Nehemiah 2:10
in Nehemiah 2But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were deeply disturbed that someone had come to seek the well-being of the Israelites.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly, for that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
KJV
When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
⋯
This verse in Nehemiah 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verseWhen Sanballat the Horonite,.... Who either presided at Horonaim, or sprung from thence, a city of Moab, Isa 15:5 and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite; who was formerly a slave, but now raised, from a low mean estate, to be governor in the land of Ammon, though still a vassal of the king of Persia: heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there came a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel; to which the Moabites and Ammonites were always averse, and ever bore an hatred to Israel, and envied everything that tended to their happiness.
This site's exposition
they were deeply disturbed
Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite enter the story here, "deeply disturbed that someone had come to seek the well-being of the Israelites" (2:10). Both men held standing under Persia, Sanballat likely governing Samaria and Tobiah risen to office in Ammon, so the opposition starts from seated power.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And Sanballat the Horonite, etc., heard. And the heretics are grieved, and all the enemies of the Church are saddened whenever they see any elected persons working for the sake of the Catholic faith or for the correction of customs, by which the walls of …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The servant - So called probably from the condition from which he was advanced to his present power and dignity: which also may be mentioned as one reason why he now carried himself so insolently, it being usual for persons suddenly raised from a low state, so to demean themselves.
Nothing is a greater vexation to the enemies of good people, who have misrepresented them to princes as turbulent, and factious, and not fit to live, than to see them stand right in the opinion of their rulers, their innocency cleared and their reproach rolled away, and that they are thought not only fit to live, but fit to be trusted.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Sanballat the Horonite - Probably a native of Horonaim, a Moabite by birth, and at this time governor of the Samaritans under the king of Persia. Tobiah the servant - He was an Ammonite; and here, under the Persian king, joint governor with Sanballat. Some suppose that the Sanballat here mentioned was the same who persuaded Alexander to build a temple on Mount Gerizim in favor of the Samaritans. Pelagius thinks there were two governors of this name.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Sanballat the Horonite--Horonaim being a town in Moab, this person, it is probable, was a Moabite. Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite--The term used indicates him to have been a freed slave, elevated to some official dignity.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The name Sanballat is probably Babylonian the first element being the same which commences “Sennacherib,” namely, “Sin,” the moon-God, and the second balatu, “eminent” (?),which is found in the Assyrian name, Bel-balatu. As a Horonite, he was probably a native of one of the Bethhorons, the upper or the lower (see Jos 16:3, Jos 16:5; 2Ch 8:5), and therefore born within the limits of the old kingdom of Samaria. Tobiah seems to have been an Ammonite slave, high in the favor of Sanballat, whom he probably served as secretary Neh 6:17-19 and chief adviser. It grieved them - Compare Ezra 4:4-24; Ezr 5:6-17. The revival of Jerusalem as a great and strong city, which was Nehemiah’s aim, was likely to interfere with the prosperity, or at any rate the eminence, of Samaria.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Now Sanballat etc., heard When they heard that I had come to request good for Israel and to build the walls of Jerusalem it displeased them greatly, for they were the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
and I was there for three days I was in Jerusalem for three days, and at the end of three days, I and a few men with me arose at night, and I did not tell any person what the Holy One, blessed be He, had put into my heart.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 1 further source is cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁמַ֞ע | vaiyishma' | and he heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| סַנְבַלַּ֣ט | sanvalat | Sanballat | H5571 → | 10 times |
| הַחֹרֹנִ֗י | hachoroni | the Horonite | H2772 → | 3 times |
| וְטֽוֹבִיָּה֙ | vetoiyah | and Tobiah | H2900 → | 18 times |
| הָעֶ֣בֶד | haeved | the servant | H5650 → | 799 times |
| הָֽעַמֹּנִ֔י | haamoni | the Ammonite | H5984 → | 21 times |
| וַיֵּ֥רַע | vaiyera' | and it was displeasing | H7489 → | 107 times |
| לָהֶ֖ם | lahem | to them | ||
| רָעָ֣ה | raah | displeasure | H7451 → | 662 times |
| גְדֹלָ֑ה | gedolah | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בָּ֥א | ba' | he had come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אָדָ֔ם | ʾadam | someone | H120 → | 551 times |
| לְבַקֵּ֥שׁ | levakesh | to seek | H1245 → | 225 times |
| טוֹבָ֖ה | tovah | good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| לִבְנֵ֥י | livnei | for [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וַיִּשְׁמַ֞עand he heard
vaiyishma'H8085 →1159 times
סַנְבַלַּ֣טSanballat
sanvalatH5571 →10 times
הַחֹרֹנִ֗יthe Horonite
hachoroniH2772 →3 times
וְטֽוֹבִיָּה֙and Tobiah
vetoiyahH2900 →18 times
הָעֶ֣בֶדthe servant
haevedH5650 →799 times
הָֽעַמֹּנִ֔יthe Ammonite
haamoniH5984 →21 times
וַיֵּ֥רַעand it was displeasing
vaiyera'H7489 →107 times
לָהֶ֖םto them
lahem
רָעָ֣הdispleasure
raahH7451 →662 times
גְדֹלָ֑הgreat
gedolahH1419 →526 times
אֲשֶׁר־that
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
בָּ֥אhe had come
ba'H935 →2568 times
אָדָ֔םsomeone
ʾadamH120 →551 times
לְבַקֵּ֥שׁto seek
levakeshH1245 →225 times
טוֹבָ֖הgood
tovahH2896 →538 times
לִבְנֵ֥יfor [the] people of
livneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Nehemiah 4:7When Sanballat and Tobiah, together with the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites, heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being closed, they were furious,
it leads to
- Nehemiah 4:1
Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious and filled with indignation. He ridiculed the Jews
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 4:1
Through
Nehemiah 2:19But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked us and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 6:6
that read: “It is reported among the nations—and Geshem agrees—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and this is why you are building the wall. According to these reports, you are to…
- Nehemiah 6:1–2
When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left—though to that time I had not yet installed the…
- Psalms 44:13–14
You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, a mockery and derision to those around us.
- Nehemiah 6:6
Through
Nehemiah 6:1When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left—though to that time I had not yet installed the…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 2:19
But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked us and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the…
- Nehemiah 4:6–7
So we rebuilt the wall until all of it was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
- Nehemiah 3:3
The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.
- Nehemiah 3:1
At the Sheep Gate, Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests began rebuilding. They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower…
- Nehemiah 2:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
What the record shows
1 entry- Sanballat I — attested in contemporary inscriptionundisputed
Elephantine papyrus (TAD A4.7); Wadi Daliyeh bulla
Biblical figure (Governor of Samaria, mid-5th c. BC) identified in extra-biblical epigraphy.
Counterpoint: Only the Elephantine letter of about 407 BC bears on Nehemiah's opponent. Frank Moore Cross argued that Samaria's governorship passed down a family that reused the same names, so the Wadi Daliyeh material names a later Sanballat, a grandson or great-grandson, not the man Nehemiah faced.
About Nehemiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.