Charles Ellicott Commentary Nehemiah 6
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Nehemiah 6
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Nehemiah 6
"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;)" — Nehemiah 6:1 (ASV)
And the rest of our enemies. —The Three always have the pre-eminence.
The doors upon the gates. — Within the gates. This parenthesis is a note of historical accuracy, and suggests that what was previously said regarding the setting up of the doors was said in anticipation.
"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." — Nehemiah 6:2 (ASV)
Sanballat and Geshem. —In the original of Nehemiah 6:1, Tobiah is not distinguished from Sanballat by another preposition, as Geshem is; and here he is omitted, so as not to appear in the conference other than as Sanballat’s secretary.
In one of the villages in the plain of Ono. —Probably, in Hahkiphirem, the name of a village in the plain of Ono, which was on the borders of Philistia, more than twenty miles from Jerusalem.
"Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand," — Nehemiah 6:5 (ASV)
The fifth time with an open letter in his hand. —Four times they strive to induce Nehemiah to meet them, under various pretexts, with the intention of doing him personal harm. Each time his reply was to the effect that he was finishing his own work, not without a touch of irony. This answer has a universal application, which preachers have known how to use. In the fifth letter the tactics are changed: the silken bag containing the missive was not sealed, and it was hoped that Nehemiah would be alarmed by the thought that its contents had been read by the people.
"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." — Nehemiah 6:6 (ASV)
It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu says it. —Nehemiah can quote the very letter, with its dialectical change of Geshem into Gashmu. Sanballat sends Tobiah in his own name, and represents Geshem as circulating a report which, reaching the distant king, would be interpreted as rebellion. It is hinted that the heathen, or the nations, would support the king. And the words of the prophets concerning the future King are referred to as likely to be attributed to Nehemiah’s ambition. Finally, the letter suggests the desirability of friendly counsel to avert the danger.
"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." — Nehemiah 6:9 (ASV)
Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. —The answer sent was that the thing was not true, and that the report itself did not exist. The reflection in Nehemiah’s journal was that they sought to make him afraid. Quoting this, he adds the prayer that he recorded when he wrote it. It is one of those sudden, interjectional petitions which abound in the narrative, and is all the more remarkable from the absence of the words "O God," which are inserted here.
Jump to: