John Calvin on Leviticus 23:40-44

40. And ye shall take you on the first day. By this symbol the Jews were instructed that this day was to be celebrated with joy and gladness; for it was not only a memorial of the favor which He had graciously bestowed on their fathers in the desert, when they were exposed to all the vicissitudes of heaven, “De pluyes, de gresles, de froid, et de chaud.” — Fr. and He cherished them under His wings as an eagle does her brood; but it was also an act of thanksgiving, because He had provided them so commodious a reception in the Promised Land; thus, by carrying the boughs, they proclaimed their joy and triumph as it were. Nor would it have been reasonable that they should go into the booths in sorrow and sadness, since they represented visibly to them both the former and present goodness of God, and at the same time gave them a foretaste of the life of heaven, inasmuch as they were but sojourners on earth. Some suppose הדר, hadar, “The Jews limit this to the citron; but this is a mere tradition of men. The words mean any tree whatsoever that was attractive and goodly. Jahn says, ‘Any noble tree, such as the palm, or the malum Punicum.’ So Rosenmuller.” — Bonar in loco. to be a proper name, but since it everywhere means “comeliness,” I have been unwilling to depart from its ordinary sense; nor do I curiously insist on the words, except so far as it is necessary to ascertain the actual substance.

Exodus 23

Exodus 23:14-17

14. Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.

14. Ter festum celebrabis mihi unoquoque anno.

15. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)

15. Solennitatem azymorum custodies: septem diebus comedes infermentata, quemadmodum praecepi tibi tempore mensis Abib: quia in eo egressus es ex Aegypto: neque conspicientur coram me vacui.

16. And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

16. Et solennitatem mensis primitivorum operum tuorum quae seminaveris in agro, et solennitatem collectionis in exitu anni, quando eollegeris opera tua ex agro.

17. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.

17. Tribus vicibus conspicietar omnis masculus tuus coram Domino Jehova.

Exodus 34

Exodus 34:22-24

22. And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.

22. Solennitatem hebdomadum facies tibi in primitiis messis triticeae, et festum collectionis in conversione anni.

23. Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.

23. Tribus vicibus in anno conspicietur onmis masculus tuus coram domino Jehova Deo Israel.

24. For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year.

24. Expellam enim gentes a faeie tua, et dilatabo terminum tuum, neque concupiscet quisquam terrain tuam dum ascendes ut conspiciaris coram Jehova tribus vicibus in anno.

Exodus 34

Exodus 34:20

20. ... none shall appear before me empty.

20. Non conspicientur coram me vacui.