Nehemiah 3 · WEB
The Builders of the Wall
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Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests and built the sheep gate. They sanctified it and set up its doors; they sanctified it even to the tower of Hammeah, to the tower of Hananel.
2Next to him, the men of Jericho built. Next to them, Zaccur the 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 the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz repaired. Next to them, Meshullam the son of Berechiah the son of Meshezabel repaired. Next to them, Zadok the son of Baana repaired.
5Next to them, the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles didn't put their necks to the work of their Lord.
6Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the old gate; they laid its beams, and set up its doors, and its bolts, and its bars.
7Next to them, Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite repaired, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, who were under the jurisdiction of the governor beyond the River.
8Next to him, Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths, repaired. Next to him, Hananiah one of the perfumers repaired; and they fortified Jerusalem even to the broad wall.
9Next to them, Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired.
10Next to them, Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired in front of his house. Next to him, Hattush the son of Hashabneiah repaired.
11Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahathmoab repaired another portion, and the tower of the furnaces.
12Next to him, Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters.
13Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the valley gate; they built it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars; and one thousand cubits of the wall, to the dung gate.
14Malchijah the son of Rechab, the ruler of the district of Beth Haccherem, repaired the dung gate; he built it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars.
15Shallun the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the spring gate; he built it, and covered it, and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and the wall of the pool of Shelah by the king's garden, even to the stairs that go down from the city of David.
16After him, Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of half the district of Beth Zur, repaired to a point in front of the tombs of David, even to the pool that was made, and to the house of the mighty men.
17After him, the Levites repaired: Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him, Hashabiah, the ruler of half the district of Keilah, repaired for his district.
18After him, their brothers repaired: Bavvai the son of Henadad, the ruler of half the district of Keilah.
19Next to him, Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, repaired another portion, in front of the ascent to the armory at the turning of the wall.
20After him, Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired another portion, from the turning of the wall to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.
21After him, Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz repaired another portion, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib.
22After him, the priests, the men of the Plain, repaired.
23After him, Benjamin and Hasshub repaired in front of their house. After him, Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah repaired beside his own house.
24After him, Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another portion, from the house of Azariah to the turning of the wall, and to the corner.
25Palal the son of Uzai repaired in front of the turning of the wall and the tower that stands out from the upper house of the king, which is by the court of the guard. After him, Pedaiah the son of Parosh repaired.
26(Now the temple servants lived in Ophel, to a point in front of the water gate toward the east, and the tower that stands out.)
27After him, the Tekoites repaired another portion, in front of the great tower that stands out, and to the wall of Ophel.
28Above the horse gate, the priests repaired, everyone in front of his own house.
29After them, Zadok the son of Immer repaired in front of his own house. After him, Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the east gate, repaired.
30After him, Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another portion. After him, Meshullam the son of Berechiah repaired in front of his dwelling.
31After him, Malchijah one of the goldsmiths repaired to the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, in front of the gate of Hammiphkad, and to the upper room of the corner.
32Between the upper room of the corner and the sheep gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired.
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Summary
The rebuilding of Jerusalem's wall is organized by sections, with each family, guild, or community responsible for the portion in front of their own home or neighborhood. Priests, Levites, merchants, goldsmiths, perfumers, rulers, and ordinary families all contribute side by side. The list moves counterclockwise around the city. One telling note: the Tekoite nobles "did not put their necks to the work of their Lord" — a mark of shame preserved forever. The chapter is a record of ordinary people doing extraordinary work together.
Themes
- Every person's contribution matters in God's work
- Community-wide effort spanning all social classes
- The shame of uninvolvement alongside the honor of participation
Key verses
Context & background
Jerusalem's walls enclosed roughly 30-40 acres in Nehemiah's day. The gates mentioned — Sheep Gate, Fish Gate, Old Gate, Valley Gate, Dung Gate, Spring Gate, Water Gate, Horse Gate, East Gate — correspond to actual archaeological sites in modern Jerusalem, Israel. The Sheep Gate was near the temple mount, where sacrificial animals entered; the Dung Gate was in the south, where refuse was carried out. Tekoah (v. 5) was a town about 10 miles south of Jerusalem (modern Khirbet Tuqu', West Bank) — the nobles of Tekoah may have had political ties to Tobiah the Ammonite who opposed the work. That "daughters" (v. 12) helped repair the wall was unusual enough that the Chronicler noted it.
Cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 — The body of Christ with each part contributing; the wall-building models this
- Exodus 35:20-29 — All Israel contributing to the tabernacle, each according to their gift
- Nehemiah 4 — Opposition that came while this building was happening
- Revelation 21:12-14 — The New Jerusalem with its twelve gates; earthly Jerusalem's gates anticipate the heavenly city
- Romans 12:4-8 — Different gifts, one body; the diversity of builders here reflects this