The Histories · Old Testament
Nehemiah 8
Nehemiah 8: Ezra reads the law at the water gate and the people keep booths
General context
On the first day of the seventh month all the people gather as one man in the street before the water gate and ask Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses. Ezra the priest brings it before men, women and all who can understand, and reads from morning to midday while the people listen. He stands on a wooden pulpit made for the purpose, with six men on his right and seven on his left. When he opens the book everyone stands; he blesses the Lord, and the people answer Amen, Amen, lift their hands and bow to the ground. Named Levites cause the people to understand, reading distinctly and giving the sense. Nehemiah the Tirshatha, Ezra and the teaching Levites tell the people the day is holy and they must not mourn or weep, for all the people are weeping at the words of the law. They are told to eat the fat, drink the sweet, send portions to those who have nothing, and not be sorry, for the joy of the Lord is their strength. The people go to eat, drink, send portions and make great mirth because they have understood. On the second day the chief of the fathers, priests and Levites gather to Ezra and find written that Israel should dwell in booths in the seventh month. The people fetch branches and make booths on roofs, in courts, in the temple courts and in the streets of the water gate and the gate of Ephraim. The narrator says nothing like it had been done since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun, and there is very great gladness. The book is read day by day through the seven-day feast, and the eighth day is a solemn assembly.
Cited passages: Nehemiah 8:1, Nehemiah 8:2, Nehemiah 8:3, Nehemiah 8:4, Nehemiah 8:5, Nehemiah 8:6, Nehemiah 8:7, Nehemiah 8:8, Nehemiah 8:9, Nehemiah 8:10, Nehemiah 8:11, Nehemiah 8:12, Nehemiah 8:13, Nehemiah 8:14, Nehemiah 8:15, Nehemiah 8:16, Nehemiah 8:17, Nehemiah 8:18
Nehemiah 8 (KJV)
1And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.
2And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.
3And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.
4And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
5And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:
6And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
7Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.
8So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
9And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.
10Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
11So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.
12And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.
13And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law.
14And they found written in the law which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month:
15And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.
16So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.
17And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.
18Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.
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Historical context
This is Ezra's first appearance in the book of Nehemiah, and the text does not explain where he has been since the events of Ezra 10 or how the two men came to be together; the chapter simply presents him as the scribe and priest with the book. The narrative here is in the third person, naming Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, so the memoir voice of the earlier chapters is absent. Verse 10 says then he said unto them without stating whether Ezra or Nehemiah is the speaker. Jeshua the son of Nun is a different man from the priest Jeshua of Ezra 2 and 3, and the narrator's comparison concerns the keeping of booths since his day; the text does not say the feast had never been kept at all, and Ezra 3 records the feast of tabernacles being kept after the first return. The thirteen men beside Ezra are named but not described, and the thirteen Levites of verse 7 are a separate list. The book of the law of Moses is not further identified, and the text quotes its command about booths only in summary. The chapter gives the day of the month and the length of the feast but no year, and it does not mention the wall.
Cited passages: Nehemiah 8:1, Nehemiah 8:2, Ezra 10:16, Nehemiah 8:9, Nehemiah 8:10, Nehemiah 8:17, Ezra 3:2, Ezra 3:4, Nehemiah 8:4, Nehemiah 8:7, Nehemiah 8:14
Literary context
The chapter is organized around the book. The people ask for it, it is carried out, opened, read, explained, wept over, and finally obeyed in the making of booths, and the daily reading frames the feast. The word understand recurs, for those who could hear with understanding, for the Levites who caused the people to understand, and for the mirth that comes because they had understood. Physical gestures carry the scene: a wooden pulpit, the people standing as the book opens, raised hands, faces to the ground. The turn from weeping to feasting is commanded rather than spontaneous, and the reason given is that the joy of the Lord is your strength. The second day narrows the assembly to leaders and turns hearing into doing, so that reading produces booths on every roof. The closing comparison with the days of Jeshua the son of Nun measures the event against the whole span of the people's life in the land. The chapter's gladness is answered in chapter 9 by fasting and confession, so joy and grief stand a few weeks apart.
Cited passages: Nehemiah 8:1, Nehemiah 8:5, Nehemiah 8:18, Nehemiah 8:2, Nehemiah 8:7, Nehemiah 8:12, Nehemiah 8:4, Nehemiah 8:6, Nehemiah 8:10, Nehemiah 8:16, Nehemiah 8:17, Nehemiah 9:1
Key moments
- Bring the book (Nehemiah 8:1). Gathered at the water gate, the people ask Ezra to bring the law of Moses.
- Reading till midday (Nehemiah 8:3). Ezra reads from morning to noon before men, women and all who can understand.
- The people stand (Nehemiah 8:5). When Ezra opens the book on the wooden pulpit, everyone rises.
- Giving the sense (Nehemiah 8:8). Levites read distinctly and explain so the people understand.
- Do not weep (Nehemiah 8:9). Nehemiah, Ezra and the Levites tell the weeping people the day is holy.
- Booths on every roof (Nehemiah 8:16). The people build booths from branches in courts, streets and the temple courts.
- Not since Jeshua the son of Nun (Nehemiah 8:17). The narrator says the feast has not been kept this way since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun.
For reflection
The people weep at hearing the law and are told not to, because the day is holy, and to go and feast instead. What might the text be saying about the right first response to hearing words that expose failure?
People in this chapter
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