Nehemiah 4:1
in Nehemiah 4Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious and filled with indignation. He ridiculed the Jews
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But it came to pass that, when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.
KJV
But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.
⋯
This verse in Nehemiah 4
Commentary
5 notes on this verseBut it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall,.... Or were building it; for as yet it was not finished, see Neh 4:6, he was wroth, and took great indignation; inwardly, though outwardly he pretended to treat the work with contempt, as if it never would be accomplished, which yet he feared: and mocked the Jews; as a set of foolish builders, and unable to finish what they had begun.
This site's exposition
He ridiculed the Jews
on Nehemiah 4:1-3
Sanballat hears that the wall rises and answers with contempt before he answers with force, mocking feeble Jews who cannot finish what they started. Matthew Henry reads the sequence as the pattern of every threatened enemy, ridicule tried first because it costs nothing and works if it lands.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Now it came to pass, when Sanballat heard, etc. Clearly, this is the anger of the heretics, these are their words, who vainly call themselves Samaritans, that is, guardians of God's law, when they are in fact greatly opposed to God and His laws, as …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The strength and safety of the church are the grief and vexation of its enemies. They despised it, and made it the subject of their ridicule. In this they sufficiently displayed their malice; but good was brought out of it; for, looking upon it as a foolish undertaking that would sink under its own weight, they did not go about to obstruct it till it was too late.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth--The Samaritan faction showed their bitter animosity to the Jews on discovering the systematic design of refortifying Jerusalem.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֞י | vayehi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֧ר | kaasher | just when | H834 → | 5497 times |
| שָׁמַ֣ע | shama' | he heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| סַנְבַלַּ֗ט | sanvalat | Sanballat | H5571 → | 10 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲנַ֤חְנוּ | ʾanachnu | we | H587 → | 120 times |
| בוֹנִים֙ | vonim | [were] rebuilding | H1129 → | 376 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַ֣חוֹמָ֔ה | hachomah | the wall | H2346 → | 133 times |
| וַיִּ֣חַר | vaiyichar | and it burned | H2734 → | 91 times |
| ל֔וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| וַיִּכְעַ֖ס | vaiyikhas | and he was angry | H3707 → | |
| הַרְבֵּ֑ה | harbeh | greatly | H7235 → | 227 times |
| וַיַּלְעֵ֖ג | vaiyaleg | and he mocked | H3932 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | <on> | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַיְּהוּדִֽים׃ | haiyehudim | the Jews | H3064 → | 75 times |
וַיְהִ֞יand it was
vayehiH1961 →3559 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֧רjust when
kaasherH834 →5497 times
שָׁמַ֣עhe heard
shama'H8085 →1159 times
סַנְבַלַּ֗טSanballat
sanvalatH5571 →10 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אֲנַ֤חְנוּwe
ʾanachnuH587 →120 times
בוֹנִים֙[were] rebuilding
vonimH1129 →376 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַ֣חוֹמָ֔הthe wall
hachomahH2346 →133 times
וַיִּ֣חַרand it burned
vaiyicharH2734 →91 times
ל֔וֹto him
lo
וַיִּכְעַ֖סand he was angry
vaiyikhasH3707 →
הַרְבֵּ֑הgreatly
harbehH7235 →227 times
וַיַּלְעֵ֖גand he mocked
vaiyalegH3932 →
עַל־<on>
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַיְּהוּדִֽים׃the Jews
haiyehudimH3064 →75 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
Hebrews 11:36Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 20:2
he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD.
- Genesis 39:20
So Joseph’s master took him and had him thrown into the prison where the king’s prisoners were confined. While Joseph was there in the prison,
- Jeremiah 37:15–21
The officials were angry with Jeremiah, and they beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison.
- Jeremiah 20:2
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 6:6
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…
- 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,
- Nehemiah 2:19
Through
Acts 5:17Then the high priest and all his associates, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They went out
it leads to
- Acts 13:45
But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.
- Acts 7:9
Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
- Acts 13:45
About Nehemiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; 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.