The Correct Take on “Take” (Leviticus 23:40)

Leviticus 23:40 ESV 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.

Leviticus 23:40 contains a commandment to “take” four plant items as part of the Feast of Booths. What does that mean?

Traditional Jewish Practice

Many Christians believe that we must interpret the Bible through Jewish tradition. When most people say “Jewish tradition”, they are referring to Rabbinic Judaism, since it is the most well-known version of Jewish tradition today. Rabbinic Judaism is represented in Jewish sources like the Mishnah and the Talmud.

Rabbinic Judaism has an interesting take on the word “take” in Leviticus 23:40. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the word “take” indicates that one should hold the four plant items in the hand and wave it around in a ritualistic manner. This is how most Jews today keep the Feast of Booths.

Because of this, many people assume that this was how the Feast of Booths was kept by the Israelites during biblical times. However, that is not the case.

Biblical Israelite Practice

How did the Israelites during biblical times understand the commandment in Leviticus 23:40? How can we know?

Nehemiah 8:13 records that on one occasion, under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah, the Israelite leaders, priests, and Levites came together to study the biblical law. The next verses record what they read in the biblical law about the Feast of Booths:

Nehemiah 8:14–15 ESV And they found it written in the Law that the LORD had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, ₁₅ and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.”

The list of plant items here is parallel to the list in Leviticus 23:40. Both lists contain the “branches of palm trees” and the “branches of leafy trees”. This suggests that the Israelites read what was written in the biblical law, and understood the commandment to mean that they should make booths out of the branches of various plants.

Conclusion

Because of how Rabbinic Judaism understands Leviticus 23:40, the booths made by many Jews today for the Feast of Booths are not necessarily made out of the plant items listed in the commandment. However, this is contrary to the practice of the biblical Israelites.

Rabbinic Judaism does not always accurately represent how the biblical law was kept by the biblical Israelites. We should be careful not to assume that something is true and biblical just because it is part of Jewish tradition.