16 And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. God allowed most of Judah to be conquered but protected Jerusalem because of Hezekiahs obedience to Him. Hold up one of the paper bricks and explain the following: The wall of Jerusalem is about 40 feet high and 2.5 miles long! ), Judah and Judeans in the Persian Period, Winona Lake 2006, 147166. Then, 13 years after Ezra's trip, Nehemiah helped to rebuild Jerusalem's broken-down walls. The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah (ha-kee-luh). An analysis of the pottery from the Persian period found during excavations in Jerusalem shows that there were several potteries that supplied the inhabitants with vessels, including Greek-style vases and thin-walled bowls, both luxury materials (Steiner 2011). Well, you might be thinking . C. E. Carter, The Emergence of Yehud in the Persian Period A Social and Demographic Study (JSOT Supplement Series 294), Sheffield 1999. Upon their reconstruction, much of the southern part of the ancient city, including the City of David, was left outside the new walls. Jerusalem in the Time of Nehemiah Map Rebuilding of the Walls around Jerusalem in the Second Temple period by Nehemiah The entire city of Jerusalem, including the Temple, was destroyed in c. 586 B.C. The city was blessed with natural valleys around it that made it easy to defend. Whether the biblical stories faithfully represent this return is a problem we will pass over here. ), who carried out lavish building activities throughout Jerusalem and the region, including the construction of the Temple Mount, the site of Herodium, and the port city of Caesarea Maritima. We don't know that Jerusalem was a gubernatorial seat. He is a true leader who leads, not one who issues commands from a safe distance. The high priest Eliashib, for example, rebuilds the Sheep Gate together with his fellow priests, while the sons of Hassenaah tackle the Fish Gate. What is the Dung . The walls of Jerusalem had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. . Then he erected the temple upon it and added walls from the City of David to encompass the Temple Mount and temple. Only when Nehemiah knew all the facts did he make his final plans. In 19 BC, the master-builder, King Herod the Great, began his life's most ambitious building project. 2006. In the Middle Bronze Age, a period also known in biblical terms as the era of the Patriarchs, a city named Jebus was built on the southeastern hill of Jerusalem, relatively small (50,000 square meters) but well fortified. This town was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC, and many of its inhabitants were sent into exile. Explore this wonder for yourself with this short video tour atop the walls of Jerusalem, led by Biblical Archaeology Review assistant editor Nathan Steinmeyer. It contains three elements: identification with the people, an acknowledgement of the seriousness of the situation, & a call to action. Nehemiah has a very difficult task to accomplish: rebuilding a ruined city with opposition all around & a frightened, discouraged population, fortunately Nehemiah knows how to lead in a crisis. Why did Nebuchadnezzar destroy Jerusalem? Nehemiah is the account of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. 1 Kings 9:24 Verse Concepts As soon as Pharaoh's daughter came up from the city of David to her house which Solomon had built for her, then he built the Millo. INTRODUCTION: Nehemiah means "The Lord Comforts". H. Lernau, `Fish Bones, in E. Mazar (ed. There would have had to be some economic and some military activity and so a population more than negligible, so at least some attention to fortifications. The first one to announce that she had found part of the Persian city wall was the English archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon. Nebuchadnezzar The walls of Jerusalem had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. Hezekiah also built a water tunnel in order to keep the water from the Gihon Spring inside the city walls so the Assyrians couldnt cut off the water supply (2 Chron. This wall would remain in use until 586 B.C.E. So it was about 22 years after returning to Jerusalem that they finally finished the temple. Later, he built stronger and additional walls to fortify the city, and it would become known as the City of David. Many of us dont lack the information we need to make positive changes in our lives or to live more like Jesus, what we need is the proper motivation. M. L. Steiner, `The Palace of David Reconsidered in the Light of Earlier Excavations, op http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/palace_2468.shtml (2009). Herod Agrippa (r. 4144 C.E.) The Old City is home to three major shrines of the world\\'s religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Nehemiah is not a professional builder or contractor. The Persian king even gives Nehemiah an armed escort and resources to fulfll the project of the walls. The city walls and gates that the Babylonians destroyed have never been rebuilt.' Nehemiah was upset. In some places it is impossible to continue because of the amount of debris on the slope. God was with David and allowed him to capture Jerusalem from the Jebusites. Every important building he burned down. Archaeologist have not been silent either. M. L. Steiner, `The Persian Period City Wall of Jerusalem, in I. Finkelstein, I and N. Na`aman (eds. D. Ussishkin,. Was it a walled town with a central temple, the seat of the governor, a centre of administration, religion and economy? According to the Book of Nehemiah, the walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins until the fifth century B.C.E., when Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem as the provincial governor and completed the repairs of the walls that had begun under Ezra. The book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Bible is more than an account of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. Nisan] See note on Nehemiah 1:1.This name only occurs elsewhere in the O.T. Next, we learn about Ezra's trip back to Jerusalem to beautify the temple. If HolyLandSite.com is helpful to you, and you would like to support our work, we would be deeply grateful. Get insights SPL Payroll Outsourcing Pvt. A portion of the wall was discovered in the 1970s by Israeli archaeologist Nahman Avigad and dated to the reign of King Hezekiah (716-687 BC). "The survivors there in the province who escaped exile are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire" (Neh 1:3; cf. By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. In the second element of his speech, Nehemiah acknowledges the seriousness of the situation. in Esther 3:7, 'in the first month, which is the month Nisan,' cf. You see, God is NOT against building walls! Nehemiah's brother came from Judah with bad news: 'The people who returned to Jerusalem are not safe. One of Sultan Suleimans greatest projects was the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 4:1 . Did the Ancient Israelites Think Children Were People. Jennie Ebeling --Department of Archaeology and Art History, University of Evansville, Copyright 2000-2023 The Bible and Interpretation| All Rights Reserved |The University of Arizona | Developed bySBS Tech The length of the walls is 4,018 meters (2.497 miles), their average height is 12 meters (39 feet) and the average thickness is 2.5 meters (8.2 feet). Josephus, Ant. between its two ends. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer. Nehemiah receives His Commission 1. LOVE THE VIDEOS OR PHOTOS OF JERUSALEM or WHATEVER PHOTOS YOU MAY HAVE. Why so long to rebuild the wall? While the ancient city was mostly limited to the City of David, the walls were greatly expanded under King Hezekiah during preparations for the Assyrian invasion (c. 701 B.C.E.). In 1202 to 1212 Saladin's nephew, Al-Malik al-Mu'azzam 'Isa, ordered the reconstruction of the city walls, but later on, in 1219, he reconsidered the situation after most of the watchtowers had been built and had the walls torn down, mainly because he feared that the Crusaders would benefit of the fortifications if they managed to reconquer the city. News and Interpretations on the Bible and Ancient Near East History. Nehemiah 2:11-15 recounts how the prophet arrives in Jerusalem and immediately sets out in the night with some of his men to inspect the town walls. He stands before the depressed, fearful, skeptical citizens of Jerusalem & says look at what God has done already, through the heathen king of Persia no less. Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "WH Committee: 1st Extraordinary Session, Paris 1981", Selections from the Tell El-Amarna letters, "Building inscription commemorating the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Ottoman period, 1535-1538, Stone, Israel Antiquities Authority, IAA: 1942-265, Archaeology/Islamic Art & Archaeology", Tancred's Tower / Qasr Jalud (Goliath's Castle), Institute for International Urban Development, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Walls_of_Jerusalem&oldid=1142505729. The Titanic was built by professionals. God instructed Nehemiah to build a wall around Jerusalem to protect its citizens from enemy attack. km.). [1] [2] The walls are visible on most old maps of Jerusalem over the last 1,500 years. After the return from exile, the small Jewish populationunder Nehemiah's leadershiprebuilt the walls of Jerusalem with dimensions similar to Solomon's day. 10 And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him. If Persian pottery was found underneath the tower, this means that the tower itself was built later. The story can speak to each of us today as we desire to rebuild communities of faith and hope in the wake of the . TWO DECREES OF ARTAXERXES What this means is the careers of Ezra the scribe and Nehemiah the governor clearly ov. These are the same walls that surround Jerusalem today. The emphasis is on the exiles and on the return to the old land after the Persians had conquered Babylon in 539 BC and included Judah into their empire. Upon hearing that the wall of Jerusalem was down and destroyed, along with the gates being burned down, Nehemiah cried. Many people thought this was impossible. A whole series of publications on Jerusalem in the Persian period has seen the light of day. The finds do not disprove my dating of the tower in the Maccabean era. Moriah upon the threshing floor of Araunah. Hes going to share the risks & the hardships with the people. Nehemiah 4. Then I turned back & entered by the Valley Gate, & so returned. 4:1-14). Nehemiah 1. After the Babylonian captivity and the Persian conquest of Babylonia, Cyrus II of Persia allowed the Jews to return to Judea and rebuild the Temple. It also included the reconstruction of the temple and the restoration of the walls. Or was it a small undefended settlement in which only the local temple had any significance? Who destroyed the walls of Jerusalem that Nehemiah rebuilt? However, the debris only contained pottery from the Babylonian and Early Persian periods. That provided an opportunity to look underneath and behind the tower. (Courtesy Ancient Jerusalem Project). The Jewish Quarter (Hebrew: , HaRova HaYehudi; Arabic: , Harat al-Yehud) is one of the four traditional quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem (part of Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem).The 116,000 square meter area lies in the southwestern sector of the walled city, and stretches from the Zion Gate in the south, along the Armenian Quarter on the west . During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (r. 15201566), the city of Jerusalem regained its splendor and recovered from centuries of neglect. Another point is the size and function of Jerusalem during the Persian period. Since then, the walls of Jerusalem have been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times. May the joy of the Lord be your strength. The biblical books Nehemiah 2 and 3 relay the story of Nehemiahs trip around the destroyed town of Jerusalem and of the rebuilding of its fortifications. How large was Nehemiahs Jerusalem and how did it function within the Persian empire? Agrippa I began the construction of an additional wall of the city which was completed just at the beginning of the First JewishRoman War in 66 AD. Reading an ancient text like this one which reflects the tension, division, and hostility over Jerusalem 2,500 years ago should humble anyone who thinks peace is easily made in the Middle East. A series by Phil & Kath Henry. Under his leadership and with a small Jewish population, the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt to dimensions similar to Solomons day. The book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Bible is more than an account of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. 2011, 307-17. October 2021. This does not immediately make the story in Nehemiah 3 untrue, but it cannot be substantiated either. A portion of the wall was discovered in the 1970s by Israeli archaeologist Nahman Avigad and dated to the reign of King Hezekiah (716687 BC). What Nehemiah lacked in technical knowledge, he more than makes up for with his ability to motivate and unite people to share in the challenge of rebuilding the walls. In preparation for the expected Crusader siege of 1099, the walls were strengthened yet again but to little avail. But when Sanballat the Horonite & Tobiah the Ammonite official, & Geshem the Arab heard of it, they mocked & ridiculed us, saying, What is this that you are doing? And David built the city all around from the Millo inward. A. Faust, Judah in the Neo-Babylonian Period: The Archaeology of Desolation, Atlanta, Ga 2012. Wright --University of Arizona, Center for Judaic Studies E. Mazar, The Palace of King David. He sees not only the reality of what is, but what can be. cit. 2006. (between 1000 BC and 901 BC), possibly built by King Solomon, has been revealed in archaeological excavations. Was it a walled town with a central temple, the seat of the governor, the centre of government, religion and economy? Due to this dearth of material, interpretations are becoming increasingly important. This suggests that the rubble was swept down before the Late Persian period began, and that a city wall may have been built there at that time. A highly motivated amateur built Noahs Ark. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer. It took the water from the Gihon Spring under the mountain to the Pool of Siloam below the city. The work took some four years, between 1537 and 1541. The late Eilat Mazar also suggested that King Solomon might have added to the defensive fortifications of Jerusalem (as mentioned in 1 Kings 3:1), but this interpretation is, again, debated among scholars. It went as far as the royal cemetery, . . Noah was not a professional ship builder, but he was motivated by the dark storm clouds overhead & the knowledge that he was building a boat that would carry his loved ones, himself, & his future. Nehemiah then requested and obtained permission from Artaxerxes to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city (Neh 2:5). Nehemiah 2:11-20, The Man Who Rebuilt Jerusalem Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. It was built to dimensions similar to King Hezekiahs time. Often when we face a challenge, information can be plentiful but motivation is lacking. He returns to Jerusalem with a group of exiles and begins rebuilding the wall, meeting opposition along the way. Why did Nehemiah rebuild the walls of Jerusalem? Nehemiah says that after his westward journey from Susa, he spent three days personally reviewing the walls so that he has firsthand knowledge & intelligence of the situation. The archaeology of the Temple Mount today confirms this enlargement. Some people might think, our church is fine the way it is, why worry about ten years from now? Many biblical scholars have been allured by these texts to sketch a map of the city based on the descriptions therein - see for instance https://medium.com/@chrisvonada/the-courage-and-calling-of-nehemiah-1b64df490373. Blessing: Now may you go from this time of worship to serve the God who is ready to forgive, gracious & merciful, slow to anger & abounding in steadfast love. The whole Babylonian army, under the commander of the imperial guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. The call to action is the third element of Nehemiahs speech & in it Nehemiahs confidence is contagious. According to an Assyrian stele found in the ruins of the royal palace of Nineveh, Sennacherib conquered 46 cities in Judea prior to attempting to conquer Jerusalem. Tisha B'Av: The 9th of Av is observed as a fast day known as Tisha B'Av, which commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. Seal impressions bearing the name Yehud - the Persian province of Judah - show that the site was part of an economic network. Eventually he returns through the Valley Gate. During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times. However, God sovereignly moved in the heart of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, to allow Nehemiah to rebuild the walls. Spoiler alert: there are as many opinions as there are scholars, and the archaeological evidence is meagre. She carried out excavations in Jerusalem from 1960 - 1967. In the 16th century, during the reign of the Ottoman Empire in the region, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent decided to rebuild the city walls fully, partly on the remains of the ancient walls. So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. How desolate Jerusalem really was, is a matter of interpretation. How many times was the Temple in Jerusalem destroyed and rebuilt? Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we will no longer be a disgrace . in length. Fortifying the town would certainly not have been tolerated by the Persian authorities, and the story as told in the biblical book of Nehemiah would be a much later construction. This is true in our lives as well as for Nehemiah. Unfortunately, the Bible texts remain vague on the exact location of these structures. Having faith doesnt mean we ignore problems, that were blind to the facts, or that we are ignorant of what has taken place over time. Jerusalems walls were largely neglected by the Crusader kingdom, although moderate rebuilding activities attempted to close breaches in the walls. ALSO, I LIKE THE WRITE-UPS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE HOLY LAND. Whoever wandered around the old city walls had to climb over a mass of stone and sometimes could not continue at all; large piles of rubble blocked the way. Wine and olive oil were brought to the town in sealed jars (Lipschits 2009). The people returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall about 70 years later. This would be the largest area the city walls would encompass. God provided me with safe passage, timber, & the authority & permission to build. 8Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; 9but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place at which I have chosen to establish my name. 10They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great power and your strong hand. In 54 bce, however, Crassus plundered the Temple treasury. What a wealth of information on the lay-out of Jerusalem in Persian times! Nehemiah knows there will be opposition so he waits to share what God has put on his heart to do. in length. Nehemiah is the kind of leader we need in our nation & in the world today. 17 Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in. In the foreground the wall that she dated to the Persian period with behind it the small tower. The section of wall, about 230 feet long (70 meters) and 19 feet (6 meters) high, is located in the area known as the Ophel, between the City of David and the southern wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem was important because it revealed God's blessing, served as a sign to Israel's enemies, and showed God was with His people. It's an invitation to all who read it to be inspired by one person's faith and passion to rebuild a community of people. This meant building new defenses. Despite the detailed description of walls and gates, scholars debate the actual size of the settlement in Persian times and even question whether the walls were really reconstructed. How far does - or can - archaeology render this plausible? After David died, Solomon built the Temple Mount Platform on Mt. Others conclude from the archaeological finds (or rather, the dearth thereof) that Jerusalem in Persian times was a very small settlement, not including the western hill, impoverished, unwalled, insignificant. Under Nehemiahs inspirational leadership the people completed the rebuilding project in only 52 days. , in I. Finkelstein, I and N. Na`aman (eds. But did he do it? The wall had been broken down, community had broken down and with everyone thinking about themselves, people worked on their own places but no one was working for the common good. The Persian pottery underneath the tower only gives a terminus post quem, a date after which something could have happened. Nehemiah begins with a moonlit tour of the walls to assess the damage & the scope of the work to be done. Plan of Jerusalem in the Iron Age. After this destruction the wider area was largely, but not entirely, abandoned. The excavations of Kathleen Kenyon. These texts have clearly been written for people who lived in Jerusalem and knew exactly where the constructions mentioned were located, not for later generations not acquainted with the town. Very little material has been unearthed from Persian times, and what has been found is difficult to date with precision. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer suffer disgrace. I told them that the hand of my God had been gracious upon me, & also the words that the king had spoken to me. M. L. Steiner, `One Hundred and Fifty Years of Excavating Jerusalem, in B. Wagemakers (ed. The walls of the Old City encompass an area of roughly 250 acres and extend for more than 2.5 miles. When that happens, the result is often that people like Josephs brothers try to kill the visionary. 2 Chronicles 32:5: He set to work resolutely and built up all the wall that was broken down and raised towers upon it, and outside it he built another wall, and he strengthened the Millo in the city of David. ), M. L. Steiner, `The Palace of David Reconsidered in the Light of Earlier Excavations, op, http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/palace_2468.shtml, The Persian Period City Wall of Jerusalem. 4, 8, 'The first month, which according to the Macedonians is called Xanthicus, but according to us Nisan.' Its meaning is uncertain; according to some its root-idea is . Why is a broken-down wall such a big deal? He doesnt play the visiting political official saying, You people are in a mess, & Ive come to help you. Rather he says, You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. JUST WONDERING. What do we learn from Nehemiah about how to face the challenges in our lives? The General got off his horse and entered through the gate on foot, to show respect for the city. Nehemiah 3:1 in all English translations. This fortress housed the governor of Yehud together with a garrison of soldiers and their families, as well as local service personnel and merchants. Sign up to receive our email newsletter and never miss an update. Charles Carter (1999) also sees no problem for the Persian authorities in allowing Jerusalem to restore its fortifications.
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