John 7:2

Joh 7:2-9. Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand — Instituted in commemoration of the Israelites dwelling in tents in the wilderness, and celebrated in booths erected for that purpose, with great solemnity and joy. For a particular account of the time, manner, and reason of this feast, see Lev 23:34-43. His brethren, therefore — So called, according to the Jewish way of speaking: namely, his near kinsmen, probably his cousins, the sons of his mother’s sister; said unto him, Depart hence — From this obscure place; and go into Judea — “As they did not believe on him, they condemned him in their own minds, and intimated that he acted altogether absurdly in passing so much of his time in Galilee, and the other remote corners of the country, while he pretended to so public a character as that of the Messiah; that it would be much more for his interest to make disciples in Jerusalem and Judea, the seat of power; and that he ought to work his miracles there as publicly as possible, before the great and learned men of the nation, whose decision in his favour would have great influence to induce others to believe on him.” Then Jesus said, My time is not yet come — Either to manifest myself or go up to Jerusalem. Jesus, knowing the malice of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, did not incline to be among them longer than was absolutely necessary, lest they should take away his life prematurely. But your time is always ready — You may go up with safety any time you please, since you have done nothing to make the Jews unfriendly to you as I have done; who by the strictness of my doctrine, and the freedom of my reproofs, have provoked their malice to the highest pitch. The world cannot hate you — Because you are of the world; but me it hateth — And all who bear the same testimony. Go ye up unto this feast — Whenever it suits you to go without waiting for me. I go not up yet — He does not say, I will not go up at all, but not yet. There may be reason for deferring a particular duty, which yet must not be wholly omitted. My time is not yet full come — Namely, the time of his sufferings, which the evangelist calls his hour; (chap. Joh 8:20;) or the time of his going up to the feast. When he had said these words, he abode still in Galilee — Namely, a few days longer.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

FINAL DEPARTURE FROM GALILEE

Joh 7:2-10. “And the feast of the Jews, called Tabernacles, was nigh.” (Lev 23:34.) This great annual solemnity was held in September, commemorative of their sojourn in the wilderness forty years, dwelling in tents. Therefore all Israel, beginning on the Sabbath and closing on the following Sabbath, dwelt in tents eight days, in the enjoyment of what we would now call a holiness camp-meeting. As the Temple Campus contains thirty-five acres, there all of their great national feasts were held.

“Then His brothers said to Him, Depart thence, and go into Judea, in order that Thy disciples shall see the works which Thou art doing; for no one doeth anything in secret and himself seeketh to be public.” “If You do these things, manifest Yourself to the world;” for His brothers did not yet believe on Him. “Jesus says to them, My time is not yet, but your time is always ready. The world is not able to hate you; but it hateth Me, because I testify concerning it that its works are evil. You go up to the feast; I do not go up to this feast. Speaking these things, He remained in Galilee; but when His brothers went up to the feast, then He also went up; not publicly, but in secret.” Six months previously He had declined to go to the Passover, having attended the two preceding, at the first of which He began His ministry; evidently because He saw they were determined to crown Him. King. Though He goes to this Feast of Tabernacles, after it gets under headway, He declined to go at the first with the crowd, as they were intent on His royal coronation. He says, “I do not go to this feast;” not saying He did mot intend to go at a later date. Here we see that even at this late period of His ministry, two and one-half years having rolled away, His brothers — i.e., James, Judas, Joses, and Simon — did not believe on Him. They believed that He was a mighty prophet, and in all probability entertained vague hopes that He might prove to be the Christ who was to redeem Israel. As He had hitherto spent nearly all of the time of His ministry in the comparatively obscure regions of Galilee, they were anxious to get Him off to Jerusalem, where He would meet the vast multitudes at the feast, and come in contact with the thronging population of South Palestine, that they might witness His mighty works. His brothers thought He needed pushing out, and were trying to do it. None of His four younger brothers were among the original Twelve; James and Judas (called Jude in E.V.) falling in about the time of His resurrection — the latter becoming the apostle of Tartary; and the former, the pastor of the Apostolic Church at Jerusalem, a signal compliment paid him because of his brotherhood to the Lord.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7:2 Jewish men were required to come to the Temple for the Festival of Shelters (Exod 23:14-17; Deut 16:16), an annual seven-day autumn harvest festival in Jerusalem six months after Passover (John 6:4). People lived in temporary shelters for the seven days as a reminder of the tents Israel used for forty years in the wilderness.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh 7:2 . But occasion arose for His abandoning His purpose to remain in Galilee. ἦν δὲ … σκηνοπηγία . In Hebrew חַג הַסֻּכּוֹת (Lev 23:34 ), the Feast of Succoth, or Booths, in Greek σκηνοπηγία , the fixing of tents; so called because in this Feast the Jews commemorated how their fathers had dwelt in tents, and been fed and cared for as if in a settled condition. It was one of the great Feasts, and as it fell in October and Jesus had not attended the previous Passover, it might seem desirable that He should go up to Jerusalem now.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This feast was so called, because of the booths and tents which they pight of divers kinds of boughs, and sat under them seven days together; all which time the feast lasted.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

feast of tabernacles . . . at hand--This was the last of the three annual festivals, celebrated on the fifteenth of the seventh month (September). (See Lev 23:33, &c.; Deu 16:13, &c.; Neh 8:14-18).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 2. Feast of tabernacles] This feast was celebrated on the fifteenth day of the month Tisri, answering to the last half of our September, and the first half of October. This month was the seventh of the ecclesiastical, and first of the civil, year. The feast took its name from the tents which were erected about the temple, in public places, in courts, and on the flat roofs of their houses, and in gardens; in which the Jews dwelt for eight days, in commemoration of the forty years during which their fathers dwelt in the wilderness. It was one of the three solemn annual feasts in which all the males were obliged, by the law, to appear at Jerusalem.

This feast was celebrated in the following manner. All the people cut down branches of palm trees, willows, and myrtles, (and tied them together with gold and silver cords, or with ribbons,) which they carried with them all day, took them into their synagogues, and kept them by them while at prayers. On the other days of the feast they carried them with them into the temple and walked round the altar with them in their hands, singing, Hosanna! i.e. Save, we beseech thee!-the trumpets sounding on all sides. To this feast St. John seems to refer, Re 7:9-10, where he represents the saints standing before the throne, with palm branches in their hands, singing, Salvation to God, c. On the seventh day of the feast, they went seven times round the altar, and this was called Hosanna rabba, the great Hosanna. See Clarke on Mt 21:9. But the ceremony at which the Jews testified most joy was that of pouring out the water, which was done on the eighth day of the feast. A priest drew some water out of the pool Siloam, in a golden vessel, and brought it into the temple and at the time of the morning sacrifice, while the members of the sacrifice were on the altar, he went up and poured this water mingled with wine upon it, the people all the while singing, with transports of joy, Isa. 12, especially Isa 12:6: With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. To this part of the ceremony, our Lord appears to allude in ver. 37, of this chapter. See Clarke on Joh 7:37.

During this feast many sacrifices were offered. On the first day, besides the ordinary sacrifices, they offered, as a burnt-offering, thirteen calves, two rams, and fourteen lambs with the offerings of flour and the libations of wine that were to accompany them. They offered also a goat for a sin-offering. On all the succeeding days they offered the same sacrifices, only abating one of the calves each day, so that when the seventh day came, they had but seven calves to offer. On the eighth day, which was kept with greater solemnity than the rest, they offered but one calf, one ram, and seven lambs, for a burnt-offering, and one goat for a sin-offering, with the usual offerings and libations. On this day, they also offered in the temple the first fruits of their latter crops, or of those things which come latest to maturity. During the feast, the 113th, 114th, 115th, 116th, 117th, 118th, and 119th Psalms were sung. Leo of Modena says that, though Moses appointed but eight days, yet custom and the devotion of the people have added a ninth to it, which is called the joy of the law, because that on it they complete the reading of the Pentateuch. See Calmet's Com. and Dict., and father Lamy. For the law relative to this institution, see Le 23:39-40, c., and the notes there and Nu 29:16. &c.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. Now a feast of the Jews was at hand. Though I do not affirm it, yet it is probable that this happened during the second year after Christ’s baptism. As to this feast, which the Evangelist mentions, it is not necessary at present to say much. For what purpose and use it was enjoined, Moses shows, (Leviticus 23:34.) It was, that by this annual ceremony the Jews might call to remembrance, that their fathers lived forty years in tabernacles, when they had no houses, that they might thus celebrate the grace of God displayed in their deliverance. We have formerly said that there were two reasons why Christ came to Jerusalem during this feast. One was, that, being subject to the Law, in order to redeem us all from its bondage, he wished to omit no part of the observation of it; and the other was, that, amidst a numerous and extraordinary assemblage of people, he had a better opportunity of advancing the Gospel. But now the Evangelist relates that Christ kept himself in retirement at Galilee, as if he did not intend to come to Jerusalem.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(2) The Jews’ feast of tabernacles.—This began on “the fifteenth day of the seventh month” (Lev_23:34), i.e., the 15th of Tishri, which answers to our September. The interval, then, from Passover to Tabernacles is one of about five months. The feast continued for seven days, during which all true Israelites dwelt in booths, in remembrance of their dwelling in tabernacles when they came out of the land of Egypt. Like the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover) and the Feast of Harvest (Pentecost), this Feast of In-gathering was one of the “three times in the year” when every male Jew was required to appear before the Lord God (Exo_23:14). Josephus speaks of it as the holiest and greatest of the feasts. It was at once a thankful memorial of the national deliverance, and a yearly rejoicing at the close of each succeeding harvest (Deu_16:13-16).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. the Jews’ feast of tabernacles] Again an indication that the Gospel was written outside Palestine: see on Joh_6:1; Joh_6:4. An author writing in Palestine would be less likely to specify it as ‘the feast of the Jews.’ Tabernacles was the most joyous of the Jewish festivals. It had two aspects; (1) a commemoration of their dwelling in tents in the wilderness, (2) a harvest-home. It was therefore a thanksgiving (1) for a permanent abode, (2) for the crops of the year. It began on the 15th of the 7th month, Tisri (about our September), and lasted seven days, during which all who were not exempted through illness or weakness were obliged to live in booths, which involved much both of the discomfort and also of the merriment of a picnic. The distinctions between rich and poor were to a large extent obliterated in the general encampment, and the Feast thus became a great levelling institution. On the eighth day the booths were broken up and the people returned home: but it had special sacrifices of its own and was often counted as part of the Feast itself. The Feast is mentioned here, partly as a date, partly to shew what after all induced Christ to go up to Jerusalem.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. Which began on the fifteenth day of the month Tisri, which answers to part of our September; when the Jews erected tents or booths, in which they dwelt, and ate their meals during this festival; and which was done, in commemoration of the Israelites dwelling in booths in the wilderness; and was typical of Christ's tabernacling in human nature; and an emblem of the saints dwelling in the earthly houses and tabernacles of their bodies, in this their wilderness and pilgrimage state. Some assign other reasons of this feast, as that it was appointed in commemoration of the divine command, for building the tabernacle; and others, that it was instituted in memory of the protection of the people of Israel under the cloud, as they travelled through the wilderness; by which they were preserved, as in a tent or booth; and to this inclines the Targum of Onkelos, on Lev 23:43, which paraphrases the words thus, "That your generations may know, that in the shadow of the clouds, I caused the children of Israel to dwell, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt": and one of the Jewish commentators (a) suggests, that the reason why the first place the Israelites pitched at, when they came out of Egypt, was called Succoth, which signifies "tents", or "tabernacles", is, because there they were covered with the clouds of glory: but the true reason of this feast is that which is first given, as is clear from Lev 23:43, and because they were obliged to dwell in tents, as soon as they came out of Egypt, therefore the first place they encamped at, was called "Succoth", or tabernacles, Exo 12:37. This feast was not kept at the time of year the people came out of Egypt; for that was at the time of the passover; but was put off, as it seems, to a colder season of the year; and which was not so convenient for dwelling in booths; lest it should be thought they observed this feast for the sake of pleasure and recreation, under the shade of these bowers; which, as appears from Neh 8:15, were made of olive, pine, myrtle, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees; and were fixed, some on the roofs of their houses, others in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God; and others in the streets: an account of the sacrifices offered at this feast, is given in Num 29:13, in which may be observed, that on the first day thirteen young bullocks were offered; on the second, twelve; on the third, eleven; on the fourth, ten; on the fifth, nine; on the sixth, eight; and on the seventh, seven; and on the eighth, but one. The Jews, in their Misna, have a treatise called "Succa", or the "Tabernacle", in which they treat of this feast; and which contains various traditions, concerning their booths, their manner of living in them, and other rites and usages observed by them, during this festival: they are very particular about the measure and form, and covering of their booths; a booth might not be higher than twenty cubits, nor lower than ten hands' breadth; and its breadth might not be less than seven hands' breadth by seven; but it might he carried out as wide as they pleased (b), provided it had three sides: they might not cover their booths with anything, but what grew out of the earth, or was rooted up from thence; nor with anything that received uncleanness, or was of an ill smell, or anything that was fallen and faded (c): into these booths they brought their best goods, their best bedding, and all their drinking vessels, &c. and left their houses empty; for here was their fixed dwelling; they only occasionally went into their houses (d); for here they were obliged to dwell day and night, and eat all their meals, during the seven days of the feast; and however, it was reckoned praiseworthy, and he was accounted the most religious, who ate nothing out of his booth (e); they were indeed excused when it was rainy weather, but as soon as the rain was over, they were obliged to return again (f) and besides, their dwelling and sleeping, and eating and drinking, in their booths, there were various other rites which were performed by them; as particularly, the carrying of palm tree branches in their hands, or what they call the "Lulab"; which was made up of branches of palm tree, myrtle, and willow, bound up together in a bundle, which was carried in the right hand, and a pome citron in the left; and as they carried them, they waved them three times towards the several quarters of the world; and every day they went about the altar once, with these in their hands, saying the words in Psa 118:25, "Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord, O Lord I beseech thee, send now prosperity": and on the seventh day, they went about the altar seven times (g): also there were great illuminations in the temple; at the going out of the first day of the feast, they went down to the court of the women; they made a great preparation (i.e. as Bartenora explains it, they set benches round it, and set the women above, and the men below); and there were golden candlesticks there, and at the head of them four golden basins, and four ladders to every candlestick; and four young priests had four pitchers of oil, that held a hundred and twenty logs, which they put into each basin; and of the old breeches and girdles of the priests, they made wicks, and with them lighted them; and there was not a court in Jerusalem, which was not lighted with that light; and religious men, and men of good works, danced before them, with lighted torches in their hands, singing songs and hymns of praise (h); and this continued the six nights following (i): there was also, on everyone of these days, another custom observed; which was that of fetching water from the pool of Siloah, and pouring it with wine upon the altar, which was attended with great rejoicing; of which; see Gill on Joh 7:37, to which may be added, the music that was used during the performance of these rites; at the illumination in the court of the women, there were harps, psalteries, cymbals, and other instruments of music, playing all the while; and two priests with trumpets, who sounded, when they had the signal; and on every day, as they brought water from Siloah to the altar, they sounded with trumpets, and shouted; the great "Hallel", or hymn, was sung all the eight days, and the pipe was blown, sometimes five days, and sometimes six (k); and even on all the eight days; and the whole was a feast of rejoicing, according to Lev 23:40.

(a) Baal Hatturim in Numb. xxxiii. 5. (b) Misn. Succa, c. 1. sect. 1. Maimon. Hilch. Succa, c. 4. sect. 1. (c) Misn. Succa, sect. 4, 5, 6. Maimon. ib. c. 5. sect. 1, 2, &c. (d) Maimon. ib. c. 6. sect. 5. (e) Misn. ib. c. 2. sect. 5, 6. Maimon. ib. sect. 6, 7. (f) Maimon. ib. sect. 10. (g) Misn. ib. c. 4. sect. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Maimon. Hilch. Lulab, c. 7. sect. 5, 6, 9, 23. (h) Misn. Succa, c. 5. sect 2, 3, 4. (i) Maimon. ib. c. 8. sect. 12. (k) Misn. ib. c. 4. sect. 8, 9. & c. 5. 1, 4, 5. & Eracin, c. 2. sect. 3.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2 Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand.

Ver. 2. The feast of tabernacles] The Jews at this feast dwelt without doors, in booths and bowers, in remembrance of their wandering of old through the wilderness. This gave occasion to Plutarch, and other profane heathens, to devise and broach so many base lies of the Jews, as if they were worshippers of Bacchus. Florus calls the temple of Jerusalem, impiae gentis arcanum. Another tells us that the Jews were forced to rest every seventh day, for an evil disease they had cleaving unto them.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Jews’ feast of tabernacles - Or the feast of tents. This feast was celebrated on the 15th day of the month Tisri, answering to the last half of our month September and the first half of October, Num 29:12; Deu 16:13-15. It was so called from the tents or tabernacles which on that occasion were erected in and about Jerusalem, and was designed to commemorate their dwelling in tents in the wilderness, Neh 8:16-18. During the continuance of this feast they dwelt in booths or tents, as their fathers did in the wilderness, Lev 23:42-43. The feast was continued eight days, and the eighth or last day was the most distinguished, and was called the great day of the feast, Joh 7:37; Num 29:35. The Jews on this occasion not only dwelt in booths, but they carried about the branches of palms; willows, and other trees which bore a thick foliage, and also branches of the olive-tree, myrtle, etc., Neh 8:15. Many sacrifices were offered on this occasion Num. 29:12-39; Deu 16:14-16, and it was a time of general joy. It is called by Josephus and Philo the greatest feast, and was one of the three feasts which every male among the Jews was obliged to attend.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

This was the festival of Tabernacles, on which the Jews made tents, in imitation of those which were their habitations during their sojournment in the wilderness, for forty years. See Leviticus xxiii. 34. The Jews called it a festival day; though it consisted not of one, but of many days successively. (St. Augustine, tract. 28. in Joan.)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The feast of tabernacles was a feast which God ordained the Jews to keep the fifteenth day of the seventh month, (which some make to answer our September, others our October), Lev 23:34,39, after they had gathered in the fruits of the land. It was to be kept seven days, the first and last of which days were to be kept as sabbaths; they were all the seven days to dwell in tents, or booths, in remembrance of the forty years they so dwelt in the wilderness, passing from Egypt to Canaan, as we read there, Lev 23:43. Now this festival was near at hand; so as we must understand the things following to have happened about the September or October before Christ’s suffering, which was at the next passover; that is, the March or April following, as we count the months.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. Jews—Note on Joh_1:19.

Feast of tabernacles—This was one of the three great annual feasts which every Jew was required to attend at Jerusalem. It took place early in October, and was a celebration of the sojourn of Israel in the wilderness. The wilderness residence was imitated by the building of tabernacles, that is, booths or wig-wams made of autumnal bushes and boughs, so that the vacant grounds were occupied with a sudden rural city, in which the people held their temporary residence. It was held during seven days, yet an eighth was added, which finally became the great day of the feast, (Joh_7:37.) Within the temple grounds there was no well or water spring; and each morning, after the early sacrifice, a priest went with a large golden pitcher and drew water from the fount of Siloam, at the side of the temple mount, and thence returned in joyous procession to the grand altar, behind which he poured the water forth to descend to the subterranean watercourses beneath. This ceremony at once commemorated the miraculous furnishing of water to famishing Israel, and prefigured the higher impartation of the Holy Spirit to Israel’s thirsting nation. So festal was this rite that the rabbins say that he who has not seen this Joy of the waters knows not what rejoicing is. In process of time, and, doubtless, in our Saviour’s day, this feast had degenerated into profane revelry; so disgracefully, indeed, that a pagan writer, Plutarch, honestly records that it was a feast of Bacchus! Fully to understand the transactions and discourses at this visit to the metropolis, the whole passage as far as Joh_10:21, with its brief appendix of the Feast of Dedication, to Joh_10:40, should be read.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 2-10. The appeal to Jesus on the part of his unbelieving brothers.

I THE OCCASION OF THIS APPEAL. "But the Jews" Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.

1. It was the last and greatest of the three yearly feasts, and occurred in our month of October.

2. It was intended at once to commemorate the forty years" wandering in the wilderness, and also to celebrate the ingathering of the yearly harvest.

3. The pilgrims, as well as the inhabitants of Jerusalem, left their houses for seven days to dwell in tents made of boughs. The feast was at once a solemn and a happy time.

II THE APPEAL OF THE BROTHERS. "Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.

1. Who were these brothers? They are not disciples, for they expressly exclude themselves from this class by their own words (ver. 3). The evangelist says expressly (ver. 5) they were not believers, and Jesus implies by his answer that they are not, for the hatred of the world could not touch them (ver. 7). The head of the brethren was James, afterwards chief pastor at Jerusalem.

2. It is this unbelieving attitude that explains their appeal. "For neither did his brethren believe in him.

(1) They are, no doubt, afterwards found identified with the cause of Christ, (Act_1:14) probably drawn to him by our Lord"s appearance after his resurrection to James. (1Co_15:7)

(2) The appeal of the brethren was not dictated either

(a) by the unnatural desire to see him sacrificed to the fury of his enemies,

(b) nor by an eagerness to precipitate events in his own honour,

(c) but rather by their anxiety to put an end to the equivocal position in which he stood in their eyes.

(i) They had known him so familiarly from childhood that his claims were hard to understand.

(ii) They thought that he ought to submit his claims to Messiahship to those most competent to judge of their value. "For no man doeth anything in secret Galilee was an obscure corner of the land, far from the centre of ecclesiastical interest seeking to be famous. If thou doest these things, show thyself to the world.

(iii) The capital was the appropriate place for the recognition of his mission, and the approaching feast presented a favourable opportunity for making it known to Jews from all parts of the world.

III OUR LORD"S ANSWER TO THE APPEAL.

1. His time was not yet come. "My time is not yet come.

(1) This refers to the period of his final manifestation, only to end in his death. If he were to comply with the request of his brothers, he would only anticipate that period; but his time for leaving the world was not yet come.

(2) Our Lord regards the events of life as divinely ordered in point of time. "Our times are in thy hand.

(3) He marks the necessary contrast between his own position and that of his brothers. "But your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that its works are evil.

(a) There was nothing discordant between the views of the brethren and the views of the world. There was a moral sympathy between them that made it impossible his brothers should risk anything by going to the feast.

(b) The world"s hatred to Christ had its origin in his faithful testimony against its evil. He had roused its antagonism by his rebukes of Pharisaic hypocrisy and wickedness. "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world; and men have loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil." The works were evil,

(i) because they were done, not according to Divine command, but according to the tradition of the elders;

(ii) because they were done from a wrong principle, not from faith and love;

(iii) because they were done with a wrong motive, not the glory of God, but "to be seen of men.

2. He commands his brothers to go up to the feast. "Go ye up unto this feast: for me, I go not up to this feast, because my time is not yet fully come.

(1) He urges his brethren to go up, as it was a matter of necessary Jewish observance.

(2) He signifies certainly that he will not accompany them, like one going to the feast. And he does not go up with his brethren.

(3) His going up will be as a "prophet" (ver. 14) appearing suddenly in the temple.

(4) The emphasis that he lays on "this feast" implies that he is not going up in the sense which the proposal of his brethren might suggest as if his Messianic entry into Jerusalem were to occur at the Feast of Tabernacles, and not at the Feast of the Passover. It was true, in any case, that his "time was not yet fully come," not in allusion to the two or three days" interval between their going and his coming, but to the time of his death.

3. Our Lord"s secret departure for Jerusalem. "When he had said these words unto them, he abode in Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up to the feast, then went he also up." The passage does not say that he went up to the feast at all. Contrast the privacy of this journey with the publicity of his solemn final entry into Jerusalem. (Joh_12:12)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The feast of tabernacles - The time, manner, and reason of this feast may be seen, Lev. xxiii, 34, &c.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

There were three great feasts which the Jews celebrated every year; namely, the feast of the passover, the feast of pentecost, and the feast of tabernacles; this last was observed in the month of September, after they had gathered in the fruits of the earth; whence it was also called the feast of ingathering: at this feast they went out of their houses, and dwelt in booths seven days, in remembrance of their living in tents or booths in the wilderness for forty years together, before they came to Canaan. Now the institution of this feast, being to call the Israelites to the remembrance of their former condition in the wilderness, teaches us how prone and ready we are to forget our troubles, and the mercies wherewith our troubles have been sweetened, when once they are past and over. The Jews, when settled in Canaan, going out of their houses yearly, and dwelling in booths, did thereby testify, that present mercies had not made them forget former trials and troubles.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [LXXV. Jesus' Brothers Advice].

LXXV. JESUS' BROTHERS ADVISE HIM TO GO TO JERUSALEM. (Galilee, probably Capernaum.) dJOHN VII. 2-9.

d2 Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand. [The Joh_7:1 tells us that Jesus kept away from Judæa because the Jews sought for his life. See page 393. This keeping away or seclusion began at the Passover season, and led Jesus not only to keep away from Judæa, but even to hover upon the outskirts of Galilee itself. This seclusion is described in Sections LXV.-LXXI. We now turn back to take up with John the narrative which tells how, after his six months' retirement, Jesus prepared to appear once more in Judæa. The Feast of Tabernacles began on the 15th day of the month Tisri, which answers to our September-October, and consequently came six [439] months after and six months before the Passover. It was the most joyous of the two great feasts, and not only commemorated the time when Israel dwelt in the wilderness in tents, but also celebrated the harvest home. It was, therefore, a thanksgiving both for permanent abodes and for the year's crops. As the people dwelt in booths, the feast partook much of the form and merriment of a picnic.] 3 His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may behold thy works which thou doest. 4 For no man doeth any thing in secret, and himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou doest these things, manifest thyself to the world. [When we consider how Jesus had withdrawn into the regions of Tyre, Sidon, Decapolis, and Cæsarea Philippi, and with what assiduity he had avoided crowds and concealed miracles, these words become very plain. The twelve had been instructed sufficiently to confess his Messiahship, but thousands of his disciples had not seen a miracle in six months. To his brothers such secrecy seemed foolish on the part of one who was ostensibly seeking to be known. They were not disposed to credit the miracles of Jesus, but insisted that if he could work them he ought to do so openly.] 5 For even his brethren did not believe on him. [This verse explodes the idea that the parties known in the New Testament as our Lord's brothers were the sons of Alphæus and cousins to Jesus. The sons of Alphæus had long since been numbered among the apostles, while our Lord's brothers were still unbelievers. As to his brothers, see pp. 224-226, 360.] 6 Jesus therefore saith unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is always ready. [Jesus is answering a request that he manifest himself. The great manifestation of his cross and resurrection could not properly take place before the Passover, which was still six months distant. But his brothers, having no message and no manifestation, could show themselves at Jerusalem any time.] 7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that its works are evil. [The world can [440] not hate you because you are in mind and heart a part of it, and it can not hate itself. It hates those who are not of it, and who rebuke its sins and oppose its ways.] 8 Go ye up unto the feast: I go not up unto this feast; because my time is not yet fulfilled. 9 And having said these things unto them, he abode i still in Galilee. [He did go to the feast, but he did not go up to manifest himself, as his brothers asked, and hence, in the sense in which they made the request, he did not go up. Six months later, at the Passover, he manifested himself by the triumphal entry somewhat as his brothers wished.]

[FFG 439-441]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. It fell in the month Tizri, covering part of September and of October, and lasted for a week. It was one of the three feasts that all Jews were expected to attend.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

2. ἡ ἑορ. τ. Ἰουδ. ἡ σκ. Tabernacles, or ‘the Feast of the 7th month, or ‘of ingathering,’ was the most joyous of the Jewish festivals. It had two aspects: (1) a commemoration of their dwelling in tents in the wilderness, (2) a harvest-home. It was therefore a thanksgiving (1) for a permanent abode, and especially for a permanent place of worship, (2) for the crops of the year. Celebrebant hoc Judaei, velut reminiscentes beneficia Domini, qui occisuri erant Dominum (S. Augustine). It began on the 15th of the 7th month, Ethanim or Tisri (about our September), and lasted seven days, during which all who were not exempted through illness or weakness were obliged to live in booths, which involved much both of the discomfort and also of the merriment of a picnic. The distinctions between rich and poor were to a large extent obliterated in the general encampment, and the Feast thus became a great levelling institution. On the eighth day the booths were broken up and the people returned home: but it had special sacrifices of its own and was often counted as part of the Feast itself. The Feast is mentioned here, partly as a date, partly to shew what after all induced Christ to go up to Jerusalem, partly perhaps for its symbolical meaning. ‘The Word was made flesh and tabernacled among us’ (Joh 1:14). Tabernacles was a type of the Incarnation, as the Passover of the Passion.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2.] See Deu 16:13-17. Josephus, Antt. viii. 4. 1, calls this ἑορτὴ ἁγιωτάτη καὶ μεγίστη. It began on the 15th (evening of 14th) of Tisri [Sept. 28], and lasted till the evening of the 22nd [Oct. 6].

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. ἦν δὲ ἐγγὺς ἡ ἑορτή κτλ. This was the Feast of Tabernacles of the year 28 a.d. See on 5:1.

The Feast of Tabernacles (σκηνοπηγία) was originally a Feast of Ingathering or a Harvest Festival, and was not at first held on a fixed date, but “at the year’s end” (Exo 34:22), according to the time when the harvest was gathered. The Deuteronomic Code calls it “the Feast of Tabernacles” (Deu 16:13), and prescribes that it is to be kept for seven days. The reason for its name assigned in the Priest’s Code is that “I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt” (Lev 23:43). In the same Code the annual date is fixed; it was to begin on the fifteenth day of the seventh month (Tishri), going on for seven days (Lev 23:34). That is, it was held at the end of September or the beginning of October. In Num 29:35 an eighth day of observance appears, on which was to be “a solemn assembly,” and we find this eighth day observed in post-exilic times (Neh 8:18, Neh 8:2 Macc. 10:6). Josephus, who mentions the eighth day (Anti. iii. x. 4), calls this feast ἑορτὴ σφόδρὰ παρὰ τοῖς Ἑβραίοις ἁγιωτάτη καὶ μεγίστη (Anti. viii. iv. i), thus marking its important place in Jewish life, it being, pre-eminently, the Feast of the Jews. For the ritual observed, see on 7:37 and 8:12.

For the phrase ἡ ἑορτὴ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, see on 2:13.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ver. 2. “But the feast of the Jews, called that of Tabernacles, was at hand.”

This feast was celebrated in October: six full months, therefore, according to John himself, separate this story from the one preceding, without his mentioning a single one of the facts which we have just enumerated, and which filled this entire half-year. His intention, then, is certainly not to relate a complete history, and his silence with respect to any fact whatever cannot be interpreted as a proof of ignorance or as an implicit denial of it. The feast of Tabernacles, called in Maccabees and in Josephus, as here, σκηνοπηγία, was celebrated for eight days, reckoning from the fifteenth day of the seventh month (Tisri). During this time, the people dwelt in tents, made of leafy branches, on the roofs of the houses, in the streets and squares, and even on the sides of the roads around Jerusalem. The Jews thus renewed every year the remembrance of the forty years during which their fathers had lived in tents in the wilderness. The city and its environs resembled a camp of pilgrims. The principal ceremonies of the feast had reference to the miraculous blessings of which Israel had been the object during that long and painful pilgrimage of the desert.

A libation which was made every morning in the temple, recalled to mind the waters which Moses had caused to spring forth from the rock. Two candelabra, lighted at evening in the court, represented the luminous cloud which had given light to the Israelites during the nights. To the seven days of the feast, properly so called, the law added an eighth, with which was perhaps connected, according to the ingenious supposition of Lange, the remembrance of the entrance into the promised land. Josephus calls this feast the most sacred and greatest of the Israelitish festivals. But, as it was also designed to celebrate the end of all the harvestings of the year, the people gave themselves up to rejoicings which easily degenerated into license, and which caused it to be compared by Plutarch to the feasts of Bacchus. It was the last of the great legal feasts of the year; as Jesus had not gone, this year, either to the Passover-feast or to that of Pentecost, it might be presumed that He would go to this feast. For it was assumed that every one would celebrate at least one of these three principal feasts at Jerusalem. Hence the therefore of the following verse.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.