100 GERALD A. KLINGBEIL – CHANTAL J. KLINGBEIL and that a similar course of action needs to be undertaken. In recent North American politics a statement that “Iraq is another Vietnam” would evoke many responses. Most Americans would immediately understand the speaker to be saying that US involvement in the Iraq war is the same as or similar to the US experience in the Vietnam war. Nehemiah could well be attempting to evoke such a memory trigger by his use of the “eyes to hear” phrase. First of all, he would be trying to evoke it in his communication with God whom he is addressing and, secondarily, his audience of later potential readers. The specific context is one of destruction and desolation — at least this is how Nehemiah perceives the situation in Jerusalem to be from the reports that he has just received. Even though there are no clear semantic links, it seems that for Nehemiah the context is similar to the one described in Gen 1,2, perhaps as “without form and void” as the earth was. This is an event that Nehemiah is sure God remembers, God saw the void, God acted and creation took place. After each creation day God saw everything and it was good 36. Nehemiah is asking God to see the situation now, see that it is not good but rather similar to the Whb: Wht “ without form and being void (i.e., chaotic)” before ow o creation. He is asking God to reassert his creative power within the current context. For a Jewish reader this contextual association would not seem stretched. All history began for the Jewish reader with the creation account of God bringing order from chaos. The formation of the Jewish nation itself was seen as a divine creative act by God. The becoming of a nation in Exod 1, the plague narrative in Exod 7–12, as well as the “creation” of the sanctuary (Exod 25–40) are all couched in creation language 37. The reader is now also invited to see how God will act. By means of the “eyes to hear” phrase, the reader has been sensitized to the “seeing motif” that appears repeatedly in the next two chapters. The action that follows in the narrative can quickly be seen. For, after asking God to see, Nehemiah’s prayer is See Gen 1,4.10.12.18.21.25.31. The divine act of seeing and considering it 36 good is closely linked to his creative power. As stated by C. WESTERMANN, Genesis (Minneapolis, MN 1994) III, 113, “such recognition (i.e., seeing) belongs to the very process of creation”. Compare here W.H. SCHMIDT, “Eine Querverbindung — jahwistische 37 Urgeschichte und Plagenerzählungen”, Auf dem Weg zur Endgestalt von G e n e s i s bis II Regum (FS Hans-Christoph Schmitt) (eds. M. BECK – U. SCHORN) (BZAW 370; Berlin 2006) 35-40; B. JANOWSKI, “Der Himmel auf Erden. Zur kosmologischen Bedeutung des Tempels in der Umwelt Israels”, Das biblische Weltbild und seine altorientalischen Kontexte (eds. B. JANOWSKI – B. EGO ; FAT 32; Tübingen 2001) 229-260, and earlier B. JANOWSKI, “ Tempel und Schöpfung”, JBTh 5 (1990) 37-69.