Tabernacles, FEAST OF, the last of the three great festivals of the Jews (the Passover, the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles), which required the presence of all the males in Jerusalem. Its object was to commemorate the dwelling of the Israelites in tents during their sojourn in the wilderness, and it was also a feast of thanksgiving for the harvest and vintage. The time of the festival fell in the autumn, when all the chief fruits were gathered in, and hence it is often called the "feast of the ingathering." Its duration was strictly only seven days, but it was followed by a day of holy convocation of peculiar solemnity. During the seven days the people lived in booths erected in the courts of houses, on the roofs and in the court of the Temple. It was the most joyous festival of the year.