Sanballats

Sanballat is a figure mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, primarily in the books of Nehemiah and sometimes indirectly in Ezra. He is consistently portrayed as an antagonist to the Jewish people during the post-exilic period. The most detailed accounts of his activities appear in the Book of Nehemiah, where he is identified as the governor of Samaria.

Sanballat, along with other officials and leaders in the surrounding regions such as Tobiah the Ammonite and Geshem the Arab, actively opposed the efforts of Nehemiah and the returning Jewish exiles to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. They repeatedly attempted to thwart the rebuilding project through intimidation, threats, and conspiracies. Sanballat is depicted as a chief instigator of these opposition efforts, seeking to disrupt the restoration and consolidation of Jewish authority.

The biblical narrative describes Sanballat and his allies sending messages to Nehemiah, inviting him to meetings in the plain of Ono, which Nehemiah perceived as traps designed to harm him. They also spread rumors and slandered Nehemiah and the builders. Despite these persistent efforts to halt the work, Nehemiah, with divine aid and the support of his people, successfully completed the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. The exact historical circumstances and the precise extent of Sanballat's influence are subjects of scholarly discussion, but his role as a significant opponent of the Jewish restoration is clearly established in the biblical texts.