Nehemiah 3, Repairing Walls and Gates

Nehemiah has urged city officials to rebuild the gates and walls of Jerusalem. A description of that work follows. Although I tend to find this list of activities tedious, this chapter has been critical for understanding the ancient geography and development of Jerusalem. Archeological digs in some of these sites continue today.

Nehemiah 3: 1- 4, Sheep Gate and Fish Gate

Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests went to work and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set its doors in place, building as far as the Tower of the Hundred, which they dedicated, and as far as the Tower of Hananel.The men of Jericho built the adjoining section, and Zaccur son of Imri built next to them.

The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and put its doors and bolts and bars in place. 

Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired the next section. Next to him Meshullam son of Berekiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs, and next to him Zadok son of Baana also made repairs.

   

The construction of the Sheep and Fish gate are described. And a nearby section. Eliashib is mentioned in Ezra 10: 6 as the father of Jehohanan, in whose room Ezra sought sanctuary to fast and pray. The Sheep Gate is mentioned in John 5: 2, near the Bethesda Pool.

Nehemiah 3: 5-8, Jeshanah Gage and other repairs

The next section was repaired by the men of Tekoa, but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.

The Jeshanah Gate was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They laid its beams and put its doors and bolts and bars in place.

Next to them, repairs were made by men from Gibeon and Mizpah--Melatiah of Gibeon and Jadon of Meronoth--places under the authority of the governor of Trans-Euphrates.

Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired the next section; and Hananiah, one of the perfume-makers, made repairs next to that. They restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.

A number of sections of wall are repaired, as is the Jeshanah Gate. (NIV footnotes: the term Jeshanah Gate is unclear -- it may mean "Old Gate".) Tekoa was a town five miles south of Bethlehem (says Yamauchi), the home of the prophet Amos (Amos 1: 1.) We will read several times of the hard work of the ordinary people of Tekoa, although their nobles (rich leaders) did no work.

Nehemiah 3: 9-12, Other sections and Tower of the Ovens

Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, repaired the next section. Adjoining this, Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his house, and Hattush son of Hashabneiah made repairs next to him.

Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens.

Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, repaired the next section with the help of his daughters.

Sections near the Tower of the Ovens are repaired.

Nehemiah 3: 13-15, Valley Gate, Dung Gate, Fountain Gate

The Valley Gate was repaired by Hanun and the residents of Zanoah. They rebuilt it and put its doors and bolts and bars in place. They also repaired five hundred yards of the wall as far as the Dung Gate.

The Dung Gate was repaired by Malkijah son of Recab, ruler of the district of Beth Hakkerem. He rebuilt it and put its doors and bolts and bars in place.

The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Col-Hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it, roofing it over and putting its doors and bolts and bars in place. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Siloam, by the King's Garden, as far as the steps going down from the City of David.

 

The Valley Gate and sections of the wall as far as the Dung Gate are repaired.  Also the Fountain Gate and things nearby. The King's Garden is through which Zedekiah fled in 2 Kings 25: 4 , Jeremiah 39: 4. It is possible that it is the same as the king's forest from the previous chapter.

The son of Recah (Recabites) show up several places in our Old Testament history, as a commune with a variety of dietary laws, including abstention from alcohol.

Both Tekoa and Beth Hakkerem are mentioned in Jeremiah 6: 1, when Jerusalem was under siege more than a century before.

Nehemiah 3: 16-22, More walls, more repairs

Beyond him, Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of a half-district of Beth Zur, made repairs up to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool and the House of the Heroes.

Next to him, the repairs were made by the Levites under Rehum son of Bani. Beside him, Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, carried out repairs for his district.

 

Next to him, the repairs were made by their countrymen under Binnui son of Henadad, ruler of the other half-district of Keilah.

Next to him, Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section, from a point facing the ascent to the armory as far as the angle.

Next to him, Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the angle to the entrance of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

Next to him, Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired another section, from the entrance of Eliashib's house to the end of it.

The repairs next to him were made by the priests from the surrounding region.

 

More of Jerusalem is repaired. Presumably the tombs of David was the location where David and his family were buried.

David saves the town of Keilah from the Philistines in 1 Samuel 23, some 550 years before.

Nehemiah 3: 23-26, Repairs to sections to the Water Gate

Beyond them, Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs in front of their house; and next to them, Azariah son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house.

Next to him, Binnui son of Henadad repaired another section, from Azariah's house to the angle and the corner, and Palal son of Uzai worked opposite the angle and the tower projecting from the upper palace near the court of the guard. 

Next to him, Pedaiah son of Parosh and the temple servants living on the hill of Ophel made repairs up to a point opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower.

  

The author continues to detail all the repairs.  The author assumes we recognize some of these locations. The required work is clearly extensive; the city is large.

The Water Gate (says Yamauchi) was not a gate of the city but a gate of the palace-temple complex

Nehemiah 3: 27-32, Wall of Ophel, Horse Gate, East Gate, Inspection Gate, Sheep Gate

Next to them, the men of Tekoa repaired another section, from the great projecting tower to the wall of Ophel.

Above the Horse Gate, the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house.

Next to them, Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house. Next to him, Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the guard at the East Gate, made repairs.

Next to him, Hananiah son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. 

Next to them, Meshullam son of Berekiah made repairs opposite his living quarters.

Next to him, Malkijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate, and as far as the room above the corner; and between the room above the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and merchants made repairs.

Athaliah, Judean queen who murdered all the brothers of Joash (2 Chronicles 22: 10-12), is caught and killed at the Horse Gate (2 Chronicles 23: 15) as she flees Jehoiada and other supporters of Joash.

Our long list of repairs continue. In the next chapter we will see that defending these repairs, while they work, requires swords, spears and trumpets to rally people from other parts of the wall.

One artist, Martin Young, has attempted to recreate the ancient walls and gates of Nehemiah's Jerusalem. That article is online here with this drawn map:

Another site on the dedication of the walls is here at biblemapper.com. We will return to a serious study of the walls and gates of Jerusalem in chapter 12.