Fenced Cities

Fenced cities (or "fortified cities") were walled urban centers that provided refuge and defense for the surrounding population in times of war. In ancient Palestine three types of settlements existed: walled cities, unwalled villages, and villages with towers or castles (1 Chronicles 27:25). A fenced city's defining feature was its surrounding wall of stone, sometimes supplemented by a moat, towers, and gates. Solomon undertook extensive construction of fortified cities throughout his kingdom as part of a regional defense network (1 Kings 9:15-19).

The fortification of cities was a constant feature of Israelite and Judahite strategy, and the prophets frequently reference them. Jeremiah 31:38-40 envisions Jerusalem's restoration with its walls rebuilt; Nehemiah 3 and 12 describe the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls under Persian authorization. Militarily, fenced cities could be reduced only by prolonged siege, a fact that shapes the siege warfare accounts throughout Kings and Chronicles. The inability of Judah's fenced cities to withstand Nebuchadnezzar was understood as divine judgment (Jeremiah 1:15).