Book of Nehemiah Sanballat is best known from the
Book of Nehemiah, which casts him as one of the chief opponents of
Nehemiah, who had been appointed governor of Judah during efforts to rebuild the
walls of Jerusalem and carry out religious reforms. In the Book of Nehemiah, he is called "the Horonite," Horon possibly identified with present-day
Huwara. He was associated with
Tobiah the Ammonite and
Geshem the Arabian. His home was in the
city of Samaria. According to the narrative, when Nehemiah and his escort arrive in Jerusalem, their return arouses the hostility of Sanballat and his allies.
Nehemiah 2:19 says, "When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard, they mocked us and held us in contempt and said, 'What is this that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?'" Nehemiah resents their insinuation and tells them they have no right in Jerusalem or interest in its affairs. Tobiah appeases Sanballat by saying that a fox (or a jackal) climbing on their wall would break it down. Nehemiah and his builders hurry the work while Sanballat and his associates organize their forces to fight against Jerusalem. In
Nehemiah 6, Sanballat and his confederates challenge Nehemiah and his army to meet them in the villages of the
Ono four times. However, Nehemiah only replies that he is busy rebuilding. Sanballat sends another message, stating that Nehemiah was making alliances against
Assyria and planning a rebellion. Nehemiah replies, "None of these things you mention has occurred; they are figments of your imagination." According to Nehemiah 6:10, Sanballat and local allies in Jerusalem attempt to entrap Nehemiah in the
Second Temple, but the scheme fails. Sanballat's allies keep Sanballat and Tobiah informed about the progress of the reconstruction of Jerusalem. With the hand of God upon Nehemiah, along with Nehemiah's far-sighted policy and cunning, he is kept out of the hands of these neighboring foes. According to
Nehemiah 13:28, Nehemiah discovers that one of the grandsons of the current high priest,
Eliashib, had married a daughter of Sanballat and was thus son-in-law of his chief enemy. Nehemiah also finds out that Eliashib had leased the Temple's storerooms to Tobiah, depriving the
Levites of
their tithes. Eliashib is driven out of Jerusalem for defiling the
priesthood.
Book of Zechariah It has been speculated that the business dealings of Sanballat with the descendants of
Joshua the High Priest, in particular with Jeshua's grandson, the high priest Eliashib, and with Jeshua's great-grandson who had betrothed his son to a daughter of Sanballat, may form part of the context for the "vision" of Joshua the High Priest in a heavenly tribunal between the angel of the Lord and a satanic figure in
Zechariah 3. This connection between priestly intermarriage with the Samaritans and Sanballat's family in Nehemiah 13:28 to the "dirty clothes" of Joshua in Zechariah 3 was first asserted in the 4th century AD by
Rav Pappa and in Christian circles by
Jerome. It is also noted by medieval Jewish commentators
David Kimhi,
Rashi, and
Moses ibn Ezra, though ibn Ezra after considering the connection rejects it. ==Josephus==