We may take it for granted that this part of the wall would leave the other at the south-eastern corner of Zion, near the Pottery-gate, where the hill is steep, and keep along the declivity throughout its whole extent, for the sake of more perfect defence. There were stairs in this wall just above the wall that continued to the Fountain-gate (Neh. xii, 37 ; iii, 15), which imply at least a small gate there, as they led into the Upper City. They would naturally be placed within the outer waU for the sake of security, and at the eastern side of this corner of Zion, where the rock is still precipitous (al- thougli the stairs have disappeared), so that they afford additional confirmation to the wall in question.
(10.) Above the Sepulchre of David, and beyond " the pool that was made," Nehemiah (chap, iii, IG) places " the house of the mighty," apparentlj^ a Giants' Tower, to defend the wall. Immediately north of this we may conjecture would be a gate, occurring opposite the mod- ern Zion-gate, and over against the ancient Sheep-gate, altliough the steepness of the hill would prevent its gen- eral use.
Farther north is apparently mentioned (Neh. iii, 19) another minor entrance, " the going up to the armory at the turning of the wall," meaning probably the bend in the brow of Zion opposite the south-western corner of the Temple, near where the bridge connected them.
Farther on, another " turning of the wall, even unto the corner," is mentioned (Neh. iii, 24), but in Avhat di- rection, and how far off, cannot be determined with any degree of certainty. It may mean the junction with the wall of the bridge.
From this point it becomes impossible to trace the or- der pursued b> Nehemiah in the rest of the third chap- ter, as he does not (lescril)e the wall from point to point, but mostly refers to certain objects opposite which they lay, and frequently omits the sign of continuity ("after him"). All that can be definitely gathered as to the consecutive course of the wall is that, by various turns on different sides, its respective parts faced certain fixed points, especially " the tower lying out" (verses 25, 26, 27) ; that it contained three gates (the " Water-gate," verse 26; the "Horse-gate," verse 28; and the gate " .^liphkad," verse 81) ; that it adjoined Ophel (verse 27) ; and that it completed the circuit of walls in this direc- tion (verse 32). It needs but a glance to see that all
this strikingly agrees, in general, with the above-men- tioned inclosure in the valley of the Tyropceon just above the bridge, which certainly embraced all the ob- jects referred to by Nehemiah, as we shall see ; and this fact of the quadrilateral form of these portions of the wall will best account for the apparent confusion of this part of his statement (as our total ignorance of many of the elements of elucidation makes it now seem), as well as his repeated use of the peculiar mode of description, " over against." Our best course is to follow the pre- sumed line, which the nature of the ground seems to re- quire, and identify the points as they occur, trusting to the naturalness with which they may fall in with our scheme for its vindication.
After leaving the bend at the junction with th«? bridge, we should therefore indicate the course of the v.'all as following the natural declivity on the north-east edge of Zion in a gentle curve, till it joined the north~ em line of the old wall, about half way between the gate Gennath and the Temple. Indeed, the language of Nehemiah (xii, 37) implies that " the going up of the [branch] wall" extended " above the house of David" (i.e. the "king's house"), and thence bent "even unto the Wator-gate eastward."
(11.) On this part of the wall, at its junction with the bridge, we think must be placed the Horse-gate (2 Kings xi, 16 ; 2 Chron. xxiii, 15 ; Neh. iii, 28 ; Jer. xxxi, 38- 40).
(12.) Not far to the north of this must be placed " the Toicer lying out" (Neh. iii, 25, 26, 27).
(13.) On the north side of the space included by the parts of tliis wall we place the Water-gate (Neh. iii, 26 ; xii,37 ; comp. Neh. viii, 1, 3, 16) ; probably the same with the Middle-gate (Jer. xxxix, 3 ; compare 2, 4, 5).
(14.) The only remaining gate in this part of the walls is the Prison-gate, in the middle of the bridge op- posite the Water-gate (Neh. xii, 30-40) ; probably the same witli the gate Miphkad, referred to by Nehemiah as lying between the Horse-gate and tlie Sheep-gate (chap, iii, 28, 31,32), an identity which the name favors — being literally Gate of revietcing, perhaps from the census being taken at this place of concourse, or (with the Vulgate) Gate oi judgment, from its proximity to the prison,
(G.) The Second or Middle Wall. — Josephus's state- ment of the course of this wall is in these words : " But the second [wall] had (first) its beginning from the gate wliich they called Gennath, belonging to the first wall, and then, encircling the northern slope only, went up [or, returned] as far as Antonia" ( War, v, 4, 2). It had forty towers (;ibid. 3), probably of the same general size as those of the outer wall. If we have correctly identified Acra, it must be this hill that Josephus calls "the northern slope;" and the direction of this will re- quire that the wall, after leaving Gennath, shoidd skirt the lowest edge of Golgotha in nearly a straight line till it reached the upper end of the TjTopajon, opposite the western edge of Acra, This direct course agrees with the absence of any special remark in Josephus re- specting its line between these two points. Neither Is there mention of any gate or tower along it, near Gen- nath nor opposite Golgotha ; so that,