From the chamber of Gemariah...Baruch read: Baruch got permission from this high official to read to the public. This elevated spot near the New Gate entrance was close to where Jeremiah's public trial had happened a few years earlier (Jeremiah 26:10).
Gemariah had a godly heritage. His father, Shaphan, took part in Josiah's reading of the scrolls found in the Temple (2 Kings 22:8–10).