Nehemiah 6:14
in Nehemiah 6O my God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat for what they have done, and also Noadiah the prophetess and the other prophets who tried to intimidate me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and also the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.
KJV
My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.
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This verse in Nehemiah 6
Commentary
6 notes on this verseMy God, think thou on Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works,.... Their wicked counsels and schemes, and not only confound and disappoint them, but reward them as they deserve: and on the prophetess Noadiah: whom Aben Ezra takes to be the same with Shemaiah, because he said, נועד, "let us meet", &c.
This site's exposition
that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin
on Nehemiah 6:13-14
The reason for the plot is stated outright: Shemaiah was hired so that Nehemiah should be afraid, and do so, and sin, giving his enemies matter for an evil report to reproach him with. Fear was meant to produce a real trespass, not a rumor, since a governor caught inside the forbidden precinct would have handed his accusers a true charge instead of a false one. Nehemiah answers with a short prayer rather than a defense: my God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets that would have put me in fear. Gill records a tradition identifying Noadiah with Shemaiah's own household, though the text itself only names her as one more hired voice against the wall.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
(2.) The unhappiness of such good men as Nehemiah, who are in danger of being imposed upon by such cheats, and to whom no temptation comes with more force than that which comes under a colour of religion, of revelation and devotion, and is brought by the hand of prophets. The pretence was plausible.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
And on the prophetess Noadiah - Whether this was a prophet or prophetess, we cannot tell; the Hebrew text only makes her a prophetess; all the versions have Noadiah the prophet, except the Arabic which has Younadaa the prophet. I think the ה he at the end of נביאה nebiah is a mistake, and that we should read Noadiah the prophet.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah, &c.--This man was the son of a priest, who was an intimate and confidential friend of Nehemiah. The young man claimed to be endowed with the gift of prophecy.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Noadiah is not elsewhere mentioned. The examples of Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, and Anna, show that the prophetical gift was occasionally bestowed upon women (2Ki 22:14 note).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
and also Noadiah the prophetess She and the rest of the false prophets received pay from Sanballat and his cohorts in order to frighten me with their false prophecies.
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. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זָכְרָ֧ה | zakherah | remember ! | H2142 → | 230 times |
| אֱלֹהַ֛י | ʾelohai | O God my | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לְטוֹבִיָּ֥ה | letoiyah | to Tobiah | H2900 → | 18 times |
| וּלְסַנְבַלַּ֖ט | ulesanvalat | and to Sanballat | H5571 → | 10 times |
| כְּמַעֲשָׂ֣יו | kemaasav | according to works his | H4639 → | |
| אֵ֑לֶּה | ʾeleh | these | H428 → | 746 times |
| וְגַ֨ם | vegam | and also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| לְנוֹעַדְיָ֤ה | lenoadyah | <to> Noadiah | H5129 → | |
| הַנְּבִיאָה֙ | haneviah | the prophetess | H5031 → | |
| וּלְיֶ֣תֶר | uleyeter | and to [the] rest of | H3499 → | 102 times |
| הַנְּבִיאִ֔ים | haneviim | the prophets | H5030 → | 314 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הָי֖וּ | hayu | they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מְיָֽרְאִ֥ים | meyareim | making afraid | H3372 → | 315 times |
| אוֹתִֽי׃ | ʾoti | <obj.> me | H853 → | 10935 times |
זָכְרָ֧הremember !
zakherahH2142 →230 times
אֱלֹהַ֛יO God my
ʾelohaiH430 →2601 times
לְטוֹבִיָּ֥הto Tobiah
letoiyahH2900 →18 times
וּלְסַנְבַלַּ֖טand to Sanballat
ulesanvalatH5571 →10 times
כְּמַעֲשָׂ֣יוaccording to works his
kemaasavH4639 →
אֵ֑לֶּהthese
ʾelehH428 →746 times
וְגַ֨םand also
vegamH1571 →769 times
לְנוֹעַדְיָ֤ה<to> Noadiah
lenoadyahH5129 →
הַנְּבִיאָה֙the prophetess
haneviahH5031 →
וּלְיֶ֣תֶרand to [the] rest of
uleyeterH3499 →102 times
הַנְּבִיאִ֔יםthe prophets
haneviimH5030 →314 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הָי֖וּthey were
hayuH1961 →3559 times
מְיָֽרְאִ֥יםmaking afraid
meyareimH3372 →315 times
אוֹתִֽי׃<obj.> me
ʾotiH853 →10935 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
Psalms 63:1O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.
it leads to
- Psalms 143:6
I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land. Selah
- Psalms 84:2
My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
- Psalms 42:1–2
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.
- Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
- Psalms 91:2
I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
- Psalms 143:6
Through
Jeremiah 28:10Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 27:2
This is what the LORD said to me: “Make for yourself a yoke out of leather straps and put it on your neck.
- Jeremiah 27:2
Through
Nehemiah 13:29Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.
it leads to
- Numbers 25:12–13
Declare, therefore, that I am granting him My covenant of peace.
- Malachi 2:4–8
Then you will know that I have sent you this commandment so that My covenant with Levi may continue,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Numbers 25:12–13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Nehemiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.