Nehemiah · chapter 3 of 13
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Nehemiah 3 is the record of who rebuilt each section of the wall and each gate of Jerusalem: priests, Levites, goldsmiths, merchants, rulers, families and villagers. It begins with the high priest Eliashib and the Sheep Gate. It also notes that the nobles of Tekoa would not join in, while the daughters of Shallum helped.
After the people said let us rise up and build, this chapter shows how the work is organized. It is a passage of names and places, but it reveals the heart of the work: it was not done by one person but by the whole community, each facing their own house or their own section of the wall.
The chapter begins with Eliashib the high priest and his brothers the priests, who build the Sheep Gate and consecrate it. Then, in order around the city, the groups that repair each section are listed. The men of Jericho build next to them, the sons of Hassenaah build the Fish Gate, and other families repair the Old Gate, the Valley Gate and a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the Dung Gate.
The text presents a variety of builders: priests, Levites, district rulers, goldsmiths, perfumers, merchants and neighbors repairing the stretch in front of their own houses. The people of Tekoa repair a second section, but their nobles would not stoop to serve under their supervisors. Shallum, ruler of a district, repairs his part together with his daughters. Malchijah the son of Rechab repairs the Dung Gate, and Shallun the son of Colhozeh the Fountain Gate, which he covers and fits with doors, bolts and bars.
The survey continues past the Water Gate, the Horse Gate, which the priests repair, and the East Gate. The chapter closes with the Muster Gate and the upper chamber of the corner, and between that and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants repair the last section. Together it shows a shared work in which every group has its part and all advance around the whole city.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The high priest Eliashib and his brothers build the Sheep Gate and consecrate it. The work begins with the religious leadership setting the example, and with the work dedicated to God.
The nobles of Tekoa would not stoop to serve under their supervisors. The text does not hide that not everyone cooperated; pride can keep someone from taking part in the work of God.
Shallum, ruler of a district of Jerusalem, repairs his section with his daughters. The mention of women working on the wall shows that the work belonged to the whole community.
The priests repair above the Horse Gate, each in front of his own house, and others follow near their own homes. Each person cares for what is within reach, and so the whole wall is completed.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Eliashib the high priest, with his brothers the priests. — Nehemiah 3:1
Answer: They built it and consecrated it, and set its doors in place. — Nehemiah 3:1
Answer: They would not stoop to serve under their supervisors. — Nehemiah 3:5
Answer: His daughters. — Nehemiah 3:12
Answer: A thousand cubits. — Nehemiah 3:13
Answer: They repaired the last section, between the upper chamber of the corner and the Sheep Gate. — Nehemiah 3:32
Nehemiah 3 is a reminder that God's work is shared. Each family repaired the part within their reach, often in front of their own house. In a Sunday school class you can ask which section is yours in the church and the community, even if it is not showy.
At the same time, the chapter shows that not everyone takes part: the nobles of Tekoa refused. Ask where pride keeps you from serving in humble tasks. And notice that no one is left out: priests, merchants, women and neighbors had their part, and God remembered their names.
Nehemiah 3 ends with the wall surrounded by workers, each in his place. In chapter 4 the opposition hardens: Sanballat and Tobiah mock, and then threaten to attack those who are building.
Because it records who took part and how the work was organized. For the first readers it was a way to honor every worker. It also shows that God values the service of ordinary people. The gates mentioned allow us to reconstruct a map of the Jerusalem of that time.
It was one of the gates on the north of Jerusalem, near the temple, through which animals for sacrifice entered. It makes sense that the priests rebuilt and consecrated it because of its link to the temple. The wall closes at this same point at the end of the chapter.