NEHEMIAH LESSON 3
We will begin this lesson in Nehemiah 3:1 "Then Eliashib the high
priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the
sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto
the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel."
The sheep gate seemed to be a gate in the eastern wall. It would
have been appropriate for the high priest and priests to work on this
wall. Not everyone wanted the wall built. Nehemiah would give credit
to those who did help with the re-building. Probably, the high priest
was an over-seer of the work, rather than doing the actual work. It is
interesting, that as soon as the gate was finished, they sanctified
it. They worked on the gate and the wall on the eastern side. This
gate was called the sheep gate, because it was the gate the sheep were
brought through, before sacrificing them at the temple.
Nehemiah 3:2 "And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And
next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri."
These were men assigned to the northeast corner of the wall.
Very little else is known of Zaccur, or Imri.
Nehemiah 3:3 "But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build,
who [also] laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the
locks thereof, and the bars thereof."
The fish gate was in the northern wall. It was very near the gate
that is called today, the Damascus gate. The fish were brought in this
gate into Jerusalem from the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. They
not only made the gate, but hung it for use, as well. The bars were an
extra precaution of locking the gates to keep the enemy out.
Nehemiah 3:4 "And next unto them repaired Meremoth 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."
This appears, that these were working on the wall next to the
fish gate.
Nehemiah 3:5 "And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their
nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord."
These were the people, and not their leaders, working on the wall
and gates. The working people helped with the building. It seemed, the
upper class did not try to stop the others from helping. They just did
not work themselves.
Nehemiah 3:6 "Moreover the old gate 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."
This is, possibly, speaking of the Damascus gate. This gate
appeared to be still standing and was repaired to fit in with the
wall. Again, they fixed it where it could be barred and locked in the
event they were attacked.
Nehemiah 3:7 "And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite,
and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the
throne of the governor on this side the river."
It appears, that each group of people repaired the wall and gate
that led to the town they lived in. Gibeon and Mizpay were north of
the city of Jerusalem, so their people repaired the north wall and
gate.
Nehemiah 3:8 "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, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad
wall."
Apothecaries made perfume and ointment. The repairs did not seem
to be as extensive on this side of the wall. To fortify is to
strengthen something that is already there. This, possibly, means the
wall was not as destroyed here, and they just worked on it and made it
stronger.
Nehemiah 3:9 "And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of
Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem."
These were people who actually lived within the city limits of
Jerusalem. It would be of great advantage to them personally to have
the wall and gates repaired.
Nehemiah 3:10 "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."
Again, it appears this repair was done near their home. They
were wanting to help build the wall to help everyone, but would be
personally benefited by protecting their own homes.
Nehemiah 3:11 "Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of
Pahath-moab, repaired the other piece, and the tower of the furnaces."
This seems to be the piece of the wall that was not repaired by
those mentioned in verses 10 and 11.
Nehemiah 3:12 "And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of
Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his
daughters."
It appears, that Rephaiah and Shallum each ruled half of
Jerusalem. He, possibly, had no sons, so his daughters worked with him
on the repair.
Nehemiah 3:13 "The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the
inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof,
the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the
wall unto the dung gate."
The 1,000 cubits means 1,500 feet. This would be a very large
area for repair. They, also, repaired the valley gate. In this
instance it appears, the inhabitants of Zanoah did the work. They were
located on the west side of Jerusalem. There were, probably, a large
number of people working on the gate and wall, making it possible for
them to repair such a long span.
Nehemiah 3:14 "But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of
Rechab, the ruler of part of Beth-haccerem; he built it, and set up
the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof."
This was a district located close to Tekoah. Again, they built
the gate and fixed it to be locked in case of war.
Nehemiah 3:15 "But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the
son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it, and
covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the
bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king's garden,
and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David."
Shallum actually ruled the district around Mizpah. Again, each of
them chose a portion of the wall and a gate that was on the side their
area was located on. Perhaps, it took less trouble to get to the work,
since it was nearby. This fountain furnished water for the city in
case of a siege. The king's garden had been watered by this fountain.
The stairs could be speaking of those that had led to the temple at
one time.
Nehemiah 3:16 "After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the
ruler of the half part of Beth-zur, unto [the place] over against the
sepulchres of David, and to the pool that was made, and unto the house
of the mighty."
This is another Nehemiah. "Beth-zur" means house of the rock. It
is located between Hebron and Jerusalem. This is one specific area
that Nehemiah had wanted to repair, because of the sepulchres.
Nehemiah 3:17 "After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of
Bani. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of the half part of
Keilah, in his part."
We see, from this, that nearly every class of people had a few
who helped with the repairs. We can, also, see that not everyone
helped. Again, Keilah, here, is not speaking of a city, but of a
region.
Nehemiah 3:18 "After him repaired their brethren, Bavai the son
of Henadad, the ruler of the half part of Keilah."
Verses 17 and 18 are companions. Bavai ruled one half of the
region and Hashabiah the other half.
Nehemiah 3:19 "And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua,
the ruler of Mizpah, another piece over against the going up to the
armoury at the turning [of the wall]."
We read earlier of the two who ruled one half each of Mizpah.
Perhaps, this is speaking of the town, here, and not the region. The
portion of the wall that he repaired was the northwestern angle. It
appears in each of these corners, there was a place to easily get
fighting gear. This is, possibly, what this is speaking of as the
armory.
Nehemiah 3:20 "After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly
repaired the other piece, from the turning [of the wall] unto the door
of the house of Eliashib the high priest."
It appears, that Baruch was set aside as having a burning desire
to finish the wall, as Nehemiah wanted to finish it. The word
"earnestly" is the key to this. This is the second section that he had
worked on. The house of the high priest had to be near the wall. The
high priest and the priests had worked on the eastern wall. The house
of the high priest was, probably, on the eastern wall somewhere.
"Eliashib" means God will restore.
Nehemiah 3:21 "After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah the
son of Koz another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib even
to the end of the house of Eliashib."
Meremoth was a priest of a family of priests. He worked on the
wall that was adjacent to the house of the high priest.
Nehemiah 3:22 "And after him repaired the priests, the men of the
plain."
This is speaking of the priests who settled in the Jordan valley.
Nehemiah 3:23 "After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub over
against their house. After him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah
the son of Ananiah by his house."
This Azariah was the same one who helped Ezra teach the law. He
was a Levite, as were all of the others mentioned in this verse. They
had houses near the house of the high priest, and they repaired the
portion of the wall near their houses.
Nehemiah 3:24 "After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad
another piece, from the house of Azariah unto the turning [of the
wall], even unto the corner."
This is speaking of an area of the wall from the house of Azariah
to the corner of the wall. Binnui is believed by some to be the Levite
Bavai.
Nehemiah 3:25 "Palal the son of Uzai, over against the turning
[of the wall], and the tower which lieth out from the king's high
house, that [was] by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the
son of Parosh."
The king's house, here, is speaking of the old palace of David.
Each palace had its own prison. This would have been in the court of
the palace.
Nehemiah 3:26 "Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto [the
place] over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that
lieth out."
We remember, that the Nethinims did servile work in the temple.
They would have lived close to the wall, as well as the priests. Ophel
was a ridge in the city of Jerusalem. It actually was located toward
the Kidron valley on the edge of town. The water gate was speaking of
the gate the water drained away from the temple area. There was a
tower on each corner of the wall to help see intruders from a distance
before they got to the wall.
Nehemiah 3:27 "After them the Tekoites repaired another piece,
over against the great tower that lieth out, even unto the wall of
Ophel."
The Tekoites started their repairs at the spot where the
Nethinims had stopped. It seemed, all of these were spoken of as they
took up the repairs, where the other stopped. This was going all
around the city wall explaining, as they came to them.
Nehemiah 3:28 "From above the horse gate repaired the priests,
every one over against his house."
This gate was in the eastern wall, where horses could enter the
city. This would have been near the palace for the convenience of
seeing David. It appears, that each priest repaired the portion
nearest his own house.
Nehemiah 3:29 "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 east gate."
Zadok was a priest. Shemaiah was a priest, also. His distinction
was that he was a keeper of the east gate. They repaired the wall at
the location of their own houses.
Nehemiah 3:30 "After him repaired Hananiah the son of Shelemiah,
and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, another piece. After him repaired
Meshullam the son of Berechiah over against his chamber."
These were, possibly, chief men who worked on the wall. These
were not the same as the verses we just read, who repaired the wall
near their own houses. These seemed not to have a house near the wall.
Nehemiah 3:31 "After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith's son
unto the place of the Nethinims, and of the merchants, over against
the gate Miphkad, and to the going up of the corner."
The goldsmith would be a very respected man in the community. He
worked on the eastern wall near the corner.
Nehemiah 3:32 "And between the going up of the corner unto the
sheep gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants."
These were not priests, or high government officials. They were
just average citizens who were respected, because of their businesses.
Nehemiah 3 Questions
1. Who builded the sheep gate.
2. What portion of the building did the high priest, probably, do?
3. Why was the gate called the sheep gate?
4. The men, in verse 2, worked on the _____ ________ ________.
5. Who built the fish gate?
6. Why was it called the fish gate?
7. What were the bars on the gate for?
8. Who, of the Tekoites, did not work on their portion of the gate?
9. Verse 6 is, possibly, speaking of the ______________ gate.
10. Each group of people repaired the part of the gate that was
nearest their _________.
11. Apothecaries made _________ and ___________.
12. What is different about verse 8?
13. Rephaiah ruled the half part of __________.
14. How would some of the people be personally benefited by the
repair of the wall?
15. Who ruled the other half of Jeruslaem?
16. 1,000 cubits is __________ feet.
17. Who repaired the dung gate?
18. What does "Beth-zur" mean?
19. Who had a burning desire to finish the wall, as Nehemiah had?
20. Who was Meremoth?
21. Who helped Ezra teach the law?
22. Where were the priests' houses located?
23. The king's house, in verse 25, is speaking of what?
24. The Nethinims did ____________ work in the temple.
25. The water gate is speaking of what?
26. Who was keeper of the east gate?
27. Who was the goldsmith's son?
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