Nehemiah 2:14
in Nehemiah 2Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to get through;
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the king’s pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.
KJV
Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.
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This verse in Nehemiah 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThen I went on to the pool of the fountain, and to the king's pool..... That led to the fountain Siloah or Gihon, so called; it was the way to the potter's field, to Bethlehem, Hebron, Gaza, and Egypt.
This site's exposition
toward the Well of the Serpent
on Nehemiah 2:13-16
The night ride runs the city's edge by name, out through "the Valley Gate toward the Well of the Serpent and the Dung Gate" (2:13). He goes up the valley, inspects the wall and reenters by the Valley Gate. He tells the officials, priests and nobles nothing yet.
This site's exposition
the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool
Clarke places the Fountain Gate at Siloam and takes the King's Pool as the work of King Hezekiah, who brought the waters into the city. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown picture water in the pool and rubble around it. The way was closed to the animal.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
The gate of the fountain - Of Siloah. The king’s pool - Probably the aqueduct made by Hezekiah, to bring the waters of Gihon to the city of David. See 2Ch 32:30.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
I went out by night by the gate of the valley--that is, the Jaffa gate, near the tower of Hippicus. even before the dragon well--that is, fountain on the opposite side of the valley. and to the dung port--the gate on the east of the city, through which there ran a common sewer to the brook Kedron and the valley of Hinnom.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
I went on to the gate of the fountain--that is, Siloah, from which turning round the fount of Ophel. to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass--that is, by the sides of this pool (Solomon's) there being water in the pool, and too much rubbish about it to permit the passage of the beast.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The gate of the fountain - A gate on the eastern side of the Tyropoeon valley, not far from the pool of Siloam (probably “the king’s pool.” (Compare Neh 3:15).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And I passed to the Fountain Gate And I wished to pass to those places in the wall of the city and in those breaches, and there was no place in those breaches for riders on animals to pass through because they were so small.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 1 further source is cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֶֽעֱבֹר֙ | vaeevor | and I passed on | H5674 → | 556 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שַׁ֣עַר | shaar | [the] gate of | H8179 → | 374 times |
| הָעַ֔יִן | haayin | the spring | H5869 → | 887 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בְּרֵכַ֖ת | berekhat | [the] pool of | H1295 → | 17 times |
| הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וְאֵין־ | veein- | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מָק֥וֹם | makom | [was] room | H4725 → | 401 times |
| לַבְּהֵמָ֖ה | labehemah | for the animal | H929 → | 190 times |
| לַעֲבֹ֥ר | laavor | to pass through | H5674 → | 556 times |
| תַּחְתָּֽי׃ | tachtai | under me | H8478 → |
וָאֶֽעֱבֹר֙and I passed on
vaeevorH5674 →556 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שַׁ֣עַר[the] gate of
shaarH8179 →374 times
הָעַ֔יִןthe spring
haayinH5869 →887 times
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
בְּרֵכַ֖ת[the] pool of
berekhatH1295 →17 times
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וְאֵין־and there not
veein-H369 →789 times
מָק֥וֹם[was] room
makomH4725 →401 times
לַבְּהֵמָ֖הfor the animal
labehemahH929 →190 times
לַעֲבֹ֥רto pass through
laavorH5674 →556 times
תַּחְתָּֽי׃under me
tachtaiH8478 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Kings 18:17Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 20:20
As for the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, along with all his might and how he constructed the pool and the tunnel to bring water into the city, are they not written in…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 20:1
Before the year that the chief commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it,
- Isaiah 7:3
Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct that feeds the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,
- 2 Kings 20:20
Through
Nehemiah 3:15The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it, roofed it, and installed its doors, bolts, and bars. He also repaired the wall of…
it leads to
- John 9:7
Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.
- Isaiah 8:6
“Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoiced in Rezin and the son of Remaliah,
- John 9:7
Through
2 Kings 20:20As for the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, along with all his might and how he constructed the pool and the tunnel to bring water into the city, are they not written in…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 3:16
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…
- Nehemiah 3:16
Through
2 Chronicles 32:30It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Spring of Gihon and channeled it down to the west side of the City of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all that he did.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 1:33
“Take my servants with you,” said the king. “Set my son Solomon on my own mule and take him down to Gihon.
- Isaiah 22:9–11
You saw that there were many breaches in the walls of the City of David. You collected water from the lower pool.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 1:33
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
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About Nehemiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.