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The Histories · Old Testament

Nehemiah 6

Nehemiah 6: plots against Nehemiah and the wall finished in fifty-two days

General context

When the enemies hear that the wall has no breach left, though the doors are not yet hung, Sanballat and Geshem invite Nehemiah to meet in a village in the plain of Ono. Nehemiah says they meant him mischief and replies that he is doing a great work and cannot come down, four times over. The fifth time Sanballat's servant brings an open letter claiming that it is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu says it, that Nehemiah and the Jews plan to rebel, that he builds the wall to become their king, and that he has appointed prophets to proclaim it. Nehemiah replies that no such things are done and that Sanballat invents them from his own heart, and he prays that God strengthen his hands. He then visits Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, who is shut up and who urges him to hide in the temple because men are coming to kill him by night. Nehemiah refuses, asking whether such a man as he should flee, and perceives that Tobiah and Sanballat had hired Shemaiah so that he would sin and give them an evil report. He asks God to remember Tobiah, Sanballat, the prophetess Noadiah and other prophets who tried to frighten him. The wall is finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days, and the enemies are cast down, perceiving the work was wrought of God. Nehemiah adds that the nobles of Judah exchange letters with Tobiah, that many are sworn to him through marriages to the families of Shechaniah the son of Arah and Meshullam the son of Berechiah, that they report his good deeds and repeat Nehemiah's words to him, and that Tobiah sends letters to frighten him.

Cited passages: Nehemiah 6:1, Nehemiah 6:2, Nehemiah 6:3, Nehemiah 6:4, Nehemiah 6:5, Nehemiah 6:6, Nehemiah 6:7, Nehemiah 6:8, Nehemiah 6:9, Nehemiah 6:10, Nehemiah 6:11, Nehemiah 6:12, Nehemiah 6:13, Nehemiah 6:14, Nehemiah 6:15, Nehemiah 6:16, Nehemiah 6:17, Nehemiah 6:18, Nehemiah 6:19

Nehemiah 6 (KJV)

1Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;)

2That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.

3And 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?

4Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.

5Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand;

6Wherein was written, It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according to these words.

7And 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.

8Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.

9For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.

10Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, 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.

11And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.

12And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

13Therefore 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.

14My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.

15So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days.

16And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.

17Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them.

18For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.

19Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.

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Historical context

Geshem the Arabian of verses 1 and 2 is written Gashmu in the letter of verse 6, and the text does not explain the two spellings. The rumour of rebellion and kingship is the letter's claim, and Nehemiah's denial is his own; the narrator gives no further verdict. Nehemiah's statement that Shemaiah was hired is his perception, introduced by I perceived, though he states it as fact. Shemaiah is described as shut up, and the text does not explain why. Nehemiah's refusal to enter the temple rests on who he is, being as I am, but the text does not spell out the rule he has in mind. Noadiah is called a prophetess and appears only here; nothing else is said about her. The wall is dated to the twenty-fifth of Elul and fifty-two days, the chapter's only date, and the doors are still not hung at the start of the chapter. Tobiah's family ties are given through two marriages, to a daughter of Shechaniah the son of Arah and, for his son, to a daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah, who was one of the builders in chapter 3; the text does not say whether the builder and the father-in-law are the same man, though the name and patronymic match. Tobiah is elsewhere called the Ammonite, and the text does not reconcile that with his marriage into Judah's families.

Cited passages: Nehemiah 6:1, Nehemiah 6:6, Nehemiah 6:8, Nehemiah 6:12, Nehemiah 6:10, Nehemiah 6:11, Nehemiah 6:14, Nehemiah 6:15, Nehemiah 6:18, Nehemiah 3:4, Nehemiah 2:10

Literary context

The chapter is a sequence of attempts to draw Nehemiah away from the wall, each answered by refusal. The four identical invitations and the same reply build a rhythm that the fifth breaks with an open letter. Nehemiah reports each attempt and then gives his reading of the motive, they thought to do me mischief, therefore was he hired, so that the narrative and its interpretation run together. Two short prayers punctuate the chapter, one for strength and one that God remember the plotters, matching the pattern of prayer under pressure from chapters 4 and 5. The temple episode turns on Nehemiah's question about what a man like him may do, and his refusal is phrased as a matter of standing, not only safety. The completion of the wall is stated in one flat sentence, and the enemies' perception that God did the work is the narrator's reversal of their earlier mockery. The chapter does not end in triumph but in letters going both ways between Judah's nobles and Tobiah, so that the finished wall encloses a city still divided in loyalty.

Cited passages: Nehemiah 6:4, Nehemiah 6:5, Nehemiah 6:2, Nehemiah 6:13, Nehemiah 6:9, Nehemiah 6:14, Nehemiah 6:11, Nehemiah 6:15, Nehemiah 6:16, Nehemiah 4:2, Nehemiah 6:17

Key moments

  1. An invitation to Ono (Nehemiah 6:2). Sanballat and Geshem propose a meeting that Nehemiah reads as an intent to harm.
  2. I cannot come down (Nehemiah 6:3). Nehemiah answers that the great work would cease if he left it.
  3. The open letter (Nehemiah 6:6). Sanballat's fifth message accuses Nehemiah of planning rebellion and kingship.
  4. Strengthen my hands (Nehemiah 6:9). Nehemiah prays after saying the enemies tried to weaken the builders.
  5. Refusing the temple (Nehemiah 6:11). Nehemiah will not hide in the temple to save his life.
  6. The wall finished (Nehemiah 6:15). The work is completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul after fifty-two days.
  7. Letters to Tobiah (Nehemiah 6:17). Judah's nobles keep up correspondence with Tobiah, who is tied to them by marriage.

For reflection

Nehemiah refuses to hide in the temple, asking whether such a man as he should flee, and only afterward says he perceived the warning was bought. What does the text show him relying on in that moment, before he had proof?

People in this chapter

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