Nehemiah 3:22–32

The eastern wall

The repairs next to him were made by the priests from the surrounding region. 23 Beyond 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. 24 Next to him, Binnui son of Henadad, repaired another section, from Azariah’s house to the angle and the corner, 25 and Palal son of Uzai worked opposite the angle and the tower projecting from the upper palace near the court of the guard. Next to him, Pedaiah son of Parosh 26 and the temple servants living on the hill of Ophel made repairs up to a point opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower. 27 Next to them, the men of Tekoa repaired another section, from the great projecting tower to the wall of Ophel.

28 Above the Horse Gate, the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house. 29 Next to them, Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house. Next to him, Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the guard at the East Gate, made repairs. 30 Next to him, Hananiah son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. Next to them, Meshullam son of Berekiah made repairs opposite his living quarters. 31 Next to him, Malkijah, 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 room above the corner; 32 and between the room above the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and merchants made repairs.

The royal tombs of David and his dynasty, or descendants, were apparently located on the southeastern slopes of Ophel. The nearby House of Heroes may have been a memorial to David’s mighty men. The location of the various corners and towers in the eastern wall is uncertain. The northeastern section of Ophel is the only place where archaeologists have to date discovered the foundations of Nehemiah’s wall. In this area Nehemiah’s wall is located farther up the slope than the original wall of David’s city. When the text refers to an individual working “opposite” some tower or landmark, it may be referring to a position farther up the slope across from the ruins of those earlier fortifications.

These questions are difficult to resolve, but none of them changes the meaning of the text for us. Studying a text like this gives us some idea of the difficulties that archaeologists, historians, and mapmakers face as they try to reconstruct Old Testament Jerusalem. Since extensive excavations are now being conducted on Ophel, some of these questions may be clarified in the near future.

The builders of this section of the wall were an interesting mix of people. Some lived next to the section of the wall they were building; others were from towns in Judah and had come to help rebuild the city that would be their spiritual and religious capital. This reminds us of how we build mission congregations today. The founding of such congregations is usually a joint effort of Christians who live in a community and those who live elsewhere. Those living in the immediate area of the mission church will benefit directly from its services. The others lend their support of prayers and gifts from a distance. They want to help the new congregation get on its feet because they believe in its work. The rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls was a good example of the cooperation of believers from different places. They worked together on a project that would be a blessing to all of them.