Nehemiah 11:1-26

B. The Residents of the Land 11:1-12:26

When the exiles returned to the Promised Land, living in Jerusalem was not an attractive prospect because the city lay in ruins. However, with the rebuilding of the temple and the walls, the capital became a more desirable place to live. Nehemiah as governor saw the wisdom of populating Jerusalem with pureblooded Jews and set about to encourage the people to live within the city walls. Most of this section of the book (Nehemiah 11:3 to Nehemiah 12:26) is a parenthetical interjection into the chronological progression of the narrative.