ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Nehemiah 6

6:1–7:4 A Conspiracy against Nehemiah, but the Wall Is Finished. Nehemiah’s enemies try to scare him into ceasing the work, but he is not deterred and the wall is finished.

Neh. 6:2 Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono. This unknown place is presumably near the town of Ono (see Ezra 2:33), north of Jerusalem, perhaps serving as a neutral ground. Nehemiah sees it as a conspiracy, since he knows they want to interrupt his work.

Neh. 6:3 I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Nehemiah refused to leave his work for discussions with his enemies. He knew such a meeting would be fruitless and probably dangerous.

Neh. 6:5–7 Sanballat’s fifth attempt to defeat Nehemiah was an open letter (v. 5). Its public nature was intended to exert extra pressure on Nehemiah. Sanballat once again accuses the people of rebelling against Persia (see Ezra 4:12–13). He portrays himself as loyal to Persia and as a friend of the Jews. He offers to defuse the danger posed by their supposed rebellion. The king will hear is, of course, a veiled threat. While he may have held long-term messianic hopes, Nehemiah remained a loyal servant of Artaxerxes. He had no desire to be king, and there is no reason to think he was a descendant of David.

Neh. 6:10–11 Shemaiah is not otherwise known, but he may have been a priest, which explains his proposal for a meeting in the temple (perhaps a second meeting from the one mentioned here). confined to his home. This possible translation of a difficult Hebrew word tries to explain why Nehemiah went to this man’s house. It is not clear why he had been confined to his home: perhaps it was meant as a symbolic act suggesting that Jerusalem was surrounded by enemies. within the temple . . . for they are coming to kill you. This “warning” suggests a plot by Sanballat and other enemies. Shemaiah proposes that Nehemiah simply take refuge in the temple. Nehemiah replies that such an act would be cowardly.

Neh. 6:12 God had not sent him. Nehemiah sees that Shemaiah’s prophecy was false.

Neh. 6:13 To be afraid would be the opposite of having faith in this situation, and so would be sin (see Deut. 1:28–33; note on Ezra 3:3). This sort of unbelief would allow his enemies to taunt Nehemiah (see Neh. 5:9) and thus undermine his authority.

Neh. 6:14 Remember. See note on 5:19; compare 1:8.

Neh. 6:15–16 Elul was the sixth month (August/September), so it has been less than six months since Nehemiah spoke to the king. they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. If God had helped the people of Judah, the nations feared he would turn Judah into a powerful nation that would be a threat to them.

Neh. 6:17 The nobles of Judah were cooperating with Tobiah. They were connected because Tobiah, an “Ammonite” (2:10), and his son had married into Jewish nobility. Ezra’s measures against intermarriage (Ezra 9–10) perhaps explain Tobiah’s hostility to Nehemiah’s work.

Neh. 6:18 bound by oath to him. It is not clear how they were bound. But there was clearly a powerful group in Jerusalem committed to Tobiah and opposed to Nehemiah.