K. A. Ristau, Reconstructing Jerusalem: Persian Period Prophetic Perspectives, University Park, Pa, 2016. Suffice to say there is hardly any archaeological evidence of a large population growth as a result of immigration. They were completed in 1538 and are the walls that exist today. Sometimes its not seeing the difficulties that prevent our taking action; its a failure to see the resources & means to a creative solution. Families and professional groups take on the responsibility for repairing stretches of the wall, while gates are provided with attics, doors, bolts and bars, and towers are rebuilt. Since their walls were still broken, their enemies can easily come and destroy them. Nehemiah is a man of perseverance & he prays & plans for four months waiting for the right opportunity to ask the king to give him the authority, responsibility, & opportunity to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls. Diana Edelman, who made an in-depth study of Jerusalem in Persian times based on biblical texts, archaeological finds and information on the Persian empire, sees Jerusalem as a birah, a small fortress used by the Persians (Edelman 2005). All in all, archaeological research has not found any actual Persian fortifications but at most indirect evidence for their construction. (between 1000 BC and 901 BC), possibly built by King Solomon, has been revealed in archaeological excavations. When the moment comes, Nehemiah offers one last brief prayer & shares his desire with the king & its granted. H. Lernau, `Fish Bones, in E. Mazar (ed. Rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem was important because it revealed God's blessing, served as a sign to Israel's enemies, and showed God was with His people. Around the city several tombs carved into the rock have been found that show a continuity from the Late Iron Age onwards. This would indicate that rich families still lived in or around Jerusalem in the Persian period. The walls surrounding the Old City encompass an area of barely a third of a square mile (1 sq. The pottery she found there originated in the Persian period, which, according to her, proved that the tower itself was Persian in date and therefore part of the fortifications mentioned in Nehemiah 3. The walls were expanded again under Herod the Great (r. 374 B.C.E. This would be the largest area the city walls would encompass. INTRODUCTION: Nehemiah means "The Lord Comforts". And David built the city all around from the Millo inward. Early September, after just 52 days, the wall was completed. Hes not afraid to use words like trouble, ruins, disgrace. No good comes from minimizing the difficulties of a task or situation that lies before us whether it is physical, relational, spiritual, financial, emotional, political or something else.