John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Nehemiah 8:17
And all the congregation of them that were come again out of captivity made booths ,.... These came to Jerusalem, and made them booths there; for there only was this feast kept, see John 7:2 , and sat under the booths ; there they dwelt during the seven days of it, in commemoration of their ancestors dwelling in booths in the wilderness, see Leviticus 23:42 for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so ; Joshua observed it, when... read more
John Gills Exposition of the Bible 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... read more