There were three required annual feasts in ancient Israel when the people gathered to the “place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in” (Deuteronomy 16:6). That sacred place where His name is, and was, is the tabernacle or temple. The three feasts were Feast of Unleavened Bread, beginning the day after Passover, Feast of Weeks (or Pentecost), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot).
Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost, gets its name from the numbering of the weeks from Passover. It was seven weeks plus a day, making it fifty days from Passover. The characteristic rite was the new meal offering; that is, two loaves of leavened bread made of fine flour of new wheat (see “Feasts,” Bible Dictionary).
Feast of Tabernacles is called Sukkot, meaning “booths.” It was originally a seven-day feast from the 15th to 21st day of the seventh month of Tishri, but an eighth day was added. In John 7:37 this day was called “the last day, that great day of the feast.” At this event, Jesus said, “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.” He was referring to the water libation, where the priests would make a daily procession down to the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem and bring up water in pitchers to the altar of the temple. The altar had two receptacles—one for the water and one for the wine. The water and wine, symbolizing blood, ran down the side of the altar, reminding us of the Savior’s Crucifixion as “one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water” (John 19:34).
The other main event of the Feast of Tabernacles was the lighting of four giant candelabras, which were supposed to illuminate every corner of the city. Of this event, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).
The focus of this post will be the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot. We often think of Passover as the biggest Jewish feast, but for them, it was the Feast of Tabernacles, which was simply called “the Feast.”
Book of Mormon scholars have spent much ink establishing the premise that King Benjamin’s gathering and speech was a celebration of and given during the Feast of Tabernacles. While it can’t be proven, I’m about 99.9% sure that this is true. The purpose of this post will be to examine the similarities between the two events.
- The name of the feast.
Sukkot gets its name from the booths they were commanded to dwell in for seven or eight days. The Lord said, “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 the Lord your God seven days. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 23:40, 42-43). The booth, called a Sukkah, was built like a framework with natural branches on the roof and sometimes on the sides. You had to be able to see the stars through the roof. In fact, you were not allowed to eat dinner until you could see at least three stars in the sky.
As you can imagine, this is not a perfect dwelling like a temple. It has its flaws. The tree branches, like our fallen mortal bodies, come from the “dust of the earth.” King Benjamin speaks of “yielding up this mortal frame to its mother earth” (Mosiah 2:26) and of his “whole frame” trembling while speaking. He prophesied of the Savior, who would “dwell in a tabernacle of clay” (Mosiah 3:5). King Benjamin’s people gathered to the temple (the required place) and dwelt in tents. These were likely very similar to the tabernacles, or booths, used by Jews. In fact, the Hebrew word ‘ohel translates to tent or tabernacle.
- Gathering to a required feast
Sukkot was one of the three required feasts where all Israel would gather to the tabernacle or temple. Mosiah 2:3 tells us that this gathering was “according to the law of Moses.” Pentecost was a single-day event and would not require the people to remain overnight in tents. This required feast had to be either Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover) or Sukkot. Mosiah 2:1 states that the people gathered themselves to “go up to the temple.” Solomon’s Temple was dedicated during the Feast of Tabernacles (1 Kings 8:2).
- Sacrifice and burnt offerings
The Book of Numbers, chapters 28 and 29, give the requirements for the number of animals to be sacrificed. The number is much higher for Sukkot than for the other two feasts. For example, seven lambs were sacrificed on each day of Unleavened Bread, but there were fourteen sacrificed daily for Sukkot. Mosiah 2:3 emphasizes the number of sacrifices and burnt offerings: “And they also took of the firstlings of their flocks, that they might offer sacrifice and burnt offerings according to the law of Moses.”
- A time of Ingathering and Thanksgiving
Sukkot is the final fall feast and was also called “The Ingathering.” This is the gathering of the fall harvest and a time of rejoicing and thanksgiving. Some Bible scholars have linked Sukkot with the pilgrims’ creation of our Thanksgiving holiday. Mosiah 2:4 states, “And also that they might give thanks to the Lord their God, who had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, and who had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies, and had appointed just men to be their teachers, and also a just man to be their king, who had established peace in the land of Zarahemla, and who had taught them to keep the commandments of God, that they might rejoice and be filled with love towards God and all men.” One of the main purposes of the Feast of Tabernacles was to celebrate the exodus from Egypt and their release from bondage. This verse above expresses their gratitude for their exodus from Jerusalem, which was destroyed by the Babylonians shortly after their departure.
- The joy of the water libation
The water libation ceremony at Sukkot represents immense joy. The Talmud states, “He who has not seen the joy of the drawing of water at the Feast of Tabernacles does not know what joy is.” Leviticus 23:40 states, “Ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.” In Mosiah chapters 2-5, the words joy and rejoice occur 14 times. The angel, who provides the message for Mosiah 3, gives the people permission to rejoice and to “be filled with joy” (Mosiah 3:3-4).
- Speaking from the tower
King Benjamin caused that a tower should be erected to address his people. In Nehemiah 8, Ezra addresses a gathering of “men and women, and all that could hear with understanding” and reads from “the book of the law of Moses.” Ezra “stood upon a pulpit of wood” and “was above all the people” (Nehemiah 8:4-5). We first read of “book of the law” in Deuteronomy. Some scholars believe the Book of Deuteronomy is the “book of the law,” which has ties to Sukkot. Deuteronomy 31:10-12 states, “And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, When all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law.” It is during this reading that Ezra discovers that Israel has neglected to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
- King Benjamin quotes from the “paragraph of the king”
In Mosiah 2, King Benjamin gives an accounting of his reign, quoting from what Bible scholars call “the paragraph of the king” found in Deuteronomy. This “paragraph of the king” is somewhat like what a president would give at the State of the Union address and was given during the Feast of Tabernacles. The duties of the king are found in Deuteronomy 17:14-20 and include humility by not multiplying goods and wives to himself that “his heart be not lifted up above his brethren,” rejecting slavery and preventing the people from returning to Egypt, not multiplying to himself gold and silver, and copying the “book of the law” and studying it daily.
King Benjamin said, “I have not commanded you to come up hither that ye should fear me, or that ye should think that I of myself am more than a mortal man” (Mosiah 2:10). He continues, I “have not sought gold nor silver nor any manner of riches of you; Neither have I suffered that ye should be confined in dungeons, nor that ye should make slaves one of another” (Mosiah 2:12-13). He met with his sons and emphasized the importance of the plates of brass which contained the scriptures. He said, “I say unto you, my sons, were it not for these things, which have been kept and preserved by the hand of God, that we might read and understand of his mysteries, and have his commandments always before our eyes, that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief” (Mosiah 1:5). The phrase, “always before our eyes” suggests a continual daily study.
- The coronation of kings
In ancient Israel, kings were coronated in the seventh month of Tishri, which is the same month as Sukkot. The coronation usually took place at or near the temple. Solomon was anointed king at the Gihon Spring, just south of the temple site. 1 Kings 1:39 states, “And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon.” In the Book of Mormon, Mosiah is being coronated as the new king.
- Covenant making
Part of the reason for the gathering for Sukkot was for covenant renewal. It is believed that Joshua gave his famous speech during the Feast of Tabernacles. Scholars see a similar pattern compared with King Benjamin’s speech. He reminds them of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage and invites the people to “choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Joshua 24:15). “Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.” (Joshua 24:25).
King Benjamin’s people expressed their willingness to enter into a covenant. Then he said, “And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you. And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.” (Mosiah 5:7-8).
The people took upon themselves the name of Christ. At the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, the Prophet Joseph Smith pleaded, “And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them” (D&C 109:22).
