(16) The sepulchres of David.--Excavated on the western side of the Temple, and never yet traced.

The pool that was made.--This may have been the reservoir of Hezekiah (Isaiah 22:11); and "the house of the mighty" may have been the barracks of David's elect troops (1Chronicles 11:10).

Verse 16. - Nehemiah the son of Azbuk. Not the writer, who was "the son of Hachaliah" (Nehemiah 1:1), but another person of the same name. It was the frequent bearing of the same name by two or more contemporaries which made it necessary to designate men generally by their own names and the names of their fathers. Bethzur ("House of the Rock") is now Beit-Sur, and lies on the ordinary route from Jerusalem to Hebron, about fifteen miles south of Jerusalem. It is mentioned in Joshua 15:58 among the cities of Judah, and appears to have become a place of considerable importance under the Maccabees (1 Maccabees 4:29 1 Maccabees 6:31-50 1 Maccabees 14:7; etc.). The sepulchres of David and the kings, his descendants, to the time of Hezekiah, were excavated in the rock upon which the temple stood (Ezekiel 43:7-9), apparently on its western side. They have not hitherto been discovered. Here too was the pool that was made by Hezekiah when he was about to be besieged by Sennacherib (2 Chronicles 32:30; Isaiah 22:9-11). The house of the mighty - the Gibborim, or "mighty men of David (2 Samuel 23:8; 1 Chronicles 11:10) - is not elsewhere mentioned. It was no doubt the barrack where, according to tradition, David had quartered his best troops.

3:1-32 The rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. - The work was divided, so that every one might know what he had to do, and mind it, with a desire to excel; yet without contention, or separate interests. No strife appears among them, but which should do most for the public good. Every Israelite should lend a hand toward the building up of Jerusalem. Let not nobles think any thing below them, by which they may advance the good of their country. Even some females helped forward the work. Some repaired over against their houses, and one repaired over against his chamber. When a general good work is to be done, each should apply himself to that part which is within his reach. If every one will sweep before his own door, the street will be clean; if every one will mend one, we shall all be mended. Some that had first done helped their fellows. The walls of Jerusalem, in heaps of rubbish, represent the desperate state of the world around, while the number and malice of those who hindered the building, give some faint idea of the enemies we have to contend with, while executing the work of God. Every one must begin at home; for it is by getting the work of God advanced in our own souls that we shall best contribute to the good of the church of Christ. May the Lord thus stir up the hearts of his people, to lay aside their petty disputes, and to disregard their worldly interests, compared with building the walls of Jerusalem, and defending the cause of truth and godliness against the assaults of avowed enemies.After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Bethzur. A strong fortified place in the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:58,

unto the place over against the sepulchres of David; where he and his family, and the kings of his race, were buried, which remained to this time untouched by the Babylonians, and to many ages after; see Acts 2:29

and to the pool that was made; not a natural, but an artificial one, which was made by Hezekiah, 2 Kings 20:20,

and unto the house of the mighty; where was a garrison of soldiers in former time for defence.