Campbell, Nicholas J., Separation of the People, Separation of the Land: The Parallel Literary Structures of Ezra 9–10 and Nehemiah 1–3 (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2024), pp. vii + 192. $40.00/£32.00 (hardback), $25.00/£20.00 (paperback and e-book). ISBN 979-8-3852-2302-2 (hardback), 979-8-3852-2301-5 (paperback), 979-8-3852-2303-9 (e-book).
The aim of this monograph is to demonstrate that the narrative structures of Ezra 9–10 and Nehemiah 1–3 have been ‘intentionally shaped to draw the passages together’ (p. 3). Fully two-thirds of the book are first devoted to showing that the structure of the two passages is not comparable with other passages: Ezra 1–2 and 7–8 share many features whereas Nehemiah 1–3 is different; the three passages dealing with mixed marriages (Ezra 9–10; Neh 9–10; 13.23-29) again have no structural comparability. However, a brief outline shows that the structures of the two passages on which C. wants to concentrate are much more closely comparable. Moreover, in their different ways they both emphasise the links between the integrity of the community and possession of the land. This works on the basis of C.’s own way of defining structure, but it remains unsatisfactory in that he avowedly eschews any attention to the history of composition in terms of sources, such as the very distinctive Nehemiah Memoir, and of how they were combined (redaction). ‘Intentionally shaped’ thus seems an odd way to approach two passages of such blatantly different style. It cries out for fuller exploration and explanation. This book thus leaves as many questions unanswered as the one it tries to solve.
H.G.M. Williamson
