The Feast of Tabernacles began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. It was an eight-day harvest celebration that required many offerings (Numbers 29:12, 35; Exodus 34:22). This festival was a joyful time for giving thanks (see Nehemiah 8:13–18). The tabernacles (or shelters) reminded the Israelites of living in tents during their time in the wilderness (see also Leviticus 23:33–43; 1 Kings 8:1–2).