Leviticus 23:40

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

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, The feast of tabernacles , [ chag (H2282) ha-Cukowt (H5521), festival of the booths (see the notes at Exodus 23:16; Exodus 34:22, where it is called, chag

Boughs, Heb. the fruit, i.e. fruit-bearing boughs, or branches with the fruit on them, as the word fruit seems to be taken, . Goodly trees, to wit, the olive, myrtle, and pine, as they are mentioned, ,16, which were most plentiful there, and which would best preserve their greenness or freshness. Thick trees, fit for shade and shelter. Willows of the brook, which might do well to mix with the other, and in some sort to bind them together. And as they made their booths of these materials, as is apparent from Ne 8, so it seems they did also carry some of these boughs in their hands, as is affirmed by Jewish and other ancient writers. Ye shall rejoice; which joy they testified by feasting, thanksgiving, &c.

(40) And ye shall take you on the first day.—The four species of vegetable production here ordered are a distinctive feature of this festival. They have been most minutely defined during the second Temple. Boughs of goodly trees.—Better, the fruit of goodly trees, as the margin rightly renders it. As this phrase is too indefinite, and may simply denote the fruit of any choice fruit-tree, there can hardly be any doubt that in this instance, as in many other cases, the lawgiver left it to the administrators of the Law to define its precise kind. Basing it therefore upon one of the significations of the term here translated “goodly,” which is to dwell, to rest, the authorities during the second Temple decreed that it means the fruit winch permanently rests upon the tree—i.e., the citron, the paradise-apple. If it came from an uncircumcised tree (see Leviticus 19:23), from an unclean heave-offering (comp. Numbers 18:11-12), or exhibited the slightest defect, it was ritually illegal. Branches of palm trees.—During the second Temple this was defined as the shoot of the palm-tree when budding, before the leaves are spread abroad, and whilst it is yet like a rod. It is technically called lulab, which is the expression whereby it is rendered in the ancient Chaldee version. The lulab must at least be three hands tall, and must be tied together with its own kind. The boughs of thick trees.—This, according to the same authorities, denotes the myrtle branch, whose leaves thickly cover the wood. To make it ritually legal it must have three or more shoots round the stem, and on the same level with it. If it is in any way damaged it is illegal. This accounts for the ancient Chaldee version rendering it by “myrtle branch.” Willows of the brook.—That species, the distinguishing marks of which are dark wood and long leaves with smooth margin. The palm, the myrtle, and the willow, when tied together into one bundle, constitute the Lulab. Whilst the psalms are chanted by the Levites during the sacrifices, the pilgrims, who held the Lulabs or palms, shook them thrice, viz., at the singing of Psa 118:1, then again at Leviticus 23:25, and at Leviticus 23:29. When the chant was finished, the priests in procession went round the altar once, exclaiming, “Hosanna, O Lord, give us help, O Lord! give prosperity !” (Psalms 118:25). Whereupon the solemn benediction was pronounced by the priests, and the people dispersed amidst the repeated exclamations, “How beautiful art thou, O altar !” It is this part of the ritual which explains the welcome that the multitude gave Christ when they went to meet Him with palm-branches and shouts of hosanna (Matthew 21:8-9; Matthew 21:15; John 12:12-13).

Verse 40. Boughs of goodly trees] The Jews and many critics imagine the citron-tree to be intended, and by boughs of thick tree the myrtle.

40. fruit of goodly trees] i.e. fruit of goodly (ornamental, beautiful) trees, or goodly tree fruit (so Dillm.). boughs of thick trees] According to Onkelos, myrtle branches, but the expression may have a more general signification. It has been doubted whether this various material was to be used for the construction of the booths, or for the purpose of making a lûlâb or festal bouquet. Among the later Jews the lûlâb (Jos. Ant. iii. 10. 4) consisted of a myrtle, willow, and palm branch, and an ethrôg (orange or citron) carried in the hands. In Nehemiah’s time (Nehemiah 8:15) there is found no more than a general agreement with the text here as to materials. See further in Jos. Ant. xiii. 13. 5, and the Mishna Sukkah iii. 1 ff.

The boughs of goodly trees - Or, the fruit (see the margin) of the citron trees. It is said that every Israelite at the Feast of tabernacles carried in one hand a bundle of branches and in the other a citron.

40. The boughs of goodly trees — Here the Authorized Version is incorrect, but the marginal reading of fruit, usually citron, instead of boughs, is a proper translation of the Hebrew.