Sukkot (place)
Encyclopedia
The name Sukkot appears in a number of places in the Hebrew Bible
as a location:
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
as a location:
- An Egyptian Sukkot is the second of the stations of the Exodus. Pharaoh orders the Israelites to leave Egypt, and they journey from their starting point at Rameses to Succoth (Exodus 12:37). Both appear to be towns within the Land of GoshenLand of GoshenThe Land of Goshen is named in the bible as the place in Egypt given to the Hebrews by the pharaoh of Joseph, and the land from which they later left Egypt at the time of the Exodus...
, which is generally believed to be in the eastern Delta.
- A separate Succoth is a city east of the Jordan River, identified with Tell Deir ΆllaDeir AllaDeir Alla , is the site of an ancient Near Eastern town thought to be Pitru/Pethor.-History:...
, a high mound, a mass of debris, in the plain north of Jabbok and about one mile from it (JoshuaJoshuaJoshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...
13:27). This is where JacobJacobJacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
, on his return from Padan-aram after his interview with Esau, built a house for himself and made sukkot (booths) for his cattle, (Genesis 32:17, 30; 33:17). In the book of JudgesBook of JudgesThe Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
the princes of Sukkot refused to provide help to Gideon and his men when they followed one of the bands of the fugitive Midianites after the great victory at Gilboa. After routing this band, Gideon on his return visited the rulers of the city with severe punishment. "He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth" (Book of JudgesBook of JudgesThe Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
8:13-16). At this place were erected the foundries for casting the metal-work for the temple (1 Kings 7:46).