Nehemiah 6:5

Neh 6:5 Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand;

Ver. 5. Then sent Sanballat … the fifth time] So restless are wicked persons; their souls are violently tossed about, as in a sling, 1Sa 25:29, Etsi non aliqua docuissent, &c. although they would not be taught by anything, Satan, their taskmaster, urgeth them; and when thou seest them most importunate and outrageous, Scito quia ab accensore suo daemone perurgentur, saith Bernard, know thou that the devil pricks them, and kicks them on to it.

With an open letter in his hand] Not sealed, as the manner is, for secrecy’ sake. The Jews use to write upon the back of their letters Nun, Cheth, Shin; that is, Niddui, Cherem, and Shammatha, all sorts of excommunication to him that shall open them. But this letter was purposely sent open, that whoso would might read it ere it came to Nehemiah’s hand, and be warned of having a hand in the pretended treason.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Neh 6:5-6. With an open letter in his hand — Before, the message was delivered by word of mouth, but now by letter; yet open, as speaking of a thing commonly known, or in order that every one might see of what he was accused. It is reported among the heathen — The neighbouring people, whom you proudly and disdainfully call heathen. And Gashmu saith it — Probably the same as Geshem, mentioned Neh 6:1. That thou and the Jews think to rebel — Thus he endeavours to possess Nehemiah with an apprehension that his undertaking to build the walls of Jerusalem was generally considered as a factious and seditious proceeding, and would be resented accordingly at court. Some of the best men, even in their most innocent and excellent performances, have lain under a similar imputation. That thou mayest be king, according to these words — That is, according to these reports; or, according to these things, namely, when these things, which thou art now doing, shall be finished.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then sent Sanballat his servant . . . the fifth time with an open letter in his hand--In Western Asia, letters, after being rolled up like a map, are flattened to the breadth of an inch; and instead of being sealed, they are pasted at the ends. In Eastern Asia, the Persians make up their letters in the form of a roll about six inches long, and a bit of paper is fastened round it with gum, and sealed with an impression of ink, which resembles our printers' ink, but it is not so thick. Letters were, and are still, sent to persons of distinction in a bag or purse, and even to equals they are enclosed--the tie being made with a colored ribbon. But to inferiors, or persons who are to be treated contemptuously, the letters were sent open--that is, not enclosed in a bag. Nehemiah, accustomed to the punctillious ceremonial of the Persian court, would at once notice the want of the usual formality and know that it was from designed disrespect. The strain of the letter was equally insolent. It was to this effect: The fortifications with which he was so busy were intended to strengthen his position in the view of a meditated revolt: he had engaged prophets to incite the people to enter into his design and support his claim to be their native king; and, to stop the circulation of such reports, which would soon reach the court, he was earnestly besought to come to the wished-for conference. Nehemiah, strong in the consciousness of his own integrity, and penetrating the purpose of this shallow artifice, replied that there were no rumors of the kind described, that the idea of a revolt and the stimulating addresses of hired demagogues were stories of the writer's own invention, and that he declined now, as formerly, to leave his work.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 5. With an open letter in his hand] This was an insult to a person of Nehemiah's quality: as letters sent to chiefs and governors in the East are always carefully folded up, and put in costly silken bags, and these carefully sealed. The circumstance is thus marked to show the contempt he (Sanballat) had for him.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(5) The fifth time with an open letter in his hand.—Four times they strive to induce Nehemiah to meet them, under various pretexts, with the intention of doing him personal harm. Each time his reply was to the effect that he was finishing his own work, not without a touch of irony. This answer has an universal application, which preachers have known how to use. In the fifth letter the tactics are changed: the silken bag containing the missive was not sealed, and it was hoped that Nehemiah would be alarmed by the thought that its contents had been read by the people.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5. his servant] Cf. Neh_4:22.

an open letter in his hand] ‘Open,’ not sealed. The object of this is obvious. It was intended that the contents of the letter should become public property. The servant himself and the adherents of Sanballat within the walls of Jerusalem (Neh_6:17) would possess themselves of its contents long before it reached the hands of Nehemiah. (1) The charge of treason against Nehemiah and the Jews would terrify the timid from active co-operation in the work, and decide those who were wavering to desist altogether (cf. Neh_6:9). The dissemination of the contents of the letter was therefore an attempt to stay the rebuilding of the walls at the last moment. (2) The effect upon the people which the letter was calculated to produce might decide Nehemiah to concede the proposed interview. Sanballat’s challenge being made public, it was hoped that Nehemiah would find himself compelled to rebut the charges, and to meet his adversaries in the way which they proposed (Neh_6:7). Thus the opportunity would be obtained of seizing his person and of employing to their own advantage the interval of his absence from the city.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time,.... In his own name, neither Tobiah nor Geshem joining with him, he being more solicitous and anxious to get him into his hands than any of them; and it may be, as some think, pretending more friendship for him than the rest, and therefore writes alone, as if they knew nothing of his writing:

with an open letter in his hand: which having in it an intimation of Nehemiah being guilty of treason, anyone that would might read it, and so spread the defamation.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The letter was “open,” in order that the contents might be generally known, and that the Jews, alarmed at the threats contained in it, might refuse to continue the work.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Letter. Hebrew, Septuagint, and Arabic add, "open:" but this word is not in Syriac. The letter might be an order to appear, or might be left open to signify that the bearer was a man of confidence, from whom Nehemias might receive any farther information; unless it was sent in this manner out of contempt. --- Gossem, the Arabian governor, chap. ii. 19. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Thereby bidding open defiance to him, as before he had used secret practices; and intimating that he would do that by manifest force, which he had intended to do by sudden surprise.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

5. With an open letter — Having failed in all his secret and crafty measures to entrap Nehemiah, Sanballat now proceeds to treat him with contempt and insult, and sends him an open letter, that any one may read. This he probably thought would terrify him, or excite the people against him.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

An open letter. Letters in the East are usually placed in silken bags, which are then tied up and carefully sealed. An "open letter" invited perusal; and the object of sending this one "open" must have been to create alarm among the Jews, and to excite them against Nehemiah. Compare the conduct of Sennacherib"s ambassadors. (2Ki_18:27-33)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Open letter - As speaking of a thing commonly known.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same way the fifth time

Identifying this message separately means it is distinct in some way from the previous four messages and, therefore, should be noted. AT: " Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same way yet again" or "Sanballat sent his servant to me to deliver a fifth message" (See: Ordinal Numbers)

an open letter

The letter was an unsealed diplomatic communication. This was an insult to the recipient because the courier was free to read it and spread its contents among the people of the region.

in his hand

This means he had the letter in his possession, but he did not necessarily carry it in his hand at all times. AT: "in his possession" (See: Metonymy)

It is reported among the nations

This can be stated in active form. AT: "The rumor in the region is" (See: Active or Passive)

are planning to rebel

This means that they are planning to rebel against Artaxerxes, the Persian king, who was currently ruling the Jews. AT: "are planning to rebel against Artaxerxes" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

servant

epistle

written

report

nation

Jew

rebel

king

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

with his servant through his servant.

and an open letter was in his hand He sent me a written letter through him.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.