John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Nehemiah 8:1-18
The Reading of the Law by Ezra1. The street] RV ’the broad place’: and so in Nehemiah 8:3, Nehemiah 8:16. The water gate] This probably led to the spring of Gihon (the Virgin’s spring).2. Ezra] It has been argued in the note on Ezra 10:44 that the effort to fortify Jerusalem described in Ezra 4:6-23 was made whilst Ezra was present there, and that the failure of it destroyed for a time his influence among his countrymen. The interval that elapsed between the destruction of the newly-built walls... read more
Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Nehemiah 8:13-18
The Feast of Tabernacles 8:13-18Note that the spiritually revived people had an insatiable appetite to learn more about God’s Word. This is a normal outcome of true revival.Perhaps part of what Ezra and his associates read to the people, or at least to the leaders, included Leviticus 23 (Nehemiah 8:13). In Leviticus 23, God called on the Jews to observe the Feast of Tabernacles (Booths) on the fifteenth through the twenty-first days of the seventh month (Leviticus 23:34-36). This was a happy... read more