Nehemiah 8:14
in Nehemiah 8And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they found written in the law, how that Jehovah had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month;
KJV
And 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:
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This verse in Nehemiah 8
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd 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 Lev 23:39 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.
This site's exposition
On the second day
on Nehemiah 8:13-15
The teachers put themselves under the book before they teach it. What they find written is the feast of booths, and the call goes out for branches. Obedience here is found by reading, the pattern of Josiah's recovered book repeated without a king.
This site's exposition
dwell in booths during the feast
Leviticus 23:39-43 sets the feast from the fifteenth of the seventh month and explains the Israelites dwell in booths to recall the booths after Egypt. Gill notes the feast was only days away. Adam Clarke sees the return from Babylon as a fresh deliverance, fit for the old feast.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And they found written in the law that the Lord commanded, etc. These things are more fully written in Leviticus, and that they were ordered to be remembered for that long journey during which the Lord, bringing His people out of Egypt, made them dwell …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
This feast of tabernacles was a memorial of their dwelling in tents in the wilderness, a representation of our tabernacle state in this world, and a type of the holy joy of the gospel church. The conversion of the nations to the faith of Christ is foretold under the figure of this feast ( Zech. xiv.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
5 And 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: 6 And Ezra blessed the L ORD , the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the L ORD with their faces to the ground.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v5-6
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
In the feast of the seventh month - That is, the feast of tabernacles, which was held in commemoration of the sojourning of their fathers in the wilderness after they had been delivered from the Egyptian bondage. Now, having been delivered from the Babylonish captivity, and the proper time of the year occurring, it was their especial duty to keep the same feast.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Feast of tabernacles had fallen into abeyance either entirely, or as regarded the dwelling in booths Neh 8:17, since the time when it was kept by Zerubbabel Ezr 3:4. It is evident that the observance of the Law, impossible during the captivity, was restored slowly and with difficulty after the return.
How the passage was read
On Nehemiah 8:1-18On Nehemiah 8:1-18
The seventh month, rediscovered
Everything in this chapter happens on the calendar of Leviticus 23. Ezra reads the Law on “the first day of the seventh month”: that is the Day of Trumpets, kept today as Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, announced by the ram's-horn trumpet (shofar). Then the people find the command about booths and keep Tabernacles (Sukkot) for the first time “since the days of Joshua”: seven days living in leafy shelters, remembering the wilderness. Jewish families still build these booths every autumn: a hut in the yard or on the balcony, roofed with branches you can see the stars through, where meals are eaten all week.
The chapter also gives the day its enduring tone: “the joy of the LORD is your strength” was said on Rosh Hashanah, to a congregation weeping under the words of the Law and told instead to feast.
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And that they should announce And they commanded that they announce that they celebrate the Festival of Sukkoth, and so it is customary for Scripture to speak in this manner, like (I Sam.: 27): “Tell the servant and he will go ahead of us.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Leviticus 23:23–43 (the seventh month's appointments) · Mishnah Sukkah 1:1 (the booth's rules)
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיִּמְצְא֖וּ | vaiyimtzeu | and they found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| כָּת֣וּב | katuv | written | H3789 → | 224 times |
| בַּתּוֹרָ֑ה | batorah | in the law | H8451 → | 219 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| צִוָּ֤ה | tzivah | he had commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בְּיַד־ | beyad- | by [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֔ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| אֲשֶׁר֩ | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יֵשְׁב֨וּ | yeshevu | they will dwell | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בְנֵֽי־ | venei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֧ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| בַּסֻּכּ֛וֹת | basukot | in <the> booths | H5521 → | 31 times |
| בֶּחָ֖ג | bechag | at the festival | H2282 → | |
| בַּחֹ֥דֶשׁ | bachodesh | in the month | H2320 → | 284 times |
| הַשְּׁבִיעִֽי׃ | hashevii | <the> seventh | H7637 → | 98 times |
וַֽיִּמְצְא֖וּand they found
vaiyimtzeuH4672 →455 times
כָּת֣וּבwritten
katuvH3789 →224 times
בַּתּוֹרָ֑הin the law
batorahH8451 →219 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
צִוָּ֤הhe had commanded
tzivahH6680 →494 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בְּיַד־by [the] hand of
beyad-H3027 →1618 times
מֹשֶׁ֔הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
אֲשֶׁר֩that
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יֵשְׁב֨וּthey will dwell
yeshevuH3427 →1079 times
בְנֵֽי־[the] people of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֧לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
בַּסֻּכּ֛וֹתin <the> booths
basukotH5521 →31 times
בֶּחָ֖גat the festival
bechagH2282 →
בַּחֹ֥דֶשׁin the month
bachodeshH2320 →284 times
הַשְּׁבִיעִֽי׃<the> seventh
hasheviiH7637 →98 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 7:2However, the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near.
it leads to
- Zechariah 14:16–19
Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 16:13–16
You are to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress.
- Numbers 29:12–38
On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work, and you shall observe a feast to the LORD for seven days.
- Exodus 23:16–17
You are also to keep the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the produce from what you sow in the field. And keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year,…
- Zechariah 14:16–19
Through
Leviticus 23:34“Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Feast of Tabernacles to the LORD begins, and it continues for seven days.
it leads to
- John 7:2
However, the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near.
- Numbers 29:12
On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work, and you shall observe a feast to the LORD for seven days.
- Ezra 3:4
They also celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles in accordance with what is written, and they offered burnt offerings daily based on the number prescribed for each day.
- Exodus 34:22
And you are to celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.
- John 7:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About Nehemiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.