History of Sukkot: Festival of Booths

Tonight at sunset, September 9, begins the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, also known as the Festival of Booths or Festival of Tabernacles.

We’ve talked about Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but this holiday is significant because it is considered one of the three “pilgrimage” festivals in the Jewish calendar.

The Old Testament Book of Leviticus discusses the Exodus from slavery in Egypt of the Children of Israel. They were to commemorate it by living in temporary booths for a week

“… that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 23:43

The week started with a Sabbath (rest from work) and ended on the eighth day with a sabbath.

Pilgrimage Holidays

A “pilgrimage” holiday was when Jewish males were required to travel up to the Temple in Jerusalem — you always “go up” to Jerusalem, even from the north, because it is uphill. Until the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, Sukkot, along with Passover and Pentecost, were the three feasts or festivals when ancient male Israelites, as commanded in the Torah (the Law, the 5 Books of Moses), were to travel to the Temple to make sacrifices and worship along with the services led by the “kohanim” (priests) in Jerusalem. They’re known as the Pilgrimage Festivals.

Booths

The booths played to the secondary agricultural aspect of Sukkot mentioned in the Book of Exodus chapters 23 and 34, or the “bringing in” of the harvest. It marked, in a sense, the end of harvest time and the offering of sacrifices of the first fruits associated with it. The Book of Deuteronomy discusses the importance of the yield of the wheat harvest and the wine vats as part of the offering.

The booths were usually constructed of three sides, with an opening in the fourth and a roof opening to the sky.

First-Century Observance of Sukkot

During the time of Christ, Jerusalem had the Second Temple, beautified by the Jewish King Herod the Great. Jews would come from all over the Diaspora of the Roman Empire to make their sacrifices in Jerusalem. During one of Jesus’…