Yahweh will always guide you, will satisfy your needs in the scorched land; he will give strength to your bones and you will be like a watered garden, like a flowing spring whose waters will never run dry. Your ancient ruins will be rebuilt; you will build on age-old foundations. You will be called "Breach-mender," "Restorer of streets to be lived in."
Isaiah 58:11-12

The events in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah constitute a new stage in Salvation History. The return to the Promised Land, rebuilding of the Temple and Jerusalem, and renewal of the covenant people in their relationship and obedience to Yahweh moves forward God's divine plan for humanity's salvation.

Chapter 1:11a ended with the close of Nehemiah's prayer and the first of seven doxologies he offers his Lord (see 1:11; 5:19; 6:9, 14; 13:14, 21). Then in 1:11b, Nehemiah wrote that he was cupbearer to the king, referring to Persian King Artaxerxes I. The rulers of ancient Near Eastern kingdoms often took the handsome and personable young sons of conquered peoples and trained them for royal service. Daniel and his three friends are an example of this practice. The Babylonians took them from their families and carried them into exile in Babylon: From the Israelites, the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch to bring a certain number of boys of royal or noble descent; they had to be without any physical defect, of good appearance, versed in every branch of wisdom, well-informed, discerning, suitable for service at the royal court. Ashpenaz was to teach them to speak and write the language of the Chaldaeans (Dan 1:3-4). Some of these young captives were castrated, becoming eunuchs and servants of the king and his household. Nehemiah's duty was to serve as the personal cupbearer to the king. He was responsible for drawing the daily supply of wine for the king and his family and tasting the wine to ensure it wasn't poisoned by an enemy. Since he had access to the royal harem and was trusted to the point of holding the king's very life in his hands and that of his wives and royal heirs, it is possible that Nehemiah was also a eunuch. The Greek Septuagint translation of Nehemiah identifies him as a eunuch.

According to the Law of the Sinai Covenant, eunuchs were forbidden to enter the inner courts of the Temple, and no descendant of Aaron with such a deformity could serve in the priesthood (Lev 17:20; Dt 23:1/2). However, eunuchs cooperated with God's divine plan like Ebed-Melech who saved Jeremiah's life (Jer 38:7-12) and the Ethiopian eunuch who the deacon Philip led to salvation (Acts 8:27-39). In Isaiah 56:3, God promised such men a future place as members of the covenant family: No eunuch should say, "Look, I am a dried-up tree." For Yahweh says this: To the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths and cling to my covenant, I shall give them in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I shall give them an everlasting name that will never be effaced.

Nehemiah's Mission in Lesson 2:

1. King Artaxerxes gives his permission for Nehemiah's mission (2:1-10)
2. The arrival of Nehemiah in Jerusalem and preparation to reconstruct the wall (2:11-20)
3. A record of the builders (3:1-32)
4. The opposition to the reconstruction (3:33-38/4:1)

Nehemiah 2:1-10 ~ King Artaxerxes Gives his Permission for Nehemiah's Mission
1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, since I was in charge of the wine, I took the wine and offered it to the king. Now, he had never seen me looking depressed before. 2 So the king said to me, "Why are you looking depressed? You are not sick! This must be a sadness of the heart." Thoroughly alarmed by this, 3 I said to the king, "May the king live forever! How can I not look depressed when the city where the tombs of my ancestors are lies in ruins and its gates have been burnt down?" 4 The king then said to me, "What would you like me to do?" Praying to the God of heaven, 5 I said to the king, "If the king approves and your servant enjoys your favor, send me to Judah, to the city of the tombs of my ancestors, so that I can rebuild it." 6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, said, "How long will your journey take, and when will you come back?" Once I had given him a definite time, the king approved my mission. 7 I then said to the king, "If the king approves, may I be given orders for the governors of Transeuphrates to let me pass through on my way to Judah? 8 Also an order for Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, to supply me with timber for the beams of the gates of the citadel of the Temple, for the city walls and for the house which I am to occupy?" These the king granted me because the kindly hand of my God was over me. 9 When I reached the governors of Transeuphrates, I gave them the king's orders. The king had sent an escort of army officers and cavalry along with me. 10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the official of Ammon heard about this, they were exceedingly displeased that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.

1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes
Nehemiah prayed for four months (as the ancient's counted) from December to March concerning approaching the king about a mission to restore Jerusalem. Since the Persian new year began at the spring equinox (in our calendar on March 20^th or 21^st), it must have been early in the month of Nisan/March before the year changed to the 21^st year of the king's reign and three months as we count after Nehemiah received news of the suffering of his people in Jerusalem (Neh 1:1).

Some scholars suggest that he waited several months trying to work up the courage to approach the king. However, other scholars suggest he was preparing himself spiritually and waiting for God to provide the right opportunity to make his case to the king. Evidence of Nehemiah's bold and decisive character revealed later in the book suggests the latter theory. As a trusted personal servant of the king, he had influence over his royal master and intended to use that influence to his advantage.

since I was in charge of the wine, I took the wine and offered it to the king. Now, he had never seen me looking depressed before. 2 So the king said to me, "Why are you looking depressed? You are not sick! This must be a sadness of the heart."
It is probably not the first time Nehemiah appeared sad in the last several months since learning about conditions in Jerusalem, but it is the first time the king noticed. Nehemiah has his opportunity when the king invites him to speak. No one could come into the king's presence without a summons or address him without an invitation to speak. See Esther 5:10/1d-19/2b where Esther encountered King Xerxes' wrath when she came into his presence without being summoned, but God softened his heart.

Thoroughly alarmed by this, 3 I said to the king, "May the king live forever! How can I not look depressed when the city where the tombs of my ancestors are lies in ruins and its gates have been burnt down?"
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Nehemiah speaks of the ruins Jerusalem, but he cleverly avoids naming the city.

Question: Why didn't Nehemiah name Jerusalem as the city of his ancestors that is in ruins? See Ezra 4:12, 15).
Answer: It was probably because of the notorious reputation of Jerusalem as a city with a history of rebelling against foreign overlords and encouraging its neighbors to join in alliances with them.

When the first returnees from exile attempted to rebuild Jerusalem, their pagan neighbors, especially the Samarians to the north, tried to prevent the rebuilding of the Temple and the city. The Book of Ezra records: The people of the country then set about demoralizing the people of Judah and deterring them from building; they also bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose throughout the lifetime of Cyrus king of Persia right on into the reign of Darius king of Persia (Ezra 4:4-5). Darius was the father of Artaxerxes I.

The Samaritans were the descendants of five different pagan peoples the Assyrians imported into what had been the Northern Kingdom of Israel after they took the Israelites into exile in 722 BC. The five different pagan peoples took up the worship of Yahweh as the local God but kept their pagan practices and offered Yahweh illicit worship (2 Kng 17:24-41). When they volunteered to help the Jews rebuild the Temple, the Jews refused their offer because they considered the Samaritans heretics (Ezra 4:1-5; 2 Kngs 17:41). This rebuff earned the Jews the Samaritan's enmity. The Samaritans did everything they could to halt the rebuilding of the Temple, including bribing officials to frustrate the effort (Ezra 4:1-5).

4 The king then said to me, "What would you like me to do?" Praying to the God of heaven, 5 I said to the king, "If the king approves and your servant enjoys your favor, send me to Judah, to the city of the tombs of my ancestors, so that I can rebuild it."
The king astutely realizes Nehemiah wants to make a request. It is the opportunity Nehemiah has been praying about for the past several months, and he presents his petition. Rebuilding a city by ancient customs implies ruling as a king's representative over the restored city, and since Jerusalem is the capital of the Persian province of Judah, it would mean making Nehemiah the provincial governor. We will learn in 5:14 that Artaxerxes did appoint Nehemiah the governor of the Persian Province of Judah from the 20^th to the 32^nd year of the king's reign.

6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, said, "How long will your journey take, and when will you come back?" Once I had given him a definite time, the king approved my mission.
Nehemiah's interview with the king took place in the royal apartments in the company of his wife. Scholars who believe Nehemiah was a eunuch serving in the harem as well as the Persian court point to this verse as evidence of their theory. The Septuagint identifies the woman as a concubine.¹

It was not the first time King Artaxerxes sent a royal official on a mission to Judah. In the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes, in 458 BC (Ezra 7:7), God inspired the king to send Ezra, a Jewish priest, scribe, and an expert on Jewish Law on a mission to Jerusalem with authority to bring with him as many Babylonian Jews as desired to return to their homeland. Ezra's mission marked the second group of Judahite exiles returning to Judah (see Ezra Chapter 7). The first group of returned to Judah eighty years earlier during the reign of King Cyrus the Great in 538/7 BC (see Ezra Chapters 1-2), Ezra led the second group, and Nehemiah the third group of returning exiles. The three returning groups echo the three groups of captives taken into exile in 605 BC, 598 BC, and 587/6 BC (Dan 1:1-4; 2 Kng 24:10-16; 25:8-11; Jer 52:28-30).

7 I then said to the king, "If the king approves, may I be given orders for the governors of Transeuphrates to let me pass through on my way to Judah? 8 Also an order for Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, to supply me with timber for the beams of the gates of the citadel of the Temple, for the city walls and for the house which I am to occupy?" These the king granted me because the kindly hand of my God was over me.

Transeuphrates refers to the provinces south and east of the Euphrates River.
Question: After the king approves Nehemiah's mission, what two requests does Nehemiah make?
Answer:

1. He asks for orders for the governors of the provinces through which he must pass to reach his destination to give him safe passage.
2. He requests an order for timber from the royal forests for beams to rebuild the gates of the city, for the city's walls, and his house.

The citadel of the Temple fortress in verse 8 (also mentioned in 7:2) may be the Tower of Hananel (3:1) and the predecessor of the Antonia Fortress built by King Herod in the 1^st century BC as the military barracks for Jerusalem's Roman garrison. The royal official Asaph had a Jewish name, implying that he was Jewish. The forest in question is not certain, but most scholars assume it is the forest of the cedars of Lebanon, but others suggest it was a more local site since its official has a Jewish name, like the forest of Edam, a few miles south of Jerusalem.

Question: King Artaxerxes gives permission and fulfills his requests, but to whom does Nehemiah give credit for approval of his mission?

Answer: He gives all the credit to Yahweh.

9 When I reached the governors of Transeuphrates, I gave them the king's orders. The king had sent an escort of army officers and cavalry along with me.
Not only does the king provide the necessary letters to the royal governors but also an armed escort, something Ezra wanted but was afraid to request for his journey in 458 BC (Ezra 8:22). Ezra's journey took five months as the ancients counted from the first month of Nisan to the fifth month of Ab, according to the liturgical calendar (Ezra 7:9). Nehemiah's journey probably took less time since he had fewer people with him and apparently he and those traveling with him were mounted.

10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the official of Ammon heard about this, they were exceedingly displeased that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.
Sanballat was a Samaritan and the governor of Samaria, the province north of Judah that was formerly part of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and today occupies what is called the "West Bank." Sanballat (also see 2:19 and 13:28) was from Horonaim in Moab on the east side of the Jordan River. Tobiah, who has a Jewish name, was the governor of Ammon, an ancient Gentile state that became a Persian province along with Moab. Ammon was on the east side of the Jordan River between the river valleys of the Arnon and the Jabbok and both Ammon and Moab lands are now in modern day Jordan.

The Moabites and Ammonites were descendants of Abraham's nephew, Lot, from incestuous relationships with his daughters (Gen 19:30-38), and both peoples were perennial enemies of Israel. The provinces of Sanballat in Samaria and Tobiah in Ammon were to the north and east of Judah. The Samaritans occupied what was formerly the Northern Kingdom of Israel and were the descendants of five Gentile peoples imported into the area by the Assyrians in the 8^th century BC.² Both provinces of Sanballat and Tobiah were part of the greater Province of the Transeuphrates (literally = "Beyond the River"), extending south and west of the Euphrates River which was the satrapy of Abar-Nahara of which Judah was also a province.

Nehemiah never refers to Sanballat by his official title. He was the leading opponent of Nehemiah and Tobiah was his ally. He will not only ridicule Nehemiah and try to block the reconstruction of the walls of Jerusalem, but he will enter into a conspiracy with the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites against Nehemiah's efforts (Neh 4:1, 7-14). He will also attempt to assassinate Nehemiah (Neh 6:1-14). Tobiah had a close relationship with the nobles of Judah (Neh 6:17-19) and ties to the family of the high priest Eliashib (Neh 13:4), and one of his grandsons was the son-in-law of Sanballat (Neh 13:28).

The Jews' enemies prevented earlier attempts to rebuild Jerusalem. In the reign of Artaxerxes' father, Xerxes, they drew up a letter accusing the citizens of Judah and Jerusalem of planning rebellion (Ezra 4:6). When they didn't receive a reply, they wrote another letter early in the reign of Artaxerxes during the governorship of Sanballat's predecessor stating: May the king now please be informed that the Jews, who have come up from you to us, have arrived in Jerusalem and are rebuilding the rebellious and evil city ... We inform the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, you will soon have no territories left in Transeuphrates (see the entire letter in Ezra 4:12-16).

Artaxerxes replied to their letter by giving orders that the work must cease, and the city was not to be rebuilt until he gave the order (Ezra 4:17-22). After receiving the letter, the governor of Samaria and his associated hurried to the Jews in Jerusalem and stopped their work by force of arms (Ezra 4:23). The permission Artaxerxes gave Nehemiah was a reversal of his earlier orders and can only be accounted for by God's intervention, as Nehemiah noted in 2:8b.

Question: Why will the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls be a sign to Judah's enemies?
Answer: Rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem was an important sign to Judah's enemies because the successful rebuilding will tell them that the God of Israel is still active in protecting and building the Jews up as His chosen people.

Nehemiah 2:11-20 ~ Nehemiah Arrives in Jerusalem and Prepares to Reconstruct the Wall
₁₁ And so I reached Jerusalem. After I had been there three days, 12 I got up during the night with a few other men (I had not told anyone what my God had inspired me to do for Jerusalem), taking no animal with me other than my own mount. 13 Under cover of dark I went out through the Valley Gate towards the Dragon's Fountain as far as the Dung Gate and examined the wall of Jerusalem where it was broken down and its gates burnt out. 14 I then crossed to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but it was impassable to my mount. 15 So I went up the Valley in the dark, examining the wall; I then went in again through the Valley Gate, coming back 16 without the officials knowing where I had gone or what I had been doing. So far, I had said nothing to the Jews: neither to the priests, the nobles, the officials nor any other persons involved in the undertaking. 17 I then said to them, "You see what a sorry state we are in: Jerusalem is in ruins and its gates have been burnt down. Come on, we must rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and put an end to our humiliating position!" 18 And I told them how the kindly hand of my God had been over me, and the words which the king had said to me. At this they said, "Let us start building at once!" and they set their hands to the good work. 19 When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the official of Ammon, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they laughed at us and jeered. They said, "What is this you are doing? Are you going to revolt against the king?" 20 But I gave them this answer, "The God of heaven will grant us success and we, his servants, mean to start building; as for you, you have neither share nor right nor memorial in Jerusalem."

After three days in the city (two as we count), in verses 11-16, Nehemiah secretly made a nighttime expedition to assess the damaged Jerusalem walls. He did not reveal to anyone his plans to rebuild the walls of the city. He only took his mount and a few men with him, starting and ending at the Valley Gate route around Jerusalem beginning in the northwestern section of the city. However, he did not make a complete circuit of the city walls. He only inspected the southern area. Jerusalem was always most vulnerable on the north, and that is where most enemy attacks took place. Nehemiah ma have known or assumed that the northern walls had been completely destroyed by the Babylonian army of King Nebuchadnezzar about 140 years earlier.

The sites mentioned in 2:13-14:

1. The Valley Gate was in what had been the city's eastern wall, facing the Kidron Valley (3:13).
2. The Dragon's Fountain or Spring is an unknown location.
3. The Dung Gate, called the Potsherd Gate in Jeremiah 9:2, was at the southern end of the city and led into the Hinnom Valley where refuse was burned.
4. The Fountain/Water Gate was at the southeastern end of the city.
5. The King's Pool or Pool of Shelah (Shiloah) had the Gihon Spring as its source and was father up the valley (cf., 3:15, Is 8:6).

14 I then crossed to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but it was impassable to my mount.
There was no way for Nehemiah's mount to continue the circuit of the city because the elaborate system of terraces on the eastern slopes of the City of David had collapsed after the Babylonian destruction and had fallen onto the valley floor in a sea of broken stones.³

15 So I went up the Valley in the dark, examining the wall; I then went in again through the Valley Gate, coming back 16 without the officials knowing where I had gone or what I had been doing. So far, I had said nothing to the Jews: neither to the priests, the nobles, the officials nor any other persons involved in the undertaking.
Question: Why do you think Nehemiah wanted to keep his plans a secret as long as possible from the citizens of Jerusalem?
Answer: It was probably because he hadn't yet identified who were friends and supporters and who were his enemies intent on working to hinder his efforts.

17 I then said to them, "You see what a sorry state we are in: Jerusalem is in ruins and its gates have been burnt down. Come on, we must rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and put an end to our humiliating position!"
Nehemiah presented his plan to the priests, nobles, officials, and city leaders who he needed to be involved in the undertaking. He expressed rebuilding the city's walls as to "put an end to our humiliating position," also translated "suffer no more disgrace." It is a phrase that appears in other passages to characterize the destruction of the Temple and the exile ( Is 4:1-3; 22:18; 25:6-8; Jer 23:29-40; 24:8-10; 25:8-11; Lam 5:1; Ez 16:52-58; 22:1-5; Dan 9:16).

18 And I told them how the kindly hand of my God had been over me, and the words which the king had said to me. At this they said, "Let us start building at once!" and they set their hands to the good work.
Nehemiah is successful in convincing the city's religious and civic leaders to rebuild the walls for which they not only have the Persian king's permission but a mandate from God.

19 When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the official of Ammon, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they laughed at us and jeered. They said, "What is this you are doing? Are you going to revolt against the king?"
Sanballat and his allies may have seen Nehemiah's appointment by the king as a threat to their political and economic status. Geshem the Arab was a Persian vassal who ruled a territory covering Northern Arabia, Edom, and the Negev of Judah. The citizens of Judah were surrounded by enemies (Sanballat in Samaria to the north, Tobias in Ammon to the east, and Geshem to the south) who wanted to see Jerusalem continue as a ruined city! Sanballat and the others know about Artaxerxes' earlier letter forbidding the rebuilding of the wall and cannot understand why Nehemiah has a letter from the king commissioning him to do what was previously forbidden. Their accusation that the Jews must be planning to revolt against the Persian king was in the earlier letter they sent Artaxerxes in Ezra chapter 4.

Question: What caused the king to rescind his earlier decision and to send Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem's walls?
Answer: God intervened to change the king's mind.

Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem used various plots to disrupt the work on rebuilding the walls:

1. They will plot to organize attacks against the builders (Neh 4:1-2).
2. They will formulate a plan to harm Nehemiah (Neh 6:2).
3. They will intimidate him with false reports (Neh 6:5-6).
4. They will deceive him and the citizens of Jerusalem with false prophets (Neh 6:7-13).
5. They will influence the nobles of Judah to turn against him (Neh 6:17-19).

20 But I gave them this answer, "The God of heaven will grant us success and we, his servants, mean to start building; as for you, you have neither share nor right nor memorial in Jerusalem."

Nehemiah was not intimidated by Judah's enemies and continued to trust in the power of God over human inclinations and activities.

Question: What three responses does Nehemiah make to his enemies?
Answer: He tells them:

1. They are not greater than his God who will grant them success.
2. He and other "servants" of his God will begin rebuilding the wall immediately.
3. They will have no share or right nor memorial (historical right) as part of the holy city of Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 3:1-32 ~ A Record of the Builders and How the Walls Were Rebuilt
1 Eliashib the high priest with his brother priests then set to work and rebuilt [built] the Sheep Gate; they made the framework, hung its doors, fixed its bolts and bars and proceeded as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel. 2 The men of Jericho built next to him; Zaccur son of Imri built next to them. 3 The sons of Ha-Senaah rebuilt the Fish Gate; they made the framework, hung its doors and fixed its bolts and bars. 4 Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, carried out repairs next to them; Meshullam son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel, carried out repairs next to him; and Zadok son of Baana carried out repairs next to him. 5 The men of Tekoa carried out repairs next to him, though their nobles would not demean themselves to help their masters. 6 Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah repaired the gate of the New Quarter; they made the framework, hung its doors and fixed its bolts and bars. 7 Next to them repairs were carried out by Melatiah of Gibeon, Jadon of Meronoth, and the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, for the sake of the governor of Transeuphrates. 8 Next to them repairs were carried out by Uzziel son of Harhaiah, a member of the metal-workers' guild, and next to him repairs were carried out by Hananiah of the perfumers' guild. These renovated the wall of Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. 9 Next to them repairs were carried out by Rephaiah son of Hur, who was head of one half of the district of Jerusalem. 10 Next to them Jedaiah son of Harumaph carried out repairs opposite his own house; next to him repairs were carried out by Hattush son of Hashabneiah. 11 Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section as far as the Furnace Tower. 12 Next to them repairs were carried out by Shallum son of Hallohesh, head of the other half of the district of Jerusalem, by him and his sons [daughters]. 13 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate: they rebuilt it, hung its doors and fixed its bolts and bars; they also repaired a thousand cubits of wall up to the Dung Gate. 14 Malchijah son of Rechab, head of the district of Beth-ha-Cherem, repaired the Dung Gate; he rebuilt it, hung its doors and fixed its bolts and bars. 15 Shallum son of Col-Hozeh, head of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate; he rebuilt it, roofed it, hung its doors and fixed its bolts and bars. He also rebuilt the wall of the Pool of Siloah, adjoining the king's garden, as far as the steps going down from the City of David. 16 After him, Nehemiah son of Azbuk, head of half the district of Beth-Zur, carried out repairs from a point opposite the Davidic Tombs [graves of David] to the artificial pool and the House of the Champions. 17 After him, repairs were carried out by the Levites: Rehum son of Bani; and next to him Hashabiah, head of one half of the district of Keilah, carried out repairs for his own district. 18 After him, repairs were carried out by their brothers: Binnui son of Henadad, head of the other half of the district of Keilah. 19 Next to him, Ezer son of Jeshua, headman of Mizpah, repaired another section in front of the ascent to the armory at the Angle. 20 After him, Baruch son of Zabbai repaired another section from the Angle to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. 21 After him, Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, repaired another section from the door of Eliashib's house as far as the end of Eliashib's house. 22 And after his repairs were carried out by the priests who lived in the district. 23 After them repairs were carried out by Benjamin and Hasshub, opposite their own house. After them repairs were carried out by Azariah son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, beside his own house. 24 After him, Binnui son of Henadad repaired another section from Azariah's house as far as the Angle at the corner. 25 After him, Palal son of Uzai carried out repairs in front of the Angle and the tower projecting from the king's Upper Palace by the Court of the Guard; and after him, Pedaiah son of Parosh carried out the repairs 26 [and the temple servants living on Ophel repaired] to a point by the Water Gate to the east and the projecting tower. 27 After him, the men of Tekoa repaired another section from in front of the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel. 28 From the Horse Gate onwards repairs were carried out by the priests, each in front of his own house. 29 After them repairs were carried out by Zadok son of Immer in front of his house, and after him repairs were carried out by Shemaiah son of Shechaniah, keeper of the East Gate. 30 After him Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section, after whom repairs were carried out by Meshullam son of Berechiah in front of his room. 31 After him Malchijah, of the metal-workers' guild, repaired as far as the Hall of the temple slaves and merchants, in front of the Muster Gate, as far as the upper room at the corner. 32 And between the upper room at the corner and the Sheep Gate repairs were carried out by the goldsmiths and the merchants.
[...] = translation from the IBHE, vol. III, the NAB, RSV, the Jewish Tanakh Study Bible, and the Greek Septuagint. In 3:12, the Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English, vol. II, page 1266, the NAB, RSV, the Jewish Tanakh Study Bible, and the Greek Septuagint all agree that the daughters of Shallum son of Hallohesh participated in rebuilding the wall and not the sons.

Chapter 3 describes the reconstruction of about 45 sections of wall from the north side of the city and moving counterclockwise. Nehemiah organizes the people into forty-two groups from eight classes of society to work on various sections of the ruined walls, employing chief priests, Levitical lesser ministers, princes, nobles, guild representatives (goldsmiths, perfumers, merchants), rulers of provincial districts, people from other cities (Jericho, Tekoah, Gibeon, and Mizpah), and ordinary citizens of Jerusalem. It was a cooperative effort, but the plan worked because of the Lord's support. Yahweh listened to their prayers and blessed their efforts.

1 Eliashib the high priest with his brother priests then set to work and rebuilt the Sheep Gate
The High Priest Eliashib was the grandson of Jeshua/Joshua, the first high priest of the people who returned from exile ( Ezra 2:2; 3:2; Hag 1:1, 12-14; Zech 3:1-8).

The gates and wall in the northern part of the city are said to be built and not restored (verse 2), suggesting they were more damaged than the gates that were only repaired (verse 6). The northern wall was on the main access road to Jerusalem leading to Damascus, and probably bore the full force of the Babylonian attack in 587 BC. The different groups of builders probably financed the work. The list of the workers and their assigned sections of the walls begins and ends at the Sheep Gate.

A list of the numbers of workers assigned to different sections of the wall:

1. The northern section had eight work assignments (3:1-5).
2. The western section had ten work assignments (3:6-13).
3. The southern section had two work assignments (3:14-15).
4. The eastern section had twenty-one work assignments (3:16-32).

For the East Wall, the builders seem to have built an entirely new wall, and this may explain the large numbers of workers.

Nehemiah names ten city gates beginning in the city's northern wall. The list of gates in Chapter 3:

1. Sheep Gate
2. Fish Gate
3. New Gate
4. Valley Gate
5. Dung Gate
6. Fountain Gate
7. Water Gate
8. Horse Gate
9. East Gate
10. Muster Gate

The location of gates and other sites mentioned in Chapter 3:

1. The Sheep Gate was likely named for the sheep market located there. It was probably also called the Benjamin Gate because it led into the tribal lands of Benjamin north of Jerusalem and was known in New Testament times as located near the Pool of Bethesda in the northeastern corner of Jerusalem ( Neh 3:1, 32; 12:39; Josh 18:11-28; Jer 37:13; 38:7; Zech 14:10; Jn 5:2).⁴
2. The Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel were in the northwest part of the wall. The "hundred" may have refered to its heighth in cubits, its number of steps, or a military unit (Dt 1:15). Both towers were associated with the citadel by the Temple (Neh 2:8). The Tower of Hananel was probably the predecessor of the Antonia Fortress built by King Herod in the 1^st century BC as the military barracks for Jerusalem's Roman garrison.
   Towers could be circular or square stone structures and served as military watchposts (Neh 3:2).
3. The Fish Gate was on the west side of the city (Neh 3:1).
4. The Old Gate was probably the gate to the extended Second Quarter of the city (Neh 3:6; also cf., 2 Kng 22:14).
5. The Broad Wall was part of the western quarter of the pre-exile city (Neh 3:8).
6. The Furnace Tower, also called the Tower of the Ovens or the Angle Tower, was located in the western wall probably near the bread baking district (Neh 3:11, 19; 2 Chron 26:9).
7. The Valley Gate in the eastern wall had a long stretch of wall between it and the previous gate, (Neh 3:6). Nehemiah records eight separate sections of the wall completed before coming to the Valley Gate and another long stretch of wall of 1000 cubits before coming to the Dung Gate (Neh 3:13-14).⁵
8. The Dung Gate was in the southern wall and led out to the Hinnom Valley. The Septuagint calls it the Cheese Gate, and it was later known as the Gate of the Essenes (Neh 2:12; 3:13-14; 12:31). It got its name because refuse was hauled out of the city through this gate to the constantly burning trash heaps in the Hinnom Valley.
9. The Fountain Gate was in the southeastern wall and completely rebuilt. It was the gate nearest to the Pool of Siloam (Neh 3:15; 12:37).
10. The Pool of Siloah/Siloam (also called Pool of Shelah) near the King's garden in Jerusalem and one of the chief water sources for the city, bringing water from the Gihon spring on the southeastern slope of the city by an open canal to the Lower Pool, the pool of Siloam (Is 22; Neh 3:15). King Hezekiah significantly improved the water-supply system by building a tunnel to bring the water to the pool (2 Kng 20:20; 2 Chron 32:30). In the New Testament, the pool of Siloam was the site where Jesus returned vision to the man born blind (Jn 9:7-10).
11. The City of David was the first settled site of ancient Jerusalem on Ophel hill on the southeast side of the city and where David had his palace and administrative center (Neh 3:15; 2 Sam 5:9f).⁶
12. The "graves of David" refers to the tombs of the Davidic kings, although only King David was buried within the city walls (1 Kng 2:10; 2 Chron 21:20; 32:33; Neh 3:16; Acts 2:29).
13. The artificial pool was an old, no longer used reservoir that drew off water from the Gihon pool and was filled in by King Hezekiah when he built his tunnel system for delivering the water from the Gihon (2 Kng 20:20). The House of Champions or House of Warriors was once the barracks of the bodyguards or "mighty men of King David and the Davidic kings (2 Sam 16:6; 23:8-39; Neh 3:16).
14. The Angle, mentioned in verses 19, 20, 24, and 25, was a defense structure of the city built by King Uzziah when he fortified the city by constructing towers at various gates (2 Chron 26:9). The Angle seems to have been located along the east wall somewhere near the Water Gate and near the city's armory.
15. The King's Upper Palace by the Court of the Guard refers to Solomon's palace that was north of the City of David and below the Temple Mount; the Court of the Guard was the barracks for the Davidic king's bodyguards (Neh 3:25).
16. Biblical historians debate the location of the Water Gate, but most believe it was close to the City of David and near the Gihon spring, both on the southeastern side of the city (Neh 3:26). It must have opened on to a large area since Ezra's reading of the Law took place there (Neh 8:1, 3, 16; 12:37).
17. The Ophel was the southeastern ridge of Jerusalem overlooking the Kidron Valley on the east side of the city and the site of the original City of David (Neh 3:26-27; 11:21; 2 Chron 27:3; 33:14).
18. The projecting tower may have been a large tower whose ruins were discovered by archaeologists on the crest of the Ophel hill.
19. The Horse Gate was in the wall leading from the palace of Solomon and facing the Kidron Valley on the east side of the city across from the Mount of Olives and was the entrance to the royal stables (2 Chron 23:15; Jer 31:40; Neh 3:28).
20. The East Gate led out to the bridge that crossed the Kidron Valley and on to the Mount of Olives. It is the gate Jesus will use to enter the city from the Mount of Olives whenever He visited the city and stayed in Bethany. Christians call it the Golden Gate. In 1517, the Muslim ruler Suleiman the Magnificent sealed shut the East Gate because, according to the prophet Zechariah, it is the way the Messiah will return in His Second Advent (Zech 14:4-5; also see Ez 44:3 that prophesizes the gate will be closed until "the prince" comes to enter it). The gate from Jesus' time is buried below the current gate.
21. Hall of the Temple slaves was living quarters for the palace servants.
22. Hall of the Merchants was a resting/inn place for merchants and their animals who traveled to Jerusalem with their goods.
23. Muster Gate, in Hebrew the Miphkad Gate, meaning the "inspection gate," may have been the gate leading into the Temple complex (Neh 3:31).

See the document on the Gates of Jerusalem in Jesus' time.

Geshem the Arab may have influenced the non-cooperation of the nobles of Tekoa (Neh 3:5) since the town was in southern Judah near to the territory he controlled in the Judean Negev. The NJB fails to record that the daughters of Shallum son of Hallohesh and not his sons worked to rebuild the walls (Neh 3:12). They were the only women mentioned working on the project; perhaps this is because their father had no sons to assist him and so they wanted to contribute to the work by representing their family.

Nehemiah 3:33-35 ~ Opposition to the Reconstruction and Ridicule by Judah's Enemies
33 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furiously angry. 34 He ridiculed the Jews and in front of his kinsmen and to the aristocracy of Samaria he exclaimed, "What are these pathetic Jews doing? Are they going to give up? Or offer sacrifices? Or complete the work in a day? Can they put new life into stones taken from rubbish heaps and even charred?" 35 And beside him, Tobiah of Ammon remarked, "If a jackal were to jump on what they are building, it would knock their stone wall down!"

Nehemiah's opponents believe it will be an impossible task for him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem because they have neither the expertise nor the best materials to build a solid wall. They have underestimated Nehemiah and his God!

Nehemiah 3:36-38 (4:1-6) ~ Nehemiah's Prayer and Rebuilding the Wall Continues
36 Listen, our God, for we are despised! Make their sneers fall back on their own heads! Send them as booty to a land of captivity! 37 Do not pardon their wickedness, may their sin never be erased before you, for they have insulted the builders to their face! 38 Meanwhile, we were rebuilding the wall, which was soon joined up all the way round to mid-height; the people put their hearts into the work.

Nehemiah's response is to go to God in prayer, asking for protection from their adversaries and justice for his people. He wants their enemies to experience the curses they heap on the covenant people and for them to pay for their insensitivity to the struggles of the exiles in their captivity and return to Judah. Nehemiah and the Jews did not dwell on their problems, but steadily continued rebuilding the wall until it had reached half the planned height because "the people put their hearts into the work."

Like Nehemiah and the people of the Old Covenant Church, the New Covenant Church and her leaders in every generation have also faced opposition and vile detractors. Concerning this constant struggle, St. Bede wrote: "The enemies of the Church get angry when they see the elect setting about the restoration of the walls of the Church, that is, by their practice of the Catholic faith and the reformation of religious customs" (In Esdrum et Nehemiam, 3.16). Why wasn't Nehemiah deterred by the opposition he faced? How are his persistence and faith an example for us on this side of Salvation History?

Questions for discussion or reflection:
The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story of the Jews' exodus out of captivity in Babylon to the Promised Land and the rebuilding of Judah, the Temple, the city of Jerusalem, and their lives as a covenant people of Yahweh. It is all part of God's continuing and definitive plan for humanity's salvation.

Question: What are the similarities between the Jews' exodus out of captivity in Babylon and the Israelites exodus out of captivity in Egypt?
Answer:

Question: How did the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylonian captivity to the Promised Land also prefigure the mission of Jesus, the Messiah?
Answer:

1. Before the advent of the Messiah, humanity was held captive by sin and death.
2. Jesus is the Messianic Davidic heir who led His people out of captivity to sin and death.
3. Twelve men became the spiritual fathers of the newly restored people of God.
4. The liberated take with them the treasures of the seven Sacraments on their journey to salvation.
5. The names of the liberated are in a registry of the baptized in Christ (the Book of Life).
6. Those who are spiritually restored by Jesus Christ are citizens of His Kingdom of the Church.
7. Jesus and His Church continue to guide the faithful of every generation on their journey to the Promised Land of Heaven.

Endnotes:
1. If the woman was Artaxerxes' queen, according to Greek sources, her name was Damaspia.

2. The documents discovered from the cash of ancient papyrus in Elephantine, Egypt, dating from this period, name Sanballat the Horonite as the governor of Samaria.

3. Archaeological evidence supports that Nehemiah abandoned the old line of the city's wall on the eastern slope and built a new wall on the crest of the slope.

4. The Benjamin Gate led to Anathoth, the hometown of the prophet/priest Jeremiah, north of Jerusalem (Jer 1:1; 11:21; 20:2; 37:13; 38:7).

5. Archaeological excavations in 1927-28 discovered the remains of a gate from the Persian period that has been identified as the Valley Gate.

6. Archaeologists discovered the steps mentioned in association with the City of David in Nehemiah 3:15; the steps were cut into the rock of the hill.

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