Booth
“A covering, booth, or tabernacle”
Summary
A temporary shelter made of woven branches and foliage, used for agricultural purposes and prescribed for Israel during the Feast of Tabernacles.
☩Construction and Use
A booth was a simple hut made of branches of trees, distinguished from a tent which was made of cloth or skins. Such temporary shelters were easily constructed in wooded areas and served various purposes: Jacob built booths for his cattle at Succoth (which means 'booths'), soldiers used them in military camps, and watchmen erected them in vineyards and fields to protect crops from thieves and animals.
☩The Feast of Tabernacles
God commanded Israel to dwell in booths for seven days during the Feast of Tabernacles, commemorating how He made them dwell in booths when He brought them out of Egypt. The booths were made of branches from olive, palm, myrtle, and other leafy trees. This observance reminded Israel that though they now lived in houses in the Promised Land, they were once pilgrims dependent wholly on God's provision.
Related Verses11 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Booth," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. I (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Booth," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. I (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.John Kitto, "Booth," in A Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, vol. I (Mark H. Newman, 1845).