Israelite Festivals Table

Israelite Calendar Table

Calendars in Old Testament Times

23:2 The festivals of Yahweh Feasts were tied to astronomical phenomena (e.g., twilight, new moons, seasons) corresponding to the lunar calendar. Therefore, the time of their celebration was considered to have been appointed by God—the Creator of the heavenly bodies (Gen 1:15–16).

holy assemblies Refers to a holy event to which people are summoned or invited.

23:3 a Sabbath of complete rest The Sabbath is set on the seventh day of each week, when the Israelites are forbidden from performing work. For more on the Sabbath, see Gen 2:2–3; Exod 16:23; 20:8–11; compare Deut 5:12–15.

23:5 on the fourteenth of the month at the evening Establishes the date and time of the Passover sacrifice.

23:6 the fifteenth day of this month The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins the day after the Passover sacrifice. During this seven-day feast, only unleavened bread (i.e., bread without yeast) is to be eaten. Leaven of any kind must be avoided. Numbers 28:16–25 does not include specific regulations for this day.

Feast of The Hebrew word used here, chag (which may be rendered as “feast” or “festival”), refers to a pilgrimage festival. This word is used to describe the festivals of Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:6), Tabernacles (v. 39), and Weeks (Exod 34:22; Deut 16:16). In time, celebrations connected to the wandering Israelite population changed to a time that featured a settled population and a central sanctuary (temple) (compare Exod 12; 34 and Deut 16). The major festivals thus required pilgrimage (see 1 Kgs 12:26–32).

23:7 you shall not do any regular work Given that sacrifices are to be given on the other days of the festival, an absolute statement prohibiting work would not make sense. Rather, work related to a person’s occupation is prohibited. Only the special work of Passover may be carried out.

23:8 you shall present an offering for Yahweh made by fire The Hebrew term for offering used here is isheh, which likely designates some kind of food gift (see note on Lev 1:9). The word’s similarity to the Hebrew word for fire (esh) led to the common translation as “offering by fire.” See Num 28–29 for the types of sacrifice required on each day of each feast.

23:10 the firstfruit of The first ingathering of a specific crop; here, barley. Giving Yahweh the first yield constitutes an act of trust that the remaining yield will be sufficient for the people’s need.

23:11 he shall wave the sheaf Refers to the practice of waving a portion of an offering before Yahweh to symbolize offering it to Him. This was called the wave offering (tenuphah in Hebrew; see v. 15).

23:12 without defect Without any physical imperfection. See note on 22:19.

a burnt offering A sacrifice that is entirely burnt on the altar (see note on 1:3–17).

23:13 grain offering This type of offering, including its various forms, is detailed in 2:1–18. The ingredients for the meal offering are also found in Num 15:4.

libation Libations were a common form of divine offering in the ancient Near East, usually consisting of the finest wine available (e.g., Gen 35:14; Exod 29:40–41; Num 15:6–10).

23:14 a lasting statute A common refrain in biblical law, often used to reinforce the timelessness of the command and the importance to continually observe sacred occasions.

23:17 from your dwellings This bread was to be baked at home, but exactly whose home is not clear, as only two loaves of bread are called for.

baked with leaven The only occasion in Israel’s sacred calendar when leavened bread was brought as part of an offering (Lev 2:11; compare 7:13).

23:19 fellowship offerings An animal sacrifice offered for a variety of reasons. See note on 3:1–17.

23:20 holy for Yahweh for the priest Items that were dedicated to Yahweh were not to be used for any common purpose, but were holy—set apart as belonging to Yahweh. The designation “for the priest” means that the offering was to be consumed by the high priest and his fellow priests.

23:21 you shall not do any regular work Only the special work of the feast may be carried out.

23:24 a remembrance of the trumpet blast This same event is described in Num 29:1–6. The shofar horn—made of a ram’s horn—was sounded to give advance notice for the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles), the pilgrimage festival that would occur two weeks later. In later Jewish tradition, this day marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah.

23:27 you shall deny yourselves Refers to fasting.

23:28 you must not do any regular work On the Day of Atonement, all work is to cease, not just everyday work.

make atonement See note on Lev 4:20.

23:29 any person who does not deny Though rare in Leviticus, the grammatical form of the Hebrew verb used here suggests that the action is self-directed, such as fasting or some other form of self-discipline. The penalty for not preparing for the Day of Atonement in this way was severe.

23:32 a Sabbath of complete rest This aligns with v. 28, which is a prohibition against all forms of work. The Day of Atonement was to be a day of complete rest. Israelites were to show penitence and self-deprivation as part of securing atonement (purification) before God.

23:34 the Feast of Booths The Hebrew name of this festival, sukkoth (the plural of sukkah), comes from a verb meaning “to cover over.” The name for the festival reflects the command (Lev 23:40–42) that the Israelites take tree branches and fashion them into small huts or booths to stay in during the feast. Genesis 33:17 describes Jacob making booths for his livestock (and the site is given the name “Succoth”). The “booth” apparently was a small, partially enclosed structure with a makeshift roof.

23:38 Yahweh’s Sabbaths The once-weekly commemoration of Creation (Gen 2:2–3; Exod 20:8–11) and the exodus (Deut 5:12–15) when work is prohibited.

freewill offerings The sacrificial system assumes compulsory and self-motivated participation. The holidays on the calendar, however, are mandatory.

23:39 at your gathering Reflects the older name and purpose of the festival—Feast of Ingathering (see Exod 23:16; 34:22).

23:40 majestic trees The four species of plant named are uncertain, although later Jewish tradition interprets them as the etrog (fruit from a citron tree), lulav (frond from a date palm tree), hadass (bough with leaves from the myrtle tree), and the aravah (branch with leaves from the willow tree). Different traditions assign a specific symbolism to each of the four species.

and you shall rejoice Rejoicing is commanded because the Feast of Booths commemorated Israel’s freedom after leaving Egypt—and perhaps because it followed the somber Day of Atonement. During the time of the temple in Jerusalem and continuing through today, one of the forms this rejoicing takes is waving the four species of plants before Yahweh.

23:43 brought them from the land of Egypt The historical referent for the Festival of Booths (Tabernacles) is the exodus (Exod 12–15). A perpetual awareness of the exodus event is the expressed purpose of dwelling in tabernacles for these seven days.