Discovery BoxNehemiah 3:1
Context3:1 Then Eliashib the high priest and his priestly colleagues 1 arose and built the Sheep Gate. They dedicated 2 it and erected its doors, working as far as the Tower of the Hundred 3 and 4 the Tower of Hananel.
Nehemiah 3:13
Context3:13 Hanun and the residents of Zanoah worked on the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and positioned its doors, its bolts, and its bars, in addition to working on fifteen hundred feet 5 of the wall as far as the Dung Gate.
Nehemiah 3:15
Context3:15 Shallun son of Col-Hozeh, head of the district of Mizpah, worked on the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it, put on its roof, and positioned its doors, its bolts, and its bars. In addition, he rebuilt the wall of the Pool of Siloam, 6 by the royal garden, as far as the steps that go down from the City of David.
Nehemiah 6:1
Context6:1 When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and no breach remained in it (even though up to that time I had not positioned doors in the gates),
Nehemiah 6:10
Context6:10 Then I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel. He was confined to his home. 7 He said, “Let’s set up a time to meet in the house of God, within the temple. Let’s close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. It will surely be at night that they will come to kill you.”
Nehemiah 7:3
Context7:3 I 8 said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem must not be opened in the early morning, 9 until those who are standing guard close the doors and lock them. 10 Position residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their guard stations and some near their homes.”
Nehemiah 13:19
Context13:19 When the evening shadows 11 began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered 12 the doors to be closed. I further directed that they were not to be opened until after the Sabbath. I positioned 13 some of my young men at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day.
[3:1] 1 tn Heb “his brothers the priests.”
[3:1] 2 tn Or “consecrated” (so NASB, NRSV); KJV, ASV “sanctified”; NCV “gave it to the Lord’s service.”
[3:1] 3 tc The MT adds קִדְּשׁוּהוּ (qidshuhu, “they sanctified it”). This term is repeated from the first part of the verse, probably as an intentional scribal addition to harmonize this statement with the preceding parallel statement.
[3:1] 4 tc The translation reads וְעַד (vÿ’ad, “and unto”) rather than the MT reading עַד (ad, “unto”). The original vav (ו) was probably dropped accidentally due to haplography with the final vav on the immediately preceding word in the MT.
[3:13] 5 tn Heb “one thousand cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) long, so this section of the wall would be about fifteen hundred feet (450 m).
[3:15] 9 tn The Hebrew word translated “Siloam” is הַשֶּׁלַח (hashelakh, “water-channel”; cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV, TEV, CEV “Shelah”). It apparently refers to the Pool of Siloam whose water supply came from the Gihon Spring via Hezekiah’s Tunnel built in 701
[6:10] 13 tn Heb “shut in.” The reason for his confinement is not stated. BDB 783 s.v. עָצַר suggests that it had to do with the fulfillment of a vow or was related to an issue of ceremonial uncleanness.
[7:3] 17 tc The present translation (along with most English versions) reads with the Qere, a Qumran text, and the ancient versions וָאֹמַר (va’omar, “and I said”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, which reads וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyo’mer, “and he said”).
[7:3] 18 tn Heb “until the heat of the sun.” The phrase probably means that the gates were to be opened only after the day had progressed a bit, not at the first sign of morning light (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV). It is possible, however, that the Hebrew preposition עַד (’ad), here translated as “until,” has a more rare sense of “during.” If so, this would mean that the gates were not to be left open and unattended during the hot part of the day when people typically would be at rest (cf. NLT).
[7:3] 19 tn Presumably this would mean the gates were not to be opened until later in the morning and were to remain open until evening. Some, however, have understood Nehemiah’s instructions to mean that the gates were not to be left open during the hottest part of the day, but must be shut and locked while the guards are still on duty. See J. Barr, “Hebrew עַד, especially at Job i.18 and Neh vii.3,” JJS 27 (1982): 177-88.
[13:19] 21 tn Heb “the gates of Jerusalem grew dark.”
