NOTES for Neh 3:1-32
The list of those who worked on rebuilding the walls appears to be more than a list of names like those that have appeared more than once in the pages of Scripture. Here we see the names of those who distinguished themselves in building the wall of Jerusalem, an ancient “roll of honor.” Thanks to it, we can see that the construction was the work of the whole people, undertaken by representatives of every social group and of all the places where the Jewish people then lived in the Promised Land. The fact that the nobles of Tekoa are said not to have put their shoulders to the work only emphasizes that nobles from other places did take part.
The wall must protect not only the inhabitants of Jerusalem who will live in the city after its restoration. It will also protect the temple from pagan hostility—a temple not yet rebuilt, but already destined to be restored.