Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand;
Then sent Sanballat his servant ... the fifth time with an open letter in his hand, х 'igeret (H107) pªtuwchaah (H6605); Septuagint, epistolee aneoogmeneen]. In Western Asia, letters, after being rolled up like a map, are flattened to the breadth of an inch, and instead of being sealed, are pasted at the ends. In Eastern Asia, the Persians make up their letters in the form of a roll about six inches long, and a bit of paper is fastened round it with gum, and sealed with an impression of ink, which resembles our printers' ink, but is not so thick. Letters were, and are still, sent to persons of distinction in a bag or purse, and even to equals they are enclosed-the tie being made with a coloured ribbon; but to inferiors, or persons who are to be treated contemptuously, the letters were sent open - i:e., not enclosed in a bag.
Nehemiah, accustomed to the punctilious ceremonial of the Persian court, would at once notice the want of the usual formality, and know that it was from designed disrespect. The strain of the letter was equally insolent. It was to this effect: that the fortifications with which he was so busy were intended to strengthen his position in the view of a meditated revolt; that he had engaged prophets to incite the people to enter into his design, and support his claim to be their native king; and that, to stop the circulation of such reports, which would soon reach the court, he was earnestly besought to come to the wished for conference. Nehemiah, strong in the consciousness of his own integrity, and penetrating the purpose of this shallow artifice, replied that there were no rumours of the kind described; that the idea of a revolt, and the stimulating addresses, of hired demagogues, were stories of the writer's own invention; and that he declined now, as formerly, to leave his work.