13-17).
As regards the essential nature of the two last-named
feasts, these passages are at one. The _sukkoth_ of Deuteronomy and
the _asiph_ of the Jehovistic legislation do not coincide in time
merely, but are in fact one and the same feast, the autumnal
ingathering of the wine and of the oil from the vat and press, and
of the corn from the threshing-floor. The name _asiph_ refers
immediately to the vintage and olive-gathering, to which the word
_sukkoth_ seems also to relate, being most easily explained from the
custom of the whole household, old and young, going out to the
vineyard in time of harvest, and there camping out in the open air
under the improvised shelter of booths made with branches (Isaiah i.
8). _Qacir_ and _shabuoth_ in like manner are only different names
for the same reality, namely, for the feast of the corn-reaping, or,
more strictly, the wheat-reaping, which takes place in the
beginning of summer. Thus both festivals have a purely natural
occasion. On the other hand, the spring festival, which always
opens the series, has a historical motive assigned to it, the
exodus--most expressly in Deuteronomy--being given as the event on
which it rests.
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