Chapter 4 of Nechemya is a chapter of building under fire. Until now we saw the division of labor in rebuilding the wall, and here the surrounding enemies begin to realize that the wall is actually rising. From this point forward, the chapter depicts the enemy ambushes, Nechemya's preparations, and the extraordinary dedication of the builders, who built with one hand while holding a weapon in the other.
וַיְהִי כַאֲשֶׁר שָׁמַע סַנְבַלַּט וְטוֹבִיָּה וְהָעַרְבִים וְהָעַמֹּנִים וְהָאַשְׁדּוֹדִים כִּי־עָלְתָה אֲרוּכָה לְחֹמוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִַם כִּי־הֵחֵלּוּ הַפְּרֻצִים לְהִסָּתֵם וַיִּחַר לָהֶם מְאֹד׃ - And it came to pass, when Sanballat, Toviyah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the healing of the walls of Jerusalem had progressed, and that the breaches had begun to be closed, that they were very wroth.
Sanballat, Toviyah, and all those surrounding neighbors hear that healing has already "come up" for the walls - that is, the breaches have begun to be sealed. Until now they were able to enter Jerusalem freely and harass the people, but from now on, anyone who is an outsider and anyone coming to harass will have no entry here. This ignited their fury: "they were very wroth."
וַיִּקְשְׁרוּ כֻלָּם יַחְדָּו לָבוֹא לְהִלָּחֵם בִּירוּשָׁלִָם וְלַעֲשׂוֹת לוֹ תּוֹעָה׃ - And they conspired, all of them together, to come and wage war against Jerusalem, and to cause it confusion.
"And they conspired, all of them together" - they agree among themselves to come and fight against Jerusalem. "To'ah" (confusion / error) denotes damage and corruption, as in "to speak error against Hashem," meaning their intention was to come and damage the wall. Ibn Ezra adds that the verse might be referring to Nechemya himself, where "to'ah" is a noun in the pattern of "sho'ah" (ruin). Why is it called this? Because a person in distress and dilemma who does not know what to do is like "I have gone astray like a lost sheep" - having no idea how to act.
The Malbim explains differently: "to cause it confusion" does not mean physical damage to the wall, but misleading the people of Jerusalem so that they would not be on guard against them. And how? Through a surprise attack. That was the plan - that the people would mistakenly assume nothing was happening, and suddenly be attacked.
וַנִּתְפַּלֵּל אֶל־אֱלֹהֵינוּ וַנַּעֲמִיד מִשְׁמָר עֲלֵיהֶם יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה מִפְּנֵיהֶם׃ - And we prayed to our God, and set a watch against them day and night because of them.
First and foremost, notice the sequence: before posting a guard, what comes first? Prayer. "And we prayed to our God," and only then, "and set a watch against them day and night." This is the exact opposite of what many think: first we set up an army and a border patrol, and then we say, "Master of the Universe, grant them divine assistance" - implying that we can manage on our own, but it would be nice if You helped out a bit too. The truth is quite the opposite: everything we do does not merely "help out a bit"; it is merely hishtadlut (human effort), while whatever actually comes to fruition is accomplished by Hashem, blessed be He. Therefore, the very first step is to pray to Hashem, and only afterward - because effort is required - do they post a guard day and night.
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוּדָה כָּשַׁל כֹּחַ הַסַּבָּל וְהֶעָפָר הַרְבֵּה וַאֲנַחְנוּ לֹא נוּכַל לִבְנוֹת בַּחוֹמָה׃ - And Judah said: "The strength of the burden-bearers has faltered, and there is much rubble, and we are unable to build the wall."
The men of Judah begin to complain. "The strength of the burden-bearers has faltered" - the strength of those carrying the heavy loads on their shoulders has already given out, "and there is much rubble" - there is still so much earth and debris left to clear away, and stones to transport. The sheer labor itself would have been overwhelming enough, but now the fear of the enemies has been added to it, and in such a situation, "we are unable to build the wall."
וַיֹּאמְרוּ צָרֵינוּ לֹא יֵדְעוּ וְלֹא יִרְאוּ עַד אֲשֶׁר־נָבוֹא אֶל־תּוֹכָם וַהֲרַגְנוּם וְהִשְׁבַּתְנוּ אֶת־הַמְּלָאכָה׃ - And our adversaries said: "They will not know and they will not see, until we come into their midst and kill them, and put an end to the work."
Here Nechemya tells us what was going through the minds of the enemies. The adversaries said to one another: Let us wait for a moment when Nechemya and his companions "will not know and they will not see"; we will take them by surprise before they have time to prepare, right until we penetrate their midst, and then "we will kill them and put an end to the work" - by killing them, we will halt the construction.
וַיְהִי כַּאֲשֶׁר־בָּאוּ הַיְּהוּדִים הַיֹּשְׁבִים אֶצְלָם וַיֹּאמְרוּ לָנוּ עֶשֶׂר פְּעָמִים מִכָּל־הַמְּקֹמוֹת אֲשֶׁר־תָּשׁוּבוּ עָלֵינוּ׃ - And it came to pass, when the Jews who lived near them came, that they said to us ten times, from all the places, "You must return to us."
This verse is quite puzzling: Who are "the Jews who lived near them"? And what is the meaning of "they said to us ten times, from all the places, 'You must return to us'"? Who wanted to return to them? After all, it was the gentiles who were threatening to attack us! Rashi explains that the adversaries gathered together to wage war, and within the districts of those adversaries lived Jewish residents as well.
There is a profound point here. A government minister once approached the Netziv of Volozhin and asked: Russia is fighting Germany; there are Jews in Germany and Jews in Russia, and both serve in their country's army and pray for their country's victory. The Jews of Germany bless the German Kaiser, and the Jews of Russia bless the Russian Czar - how does the Holy One, Blessed be He, manage such a war? The Netziv answered him: Notice the phrasing of the prayer we recite - "He Who gives salvation to kings and dominion to princes, Who makes a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters." Why is "making a way in the sea" mentioned here? Look: there are ships sailing from this shore to the opposite shore, many miles away, and there are ships sailing from the opposite shore to this one. And the wind - if it blows in one direction, how can the ships sailing in the opposite direction make headway? Rather, the Holy One, Blessed be He, makes a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters, ensuring that these reach their destination and those reach their destination. So too here: the Holy One, Blessed be He, makes a way and a path so there is room for this prayer and room for that prayer, and ultimately everything finds its place in peace without conflicting.
Here, too, there were Jews living in the lands of the surrounding nations. They were expected to come and fight against their Jewish brethren in Jerusalem, yet their true loyalty remained with their brethren. Therefore, they sent word to them not once or twice: "When the Jews who lived near them came" - those who were supposedly part of the attacking force - "they said to us ten times," warning us: Prepare yourselves, they are coming to wage war against you; be careful to gather together and arrive organized, so that you are not defeated. This is how Rashi explains it.
The Malbim explains differently. The men of Judah relate how this became known to them: There were Jews living in the cities of Judah's enemies, and they told us "ten times." The emphasis on "ten times" comes to convey that this was neither a rumor nor an invented fabrication, for they warned us about it repeatedly. Nor was it from just one place, but "from all the places" - they informed us precisely where the enemies were planning to lay ambushes for us.
According to the Malbim, "that you must return to us" is not what the outside Jews said, but rather what the men of Judah said to one another: We cannot afford to be scattered, with one person building here and another building there, for then we have no concentrated force against the enemies. If the enemies come in great strength, they will find thirty men here, twenty there, and fifty somewhere else - and they will overpower us. It is therefore preferable that we all gather in one place and build together, so that when the enemies come against us, a force of three hundred or five hundred men ready to fight will already be standing here. This is the meaning of "return to us" - assemble with us, concentrate near us, and in this way we will be united to withstand the attack.
וָאַעֲמִיד מִתַּחְתִּיּוֹת לַמָּקוֹם מֵאַחֲרֵי לַחוֹמָה בַּצְּחִיחִים וָאַעֲמִיד אֶת־הָעָם לְמִשְׁפָּחוֹת עִם־חַרְבֹתֵיהֶם רָמְחֵיהֶם וְקַשְּׁתֹתֵיהֶם׃ - So I stationed [men] in the lower parts of the place behind the wall, in the craggy spots; and I stationed the people by families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
Nechemya says: Once I saw and heard these reports, I made preparations "in the lower parts of the place" - beneath that area where I knew the enemies planned to attack, based on insider intelligence relayed to me by my Jewish brethren. There I stationed men, scouts, and warriors, so that if they came to launch a surprise attack, our forces would already be prepared. "Behind the wall in the craggy spots" - men waiting in ambush, concealed; "tzechichim" relates to bare rock surfaces and hidden crevices, so that when the enemies drew near, the surprise would be turned back on them - our men would suddenly emerge from ambush and strike them.
Moreover, "and I stationed the people by families" - in that same place, I also deployed the people openly facing the enemy, divided family by family and unit by unit, alongside both those lying in ambush behind the wall and the seasoned warriors, all prepared with their swords, their bows, and their spears, so that should the enemy arrive, they would immediately draw their weapons and counterattack or defend.
וָאֵרֶא וָאָקוּם וָאֹמַר אֶל־הַחֹרִים וְאֶל־הַסְּגָנִים וְאֶל־יֶתֶר הָעָם אַל־תִּירְאוּ מִפְּנֵיהֶם אֶת־אֲדֹנָי הַגָּדוֹל וְהַנּוֹרָא זְכֹרוּ וְהִלָּחֲמוּ עַל־אֲחֵיכֶם בְּנֵיכֶם וּבְנֹתֵיכֶם נְשֵׁיכֶם וּבָתֵּיכֶם׃ - And I looked, and arose, and said to the nobles, to the officers, and to the rest of the people: "Do not fear them! Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!"
This role was typically fulfilled by the Kohen anointed for war. His duty was to inspire the people before marching out to battle: Know that the nations come in the name of their idols, which have no power to help or deliver, whereas we go out to fight in the Name of our God - be strong and courageous, and fight for our people and for the cities of our God, in the phrasing of the verse in the Book of Yehoshua.
Furthermore, he would say to them: Whoever is fearful and faint-hearted shall go and return home, so that he does not melt the heart of his brethren; and likewise, whoever has built a house, planted a vineyard, or betrothed a woman shall return home. All of this was designed so that a fearful person would not be humiliated to turn back. After all, an army does not need someone who will demoralize the troops, yet how could a man walk away without people sneering, "Look at that coward" - much like a certain prime minister who once labeled those refusing to be sitting ducks in a missile range as "a bunch of spineless dropouts"? Therefore, the call went out for everyone in those categories to leave: whoever had betrothed a woman, planted a vineyard, or built a house. When onlookers saw someone leaving, they assumed: "He must have just gotten engaged, or built a house and not yet dedicated it, or planted a vineyard." Those who left out of fear blended in with the rest, and no one suspected them.
In the same vein, Nechemya sought to instill courage in the hearts of the people: Do not be afraid and do not dread them; remember that we fear only the great and awesome Lord and keep Him in mind, and that we are fighting for our brothers, our sons and daughters, our wives and our homes - and we have nowhere else to go. Remember Hashem, and fight with total devotion.
וַיְהִי כַּאֲשֶׁר־שָׁמְעוּ אוֹיְבֵינוּ כִּי־נוֹדַע לָנוּ וַיָּפֶר הָאֱלֹהִים אֶת־עֲצָתָם וַנָּשָׁב כֻּלָּנוּ אֶל־הַחוֹמָה אִישׁ אֶל־מְלַאכְתּוֹ׃ - And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and God had foiled their counsel, that we all returned to the wall, each man to his work.
When the enemies saw that we were preparing and that the plan had been leaked to us, they realized they could not take us by surprise and that we were ready for battle. Through this, Hashem thwarted their plot, and they decided to call off the attack. "That we all returned to the wall, each man to his work" - once we saw that the immediate danger had passed and the threat had subsided, each man returned to his labor, and we spread out along the walls once more, since there was no longer any need to remain concentrated in battle formation.
וַיְהִי מִן־הַיּוֹם הַהוּא חֲצִי נְעָרַי עֹשִׂים בַּמְּלָאכָה וְחֶצְיָם מַחֲזִיקִים וְהָרְמָחִים הַמָּגִנִּים וְהַקְּשָׁתוֹת וְהַשִּׁרְיֹנִים וְהַשָּׂרִים אַחֲרֵי כָּל־בֵּית יְהוּדָה׃ - And from that day on, half of my men did the work, while half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows, and the armor; and the officers stood behind the entire house of Yehudah.
הַבּוֹנִים בַּחוֹמָה וְהַנֹּשְׂאִים בַּסֶּבֶל עֹמְשִׂים בְּאַחַת יָדוֹ עֹשֶׂה בַמְּלָאכָה וְאַחַת מַחֲזֶקֶת הַשָּׁלַח׃ - Those who built the wall and those who carried burdens loaded [them]; with one of his hands each did the work, while the other held a weapon.
וְהַבּוֹנִים אִישׁ חַרְבּוֹ אֲסוּרִים עַל־מָתְנָיו וּבוֹנִים וְהַתּוֹקֵעַ בַּשּׁוֹפָר אֶצְלִי׃ - And the builders, each had his sword girded upon his waist while building, and he who blew the shofar was beside me.
On the surface, there seems to be a contradiction between the verses. If half of them were holding spears anyway, why did the builders need to hold a weapon in one hand while loading burdens with the other? Furthermore: why were some people's swords girded at their waists, while others held their weapon in hand while carrying burdens, and still others only held spears in their hands without doing any construction work at all?
The Malbim explains: in the preceding verse, Nechemya jumped ahead and related what happened in the end - that when the enemies saw we were prepared, they retreated. Now he goes back to describe what took place at the beginning, before the enemies realized we were ready, so that we may understand the tremendous self-sacrifice with which the wall was built. In the beginning, the people had not yet dispersed to their individual posts; rather, they were all concentrated in the specific place where the danger was most tangible, building there together. At that point, the people were not yet divided into half doing the work and half holding the spears; rather, everyone held a weapon in one hand and carried the bricks in the other - and this is the subject of verses 11-12.
Only Nechemya's attendants, his personal servants who were valiant warriors, divided themselves: half doing the work and half holding the "shelach," that is, a weapon. And why was it specifically that they did no construction work at all? Because they were trained soldiers, and they needed to hold spears, shields, bows, and coats of armor: one fighting with a spear carried a shield, and one fighting with a bow wore armor. A person cannot be equipped with a bow and armor or a spear and shield and still have a free hand for construction - it is simply impossible. Therefore, those fully equipped with all the weaponry were unable to work with the other hand, so they divided: half engaged solely in defense and guard duty, and half exclusively in the work.
In contrast, the officers and the entire House of Yehudah, who were all assembled around Nechemya and had not yet dispersed to their posts, were not trained in warfare. Therefore - explains the Malbim - they had neither shields nor armor nor bows. After all, shooting a bow requires training, "to teach the children of Yehudah the bow"; it is a skill that must be learned. Therefore, they acted differently: working with one hand and holding the weapon in the other, so that if the enemy approached, they could immediately strike him.
And this is the meaning of "Those who built the wall and those who carried burdens loaded [them]": the Malbim explains that both the wall builders and the burden bearers, the porters, were alike in having a weapon in one hand and their work in the other. And what is the difference between a "load" (*massa*) and "loading" (*ma'amas*)? "Omesim" (loading) refers to what someone else loads onto you, while "massa" is what a person carries on his own. From this we see that they were unable to hoist the load onto their own shoulders by themselves; instead, each person placed the load onto his fellow's shoulder, since one hand held the sword and the other assisted his companion with the burden. From this you can understand what a high state of alert they maintained - not even for a moment could a man put down his sword, load himself, and then pick it up again. They always had to be on alert, sword in hand.
Yet the builder himself cannot build with one hand. Have you ever seen a mason building with one hand? He must take the brick, place it, strike it with a hammer, spread the mortar, and level it - he requires both of his hands. That is why it says specifically of him, "each had his sword girded upon his waist," and not of the porter, since the porter could carry loads with a sword in one hand. The builder, who needed both hands free, is the third group; their swords were ready at their waists so that in a moment of danger they could draw them from their sheaths.
The Malbim is precise about the difference between these terms: verse 11 says "and the other held the *shelach*," while verse 12 states "each had his sword (*cherev*) girded upon his waist." What is the difference between a *cherev* and a *shelach*? A *shelach* is a sword that is sharp on both sides - what is known as a double-edged sword; whereas a *cherev* is sharp on only one edge. A single-edged sword is placed inside a scabbard, a sheath, as in the phrase "drew it from its sheath"; whereas a *shelach*, being double-edged, is not kept in a sheath, but is held in the hand the way one holds a spear.
"And he who blew the shofar was beside me" - this was the man in charge of sounding the alarm, the siren operator, stationed in Nechemya's camp. The moment a threat was spotted in the distance and enemies were approaching, he would immediately blow the shofar, and everyone would drop everything and take up arms to fight for their lives.
וָאֹמַר אֶל־הַחֹרִים וְאֶל־הַסְּגָנִים וְאֶל־יֶתֶר הָעָם הַמְּלָאכָה הַרְבֵּה וּרְחָבָה וַאֲנַחְנוּ נִפְרָדִים עַל־הַחוֹמָה רְחוֹקִים אִישׁ מֵאָחִיו׃ - And I said to the nobles, to the rulers, and to the rest of the people: The work is extensive and widespread, and we are separated along the wall, far from one another.
בִּמְקוֹם אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶת־קוֹל הַשּׁוֹפָר שָׁמָּה תִּקָּבְצוּ אֵלֵינוּ אֱלֹהֵינוּ יִלָּחֶם לָנוּ׃ - In the place where you hear the sound of the shofar, gather there to us; our God will fight for us.
I told them: The work is great and extensive, and we are scattered along the wall, far from one another. Therefore, my request is: wherever you hear the sound of the shofar, gather there to us, all of you together. The Malbim explains: The major concentration of forces was at the beginning, but after seeing that the enemy had retreated, their fear subsided and everyone returned to build in their designated section. Now, since the work was extensive and each person had to be at his own stretch, we were once again "separated along the wall" and far from one another, for the heightened state of readiness that existed previously had lessened, as we saw that the enemies did not intend to attack and were still afraid.
Therefore, Nechemyah told them: I want to maintain a state of alert - not code red, but orange. Return to your posts, let each continue on his stretch of the wall, not as it was until now when we were all crowded next to each other - but remain vigilant. And what does that vigilance entail? Listen and wait for the sound of the shofar, and as soon as you hear it, come immediately and gather to us. For I am still not certain - perhaps the enemy is merely deceiving us, thinking: Now they are prepared, let us lull them into complacency and then attack them. "Far apart" meant a distance of kilometers, for these were the walls of Jerusalem: some were building here, and others were building on the opposite wall. Even so, everyone would be able to gather quickly, because when the shofar blower sounded the alarm, it was usually while the enemy was still descending the mountains, and by the time they arrived, the people in the area would have enough time to converge.
וַאֲנַחְנוּ עֹשִׂים בַּמְּלָאכָה וְחֶצְיָם מַחֲזִיקִים בָּרְמָחִים מֵעֲלוֹת הַשַּׁחַר עַד צֵאת הַכּוֹכָבִים׃ - So we labored at the work, while half of them held spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out.
Not all of us worked on the construction; rather, part engaged in the work while half held the spears - functioning like a border guard circling the entire city on patrol. For since the people were dispersed and separated, there was no point in having the builders themselves hold weapons of war as well. We therefore established a guard: half patrolled around the perimeters ensuring ongoing security, preventing surprises, and watching for suspicious movements, and half held the spears - and in this way, the builders felt more secure in their labors, from dawn until the emergence of the stars.
גַּם בָּעֵת הַהִיא אָמַרְתִּי לָעָם אִישׁ וְנַעֲרוֹ יָלִינוּ בְּתוֹךְ יְרוּשָׁלִָם וְהָיוּ־לָנוּ הַלַּיְלָה מִשְׁמָר וְהַיּוֹם מְלָאכָה׃ - Also at that time I said to the people, "Let every man and his servant lodge within Jerusalem, so that they may serve us as a guard by night and labor by day."
Also at that time I told the people: Every one of the builders, he and his attendant with him, must spend the night inside Jerusalem - meaning they were not to go out to sleep outside the city, as that was dangerous. Consequently, "they will serve us as a guard by night and labor by day": at night we stationed guards, and by day we engaged in the work.
וְאֵין אֲנִי וְאַחַי וּנְעָרַי וְאַנְשֵׁי הַמִּשְׁמָר אֲשֶׁר אַחֲרַי אֵין־אֲנַחְנוּ פֹשְׁטִים בְּגָדֵינוּ אִישׁ שִׁלְחוֹ הַמָּיִם׃ - Neither I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard following me - none of us took off our clothes, [nor did] any man strip them for water.
The pressure was so great - from work to guard duty, and from guard duty to work - that we did not even have time to take off our clothes and wash them in water; we could not even manage to launder them. Shilcho denotes stripping, as in taking off garments and shedding them - shille'ach means to strip off. In other words, we did not take off our clothes even for the sake of water.
The Ibn Ezra explains the opposite: we did not take off our clothes except for the sake of water - we had no time to remove our garments except for laundering; each person would take them off, wash them, and put them right back on, but other than that, never.
The Malbim explains that the negative particle ein ("not / none") applies both to the beginning of the verse and to its continuation: "none of us took off our clothes," and likewise, "nor did any man strip them for water" - meaning no one sent his garment to the water to wash it either. In other words, in practical interpretation he agrees with Rashi, that there was time neither for bathing nor for laundering; but the Malbim demonstrates how this is embedded in the text itself: the word ein carries over to the end of the verse as well, just as we say in prayer, "Who has not made our portion like theirs, nor [has He made] our lot like that of all their multitude," where the initial negative particle applies to the subsequent clause as well.
Chapter 4 opens with the wrath of Sanballat and his faction upon hearing that the breaches were being repaired, and their conspiracy to come "to introduce confusion (to'ah)" - in the view of the Malbim, a surprise attack designed to catch the builders unprepared. Nechemya's response teaches the proper order of Divine service: first, "And we prayed to our God," and only then, "and we posted a guard" - prayer comes first, followed by practical effort. Based on intelligence relayed by the Jews living near the enemy lands, and with the strategy to assemble together in one place, Nechemya stationed ambushes in the exposed, barren areas and positioned the people armed by families, encouraging them like a priest anointed for war: "Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brothers." Hashem thwarted the enemy's counsel, and Scripture then returns to describe the profound self-sacrifice invested in the building: Nechemya's battle-trained attendants were divided in half, the burden-bearers worked with a weapon in one hand and the load in the other while their companions loaded them, and the builders, who required both hands for their craft, kept their swords girded to their waists. Once the immediate danger subsided, they returned to their positions but remained alert for the sound of the shofar, guarding by night and working by day - to the extent that they did not even remove their clothes to wash them. This is the portrait of a rebuilding entirely animated by faith, sound strategy, and self-sacrifice.