Nehemiah 8:13
in Nehemiah 8On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and Levites, gathered around Ezra the scribe to study the words of the Law.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And on the second day were gathered together the heads of fathers’ houses of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to give attention to the words of the law.
KJV
And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law.
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This verse in Nehemiah 8
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis 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.
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
), which they found more delightful and gainful than any worldly pleasure or profit whatsoever. Note, The more we converse with the word of God, if we rightly understand it and be affected with it, the more we shall covet to converse with it, and to increase in our acquaintance with it, saying, How sweet are thy words unto my mouth!
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And on the second day were gathered together,....
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.
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)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבַיּ֣וֹם | uvaiyom | and on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַשֵּׁנִ֡י | hasheni | <the> second | H8145 → | 156 times |
| נֶאֶסְפוּ֩ | neesfu | they gathered | H622 → | 200 times |
| רָאשֵׁ֨י | rashei | [the] leaders of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| הָאָב֜וֹת | haavot | the fathers | H1 → | 1212 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | of all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָ֗ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙ | hakohanim | the priests | H3548 → | 750 times |
| וְהַלְוִיִּ֔ם | vehalviyim | and the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עֶזְרָ֖א | ʾezra' | Ezra | H5830 → | 22 times |
| הַסֹּפֵ֑ר | hasofer | the scribe | H5608 → | 159 times |
| וּלְהַשְׂכִּ֖יל | ulehaskil | and to gain insight | H7919 → | |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| דִּבְרֵ֥י | divrei | [the] words of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַתּוֹרָֽה׃ | hatorah | the law | H8451 → | 219 times |
וּבַיּ֣וֹםand on the day
uvaiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַשֵּׁנִ֡י<the> second
hasheniH8145 →156 times
נֶאֶסְפוּ֩they gathered
neesfuH622 →200 times
רָאשֵׁ֨י[the] leaders of
rasheiH7218 →599 times
הָאָב֜וֹתthe fathers
haavotH1 →1212 times
לְכָל־of all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
הָעָ֗םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
הַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙the priests
hakohanimH3548 →750 times
וְהַלְוִיִּ֔םand the Levites
vehalviyimH3881 →291 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עֶזְרָ֖אEzra
ʾezra'H5830 →22 times
הַסֹּפֵ֑רthe scribe
hasoferH5608 →159 times
וּלְהַשְׂכִּ֖ילand to gain insight
ulehaskilH7919 →
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
דִּבְרֵ֥י[the] words of
divreiH1697 →1440 times
הַתּוֹרָֽה׃the law
hatorahH8451 →219 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Proverbs 12:1Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:10
Discipline is harsh for him who leaves the path; he who hates correction will die.
- Proverbs 9:7–8
He who corrects a mocker brings shame on himself; he who rebukes a wicked man taints himself.
- Psalms 119:97–100
Oh, how I love Your law! All day long it is my meditation.
- Proverbs 5:12–13
and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!
- Proverbs 18:1
He who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound judgment.
- Proverbs 15:10
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 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.