Study notes
Eliashib, the high priest and grandson of Jeshua (Nehemiah 12:10), led the priests in repairing the northern wall around the temple.
The Sheep Gate was where people brought sheep for sacrifice at the temple.
The Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel were two major military towers along the northern wall (Nehemiah 12:39; Jeremiah 31:38; Zechariah 14:10).
Eight work groups rebuilt the walls and gates in the city's northern section.
This summary describes the people who rebuilt Jerusalem's walls. It moves in a circle around the city, starting at the northeast corner, then going west, south, east, and north.
Jewish men and women from many towns and cities helped rebuild the wall. So did priests, leaders, traders, people who worked with gold and people who made perfume. Temple servants helped as well. They had a clear plan.
All together they worked very hard for the same goal. They finished building the wall in 52 days. They faced many problems as they worked. Some of the problems came from the people groups around them. These groups were willing to kill the Jews to stop them from building the wall. These groups also tried to harm Nehemiah. Nehemiah made clever plans to protect the people while they kept working. And he had complete trust in God’s power to protect them.
Some of the problems came from within the Jewish community. Some Jewish nobles didn’t help rebuild the wall. They worked against Nehemiah to stop the work. A priest and many prophets tried to make him afraid of being attacked. And there were nobles and officials who took advantage of needy people. These leaders weren’t following God’s example of how to be rulers.
Nehemiah did follow God’s example. He used his authority as governor to do what was good for the Jewish people. He corrected the problems so that the needy people were taken care of. He didn’t try to get rich by making people give him money. Instead, he provided what other people needed. He used the food and supplies the Persian government gave him to do this. He made sure that honest leaders who respected God were in charge in Jerusalem.
At the Fish Gate, people sold fish from the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea.
Meremoth: See Ezra 8:33.
Meshullam married his daughter to Tobiah's son (Nehemiah 6:18; see also 10:20).
Geshem, who controlled the area south of Tekoa, might have influenced Tekoa's leaders (Nehemiah 2:19).
The Jeshanah Gate: The oldest part of Jerusalem was on an eastern hill that extended north to the Temple Mount.
These verses describe the work on the walls and gates on the western side of Jerusalem. People from outside the city and those with wealth or delicate jobs also helped.
Gibeon and Mizpah are about ten kilometers (six miles) north of Jerusalem.
The Broad Wall stood in the newer, western part of the city.
Nehemiah wisely assigned people to work near their homes. This motivated them to do good work and saved them travel time.
The Tower of the Ovens on the city's western wall might have been used for baking bread or polishing pottery (Jeremiah 19:1–2).
Zanoah was a village located about 21 kilometers (13 miles) southwest of Jerusalem.
The Beth-haccherem district could have been about 3.2 kilometers (two miles) south of Jerusalem, at what is now Ramat Rachel, or eight kilometers (five miles) west, at what is now Ain Karem.
These verses focus on rebuilding the southern tip of the city where the Hinnom Valley and Kidron Valley meet.
The Mizpah district was about ten kilometers (six miles) north of Jerusalem.
The king’s garden was a lush area east of the pool of Siloam. It was near the meeting point of the Kidron and Hinnom Valleys, possibly at the King’s Pool (Nehemiah 2:14).
The district of Beth-zur was just north of Hebron.
The tombs of David’s family might refer to where King David was buried (1 Kings 2:10; 11:43; 2 Chronicles 21:20; Acts 2:29). The House of the Mighty might have been a tomb for David’s mighty men (2 Samuel 23:8–39).
These verses describe how they built the new eastern wall.
The angle and the corner refer to an unknown bend in the wall.
The tower rising from the king’s upper house and the court of the guard likely refers to a royal complex on Ophel Hill, just south of the temple area.
This final group of workers completed the repairs at the Sheep Gate, where the work had begun (Nehemiah 3:1).
Horse Gate: See 2 Chronicles 23:15; Jeremiah 31:40.
East Gate: See 1 Chronicles 26:14, 17; 2 Chronicles 31:14; Ezekiel 10:19; 40:21–22.
Verse notes: Adapted by Mission Mutual (Aquifer Open Study Notes) from Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. CC BY-SA 4.0. Section notes: Biblica Study Notes © 2023 Biblica, Inc. CC BY-SA 4.0, via BibleAquifer. About the sources