Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Trevor & Julie Peterson" <06peterson AT cua.edu>]

Liz wrote:

> Is one group spoken of here, or two groups?

I'd say the two groups mentioned are in apposition, and when he says
"Jerusalem," he's interested in the city itself.

> And why would Nehemiah ask about the ones who were not
> taken captive, and why would he call them "Jews"? It doesn't
> seem in character.

Well, like I said, that's without considering any contextual issues. You'd
probably have a better sense of the period than I would, but I'm inclined to
do some re-evaluation once I start reflecting on the circumstances.

> Maybe he means the Jews who had (recently) escaped, i.e., the Jews who
> had been (until then) left behind in the captivity in Babylon.

That's the other possibility that crossed my mind. One thing to look at
would be the usage of the label, to see whether it's "escape" in the sense
of avoiding something altogether or of getting out once you've got in. It
might be both, in which case you wouldn't have much help there. The other
question in my mind is whether there's any sense of escape from Babylon. It
seems to me that most of the language refers to them being sent back by the
Persian authorities. But then maybe I'm reading too much of the English idea
"escape" into the situation. I guess I'll shut up now, since all I really
meant to comment on was the singular form :-)

Trevor Peterson
CUA/Semitics