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Texts -- Nehemiah 6:1-6 (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 .

Pericope

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

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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...
  • 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...
  • 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...
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