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The Feast of Tabernacles and The Eighth Day Assembly
A New Beginning
Yahushua at the Feast Of Tabernacles in Twenty Nine CE
Session One

Transcribed and edited from video

www.answersoflife.com

If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (Joh 7:37-38 KJV)

Today’s presentation is about Yahushua going to the Feast of Tabernacles. We have been proceeding through a group of presentations that have to do with the Feast of Tabernacles. I want to make a presentation that bridges the Feast of Tabernacles to the Eighth Day. We will include what is Part 2 in a series of Eighth Day Presentations; however this presentation now has two sessions to it. I ended up splitting what was a single Eighth Day presentation into two parts because the scriptural material that we are going to go through in John 7-8-9 and 10 bridges the Feast of Tabernacles that Yahushua kept in what I believe to be 29 CE. It bridges the Feast of Tabernacles as the Eighth Day in that scriptural set. This will be the first session of a two session series.

This time we will talk about the front end part of Yahushua going to the Feast of Tabernacles.

Yahushua and the Feast of Tabernacles
Temple – Center of Worship

• Second Temple

  Ezra and Nehemiah – c. 445 BCE

When I put this presentation together initially, dating back five or six years ago, I started to wonder what was going on in the first century around the twentieth to the thirtieth year when Yahushua was alive and walked on the earth. What was really happening on the ground? I wondered at the Feast of Tabernacles that Yahushua went to, what were people experiencing? What were they seeing? Yahushua went to the Temple location in Jerusalem; he came in somewhat the middle of the Feast Days as we will see when we read the scriptures. I wondered what they were experiencing. Little by little I started to dig out what was really going on. It turns out that the Talmud and Mishnah and Josephus are rich in the customs and traditions and ritual that were being performed in these days.

I would sum it up to say that the Temple had become a corrupt place and I am going to go into a little background of what the Temple developed into in the first century CE. Of course we are really talking about in the first century CE what was the second Temple. The first Temple was Solomon’s Temple; the second was Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah in their timeframe. The second Temple came about around 445 BCE, so some four hundred and fifty to five hundred years later, Yahushua is on the scene and what was going on? What developed in that approximately five hundred year time frame?

Let’s start with how it actually got started. We will go back to Nehemiah chapter 8. Nehemiah was one of the reformers that helped bring all of the Israelites out of captivity in Babylon so during the time of five hundred to four fifty BCE the alter and the new Temple got rebuilt and put into operation. Here is what Nehemiah says c. 445 BCE.

So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of YHWH… And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths… for since the days of Jeshua ^{Joshua or Yahushua – his Hebrew name} the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness. Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of YHWH. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly ^{H6116=atsarah} (Neh 8:16-18 KJV)

Hellenization begins – c. 330 BCE

Hasmonean dynasty (167-37 BCE) – Judah/Simon Maccabee

Development of 2 party priesthood – c. 150 BCE

Became clients of Rome – c. 40 BCE

“for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so”, that is some nine hundred years in that statement. The days of Joshua were about nine hundred years before this 445 BCE event. Think about what was going on here with this assembly in Ezra and Nehemiah’s time and nothing had been done like it so it was quite a grand event. On the eighth day was a solemn assembly, so here is mention of the Feast of Tabernacles and the Eighth Day in this scripture.

I want to comment, and I have made this comment before, this is likely a Sabbatical year from a couple of perspectives. One is from the chronology analysis that we have done, but they kept the Feast seven days and on the eighth was a solemn assembly but note that they were reading the law. The scriptures tell us in Torah that the law is to be read at the end of the seventh Sabbatical year at the Feast of Tabernacles. So that is what they were doing here. It’s a pretty interesting sidelight discussion.

What starts to develop in this period of time is most interesting and the development didn’t happen overnight. It’s not like just the next year all of these things happened. A little over a hundred years later Alexander the Great came on the scene. Alexander the Great was really quite a military leader, by the age of thirty years old he had conquered virtually all of the known world. He died and put four of his remaining generals in charge and that started a period of time known as Hellenism. Hellenism is the Greek way, it has to do with the society, the social culture, arts, religion, philosophy, and one of the parts of philosophy became liberal thinking. When Hellenization started occur, the world as it was known in this period of time changed drastically in a relatively short period of time.

It absolutely influenced the land of Israel and those that were living in the land of Israel and how the Temple was being tended to. What developed another hundred or a hundred fifty years or so after that, was a dynasty of Jewish believers known as the Hasmonean. These were the Maccabees and there were several key Maccabees in the historical accounts. One of them was Judah and the other Simon. That occurred and the Temple was really starting to change by the influence of Hellenization at this time. What had started to develop was a two party priesthood system. Keep in mind if you go back to the first Temple period and before that, up to the time of Moses, there was a priesthood. It was the Levitical system; it wasn’t a two party system as was developing. The two-party system morphed into what we know today to be the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees carried with them a lot of what is known as the oral law. They brought a lot of tradition into the mix of the Temple worship.

The Sadducees were really the core believers in only keeping the five books of Torah, particularly Leviticus, Deuteronomy and so forth. The Sadducees and Pharisees were at an ideological loggerhead if you will. That developed starting around 150 BCE and by the time Yahushua shows up in the first century, we see the evidence of that as are written in the scriptures. We see the note of Pharisees and Sadducees and it’s a real compelling and interesting study to look at what those differences are. We won’t go into the details other than to say that there was a two party system. It was almost like a two party system in politics today, and it was full of politics by the way.

One party was much more liberal than the other and one was much more conservative than the other. It also turns out that what I would say the Sadducees liked the Hellenization of the society to even though the Sadducees were fixed and oriented to the five books of Torah, and held to them without any oral law, they also bought into the Hellenization and this new culture and the more liberal thinking. It’s interesting dynamics that were working out.

By this point in time, when we get down to around 40 BCE, the Roman Empire was certainly on the scene and the Temple and Temple authorities were starting to become clients of Rome, they lost their independence in the politics of the society. The politics of Rome started to influence who was in the Temple and if you had the right resources you could buy your way into the Temple and some actually did that.

• Herod’s Temple

  Execution of Antigonus ^{The Hasmonean} (37 BCE) – Herodian dynasty begins – from Idumaea

  Mariamme ^{The Hasmonean daughter of Alexander} (executed 29 BCE)

  Temple corruption – pay for play

• Meaningless tradition – Rabbinic innovation
• Empty ritual

Herod himself was one good example of how that occurred; he was the result of John Hyrcanus overcoming the land of Israel. John Hyrcanus was a Jewish man who was a Maccabee and ended up being the leader of the Maccabees and the land of Israel dating back to about 120 BCE. He had a forced conversion process, under his rule, you could convert to Judaism or you could be killed, or you had to leave the area. Hyrcanus converted a guy named Antipater who was an Idumaean. It turns out that Antipater was Herod’s father. When Herod the Great came on the scene, he ended up having good connections into the Roman government. Actually Herod had the last standing Maccabee or Hasmonean executed in 37 BCE who was this leader called Antigonus at this point in time.

Herod the Great claimed himself to be of Jewish decent because of this forced conversion of his father. Obviously all of the indigenous Israelites and Judahites that were living in that point in time knew better and they despised him. Herod married into the Maccabean family to a woman named Mariamme and he ultimately had her executed in 29 BCE. He married into the family and thought of himself as the leader of Judah and actually was named by the Romans to be the governor or the king of the territory of Judah.

All this point in time the Temple continued to operate under what had become a two party political system. The end result is that also during this time a lot of ritual and tradition started to get added into what we would call Judaism today but it was the worship system that people had. Meaningless tradition started to be entered into the worship system.

In a number of places in the New Testament, Yahushua particularly called them out because of their attitude, meaningless tradition and lack of true reverence. In Mark 7 Yahushua is talking here:

And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. (Mar 7:4-6 KJV)

He is quoting Isaiah 29 there.

I want to take a look at Isaiah 29 because what has morphed into Rabbinic Judaism became very innovative in how they were worshiping in these days. Here is what Isaiah said some eight hundred years before Yahushua made this quote so this is our scheme of thinking, some twenty eight hundred years ago. This is read from the Brenton Septuagint.

For YHWH has made you to drink a spirit of deep sleep; and he shall close their eyes, and the eyes of their prophets and of their rulers, who see secret things. And all these things shall be to you as the words of this sealed book, which if they shall give to a learned man, saying, Read this, he shall then say, I cannot read it, for it is sealed. And this book shall be given into the hands of a man that is unlearned, and one shall say to him, Read this; and he shall say, I am not learned. And YHWH has said, This people draw nigh to me with their mouth, and they honour me with their lips, but their heart is far from me: but in vain do they worship me, teaching the commandments and doctrines of men.
(Isa 29:10-13 Brenton)

Even eight hundred years before, Isaiah was prophesying of this time. Of course this was going on in the society even way back in Isaiah’s time, but it continued on after the corruption started in the Temple starting with Nehemiah and then down to the Hellenization period and then the Maccabees and the Romans down to Herod to this time.

This Rabbinic innovation that started to occur added a lot of ritual to the system and little by little parts and pieces were added. If you lived in the first century CE, particularly in this time when Yahushua went to the Feast, what was it like on the ground? Remember that was an early question that I asked. What was it really like if you walked into the Temple complex and what was going on? Were there rules and procedures? The answer is yes, there were.

The Second Temple actually had a major renovation by Herod. This Temple complex is the same one that originally dated back to Nehemiah but Herod increased the footprint and the number of acres that the whole enterprise took up substantially.

In Herod’s time, this ended up being about a thirty five acre compound. It had eight major gates going into it and the construction started in 19 BCE. That is a good date to remember because we will come back to it. It is well documented date in Herod’s history because a lot of what he did had to do with public works projects. He was a guy that liked to put people to work and thought this Temple project would be a good one because it employed a lot of the locals; it probably employed a lot of the Jews. It was a major enhancement to the previous construction.

It was never really completed though, there was more that Herod had in mind in his construction schedule that never got done. It looks completed in the picture below and I suspect that by 28-29 CE this is exact or close to what it really looked like.

Josephus talks quite a bit about it and also the Talmud and Mishnah, but Josephus gives us a lot of insight into it. A couple of highlights I want to mention is that there was something called the Court of the Gentiles and we see that referenced in some of the scriptures. That was the sourounding area beyond this main edifice of the Temple and its walls. Sourounding that was called the Court of the Gentiles.

Inside of the main complex was a place called the Nicanor Gate. It turns out that there is a bit of controversy of where the Nicanor Gate is. There is a scripture in the New Testament that talks about the beautiful gate and there are a number of opinions about that. I think the safe explaination is that the Nicanor Gate is in fact this gate that enters in from the Women’s Court.

The Women’s Court is the large outside courtyard area. The Nicanor Gate enters into the main Temple complex itself. The women themselves were only allowed to go as far as the Women’s Court, which is why it’s labeled as such. Any Israelite could go through the Nicanor Gate assuming they had gone through a cleansing a washing ritual.

There are fifteen steps that go up to the Nicanor Gate and they are shown in this model. This isn’t really just a picture, this is a real three dimensional model that was made by a man named Alec Garard that lives in Norfolk England; I believe he is still alive. It is an interesting side study on your own of what he did and you can see pictures of it that is something he built in his back yard. If you saw just beyond the edges that I have shown in the model itself you would see that there are trees and ground and a fence around this. This is really a real three dimensional model that a picture has been taken of.

Inside the Women’s Court by the way, was the treasury and inside the treasury area where what appears to be thirteen money boxes where people would put their donations and tithes and Temple tax and so forth, they were all labeled as I understand and it was obvious there were boxes for every situation.

Apparently the money changers operated from inside this area. I will note that in Garard’s model, you can see in each of the four corners there is something standing, and these are really like big candelabra, they aren’t menorah because they don’t have seven candlesticks on them but they are big candelabra. We will come back to that, not too many people realize that these candelabra were there but the history is full and complete that this is how it really looked.

I want to mention that the Women’s Court was where this account occurred in John chapter 2. Yahushua had just gone in and dealt with the money changers in verse 15, but a snippet after that starting in verse 19 gives us a little insight about the dating of the age of the Temple.

Yahushua answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body….when he was in Jerusalem at the passover ^{1st of 4}, in the feast day, many believed in his name
(Joh 2:19-23 KJV)

19 BCE + 46 years = 27 CE (no year zero)

A couple of points about this is that this was a Passover; this was the first of four that I believe you can find. You can find three of them in John and I believe there is a fourth one that seems to come out when you look at a particular account in the book of Luke. In any case, the Jews said it was forty six years this Temple has been in the building, and when you make a timeline, or look at the timeline of when these gospel accounts were written and the events and how they were written, it would appear that this account is in 27 CE. You get to that from a couple of different perspectives. One is that we know Herod started the renovation project of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah Temple project. He started that in 19 BCE, forty six years later takes it to 27 CE. When you make the bridge to BCE to CE there is no zero year but there is a one on each side of that so you have to account for all of that. It would appear that this is 27 CE when Yahushua had this encounter with the Temple authorities in this Women’s Court.

Also as background, I want to talk a little about Solomon’s Porch to give you somewhat of an idea of the dimensions of all of this. In Josephus Antiquities he says:

And now Herod, in the eighteenth year of his reign, and after the acts already mentioned, undertook a very great work, that is, to build of himself the temple of YHWH, and make it larger in compass, and to raise it to a most magnificent altitude, as esteeming it to be the most glorious of all his actions, as it really was, to bring it to perfection; and that this would be sufficient for an everlasting memorial of him…Now the Temple was built of stones that were white and strong, and each of their length was twenty-five cubits ^{37 ft.}, their height was eight ^{12 ft.}, and their breadth about twelve ^{18 ft}. (Jos Ant 15.11.1)

When you take a look, a cubit is about a foot and a half, the dimensions for each stone would be 37 feet long twelve feet high and about eighteen feet wide. Those are huge stones that are being talked about here. I don’t know if Josephus was exaggerating in this or not but the dimensions of the Temple in the scripture add up to some of these stones could be that size. Even with modern excavators and cranes, this would be a huge undertaking so it begs some question of how they did it in those days without the heavy lifting equipment that we have in modern architecture.

Also, the Jewish Encyclopedia gives us some dimensions of the Temple itself. The first example I gave you is stone size but let’s look at the Temple: The Temple proper as reconstructed by Herod was of the same dimensions as that of Solomon: 60 cubits long ^{90 ft.}, 20 cubits wide ^{30 ft.}, and 40 cubits ^{60 ft.} high.

(Jewish Encyclopedia)

That is ninety feet long, thirty feet wide, and sixty feet high in round numbers, and the book of 1 Kings also weighs in on this, I would say by comparison there is a scripture in 2 Chronicles that has a comparative dimension to it although one of the dimensions in 2 Chronicles is a hundred and twenty cubits high and that appears to be a scribal error so I have chosen to use 1 Kings example because it matches up to everything else that we see about it.

And the house which king Solomon built for YHWH, the length thereof was threescore cubits ^{90 ft.}, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits ^{30 ft.}, and the height thereof thirty cubits ^{45 ft.}. And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits ^{30 ft.} was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits ^{15 ft.} was the breadth thereof before the house. (1Ki 6:2-3 KJV)

Forty five feet for the height is a bit different than the Jewish Encyclopedia but the numbers are all close. When we look at this entryway, Solomon’s Porch as it is known, we see the dimensions of this, and in any case, this was a huge and magnificent structure in these days. Can you imagine coming to Jerusalem and this was set? Of course on a high spot, I don’t believe it’s the highest spot of where the Temple really sat, but it was in a prominent spot. You could probably see it from some locations quite a long way away. You could certainly see it as a magnificent structure from across the valley going to the east and the mountain called Olivet was over there.

Notice by the way, that the orientation of the Temple is actually facing to the east, so you may not be able to see it because of my picture overlay but east is Solomon’s Porch, the back of the Temple is west and off to the right would be north and the opposite would be south of course. The orientation in this picture is looking at it but we are actually looking towards the west. The

Temple door is facing towards the east.

Yahushua and the Feast of Tabernacles
Background Rituals

• Rabbinic traditions during the Feast of Tabernacles

I want to go into some amount of detail about the traditions that was going on during this period of time. When we read the accounts of Yahushua walking the earth and his disciples in this time and going to Jerusalem, going to the Passover in the spring, or going to the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall, what was really going on? What did they experience? It is actually a surprise, when I first started to uncover some of these traditions; I thought they were probably more legends and myths rather than real actions and activities.

It turns out that the more I looked at this, I am quite sure that this is really what was going on. The Temple authorities had made a practice of ceremonial worship and they had just ceremony and tradition after tradition. They used the scriptures and probably in the reality of things, most of what they did, it’s not that they were necessarily worshiping idols, but they got so involved in the ritual that they lost track of the purpose of the Feast of Tabernacles, and for that matter the Passover in the spring. We are focusing on the Feast of Tabernacles right now so let’s take a look at these background rituals.

One of the first items, if you were to walk into the Feast of Tabernacles on day one, the Talmud tells us that:

On the first day of Tabernacles we read the section of the festivals in Leviticus, and for haftorah (prophetic books recited). “Behold the Day of YHWH comes” ^{Zec 14:1}

(Tak Megillah 31a)

It turns out that they read from Zechariah as we would catalogue it today, and here is what they would have read:

Behold, the day of YHWH cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity… And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley….And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: But it shall be one day which shall be known to YHWH, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. And YHWH shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Sovereign, and his name one. (Zec 14:1-9 KJV)

It’s pretty interesting that this is what they read on day one. “Behold the day of YHWH comes”, we have studied the day of YHWH in some amount of detail particularly in the Memorial of Trumpets presentation series. Note what is highlighted, “that at evening time it shall be light” and “living waters shall go out from Jerusalem”, the evening time being light and this water that goes out from Jerusalem are the keys to understand a couple of the rituals that I am about to describe for you. Let’s proceed with that in mind.

The Water Libation – fill a golden flagon holding three logs with water drawn from Siloam

We see good tracks of it in a number of places, Mishnah, Talmud, and Josephus that I have been able to discover. Here are a couple of the highlights from Mishnah.

Oral Torah

During the preparation of the burnt offering, a procession of priests with the accompaniment of flute playing and singing wended their way from the temple down to the Pool of Siloam where a priest filled a golden flask with water while a choir repeated: Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation (Isa 12:3)

(Mish Sukkah 4:9, 5:1, Tal Sukkah 48b)

Keep in mind the degree of the ritual here, not only did they draw the water but they are singing out of Isaiah 12. They are going to draw water from the wells of salvation. They have an understanding of what they are doing and it is ceremonial and representative and allegorical in pointing to the wells of salvation from YHWH.

Also in the Talmud, of course this is written in looking in the rear view mirror, the Talmud was written after the destruction of the second Temple in 70 CE.

When we used to rejoice at the place of the Water Drawing, our eyes saw no sleep…..The first hour (was occupied with) the daily morning sacrifice; from there (we proceeded) to prayers; from there (we proceeded) to the additional sacrifice, then the prayers to the additional sacrifice, then to the House of Study, then the eating and drinking, then the afternoon prayer, then the daily evening sacrifice, and after that the Rejoicing at the place of the Water Drawing (all night). (Tal Sukkah 53a)

Apparently they did that for going into the evening or all night. Look at all that was going on here, all of the sacrifices and the rejoicing and the ritual.

The requirement of dwelling in the sukkah and the water libation are for seven days

(Mish Sukkah 4:1)

This is the instruction that the Mishnah tells Judaism today of how long the water libation is to go, and it’s what they were doing in these days. These are all oral traditions, by the way. We see no track of them in the scriptures. Keep in mind the Pharisees were the ones that embraced all of these oral traditions. That is what Yahushua was calling them out on, their oral traditions that they thought were so important. We see none of that in the scriptures that we have today. None of it, we see only Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Exodus and so forth and what Moses wrote that is important for us about honoring the Feast Days.

The water libation: How so? A golden flask, holding three logs in volume, did one fill with water from Siloam. (When) they reached the Water Gate, they blow a sustained, a quavering, and a sustained blast on the shofar. (Mish Sukkah 4:9) _End

They had a signal here, when they walked through, it’s called the Water Gate.

– Daily early morning event during first seven days of the Feast

Alter circled once per day for six days

Seventh day alter circled seven times – same as Hashana Rabbah

The water libation was probably one of the first rituals that I ran into and I started researching it and found out that this is what was really going on. If you went to the Feast of Tabernacles in what I believe to be 29 CE, we started with Yahushua in 27 CE at the Women’s Court but this is toward the end of his ministry, this wasn’t the same period of time. This is probably 29 CE; this water libation was something that was initiated on day one. It was an early morning event during the first seven days of the Feast. The altar was circled once per day for six days with this flagon of water and the seventh day they circled the altar seven times with this flagon. Interestingly enough, this is the same as Hoshana Rabbah. I haven’t gotten there yet but we will talk about Hoshana Rabbah coming up, the same day when they circled the altar seven times.

– Priests parade to pool of Siloam and draw offering equivalent to one quart of water

into golden flagon

– Return to the Temple Water Gate and blow the shofar

– Assembly of priests proceed through the Water Gate and make water libation offering

into two silver bowls at the alter

You can find all of this information in the Mishnah and Talmud also by the way and for that matter, some of it in Josephus. I have eliminated the quotes for that, but there is really a lot of information you can research on your own.

– Water flowed through the pipe to the Kidron Valley and eventually into the Dead Sea

(Mish Sukkah 4:9)

From the altar there was a pipe that went down and exited what would be on the east side of the Temple complex and that pipe flowed down into what was this valley that separated the Temple complex from the Mount of Olives. Of course the idea of it was that if you put enough water through the pipe, eventually that pipe would run downhill to the Dead Sea.

– Purpose – YHWH judges the world for rainfall – appeal for next year’s rain

This time of the year they were starting to focus on rainfall. The rain had stopped, they were getting ready to go into the rainy season, and they were appealing for next year’s rain to come in abundance so that the crops would grow. If you want to see a real live enactment of this, it has been done in recent times, just in the last few years by the Temple Institute.

– Simchat Beit Hashoavah – Hebrew for – Rejoicing in the place of the water drawing ^{Temple Institute}

Simchat Beit Hasoavah is something you can see at the Temple Institute website, simply go to the Temple Institute website and search on water libation and you will see the ceremony. I think the last time they did it was about three years ago. They haven’t done it in the last two because of the pandemic and social distancing going on. They have re-enacted this in “preparation for the next Temple to be brought online”.

Yahushua and the Feast of Tabernacles
Background Rituals

• Rabbinic traditions during the Feast of Tabernacles

  – Menorah light ceremony

  2 or 4 – 75 ft. menorahs erected outside Temple

  Picturing Messiah would come and be light to all humanity

At the end of the first festival day of the Festival the priests and Levites went down to the women’s courtyard…And there were golden candleholders there, with four gold bowls on their tops, and four ladders for each candlestick. And four young priests with jars of oil containing a hundred and twenty logs ^{10 gallons}, would climb up the ladders and pour the oil into each bowl. (Mish – Succah 5.2)

Yahushua and the Feast of Tabernacles
Background Rituals
Menorah Light Ceremony

• Oral Torah

  At the close of the first Holyday the priests would descend from the Court of the Israelites down into the Court of Women. In the court four huge candelabra were placed, each fifth four golden bowls at their tips and four ladders to each one. Wicks made from the worn-out drawers and girdles of the priests were placed in each bowl and lit. There was no courtyard in Jerusalem that was not lit up with the light…from these candelabras

  (Mish Sukkah 5.2-3)

This is something that they talked about coming out of the court of the Israelites, the priests came out from the Temple area, and the court of the priests is inside of this also. They came through this Nicanor Gate to the Women’s Court and notice that Garard has put these four candelabras in his models. He has seen some of this same research and probably has gone beyond and done some more. Notice that the Candelabras have five tops on them and according to what we read there were four, and it certainly could be that Alec Garard has other information that I don’t. In any case that is a small point; the point is that he put these four candelabras in the Women’s Court just as we see in not only this account but multiple different accounts out of Mishnah and Talmud.

Each (Candelabra) were fifty cubits ^{75 ft.} in height. (Tal Sukkah 52b)

These candelabra were real tall; remember what it said in Zechariah, that at night it’s going to be lit. That is exactly what they did, they made these candelabras to accommodate and fulfill that scripture.

A woman could sift wheat by the illumination of these lights (Tal Sukkah 53a)

Apparently they put of a lot of light so anyplace the Temple was on higher ground compared to Jerusalem and the City of David nearby, these candelabras put off a tremendous amount of light for the area

Pious men and men of good deeds used to dance before them ^{the candelabra} with burning torches in their hands and sang before them songs and praises. And the Levites on harps, and on lyres, and with cymbals, and with the trumpets and with other instruments of music without number upon the fifteen steps leading down from the court of the Israelites to the Women’s Court, corresponding to the Fifteen Songs of Ascent in the Psalms ^{Psalms 120-134}; upon them the Levites used to stand with musical instruments and sing hymns. (Mish Sukkah 5:4)

A night of joyous activities in the Court of Women

They had a ceremony for going down the steps also, the steps of the Nicanor Gate that I have shown you. Here are some of the highlights of what they were singing; it is somewhat an irony when I read through these highlights because of what they were singing and what they were saying. Keep in mind we are focusing on the time Yahushua came to the Feast and listen to what they were singing.

• An Irony

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from YHWH, which made heaven and earth. (Psa 121:1-2 KJV)

Have mercy upon us, O YHWH, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. (Psa 123:3 KJV)

As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the YHWH is round about his people from henceforth even for ever. (Psa 125:2 KJV)

Except the YHWH build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except YHWH keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. (Psa 127:1 KJV)

Blessed is every one that feareth YHWH; that walketh in his ways. (Psa 128:1 KJV)

I wait for YHWH, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for YHWH more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. (Psa 130:5-6 KJV)

For YHWH hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. (Psa 132:13 KJV)

• Honoring with the mouth, not the heart

What I get from this and keep in mind they are doing this on each of the fifteen stairs that are there. I’m sure they have a certain order put into all of this; each step has a certain Psalm that goes along with it. They are certainly honoring YHWH with their mouth but must not be thinking much in their heart because of what has unfolded and what is about to unfold when Yahushua comes to the Feast.

By the way, some of this ritual points to the coming of a Messiah, and even gets better from here. Keep in mind, let’s put ourselves in 29 CE and put ourselves going to the Feast of Tabernacles. You would be seeing all of this pomp and circumstance and ceremony.

– The Lulav ^{three branches} and Etrog ^citrus ceremony – Four species ritual – from Leviticus 23:40

By the way, some of these carry forth into Judaism today; this one is one of them. This has to do with the four species that are mentioned in Leviticus 23 so let’s take a look at some of the background, the historical comments out of the oral Torah.

– Symbols of harvest blessing

– Priests decorated the altar with palms and willows

– Collected willow branches – “a place below Jerusalem called Matsa”

– Tie together three types of branches and one type of fruit – wave them in daily ceremony

– Lulav bundle = Lulav ^date/palm, hadass ^myrtle, aravah ^willow – (Mish Sukkah 4.2-5)

– Wave six directions – north, south, east, west, up, and down

Symbolizes YHWH can be found in all directions

Yahushua and the Feast of Tabernacles
Background Rituals
Lulav Ceremony

• Oral Torah

The rites of the lulav, the branches of palm, myrtle, and willow which are bound together and carried along with the etrog on the on the Festival of Booths ^{Lev 23:40} and the willow branch, carried by the priests around the altar are for six or seven days.

(Mish Sukkah 4:1, 5:5)

The Festival of Booths that are mentioned takes us back to the Torah itself. I think the implication is that you use these goodly trees to make your booths with. The evidence seems to be that is what they were really doing. That is exactly what Nehemiah did in his days.

And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before YHWH your Elohim seven days…Ye shall dwell in booths seven days
(Lev 23:40, 42 KJV)

For Sukkah in Nehemiah

And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.
(Neh 8:15 KJV)

“As it is written” is here in Leviticus 23:40, but look at what has happened now by 29 CE. The branches are put into a bundle and they are used for a different ceremony. I haven’t seen that they were making booths out of them, perhaps they were making booths too but they also used these particular three bundles of palm, myrtle and willow along with a fruit type to make this ritual bundle.

The religious requirement of the willow branch: How so? There was a place below Jerusalem, called Mosa ^Masa. People go down there and gather young willow branches. They come and throw them along the sides of the altar, with their heads bent over the altar…every day they walk around the altar one time and say:

Save ^{H3467=Yahshah} now ^H4994=now, I beseech thee, O YHWH: O YHWH, I beseech thee, send now prosperity ^{Psa 118:25} (Mish Sukkah 4:5)

This forms the entrée into another ritual “Save now” in Hebrew is Yahshana so keep that in mind because that is going to unfold into another ritual that is tagged on along with this. This is what Josephus says; notice that he is a two season guy, summer and winter.

Upon the fifteenth day of the same month, when the season of the years is changing for winter, the law enjoins us to pitch tabernacles in every one of our houses, so that we preserve ourselves from the cold of that time of the year…and keep a festival for eight days, and offer burnt-offerings, and sacrifice thank-offerings, that we should then carry in our hands a branch of myrtle, and willow, and a bough of the palm tree, with the addition of the pome citron. (Jos Ant 3:10:4)

Josephus is telling us and this is a second authority that this is indeed what they did. It’s also useful to keep in mind that on top of these rituals is all of the sacrifices that are being talked about here also. That is also going on so if you went to the Feast in 29 CE it would be a different environment and a set of ceremonies than if you were to go to a corporate Feast site here in 2021; by comparison of what they were doing then was a lot of activity and ritual. It’s amazing to be able to put all of this together.

It reminds me of a scripture in Colossians that I have used in a previous presentation but Paul is talking to the Colossians about the believers to not allow someone to judge them or to judge you in meat or drink, the Holy Days, the new moons or the Sabbaths. Just before that he says something interesting:

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Messiah. (Col 2:8 KJV)

This word “rudiments” means orderly arrangement so really what we have here if you think about it, is a very orderly arrangement of ritual, one step to the next to the next, in a certain series of reciting and singing songs. The Temple authorities and the priests in this period of time have virtually everything wired down to a very precise schedule.

The rudiments of the word that Paul talks about and by the way, it is in a couple of places in Paul’s writings. I am coming to see that the rudiments of the world are really about these oral traditions and oral laws. It even goes on if you look a little further in Colossians Chapter 2 it talks about the orderly arrangement being the washing of cups and pans, and washing your hands and so forth. I believe the “rudiments of this world” is what we are really talking about and that is how Paul saw it and as he described it to the early believers.

In any case, back to the Lulav and Etrog ceremony. This ritual is about the symbols of the harvest blessing. The priests decorated the altar with palms and willows. They collected willow branches from this place near Jerusalem called Masa. They would tie three types of branches and one type of fruit together and wave them in a daily ceremony. The Lulav bundle included the lulav which is a date or a palm, the hadass which is a myrtle, and the aravah which is the willow and then a type of fruit in addition.

They would wave this bundle in six directions, north, south, east, and west, and then up and down and that would symbolize that YHWH can be found in all directions. You can see that I didn’t make these things up. I found them but I just haven’t quoted them out of the Mishnah and Talmud.

Josephus also has something to say about this:

For at a festival which was then celebrated…the law of the Jews required that at the feast of tabernacles everyone should have branches of the palm tree and citron tree; which thing we have elsewhere related. (Jos Ant 13.13.5)

Everybody had to have their citron and etrog and lulav bunch, so if we went to the Feast of Tabernacles in this time we would have to acquire that apparently from what Josephus is saying.

The Mishnah is saying that:

“Where they are accustomed to repeat the last nine verses of Psa 118:1-29, let one repeat” Mish Sukkah 3:11

They were repeating during this period of time and this is a snippet from this Mishnah comment. They would repeat Psalms 118, the last nine verses.

I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is YHWH’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which YHWH hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save ^{H3467= Yahshah} now ^H4994=now, I beseech thee, O YHWH: O YHWH, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of YHWH: we have blessed you out of the house ^{H1004=Temple of YHWH} of YHWH. El is YHWH, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. Thou art my Elohim, and I will praise thee: thou art my Elohim, I will exalt thee. O give thanks unto YHWH; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. (Psa 118:21-29 KJV)

Notice again, “save now” is in this and this is going to come up again. Yahshana, the Hebrew of Yahshana means save now, or salvation now or now is salvation. That is important to what is about to come up. Notice that the Lulav ritual has that imbedded in it.

Yahushua and the Feast of Tabernacles
Background Rituals

• Rabbinic traditions during the Feast of Tabernacles

  – Hallel – psalms of praise recited every day Psa 113 – 118

Hoshana Rabbah ritual

AKA The Great Hoshana (great salvation)

End of “Days of Judgment” beginning Rosh Hashana – 21 days

7^th day of Feast of Tabernacles

Psalms and Deuteronomy read

Seven circuits around Temple/Synagogue with Lulav and Etrog (4 species)

Symbolizes tearing down iron wall that separates us from our Father in Heaven, as the wall of Jericho was encompassed and the wall fell down flat (cf. Jos 6:20)

Beat Lulav bundle against the ground – symbolic of casting away sin

Seven circuits correspond to seven Hebrew words is Psalm 26:6

Also at the Feast of Tabernacles in 29 CE we will sing a lot of songs. The Hallel is the psalms that are used to praise and they are recited every day, it includes Psalms 113 through 118. We like to sing here and at the Feast of Tabernacles we like to be online with other locations and people are singing songs. It certainly adds a joyous tone to the Feast of Tabernacles.

The last ritual I want to mention as we move forward to the time when Yahushua actually shows up at the Feast is something called Hoshana Rabbah. Hoshana Rabbah is also known as the Great Hoshana and it means the great salvation. Hoshana is salvation or salvation now and Rabbah is great. When you research it, it actually has the background that it started at Rosh Hoshana and it is a twenty one day count down. It is called the end of the days of judgment, it turns out that the twenty one days end on the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles. The Psalms and Deuteronomy are read during this period of time and the Lulav and Etrog ceremony circle the Temple and the altar area seven times, not just once as they did on the first six days but on the seventh day they go around seven times with the ritual of the Lulav and the etrog, the four species.

In fact, as I have researched it, today in Judaism they do something like this in the Synagogue, there isn’t a temple today but they do something like this at the Feast of Tabernacles today. That happens in the Feast of Tabernacles for Judaism as well as for mainstream Christianity that honor the festival, particularly the Churches of God and the Hebrew Roots celebrations as well.

The Mishnah says:

Every day they walk around the altar one time and say, “Save ^{H3467=Yahshah=bring salvation, save} now ^{H4994=now=I pray thee now}, we beseech thee, O YHWH! We beseech thee, O YHWH, send now prosperity” ^{Psa 118:25}…On the seventh day of the willow branch, they walk around the altar seven times. (Mish – Sukkah 4:5)

This Hebrew translation of Hoshana now translates to Hosanna in the Greek so it’s similar and it means the same thing. We see good tracks of it actually in the Greek New Testament.

Hoshana or Hosanna Greek = Yahshah naw Hebrew – Mat 21:9, Mar 11:9, Joh 12:13 ^{Triumphal entry}

All of the accounts in Matthew, Mark and John reference the Triumphal entry which we will talk about. The Hoshana Rabbah ritual symbolizes the tearing down of the iron wall that separates us from our Father in Heaven as the wall of Jericho was encompassed and the wall fell down flat. What happened in Jericho was that the priests went around six days and sounded the trumpet once and then on the seventh day they went around and sounded seven times. This parallels the Jericho event and they also beat their Lulav at this point in time on the ground as being symbolic of casting away sin.

They have the seven circuits wired down too. The seven circuits correspond to seven Hebrew words that are in Psalm 26.

I will wash ^H7364 mine hands ^H3709 in innocency: ^H5356 so will I compass ^H5437 thine ^(H853) altar, ^H4196 O YHWH ^H3068 (Psa 26:6 KJV)

Wash hands, innocency, compass, thine altar, YHWH, are the seven corresponding words that they will chant as the mantra during this ritual.

With all of that in mind, that is what is happening on the ground as we get ready to go to the Feast of Tabernacles in 29 CE. You can imagine your mind’s eye being there for this kind of a spectacle. It would probably be inspiring to walk in and see all of this, particularly from our perspective today. It was an annual event so it’s not like this all just happened in 29 CE; it is what they did in Jerusalem. It had grown in ritual over the years from the First Temple to the Second Temple and with the resulting innovation that the priests made, the two party system and all of the politics that are going along with this plus the changes that are being made this was quite an event with a lot of ritual, custom and now Yahushua is coming to the Feast. This is the heart of where I wanted to get to but I wanted to take a good amount of time to set the stage for what Yahushua is walking into as we go to the Feast in 29 CE. John Chapter 7 starts this.

Yahushua and the Feast of Tabernacles
Arrival of Messiah

Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brethren ^{G80=womb brother} therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him.

I want to make a comment that the brethren talked about here are probably his bloodline brethren, his brothers and sisters, not the disciples, the word brethren here that is used means from the womb. I suspect this is his family not the twelve disciples that we think of as being brothers.

Then Yahushua said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.

That is an amazing comment that when you testify of the world, people hate you and they hated Yahushua, they hate believers today that testify of the world just as it happened to Yahushua. The works of the world therefore are evil.

Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come. When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret ^{G2927=concealed}. (Joh 7:2-10 KJV)

He went up concealed, I have wondered about how he concealed himself. Was this a miraculous concealment or something that he did with his dress? I don’t know but notice that he didn’t come immediately but sometime after the beginning of the Feast. We will call it coming in the middle of the Feast.

Jews feast (empty and pious ritual)

Only in John

cf. Jews feasts

Jews Passover – Joh 2:13, 11:55

Feast of the Jews – Joh 5:1

Passover, a feast of the Jews – Joh 6:4

Jews feast of tabernacles – Joh 7:2

Written in your law (Yahushua speaking) – Joh 8:17, 10:34

It is also useful to note the very beginning of this and it starts out with the “Jews Feast of Tabernacles”. This account is in John and earlier on in my conversion process I wondered about this. I have heard people talk about it and there are certainly a lot of commentaries written about it incorrectly. With the background of what I have just shown you and all of this custom and ritual that is taking place, it should be obvious now why John is calling it the “Jews Feast of Tabernacles”. They have bolted on ceremony after ceremony and they’ve got a customized timeline of virtually down to the minute of how things are to be done.

The Jews Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. I have actually heard people in the past tell me “well you keep those Jewish feasts, you keep the Jews Feast of Tabernacles”; clearly we know that the Festivals are YHWH’s Festivals. YHWH said in Leviticus 23 that “these are my feasts”. These aren’t the Jews feasts. What is interesting about this is a side study all on its own but this terminology of the “Jews Feast” is only found in John. You don’t find it in the Synoptic Gospels; you find it in several entries in John’s writing where he calls the Festivals “Jewish Festivals”, or “Jews Feast”.

It first occurs in John chapter 2, “the Jews Passover”, and the Jews Passover is also written about in John 11. The Feast of the Jews is talked about in John Chapter 5, that feast of the Jews isn’t clear whether it’s a Passover or Pentecost or a Tabernacles event but I believe it to be a Tabernacles event because of the order of things and trying to put a timeline together of when Yahushua was and what events unfolded, but it’s not clear. It clearly says it is a “Feast of the Jews”.

A Passover, a Feast of the Jews is mentioned in John 4 and then the Jews Feast of Tabernacles. It is also noteworthy in John, and I believe only in John that you will find “written in your law”. The law is YHWH’s law, it isn’t the “Jews law”, but Yahushua himself called it “your law” in John 8 and 10 so in the book of John this study is an interesting one where you will find the label of “The Jews Law”, or the “Jews Holy Days”. Until I started to understand the background and ritual that they had imposed on the Holy Day season, I didn’t know why John wrote about the testimony of the Holy Days in the way that he did. It’s crystal clear now why John calls the Holy Days “The Jews Festivals”.

So the Messiah comes and jumping down to verse 25 in chapter 7:

Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill? But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him.

If we are on the ground in 29 CE we will know that the Temple authorities are after this renegade called Yahushua and Yahushua is now at the feast site and everybody knows that he is. The people that are there notice that the authorities aren’t saying anything. People knew he was the Messiah. When Yahushua speaks he is probably in the Women’s Court.

Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Messiah? Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Messiah cometh, no man knoweth whence he is. Then cried Yahushua in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. But I know him: for I am from him, and he ^YHWH hath sent me.

Can you imagine what kind of response he would get if somebody shows up at the Feast site and this person that shows up says that he is being sent from YHWH to be here? Here is the response from the authorities.

Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Messiah cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done? (Joh 7:25-31 KJV)

My wife and I were talking about the last verse and what it means. When the Messiah comes will he do more miracles than these which this man has done? There is a group of believers here that appear to be saying, this is the Messiah, there isn’t anybody that is going to come that will do more miracles. This is somewhat in your face to the Temple authorities. There isn’t anybody that will come that will do more miracles than Yahushua. I think that is the context of what is being said here, you have to read it on your own and make your own determination but it is an interesting comment.

– Many believed the miracles

– Hypocrisy of leadership

– Too busy reading Psalms to hear the words

It appears that many believed the miracles that had been performed, keep in mind this is getting towards the end. If the chronology is correct and this is 29 CE, six months from now is 30 CE the Passover when Yahushua was crucified. This is well into his ministry, many believed in the miracles he displayed them a number of previous examples. The leadership though was hypocritical so these forces are playing one against another.

The Temple authorities were so busy reading Psalms that they couldn’t hear the words that they were reading. Keep in mind that many of the Psalms and the prophecies that were being read had to do with the Messiah coming, and Messiah came. Messiah was here on site at our 29 CE Feast of Tabernacles. Going on in this account in John we come to the last day, the Great Day of the Feast.

Yahushua and the Feast of Tabernacles
Seventh Day – Hoshana Rabbah

In the last day, that great ^{G3173=megas=big, exceedingly, large (cf. Joh 1931)} day ^added of the feast, Yahushua stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Yahshua was not yet glorified.) Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Messiah. But some said, Shall Messiah come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That Messiah cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him. (Joh 7:37-43 KJV)

So we have three different opinions on who Yahushua is. This ‘last day’ is important to parse out because my background and training date way back to the seventies in the Churches of God. In my background and training, this last day is the eighth day because of the terminology that is said here, ‘that great day of the feast’. Also that great day is the same great day terminology that you will find in John 19:31 when it’s the Great Day of the First Day of Unleavened Bread during the Passover season. The only thing that those two days have in common is the word great.

The assumption has been made and I think superficially so, that the Great Day being talked about here is in fact a Holy Day, and that Holy Day being the eighth day assembly or Shemini Atzaret. That is commonly taught today but the only connection and proof is that because it’s a great day; by the way, the word day is added in both this account and the account in John 19:31. The only common connection to the First Day of Unleavened Bread and the Eight Day Assembly is the word Great.

I don’t think that is too great of an analogy or comparison to make particularly in light of all of these other rituals that were going on. Particularly in light of Hoshana Rabbah being the Great Salvation Day, the seventh day of the feast. With that in mind, we have made the conclusion that this Great Day being talked about here is not the Eighth Day, it is in fact, Hoshana Rabbah, you have to do your own research on this, hopefully I’ve given you enough pointers that you can. The great day here is the seventh day Hoshana Rabbah having to do with the Great Salvation, not the Eighth Day.

It will actually play out chronologically that it will work out when we get to the next chapter which is John chapter 8, 9, and 10 because of the message that is in those chapters compared to the message that is in John chapter 7. Notice also this great day that is being talked about is also connected with “As the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive)”. Living waters and Yahushua’s Spirit are part of the properties of this particular day that is being talked about. The properties of the Millennium have to do with YHWH’s Spirit and with water, so keep that in mind as we move forward.

Hoshana Rabbah – Salvation now great – IE. Great salvation

This is the day, and keep in mind, the apex, the culmination of the seven days of the Feast.

Seven circuits around the Temple/Synagogue with Lulav and Etrog (four species)

On the seventh day of the willow branch ^{from the Lulav bundle}, they walk around the altar seven times repeating “Save now, we beseech thee, O YHWH! We beseech thee, O YHWH, send now prosperity” (Psa 118:25)…(Mishnah – Sukkah 5.5)

Beat Lulav bundle against the ground – symbolic of casting away sin

Water libation ended on day seven ^{next year’s rain}; again, they made seven trips around the altar with the water libation ceremony. Because I want to come back to it and plant the seed of what month we are in. We have talked about this in previous presentations that we are in the month of Ethanim.

BTW – Ethanim=H388=the permanent brooks ^{only usage 1 Kg 8:2 -Athanin=athanasia in LXX}

It is common in the calendar today particularly the Hebrew Calculated Hallel Calendar that the month is called Tishri but that isn’t a Biblical, not a scriptural name. Ethanim is the scriptural name for this month as we have previously discussed in 1 Kings Chapter 8.

Ethanim means permanent brooks, and in the Greek Ethanim is translated Athanin or Athanasia and that means deathlessness. Keep that in mind as we will come back to that.

Yahushua and the Feast of Tabernacles
Seventh Day – Hoshana Rabbah

• Millennium attribute – Living water – YHWH’s spirit available to all

We will take a side diversion here just a bit to talk about the millennium attributes and particularly the one of living water. YHWH’s spirit is available to all.

And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. And YHWH shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Sovereign, and his name one. (Zec 14:8-9 KJV)

Here is the time when there is an abundant supply of water; water shall flow out from Jerusalem and that is what Yahushua is talking about. The water flowing so richly it comes out of us. Acts 2 has an interesting connection to this, Acts 2 of course during the day that was declared Pentecost in 30 CE.

And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith YHWH, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams…The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and terrible day of YHWH come: And ^afterward it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of YHWH shall be saved. ^{Joe 2:28-32} (Act 2:17-21 RNKJV)

That is where the first part of this comes back in again that people will prophesy and young men will have visions and people have dreams, so I think this is interesting to look at this scripture in Acts. We certainly know from studying it that it comes from Joel Chapter 2. Notice that it has to do with YHWH’s spirit and calling on YHWH’s name.

Yahushua and the Feast of Tabernacles
Seventh Day – Hoshana Rabbah

• Millennium attribute – Living water – YHWH’s spirit available to all

For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

He is talking about this well of water; this is analogous to being baptized and receiving YHWH’s spirit.

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your Elohim. (Eze 36:24-28 RNKJV)

• Ethanim=H388=the permanent brooks ^{only usage Kings 8:2}

  Ethanim in LXX=G110=athanasia=deathlessness, immortality ^{4 matches – 1 Kg 8:2, 1 Co 15:53-54, 1 Ti 6:16}

Come back to the comment about what month we are in, and it’s the whole month of Ethanim is the seventh month. This is the month of permanent brooks, look at the accounts and events that are going to occur in this month. It starts to make me understand why the month is called permanent brooks. This is the month when living water actually finally comes forth, it is the month of the Millennium. Also in the Greek translation for Ethanim of athanasia which is deathlessness and immortality. There is going to be a resurrection of the saints in this month.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
(1Co 15:53 KJV)

It is a real interesting side study, again the word Ethanim really has some legs, and it was a big surprise for us a few years ago to really start to see this. I think we are still unfolding it.

Yahushua and the Feast of Tabernacles
Seventh Day – Hoshana Rabbah ^{The Great Salvation}

What a paradox for all of us in 29 CE now at the Feast of Tabernacles with all of this pomp and ceremony going on. The four species the priests are carrying around and chanting Hoshana.

• The paradox

  During four species – Priest procession chanting – Save ^{now from H3467=yasha=bring salvation and H4994=naw=I pray thee now}, I beseech thee, O YHWH: O YHWH, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. (Psa 118:25 KJV)

They are calling to Yahushua fundamentally because Hoshana has at it root the Hebrew word yahsha which means bring salvation. Yahushua’s name has at its root, salvation. Yah shua and Yeshua in many of the times you see the word salvation it is yesha or yahsha. So somebody comes to town with their name included to be salvation and you are chanting for somebody like that to come, you would think to put two and two together but they didn’t.

Water libation ceremony ends day seven, they are chanting Hoshana.

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Yahushua ^{H3091=from H3068 and H3467=YHWH save or Yah’s salvation} stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
(Joh 7:37 KJV)

An amazing set of circumstances and really quite a paradox that some would see, and some would not. I would say at this point that the fact that Hoshana is being chanted is also in anticipation of the triumphal entry just six months from now.

People did understand who Yahushua was and what happened six months from now? The Triumphal entry occurred and they used the same word Hosanna.

cf. Triumphal entry – an exclamation of adoration

And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna ^{G5614=same as Hoshana=oh save, from H3467=yasha=bring salvation, save and H4994=now=I pray thee now} to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of YHWH; Hosanna ^G5614=same in the highest.
(Mat 21:9 KJV)

Save now, I beseech thee, O YHWH: O YHWH, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of YHWH: we have blessed you out of the house of YHWH. (Psa 118:25-26 KJV)

This is what they were reading at the Feast of Tabernacles, at the Days of Unleavened Bread six months later. Matthew 21 during this triumphal entry gives us an insight jumping forward.

And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna ^G5614=same to the Son of David; they were sore displeased (Mat 21:15 KJV)

They didn’t like it; I would suggest that Hosanna was a tag name that they knew about some six months previous also. During the Feast of Tabernacles that we are visiting, Hosanna was known by the priesthood even then that was the Messiah and that Yahushua was the Messiah.

Yahushua and the Feast of Tabernacles
Seventh Day – End of the Feast of Tabernacles

Now we get to going on in John, the end of this chapter.

And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.

What a statement, another paradox, an irony that they would even say that, they are telling people that they don’t know the law, and they are cursed. They are really pointing the finger at themselves.

Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Yahushua by night, being one of them,) Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth? They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. And every man went unto his own house. (Joh 7:44-53 KJV)

Fake news, ignorance or sarcasm?

Galilee – no prophets

Jonah (2 Kg 14:25 ^Gathhepher), possibly Mica, Nahum, Hosea

Went to their houses?

False testimony, fake news right out of the get-go, this fake news, I’m not sure if it was ignorance or sarcasm but the Temple authorities are saying nobody from Galilee is a said that anyone from Galilee is a prophet. It shows that they don’t know the scriptures very well because Jonah was from Gathhepher certainly is in Galilee. As I have studied into this side of a little bit, I don’t think it’s conclusive but Micah, Nahum and Hosea might have had an anchor back in Galilee also, it’s not conclusive. Jonah certainly was from Galilee.

And the multitude said, This is Yahushua the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
(Mat 21:11 RNKJV)

That’s how this account goes, but look at how the ending of John 7 occurs, “And every man went unto his own house”. I have highlighted that because we are about to take a hard turn here. Every man went unto his house. I used to think that it was good news because if John 7 is the seventh day, every man went to his house. John 8 is the Eighth Day and I had one explanation that John 7 actually is in the evening of the Eighth Day because, keep in mind that the Great Day is thought of in some circles, and many Church of God circles as the Eighth Day of the Feast of Tabernacles or the Eighth Day Assembly.

I used to use this end of John where it says “every man went into his own house” to say that John 7 took place in the evening because they had evening ceremonies so yes, it was the Eighth Day. When we get to John 8 we talk about the light of the world which has an eternal theme to it which matches up with the Eighth Day. In any case, I think that’s incorrect, the biggest problem is “And every man went unto his house” is very problematic and I’ll tell you why.

Yahushua and the Eighth Day
Textual Survey

• John 7 – no debate with Pharisees

  Vs 1-36 – before and during the Feast of Tabernacles

  Vs 37-52 – during Seventh Day

  Rivers of living waters promised – John 7:37-39

  Yahushua proclaims coming Holy Spirit

  cf. John 4:14 – well of water springing up into everlasting life

  Vs 53 – everyone goes to his own house (not sukkah)

  End of the seventh day, beginning the eighth day

  John 7:53 – 8:11 not in oldest MSS

  Style and vocabulary differ

  Interrupts the flow of John 7-8

  Added oral tradition ^{Textus Receptus – Luther, Tyndale, KJV}

  Margin note or parenthesis – NIV, ESV,

  Likely a valid account

  Out of chronological order

  Omitted from the Feast of Tabernacles/ Eighth Day timeline

What I want to do is take a survey or an analysis of what we just went through in John 7 -10. It would be good when you listen to Session Two, and you have read all four chapters (7 – 10), in one or two sittings so you see the context of what is being written about. Let’s talk about John 7 first and then come back to the statement “They all went to their house”.

You will notice several things in John 7, one being that Yahushua came midway through the Feast and really didn’t have any debate with the Pharisees. The Pharisees and the people said things about him, but there wasn’t any dialogue with the Pharisees. Verse 1 -through 36 in John 7 is before and during the Feast. John 37 to 52 is during the Feast; keep in mind that rivers of living water are promised in the middle of this. This is one of the key verses that you have to decide if this day is a day of the Feast of Tabernacles and representative of the Millennium and rivers of living water, or if it is a pointer to the Eighth Day. As I said, I used to think it is the Eighth Day but I don’t anymore. Yahushua proclaims the Holy Spirit in this section.

By the way, John 4:14 in an earlier event talks about the well of water springing up into everlasting life, so a highlight of what we just talked about is in the last day.

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Yahushua stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (Joh 7:37-38 KJV)

So far so good, we’ve gotten to that, as a comparison I want to make it with John 4. This is Yahushua at the well with the Samaritan woman.

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
(Joh 4:14 KJV)

This verse is a good comparison, a good amplification of what he is talking about, YHWH’s Spirit.

When we get to verse 53 in John 7, “everyone goes to his house”, notice that they go to their house not a sukkah, I don’t know if that is particularly relevant other than just to notice it but we are at the end of the seventh day, with the assumption that John 7:37 is Shanah Rabbah, not Shemini Atzaret. We are at the end of the seventh day and beginning the Eighth Day if everybody went home, if they are coming back it would be the beginning of the Eighth Day. Here is the problem; John 7:53 through John 8:11 are not in the oldest manuscripts.

I just discovered this a couple of years ago and I’ve looked into it over the last couple of Feast cycles particularly time as I was doing research on this particular set of verses. As I have used John 7:53 through John 8:11 in the past I’ve noticed that it seems out of place. On the other hand, it is written into the scriptural record so I’ve made my own judgment of why it was there and I’ve talked about that. The last time I gave a version of this presentation I talked about it. I didn’t know about the problem of the manuscripts.

You certainly notice when you read it that the style and vocabulary are different. The flow is interrupted between John chapter 7 and 8. It turns out that it apparently has been added as an oral tradition, yes, it is accurate account but it is added as an oral tradition and it’s included in the Textus Receptus which is the version of the Bible and scriptures that a lot of us use particularly the King James Version and the offshoots of it. It was used by Luther, Tyndale and the King James research team.

If you look, you start to find out that there are some translations that have a marginal note for this section of scripture. Some of them, or at least one of them uses a parenthesis around the scripture with a note, but may not even have a note, but the marginal note and parenthesis is intended to be there to show this is an out of place scripture. It is likely a valid account, but out of chronological order. The end result of this, and I will give you a couple more reasons why here shortly, but the end result of this is that we have omitted it from the Feast of Tabernacles and Eighth Day timeline dialogue that I am using here so I wanted to explain the reasons why.

Yahushua and the Eighth Day
Textual Survey

• Joh 7:53 – Joh 8:11
• Pericope Adulterae

  Included in 1495 Greek MSS

  Latin-Greek diglot Codex Bezae ^{c. 450 CE}

  Excluded in 267 Greek MSS

  Not in oldest MSS including:

  Papyrus 66 and 75

  Sinaiticus and Vaticanus – c. 300 CE

• Also found after:

  Joh 7:36, Joh 21:25, Luk 21:38, Luk 24:53

  Yahushua went to Mt. Olives and returned

  Adulterous woman – Eusebius reference to Papias of Hierapolis (c. 60 – 130 CE)

  Papias “was a hearer of John and companion of Polycarp’s disciple Irenaeus (c. 180)

  Account of the sinful woman brought before Yahushua in “Gospel According to the Hebrews” ^{early second century – fragments only}

The main part of John 7:53 through John 8:11 is something called the Pericope Adulterae, this is about the woman caught in adultery. Yes, the verse before that says that everybody went to their house and then the Pericope Adulterae takes place. This Pericope Adulterae and the comment about everybody going to their own house are included in a lot of manuscripts, nearly fifteen hundred Greek manuscripts. It turns out that they are all the later manuscripts starting around 450 BCE. The Pericope Adulterae is excluded in two hundred and sixty seven manuscripts and they are the earliest ones including the Papyrus 66 and 75 and the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus all date before the Latin/Greek diglot. It would appear that these manuscripts in the two hundred CE period of time did not have this particular section of scripture where it is currently included. Here is what the section of scripture says:

And every man went unto his own house. Yahushua went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
(Joh 7:53-8:1-5 KJV) ^{Continues through verse 11}

When we do the homework on this, we also find that this particular pericope is included in other manuscripts in other places. We find it in another insertion after John 7:36 and we also find it in John 21, Luke 21, and Luke 24, at least these are places that I have found it, and there may even be others.

Yahushua went to the Mount of Olives and returned and this adulterous woman is mentioned. It turns out if you look deep enough you find that Eusebius of Caesarea commented about it, he referenced it to a guy named Papias of Hierapolis. Papias lived in the 60 to 130 CE timeframe and when you research Papias you find out through Irenaeus that Papias was a hearer of John and a companion of Polycarp and that this account was known and written about, not in this order, as far as Papias which would be around 150 CE. You will also find that there is a writing called the “Gospel According to the Hebrews” which is an early second century writing and there are only fragments of it, but it has parts of this Pericope Adulterae in it also. It would appear that it is valid, but it also appears that it is in high question that it really fits in this particular spot.

Yahushua and the Eighth Day
Textual Survey

• John 8 – start Eighth Day – debate with the Pharisees

  Vs 12-59 – the day’s events

  Yahushua proclaims He is the light of the world

  Yahushua debates with the Pharisees

  The truth shall make you free

  Who’s your daddy?

  Keep My word and never see death

  Before Abraham was, I AM

With that in mind, we have left out of the discussion, and used the verses beyond that as part of the dialogue that we will proceed with. What I am going to do is just give you a couple of highlights from John 8 through 10 and then next session we will dig into those chapters in John because it turns out that it is rich in information and has some timeline markers as well. We will make the assumption that John 8 starts with the Eighth Day.

In John 8 we now see a change in manner and demeanor, Yahushua is going to debate with the Pharisees whereas he didn’t in John 7. In John 8 verses 12 to 59 there is a bunch of events that transpire. Yahushua proclaims he is the light of the world, so the light of the world will line up very well with the Eighth Day properties. Yahushua is going to debate with the Pharisees and talk about the truth will make you free, he talks to the Pharisees of who’s their daddy. He tells them to keep his word and never see death, and said “Before Abraham was, I AM”, as a few of the highlights.

The one we will put some attention on next time:

Then spake Yahushua again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (Joh 8:12 KJV)

That is different than the streams of living water. In John 8 also, just another highlight:

They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Yahushua saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. (Joh 8:39 KJV)

This is all yet coming, and looking forward. Chapter nine is next.

Yahushua and the Eighth Day
Textual Survey

• John 9 – same day as John 8

  Verses 1-38 – blind man healed – a new beginning

  Vs 5 – I am the light

  Vs 11 – water from the pool of Siloam

  Vs 14 and 16 – Sabbath controversy

  “The “Sabbath versus “a” Sabbath

  Double Sabbath – Eighth Day and weekly Sabbath?

  28 CE – coincidence possible but not 29 CE

  Likely 29 CE event ^{Bible Calendar and LunaCal}

  Eighth Day is Wednesday, 17 Oct. 29 CE

  “It was a Sabbath” ^NKJV
  
  Vs 39-40 – parable of those who see and don’t see

You could say I could see where chapter 8 would be a part of the Eighth Day, what about chapter 9? Could it be a part of the Eighth Day? I believe it is. It is the same day as John chapter 8 and what we will see in the first 38 verses is blind man that is healed. This blind man was blind from birth and he has a new beginning. That may ring with some; a new beginning is an Eighth Day theme. Yahushua talks about being the light of the world and this all happens from the Pool of Siloam. John 9:5 says:

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. (Joh 9:5 KJV)

He answered and said, A man that is called Yahushua made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight… And it was the sabbath day when Yahushua made the clay, and opened his eyes… Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of Elohim, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. (Joh 9:11-16 KJV)

I am using the King James Version, “the Sabbath day” and I got to thinking and wondered what that was about. The possibility exists that the Sabbath day is an annual Sabbath. It turns out that this is a very interesting part of the dialogue. The Sabbath day discussion gets down to this question; is Sabbath “the” Sabbath, or is it “a” Sabbath? If it is a double Sabbath, and it could be, the Eighth Day and the weekly Sabbath, because I have software that I can reverse the calendar and look back at all of the first visible crescents of the moon dating back to the first century, I find it turns out that in 28 CE it was possible that there was an Eighth Day assembly and a weekly Sabbath. But it was not in 29 CE because remember that I said, I believe this to be a 29 CE account.

Even though I believe this to be a 29 CE event, the calculation for when the Eighth Day occurred in 29 CE was that it would have been on a Wednesday on the 17^th of October in 29 CE. It was a Sabbath day according to the New King James and that was interesting to see. It turns out when we look at this; there is quite a controversy and some amount written about and in fact, the controversy points to this being a Holy Day, the Eighth Day and not the weekly Sabbath. This section of John ends with a parable of those who see and don’t see, you will find that interesting as we move forward. My point is that John 9 appears to be linked to the Eighth Day assembly.

Yahushua and the Eighth Day
Textual Survey

• John 10 – Same Day?

  Vs 1 – continuation of John 9:31

  Verily verily ^{truly truly, amen amen or most assuredly}

  25 occurrences

  Only in John
  
  Only by Yahushua

  Always a postscript to previous event, never a new event/topic

  Amen amen – Tanakh

  Num 5:22, Neh 8:6, Psa 41:13, Psa 72:19, Psa 89:52

John 10 it continues from John 9:41 and we get a nice clue starting in John 10 because Yahushua uses a terminology “truly, truly”, or “verily, verily” and when you look at how that’s used, the double statement sometimes translated most assuredly, but in the Greek in all cases it’s “amen amen” or “truly truly”, we find there are twenty five occurrences of that pattern and they only occur in John and only spoken by Yahushua. I find that a pretty interesting discovery. They are always a postscript to a previous event and never a new topic. If John 10 is an exception to that it would be the only exception that it wasn’t a continuation from John 9. I would say based on the pattern of this, John 10 is a continuation of John 9. We also see the pattern in the Tanakh in a few places by the way in Numbers, Nehemiah, Psalms and so forth. Here is what Yahushua said, this is a snippet of what is to come.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. (Joh 10:1 KJV)

These are parabolic statements. The sheepfold and coming in some other way, what does that have to do with this account? I think you will be interested to see what is unfolding from this because he talks about good shepherds, salvation for the gentiles, and makes reference to this blind man in verse 21, the end of John.

Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? (Joh 10:21 KJV)

If this is the same day it would make sense why these people would have on their conscience the eyes of the blind man and being opened, it’s possible it is a few days later, and the event is still fresh in their minds, the end of John enters with a reminder that this has been all about an event that took place and started with a man that was healed from being blind. That is where we are going to head in the next session and again, it would be useful to have read this all on your own. If you have a couple of translations it might be useful.

Do Your Own Homework

There is certainly opportunity here and I encourage you to do your own homework on this. I am giving you the results of what our study and our analysis and you have to decide on your own whether these things be so.

All scripture is given by inspiration of YHWH, and is profitable ^{G5624= helpful advantageous} for doctrine ^{G1319=instruction, learning} for reproof ^{G1650=admonish, conviction} for correction^{, G1343=equity of character or act, justification}. (2Ti 3:16 KJV+)

And this I (Paul) pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve ^{G1381=test, discern, examine} things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Messiah. (Php 1:8-10 KJV)

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the glad tidings ^{G2098=euaggelion=the good message, the gospel} which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that the Messiah died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: (1Co 15:1-4 RNKJV)

We look forward to the day of Messiah. This is all forward pointing and has been exciting for us to look into the events that were going on on the ground in 29 CE when Yahushua came to the Feast of Tabernacles.

 

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