In the flow of the present paragraph (describing his self-denial), Nehemiah’s reference to the work on the wall seems out of place. We learned earlier that Nehemiah had set his servants
to work not in collecting taxes (Nehemiah 5:15) but half in construction and half in defence (Nehemiah 4:16). He himself was on the job too, going from crew to crew to encourage and to organize (Nehemiah 4:18, Nehemiah 4:23). The rebuilding of the wall represented Nehemiah’s confession (and conviction) that God himself was Israel’s wall of protection, not just from enemies but also from such perils as hunger and divisions. Since the Lord was Israel’s wall, Nehemiah understood that he did not ultimately have to look after himself (witness his prayers in Nehemiah 1:5–11, Nehemiah 2:4, and God’s answer in the response of the king in Nehemiah 2:6). In that light, this short sentence gets to the heart of why Nehemiah didn’t take a salary from the people or burden them.
16 I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.