The Book of Nehemiah
Nehemiah 3
Chapter III · Vol. II, pp. 908–910
The names and order of them that builded the wall.
1 Then Eliashiba the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded bthe sheep-gate: they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of 1Meah they csanctified it unto the tower of Hananeel.
2 And next unto him2 builded the dmen of Jericho: and next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri.
2 Heb. at his hand.
d Ezr.2.34. ch.7.36. 1 Ki.16.34.
3 But the efish-gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and fset up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.
e ch.12.39. Zep.1.10. 2 Ch.33.14.
f ch.6.1; 7.1.
4 And next unto them repaired gMeremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz: and next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel: and next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana.
A.M. 3559. B.C. 445.
g Ezr.8.33. ver.21.
5 And next unto them the hTekoites repaired; but their nobles put inot their necks to the work of their Lord.3
h 2 Sa.14.2. 2 Ch.11.6. Je.6.1. Am.1.1.
3 The figure is taken from refractory oxen which try to resist the putting on of the yoke upon their neck for labour. The Tekoite nobles appear to have been unwilling to submit to the manual labour which Nehemiah imposed upon the whole body of the Israelites. The result is not stated, but in all probability the proud Tekoites were in the end constrained by force, or by feelings of shame, to do the work assigned to them.—P.
6 Moreover, the kold gate4 repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.
k ch.12.39.
4 Ten gates are enumerated. On the south:—(1) The sheep-gate, ver. 1. (2) The fish-gate, ver. 3. (3) The old or corner gate, ver. 6; ch. 12. 39. 2 Ki. 14. 13. On the east side there were. (1) The water-gate, ver. 26. (2) The horse-gate, ver. 11. (3) The prison-gate, ch. 12. 39. (4) Gate of Miphkad, ver. 31. On the western side there were, (1) The valley-gate, ver. 13. (2) The dung-gate, ver. 13. (3) The fountain-gate, ver. 15. There is no account of any gates on the northern side.—C.
7 And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of lGibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the mthrone5 of the governor on this side the river.
l Jos.ix.; 18.25,26. 2 Ch.16.6. Je.41.1,12.
m ch.2.8; 4.16.
5 That is, to the palace or residence of him who was governor on this the west side of the Euphrates.—C.
8 Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths: next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries,6 and they nfortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall.
6 The division of the goldsmiths and apothecaries is one of the earliest notices of the incorporation of professions. Such institutions, with certain powers of internal regulation, still exist in all civilized nations.—C.
n Or, left Jerusalem unto the broad wall, 2 Ch.25.23.
9 And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the ohalf-part of Jerusalem.
o ver.12.
10 And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house: and next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah.
11 Malchijahp the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of qPahath-moab, repaired the other piece,7 and the tower of the furnaces.
12 And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half-part of Jerusalem,8 he and rhis daughters.
8 Whether Rephaiah (ver. 9) and Shallum were rulers, the one for Judah, the other for Benjamin, the joint proprietors of Jerusalem, does not appear. A somewhat similar division of authority may, however, be found exemplified in the joint shrievalty of some modern cities.—C.
13 The svalley-gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of tZanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits[≈ 460 m · 1,500 ft] on the wall unto the udung-gate.
14 But the dung-gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of xBeth-haccerem; he built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.
x Je.6.1.
15 But the ygate of the fountain repaired Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of part of zMizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of athe pool of Siloah9 by the king's garden, and unto the stairs that go down from the bcity of David.
y ch.2.14. 2 Ch.33.14.
z Jos.18.26. Ju.20.1,3. 1 Sa.7.6. 1 Ki.15.22. Je.40.6.
9 The Siloam of the New Testament, Jn. 9. 7. It was situated on the east side of the city, and between it and the brook Kedron, and according to Chateaubriand, at the foot of Mount Zion. Richardson describes Siloam as higher up the valley of Jehoshaphat towards the north.—C.
b 2 Sa.5.7. 1 Ch.11.7. 1 Ki.11.27.
16 After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half-part of cBeth-zur, unto the place over against the dsepulchres of David, and to the epool that was made,1 and unto the fhouse of the mighty.2
d 2 Ch.16.14. Ac.2.29.
e 2 Ki.20.20. Is.22.11.
1 In modern phrase, the reservoir, whence part of the city was supplied with water.—C.
f Ca.3.7.
2 'House of the worthies.'—Boothroyd. The worthies of most Christian lands have been their martyrs; so that it is not possible to decide whether this designation be of military or religious origin. C.——The sepulchre of David was upon the southern brow of Zion, and the place 'over against it' appears to mean the section of the wall east of it, on the side of the ridge of Ophel. In that case 'the pool that was made' must be the great reservoir at the mouth of the Tyropœon.—P.
17 And after him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani: next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of the half-part of gKeilah, in his part.
A.M. 3559. B.C. 445.
g Jos.15.44. 1 Sa.23.1,2.
18 After him repaired their brethren, Bavai the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half-part of Keilah.
19 And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of hMizpah, another piece, over against the going up to the armoury, at the turning of the wall.
20 After him Baruch the son of 3Zabbai iearnestly4 repaired the other piece, from the kturning of the wall unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.
3 Or, Zaccai.
4 There are two very characteristic notes in this narrative, viz. (1) Where it is recorded (ver. 5) that while the Tekoites (the people) repaired, 'their nobles put not their neck to the work.' (2) This record of Baruch, that he 'repaired earnestly.' What a rebuke, and what an eulogy, in a few words! Oh! that all nobles, whether by honours, riches, or influence, would calculate their duties by their means of doing good! and that all who consent to labour in any work of faith would remember Baruch, and do it earnestly!—C.
k 2 Ch.26.9.
21 After him repaired lMeremoth the son of Urijah, the son of mKoz, another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib.
l ver.4.
m Ezr.2.61. ch.7.63.
22 And after him repaired the priests, the men of nthe plain.5
n ch.6.2; 12.28.
5 Hebrew, 'the men of the circuit'—a name specially applied to the plain of the Jordan round Jericho. From a very early period Jericho had a colony of priests, and was famous as a school. The priests who resided in and around that city are here referred to.—P.
23 After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub, over against their house: after him repaired Azariah the son of oMaaseiah, the son of Ananiah, by his house.
o ch.8.4,7.
24 After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another6 piece, from the house of Azariah unto the pturning of the wall, even unto the corner.
6 That which had been left by Azariah, after he had repaired the wall by his own house. It is probable that some of the principal people were either obliged or voluntarily offered to repair those parts of the wall which were opposite or adjacent to their own houses. 'No man,' observes Pellicanus, 'can think that the names of them that repaired the walls of Jerusalem were set down so diligently as here they are, without some rational cause for it. And the reason was, because it was a work of great virtue to love and to do honour to their country; a work of piety to restore the holy city; a religious thing to defend the true worshippers of God, that they might serve him in quietness and safety; and a courageous thing, in the midst of so many enemies, to go on with this work in a pious confidence of the power of God to support them.'—I.
p ver.20.
25 Palal the son of Uzai, over against the turning of the wall, and the tower which lieth out from qthe king's high house,7 that was by the court of the prison: after him Pedaiah the son of Parosh.
26 Moreover, the rNethinims dwelt in sOphel,8 unto the place over against the twater-gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out.
r Jos.9.23,27. 1 Ch.9.2. Ezr.2.43.
8 See note on 2 Ch. 27. 3.—C.
s Or, the tower, 2 Ch.27.3; 33.14. ver.27.
t ch.8.1; 12.37.
27 After them the uTekoites repaired another piece, over against the great tower that lieth out,9 even unto the wall of Ophel.
9 A tower projecting from the line of the wall, and serving the purposes of a modern bastion, and constituting a principal defence against escalade.—C.
u ver.5.
28 From above the xhorse-gate repaired the priests, every one over against his house.
x 2 Ki.11.16. Je.31.40.
29 After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his house: after him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the yeast gate.
y Je.19.2.
30 After him repaired Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, another piece: after him repaired zMeshullam the son of Berechiah over against his chamber.
z ver.4.
Notes
Reflections.—It is a hopeful appearance when ministers are most forward in every good word and work; and when they undertake and go through their work with much solemn prayer and dependence on God. And it is very encouraging when multitudes of all ranks—tradesmen, ladies, nobles, and commons—unanimously concur, in promoting the work of the Lord in an orderly manner. But how honourable is it if, like the men of Jericho, Gibeon, Mizpah, Zanoah, and the commons of Tekoah, we prefer the public interests to our own private concerns! or if, like the Tekoites and Meremoth, we help our brethren after finishing our own share! When the work is the Lord's we cannot be too zealously affected; and every person, if he be but hearty, may do something in it. None are so little as to be useless; and none are so high as to be above it. And it is highly disgraceful, even for the greatest, to shift or neglect what God calls them to do in his church.
Measures in square brackets are modern equivalents added for this edition. They are not in the King James text or in Brown’s notes. They use common scholarly estimates: a cubit is about 45.7 cm (18 in), a shekel about 11.4 g (0.4 oz), an ephah about 22 litres. Money values give the worth of the silver or gold at spot prices on 28 October 2026, not what the sum would buy in the ancient world.