Legacy

• Nehemiah is included in Ben Sira’s list of honored ancestors for building Jerusalem’s walls, gates, and houses (Sir 48:13).

• Second Maccabees 1:18–36 records a legend of Nehemiah not included in the Bible. The narrative relates Nehemiah’s participation in the recovery of the altar fire after temple priests had hidden it at exile.

• Second Maccabees 2:13 credits Nehemiah with the establishment of a library and collection of the canon.

• Josephus describes Nehemiah as a ruler palatable to his Roman audience (Antiquities 11.6–8; Feldman, Studies in Josephus’ Rewritten Bible, 489–99; Feldman, “Restoration in Josephus,” 241–42).