John 7 is the seventh chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It recounts Jesus' visit to Jerusalem for the feast of Tabernacles, the possibility of his arrest and debate as to whether he is the Messiah. The author of the book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that John composed this Gospel. Alfred Plummer, in the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, describes this chapter as "very important for the estimate of the fourth Gospel. In it the scene of the Messianic crisis shifts from Galilee to Jerusalem; and, as we should naturally expect, the crisis itself becomes hotter. The divisions, the doubts, the hopes, the jealousies, and the casuistry of the Jews are vividly portrayed." John 7:1 to 8:59 is sometimes referred to as the "Tabernacles Discourse". Raymond E. Brown describes the Tabernacles Discourse as "a polemic collection of what Jesus said in replies to attacks by the Jewish authorities on his claims".
John 16:14-22 on the recto side of Papyrus 5, written about AD 250.
Sukkot is a Torah-commanded holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which Israelites were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. Originally a harvest festival celebrating the autumn harvest, Sukkot’s modern observance is characterized by festive meals in a sukkah, a temporary wood-covered hut, celebrating the Exodus from Egypt.
A sukkah (plural: sukkot) in the West Bank
Sukkot's 4 Holy Species from left to right: Hadass (myrtle), Lulav (palm frond), Aravah (willow branch), Etrog (citron) carrier, Etrog (citron) outside its carrier
External aerial view of sukkah booths where Jewish families eat their meals and sleep throughout the Sukkot holiday
A 19th-century painted sukkah from Austria or South Germany, Painted pine, 220 × 285.5 cm, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme