Nehemiah 8:14

14 As they studied the Law, they discovered that the LORD had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should live in shelters during the festival to be held that month.

Nehemiah 8:14 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 8:14

And they found written in the law which the Lord had commanded
by Moses
The children of Israel, to be observed by them; either by hearing it read the day before, or by conversation with Ezra, they perceived it was enjoined in the law, particularly in ( Leviticus 23:39-43 ) ( Deuteronomy 16:13 )

that the children of Israel should dwell in booths, in the feast of the
seventh month:
which was the same month, and this the second day of it, and therefore the time drew near for keeping it; for it was to begin the fifteenth.

Nehemiah 8:14 In-Context

12 So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them.

13 On October 9 the family leaders of all the people, together with the priests and Levites, met with Ezra the scribe to go over the Law in greater detail.

14 As they studied the Law, they discovered that the LORD had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should live in shelters during the festival to be held that month.

15 He had said that a proclamation should be made throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, telling the people to go to the hills to get branches from olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees. They were to use these branches to make shelters in which they would live during the festival, as prescribed in the Law.

16 So the people went out and cut branches and used them to build shelters on the roofs of their houses, in their courtyards, in the courtyards of God’s Temple, or in the squares just inside the Water Gate and the Ephraim Gate.

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew in the seventh month. This month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs within the months of September and October. See Lev 23:39-43 .