Identity amid Social Conflicts

Abstract

The Nehemiah memoir in Neh 1–6 narrates a series of group conflicts between the Judean community and peoples from the surrounding provinces, and among the social groups within the community. The research questions are: Who were the entailing social groups in the intergroup and intragroup conflicts? How does the final text of Neh 1–6 depict the Judeans’ self-perception of their group identity? The investigation employs textual analysis and draws on social identity approaches (SIT/SCT). This study argues that Neh 1–6 depicts the formation of the Judean community’s self-perceived group identity in the wake of external and internal challenges, considering the contextual implications of the sociopolitical and socioeconomic polemics of Judah in the Persian period. Ethnicity and group beliefs (norms, values, goals, ideology, and prayers) are key identity markers that draw the group boundary between the Judean community and the opposition and members within the Judean community.