Deuteronomy 16:13-17

The Feast of Tabernacles

13 You are to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles ^[a] for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. ¹

14 And you shall rejoice in your feast—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you.

15 For seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the LORD your God in the place He will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that your joy will be complete.

16 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, ^[b] the Feast of Weeks, ^[c] and the Feast of Tabernacles. ^[d] No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed.

17 Everyone must appear with a gift as he is able, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you.

Deuteronomy 16:13-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 16

This chapter treats of the three grand yearly festivals, of the feast of passover, when, where, and what was to be sacrificed, how to be dressed, and in what manner to be eaten, De 16:1-8, of the feast of pentecost, when to begin it, where and how it was to be observed, De 16:9-12, and of the feast of tabernacles, when, where, and how long it was to be kept, De 16:13-15, which three times in the year all the males were to appear before the Lord, and not empty, De 16:16,17, an order is given for the appointment of judges in the land, to execute judgment, De 16:18-20, and the chapter is closed with a caution against planting groves, and setting up images, De 16:21,22.

Cross References

• 1. (Numbers 29:12–40)

Footnotes

• [a] Or Booths or Shelters; see footnotes for verse 16.
• [b] That is, the seven-day period after the Passover during which no leaven may be eaten; see Exodus 12:14–20.
• [c] That is, Shavuot, the late spring feast of pilgrimage to Jerusalem; it is also known as the Feast of Harvest (see Exodus 23:16) or the Feast of Pentecost (see Acts 2:1).
• [d] That is, Sukkot, the autumn feast of pilgrimage to Jerusalem; also translated as the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Shelters and originally called the Feast of Ingathering (see Exodus 23:16 and Exodus 34:22).