And our adversaries said, they shall not know ,.... Our designs upon them: neither see ; or perceive what we are about to do: till we come in the midst of them ; with an army suddenly, at an unawares, and unexpected: and slay them ; they being unarmed, and not prepared to defend themselves: and cause the work to cease ; as it must in course, the builders being slain. read more
Near Samaria, Arabia, and Ashdod, and had intelligence of their designs: came, they said to us ten times ; that is, they came to them at Jerusalem, and often told them, as this phrase "ten times" signifies; see Gill on Genesis 31:7 , from all places whence ye shall return unto us : they will be upon you, come which way you will, so that ye are in the utmost danger: or "from all places"; where you are repairing and rebuilding: return to us ; that ye may enjoy peace and prosperity... read more
From all places whence ye shall return unto us - This verse is extremely difficult. Our translators have supplied the words, they will be upon you, which have nothing correspondent in the Hebrew. The Septuagint have given a good sense, Αναβαινουσιν εκ παντων των τοπων εφ ' ἡμας , They come up from all places against us. The sense appears to be this: the Jews which dwelt among the Samaritans, etc., came often to Nehemiah from all quarters, where they sojourned, and told... read more
The work and warfare of the Church. I. The weak of the Church. 1. Derided. "And mocked the Jews" ( Nehemiah 4:1 ). 2. Under-estimated. "These feeble Jews" ( Nehemiah 4:2 ). 3. Misrepresented. "If a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall" ( Nehemiah 4:3 ). 4. Prayerful. "Hear, O our God" ( Nehemiah 4:4 ). 5. Hearty. "For the people had a mind to work" ( Nehemiah 4:6 ). 6. Advancing. "Heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that... read more
This description of the building of the wall of Jerusalem may be taken as representing the life of the Church militant. The chief points are these:— I. THE SPIRIT which pervades and actuates it. "The people had a mind to work." Activity, self-denial, fellowship, and fortitude. II. THE METHOD . Division and distribution of the work. Builders, fighters, burden-bearers. Some in command, others waiting upon their word. A place for every one in which to work, and every one keeping... read more
Armed opposition. Ridicule failing and the work progressing, the enemies of the Jews, more angry than ever, conspire to stop it by force of arms. We have here— I. ENEMIES WITHOUT . 1. Various ( Nehemiah 4:7 ). 2. Combined ( Nehemiah 4:8 ). 3. Angry ( Nehemiah 4:7 ). 4. Wily ( Nehemiah 4:11 ). 5. Ruthless ( ibid. ) . 6. Determined to stop the work. II. DIFFICULTIES WITHIN . 1. The weariness and discouragement of the labourers ( ... read more
The wisdom of the Christian workman in the hour of peril. We are reminded here of— I. THE PROGRESS OF SIN IN ITS COURSE ( Nehemiah 4:8 ). From sneers the enemies of Israel passed on to plots; from taunts to a mischievous conspiracy. They "conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it." This advance of theirs was brought about by their hearing that the walls of Jerusalem were "made up." The steadfast labour of the good led, incidentally, to the... read more
If the text is sound, it can only mean that the Jews who dwelt in the outlying towns, in the neighbourhood of Ammon, Samaria, Ashdod, etc; came repeatedly to Jerusalem, and tried to draw off their contingents, saying to them, "You must return to us." But it is suspected that there is a corruption of the original words of Nehemiah, and that what he wrote was, that these Jews came repeatedly to Jerusalem and warned him of the enemy's designs. (So Ewald, Houbigant, Dathe, A. Clarke, and others. ) read more
Ten times - i. e. repeatedly.From all places ... - Better as in the margin. The Jews who dwelt on the Samaritan border, came to Jerusalem and tried to withdraw their contingents of workmen from the work, representing to them the impending danger, and saying, “You must return to your homes, and so escape it.” read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Nehemiah 4:7-15
We have here, I. The conspiracy which the Jews? enemies formed against them, to stay the building by slaying the builders. The conspirators were not only Sanballat and Tobiah, but other neighbouring people whom they had drawn into the plot. They flattered themselves with a fancy that the work would soon stand still of itself; but, when they heard that it went on a prospered, they were angry at the Jews for being so hasty to push the work forward and angry at themselves for being so slow in... read more