Chapter Twenty-Three

The laws concerning the feasts: 1–3. the Sabbath, 4–8. Passover, 9–22. the feast of the harvest or Pentecost, 23–25. the feast of the blowing of horns, 26–32. the Day of Atonement, 33–44. the feast of booths.

Leviticus 23:2. Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them about the feasts of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies. These are my feasts: The tabernacle, the place of gracious communion between Jehovah and Israel, had long been established (Exod 25-40): the priesthood, as the mediating organ of this communion (Lev 8-10), and sacrifices, as the gracious acts of it (Lev 1-7), had been established; the conditions of cleanness and uncleanness and the means of cleansing had been determined (Lev 11-16 and following). Now the entire ordinary life of the people is regulated by the indication of sacred times or feasts (moëd, moadim – precisely determined times, cf. Gen 1:14), when the communion of the covenant between the people and Jehovah found especially vivid tangible expression. The common features of all the feasts are: 1) a complete cessation (on the Sabbath, Leviticus 23, and on the Day of Atonement, Lev 23:18) or only relative (on other feasts) of all worldly occupations and the gaining thereby of freedom to serve God (cf. Lev 23:3); 2) an increase, compared to weekdays, in the number of sacrifices (cf. Num 28-29) and an intensification of the people’s participation in them; 3) a “sacred assembly” (miqra qodesch) on these days: assemblies that were, apart from their liturgical character, also a kind of popular gathering (Lev 23:3, cf. Num 10:2). It is noteworthy that in the specification of feasts the number 7 clearly predominates (the 7th day – Sabbath, 7 weeks – Pentecost, 7th month, 7th year, 50th year) – the sacred number of perfection and the spirit’s detachment from the material. By its inner character, the feasts of the ancient Hebrews express the relation of mankind in general and Israel in particular: 1) to revelation (thus, the Sabbath, the Sabbath and jubilee years express most of all the idea of the covenantal sanctification of man and his communion with God; the feast of horns and the Day of Atonement, besides this, also express the idea of reconciliation with God); 2) to its history and to agricultural and natural life (Passover, Pentecost, and the feast of booths). In the passage under consideration, the feasts are enumerated in the order of their sequence in the year, beginning with Passover – the feast of the first month (Nisan) of the Hebrew ecclesiastical year. In other statutes of the law (Exod 23:14-17; Deut 16:1-17) three great feasts: Passover, Pentecost, and the feast of booths are distinguished as especially important, in a special group (the Hebrew synagogue called them, on the basis of Exod 23:14, by the name reqalim (literally feet, journeys), in view of the ordinance of obligatory pilgrimage of all male Hebrews to the sanctuary on these feasts.

Leviticus 23:3. For six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest, a sacred assembly; you shall do no work; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. The law concerning the observance of the Sabbath, given already in the Decalogue (Exod 20:8-11) and repeated many times afterward (Exod 23:12), is placed here first: the Sabbath is the sign of the theocratic covenant of Jehovah with Israel (cf. Exod 31:13-14). The primary requirement is a complete cessation of ordinary occupations – more so than on other feasts, a strict rest (schabbat-schabbaton) together with a “sacred assembly” (miqra qodesch); the latter may mean a visit to the sanctuary, at which on the Sabbath there was a double – compared to the ordinary – sacrifice (Num 28:9-10). However, the Sabbath is not deliberately tied to the sanctuary; rather, the observance of the Sabbath is prescribed “in all your dwellings” – according to the interpretation of the rabbis: as in the promised land (where the sanctuary was) so also everywhere outside its borders. Chab: rest called holy to the Lord, according to LXX, cf. Vulg.: sabbati requies, vocabitur sanctus.

Leviticus 23:5. On the first month, on the fourteenth [day] of the month at twilight the Lord’s Passover; Leviticus 23:6. and on the fifteenth day of the same month the feast of unleavened bread for the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; Leviticus 23:7. On the first day you shall have a sacred assembly; you shall do no work; Leviticus 23:8. and throughout the seven days you shall bring offerings to the Lord; on the seventh day there shall also be a sacred assembly; you shall do no work. Passover – a commemoration of the beginning of Israel’s theocratic existence as the people of Jehovah – is naturally placed at the head of all the feasts of the year. Connected with the exodus of Israel from Egypt – an event that began a new era in Israel’s history – the feast of Passover and unleavened bread lasted seven days to strengthen more fully in the consciousness of the people and of individual members the importance of this most crucial moment. The most complete account of the regulations concerning Passover is given in the book of Exodus (Exod 12:6), namely in the exposition of the actual history of the Hebrew exodus from Egypt, and then – in separate statutes of the law (Exod 23:15). In the passage under consideration are determined: 1) the time of the beginning of the feast (Exod 23:5-6): on the 14th of Nisan in the evening, literally from the Hebrew ben-haarbaim: “between the two evenings” (cf. Exod 12:6) – at sunset (according to the understanding of the Samaritans and Karaites) or from the declination of the sun toward sunset until full darkness (according to the interpretation of the Pharisees, Josephus, and Philo); 2) the duration of the feast – seven days (Lev 23:6-7); 3) the character of the celebration: rest and a sacred assembly on the 1st and 7th days (Lev 23:7-8), and the eating of unleavened bread throughout the week (Lev 23:6). Regarding special sacrifices during the feast of Passover, the book of Numbers speaks (Num 28:19-24).

Leviticus 23:10. Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them: When you come into the land which I give you, and reap its harvest, you shall bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest; Leviticus 23:11. and he shall wave this sheaf before the Lord, so that you may gain favor; on the day after the feast the priest shall wave it; Leviticus 23:12. and on the day of the waving of the sheaf you shall bring a one-year-old male lamb without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord, Leviticus 23:13. and with it a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine wheat flour mixed with oil, as an offering to the Lord, a soothing aroma, and its drink offering of one-fourth of a hin of wine; Leviticus 23:14. You shall eat no new bread, nor roasted grain, nor fresh grain, until that very day, until you have brought the offering of your God: this is an eternal statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings. Leviticus 23:15. From the day after the feast, from the day on which you bring the sheaf of waving, count off seven full weeks for yourselves, Leviticus 23:16. until the day after the seventh week count fifty days, and then bring a new grain offering to the Lord: Leviticus 23:17. from your dwellings bring two loaves of a wave offering, made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine wheat flour and baked with leaven, as the first fruits to the Lord; Leviticus 23:18. along with the loaves present seven one-year-old male lambs without blemish, and one bull from the herd and two rams [without blemish]; this shall be a burnt offering to the Lord, and a grain offering and its drink offering, an offering, a soothing aroma to the Lord. Leviticus 23:19. Also prepare from the herd one male goat as a sin offering and two one-year-old male lambs as a peace offering [along with the bread of the first fruits]; Leviticus 23:20. the priest shall present these, waving them before the Lord, together with the loaves of the first fruits and with the two lambs, and they shall be a holy thing to the Lord; [to the priest who presents them they shall belong]; Leviticus 23:21. and you shall call a holy assembly on that day; you shall do no work: this is an eternal statute in all your dwellings throughout your generations. In close connection with Passover appears the feast of Pentecost or “the feast of weeks” (chag-shabuoth, Exod 34:22; Deut 16:10, “the feast of harvest” – Exod 23:16). “Pentecost” – a later name (Tob 2:1; 2 Macc 12:22), used mainly in the New Testament (Acts 2:1.:6; 1 Cor 16:8). The linking element of both feasts, of which Passover is connected with historical remembrances, while Pentecost relates more closely to natural, agricultural life (although later the Jews also ascribed to Pentecost the significance of remembrance of the giving of the law at Sinai), is the ordinance prescribed by the law (Lev 23:10-14) of bringing and making a grateful sacrificial offering to Jehovah of the first sheaf of the new harvest on the second day of Passover (mimmacharath hasschabat, Lev 23:11: Passover is called a Sabbath because of the rest required during this feast). In April around Passover in Palestine the grain began to ripen, first of all (cf. Exod 9:31-32) barley: the first sheaf of barley was to be brought to the Lord of the promised land and the God of sacrifices – Jehovah – and until this rite was performed, harvesting and eating new bread were not permitted (Lev 23:13-14; Josephus Antiquities 3:10; Blessed Theodoret, question 32). The “waving” (through the rite of “shaking,” cf. Lev 7:30) was accompanied by a bloody sacrifice (a lamb – a burnt offering) and a bloodless sacrifice (Lev 23:12-13).

Leviticus 23:15. From the day after the feast, from the day on which you bring the sheaf of waving, count off seven full weeks for yourselves, Leviticus 23:16. until the day after the seventh week count fifty days, and then bring a new grain offering to the Lord: Leviticus 23:17. from your dwellings bring two loaves of a wave offering, made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine wheat flour and baked with leaven, as the first fruits to the Lord; Leviticus 23:18. along with the loaves present seven one-year-old male lambs without blemish, and one bull from the herd and two rams [without blemish]; this shall be a burnt offering to the Lord, and a grain offering and its drink offering, an offering, a soothing aroma to the Lord. Leviticus 23:19. Also prepare from the herd one male goat as a sin offering and two one-year-old male lambs as a peace offering [along with the bread of the first fruits]; Leviticus 23:20. the priest shall present these, waving them before the Lord, together with the loaves of the first fruits and with the two lambs, and they shall be a holy thing to the Lord; [to the priest who presents them they shall belong]; Leviticus 23:21. and you shall call a holy assembly on that day; you shall do no work: this is an eternal statute in all your dwellings throughout your generations. By the 50th day from Passover and the waving of the first sheaf, the entire harvest had already concluded (it lasted quite long not only because the grain ripened at different times in different regions of Palestine, but also because it included threshing), and then – on the feast of Pentecost – Israel was to bring to Jehovah from the new harvest already prepared bread, “from your dwellings,” a thing of ordinary nourishment, that is, leavened: two loaves, which were not (cf. Lev 2:11) properly sacrifices (sacrifices of three kinds were brought at this time Lev 23:18-19), but a symbol of thanksgiving to Jehovah. According to Blessed Theodoret (question 32), this feast “reminded them of entry into the promised land. For from that time they began to sow and reap, whereas in the wilderness they ate manna given from heaven.”

Leviticus 23:21. and you shall call a holy assembly on that day; you shall do no work: this is an eternal statute in all your dwellings throughout your generations. By its importance and character the feast is equated with the other great feasts.

Leviticus 23:22. When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, and you shall not gather the aftermath of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and the sojourner. I am the Lord, your God. In connection with the “feast of harvest” (Exod 23:16) or “feast of the first fruits” (Num 28:26) there is repeated the commandment already given (Lev 19:9-10) to leave part of the new harvest for the poor.

Leviticus 23:23. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Leviticus 23:24. Speak to the sons of Israel: On the seventh month, on the first [day] of the month, you shall have a day of rest, a feast of the blowing of horns, a sacred assembly [for you]; Leviticus 23:25. you shall do no work and bring an offering to the Lord. The feast of the blowing of horns – on the 1st day of the sacred 7th month – Tishri, the 1st month of the civil (and agricultural) year of the ancient Hebrews (cf. Exod 12:2), which is why among the Talmudists the 1st of Tishri is called the New Year (rosch-hasschanah: the name also of an entire tractate in the 2nd volume of the Mishnah). In the biblical text of this passage, the feast is called: 1) a day of rest (schabbaton); 2) a “remembrance of the blowing of horns” (Slavonic, Hebrew: zikkaron teruah); in Num 29:1-6, besides that, the sacrificial offerings for this day are indicated. According to the Talmudists, the feast of horns recalled creation and at the same time God’s judgment, which is why it with the following eight days was considered the prelude to the Day of Atonement. The blowing of the horns (teruah) – the most characteristic mark of the feast – was to arouse the people to self-examination (concerning the use of horns in other cases, see Num 10:2-10) and repentance. The latter was specifically devoted to the Day of Atonement, which was observed on the 10th day (from evening of the 9th) of Tishri.

Leviticus 23:26. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Leviticus 23:27. also on the ninth [day] of the seventh month, the Day of Atonement, you shall have a sacred assembly; afflict your souls and bring an offering to the Lord; Leviticus 23:28. you shall do no work on that day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God; Leviticus 23:29. and any person who does not humble himself on that day shall be cut off from his people; Leviticus 23:30. and if any person does any work on that day, I will destroy that person from among his people; Leviticus 23:31. you shall do no work: it is an eternal statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings; Leviticus 23:32. it is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls, from evening of the ninth [day] of the month; from evening to evening [of the tenth day of the month] you shall observe your Sabbath. A summary repetition of the ordinances of chapter 16. The basic elements of the Day of Atonement: 1) the strictest (Lev 23:32) rest (schabbat schabbaton) – such as on the Sabbath (Exod 16:23); 2) absolute fasting (Lev 23:27); 3) a religious assembly (Lev 23:27; Num 29:7); 4) sacrifices (Num 29:8-11); and 5) specific purification actions (sprinkling of blood of the bull and goat in the Holy of Holies and the rite of sending the goat into the wilderness), Lev 16.

Leviticus 23:34. Speak to the sons of Israel: On the fifteenth day of that seventh month comes the feast of booths, seven days for the Lord; Leviticus 23:35. On the first day there shall be a sacred assembly; you shall do no work; Leviticus 23:36. For seven days you shall bring an offering to the Lord; on the eighth day you shall have a sacred assembly for you, and bring an offering to the Lord: it is the closing of the feast; you shall do no work. Leviticus 23:37. These are the feasts of the Lord that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies, to bring as an offering to the Lord a burnt offering, a grain offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, each on its appointed day, Leviticus 23:38. besides the Lord’s Sabbaths and besides your gifts, and besides all your vows, and besides everything you give as a freewill offering to the Lord. Leviticus 23:39. And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall keep a feast to the Lord for seven days: on the first day shall be complete rest and on the eighth day complete rest; Leviticus 23:40. On the first day you shall take for yourselves the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees and branches of thick-leaved trees and willows of the brooks, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days; Leviticus 23:41. and you shall keep this feast of the Lord for seven days in the year: it is an eternal statute throughout your generations; you shall keep it in the seventh month; Leviticus 23:42. you shall dwell in booths for seven days; every native-born Israelite shall dwell in booths, Leviticus 23:43. so that your generations may know that I made the sons of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God. The feast of booths – seven days from the 15th to 22nd of Tishri. The feast bears a twofold name, corresponding to its dual significance – historical and natural. One name: chag sukkoth, the feast of booths, huts, tents, Hebrew sukkah, in contrast to bet – house, meaning a readily portable temporary dwelling, a tent (cf. Gen 33:17; Isa 1:8; Jonah 4:8). The Jews were to live in specially constructed huts for seven days of this feast, so that succeeding generations would have a notion that Jehovah, having brought their ancestors out of Egypt, first gave them to experience nomadic life in huts in the wilderness and only later provided them Canaan for settled dwelling. Thus, by the historical side, the feast of booths “recalled the sojourn in the wilderness” (Blessed Theodoret, question 32). Another name – “the feast of the ingathering of fruits” (spaid hasiph, Exod 23:16) indicated the time of year of the observance of the feast of booths – a time of abundance for the Jews of all sorts of fruits: the feast of booths was extremely joyful and solemn thanksgiving to Jehovah for the harvest of the year. To express these feelings, the Jews were to not only construct booths from the green branches of various trees (Nehem 8:15), but also to carry in their hands branches (and probably fruits) of trees “goodly” (hadar; according to the rabbis: citrus or lemon), of palm trees (tamarim), “thick-leaved” (anaph-ez-abot, according to the rabbis: myrtle), and “willows of the brooks” (arbe-nachal). The lack of precision in the specification of the composition of this bouquet or, as later Jews called it, the lulav, left wide scope for Jewish tradition in the interpretation of both the letter and the meaning of the ordinance (in the Midrash, the trees from which branches were taken for the lulav are allegorically explained as referring to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or to Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Leah, and so forth). To the special features of the feast, later tradition added ceremonies: a) the pouring of water and b) illumination and dancing with burning torches in the court of women. The 1st ceremony (see Mishnah, Sukkah 4:9–10) was performed as follows: A golden vessel holding three logs was filled with water from the Siloam spring, with the blowing of horns it was carried into the temple, and here, on the altar of burnt offerings, water was poured out simultaneously with wine through one of two vessels (water on the western side of the altar, wine on the eastern side). The dancing of pious Israelites with torches in their hands was performed to the accompaniment of Levite music (Sukkah 5:2–4). Regarding sacrifices during the feast of booths, see Num 29:13-38. On the 8th day the closing of the feast was observed, azereth (Lev 23:31: this same name was also applied to the 7th day of the feast of Passover; Deut 16:8): possibly it was on this “last day of the great feast” (John 7:37) that the Lord Jesus Christ stood in the temple and, in view of the water-pouring ceremony performed there, spoke the great words about the springs of living water – the grace of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39).