against the great tower that standeth out," namely, the large tower which Warren found. This identification struck Warren himself, and he mentions it in the "Recovery of Jerusalem," p. 295. It now wanted but a little extension of the work to complete the junction with the Wall of Ophel, at the point where Warren found that wall to end abruptly, and the narrative tells us that the Tekoites effected the junction.
Verse 28. The Ophel Wall being in good repair, is no more referred to; but the next thing mentioned is the Horse Gate. As Warren could not find any gate in the Ophel Wall, the Horse Gate must have been north of it; and here it would be at a point convenient for entrance to Solomon's Stables, which would be under the palace, and perhaps under the present vaults known as Solomon's Stables. There is a depth of about 100 feet of unexplored rubbish between the floor of Solomon's Stables and the rock at the south-eastern angle. The true stables may lie buried in this rubbish.
"Above the Horse Gate repaired the priests, every one over against his own house." These houses of priests are in a position exactly corresponding with the house of Eliashib and others on the west side. The expression "over against," implies that the city wall which is being repaired stands removed from the priests' houses, which border the Temple courts, and it would be eastward of the present Haram wall. Herr Schick draws it so.
Verse 29. An East Gate is referred to (Mizrach), not to be confounded with the Gate Harsith, the so-called East Gate of Jeremiah xix. 2 in the Authorised Version. It may be the Shushan Gate, which, according to the Talmud, stood over against the east front of the Temple.
When we come over against the Golden Gate—which Nehemiah calls the Gate Miphkad—we are just where Warren's tunnelling work was arrested by a massive
