Nehemiah 3

This chapter belongs to the early part of the book of Nehemiah. In Nehemiah 2, Nehemiah inspected the ruined walls by night and then proposed to the people that they rebuild them. This chapter lists those who, in response to that proposal, divided the work among themselves and carried it out.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 The high priest Eliashib and his fellow priests build the Sheep Gate and sanctify it (set it apart as holy), and they build the wall from the tower of Meah to the tower of Hananeel. Next to them, the men of Jericho and Zaccur build.
• Verses 3–5 The sons of Hassenaah build the Fish Gate. Meremoth, Meshullam, and Zadok repair. The Tekoites also repair, but their nobles do not take part in the work.
• Verses 6–12 Jehoiada and Meshullam repair the Old Gate. They are followed in turn by the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, Uzziel the goldsmith, Hananiah the perfumer, Rephaiah, Jedaiah, Hattush, and Malchijah and Hashub (the tower of the furnaces). Shallum the son of Halohesh repairs together with his daughters.
• Verses 13–14 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repair the Valley Gate and a thousand cubits (a unit of length from the elbow to the fingertip) of the wall as far as the Dung Gate. Malchiah the son of Rechab repairs the Dung Gate.
• Verses 15–16 Shallun repairs the Fountain Gate and the wall of the pool of Shelah (KJV: Siloah) as far as the stairs that go down from the City of David. Nehemiah the son of Azbuk repairs from the place opposite the sepulchres of David to the house of the mighty.
• Verses 17–25 Rehum the Levite, Hashabiah, Bavai, Ezer, Baruch, Meremoth, the priests, the men of the plain, Benjamin and Hashub, Azariah, Binnui, Palal, and Pedaiah repair in succession. Several of them take sections in front of the house of Eliashib or near their own houses.
• Verses 26–27 An explanatory note states that the Nethinims (those who performed menial duties in the temple) dwelt in Ophel. The Tekoites repair another section, reaching as far as the wall of Ophel.
• Verses 28–32 Above the Horse Gate, the priests each repair the section opposite their own houses. Zadok, Shemaiah, Hananiah and Hanun, Meshullam, and Malchiah the goldsmith follow. Finally, the goldsmiths and the merchants repair from the going up of the corner to the Sheep Gate.

Key Verses

• Nehemiah 3:1 "Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate." This verse shows the leader of the community standing at the head of the work.
• Nehemiah 3:5 "But their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord." This is a rare passage in the list that singles out those who did not take part.
• Nehemiah 3:12 "And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters." This verse records that women took part in the work on the wall.

People and Places

• Eliashib: the high priest at the time.
• Nehemiah the son of Azbuk: the ruler of half the district of Beth-zur. He is a different person from Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah, the central figure of this book.
• Baruch the son of Zabbai: a different person from Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe.
• The Nethinims: those who served in the temple; they lived on the hill of Ophel.
• Jerusalem: the city whose walls were rebuilt.
• Jericho: the home of some of those who took part in the work.
• Pool of Shelah: many identify it with the Pool of Siloam.
• Sheep Gate, Fish Gate, Old Gate, Valley Gate, Dung Gate, Fountain Gate, Water Gate, Horse Gate, East Gate, Miphkad Gate: the gates of Jerusalem named in this chapter.

Points for Reflection

• The text lists the gates and sections in sequence. Scholars generally regard the list as proceeding counterclockwise from the Sheep Gate around the city and back to the Sheep Gate. However, views differ on the exact location of each gate.
• Some sermons assign a spiritual meaning to each gate. Such interpretations go beyond what the text directly states and should be distinguished from the text itself.
• The Sheep Gate reappears in the New Testament in the account of the Pool of Bethesda, which was "at Jerusalem by the sheep market" (John 5:2; rendered "sheep gate" in many translations).

In the Korean Church

This chapter is frequently cited in sermons on church building projects and community service. Particular emphasis is placed on the way the work was shared, with each person taking the section in front of his own house so that together they completed the wall.