Nehemiah 6: 1 – 19
Discourage, destroy, depose
The Conspiracy Against Nehemiah
6 Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), 2 that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they thought to do me harm. 3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” 4 But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner. 5 Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. 6 In it was written: It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king. 7 And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, “There is a king in Judah!” Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together. 8 Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart.” 9 For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.” Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. 10 Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you.” 11 And I said, “Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!” 12 Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me. 14 My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid. 15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God. 17 Also in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came to them. 18 For many in Judah were pledged to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. 19 Also they reported his good deeds before me and reported my words to him. Tobiah sent letters to frighten me.
When in Rome do like the Romans do. According to historians, political actions in ancient Rome were conducted with great harshness and personal attacks, which were comparable to examples of hate speech we read today on the internet and more sadly on the television. The attacks, also known as invectives, were an integral part of public life for senators of the Roman Republic.
Severe devaluations of the political opponent welded the support group together and provided attention, entertainment and indignation—sound familiar? The highly hierarchical Roman politics sounded rough, but there were, in fact, rules. "Politicians ruthlessly insulted each other. At the same time, in the popular assembly, they had to let the people insult them without being allowed to abuse the people in turn—an outlet that, in a profound division of rich and poor, limited the omnipotence fantasies of the elite. Politicians and the public hardly took abuse at face value.
According to the historian's findings concerning ancient Rome, withstanding and overcoming insults can ultimately have a politically stabilizing effect. There were hardly any limits in the political dispute. This does not differ from today, where no thought is given to the limits of what is permitted in debates on the street or on the web. "The Romans didn't seem to care much. There was the crime of ‘iniuria’ of injustice—but hardly any such charges.
According to the historian, the Romans of the city were proud of their biting, ruthless wit at the expense of others: "They considered this an important part of ‘urbanitas’, the forms of communication of the metropolitans, in contrast to the ‘rusticitas’ of the country illiterates." They were particularly proud of the slander flourishing in the city. "When you were abused, you stood it, and if possible, you took revenge." Invective opponents often worked together again soon afterward and maintained normal contact. The political climate remained reasonably stable: Murders to avenge honor were only committed in the exceptional situation of a civil war. They did not maintain a hit list of opponents to eliminate.
The fact that the people were excluded from the harsh treatment of senators in political arenas but were themselves allowed to insult and catcall the political elite, shows that the politicians of the Republic "undisputedly recognized the popular assembly as a political people." Measured by today's democratic electoral procedures, it was a maximum of 3 percent of those entitled to vote, "but the senators saw in it the people as the decision-making authority for the community." In the debate about the agricultural law in 63 BC, for example, Cicero tried to persuade the people to change their minds. "But should he not succeed, he promised to bow to the people and change his opinion." Those who questioned the people as a decision-making body risked the crowd roaring up and storming the rostra. "However, this power of the people was only valid in official political communication arenas,". "If members of the 'common people' did not make way for the senators and their entourage in the streets in time, they were approached and accosted by government security soldiers.
Since investigating abuses in the Roman Republic. "The outrageous overstepping of the boundaries of the abusive communities fails to reach the levels we witness today. Today the lawless elite far excel what the Romans did.
Today we are going to read about the unjustified attacks Nehemiah had to endure. Evil men will throw against him everything they can possibly do. In their attempt to Conspire Against Nehemiah see if you recognize the patter of discouragement, to blatant destruction of Nehemiah’s reputation in to get him deposed and removed from office or as we know today as impeached.
Work on the walls had meanwhile being going on apace with the result that it was finally completed apart from the setting up of the huge doors in the gateways. It was a crucial time, for once the gates were completed and closed Jerusalem would be totally protected. As a consequence, his adversaries now attempt new methods of discrediting him. Their focus has now turned from trying to discourage the people of Judah in general, to seeking to dispose of Nehemiah himself in one way or the other. They have clearly recognized that it is he alone who has maintained Judah’s morale, and is the obstacle to their achieving their ends of a continually weak and vulnerable Judah.
The chapter highlights three plans of attack against Nehemiah:
. Attempts by Sanaballat and Geshem to dispose of or discredit Nehemiah generally (6.1-9)
. An attempt by Sanballat and Tobiah to make him act in such a way as to reveal himself as a coward, fearful of his adversaries (6.10-14).
. The completion of the wall and an indication of Tobiah’s influence among the Jews and his attempts to undermine Nehemiah (6.15-19).
6 Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates),
The news reaches all the adversaries spoken of in 4.7 that the walls had been completed apart from the gateways, where the doors had not yet been completed and hung. It would cause them a lot of agitation. It indicated that Jerusalem was once again about to become a power in the land, and that it was now secure. It could no longer be subjected to intimidation. No longer could unidentified armed raiding bands enter it at will. This resulted in a change of tactics on their part. It was no longer a question of discouraging the builders. They recognized that it was now time to dispose of or discredit Nehemiah once and for all before it was finally too late. .
2 that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they thought to do me harm.
For this purpose, Sanballat, governor of Samaria, and Geshem, king of Kedar and paramount chief of the Arab tribes, came together to plot against him. They called on Nehemiah to meet them at Hakkephirim (or ‘the villages’) in the plain of Ono so as to discuss matters. This was on the north west border of Judah and equi-distant from the cities of Jerusalem and Samaria. But it was also remote enough for things that happened there to be covered up. ‘Sons of Ono’ had been among the first returnees from Babylon (2.33). Nehemiah sensed a trap and determined not to go (‘they sought to do me mischief’). Why else meet in such a remote part of Judah where he would be vulnerable? Furthermore, were he to take his armed escort with him it would leave Jerusalem partially defenseless.
3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?”
So he sent messengers pointing out that he was very busy with finalizing the defenses of Jerusalem and therefore could not come down. What he was doing was hugely important. Why should he stop the work to come down to them? If they wanted to speak to him, why could they not come to Jerusalem?
4 But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner.
But his opponents were very determined and sent the same message four times. Each time, however, Nehemiah made the same reply. This response to the summons clearly indicates that Nehemiah was not subordinate to Sanballat, whatever may have been the case with past governors. And their very persistence indicates that there was evil work afoot, otherwise they could have suggested a change in venue.
5 Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand.
When their attempt failed Sanballat then tried to increase the pressure. He sent his fifth message as an open letter, unsealed. This would mean that anyone could read it, which in view of its contents indicates that Sanballat wanted what was in it to become widely known. He was seeking to build up suspicion against Nehemiah.
6 In it was written: It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king.
In this letter Sanballat indicated that rumors were rife among the nations that suggested that Nehemiah and the Jews were about to rebel against the Persian empire, and that that was also the opinion of Geshem (Gashmu is simply an alternative name for Geshem). Indeed, they saw that as the reason why they were building the walls of Jerusalem. It appeared to them that Nehemiah wanted to set himself up as king. After all that was precisely what the satrap Megabyzus had tried to do four years earlier. The idea was to frighten Nehemiah into responding to their invitation. They reasoned that he would want to refute the rumours personally. What they failed to consider was that for him to respond to such a letter would itself appear suspicious. It would suggest that there were some grounds for the rumors.
They were not, of course, party to the information that we have, that Artaxerxes had given specific permission for this to honor Nehemiah’s ancestors (2.5-6). Otherwise it might indeed have looked suspicious. Nor probably did they realize that Nehemiah was such a favorite of the king.
With the letter being sent as an open letter they were, of course, guaranteeing that even if such suspicions had not yet arisen, they very soon would. Men would nod wisely as they considered the refortification of Jerusalem. Thus, they would be able to vindicate their words.
7 And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, “There is a king in Judah!” Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together.
They also accused him of appointing prophets who were proclaiming in Jerusalem that ‘there is a king in Judah’. Their words may well have been based on distorted knowledge of the fact that Haggai and Zechariah had seemingly proclaimed something similar (e.g. Haggai 2.4-9, 21-23; Zechariah 2.8-12). They were clearly aware of the important part played by prophets in Judah’s politics (e.g. Samuel; Nathan; etc.) and even in Samaria’s own politics (Elisha).
However, their threat to report the matter to Artaxerxes gave them away. If they had really believed what they were saying they should already have reported the matter to Artaxerxes, or at least have taken major steps to discover their genuineness. The claims were hardly insignificant. It will be noted that they nowhere suggest that they have any proof. It is quite apparent that they were simply hoping that he would take fright and respond to their request for consultation.
8 Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart.”
Nehemiah replied boldly. He answered them by declaring that what they were saying was purely their own invention, and that it was all a load of nonsense. He was clearly sure of his own ground. Indeed, it would be very unlikely that Nehemiah had not sent messages to the king reporting his progress on the work, and he may well have indicated some of the opposition that he was facing. He would have been keeping the king well informed of the situation. He would thus suffer no qualms at their threats. What he would be concerned about was that their words might discourage the people of Judah.
9 For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.” Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.
That he saw through their tactics comes out in these words. They were trying to frighten the people of Judah who would remember Artaxerxes’ reaction the last time that they had tried to build the walls (Ezra 4.7-24). To Nehemiah Artaxerxes was a friend, but to the people he was a dread monarch. Thus were they trying to weaken their hands so that they would not go ahead with the finalizing of the defenses. And so he prays that God will strengthen his hands as he continues to encourage them.
Shemaiah was clearly a recognized prophet (verse 12, compare also verse 14) and thus an invitation by him for Nehemiah to visit him because he was ‘shut up’ or ‘restrained’ would not be suspicious, especially as he probably claimed that he had a word for him from YHWH. He probably claimed to be ‘shut up’ or ‘restrained’ because he was involved in fasting and prophetic, even ecstatic, meditation. His prophecy, like much prophecy, is given in prophetic verse. This may have been to convince Nehemiah of its genuineness. The gist of it was that Nehemiah’s enemies were sending assassins to slay him so that he should hide himself with him in the Temple where they would not dare enter.
Alternately he may have wanted to give Nehemiah the impression that he had shut himself up in his house because he too was in fear of assassination. This idea is supported by his suggestion that they both hide in the Temple. But that very suggestion was an attempt to lull Nehemiah into not being averse to the idea. If a prophet could do it, why not him?
Either way it seems clear, either that he hoped that Nehemiah’s sense of superiority would make him ignore the fact that strictly he was forbidden to enter the Temple, or that he himself could make him feel that a word from YHWH overruled such a prohibition. After all Ezekiel had declared that there would be a place for ‘the prince’ within the Temple (Ezekiel 44.3; 46.1-2). Why not then Nehemiah? Indeed, both he and Nehemiah’s enemies may well have thought that a pet favorite of the Persian court might easily dismiss what he saw as a few ‘Jewish idiosyncrasies’, thus bringing him into disrepute with the priests. He and they would have been unaware of what a godly man he was
Nehemiah was appalled for two reasons. First at the thought that he should hide himself away like a coward, and second at the thought that he should defile the Temple. If he did such things how could he ever face the people? They had no place to hide from the threats that surrounded them, nor would the priesthood overlook his sacrilege in entering the Temple building. Indeed, nor would God. It was then that he recognised that this had been an attempt to discredit him and entrap him.
10 Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you.”
That Nehemiah went to visit Shemaiah the prophet (‘he has pronounced this prophecy against me’ - verse 12) at his house suggests very strongly that there was a religious reason for Shemaiah being unavailable. It suggests that his being ‘shut up’ was for prophetic reasons. He was probably claiming to be receiving a word from YHWH which prevented him from leaving his house. Superficially his prophecy sounded genuine. He was suggesting that Nehemiah take refuge with YHWH because YHWH had revealed that assassins would come by night to kill him. It sounded very plausible.
But it contained two fallacies, the first that Nehemiah should behave like a coward, in spite of his strong bodyguard, giving the impression to the people of a man concerned only to save his own life, hiding like a refugee in the Temple, and second because to enter the Temple so that its doors could be shut behind him would be an act of gross sacrilege. No one could legitimately enter the house of YHWH apart from a legitimate son of Aaron (Numbers 18.7).
11 And I said, “Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!”
The godly Nehemiah saw the fallacies immediately. ‘Should such a man as I flee?’ How could he ever hold up his head again if he fled from the danger of assassins? It would make him contemptible. And how could he, being what he was, enter the very Sanctuary of YHWH even ‘to save his life’? It was forbidden by YHWH. he was not a son of Aaron. He refused on both accounts.
The alternative translation ‘and live’ may be preferable (both are possible). How could someone who was not a son of Aaron go into the Temple and live? It was asking to be struck down.
12 Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
And it was then that it dawned on him that God had not sent Shemaiah, but that he had been hired by Tobiah and Sanballat to pronounce this prophecy with a view to him disgracing himself. It was all part of the plot to discredit him. The unusual order ‘Tobiah and Sanballat’ (it is usually Sanballat and Tobiah) suggests that in this attempt Tobiah was the prime mover. And this is not surprising. It was seemingly he who had the most influence in Jerusalem (compare verses 17-19). Sanballat was simply backing him.
13 For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me.
They had hired Shemaiah for that very reason, so as to use a prophecy which professed to be from God, so as to make him afraid, in order that he would fulfil the terms of the prophecy (‘do so’), shaming himself, and sinning grievously against YHWH by entering the forbidden area of the Temple. Theoretically only Shemaiah would ever know. But it was quite clear that he would report to his masters who would gladly spread an evil report by means of which they could bring reproach on Nehemiah.
14 My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid.
Once again a prayer marks the end of a part (compare verse 9). Nehemiah calls on God to remember what Tobiah and Nehemiah are doing, and deal with them accordingly. And he calls on God to remember Noadiah, the prophetess, and the remainder of the prophets, who had all seemingly tried to make him afraid. It is clear, therefore, that Shemaiah has been the last of a few prophets and prophetesses who had attempted to mislead him and catch him out. It is quite clear that Tobiah had powerful influence in Jerusalem.,
15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days.
The wall was completed on the 25th day of Elul (in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes), fifty-two days after the work commenced. It was a remarkable achievement, even granted that some part of the walls had only needed repairing. In consequence Jerusalem was once more a fortified city. The Jews could once again lift their head in pride at what God had done. Their previous reproach had been removed.
16 And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.
And the consequence was that when the news reached the ears of their enemies as described in 4.7, all the nations over whom their enemies ruled were awestruck and felt demeaned, for they recognized that the work had been wrought by God, the very God Whom they had been decrying (4.2). From Nehemiah’s viewpoint they were humbled to think that Judah had such a great God.
It is quite clear from these verses that Tobiah must have had something to do with the Jewish aristocracy before the arrival of Nehemiah, (and we have already seen the influence that he had over some of the prophets) and the best explanation would be that he had previously been acting as deputy governor over Judah. This would explain his good relations with the Jewish aristocracy, and his hatred of Nehemiah who had made him redundant. It is the best explanation for the good feeling towards him among the aristocracy, and the fact that Meshullam had given his daughter to him as wife. Furthermore, that good feeling must signify that he had not been a bad governor, at least as far as the Jewish aristocracy were concerned. As a syncretistic Yahwist, as his name shows, he had probably fallen in line with Jerusalem’s way of worship, at least when he was in Judah.
Thus the Jewish aristocracy remained in communication with him, and he with them. And they also tried to recommend him to Nehemiah because of the good deeds he had done while acting governor of Judah. They seemingly saw Nehemiah’s attitude towards him as unfortunate. They were probably unaware of things revealed to Nehemiah by his spy system, and by personal letters from Tobiah.
These same men had in the main worked assiduously on the wall. Meshullam the son of Berechiah, for example, is mentioned in 3.4, 30. He had possibly done a double stint. Thus, they were apparently not antagonistic towards Nehemiah, although not agreeing with his strict attitude. They seemingly passed information both ways.
17 Also in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came to them.
Here we learn that the nobles of Judah were in continual two-way correspondence with Tobiah, presumably on a friendly basis.
18 For many in Judah were pledged to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.
And their friendliness was partly because Tobiah had married into a respectable Jewish family, having become the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah, one of the ‘sons of Arah’ who had returned with Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel. Shecaniah must have been an important and influential man because Tobiah’s relationship to him had resulted, presumably because he had been brought into the family, in many in Judah becoming sworn to him (unless this relates to trading relationships, or even sworn friendships). Tobiah had also ingratiated himself with Eliashib the high priest (13.4). Furthermore, Tobiah’s own son, Jehohanan (whose name also indicates a nominal Yahwist) had married into the family of the influential Meshullam, son of Berechiah, the wall builder (3.4b, 30). He was thus well connected Jewishly speaking. It is possibly to his credit that, while he was not averse to making a fool of Nehemiah, he was not mentioned with respect to the attempt to do away with him (6.2). But he had certainly been antagonistic towards Nehemiah from the beginning (2.10). And strictly speaking, as an Ammonite, he was not acceptable as a true Yahwist (13.1; Deuteronomy 23.3-5).
19 Also they reported his good deeds before me, and reported my words to him. Tobiah sent letters to frighten me.
The Jewish aristocrats praised Tobiah to Nehemiah, no doubt hoping to win him round. They also reported Nehemiah’s words to Tobiah, which would certainly not win him round, and explains why Tobiah and Sanballat were so well informed about Jewish affairs. Tobiah, however, took a different attitude towards Nehemiah, sending him threatening letters. Nehemiah’s position was therefore very difficult, as he sought to maintain working relations with the aristocrats, while at the same time dealing with Tobiah.
