The rebuilding of the Jerusalem Wall

This section describes the rebuilding of the Jerusalem wall, which begins at the northeast corner and moves around the city in a counterclockwise direction: the north wall (vv. 1–5); west wall (vv. 6–13); south wall (vv. 14–15); east wall (vv. 16–31); and the eastern stretch of the north wall (v. 32). In some places, the wall needed to be built from the ground up; in other places, repairs needed to be made to the existing wall.

The description centers on the 10 gates of the city: the Sheep Gate (vv. 1, 32); the Fish Gate (v. 3); the Jeshanah (or Old) Gate (v. 6); the Valley Gate (v. 13); the Dung Gate (v. 14); the Fountain Gate (v. 15); the Water Gate (v. 26); the Horse Gate (v. 28); the East Gate (v. 29); and the Inspection (or Muster) Gate (v. 31). Since the gates were the most vulnerable sections of ancient walls, these were the most important segments of the project.