Reference: Fenced Cities
Easton
There were in Palestine (1) cities, (2) unwalled villages, and (3) villages with castles or towers (1Ch 27:25). Cities, so called, had walls, and were thus fenced. The fortifications consisted of one or two walls, on which were towers or parapets at regular intervals (2Ch 32:5; Jer 31:38). Around ancient Jerusalem were three walls, on one of which were ninety towers, on the second fourteen, and on the third sixty. The tower of Hananeel, near the north-east corner of the city wall, is frequently referred to (Ne 3:1; 12:39; Zec 14:10). The gateways of such cities were also fortified (Ne 2:8; 3:3,6; Jg 16:2-3; 1Sa 23:7).
The Hebrews found many fenced cities when they entered the Promised Land (Nu 13:28; 32:17,34-42; Jos 11:12-13; Jg 1:27-33), and we may estimate the strength of some of these cities from the fact that they were long held in possession by the Canaanites. The Jebusites, e.g., were enabled to hold possession of Jerusalem till the time of David (2Sa 5:6-7; 1Ch 11:5).
Several of the kings of Israel and Judah distinguished themselves as fortifiers or "builders" of cities.
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However the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified, very great, and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
but we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the sons of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.
And the sons of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer, and Atrothshophan, and Jazer, and Jogbehah, read more. and Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran: fortified cities, and folds for sheep. And the sons of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kiriathaim, and Nebo, and Baal-meon, (their names being changed,) and Sibmah. And they gave other names to the cities which they built. And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites that were in it. And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he dwelt in it. And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the towns of it, and called them Havvoth-jair. And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages of it, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, Joshua took, and he smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of LORD commanded. But as for the cities that stood on their mounds, Israel burned none of them, except only Hazor. Joshua burned that.
And Manasseh did not drive out [those of] Beth-shean and its towns, nor [of] Taanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns And it came to pass, when Israel grew strong, that they put the Canaanites to task work, and did not utterly drive them out. read more. And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer, but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol, but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became subject to task work. Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, nor the inhabitants of Sidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob, but the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out. Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became su
[And it was told] the Gazites, saying, Samson has come here. And they encompassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, [Not] till morning light, then we will kill hi And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mo
And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, Unless thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shall not come in here, thinking, David cannot come in he Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David.
And over the king's treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel. And over the treasures in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the castles, was Jonathan the son of Uzziah.
And he took courage, and built up all the wall that was broken down, and raised [it] up to the towers, and the other wall outside, and strengthened Millo [in] the city of David, and made weapons and shields in abundance.
and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the castle which appertains to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And
Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the sheep gate. They sanctified it, and set up the doors of it, even to the tower of Hammeah they sanctified it, to the tower of Hananel.
And the sons of Hassenaah built the fish gate. They laid the beams of it, and set up the doors of it, the bolts of it, and the bars of it.
And the old gate Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired. They laid the beams of it, and set up the doors of it, and the bolts of it, and the bars of it.
and above the gate of Ephraim, and by the old gate, and by the fish gate, and the tower of Hananel, and the tower of Hammeah, even to the sheep gate. And they stood still in the gate of the guard.
Behold, the days come, says LORD, that the city shall be built to LORD from the tower of Hananel to the gate of the corner.
Fausets
The distinction between a "city" and a "village" in the Bible is, the former had walls. The village had sometimes a watchman's tower, where the villagers repaired when in danger. Such towers Uzziah built in the desert for the protection of husbandmen and cattle from marauding tribes (2Ch 26:10). David too had "castles" (1Ch 27:25). Argob in Bashan, Og's kingdom, E. of Jordan, had "three-score cities fenced with high walls, gates and bars, beside unwalled towns a great many" (De 3:4-5); all which Israel took. (See ARGOB.) Villages in the Hauran sometimes consist of houses joined together and the entrance closed by a gate for security against Arab marauders.
Build often means "fortify" (2Ch 11:5-10; 16:6; 1Ki 15:17). The defenses consisted of one or more walls with battlemented parapets and towers at intervals (2Ch 32:5; Jer 31:38), whereon were war engines, also a citadel or tower, the last resource of the defenders (Jg 9:46,51; 2Ki 9:17; 2Ch 26:9,15). Ninety towers crowned the oldest of Jerusalem's three walls, fourteen the second, sixty the third (B. J., 5:4, section 2). The tower of Hananeel is mentioned Jer 31:38; Zec 14:10; Ne 3:1, where also is mentioned "the tower of Meah," "the tower of the furnaces" (Ne 3:11), "the great tower that lieth out even unto the wall of Ophel" (Ne 3:27). An out-work is meant by the "ditch" or "trench," possibly a wall lining the ditch (1Ki 21:23; 2Sa 20:15).
The castle of Antonia was the citadel of Jerusalem in our Lord's time; it served also to overawe the town, the Roman soldiers occupying it (Ac 21:34). Canaan's "cities fenced up to heaven" were leading causes of the spies' and Israel's unbelieving panic (Nu 13:28; De 1:28; 9:1-2). These the Israelites "rebuilt," i.e. refortified (Nu 32:17,34-42). So fenced was "the stronghold of Zion" that it remained in the Jebusites' hands until David's time (2Sa 5:6-7). Samaria yielded to the mighty hosts of Assyria only after a three years' siege (2Ki 17:5; 18:10).
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However the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified, very great, and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
but we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the sons of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.
And the sons of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer, and Atrothshophan, and Jazer, and Jogbehah, read more. and Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran: fortified cities, and folds for sheep. And the sons of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kiriathaim, and Nebo, and Baal-meon, (their names being changed,) and Sibmah. And they gave other names to the cities which they built. And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites that were in it. And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he dwelt in it. And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the towns of it, and called them Havvoth-jair. And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages of it, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our heart to melt, saying, The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven, and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.
And we took all his cities at that time. There was not a city which we did not take from them, sixty cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars; besides the un-walled towns a great many.
Hear, O Israel: Thou are to pass over the Jordan this day, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom thou know, and of whom thou have heard say, Who can stand before the sons of Anak?
And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered into the stronghold of the house of El-berith.
But there was a strong tower inside the city. And all the men and women fled, and all those of the city, and shut themselves in, and got up to the roof of the tower.
And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, Unless thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shall not come in here, thinking, David cannot come in he Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David.
And LORD spoke also of Jezebel, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.
Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
And at the end of three years they took it. Samaria was taken in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel.
And over the king's treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel. And over the treasures in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the castles, was Jonathan the son of Uzziah.
And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defense in Judah. He built Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa, read more. And Beth-zur, and Soco, and Adullam, and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph, and Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah, and Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities.
Then Asa the king took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber of it, with which Baasha had built. And he built Geba and Mizpah with it.
And he built towers in the wilderness, and hewed out many cisterns, for he had much cattle, also in the lowland and in the plain. [And he had] husbandmen and vinedressers in the mountains and in the fruitful fields, for he loved hu
And he took courage, and built up all the wall that was broken down, and raised [it] up to the towers, and the other wall outside, and strengthened Millo [in] the city of David, and made weapons and shields in abundance.
Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the sheep gate. They sanctified it, and set up the doors of it, even to the tower of Hammeah they sanctified it, to the tower of Hananel.
Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab, repaired another portion, and the tower of the furnaces.
After him the Tekoites repaired another portion, opposite the great tower that stands out, and to the wall of Ophel.
Behold, the days come, says LORD, that the city shall be built to LORD from the tower of Hananel to the gate of the corner.
Behold, the days come, says LORD, that the city shall be built to LORD from the tower of Hananel to the gate of the corner.
All the land shall be made like the Arabah, from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. And she shall be lifted up, and shall dwell in her place, from Benjamin's gate to the place of the first gate, to the corner gate, and from the tow
Smith
Fenced cities,
i.e. cities fortified or defended. The fortifications of the cities of Palestine, thus regularly "fenced," consisted of one or more walls (sometimes of thick stones, sometimes of combustible material), crowned with battlemented parapets, having towers at regular intervals,
on which in later times engines of war were placed, and watch was kept by day and night in time of war.
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And Abimelech fought against the city all that day. And he took the city, and killed the people that were in it, and he beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.
And he took courage, and built up all the wall that was broken down, and raised [it] up to the towers, and the other wall outside, and strengthened Millo [in] the city of David, and made weapons and shields in abundance.