Nehemiah 4:1

Work Is Ridiculed

1 Now it came about that when ¹Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews.

Read Chapter Compare

PREVIOUS Nehemiah 3:32 NEXT Nehemiah 4:2

Nehemiah 4:1 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 4:1

But 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 ( Nehemiah 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.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Nehemiah 4:1 In-Context

1 Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews.

2 He spoke in the presence of his brothers and the wealthy men of Samaria and said, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble even the burned ones?"

3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, "Even what they are building -if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!"

4 Hear, O our God, how we are despised! Return their reproach on their own heads and give them up for plunder in a land of captivity.

5 Do not forgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before You, for they have demoralized the builders.

Cross References 1

1. Nehemiah 2:10

Footnotes 1

[a]. Ch 3:33 in Heb