A. THE PERIOD FROM THE INSTITUTION OF TIIIS FESTIVAL TO THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY. —The Mosaic enactments about the manner in which this festival is to be celebrated are as fol lows :—The Israelites are to live in tabernacles during the seven days of this festival, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in tabernacles when I brought them out of the land of Egypt ' (Lev. xxiii. 42, 43). The first day alone, however, is to be a holy convocation (np N-Ipn), and a Sabbath or day of perfect cessation of business, on which no man ner of secular work is to be done (Lev. xxiii. 35, 39) ; and all the able-bodied male members of the congregation, who are not legally precluded from it, are to appear in the place of the national sanctuary, as on Passover and Pentecost (Exod. xxiii. 14, 17; xxxiv. 23). On this day the Israel ites are to take the fruit of goodly trees, with branches of palm trees, boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook ' (Lev. xxiii. 40), most pro bably to symbolise the different vegetation which grew in the different localities of their journey through the wilderness—viz. the palm-tree of the plain where the Israelites encamped, the willow at the mountain stream, from which God gave his people water to drink ; and the designedly indefi nite thick bush on the mountain heights over which they had to travel ; whilzt the fruits of the goodly trees represent the produce of the beautiful land which they ultimately obtained after their pilgrim ages in the wilderness (Pressel in Herzog's Real Emyklopadie, s. v. Laubhiittenfest '). As this festival, however, though symbolising by the seve ral practices thereof the pilgrimage through the wildemess, was nevertheless more cspecialiy de signed to celebrate the completion of the hanrest (rPtArt ,111) in the promised land, as typified by the fruit of the goodly trees' in contrast to the plants of the wilderness, the Israelites are enjoined not to appear before the Lord empty, but every one shall give as he is able, according to the bless ing of the Lord thy God which he bath given thee ' (Exod. xxiii. ; Deut. xvi. t6, 17). Hence they are to offer burnt-offerings, meat-offerings, drink offerings, and other sacrifices as follows :—On the first day, tbe burnt-offering is to consist of 13 bullocks, 2 rams, 14 lambs, and kid of the goats for a sin-offering, with the appropriate meat and drink-offerings ; the meat-offenngs being ephah of flour mingled with 4 hin of oil to eacb bullock, i26 ephah of flour mingled with hin of oil to each ram, and ephah of flour mingled with 1 hin of oil to each lamb ; the drink-offering consisting of A hin of wine to each bullock, hin of wine to each ram, and 1 hin of wine to each Lamb (Num. xv. 2-1 ; xxviii.
12-14). The satne number of rams and lambs, and one kid, are to be offered on the following days ; the number of bullocks alone is to be re duced by one each day, so that on the seventh day only seven are to be offered (Num. xxix. 12-38). There are accordingly to be offered during the seven days in all 70 bullocks, 14 rams, 98 lambs, and 7 goats, with 33.g. ephahs of flour, 641 hins of oil, and 644 hins of wine. Moreover, the law is to be read publicly in the Sanctuary on the first day of the festival every Sabbatical year (Deut. xxxi. to-13). The six following days—i.e. 16th 22d of Tishri—are to be half festivals ; they were most probably devoted to social enjoyments and friendly gatherings, when every head of the family was to enjoy the feasts froin the second or festival tithe with his son, daughter, man-servant, maid servant, the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow (Deut. xvi. 14). [TITHE.] At the conclusion of the seventh day another festival is to be celebrated, denominated the con cluding day (111Y11 Orb the elkhth concluding- day (Inv Tinzy; Sept. *Stop). Like the first day it is to he a holy convocation, and no manner of work is to be done on it. As it is not only the finishing of the Feast of Tabernacles, but the con clusion of the whole cycle of festival [FEsTIvaLs], the dwelling in the tabernacle is to cease on it, and the sacrifices to be offered thereon are to be distinct, and unlike those offered on the preceding days of Tabernacles. The burnt sacrifice is to consist of bullock, I ram, and 7 lambs one year old, with the appropriate meat and drink offerings, and goat for a sin-offering (Num. xxix. 36-3S). The sacrifices, therefore, were to be like those of the seventh 11CW moon and the Great Day of Atonement. Being, however, attached as an oc tave to the Feast of Tabernacles, the Sabbatical rest and the holy convocation, which properly belong to the seventh day of the Feast of Taber nacles, are transferred to it, and hence the two festivals are frequently joined together and spoken of as one composed of eight days. There is only one instance on record of this festival being cele brated between the entrance into the promised land and the Babylonish captivity (1 Kings viii. 2 ; 2 Chron. vii. 8-to with Neh. viii. 7). No trace of any exposition of the Fentateuchal enactments with regard to this festival is to be found till we come to the post-exile period.