Sanballat סַנְבַלַּט
Governor of Samaria, opposed Nehemiah's rebuilding of Jerusalem
Biography
Sanballat was the governor of Samaria during the time of Nehemiah, who led the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem (Neh.2.10, 19). When Sanballat heard that Nehemiah had come to seek the welfare of the children of Israel, he was deeply disturbed (Neh.2.10). Along with Tobiah the Ammonite and Geshem the Arab, Sanballat mocked and ridiculed the Jews' efforts to rebuild the wall (Neh.2.19; 4.1-3). When the wall was being built, Sanballat became furious and plotted with others to attack Jerusalem and create confusion (Neh.4.7-8). Despite these threats, Nehemiah and the people continued to work on the wall, setting up guards to protect against potential attacks (Neh.4.9-23). Sanballat, along with Tobiah and Geshem, tried to lure Nehemiah away from the city to harm him, but Nehemiah refused to meet with them (Neh.6.1-4). They also accused Nehemiah of rebelling against the king of Persia, but Nehemiah denied these allegations (Neh.6.5-9). Later, Nehemiah discovered that one of the priests, Eliashib, had allied himself with Tobiah and prepared a room for him in the courts of the house of God (Neh.13.4-7). Nehemiah also learned that one of Eliashib's grandsons had married Sanballat's daughter, and he drove him away (Neh.13.28). Throughout the book of Nehemiah, Sanballat is portrayed as a persistent enemy who sought to hinder the rebuilding of Jerusalem and undermine Nehemiah's leadership.
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In Scripture
1 biblical book ; 1 with study contentNehemiah 5 verses
- Nehemiah 2:10
"When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly, because a man had come to seek the welfare of the children of Israel."
Study Nehemiah → - Nehemiah 2:19
"But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they ridiculed us, and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?”"
Study Nehemiah → - Nehemiah 4:1
"But when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry, and was very indignant, and mocked the Jews."
Study Nehemiah → - Nehemiah 4:7
"But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward, and that the breaches began to be filled, they were very angry;"
Study Nehemiah → - Nehemiah 6:1
"Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, and to Geshem the Arabian, and to the rest of our enemies, that I had built the wall, and that there was no breach left in it (though even to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates)"
Study Nehemiah →
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Strong's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | סַנְבַלַּט | H5571G |
Sanballat
e of Horonaim, a city of Moab mentioned in Isa 15:5; Jer 48:2,5,34; Josephus, Ant, XIII, xxiii; XIV, ii. He is named along with Tobiah, the Ammonite slave (Ne 4:1), and Geshem the Arabian (Ne 6:1) as the leading opponent of the Jews at the time when Nehemiah undertook to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Ne 2:10; 4:1; 6:1). He was related by marriage to the son of Eliashib, the high priest at the time of the annulment of the mixed marriages forbidden by the Law (Ne 13:28).
Renewed interest has been awakened in Sanballat from the fact that he is mentioned in the papyri I and II of Sachau (Die aramaischen Papyrusurkunden aus Elephantine, Berlin, 1908, and in his later work, Aramaische Papyrus und Ostraka, Leipzig, 1911; compare Staerk's convenient edition in Lietzmanns Kleine Texte, Number 32, 1908) as having been the governor (pachath) of Samaria some time before the 17th year of Darius (Nothus), i.e. 408-407 BC, when Bagohi was governor of Judah. His two sons, Delaiah and Shelemiah, received a letter from Jedoniah and his companions the priests who were in Yeb (Elephantine) in Upper Egypt. This letter contained information concerning the state of affairs in the Jewish colony of Yeb, especially concerning the destruction of the temple or synagogue (agora) which had been erected at that place.
The address of this letter reads as follows: "To our lord Bagohi, the governor of Judea, his servants Jedoniah and his companions, the priests in the fortress of Yeb (Elephantine). May the God of Heaven inquire much at every time after the peace of our lord and put thee in favor before Darius the king," etc. The conclusion of the letter reads thus: "Now, thy servants, Jedoniah and his companions and the Jews, all citizens of Yeb, say thus: If it seems good to our lord, mayest thou think on the rebuilding of that temple (the agora which had been destroyed by the Egyptians). Since it has not been permitted us to rebuild it, do thou look on the receivers of thy benefactions and favors here in Egypt. Let a letter with regard to the rebuilding of the temple of the God Jaho in the fortress of Yeb, as it was formerly built, be sent from thee. In thy name will they offer the meal offerings, the incense, and the burnt offerings upon the altar of the God Jaho; and we shall always pray for thee, we and our wives and our children and all the Jews found here, until the temple has been rebuilt. And it will be to thee a meritorious work (tsedhaqah) in the sight of Jaho, the God of Heaven, greater than the meritorious work of a man who offers to him a burnt offering and a sacrifice of a value equal to the value of 1,000 talents of silver. And as to the gold (probably that which was sent by the Jews to Bagohi as a baksheesh) we have sent word and given knowledge. Also, we have in our name communicated in a letter all (these) matters unto Delaiah and Shelemiah, the sons of Sanballat, governor of Samaria. Also, from all that has been done to us, Arsham (the satrap of Egypt) has learned nothing.
The 20th of Marcheshvan in the 17th year of Darius the king." Sanballat is the Babylonian Sin-uballit, "may Sin give him life," a name occurring a number of times in the contract tablets from the time of Nebuchadnezzar, Nabonidus, and Darius Hystaspis. (See Tallquist, Neubabylonisches Namenbuch, 183.)
R. Dick Wilson