Nehemiah 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.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
out	וָאֵצְאָ֨ה va.'e.tze.'Ah	H3318	to go (causatively · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 1st person common singular + paragogic he
night	לַ֗יְלָה Lay.lah	H3915	properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
gate	בְשַֽׁעַר ve.sha.'ar-	H8179	an opening · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
valley	הַגַּ֜יא ha.Gai'	H1516	a gorge (from its lofty sides · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
before	פְּנֵי֙ pe.Nei	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct
dragon	הַתַּנִּ֔ין ha.ta.Nin	H8577	a marine or land monster · proper noun, a place name
well	עֵ֣ין 'ein	H5869	an eye (literally or figuratively) · proper noun, a place name
dung	הָאַשְׁפֹּ֑ת ha.'ash.Pot	H830	a heap of rubbish or filth · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
port	שַׁ֖עַר Sha.'ar	H8179	an opening · noun, common masculine singular construct
viewed	שֹׂבֵ֜ר so.Ver	H7663	to scrutinize · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
walls	בְּחוֹמֹ֤ת be.cho.Mot	H2346	a wall of protection · preposition + noun, common feminine plural construct
Jerusalem	יְרוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙ ye.ru.sha.Lim	H3389	Jerushalaim or Jerushalem · proper noun, a place name
down	הֵ֣ם hem fe.ru.tzim	H6555	to break out (in many applications · personal pronoun, 3rd person masculine plural + verb, qal passive participle, masculine plural absolute
gates	וּשְׁעָרֶ֖יהָ u.she.'a.Rei.ha	H8179	an opening · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
consumed	אֻכְּל֥וּ 'u.ke.Lu	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · verb, pual perfect, 3rd person common plural
fire	בָאֵֽשׁ va.'Esh	H784	fire (literally or figuratively) · preposition with the article + noun, common both genders singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Nehemiah 1:3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Je…
2 Chronicles 26:9 Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them.
Nehemiah 2:3 And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres…
Nehemiah 2:17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and…
Nehemiah 3:13-14 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…
Nehemiah 2:15 Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.
Nehemiah 12:31 Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks, whereof one went on the ri…
Jeremiah 5:10 Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD’s.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 2:9–end

We are here told, I. Now Nehemiah was dismissed by the court he was sent from. The king appointed captains of the army and horsemen to go with him (Neh 2:9), both for his guard and to show that he was a man whom the king did delight to honour, that all the king's servants might respect him accordingly. Those whom the King of kings sends he thus protects, he thus dignifies with a host of angels to attend them. II. How he was received by the country he was sent to. 1. By the Jews and their friends at Jerusalem. We are told, (1.) That while he concealed his errand they took little notice of him. He was at Jerusalem three days (Neh 2:11), and it does not appear that any of the great men of the c…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 2:13

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.

Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 2:13

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.

John Gill on Nehemiah 2:13

And I went out by night, by the gate of the valley,.... Where that formerly stood, for the gates had been burnt, and were not as yet rebuilt; this was the gate that led to the valley of Jehoshaphat, according to some; or rather to the valley of dead bodies, through which the brook Kidron ran, see 2 Chronicles 26:9 it is the gate through which Christ went to Calvary; it led to Shiloh, Bethhoron, and Golan: even before the dragon well; so called from its winding about, just as a crooked winding river is called serpentine; though some think here stood an image of a dragon, either in wood, or stone, or brass, out of the mouth of which the water flowed from the well; and others, that since the d…

Dictionary and topics

Dragon well — (Neh. 2:13), supposed by some to be identical with the Pool of Gihon.
Dung — (1.) Used as manure (Luke 13:8); collected outside the city walls (Neh. 2:13). Of sacrifices, burned outside the camp (Ex. 29:14; Lev. 4:11; 8:17; Num. 19:5). To be “cast out as dung,” a figurative…
Dung-gate — (Neh. 2:13), a gate of ancient Jerusalem, on the south-west quarter. “The gate outside of which lay the piles of sweepings and offscourings of the streets,” in the valley of Tophet.
Fountain — (Heb. ‘ain; i.e., “eye” of the water desert), a natural source of living water. Palestine was a “land of brooks of water, of fountains, and depths that spring out of valleys and hills” (Deut. 8:7;…
Jerusalem — Called also Salem, Ariel, Jebus, the “city of God,” the “holy city;” by the modern Arabs el-Khuds, meaning “the holy;” once “the city of Judah” (2 Chr. 25:28). This name is in the original in the…
Sanballat — Held some place of authority in Samaria when Nehemiah went up to Jerusalem to rebuild its ruined walls. He vainly attempted to hinder this work (Neh. 2:10, 19; 4:1-12; 6). His daughter became the…
Country · LOVE OF — LOVE OF
Gates · Of Jerusalem: Valley gate — Of Jerusalem: Valley gate
Gihon · the city of — the city of
Hezekiah · .Conducts the Gihon Brook into — .Conducts the Gihon Brook into
Jerusalem · Valley gate — Valley gate
Prudence · Exemplified: Nehemiah — Exemplified: Nehemiah

Nehemiah 2:13

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 2:9–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 2:13

Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 2:13

John Gill on Nehemiah 2:13

Dictionary and topics

Nehemiah 2:13

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 2:9–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 2:13

Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 2:13

John Gill on Nehemiah 2:13

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Nehemiah 2:13

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Nehemiah 2:13

Rashi on Nehemiah 2:13