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.
All the people who had returned from being prisoners in foreign lands built temporary shelters and lived in them during the festival. The Israelites hadn't celebrated this way since the time of Joshua, hundreds of years earlier. There was incredible joy among everyone.
The returned exiles joyfully celebrated the Festival of Booths for the first time in centuries, experiencing tremendous happiness as they reconnected with their forgotten traditions.
📚 Historical Context
In the book of Nehemiah, the Jewish people had returned from exile in Babylon and were in the process of rebuilding Jerusalem and their spiritual lives. They celebrated the Feast of Booths by constructing temporary shelters, as commanded in the Law of Moses, which hadn't been observed with such full participation since the time of Joshua, the successor to Moses. This event marked a revival of their covenant identity and joy after years of displacement and neglect of their traditions.
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