More thoughts, this time from Nehemiah:
Nehemiah is the only Narrative in the Bible told in the first person.
Both Ezra and Nehemiah emphasize the reading of the Law and the observation of the festivals: this is in distinction to the books of Kings and Chronicles, where the law was found only as the Assyrians / Babylonians arrived to cart Israel off to captivity.
Both Ezra and Nehemiah are focused on “cleansing everything foreign” from amongst Israel. Even so, they are dependent on the generosity of a foreign king just so they can rebuild the city.
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