Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

4:1-2 Sanballat. See 2:9-10. (The name of a later Sanballat appears on a 4th-century-b.c. papyrus from Wadi edh-Dhaliyeh, where fragmentary scrolls were found in a cave in the highlands near Samaria. In one of these scrolls a certain Sanballat administers the country.) Sanballat was angry and greatly enraged because of the challenge to his authority. he jeered (4:1). He is clearly worried by the Jews' action, but expresses it in mockery, no doubt to encourage his brothers (or allies) to join him in resisting. army of Samaria. It is not clear whether Sanballat really had the authority to command an army. Will they restore it for themselves? Ironically, the answer to this and Sanballat's subsequent mocking questions will be yes.

4:4-5 Nehemiah interjects in his own voice a prayer similar to certain prayers for deliverance from enemies in the Psalms (e.g., Psalm 74; 79). He prays that what his enemies wish for him would return on their own heads; indeed, he prays that they would suffer captivity such as the Jews had recently experienced. The motive is not mere revenge but rather the honor of God, who is the real object of the enemies' insults and whose purposes they do not understand.

4:6 half its height. At this point, the project could still be thwarted. Yet the commitment of the people is a sign of likely success, since it is based on faith in God. for the people had a mind to work. One aspect of God's blessing on this project was that he gave the people a deep desire to do the work, and he sustained that desire throughout the time that the wall was being built.

4:7 Arabs . . . Ammonites . . . Ashdodites. Geshem was an Arab, and Tobiah an Ammonite (2:19; see also note on 2:10). It looks as though they belonged to certain groups in Judah who were strongly opposed to the project. Ashdod was formerly a Philistine city on the west (Mediterranean) coast, but it became the name of the entire province, first under Assyria, then under Persia. The people groups named here suggest that the Jewish community is surrounded on three sides--east, west, and south. This plot runs counter to the clear authorization that Nehemiah received from the Persian king, so it is hard to judge how successful it could hope to be. Yet surely it was intimidating, since Susa was about 1,100 miles (1,770 km) away, a journey of approximately 55 days (averaging 20 miles or 32 km per day). they were very angry. Probably because their own plans were failing.

4:9 And we prayed to our God and set a guard. Nehemiah has prayed before in a threatening situation (2:4). Along with his prayers, he takes prudent action.

4:10-12 These verses tell of the same action described in v. 9 but spell it out at greater length and focus on the danger to the project. The task itself is massive and discouraging (v. 10); the enemies have terrified the people with the threat of a deadly night attack (v. 11); and the friends and families of people who have come in from the villages to work on the walls try to persuade them to come home because of the danger (v. 12).

4:13 Nehemiah again sets a guard (see v. 9).

4:14 Do not be afraid is both a command and an exhortation, rooted in the call to believe that God can overcome his enemies (see also Deut. 1:21, 29; Josh. 1:9), as he has in the past (in the exodus from Egypt and the capture of Canaan).

4:15 God had frustrated their plan. From now on the immediate threat is apparently over, but the work continues with half the people's attention given to defense.

4:16 my servants. A group that was especially close to Nehemiah, and perhaps specially trained.

4:17 each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. Though Nehemiah and the people prayed and trusted God for protection (see vv. 4, 9, 14, 20), they also kept their weapons close at hand (see vv. 16, 18, 23), ready to defend themselves from attack; God often accomplishes his purposes through ordinary human means.

4:20 With the people spread out all around the wall, they were potentially vulnerable at every point (v. 19). Nehemiah addresses this problem by his plan to let the sound of the trumpet be heard, a well-established call to arms (cf. Judg. 3:27; 1 Sam. 13:3). Our God will fight for us. Cf. Ex. 14:14; Deut. 1:30.

4:21-22 A final picture of watchfulness, both day and night. Nehemiah may have feared losing some of his workforce at night, so he kept them in the city (Jerusalem; v. 22).

4:23 my servants. Nehemiah's immediate associates (see v. 16). In not taking off their clothes, they remained prepared for engagement with the enemy, if need be.