Nehemiah 8:16
in Nehemiah 8And the people went out, brought back branches, and made booths on their own rooftops, in their courtyards, in the court of the house of God, and in the squares by the Water Gate and by the Gate of Ephraim.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the broad place of the water gate, and in the broad place of the gate of Ephraim.
KJV
So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.
⋯
This verse in Nehemiah 8
Commentary
5 notes on this verseUpon the roof of his house - It need scarcely be repeated, that the houses in the East are generally built with flat roofs. On these they reposed; on these they took the air in the heats of summer; and on these they oftentimes slept.
This site's exposition
made booths on their own rooftops
on Nehemiah 8:16-17
Booths rise, and the city that rebuilt its wall camps inside it. "From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated like this," a feast recovered across nine hundred years. The Hebrew spells the name Jeshua, as for the high priest.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
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
So the people went forth, and brought them,....
Then we read and hear the word acceptably and profitably when we do according to what is written therein, when what appears to be our duty is revived after it has been neglected.
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
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּצְא֣וּ | vaiyetzeu | and they went out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| הָעָם֮ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וַיָּבִיאוּ֒ | vaiyaviu | and they brought [leaves] | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וַיַּעֲשׂוּ֩ | vaiyaasu | and they made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָהֶ֨ם | lahem | for themselves | ||
| סֻכּ֜וֹת | sukot | booths | H5521 → | 31 times |
| אִ֤ישׁ | ʾish | each one | H376 → | 1663 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| גַּגּוֹ֙ | gago | own roof his | H1406 → | |
| וּבְחַצְרֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔ם | uvechatzroteihem | and in courtyards their | H2691 → | 191 times |
| וּבְחַצְר֖וֹת | uvechatzrot | and in [the] courtyards of | H2691 → | 191 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וּבִרְחוֹב֙ | uvirchov | and in [the] open space of | H7339 → | 43 times |
| שַׁ֣עַר | shaar | [the] gate of | H8179 → | 374 times |
| הַמַּ֔יִם | hamayim | the water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| וּבִרְח֖וֹב | uvirchov | and in [the] open space of | H7339 → | 43 times |
| שַׁ֥עַר | shaar | [the] gate of | H8179 → | 374 times |
| אֶפְרָֽיִם׃ | ʾefrayim | Ephraim | H669 → |
וַיֵּצְא֣וּand they went out
vaiyetzeuH3318 →1067 times
הָעָם֮the people
haamH5971 →1873 times
וַיָּבִיאוּ֒and they brought [leaves]
vaiyaviuH935 →2568 times
וַיַּעֲשׂוּ֩and they made
vaiyaasuH6213 →2628 times
לָהֶ֨םfor themselves
lahem
סֻכּ֜וֹתbooths
sukotH5521 →31 times
אִ֤ישׁeach one
ʾishH376 →1663 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
גַּגּוֹ֙own roof his
gagoH1406 →
וּבְחַצְרֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔םand in courtyards their
uvechatzroteihemH2691 →191 times
וּבְחַצְר֖וֹתand in [the] courtyards of
uvechatzrotH2691 →191 times
בֵּ֣ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
וּבִרְחוֹב֙and in [the] open space of
uvirchovH7339 →43 times
שַׁ֣עַר[the] gate of
shaarH8179 →374 times
הַמַּ֔יִםthe water
hamayimH4325 →581 times
וּבִרְח֖וֹבand in [the] open space of
uvirchovH7339 →43 times
שַׁ֥עַר[the] gate of
shaarH8179 →374 times
אֶפְרָֽיִם׃Ephraim
ʾefrayimH669 →
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
Nehemiah 3:26and the temple servants living on the hill of Ophel made repairs opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the tower that juts out.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 8:1
At that time all the people gathered together in the square before the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 8:3
So Ezra read it aloud from daybreak until noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate, in front of the men and women and those who could understand. And all the people…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 11:21
The temple servants lived on the hill of Ophel, with Ziha and Gishpa over them.
- Nehemiah 8:1
Through
Nehemiah 12:39over the Gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stopped at the Gate of…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 3:1
At the Sheep Gate, Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests began rebuilding. They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower…
- Nehemiah 3:3
The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.
- Nehemiah 3:6
The Jeshanah Gate was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.
- Nehemiah 3:1
Through
Nehemiah 12:37At the Fountain Gate they climbed the steps of the City of David on the ascent to the wall and passed above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 2:14
Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to get through;
- Nehemiah 3:26
and the temple servants living on the hill of Ophel made repairs opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the tower that juts out.
- Nehemiah 2:14
Where this verse is studied
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; Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament; 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.