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Nehemiah 6:1

in Nehemiah 6

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 doors in the gates—

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Now it came to pass, when it was reported to Sanballat and Tobiah, and to Geshem the Arabian, and unto the rest of our enemies, that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein (though even unto that time I had not set up the doors in the gates),

KJV

Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;)

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This verse in Nehemiah 6

Commentary

1 note on this verse

This site's exposition

no breach left therein

on Nehemiah 6:1-2

Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem the Arabian hear that the wall stands with no breach left in it, though the doors are not yet hung on the gates. The work is finished in substance before it is finished in every detail, and the enemies switch from open opposition to a friendly-sounding invitation. Come, let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono reads as neighborly, but the narrator states the aim plainly: they thought to do me mischief. Gill and Clarke both read the summons as a plan to draw Nehemiah away from Jerusalem and his own people before striking him.

The words behind it

25 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיְהִ֣יand it was

    vayhiH1961 →3559 times

  • כַאֲשֶׁ֣רjust when

    khaasherH834 →5497 times

  • נִשְׁמַ֣עit was heard

    nishma'H8085 →1159 times

  • לְסַנְבַלַּ֣טby Sanballat

    lesanvalatH5571 →10 times

  • וְ֠טוֹבִיָּהand Tobiah

    vetoiyahH2900 →18 times

  • וּלְגֶ֨שֶׁםand by Geshem

    ulegeshemH1654 →4 times

  • הָֽעַרְבִ֜יthe Arab

    haarviH6163 →9 times

  • וּלְיֶ֣תֶרand by [the] rest of

    uleyeterH3499 →102 times

  • אֹֽיְבֵ֗ינוּenemies our

    ʾoyeveinuH341 →282 times

  • כִּ֤יthat

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • בָנִ֙יתִי֙I had rebuilt

    vanitiH1129 →376 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הַ֣חוֹמָ֔הthe wall

    hachomahH2346 →133 times

  • וְלֹא־and not

    velo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • נ֥וֹתַרit was left

    notarH3498 →

  • בָּ֖הּin it

    bah

  • פָּ֑רֶץa breach

    paretzH6556 →

  • גַּ֚םalso

    gamH1571 →769 times

  • עַד־until

    ʾad-H5704 →1261 times

  • הָעֵ֣תthe time

    haetH6256 →296 times

  • הַהִ֔יא<the> that

    hahi'H1931 →1879 times

  • דְּלָת֖וֹתdoors

    delatotH1817 →88 times

  • לֹא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • הֶעֱמַ֥דְתִּיI had set up

    heemadtiH5975 →521 times

  • בַשְּׁעָרִֽים׃in the gates

    vashearimH8179 →374 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

12 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Psalms 147:13For He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.7 worksNehemiah 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 king?”6 worksNehemiah 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.6 worksNehemiah 4:1Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious and filled with indignation. He ridiculed the Jews5 worksNehemiah 3:1At 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 of Hananel, they dedicated the wall.4 worksNehemiah 4:6–7So we rebuilt the wall until all of it was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.4 works
The other 6 cross-references, with their words ▾
Nehemiah 3:3The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.4 worksNehemiah 7:1When the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites were appointed.4 worksDaniel 9:25Know and understand this: From the issuance of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until the Messiah, the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of distress.3 worksNehemiah 3:6The Jeshanah Gate was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.3 worksIsaiah 58:12Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of the Streets of Dwelling.2 worksNehemiah 4:3Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, “If even a fox were to climb up on what they are building, it would break down their wall of stones!”1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 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.

    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 4:7

      When 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,

  • Through

    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…

    it leads to

    • Nehemiah 12:39

      over the Gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stopped at the Gate of…

    • Jeremiah 31:38

      “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when this city will be rebuilt for Me, from the tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

    • John 5:2

      Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool with five covered colonnades, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda.

  • Through

    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…

    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…

  • Through

    Nehemiah 4:1

    Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious and filled with indignation. He ridiculed the Jews

    it leads to

    • 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

      Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies2

On this verse

On this chapter

What the record shows

1 entry
  • Geshem (Gashmu) the Arabian — attested in contemporary inscriptionwell-supported

    Aramaic silver-bowl inscription, Tell el-Maskhuta (naming Qainu son of Geshem, king of Qedar)

    Biblical figure (Arabian opponent of Nehemiah, late 5th c. BC) identified in extra-biblical epigraphy.

    Counterpoint: The silver bowl names Qainu son of Geshem, king of Qedar — the son, not Geshem himself — and dates to around 400 BC, after Nehemiah's time. Geshem was a common Arabian name, so the identification rests on date, region, and royal title rather than on the man being named, which is why scholars call it likely rather than certain.

About Nehemiah

Nehemiah Views the Ruins of Jerusalem's Walls, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Nehemiah Views the Ruins of Jerusalem's Walls, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Nehemiah: the study guide →Read Nehemiah 6 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.

Read on in Nehemiah 6 →