‘And I went to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabel, who was shut up. And he said,
“Let us meet together in the house of God,
Within the temple,
And let us shut the doors,
Of the temple.
For they will come to slay you.
Yes, in the night will they come to slay you.”
That Nehemiah went to visit Shemaiah the prophet (‘he has pronounced this prophecy against me' - Nehemiah 6:12) at his house suggests very strongly that there was a religious reason for Shemaiah being unavailable. It suggests that his being ‘shut up' was for prophetic reasons. He was probably claiming to be receiving a word from YHWH which prevented him from leaving his house. Superficially his prophecy sounded genuine. He was suggesting that Nehemiah take refuge with YHWH because YHWH had revealed that assassins would come by night to kill him. It sounded very plausible.
But it contained two fallacies, the first that Nehemiah should behave like a coward, in spite of his strong bodyguard, giving the impression to the people of a man concerned only to save his own life, hiding like a refugee in the Temple, and secondly because to enter the Temple so that its doors could be shut behind him would be an act of gross sacrilege. No one could legitimately enter the house of YHWH apart from a legitimate son of Aaron (Numbers 18:7).
‘And I said, “Should such a man as I flee, and who is there, who, being such as I, would go into the temple to save his life (or ‘and live')? I will not go in.”
The godly Nehemiah saw the fallacies immediately. ‘Should such a man as I flee?' How could he ever hold up his head again if he fled from the danger of assassins? It would make him contemptible. And how could he, being what he was, enter the very Sanctuary of YHWH even ‘to save his life'? It was forbidden by YHWH. he was not a son of Aaron. He refused on both accounts.
The alternative translation ‘and live' may be preferable (both are possible). How could someone who was not a son of Aaron go into the Temple and live? It was asking to be struck down.
‘And I discerned, and, lo, God had not sent him, but he pronounced this prophecy against me, and Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.'
And it was then that it dawned on him that God had not sent Shemaiah, but that he had been hired by Tobiah and Sanballat to pronounce this prophecy with a view to him disgracing himself. It was all part of the plot to discredit him. The unusual order ‘Tobiah and Sanballat' (it is usually Sanballat and Tobiah) suggests that in this attempt Tobiah was the prime mover. And this is not surprising. It was seemingly he who had the most influence in Jerusalem (compare Nehemiah 6:17-19). Sanballat was simply backing him.
‘ For this reason was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.'
They had hired Shemaiah for that very reason, so as to use a prophecy which professed to be from God, so as to make him afraid, in order that he would fulfil the terms of the prophecy (‘do so'), shaming himself, and sinning grievously against YHWH by entering the forbidden area of the Temple. Theoretically no one but Shemaiah would ever know. But it was quite clear that he would report to his masters who would gladly spread an evil report by means of which they could bring reproach on Nehemiah.
“Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and also the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.”
Once again a prayer marks the end of a part (compare Nehemiah 6:9). Nehemiah calls on God to remember what Tobiah and Nehemiah are doing, and deal with them accordingly. And he calls on God to remember Noadiah, the prophetess, and the remainder of the prophets, who had all seemingly tried to make him afraid. It is clear, therefore, that Shemaiah has been the last of a number of prophets and prophetesses who had attempted to mislead him and catch him out. It is quite clear that Tobiah had powerful influence in Jerusalem.,
The Walls Are Finally Completed Along With their Gateways and Doors To The Chagrin Of The Surrounding Nations (Nehemiah 6:15-16).