Expositor’s Bible  Reprinted by Klock & Klock

Allen, John – A Spiritual Exposition of the Old Testament: from Joshua to the end of the Psalms  (1816)

‘Spiritual reflections after the high Calvinistic school.  Some preachers cannot see Christ where He is, but Allen finds Him where He is not.  There is in these reflections much godly savor, but very little exposition.’ – Spurgeon

This Allen was not the one that translated Calvin’s Institutes.  James Darling said that Allen was an Antinomian (one who believes that Christians are not bound by moral injunctions).  Antinomians, not believing that moral injunctions should be derived from God’s Word, often replaced this large aspect of Scripture’s teaching with finding Christ everywhere in the Bible, especially the Old Testament.

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Advanced

Keil, K.F. – Commentary on Nehemiah

** – “Just the kind of book in which Keil’s method of commenting appears to the best advantage.  He gives much needful information, and thus supplements more didactic works.  We cannot read Keil with pleasure, for we want spiritual meat, but yet it is most desirable for us to know what the text really means.” – Spurgeon

Myers, Jacob – The Anchor Bible: Ezra, Nehemiah  Buy  (1965)  ToC

This is one of the most conservative works in this otherwise very liberal series.

“Important because there are few exegetical and historical works of its kind.  The character studies, the handling of the meaning of the names, and the archaeological information is helpful.” – Cyril J. Barber


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The Early Church on Nehemiah

Compilation

Conti, Marco – ‘Nehemiah’  in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther  (IVP, 2008), pp. 333-73


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The Medieval Church on Nehemiah

Individual

Bede – On Ezra & Nehemiah  ed. Scott De Gregorio  in Translated Texts for Historians  (Liverpool University, 2006)  260 pp.  ToC  Latin

Bede (672/3 –735) was a Medieval English monk and historian.


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On Nehemiah Generally

De Graaf, S.G. – ‘The Temporary Restoration of the City of God’  in Promise & Deliverance, vol. 2: The Failure of Israel’s Theocracy  (Ontario: Paideia Press, 1977), pp. 449-56

De Graff is a Dutch Reformed author who focuses on the unfolding of the Covenant through history.  He writes in an easy to read, but insightful style.

Wright, J. Stafford – The Building of the Second Temple  Buy  (1958)

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The Life & Times of Nehemiah

Randall, J. Montague – Nehemiah, the Tirshatha: his Life & Lessons  (1874)

**  “The substance of thirteen Sunday evening addresses to a village congregation, ‘dictated by the author, who is nearly blind, on the following Monday.’  These familiar and almost chatty discourses are full of gospel teaching, and while they give a fair idea of Nehemiah and his times, they are also enlivened by anecdote, and made exceedingly interesting.  Students will not learn much from these sermons, but they may see how rustic preaching should be done.” – Spurgeon

Rawlinson, George – Ezra & Nehemiah: their Lives & Times  (1890)  200 pp.

Rawlinson was a conservative.

Stowell, Hugh – A Model for Men of Business, or, Lectures on the Character of Nehemiah  (1855)

**  “The author does not attempt a full exposition, but aims at furnishing a plain, practical handbook for men of business and others whose time is limited.  He gives fourteen good, sensible lectures on the Book.” – Spurgeon

Whyte, Alexander – Nehemiah  in Bible Characters, vol. 1  (d. 1921)


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For Bible Study

Bush, George – Scripture Questions Designed Principally for Adult Bible Classes: Deut.-Esther

Bush was a Biblical scholar, a professor of oriental literature in New York City University, and initially a presbyterian minister.


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On Bible Characters in Nehemiah

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Sanballat  Neh. 2, 4, 6

Whyte, Alexander – Sanballat  in Bible Characters  (d. 1921)

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Related Pages

Whole Bible Commentaries

Old Testament Commentaries

New Testament Commentaries