The Feast of Booths

We hear about the Feast of Booths, but what exactly was it? Why did God institute this festival in the Jewish religious calendar? On this episode of Bible Backdrop, we look into some of the details on the Feast of Booths including the time of year, the events that took place, and what the booths looked like. We also look into how Jesus used this to great effect during His ministry.

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Transcript

The wind howled through the small structure waking up the young man. He opened his eyes and had that momentary sense of confusion when someone wakes up in a strange place. He listened for a minute and heard his father and brothers all breathing steadily. Nope...none of them woke up. He sat up and saw that the sky in the east was becoming lighter. Dawn was coming and he was going to have to wake up soon anyway. Might as well get an early start.

Wrapping himself in his cloak, he got up and walked to the open part of the 3 walled structure. Looking out across the plain, he saw hundreds of similar structures dotted all over the fields. It was quite a sight to behold and he was glad to be here. His name was Abraham and he just turned 13 a few months ago. Now that he was officially a man, he was finally able to join the other men in his family on this yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem. As the youngest, he had to do many of the menial chores, but even that was fine with him. 

As the sky got lighter, he picked up firewood and filled the skins with water. After he was done, he looked up at the city in the distance. Jerusalem was also waking up. They were heading that way after breakfast to participate in the festivities. There were many ceremonies and readings from the Torah. Abraham would remember this for the rest of his life...his first time to the Feast of Booths.

Hello again everyone and thank you for joining the latest episode of Bible Backdrop. Today we’re going to start on a series looking at some of the festivals in the Jewish calendar. On this episode, we’re starting with the Feast of Booths which may be a bit backwards since this was the last event on the religious calendar.

We hear about this feast in several of the Gospels, but what exactly was it? First, let’s talk about what it is not. The feast is called Sukkot in Hebrew and the booth’s are called sukkah. Many people, including Bible translations, call it the Feast of Tabernacles. While a tabernacle is a temporary dwelling, this was usually reserved for describing where the Ark of the Covenant resided during the time in the wilderness. The Hebrew word for tabernacle is mishkan and does not accurately reflect the dwellings during this festival.

In Leviticus 23 verses 33-44, God gives the details on what needed to be done. I won’t read it all here because it’s a fairly long passage, but I will hit on the highlights. Starting in verse 34 with the timing: “Speak to the sons of Israel saying ‘On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the Lord.’” The seventh month in the Jewish calendar is the month of Tishrai. This may sound familiar from the episode on Yom Kippur because the Feast of Booths was to be celebrated 5 days after Yom Kippur. The month of Tishrai usually was around September-October in our calendar. For the Israelites, this was all timed to happen after the autumn harvest when the crops were brought in from the fields. So the timing may have looked like this: harvest, Yom Kippur, and then the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Feast. With the crops brought in, it would have been easier for the families to go to Jerusalem.

What was the purpose of the feast? Like many of the rituals that God designed for His people, this one has multiple meanings. First, it is a time to remember God’s deliverance of Israel from the hand of Egypt during the Exodus. The booths, being temporary dwellings, represented Israel’s dwellings during the 40 years in the wilderness. Second, it was a time of rejoicing of God’s provision. Having just brought in the harvest, the people could rejoice that they had enough to eat. Third, it was a time of thankfulness of both God’s provision and His deliverance. The people would rejoice and be thankful for the harvest that just completed and with the upcoming rainy season, the prayer that God would renew the land for another harvest the next year. Again, the timing after Yom Kippur is interesting. After bringing in the harvest, the people are called to atonement and repentance; once that is complete, then there is a time for rejoicing. Compare this to what Jesus says in John 4:35: “...I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest!” Here, Jesus was talking about a spiritual harvest that would bring in the lost souls of men. The disciples would bring in the harvest, there would be atonement through Christ, after which there would be rejoicing for spiritual provision and deliverance from sins.

How was the feast celebrated? There were the basic instructions outlined in Leviticus 23 but as time went on, new rituals were added. The main festival lasted 7 days, recalling the week of creation in Genesis. Each day started with a ritual of drawing water out of the Pool of Siloam and pouring it out on the altar while reciting prayers and Psalms. The Pool of Siloam was important as it was the only water reserve for Jerusalem and therefore very important and precious. The water represented the Holy Spirit being poured out on the people. This happened each day and built up to the 8th day. This helps put context to Jesus speech in John 7: 37-38: “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’” Another ritual done each day was done in the Court of the Women. There would be four golden candelabras, each with golden bowls, and four priests pouring oil into the lampstands to light up the sky. The men would dance and sing during the event. It may have been here when Jesus said in Jon 8:12: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

Besides the rituals with the water and lamps, the people would also gather what were called lulavs. These were created by tying together a palm, myrtle and willow branch. They were carried by the pilgrims in their right hand while their left hand held a lemon-like citrus fruit called an etrog. At the appropriate time, they would wave the lulav, possibly similar to the way the priests did the wave offerings. 

In addition to all this, the people would sing particular Psalms. They would sing Psalms 113-118, known as “The Egyptian Hallel.” Hallel simply means “Praise Yahweh.” These were written as praises to God thanking Him for his deliverance and his establishment of the nation of Israel. They would also sing Psalms 120-135 known as “The Psalms of Ascents.” The name may come from the people taking the roads towards Jerusalem which was set on a hill, so the people ascended to it during their pilgrimage. These psalms are praises to God for his comfort in distress and blessings upon the people.

As outlined in Leviticus, the first and last days were both considered Sabbath’s...no work was to be done. They were also to be a sacred assembly each of these days. Besides the water ritual there were also readings of the Torah. Finally, the people were to offer sacrifices during this time. Leviticus doesn’t give definitive directions on what kind of sacrifices are necessary. It simply says a “food offering.” This could refer to the recently completed harvest.

So the big question is: What were the booths like? They were usually simple structures and could be 3 or 4 sided. You could find these booths not just during the festival, but also during the fall harvest as people used them to stay close to their crops. They were also used to guard against the blazing sun as outlined in Jonah 4:4. In Leviticus, there are no instructions on how a booth should be created or what it should include. Since these were common structures during the harvest, people may have already had a frame to use for the booth. Tradition says that it had to have at least 2 walls though most had 3 and even 4 with a small entryway. Other traditions say the whole booth had to be made from unprocessed wood. So it was mainly built from trees in the area around Jerusalem easily accessible to everyone. It did have a roof, but it was not meant to be perfectly enclosed. In fact, it was important for the night sky to be visible when making a sukkah. There’s several explanations for this; some say that it’s a reminder that the nation during their wanderings had God as their covering. Others say that it is to see the night sky and remember God’s promise to Abraham that they would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. The booths often included a table where meals were shared and were also a great equalizer. Rich or poor, you had to live in a booth during the feast.

On that note, I’ll stop here on this episode on the Feast of Booths. If you are enjoying Bible Backdrop, please subscribe and leave a 5 star rating and review. If you want to get in touch with the show, you can e-mail me at BibleBackdrop@gmail.com. Word of mouth is still the best way for this show to get around, so please tell a friend and have them subscribe. Thank you again for listening and have a great week!