The Tekoites repaired another piece . Compare Nehemiah 3:5 . Their "second piece" appears to have extended from the "great tower" to the wall built by Shallum on the western side of the spur which reached as far as the pool of Siloam ( Nehemiah 3:15 ). This is here called "the wall of Ophel." read more
From above the horse gate . This was a gate in the eastern wall ( Jeremiah 31:40 ) through which horses could enter the city. It probably adjoined the old palace, being at or near the "turning of the wall" mentioned in Nehemiah 3:24 , Nehemiah 3:25 . Nehemiah seems here to return to the point quitted in verse 26, and to proceed thence northwards in order to complete the entire circuit. read more
Doing good near home. "Every one over against his house." The priests and others ( Nehemiah 3:10 , Nehemiah 3:23 , Nehemiah 3:29 , Nehemiah 3:30 ), whose houses were near the wall, repaired that part of the wall which was opposite each of their dwellings. This suggests an important rule for Christian workers. I. THE ORDER TO BE OBSERVED IN SEEKING THE GOOD OF OTHERS . Let every one do the work which lies nearest to him. Let him begin with his own family.... read more
Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah is very possibly the descendant of David mentioned in 1 Chronicles 3:22 . He must have been an old man, as his son, Hattush, had returned to Jerusalem with Ezra ( Ezra 8:2 , Ezra 8:3 ); but still he may have taken part in the work. That he was keeper of the east gate does not militate against this hypothesis, for that post was an honourable one, and it is not to be supposed that all the descendants of David were in flourishing circumstances. By "the... read more
After him . The traditional text gives "after me;" and it has been supposed that Nehemiah assigned himself a certain portion of the wall and repaired it, but suppressed his own name through modesty. But, as general superintendent of the whole ( Nehemiah 4:13-23 ), he could scarcely take any special work; and the argument that might have been founded upon a single occurrence of the expression "after me" is deprived of all force by its double occurrence, here and in verse 31. Another piece ... read more
Malchiah the goldsmith's son . Or "the son of Hazzorephi." But the mention of goldsmiths ( zorephim ) in Nehemiah 3:32 lends support to the rendering of the A. V which is accepted by most critics. Unto the place of the Nethinims . Rather, "the house." The exact position cannot be fixed; but the gate Miphkad must have been situated in the east wall, a little to the south of the sheep gate. The going up of the corner may have been an "ascent," like Solomon's ( 2 Chronicles 9:4 ... read more
Unto the sheep gate . Compare Nehemiah 3:1 . The circuit is completed, and the point reached from which the commencement was made. The goldsmiths and the merchants were required to repair the piece of wall immediately to the south of the sheep gate, for which no individual had volunteered. Probably they had houses in the neighbourhood. They consented; and thus the entire wall was taken in hand, and the great work, which Nehemiah had conceived in his heart while still in Susa, was... read more
Eliashib (compare the marginal reference) was the grandson of Joshua, the high priest contemporary with Zerubbabel.The sheep gate - This was a gate in the eastern wall, not far from the pool of Bethesda, marginal reference, which was perhaps originally a sheep-pool.The exact line which the writer follows in describing the circuit of the wall will probably be always a matter of dispute. According to the view here taken, the line described commences near the pool of Bethesda, on the east of the... read more
The people of each provincial town were set to work for the most part on the portion of the wall nearest their city. Thus, “the men of Jericho,” were employed at the northeast corner of Jerusalem. read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Nehemiah 3:26
The Nethinims dwelt in Ophel . Ophel was "the long, narrowish, rounded spur or promontory which intervenes between the central valley of Jerusalem (the Tyropoeon) and the Kidron, or Valley of Jehoshaphat" (Grove). The Nethinims, who had their dwellings on this spur, were set to fortify a portion of the eastern circuit, but apparently restored not so much their own wall as that which lay north of it, at the edge of the present Haram area. Here must have been the water gate , which carried... read more