Leviticus 23:43 kjv

That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 23:43 nkjv

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: I am the LORD your God.' "

Leviticus 23:43 niv

so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.'?"

Leviticus 23:43 esv

that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God."

Leviticus 23:43 nlt

This will remind each new generation of Israelites that I made their ancestors live in shelters when I rescued them from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God."

Leviticus 23 verses

Leviticus 23 43 Meaning

Leviticus 23:43 reveals the core purpose of the commandment to dwell in booths during the Feast of Booths (Sukkot). It serves as an enduring, generational memorial so that the descendants of Israel would perpetually remember God's specific act of causing their ancestors to live in temporary shelters during their wilderness journey after being brought out of Egypt. This verse firmly grounds the festival in God's historical redemption and concludes with the fundamental declaration of His covenantal identity and authority: "I am the Lord your God."

Leviticus 23 43 Context

Leviticus 23 details the Lord's appointed feasts, known as Mo'adim, marking the sacred calendar for the Israelite nation. Following instructions for Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, and the Day of Atonement, the chapter culminates in the comprehensive regulations for the Feast of Booths (Sukkot) in verses 33-44. This festival, also known as the Feast of Ingathering, was not only an agricultural harvest festival of thanksgiving but, more profoundly, a historical commemoration. Verse 43 directly provides the historical reason for the commandment to dwell in booths: to remember the nation's period of living in temporary dwellings in the wilderness following their miraculous exodus from Egypt. This context anchors the religious observance in God's redemptive history and the ongoing covenantal relationship between God and His people, serving as a powerful counter-narrative to pagan harvest celebrations which often glorified nature deities, instead focusing solely on the historical acts of Yahweh.

Leviticus 23 43 Word analysis

• that your generations (לְמַעַן יֵדְעוּ דֹּרֹתֵיכֶם - lema'an yedu dorotekhem): This phrase emphasizes the purpose of the command: intergenerational education and experiential memory. It signifies that the Feast of Booths is not merely a single-event commemoration but an enduring practice designed to embed a historical truth deep into the collective consciousness of Israel's successive generations. "Know" (yada) implies not just intellectual understanding but personal, experiential acquaintance.
• may know (יֵדְעוּ - yedu): From the root יָדַע (yada'), meaning "to know," "to experience," "to perceive." In biblical Hebrew, knowing often denotes an intimate, personal, and experiential relationship or understanding, not just head knowledge. The generations were to "know" this reality as if they themselves had experienced it.
• that I made (הֹשַׁבְתִּי - hoshovti): Hiphil causative form of the verb יָשַׁב (yashav), meaning "to sit, to dwell." The Hiphil here shows God as the active agent. It was not a self-chosen nomadic lifestyle but God's specific divine intervention that caused or commanded the Israelites to dwell in these temporary shelters. This highlights God's sovereignty over their wilderness experience.
• the children of Israel (בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל - b'ney Yisrael): A foundational identifier for the covenant nation, emphasizing their collective identity and shared historical experience as descendants of Jacob (Israel).
• to dwell in booths (בַּסֻּכּוֹת - ba-sukkot): Sukkot (plural of sukkah) refers to temporary shelters, huts, or tabernacles often constructed from branches or flimsy materials. These fragile dwellings represent the precarious and dependent nature of their existence in the wilderness, where their survival relied solely on God's daily provision and miraculous protection from elements. This stands in stark contrast to permanent homes in the Promised Land.
• when I brought them out (בְּהוֹצִיאִי אֹתָם - b'hotzi'i otam): From the Hiphil of יָצָא (yatza), "to go out," again emphasizing God as the active, initiating agent of the Exodus, the pivotal redemptive act in Israel's history.
• of the land of Egypt (מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם - me'eretz Mitzrayim): Egypt represents the land of bondage and slavery, from which God miraculously delivered Israel. This phrase continually points back to the formative event of their national birth and God's mighty power.
• I am the Lord your God (אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם - Ani YHVH Eloheikhem): This is a powerful and frequently repeated covenant formula.
  • I am the Lord (Ani YHVH): Declares God's unique and self-existent nature (Yahweh), affirming His absolute authority and sovereignty over all things, especially over Israel.
  • your God (Eloheikhem): Establishes God's particular, intimate, and covenantal relationship with Israel. It confirms His faithfulness to them and His claim over them as their exclusive deity and provider. This concluding affirmation grounds the entire command in the absolute authority and identity of God Himself.

Words-group by words-group analysis

• "that your generations may know": This phrase highlights the didactic and memorial purpose of the feast, ensuring the foundational narrative of God's redemptive act and Israel's dependency is transmitted across time. It's about remembering God's power and provision for survival.
• "I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths": This establishes God's direct agency and ownership of the wilderness experience. It was His command and His protection that enabled their survival in fragile shelters. The human sukkah thus becomes a physical reminder of God's divine sukkah (shelter, cloud of glory) over them in the desert.
• "when I brought them out of the land of Egypt": This crucial phrase anchors the memory to the defining moment of Israel's nationhood – the Exodus. The act of dwelling in booths is tied directly to God's act of liberation and the journey He orchestrated for them.
• "I am the Lord your God": This closing statement functions as a covenantal signature. It affirms the divine authority behind the command, emphasizing that the command comes from the One who liberated them, sustained them, and is exclusively theirs in covenant. It assures them of God's unchanging nature and fidelity.

Leviticus 23 43 Bonus section

• The impermanence of the sukkah points forward to the temporary nature of human life and our earthly bodies (2 Cor 5:1). It contrasts with God's eternal nature and the ultimate eternal dwelling with Him.
• The cloud of glory that accompanied Israel in the wilderness (Exodus 40:34-38) provided shade and shelter, effectively acting as God's divine sukkah over His people. The human sukkah thus symbolically represents this greater divine protection and presence.
• Sukkot also foreshadows a future time of universal worship (Zech 14:16-19) when all nations will recognize the Lordship of God and participate in remembering His redemption.
• For the ancient Israelites, leaving comfortable homes to dwell in frail booths instilled humility and countered the potential pride that could arise from prosperity in the Promised Land (Deut 6:10-12). It was a call to remember their origins in God's mercy, not their own strength.

Leviticus 23 43 Commentary

Leviticus 23:43 reveals that the Feast of Booths transcends mere agricultural thanksgiving; it is a profound object lesson designed for intergenerational remembrance. By physically reliving the temporary and vulnerable dwelling conditions in booths, each generation was to viscerally recall God's direct involvement in causing their ancestors to live in such shelters during the forty years in the wilderness. This experience was to impress upon them their total dependence on God's provision and protection outside the comfort and security of a permanent home. The sukkah reminds them not of what they had built, but of what God had provided. The ultimate declaration, "I am the Lord your God," validates the command as coming from their deliverer and covenant-keeper, ensuring its perpetual observance. For believers today, the themes resonate, reminding us of our pilgrim status on earth, our ultimate reliance on God's providential care, and the glorious hope of eternal dwelling with God (Revelation 21:3) – a perfect and permanent "sukkah" from the Lord.