---
title: "Who Wrote the Book of Nehemiah?"
canonical: "https://www.bibletolife.com/resources/questions/who-wrote-the-book-of-nehemiah"
markdown: "https://www.bibletolife.com/resources/questions/who-wrote-the-book-of-nehemiah.md"
type: "questions"
typeTitle: "Questions"
authors:
  - "Bryan O'Neal"
date: "2025-02-12"
updated: "2026-09-15"
topics:
  - "Biblical Figures"
perspective: "Learn"
relatedBook: "The Moody Bible Commentary"
relatedBookUrl: "https://www.bibletolife.com/resources/books/the-moody-bible-commentary"
---

# Who Wrote the Book of Nehemiah?

> Nehemiah, the fifth-century BC governor of Judea, is traditionally recognized as the author of the book bearing his name, which contains his first-person memoirs.

**Type:** Questions  
**Published:** February 12, 2025  
**Authors:** [Bryan O'Neal](https://www.bibletolife.com/resources/authors/bryan-oneal)  
**Topics:** [Biblical Figures](https://www.bibletolife.com/resources/topics/biblical-figures)  
**Perspective:** Learn

In the Hebrew Bible the books of Ezra and Nehemiah are treated as a single book (“Ezra-Nehemiah”), spanning nearly a century of history. The latter part, separated as a distinct book in the English Bible (“Nehemiah”), contains the “Nehemiah memoirs” which purport to be the first-person writings of Nehemiah, the two-term governor of Judea in the fifth century BC. Some of the material contained in the book (particularly most of chap. 7, which is a near-exact repetition of the earlier writing of Ezr 2) is obviously drawn from other sources, which the author/editor chose to include in the text. This commentary adopts the traditional view that Nehemiah is the author/editor of the book bearing his name.

## For Further Reading

[The Moody Bible Commentary](https://www.bibletolife.com/resources/books/the-moody-bible-commentary)

by Michael A. Rydelnik and Michael Vanlaningham