SPECIAL TOPIC: PENTECOST

SPECIAL TOPIC: PENTECOST

Mosaic Annual Feasts (cf. Exodus 23:14-17; Leviticus 23; Numbers 28; Deuteronomy 16)
1. All male Jews were required to attend three annual feasts (cf. Exod. 23:14,17; 34:23) if possible.
2. These feasts had agricultural, as well as national significance.
3. Each was a day of rest, worship, and community fellowship.
4. The three required annual feasts
  1. Passover (cf. Exod. 12:1-14,21-28; Lev. 23:4-14; Num. 28:16-25; Deut. 16:1-8; see SPECIAL TOPIC: THE PASSOVER)
    1. thanksgiving and dedication of the barley harvest
    2. commemorates the Exodus
    3. it was followed by a seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread (cf. Exod. 12:15-20;34:18-20)
  2. Pentecost (Feast of Weeks, cf. Exod. 23:16; 34:22)
    1. thanksgiving and dedication of the wheat harvest
    2. commemorates the giving of the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai by rabbinical reckoning
    3. see Lev. 23:15-21; Num. 28:26-31
  3. Tabernacles/Booths/Huts (Succoth)
    1. thanksgiving for the general harvest
    2. commemorates the beginning of the wilderness wandering period
    3. see Exod. 23:16; 34:22; Lev. 23:34-44; Deut. 16:13-17
    4. it was followed by an eight day feast (cf. Lev. 23:36; Num. 29:35-38)
5. Other annual feasts
  1. New Year Celebration (Rosh Hashanah)
    1. see Lev. 23:23-25; Num. 29:1-6
    2. this day of rest and sacrifice was held on the first day of Tishri
    3. the feast aspect of this day, so common in the NT era, is unspecified in the Torah
  2. Day of Atonement ‒ "day of covering" or Yom Kippur (the only fast day)
    1. a day of rest, fasting, and repentance
    2. a ritual for the removal of corporate uncleanness (tabernacle, priests, and people)
    3. see Exod. 30:10; Lev. 16; 23:26-32; 25:9; Num. 29:7-11
    4. it is difficult to pin down when this feast was re-instituted after the Exile
Pentecost
The annual Jewish feast of Pentecost is also called "Feast of Weeks" (BDB 290 CONSTRUCT BDB 988, cf. Exod. 34:22; Deut. 16:10). The term "Pentecost" means "fiftieth." This feast was held fifty days (seven weeks) after Passover (i.e., numbering from the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread). It had three purposes in Jesus' Day.
1. commemoration of giving of the Law to Moses (cf. Jubilees 1:1)
2. thanksgiving to God for the annual harvest
3. an offering of the first fruits (i.e., a sign of YHWH's ownership of the whole harvest) of the grain harvest
4. the OT guidelines are found in Exod. 23:16-17; 34:22; Lev. 23:15-21; Num. 28:26-31; and Deut. 16:9-12)
Israel's Feasts developed over time
These rituals and regulations show a development over time. These feasts and one fast may have had a beginning in pagan calendars (see SPECIAL TOPIC: MOON WORSHIP), but developed into uniquely Jewish praise and devotion to YHWH. Nature (seasonal), agricultural (planting, rain, and harvest), and national events (Exodus, giving of the Law, etc.) combined to highlight certain times of the year for worship.