Why Did Jerusalem’s New Gates Only Open Midday?

Nehemiah 7:3

Amichai Lau-Lavie (he/him)

May 20, 2025

Gates made of stone and lists made of words are how societies determine who’s in and who’s out. Both will play an important part in this chapter.

The women of Jerusalem aren’t often mentioned by name in the memoir of Nehemiah - but we’ve already met the last prophetess and also heard the women’s voices as they protested economic inequality, along with their men.

The drama of the unnamed foreign wives and the exclusivist demand to banish them so that the ‘sacred seed’ of Israel is retains will return in the latter chapters of this book. But in today’s chapter, as Nehemiah continues to fortify Jerusalem and build its wall and gates -- a family is mentioned, with a matrilineal line. It’s a curious window into a reality that must have been more prevalent in that society but eventually either discontinued - likely by force -- or not written about or discussed. Who are the ones mentioned here and what does it tell us about this moment in the formation of this society?

The chapter begins with what seems to be an emergency existence -- there is a new command to keep the city gates closed until mid-morning - likely as a way to prevent any hostile neighbors from surprising the people of Jerusalem who stand on guard. Nehemiah describes his new rule, addressing the people who will take turns guarding the gates and each of their homes:

וָאֹמַ֣רלָהֶ֗ם לֹ֣א יִפָּֽתְח֞וּ שַׁעֲרֵ֤י יְרוּשָׁלַ֙͏ִם֙ עַד־חֹ֣ם הַשֶּׁ֔מֶשׁ וְעַ֨ד הֵ֥ם עֹמְדִ֛ים יָגִ֥יפוּ הַדְּלָת֖וֹת וֶאֱחֹ֑זוּ וְהַעֲמֵ֗יד מִשְׁמְרוֹת֙ יֹשְׁבֵ֣י יְרוּשָׁלַ֔͏ִם אִ֚ישׁ בְּמִשְׁמָר֔וֹ וְאִ֖ישׁ נֶ֥גֶד בֵּיתֽוֹ׃

I said to the people, “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the heat of the day, and before you leave your postslet the doors be closed and barred. And assign the inhabitants of Jerusalem to watches, each man to his watch, and each in front of his own house.”

But who is on the list of watchmen? Nehemiah goes back to the books of a generation ago and retrieves the lineage lists from the early days of Ezra - repeating the lists almost verbatim. Expect there is a slight surprise among those listed who do not have proof of priestly lineage linking them to the first temple privileges:

וּמִן־הַכֹּ֣הֲנִ֔ים בְּנֵ֥י חֳבַיָּ֖ה בְּנֵ֣י הַקּ֑וֹץ בְּנֵ֣י בַרְזִלַּ֗י אֲשֶׁ֣ר לָ֠קַ֠ח מִבְּנ֞וֹת בַּרְזִלַּ֤י הַגִּלְעָדִי֙ אִשָּׁ֔ה וַיִּקָּרֵ֖א עַל־שְׁמָֽם׃ אֵ֗לֶּה בִּקְשׁ֧וּ כְתָבָ֛ם הַמִּתְיַחְשִׂ֖ים וְלֹ֣א נִמְצָ֑א וַיְגֹֽאֲל֖וּ מִן־הַכְּהֻנָּֽה׃

Of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and had taken their name—

These are the ones who searched for their genealogical records, but they could not be found, so they were disqualified for the priesthood.

Is there any special reason for mentioning this one family that has a material line?

Not clear, but Prof. Ruhama Weiss has some thoughts about this family, with a critical feminist lens:

“Nice to meet you — already in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah we find a family identified by the name of the mother, not the father. The sons of Barzillai trace their lineage through their maternal line, not their paternal one. A delightful surprise — here we see early roots of pride and matrilineal identity in the Bible.

I turn to the patriarch of the family, Grandfather Barzillai the Gileadite, a wealthy man who provided for King David. When David returns to Jerusalem after Absalom’s rebellion, he wishes to reward Barzillai, to bring him to Jerusalem and support him there. But Barzillai, already an elderly and wise man, declines the king’s offer with polite and thoughtful words in 2 Samuel 19:36–38):

“I am eighty years old today. Can I tell the difference between what is good and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or drinks?... Let your servant return, that I may die in my own town near the graves of my mother and father.”

I rub my eyes: "The grave of my mother and father"? As far as I recall and as far as I’ve checked, wise and wealthy Grandpa Barzillai is the only biblical figure who speaks of being buried by “my mother and father,” since the standard phrase is “burial with the fathers”.

What a wonderful family, what a place of honor for the women in the family. The behavior of the patriarch becomes a sign for his descendants — who are known by the name of their mother.

And yet, there's a thorn in this rose: this family, named after the mother, does not appear in the official list of priestly lineage, because they lacked the required genealogical documentation after all, their lineage came through the mother…”

Nehemiahs’ lists of lineage and who’s who comes out to 42,360 people, plus 7,337 male and female servants and 245 temple singers.

The exact same numbers appear in the same list mentioned in the Book of Ezra, even including the lineage-less Barzilai family.

And while scholars debate whether Ezra and Nehemiah did or did not exist at the same time and stood together--the lists are coordinated, as is the date on which they are concluded. It is an attempt to paint a picture of collective unity as a way to pave the path to the next step.

The next chapter presents the two leaders standing together, and both genealogy lists lead us and the people who populate these lists, through the open gates of the city - to the scene that happens within those gates, on the first day of the seventh month of the year - a crisp fall day that will change the course of Jewish story and world history.

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Below the Bible Belt

Why Did Jerusalem’s New Gates Only Open Midday?

Nehemiah 7:3

Gates made of stone and lists made of words are how societies determine who’s in and who’s out. Both will play an important part in this chapter.

The women of Jerusalem aren’t often mentioned by name in the memoir of Nehemiah - but we’ve already met the last prophetess and also heard the women’s voices as they protested economic inequality, along with their men.

I said to the people, “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the heat of the day, and before you leave your posts let the doors be closed and barred. And assign the inhabitants of Jerusalem to watches, each man to his watch, and each in front of his own house.”

Nehemiah 7:3

Of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and had taken their name—

These are the ones who searched for their genealogical records, but they could not be found, so they were disqualified for the priesthood.

Nehemiah 7:63-64

Is there any special reason for mentioning this one family that has a material line?

Not clear, but Prof. Ruhama Weiss has some thoughts about this family, with a critical feminist lens:

“I am eighty years old today. Can I tell the difference between what is good and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or drinks?... Let your servant return, that I may die in my own town near the graves of my mother and father.”

I rub my eyes: "The grave of my mother and father"? As far as I recall and as far as I’ve checked, wise and wealthy Grandpa Barzillai is the only biblical figure who speaks of being buried by “my mother and father,” since the standard phrase is “burial with the fathers”.

What a wonderful family, what a place of honor for the women in the family. The behavior of the patriarch becomes a sign for his descendants — who are known by the name of their mother.

And yet, there's a thorn in this rose: this family, named after the mother, does not appear in the official list of priestly lineage, because they lacked the required genealogical documentation after all, their lineage came through the mother…”

Nehemiahs’ lists of lineage and who’s who comes out to 42,360 people, plus 7,337 male and female servants and 245 temple singers.

The exact same numbers appear in the same list mentioned in the Book of Ezra, even including the lineage-less Barzilai family.

And while scholars debate whether Ezra and Nehemiah did or did not exist at the same time and stood together--the lists are coordinated, as is the date on which they are concluded. It is an attempt to paint a picture of collective unity as a way to pave the path to the next step.

Discussion about this post

I said to the people, “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the heat of the day, and before you leave your postslet the doors be closed and barred. And assign the inhabitants of Jerusalem to watches, each man to his watch, and each in front of his own house.”