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2.1–20 Nehemiah gains appointment from the king as (implicit) governor of Judea (vv. 1–8). He meets with hostility from the governors of neighboring provinces (vv. 9–10), arrives in Jerusalem, inspects the state of the walls (vv. 11–16), and determines to rebuild them regardless of the opposition (vv. 17–20).
2.3 The city. Nehemiah wisely never mentions the name of Jerusalem, since it was notorious as a rebellious city (cf. Ezra 4.12, 15).
2.4 What do you request? The king realizes that Nehemiah’s response is no resigned sigh, but demands a reply.
2.5 Nehemiah’s rebuilding of Jerusalem would not simply be a pious act in memory of his fathers; it would, by ancient custom, imply rulership of the rebuilt city and, since it was a capital, governorship of the province as well.
2.6 The queen, known as Damaspia from Greek sources.
2.7–8 Perhaps it is etiquette that prevents Nehemiah from asking explicitly for the governorship, but 5.14 implies that he was appointed governor of Judea at this time. Nehemiah asks only for a passport for safe conduct through the other Persian provinces and a requisition order for timber from the royal forest.
2.8 This is the first we hear of the temple fortress; cf. also 7.2. It may be the Tower of Hananel (3.1), and it may have been the predecessor of the Antonia tower built by Herod. For the wall of the city, i.e., for its gates. The city wall itself would have been entirely of stone.
2.9 The province Beyond the River. See note on Ezra 4.10.
2.10 Sanballat, the governor of the province of Samaria, adjoining Judea on the north. The Horonite seems to be a contemptuous reference to Sanballat’s humble origins (Horon may be an obscure village); Nehemiah never accords him his official title. Tobiah, probably the governor of the province of Ammon, Nehemiah’s eastern neighbor. It displeased them greatly. Nehemiah’s appointment directly by the king perhaps was felt by Sanballat and Tobiah to be a threat to their own political and economic status. They were probably more hostile to Nehemiah personally than to the Jews.
2.13–15 Nehemiah’s night ride took him in a counterclockwise direction around Jerusalem, beginning at the north or west of the city.
2.13 Valley Gate, in the western wall, 500 yards north of the Dung Gate (3.13). Dragon’s Spring. No longer known. Dung Gate, or Potsherd Gate (Jer 19.2), at the southern tip of the city.
2.14 Fountain Gate, in the Kidron Valley on the east of the city. King’s Pool, the Pool of Shelah (Shiloah), fed from the spring Gihon farther up the valley (cf. 3.15; Isa 8.6). No place for the animal…to continue. The elaborate system of terraces on the eastern slope had collapsed after the Babylonian destruction, and the valley floor was now a vast tumble of stones. The archaeological evidence is that Nehemiah abandoned the old line of wall on the eastern slope and built a new wall on the crest.
2.16 Perhaps Nehemiah is stressing that the rebuilding of the city walls was entirely his initiative.
2.19 Geshem the Arab, king of Qedar, the ruler, under nominal Persian control, of a large territory in northern Arabia, Edom, and the Negev of Judah. See also 6.1–6. Rebelling. The fortification of the city could be seen as a preparation for revolt.
NEHEMIAH 3
Organization of the Work
1Then the high priest Eliashib set to work with his fellow priests and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set up its doors; they consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred and as far as the Tower of Hananel. 2And the men of Jericho built next to him. And next to thema Zaccur son of Imri built.
3The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 4Next to them Meremoth son of Uriah son of Hakkoz made repairs. Next to them Meshullam son of Berechiah son of Meshezabel made repairs. Next to them Zadok son of Baana made repairs. 5Next to them the Tekoites made repairs; but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work of their Lord.b
6Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate; they laid its beams and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 7Next to them repairs were made by Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite—the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah—who were under the jurisdiction ofc the governor of the province Beyond the River. cNext to them Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs; and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. 9Next to them Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of half the district ofd Jerusalem, made repairs. dNext to them Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his house; and next to him Hattush son of Hashabneiah made repairs. 11Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens. 12Next to him Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district ofe Jerusalem, made repairs, he and his daughters.
13Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate; they rebuilt it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall, as far as the Dung Gate.
14Malchijah son of Rechab, ruler of the district off Beth-haccherem, repaired the Dung Gate; he rebuilt it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars.
15And Shallum son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district ofg Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate; he rebuilt it and covered it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars; and he built the wall of the Pool of Shelah of the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that go down from the City of David. 16After him Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district ofh Beth-zur, repaired from a point opposite the graves of David, as far as the artificial pool and the house of the warriors. 17After him the Levites made repairs: Rehum son of Bani; next to him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district ofi Keilah, made repairs for his district. 18After him their kin made repairs: Binnui,j son of Henadad, ruler of half the district ofk Keilah; 19next to him Ezer son of Jeshua, rulerl of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at the Angle. 20After him Baruch son of Zabbai repaired another section from the Angle to the door of the house of the high priest Eliashib. 21After him Meremoth son of Uriah son of Hakkoz repaired another section from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib. 22After him the priests, the men of the surrounding area, made repairs. 23After them Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs opposite their house. After them Azariah son of Maaseiah son of Ananiah made repairs beside his own house. 24After him Binnui son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the Angle and to the corner. 25Palal son of Uzai repaired opposite the Angle and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king at the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah son of Parosh 26and the temple servants livingm on Ophel made repairs up to a point opposite the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower. 27After him the Tekoites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.
28Above the Horse Gate the priests made repairs, each one opposite his own house. 29After them Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his own house. After him Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, made repairs. 30After him Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section. After him Meshullam son of Berechiah made repairs opposite his living quarters. 31After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, opposite the Muster Gate,n and to the upper room of the corner. 32And between the upper room of the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants made repairs.
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a Heb him
b Or lords
c Meaning of Heb uncertain
d Or supervisor of half the portion assigned to
e Or supervisor of half the portion assigned to
f Or supervisor of the portion assigned to
g Or supervisor of the portion assigned to
h Or supervisor of half the portion assigned to
i Or supervisor of half the portion a
ssigned to
j Gk Syr Compare verse 24, 10.9: Heb Bavvai
k Or supervisor of half the portion assigned to
l Or supervisor
m Cn: Heb were living
n Or Hammiphkad Gate
3.1–32 This list did not perhaps form part of Nehemiah’s memoir (see Introduction); it views the wall building as completed (e.g., vv. 1, 3, 6) but it comes between the decision to build (2.18) and the events that occurred during the building (4.1–23).
3.1–5 Gates and wall in the northern sector are mainly said to be built (e.g., v. 2), suggesting that they were more damaged than those that were only repaired (e.g., v. 6). The north wall fronts the main access road to Jerusalem and would have borne the brunt of military attacks. The “builders” mentioned by name are no doubt those who financed the work rather than those who actually worked with their hands.
3.1 Sheep Gate, probably so named because of the market there. It is probably the northeast gate, the Benjamin Gate. They consecrated it, perhaps a special ceremony for a section of wall adjoining the temple, for the consecration of the wall as a whole occurs much later (12.27–30).
3.3 Fish Gate, naturally enough on the west of the city, nearest the sea.
3.5 The noncooperation of the nobles of Tekoa, in the south, may have been due to the influence of Geshem (see note on 2.19).
3.6–14 The line of wall on the west of the city cannot easily be associated with any archaeological remains.
3.6 Old Gate, probably should be emended to Mishneh Gate, the gate of the extended Second Quarter of the city (cf. 2 Kings 22.14).
3.8 Restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. Some translate “abandoned Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall” (part of the western, or Mishneh, quarter of the preexilic city).
3.12 He and his daughters, the only reference to the participation of women in the building, but we need not assume that these were the only females involved.
3.15–32 The east wall. Especially in its southern half, the builders seem to have been working on an entirely new wall (see note on 2.14). This will explain the large number of gangs that worked on this stretch of wall.
3.15 Pool of Shelah. See note on 2.14.
3.16 Graves of David, i.e., the graves of the Davidic kings. House of the warriors, presumably an army barracks.
3.25 Upper house of the king, perhaps Solomon’s palace, higher up the hill than David’s.
3.26 Ophel, part or all of the southeastern hill overlooking the Kidron Valley.
3.29 East Gate, a gate of the temple, not of the city wall.
3.31 Muster Gate, probably a gate of the temple court.
NEHEMIAH 4a
Hostile Plots Thwarted
1Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he mocked the Jews. 2He said in the presence of his associates and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore things? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish—and burned ones at that?” 3Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “That stone wall they are building—any fox going up on it would break it down!” 4Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their taunt back on their own heads, and give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 5Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be blotted out from your sight; for they have hurled insults in the face of the builders.
6So we rebuilt the wall, and all the wall was joined together to half its height; for the people had a mind to work.
7b But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and the gaps were beginning to be closed, they were very angry, 8and all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. 9So we prayed to our God, and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.
10But Judah said, “The strength of the burden bearers is failing, and there is too much rubbish so that we are unable to work on the wall.” 11And our enemies said, “They will not know or see anything before we come upon them and kill them and stop the work.” 12When the Jews who lived near them came, they said to us ten times, “From all the places where they livec they will come up against us.”d 13So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people according to their families,e with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14After I looked these things over, I stood up and said to the nobles and the officials and the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the LORD, who is great and awesome, and fight for your kin, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
15When our enemies heard that their plot was known to us, and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. 16From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and body-armor; and the leaders posted themselves behind the whole house of Judah, 17who were building the wall. The burden bearers carried their loads in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and with the other held a weapon. 18And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. 19And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread out, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. 20Rally to us wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet. Our God will fight for us.”
21So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from break of dawn until the stars came out. 22I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant pass the night inside Jerusalem, so that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.” 23So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me ever took off our clothes; each kept his weapon in his right hand.f
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a Ch 3.33 in Heb
b Ch 4.1 in Heb
c Cn: Heb you return
d Compare Gk Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain
e Meaning of Heb uncertain
f Cn: Heb each his weapon the water
4.1–23 This narrative of progress on the wall is interlaced with reports of hostility toward the Jews on the part of the Persian authorities in Samaria.
4.1 Sanballat. See note on 2.10.
4.2 The army of Samaria, governor Sanballat’s troops. Will they restore things? Sanballat pokes fun at what he supposes to be the incompetence of the Jews; the sentence might mean “Will they repair for themselves?” suggesting they would build a makeshift wall unlike the elegant city wall of Samaria. Sacrifice, perhaps a foundation or dedication sacrifice.
4.3 Tobiah. See note on 2.10; also 2.19.
4.4–5 Nehemiah’s plea to God, though doubtless part of his written report of past events, is presented as a prayer composed at the time of Sanballat’s mockery. The imprecation on enemies is a feature of several similar psalms of appeal (e.g., Pss 35; 58.6–9).
4.7 The Arabs, under their king, Geshem (see note on 2.19). Ammonites are on the east, Ashdodites on the west of Judah; on all sides Nehemiah is surrounded by enemies.
4.8 Plotted…to come. But did they come? There is no evidence that they did.
4.10 Judah, the Judeans. Their speech seems to have poetic form and may be a work song.
4.12 Near them, near the enemies.
4.13 Nehemiah’s tactic seems to have been to mass armed citizens in those places where the wall could be overlooked from outside the city, so as to give to enemy spies the impression of massive defense forces.
4.16–23 There are various public relations and morale-boosting activities here: forming an armed guard for the builders, arming the workers themselves, appointing a trumpeter to sound an alarm in case of attack, and keeping the workers overnight in the city for security and to prevent their intimidation by the enemy.
NEHEMIAH 5
Nehemiah Deals with
Oppression
1Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish kin. 2For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many; we must get grain, so that we may eat and stay alive.” 3There were also those who said, “We are having to pledge our fields, our vineyards, and our houses in order to get grain during the famine.” 4And there were those who said, “We are having to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay the king’s tax. 5Now our flesh is the same as that of our kindred; our children are the same as their children; and yet we are forcing our sons and daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been ravished; we are powerless, and our fields and vineyards now belong to others.”
6I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these complaints. 7After thinking it over, I brought charges against the nobles and the officials; I said to them, “You are all taking interest from your own people.” And I called a great assembly to deal with them, 8and said to them, “As far as we were able, we have bought back our Jewish kindred who had been sold to other nations; but now you are selling your own kin, who must then be bought back by us!” They were silent, and could not find a word to say. 9So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God, to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? 10Moreover I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us stop this taking of interest. 11Restore to them, this very day, their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the interest on money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.” 12Then they said, “We will restore everything and demand nothing more from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests, and made them take an oath to do as they had promised. 13I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out everyone from house and from property who does not perform this promise. Thus may they be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.
HarperCollins Study Bible Page 188
