(14) Think thou upon Tobiah.--This appeal to God is to be understood as an official prophetic prayer. Nehemiah puts God's own cause into God's own hands. The mention of the name of Noadiah, nowhere else referred to, shows the circumstantial nature of the narrative, and is an indirect evidence of its truth.
Verse 14. - Tobiah and Sanballat. See ver. 12, with the comment. The prophetess Noadiah is not elsewhere mentioned. She has been supposed to have succumbed to a bribe, like Shemaiah (Ewald); but this is wholly uncertain. We only know that, together with certain soi-disant prophets, she endeavoured to "put Nehemiah in fear." It is clear that she was unsuccessful.
6:10-14 The greatest mischief our enemies can do us, is, to frighten us from our duty, and to lead us to do what is sinful. Let us never decline a good work, never do a bad one. We ought to try all advice, and to reject what is contrary to the word of God. Every man should study to be consistent. Should I, a professed Christian, called to be a saint, a child of God, a member of Christ, a temple of the Holy Ghost, should I be covetous, sensual, proud, or envious? Should I yield to impatience, discontent, or anger? Should I be slothful, unbelieving, or unmerciful? What effects will such conduct have upon others? All that God has done for us, or by us, or given to us, should lead us to watchfulness, self-denial, and diligence. Next to the sinfulness of sin, we should dread the scandal.
My God, think thou on Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works,.... Their wicked counsels and schemes, and not only confound and disappoint them, but reward them as they deserve:
and on the prophetess Noadiah: whom Aben Ezra takes to be the same with Shemaiah, because he said, "let us meet", &c. Nehemiah 6:10, but no doubt it is the name of a woman, a false prophetess, and was hired, and in the same scheme with Shemaiah:
and the rest of the prophets that would have put me in fear; and so put him on leaving the people, and the work he was engaged in, and flee for his safety; it seems there were more than are by name mentioned, who sought to discourage and intimidate him.
and on the prophetess Noadiah: whom Aben Ezra takes to be the same with Shemaiah, because he said, "let us meet", &c. Nehemiah 6:10, but no doubt it is the name of a woman, a false prophetess, and was hired, and in the same scheme with Shemaiah:
and the rest of the prophets that would have put me in fear; and so put him on leaving the people, and the work he was engaged in, and flee for his safety; it seems there were more than are by name mentioned, who sought to discourage and intimidate him.