Sukkot
About Sukkot
Sukkot means "booths" or "temporary shelters." It is also called the Feast of Booths, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of Ingathering.
The festival begins on the fifteenth day of Tishrei and lasts seven days. It comes only five days after Yom Kippur. The mood changes from the solemn reflection of the Day of Atonement to a festival known for joy.
The Torah gives Sukkot two important settings. It celebrates the gathering of the harvest. It also reminds Israel of the time when the people lived in temporary shelters after God brought them out of Egypt.
The sukkah is the best-known symbol of the festival. It is a temporary shelter built especially for Sukkot. Meals are eaten there, and some people also sleep in it.
Sukkot therefore combines thanksgiving with remembrance. The harvest reminds worshipers of God's provision. The fragile shelter reminds them that security ultimately comes from God.
Origin
Sukkot is one of the festivals commanded in the Torah.
Exodus describes it as the Feast of Ingathering. It came at the end of the agricultural year when produce had been gathered from the fields.
Leviticus gives the festival another meaning. The Israelites were commanded to live in booths for seven days so that later generations would remember that God made Israel dwell in booths after bringing the people out of Egypt.
The festival was also one of the three annual pilgrimage occasions. Israelite men were commanded to appear before God at these appointed times.
Sukkot therefore joined the yearly harvest with Israel's story. The people thanked God for the food of the present while remembering His care for their ancestors in the past.
Biblical Basis
The Torah speaks about Sukkot in several places.
Exodus calls it the Feast of Ingathering and places it at the end of the harvest season. Deuteronomy also emphasizes the harvest and repeatedly calls the people to rejoice.
Leviticus 23 commands Israel to celebrate for seven days beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. The people were to take branches and fruit and rejoice before God.
The same chapter commands the Israelites to live in booths. Future generations were to remember that Israel lived in temporary shelters when God brought the people out of Egypt.
Numbers 29 describes the many sacrifices offered during the festival.
Deuteronomy also describes Sukkot as a pilgrimage festival. Families were to celebrate together and include others in their joy.
Explore This Festival
Open any topic below for additional history, observance, customs and Scripture.
Jewish Meaning
Sukkot reminds Jewish people that life depends upon God's care.
The harvest expresses gratitude for material blessings. Food, land and rain are not taken for granted. They are received with thanksgiving.
The sukkah teaches a related lesson. A permanent house can create a feeling of security. For one week, the temporary shelter reminds worshipers how fragile human security can be.
The festival also remembers Israel's journey through the wilderness. The people traveled without permanent homes, yet God sustained them.
Joy is another major theme. The Torah repeatedly commands rejoicing during Sukkot. Gratitude is not meant to remain only an idea. It becomes a shared celebration with family and community.
Sukkot therefore joins humility with joy. Human life is temporary, but God's care can be trusted.
Jesus and the New Testament
The Gospel of John places Jesus in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles.
John 7 describes Jesus going to the festival and teaching in the Temple. His presence caused considerable discussion. Some wondered whether He might be the Messiah, while others challenged His claims.
Near the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and invited anyone who was thirsty to come to Him and drink. He spoke of living water flowing from those who believed in Him. John explains this in relation to the Holy Spirit.
These words are especially striking in the setting of Sukkot. During the Second Temple period, water was carried from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple and poured at the altar as part of the festival celebration.
John 8 then records Jesus saying, "I am the light of the world." Great lamps were also associated with the Temple celebrations during Sukkot. The Gospel does not explicitly say that Jesus was referring to those lamps, so the connection should be made with care.
What is certain is that John deliberately places important teaching by Jesus in the setting of this Jewish festival.
Christian Relevance
Sukkot helps Christians understand several important passages in the Gospel of John.
Jesus did not teach in an empty religious setting. He spoke in Jerusalem while Jewish worshipers were celebrating one of their great pilgrimage festivals.
The festival's concern with water provides important background for Jesus' invitation to the thirsty in John 7. His promise of living water would have been especially meaningful in a festival season concerned with God's provision of water and the coming rains.
Sukkot also teaches themes that Christians encounter throughout Scripture. God provides for His people. Human security is temporary. Life depends upon God rather than possessions or permanent structures.
The festival also points toward a wider biblical hope. Zechariah pictures a future in which the nations come to Jerusalem to worship God during Sukkot.
Understanding the festival therefore helps Christians read both the Old and New Testaments within the Jewish world from which these passages came.
Why It Matters
Sukkot brings together several important biblical themes. It celebrates God's provision through the harvest. It also remembers Israel's journey through the wilderness after the Exodus.
The festival was one of the three great pilgrimage occasions when Israelites traveled to worship before God. During the Second Temple period, Jerusalem became filled with pilgrims and celebration.
Sukkot is also important for understanding the Gospel of John. Jesus attended the festival in Jerusalem and taught there. His words about living water came in a setting where water had special importance during the festival.
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