Nehemiahchapter 3
32 verses · KJVNehemiah book hub →
Key verse
Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.
It stands in Sheep gate to dung gate: priests, goldsmiths, and rulers at work, verses 1 to 14.
The chapter
Chapter summary
The builders' roll: the whole circuit of the wall assigned name by name and gate by gate. Eliashib the high priest and his brethren begin with the sheep gate and sanctify it; from there the list runs to the fish gate, the old gate, the valley gate, the dung gate, the fountain gate by the king's garden, the water gate, the horse gate, and the gate of Hammiphkad. Goldsmiths, apothecaries, merchants, rulers of half-districts, and the daughters of Shallum each take a portion, many repairing 'over against his house.' One sour note in the chapter: the nobles of the Tekoites 'put not their necks to the work of their lord.'
Context
History · Nehemiah · Nehemiah overview
Where the chapter sits
Nehemiah 3 falls in Rebuilding the walls (chapters 1–7). Nehemiah's prayer; his commission from Artaxerxes; Jerusalem's walls in ruin; the wall built in fifty-two days amid external threats (Sanballat) and internal pressures (debt crisis); the dedication.
After it: Covenant renewal under Ezra's teaching, chapters 8–10.
The whole shape of Nehemiah→The world behind this chapter
Nehemiah 3The history
This chapter is a work roster written as a walk around the city. It moves counter-clockwise from the Sheep Gate near the temple, naming gate after gate, Fish, Old, Valley, Dung, Fountain, Water, Horse, East, and the gate Miphkad, and the tower of the furnaces, the tower of Hananeel, the pool of Siloah, the king's garden, the stairs that go down from the city of David.
The rest of the history, and what it meant to them
The work was organised by group rather than by trade. Priests build the Sheep Gate. Goldsmiths and perfumers work on a stretch. Merchants take a section. Men repair the piece in front of their own houses, which is the oldest trick in civic construction and the reason a lot of it got done.
Excavation on the eastern slope of the old city has turned up wall construction from this general period on the ridge above the earlier ruins, on a tighter line than the pre-exilic city, consistent with a smaller, poorer town rebuilding fast on what it could hold.
What it meant to them
Two details give the chapter its human edge. The nobles of Tekoa "put not their necks to the work of their Lord", the one recorded group of refusers, and their town's ordinary men are named twice for doing double duty. And Shallum's daughters are named as builders.
For a people whose recent history was a list of things taken from them, this is a list of things they made. It is the least quotable chapter in Nehemiah and the reason the rest of the book happens.
Sources cited
- K. A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament
- Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament (public domain)
- Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews (Whiston translation)
The structure of this chapter
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
A. Sheep gate to dung gate: priests, goldsmiths, and rulers at work
1. (vv. 1-2)
Nehemiah 3:1
“Eliashib (compare the marginal reference) was the grandson of Joshua, the high priest contemporary with Zerubbabel. The sheep gate - This was a gate in the eastern wall, not far from the pool of Bethesda, marginal reference, which was perhaps originally a sheep-pool. The exact line which the writer follows in describing the circuit of the wall will probably be always a matter of dispute.”
Nehemiah 3:1, 1 more voiceWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Nehemiah 3:1
“The priests repaired the sheep-gate, so called because through it were brought the sheep that were to be sacrificed in the temple; and therefore the priests undertook the repair of it because the offerings of the Lord made by fire were their inheritance. And of this gate only it is said that they sanctified it with the word and prayer, and perhaps with sacrifices perhaps, 1.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Nehemiah 3:2
“The people of each provincial town were set to work for the most part on the portion of the wall nearest their city. Thus, “the men of Jericho,” were employed at the northeast corner of Jerusalem.”
a.they builded the sheep gate: The high priest builds first, and the sheep gate he raises is the gate the offerings entered by, nearest the temple, the only stretch of the whole wall the chapter says was SANCTIFIED, and it says so twice. The circuit that begins here will close here at verse 32, so the chapter is a map of Jerusalem walked clockwise, and its first and last stone belong to worship. Leadership in this roll means a trowel in the high priest's hand.
2. (vv. 3-5)
Nehemiah 3:3
“The fish gate - The gate through which fish from the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee entered Jerusalem; a gate in the north wall, a little to the east of the modern Damascus gate. Locks - The word used (here and in Neh 3:6, Neh 3:13-15) is thought to mean rather a “cross-bar” than a lock, while that translated “bars” is regarded as denoting the “hooks” or “catches” which held the cross-bar at its two ends.”
Nehemiah 3:4
“And next unto them repaired Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the son of Koz,.... And the men under him; see Ezr 8:33, this part of the wall on which they worked was not wholly demolished, only weakened, and therefore did not rebuild it, but repaired and strengthened it, and this phrase is used all along afterwards: and next unto them repaired Meshullam, the sort of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel: and next unto them repaired Zadok, the son of Baana; but who they were cannot be said.”
Nehemiah 3:5
“Of their Lord - Of God, whom they owned for their Lord, whose work this was, because it had proceeded thus far by his singular providence: and because it was done for the defense of the city, and people, and temple of God. And therefore they are branded to all posterity.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
a.the fish gate: The next-unto-him rhythm begins, the roll's own music, each crew named beside its neighbour. Verse 5 carries the record's one shame clause: the Tekoites repaired, BUT THEIR NOBLES PUT NOT THEIR NECKS TO THE WORK OF THEIR LORD, gentry abstaining while their townsmen build, and the same Tekoites take a second piece at verse 27 while their nobles' sentence stands forever. The narrator needed six words to build a monument to the ones who would not.
3. (vv. 6-12)
Nehemiah 3:6
“Moreover, the old gate repaired Jehoiada, the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah,.... Which some think was so called because it led to the old city Salem. Dr. Lightfoot (a) thinks it is the same with the second or third gate, Zep 1:10. According to Vatablus, it was the gate of the old pool, Isa 22:11, or rather, perhaps, it was the gate of the old wall Josephus speaks of (b); it led to the north of the land: they laid the beams thereof; as in Neh 3:3. (a) Ut supra. (Chorograph.”
Nehemiah 3:7
“And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and Mizpah,.... Which places were both in the tribe of Benjamin, Jos 18:25 and one of these men was of the one place, and the other of the other: unto the throne of the governor on this side the river; where the governor of those parts under the king of Persia had his seat, and now Nehemiah; but, according to Aben Ezra, Cisse, rendered "throne", is the name of a man who was the governor.”
Nehemiah 3:7, 1 more voice
Nehemiah 3:7
Unto the throne ... - The meaning is thought to be “the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, who, though they worked for Nehemiah, were not under his government, but belonged to the jurisdiction of the governor on this side the river.”
Nehemiah 3:8
“Goldsmiths - From the remotest period of the history of the Jews they had artists in all elegant and ornamental trades; and it is also evident that goldsmiths, apothecaries, and merchants were formed into companies in the time of Nehemiah. Apothecaries - Rather such as dealt in drugs, aromatics, spices, etc., for embalming, or for furnishing the temple with the incense consumed there.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Nehemiah 3:8, 1 more voice
Nehemiah 3:8
“IT seems that around Jerusalem of old, in the time of her splendor, there was a broad wall which was her defense and her glory. Jerusalem is a type of the Church of God. It is always well when we can see clearly, distinctly and plainly that around the Church to which we belong there runs a broad wall. This idea of a broad wall around the Church suggests three things, separation, security and enjoyment. Let us examine each of these in its turn. I.”
Charles Spurgeon· written before 1892· The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3281: “The Broad Wall” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
Nehemiah 3:9
“Ruler of the half part of Jerusalem - Probably the city was divided into two parts; one for Judah, and the other for Benjamin, each having its proper governor. Rephaiah mentioned here was one of these governors, and Shallum, mentioned Neh 3:12, was the other. There were other rulers or governors of particular country or village districts.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Nehemiah 3:11
“Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of Pahathmoab,.... The fathers of these were heads of families that came out of captivity with Zerubbabel, Ezr 2:6 repaired the other piece: or second piece, below and next to that which Hattush repaired, the last builder mentioned: and the tower of the furnaces; near to which were furnaces for the baking of bread, or of bricks.”
Nehemiah 3:11, 1 more voice
Nehemiah 3:11
“The other piece - Rather, “another piece” (as in Neh 3:19, Neh 3:21, Neh 3:27, Neh 3:30). It is conjectured that a verse has fallen out in which Malchijah’s and Hashub’s “first piece” was mentioned. The tower of the furnaces - Either a tower at the northwestern angle of the city; or, midway in the western wall. The origin of the name is uncertain.”
Nehemiah 3:12
“And next unto him repaired Shallum, the son of Hallohesh,.... So called, as Ben Melech says, from his being an enchanter of serpents, or a wise prudent counsellor: the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem; of the other half; see Neh 3:9 he and his daughters; who were rich widows or heiresses, and employed men to build at their own expense; he seems to have had no sons.”
a.the old gate: The builders are not builders: a goldsmith and an apothecary repair at verse 8, rulers of half-parts of towns take their sections, and at verse 12 Shallum repairs, HE AND HIS DAUGHTERS, women named into the wall's record. Perfumers and jewelers doing masonry is the chapter's picture of a city where the work outranked the trade. Every fortifying of Jerusalem in this roll is done by amateurs whose names were kept.
4. (vv. 13-14)
Nehemiah 3:13
“The valley gate repaired Hanun,.... Of which see Neh 2:13, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; a city in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:34, they built it, and set up the doors thereof, &c. see Neh 3:3, and a thousand cubits on the wall to the dung gate; that is, they repaired the wall to such a length from the valley gate to the dung gate; see Neh 2:13.”
Nehemiah 3:14
“But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab,.... If this was one of the Rechabites, they were forbid to build houses, Jer 35:7 but, perhaps, though they might not build private houses for themselves to dwell in, they might be employed in building walls and fortresses for public security; though it is more probable that this man was not of that family: the ruler of part of Bethhaccerem; or of the tract of Bethhaccerem, a place between Tekoah and Jerusalem; see Jer 6:1, he built it, and set up the doors thereof; &c. as in Neh 3:3.”
Nehemiah 3:13-15
a.The valley gate: The gates name the city's working anatomy: the valley gate Nehemiah rode out of by night in chapter 2, a thousand cubits of wall to the dung gate where the refuse left, and the gate of the fountain with the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king's garden and the stairs that go down from the city of David. The topography is real and excavated: Siloam's pool and the stepped descent of the old city survive, and the roll reads as a walking survey of ground a visitor can still trace. The dung gate gets its builder's name recorded with the same dignity as the sheep gate's.
B. Around to the corner, every man building before his own house
1. (v. 15)
Nehemiah 3:15
“And the walls of the pool of Siloam in the garden of the king, etc. Therefore, Siloa, which is interpreted as the sent one, where the man born blind and was illuminated, signifies the Lord Savior, who was sent by God the Father for our …”
Bede· written before 735· Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiahpatristic
Nehemiah 3:15, 1 more voice
Nehemiah 3:15
“The “pool of Siloah” lies at the southwestern foot of the temple hill, near the lower end of the Tyropoeon. It appears to have been at all times beyond the line of the city wall, but was perhaps joined to the city by a fortification of its own. The king’s gardens - See 2Ki 25:4 note. The stairs - A flight of steps, still to be seen, led from the low valley of the Tyropoeon up the steep sides of Ophel to the “city of David,” which it reached probably at a point not far south of the temple.”
2. (vv. 16-27)
Nehemiah 3:16
“The pool that was made - Calmet supposes that this was the reservoir made by Hezekiah, when besieged by Sennacherib, 2Ch 32:4. The house of the mighty - Probably a place where a band of soldiers was kept, or the city guard.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Nehemiah 3:17
“The constant mention of “priests,” “Levites,” and Nethinims,” sufficiently indicates that the writer is here concerned with the sacerdotal quarter, that immediately about the temple. Neh 3:18 Bavai - Or, “Binnui” Neh 3:24; Neh 10:9. The armoury at the turning of the wall - literally, “the armoury of the corner.” The northwestern corner of the special wall of the “city of David” seems to be intended. See Neh 3:1 note.”
Nehemiah 3:19
“And next to him repaired Ezer, the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah,.... Either of another Mizpah, or of the other half of Mizpah, Neh 3:15 another piece; or a second piece; one of the two pieces; for another is mentioned in the next verse: over against the going up to the armoury, at the turning of the wall; the western wall towards the south, near to which was a place where armour was laid up; perhaps the same with the tower of David, to which there is an allusion in Son 4:4.”
Nehemiah 3:22
“The priests, the men of the plain - Some of the officers of the temple, particularly the singers, dwelt in the plain country round about Jerusalem, Neh 12:28; and it is likely that several of the priests dwelt in the same place.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Nehemiah 3:25
“Palal the son of Uzai, over against the turning of the wall,.... Who dwelt there, and so repaired what was right against him: and the tower which lieth out from the king's high house: which might be built for prospect, or his upper house: that was by the court of the prison; and we often read in Jeremiah of the court of the prison being in or near the king's house, see Jer 32:2, after him Pedaiah the son of Parosh; went on from hence with the repair.”
Nehemiah 3:26
“The Nathinnei, however, dwelt in Ophel, etc. The Nathinnei are considered to be the Gibeonites, who served the house of the Lord with faithful devotion according to the arrangement of Joshua the son of Nun. Ophel, however, was a tower, not far from the temple, …”
Bede· written before 735· Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiahpatristic
Nehemiah 3:26, 1 more voice
Nehemiah 3:26
“Moreover, the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel,.... An high tower upon the wait, in this part of it, see 2Ch 27:3, these were servants to the Levites, and repaired here, where their dwellings were: unto the place over against the water gate toward the east: and as one part of their work was to fetch water for the temple, they were here very properly situated; it led to the king's garden, the valley of Jehoshaphat, and from thence a plain way to Bethany: and the tower that lieth out; from the wall.”
Nehemiah 3:27
“After them the Tekoites repaired another piece,.... Having finished what they undertook in another part of the wall, Neh 3:5, they engage in this part of it; which shows their great zeal and diligence, when their nobles were so backward to it, and withdrew from it: over against the great tower that lieth out; the same as in the preceding verse: even unto the wall of Ophel; from right against the great tower unto the wall the Tekoites repaired.”
a.Nehemiah the son of Azbuk: A second Nehemiah, son of Azbuk, repairs to the place over against the sepulchres of David and the house of the mighty, the roll passing David's tombs and his guard-house in one clause. Through this stretch the record's quiet principle emerges and repeats: men repair over against their own houses, Levites, priests and Nethinims each by their dwelling, responsibility mapped to residence. The Tekoites appear a second time at verse 27, the commoners doubling the portion their nobles refused.
3. (vv. 28-32)
Nehemiah 3:28
“Upwards to the Horse Gate they built, etc. Jeremiah mentions this gate and designates it to be on the eastern side of the city, writing typically about the holy Church: And the city shall be built for the Lord from the tower of Hananeel (Jer. …”
Bede· written before 735· Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiahpatristic
Nehemiah 3:28, 1 more voice
Nehemiah 3:28
“From above the horse gate repaired the priests,.... So called, either because near it were stables for horses; or through it horses were led to be watered at the brook of Kidron, to which it was near; or to be exercised in the valley; Josephus (c) speaks of the "hippie", or horse tower, which might be near it: everyone over against his house; for it seems there was a row of houses in which the priests dwelt, and each of them repaired as much of the wall as was right against his house. (c) Ut supra. (De Bello Jud. l.”
Nehemiah 3:30
“When a general good work is to be done each should apply himself to that part of it that falls nearest to him and is within his reach. If every one will sweep before his own door, the street will be clean; if every one will mend one, we shall be all mended.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Nehemiah 3:30, 1 more voice
Nehemiah 3:30
“In doing that which is good we need not stay to see our elders go before us; if they decline it, it does not therefore follow that we must. Thus the younger brother, if he be the better man, and does God and his generation better service, is indeed the better gentleman; those are most honourable that are most useful.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Nehemiah 3:31
“After him repaired Malchiah, the goldsmith's son,.... Or the son of Tzoreph, as some, so called from his business: unto the place of the Nethinims, and of the merchants; he repaired up to the place where these dwelt: over against the gate Miphkad; where some think was an house of visitation or correction; and others, where the sanhedrim sat, tried causes, and exercised justice: and to the going up of the corner; from the east to the north.”
Nehemiah 3:32
“And between the going up of the corner unto the sheep gate,.... Where the building first began and where it now ended: repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants; or druggists; which was done at their expense; and so the wall all round, with the gates of it, were rebuilt and repaired, which was all done in fifty two days, Neh 6:15.”
Nehemiah 3:32, 1 more voice
Nehemiah 3:32
“The goldsmiths and the merchants - The word הצרפים hatstsorephim may signify smiths, or persons who worked in metals of any kind; but it is generally understood to mean those who worked in gold. I have already observed, that the mention of merchants and goldsmiths shows that these persons were formed into bodies corporate in those ancient times. But these terms are differently rendered in the versions. The Vulgate is the same as ours, which probably our translators copied: aurifices et negociatores. The Syriac is, goldsmiths and druggists. The Arabic, smelters of metal and porters.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
a.From above the horse gate: The priests repair every one over against his house, the keeper of the east gate takes his stretch, and the goldsmiths and the merchants carry the wall from the corner back to the sheep gate where verse 1 began: the loop closes, and the map is complete. Guilds and priesthood share one wall, and the last crew named is tradesmen finishing what the high priest started. The chapter that looks like a list is the book's argument in miniature, the whole city building, each at his own place, until the circuit meets itself.
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Nehemiah 3. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
This page draws on 10 works. Open for the list.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3281: “The Broad Wall” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765); Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther; Matthew Henry and W. F. Adeney, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther (Expositor's Bible).
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