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Texts -- Nehemiah 6:1-14 (NET)

Context
Opposition to the Rebuilding Efforts Continues
6:1 When Sanballat , Tobiah , Geshem the Arab , and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and no breach remained in it (even though up to that time I had not positioned doors in the gates ), 6:2 Sanballat and Geshem sent word to me saying , “Come on! Let’s set up a time to meet together at Kephirim in the plain of Ono .” Now they intended to do me harm . 6:3 So I sent messengers to them saying , “I am engaged in an important work , and I am unable to come down . Why should the work come to a halt when I leave it to come down to you?” 6:4 They contacted me four times in this way , and I responded the same way each time. 6:5 The fifth time that Sanballat sent his assistant to me in this way , he had an open letter in his hand . 6:6 Written in it were the following words: “Among the nations it is rumored (and Geshem has substantiated this) that you and the Jews have intentions of revolting , and for this reason you are building the wall . Furthermore, according to these rumors you are going to become their king . 6:7 You have also established prophets to announce in Jerusalem on your behalf, ‘We have a king in Judah !’ Now the king is going to hear about these rumors . So come on ! Let’s talk about this.” 6:8 I sent word back to him, “We are not engaged in these activities you are describing . All of this is a figment of your imagination .” 6:9 All of them were wanting to scare us, supposing, “Their hands will grow slack from the work , and it won’t get done .” So now , strengthen my hands ! 6:10 Then I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah , the son of Mehetabel . He was confined to his home. He said , “Let’s set up a time to meet in the house of God , within the temple . Let’s close the doors of the temple , for they are coming to kill you. It will surely be at night that they will come to kill you.” 6:11 But I replied , “Should a man like me run away ? Would someone like me flee to the temple in order to save his life ? I will not go !” 6:12 I recognized the fact that God had not sent him, for he had spoken the prophecy against me as a hired agent of Tobiah and Sanballat . 6:13 He had been hired to scare me so that I would do this and thereby sin . They would thus bring reproach on me and I would be discredited . 6:14 Remember , O my God , Tobiah and Sanballat in light of these actions of theirs– also Noadiah the prophetess and the other prophets who were trying to scare me!

Pericope

NET
  • Neh 6:1-14 -- Opposition to the Rebuilding Efforts Continues

Bible Dictionary

  • ZECHARIAH, BOOK OF

    [isbe] ZECHARIAH, BOOK OF - 1. The Prophet 2. His Times and Mission 3. Contents and Analysis 4. The Critical Question Involved 5. The Unity of the Book 6. Conclusion LITERATURE Few books of the Old Testament are as difficult of int...

  • WOMAN

    [ebd] was "taken out of man" (Gen. 2:23), and therefore the man has the preeminence. "The head of the woman is the man;" but yet honour is to be shown to the wife, "as unto the weaker vessel" (1 Cor. 11:3, 8, 9; 1 Pet. 3:7). Sever...
    [isbe] WOMAN - woom'-an ('ishshah, "a woman" (feminine of 'ish, "a man"]; gune, "a woman" "wife"): I. IN THE CREATIVE PLAN II. IN OLD TESTAMENT TIMES 1. Prominence of Women 2. Social Equality 3. Marriage Laws 4. Inheritance 5. Dome...

  • Sanballat

    [ebd] held some place of authority in Samaria when Nehemiah went up to Jerusalem to rebuild its ruined walls. He vainly attempted to hinder this work (Neh. 2:10, 19; 4:1-12; 6). His daughter became the wife of one of the sons of J...
    [isbe] SANBALLAT - san-bal'-at (canebhallaT; Greek and Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) Sanaballat; Peshitta, Samballat): Sanballat the Horonite was, if the appellation which follows his name indicates his origin, a Moa...
    [nave] SANBALLAT, an enemy of the Jews in rebuilding Jerusalem after the captivity, Neh. 2:10, 19; 4; 6; 13:28.

  • Plain

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. 'abel (Judg. 11:33), a "grassy plain" or "meadow." Instead of "plains of the vineyards," as in the Authorized Version, the Revised Version has "Abel-cheramim" (q.v.), comp. Judg. 11:22; 2 Chr. 16:4. (2.) Heb. 'elon...

  • PROPHECY; PROPHETS, 2

    [isbe] PROPHECY; PROPHETS, 2 - II. Historical Development of the Prophetic Office. 1. Abraham: It is a characteristic peculiarity of the religion of the Old Testament that its very elementary beginnings are of a prophetical nature....

  • Moabite

    [ebd] the designation of a tribe descended from Moab, the son of Lot (Gen. 19:37). From Zoar, the cradle of this tribe, on the south-eastern border of the Dead Sea, they gradually spread over the region on the east of Jordan. Rame...

  • MEHETABEL; MEHETABEEL

    [isbe] MEHETABEL; MEHETABEEL - me-het'-a-bel, me-het'-a-bel (mehetah'el, "whom God makes happy"): (1) Daughter of Matred, wife of Hadad or Hadar, the 8th and apparently last of the kings of Edom (Gen 36:39; 1 Ch 1:50). (2) Grandfat...

  • JOEL (2)

    [isbe] JOEL (2) - (yo'el; Ioel): I. THE PROPHET II. THE BOOK 1. Literary Form 2. Outline of Contents 3. Interpretation (1) Literal (2) Allegorical 4. Indications of Date (1) Place in the Canon (2) Language and Style (3) Quotations ...

  • HIRE

    [isbe] HIRE - hir: Two entirely different words are translated "hire" in the Old Testament: (1) The most frequent one is sakhar, verb sakhar, and verbal adjective sakhir. (a) As a verb it means "to hire" for a wage, either money or...

  • FOUR

    [isbe] FOUR - for ('arba`; tessares): "Four" (cardinal number) was a sacred and complete number with the Hebrews, as well as with several other peoples. It occurs very frequently in the Old Testament and the New Testament. (1) It i...

  • FEIGN

    [isbe] FEIGN - fan (badha, nakhar; plastos): Occurs (1) in the sense of "to devise," "invent" as the translation of badha', "to form," "to fashion" (Neh 6:8, "Thou feignest them out of thine own heart"; compare 1 Ki 12:33, English ...

  • Diplomacy

    [nave] DIPLOMACY. 1 Cor. 9:20-23 See: Tact. Instances of Of Abimelech, Gen. 21:22, 23; 26:26-31. The Gibeonites, in securing a league with the Israelites through deception, Josh. 9:3-16. Of Jephthah, with the king of Moab, uns...

  • Decision

    [nave] DECISION. Deut. 30:19; Josh. 23:8. Josh. 24:15; 1 Sam. 12:20; 1 Kin. 18:21; Psa. 37:34; Psa. 69:13; Prov. 4:25-27; Isa. 50:7; Matt. 24:13 Mark 13:13; Matt. 10:22. Matt. 25:23; Luke 7:23 Matt. 11:6. John 8:31; John 15:4, 5, ...

  • Deception

    [nave] DECEPTION. Instances of By Satan, Gen. 3:4. Abraham, in stating that Sarah was his sister, Gen. 12:13; 20:2. Isaac, in stating that his wife was his sister, Gen. 26:7. Jacob and Rebekah, in imposing Jacob on his father,...

  • DISPERSION, THE

    [isbe] DISPERSION, THE - dis-pur'-shun, (diaspora): 1. Golah and Dispersion 2. Purpose of Dispersion 3. Causes of Dispersion 4. Extent of Dispersion 5. The Eastern Dispersion 6. The Egyptian Dispersion 7. Testimony of Aramaic Papyr...

  • Craftiness

    [nave] CRAFTINESS. Instances of Satan, in the temptation of Eve, Gen. 3:1-5. Jacob, in purchase of Esau's birthright, Gen. 25:31-33; obtaining Isaac's blessing, Gen. 27:6-29; in management of Laban's flocks and herds, Gen. 30:31...

  • Country

    [nave] COUNTRY. Love of Judg. 5:1-31; 2 Sam. 10:12; Neh. 1:1-11; Neh. 2:1-20 chapters 3-6.Neh. 5:1-18; Psa. 137:1-6 The Jews held church and country as one, therefore See: Church, Love for. See also Patriotism.

  • BREACH

    [isbe] BREACH - brech: Represented by (1) perets = "a tear," "a rending asunder," "a break," hence, figuratively "enmity," "disruption," "strife" (Gen 38:29; Jdg 21:15; 2 Sam 5:20; 1 Ch 15:13; Neh 6:1; Job 16:14; Ps 106:23; Isa 30:...

  • BOCHERU

    [isbe] BOCHERU - bo'-ke-roo (bokheru): A son of Azrikam, Saul's descendant (1 Ch 8:38 = 9:34). For the ending ("-u"), compare the forms gashmu (Neh 6:1,6) and melikhu (Neh 12:14 the King James Version and the Revised Version, margi...

  • Armies

    [nave] ARMIES Who of the Israelites were subject to service in, Num. 1:2, 3; 26:2; 2 Chr. 25:5; who were exempt from service in, Num. 1:47-50; 2:33; Deut. 20:5-9; Judg. 7:3. Enumeration of Israel's military forces, Num. 1:2, 3; 26...

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • The years of history the book covers are 445-431 B.C. or perhaps a few years after that.In 445 B.C. (the twentieth year of Artaxerxes' reign, 1:1) Nehemiah learned of the conditions in Jerusalem that led him to request permis...
  • For many years, believers regarded Ezra and Nehemiah as twin books. They called them 1 and 2 Ezra (or Esdras, the Greek transliteration of Ezra). Jerome, who lived in the fourth century A.D., gave 2 Ezra the name Nehemiah. Th...
  • I. The fortification of Jerusalem chs. 1-7A. The return under Nehemiah chs. 1-21. The news concerning Jerusalem 1:1-32. The response of Nehemiah 1:4-113. The request of Nehemiah 2:1-84. The return to Jerusalem 2:9-20B. The re...
  • Nehemiah prayed for four months about conditions in Jerusalem before he spoke to Artaxerxes about them (cf. 1:1; 2:1). Artaxerxes' reign began in the seventh Jewish month, Tishri (late September and early October), of 464 B.C...
  • Because of the opposition of the Jews' neighbors, Artaxerxes sent a military escort to accompany Nehemiah to Jerusalem (v. 9). It is not certain how many Jews travelled with Nehemiah on this occasion. The writer gave us no nu...
  • The plain of Ono, to which Nehemiah's adversaries invited him for a meeting (v. 2), lay about 25 miles west and a little north of Jerusalem near Judah's border with Samaria and Ashdod. Israel's present international airport a...
  • Sanballat sent his "open letter"(v. 6) to all the Jews, not just to Nehemiah. Its purpose was doubtless to create division among the Jews who might begin to wonder if their leader's motive really was as Sanballat suggested."A...
  • Shemaiah claimed to have received a prophecy from God (v. 12). He tried to scare Nehemiah into thinking that assassins were after him so he would seek sanctuary inside the temple. The Mosaic Law prohibited anyone but priests ...
  • The builders finished the walls only 52 days after construction had begun (v. 15). "Elul"is late August and early September. Israel's enemies viewed their rapid progress as evidence that God had helped the workers (v. 16)."Th...
  • Eliashib was the high priest (3:1, 20; 13:28). He was evidently a close relative of Tobiah, the Jewish Ammonite leader who had opposed Nehemiah's efforts to rebuild the walls (2:19; 6:1, 17-18). Probably Eliashib cleaned out ...
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. I and II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah. London: SCM Press, 1973.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed., New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William F. The...
  • There were female as well as male prophets in Israel (Exod. 15:20; Judg. 4:4; 2 Kings 22:14; Neh. 6:14; Luke 2:36) and in the early church (Acts 21:9; 1 Cor. 11:5). However there were far fewer female than male prophets, and ...
  • The emphasis in this section is Simeon's prediction of Jesus' ministry (cf. 1:67-79). He pointed out the universal extent of the salvation that Jesus would bring and the rejection that He would experience.2:22-24 Under Mosaic...
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