It was a massive undertaking and measured around 2.5 miles (4 km.) 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. The Persian material included a bronze mirror, silver rings, an Egyptian jar made of faience and an Attic jug - all luxury items, probably imported. For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. O. Lipschits, Y. Gadot et al., `Palace and Village, Paradise and Oblivion: Unraveling the Riddles of Ramat Rael, Near Eastern Archaeology 74 (2011), 1-49. Supported by: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0). Oxford 2014, 24-37. 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. Nehemiah's brother came from Judah with bad news: 'The people who returned to Jerusalem are not safe. 3. The high priest Eliashib, for example, rebuilds the Sheep Gate together with his fellow priests, while the sons of Hassenaah tackle the Fish Gate. Arabic inscription inside Lions Gate. 8 And David said on that day, Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind, who are hated by David's soul. Therefore, it is said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house. 9 And David lived in the stronghold and called it the city of David. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. When the work does become public, the opposition begins immediately & steadily grows, escalating in intensity to the point of his enemies unsuccessfully plotting his assassination. Although the walls size varies at different points, on average, it stands 40 feet tall and measures 8 feet thick. Only since the end of the 19th century do we know that the town from the Bronze and Iron Ages, roughly the period from 3200 - 600 BC, was built near the only natural spring in the area, the Gichon spring at the foot of the eastern slope of the southeastern hill (Steiner 2014). So I went up by way of the valley by night & inspected the wall. in length. The narrow cobbled streets, majestic walls, Roman columns, and ancient buildings hold memories of the numerous legendary events. Another problem: if this list includes only the walls around the southeastern hill and the Temple Mount, then nine city gates seem to be an extravaganza for such a small area. R. Reich, `The Ancient Burial Ground in the Mamilla Neighborhood, Jerusalem, in H. Geva (ed. Dormition Abbey, built on the foundations of a fifth-century basilica. Since then, the walls of Jerusalem have been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times. 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. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah detail the rebuilding of the Temple, the walls of Jerusalem, and the gates under Zerubbabel, the Governor of Judea. Nehemiah 1. Nehemiah 2:1-11. 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. It was chiseled from both ends to the middle at the same time. Whether Jerusalem was a birah, a Persian fortress, or a provincial capital possibly fortified by or with the permission of the Persian authorities to safeguard their interests cannot be determined on the basis of current evidence. This meant building new defenses. 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. A History of Excavations in the Holy Land Inspired by the Photographs and Accounts of Leo Boer. Some scholars, however, do not allow themselves to be discouraged by this and draw with confidence a map of Jerusalem based on the biblical texts. This would be the largest area the city walls would encompass. Just like their builder, however, the modern walls can only be described as magnificent. He took the expansion of the Hasmonean Temple Mount and extended it on three sides, to the north, west, and south. Hezekiahs new wall measured about 22 feet wide (7 m.) by 25 feet high (8 m.). A whole series of publications on Jerusalem in the Persian period has seen the light of day. NEHEMIAH AND THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE WALL Jerusalem had been completely destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar army. Further north on the hill Kenyon found a smaller tower with part of a wall that according to her originated from the Persian era. Was it a walled town with a central temple, the seat of the governor, the centre of government, religion and economy? The tower may thus have been built in the Persian period or (much) later. During the First Temple period the city walls were extended to include the northwest hill as well, i.e. The walls of the Canaanite city appear to have stood for around a thousand years, well into the time of the Israelite monarchy, with possible evidence of later repairs in the Iron Age. 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. `The Borders and de Facto Size of Jerusalem in the Persian Period, in O. Lipschits and M. Oeming (eds. It also included the reconstruction of the temple and the restoration of the walls. In the foreground the wall that she dated to the Persian period with behind it the small tower. Nehemiah 6:1516: So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. Upon regaining the city from the Crusaders, Saladin began refortifying the walls in 1192. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. All in all, archaeological research has not found any actual Persian fortifications but at most indirect evidence for their construction. O. Lipschits, `Persian Period Finds from Jerusalem: Facts and Interpretations. The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 9 (2009), 2-30. The pottery shows that several potteries provided the inhabitants not only with coarse utilitarian earthenware but also with vessels in Greek style and refined bowls. 7We have offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses. Why did Nehemiah rebuild the walls of Jerusalem? The remnants of a wall from the time of the prophet Nehemiah have been uncovered in an archeological excavation in Jerusalem's ancient City of David, strengthening recent claims that King. Nehemiah taught us how to battle discouragement (Neh. Combine a one-year tablet and print subscription to BAR with membership in the BAS Library to start your journey into the ancient past today! E. Mazar, The Palace of King David. Then they said, Let us start building! So they committed themselves to the common good.. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer. A. Faust, Judah in the Neo-Babylonian Period: The Archaeology of Desolation, Atlanta, Ga 2012. H. Lernau, `Fish Bones, in E. Mazar (ed. Who first built the walls of Jerusalem? 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 construction was finished in 516 BCE or 430 BCE. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer. The archaeology of the Temple Mount today confirms this enlargement. But when Nehemiah arrives to Jerusalem, he faces opposition from the people who had already been living in Jerusalem because Nehemiah had made clear that all those living outside Jerusalem had no part in the new city. Nehemiah is a man of perseverance & he prays & plans for four months waiting for the right opportunity to ask the king to give him the authority, responsibility, & opportunity to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls. 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. Ready to walk around Jerusalems incredible walls yourself? Although I came to the conclusion that Kenyon was wrong and that the wall and the tower did not date to the Persian period, it is quite possible that a Persian wall was once built there, now hidden under the later Maccabean constructions. 3They replied, The survivors there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire., August 3, 2014 "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. Yet in 1219, the Ayyubids, fearing the Crusaders would regain the city, demolished the walls of Jerusalem to keep such a fortified position from falling into Crusader hands. He was able to rebuild . Being built in circa 15371541, they are the walls that exist today. 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. You see, God is NOT against building walls! H. Lernau, `Fish Bones, in E. Mazar (ed. King Solomon might have added to the defensive fortifications, OnSite: Bethlehems Church of the Nativity. In this respect, the description in Nehemiah 3 is correct. [3], The city of Jerusalem has been surrounded by defensive walls since ancient times. A series by Phil & Kath Henry. He sees not only the reality of what is, but what can be. During this time, known as the Hasmonean period (16463 BC), Jerusalem was rebuilt along with its walls. General Allenby famously entered the city through this gate when the British captured Jerusalem during the First World War in 1917. 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. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer. Ironically, rather than raising peoples feelings of fear & anxiety; facing the brutal facts can have a remarkable impact on peoples confidence & motivation. 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). The church faces a similar challenge. 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. He became Governor of Judah somewhere after. Moriah upon the threshing floor of Araunah. The small tower that Kenyon had uncovered appeared to be on the verge of collapse and was demolished and rebuilt by her team. 10 And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him. So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. R. Reich, `The Ancient Burial Ground in the Mamilla Neighborhood, Jerusalem, in H. Geva (ed. When the Babylonians conquered and destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC, they also destroyed the walls and burned the gates with fire. He also made weapons and shields in abundance. Hes not afraid to use words like trouble, ruins, disgrace. No good comes from minimizing the difficulties of a task or situation that lies before us whether it is physical, relational, spiritual, financial, emotional, political or something else. D. Edelman, The Origins of the Second Temple: Persian Imperial Policy and the Rebuilding of Jerusalem, London 2005. Just like their builder, however, the modern walls can only be described as magnificent. M. L. Steiner, `The City of David as a Palimpsest, in L. Niesioowski-Span and E. Pfoh (eds. Required fields are marked *, COPYRIGHT 2023 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY 5614 Connecticut Ave NW #343, Washington DC 20015-2604. This made it necessary to reinforce western Palestine, especially the provinces of Yehud and Samaria and the coastal areas (Carter 1999, 293). This was some 47 years after the temple was finished. Rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem like so many challenges we face in life, including growing a church, is a two sided problem. The story can speak to each of us today as we desire to rebuild communities of faith and hope in the wake of the .