Nehemiah 8:16

16 So the people went out, brought in branches, and made themselves booths on their roofs, courtyards, the courtyards of The Temple of God, the Water Gate plaza, and the Ephraim Gate plaza.

Nehemiah 8:16 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 8:16

So the people went forth, and brought them
Went out of Jerusalem to the mountains adjacent, and fetched in branches of the said trees, one or another:

and made themselves booths, everyone upon the roof of his house;
which were flat, ( Deuteronomy 22:8 ) , and they might be made anywhere, so be it they were open to the air:

and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God;
the common people in the courtyards belonging to their houses, and the priests and Levites in the courts of the temple, the yards or open places adjoining to them:

and in the street of the watergate;
which led to that, and seems to have been a very large street, in which many booths might be built, ( Nehemiah 3:26 ) ( 8:3 )

and in the street of the gate of Ephraim;
which led to the gate through which the road lay to the tribe of Ephraim, see ( 2 Kings 14:13 ) , none were erected without the walls of the city, for fear of the enemy.

Nehemiah 8:16 In-Context

14 They found written in The Revelation that God commanded through Moses that the People of Israel are to live in booths during the festival of the seventh month.

15 So they published this decree and had it posted in all their cities and in Jerusalem: "Go into the hills and collect olive branches, pine branches, myrtle branches, palm branches, and any other leafy branches to make booths, as it is written."

16 So the people went out, brought in branches, and made themselves booths on their roofs, courtyards, the courtyards of The Temple of God, the Water Gate plaza, and the Ephraim Gate plaza.

17 The entire congregation that had come back from exile made booths and lived in them. The People of Israel hadn't done this from the time of Joshua son of Nun until that very day - a terrific day! Great joy!

18 Ezra read from the Book of The Revelation of God each day, from the first to the last day - they celebrated the feast for seven days. On the eighth day they held a solemn assembly in accordance with the decree.