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Sanballat

Man living at the time of Exile and Return

Sanballat was the governor of Samaria who opposed Nehemiah's efforts to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

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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.

Family

Children
daughter of Sanballat

Connections

Part of: Persian era: Esther and the return

Nehemiah against Sanballat and Tobiah

RoleStated in the text

Sanballat of Samaria and Tobiah the Ammonite opposed the wall by mockery, conspiracy and intrigue, including a letter and a hired prophet. Both had connections with priestly families in Jerusalem; Tobiah even had a room in the temple, which Nehemiah removed.

NehemiahReturned leaderSanballatNehemiah's opponentTobiahNehmiah's opponent
Where the text shows it: Neh 2:10 — Sanballat and Tobiah displeasedNeh 4:1-8 — Mockery and plotNeh 6:1-14 — Invitation to Ono; hired prophetNeh 13:4-8 — Tobiah's room in the temple

Sources: Neh 2:10 · Neh 4:1-8 · Neh 6:1-14 · Neh 13:4-8

More background: search Wikipedia ↗

Bible dictionary

Sanballat Easton Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)

Held some place of authority in Samaria when Nehemiah went up to Jerusalem to rebuild its ruined walls. He vainly attempted to hinder this work (Neh. 2:10, 19; 4:1-12; 6). His daughter became the wife of one of the sons of Joiada, a son of the high priest, much to the grief of Nehemiah (13:28).

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Sanballat Smith Smith’s Bible Dictionary (1863)

(strength), a Moabite of Horonaim. (Nehemiah 2:10,13; 13:28) He held apparently some command in Samaria at the time Nehemiah was preparing to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, B.C. 445, (Nehemiah 4:2) and from the moment of Nehemiah’s arrival in Judea he set himself to oppose every measure for the welfare of Jerusalem. The only other incident in his life is his alliance with the high priest’s family by the marriage of his daughter with one of the grandsons of Eliashib; but the expulsion from the priesthood of the guilty son of Joiada by Nehemiah promptly followed. Here the scriptural narrative ends.

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Sanballat Hitchcock Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary (1869)

bramble-bush; enemy in secret

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Sanballat Hastings Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible (1898)

SANBAL'LAT (a hero?), a native of Horonaim, in Moab, who sadly impeded the efforts of the Jews to rebuild the walls of the city by inciting a movement on the part of the Arabians and others who comprised the "army of Samaria," which apparently Sanballat commanded. Neh 4:2. After Nehemiah's departure he insinuated himself sufficiently with the high priest to be able to marry his daughter to the high priest's grandson. But Nehemiah, returning, promptly deposed the latter. Neh 13:28. We have no further biblical information about him.

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Sanballat Schaff Schaff’s Dictionary of the Bible

SANBAL'LAT (a hero?), a native of Horonaim, in Moab, who sadly impeded the efforts of the Jews to rebuild the walls of the city by inciting a movement on the part of the Arabians and others who comprised the "army of Samaria," which apparently Sanballat commanded. Neh 4:2. After Nehemiah's departure he insinuated himself sufficiently with the high priest to be able to marry his daughter to the high priest's grandson. But Nehemiah, returning, promptly deposed the latter. Neh 13:28. We have no further biblical information about him. SANCTIFY is to prepare or set apart persons or things to a holy use. Ex 13:2. The term "sanctification," when applied to men, denotes the effect of God's Spirit upon the soul. It comprehends all the graces of knowledge, faith, love, repentance, humility, etc., and the exercise of them toward God and man. 2 Thess 2:13; 1 Pet 1:2. It is a process by which the soul is cleansed from the pollution and delivered from the power of sin, and at the same time endued with those spiritual graces above named, without which there could be no taste or fitness for the joys or employments of the heavenly world. Heb 12:14. Sanctification is the fruit of union to Christ by faith, and it is in the knowledge and belief of the truth as it is in Jesus that the soul becomes the subject of the sanctifying influences of the Spirit. John 17:17. From this inward sanctification proceeds every good word and work. Tit 2:11-14. When Christ speaks of sanctifying himself, John 17:19, it is in allusion to the law which required the sacrifice to be set apart to a holy use. He separates or dedicates himself as a sacrifice to God for them.

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Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.

Where Sanballat appears

10 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H5571

Nehemiah10

Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.