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Meaning, origin and etymology of the name Succoth


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Succoth Succoth

Succoth is the place were Jacob settled after his bout with the Angel of YHWH. Some have noted that this may indicate the point in time when people began to build stables for their cattle, but the name of Jacob's mother Rebekah may already hint at that.

The name Succoth comes from sakak (sakak 1492) meaning block, shut off, cover. The derivative sok (sok 1492d), covert, thicket, booth, is used in Genesis 33:17:

"And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built for himself a house, and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the place is named Succoth."

According to BDB the root sakak should be divided into two groups of meaning (although TWOTOT seems to deny the existence of two separate roots), because the alternative spelling with a sin in stead of the samekh yields the two verbs sakak (sakak 2259), cover; and sakak (sakak 2260), weave.

The first group, says BDB, has to do with covering (to overshadow, screen), mostly to achieve protection of whatever is covered, but also in the sense of creating a separate place that is shielded from the outside world. This verb and its derivatives are lavishly used in scenes related to the tabernacle. The wings of the cherubim were to cover the mercy seat (Ex 37:9). The screens that create the various rooms are called masak (masak 1492a).

The second group of meanings have to do with weaving, weave together. The most compelling argument in defence of this view comes in Psalm 139:13, where David uses this verb in his perennial statement, "You wove me together in my mother's womb" (see also Job 10:11). BDB goes on to suggest that Jacob's booths were not known as 'coverings' but as 'weavings;' "interwoven boughs," (see Neh 8:15).

The derivation sok (sok 1492d), booth, returns in the name of the Feast Of Booths: Feast of Booths, a.k.a known as the Feast Of Tabernacles.

A derivation which is as difficult to translate as to place in a meaning-group is the noun sok (sak 1492c), as used only in Psalm 42:4, "For I used to go along with the throng [] a multitude keeping festival." BDB suggests that this word may denote an interwoven mass. TWOTOT favors the more modern view that this multitude served as a 'barrier' to shield the temple from the gentiles. Here at Abarim Publications we prefer the view of BDB, because gentiles were shunned from the tabernacle by the structure of the tabernacle (which represents the greater working of the world), and not by the way the chosen people were organized. These people, after all, were chosen to be an instrument of blessing for all people (Gen 12:3). We believe that the interwoven mass of Psalm 42:4 suggests that the authors understood that both the tabernacle and the temple are mere foreshadows of the ultimate Temple, the Body of Christ, which is in effect and interwoven multitude. This makes Jesus' words, "in my Father's house are many mansions," (Joh 14:2) all the more striking.

The name Succoth means Booths.



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