The phrase would have us picture an army composed of Samaritans, Ammonites, Arabs, and Philistines attacking Jerusalem, a picture of all ganging up against one. We are to realize that just like the people of Jerusalem, the Samaritans, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Philistines were under the jurisdiction of their Persian overlords. Artaxerxes himself had authorized Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls (Nehemiah 2:6). Conniving to fight against Jerusalem, then, was at bottom rebelling against King Artaxerxes, an act that could have major repercussions for the conspirators. That risk, however, did not prevent their plotting.
8 And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.