Dear RTB’ers,
Arise and build. (v. 2:18, from yesterday) And they did! Today’s whole chapter is about the rebuilding of the Jerusalem walls, with details on who were the leaders in building this or that section, and ten gates specifically mentioned. One item that stands out for me (noted in my Study Bible) is that there are two occurrences of people doing double duty. First we see Meshullam the son of Berechiah in verses 4 and 30, then the Tekoites in verses 5 and 27.
Another item of interest is twelve occurrences in this chapter of the word house. Verses16 and 31 have “…as far as the house…”; verses 20, 21, 24 and 25 have “…to (or from) the (door of) the house…”; and verses 10, 23, 28, and 29 have “…opposite his (their) house…”. In ancient times the city walls often formed the fourth wall of a person’s house, so a group of people building near their own house or opposite their houses had a particular interest in that part of the city wall.
Arise and build. What’s on your plans today?
Blessings.
Fred