Leviticus 23:15-22

c. THE FEAST OF WEEKS, OR PENTECOST 23:15-22
TEXT 23:15-22

15

And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave-offering; seven sabbaths shall there be complete:

16

even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meal-offering unto Jehovah.

17

Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave-loaves of two tenth parts of an ephah: they shall be of fine flour, they shall be baken with leaven, for first-fruits unto Jehovah.

18

And ye shall present with the bread seven lambs without blemish a year old, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be a burnt-offering unto Jehovah, with their meal-offering, and their drink-offerings, even an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto Jehovah.

19

And ye shall offer one he-goat for a sin-offering, and two he lambs a year old for a sacrifice of peace-offerings.

20

And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the first-fruits for a wave-offering before Jehovah, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to Jehovah for the priest.

21

And ye shall make proclamation on the selfsame day; there shall be a holy convocation unto you; ye shall do no servile work: it is a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. 22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them for the poor, and for the sojourner: I am Jehovah your God.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 23:15-22

536.

Is the sabbath in Leviticus 23:15 the same as the day on which the sheaf offering was made?

537.

Are we to count seven Saturdays or just 49 days? If the latter is true we would then count every seventh day from the first day as a sabbath. This seems to be a strange use, of the term sabbath.

538.

It would be a simple matter to say that the sabbath here involved was the nearest Saturday to the fifteenth of Nisan. On the day after that Saturday the sheaf offering was made and the counting of seven more Saturdays began. The day following the seventh Saturday was Pentecost (the 50th day). Which viewpoint appeals to you? Why?

539.

Anything significant about the new grain to be presented on Pentecost?

540.

The two loaves presented on Pentecost could be symbolic. Of what?

541.

The seven lambs, the young bull, the two rams as a burnt offering were given on whose behalf?

542.

A he-goat for a sin offeringany symbolism here?

543.

Two he-lambs a year old for a peace offeringthese were to be waved before the Lord along with the bread of the new harvest. Why?

544.

Does Leviticus 23:21 seem to say that the day of Pentecost is to be regarded as a sabbath?

545.

Why mention the provision for the poor in this context? Cf. Leviticus 23:22.

PARAPHRASE 23:15-22

The Festival of Pentecost: Fifty days later you shall bring to the Lord an offering of a sample of the new grain of your later crops. This shall consist of two loaves of bread from your homes to be waved before the Lord in a gesture of offering. Bake this bread from a fifth of a bushel of fine flour containing yeast. It is an offering to the Lord of the first sampling of your later crops. Along with the bread and the wine, you shall sacrifice as burnt offerings to the Lord seven yearling lambs without defects, one young bull, and two rams. All are fire offerings, very acceptable to Jehovah. And you shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male yearling lambs for a peace offering. The priests shall wave these offerings before the Lord along with the loaves representing the first sampling of your later crops. They are holy to the Lord, and will be given to the priests as food. That day shall be announced as a time of sacred convocation of all the people; don-'t do any work that day. This is a law to be honored from generation to generation. (When you reap your harvests, you must not thoroughly reap all the corners of the fields, nor pick up the fallen grain; leave it for the poor and for foreigners living among you who have no land of their own; I am Jehovah your God!)

COMMENT 23:15-22

Leviticus 23:15 Either the counting began from the sixteenth of Nisan or on the day after the weekly sabbath in the Passover week. Let us suppose an actual case in hand: the fourteenth of Nisan in a particular year occurred on Tuesday. On this day the Passover was observed. On Wednesday the seven days-' feast of the unleavened bread began. On the first day of unleavened bread the sheaf of the first-fruit of barley was offered. Do we begin counting seven weeks from this day? If we do, Pentecost will be on Thursday, not Sunday. On the other hand, if the Passover was on Tuesday, the seven day feast of unleavened bread began the day following (and that day was treated as a sabbathLeviticus 23:7) but we wait until Saturday and after the sheaf of first-fruits on the day following, or Sunday, we then begin a count of the seven weeks, or seven Saturdays. Pentecost is by this count always on Sunday. We have presented both sides to this issue. We leave it up to our readers to choose for themselves.

Leviticus 23:16-17 In whatever way we count the fifty days, we need to understand the events of Pentecost. We want to learn about the origin of the feast and its activities. The name Pentecost refers to the fiftieth day, and is so called in the New Testament Acts 2:1; Acts 20:16; 1 Corinthians 16:8. It is called the feast of weeks in the Old Testament. Cf. Exodus 34:12; Deuteronomy 16:10; Deuteronomy 16:16; 2 Chronicles 8:13. The particular cereal offering to be presented on this day was two loaves of bread. The preparation of these loaves were from a fifth of a bushel of fine flour, containing yeast. This was symbolic as it was waved before the Lord at the altar. This was but a sampling of the whole harvest that has now been completed. It all came from God and belongs to God.

Leviticus 23:18-22 The additional sacrifices for the feast day consisted of two bullocks, one ram, and seven lambs, which were a burnt offering, and a goat for a sin offering (Numbers 28:26-27; Numbers 28:30). Besides these, however, the new meal offering of the two loaves mentioned in the text before us were brought, and with it are to be offered one bullock, two rams, and seven lambs, all for burnt offerings. (Ginsburg)

We should say a word about the drink offering in this chapter introduced for the first time in Leviticus. It was never made independently but always in accompaniment with the cereal offering. It consisted of wine which was poured out upon the ground before the altar. It symbolized thanksgiving and consecration. Sometimes oil was used in the drink offering.

There were also offered a goat for a sin offering and two lambs for a peace offering. Josephus sums up the sacrifices as: fourteen lambs, three young bulls, and three goats. It has been thought that the sacrifices described here and those in Numbers 28:27 were made at two separate times. The ones in Leviticus to accompany the offering of the two loavesthose in Numbers to be offered during the feastial day. It is also thought that those mentioned in Numbers were offered during the wilderness and those in Leviticus offer entrance to the Promised Land.

The action described in the 20th verse happened in the following manner, according to the description of the Temple service at the time of our Lord. The two lambs were brought into the Temple, and waved together or separately by the priest while yet alive. Whereupon they were slain, and the priest took the breast and shoulder of each one (Cf. Leviticus 7:30-32), laid them down by the side of the two loaves, put both his hands under them, and waved them all together or separately towards the east side forwards and backwards, up and down. He then burned the fat of the two lambs, after which the remainder of the flesh, which became the prerequisite of the officiating priest, was eaten by him and his fellow priests. Of the two loaves the high priest took one, and the other was divided between the officiating priests, who had to eat them up within the same day and half the following night, just as the flesh of the most holy things. After these prescribed sacrifices had been offered, each individual brought his free-will offering, which formed the cheerful and hospitable meal of the family, and to which the Levite, the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the stranger were invited. (Ibid)

Traditionally the day of Pentecost was considered the day upon which Moses received the law at Mt. Sinai, i.e. it was 50 days from the Passover in Egypt until God called Moses up to the Mount to give him the law. This is only a tradition; but it became a time of remembrance during the time of Christ and after.

Amid all the rejoicing and thanksgiving for the harvest the poor should be remembered; they too have needs and God has made provision for them. Leave the corners of your fields for them. Cf. Leviticus 19:9.

FACT QUESTIONS 23:15-22

544.

Was Pentecost on Sunday or some other day? Discuss.

545.

What is the meaning of the term Pentecost? Why called the feast of weeks?

546.

What was the form of cereal offering presented on this day? What did it represent?

547.

What was the purpose of the drink offering? Give the total number of sacrifices.

548.

There seems to be two sets of animals for two separate offerings. What were they?

549.

The sacrifice of the two lambs is very meaningful. Describe it in your own words.