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;

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Nehemiah speaks in first person to his audience during a nighttime survey of Jerusalem’s ruined walls. He pauses his inspection after the Valley Gate to report a physical obstruction at the Fountain Gate and King’s Pool.

The words — The Hebrew בְּרֵכַת הַמֶּלֶךְ (berēkhat hammelekh) literally means “pool of the king,” while וְאֵין (ve’eyn) conveys “and there was not.” These terms anchor the narrative to a specific royal water reservoir and its functional failure.

The thread — The Fountain Gate appears again in Nehemiah 3:15 as a restoration project for Shallun, while the King’s Pool connects to Hezekiah’s waterworks in 2 Kings 20:20 and 2 Chronicles 32:30. These references establish a recurring biblical pattern of royal water infrastructure and its later repair.

Why it lands — The verse records a concrete obstacle that halts Nehemiah’s inspection, forcing a detour. It requires the reader to recognize how physical barriers interrupt leadership surveys and demand practical assessment before reconstruction begins.

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

וָאֶֽעֱבֹר֙va./'e.'e.Vorand/ I passed on אֶל־'el-to שַׁ֣עַרSha.'ar[the] gate of הָעַ֔יִןha./'A.yinthe/ spring וְאֶל־ve./'el-and/ to בְּרֵכַ֖תbe.re.Khat[the] pool of הַמֶּ֑לֶךְha./Me.lekhthe/ king וְאֵין־ve./'ein-and/ there not מָק֥וֹםma.Kom[was] room לַבְּהֵמָ֖הla./be.he.Mahfor the/ animal לַעֲבֹ֥רla./'a.Vorto/ pass through תַּחְתָּֽי׃tach.Ta/iunder/ me

King James Version

Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.

Cross-references

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.
2 Kings 20:20 As for the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, along with all his might and how he constructed the pool and the tunnel to bring water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
2 Chronicles 32:30 It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Spring of Gihon and channeled it down to the west side of the City of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all that he did.
2 Kings 18:17 Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.