（利23）棚子与云彩 (Lev 23) Booths and Clouds

(ChatGPT was applied for translation from Chinese. 中文在后面)

Leviticus 23 commands the Israelites to keep the Feast of Booths. The Creator gave a reason: Leviticus 23:43 — “so that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.…”

From Jonah chapter 4 later we see that one important function of making a booth is to resist the scorching of the sun. After Israel came out of Egypt, in the wilderness forty years, most of the time they should have been in places without the shade of trees. They should have needed very much the covering of the booths.

Concerning Leviticus 23:43, the Jews have several different understandings. Some think that the Israelites really did dwell in booths after coming out of Egypt. But a natural question is: the plants used for making booths—how did Israel find them in the wilderness after the exodus? Some think that this booth refers to the cloud, which, like a booth, could cover them from the sun. Another view is that the “booths” is a place name—called “Sukkot” in Hebrew—the first station where Israel camped after the exodus, and also the last station before entering the wilderness.

The relevant verses are as follows:

Exodus 12:37 — “And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Sukkot, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.”

Exodus 13:20–21 — “And they journeyed from Sukkot, and camped in Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, so that they could travel by day and by night.”

Here we see a possibility: after Israel came out of Egypt, the first station was camping at Sukkot (“booths”), where there was still vegetation. There they could camp using booths made of plants. But the next station was already Etham at the edge of the wilderness, where there was no longer enough vegetation to make booths, so the Creator gave them the covering of the cloud.

The Jews also ask: if this is so, why is the Feast of Booths not set in the spring (the first month of the biblical calendar), when they came out of Egypt, but in the autumn (the seventh month of the biblical calendar)? Someone explains: because Israel sinned by worshiping the golden calf, the cloud departed for a long time. When Moses went up Mount Sinai and interceded many days for them, until the Day of Atonement in the seventh month of the biblical calendar, when the Lord forgave them, then the cloud returned, once again becoming the “booth” covering Israel. If this cloud-booth symbolizes the protection of the Creator, then its being lost and regained may symbolize that the sinful nature of man can interfere with receiving protection from the Creator. So, observing the Feast of Booths after the Day of Atonement symbolizes that after mankind repents and returns to the Lord, being freed from the disturbance of sin, they receive the complete protection of the Creator.

According to this understanding, in the forty-two stations of Israel’s journey recorded in Numbers 33, only the first station at Sukkot had booths of plants for covering. Afterward, all the rest were covered by the cloud. The covering of booths made of plants was a temporary method, but the covering of the cloud symbolizes the Creator’s protection—that is the essential one. Although the booths made for the Feast of Booths are made of plants, because the time of the festival corresponds with the return of the cloud after the Day of Atonement, in reality they point to those booths of the cloud, symbolizing the true protection that comes from the Creator.

（利23）棚子与云彩

利未记23章规定以色列人需要遵守住棚节，造物主给出了一个理由：利未记23:43 “好叫你们世世代代知道，我领以色列人出埃及地的时候曾使他们住在棚里。…”

从后来的约拿书第4章我们看到，搭棚子的一个重要作用是抵挡太阳的暴晒。以色列人出埃及后在旷野四十年，大多数应该是在没有树荫的地方，他们应该很需要棚子的遮盖。

关于利未记23:43这句经文，犹太人有几种不同理解，有的认为是出埃及的以色列人真的曾经住在棚里，但一个自然的疑问是搭棚子所使用的植物，以色列人出埃及以后在旷野是怎样找到的？有的则认为这个棚子指的是云彩，像棚子一样可以遮太阳的。还有一种观点是棚子是一个地名，希伯来语叫“疏割”，是以色列人出埃及后的安营的第一站，也是进入旷野前的最后一站。

有关的经文如下：

出埃及记12:37 “以色列人从兰塞起行，往疏割去，除了妇人孩子，步行的男人约有六十万。”

出埃及记13:20-21 “他们从疏割起行，在旷野边的以倘安营。日间，耶和华在云柱中领他们的路，夜间，在火柱中光照他们，使他们日夜都可以行走。”

这里我们看到一种可能性，以色列人出埃及后第一站在疏割（意为“棚子们”）安营，那里还是有植被的地方，在那里安营是用植物搭的棚子。但下一站就到了旷野边的以倘，已经没有足够的植被搭棚子了，于是造物主给他们云彩的遮盖。

犹太人还问，既然如此，为什么住棚节不设立在出埃及的春季（圣经历的一月），而是在秋季（圣经历的七月）？有人回答说因为以色列人拜金牛犊得罪造物主，云彩曾经离开很长时间，等到摩西上西奈山为他们祷告了很多天，到秋天圣经历七月的赎罪日主赦免他们以后，云彩才回来，重新成为遮盖以色列人的“棚子”。如果这云彩的棚子象征造物主的保护，那么它的失而复得可能象征，人类的罪性会干扰他们得到从造物主而来的保护。所以在赎罪日以后庆祝住棚节，象征人类悔改归主摆脱罪的困扰以后，得到造物主完全的保护。

按照这种理解，以色列人在民数记33章所记载的42站路程，只有第一站在疏割安营是由植物的棚子遮蔽。后面都是云彩遮蔽。植物棚子的遮蔽只是一种临时的方法，但云彩的遮蔽象征造物主的保护，这才是根本的。住棚节所搭的棚子虽然是植物作的，但因为节日的时间与赎罪日后云彩的失而复得相对应，实际上指向那云彩的棚子，象征来自造物主的真正的保护。

有关资料参见

https://www.sefaria.org/Leviticus.23.43?lang=bi&with=HaKtav%20VeHaKabalah&lang2=en