What Does Nehemiah 6:10 Mean in the King James?
Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, 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 thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
English repeats “shut,” but Hebrew shifts from “restrained” to “close,” so the proposed refuge echoes the confinement already surrounding its messenger.
THE MEANING
A threat can reach you through a voice that sounds protective: withdraw, hide, shut the door. Here the speaker is already described as confined, then proposes further enclosure for Nehemiah. The verse shows how fear can make retreat sound like safety.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie this verse undoes is that a fearful warning becomes trustworthy simply because it recommends hiding in a sacred place.
THE ROOT
וְנִסְגְּרָה
wə-nisgĕrāh
GROWS FROM
סגר
Close or shut; in the Hiphil stem, hand over or surrender.
“shut” in this verse is wə-nisgĕrāh. The word for closing the temple doors belongs to a root whose Hiphil form can mean “hand over.” The proposed refuge carries an unsettling edge: being sealed inside can also mean being placed within another’s power.
ALSO GROWS
sāgar: Close, shut
סָגַר
This is the root’s basic action in the proposed closing of the temple doors.
hisgîr: Hand over, surrender
הִסְגִּיר
This related form links closure with the possibility of placing someone under another’s control.
עָצוּר
ʿāṣūr
GROWS FROM
עצר
Restrain, hold back, detain.
“shut up” in this verse is ʿāṣūr. The verse calls Shemaiah restrained or confined before he proposes a closed refuge. The English repeats “shut,” but this word comes from a different root than the doors’ closing, making the movement from confinement to further enclosure visible.
ALSO GROWS
ʿāṣar: Restrain, hold back, stop
עָצַר
The verb names the force behind the state in which Shemaiah is described.
ʿōṣēr: One who restrains or stops
עֹצֵר
This active form makes the root’s force concrete: someone or something holds movement back.
שְׁמַעְיָה
Shemaʿyāh
GROWS FROM
שמע
Hear, listen. The name means “Yah has heard.”
Shemaiah’s name places hearing in the scene: the danger arrives as a report, followed by advice about what to do. The moment turns on whether that report gets to dictate the next move.
ALSO GROWS
shāmaʿ: Hear, listen
שָׁמַע
The root frames the warning as something received and weighed.
shemūʿāh: Report, news
שְׁמוּעָה
This branch connects hearing to the report of danger that drives the proposed retreat.
THE PATTERN
Fear narrows a person’s choices by making concealment sound like protection, while open speech leaves the pressure visible.
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:For we can not but speak the things which we have seen and heard.THE THREAD
Therefore 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.The next verse names the intent behind the counsel: to make Nehemiah afraid enough to act, then use that action against him. The apparent shelter is revealed as part of a trap, with fear meant to produce the very exposure it promises to prevent.
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