“And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the fish gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even unto the sheep gate: and they stood still in the prison gate.”
My Notes
What Does Nehemiah 12:39 Mean?
"And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the fish gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even unto the sheep gate: and they stood still in the prison gate." The dedication procession walks the completed wall, passing through and above Jerusalem's gates. The list of gates traces the northern section of the wall: Ephraim Gate, Old Gate, Fish Gate, towers of Hananeel and Meah, Sheep Gate, ending at the Prison Gate. The geography is a celebration of completion.
Each gate represents a section of wall that was rebuilt by specific families and workers (chapter 3). Walking above them during the dedication means walking over the work that specific people did. The procession is literally walking on the community's collective labor. The celebration travels the route of the effort.
The "stood still in the prison gate" marks the endpoint where the two processions (this one and the one from verse 38) meet at the Temple. The wall is a circle. The processions that went in opposite directions converge at the house of God. The celebration that started in two directions ends in one place.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What completed work in your life deserves a walk-through celebration?
- 2.How does walking over each family's section model communal recognition of individual contribution?
- 3.What does two processions meeting at God's house teach about different paths to the same destination?
- 4.What 'gates' — areas of daily life — does the wall you've built protect?
Devotional
They walked the wall they built. Gate by gate, tower by tower, the dedication procession traced the entire circuit of the wall — the same wall that every chapter 3 family built with their own hands. The celebration literally walked over the work.
Each gate named in this verse was rebuilt by specific people: the Fish Gate by the sons of Hassenaah (3:3), the Old Gate by Joiada and Meshullam (3:6), the Sheep Gate by Eliashib the high priest (3:1). The procession passes over each family's contribution. The walking is a communal acknowledgment: you built this section. And you built this one. And you built this one. The celebration recognizes the specific labor of specific people.
The two processions meeting at the Temple — the 'stood still in the prison gate' converging with the other group — is the architectural picture of community: two groups walking in opposite directions around the same wall, arriving at the same place. The wall is one circle. The celebration goes both ways. The destination is the house of God.
The gates themselves tell the story of Jerusalem's daily life: the Fish Gate (commerce), the Sheep Gate (sacrifice), the Old Gate (tradition), the Prison Gate (justice). The wall protects all of it — every aspect of communal life. The dedication celebrates the wall that makes normal life possible.
What 'wall' have you built — what work have you completed — that deserves a walk-through celebration? What gates in your life represent the sections you labored over?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer,.... These seem to…
We have read of the building of the wall of Jerusalem with a great deal of fear and trembling; we have here an account…
from above R.V. above.
the gate of Ephraim This gate is not mentioned in chap. 3. It was situated probably at about the…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture