Eliashib means "whom God restores". So you have a priest here who must have fallen somehow and has been restored. Remember these are people who are returning from the captivity of Babylon, who were uprooted and captured out of their homeland by invading armies, taken to Babylon for 70 years. God allowed this because of Israel's unbelief, disobedience and hardened hearts. They got so prosperous and blessed of the Lord they began to think they didn't need him anymore. They began to out sin the nations around them. God had to judge them, just as he had the nations he'd judged before them, for their sin.
But here is a priest who's been restored. He has gotten up, come back to the land of his inheritance, and began to build it up again. He's gotten his brethren priests to help him and they are building the sheep gate. Then they sanctified it. That word means "to make holy, consecrated, set apart for sacred services or prepared specifically for divine use." They sanctified it even unto the tower of Meah (one hundred cubits) and the tower of Hananeel (the grace or gift of God).

The people are working together, building the gates, repairing the walls, they are strengthening the doors and locks. They come from different parts of Israel, and Judah. You have the men of Jericho working beside the priests.

In verses 3-6 I want to paraphrase what is going on because as I dug into the meaning of these people's names, it helped me understand why the Lord had this written. I mean, if you just look at this chapter and yawn and think, okay, here's a lot of hard to pronounce names that I don't understand, and they are building, okay, skip on to something else. But wait...I think there is buried treasure here. So I pick up my Exhaustive Dictionary of Bible Names, and began to dig. Nothing is written in this Holy Book without a reason.

Instead of paraphrasing their names, I will paraphrase what their names mean in the original Hebrew...Starting with verse 2, since we already looked at verse 1-next to the priests was a sweet savor, or fragrance, and next to the sweet smell was Mr. Mindful, son of Mr. Promised of the Lord. Verse 3, but the fish gate, the sons of him who's elevated or lifted up, built. They laid the beams, set the doors and locks and bars. They strengthened the security. Verse 4. And next to them, you have Mr. Elevated strength, the son of Mr. The Lord is my Light or fire, and his father Koz' name means "thorn." So here you have the younger generation leaving the idolatry and unbelief of the older generation, and entering in and doing the work that God meant for them to do, where their parents had often failed. And next to them you have a Peaceable, Perfect Friend, who is the son of Blessed of Jehovah and his dad was Delivered By God. There's that word again. I keep hearing the word "Delivered" in my spirit. Everywhere I read here lately I'm reading two things, that keep jumping out at me "Delivered" and "the Lord will fight for you". Oh, Praise the Lord. I don't understand fully yet, but I know He's doing something.

So you have peace, and blessings of God at work along with grace, and promises of God, and those being mindful of them. They are working together, building up what the enemy had torn down. Building again that which had been destroyed. But let's continue: you also have at the end of verse 4, Mr. Justified, the son of Mr. Affliction and Oppression.

In Verse 5, you have the Tekoites, and Tekoa means "sound of a trumpet, to fix, firm settlement". The sound of the trumpet meant a call to fight, usually. And they were fixed upon what the Lord was having them do. They were repairing, but their nobles or proud ones would not yield to the work of the Lord. There will be those in every crowd who won't want to get their hands dirty. Verse 6, there's Jehoiada (knowledge of the Lord), son of Mr. Passing Over, Halting or Lame. To help him lay the beams and set the doors and locks up, he too, has Mr. Peaceable and Perfect. He is the son of Mr. Secret Counsel of the Lord. (Besodeiah). Next door to them, in Verse 7 is Melatiah, (The deliverance of the Lord), the Gibeonite which means thing lifted up. Also, Jadon, (Judge) the Meronothite which means rejoicing, fertility, bearing rule. You have the men of Mizpah (watch tower; look out). They had to watch for the enemy. He doesn't like it when you start building for God. Working for God. The Word of God is your foundation. It's the Rock on which you stand, meaning his promises are solid, unshakeable, unchangeable. Available to all who come through the blood, by faith.

Verse 8, you have the Strength of God, son of Zeal of Jehovah, who's angry; and it does make him angry when the enemy tries to stop God's children and destroy them. Next to him is Grace, and Mercy, gift of the Lord and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall.

Verse 9, there is Refreshment of the Lord, son of Liberty, whiteness. (White always signifies Holiness, purity and righteousness).

verse 10, you have the man whose name has three meanings, the Hand of the Lord, the Praise of the Lord, and Known of the Lord. He was the son of a man whose name means "flat or slit nose, destruction." ???? I can't always and don't try to pretend I understand everything. But we were all vessels headed for destruction until the Lord saved us. Only by the Hand of the Lord are we saved. By his mercy, his grace. I'm not trying to interpret the scripture, or invent a meaning not intended for it. I'm just digging up pieces of the puzzle and asking the Holy Ghost to fit them together and connect them so I can see. I don't think people should take what any other person  says about what God means in his word to the bank. You have to read it for yourself, and ask the Lord to help you understand it. I might unintentionally get it wrong. If you are reading what I write of  my studies in His word,  you need to know you this typist doesn't even trust her own self. My flesh and understanding has failed me far too many times. But God doesn't fail. And he knows I don't want to go wrong. He knows I don't want to be deceived. I know what he says about our heart in Jer . 17:9 . It is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and who can know it? But he has promised in Ezek 36:26 to give us a new heart. One that hates deceit and sin, with his word written within on the heart. How grateful I am for that. Because you can know what the names mean, and still not understand. I don't always. I thank God for his Spirit and willingness to teach me.

Also there was Forsaking Sin, (end of verse 10), the son of Whom Jehovah esteems or regards.

Verse 11: These are repairing the tower of the furnaces: The Lord my King and Counselor (Malchijah) , son of Destroyed, and Dedicated to God (Harim). And we all have to have our flesh crucified, it can't get its own way and still serve God. He doesn't glory in flesh. Flesh is temporary and doesn't want to be holy. But the vessel it contains is to be dedicated to God. It is eternal. And only what belongs to God will dwell with Him eternally. Nothing foreign or outside of Him and His. With Malchijah, is Hashub, who means "Esteemed, numbered, intelligent" and he is the son of Pahath-Moab which means ruler of Moab. Moab is flesh. He was born of Lot and one of his daughters in an incestuous relationship after they were delivered out of Sodom and Gomorrah before its destruction. Lot had not taught his daughters to trust and lean on God, so they leaned on flesh and their own understanding. They thought there was no other man to carry on the name of their Father, and so they got him drunk and took turns with him until they got pregnant. One son was named Ammon, the other Moab. Both became enemies of Israel. Both are symbolic of what happens when we lean on our understanding and lean on people and things of this world to get us through rather than God. Pahath-Moab means "ruler of Moab". We are not to let flesh dictate to us, we are to feed the inner man, which is the life of Christ birthed in us when we are born again. We are to keep, guard, and feed that life the Word of God, water it with prayer, and believe the Lord to nourish and strengthen that life in us which will overcome the world, the flesh and the devil. It's the life of Christ. How can it not overcome if given free reign? We must yield to the Spirit of God and let him have his Rightful Place in our vessels-supreme and unchallenged. Then we will know the true joy and peace of the Lord. As long as we are resisting his will, or thinking carnally, we will not have the rest and peace he has for us. But to turn everything over in his hands, to let him take complete control, takes such a load off us. It's hard, it goes against our nature to surrender our all. But he can help us-his grace is sufficient. (2 Cor 12:9).

Verse 12:

Next to them is Shallum which means perfect, agreeable, recompense and retribution. We have to agree with God in order to walk with him. When the devil tells us we are nothing, we can't make it, we must remember God says we shall if we listen to him and trust him. When we feel weak and useless and have messed up, we must remember he wants us to come running to him for help in time of need. Confess, forsake, and be forgiven of sin. God did not expect us to be perfect as soon as we got saved. If that were the case, Jesus would not be at the right hand of the Father making intercession. Nor would he have needed to send the Holy Ghost to us to comfort, convict and help us. God will repay those who trouble his children. It's written in 2 Thess 1:6-7 "Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you, and to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.."

Verse 13: Repairing the valley gate is Hanun, (favored, gracious and merciful; he who rests, whom God pities) Wow. To help him came the inhabitants of a small town of Zanoah, 10 miles west of Jerusalem. Zanoah means "marsh, forgetfulness, desertion, cast off, broken district."

In your life, have you felt this way? Have you felt cast off and forgotten by the world, by the religious crowd, broken by their harshness maybe? Deserted by those you trusted? Have you been broken by life's problems, hurt and injured by others? God didn't give these names meaning for no reason. He's trying every way possible to communicate with us, church. To teach us and reveal to us who he is. He's the God who loves broken things, who puts them back together. He heals the wounds and binds them up. He alone can pour the oil of gladness in and make it better. He alone can give life new meaning. He alone restores us after we fail, if we come to him repentant, and ask him to forgive and help us. These people of Zanoah came and were a part of what God was doing.

In the captivity, when Nebuchadneezer and his army had come into Israel, capturing Jerusalem 70 years earlier, they took the educated, the royal family of Israel, the noblemen, the men of reputation and education, they took their children. But the poor and destitute, they left behind to wander the ruins. They didn't see these people as a threat. They left them. But God doesn't forget anybody. And here, these are invited to come, be a part of what God is doing. He's rebuilding the walls of the city of Peace. He's fortifying, strengthening, securing. Come, be a part of it. Has your peace been stolen or trampled on? Get up. Come and get it back. By faith in the power and promises of God.