The Reimagination of the House of God in the Book of Ezra-Nehemiah

This thesis examines how the legal exegesis of Ezra-Nehemiah portrays the house of God. I will explore how four topics are repurposed and belong together to reimagine the house of God in the postexilic period: 1) resumption of cultic worship (Ezra 3:1-13; 6:16-22; Neh 10:33-35), 2) provision of priestly dues (Neh 10:36-40; 12:44-47; 13:4-14), 3) observance of the Sabbath (Neh 5:1-19; 10:32; 13:15-22), and 4) prohibition of intermarriage (Ezra 9-10; Neh 10:31; 13:23-29). These four issues appear in both the agreement of the exiles to obey the Torah (Neh 10:31-40) and various sins described in the book (Ezra 9-10; Neh 5:1-19; Neh 13). The fact that the same issues are presented in both positive and negative light reveals the major concerns of the book. Judging from the cultic emphasis in the pledge (Neh 10), Nehemiah’s final reform (Neh 13) and the restoration project in general, I propose that reading the four stipulations and Ezra-Nehemiah as a whole through the lens of the house of God will bring some fruitful understanding of the book. I argue that the author of Ezra-Nehemiah makes use of these four topics (rebuilding and dedication of the temple, tithes, Sabbath and intermarriage) to reimagine the house of God as the realization of the tabernacle and to map out the social order of the postexilic community.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Cambridge

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Lau, Wing Kwan

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• MacDonald, Nathan

• Ezra-Nehemiah
• House of God

Licence

• https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/

Language dc:language

eng

DOI dc:identifier.doi

https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.95858

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/348432