Sanballat
The governor of Samaria and Nehemiah's chief opponent during the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls. He moved through the whole repertoire of obstruction — mockery ('will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish?'), a threatened armed attack that put half the workforce on guard duty, four invitations to meet in the plain of Ono that Nehemiah refused as a trap, an open letter accusing him of planning rebellion, and finally a hired prophet meant to frighten him into the temple. The wall was finished in fifty-two days.
What we know — and how we know it
Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg) — CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
ArchaeologyThe Elephantine papyri, letters from a Jewish colony in Egypt, name 'Sanballat governor of Samaria' and his sons — the very official Nehemiah faced.
Where in scripture
NehemiahWhen Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly, because a man had come to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
Nehemiah 2:10
But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammontite servant, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they ridiculed us, and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?”
Nehemiah 2:19
But when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry, and was very indignant, and mocked the Jews.
Nehemiah 4:1 — Ridicules the builders
But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward, and that the breaches began to be filled, they were very angry;
Nehemiah 4:7
Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, and to Geshem the Arabian, and to the rest of our enemies, that I had built the wall, and that there was no breach left in it (though even to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates)
Nehemiah 6:1
Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together in the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to harm me.
Nehemiah 6:2
Then Sanballat sent his servant to me the same way the fifth time with an open letter in his hand,
Nehemiah 6:5
I discerned, and behold, God had not sent him; but he pronounced this prophecy against me. Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
Nehemiah 6:12
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, a public-domain translation.