Rebuilding the Walls of Jerusalem

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Chapter 3 records the names of those who helped to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and the portion of the wall that they repaired.

Nehemiah started on the north at the Sheep Gate and went counter-clockwise.
Eliashib, the high priest, and his brethren, rebuilt the Sheep Gate and the walls around the Tower of Hananel.
Men from Jericho and Zaccur, son of Imri, started at Tower of Hananel and went around to the Fish Gate.
The sons of Hassenaah, rebuilt the Fish Gate.
Meremoth, Meshullam, Zadok and the Tokoites rebuilt from the Fish Gate to the Old Gate.
Joiada and Meshullam repaired the Old Gate.
The people east of the Jordan, the Gibeonites and the Meronothites repaired the wall from the Old Gate to the Broad Wall.
Rephaiah, Jedaiah, Hattush, Malchijah and Hasshub repaired the wall from the Broad Wall to the Tower of the Ovens or Furnaces.
Shallum and his daughters, repaired the west wall from the Tower of Ovens to the Valley Gate.
Hanum and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate plus the wall on the south side of the Dung Gate.
Malchijah repaired the Dung Gate.
Shallum, not the same one that repaired the east wall, repaired the wall from the Dung Gate to, and including, the Fountain Gate. also, they repaired the stair steps that went down into the old city of David.
Another Nehemiah, not the governor, repaired the wall from the Fountain Gate to a point opposite the House of the Mighty Men.
The Levites repaired from the Water Gate to the East Gate.
Shemaiah repaired the East Gate.
Hananiah, Hanun, Meshullam and Malchijah repaired the wall from the East Gate to the corner called "The Chamber".
Lastly, the gold smiths and the merchants repaired from The Chamber to the Sheep Gate including repairs to the Muster Gate.

Note some interesting facts about this wall:

It was approximately 2" miles around the walls. They were 10 to 27 foot thick. They were 30 to 75 foot high.
The Sheep Gate, near the northeast corner, was so called because through this gate the animals were driven to the Temple area for sacrifice.
The towers, Hananeel and Meah on the north, Furnaces or Ovens on the west and Ophel and the Chamber on the east, were high places in the wall overseeing the approaches to the city.
The Fish Gate, on the north wall, was a tribute to the main source of food for the city.
The Mishneh Gate, near the northwest corner, means the "second gate" having previously been called "The Old Gate".
The Ephraim Gate, on the west wall, may have been so called because the road from the gate led north to the cities of Ephraim.
The Corner Gate, on the west wall, was probably so called because it was on a corner of a "dog leg" in the west wall.
The Valley Gate, near the southwest corner, led to the Valley Road (Hinnom) to the Dead Sea.
The Dung Gate, at the southeast corner, led to the garbage dump, later to be called Aceldama where Judas hanged himself.
The Fountain Gate, near the south east corner, was so named because it was close to the Siloam Fountain, previously called "the gate between the two walls" in Second Kings 25:4.
The Water Gate, in the east wall, was the entrance for water into the "Old City of David".
The Horse Gate, in the east wall, was used to bring horses into the king's stables which were located near the High House of the King.
The East Gate, near the northeast corner, was so located that at the spring and fall equinoxes, the sunrise rays entered the Holy of Holies.
The Miphkad (Muster) Gate, at the northeast corner, literly means "number" may have been used by the king's soldiers to and from the city.

Some other interesting facts about those who worked on the wall.

The Priests, the religious leaders, led the way, even set the example, by being first in the rebuilding of the wall.
Nearly everyone in the area took a share in the work, some and some less, each according to their ABILITY, ZEAL, ENTHUSIASM and NECESSITY.
Many who were active in this work were not inhabitants of Jerusalem; some were "co-rulers" of the surrounding cities, appointees of Persia, who insisted on helping in the REBUILDING. Five different cities are mentioned here.
Notice that the "nobles" of the area of Tekoa did not help in this job, but the common people did. Often people worked in pairs like those who repaired the Old Gate. Good honest tradesmen were active in the work also.
Ladies, daughters of Shallum, are listed as having completed a large section (2000 ft.) of the wall, however, tradition has it that they did not actually do the work but rather, being rich widows, they financed the repairs paying for materials and labor.
It was said of some that they repaired the wall "over against their houses". Many homes were built against the walls, some even in the wall and some on top of the wall like Rahab's house on the wall of Jericho.
One of the builders was the "sixth" son of his father (V30) indicating that his five older brothers did not, for some reason, get involved in the re-construction.
Some people like Meremoth and the Tekoites, after completing one section, went and help others to complete theirs.
Finally, Nehemiah the Governor, is not mentioned as having made any of the repairs as the whole job fell on his shoulders, he directed, encouraged and inspired.

In spite of all the efforts of his enemies, Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the Samaritans, the walls were completed in September of 445 BC., just 52 days after they started. This was nothing short of a miracle and Nehemiah's enemies knew it and it frightened them and humiliated them for they realized it could not have been done without God's help and blessing.
During the 52 days many accusations had been placed against Nehemiah, letters had been written to political leaders in Judea and Persia. Tobiah, one of Nehemiah's worse enemies, had married into power in Judea and had written many threatening letters to him.

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