Nehemiah 4:16

_THEREFORE SET I IN THE LOWER PLACES BEHIND THE WALL, AND ON THE HIGHER PLACES, I EVEN SET THE PEOPLE AFTER THEIR FAMILIES WITH THEIR SWORDS, THEIR SPEARS, AND THEIR BOWS._ No JFB commentary on these verses....

16-23 We must watch always against spiritual enemies, and not expect that our warfare will be over till our work is ended. The word of God is the sword of the Spirit, which we ought to have always at hand, and never to have to seek for it, either in our labours, or in our conflicts, as Christians. Every true Christian is both a labourer and a soldier, working with one hand, and fighting with the other. Good work is likely to go on with success, when those who labour in it, make a business of it. And Satan fears to assault the watchful Christian; or, if attacked, the Lord fights for him. Thus must we wait to the close of life, never putting off our armour till our work and warfare are ended; then we shall be welcomed to the rest and joy of our Lord....

Verse 16. _HALF-WROUGHT IN THE WORK_] This is no unusual thing, even in the present day, in Palestine: people sowing their seed are often attended by an armed man, to prevent the Arabs from robbing them of their seed, which they will not fail to do if not protected. _HABERGEONS_] In the Franco-Gallic, _hautbergon_ signifies _a coat_ _of mall_; but as in _Teutonic_ [Teutonic] signifies the neck, and [Teutonic], to _cover_ or _defend_; it may be considered rather as signifying a _breastplate_, or _armour for the breast_....

HABERGEONS - Or, “coats of mail.” Coats of mail were common in Assyria from the ninth century B.C., and in Egypt even earlier. They were made of thin laminae of bronze or iron, sewn upon leather or linen, and overlapping one another....

EXPOSITION NEHEMIAH 4:7 IT CAME TO PASS, THAT WHEN SANBALLAT, AND TOBIAH, at Samaria, AND THE ARABIANS, AND THE AMMONITES, AND THE ASHDODITES, in their respective residences, HEARD THAT THE WALLS OF JERUSALEM WERE MADE UP, or "that the (entire) wall of Jerusalem was of a (good) height," THEY WERE WROTH. Observe that Tobiah is here quite separated from the nation of the Ammonites, and in no way represented as their leader. Jealousy of Jerusalem on the part of the Ammonites and Philistines is quite natural; and, if the Arabs are the Edomites, their opposition would be equally a matter of course (Psalms 137:7; Ezekiel 25:12

CHAPTER 4 _ 1. The indignation and sneers of the enemies (Nehemiah 4:1)_ 2. Nehemiah's ejaculatory prayer (Nehemiah 4:4) 3. Conspiracy, and more prayer (Nehemiah 4:7) 4. Nehemiah's precautions and confidence (Nehemiah 4:10) Nehemiah 4:1. Sanballat (hate in disguise) having heard of the successful building of the wall, became very angry and mocked the Jews. And Tobiah the Ammonite used sarcasm. He said that which they build will be so weak that one of the foxes, which infested the broken-down walls ...

SAMARITAN ATTEMPT TO FRUSTRATE THE BUILDING OF THE WALLS. In Nehemiah 4:2 f. the text is very corrupt, though the general sense of the passage is fairly clear, viz. the Samaritans mock the efforts made by the Jews in building the walls; Sanballat's wrath in conjunction with his contempt is a little incongruous. The mention of the Samaritan army is difficult to account for; if an army had really been there some attempt would assuredly have been made there and then to stop the building; probably we must picture a crowd of Samaritans and not warriors. But the corrupt state of the text makes it impossible to feel sure what the meaning really is. Nehemiah 4:2. will they fortify themselves? The Heb. will they leave to them? is meaningless; Ryle emends the text so as to read, will they commit themselves t

SERVANTS. young men. HABERGEONS. corselets or coats of mail. RULERS. princes. Hebrew sar. BEHIND. To encourage, and help if needed....

_the half of my servants wrought in the work_ R.V. HALF OF, &c. Literally -half of my young men." The LXX. by a strange error τῶν ἐκτετιναγμένων. These were probably the bodyguard attached to the person of Nehemiah as the governor. They are mentioned again in Nehemiah 4:23; Nehemiah 5:10; Nehemiah 5:16. We gather that only in the case of these his personal attendants did Nehemiah still insist upon arms being held in readiness, while the work of building went on. The rest of the Jews were exempted. Nehemiah's servants were kept prepared for any emergency. One half of them worked on the wall: the other half were stationed under arms at various points holding the weapons of their comrades. _and the_othe

3. Work progresses in the midst of precautions. TEXT, NEHEMIAH 4:15-23 15 And it happened when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work. 16 And it came about from that day on, that half of my servants carried on the work while half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows, and the breastplates; and the captains were behind the whole house of Judah. 17 Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon. 18 As for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built, while the trumpeter stood near me. 19 And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people,-' -The work is great and extensive, and we