20), as well as those in the older Book of the Covenant (Ex. 21-23).  Nehemiah’s position, therefore, when he demanded that these evils be righted, was unassailable.  In the spirit and with the methods of the earlier prophets he gathered together the people, probably within the precincts of the temple court, and plainly and unsparingly denounced their acts.  There is much in common between this later Jewish layman and the shepherd Amos.  Each spoke on the basis of close personal observation and experience; but Nehemiah possessed many advantages over the prophets who had preceded him.  His own personal example lent force to his words.  Although it was his right as governor, he had exacted no tribute from the Judean community.  Even though the opportunity had probably offered itself, he steadily refused to take their hereditary land from the poor who applied to him for loans of money or grain.  Instead of enslaving his countrymen, he had lost no opportunity to free those who had been forced by misfortune or poverty into slavery.  He had also entertained lavishly rich and poor alike, and thus given to all an example of practical charity.  His authority as Persian governor doubtless carried great weight with the cringing, greedy leaders at Jerusalem.  Above all, the force of his personality was irresistible.  It is easy to imagine the powerful impression which his words made upon them.  The restoration of their lands and the freeing of their children were undoubtedly mighty factors in arousing the men of Jerusalem to those herculean efforts which alone made possible the rebuilding of the walls in the brief period of fifty-two days.

III.  The Historical Value of Nehemiah 13.  In his Composition of Ezra-Nehemiah (pp. 44-49) Professor Torrey, of Yale, maintains that this chapter is a pure creation of the Chronicler.  Certainly its phraseology and the subjects with which it deals are characteristic of the Chronicler, but on the whole it is probable that he has here simply recast what was originally an extract from the memoirs of Nehemiah.  Some of the phrases peculiar to the Chronicler are loosely connected with the context.  The nucleus which remains has the vigorous style of Nehemiah and many of his peculiar idioms.  Its courageous, assertive spirit is very different from that of the other writings of the Chronicler.  It is also doubtful whether this later writer, with his strong, priestly interests, would have made Nehemiah, the layman, a religious reformer and therefore in a sense the rival of Ezra.  Above all, the work attributed to Nehemiah in this chapter is in harmony with his spirit and attitude, as revealed in the unquestioned extracts from his memoirs.  Already, as stated in 1:20, he had told Sanballat and Tobiah that they should have no portion or memorial in Jerusalem.  He had already shown himself keen in righting wrongs within the community.  Zeal in preserving the sanctity of the sabbath and in opposing heathen marriages was