Nehemiah 6:5-9

2. They try again by spreading rumors of rebellion.

TEXT, Nehemiah 6:5-9

5

Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same manner a fifth time with an open letter in his hand.

6

In it was written, It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel; therefore you are rebuilding the wall. And you are to be their king, according to these reports.

7

And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem concerning you, -A king is in Judah!-' And now it will be reported to the king according to these reports. So come now, let us take counsel together.

8

Then I sent a message to him saying, Such things as you are saying have not been done, but you are inventing them in your own mind.

9

For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done. But now, O God, strengthen my hands.

COMMENT

In Nehemiah 6:5-7, the fifth try introduces two variations: the letter is unsealed, and it contains definite charges.

The use of an open letter, in Nehemiah 6:5, may have had several motives. (1) It may have been designed to frighten Nehemiah because he would observe that its contents were known to others; thus he could not ignore it or dismiss it as easily as he had the others. (2) The people of the city who were aware of its contents might be terrified and might abandon active co-operation in the work to avoid suspicion of rebellion. (3) Some of them might actually try to dispose of Nehemiah seeking to do the king a favor and receive a reward for destroying a traitor; if Sanballat could get someone else to adopt this risky mission, he would be spared its dangers. (4) Meanwhile he would contribute to the spread of rumors and might force Nehemiah to come to him in hopes of resolving the charges.

Nehemiah 6:6 credits two sources: they say, and Gashmu says. In other words, these were rumors. Gashmu is a dialectical difference in spelling for the name Geshem. There is a similar variation in spelling the name Tobiah as Tobiyahu (2 Chronicles 17:8), which the English text does not reveal. Many other names (Jeremiah and Hezekiah among them) also have similar variant forms.

The rumor (apparently being initiated by Geshem on the spot) was that you are building the wall (you is singular) as a prelude to leading the Jewish people in a rebellion. Another part of it was that Nehemiah planned to make himself king, which would be treason. If the rumor spread far enough, it might even bring the armies and the king of Persia against Nehemiah!

Nehemiah 6:7 adds other details to the rumor, that Nehemiah had hired-prophets to proclaim him king and to rally the people behind him. It was always possible that one somewhere might actually be doing this. During Zerubbabel's rule some believed that he could be the Messiah promised of God (Haggai 2:23), and later during Jesus-' ministry some sought to make him king.

The inference which they were making was that the rumors would get to the Persian court unless Nehemiah came to them, whereupon they would be reassured and could clear his name of suspicion and defend him from these charges. If Nehemiah had not been absolutely sure of his standing with the king of Persia, and of Artaxerxes-' complete confidence in him, he could have been misled.

Nehemiah 6:8 indicates that he saw through the scheme and dismissed it as coming out of Sanballat's imagination. A ruler out of touch with his subjects never could have acted with such confidence.

Nehemiah 6:9 shows that Nehemiah was aware also of the purpose to discourage and alienate the workers. It concludes with another prayer just a breath long. It is all the more remarkable as an almost unconscious prayer because of the absence of O God, which is inserted by the translators.

WORD STUDIES

REMEMBER (Nehemiah 6:14: Zakar): from the idea of pricking or piercing comes the idea of penetrating or infixing; thus remembering, recalling, considering.

GESHEM (Nehemiah 6:1): violent storm, severe shower.

STRENGTHEN (Nehemiah 6:9: Chazaq): the primary idea is to bind fast, to gird tight; then to cleave, or adhere firmly.

Things are strengthened by being bound together; a spear may be made stronger by winding it round with a cord. One's strength seems greater when he has fastened a girdle about his loins.
A very free translation might be, Give my hands stick-to-it-iveness! Or, Link our hands together (with others, or Yours)! Or, Hitch up my belt! Or just Give me strength.