Charles Ellicott Commentary Nehemiah 8:1

"And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the broad place that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Jehovah had commanded to Israel." — Nehemiah 8:1 (ASV)

As one man. —The unanimity rather than the number is emphatic here.

And they spake unto Ezra. —Who appears in this book for the first time, having probably been at the court for twelve years.