Topical Bible: The Feast of Tabernacles: Began Fifteenth of Seventh Month

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Topical Encyclopedia

The Feast of Tabernacles, also known as Sukkot or the Feast of Booths, is one of the three major pilgrimage festivals in the Jewish calendar, alongside Passover and the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost). It is celebrated beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, Tishri, according to the Hebrew calendar, which typically falls in late September to late October in the Gregorian calendar.

Biblical Foundation

The institution of the Feast of Tabernacles is found in the Torah, where God commands the Israelites to observe this festival as a lasting ordinance. In Leviticus 23:34-36 , the Lord instructs Moses: "Speak to the Israelites and say, 'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the LORD’s Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it continues for seven days. On the first day there shall be a sacred assembly. You are not to do any regular work. For seven days you are to present an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly; you are not to do any regular work.'"

Historical and Agricultural Significance

The Feast of Tabernacles is both a historical and agricultural festival. Historically, it commemorates the forty years the Israelites spent wandering in the wilderness, living in temporary shelters as they journeyed from Egypt to the Promised Land. This is reflected in the command to dwell in booths or temporary shelters during the festival, as stated in Leviticus 23:42-43 : "You are to live in booths for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must live in booths, so that your descendants may know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God."

Agriculturally, the Feast of Tabernacles is a harvest festival, celebrating the ingathering of the produce of the land. It marks the end of the agricultural year and is a time of thanksgiving for the bounty provided by God. Deuteronomy 16:13-15 emphasizes this aspect: "You are to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. And you shall rejoice in your feast—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow within your gates. For seven days you are to celebrate this feast to the LORD your God in the place the LORD will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete."

Rituals and Observances

The Feast of Tabernacles is characterized by several rituals and observances. Central to the celebration is the construction of the sukkah, a temporary booth or hut, where meals are eaten, and some may even sleep during the festival. The sukkah is a reminder of the fragile dwellings used by the Israelites in the wilderness.

Another key element is the waving of the "Four Species" (arba minim), which includes the etrog (citron), lulav (palm frond), hadas (myrtle), and aravah (willow). This ritual is based on Leviticus 23:40 : "On the first day you are to take the branches of majestic trees—palm branches, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook—and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days."

Prophetic and Messianic Significance

The Feast of Tabernacles holds prophetic and messianic significance within the Christian tradition. It is seen as a foreshadowing of the coming Kingdom of God, when all nations will gather to worship the Lord. Zechariah 14:16 prophesies: "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."

In the New Testament, the Feast of Tabernacles is mentioned in the context of Jesus' ministry. In John 7:2-14 , Jesus attends the festival in Jerusalem, where He teaches in the temple courts, revealing His identity and mission. This connection underscores the belief that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises and symbols represented by the feast.

The Feast of Tabernacles remains a time of joy, reflection, and anticipation, as believers remember God's provision in the past and look forward to His ultimate redemption and dwelling among His people.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Leviticus 23:34,39
Speak to the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days to the LORD.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Signs which Preceded the War.
... [662] That is, the Feast of Tabernacles, which began on the fifteenth day of
the seventh month of the Jewish year, and continued seven days. ...
/.../pamphilius/church history/chapter viii the signs which preceded.htm

The Journey to Jerusalem - Chronological Arrangement of the Last ...
... ecclesiastical month (Nisan), while the Feast of Tabernacle [3848] began on the ... Feast,'
and chapter vii., which records that at the Feast of Tabernacles. ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter iv the journey to.htm

The Jewish Institutions and Laws of Far Higher Antiquity than the ...
... maintains that he was born in the time of Gyges, who began to reign ... time of Darius,
the feast of the dedication was held, as also the feast of tabernacles. ...
/.../the stromata or miscellanies/chapter xxi the jewish institutions and.htm

[Endnotes]
... Stephen's martyrdom probably occurred about the feast of Tabernacles. ... or
Passion-week, in the midst of which our Lord was crucified AD31, began with His ...
//christianbookshelf.org/killen/the ancient church/endnotes.htm

The Last Days of the Old Eastern World
... A demotic contract in the Turin Museum bears the date of the third month of the ... having
reached the defiles of the OEta and the Euboea, he began by attacking ...
/.../chapter iithe last days of 2.htm

Tiglath-Pileser iii. And the Organisation of the Assyrian Empire ...
... places of Kevan, the star of El, and carried the tabernacles of the ... gradually gained
authority as portents indicative of the divine wrath began to accumulate ...
/.../chapter iitiglath-pileser iii and the.htm