The Mystery of Ephraim

The Jewish community were surrounded on all sides: Sanballat and the Samaritans on the north, the Ammonites on the east, the Arabians on the south, and the Philistines (Ashdodites) on the west.

Our God shall fight for us; the Jews reminded themselves, against foes superior in numbers and strength. Their God shall fight for them. See also Exodus 15:3-6, ‘The Lord is a man of war … Thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy;’ Exodus 14:14, ‘The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace …’

Nehemiah 3

¹ Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They sanctified it and set up the doors of it; even unto the Tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the Tower of Hananeel. — Eliashib was the grandson of Joshua, the high priest contemporary with Zerubbabe;

— though he co-operated in the work of rebuilding the walls, his close connexion with Tobiah, as described in Nehemiah 13:4, shows that he compromised and did not fully sympathize with the policy of Ezra and Nehemiah in separating the Jews from any alliance or combination with other nations.

² And next to him built the men of Jericho. And next to them built Zaccur the son of Imri. — and next to Eliashib built the men of Jericho; that is, the posterity of the ancient inhabitants of Jericho (see Ezra 2:34);

— builded Zaccur the son of Imri; who probably was the chief of the men of Jericho; again, compromising and going against the policy of Ezra and Nehemiah in separating the Jews from any alliance or with other nations;

³ But the Fish Gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof and the bars thereof. — the fish-gate did the sons of Senaah (or Hassenaah) build (see Ezra 2:35); these are of the house of Judah that returned from Babylon; they laid its beams, and set up its doors, bolts, and bars. 

⁴ And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana. — Meremoth the son of Uriah, the son of Koz or Hakkoz; the children of Hakkoz are mentioned in Ezra 2:61; that is, these are of the house of Judah that returned from Babylon;

— Meshullam … Meshezabeel, or Meshezabel; Meshullam the son of Berechiah appears from Nehemiah 6:18 to have been one of the leading nobles and like Eliashib the high-priest; he compromised in the restoration of the walls, to have been also a close ally of Tobiah, whose son, Jehohanan, married Meshullam’s daughter. He was therefore probably opposed to Nehemiah in general policy.

⁵ And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord. — Tekoites; the men of Tekoa, who do not occur among those who returned with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2), who furnish the solitary instance of internal opposition to the building; and as terming the common work “the work of the Lord,”

— the expression “to bring the neck to service” is, they refused to give any assistance to it with their purses or presence, but withdrew from it, as refractory oxen withdraw their necks from the yoke. This is observed to their disgrace, when the common people of their city were ready to work, and did, but they would not submit to it, either through pride or sloth or covetousness or secret compliance with the enemies of the Jews.

⁶ Moreover Jehoiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof and the locks thereof and the bars thereof. — the individuals specified as the builders of this gate are not further known; that is, their names are not listed among the house of Judah that returned from Babylon.

⁷ And next unto them Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, repaired unto the throne of the governor on this side of the river. — again, these names are not listed among the house of Judah that returned from Babylon.

⁸ Next unto him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths, repaired. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries; and they fortified Jerusalem unto the Broad Wall. — same

⁹ And next unto them Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, repaired. — same

¹⁰ And next unto them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired, even opposite his house. And next unto him Hattush the son of Hashabniah repaired. — same

¹¹ Malchijah the son of Harim and Hashub the son of Pahathmoab repaired the other piece, and the Tower of the Furnaces. — same

¹² And next unto him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, repaired — he and his daughters. — same

¹³ The Valley Gate was repaired by Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the Dung Gate. — same

¹⁴ But Malchijah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Bethhaccerem repaired the Dung Gate; he built it and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof and the bars thereof. — same

¹⁵ But the Gate of the Fountain Shallun the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah, repaired; he built it and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof and the bars thereof, and the wall of the Pool of Shelah by the king’s garden and unto the stairs that go down from the City of David. — same

¹⁶ After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Bethzur, repaired unto the place opposite the sepulchers of David, and to the pool that was made and unto the House of the Mighty. — this Nehemiah is not Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah (Nehemiah 1:1), the author of this book.

¹⁷ After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of the half part of Keilah, in his part. — the constant mention of “priests,” “Levites,” and Nethinims” sufficiently indicates that the writer is concerned with the sacerdotal quarter, that immediately about the temple.

¹⁸ After him repaired their brethren, Bavai the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half part of Keilah.

¹⁹ And next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, repaired another piece opposite the ascent to the armory at the turning of the wall.

²⁰ After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired the other piece, from the turning of the wall unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. — the wall from the angle to the place of the court of the prison by the king’s upper house; after him Baruch the son of Zabbai emulously repaired a second length of wall, from the angle to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

²¹ After him Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Koz repaired another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib.

²² And after him repaired the priests, the men of the plain.

²³ After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub opposite their house. After him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, by his house.

²⁴ After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another piece, from the house of Azariah unto the turning of the wall, even unto the corner.

²⁵ Palal the son of Uzai made repairs opposite the turning of the wall, and the tower which lieth out from the king’s high house that was by the court of the prison; after him Pedaiah the son of Parosh.

²⁶ Moreover the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel unto the place opposite the Water Gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out.

²⁷ After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, opposite the great tower that lieth out, even unto the wall of Ophel. — as in verse 5, the Tekoites; who do not occur among those who returned with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2), who furnish the solitary instance of internal opposition to the building; and as terming the common work “the work of the Lord.”

²⁸ From above the Horse Gate repaired the priests, every one opposite his house.

²⁹ After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his house. After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the East Gate. — Zadok the son of Immer; the head of the priestly family of Immer. See those returning from Babylon: Ezra 2:37.

— Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah is very possibly the descendant of David mentioned in 1 Chronicles 3:22. He must have been an old man, as his son, Hattush, had returned to Jerusalem with Ezra (Ezra 8:2, 3); but still he may have taken part in the work. 

³⁰ After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another piece. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah opposite his chamber. — the name of Meshullam the son of Berechiah occurs previously in Nehemiah 3:4; but the same individual can hardly be intended in the two verses.

³¹ After him Malchijah the goldsmith’s son repaired unto the place of the Nethinim and of the merchants, opposite the Gate Miphkad and to the ascent of the corner chamber. — the proximity of their work of restoration suggests that both goldsmiths and merchants represented communities largely and closely interested in the transactions connected with Temple offerings;

— for apart from the supply and repair of vessels, furniture, and dress, required for the daily ministration, the dedication of precious things would create a constant traffic close to the Temple. The merchants would establish themselves at the main approaches to the Temple and expose their wares to the throngs of worshippers and sacrificers who collected about this spot.

³² And between the ascent of the corner unto the Sheep Gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants. — the goldsmiths and the merchants were required to repair the piece of wall immediately to the south of the sheep gate, for which no individual had volunteered. Probably they had houses in the neighbourhood. They consented; and thus the entire wall was taken in hand, and the great work, which Nehemiah had conceived in his heart while still in Susa, was inaugurated.

Nehemiah 4

¹ But it came to pass that when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was wroth and felt great indignation and mocked the Jews. — and mocked the Jews; pretending contempt in his words, when he had grief, anger, and vexation in his heart as the Samaritan faction was confined at first to scoffs and insults, showing their bitter animosity to the Jews on discovering the systematic design of refortifying Jerusalem;

— Sanballat vented his anger by ridiculing the Jews, saying before his brethren, that is, the rulers of his people, and the army of Samaria;

² And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they make sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?” — and he spake before his brethren; before Tobiah, Geshem, and others, whom Nehemiah calls his brethren, because of their conjunction with him in office and interest;

— the rulers of his people, and the army of Samaria; in other words, saying publicly before his associates and subordinates, – “What do these feeble Jews? will they leave it to themselves? will they sacrifice? will they finish it to-day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps that are burned?”

— here is what Wikipedia says about the Samaritans: “There has been a history of genetic disorders within the group due to the small gene pool,” such as high incidence of austisics and cripples within their community for generations because of God’s curses upon those who show hostilities to the rebuilding of the house of God in Jerusalem.

³ Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, “Indeed that which they build, if a fox go up, even he shall break down their stone wall.” — and standing near Sanballat, Tobiah the Ammonite said; in the like a contemptuous, mocking and scoffing manner:

— even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall break down their stone wall; signifying not only that it was so low that a fox could easily get up to it, or leap over it; but that the materials were so bad, and the work so poorly done, that the weight of a fox would break it down; of which creatures many were thereabout since Jerusalem was desolate, see Lamentations 5:18.

⁴ Hear, O our God, for we are despised; and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them as a prey in the land of captivity. — hear, O our God, for we are despised; here begins the prayer of Nehemiah, who had been informed of what these men said in contempt of him, and his builders, and to whom he sent no answer, but applied to God:

— and turn their reproach upon their own head; as they have despised and reproached us, let them be despised and reproached by their neighbours:

— give them for a prey in the land of captivity; let them be carried captive, as we have been, and become a prey and booty to their enemies.

Here is what Wikipedia says about the Samaritans: “There has been a history of genetic disorders within the group due to the small gene pool,” such as high incidence of austisics and cripples within their community but of course they manage to deflect from mentioning the truth of God’s curses upon those who show hostilities to the rebuilding of the house of God in Jerusalem.

⁵ And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before Thee; for they have provoked Thee to anger before the builders. — and cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee; let it not go unpunished, and even let it not be pardoned; and as a result, God had threatened the Moabites and Ammonites with utter destruction:

— for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders; by despising his people, and mocking at the work the Lord had called them to; and this they did publicly, and on purpose to discourage the workmen.

⁶ So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto half its height, for the people had a mind to work. — so built we the wall; they went on in building it, notwithstanding their scoffs and threats:

— and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof; it was carried all round the city to half the height of it: for the people had a mind to work; their heart was in it, they had a good will to it, and they made haste to finish it.

⁷ 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 being rebuilt, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very angry.

— Sanballat … Ashdodites; here we have a complete list of the foes of Jerusalem. See notes on Nehemiah 2:10; Nehemiah 2:19. The Ammonites were the fellow-countrymen of Tobiah, the Arabians of Geshem (Nehemiah 2:19).  With them are classed the dwellers by the coast (the Shephêlah) represented by the, Ashdodites or inhabitants of Ashdod. Ashdod was one of the principal Philistine cities (1 Samuel 5). It occupied a strong position near the sea;

— when these enemies heard that the walls of Jerusalem were bandaged, that is, that the breaches and damages in the wall were repaired, they were filled with wrath.

⁸ and conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem and to hinder it. — and conspired all of them together; all the above men and people entered into a confederacy and combination:

— to come and to fight against Jerusalem; to bring an army with them, and by force cause the Jews to desist; and to hinder it; the building of the walls of it; or “to make a wandering for him” to cause them to stray from their work, to frighten them from it.

⁹ Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them. — nevertheless, we made our prayer unto our God; spread their case before him in prayer, entreating direction and help from him:

— and set a watch against them day and night because of them; to give notice of their approach that they might prepare to defend themselves; though they prayed to God and trusted in him for deliverance, they did not neglect the use of means.

¹⁰ And Judah said, “The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish, so that we are not able to build the wall.” — the placing of the watch day and night and the continuous labour must have pressed heavily upon the people;

— also being terrified by their enemies and wearied with continual labour, Judah said: “The strength of the bearers of burdens fails, and there is much rubbish; we are not able to build the wall.” That is to say, the labour is beyond our power, we cannot continue it.

¹¹ And our adversaries said, “They shall not know, neither see, until we come in the midst among them and slay them and cause the work to cease.” — they shall not know; as to the adversaries, their plan was evidently to watch and surprise, instead of making the threatened attack.

— or, their enemies resolved not to appear with an army before Jerusalem, but to march so secretly that the Jews should have no notice of their approach till they saw them in the city, armed and prepared to attack them suddenly, and put them to the sword.

¹² And it came to pass that when the Jews who dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, “From all places whence ye shall return unto us, they will be upon you.” — when therefore the Jews who dwelt near them, that is, in the neighbourhood of the adversaries and heard their words came to Jerusalem, “and said to us ten times (that is, again and again), that from all places ye must return to us;

— for their adversaries were surrounding the Jewish community on all sides: Sanballat and the Samaritans on the north, the Ammonites on the east, the Arabians on the south, and the Philistines (Ashdodites) on the west; 

— MSG And all this time our enemies were saying, “They won’t know what hit them. Before they know it we’ll be at their throats, killing them right and left. That will put a stop to the work!” The Jews who were their neighbors kept reporting, “They have us surrounded; they’re going to attack!” If we heard it once, we heard it ten times.

¹³ Therefore set I men in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places; I even set the people by families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. — in the lower places behind the wall; to stand by and within the walls where they were lowest, and therefore most liable to the enemy’s assault; perhaps should render, ‘And I set the engines (or catapults) in the space behind the wall in well-protected positions.’

— on the higher places; upon the tops of the walls where they were finished, and the towers which were built here and there upon the wall; whence they might shoot arrows or throw stones against their enemies, when they made their approaches.

¹⁴ And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, “Be not ye afraid of them; remember the Lord, who is great and fearsome, and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses.” — “And I looked, and rose up, and said.” These words can only mean: When I saw the people thus placed with their weapons, I went to them, and said to the nobles, “Be not afraid of them (the enemies); remember the Lord, the great and the terrible,” who will fight for you against your enemies;

— their foes are banded together to compass the extermination of their race and name; their brotherhood, the blessings of family and home (sons and daughters), the ties of personal affection (wives) or cherished ancestral inheritance (house) were at stake. The enemy against whom they fought knew no pity.

¹⁵ And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work. — thus was the design of the enemy circumvented; the enemy, on hearing that Nehemiah was prepared to meet their attack, seem to have abandoned their intention of an immediate assault;

— and the Jews returned to their work on the wall, which they had forsaken to betake themselves to their weapons.

¹⁶ And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields and the bows and the jackets of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. — the manner in which they resumed their building work was, that one half held weapons, and the other half laboured with weapons in hand.

¹⁷ Those who built on the wall and those who bore burdens with those who loaded — every one with one of his hands wrought in the work and with the other hand held a weapon. — just a reminder that the Jewish community were surrounded on all sides: Sanballat and the Samaritans on the north, the Ammonites on the east, the Arabians on the south, and the Philistines (Ashdodites) on the west; 

— they were to face God’s judgement in due time with utter destruction! For Nehemiah had prayed earlier: “Hear, O our God, for we are despised; and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them as a prey in the land of captivity.”

¹⁸ For the builders, every one, had his sword girded by his side, and so built. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. — and he that sounded the trumpet was by me; these words imply that Nehemiah was the life and soul of the defence, and that he was untiring in moving from point to point in the wall, superintending the work and directing the disposition for their welbeings.

¹⁹ And I said unto the nobles and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another. — the work is great and large; the building of the wall all around the city of Jerusalem:

— and we are separated upon the wall one far from another; some at work on one part of it, and some at another, so that the distance between one another, at least in the further part, was very considerable.

²⁰ In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us. Our God shall fight for us.” — our God shall fight for us; the Jews shall fight, and even against foes superior in numbers and strength shall prevail. Their God shall fight for them. See also Exodus 15:3-6, ‘The Lord is a man of war … Thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy;’ Exodus 14:14, ‘The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace …’ Cf. Deuteronomy 1:30; Deuteronomy 3:22; Deuteronomy 20:4; Deuteronomy 28:7.

²¹ So we labored in the work; and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared. — So we laboured, or So we wrought. The word in the original being the same as that rendered ‘wrought’ in Nehemiah 4:16-17, it is best to adhere to the same English equivalent. ‘We:’ the pronoun is emphatic, that is, I and my servants.

— “So we continued to work; and one-half of my personal followers continued to keep watch, and to hold the spears.”

²² Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, “Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labor in the day.” — lodge within Jerusalem. i.e. “sleep” or “pass the night” there, instead of returning to their several villages or towns;

— that in the night they may be a guard to us. The very fact that they were in Jerusalem and known to be there would tend to prevent an attack; and if the enemy assaulted by night, they would be at hand and able to take their part in guarding the work. Nehemiah 4:22.

²³ So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us, put off our clothes, except that every one put them off for washing. — saving that everyone put them off for washing; not for common washing, because dirty, but for washing on account of ceremonial uncleanness, which required washing both of bodies and garments.

~ by Joel Huan on May 23, 2022.

Posted in Nehemiah