[2] Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles,[3] but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE (the so-called "Chronicler") is the final author of these books.

Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B;

[8] This part opens the memoirs (chapter 1–8)[9] of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah, who works in Persia as a court official but worries about the welfare of fellow Jews living in Jerusalem at the time.

[10] The first few verses of this chapter indicate the focus of the whole book of Nehemiah, starting by the introduction of the problem, that is, the "sad state of Jerusalem", followed by the solutions of this problem in the next chapters and the effects on the community in general.

[5] The news of the state of Jerusalem troubled Nehemiah partly because of the 'shame' (reproach; herpa) of this circumstance ("on taunts of foreigners", Psalm 69:20, 21; 71:13; 89:51; 119:22; Isaiah 51:7; Jeremiah 51:51; Lamentations 3:61; Zephaniah 2:8), but perhaps because he is surprised that 'the walls are still down, even after the temple has been rebuilt'.