Nehemiah 2:13

13. by the gate of the valley] R.V. by the valley gate. The R.V. rendering is preferable, showing that Nehemiah is not merely defining the position of the gate but is referring to it by its recognised name.

The valley-gate is mentioned again in Neh_3:13. The king Uzziah according to 2Ch_26:9 had fortified this gate with towers. We may safely identify this gate as the chief gate in the western wall of Jerusalem, and as thus corresponding to the modern Jaffa Gate, although very possibly not standing at precisely the same spot. There were two well-known valleys outside the walls of Jerusalem, (1) the ‘valley’ or ‘ravine’ (gai) of Hinnom or ‘the son of Hinnom,’ i.e. Gehenna, cf. Jos_15:8; Jos_18:16; 2Ki_23:10; 2Ch_28:3; 2Ch_33:6; Neh_11:30; Jer_7:31-32; Jer_19:6; (2) the ‘valley’ or ‘brook’ or ‘watercourse’ (nakhal) of Kedron. In the present verse the word for ‘valley’ is ‘gai,’ and this fact coupled with the general topographical description here and in Neh_3:13, shows that ‘the valley-gate’ was the western gate leading out into the ravine of Hinnom.

Recent investigations, however, have given rise to the supposition that pre-exilic Jerusalem was much smaller in circuit and that the western wall passed down the valley of the Tyropoeon. If so, ‘the valley-gate’ would be the gate opening into the Tyropoeon, which in those days was a considerable ravine but has since become almost completely choked with accumulations of ruin. According to this view the Tyropoeon is to be identified with the Valley of the Son of Hinnom.

even before the dragon well] R.V. even towards the dragon’s well. The LXX. misreading the less common word in the Hebrew for ‘dragon,’ renders καὶ πρὸς στὸμα πηγῆς τῶν συκῶν. The name is doubtless connected with some sanctuary at this fountain in prehistoric times, when ‘living water’ was associated with the worship of a deity often represented by a ‘dragon.’ Prof. Robertson Smith (Religion of the Semites, pp. 156, 157) calls attention to ‘the connection of jinns in the form of dragons or serpents with sacred or healing springs’ … ‘The river of Coele-Syria, the Orontes, was carved out, according to local tradition, by a great dragon, which disappeared in the earth at its source.’ The explanation that the well was so called ‘because some curious large watersnake or crocodile was kept in it in Nehemiah’s time’ may be disregarded as fanciful and improbable.

The identification of the well is uncertain. By some it has been identified with ‘En-Rogel,’ near ‘the serpent’s stone,’ the stone of Zoheleth (1Ki_1:9). But see Neh_2:15. By others it has been identified with ‘the fountain of Gihon’ (1Ki_1:33). Neither of these suggestions suits the present verse, from which we gather that ‘the dragon fountain stood on the W. or S.W. wall of the city.’ If it was a spring in the Tyropoeon Valley, it has long since been choked up. ‘The rock-hewn conduit which has been found running along the bed of the Tyropoeon Valley’ (Sir Chas. Wilson’s Jerusalem, p. 113, 1889) may very well have conducted the water from such a spring. The ‘serpent,’ or Mamilla Pool, lay at the N. end of the modern Hinnom Valley (Joseph. Bell. Jud. v. 3. 2).

dung port] R.V. dung gate. The A.V. probably introduced the rendering ‘port’ as an intentional variation. For ‘port’ as the old English word for ‘gate,’ compare in the Prayer-book Version Psa_9:14, ‘within the ports of the daughter of Sion.’ Shakespeare, Coriolanus, i. 7, ‘So let the ports be guarded’ (see The Bible Word-Book, by W. Aldis Wright).

The dung-gate was probably so called because the refuse of the town was carried out through this gate. Some scholars suppose this to be the same as ‘the gate Harsith’ or ‘gate of potsherds’ mentioned in Jer_19:2. It is mentioned also in Neh_3:13-14; Neh_12:31. The proposal to identify it with the modern ‘dung-gate,’ the ‘Bâb-el-Mughâribe,’ is very natural; but the similarity of the name may be misleading. We might however assume that such a gate would be near the Southern extremity of the city, or at any rate not far from the lowest depression in the neighbourhood of the city.

and viewed the walls, &c.] ‘viewed,’ that is, ‘surveyed,’ as in Shakespeare Hen. V. ii. 4, ‘Therefore, I say ‘tis meet we all go forth To view the sick and feeble parts of France.’—So the Vulg. ‘considerabam.’

The Hebrew word, ‘shobhêr,’ which it translates is very unusual in this sense. It ordinarily means to ‘break’ or ‘burst,’ and hence some have rendered ‘and broke my way through the walls,’ and even ‘made my way over the broken fragments;’ while the LXX. has καὶ ᾔμην συντρίβων ἐν τῷ τείχει Ἱερουσαλήμ. The similar late Hebrew verb ‘sabhar,’ rendered ‘hope’ (Est_9:1; Isa_38:18; Psa_119:166), ‘wait’ (Psa_104:27; Psa_145:15), ‘tarry’ (Rth_1:13), is probably only a variant of the word which occurs here. It was the misunderstanding of this word which caused Rashi to suggest in his note on Neh_2:12 that the object of Nehemiah and his companions was to break down portions of the wall that remained, in order that on the next morning the Jews might the more readily assent to his proposals!

broken down, … consumed with fire] Cf. Neh_1:3, Neh_2:3. It is uncertain whether the Hebrew text had ‘wall’ or ‘walls.’ The LXX. and Latin versions both have the singular (τείχει, murum). The traditional Hebrew vocalization favours the plural.

13–15. Nehemiah’s tour of inspection[1]

[1] The Topography of the Walls of Jerusalem, in pre-Maccabean times, remains in great obscurity. The places mentioned in Neh_2:13-15; Neh_2:3; Neh_12:37-39 cannot as yet be said to have been certainly identified except in one or two instances. So long as those who are best acquainted with the subject, differ widely from one another, we may be content to forbear expressing any decided opinion, until further evidence be brought to light.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Neh 2:13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.

Ver. 13. By the gate of the valley] By which men went into the valley of Jehoshaphat, Joe 3:2; Joe 3:12. The Septuagint call it Portam Galilae, the gate of dead men’s skulls; because that way they went out to Golgotha.

Even before the dragon well] So called, either because some venomous serpent had been found there; or because the waters ran out of the mouth of a brazen serpent; or because they ran creepingly, softly, as the waters of Shiloah, Isa 8:6.

And to the dung port] Where was their common dunghill, a sewer to the city; near whereunto ran the brook Kidron, or the town sewer.

And viewed the wall of Jerusalem] Junius rendereth it, Ubi effringebam de muris, Where I broke off a piece of the wall; sc. that I might try the soundness or unsoundness of that which remaineth of it, that I might know whether it needed to be all pulled down, or whether it might be built upon. Our translators read it, sober, not shober; and thence the different interpretation.

Which were broken down] Asher hem perutsim: Hem, with an open Mem, which is not usual ( הס pro המ); to set forth, as some think, the rupture and openness of the walls, so much bewailed by this good man in this chapter. The final form for the î was not used. {Hebrew Text Note}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Neh 2:13. I went out by night — The footmen who accompanied him directing and leading him in the way. His design was to go around the city, to observe the compass and condition of the walls and gates, that he might make sufficient provisions for the work. By the gate of the valley — Of which see Neh 3:13. Even before the dragon-well — A fountain of water so called, either from some figure of a dragon or serpent which was by it, or from some living dragon which had taken up its abode there when the city was desolate. To the dung-port — Through which they used to carry the dung out of the city.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2:13 Jackal’s Well might have been En-rogel, a water source located about 400 yards [365 meters] south of the city, or the pool of Siloam, which is filled by water flowing through Hezekiah’s meandering, serpentine tunnel. • The Dung Gate (called the “Gate of Broken Pots” in Jer 19:2) at the southern end of the western wall (see Neh 3:13) led to the Hinnom Valley, where inhabitants of the city threw their garbage.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

I went out by night by the gate of the valley--that is, the Jaffa gate, near the tower of Hippicus.

even before the dragon well--that is, fountain on the opposite side of the valley.

and to the dung port--the gate on the east of the city, through which there ran a common sewer to the brook Kedron and the valley of Hinnom.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 13. The dragon well] Perhaps so called because of the representation of a dragon, out of whose mouth the stream issued that proceeded from the well.

Dung port] This was the gate on the eastern side of the city, through which the filth of the city was carried into the valley of Hinnom.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(13) The gate of the valley, opening on Hinnom, to the south of the city. Nehemiah passed by “the dragon well,” nowhere else mentioned, and not now to be traced, and surveyed the ruins from the “dung port,” whence offal was taken to the valley of Hinnom.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then I went on to the pool of the fountain, and to the king's pool..... That led to the fountain Siloah or Gihon, so called; it was the way to the potter's field, to Bethlehem, Hebron, Gaza, and Egypt. Rauwolff says (t) there is still standing on the outside of the valley Tyropaeum (which distinguishes the two mountains Zion and Moriah) the gate of the fountain, which hath its name, because it leadeth towards the fountain of Siloah, called the king's pool:

but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass; because of the heaps of rubbish that lay there.

(t) Travels, par. 3. c. 3. p. 227.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The gate of the valley - A gate opening on the valley of Hinnom, which skirted Jerusalem to the west and south. The exact position is uncertain; as is also that of “the dragon well.”

The dung port - The gate by which offal and excrements were conveyed out of the city, and placed eastward of the valley-gate.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Valley of Cedron, on the east, (Calmet) or west, near Calvary. (Menochius) (Tirinus) --- Dragon. Hebrew Tannin, or "great fish," which might be kept there, unless the fountain was famous for the appearance of some dragon, or the water proceeded from the mouth of a brazen one. Septuagint have read thanim, "figs." The fountain of Siloc might have many names. (Calmet) --- Viewed. Septuagint, "I walked upon the wall of Jerusalem, which these men are demolishing or clearing away," &c. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

I went out by night; the footmen which accompanied him directing and leading him in the way. his design was to go round about the city, to observe the compass and condition of the walls and gates, that he might make sufficient provisions for the work.

By the gate of the valley; of which see Neh 3:13.

Before the dragon well; a fountain of water so called, either from some figure of a dragon or serpent which was by it; or from some living dragon which abode there when the city was desolate; for dragons delight to be in desolate places, and nigh to springs of water, as divers have observed.

To the dung-port; through which they used to carry the dung out of the city.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

13. The gate of the valley — The gate that opened into the valley of Gihon, on the west side of the city, and just at the point where that valley takes a bend off towards the northwest. This would be at the northwestern corner of Zion, where afterwards stood the Tower of Hippicus, erected by Herod.

Before the dragon well — The modern upper pool of Gihon, towards which the gate just mentioned must have opened. What gave it this name is now unknown.

The dung port — Why our translators rendered the same word port here, which they render gate above, is not apparent. This dung gate is supposed to have been at or near the southwestern corner of the city wall, where the filth and garbage of this part of the city were carried out and thrown down into the deep valley below. See on Neh_3:13.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The valley gate. A gate on the western or south-western side of Jerusalem, opening towards the valley of Hinnom. There are no means of fixing its exact position. It was one of those which Uzziah fortified. (2Ch_26:9) The dragon well. Dean Stanley suggests that "the dragon well" is the spring known generally as "the pool of Siloam," and that the legend, which describes the intermittent flow of the Siloam water as produced by the opening and closing of a dragon s mouth, had already sprung up ("Lectures on the Jewish Church," Third Series, p. 125); but the Siloam spring seems to lie too far to the eastward to suit the present passage, and is most likely represented by the "king"s pool" of ver. 14. The dung port. "The gate outside of which lay the piles of the sweepings and offscourings of the streets" ("Stanley," 1. s.c.); situated towards the middle of the southern wall.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I went - The footmen who accompanied him directing and leading him in the way. His design was to go round the city, to observe the compass and condition of the walls and gates, that he might make sufficient provisions for the work.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

"And I went out by night by the valley-gate, and towards the dragon-well, and to the dung-gate." אל־פּני, in the direction towards. The dragon-well only occurs here by this name. Judging from its position between the valley-gate and the dung-gate, it is either identical with the well of Gihon (Robinson, Palestine, ii. p. 166), whose waters supply the upper and lower pools in the valley of Gihon, the present Birket el Mamilla and Birket es Sultan, or situate in its immediate neighbourhood. The valley-gate is the modern gate of the city leading to the valley of Gihon, and situated at or near the present Jaffa gate; see rem. on Neh 3:13. The dung-gate (האשׁפּת שׁער), which in Neh 3:13 also is placed next the valley-gate, and was a thousand cubits distant therefrom, must be sought for on the south-western side of Zion, where a road, to the south of Nebi Dd and the Zion gate, now descends into the valley of Hinnom, towards Sr Baher. "And I viewed the walls of Jerusalem which lay broken down, and its gates which were consumed by fire." The word שׁבר, which the lxx read, "I was breaking down," gives no tolerable sense; for it cannot mean, I broke through the walls, or, I made a path through the ruins. Many MSS, however, and several editions, offer שׂבר; and R. Norzi informs us that D. Kimchi and Aben Ezra read שׁבר. שׂבר, of which only the Piel occurs in Hebrew, answers to the Aramaean סבר, to look to something; and to the Arabic sbr, to investigate; and ב סבר means to look on, to consider, to direct the eyes and thoughts to some object. In the open מ of הם Hiller conjectures that there is a trace of another reading, perhaps מפרצים; comp. Neh 1:3.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

General Information:

A few men accompanied Nehemiah on this inspection, but he speaks in the first person because he was the primary person. (See: First, Second, or Third Person)

I went out by night by the Valley Gate

"At night, I went out through the Valley Gate"

Jackal

a wild dog

Dung Gate

Presumably, refuse was removed from the city through this gate.

which had been broken open, and the wooden gates were destroyed by fire

This can be stated in active form. AT: "which Israel's enemies had broken open, and the wooden gates which their enemies had destroyed with fire" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

cistern

dung

gate

Jerusalem

fire

fountain

king

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

And I went out through the Gate of the Valley I went out through that gate at night with the men who were with me toward En Hattannin and the Dung Gate in the wall of the city; and I broke the wall, and the wall was easily cast down and broken because it had been burned with fire.

which were breached which are those places that were breached, and they breached them more.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ואהי שובר And I surveyed - From "He will think (ויסבר) of changing" (Daniel 7:25). And from the language of the Sages of Blessed Memory: speculation (סברא). And the meaning is I was thinking about and studying the walls.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.