נחמיה, פרק ד׳, פסוק ו׳

During the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls, a severe military threat loomed over the workers. Crucial intelligence about the upcoming attacks arrived from an unlikely source: Jewish neighbors living among the hostile nations. Under the control of these foreign cities, these Jews were forced into military service, compelled to march at the front lines or join ambushes against their own people. Yet, they operated in secret to protect Jerusalem, outsmarting their captors by slipping away to warn the builders [רש״י, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ, מלבי״ם].

The warnings were delivered repeatedly, noted as happening ten times. While some commentators understand this number literally [רש״י, אבן עזרא, מצודת דוד], others view it as a figure of speech meaning the alerts happened many times [רלב״ג, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This constant repetition served a vital purpose: it proved that the threat was not a fabricated rumor, but a genuine and coordinated danger from all the surrounding enemies [מלבי״ם].

The precise nature of the warning carried different implications. One perspective suggests it was an urgent call for the builders to unite. Because the workers were scattered along the length of the wall, the informants—or the people of Jerusalem themselves—urged everyone to stop working, return, and gather in a single location to prepare for battle [רש״י, מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. A different approach explains that the warnings detailed the exact enemy positions. The informants revealed the specific ambush points, advising that the attackers would repeatedly try different locations if their initial plans failed [רלב״ג, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Finally, a third view focuses on the workers' daily routines. According to this idea, the enemies planned their ambush for the evening, targeting the exact routes the builders regularly used to return home from their labor [אבן עזרא].