Tabernacles, Feast of

How Nave’s arranged it

• Also called FEAST OF INGATHERING
• InstitutedExodus 23:16Exodus 34:22Leviticus 23:34–43
• Design ofLeviticus 23:42Leviticus 23:43
• The law read in connection with, every seventh yearDeuteronomy 31:10–12Nehemiah 8:18
• Observance of, after the captivityEzra 3:4Nehemiah 8:14–18
• By JesusJohn 7:2John 7:14
• Observance of, omittedNehemiah 8:17
• Penalty for not observingZechariah 14:16–19
• Jeroboam institutes an idolatrous feast to correspond to, in the eighth month1 Kings 12:321 Kings 12:331 Chronicles 27:11

The passages, in Bible order (16)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 16 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. Exodus 23:16

   You are also to keep the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the produce from what you sow in the field. And keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 23:161 voice

   “Three times . . . keep a feast . . . in the year--This was the institution of the great religious festivals--"The feast of unleavened bread," or the passover--"the feast of harvest," or pentecost--"the feast of ingathering," or the feast of tabernacles, which was a memorial of the dwelling in booths in the wilderness, and which was observed in the seventh month (Ex 12:2).

   Everything gathered on Exodus 23:16→

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2. Exodus 34:22

   And you are to celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 34:221 voice

   “Moses bowed . . . and worshipped--In the East, people bow the head to royalty, and are silent when it passes by, while in the West, they take off their hats and shout.

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3. Leviticus 23:34–43

   “Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Feast of Tabernacles to the LORD begins, and it continues for seven days.

   ›Commentary on Leviticus 23:34–431 voice

   “While the solid branches were reserved for the construction of the booths, the lighter branches were carried by men, who marched in triumphal procession, singing psalms and crying "Hosanna!" which signifies, "Save, we beseech thee!" (Ps 118:15, 25, 26). It was a season of great rejoicing.

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4. Leviticus 23:42

   You are to dwell in booths for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must dwell in booths,

   ›Commentary on Leviticus 23:422 voices

   “Booths - According to Jewish tradition, what were used at the Feast of Tabernacles were strictly “tabernacula,” structures of boards, with a covering of boughs. The “booth” in which the Israelite kept the Feast, and the “tent” which was his ordinary abode in the wilderness, had this in common - they were temporary places of sojourn, they belonged to camp-life. The seven days of abode in the booths of the festival was thus a fair symbol of the forty years of abode in tents in the wilderness.

   “While the solid branches were reserved for the construction of the booths, the lighter branches were carried by men, who marched in triumphal procession, singing psalms and crying "Hosanna!" which signifies, "Save, we beseech thee!" (Ps 118:15, 25, 26). It was a season of great rejoicing.

   Everything gathered on Leviticus 23:42→

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5. Leviticus 23:43

   so that your descendants may know that I made the Israelites dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’”

   ›Commentary on Leviticus 23:431 voice

   “While the solid branches were reserved for the construction of the booths, the lighter branches were carried by men, who marched in triumphal procession, singing psalms and crying "Hosanna!" which signifies, "Save, we beseech thee!" (Ps 118:15, 25, 26). It was a season of great rejoicing.

   Everything gathered on Leviticus 23:43→

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6. Deuteronomy 31:10–12

   Then Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of remission of debt, during the Feast of Tabernacles,

   ›Commentary on Deuteronomy 31:10–122 voices

   “It was usual in cases of public or private contract for two copies of the engagement to be made--one to be deposited in the national archives or some secure place for reference, should occasion require. The other was to remain in the hands of the contracting parties (Jer 32:12-14). The same course was followed on this renewal of the covenant between God and Israel.

   “At the end of every seven years - thou shalt read this law - Every seventh year was a year of release, Deu 15:1, at which time the people’s minds, being under a peculiar degree of solemnity, were better disposed to hear and profit by the words of God. I suppose on this ground also that the whole book of Deuteronomy is meant, as it alone contains an epitome of the whole Pentateuch. And in this way some of the chief Jewish rabbins understand this place.

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7. 1 Kings 12:32

   And Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar; he made this offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had set up, and he installed priests in Bethel for the high places he had set up.

   ›Commentary on 1 Kings 12:322 voices

   “Ordained a feast - The Jews held their feast of tabernacles on the fifteenth day of the seventh month; Jeroboam, who would meet the prejudices of the people as far as he could, appointed a similar feast on the fifteenth of the eighth month; thus appearing to hold the thing while he subverted the ordinance.

   “And thus, [1.] Jeroboam sinned himself, yet perhaps excused himself to the world and his own conscience with this, that he did not do so ill as Solomon did, who worshipped other gods. [2.] He made Israel to sin, drew them off from the worship of God and entailed idolatry upon their seed.

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8. 1 Kings 12:33

   On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had set up in Bethel. So he ordained a feast for the Israelites, offered sacrifices on the altar, and burned incense.

   ›Commentary on 1 Kings 12:332 voices

   “This verse belongs to 1 Kings 13 rather than to 1 Kings 12, being intended as an introduction to what follows. Which he had devised of his own heart - The entire system of Jeroboam receives its condemnation in these words. His main fault was that he left a ritual and a worship where all was divinely authorized, for ceremonies and services which were wholly of his own devising. Not being a prophet, he had no authority to introduce religious innovations.

   “And thus, [1.] Jeroboam sinned himself, yet perhaps excused himself to the world and his own conscience with this, that he did not do so ill as Solomon did, who worshipped other gods. [2.] He made Israel to sin, drew them off from the worship of God and entailed idolatry upon their seed.

   Everything gathered on 1 Kings 12:33→

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9. 1 Chronicles 27:11

   The eighth, for the eighth month, was Sibbecai the Hushathite, a Zerahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

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10. Ezra 3:4

    They also celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles in accordance with what is written, and they offered burnt offerings daily based on the number prescribed for each day.

    ›Commentary on Ezra 3:42 voices

    “And they kept the feast of booths, etc. The Feast of Booths, which in the Gospel is called in Greek Skenopegia, that is, the pitching of booths, was a festival of seven days, beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, during which the …

    “Or rather let them learn of you, who are so well instructed in such histories, how that Jeshua the son of Josedek the priest, and his brother, and Zerubbabel the wise, the son of Salathiel, and Ezra the priest and scribe of the law, as the temple was being built after the captivity, the feast of tabernacles being at hand (which was a great feast and time of assembly and prayer in Israel), gathered the people together with one accord in the great court within the first gate, which is toward the east, and prepared the altar to God, and there offered their gifts and kept the feast.

    Everything gathered on Ezra 3:4→

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11. Nehemiah 8:14–18

    And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month.

    ›Commentary on Nehemiah 8:14–182 voices

    “And they found written in the law which the Lord had commanded by Moses,.... The children of Israel, to be observed by them; either by hearing it read the day before, or by conversation with Ezra, they perceived it was enjoined in the law, particularly in Lev 23:39 that the children of Israel should dwell in booths, in the feast of the seventh month: which was the same month, and this the second day of it, and therefore the time drew near for keeping it; for it was to begin the fifteenth.

    “In the feast of the seventh month - That is, the feast of tabernacles, which was held in commemoration of the sojourning of their fathers in the wilderness after they had been delivered from the Egyptian bondage. Now, having been delivered from the Babylonish captivity, and the proper time of the year occurring, it was their especial duty to keep the same feast.

    Everything gathered on Nehemiah 8:14–18→

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12. Nehemiah 8:17

    The whole assembly who had returned from exile made booths and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated like this. And there was great rejoicing.

    ›Commentary on Nehemiah 8:171 voice

    “It is not the intention of the writer to state that the Feast of tabernacles had not been kept from the time of Joshua until this occasion (see 1Ki 8:2, 1Ki 8:65; Ezr 3:4); but that there had been no such celebration as this since Joshua’s time. Compare 2Ki 23:22; 2Ch 35:18.

    Everything gathered on Nehemiah 8:17→

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13. Nehemiah 8:18

    Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. The Israelites kept the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day they held an assembly, according to the ordinance.

    ›Commentary on Nehemiah 8:182 voices

    “Also day by day . . . he read in the book of the law of God--This was more than was enjoined (De 31:10-12), and arose from the exuberant zeal of the time. on the eighth day was a solemn assembly--This was the last and great day of the feast (see on Nu 29:35).

    “Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God,.... That is, Ezra; this was done by him every day during the feast, whereas only the first and last days were the holy convocations on which it seems to have been read: and they kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according to the manner; prescribed in Lev 23:39.

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14. Zechariah 14:16–19

    Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

    ›Commentary on Zechariah 14:16–192 voices

    “That is left - That escapes the stroke. To worship - By a ceremonial usage which shadowed out a better worship, the prophet foretells the constant zeal of the converted Gentiles to worship the Lord. The feast of tabernacles - One solemn festival is by a figure, put for all the days consecrated to God for holy worship.

    “Shall even go up from year to year - The Jews had three grand original festivals, which characterized different epochs in their history, viz.: - 1. The feast of the passover, in commemoration of their departure from Egypt. 2. The feast of pentecost, in commemoration of the giving of the law upon Mount Sinai. 3. The feast of tabernacles, in commemoration of their wandering forty years in the wilderness.

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15. John 7:2

    However, the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near.

    ›Commentary on John 7:22 voices

    “Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. Which began on the fifteenth day of the month Tisri, which answers to part of our September; when the Jews erected tents or booths, in which they dwelt, and ate their meals during this festival; and which was done, in commemoration of the Israelites dwelling in booths in the wilderness; and was typical of Christ's tabernacling in human nature; and an emblem of the saints dwelling in the earthly houses and tabernacles of their bodies, in this their wilderness and pilgrimage state.

    “Feast of tabernacles - This feast was celebrated on the fifteenth day of the month Tisri, answering to the last half of our September, and the first half of October. This month was the seventh of the ecclesiastical, and first of the civil, year. The feast took its name from the tents which were erected about the temple, in public places, in courts, and on the flat roofs of their houses, and in gardens; in which the Jews dwelt for eight days, in commemoration of the forty years during which their fathers dwelt in the wilderness.

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16. John 7:14

    About halfway through the feast, Jesus went up to the temple courts and began to teach.

    ›Commentary on John 7:142 voices

    “Now at the middle of the feast - Which lasted eight days. It is probable this was on the Sabbath day. Jesus went up into the temple - Directly, without stopping any where else.

    “The midst of the feast - Though the canons required him to be there on the first day, for the performance of a great variety of rites, yet, as these were in general the invention of their doctors, he might think it very proper neither to attend nor perform them.

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