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23. Appointed Feasts

¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are my appointed festivals, the appointed festivals of the LORD, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.

The Sabbath

³ “‘There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the LORD.

The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread

⁴ “‘These are the LORD’s appointed festivals, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times: ⁵ The LORD’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. ⁶ On the fifteenth day of that month the LORD’s Festival of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. ⁷ On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. ⁸ For seven days present a food offering to the LORD. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.’”

Offering the Firstfruits

⁹ The LORD said to Moses, ¹⁰ “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. ¹¹ He is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. ¹² On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the LORD a lamb a year old without defect, ¹³ together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah That is, probably about 7 pounds or about 3.2 kilograms; also in verse 17 of the finest flour mixed with olive oil—a food offering presented to the LORD, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin That is, about 1 quart or about 1 liter of wine. ¹⁴ You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.

The Festival of Weeks

¹⁵ “‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. ¹⁶ Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD. ¹⁷ From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the LORD. ¹⁸ Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the LORD, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings—a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the LORD. ¹⁹ Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering Or purification offering and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. ²⁰ The priest is to wave the two lambs before the LORD as a wave offering, together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the LORD for the priest. ²¹ On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly and do no regular work. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.

²² “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the LORD your God.’”

The Festival of Trumpets

²³ The LORD said to Moses, ²⁴ “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. ²⁵ Do no regular work, but present a food offering to the LORD.’”

The Day of Atonement

²⁶ The LORD said to Moses, ²⁷ “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, Or and fast; similarly in verses 29 and 32 and present a food offering to the LORD. ²⁸ Do not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. ²⁹ Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people. ³⁰ I will destroy from among their people anyone who does any work on that day. ³¹ You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. ³² It is a day of sabbath rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”

The Festival of Tabernacles

³³ The LORD said to Moses, ³⁴ “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the LORD’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. ³⁵ The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. ³⁶ For seven days present food offerings to the LORD, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the LORD. It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.

³⁷ (“‘These are the LORD’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing food offerings to the LORD—the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings required for each day. ³⁸ These offerings are in addition to those for the LORD’s Sabbaths and Or These festivals are in addition to the LORD’s Sabbaths, and these offerings are in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings you give to the LORD.)

³⁹ “‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the LORD for seven days; the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. ⁴⁰ On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. ⁴¹ Celebrate this as a festival to the LORD for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. ⁴² Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters ⁴³ so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’”

⁴⁴ So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed festivals of the LORD.

10. When ye be come to the land. Moses now lays down rules as to the second day of festival, which was dedicated to the offering of the first-fruits. The ceremony is described that they should deliver a handful into the hand of the priest; though some think that the measure is signified which was the tenth part of an Ephah. The word Omer ³⁴⁵³⁴⁵     “The word עמר, gomer, was both a measure, which was the tenth part of an ephah, as also a sheaf, or handful, (δράγματα, LXX.,) as it is taken where Ruth is said to have gathered among the sheaves; and the reason is, because usually that which was beaten out of a sheaf might fill a ghomer.” — Willet, in loco. means both. But in this passage the expression “handful” is most appropriate, since it represented in a lively manner the beginning of the harvest; inasmuch as it was not lawful to taste even of parched grain before the offering of the firstfruits. The priest lifted it up before the altar, but with a waving motion; for thus the Hebrews distinguish between the two modes, ³⁴⁶³⁴⁶     Vide ante, p. 132. תרומה, therumah, which was lifted up, and תנופה, thenuphah, which is mentioned here, and which was waved towards the four points of the compass, and then a sacrifice and libation were made. We know that heathen nations ³⁴⁷³⁴⁷     Compare Virgil, Georgic 1:—
   Vos, O clarissima mundi
Lumina, labentem coelo quae ducitis annum,
Liber et alma Ceres; vestro si munere tellus
Chaoniam pingui glandem mutavit arista,
Poculaque inventis Acheloia miscuit uvis, etc — 5:5-9. thus invented gods and goddesses presiding over the fruits, so that the earth was the great and common mother of gods and men. Into this error the Jews would have straightway fallen, or would have gorged themselves without thinking about God, unless they had been reminded by this ceremony that the Father of their subsistence was in heaven, whose minister the earth was for providing their food. For since the whole harvest was consecrated in the single handful, it was as if they had shewn that whatever the earth produced altogether belonged to God. But thus the admirable goodness of God was conspicuous, when, in claiming what was His own, He did not at all diminish the food of the people; afterwards they received, as if from His hand, whatever each individual had stored at home, just as though it had come out of His sanctuary. Paul’s statement is well known, “For if the first-fruit be holy, the lump is also holy,” (Romans 11:16,) wherein he alludes to this ancient ceremony of the Law. The word which they translate “unto your acceptance,” ³⁴⁸³⁴⁸     See note #284 is the same which interpreters elsewhere render “good pleasure,” and refer to the people, as if it were said, “at your own will,” or “ad libitum,” as it is barbarously said. But I have before shewn that it must be understood of the favor and good-will of God, although it is transferred in a passive sense to the people, as in Psalm 106:4, רצון, ratson, or the favor of the chosen people, means the gratuitous love wherewith God regards His Church. But Moses signifies that the fruits of the earth cannot otherwise be eaten with a clear conscience, because they would not feel that God accepted them, and looked upon them with paternal affection. The ceremony, now abolished, still remains in full force amongst us as regards its substance, for nothing but the acknowledgment of God’s bounty, which springs from faith and thanksgiving, sanctifies whatever we receive of His hand.

Next to the first-fruits comes the feast of seven weeks, which the Greeks have rendered Pentecost, having reference to the same object; for after they had offered the first-fruits from the standing harvest, they added another token of gratitude in the shape of the loaves and the greater sacrifice. It must however be observed, that the two loaves are required of every family, and that they consist of two-tenths; but that the sacrifices of seven lambs, one bullock, and two rams, and also of a goat and two lambs, is enjoined upon the whole people. This is in fact the legitimate acknowledgment of God’s liberality, because the waving of the sheaf, as being performed in haste, was but a trifling one; since we have seen that before they touched the grain, God required that the first-fruits should be offered to Him, until at leisure and in a more convenient season they might more fully discharge their duty. Thus what we have above observed respecting the first-fruits, was only a preparation for the day of Pentecost, on which the holy oblation was not ears of wheat, but loaves made of the new wheat.