Nehemiah 4:3

Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Tobiah	וְטוֹבִיָּ֥ה ve.toi.Yah	H2900	Tobijah · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Ammonite	הָעַמֹּנִ֖י ha.'a.mo.Ni	H5984	an Ammonite or (the adjective) Ammonitish · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
him	אֶצְל֑וֹ 'etz.Lo	H681	a side · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
said	וַיֹּ֗אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
build	בּוֹנִ֔ים bo.Nim	H1129	to build (literally and figuratively) · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
fox	שׁוּעָ֔ל shu.'Al	H7776	a jackal (as a burrower) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
up	יַעֲלֶ֣ה ya.'a.Leh	H5927	to ascend · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
down	וּפָרַ֖ץ u.fa.Ratz	H6555	to break out (in many applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
stone	אַבְנֵיהֶֽם 'av.nei.Hem	H68	a stone · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
wall	חוֹמַ֥ת cho.Mat	H2346	a wall of protection · noun, common feminine singular construct

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Nehemiah 2:19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despi…
1 Kings 20:10 And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the…
1 Kings 20:18 And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.
2 Kings 18:23 Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy…
Nehemiah 2:10 When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to see…
Nehemiah 6:1 Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and…
Lamentations 5:18 Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 4:1-6

Here is, I. The spiteful scornful reflection which Sanballat and Tobiah cast upon the Jews for their attempt to build the wall about Jerusalem. The country rang of it presently; intelligence was brought of it to Samaria, that nest of enemies to the Jews and their prosperity; and here we are told how they received the tidings. 1. In heart. They were very angry at the undertaking, and had great indignation, Neh 4:1. It vexed them that Nehemiah came to seek the welfare of the children of Israel (Neh 2:10); but, when they heard of this great undertaking for their good, they were out of all patience. They had hitherto pleased themselves with the thought that while Jerusalem was unwalled they coul…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 4:3

if a fox go up--The foxes were mentioned because they were known to infest in great numbers the ruined and desolate places in the mount and city of Zion (Lam 5:18).

Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 4:2

The army of Samaria - As he was governor, he had the command of the army, and he wished to excite the soldiers to second his views against Nehemiah and his men. What do these feeble Jews? - We may remark here, in general, that the enemies of God's work endeavor by all means to discredit and destroy it, and those who are employed in it. 1. They despise the workmen: What do these feeble Jews? 2. They endeavor to turn all into ridicule: Will they fortify themselves? 3. They have recourse to lying: If a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall. 4. They sometimes use fair but deceitful speeches; see Neh 6:2, etc.

John Gill on Nehemiah 4:3

Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him,.... Who was one of his brethren he spake before, Nehemiah 4:2, and he said; in the like contemptuous and scoffing manner: even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall break down their stone wall; signifying not only that it was so low that a fox could easily get up to it, or leap over it; but that the materials were so bad, and the work so poorly done, that the weight of a fox would break it down; of which creatures many were thereabout, since Jerusalem was desolate, see Lamentations 5:18.

The Church Fathers

But also Tobias the Ammonite, his neighbor, said: Let them build, etc. And both the person and words of this Tobias agree with heretics. The person indeed, because his patriarch Ammon was conceived from incest and drunkenness, and at night and in a cave. All of which clearly can be easily applied to any heresiarch; whose entire origin is from carnal pleasure and impurity, from the darkness of errors or crimes, from private gatherings, and not from the public symbol of the holy Church. Indeed, Tobias himself, meaning "good" of the Lord, said not by merit and truth, but by arrogance and pride, that the wall of the holy city could be leaped over by a fox; it is evident that heretics are called foxes. From which is that of the Song of Songs: Catch for us the little foxes that ruin the vineyards (Cant. II); which is to say quite clearly, Catch and bring to light the putrid and deceitful cunning of heretics, by which they strive to corrupt the fruitful minds of the faithful. Therefore, if, he says, a fox climbs up, it will leap over their stone wall. If against their faith's assertion any heretic arises, he immediately becomes proud and will subject all the confidence of their doctrine to his feet, which they boast is fortified like a stone and founded in Christ. But such blasphemers will come to what the sacred writer of this history, in imprecation, adds:
— Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Armour — Is employed in the English Bible to denote military equipment, both offensive and defensive. (1.) The offensive weapons were different at different periods of history. The “rod of iron” (Ps. 2:9) is…
Vine — One of the most important products of Palestine. The first mention of it is in the history of Noah (Gen. 9:20). It is afterwards frequently noticed both in the Old and New Testaments, and in the…
Ammonites, The · Vexed the Jews after captivity — Vexed the Jews after captivity
Contempt · Exemplified: Sanballat, &c — Exemplified: Sanballat, &c
Fox · Held in contempt — Held in contempt
Fox, The · Described as: Active — Described as: Active
Samaria, Modern · Inhabitants of: Opposed the Jews after their return from captivity — Inhabitants of: Opposed the Jews after their return from captivity
Sarcasm · .Sanballat’ s address to the army of Samaria — .Sanballat’ s address to the army of Samaria
Stones · City walls built of — City walls built of

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Nehemiah 4:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 4:1-6

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 4:3

Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 4:2

John Gill on Nehemiah 4:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Nehemiah 4:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 4:1-6

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 4:3

Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 4:2

John Gill on Nehemiah 4:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Nehemiah 4:3

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Nehemiah 4:2

Rashi on Nehemiah 4:3