Neh. 3:1–7:4 The Wall Is Built, Despite Difficulties. The people of Judah build and repair the walls, despite the efforts to stop them. Excavations in Jerusalem have uncovered remains of Nehemiah’s wall, which apparently incorporated walls from previous times.
3:1–32 The People Work Systematically on the Walls. The building work is described, and the workers are named, section by section. The people responded to Nehemiah’s challenge and believed that God would give them success.
Neh. 3:1–2 Eliashib the high priest was the grandson of Jeshua, the priest in Zerubbabel’s time (see 12:10; Ezra 5:2). with his brothers. The work was assigned to groups mainly by family and sometimes according to where they lived. The work began and ended at the Sheep Gate, on the northern side of the temple. Tower. See note on Neh. 2:7–8.
Neh. 3:5 the Tekoites . . . their nobles. The leading people of Tekoa, not far south of Jerusalem, may have resented Nehemiah’s leadership.
Neh. 3:7 Mizpah was an important administrative center after Jerusalem’s fall (Jer. 41:1).
Neh. 3:8 goldsmiths . . . perfumers. Many workers were organized in groups by their trade.
Neh. 3:9 ruler of half the district of Jerusalem. Similar expressions occur six times in vv. 12–18. They may refer to an administrative system that divided the province into six sections.
Neh. 3:13–15 Valley Gate . . . Dung Gate. See note on 2:13–15. a thousand cubits. About 500 yards (457 m). Fountain Gate. See note on 2:13–15. city of David. The part of the city originally occupied by David, south of what is now the Temple Mount.
Neh. 3:16 After him describes each successive group of builders. Nehemiah the son of Azbuk is a different Nehemiah, of course. ruler of half the district. See note on v. 9.
Neh. 3:26 temple servants. See note on Ezra 2:43–54. Ophel was the whole southeastern hill. The Water Gate, in the old wall, probably opened onto the Gihon Spring, the main water source outside the city wall.
Neh. 3:29 The East Gate may have been a gate into the temple rather than a gate in the wall.
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