Nehemiah 6:1 - Exposition

When Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian heard. Literally, "When it was heard by Sanballat and Tobiah, and by Geshem the Arabian." The preposition ל is repeated with Geshem, but not with Tobiah, probably because Tobiah was Sanballat's subordinate, but Geshem an independent chief. Hence, too, it was not proposed that Tobiah should be at the conference. At that time I had not set up the doors . This may appear to contradict Nehemiah 3:1 , Nehemiah 3:3 , Nehemiah 3:6 , Nehemiah 3:13 , etc. But the account of the building in Nehemiah 3:1-32 . is carried on to the completion of the whole work, the object there being to state by whom the different parts were done, and not at what time. Chronologically, Nehemiah 4:1-23 ; Nehemiah 5:1-19 ; and 6. are parallel to Nehemiah 3:1-32 , relating events that happened while the wall was being built. The hanging of the doors in the gateways was, naturally, the last thing done. Upon the gates . Rather, "in the gateways."