John 7:2
Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand.
Original Language Analysis
Historical Context
The Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33-44) was celebrated from the 15th to the 22nd of Tishri (September/October), making it a seven-day feast with an eighth day of solemn assembly. By the first century, it had become the most popular and joyous of Israel's festivals, drawing massive crowds to Jerusalem—Josephus calls it 'the holiest and greatest of Hebrew feasts.'
The feast's rituals were elaborate: Jews constructed temporary booths (sukkot) from branches, living in them for seven days to remember the wilderness wandering. Each morning, priests drew water from the Pool of Siloam in a golden pitcher and poured it on the altar while the people sang the Hallel psalms (Psalms 113-118). Each evening, massive lampstands in the Court of Women illuminated the temple, and people danced and sang throughout the night.
These ceremonies celebrated both historical deliverance (exodus from Egypt, wilderness provision) and eschatological hope. The prophets connected Tabernacles to the messianic age—Zechariah 14:16-19 envisions all nations coming to Jerusalem to celebrate Tabernacles when the Lord is king over all the earth. The water ceremony anticipated the outpouring of God's Spirit (Isaiah 44:3, Joel 2:28-29). Against this backdrop, Jesus's claims in John 7-8 are staggering—He is the fulfillment of everything Tabernacles symbolized.
Questions for Reflection
- How does Jesus's fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles deepen your understanding of His incarnation as God 'tabernacling' among us (John 1:14)?
- What does it mean for your spiritual life that Christ is the reality behind all Old Testament shadows and symbols?
- How should the massive gap between symbol (feast rituals) and reality (Christ's person and work) shape how we approach Christian ordinances like baptism and communion?
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Analysis & Commentary
Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. This brief verse sets the temporal and theological context for the dramatic events of John 7-8. The phrase the Jews' feast (ἡ ἑορτὴ τῶν Ἰουδαίων/hē heortē tōn Ioudaiōn) uses John's characteristic distancing language—though this was commanded by God, John writes from a post-resurrection perspective showing the Jewish festivals as anticipating Christ's fulfillment.
Tabernacles (ἡ σκηνοπηγία/hē skēnopēgia), also called Sukkot or the Feast of Booths, was one of Israel's three pilgrim festivals requiring all Jewish males to appear in Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 16:16). The Greek skēnopēgia means 'tent-pitching' or 'dwelling in booths,' commemorating Israel's wilderness wanderings when they lived in temporary shelters and God dwelt among them in the tabernacle.
The phrase was at hand (ἐγγὺς ἦν/engys ēn)—literally 'was near'—creates tension given verse 1's context. The feast required pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the very place where authorities sought Jesus's death. This timing sets up the conflict in verses 3-10 where Jesus's brothers urge Him to go publicly while Jesus insists His time has not yet fully come.
Theologically, Tabernacles celebrated harvest and commemorated God's provision during wilderness wanderings. Its rituals included water-drawing ceremonies (prompting Jesus's cry in 7:37-39 about rivers of living water) and great lampstands illuminating the temple (prompting Jesus's declaration 'I am the light of the world' in 8:12). Jesus fulfills what Tabernacles symbolized—He is the true bread, the living water, the light, the presence of God tabernacling among humanity.