Topical Bible: The Feast of Tabernacles: The Law Publicly Read Every Seventh Year At

Bible > Topical > The Feast of Tabernacles

◄ The Feast of Tabernacles: The Law Publicly Read Every Seventh Year At ►

Jump to: Torrey's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

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, as prescribed in the Torah. It is celebrated from the 15th to the 22nd of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, and is a time of rejoicing and thanksgiving for the harvest. The festival commemorates the Israelites' 40-year journey in the wilderness, during which they lived in temporary shelters, or booths, after their exodus from Egypt.

Biblical Commandment and Observance

The commandment to observe the Feast of Tabernacles is found in Leviticus 23:33-43, where the Israelites are instructed to dwell in booths for seven days as a reminder of their ancestors' journey through the wilderness. The festival is marked by the construction of temporary shelters, or sukkot, where meals are eaten, and sometimes where people sleep, to fulfill the commandment to "live in booths."

The Law Publicly Read Every Seventh Year

A significant aspect of the Feast of Tabernacles is the public reading of the Law, which occurs every seventh year during the festival. This practice is rooted in the commandment found in Deuteronomy 31:10-13:

"Then Moses commanded them, 'At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of remission of debts, during the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place He will choose, you are to read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Assemble the people—men, women, children, and the foreigners within your gates—so that they may listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. Then their children, who do not know the law, will listen and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.'"

This public reading, known as Hakhel, was intended to ensure that the entire community, including men, women, children, and foreigners, would hear the Law and be reminded of their covenantal obligations to God. It served as a communal reaffirmation of faith and commitment to God's commandments.

Historical and Theological Significance

The public reading of the Law during the Feast of Tabernacles every seventh year underscores the importance of the Torah in the life of the Israelite community. It highlights the centrality of God's Word in guiding the moral and spiritual conduct of His people. The practice also emphasizes the communal aspect of worship and the transmission of faith across generations.

Theologically, the Feast of Tabernacles and the public reading of the Law reflect the themes of divine provision, remembrance, and renewal. The festival celebrates God's provision during the wilderness journey and His continued sustenance in the Promised Land. The reading of the Law serves as a reminder of God's covenant and the call to live in obedience to His commandments.

Contemporary Observance

While the practice of Hakhel as described in Deuteronomy is not widely observed in modern times, the Feast of Tabernacles remains a significant festival in Jewish tradition. It is celebrated with joy and thanksgiving, and the themes of remembrance and renewal continue to resonate with believers. The festival serves as a reminder of God's faithfulness and the enduring relevance of His Word.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Deuteronomy 31:10-12
And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Nehemiah 8:18
Also day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according to the manner.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Book of Jubilees
... The feast of Tabernacles is to be ... Close observance of the law, minutiae of ceremony,
strictness of ritual, were enjoined by our author with the view of ...
//christianbookshelf.org/deane/pseudepigrapha/the book of jubilees.htm

Jesus Discussed in Jerusalem.
... he that came to Him before, being one of them), Doth our law judge a ... x.21 are occupied
with what was said and done at the Feast of Tabernacles, chapters xii ...
/.../xvi jesus discussed in jerusalem.htm

The Gospel of John
... 1; 6:4; 13: 1; of the feast of Tabernacles, 7: 2 ... cured, 4: 52; in the midst of the
feast that Jesus ... observances and with the requirements of the law, and moves ...
/.../drummond/introduction to the new testament/the gospel of john.htm

Appeal to the Christian Women of the South
... the Passover, the feast of Pentecost, and the feast of Tabernacles; every male
throughout the land ... power, whilst it throws him out of the protection of law. ...
/.../an appeal to the christian women of the south/appeal to the christian women.htm

The Deputation from Jerusalem - the Three Sects of the Pharisees ...
... round the altar on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, if it ... dogmatic differences,
the controversy turned on questions of canon-law.' Josephus tells ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter ii the deputation from.htm

Fifthly, as this Revelation, to the Judgment of Right and Sober ...
... which the author of it worked publicly as the ... that they suppose God, by a perpetual
law, restrains all ... in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac ...
/.../xiv proposition xiv fifthly as.htm

[Endnotes]
... Stephen's martyrdom probably occurred about the feast of Tabernacles. ... See Acts
26:4. There is a tradition that he aspired to be the son-in-law of the high ...
//christianbookshelf.org/killen/the ancient church/endnotes.htm

Letter cviii. To Eustochium.
... Except on feast days she would scarcely ever take oil with ... to take the veil, her
daughter-in-law has vowed ... 3001] and "How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter cviii to eustochium.htm

The Iranian Conquest
... must endeavour to act according to law and justice ... Assyrians and Egyptians, either
temples or tabernacles, and though ... of his tribe, such as the feast of Mithra ...
/.../chapter ithe iranian conquest.htm

Period iv. The Age of the Consolidation of the Church: 200 to 324 ...
... the lamb, should be observed as the feast of the ... poisons of the serpent, He gave
a law to the ... Zephyrinus himself and induced him to avow publicly the following ...
/.../ayer/a source book for ancient church history/period iv the age of.htm