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“The Stone of Coordination (Nehemiah 3)”
The Stone of Coordination (Nehemiah 3)
Wade Webster
At first, the third chapter of Nehemiah might just seem like a long list of names of people and places. We might be tempted to just skip it. However, since God saw fit to include it, we must see fit to investigate it. In the third chapter, we see great coordination. Notice the language throughout the chapter: “next to” (2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 19) and “after him/them’ (16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 27, 29, 30, 31). Workers are working one after the other or side by side. The workers seem to have been organized or coordinated according to three things: ability, activity, and address.
First, the workers seem to have been organized by ability. There were clearly different levels of expertise among the workers. Notice the different occupations mentioned in the chapter: priests (1, 22, 28), goldsmiths (8, 31, 32), perfumers (8), leaders (12, 15, 16, 18, 19), Levites (19), gatekeepers (29), and merchants (32). Likely, many of these individuals knew little to nothing about laying stones or building walls. Yet, they were willing to learn. They did what they could. Notice further that one man worked on the wall with his daughters (12). I doubt that these girls were stonemasons, but they pitched in and helped. In addition to the differences that we have noticed, the assigned jobs required different skill levels. Some jobs required more ability. For example, hanging doors and gates (1, 3, 6, 13, 14, 15), laying beams (3, 6), and repairing towers and ovens (11) required more specialized workers than other tasks. Furthermore, please notice that some built (1, 2, 3), evidently from scratch, while others simply repaired what had been broken down (4, 5, 6-32). Building a wall from scratch was more difficult than merely putting stones back into place.
Second, the workers seem to have been organized by activity. Some workers distinguished themselves by how hard they worked. We read, “After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired the other piece, from the turning of the wall unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest” (3:20). Please note that Baruch “earnestly repaired” the wall. He wasn’t just going through the motions or giving a token effort. He was giving it his all. Others in the chapter were noted for how much they did. We read, “The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the dung gates ( cf. 3:13). A thousand cubits seems like a lot, doesn’t it? Did Nehemiah assign them this section of wall because he knew how much they would do? Perhaps, he did. If not this time, he would certainly do so in the future. Sadly, some were known for their inactivity. We read, “And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord” (3:5). Evidently, the nobles thought that they were too good to get their hands dirty.
Third, the workers seem to have been organized by address. Some built near where they lived (10, 23, 28, 29, 30). We read, “From above the horse gate repaired the priests, every one over against his house. After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his house. After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate. After him repaired Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, another piece. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah over against his chamber” (28-30). No doubt, there were many advantages to this arrangement. Others worked near where they worked. For example, the priests worked on the sheep gate. This gate was named for the sacrificial animals that came in by it. It made sense that consecrated men should build it and bless it. We read, “Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel” (3:1).
As you can see, there was great order in the arrangement of the workers. No doubt, this coordination contributed greatly to the overall speed and success of the project.
