Nehemiah 6:5 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

With an open letter in his hand— Norden tells us, that when he and his company were at Essuaen, an express arrived there, dispatched by an Arab prince, who brought a letter directed to the reys, or master of their bark, enjoining him not to set out with his bark, or carry them any further; adding, that in a day's time he should be at Essuaen, and would there give his orders respecting them. "The letter, however, according to the usage of the Turks," says this author, "was open; and, as the reys was not on board, the pilot carried it to one of our fathers to read it." Sanballat's sending his servant, therefore, with an open letter, as here specified, did not appear an odd thing, it should seem: but, if it was according to their usages, why is this circumstance complained of, as it visibly is? Why, indeed, is it mentioned at all?—Because, however the sending of letters open to common people may be customary in these countries, it is not according to their usages to send them so to people of distinction. So Bishop Pococke, in his account of that very country where Norden was when this letter was brought, gives us, among other things, in the 57th plate, the figure of a Turkish letter put into a sattin bag, to be sent to a great man, with a paper tied to it, directed and sealed, and an ivory button tied on the wax. Indeed, according to D'Arvieux, the great emir of the Arabs was not wont to inclose his letters in these bags, any more than to have them adorned with flourishes; but then this is supposed to have been owing to the unpoliteness of the Arabs: and he tells us, that when he acted as secretary to the emir, he supplied these defects, and that his doing so was highly acceptable to the emir. Had this open letter then come from Geshem, who was an Arab, (Nehemiah 6:1.) it might have passed unnoticed; but as it was from Sanballat, the inclosing it in a handsome bag was a ceremony that Nehemiah had reason to expect from him, since he was a person of distinction in the Persian court, and at that time governor of Judea: and the not doing it was a great insult; insinuating, that though Nehemiah was, according to him, preparing to assume the royal dignity, he should be so far from acknowledging him in that character, that he would not even pay him the compliment due to every person of distinction. See the Observations, p. 295.