Bible Commentaries

Now 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 ^a breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;)

(a) That is, that they were joined together, as in (Nehemiah 4:6).

And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I [am] doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: ^b why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?

(b) Meaning, that if he obeyed their request, the work God had appointed would cease: showing by this that we should not commit ourselves to the hands of the wicked.

Wherein [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 ^c words.

(c) As the same goes.

And thou hast also appointed ^d 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.

(d) You have bribed and set up false prophets, to make yourself king, and so to defraud the king of Persia of that subjection which you owe to him.

Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who [was] ^e 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.

(e) As though he would be secret, to the intent that he might pray to God with greater liberty, and receive some revelation, which in him was only hypocrisy.

And I said, ^f 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.

(f) He did not doubt that God was able to preserve him and knew that if he had obeyed this counsel he would have discouraged all the people: thus God gives power to his to resist false prophecies, though they seem to have great probability.

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

(g) Grief caused him to pray against such, who under the pretence of being the ministers of God, were adversaries to his glory, and went about to overthrow his Church, declaring also by this that where there is one true minister of God, the devil has many hirelings.

So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth [day] of [the month] ^h Elul, in ⁱ fifty and two days.

(h) Which was the sixth month and contained part of August, and part of September.

(i) After I had sent Sanballat his answer.

Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many ^k letters unto Tobiah, and [the letters] of Tobiah came unto them.

(k) Thus the Church of God always has enemies within itself, which is more dangerous than outward and professed enemies.