Sanballat the Horonite
Encyclopedia
Sanballat the Horonite or Sanballat I (in Neo-Assyrian Aramaic, Sinballidh or "The god Sin
has vivified") was a Samaritan
leader and official of the Persian Achaemenid Empire
who lived in the mid to late fifth century BC. He is best known from the Book of Nehemiah
, which casts him as one of the chief opponents of the Jewish governor Nehemiah
during the latter's efforts to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and carrying out his reforms among the Jews. He was called "the Horonite," (another possible "the Harranite
") and was associated with Tobiah the Ammonite
and Geshem the Arabian. His home was evidently at Samaria.
The first arrival at Jerusalem of Nehemiah and his escort aroused the enmity of Sanballat and his allies. They were aggrieved that the welfare of the Jews should be fostered. When Nehemiah actually disclosed his intention of building the walls of Jerusalem they laughed him to scorn, and said "Will ye rebel against the king?" Nehemiah resented their insinuation, and gave them to understand that they had no right in Jerusalem, nor any interest in its affairs. As soon as Sanballat and his associates heard that Nehemiah and the Jews were actually building the walls, they were angry; and Sanballat addressed the army of Samaria with a contemptuous reference to "these feeble Jews." Tobiah appeased him by saying that a fox (or a jackal) climbing on the wall they were building would break it down. Nehemiah and his builders, the Jews, vigorously hurried the work, while Sanballat and his associates organized their forces to fight against Jerusalem. Nehemiah prepared to meet the opposition and continued the work on the walls. Five different times Sanballat and his confederates challenged Nehemiah and the Jews to meet them in battle in the plain of Ono. Nehemiah was equal to the emergency and attended strictly to his work. Then Sanballat, with Jews in Jerusalem who were his confederates, attempted to entrap Nehemiah in the Temple
; but the scheme failed. Sanballat's Jewish allies, however, kept Sanballat and Tobiah informed as to the progress of the work in Jerusalem. Nehemiah's far-sighted policy and his shrewdness kept him out of the hands of these neighbor-foes. In his reforms, so effectively carried out, he discovered that one of the grandsons of the current high priest Eliashib
had married a daughter of this Sanballat, and was thus son-in-law of the chief enemy of the Jews. Nehemiah also found that Eliashib had leased the storerooms of the temple to Tobiah, thus depriving the Levites of their share of the offerings in Nehemiah's absence. The high priest (and/or possibly his son Jehoida and the unnamed grandson) was driven out of Jerusalem on the ground that he had defiled the priesthood (Neh.13:28).
Josephus
gives a different story, placing Sanballat later on in Persian history, during the reign of Darius Codomannus. He likely confused this Sanballat with one of his successors, possibly Sanballat II
or Sanballat III. Josephus's story is probably a traditional account of the origin of the Samaritan Temple on Mount Gerizim
.
From the Elephantine papyri
Sanballat is known to have had two sons, Delaiah and Shelemiah. The Jews of Elephantine asked for the help of Sanballat's sons in rebuilding their own Temple, which had been damaged or destroyed by rioters.
- considered the spiritual mentor of Revisionist Zionism
and of the present Israeli settlers on the West Bank - regularly used the term "The Sanballats" or "The Sanballat Gang" (כנופית הסנבלטים) as a catch-all term of abuse for Antisemites and Palestinian Nationalists as well as for political opponents from the Socialist Zionist camp.
Sin (mythology)
Sin or Nanna was the god of the moon in Mesopotamian mythology. Nanna is a Sumerian deity, the son of Enlil and Ninlil, and became identified with Semitic Sin. The two chief seats of Nanna's/Sin's worship were Ur in the south of Mesopotamia and Harran in the north.- Name :The original meaning of...
has vivified") was a Samaritan
Samaritan
The Samaritans are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant. Religiously, they are the adherents to Samaritanism, an Abrahamic religion closely related to Judaism...
leader and official of the Persian Achaemenid Empire
Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire , sometimes known as First Persian Empire and/or Persian Empire, was founded in the 6th century BCE by Cyrus the Great who overthrew the Median confederation...
who lived in the mid to late fifth century BC. He is best known from the Book of Nehemiah
Book of Nehemiah
The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Told largely in the form of a first-person memoir, it concerns the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem by Nehemiah, a Jew who is a high official at the Persian court, and the dedication of the city and its people to God's laws...
, which casts him as one of the chief opponents of the Jewish governor Nehemiah
Nehemiah
Nehemiah ]]," Standard Hebrew Nəḥemya, Tiberian Hebrew Nəḥemyāh) is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work rebuilding Jerusalem and purifying the Jewish community. He was the son of Hachaliah, Nehemiah ]]," Standard Hebrew Nəḥemya, Tiberian Hebrew Nəḥemyāh) is the...
during the latter's efforts to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and carrying out his reforms among the Jews. He was called "the Horonite," (another possible "the Harranite
Harran
Harran was a major ancient city in Upper Mesopotamia whose site is near the modern village of Altınbaşak, Turkey, 24 miles southeast of Şanlıurfa...
") and was associated with Tobiah the Ammonite
Tobiah (Ammonite)
Tobiah was an Ammonite official who incited the Ammonites to hinder Ezra and Nehemiah's efforts to rebuild Jerusalem. He, along with Sanballat the Horonite and Geshem the Arab, resorted to a stratagem, and, pretending to wish a conference with Nehemiah, invited him to meet them at Ono, Benjamin...
and Geshem the Arabian. His home was evidently at Samaria.
The first arrival at Jerusalem of Nehemiah and his escort aroused the enmity of Sanballat and his allies. They were aggrieved that the welfare of the Jews should be fostered. When Nehemiah actually disclosed his intention of building the walls of Jerusalem they laughed him to scorn, and said "Will ye rebel against the king?" Nehemiah resented their insinuation, and gave them to understand that they had no right in Jerusalem, nor any interest in its affairs. As soon as Sanballat and his associates heard that Nehemiah and the Jews were actually building the walls, they were angry; and Sanballat addressed the army of Samaria with a contemptuous reference to "these feeble Jews." Tobiah appeased him by saying that a fox (or a jackal) climbing on the wall they were building would break it down. Nehemiah and his builders, the Jews, vigorously hurried the work, while Sanballat and his associates organized their forces to fight against Jerusalem. Nehemiah prepared to meet the opposition and continued the work on the walls. Five different times Sanballat and his confederates challenged Nehemiah and the Jews to meet them in battle in the plain of Ono. Nehemiah was equal to the emergency and attended strictly to his work. Then Sanballat, with Jews in Jerusalem who were his confederates, attempted to entrap Nehemiah in the Temple
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...
; but the scheme failed. Sanballat's Jewish allies, however, kept Sanballat and Tobiah informed as to the progress of the work in Jerusalem. Nehemiah's far-sighted policy and his shrewdness kept him out of the hands of these neighbor-foes. In his reforms, so effectively carried out, he discovered that one of the grandsons of the current high priest Eliashib
Eliashib (High Priest)
Eliashib the High Priest is mentioned in Nehemiah 12:10,22 and 3:1, 20-21,13:28 and possibly the Book of Ezra 10:6 of the Hebrew Bible. Some also place him in different parts of Nehemiah including 12:23 and 13:4,7, but this is disputed. Nehemiah 3:20-21 places his home between the area of two...
had married a daughter of this Sanballat, and was thus son-in-law of the chief enemy of the Jews. Nehemiah also found that Eliashib had leased the storerooms of the temple to Tobiah, thus depriving the Levites of their share of the offerings in Nehemiah's absence. The high priest (and/or possibly his son Jehoida and the unnamed grandson) was driven out of Jerusalem on the ground that he had defiled the priesthood (Neh.13:28).
Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
gives a different story, placing Sanballat later on in Persian history, during the reign of Darius Codomannus. He likely confused this Sanballat with one of his successors, possibly Sanballat II
Sanballat II
Sanballat II was hereditary governor of Samaria under the Achaemenid Empire. He reigned during the early and mid fourth century BCE. Sanballat was a grandson of Sanballat the Horonite, who is mentioned in the Book of Nehemiah and the Elephantine papyri...
or Sanballat III. Josephus's story is probably a traditional account of the origin of the Samaritan Temple on Mount Gerizim
Mount Gerizim
Mount Gerizim is one of the two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the West Bank city of Nablus , and forms the southern side of the valley in which Nablus is situated,...
.
From the Elephantine papyri
Elephantine papyri
The Elephantine Papyri are a collection of ancient Jewish manuscripts dating from the 5th century BC. They come from a Jewish community at Elephantine, then called Yeb, the island in the Nile at the border of Nubia, which was probably founded as a military installation in about 650 BC during...
Sanballat is known to have had two sons, Delaiah and Shelemiah. The Jews of Elephantine asked for the help of Sanballat's sons in rebuilding their own Temple, which had been damaged or destroyed by rioters.
Modern use
In the first half of the 20th Century, the radical nationalist poet and political activist Uri Zvi GreenbergUri Zvi Greenberg
Uri Zvi Grinberg was an acclaimed Israeli poet and journalist who wrote in Yiddish and Hebrew.-Biography:Uri Zvi Grinberg was born in Bialikamin, Galicia, then Austria-Hungary, into a prominent Hasidic family. He was raised in Lemberg . Some of his poems in Yiddish and Hebrew were published...
- considered the spiritual mentor of Revisionist Zionism
Revisionist Zionism
Revisionist Zionism is a nationalist faction within the Zionist movement. It is the founding ideology of the non-religious right in Israel, and was the chief ideological competitor to the dominant socialist Labor Zionism...
and of the present Israeli settlers on the West Bank - regularly used the term "The Sanballats" or "The Sanballat Gang" (כנופית הסנבלטים) as a catch-all term of abuse for Antisemites and Palestinian Nationalists as well as for political opponents from the Socialist Zionist camp.