The Book of Nehemiah
Nehemiah 4
Chapter IV · Vol. II, p. 911
1 While the enemies are wroth, and scoff, Nehemiah prayeth to God, and continueth the work. 7 Understanding the wrath and secrets of the enemy, he setteth a watch. 13 He armeth the labourers, 19 and giveth military precepts.
1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he awas wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.
A.M. 3559. B.C. 445.
a ch.2.10,19. Ac.5.18.
2 And he spake before his brethren, and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feebleb Jews? will they fortify themselves?1 will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they crevive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burnt?
3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a foxd go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.
4 Hear, O our God;2 fore we are despised:3 and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:
2 All words receive their true meaning from the spirit, manner, and object of the utterer. The same identical words are praise or blame, according to the known object of the speaker. Thus must we judge of this prayer. Such a prayer in the lips of an angry man might be impiety and blasphemy; but in the lips of a man humble, peaceful, and gentle, they become an emanation of faith, and a solemn appeal to the divine mercy against man's injustice and cruelty.—C.
e Ps.123.2,3; 44.13,14. Pr.18.3,6; 27.3,4.
3 Heb. despite.
5 And fcover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger gbefore the builders.
f Ps.109.14-18; 50.21; 90.8. Je.18.23; 16.19. Pr.1.31; 13.21; 5.21,22.
g Is.36.11,12.
6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof:4 for the peopleh had a mind to work.5
4 Not the half in circuit, but in height. C.——The sentence is somewhat obscure, but the meaning seems to be that the wall was now built the entire circuit of the city up to one-half its original height. This was thought sufficient to repel any sudden attack, and to give the inhabitants a sense of security.—P.
h Ps.110.3. 2 Ch.29.36. ch.6.15.
5 Literally, 'a heart to work,' Col. 3. 23.—C.
7 But it came to pass, ithat when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up,6 and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were veryk wroth,
8 And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.
9 Nevertheless we lmade our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.7
10 And Judah said, mThe strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.
11 And our adversaries said, nThey shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.
12 And it came to pass, that when the oJews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us tenp times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us,8 they will be upon you.9
o Mi.7.2,5. 2 Co.11.26.
p Often, Ge.31.7.
8 Or, That from all places ye may return to us.
9 The obscurity of meaning in this verse has led several critics of the highest order to adopt a change in a word, so as to produce greater clearness. The alteration of words, however, without overwhelming authority of MSS. or early translations, is never to be admitted. And does not the marginal translation render the words quite intelligible? viz. The Jews that dwelt in the neighbourhood of Samaria, &c., told their brethren ten times (frequently, continually), 'from all places,' that is, from the cities which ye have occupied under Nehemiah, 'ye must return to us,' and thus elude or conciliate the enemies that are plotting the ruin of Jerusalem. And that this was not a friendly admonition, but a treacherous attempt to bring over the Jerusalemites, the party of the Samaritans, appears highly probable from the record of the conspiracy between the Jewish nobles and Tobiah, ch.vi.—C.
13 Therefore qset I in the lower 1places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their rswords, their spears, and their bows.
A.M. 3559. B.C. 445.
q Ps.112.5. Mat.10.16. Is.28.29.
1 Heb. from the lower parts of the place, &c.
r ver.17,18. Ep.6.10-20. Ca.3.7,8.
14 And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, sBe not ye afraid of them: tremember the LORD, which is great and terrible, and ufight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.
15 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God xhad brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.
16 And it came to pass, from that time forth, that the half of my servants ywrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of zJudah.
17 They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one awith one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.2
a 1 Co.16.13. Ep.6.10-20. Da.9.25. Ac.14.22.
2 This would be literally impossible if it meant that while the right hand worked the left held sword, or spear, or bow, ver. 13. And where is the use of such a violent figure for 'equal readiness to work or fight?' But if the Hebrew employed the word translated hands as it is employed in English, that is for workmen, then the sense becomes plain, and merely signifies that every class was divided, just as every army in field or garrison is often divided into a working party and a covering party, which perfectly coincides with ver. 21.—C.
18 For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side,3 and so builded: and he that sounded the trumpet was by me.
3 Heb. on his loins.
19 And I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another.
20 In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: bour God shall fight for us.
b Ex.14.14,25. De.1.30. Ro.8.31. Is.41.14-16.
21 So we claboured in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.
c 1 Co.15.10,58. Ga.6.9. Mat.24.13.
22 Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labour on the day.
23 So neither dI, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, esaving that every one put them off for washing.4
d ch.5.16. Mat.11.28,29.
e Or, every one went with his weapons for water, Ju.5.11.
4 The last clause is very obscure. In fact the Hebrew words, as they at present stand in the received text, convey no precise meaning. The general sense of the whole verse is clear enough. The people worked day and night, taking it in turns. They did not undress lest they should be suddenly called to action. They only put off their clothes when it became necessary to have them washed. There is a reading in one of the MSS. examined by De Rossi which is worthy of note. It is as follows:—'We did not put off our garments except in order to send them to be washed.'—P.
Notes
[Ver. 18. This verse is explanatory of ver. 17. Every workman, whether builder or attendant, was fully armed, ready at a moment's notice to defend the half-built walls against the enemy. I have seen examples of this in the East. When travelling through central Palestine, I saw the whole population of the fortress-village of Sanûr employed in repairing the shattered walls. The men were all armed, and they were all working—sheikhs and peasants, rich and poor. Women also were engaged bearing burdens, supplying the thirsty workmen with water, and in some cases holding the guns and pistols beside their husbands. P.]
Reflections.—God's faithful builders are sure to have a share of the world's ridicule and contempt; and one wicked man encourages another. But though scoffers make their bands strong, God will shortly cover them with shame and confusion. Let saints then never discompose their souls on account of the most bitter or insolent contempt: God observes it, and will quickly resent it. Let them in patience possess their souls, commit their way to God, and go on more briskly with their Christian work. God's blessing will more than compensate men's revilings. And much may be done in a little time if all be hearty in lending their assistance. What a pity then is it that the people of God should scarcely ever be as harmonious and active in the Lord's work as the wicked are in their opposition to it! Nay, his more active servants have often as much trouble with the fears of their friends as with the terrors of their enemies. And false friends are more dangerous than open enemies. But be the plots of enemies ever so well laid, or ever so secret, God can discover or defeat them. Let then his infinite power and unbounded goodness encourage us to go on with our work, notwithstanding all the craft and malice of our adversaries. In all our spiritual work, all our attempts of reformation, let us put on the whole armour of God, and watch and pray, that we enter not into temptation. Let us, in our respective stations, unanimously unite, with heart and hand, against the common enemy; and count neither ease nor life dear unto us, that we may finish our course with joy. Religion bids fair to prosper when the professors thereof make earnest work of it, and endure hardship as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.