Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Nehemiah 3:8
Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of [one of] the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall.
8. Uzziel of the goldsmiths ] R.V. Uzziel , goldsmiths. The R.V. gives the literal rendering. The meaning of course is that a guild or the guild of goldsmiths, who were represented by Uzziel, undertook the next piece of the wall. The wealth of ‘the goldsmiths’ is shown by the large portion undertaken by the members of their ‘guild.’ Cf. Neh 3:31-32.
Next unto him also ] R.V. And next unto him.
Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries ] R.V. Hananiah, one of the apothecaries. Marg. ‘ perfumers ’. The R.V. gives the meaning of the Hebrew, which is literally ‘Hananiah, a son of the apothecaries or perfumers.’ This Hananiah, possibly ‘the son of Shelemiah’ mentioned as engaged in restoring another portion of the wall, represented the guild of ‘perfumers.’
The word ‘apothecary,’ which appears in the A.V. in Exo 30:25; Exo 30:35; Exo 37:29; 2Ch 16:14; Ecc 10:1, is not used in the sense of a vendor of medicines. The context in each passage shows that a dealer in ointments, spices, and perfumes is intended. The same word in the feminine is rendered ‘confectionaries’ in 1Sa 8:13, where the R.V. marg. ‘perfumers’ is to be preferred.
This was a most important industry in Eastern countries, combining provision for the comforts of the poor and the luxuries of the rich (Son 3:6), with the elaborate arts of embalming the dead.
In hot climates the anointing of head or feet with ointment and perfumes was a recognised courtesy offered a distinguished guest (Luk 7:38; Luk 7:46; Joh 12:3). Anointing with sweet oil was an act of cleansing or purification (Eze 16:9; Rth 3:3; Jdt 10:3 ). With women cosmetics constituted a considerable part of personal adornment (Son 4:10).
and they fortified Jerusalem unto (R.V. even unto) the broad wall ] R.V. marg. ‘Or, left ’ for ‘fortified,’ giving the usual sense of the Hebrew verb.
The LXX. has : the Vulgate ‘dimiserunt Ierusalem usque ad murum plate latioris.’
The difficulty occasioned by the verb has given rise to very different interpretations of the passage:
(1) The A.V. following ancient Jewish interpretation renders ‘fortified Jerusalem;’ and it appears to be the case that the word occurs in Talmudic Hebrew with a meaning connected with building operations (Buxtorf, sub voce, ‘pavimentarunt’). But even if this meaning be accepted, it is not easy to account for the occurrence of the words ‘fortified Jerusalem’ in the middle of a description, the whole of which deals with the fortification of Jerusalem.
(2) Accepting the usual rendering ‘left,’ the following explanations have been given:
( a) ‘And they’, i.e. the Babylonian troops, at the destruction of Jerusalem, had left this portion untouched. This translation introduces an imaginary subject, i.e. the Babylonians. It fails to explain the introduction of the reference to Jerusalem. It makes ‘left’ equivalent to ‘left undestroyed.’
( b) The Jews who were engaged upon the work of restoration ‘left untouched’ this portion of the wall, which happened not to require rebuilding. This again gives an arbitrary meaning to the word ‘left,’ and the mention of ‘Jerusalem’ remains unexplained.
( c) They carried on the fortification at some distance from the dwelling-places of Jerusalem. The city wall extended further north than the houses. The builders ‘left the city,’ i.e. the neighbourhood of the houses, in order to complete the circumvallation included in the plan.
( d) ‘And the Jews had abandoned Jerusalem,’ i.e. Jerusalem was at this point not occupied by the Jews returned from the Captivity. The northern limit of the inhabited quarter did not extend so far as it had done in the Monarchy.
( e) It is possible that the builders at this point ‘left’ some portion of Jerusalem outside their wall. The circumference of the old city was larger than was now needed. In the course of the restoration of the wall the builders abandoned at some point the old outer wall and the uninhabited portion of Jerusalem which it included.
The exact meaning lies hid in the topographical allusion, which we cannot hope to understand. It seems most natural, (1) that the subject to the verb ‘left’ should be the builders just previously mentioned; (2) that ‘Jerusalem’ should imply the inhabited city. The solution offered by ( e) seems to be the most probable. The new circumvallation was, as a rule, larger than the old. Here only where the builders went inside and left the old wall, it is expressly mentioned.
the broad wall ] The broad wall is mentioned again in chap. Neh 12:38 as between ‘the tower of the furnaces’ and ‘the gate of Ephraim.’ The name was probably given to a portion of the wall where the thickness and strength of the structure indicated the strategic importance of this point in the fortifications. It is possible that this was the portion of 400 cubits which Amaziah pulled down (see 2Ki 14:13; 2Ch 25:23) with the view of rendering Jerusalem defenceless on the N., and that this was the portion which Hezekiah took pains to strengthen and renew (2Ch 32:5).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Neh 3:8
And they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall
The broad wall
I.
The separation of the people of God from the world is like that broad wall surrounding Jerusalem. An actual separation is made by grace, is carried on in the work of sanctification, and will be completed in that day when the saints shall be caught up together with the Lord in the air.
1. Christians should maintain a broad wall of separation between themselves and the world. The distinction ought not to be one of dress or of speech, the separation ought to be moral and spiritual.
(1) A Christian ought to be more scrupulous than other men in his dealings. He must never swerve from the path of integrity. He should be one whose word is his bond, and who having once pledged his word, sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not.
(2) The Christian should be distinguished by his pleasures. We are not quite ourselves, perhaps, in our daily toil, where our pursuits are rather dictated by necessity than by choice, but our pleasures and pastimes give evidence of what our heart is and where it is.
(3) Such separation should be carried into everything which affects the Christian. When a stranger comes into our house it should be so ordered that he can clearly perceive that we have a respect unto Him that is invisible, and that we desire to live and move in the light of Gods countenance.
(4) This broad wall should be most conspicuous in the spirit of our mind. There should be about a Christian always the air of one who has his shoes on his feet, his loins girded, and his staff in his hand–away, away to a better land.
2. Reasons why this wall should be very broad.
(1) If you are sincere in your profession, there is a very broad distinction between you and unconverted people.
(2) Remember that our Lord Jesus Christ had a broad wall between Him and the ungodly.
(3) A broad wall of separation is abundantly good for yourselves. When a Christian gives way to the worlds custom he never feels profited thereby. Ask a fish to spend an hour on dry land, and I think did he comply the fish would find that it was not much to its benefit, for it would be out of its element. And it is so with Christians in communion with sinners.
(4) To keep up the broad wall of separation is to do most good to the world. A Christian loses his strength the moment he departs from his integrity. Although the world may openly denounce the rigid Puritan, it secretly admires him. You young man in the shop–you young woman in the workroom–if you keep yourselves to yourselves in Christs name, chaste and pure for Jesus, not laughing at jests which should make you blush; not mixing up with pastimes that are suspicious; but being tenderly jealous of your conscience at all times, then your company in the midst of others shall be as though an angel shook his wings, and they will say, Refrain from this or that just now, for So-and-so is there. They will fear you in a certain sense; they will admire you in secret; and who can tell but they, at last, may come to imitate you?
II. The broad wall round jerusalem indicated safety. The Christian is surrounded by the broad wall–
1. Of Gods power.
2. Of Gods love.
3. Of Gods law and justice.
4. Of Gods immutability.
5. Of the work of the Holy Spirit.
6. Almost every doctrine of grace affords us a broad wall, a mighty bulwark, a grand munition of defence.
III. This broad wall suggests enjoyment. These walls were used as promenades, and were utilised–
1. For rest from toil.
2. For communion.
3. For prospects and outlooks. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 8. Goldsmiths.] From the remotest period of the history of the Jews they had artists in all elegant and ornamental trades; and it is also evident that goldsmiths, apothecaries, and merchants were formed into companies in the time of Nehemiah.
Apothecaries] Rather such as dealt in drugs, aromatics, spices, &c., for embalming, or for furnishing the temple with the incense consumed there.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
It is not said they repaired, as was said of the rest, but they
fortified it, either because this part of the wall was less demolished than the other, and therefore they needed not to repair it, but only to make it stronger by some additions; or to note their extraordinary care and diligence, that they would not only repair it, and restore it to its former state, but make it stronger than ever it was; which also might be fit to be done in that part of the city. Others render it they left, as this word commonly signifies; and so the meaning is, They omitted the building of that part of the wall, because it remained standing; this being that space of four hundred cubits which was pulled down by Joash king of Israel, and rebuilt by Uzziah, who made it so strong, that the Chaldeans could not pull it down without more trouble than they thought fit to employ about it. But this chapter gives us an account of what they did in the building, not of what they did not, but left as they found it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. they fortified Jerusalem unto thebroad wallor, “double wall,” extending from the gateof Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits in length,formerly broken down by Joash, king of Israel [2Ch25:23], but afterwards rebuilt by Uzziah [2Ch26:9], who made it so strong that the Chaldeans, finding itdifficult to demolish, had left it standing.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths,…. Or Tzorephim, which, according to Jarchi, was the name of a family so called from their trade and business:
next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries; or confectioners, which also might be the name of a family so called for the same reason:
and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall; which reached from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, which was broken down by Joash, king of Israel, but was rebuilt so strong by Uzziah, king of Judah, that it stood firm to this time; wherefore these men repaired up to it, but left that as they found it; see 2Ch 25:23, and were not careful to repair it, it not wanting any repair.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(8) And they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall.The word translated fortified means literally left, and this yields a good sense: they left Jerusalem untouched as far as a certain portion of the wall extended which needed no restoration. The gate of Ephraim was in this (see Neh. 12:38-39); and it is significant that nothing is said about the rebuilding of this important gate.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. Goldsmiths apothecaries Representatives of whose arts seem to have always had a position among the Hebrews. They probably learned them in Egypt. Apothecaries are here to be understood especially of manufacturers and dealers in ointments and perfumes. Comp. Ecc 10:1.
Fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall Rather, as the margin, left Jerusalem unto the broad wall; that is, they left off, or omitted to build a portion of the northern wall as far as to what was known as the broad wall. This latter was probably the wall that spanned the upper part of the Tyropoeon valley, and so called from its greater breadth or thickness than other parts of the city wall.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Next to him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths.’
The next part of the wall was repaired by the family or guild of Uzziel ben Harhaiah, who were goldsmiths. The name of the family guild head is intended to include both his own wider family and the guild of goldsmiths who would all assist in building. In Jerusalem each occupation would have its guild, and they would tend to live together in their own ‘quarter’ where their products were sold. This part of the wall probably sheltered ‘the quarter of the goldsmiths’, where gold was moulded and then sold in the gold market. Note, however, that in Neh 3:32 we learn of goldsmiths involved in the Temple area, no doubt on religious artefacts.
Neh 3:8
‘And next to him repaired Hananiah one of the perfumers, and they left out part of Jerusalem even to the broad wall.’
Next to the quarter of the goldsmiths was the quarter of the perfumers where perfume was made and traded (or ‘of the apothecaries’). A leading light of the guild was Hananiah, a well recognisable Jewish name. This part of the wall appears to have been built leaving outside the wall a section of Jerusalem, which had possibly grown up subsequently since the previous wall was built. ‘They’ may indicate the perfumers, or it may indicate a number of those previously mentioned.
‘Even to the broad wall.’ This suggests that there was a section of Jerusalem which was left outside the walls going ‘as far as the broad wall’, a no doubt recognisable landmark. If this omitted section had never previously been included within the walls of Jerusalem we can understand why they would not want to build a new wall enclosing it due to time pressure. Rather they repaired the old one which left it outside. The work had to be done quickly. We do not know why the broad wall was called ‘the broad wall’. It may have been because it was at the widest part of the city, or it may have been because it had previously had to be rebuilt and had been made broader in order to increase its strength. Sites on the western hill (outside the wall) have been found to contain iron age remains, which would tie in with what we find here.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Neh 3:8 Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of [one of] the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall.
Ver. 8. Of the goldsmiths the son of one of the apothecaries] These were ever thriving trades; they both had wealth, and hearts to part with it, upon so good a work. Difficile est animos opibus non tradere, &c. It is not difficult that their spirits deliver help. (Martial).
Unto the broad wall
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Next = at his hand. Some codices, with five early printed editions, Septuagint, and Vulgate, read “and at”.
goldsmiths = refiners.
apothecaries = perfumers.
fortified. Hebrew. Homonym, ‘dzab. See note on Exo 23:5.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the goldsmiths: Neh 3:31, Neh 3:32, Isa 46:6
of the apothecaries: Gen 50:2, Exo 30:25, Ecc 10:1
fortified: or, left
the broad wall: Neh 12:38
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Neh 3:8. Next unto him repaired Uzziel; also Hananiah These were two eminent persons, one among the workers or casters of gold, the other among the perfumers. They fortified Jerusalem, &c., unto the broad wall It is not said, they repaired, but, they fortified it, either because this part of the wall was less demolished than the other, and therefore they needed not to repair it, but only to make it stronger; or, to note their extraordinary care and diligence, that they would not only repair it, but make it stronger than ever.