Nehemiah 4:8

_AND CONSPIRED ALL OF THEM TOGETHER TO COME AND TO FIGHT AGAINST JERUSALEM, AND TO HINDER IT._ No JFB commentary on these verses....

7-15 The hindering good work is what bad men aim at, and promise themselves success in; but good work is God's work, and it shall prosper. God has many ways of bringing to light, and so of bringing to nought, the devices and designs of his church's enemies. If our enemies cannot frighten us from duty, or deceive us into sin, they cannot hurt us. Nehemiah put himself and his cause under the Divine protection. It was the way of this good man, and should be our way. All his cares, all his griefs, all his fears, he spread before God. Before he used any means, he made his prayer to God. Having prayed, he set a watch against the enemy. If we think to secure ourselves by prayer, without watchfulness, we are slothful, and tempt God; if by watchfulness, without prayer, we are proud, and slight God: either way, we forfeit his protection. God's care of our safety, should engage and encourage us to...

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

HINDER. cause. miscarriage....

_and conspired all of them_ R.V. AND THEY CONSPIRED ALL OF THEM. R.V. makes a stronger pause at the close of Nehemiah 4:7, substituting a semicolon for the comma. -Conspired." The word here used is the usual term for secret treachery. _to come_and _to fight_ R.V. TO COME AND FIGHT. Literally -to come fight" without the copula. This idiom, which occurs again in Nehemiah 9:15; Nehemiah 9:23 (cf. 1 Chronicles 12:31; 2 Chronicles 20:11), combines the thought of the two infinitives, the latter being epexeget

WHEN SANBALLAT AND TOBIAH, &C.— The ingenious publisher of the Ruins of Balbeck tells us, that in Palestine he has often seen the husbandman sowing, accompanied by an armed friend, to prevent his being robbed of the seed by the Arabs. This robbing the husbandman of his seed seems to have been an ancient practice of theirs, and to have been referred to, Psalms 126:5 and made an image by the Psalmist of the happy issue of the first essays of the Jews to re-people their country. For surely it is much more natural to suppose that these verses referred to a violence of this sort, than to imagine, with many interpreters who have treated upon this circumstance, that they allude to a countryman's anxiety, who sows his corn in a very _scarce time,_ and is afraid of the failure of his next crop. The Israelites, who returned to Babylon upon the proclamation of Cyrus, were undoubtedly in simi

2. The Jews faced the menace of an attack. TEXT, NEHEMIAH 4:7-14 7 Now it came about when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. 8 And all of them conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it. 9 But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night. 10 Thus in Judah it was said, The strength of the burden bearers is failing, Yet there is much rubbish; And we ourselves are unable To rebuild the wall. 11 And our enemies said, They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them, and put a stop to the work. 12 And it came about when the Jews who lived near them came

4:8 hinder (k-15) Or 'harm.'...