Nehemiah 6:2

2 that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, Come, let us meet together in the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.

Nehemiah 6:2 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 6:2

Then Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me
Messengers:

saying, come, let us meet together in some one of the villages;
in Cephirim, which Jarchi takes to be the name of a place, perhaps the same with Cephirah, a city in the tribe of Benjamin, ( Joshua 18:26 )

in the plain of Ono;
which was in the same tribe, see ( 1 Chronicles 8:12 ) , they might pretend a friendly meeting, to accommodate differences between them, or to converse together about the general interest of the king of Persia in those parts:

but they thought to do me mischief;
to kill him, or at least to confine him; this he either conjectured from their general character and behaviour, or he had intelligence of their design.

Nehemiah 6:2 In-Context

1 And it came to pass when Sanballat, and Tobijah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had built the wall, and that there was no breach left in it (though at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates),

2 that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, Come, let us meet together in the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.

3 And I sent messengers to them, saying, I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down. Why should the work cease, whilst I leave it and come down to you?

4 And they sent to me four times after this sort; and I answered them in the same manner.

5 Then sent Sanballat his servant to me in this manner the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand,

Footnotes

• [a]. Or 'valley:' see Josh. 11.8.