Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.
Then Eliashib the high priest - the grandson of Jeshua, and the first high priest after the return from Babylon.
Rose up, with his brethren the priests - i:e., set an example by commencing the work, their labours being confined to the sacred localities.
They builded the sheep gate - close to the temple. Its name arose either from the sheep-market, or from the pool of Bethesda, where the sheep were washed, which was there (John 5:2) [in this passage, however, the rendering of the Septuagint, epi tee probatikee, is erroneously explained in the English version by agora, market, instead of by pulee, gate, as here and in Nehemiah 12:39], and thence they were taken to the temple for sacrifice.
They sanctified it, and set up the doors. Being the common entrance into the temple, and the first part of the building repaired, it is probable that some religious ceremonies were observed in gratitude for its completion. It was the first fruits, and, therefore, in the sanctification of it the whole lump and building was sanctified.
The tower of Meah. This word is improperly considered, in our version, as the name of a tower. It is the Hebrew word for 'a hundred,' so that the meaning is, they not only rebuilt the sheep gate, but also a hundred cubits of the wall, which extended as far as the tower of Hananeel.