Nehemiah 4:15-23

3. Work progresses in the midst of precautions.

TEXT, Nehemiah 4:15-23

15

And it happened when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work.

16

And it came about from that day on, that half of my servants carried on the work while half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows, and the breastplates; and the captains were behind the whole house of Judah.

17

Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon.

18

As for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built, while the trumpeter stood near me.

19

And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people,-' -The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another.

20

At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.

21

So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from dawn until the stars appeared.

22

At that time I also said to the people, Let each man with his servant spend the night within Jerusalem so that they may be a guard for us by night and a laborer by day.

23

So neither I, my brothers, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us removed our clothes, each took his weapon even to the water.

COMMENT

Nehemiah 4:15: If it had been the plan of Judah's enemies to create confusion to hinder the work, the plan failed: they heard that the Jews responded to the threats by organizing adequate defenses. Nehemiah gives credit to God for the outcome; the emphasis is not on their avoiding attack, but on their being able to continue their work. All we have seen so far are threats; their enemies may not have had the heart, or intention, to risk health or life for their evil ends.

Nehemiah's servants, Nehemiah 4:16, may have been his bodyguard of Persian soldiers. The presence of the captains behind the house of Judah could be physical; but it could speak more pointedly of their moral support.

The workmen in Nehemiah 4:17 could continue hauling materials with one hand, and could use the other hand for weapons.

The workmen in Nehemiah 4:18, stone masons most likely, would need both hands for their work, so they kept their weapons close by.

At the end of Nehemiah 4:18 and in Nehemiah 4:19-20, communication was provided for. It was well over half a mile from the northern to the southern extremities of the wall, so a loud signal was needed if they were to be summoned to one another's defense. The shofar (trumpet), made of the curved horn of a cow or ram, was the answer. With this reassurance against surprise attack, and with the added assurance of God's assistance, they could work more efficiently.

In Nehemiah 4:21, though their work force was cut in half by their need of defense, they could make up a part of this by working from dawn to dusk.

According to Nehemiah 4:22, additional efficiency would be obtained by keeping all the workers within the city each night. The teaming of a skilled and unskilled laborer may be suggested by the mention of a man and his servant. The availability of the workmen as guards during the night is cited; there would be other advantages to the stratagem. It had been the workers who came from outside the city who brought the rumors in Nehemiah 4:12; this would cut off that avenue of subversion. It would also prevent defections from their work force, and at the same time speed construction by eliminating travel time. There may be a hint in this passage on how to get along with people; the only reasons which Nehemiah expressed for keeping men in the city were those which showed no lack of confidence in, or disrespect for, his workmen. The practice of hospitality by the residents of the city would be needed to make this method succeed.

Nehemiah 4:23 emphasizes once more the urgency of their work, that they kept their clothes on continuously. The last phrase of the verse is obscure. Literally it reads, each one his weapon to the water. The KJV interprets it to mean that they did remove their clothes to wash them; sanitation must not be neglected. The Anchor Bible assumes that it is necessary to make some small corrections in the text; it reads, each one had his spear in his right hand, to indicate constant readiness. The Cambridge Bible adds still more and suggests, each one with his weapon in his hand for a full month of days. The NASB stresses that they took their weapons everywhere, even to get a drink or to bathe. The Living Bible simply tries to capture the sense: And we carried our weapons with us at all times.

WORD STUDIES

WEALTHY (Nehemiah 4:2: Chayil): in various contexts, it can mean (1) strength, might, valor; (2) forces, army; (3) ability, wealth; (4) integrity, virtue. It is usually translated army, but wealth in Ruth 2:1, where it describes Boaz.

The two most important letters in the word are the h and i; these appear in our words heil, hale, heal, health, whole, and even holy: words having the same sense as the Hebrew, in certain contexts. They also occur in a word of very different derivation, but with the same connotations, in our slang (big) wheel; we wonder if this is only a coincidence. Try that expression in Nehemiah 4:2!

TRUMPET (Nehemiah 4:20: Shofar): scratch, scrape, rub, polish. This leads to the idea of brightness, brilliance, and a brilliant tone. The word for scribe (Sepher) is akin to it (cf. Word Studies on Ezra 7: note the resemblance in primary meaning). There seems to be a connection between what a person communicates by writing or speech, and what he conveys by musical tones.

SUMMARY

This chapter tells of the effort of Israel's enemies to block progress on the wall by ridicule and rumor. First, Sanballat of Samaria made fun of these feeble people trying by themselves to push stones around; stones which already had been pushed over and burned, showing their ineffectiveness. Tobiah joined in by saying it wouldn-'t support a fox. Nehemiah prayed, and the people kept on working till the wall was half built.
Then their enemies came from four directions and threatened to do battle. Again Nehemiah prayed, and this time he set a guard. The workers were becoming tired and discouraged. A rumor of ambush spread, and as the people became frightened, Nehemiah calmed them and encouraged them to be willing to fight for God and home. Half of the workers were put on guard while the other half worked; even these had their weapons in their hand or within reach. At the sound of a trumpet, all were to rush to that point to defend their fellows. They worked from dawn to dusk, they remained close to their work instead of going home, some slept in their clothes, and they stayed alert.