And all the people gathered themselves together as one man, with entire unanimity of mind, into the street that was before the Water Gate, a large open square near the subterranean water galleries of Ophel; and they spake unto Ezra, the scribe, who had come to Jerusalem some thirteen years before with about three thousand returned exiles, to bring the book of the Law of Moses which the Lord had commanded to Israel. Ezra may have returned to Babylon after instituting his reform measures, and now had made the trip a second time to assist Nehemiah in the further restoration of the Temple worship.
Related Commentaries of Nehemiah 8:1
Nehemiah 8:1
1 And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel.