Charles Ellicott Commentary Leviticus 23:40

"And ye shall take you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before Jehovah your God seven days." — Leviticus 23:40 (ASV)

And you shall take for yourselves on the first day. — The four species of vegetable products ordered here are a distinctive feature of this festival. They were most minutely defined during the Second Temple period.

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 meanings of the term translated here as “goodly,” which is to dwell, to rest, the authorities during the Second Temple period decreed that it means the fruit which permanently rests upon the tree—that is, the citron, the paradise-apple. If it came from an uncircumcised tree , from an unclean heave-offering , or exhibited the slightest defect, it was ritually illegal.

Branches of palm trees. — During the Second Temple period, this was defined as the shoot of the palm tree when budding, before the leaves are spread abroad, and while it is still like a rod. It is technically called lulab, which is the expression by which it is rendered in the ancient Chaldee version. The lulab must be at least 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 around 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 as “myrtle branch.”

Willows of the brook. — That species, the distinguishing marks of which are dark wood and long leaves with a smooth margin. The palm, the myrtle, and the willow, when tied together into one bundle, constitute the Lulab. While the psalms were chanted by the Levites during the sacrifices, the pilgrims, who held the Lulabs or palms, shook them three times: namely, at the singing of Psalm 118:1, then again at Leviticus 23:25, and at Leviticus 23:29.

When the chant was finished, the priests in procession went around the altar once, exclaiming, “Hosanna, O Lord, give us help, O Lord! give prosperity!” (Psalms 118:25). After this, the solemn benediction was pronounced by the priests, and the people dispersed amidst the repeated exclamations, “How beautiful you are, 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).