Doing so would obviously prompt enemies to think a second time before attacking as they could sustain loss of life, a reality that could come to Artaxerxes’ ears, with hard questions to follow for those who opposed his permission to rebuild Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:6). In fact, loss of life was highly likely on that part of the wall where the enemies would need to climb uphill to engage the Judeans (an advantage for defenders). Another consideration would be that lining up the people in military fashion and then providing them with arms would in turn give the population (including the wall builders) new resolve.
13 So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.