So, by means of his gold, Sanballat tempts some of the Jerusalem Jews over to his side.
There is a woman living in Jerusalem named Noadiah, and she (to her shame be it spoken) is bribed by Sanballat to give herself out as a prophetess, and to be the bearer of messages to Nehemiah, pretending that those messages were sent to him by God.

Nor is Noadiah the only one who is bribed by the Samaritan governor to pretend the gift of prophecy.
One day, Nehemiah is sent for to the house of one of these people who profess to be able to prophesy.

He is a young man of the name of Shemaiah, whose family had returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, but who had never been able to prove their Jewish descent (vii.

61, 62, 64).
This young man professes to be very fond of Nehemiah, and begs him to come to see him.

Nehemiah does so, and finds him shut up, his doors barred and bolted, his house barricaded like a fortress.