THEOSISBeda Venerabilis
As Nehemiah was engaged in determining who would inhabit the restored city, the seventh month approached, arriving shortly after the completion of the wall on the twenty-fifth day of the sixth month, allowing just five days before the new month began. The entirety of this seventh month, from the first to the twenty-second, was dedicated to the festivals ordained by the law. Only after these celebrations were conducted did he convene with the leaders and the ordinary citizens to finalize the population of the reconstructed city. It is noteworthy that the people displayed a collective piety and unity, gathering at the temple of the Lord as one body—sharing in faith and love.
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They requested their high priest to retrieve the sacred book and proclaim the laws that they were to observe, ensuring that, with the city's restoration, they could perform righteous deeds pleasing to God and avoid the neglect that had led to its previous desolation.
The completion of the city occurred in the sixth month, while the people assembled to hear the law in the seventh, as the scriptures designate six days for labor and the seventh for rest (see Exodus 24:18). Following our good deeds, the most delightful and commendable rest for the Lord involves avoiding burdensome labor, which represents sin, and committing ourselves to hearing and fulfilling His commandments with earnestness. Thus, the Feast of Trumpets commenced at the start of the seventh month, intended to rouse the minds of the people, through prayers and sacrifices, to the law of God. Even now, the sanctification of the holy city must be spiritually accompanied by sacred readings and the sounding of trumpets, for those who have already been welcomed into divine ordinances require careful guidance in holy teachings on how to lead their lives when the need arises.
Therefore, Nehemiah mentions that the people convened in the square adjacent to the Water Gate. It is suggested that the Water Gate refers to the entrance located in the priests' courtyard that encircled the temple, particularly on the east side, where a bronze basin was available for the ceremonial washing of hands and feet, along with ten bronze basins for the purification of sacrifices, and the altar of burnt offering—between which Zacharias, the son of Barachiah, was martyred (see Matt. 23:35; cf. Luke 11:51 and 2 Chronicles 24:20-21). Access to the courtyard gate was restricted to the priests and ministers of the Lord, with the laity typically standing outside the gate, especially in the eastern square, to listen to the teachings or to pray. Thus, it was fitting that the people gathered before the Water Gate, as it was essential for them to receive spiritual nourishment from the streams of Scripture delivered by their high priest.