Hananeel

Hananeel (meaning grace or gift of God) was a tower in the northern section of the walls of Jerusalem, mentioned in Nehemiah's account of the wall-building (Neh. 3:1; 12:39) and in two prophetic passages. Jeremiah 31:38 includes the tower of Hananeel in his description of the future restored Jerusalem—a city whose boundaries from the tower of Hananeel to the Corner Gate would be rebuilt to the LORD, holy and never again uprooted. Zechariah 14:10 similarly uses the tower of Hananeel to describe the geographical extent of the elevated Jerusalem in the messianic age.

The tower stood near the Sheep Gate at the northeast corner of the city and is thought to be identical with or closely associated with the tower of Meah (Neh. 3:1; 12:39). Its position on the vulnerable northern approach to the city—where Jerusalem's natural topographical defenses were weakest—made it a critical fortification element. The tower's inclusion in the prophetic visions of Jerusalem's restoration underlines the physical concreteness of those hopes.