Zakharia 14:18-19

14:18 If the Egyptians will not do so, they will get no rain – instead there will be the kind of plague which the Lord inflicts on any nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. 14:19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and of all nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

Imamat 23:33-36

The Festival of Booths

23:33 The Lord spoke to Moses: 23:34 “Tell the Israelites, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Festival of Temporary Shelters ¹  for seven days to the Lord. 23:35 On the first day is a holy assembly; you must do no regular work. ²  23:36 For seven days you must present a gift to the Lord. On the eighth day there is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must present a gift to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly day; ³  you must not do any regular work.

Imamat 23:43

23:43 so that your future generations may know that I made the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”

Bilangan 29:12-38

The Feast of Temporary Shelters

29:12 “‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you are to have a holy assembly; you must do no ordinary work, and you must keep a festival to the Lord for seven days. 29:13 You must offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire as a pleasing aroma to the Lord: thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs each one year old, all of them without blemish. 29:14 Their grain offering must be of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil, three-tenths of an ephah for each of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths of an ephah for each of the two rams, 29:15 and one-tenth for each of the fourteen lambs, 29:16 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and its drink offering.

29:17 “‘On the second day you must offer twelve young bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish, 29:18 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed, 29:19 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and their drink offerings.

29:20 “‘On the third day you must offer ⁴  eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish, 29:21 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed, 29:22 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and its drink offering.

29:23 “‘On the fourth day you must offer ten bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish, 29:24 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed, 29:25 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and its drink offering.

29:26 “‘On the fifth day you must offer nine bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish, 29:27 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed, 29:28 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and its drink offering.

29:29 “‘On the sixth day you must offer eight bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish, 29:30 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed, 29:31 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and its drink offering.

29:32 “‘On the seventh day you must offer seven bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish, 29:33 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed, 29:34 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and its drink offering.

29:35 “‘On the eighth day you are to have a holy assembly; you must do no ordinary work on it. 29:36 But you must offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, one bull, one ram, seven lambs one year old, all of them without blemish, 29:37 and with their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed, 29:38 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and its drink offering.

Ulangan 16:13-16

The Festival of Temporary Shelters

16:13 You must celebrate the Festival of Temporary Shelters ⁵  for seven days, at the time of the grain and grape harvest. ⁶  16:14 You are to rejoice in your festival, you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows who are in your villages. ⁷  16:15 You are to celebrate the festival seven days before the Lord your God in the place he ⁸  chooses, for he ⁹  will bless you in all your productivity and in whatever you do; ¹⁰  so you will indeed rejoice! 16:16 Three times a year all your males must appear before the Lord your God in the place he chooses for the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Temporary Shelters; and they must not appear before him ¹¹  empty-handed.

Ulangan 31:10-13

31:10 He ¹²  commanded them: “At the end of seven years, at the appointed time of the cancellation of debts, ¹³  at the Feast of Temporary Shelters, ¹⁴  31:11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place he chooses, you must read this law before them ¹⁵  within their hearing. 31:12 Gather the people – men, women, and children, as well as the resident foreigners in your villages – so they may hear and thus learn about and fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the words of this law. 31:13 Then their children, who have not known this law, ¹⁶  will also hear about and learn to fear the Lord your God for as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Ulangan 31:2

31:2 He said to them, “Today I am a hundred and twenty years old. I am no longer able to get about, ¹⁷  and the Lord has said to me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’

Ulangan 7:8-10

7:8 Rather it is because of his ¹⁸  love ¹⁹  for you and his faithfulness to the promise ²⁰  he solemnly vowed ²¹  to your ancestors ²²  that the Lord brought you out with great power, ²³  redeeming ²⁴  you from the place of slavery, from the power ²⁵  of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 7:9 So realize that the Lord your God is the true God, ²⁶  the faithful God who keeps covenant faithfully ²⁷  with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 7:10 but who pays back those who hate ²⁸  him as they deserve and destroys them. He will not ignore ²⁹  those who hate him but will repay them as they deserve!

Ulangan 8:13

8:13 when your cattle and flocks increase, when you have plenty of silver and gold, and when you have abundance of everything,

Ezra 3:4

3:4 They observed the Festival of Temporary Shelters ³⁰  as required ³¹  and offered the proper number of ³²  daily burnt offerings according to the requirement for each day.

Nehemia 8:14-18

8:14 They discovered written in the law that the LORD had commanded through ³³  Moses that the Israelites should live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month, 8:15 and that they should make a proclamation and disseminate this message ³⁴  in all their cities and in Jerusalem: ³⁵  “Go to the hill country and bring back olive branches and branches of wild olive trees, myrtle trees, date palms, and other leafy trees to construct temporary shelters, as it is written.”

8:16 So the people went out and brought these things ³⁶  back and constructed temporary shelters for themselves, each on his roof and in his courtyard and in the courtyards of the temple ³⁷  of God and in the plaza of the Water Gate and the plaza of the Ephraim Gate. 8:17 So all the assembly which had returned from the exile constructed temporary shelters and lived in them. The Israelites had not done so from the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day. Everyone experienced very great joy. ³⁸  8:18 Ezra ³⁹  read in the book of the law of God day by day, from the first day to the last. ⁴⁰  They observed the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day they held an assembly ⁴¹  as was required. ⁴² 

Hosea 12:9

12:9 “I am the Lord your God ⁴³  who brought you ⁴⁴  out of Egypt;

I will make you live in tents again as in the days of old. ⁴⁵ 

Yohanes 7:2

7:2 Now the Jewish feast of Tabernacles ⁴⁶  was near. ⁴⁷ 

Yohanes 7:37-39

Teaching About the Spirit

7:37 On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, ⁴⁸  Jesus stood up and shouted out, ⁴⁹  “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and 7:38 let the one who believes in me drink. ⁵⁰  Just as the scripture says, ‘From within him ⁵¹  will flow rivers of living water.’” ⁵²  7:39 (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been given, ⁵³  because Jesus was not yet glorified.) ⁵⁴ 

[23:34]  ¹ tn The rendering “booths” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV) is probably better than the traditional “tabernacles” in light of the meaning of the term סֻכָּה (sukkah, “hut, booth”), but “booths” are frequently associated with trade shows and craft fairs in contemporary American English. The nature of the celebration during this feast (see the following verses) as a commemoration of the wanderings of the Israelites after they left Egypt suggests that a translation like “temporary shelters” is more appropriate.

[23:35]  ² tn Heb “work of service”; KJV “servile work”; NASB “laborious work”; TEV “daily work.”

[23:36]  ³ tn The Hebrew term עֲצֶרֶת (’atseret) “solemn assembly [day]” derives from a root associated with restraint or closure. It could refer either to the last day as “closing assembly” day of the festival (e.g., NIV) or a special day of restraint expressed in a “solemn assembly” (e.g., NRSV); cf. NLT “a solemn closing assembly.”

[29:20]  ⁴ tn The words “you must offer” are implied.

[16:13]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew phrase חַג הַסֻּכֹּת (khag hassukot, “festival of huts” or “festival of shelters”) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. The rendering “booths” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV) is now preferable to the traditional “tabernacles” (KJV, ASV, NIV) in light of the meaning of the term סֻכָּה (sukkah, “hut; booth”), but “booths” are frequently associated with trade shows and craft fairs in contemporary American English. Clearer is the English term “shelters” (so NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT), but this does not reflect the temporary nature of the living arrangement. This feast was a commemoration of the wanderings of the Israelites after they left Egypt, suggesting that a translation like “temporary shelters” is more appropriate.

[16:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “when you gather in your threshing-floor and winepress.”

[16:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “in your gates.”

[16:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[16:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[16:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in all the work of your hands” (so NASB, NIV); NAB, NRSV “in all your undertakings.”

[16:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[31:10]  ¹² tn Heb “Moses.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:10]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew term שְׁמִטָּה (shÿmittah), a derivative of the verb שָׁמַט (shamat, “to release; to relinquish”), refers to the procedure whereby debts of all fellow Israelites were to be canceled. Since the Feast of Tabernacles celebrated God’s own deliverance of and provision for his people, this was an appropriate time for Israelites to release one another. See note on this word at Deut 15:1.

[31:10]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew phrase הַסֻּכּוֹת[חַג] ([khag] hassukot, “[festival of] huts” [or “shelters”]) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. See note on the name of the festival in Deut 16:13.

[31:10]  sn For the regulations on this annual festival see Deut 16:13-15.

[31:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “before all Israel.”

[31:13]  ¹⁶ tn The phrase “this law” is not in the Hebrew text, but English style requires an object for the verb here. Other translations also supply the object which is otherwise implicit (cf. NIV “who do not know this law”; TEV “who have never heard the Law of the Lord your God”).

[31:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “am no longer able to lead you” (NIV, NLT); Heb “am no longer able to go out and come in.”

[7:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the Lord’s.” See note on “He” in 7:6.

[7:8]  ¹⁹ tn For the verb אָהַב (’ahav, “to love”) as a term of choice or election, see note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.

[7:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “oath.” This is a reference to the promises of the so-called “Abrahamic Covenant” (cf. Gen 15:13-16).

[7:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “swore on oath.”

[7:8]  ²² tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 12, 13).

[7:8]  ²³ tn Heb “by a strong hand” (NAB similar); NLT “with such amazing power.”

[7:8]  ²⁴ sn Redeeming you from the place of slavery. The Hebrew verb translated “redeeming” (from the root פָּדָה, padah) has the idea of redemption by the payment of a ransom. The initial symbol of this was the Passover lamb, offered by Israel to the Lord as ransom in exchange for deliverance from bondage and death (Exod 12:1-14). Later, the firstborn sons of Israel, represented by the Levites, became the ransom (Num 3:11-13). These were all types of the redemption effected by the death of Christ who described his atoning work as “a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28; cf. 1 Pet 1:18).

[7:8]  ²⁵ tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NRSV), a metaphor for power or domination.

[7:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the God.” The article here expresses uniqueness; cf. TEV “is the only God”; NLT “is indeed God.”

[7:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “who keeps covenant and loyalty.” The syndetic construction of בְּרִית (bÿrit) and חֶסֶד (khesed) should be understood not as “covenant” plus “loyalty” but as an adverbial construction in which חֶסֶד (“loyalty”) modifies the verb שָׁמַר (shamar, “keeps”).

[7:10]  ²⁸ tn For the term “hate” as synonymous with rejection or disobedience see note on the word “reject” in Deut 5:9 (cf. NRSV “reject”).

[7:10]  ²⁹ tn Heb “he will not hesitate concerning.”

[3:4]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew phrase אֶת חַג־הַסֻּכּוֹת (’et khag-hassukot, “festival of huts” [or “shelters”]) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. The rendering “booths” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV) is probably better than the traditional “tabernacles” in light of the meaning of the term סֻכָּה (sukkah, “hut; booth”), but “booths” are frequently associated with trade shows and craft fairs in contemporary American English. The nature of the celebration during this feast as a commemoration of the wanderings of the Israelites after they left Egypt suggests that a translation like “temporary shelters” is more appropriate.

[3:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “according to what is written.”

[3:4]  ³² tn Heb “by number.”

[8:14]  ³³ tn Heb “by the hand of.”

[8:15]  ³⁴ tn Heb “a voice.”

[8:15]  ³⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:16]  ³⁶ tn The words “these things” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:16]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the house.”

[8:17]  ³⁸ tn Heb “And there was very great joy.”

[8:18]  ³⁹ tn Heb “He”; the referent (Ezra) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:18]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the last day.”

[8:18]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “on the eighth day an assembly.” The words “they held” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:18]  ⁴² tn Heb “according to the judgment.”

[12:9]  ⁴³ sn The Lord answers Ephraim’s self-assertion (“I am rich!”) with the self-introduction formula (“I am the Lord your God!”) which introduces judgment oracles and ethical instructions.

[12:9]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “[Ever since you came] out of Egypt”; CEV “just as I have been since the time you were in Egypt.”

[12:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “as in the days of meeting” (כִּימֵי מוֹעֵד, kime mo’ed). This phrase might refer to “time of the festival” (e.g., Hos 2:13; 9:5; cf. NASB, NRSV, NLT) or the Lord’s first “meeting” with Israel in the desert (cf. NAB, TEV, CEV). In his announcements about Israel’s future, Hosea uses “as in the days of […]” (כִּימֵי) or “as in the day of […]” (כְּיוֹם, kÿyom) to introduce analogies drawn from Israel’s early history (e.g., Hos 2:5, 17; 9:9; 10:9).

[7:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “feast of the Tents” (the feast where people lived in tents or shelters, which was celebrated in the autumn after harvest). John’s use of σκηνοπηγία (skhnophgia) for the feast of Tabernacles constitutes the only use of this term in the New Testament.

[7:2]  ⁴⁷ sn Since the present verse places these incidents at the feast of Tabernacles (a.d. 29 or 32, depending on whether one dates the crucifixion in a.d. 30 or 33) there would have been a 6-month interval during which no events are recorded. The author is obviously selective in his approach; he is not recording an exhaustive history (as he will later tell the reader in John 21:25). After healing the paralytic on the Sabbath in Jerusalem (John 5:1-47), Jesus withdrew again to Galilee because of mounting opposition. In Galilee the feeding of the 5,000 took place, which marked the end of the Galilean ministry for all practical purposes. John 7:1-9 thus marks Jesus’ final departure from Galilee.

[7:37]  ⁴⁸ sn There is a problem with the identification of this reference to the last day of the feast, the greatest day: It appears from Deut 16:13 that the feast went for seven days. Lev 23:36, however, makes it plain that there was an eighth day, though it was mentioned separately from the seven. It is not completely clear whether the seventh or eighth day was the climax of the feast, called here by the author the “last great day of the feast.” Since according to the Mishnah (m. Sukkah 4.1) the ceremonies with water and lights did not continue after the seventh day, it seems more probable that this is the day the author mentions.

[7:37]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “Jesus stood up and cried out, saying.”

[7:38]  ⁵⁰ tn An alternate way of punctuating the Greek text of vv. 37-38 results in this translation: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. The one who believes in me, just as the scripture says, ‘From within him will flow rivers of living water.’” John 7:37-38 has been the subject of considerable scholarly debate. Certainly Jesus picks up on the literal water used in the ceremony and uses it figuratively. But what does the figure mean? According to popular understanding, it refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell in the believer. There is some difficulty in locating an OT text which speaks of rivers of water flowing from within such a person, but Isa 58:11 is often suggested: “The Lord will continually lead you, he will feed you even in parched regions. He will give you renewed strength, and you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring that continually produces water.” Other passages which have been suggested are Prov 4:23 and 5:15; Isa 44:3 and 55:1; Ezek 47:1 ff.; Joel 3:18; and Zech 13:1 and 14:8. The meaning in this case is that when anyone comes to believe in Jesus the scriptures referring to the activity of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life are fulfilled. “When the believer comes to Christ and drinks he not only slakes his thirst but receives such an abundant supply that veritable rivers flow from him” (L. Morris, John [NICNT], 424-25). In other words, with this view, the believer himself becomes the source of the living water. This is the traditional understanding of the passage, often called the “Eastern interpretation” following Origen, Athanasius, and the Greek Fathers. It is supported by such modern scholars as Barrett, Behm, Bernard, Cadman, Carson, R. H. Lightfoot, Lindars, Michaelis, Morris, Odeberg, Schlatter, Schweizer, C. H. Turner, M. M. B. Turner, Westcott, and Zahn. In addition it is represented by the following Greek texts and translations: KJV, RSV, NASB, NA²⁷, and UBS⁴. D. A. Carson, John, 322-29, has a thorough discussion of the issues and evidence although he opts for the previous interpretation. There is another interpretation possible, however, called the “Western interpretation” because of patristic support by Justin, Hippolytus, Tertullian, and Irenaeus. Modern scholars who favor this view are Abbott, Beasley-Murray, Bishop, Boismard, Braun, Brown, Bullinger, Bultmann, Burney, Dodd, Dunn, Guilding, R. Harris, Hoskyns, Jeremias, Loisy, D. M. Stanley, Thüsing, N. Turner, and Zerwick. This view is represented by the translation in the RSV margin and by the NEB. It is also sometimes called the “christological interpretation” because it makes Jesus himself the source of the living water in v. 38, by punctuating as follows: (37b) ἐάν τι διψᾷ ἐρχέσθω πρός με, καὶ πινέτω (38) ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμέ. Καθὼς εἶπεν ἡ γραφή, ποταμοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας αὐτοῦ ῥεύσουσιν ὕδατος ζῶντος. Three crucial questions are involved in the solution of this problem: (1) punctuation; (2) determining the antecedent of αὐτοῦ (autou); and (3) the source of the scripture quotation. With regard to (1) Ì⁶⁶ does place a full stop after πινέτω (pinetw), but this may be theologically motivated and could have been added later. Grammatical and stylistic arguments are inconclusive. More important is (2) the determination of the antecedent of αὐτοῦ. Can any other Johannine parallels be found which make the believer the source of the living water? John 4:14 is often mentioned in this regard, but unlike 4:14 the water here becomes a source for others also. Neither does 14:12 provide a parallel. Furthermore, such an interpretation becomes even more problematic in light of the explanation given in v. 39 that the water refers to the Holy Spirit, since it is extremely difficult to see the individual believer becoming the ‘source’ of the Spirit for others. On the other hand, the Gospel of John repeatedly places Jesus himself in this role as source of the living water: 4:10, of course, for the water itself; but according to 20:22 Jesus provides the Spirit (cf. 14:16). Furthermore, the symbolism of 19:34 is difficult to explain as anything other than a deliberate allusion to what is predicted here. This also explains why the Spirit cannot come to the disciples unless Jesus “departs” (16:7). As to (3) the source of the scripture quotation, M. E. Boismard has argued that John is using a targumic rendering of Ps 78:15-16 which describes the water brought forth from the rock in the wilderness by Moses (“Les citations targumiques dans le quatrième évangile,” RB 66 [1959]: 374-78). The frequency of Exodus motifs in the Fourth Gospel (paschal lamb, bronze serpent, manna from heaven) leads quite naturally to the supposition that the author is here drawing on the account of Moses striking the rock in the wilderness to bring forth water (Num 20:8 ff.). That such imagery was readily identified with Jesus in the early church is demonstrated by Paul’s understanding of the event in 1 Cor 10:4. Jesus is the Rock from which the living water – the Spirit – will flow. Carson (see note above) discusses this imagery although he favors the traditional or “Eastern” interpretation. In summary, the latter or “Western” interpretation is to be preferred.

[7:38]  ⁵¹ tn Or “out of the innermost part of his person”; Grk “out of his belly.”

[7:38]  ⁵² sn An OT quotation whose source is difficult to determine; Isa 44:3, 55:1, 58:11, and Zech 14:8 have all been suggested.

[7:39]  ⁵³ tn Grk “for the Spirit was not yet.” Although only B and a handful of other NT mss supply the participle δεδομένον (dedomenon), this is followed in the translation to avoid misunderstanding by the modern English reader that prior to this time the Spirit did not exist. John’s phrase is expressed from a human standpoint and has nothing to do with the preexistence of the third Person of the Godhead. The meaning is that the era of the Holy Spirit had not yet arrived; the Spirit was not as yet at work in a way he later would be because Jesus had not yet returned to his Father. Cf. also Acts 19:2.

[7:39]  ⁵⁴ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.