Leviticus 23:40
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
The text doesn't just list materials for booths; it commands taking specific plant materials—fruit-bearing boughs, palm branches, leafy boughs, and brook willows—to actively rejoice before God. This isn't about mere decoration, but about actively demonstrating a harvest's blessing and expressing profound thankfulness through sensory engagement with nature's bounty.
And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This verse marks the culmination of the Feast of Tabernacles, a week-long celebration remembering God's provision in the wilderness after the harvest. Following instructions to dwell in temporary shelters, the people are now commanded to gather specific branches and rejoice for seven days. This joyful observance serves as a thank offering and a reminder of God's continuous care.
Imagine gathering the most beautiful and fruitful elements from God's creation. This verse paints a vivid picture of what that looks like during a special feast.
Leviticus 23:40 calls for specific natural items to be brought on the first day of a festival. The verse lists:
These weren't random items. They represented the very best of the land's produce, a vibrant and fragrant collection symbolizing a bountiful harvest. This act was a visible expression of gratitude for God's provision.
Beyond just gathering, this verse carries a powerful emotional command. What does it truly mean to 'rejoice before the LORD'?
The core of this commandment is not just about the act of bringing these natural items, but about the attitude they represent. The verse explicitly states, 'you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.'
This rejoicing is not a passive feeling; it's an active, intentional celebration. It's about:
Ask a follow-up
This wasn't just a duty; it was a divine invitation to experience deep, uninhibited joy in God's goodness for a full seven days.
Understand the original words
śāmaḥ · Hebrew Verb
An internal and external expression of gladness before the Lord. In the context of feasts, it is a commanded response to God’s presence, salvation, and temporal provision for His people.
This passage reflects a spiritual fulfillment of the rejoicing and water-drawing rituals of the Feast of Tabernacles, where Jesus proclaims He will give living water, pointing to the Holy Spirit.
Nehemiah 8:15-17This passage shows the people celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles after the exile, specifically mentioning the gathering of branches to make booths, directly echoing the instructions in Leviticus 23.
Matthew 21:8-9This New Testament account describes Jesus' entry into Jerusalem with people waving palm branches and shouting 'Hosanna,' directly paralleling the use of palm branches and the rejoicing commanded in Leviticus 23:40.
Psalm 118:25This psalm, often recited during the Feast of Tabernacles, includes the cry 'Hosanna' ('Save us, we pray'), linking the communal rejoicing and supplication with the festival's purpose.
gillLeviticus 23:40: "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."
And ye shall take you the boughs of goodly trees,.... Which the three Targums interpret, of citrons; and so Jarchi and Aben Ezra; and the Jews are so tenacious of observing this, that in those countries where this fruit grows not, they will send for it from Spain, where the…
calvinLeviticus 23:1-44: "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,"
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
Alloquere filios Israel, et dic eis, Quum ingressi fueritis terrain quam ego do vobis, et messueritis messem ejus, tunc offeretis omnes primitias messis vestrae ad sacerdotem.
And he shall wave the shea…
The text doesn't just list materials for booths; it commands taking specific plant materials—fruit-bearing boughs, palm branches, leafy boughs, and brook willows—to actively rejoice before God. This isn't about mere decoration, but about actively demonstrating a harvest's blessing and expressing profound thankfulness through sensory engagement with nature's bounty.
This verse marks the culmination of the Feast of Tabernacles, a week-long celebration remembering God's provision in the wilderness after the harvest. Following instructions to dwell in temporary shelters, the people are now commanded to gather specific branches and rejoice for seven days. This joyful observance serves as a thank offering and a reminder of God's continuous care.
This verse marks the culmination of the Feast of Tabernacles, a week-long celebration remembering God's provision in the wilderness after the harvest. Following instructions to dwell in temporary shelters, the people are now commanded to gather specific branches and rejoice for seven days. This joyful observance serves as a thank offering and a reminder of God's continuous care.
"And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days." — The text doesn't just list materials for booths; it commands taking specific plant materials—fruit-bearing boughs, palm branches, leafy boughs, and brook willows—to actively rejoice before God. Thi…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026
