Bible Strands
Nehemiah 8:17
The whole assembly that had returned from exile made booths and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated like this. And there was great rejoicing.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The verse records the post-exilic community’s response immediately after Ezra publicly read the Law and the people prepared to observe the festival. The words — סֻכּוֹת (su.kOt) = booths, and וַ/יֵּשְׁב֣וּ (va/i.ye.she.Vu) = and they dwelt, describing the physical act of inhabiting the temporary shelters. The thread — The festival’s observance is first noted in Ezra 3:4 as an initial post-exilic practice, while the underlying festival regulations trace back to the Mosaic commands observed during Solomon’s temple dedication (2 Chronicles 7:8; 8:13). Why it lands — The text states the returned assembly lived in the booths and rejoiced, marking a unprecedented communal observance since Joshua’s time. It calls readers to recognize the pattern of obedient response to God’s word through corporate worship and remembrance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 8:13 He observed the daily requirement for offerings according to the commandment of Moses for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual appointed feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles.
- 2 Chronicles 7:8 So at that time Solomon and all Israel with him—a very great assembly of people from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt—kept the feast 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.
- 1 Chronicles 29:22 That day they ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the LORD. Then, for a second time, they designated David’s son Solomon as king, anointing him before the LORD as ruler, and Zadok as the priest.
- 2 Chronicles 30:21 The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and priests praised the LORD day after day, accompanied by loud instruments of praise to the LORD.
- 2 Chronicles 30:26 So there was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for nothing like this had happened there since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 35:18 No such Passover had been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel ever observed a Passover like the one that Josiah observed with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who were present, and the people of Jerusalem.
- John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- Hebrews 4:8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.
- Hebrews 11:9 By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.