נחמיה, פרק ו׳, פסוק י״ד

Facing a relentless campaign of intimidation, Nehemiah turns to God in prayer, seeking justice against those who plotted to undermine his mission through fear and deceit. He asks God to remember the actions of his primary adversaries, Tobiah and Sanballat, and to hold them accountable for the evil they committed [מצודת דוד]. Their main offense in this situation was bribing false prophets to deliver fabricated warnings designed to terrify Nehemiah [רש״י, מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם].

A key figure in this psychological warfare was Noadiah. Her exact identity has generated some discussion. The primary approach among commentators is that Noadiah was an actual woman, a false prophetess paid to participate in the campaign of intimidation [רש״י, מצודת דוד]. Another perspective suggests she was a medium who communicated with the dead [ר' סעדיה גאון]. Conversely, a different tradition argues that Noadiah was not a woman at all, but rather a nickname for another adversary, Shemaiah, who had previously tried to lure Nehemiah into a secret meeting at the Temple. According to this view, the feminine grammatical form of the title "prophetess" simply matches the feminine ending of the nickname itself. However, the most straightforward explanation is that Noadiah was indeed a real woman, functioning as an entirely separate and additional figure in the conspiracy [אבן עזרא].

Beyond Noadiah, Nehemiah also asks God to remember the rest of the false prophets who were hired to strike terror into his heart [ביאור שטיינזלץ, מלבי״ם]. There is a distinction in the specific roles these individuals played. While Noadiah and certain others were paid to spread malicious rumors claiming that Nehemiah intended to crown himself king, the remaining prophets were hired for the direct purpose of sowing panic and dread within his mind [מלבי״ם].