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Nehemiah 4:6

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does Nehemiah 4:6 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto half [the height] thereof: for the people had a mind to work.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto half [the height] thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
Nehemiah 4:6 — American Standard Version

Context — Nehemiah 4

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
3Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they are building, if a fox go up, he shall break down their stone wall.
4Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn back their reproach upon their own head, and give them up for a spoil in a land of captivity;
5and cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee; for they have provoked [thee] to anger before the builders.
6So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto half [the height] thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
7But it came to pass that, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward, [and] that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth;
8and they conspired all of them together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion therein.
9But we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.
← Nehemiah 4:5Nehemiah 4:7 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“So built we the wall, etc.] Went on in building it, notwithstanding their scoffs and threats: and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof; it was carried all round the city to half the height of it: for the people had a mind to work; their heart was in it, they had a good will to it, and they made haste to finish it.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof--The whole circuit of the wall had been distributed in sections to various companies of the people, and was completed to the half of the intended height.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Unto the half thereof - i. e. to half the intended height. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“The half - Unto half its height. Nehemiah 4:10”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“4:6 half its height: Perhaps 10–12 feet (3.0–3.7 meters) tall, since some scholars speculate that the original wall was 20–24 feet (6.0–7.3 meters) high.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“and all the wall: That is, the whole circuit of the wall was completed unto half the intended height. for the people: The original is very emphatic, wyhee laiv leam laasoth, "for the people had a heart to work." Their heart was engaged in it, and they went about it cheerfully and vigorously. had a mind: Neh 6:15; Ch1 29:3, Ch1 29:14, Ch1 29:17, Ch1 29:18; Ch2 29:36; Psa 110:3; Co2 8:16, Co2 8:17; Phi 2:13; Heb 13:21 Nehemiah 4:7”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“(3:38; 4:1-2) The Jews continued to build without heeding the ridicule of their enemies, "and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof," i.e., the wall was so far repaired throughout its whole circumference, that no breach or gap was left up to half its height; "and the people had a heart to work," i.e., the restoration went on so quickly because the people had a mind to work. The attempts of the enemies to hinder the work by force, and Nehemiah's precautions against them. - When the enemies learnt that the restoration of the wall was evidently getting on, they conspired together to fight against Jerusalem ( Neh 4:1 and Neh 4:2). The Jews then prayed to God, and set a watch (…”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification