Nehemiah 12:29
Also from the house of Gilgal, and out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth: for the singers had builded them villages round about Jerusalem. Also from the house of Gilgal, and out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth: for the singers had builded them villages round about Jerusalem.
The verse belongs to the account of a great thanksgiving day kept at Jerusalem for the dedication of the restored wall under Nehemiah's direction. That dedication came after the return from the Babylonian captivity. The gathering for it followed Nehemiah's return to Jerusalem after a stay of several months at the Persian king's court. For the dedication priests, Levites, and singers were brought together in great numbers from the cities, villages, and plain country of Judah to take a leading part.
It was kept with gladness, thanksgiving, and singing with cymbals, psalteries, and harps. The priests and Levites purified themselves and purified the people, great sacrifices were offered, and there was rejoicing because God had made them rejoice with great joy, with wives and children also rejoicing, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off. The verse identifies the singers' homes as villages they had built for themselves round about Jerusalem, including the house of Gilgal and the fields of Geba and Azmaveth. The sons of the singers also gathered from the plain country around Jerusalem and from the villages of Netophathi.
Sacrifices and offerings are almost inseparably connected with thanksgiving, and material giving is the really practical feature of Thanksgiving. The example of the people at Jerusalem makes an excellent basis for a Thanksgiving program.