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LEVITICUS 23

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

 NASB  NKJV  NRSV  TEV   NJB
(MT versing)
Laws of Religious Festivals Feasts of the Lord The Sacred Calendar The Religious Festivals The Ritual for the Annual Feasts
23:1-2 23:1-2 23:1-2 23:1-4 23:1-2a
23:2b
The Sabbath a. the Sabbath
23:3 23:3 23:3 23:3
Passover and Unleavened Bread
23:4-8 23:4-8 23:4-8 23:4
Passover and Unleavened Bread b. the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread
23:5-8 23:5-8
The Feast of First Fruits c. the first sheaf
23:9-14 23:9-14 23:9-14 23:9-14 23:9
23:10a
23:10b-14
The Feasts of Weeks The Harvest Festival d. the feast of weeks
23:15-21 23:15-21 23:15-21 23:15-21 23:15-20
23:21
23:22 23:22 23:22 23:22 23:22
The Feast of Trumpets The New Year Festival e. the first day of the seventh month
23:23-25 23:23-25 23:23-25 23:23-25 23:23
23:24a
23:24b-25
The Day of Atonement The Day of Atonement The Day of Atonement f. The Day of Expiation
23:26-32 23:26-32 23:26-32 23:26-32 23:26
23:27-32
The Feast of Tabernacles The Festival of Shelters The Feast of Shelters
23:33-36 23:33-38 23:33-36 23:33-36 23:33
23:34-36
Conclusion
23:37-38 23:37-38 23:37-38 23:37-38
Recapitulation on the Feast of Shelters
23:39-44 23:39-43 23:39-43 23:39-43 23:39-41a
23:41b-43
23:44 23:44 23:44 23:44

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

  1. First paragraph
  2. Second paragraph
  3. Etc.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

  1. See SPECIAL TOPIC: FEASTS OF ISRAEL.

  2. See SPECIAL TOPIC: PENTECOST.

  3. See SPECIAL TOPIC: MOON WORSHIP.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:1-2
  1The Lord spoke again to Moses, saying, 2"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'The Lord's appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these:'"

23:2 "The Lord's appointed times" YHWH set special times for His people to congregate at a central worship site and to commemorate His character and past acts on their behalf. They were ways to train the next generation of Israelites (i.e., Deut. 6:1-9; see full note online).

Those special days are also called "holy convocations" (cf. Lev. 23:2,4,7,21,27,35). This name (i.e., "holy convocations") occurs only

  1. in this chapter, eleven times
  2. Exod. 12:16, twice
  3. Numbers 28:29, six times

For a good discussion of "holy" see SPECIAL TOPIC: HOLY and NIDOTTE, vol. 3, pp. 877-887, esp. p. 880, (g).

These special feasts (and one fast day) may be in view in Gen. 1:14, as the purpose of the great night light and sun.

There are three annual feasts that must be attended by all males (i.e., those who live close enough, which reflects a later period) at the Tabernacle or later at the Temple in Jerusalem.

There are several of these lists of feast days and they are difficult to coordinate because of

  1. different names
  2. brief texts
  3. historical developments
  4. use of two calendars (i.e., sacred and civil) by ancient Israel

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:3
  3"'For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings.'"

23:3 "but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest" This special weekly time of worship goes back to

  1. Gen. 2:1-2
  2. Exod. 16:27-30; 20:8-11; 23:12; 31:12-16

Surprisingly it is discussed very little in this context (Lev. 23:3 only). Probably because the Sabbath guidelines and purpose were so well known. See Roland deVaux Ancient Israel, pp. 475-493. See SPECIAL TOPIC: SABBATH (OT) and NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 1157-1161.

Notice that some holy days had complete rest but others allowed some labor

  1. complete rest ‒ Lev. 23:3,7,28,30-32
  2. limited labor (i.e. preparing for the feast, but not vocational work) ‒ Lev. 23:8,21,25,35,36

▣ "in all your dwellings" The biblical material about Israel's feasts and special days developed over time. It is hard to know if the text is a later editorial addition or idiom.

  1. wilderness wandering period with Tabernacle (i.e., Exod. 12:20; Num. 35:29)
  2. early period after crossing the Jordan (i.e., Lev. 3:16-17; 7:26; 23:3,14,17,31)
  3. later period with Temple (i.e., Ezek. 6:6)
  4. still later to Jewish settlement outside of Palestine

Maybe the best way to deal with a phrase like this is to translate it as a dynamic equivalent ‒ NIV, NEB, "wherever you live"; TEV, "no matter where you live."

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:4-8
  4"'These are the appointed times of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them. 5In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the Lord's Passover. 6Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work. 8But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.'"

23:4-8 This is the discussion of the combined feasts of

  1. Passover (1 day; see SPECIAL TOPIC: PASSOVER; NIDOTTE, vol. 3, pp. 642-644, vol. 4, pp. 1043-1045)
  2. Unleavened Bread (1 week; see SPECIAL TOPIC: THE FEASTS OF ISRAEL, I, D, 1, c)
  3. see Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, pp. 484-493

23:5 "the first month" Remember Israel used a lunar calendar. See SPECIAL TOPIC: ANE CALENDARS.

▣ "at twilight" This is literally "between the two evenings." The Israelites made a distinction between the setting of the sun and the appearance of the first star (cf. Exod. 12:6; Num. 9:3,5,11; Deut. 16:4,6). Note the same type imagery in Lev. 23:32.

▣ "Passover" The Feast of Passover (i.e., Exodus 12) is later combined with the Feast of Unleavened Bread (cf. Lev. 23:6) into one eight-day feast (cf. Deut. 16:1-8).

23:6 "feast" This Hebrew NOUN (BDB 290) means "festival gathering" (i.e., at the Tabernacle/Temple) or "pilgrim feast." This same root in Arabic denotes the annual Muslim pilgrimage (Hag) to Mecca.

▣ "for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread" This would have been grain from the previous year's harvest.

23:8 "you shall not do any laborious work" This phrase is repeated in Lev. 23:8,21,25,35,36. The Jewish Study Bible, p. 262, suggests that there is a total ban on work on the Sabbath (Lev. 23:3) or Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:28,30), but for the other feast days, preparations for the feast were allowed (cf. Exod. 12:16). People could not do their normal work activities.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:9-14
  9Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. 11He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12Now on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect for a burnt offering to the Lord. 13Its grain offering shall then be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to the Lord for a soothing aroma, with its drink offering, a fourth of a hin of wine. 14Until this same day, until you have brought in the offering of your God, you shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor new growth. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.'"

23:9-14 This is the discussion of the initial offering of first fruits. It is uncertain how Lev. 23:9-14 relates to 23:15-21. I think one occurred at the beginning of the barley harvest (i.e., Feast of Unleavened Bread; see Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, pp. 490-493) and the next at the conclusion of the wheat harvest (i.e., Pentecost); see NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 21, #2; 1272.

23:11-12 "wave" See notes at Lev. 7:30 and NIDOTTE, vol. 3, pp. 64-65.

23:11 "for you to be accepted" This NOUN (BDB 953) is used several times in Leviticus (cf. Lev. 1:3; 19:5; 22:19,20,21,29; 23:11). It is hard to determine if the "acceptance" is of the appropriate sacrifice or the person offering the sacrifice (see NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 413). Either way, it shows the essence of Leviticus—how to make sinful Israelites acceptable for fellowship with a "holy" God.

▣ "on the day after the sabbath" This would refer to our "Sunday" (cf. Lev. 23:15). This is the day Jesus rose from the dead. The first fruit of the resurrection. See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE RESURRECTION.

23:12 "without defect" See SPECIAL TOPIC: WITHOUT BLEMISH.

▣ "a burnt offering" See notes at Leviticus 1.

23:13 "grain offering" See notes at Leviticus 2.

▣ "ephah. . .hin" See SPECIAL TOPIC: ANE WEIGHTS AND VOLUMES.

▣ "a soothing aroma" See SPECIAL TOPIC: A SOOTHING AROMA.

▣ "libation" This was a liquid offering (cf. Lev. 23:13,18,37; NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 115, #3).

▣ "wine" See SPECIAL TOPIC: WINE AND STRONG DRINK.

23:14 This giving of the first fruits was a symbol of YHWH's ownership of all crops, as the Sabbath was a symbol of all property belonging to YHWH! We are stewards, not owners! See SPECIAL TOPIC: TITHES IN THE MOSAIC LEGISLATION and SPECIAL TOPIC: TITHING.

The new crop could not be eaten until the appropriate offering (Lev. 23:13) to YHWH (Lev. 23:14).

  1. the wave offering of the first fruits
  2. a one year old lamb
  3. Grain offering
  4. drink offering (cf. Lev. 23:13,18,37)

▣ "perpetual statute" See the SPECIAL TOPIC: FOREVER ('olam) and SPECIAL TOPIC: TERMS FOR GOD'S REVELATION; also see NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 349.

These two words also appear in Lev. 23:21 and 41. The term 'olam has several connotations. Here, "age abiding," but the OT has been superceded. See SPECIAL TOPIC: WHY DO OT COVENANT PROMISES SEEM SO DIFFERENT FROM NT COVENANT PROMISES?

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:15-21
  15"'You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete sabbaths. 16You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord. 17You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to the Lord. 18Along with the bread you shall present seven one year old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams; they are to be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. 19You shall also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two male lambs one year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings. 20The priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering with two lambs before the Lord; they are to be holy to the Lord for the priest. 21On this same day you shall make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.'"

23:15-21 This is the discussion of the festival at the end of the harvest season. See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE FEASTS OF ISRAEL; Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, pp. 493-495.

The offerings are similar to the ones at the beginning of the harvest (Lev. 23:13), but more extensive.

  1. two loaves of bread for each family/village (Lev. 23:17)
  2. seven one-year old lambs (Lev. 23:18)
  3. one bull (Lev. 23:18) for a burnt offering
  4. #2 and 3 with accompanying grain and drink offerings (cf. Lev. 23:13; see NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 115)
  5. one male goat (Lev. 23:19) for a sin offering
  6. two one-year old lambs (Lev. 23:19) for a peace offering

Numbers 28-29 deal much more specifically about the timing of these sacrifices.

23:15 "seven" See SPECIAL TOPIC: SYMBOLIC NUMBERS IN SCRIPTURE.

23:16 "a new grain offering" This was distinct from the first fruit barley offering of Lev. 23:9-14. This was a grain offering from the new crop (i.e., wheat).

23:17 "baked with leaven" This shows that leaven was not always forbidden in sacrifices (cf. Lev. 7:13-14). It is not always a symbol of evil. Sometimes it is imagery for "penetration and permeation." See SPECIAL TOPIC: LEAVEN.

23:18 "without defect" See SPECIAL TOPIC: WITHOUT BLEMISH.

▣ "a burnt offering" See Leviticus 1.

▣ "a grain offering" See Leviticus 2.

▣ "a soothing aroma" See SPECIAL TOPIC: A SOOTHING AROMA.

23:19 "a sin offering" See Leviticus 4.

▣ "a peace offering" See Leviticus 3.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:22
  22"'When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien. I am theLord your God.'"

23:22 This refers to "gleaning." See note at Lev. 19:9-10.

The needy and the alien refer to those who have no land and must work for others for their sustenance. God (uniquely in the ANE) cares for the powerless and disenfranchised.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:23-25
  23Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24"Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.'"

23:23 The footnote in the JB, p. 161, suggests this verse is referring to a monthly lunar festival. See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE FEASTS OF ISRAEL.

23:24-25 This refers to the "New Year" celebration called Rosh Hashanah (cf. Num. 10:9-10; 29:1-6; see Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, pp. 502-506). It was held on the first day of the seventh month. The New Year's celebration has several problems.

  1. Israel's new year may have begun in the spring or autumn (possibly ancient Israel used two calendars, sacred and civil).
  2. This feast is not called "New Year" by Josephus or Philo.
  3. Nehemiah 8:1-12 does not mention a "new year" feast at all.
  4. In Leviticus 23 it is not called "New Year" feast, nor in Num. 29:1-6.

It surely was meant to begin a period of preparation for the Day of Atonement on the tenth of the seventh month.

  1. Trumpets ‒ seventh month, first day
  2. Day of Atonement ‒ seventh month, tenth day
  3. Feast of Booths ‒ seventh month, fifteenth day

23:24 "blowing of trumpets" See parallel in Num. 29:1-6. See SPECIAL TOPIC: HORNS USED BY ISRAEL.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:26-32
  26The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27"On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the Lord. 28You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God. 29If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people. 30As for any person who does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 31You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 32It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath."

23:26-32 This annual fast day (i.e., "humble your souls") for unintentional sins of the people, the priest, and the Tabernacle, was discussed in detail in Leviticus 16 (see notes there; see Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, pp. 507-510).

23:27 "you shall humble your souls" The VERB (BDB 776, KB 853) is used here and in Lev. 16:31 in connection to the national fast Day of Atonement. Israel was to contemplate her violation of YHWH's character and laws, probably by fasting, praying, hearing the law, and meditation.

23:29 "he shall be cut off from his people" See full note at Lev. 7:20.

In Lev. 23:30 this phrase is parallel to "I will destroy from among his people." This implies a divine taking of life.

23:32 "ninth month" See SPECIAL TOPIC: ANE CALENDARS.

▣ "you shall keep your sabbath" This is a combination of the VERB (BDB 991, KB 1407) for "rest" and the NOUN (BDB 992) "sabboth" or "rest." The LXX has "you shall sabbatize on your sabbaths." REB, "you shall keep your sabbath rest."

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:33-36
  33Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 34"Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the Lord. 35On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind. 36For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the Lord; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work.'"

23:34-44 "the Feast of Booths" See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE FEASTS OF ISRAEL, I, D, 3 and NIDOTTE, vol. 3, pp. 249-251, esp. p. 250, #3, c.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:37-38
  37"'These are the appointed times of the Lord which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, to present offerings by fire to the Lord—burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each day's matter on its own day—38besides those of the sabbaths of the Lord, and besides your gifts and besides all your votive and freewill offerings, which you give to the Lord.'"

23:37 "each day's matter on its own day" This may refer to the different sacrifices offered on each day (see Numbers 28-29, which focuses on these sacrifices).

23:38 TEV expresses the sense of the verse well: "These festivals are in addition to the regular Sabbaths, and these offerings are in addition to your regular gifts, your offerings as fulfillment of vows, and your freewill offerings that you give to the Lord."

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:39-44
  39"'On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord for seven days, with a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day. 40Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41You shall thus celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, 43so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.'" 44So Moses declared to the sons of Israel the appointed times of the Lord.

23:40 This verse is the origin of the title "Feast of Booths." The reason is explained in Lev. 23:43. It was a teaching tool to pass on Israel's faith to the next generation (cf. Exod. 12:26-27; 13:8,14; Deut. 6:1-2,7,20-25).

▣
NASB  "the foliage of beautiful trees"
NKJV  "the fruit of beautiful trees"
NRSV  "the fruit of majestic trees"
TEV  "some of the best fruit of your trees"
NJB  "choice fruit"
JPSOA  "the product of hadar trees"
REB  "the fruit of citrus trees"
LXX  "ripe fruit of tree"
Peshitta  "fruits of goodly trees"

The word "foliage" in NASB is literally "fruit" (BDB 826). But the harvest is past so there would be no fruit on the trees, yet they would still be "leafy."

The word "beautiful" (BDB 214) can mean

  1. ornament
  2. splendor
  3. honor

Here, it refers to either

  1. beautiful trees
  2. fruit trees

Israel made booths/huts of the branches of various leafy trees and decorated them with fruit (cf. Neh. 8:15).

▣ Notice there are four trees mentioned. Why four is unknown. These tree/palm branches were

  1. waved before the Lord (rabbinical tradition)
  2. made into booths (cf. Lev. 23:42-43; Neh. 8:13-18) or carried as festival sheaves (Lev. 23:40)
  3. these fruitless branches were a way to signal the harvest was over and a new agricultural cycle would begin

23:43 "that your generations may know" The Hebrew VERB "know" (BDB 393, KB 390, Qal IMPERFECT) has several senses (see SPECIAL TOPIC: KNOW), but here it denotes two things.

  1. Know YHWH in a personal way that affects the way one lives.
  2. Know YHWH's will by knowing His law.

Both of these concepts are expressed by the VERB shema, which means "to hear so as to do" (cf. Deut. 6:4; see full note online).

As with so many of Israel's feast days and cultus, living in "booths" was to provide an opportunity for the adults to share with the children about the exodus (i.e., Deuteronomy 6).

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

  1. Are the descriptions of the three major feasts described the same in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy?
  2. Why was no work to be done on the Sabbath?
  3. Did Israel have two calendars?
  4. Were Passover and Unleavened Bread always combined into an eight-day feast?
  5. Does Lev. 23:9-15 go with 23:4-8? Why, why not.
  6. Does Lev. 23:9-15 refer to only the first year of entering Canaan or every year?
  7. How did the feasts of first fruits (Lev. 23:15-21) come to be called Pentecost?
  8. Is Lev. 23:23-25 a new year's festival?
  9. How is the Day of Atonement different from all the other special annual events?

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