Neh 8:1-9 | TNotes | STEP | 8:1 The Water Gate was located toward the middle of the eastern wall of Jerusalem, south of the Temple and east of the palace ruins (3:26 ; 12:37 ). There was plenty of open space so no one would be excluded.

8:1 ^a The Water Gate was located toward the middle of the eastern wall of Jerusalem, south of the Temple and east of the palace ruins (3:26 ^b; 12:37 ^c). There was plenty of open space so no one would be excluded.
8:2 ^d on October 8: The people came together on this day to celebrate the Festival of Trumpets (Lev 23:24-25 ^e), which marked the beginning of a new year in the postexilic calendar.
8:3 ^f The timeframe from early morning until noon provided about six hours for reading and interpreting (8:7-8 ^g).

• understand (see also 8:2 ^h, 8 ⁱ, 12 ^j): This was not just a ritual reading of the law. It included explanations, insight, and application.
8:4 ^k These thirteen people were apparently community leaders. Some might have helped Ezra roll the scroll as he read.
8:5 ^l The people all rose to their feet out of respect for God’s word (Job 29:8 ^m). Apparently, they stood the whole time Ezra was reading.
8:6 ⁿ Ezra praised the Lord: See also 1:5 ^o; 9:32 ^p; Deut 10:17 ^q; Jer 32:18 ^r; Dan 9:4 ^s.

• Amen! A statement of agreement (see Neh 5:13 ^t). Lifting hands (Ps 28:2 ^u) and bowing in humble worship were signs of reverence for God and submission to his word.
Summary for Neh 8:7-9: 8:7-9 ^v The Levites always had the role of teaching people God’s word (Deut 33:10 ^w; Mal 2:5-6 ^x). In this case, they probably explained the meaning of the Hebrew Scriptures to smaller groups of people in Aramaic. Most of the people spoke Aramaic, the language of Babylon, rather than Hebrew as their first language. Jewish leaders eventually translated large portions of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic, allowing people to hear and study the Bible in a language they understood.
Summary for Neh 8:9-10: 8:9-10 ^y Ezra the priest and scribe: See study note on Ezra 7:6.

• Don’t mourn or weep ... today is a sacred day: God touched the people’s hearts, prompting them to regret their failures to keep God’s laws. While weeping is an appropriate response to sin (see Ezek 9:4 ^z; Luke 6:21 ^aa), Ezra and Nehemiah encouraged the people to rejoice at what God had done. Because this New Year’s festival was to be a time of joy (Num 29:1-6 ^ab), weeping would have destroyed the spirit of the day.