Bible Strands
Nehemiah 12:37
At the Fountain Gate they went directly up the steps of the City of David on the ascent to the wall and passed above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Nehemiah narrates the movement of the first thanksgiving procession during the dedication of Jerusalem’s wall, with Ezra the scribe directing the group. The account records the physical route taken by the participants as they circle the restored city.
The words — עָלוּ ('alu) means "they went up," and מַעֲלוֹת (ma'alot) translates to "steps" or "ascent," describing the literal climb from the Fountain Gate toward the wall.
The thread — The Fountain Gate appears in Nehemiah 2:14 during Nehemiah’s initial inspection, while the Water Gate is noted in Nehemiah 3:26 for repairs and Nehemiah 8:1 for public assembly. The procession route in Nehemiah 12:37-38 mirrors the city’s restored boundaries.
Why it lands — The text maps a precise geographic path for a civic-religious parade, requiring the reader to track Jerusalem’s topography and the organized restoration of its gates and walls. It demands attention to how physical movement and structured worship intersect in the post-exilic community.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And at the fountain gate, which was over against them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, even unto the water gate eastward.
Cross-references
- Nehemiah 2:14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to get through;
- Nehemiah 3:26 and the temple servants living on the hill of Ophel made repairs opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the tower that juts out.
- Nehemiah 8:1 At that time all the people gathered together in the square before the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.
- Nehemiah 8:3 So Ezra read it aloud from daybreak until noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate, in front of the men and women and those who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.
- Nehemiah 8:16 And the people went out, brought back branches, and made booths on their own rooftops, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God, and in the squares by the Water Gate and by the Gate of Ephraim.
- 2 Samuel 5:7 Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion (that is, the City of David).
- Nehemiah 3:15 The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it, roofed it, and installed its doors, bolts, and bars. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Shelah near the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that descend from the City of David.