Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary John 7:2

"Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand." — John 7:2 (ASV)

The Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated in the autumn (Leviticus 23:33–36), beginning five days after the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) and lasting eight days. Each family constructed a temporary shelter of branches to live in for the period of the feast. This typified the years of wandering in the desert before the people entered the Promised Land. The feast itself was a joyful time of thanksgiving for the harvest they now enjoyed. It was one of the three annual feasts at which attendance was required of all Jewish men .