BBB Bible Series: Nehemiah Trivia Quiz

Answer: prayed to the God of heaven

Nehemiah served as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes; he was an important personal servant. When the king noticed that Nehemiah was upset, and invited him to make a personal request, Nehemiah demonstrated a character and an attitude often portrayed in the Bible as admirable: he was humble enough not to rely on his own wit or wisdom, and he placed his trust in God. Nehemiah offered up what was doubtless a very quick prayer that God would guide him in answering the king. We see from Nehemiah 1:4 onwards that, after he heard the news of Jerusalem, Nehemiah spent much time in prayer and fasting.

The Bible teaches that this is a way of drawing close to God, and the closer one is to God, the simpler communication with Him becomes.

Answer: inspected the walls and gates

A good administrator, Nehemiah first set out to take the measure of the task ahead. Far from holding meetings with anyone, Nehemiah told no one what he was doing. It seems that he wanted to keep his intentions hidden, especially from the pagan tribes of the area, until he was ready to move the people to action.

Answer: Horonite, Ammonite and Arab

Sanballat is described as a 'Horonite': probably a native of Horonaim in Moab, or possibly hailing from Upper or Lower Beth-Horon, about 15 kilometres to the northwest of Jerusalem. Tobiah was an Ammonite, a member of that tribe descended from Lot, Abraham's nephew. The Ammonites are consistently portrayed in the Bible as enemies of the Israelites. Geshem is described as an 'Arab' (or 'Arabian') and is believed to have been a chieftain of one of the pagan tribes between Jerusalem and Egypt, astride the trade routes between Asia and Africa.

Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem sometime around 445 BC. The Greeks would not be a factor for another century yet: Alexander the Great reigned 336-323 BC. The Essenes only began to appear after 200 BC, and the only man ever referred to in the Bible as a 'Tishbite' was Elijah.

Answer: Will they complete it in a day?

'Rome wasn't built in a day' is one common form of the proverb, meaning that a great task cannot be accomplished in a short time. The origin of the 'Rome' proverb may well be connected to this text.

Tobiah jested that even the weight of a little desert fox (or jackal) would be enough to bring down the city wall, implying that their workmanship was of very poor quality. In fact, the work of the builders would endure for centuries. When Alexander arrived, the city fathers surrendered the city without a fight. Only during the Seleucid wars of the third century before Jesus Christ, did the walls suffer partial damage. The greater part of these walls built under Nehemiah's leadership would survive for nearly 500 years, until Jerusalem was once again completely destroyed, this time by the Romans in 70 AD.

Answer: belted to them

If Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem intended to intimidate the Jews, they failed. If they intended to warn the Jews to be on their guard, they succeeded admirably. Nehemiah, the governor, took the danger of an attack extremely seriously, and all of his people were to remain at a state of immediate readiness for war and to respond to a trumpet call at need. Every man of fighting age had a weapon constantly within immediate reach.

Answer: because of the fear of God

Nehemiah plainly regarded with contempt the corrupt practices of self-enrichment, and consequent hardships imposed on the common people, which he had observed in other governors and rulers. As an ethical man, he would not engage in them; his respect for God and his understanding of the intent of the letter of God's laws would keep him from such conduct.

Answer: "Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands."

Not for Nehemiah the self-centred "Keep me safe from harm" prayer, nor the vengeful, angry prayers for harm to his enemies. No, Nehemiah was focused upon the accomplishment of what he wholeheartedly believed was God's will, and he prayed instead for the strength of will to fulfil that purpose. With God on his side, and his trust entirely in the Lord, Nehemiah would not turn aside at all for the sake of threats or lies.

Answer: Ezra the scribe

Ezra was priest as well as scribe, and the book of the law was in his keeping: "...they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month.

Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday" (Nehemiah 8:1b-3a, NJKV).

Answer: they wept

Ezra read, and several of the most gifted of the priests and scribes interpreted and explained the meaning of the Law to the people. It would have been difficult for one man to make his voice heard throughout a crowd of several thousand people -- quite possibly 12,000 or more.

In the context it is clear that when the people heard and understood to what extent they had neglected, or gone astray from, the Law of the Lord, they wept in genuine sorrow and repentance for their sins.

Answer: Sukkoth

Sukkoth (also spelled 'Sukkot') is the Hebrew name for the festival (religious holiday or holy day/s) of booths, or tabernacles. During the seven days of Sukkoth the people construct temporary shelters out of leafy branches, and live in them for the duration, to commemorate the time of wandering in the wilderness, when the Lord brought His people out of Egypt, and before He gave them the Promised Land of Canaan.

Answer: They confessed their sins

Nehemiah, Ezra, the leaders, heads of families, and all the people, having rediscovered the written Law, began to apply it earnestly. They were painfully aware of having wandered into contravention of God's Law, but they had also discovered that the Law itself prescribed a path of repentance and sacrifice by which they could be reinstated into righteousness.

The first step was confession, in which the whole community admitted its collective guilt before God.

Answer: a covenant of renewed faithfulness

Here is the good (for Judaism) that came out of the loss of Jerusalem, and of the Temple of Solomon, and out of the Exile: the Israelites, that persistently unfaithful Biblical people, became the Jews, who here made a commitment to be faithful to God.

They would not, as a people, break it again. Some Christians have argued that in rejecting Jesus, whom Christians believe to be the Messiah of promise, the Jews have once more placed themselves outside of God's covenant. However there can be little doubt that devout Jews continue to be sincerely faithful in their faith.

Answer: one tenth

The prospect of making a living in a Jerusalem of which the city itself within the walls (apart from the Temple) had yet to be rebuilt, would not have been attractive. Some devout people volunteered to do so, and the people honoured them. The remainder of the tenth were chosen by lot (rather like being drafted into the military).

It is very probable that the particular proportion of a tenth was decided upon because of the prevalence in the Law of that proportion as the amount which was due to God - the 'tithe': Nehemiah saw to it that a tithe of the people was given to God's service in the ongoing rebuilding of Jerusalem.

Answer: as thanksgiving choirs

Along with the recovery of the Law, formal worship with its burnt offerings, its priests, sacrifices, readings, prayers and singing was being reinstated. The appointment of these choirs represent Nehemiah's focus upon the idea that it was God Himself who was responsible for the rebuilding of His Temple and the renewal of Jerusalem: it was important that His praises be sung, and that they should be sung in a way that honoured Him.

Answer: Nehemiah threw Tobiah's stuff out

Plainly, Nehemiah lost his temper, and who would blame him? It appears that he, in a rage, himself physically picked up and threw Tobiah's property out of the room, and ordered it cleansed and returned to Temple service: to the service of JHWH. The Bible does not explain how Tobiah wormed his way into the favour of Eliashib the priest, but Nehemiah still knew who the enemy was!