Context No. 169 of 4322 · Nehemiah
Context · Reflection
Nehemiah 3:1-5: in context
1Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the sheep gate. They sanctified it, and set up its doors. They sanctified it even to the tower of Hammeah, to the tower of Hananel. 2Next to him the men of Jericho built. Next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built. 3The sons of Hassenaah built the fish gate. They laid its beams, and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 4Next to them, Meremoth the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz made repairs. Next to them, Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel made repairs. Next to them, Zadok the son of Baana made repairs. 5Next to them, the Tekoites made repairs; but their nobles didn’t put their necks to the Lord’s work.
An earlier reading in this series covered the middle of Nehemiah's building roster, the stretch along the southern wall. This passage is how the list opens, and the order is deliberate.
It begins with Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests building the Sheep Gate. They consecrate it and set its doors. The clergy are first on the list and they are doing masonry. Next to them the men of Jericho build, then Zaccur son of Imri, then the sons of Hassenaah on the Fish Gate, laying its beams and setting its doors, bolts, and bars. The phrase next to him, next to them, repeats down the whole chapter, section joined to section.
Then verse five, which is the reason to read this passage slowly. Next to them the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work of their Lord. The register keeps the names of everyone who worked, and it keeps the fact that one town's aristocracy declined. It does not name them individually. It just notes, permanently, that the leading men of Tekoa would not bend their necks. Meanwhile the ordinary Tekoites took a second section later in the chapter. Whose absence would show up in the record of the last thing I worked on?
Sources
- Nehemiah 3:1: the high priest and the priests building the Sheep Gate themselves
- Nehemiah 3:5: the nobles of Tekoa who would not put their shoulders to the work
- Nehemiah 3:27: the ordinary Tekoites taking a second section later in the same chapter