Nehemiah 4:7
in Nehemiah 4When 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,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But it came to pass that, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth;
KJV
But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,
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This verse in Nehemiah 4
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The Arabians ... - Probably a band, composed largely of Arabians, Ammonites, and Ashdodites, which Sanballat maintained as a guard to his person, and which formed a portion of “the army of Samaria” Neh 4:2. A quarrel between such a band and the people of Jerusalem might be overlooked by the Persian king.
This site's exposition
then they were very wroth
on Nehemiah 4:7-9
Sanballat's coalition widens as Ammonites, Arabians and Ashdodites join him, and mockery becomes conspiracy, an actual plan to come against Jerusalem and stop the work by force. Nehemiah answers with one sentence that names both halves of the answer: we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night. Matthew Henry reads the pairing against Christ's own instruction to watch and pray, prayer without watchfulness a kind of sloth, watchfulness without prayer a kind of pride. Charles Spurgeon preached the verse under the title The Two Guards, prayer and watching set to guard the wall together, neither one sufficient alone.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And it came to pass that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Nehemiah's vigilance anticipated every difficulty, his prudent measures defeated every obstruction, and with astonishing rapidity this Jerusalem was made again "a city fortified."
The walls of Jerusalem were made up - That is, they were made up to the half height of the wall; for the preceding verse seems to intimate that the whole wall was thus far built; not half of the wall completed, but the whole wall built to half its height.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֣י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כַאֲשֶׁ֣ר | khaasher | just when | H834 → | 5497 times |
| שָׁמַ֣ע | shama' | he heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| סַנְבַלַּ֡ט | sanvalat | Sanballat | H5571 → | 10 times |
| וְ֠טוֹבִיָּה | vetoiyah | and Tobiah | H2900 → | 18 times |
| וְהָעַרְבִ֨ים | vehaarvim | and the Arabs | H6163 → | 9 times |
| וְהָעַמֹּנִ֜ים | vehaamonim | and the Ammonites | H5984 → | 21 times |
| וְהָאַשְׁדּוֹדִ֗ים | vehaashdodim | and the Ashdodites | H796 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עָלְתָ֤ה | ʾaltah | it had gone up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| אֲרוּכָה֙ | ʾarukhah | [the] repair | H724 → | |
| לְחֹמ֣וֹת | lechomot | of [the] walls of | H2346 → | 133 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֔ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הֵחֵ֥לּוּ | hechelu | they had begun | H2490 → | 143 times |
| הַפְּרֻצִ֖ים | haperutzim | the broken down [parts] | H6555 → | 49 times |
| לְהִסָּתֵ֑ם | lehisatem | to be closed | H5640 → | |
| וַיִּ֥חַר | vaiyichar | and it burned | H2734 → | 91 times |
| לָהֶ֖ם | lahem | to them | ||
| מְאֹֽד׃ | meod | exceedingly | H3966 → | 300 times |
וַיְהִ֣יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כַאֲשֶׁ֣רjust when
khaasherH834 →5497 times
שָׁמַ֣עhe heard
shama'H8085 →1159 times
סַנְבַלַּ֡טSanballat
sanvalatH5571 →10 times
וְ֠טוֹבִיָּהand Tobiah
vetoiyahH2900 →18 times
וְהָעַרְבִ֨יםand the Arabs
vehaarvimH6163 →9 times
וְהָעַמֹּנִ֜יםand the Ammonites
vehaamonimH5984 →21 times
וְהָאַשְׁדּוֹדִ֗יםand the Ashdodites
vehaashdodimH796 →
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
עָלְתָ֤הit had gone up
ʾaltahH5927 →890 times
אֲרוּכָה֙[the] repair
ʾarukhahH724 →
לְחֹמ֣וֹתof [the] walls of
lechomotH2346 →133 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֔םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
כִּי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הֵחֵ֥לּוּthey had begun
hecheluH2490 →143 times
הַפְּרֻצִ֖יםthe broken down [parts]
haperutzimH6555 →49 times
לְהִסָּתֵ֑םto be closed
lehisatemH5640 →
וַיִּ֥חַרand it burned
vaiyicharH2734 →91 times
לָהֶ֖םto them
lahem
מְאֹֽד׃exceedingly
meodH3966 →300 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
Revelation 12:17And the dragon was enraged at the woman, and went to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And the…
it leads to
- Revelation 14:12
Here is a call for the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
- Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
- Revelation 19:10
So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus.…
- Revelation 1:2
who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
- Revelation 6:9
And when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld.
- Revelation 14:12
Through
Nehemiah 2:10But 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.
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…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 2:19
Through
Nehemiah 4:1Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious and filled with indignation. He ridiculed the Jews
it leads to
- Hebrews 11:36
Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
- Nehemiah 2:10
But 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.
- Hebrews 11:36
About Nehemiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Two Guards Praying and Watching (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2254); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.