(fl. 5th cent BCE)
Israelite, governor of Judah. He was a cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes I, of whom he asked permission to go to Jerusalem. The king agreed, and appointed him governor of Judah. Nehemiah organized the repair of the walls of Jerusalem, and initiated various social and religous reforms. Later he returned to Susa, but subsequently settled in Jerusalem. He and Ezra took steps to discourage the Israelites from contracting mixed marriages.
Dictionary of Jewish Biography. Dan Cohn-Sherbok.