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Nehemiah 3

Chapter 3 in 30 seconds

The work list. Family by family and gate by gate, everyone grabs a section of the wall. Priests, goldsmiths, perfume makers, rulers and even one man's daughters pitch in. A few nobles will not get their hands dirty.

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In this chapterField Notes · ArchaeologyThe Geshem Bowl · after verse 5 Field Notes · ArchaeologyNehemiah's Wall? · after verse 32

The Builders of the Walls

¹At the Sheep Gate, Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests began rebuilding. They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel, they dedicated the wall. ²The men of Jericho built next to Eliashib, and Zaccur son of Imri built next to them.

NEH 3:1[ARCHAEOLOGY]Eilat Mazar dug a tower and wall in the City of David that she dated to Nehemiah's day, see the Nehemiah's Wall? Field Notes page
NEH 3:1[NOTE]THE SHEEP GATE. The tour of the wall starts at the north side, near the temple, and goes around the city counterclockwise, west first. Jesus healed a man at a pool near the Sheep Gate, John 5:2. See The Pool of Bethesda Field Notes page in John.

³The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars. ⁴Next to them, Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, made repairs. Next to him, Meshullam son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs; and next to him, Zadok son of Baana made repairs as well. ⁵Next to him, the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.

Field Notes · Archaeology

The Geshem Bowl

Nehemiah 2:19 · 6:1 to 2 · 6:6 · Isaiah 21:16 to 17

A silver bowl from Tell el Maskhuta, Egypt, about 410 BC. The line of Aramaic on the rim names Qaynu son of Geshem, king of Qedar. Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 54.50.34. Brooklyn Museum photograph.

WHAT IT IS: A shallow silver bowl about six inches across. A line of Aramaic scratched on its rim says: what Qaynu son of Geshem, king of Qedar, brought to Han Ilat. Han Ilat was an Arab goddess. The bowl spells the name the same way as Geshem in 2:19. In 6:6 the Hebrew spells it a little longer, Gashmu.
HOW OLD IT IS: About 410 BC, about 35 years after Nehemiah came to Jerusalem. If Qaynu was king then, his father Geshem ruled a little earlier, in Nehemiah's day.
WHERE AND WHEN FOUND: At Tell el Maskhuta in the east of the Nile Delta, in Egypt, with other silver bowls, coins and jewelry from a shrine. The Brooklyn Museum in New York bought it in 1954, and Isaac Rabinowitz printed its writing in 1956.
WHO WAS QEDAR?: A strong Arab kingdom in the desert east and south of Judah. The Bible names Kedar many times, Isaiah 21:16 and Jeremiah 49:28. In Persian times the kings of Qedar ran the trade routes from Arabia to Gaza and Egypt.
GESHEM THE ARAB: The Bible just calls him Geshem the Arab, 2:19. The bowl shows his family were kings. He joined Sanballat and Tobiah to mock the builders, and he backed the lie that Nehemiah wanted to be king, 6:6.
WHY AN ARAB KING CARED: Many think a strong Jerusalem worried him because it sat near his trade roads. A walled city with its own governor could change who controlled the money.
ANOTHER GESHEM: Writing on a rock at Dedan, in what is now Saudi Arabia, is dated in the days of Gashm son of Shahr. Many scholars think he is the same man, which would make him a king over a large part of Arabia.
WHAT IT DOES NOT PROVE: The bowl names the son, not Geshem himself, and it does not mention Nehemiah. It shows that a king named Geshem ruled the Arabs near Judah at the time the Bible says.

CONFIDENCE: HIGH FOR THE BOWL · MOST LINK IT TO NEHEMIAH'S GESHEM

⁶The Jeshanah Gate was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars. ⁷Next to them, repairs were made by Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, and the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, who were under the authority of the governor of the region west of the Euphrates. ⁸Next to them, Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs. And next to him, Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs. They fortified Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.

NEH 3:8[ARCHAEOLOGY]The Broad Wall
NEH 3:8[FIELD NOTES]See The Broad Wall Field Notes page in Isaiah.

⁹Next to them, Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, made repairs; ¹⁰next to him, Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs across from 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, as well as the Tower of the Ovens. ¹²And next to them, Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of the other half-district of Jerusalem, made repairs, with the help of his daughters.

¹³The Valley Gate was repaired by Hanun and the residents of Zanoah. They rebuilt it, installed its doors, bolts, and bars, and repaired five hundred yards of the wall as far as the Dung Gate.

¹⁴The Dung Gate was repaired by Malchijah son of Rechab, ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem. He rebuilt it and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

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 the Pool of Shelah near the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that descend from the City of David.

NEH 3:15[NOTE]THE POOL OF SHELAH. Most think this is the Pool of Siloam, fed by Hezekiah's tunnel. See The Siloam Tunnel Inscription in Isaiah and The Pool of Siloam in John. The City of David is the oldest part of Jerusalem; see The City of David in 2 Samuel.

¹⁶Beyond 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 Mighty.

¹⁷Next to him, the Levites made repairs under Rehum son of Bani, and next to him, Hashabiah, ruler of a half-district of Keilah, made repairs for his district. ¹⁸Next to him, their countrymen made repairs under Binnui son of Henadad, ruler of the other half-district of Keilah. ¹⁹And next to him, Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory, near the angle in the wall.

²⁰Next to him, Baruch son of Zabbai diligently repaired another section, from the angle to the doorway of the house of Eliashib the high priest. ²¹Next to him, Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired another section, from the doorway of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house. ²²And next to him, the priests from the surrounding area made repairs.

²³Beyond them, Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs in front of their house, and next to them, Azariah son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house. ²⁴After him, Binnui son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the angle and the corner, ²⁵and Palal son of Uzai made repairs opposite the angle and the tower that juts out from the upper palace of the king near the courtyard of the guard. Next to him, Pedaiah son of Parosh ²⁶and the temple servants living on the hill of Ophel made repairs opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the tower that juts out. ²⁷And next to them, the Tekoites repaired another section, from a point opposite the great tower that juts out to the wall of Ophel.

²⁸Above the Horse Gate, each of the priests made repairs in front of his own house. ²⁹Next to them, Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house, and next to him, Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the guard of the East Gate, made repairs.

³⁰Next to him, Hananiah son of Shelemiah, as well as Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. Next to them, Meshullam son of Berechiah made repairs opposite his own quarters. ³¹Next to him, Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate, and as far as the upper room above the corner. ³²And between the upper room above the corner and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and merchants made repairs.

Field Notes · Archaeology

Nehemiah's Wall?

Nehemiah 2:13 to 15 · 3:1 to 32 · 4:2 · 6:15 · 7:4

The Stepped Stone Structure in the City of David, with the square tower at its top that Eilat Mazar linked to Nehemiah. The rails and buildings are modern. Photo Ian Scott, CC BY SA 2.0.

WHAT IT IS: A big square tower and a wall at the top of the Stepped Stone Structure, on the east edge of the City of David, the oldest part of Jerusalem. In 2007 the archaeologist Eilat Mazar said the tower and wall were built by Nehemiah.
HOW OLD IT IS: Debated. Mazar dated pottery under the tower to the 400s BC, so she said it was built in Nehemiah's day or soon after. Israel Finkelstein and others say the finds point to the 100s BC, when the Hasmonean kings rebuilt Jerusalem's walls.
WHO DUG THERE: Kathleen Kenyon dug here in the 1960s. She dated this tower to the 100s BC, but she thought a wall she found on the top of the slope was Nehemiah's. Mazar dug again from 2005.
A SMALL CITY: Most scholars think Jerusalem in Nehemiah's day was small, mostly on the ridge of the City of David. That helps explain how a wall could go up in 52 days, 6:15, and why the city felt empty, 7:4.
OLD STONES: The builders did not start from nothing. Burned stones lay in heaps of rubble, 4:2, and in many places they repaired the old wall, 3:8. Some think they built a new line along the top of the hill instead of the old one down the slope.
THE NIGHT RIDE: Nehemiah rode out the Valley Gate, past the Dung Gate and the Fountain Gate, and up the valley, 2:13 to 15. Most put those gates on the west and south sides of the City of David.
JUDAH IN PERSIAN TIMES: Small clay jar handles stamped Yehud, the Aramaic name for Judah under Persian rule, have been found in Jerusalem. They show there was a small province with its own officials, just like the Bible says.
WHAT IT DOES NOT PROVE: No writing names Nehemiah, and no one knows for sure if this tower is his. The Bible's wall was real either way; the question is only which stones are left.

CONFIDENCE: DEBATED · THE DATE OF THE TOWER

Nehemiah 3

The Builders of the Walls

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