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Nehemiah 6

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Attempts to Lure Nehemiah Away 1–9

1
Now it came to pass, when it was reported to Sanballat and Tobiah, and to Geshem the Arabian, and unto the rest of our enemies, that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein (though even unto that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), ​
2
that Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. ​
3
And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you? ​
4
And they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.
5
Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand, ​
6
wherein was written, It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel; for which cause thou art building the wall: and thou wouldest be their king, according to these words. ​
7
And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.
8
Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.
9
For they all would have made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. But now, O God, strengthen thou my hands. ​

The Threat of False Prophecy 10–14

10
And I went unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee. ​
11
And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being such as I, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in. ​
12
And I discerned, and, lo, God had not sent him; but he pronounced this prophecy against me: and Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
13
For this cause was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me. ​
14
Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and also the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear. ​

The Wall is Finished 15–16

15
So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifthdayofthe month Elul, in fifty and two days. ​
16
And it came to pass, when all our enemies heardthereof, that all the nations that were about us feared, and were much cast down in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God. ​

Internal Treachery Persists 17–19

17
Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them. ​
18
For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah; and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah to wife. ​
19
Also they spake of his good deeds before me, and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Nehemiah 6

Verse 1

no breach left therein — The 'breach' (perets) is the gap of 4:7, now closed. Only the 'doors upon the gates' were still to be set up; the builders of the Fish gate had hung theirs (3:3), and 7:1 reports the rest done. Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem hear it together, as in 2:19.

Verse 2

the plain of Ono — Ono was built by Shamed, a son of Elpaal (1 Chr 8:12), and stood beside Lod (Neh 11:35). The invitation is to 'meet together' in the 'plain' (biqah), away from the wall. The verse itself gives the purpose: 'they thought to do me mischief'; Ps 37:12 says 'The wicked plotteth against the just'.

Verse 3

I am doing a great work — Melakah, the word for the 'work' of 4:15, 17 and 22, so the wall is the reason he cannot leave it. 'Cease' is shabath, the verb behind 'sabbath'; 'come down' is yarad, since the meeting is in the plain. The same request comes 'four times' and gets the same answer (v.4).

Verse 5

the fifth time with an open letter — 'Open' is pathach, unsealed, so that anyone could read it. Rabshakeh likewise spoke in the Jews' language so that the people on the wall would hear (2 Kgs 18:26–28). The letter (iggereth) is the word used again for the nobles' letters to Tobiah (v.17) and Tobiah's own (v.19).

Verse 6

Gashmu saith it — Gashmu is the longer form of Geshem (2:19; 6:1). 'Rebel' is marad, and the charge that Jerusalem was 'the rebellious and the bad city' (Ezra 4:12) had once stopped the work 'by force and power' (Ezra 4:23). The new part is 'that thou mayest be their king'.

Verse 9

strengthen my hands — 'Weakened' is raphah, to let go, and 'strengthen' is chazaq, the verb of 2:18, where they 'strengthened their hands for this good work'. 'They all made us afraid' uses yare, to fear, which returns in vv.13, 14 and 19. The prayer is one line, asked of God directly.

Verse 10

within the temple, and let us shut the doors — Heykal, the sanctuary building itself, which only priests entered; Uzziah was told to 'go out of the sanctuary' (2 Chr 26:18). 'Shut up' is atsar, Jeremiah's word for himself in Jer 36:5. The proposal rests on a report that men 'will come to slay thee… in the night'.

Verse 11

Should such a man as I flee? — Barach, to flee; Prov 28:1 has the same thought with a different verb, 'The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion'. 'To save his life' is chayah, to live: would a man in his place enter the heykal and live? His answer is two questions and a plain 'I will not go in'.

Verse 13

an evil report — Literally 'an evil name' (shem ra). The aim was to make him afraid enough to 'sin' (chata) by entering the temple, so that they might 'reproach' (charaph) him: the verb behind cherpah, the 'reproach' of 1:3, 2:17 and 5:9. 'Hired' is sakar; v.12 names Tobiah and Sanballat as the ones who hired him.

Verse 14

My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat — Zakar, the verb of 5:19, 'Think upon me, my God, for good', here said of the enemies 'according to these their works'; 13:29 uses it of those who 'defiled the priesthood'. The prophetess Noadiah and 'the rest of the prophets' are set beside them as having tried to put him 'in fear' (yare).

Verse 15

in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul — The date is given as the temple's finishing is: 'the third day of the month Adar' (Ezra 6:15). 'Finished' is shalam. Sanballat had asked 'will they make an end in a day?' (4:2), and the work stood at 'the half thereof' in 4:6; it was complete 'in fifty and two days'.

Verse 16

cast down in their own eyes — Literally 'fell much in their own eyes' (naphal). They 'perceived that this work was wrought of our God', as the nations once said 'The LORD hath done great things for them' (Ps 126:2). Josh 5:1 describes kings who heard and whose 'heart melted'.

Verse 17

the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah — 'Nobles' is chor, the men rebuked in 5:7 for taking interest. 'Letters' (iggereth) is the word of the open letter in v.5, so the writing ran both ways. The ties went further: 'one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son in law to Sanballat' (13:28).

Verse 18

sworn unto him — Shebuah, an oath: many in Judah were bound to Tobiah because he was son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, a family counted in Ezra 2:5. His son Johanan had married the daughter of 'Meshullam the son of Berechiah', who repaired two sections of this wall (3:4, 30).

Verse 19

they reported his good deeds before me — The nobles carried Tobiah's praise to Nehemiah and Nehemiah's words 'to him' (yatsa, to bring out). 'To put me in fear' is yare, the verb of vv.9, 13 and 14, here its last use in the chapter, so the pressure that began in v.9 continues after the wall is done.