Peter H.W. Lau, «Gentile Incorporation into Israel in Ezra - Nehemiah?», Vol. 90 (2009) 356-373
In contrast to other texts dated to the post-exilic period, Ezra – Nehemiah is well known for its separatist policy towards gentiles. Two exceptions in EN are the possible participation of foreigners in the Passover ceremony (Ezra 6,19-21) and the community pledge to follow the Torah (Neh 10,29[28]). An examination of antecedent Passover celebrations reveals that participation in the Passover marks out those who are members of ‘true’ Israel. This article argues that these cases indeed exhibit an anomalous inclusiveness, and discusses how it can be understood within the wider ethno-theological thrust of EN.
Gentile Incorporation into Israel in Ezra – Nehemiah? 371
tile incorporation into Israel (64). In Neh 10, those who comprise Israel
are now identified as the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites,
the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and
μyhlah trwt la twxrah ym[m ldbnh lk
‘All who had separated from the peoples of the lands to follow the
Torah of God’ (Neh 10,29[28]).
The inclusion of foreigners in this verse is the counterpart of Ezra
6,21:
.yhwhyl çrdl μhla ≈rah ywg tamfm ldbnh lk
‘All who had separated from the uncleanness of the nations of the
lands to worship YHWH’.
Reminiscent of Deuteronomy, the members of the Israelite
covenant community pledge themselves to following the general
(Neh 10,29-30) and specific stipulations (10,31-40) of ‘God’s law’
(cf. Deut 8,6; 28,15) (65). Nonetheless, the community described in
Neh 10,29[28] could be taken to exclude foreigners (66). This under-
standing mainly derives from the beginning of Neh 9, which is linked
to Neh 10 by the editorial phrase ‘in view of all this’ (taz lkbw;
10,1)(67). It states that the Israelites separated themselves from ‘all
foreigners’ (rkn ynb; Neh 9,2). However, two main factors militate
against reading Neh 10,29 as a continuation of Neh 9,2.
First, in the current literary context, the separation is closely
linked to what follows. The confession of sins and the iniquities of the
fathers (μhytba twnw[w), followed by the recitation of Israelite history
(Neh 9,2-37) is only pertinent for Israelites (68), not foreigners (69).
(64) As JAPHET, “Peopleâ€, 115 observes, the usage of the phrase la ˆm ldbn
(“separated from … toâ€) in Ezra 6,21 and Neh 10,29[28] is “an excellent defini-
tion of religious conversion: joining a new community for the sake of its faith
and religious way of life, as outlined by its laws.†Cf. HALOT I, 110.
(65) D.J.A. CLINES, “Nehemiah 10 as an Example of Early Jewish Biblical
Exegesisâ€, JSOT 21 (1981) 111. Clines outlines the exegetical moves behind the
application of the law to the post-exilic context in Neh 10.
(66) E.g., F.C. FENSHAM, The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah (Grand Rapids,
MI 1982) 238. Cf. WILLIAMSON, Ezra, Nehemiah, 333.
(67) E.g., CLINES, Ezra, Nehemiah, 200. Cf. D.J. MCCARTHY, “Covenant and
Law in Chronicles-Nehemiahâ€, CBQ 44 (1982) 34-36, who views the whole unit
Neh 8–10 as a covenant renewal.
(68) The shift from their ancestors’ generation to the current generation oc-
curs in 9,32, marked by the fourfold repetition of wnjna (9,33.36a.36b.37). See
D.A. GLATT-GILAD, “Reflections on the Structure and Significance of the
‘amËnËh (Neh 10,29-40)â€, ZAW 112 (2000) 393.
(69) BLENKINSOPP, Ezra-Nehemiah, 296.