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.
I went out at night through the Valley Gate, past the Jackal Well, and to the Dung Gate. I examined Jerusalem's walls, which were broken down, and saw that its gates had been destroyed by fire.
Nehemiah secretly inspected Jerusalem's damaged walls and burned gates at night to assess what needed to be rebuilt.
📚 Historical Context
This occurred around 445 BC when Nehemiah had just arrived in Jerusalem from the Persian court where he served as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes. The walls and gates had been destroyed about 140 years earlier when the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem in 586 BC. Nehemiah conducted this nighttime survey secretly before announcing his rebuilding plans to avoid potential opposition from local enemies.
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