Nehemiah 3

Nehemiah 3 lists, section by section, who rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem, starting and ending at the Sheep Gate. Priests, rulers, goldsmiths, perfumers, merchants, whole towns and even daughters all took a piece. The chapter shows that God’s work gets done when ordinary people each build the part in front of them.

Nehemiah 3:1

The work begins at the Sheep Gate, near the temple, and the high priest leads it. The priests set the gate apart for God as soon as it was built. The rebuilding was worship as much as defense.

BSA: dedicated (“set apart, consecrated”): The wall was treated as holy ground, set apart for God and not just for protection. Sheep Gate (“where the flock entered”): This was the gate through which sacrificial animals were brought toward the temple.

See also: John 5:2.

Nehemiah 3:2

Next come the men of Jericho and Zaccur. Their names are recorded though they are otherwise unknown. God notices work that no one else remembers.

BSA: next (“beside, adjacent to”): Each builder worked shoulder to shoulder with the next, so the wall stood only because all of them did their part.

Nehemiah 3:3

The sons of Hassenaah rebuilt the Fish Gate, the entrance on the north side. They did a full job. They set the beams, hung the doors and fitted the bolts and bars that made the gate secure.

BSA: bolts (“locks, fasteners”): A gate was only useful if it could be locked, so even the small hardware mattered.

See also: Zephaniah 1:10.

Nehemiah 3:4

Three more men repair sections in turn. Meremoth is from a priestly family, and he will appear again in verse 21. Some worked more than one stretch of wall, and they were glad to do so.

BSA: repairs (“strengthened, restored”): The word means more than patching. It means making the wall strong again.

Nehemiah 3:5

The people of Tekoa worked, but their nobles refused. They would not take orders from the men in charge. The Bible does not hide this failure. It is a plain warning that pride can keep leaders out of God’s work.

BSA: shoulders (“neck”): The Hebrew speaks of the neck, the picture of an ox that will not bend under the yoke. supervisors (“refusing to submit to authority”): The nobles would not take direction, though ordinary people did.

See also: Amos 1:1.

Nehemiah 3:6

Joiada and Meshullam rebuilt the Jeshanah Gate. The name means the Old Gate. Old things can be rebuilt and made useful again.

BSA: Jeshanah (“old, ancient”): The name points to an ancient gate, so the work was restoring something that had stood a long time.

Hebrew: ישנה (yeshanah, H3465) — “old.” The Hebrew name simply means old, so this was the Old Gate.

Nehemiah 3:7

Men from Gibeon and Mizpah repaired the next stretch. They lived under the Persian governor west of the river, yet they joined the Jews. God’s work drew help from many different places.

BSA: authority (“leadership, jurisdiction”): These towns were under the governor’s rule, yet they still came to help build.

Nehemiah 3:8

A goldsmith and a perfumer each took a section, though neither trade has anything to do with walls. They gave their hands to the work even though it was not their skill. The city was restored as far as the Broad Wall.

BSA: goldsmiths (“refiners, skilled craftsmen”): These were skilled craftsmen who now used their strength on stone. perfumer (“apothecary, maker of fragrances”): Even someone who made sweet-smelling ointments worked on a rough wall.

Nehemiah 3:9-10

Rephaiah ruled half of Jerusalem’s district, and still he got his hands on the wall. Jedaiah repaired the part across from his own house. Leaders worked beside everyone else, and some took the part nearest home.

BSA: ruler (“leader, person in charge”): Even those in charge took a section and did the work themselves.

Nehemiah 3:11

Malchijah and Hasshub took a second section and also the Tower of the Ovens. It was probably named for nearby bakers’ ovens. Again some builders did a second piece of work.

BSA: another (“second, another portion”): They finished one stretch and then took on more.

Nehemiah 3:12

Shallum ruled the other half of Jerusalem’s district, and his daughters worked with him. This is a quiet but striking detail. In a hard, dangerous job, the whole household took part, women included.

BSA: help (“assistance, support”): The daughters were real helpers in the building, not onlookers.

Hebrew: בנותיו (benotav, H1323) — “his daughters.” The Hebrew states plainly that his daughters were part of the work. Most other builders are named only as men or towns.

Nehemiah 3:13

Hanun and the people of Zanoah rebuilt the Valley Gate. They also repaired about a thousand cubits of wall, roughly 450 meters, as far as the Dung Gate. That was a long stretch for a small town.

BSA: Valley (“lowland, deep gorge”): This gate opened toward the valley to the west and south.

See also: Nehemiah 2:13.

Nehemiah 3:14

Malchijah, a district ruler, rebuilt the Dung Gate. Garbage was carried out through it. It was a humble gate, yet he did it as fully as the others, with doors, bolts and bars.

BSA: Dung Gate (“Refuse Gate, gate of the dunghill”): This was the gate for carrying out the city’s rubbish, a lowly but needed job.

Hebrew: האשפות (ha’ashpot, H830) — “the refuse heaps.” The name comes from the Hebrew word for ash or rubbish heaps. It was the gate where waste left the city.

Nehemiah 3:15

Shallun repaired the Fountain Gate. He also roofed it, and he fixed the wall by the Pool of Shelah, as far as the stairs down from the City of David. He saw to the details, from the roof to the wall.

BSA: Fountain Gate (“gate of the spring, entrance to the fountain”): It was near the city’s water supply, so it mattered to daily life. roofed (“covered, put a roof on”): Shallun finished the gate by covering it, a thorough job.

See also: John 9:7.

Nehemiah 3:16

This Nehemiah is another man of the same name, a district ruler from Beth-zur, not the governor. He worked on the south-eastern stretch near the tombs of David, an artificial pool and the House of the Mighty, probably a barracks for David’s warriors.

BSA: tombs (“graves, sepulchres”): The wall ran near where King David and his descendants were buried, a reminder of the city’s long history.

See also: 1 Kings 2:10.

Nehemiah 3:17-18

The Levites worked under Rehum, and rulers of the two halves of Keilah took their own turns. Temple workers and district leaders stood side by side on the wall. Even the Levites, who had holy duties, took part in this hands-on labor.

BSA: Levites (“descendants of Levi, Israelite tribe”): They were the tribe set apart for temple service, yet they also helped build.

Nehemiah 3:19

Ezer, ruler of Mizpah, repaired a second section near the armory and the angle in the wall. A city needed its walls strong where weapons were stored and where the line turned.

BSA: Armory (“the storehouse of weapons, the arsenal”): The wall guarded the place where the city’s weapons were kept.

Nehemiah 3:20

Baruch is singled out for working hard, the only one praised this way. He repaired from the angle to the door of the high priest’s house. His heart was in it, and God noticed.

BSA: diligently (“with earnestness, zeal”): Baruch worked with eagerness, not just doing his duty.

Hebrew: החרה (heḥĕrāh, H2734) — “he burned, was kindled.” The Hebrew word carries the picture of heat or fire, so Baruch worked with a burning zeal.

See also: Romans 12:11.

Nehemiah 3:21

Meremoth appears a second time, repairing the length of the high priest’s house. He had already done one section in verse 4. He is a picture of willingness to take on more.

BSA: section (“portion, measure”): Each person had a measured share, and Meremoth took a second share.

Nehemiah 3:22

Priests from the surrounding area came to help. People from the nearby towns left their own work to serve the city.

BSA: surrounding area (“the plain, lowland”): These priests came in from the lowland countryside around Jerusalem to help.

Nehemiah 3:23

Benjamin and Hasshub repaired the wall in front of their house, and Azariah did the part beside his. Many people simply fixed what was next to their own homes. Taking care of what is near you is part of building the whole.

BSA: house (“dwelling place, family home”): They protected the city by guarding the wall nearest their own families.

Nehemiah 3:24

Binnui, who appeared in verse 18, also takes a second section, from Azariah’s house to the angle and the corner. Some people worked in more than one place.

BSA: section (“portion, measure”): Binnui added another piece to his earlier work.

Nehemiah 3:25

Palal repaired opposite the angle and the tower jutting from the king’s upper palace near the guard’s courtyard. Then Pedaiah is named, and the sentence carries on into the next verse. The wall ran near the royal buildings.

BSA: guard (“guardhouse, prison”): The courtyard was a place of watch and detention beside the king’s house.

Nehemiah 3:26

Pedaiah and the temple servants who lived on Ophel repaired opposite the Water Gate to the east. These were people who had been given to help the Levites. They too had a place in the wall.

BSA: temple servants (“Nethinim, helpers of the Levites”): They were a lower rank of temple workers, yet their work is recorded alongside everyone else’s.

Hebrew: הנתינים (hanetinim, H5411) — “the given ones.” The Hebrew name means those who were given, set aside to assist in the temple.

See also: Ezra 8:20.

Nehemiah 3:27

The Tekoites repaired a second section, from the great jutting tower to the wall of Ophel. The common people of Tekoa worked twice, which makes the nobles’ refusal in verse 5 stand out.

BSA: great (“large, prominent”): The tower was a big landmark, so the section was a big job.

See also: Nehemiah 3:5.

Nehemiah 3:28

Above the Horse Gate, the priests each repaired in front of their own house. This part lay close to the temple. They took responsibility for the wall nearest to where they lived.

BSA: Horse Gate (“where chariot horses passed”): It was the gate for horses and riders, in the east near the king’s house.

See also: Jeremiah 31:40.

Nehemiah 3:29

Zadok worked in front of his house, and Shemaiah, keeper of the East Gate, worked next to him. A man whose job was guarding the gate also helped build it.

BSA: guard (“keeper, watchman”): Shemaiah’s regular work was watching the gate, and now he helped rebuild it.

Nehemiah 3:30

Hananiah and Hanun took a second section. Hanun is described as the sixth son, so his family gave many hands. Meshullam, who appeared in verse 4, worked on a second piece opposite his own quarters.

BSA: sixth (“in sequence, following five others”): Hanun came from a large family, and they all seem to have joined in.

Nehemiah 3:31

Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired as far as the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate. He carried the work toward the upper room above the corner.

BSA: Inspection Gate (“gate of Miphkad, gate of command”): The name suggests a place where people were mustered or counted. merchants (“traders, those who exchange goods”): Traders also left their shops to build.

Hebrew: המפקד (hammifqad, H4662) — “the appointed place, the muster.” The Hebrew word suggests an appointed place where people were mustered or counted.

Nehemiah 3:32

The goldsmiths and merchants finished the last stretch, back at the Sheep Gate where the chapter began. The circle is complete, and every group has had its share.

BSA: goldsmiths (“refiners, craftsmen”): The skilled workers of a trade finished the wall as one group.

See also: 1 Corinthians 12:12.