The Tower of Hananel was a fortification on the north wall of Jerusalem, one of the points used to mark out the city’s boundaries in the prophetic and historical texts of the Old Testament.
Its name appears for the first time in the rebuilding work led by Nehemiah, when the high priest Eliashib and the other priests rebuilt the Sheep Gate and built the city wall as far as this tower.
More than a century earlier, in the midst of the Babylonian siege, Jeremiah had already used the Tower of Hananel as a reference point to announce that Jerusalem would be rebuilt for the Lord.
Zechariah, in turn, included it among the landmarks of a Jerusalem definitively restored, in a vision of the future of the city of God.
No archaeological remains have been identified with certainty as the original tower, and its exact location remains uncertain. Even so, its name, which likely means God has been gracious, sums up well what the Bible promises for this city: a place rebuilt by grace, not by merit.
