Ezra 3:1

The seventh month. Shortly after their arrival in Palestine, probably in the summer of 536 B.C., the newly returned exiles assembled at Jerusalem to inaugurate the new Temple service. This gathering took place at the end of the 6th month, as a comparison of v. 1 with v. 6 shows. The 7th month (Tishri) was one of the most sacred months of the entire Jewish religious year. The 1st day of that month was New Year’s Day of the civil calendar. The month began with a blowing of trumpets and a holy convocation. Ten days later came the solemn Day of Atonement, followed almost immediately by the Feast of Tabernacles, from the 15th to the 22d day of the same month.

The people gathered. The people were prepared to stay long enough to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the three great feasts every Jew was required to observe in Jerusalem.