31:38-39 In the future, Jerusalem would undergo rebuilding for the Lord. It would be built larger than it had been before its destruction by the Babylonians. The tower of Hananel was at the northeast corner of the city (Neh. 3:1; 12:39; Zech. 14:10), and the Corner Gate seems to have been on the northwest side of Jerusalem (2 Kings 14:13; 2 Chron. 26:9; Zech. 14:10). The locations of the hill Gareb and Goah are unknown, but they may have been on the west side since this would fill out the picture of the city.
31:40 The whole new, enlarged city would be devoted to Yahweh, and it would never experience invasion or overthrow again. The valley of the dead bodies probably refers to the Hinnom Valley to Jerusalem's south and west (cf. 7:31). The brook Kidron lay on Jerusalem's east side, and the Horse Gate stood at the southeast corner of the city wall and led out to the Kidron Valley. What had formerly been unclean land, full of dead bodies, would be holy to the Lord. The city's change in character would be even more remarkable than its change in size.
"Since a literal nation must have an actual geographical location in which to reside, it is now revealed that the capital, Jerusalem, will be rebuilt and expanded--yes, the very city that Jeremiah was before long to see destroyed by the Chaldean army."421
The description of rebuilt Jerusalem in Nehemiah's day does not coincide with this picture. Furthermore the temple that the restoration community rebuilt did not continue to exist (cf. v. 40); the Romans destroyed it in A.D. 70. That this is a description of a heavenly city is unlikely in view of the large amount of literal detail. Contextual considerations also demand an eschatological rebuilding of the city on the ancient site. Ezekiel 40-48 and Zechariah 2 and 14 also describe this future city.
