The concept of being "walled-in" in the Bible often carries both literal and metaphorical significance. Walls in biblical times were crucial for protection, security, and demarcation. They were physical structures that surrounded cities, fortresses, and even vineyards, serving as barriers against enemies and wild animals. However, the imagery of walls also extends to spiritual and emotional dimensions, symbolizing separation, confinement, or divine protection.

Literal Walls

1. City Walls: In ancient Israel, city walls were vital for defense against invaders. The walls of Jericho, famously brought down by the Israelites under Joshua's leadership, exemplify the formidable nature of such structures. Joshua 6:20 recounts, "So when the people heard the sound of the ram’s horn, they shouted loudly, and the wall collapsed. Then all the people charged straight into the city and captured it."

2. Jerusalem's Walls: The walls of Jerusalem hold particular significance throughout biblical history. Nehemiah's efforts to rebuild the walls after the Babylonian exile highlight the importance of walls for the restoration and protection of the community. Nehemiah 4:6 states, "So we rebuilt the wall until all of it was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work."

3. Vineyard Walls: In Isaiah 5:5 , the removal of a vineyard's wall symbolizes divine judgment: "Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled."

Metaphorical Walls

1. Spiritual Barriers: Walls can symbolize spiritual barriers or separation from God. In Ephesians 2:14 , Paul speaks of Christ breaking down the "dividing wall of hostility" between Jews and Gentiles, emphasizing reconciliation and unity: "For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility."

2. Protection and Refuge: Conversely, walls can represent divine protection. In Psalm 18:2 , the psalmist declares, "The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

3. Confinement and Judgment: Being "walled-in" can also imply confinement or judgment. Lamentations 3:7 reflects this sentiment: "He has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains." This verse captures the feeling of being trapped or restricted, often as a consequence of sin or divine discipline.

Symbolism in Prophecy

In prophetic literature, walls often symbolize the strength or vulnerability of a nation. Ezekiel's visions include references to walls as indicators of Israel's spiritual state. Ezekiel 13:10-11 warns against false security: "Because they have led My people astray, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because when a flimsy wall is built, they plaster it with whitewash, tell those who plaster it with whitewash that it will fall."

Conclusion

The imagery of being "walled-in" in the Bible is rich with meaning, encompassing themes of protection, separation, judgment, and divine intervention. Whether literal or metaphorical, walls serve as powerful symbols that reflect the spiritual realities of God's relationship with His people.

Shepherd Life in the Orient.
... The folds or sheep pens, it must be observed, into which the sheep are gathered
for rest or protection are not roofed over or walled in like a house. ...
/.../callan/the shepherd of my soul/ii shepherd life in the.htm

Petra
... town is a fort unwon. Petra, I have called it; the word stands for many
a town walled in as that one is. In Keith's Evidence of ...
/.../wilson-carmichael/things as they are/chapter xii petra.htm

Gregory Nazianzen.
... anointed, [2535] and Egypt bewailed her Firstborn, and the Destroyer passed us over,
and the Seal was dreadful and reverend, and we were walled in with the ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/gregory nazianzen.htm

A Dialogue with God
... We can pass into, and abide in, the large room of joyous acceptance and fellowship,
but we must reach it by a narrow path walled in by gloomy rocks and trodden ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture a/a dialogue with god.htm

Babylon.
... It was full of streets and houses, with such fields and vineyards, that it was like
a whole country walled in; and the soil was exceedingly rich, being all ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson xi babylon.htm

Concerning Macherus, and How Lucilius Bassus Took that Citadel ...
... of affording the surest hopes of safety to those that possessed it, as well as delay
and fear to those that should attack it; for what was walled in was itself ...
/.../chapter 6 concerning macherus and.htm

Christianity in Rome.
... 48:25, 27, etc., presents a curious and sad chapter in the annals of the papacy.
The fanatical Pope Paul IV. (1555-'59) caused it to be walled in and shut out ...
/.../history of the christian church volume i/section 36 christianity in rome.htm

The Woman of Samaria
... It is, so to speak, one great castle, rising most of it two thousand feet high,
and walled in by God in a way as is seen hardly in any other land. ...
/.../kingsley/town and country sermons/sermon xxvi the woman of.htm

Concerning John of Gischala. Concerning the Zealots and the High ...
... Now, while you have tyranny in so great a degree walled in, and see your enemies
over your heads, to what purpose is it to take counsel? ...
/.../chapter 3 concerning john of.htm

Spiritual Religion in High Places --Rous, Vane, and Sterry
... The early stage is legalistic, during which the person is "hedged about" with promises
and threats, "walled in" with laws and ordinances, "living in a ...
/.../chapter xiv spiritual religion in.htm

Walled-in (1 Occurrence)
Walled-in. Walled, Walled-in. Wallet . Multi-Version Concordance
Walled-in (1 Occurrence). Song of Songs 4:12 A garden ...
/w/walled-in.htm - 6k

Walled (63 Occurrences)
... (BBE). Ezekiel 46:22 In the four angles there were spaces walledin, forty cubits
long and thirty wide; the four were of the same size. (BBE). ...
/w/walled.htm - 25k

Wallet (7 Occurrences)

/w/wallet.htm - 8k

Orchard (3 Occurrences)
... or'-cherd: (1) pardec, from Old Persian, "a walled-in enclosure"; paradeisos, a
word in classical Greek applied to the garden of Babylon (Diodorus Siculus xi.10 ...
/o/orchard.htm - 8k

Gethsemane (2 Occurrences)
... In this walled-in enclosure once of greater extent, now primly laid out with garden
beds, by the owners-the Franciscans-are eight old olive trees supposed to ...
/g/gethsemane.htm - 11k

Merom (2 Occurrences)
... On the west it is walledin by the steep and lofty range of the hills of
Kedesh-Naphtali; on the east it is bounded by the lower and more gradually ascending ...
/m/merom.htm - 10k

Angles (20 Occurrences)
... (BBE). Ezekiel 46:22 In the four angles there were spaces walledin, forty cubits
long and thirty wide; the four were of the same size. (BBE). ...
/a/angles.htm - 12k

Spaces (15 Occurrences)
... (BBE). Ezekiel 46:22 In the four angles there were spaces walledin, forty cubits
long and thirty wide; the four were of the same size. (BBE). ...
/s/spaces.htm - 10k

Size (39 Occurrences)
... (See NIV). Ezekiel 46:22 In the four angles there were spaces walledin, forty cubits
long and thirty wide; the four were of the same size. (BBE NAS RSV NIV). ...
/s/size.htm - 19k

What was/is the importance of the gates of Jerusalem? | GotQuestions.org

What is the significance of the walls of Jerusalem? | GotQuestions.org

How is God our refuge? | GotQuestions.org

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