Leviticus 23 Study Notes
General
True or False: The rest of the Day of Atonement was to be kept from the ninth day's evening through the following evening.
Answer: True
This is true. Leviticus 23:32 tells Israel to keep this day of complete rest starting at evening on the ninth and lasting until the next evening. Beginning a day at evening fits the order of the creation account, where each day is described as evening and then morning (Genesis 1:5). The rule was strict: anyone who refused to humble himself faced being cut off from the people, and God Himself would destroy anyone who worked on that day (23:29-30). Chapter 16 also calls this day a Sabbath of full rest (16:31). The severity shows how seriously God takes the day on which sin is dealt with.
- Leviticus 23:30-32 (BSB)“I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on this day. You are not to do any work at all. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live. It will be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall humble yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to keep your Sabbath.””Work on this day brings God's judgment, and the rest runs from evening to evening.
- Genesis 1:5 (BSB)“God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”The creation account reckons a day as evening followed by morning.
- Leviticus 16:31 (BSB)“It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, that you may humble yourselves; it is a permanent statute.”Chapter 16 also calls the Day of Atonement a Sabbath of complete rest for humbling oneself.
Theological
True or False: The rest of the Day of Atonement was to be kept from the ninth day's evening through the following evening.
Answer: True
This is true. Leviticus 23:32 fixes the observance from evening on the ninth to the following evening, an evening-to-evening span that fits the evening-then-morning order of the creation days (Genesis 1:5). The sanctions are severe: the one who refuses to humble himself is cut off, and the LORD Himself will destroy the one who works (23:29-30). Chapter 16 likewise designates the day a Sabbath of full rest (16:31). The rigor underscores the gravity of the day on which the LORD makes atonement for His people.
- Leviticus 23:30-32 (BSB)“I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on this day. You are not to do any work at all. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live. It will be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall humble yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to keep your Sabbath.””Work on this day brings God's judgment, and the rest runs from evening to evening.
- Genesis 1:5 (BSB)“God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”The creation account reckons a day as evening followed by morning.
- Leviticus 16:31 (BSB)“It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, that you may humble yourselves; it is a permanent statute.”Chapter 16 also calls the Day of Atonement a Sabbath of complete rest for humbling oneself.
General
Why were the native-born Israelites to live in shelters for a week (23:42-43)?
Answer: So later generations would know God housed Israel in shelters after Egypt
For seven days every native-born Israelite was to live in a booth, a temporary shelter made of branches, so that their descendants would know that God had Israel live in such shelters when He led them out of Egypt (23:42-43). The feast looked back on the wilderness years, when God cared for His people in a harsh land, feeding them with manna and keeping their clothes from wearing out (Deuteronomy 8:3-4). The command closes with God naming Himself as their God, the one who redeemed them. After the exile, the returned people found this command in the Law and again lived in booths with great rejoicing (Nehemiah 8:14-17).
- Leviticus 23:42-43 (BSB)“You are to dwell in booths for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must dwell in booths, so that your descendants may know that I made the Israelites dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’””Israel dwells in booths so later generations will know how God housed them after the exodus.
- Deuteronomy 8:3-4 (BSB)“He humbled you, and in your hunger He gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your fathers had known, so that you might understand that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothing did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.”Recalls how God fed and sustained Israel through forty years in the wilderness.
- Nehemiah 8:14-17 (BSB)“And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, and that they should proclaim this message and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.” And the people went out, brought back branches, and made booths on their own rooftops, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God, and in the squares by the Water Gate and by the Gate of Ephraim. The whole assembly that had returned from exile made booths and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated like this. And there was great rejoicing.”After the exile the people rediscovered this command and lived in booths with great rejoicing.
Theological
What reason does 23:43 give for the command to live in shelters?
Answer: So later generations would know God housed Israel in shelters after Egypt
The booths have an explicitly catechetical purpose: every native-born Israelite lives in them for seven days so that succeeding generations will know that the LORD housed Israel in such shelters at the exodus (23:42-43). The feast rehearses the wilderness period as a time of God's sustaining provision (Deuteronomy 8:3-4), and it is grounded, as so often in Leviticus, in the redeeming God naming Himself as Israel's God (23:43). Nehemiah 8:14-17 records the post-exilic community recovering the practice with great rejoicing.
- Leviticus 23:42-43 (BSB)“You are to dwell in booths for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must dwell in booths, so that your descendants may know that I made the Israelites dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’””Israel dwells in booths so later generations will know how God housed them after the exodus.
- Deuteronomy 8:3-4 (BSB)“He humbled you, and in your hunger He gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your fathers had known, so that you might understand that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothing did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.”Recalls how God fed and sustained Israel through forty years in the wilderness.
- Nehemiah 8:14-17 (BSB)“And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, and that they should proclaim this message and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.” And the people went out, brought back branches, and made booths on their own rooftops, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God, and in the squares by the Water Gate and by the Gate of Ephraim. The whole assembly that had returned from exile made booths and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated like this. And there was great rejoicing.”After the exile the people rediscovered this command and lived in booths with great rejoicing.
General
How was Israel to find the date for presenting the new grain at the harvest festival later called Weeks?
Answer: By counting seven full weeks from the day the sheaf was waved
Israel was to count seven full weeks starting from the day the sheaf was waved, fifty days in all, and then bring the LORD an offering from the new crop (23:15-16). Deuteronomy calls this the Feast of Weeks because of that seven-week count (Deuteronomy 16:9-10). In the New Testament this festival is called Pentecost, from the Greek word for fiftieth. On the day of Pentecost, after Christ had risen, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples (Acts 2:1-4), and some three thousand people believed and were baptized that same day (Acts 2:41), a great harvest gathered in the power of the Spirit.
- Leviticus 23:15-16 (BSB)“From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you are to count off seven full weeks. You shall count off fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD.”Israel counts seven full weeks, fifty days, from the waving of the sheaf to the offering of new grain.
- Deuteronomy 16:9-10 (BSB)“You are to count off seven weeks from the time you first put the sickle to the standing grain. And you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with a freewill offering that you give in proportion to how the LORD your God has blessed you,”Names this celebration the Feast of Weeks and repeats the seven-week count.
- Acts 2:1-4 (BSB)“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out on the gathered disciples.
- Acts 2:41 (BSB)“Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day.”About three thousand believers were added that same day.
Theological
By what reckoning does 23:15-16 fix the date of the new grain offering, the festival later called Weeks?
Answer: A count of seven full weeks from the day the sheaf was waved
The date is fixed by counting: seven full weeks from the day the sheaf is waved, fifty days in total, after which the new grain is presented (23:15-16), hence the name Feast of Weeks in Deuteronomy 16:9-10. The Greek name Pentecost (fiftieth) derives from this count. The New Testament places the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on this very festival (Acts 2:1-4), with some three thousand baptized that day (Acts 2:41): after Christ the firstfruits has been raised, the harvest festival becomes the day the risen Lord pours out His Spirit and gathers His people.
- Leviticus 23:15-16 (BSB)“From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you are to count off seven full weeks. You shall count off fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD.”Israel counts seven full weeks, fifty days, from the waving of the sheaf to the offering of new grain.
- Deuteronomy 16:9-10 (BSB)“You are to count off seven weeks from the time you first put the sickle to the standing grain. And you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with a freewill offering that you give in proportion to how the LORD your God has blessed you,”Names this celebration the Feast of Weeks and repeats the seven-week count.
- Acts 2:1-4 (BSB)“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out on the gathered disciples.
- Acts 2:41 (BSB)“Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day.”About three thousand believers were added that same day.
General
According to 23:27-28, what happens on the Day of Atonement?
Answer: Atonement is provided for the people while they humble themselves and rest
On the seventh month's tenth day, the Day of Atonement, the people held a sacred assembly, humbled themselves, presented an offering, and did no work at all, since on that day atonement was made for them in the LORD's presence (23:27-28). Atonement means the covering and removal of sin so that sinners can be at peace with God. Chapter 16 describes the ritual and says that on this day the people were cleansed from all their sins (16:29-31). To humble oneself commonly meant fasting (Psalm 35:13). The people did no work at all; the cleansing was God's provision, not their own achievement. Hebrews teaches that Christ fulfilled this day by entering God's presence with His own blood, once and for all, securing eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:11-12).
- Leviticus 23:27-29 (BSB)““The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. You shall hold a sacred assembly and humble yourselves, and present a food offering to the LORD. On this day you are not to do any work, for it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. If anyone does not humble himself on this day, he must be cut off from his people.”The tenth day of the seventh month is the Day of Atonement, a day of humbling, with no work.
- Leviticus 16:29-31 (BSB)“This is to be a permanent statute for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you shall humble yourselves and not do any work—whether the native or the foreigner who resides among you— because on this day atonement will be made for you to cleanse you, and you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD. It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, that you may humble yourselves; it is a permanent statute.”The Day of Atonement is when atonement is made to cleanse the people from all their sins before the LORD.
- Psalm 35:13 (BSB)“Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered.”Shows that humbling oneself was commonly expressed by fasting.
- Hebrews 9:11-12 (BSB)“But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands and is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.”Christ entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, securing eternal redemption.
Theological
What does 23:27-28 identify as the defining act of the Day of Atonement?
Answer: Atonement is provided for the people while they humble themselves and rest
The seventh month's tenth day is a sacred assembly with self-humbling, an offering, and total cessation of work, because atonement is made that day for Israel in the LORD's presence (23:27-28). Chapter 16 supplies the rite and its effect, the cleansing of the people from all their sins (16:29-31). The self-humbling is commonly understood as fasting (Psalm 35:13). The people contribute no labor; they receive a cleansing wholly provided by God through the high priest's mediation. Hebrews presents Christ as the fulfillment, entering the true sanctuary with His own blood, once and for all, and securing eternal redemption for His people (Hebrews 9:11-12).
- Leviticus 23:27-29 (BSB)““The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. You shall hold a sacred assembly and humble yourselves, and present a food offering to the LORD. On this day you are not to do any work, for it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. If anyone does not humble himself on this day, he must be cut off from his people.”The tenth day of the seventh month is the Day of Atonement, a day of humbling, with no work.
- Leviticus 16:29-31 (BSB)“This is to be a permanent statute for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you shall humble yourselves and not do any work—whether the native or the foreigner who resides among you— because on this day atonement will be made for you to cleanse you, and you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD. It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, that you may humble yourselves; it is a permanent statute.”The Day of Atonement is when atonement is made to cleanse the people from all their sins before the LORD.
- Psalm 35:13 (BSB)“Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered.”Shows that humbling oneself was commonly expressed by fasting.
- Hebrews 9:11-12 (BSB)“But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands and is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.”Christ entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, securing eternal redemption.
General
How does the LORD describe the festivals listed in Leviticus 23?
Answer: As His own appointed times, which Israel was to announce as holy gatherings
The chapter opens with the LORD calling these festivals His own. They are His appointed times, set by Him and announced to the people as sacred assemblies, meaning holy gatherings for worship (23:2, 4). The same description returns near the close of the list (23:37), and the chapter ends with Moses passing them on to Israel just as God gave them (23:44). Israel did not invent its calendar of worship; God set the times and told His people when to meet with Him. The earlier covenant law had already required three yearly feasts to the LORD (Exodus 23:14-17). The New Testament says these feasts and Sabbaths were a shadow, an outline of something greater, and that the reality they pointed to belongs to Christ (Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 10:1).
- Leviticus 23:2 (BSB)““Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘These are My appointed feasts, the feasts of the LORD that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.”The LORD introduces the list by calling these festivals His own appointed feasts.
- Leviticus 23:44 (BSB)“So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed feasts of the LORD.”The chapter closes with Moses announcing the feasts to the people.
- Exodus 23:14-17 (BSB)“Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me. You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed. You are also to keep the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the produce from what you sow in the field. And keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field. Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD.”The earlier covenant law had already required Israel to keep yearly feasts to the LORD, showing these are His commands, not Israel's inventions.
- Colossians 2:16-17 (BSB)“Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.”Paul names feasts and Sabbaths as a shadow whose substance belongs to Christ.
- Hebrews 10:1 (BSB)“For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.”Describes the law and its yearly sacrifices as a shadow of the good things to come.
Theological
What does the repeated designation of these festivals in 23:2 and 23:4 establish about them?
Answer: They are the LORD's own appointed times, fixed by Him and announced as sacred assemblies
The festal calendar is framed as divine property from start to finish. The feasts are the LORD's, fixed by Him and publicly announced as sacred assemblies (23:2, 4); the same formula recurs in the summary of 23:37, and the chapter ends with Moses promulgating them to Israel (23:44). The times of Israel's worship are set by God's command, not by human devising, in continuity with the three pilgrim feasts already required in the Book of the Covenant (Exodus 23:14-17). The New Testament reads the whole festal and Sabbath system as shadow, the outline cast by a substance that belongs to Christ (Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 10:1). The feasts were genuinely God-given worship and also anticipatory, finding their fulfillment in Him.
- Leviticus 23:2 (BSB)““Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘These are My appointed feasts, the feasts of the LORD that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.”The LORD introduces the list by calling these festivals His own appointed feasts.
- Leviticus 23:44 (BSB)“So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed feasts of the LORD.”The chapter closes with Moses announcing the feasts to the people.
- Exodus 23:14-17 (BSB)“Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me. You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed. You are also to keep the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the produce from what you sow in the field. And keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field. Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD.”The earlier covenant law had already required Israel to keep yearly feasts to the LORD, showing these are His commands, not Israel's inventions.
- Colossians 2:16-17 (BSB)“Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.”Paul names feasts and Sabbaths as a shadow whose substance belongs to Christ.
- Hebrews 10:1 (BSB)“For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.”Describes the law and its yearly sacrifices as a shadow of the good things to come.
General
What animal was sacrificed as a whole burnt offering on the day the first sheaf was waved (23:12)?
Answer: A flawless lamb in its first year
On the day the sheaf was waved, Israel was to sacrifice a flawless lamb in its first year for a burnt offering (an offering burned completely on the altar). With it came a grain offering of fine flour and oil, a two-tenths ephah measure, and a drink offering of wine, a quarter of a hin (23:12-13). The harvest thanksgiving was joined to a sacrifice that had to be unblemished, the standard God set for burnt offerings (1:3-4). Peter describes Christ as the true spotless lamb, whose precious blood redeemed His people (1 Peter 1:18-19).
- Leviticus 23:12-13 (BSB)“On the day you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a year-old lamb without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD, along with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil—a food offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering of a quarter hin of wine.”Lists the burnt offering, grain offering, and drink offering presented with the sheaf.
- Leviticus 1:3-4 (BSB)“If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to present an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for its acceptance before the LORD. He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.”A burnt offering had to be unblemished and was accepted on the worshiper's behalf, making atonement.
- 1 Peter 1:18-19 (BSB)“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.”Christ's blood is described as that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
Theological
Which animal does 23:12 prescribe as the burnt offering accompanying the waved sheaf?
Answer: A flawless lamb in its first year
The waving of the sheaf is accompanied by an unblemished yearling lamb for a burnt offering, together with a grain offering of fine flour and oil (a two-tenths ephah measure) and a drink offering of wine (a quarter of a hin) (23:12-13). Thanksgiving for the harvest is thus bound to a whole burnt offering requiring the same unblemished standard set in 1:3-4, where the offering is accepted on the worshiper's behalf, making atonement. Peter identifies Christ as the spotless lamb whose precious blood is the true price of redemption (1 Peter 1:18-19).
- Leviticus 23:12-13 (BSB)“On the day you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a year-old lamb without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD, along with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil—a food offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering of a quarter hin of wine.”Lists the burnt offering, grain offering, and drink offering presented with the sheaf.
- Leviticus 1:3-4 (BSB)“If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to present an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for its acceptance before the LORD. He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.”A burnt offering had to be unblemished and was accepted on the worshiper's behalf, making atonement.
- 1 Peter 1:18-19 (BSB)“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.”Christ's blood is described as that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
General
True or False: The offering of the first sheaf of the harvest was to begin while Israel was still traveling in the wilderness, before they entered Canaan.
Answer: False
This is false. The command in 23:10 looks ahead: once Israel has come into the land God is giving them and has harvested it, they are to bring a firstfruits sheaf (from the earliest portion of the crop) to the priest. In the wilderness Israel ate manna and had no fields to reap. Joshua 5:10-12 records that only after crossing into Canaan did Israel eat food grown in that land, and then the manna stopped. Deuteronomy 26:1-2 gives another firstfruits command that also begins once the people have entered and settled the land. The offering was a thankful acknowledgment that the land and its harvest were God's gift.
- Leviticus 23:9-10 (BSB)“And the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘When you enter the land that I am giving you and you reap its harvest, you are to bring to the priest a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest.”The firstfruits offering is tied to entering the land and reaping its harvest.
- Joshua 5:10-12 (BSB)“On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while the Israelites were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the Passover. The day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land. And the day after they had eaten from the produce of the land, the manna ceased. There was no more manna for the Israelites, so that year they began to eat the crops of the land of Canaan.”Only after entering Canaan did Israel eat the produce of the land, and the manna stopped.
- Deuteronomy 26:1-2 (BSB)“When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and settle in it, you are to take some of the firstfruits of all your produce from the soil of the land that the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name,”Another firstfruits command likewise begins once Israel has entered and settled the land God gives.
Theological
True or False: The offering of the first sheaf of the harvest was to begin while Israel was still traveling in the wilderness, before they entered Canaan.
Answer: False
This is false. Leviticus 23:10 is prospective: the firstfruits sheaf is to be brought once Israel enters the land God is giving and harvests it. The wilderness generation lived on manna, not on harvested grain; Joshua 5:10-12 marks the transition, as Israel eats the crops of Canaan and the manna ceases. Deuteronomy 26:1-2 frames its own firstfruits rite the same way, beginning after entry and settlement. The offering confessed that the land and its yield were the LORD's gift to His covenant people.
- Leviticus 23:9-10 (BSB)“And the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘When you enter the land that I am giving you and you reap its harvest, you are to bring to the priest a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest.”The firstfruits offering is tied to entering the land and reaping its harvest.
- Joshua 5:10-12 (BSB)“On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while the Israelites were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the Passover. The day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land. And the day after they had eaten from the produce of the land, the manna ceased. There was no more manna for the Israelites, so that year they began to eat the crops of the land of Canaan.”Only after entering Canaan did Israel eat the produce of the land, and the manna stopped.
- Deuteronomy 26:1-2 (BSB)“When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and settle in it, you are to take some of the firstfruits of all your produce from the soil of the land that the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name,”Another firstfruits command likewise begins once Israel has entered and settled the land God gives.
General
In the middle of the harvest feasts, what command about reaping does 23:22 give?
Answer: Leave the field's borders and dropped grain for the needy and outsiders
Right after the harvest festival of Weeks, the LORD tells Israel not to cut the grain along the borders of their fields and not to go back for the grain dropped during reaping; these were to remain for poor people and for foreigners living among them (23:22). The same law appears in 19:9-10, and Deuteronomy 24:19 adds that a forgotten sheaf must stay in the field for foreigners, orphans, and widows. The book of Ruth shows this law at work, when Ruth, a poor foreign widow, gathered leftover grain in the field of Boaz (Ruth 2:2-3). Placing this command inside the feast calendar shows that thankful worship of God and generous care for the needy belong together.
- Leviticus 23:22 (BSB)“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap all the way to the edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the foreign resident. I am the LORD your God.’””Right after the harvest feast, the LORD commands leaving the edges and gleanings of the field.
- Leviticus 19:9-10 (BSB)“When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You must not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.”The same harvest law appears earlier in the holiness code.
- Deuteronomy 24:19 (BSB)“If you are harvesting in your field and forget a sheaf there, do not go back to get it. It is to be left for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”A forgotten sheaf was to be left for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow.
- Ruth 2:2-3 (BSB)“And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go into the fields and glean heads of grain after someone in whose sight I may find favor.” “Go ahead, my daughter,” Naomi replied. So Ruth departed and went out into the field and gleaned after the harvesters. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.”Ruth, a poor foreign widow, gleaned in Boaz's field under this provision.
Theological
What harvest law does 23:22 insert into the festal calendar?
Answer: The field's borders and fallen grain remain for the needy and outsiders
Immediately after the festival of Weeks, the calendar pauses to restate the gleaning law: the borders of the field are not to be reaped, nor the fallen grain gathered, but these are reserved for the needy and resident foreigners (23:22; cf. 19:9-10). Deuteronomy 24:19 extends the provision to the forgotten sheaf, for foreigners, orphans, and widows, and Ruth 2:2-3 shows it operating in the life of a destitute Moabite widow. Its placement within the calendar binds cultic thanksgiving to covenant mercy toward the vulnerable; the God who gives the harvest requires His people to share it.
- Leviticus 23:22 (BSB)“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap all the way to the edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the foreign resident. I am the LORD your God.’””Right after the harvest feast, the LORD commands leaving the edges and gleanings of the field.
- Leviticus 19:9-10 (BSB)“When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You must not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.”The same harvest law appears earlier in the holiness code.
- Deuteronomy 24:19 (BSB)“If you are harvesting in your field and forget a sheaf there, do not go back to get it. It is to be left for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”A forgotten sheaf was to be left for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow.
- Ruth 2:2-3 (BSB)“And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go into the fields and glean heads of grain after someone in whose sight I may find favor.” “Go ahead, my daughter,” Naomi replied. So Ruth departed and went out into the field and gleaned after the harvesters. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.”Ruth, a poor foreign widow, gleaned in Boaz's field under this provision.
General
True or False: Israel could eat bread or roasted kernels from the new crop as soon as it ripened, even before the firstfruits offering had been brought.
Answer: False
This is false. Leviticus 23:14 forbids eating any bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain from the harvest until the day the offering has been brought to God, and it makes this a permanent rule for every generation. God received the first share before the people ate any of it themselves. This teaches that the harvest was His gift and that He deserved first place, not whatever was left over. The same principle appears in the command to bring the choicest firstfruits to God's house (Exodus 23:19) and in the wisdom of Proverbs 3:9-10, which calls God's people to give the LORD honor with the first of their crops.
- Leviticus 23:14 (BSB)“You must not eat any bread or roasted or new grain until the very day you have brought this offering to your God. This is to be a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live.”Israel may not eat any of the new harvest until the offering has been brought.
- Proverbs 3:9-10 (BSB)“Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.”Honoring the LORD with the firstfruits of one's crops is a lasting principle of wisdom.
- Exodus 23:19 (BSB)“Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”The best of the firstfruits was to be brought to the house of the LORD.
Theological
True or False: Israel could eat bread or roasted kernels from the new crop as soon as it ripened, even before the firstfruits offering had been brought.
Answer: False
This is false. Leviticus 23:14 prohibits eating bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain from the new crop until the day the offering is presented, a perpetual statute in all Israel's dwellings. The LORD receives His portion before the people enjoy theirs, a liturgical confession that the harvest is His gift and that He is owed the first and best, not the remainder. The same priority governs Exodus 23:19 (the choicest firstfruits to the LORD's house) and the wisdom of Proverbs 3:9-10, which commends honoring the LORD with the first of one's produce.
- Leviticus 23:14 (BSB)“You must not eat any bread or roasted or new grain until the very day you have brought this offering to your God. This is to be a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live.”Israel may not eat any of the new harvest until the offering has been brought.
- Proverbs 3:9-10 (BSB)“Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.”Honoring the LORD with the firstfruits of one's crops is a lasting principle of wisdom.
- Exodus 23:19 (BSB)“Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”The best of the firstfruits was to be brought to the house of the LORD.
General
When does 23:5 say the Passover begins?
Answer: At dusk on the first month's fourteenth day
The Passover begins at dusk on day fourteen of Israel's first month (23:5). This matches the very first Passover in Egypt, when the lambs were killed at twilight on that same date (Exodus 12:6) and their blood on the doorframes was the sign that made God pass over His people when He struck Egypt (Exodus 12:13). The feast was a yearly reminder of that rescue. Paul tells Christians that Christ is their Passover lamb, already sacrificed (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). Just as the lamb's blood sheltered Israel from judgment, Christ's death shelters His people.
- Leviticus 23:5 (BSB)“The Passover to the LORD begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.”Gives the date and time at which the Passover begins.
- Exodus 12:6 (BSB)“You must keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight.”The original Passover lambs were slaughtered at twilight on the fourteenth day of the month.
- Exodus 12:13 (BSB)“The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a sign; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”The blood of the Passover lamb was the sign that made God pass over His people.
- 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 (BSB)“Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth.”Paul names Christ as the Passover lamb who has been sacrificed.
Theological
According to 23:5, when does the Passover begin?
Answer: At dusk on the first month's fourteenth day
Leviticus 23:5 fixes the Passover at dusk on the first month's fourteenth day, the same time at which the original lambs were slaughtered in Egypt (Exodus 12:6). There the blood served as the sign under which God passed over the houses of Israel in the judgment on Egypt (Exodus 12:13). The annual feast perpetuated the memory of that redemption. Paul identifies Christ as the Passover lamb already sacrificed (1 Corinthians 5:7-8): the lamb's substitutionary blood, which turned aside judgment from Israel's firstborn, finds its fulfillment in the death of Christ for His people.
- Leviticus 23:5 (BSB)“The Passover to the LORD begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.”Gives the date and time at which the Passover begins.
- Exodus 12:6 (BSB)“You must keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight.”The original Passover lambs were slaughtered at twilight on the fourteenth day of the month.
- Exodus 12:13 (BSB)“The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a sign; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”The blood of the Passover lamb was the sign that made God pass over His people.
- 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 (BSB)“Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth.”Paul names Christ as the Passover lamb who has been sacrificed.
General
Why does the priest wave the first sheaf in the LORD's presence, according to 23:11?
Answer: So that God would accept it for the people who brought it
The priest waves the sheaf in the LORD's presence so that God will accept it for the people, and he does this on the day following the Sabbath (23:11). The same idea of an offering being accepted for the worshiper appears with the burnt offering (1:3-4). The sheaf was the opening portion of the harvest, given to God as a sign that the whole crop came from Him and belonged to Him; Paul uses the same principle when he says that a holy first portion of dough makes the whole batch holy (Romans 11:16). Paul also calls the risen Christ the firstfruits from among believers who have died (1 Corinthians 15:20-23): His resurrection is the opening portion of the harvest, and it guarantees that all who are His will be raised too.
- Leviticus 23:11 (BSB)“And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD so that it may be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.”The priest waves the sheaf before the LORD so that it may be accepted for the people.
- Leviticus 1:3-4 (BSB)“If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to present an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for its acceptance before the LORD. He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.”The same language of acceptance on the worshiper's behalf appears with the burnt offering.
- Romans 11:16 (BSB)“If the first part of the dough is holy, so is the whole batch; if the root is holy, so are the branches.”Paul uses the principle that a holy first portion makes the whole batch holy.
- 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (BSB)“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him.”Paul calls the risen Christ the firstfruits, the first portion that guarantees the resurrection of those who belong to Him.
Theological
What purpose does 23:11 assign to the priest's waving of the firstfruits sheaf?
Answer: That God accept it on the worshipers' behalf
The sheaf is waved in the LORD's presence, on the day following the Sabbath, for its acceptance on the people's behalf (23:11), the same acceptance language used for burnt offerings in 1:3-4. As the earliest portion of the harvest, the sheaf consecrated and represented the whole, the principle Paul invokes in Romans 11:16. Paul applies the firstfruits image to the resurrection: Christ has been raised as firstfruits from among the dead in Him, and His resurrection is the pledge and guarantee of the resurrection of all who are His at His coming (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). The head's acceptance secures the harvest of His people.
- Leviticus 23:11 (BSB)“And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD so that it may be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.”The priest waves the sheaf before the LORD so that it may be accepted for the people.
- Leviticus 1:3-4 (BSB)“If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to present an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for its acceptance before the LORD. He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.”The same language of acceptance on the worshiper's behalf appears with the burnt offering.
- Romans 11:16 (BSB)“If the first part of the dough is holy, so is the whole batch; if the root is holy, so are the branches.”Paul uses the principle that a holy first portion makes the whole batch holy.
- 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (BSB)“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him.”Paul calls the risen Christ the firstfruits, the first portion that guarantees the resurrection of those who belong to Him.
General
When was the Feast of Tabernacles held, and how long did it last?
Answer: From the seventh month's fifteenth day, for seven days plus an eighth
The Feast of Tabernacles (also called Booths) started on the seventh month's fifteenth day and lasted seven days, with a sacred assembly on its opening day and another on day eight, a closing solemn assembly; no regular work was done on those days (23:34-36). It came after the people had harvested their crops (23:39), which is why Exodus calls it the Feast of Ingathering (Exodus 23:16). The feast was still kept in Jesus' day (John 7:2), and on its final and greatest day Jesus stood and invited anyone who was thirsty to come to Him and drink (John 7:37-39).
- Leviticus 23:34-36 (BSB)““Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Feast of Tabernacles to the LORD begins, and it continues for seven days. On the first day there shall be a sacred assembly. You must not do any regular work. For seven days you are to present a food offering to the LORD. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly; you must not do any regular work.”The Feast of Tabernacles begins on the fifteenth of the seventh month, lasts seven days, and has an eighth-day assembly.
- Leviticus 23:39 (BSB)“On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the produce of the land, you are to celebrate a feast to the LORD for seven days. There shall be complete rest on the first day and also on the eighth day.”The feast comes after the produce of the land has been gathered.
- Exodus 23:16 (BSB)“You are also to keep the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the produce from what you sow in the field. And keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field.”The same autumn feast is called the Feast of Ingathering, at the end of the year's harvest.
- John 7:2 (BSB)“However, the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near.”Jesus' ministry records the Feast of Tabernacles still being kept in His day.
- John 7:37-39 (BSB)“On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’” He was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. For the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.”On the last and greatest day of the feast Jesus invited the thirsty to come to Him and drink.
Theological
What timing does 23:34-36 give for the Feast of Tabernacles?
Answer: From the seventh month's fifteenth day, for seven days plus an eighth
Tabernacles runs seven days from the seventh month's fifteenth day, with a sacred assembly on its opening day and a solemn assembly on day eight, both free of regular work (23:34-36). Its setting is the close of the agricultural year, after the crops have been brought in (23:39), hence the name Feast of Ingathering in Exodus 23:16. John records Jesus attending the feast (John 7:2) and, on its final, greatest day, summoning the thirsty to come to Him and drink, speaking of the Spirit whom believers would receive (John 7:37-39).
- Leviticus 23:34-36 (BSB)““Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Feast of Tabernacles to the LORD begins, and it continues for seven days. On the first day there shall be a sacred assembly. You must not do any regular work. For seven days you are to present a food offering to the LORD. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly; you must not do any regular work.”The Feast of Tabernacles begins on the fifteenth of the seventh month, lasts seven days, and has an eighth-day assembly.
- Leviticus 23:39 (BSB)“On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the produce of the land, you are to celebrate a feast to the LORD for seven days. There shall be complete rest on the first day and also on the eighth day.”The feast comes after the produce of the land has been gathered.
- Exodus 23:16 (BSB)“You are also to keep the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the produce from what you sow in the field. And keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field.”The same autumn feast is called the Feast of Ingathering, at the end of the year's harvest.
- John 7:2 (BSB)“However, the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near.”Jesus' ministry records the Feast of Tabernacles still being kept in His day.
- John 7:37-39 (BSB)“On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’” He was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. For the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.”On the last and greatest day of the feast Jesus invited the thirsty to come to Him and drink.
General
What were the people to gather at the start of the Feast of Tabernacles, and what were they to do all week (23:40)?
Answer: Fruit and branches from palms, leafy trees, and willows, then celebrate with joy in God's presence
On the opening day the people gathered fruit from majestic trees and branches of palms, leafy trees, and willows, and they were to celebrate joyfully in the LORD's presence all seven days (23:40-41). Unlike the Day of Atonement five days earlier, a day of humbling, this feast was a week of joy when the harvest was complete. Deuteronomy says the whole household, together with servants, Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows, was to celebrate so that their joy would be full (Deuteronomy 16:13-15). When the returned exiles kept the feast, they gathered branches, made booths, and rejoiced greatly (Nehemiah 8:14-17).
- Leviticus 23:40-41 (BSB)“On the first day you are to gather the fruit of majestic trees, the branches of palm trees, and the boughs of leafy trees and of willows of the brook. And you are to rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. You are to celebrate this as a feast to the LORD for seven days each year. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come; you are to celebrate it in the seventh month.”On the first day the people gather branches and fruit and rejoice before the LORD for seven days.
- Deuteronomy 16:13-15 (BSB)“You are to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. And you shall rejoice in your feast—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you. For seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the LORD your God in the place He will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that your joy will be complete.”The Feast of Tabernacles is to be a time of rejoicing so that the people's joy will be complete.
- Nehemiah 8:14-17 (BSB)“And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, and that they should proclaim this message and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.” And the people went out, brought back branches, and made booths on their own rooftops, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God, and in the squares by the Water Gate and by the Gate of Ephraim. The whole assembly that had returned from exile made booths and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated like this. And there was great rejoicing.”The returned exiles gathered branches, made booths, and celebrated with great rejoicing.
Theological
What does 23:40 command the people to gather at the start of Tabernacles, and what are they to do all week?
Answer: Fruit and branches from palms, leafy trees, and willows, then rejoice in the LORD's presence
On the opening day the people gather fruit from majestic trees with branches of palm, leafy trees, and willows, and they are commanded to rejoice in the LORD's presence all seven days (23:40-41). The contrast with the Day of Atonement five days earlier is built into the calendar: humbling and atonement precede the feast of joy. Deuteronomy 16:13-15 extends the rejoicing to the whole household, including Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows, so that joy is full, and Nehemiah 8:14-17 shows the returned community gathering branches and celebrating with great joy.
- Leviticus 23:40-41 (BSB)“On the first day you are to gather the fruit of majestic trees, the branches of palm trees, and the boughs of leafy trees and of willows of the brook. And you are to rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. You are to celebrate this as a feast to the LORD for seven days each year. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come; you are to celebrate it in the seventh month.”On the first day the people gather branches and fruit and rejoice before the LORD for seven days.
- Deuteronomy 16:13-15 (BSB)“You are to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. And you shall rejoice in your feast—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you. For seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the LORD your God in the place He will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that your joy will be complete.”The Feast of Tabernacles is to be a time of rejoicing so that the people's joy will be complete.
- Nehemiah 8:14-17 (BSB)“And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, and that they should proclaim this message and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.” And the people went out, brought back branches, and made booths on their own rooftops, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God, and in the squares by the Water Gate and by the Gate of Ephraim. The whole assembly that had returned from exile made booths and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated like this. And there was great rejoicing.”The returned exiles gathered branches, made booths, and celebrated with great rejoicing.
General
What marked the opening day of Israel's seventh month (23:24-25)?
Answer: A rest day and holy gathering announced with trumpet blasts
The seventh month opened with a rest day and a sacred assembly heralded with trumpet blasts; no regular work was done, and an offering was presented to God (23:24-25). Numbers 29:1 calls it a day for sounding the trumpets. Elsewhere God explains that trumpets blown at Israel's appointed feasts served as a reminder before Him (Numbers 10:10). This day opened the month that also held the Day of Atonement on the tenth and the Feast of Tabernacles starting on the fifteenth. The shelters and the fasting belong to those later days, not to this one.
- Leviticus 23:24-25 (BSB)““Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly announced by trumpet blasts. You must not do any regular work, but you are to present a food offering to the LORD.’””The first day of the seventh month is a day of rest announced with trumpet blasts.
- Numbers 29:1 (BSB)““On the first day of the seventh month, you are to hold a sacred assembly, and you must not do any regular work. This will be a day for you to sound the trumpets.”Repeats that the first day of the seventh month is a day for sounding the trumpets, with no regular work.
- Numbers 10:10 (BSB)“And on your joyous occasions, your appointed feasts, and the beginning of each month, you are to blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and peace offerings to serve as a reminder for you before your God. I am the LORD your God.””Trumpets blown at Israel's appointed feasts served as a reminder before God.
Theological
What does 23:24-25 prescribe to open the seventh month?
Answer: A rest day and sacred assembly announced with trumpet blasts
The seventh month opens with a rest day and sacred assembly heralded by trumpet blasts, with cessation of regular work and an offering to God (23:24-25; cf. Numbers 29:1). Leviticus gives no further rationale; Numbers 10:10 says that trumpets sounded over Israel's appointed feasts functioned as a reminder before God. The day inaugurates the month that also contains the Day of Atonement on the tenth and the Feast of Tabernacles from the fifteenth; the fasting and the booths belong to those later observances, not to this one.
- Leviticus 23:24-25 (BSB)““Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly announced by trumpet blasts. You must not do any regular work, but you are to present a food offering to the LORD.’””The first day of the seventh month is a day of rest announced with trumpet blasts.
- Numbers 29:1 (BSB)““On the first day of the seventh month, you are to hold a sacred assembly, and you must not do any regular work. This will be a day for you to sound the trumpets.”Repeats that the first day of the seventh month is a day for sounding the trumpets, with no regular work.
- Numbers 10:10 (BSB)“And on your joyous occasions, your appointed feasts, and the beginning of each month, you are to blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and peace offerings to serve as a reminder for you before your God. I am the LORD your God.””Trumpets blown at Israel's appointed feasts served as a reminder before God.
General
What was unusual about the two loaves presented at the harvest festival of Weeks (23:17)?
Answer: They were baked with leaven
The two loaves were baked with leaven (yeast) and offered as firstfruits (23:17). This stands out because grain offerings burned on the altar had to be made without leaven (2:11). But 2:12 allows leavened bread to be brought as a firstfruits offering, as long as it is not burned on the altar. That is exactly what happens here: the loaves are waved in God's presence with two lambs and then given to the priest as holy food (23:20). Leavened bread was likewise brought with the thanksgiving peace offering (7:13). These loaves were ordinary bread from the people's homes, offered to God in thanks for the harvest.
- Leviticus 23:17 (BSB)“Bring two loaves of bread from your dwellings as a wave offering, each made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, baked with leaven, as the firstfruits to the LORD.”The two loaves of the Feast of Weeks are baked with leaven and presented as firstfruits.
- Leviticus 23:20 (BSB)“The priest is to wave the lambs as a wave offering before the LORD, together with the bread of the firstfruits. The bread and the two lambs shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.”The bread and two lambs are waved and then belong to the priest.
- Leviticus 2:11-12 (BSB)“No grain offering that you present to the LORD may be made with leaven, for you are not to burn any leaven or honey as a food offering to the LORD. You may bring them to the LORD as an offering of firstfruits, but they must not go up on the altar as a pleasing aroma.”Leavened bread could not be burned on the altar but could be brought as an offering of firstfruits.
- Leviticus 7:13 (BSB)“Along with his peace offering of thanksgiving he is to present an offering with cakes of leavened bread.”Leavened bread also accompanied the thanksgiving peace offering.
Theological
What distinguishes the two loaves of 23:17 from ordinary grain offerings?
Answer: They were baked with leaven
The loaves of Weeks are expressly leavened and presented as firstfruits (23:17). Grain offerings burned on the altar had to be free of leaven (2:11), but 2:12 permits leavened bread as a firstfruits offering provided it is kept off the altar. The loaves are handled accordingly: waved in the LORD's presence with the two lambs of the peace offering and assigned to the priest as holy (23:20), paralleling the leavened cakes brought with the thanksgiving peace offering (7:13). The text presents them simply as household bread offered in thanksgiving for the grain harvest.
- Leviticus 23:17 (BSB)“Bring two loaves of bread from your dwellings as a wave offering, each made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, baked with leaven, as the firstfruits to the LORD.”The two loaves of the Feast of Weeks are baked with leaven and presented as firstfruits.
- Leviticus 23:20 (BSB)“The priest is to wave the lambs as a wave offering before the LORD, together with the bread of the firstfruits. The bread and the two lambs shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.”The bread and two lambs are waved and then belong to the priest.
- Leviticus 2:11-12 (BSB)“No grain offering that you present to the LORD may be made with leaven, for you are not to burn any leaven or honey as a food offering to the LORD. You may bring them to the LORD as an offering of firstfruits, but they must not go up on the altar as a pleasing aroma.”Leavened bread could not be burned on the altar but could be brought as an offering of firstfruits.
- Leviticus 7:13 (BSB)“Along with his peace offering of thanksgiving he is to present an offering with cakes of leavened bread.”Leavened bread also accompanied the thanksgiving peace offering.
General
According to 23:6-8, which days of the week of Unleavened Bread were holy gatherings with no regular work?
Answer: The opening day and the closing seventh day
The week of Unleavened Bread (bread made without yeast) started the day after Passover, on the fifteenth of that month, and lasted seven days. An offering was presented to the LORD every day, but only the opening and closing days were sacred assemblies on which no regular work was done (23:6-8). This matches the original command in Egypt (Exodus 12:15-17). Eating bread without yeast reminded Israel of the day God led them out of Egypt (Exodus 13:3). Paul uses the same picture for Christians: because Christ our Passover has been sacrificed, believers are to celebrate by putting away malice and wickedness and living in sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).
- Leviticus 23:6-8 (BSB)“On the fifteenth day of the same month begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any regular work. For seven days you are to present a food offering to the LORD. On the seventh day there shall be a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.’””The Feast of Unleavened Bread lasts seven days, with sacred assemblies on the first and seventh days.
- Exodus 12:15-17 (BSB)“For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to remove the leaven from your houses. Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly, and another on the seventh day. You must not do any work on those days, except to prepare the meals—that is all you may do. So you are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt. You must keep this day as a permanent statute for the generations to come.”The original instructions also set a sacred assembly on the first and seventh days and tie the feast to the exodus.
- Exodus 13:3 (BSB)“So Moses told the people, “Remember this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; for the LORD brought you out of it by the strength of His hand. And nothing leavened shall be eaten.”Moses links eating no leaven to remembering the day God brought Israel out of Egypt.
- 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 (BSB)“Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth.”Paul applies the unleavened bread to a life of sincerity and truth in Christ.
Theological
Which days of the week of Unleavened Bread does 23:6-8 designate as sacred assemblies with no regular work?
Answer: The opening day and the closing seventh day
Unleavened Bread starts on the fifteenth, immediately following Passover, and runs seven days; an offering is presented daily, but sacred assemblies with cessation of regular work fall on the opening and closing days only (23:6-8), exactly as first commanded in Egypt (Exodus 12:15-17). The absence of leaven memorialized the exodus (Exodus 13:3). Paul reads the feast ethically and christologically: because Christ our Passover has been sacrificed, the church celebrates by purging malice and wickedness and walking in sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:7-8), the new life flowing from a completed redemption rather than earning it.
- Leviticus 23:6-8 (BSB)“On the fifteenth day of the same month begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any regular work. For seven days you are to present a food offering to the LORD. On the seventh day there shall be a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.’””The Feast of Unleavened Bread lasts seven days, with sacred assemblies on the first and seventh days.
- Exodus 12:15-17 (BSB)“For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to remove the leaven from your houses. Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly, and another on the seventh day. You must not do any work on those days, except to prepare the meals—that is all you may do. So you are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt. You must keep this day as a permanent statute for the generations to come.”The original instructions also set a sacred assembly on the first and seventh days and tie the feast to the exodus.
- Exodus 13:3 (BSB)“So Moses told the people, “Remember this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; for the LORD brought you out of it by the strength of His hand. And nothing leavened shall be eaten.”Moses links eating no leaven to remembering the day God brought Israel out of Egypt.
- 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 (BSB)“Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth.”Paul applies the unleavened bread to a life of sincerity and truth in Christ.
General
True or False: Before listing the yearly feasts, the LORD reminds Israel that the last day of every week is a day of full rest on which no labor is allowed.
Answer: True
This is true. Before any of the yearly festivals are named, 23:3 restates the weekly Sabbath: six days are for labor, and the seventh is a day of complete rest and a sacred assembly, a holy gathering, kept wherever the Israelites live. The yearly feasts are layered on top of this weekly rhythm of rest. The Sabbath goes back to creation, when God rested once His work was finished and blessed that day (Genesis 2:2-3), and the Ten Commandments ground Israel's rest in that pattern (Exodus 20:8-11). God also called the Sabbath a sign that He was the one making Israel holy (Exodus 31:13).
- Leviticus 23:3 (BSB)“For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.”Before the yearly feasts, the LORD restates the weekly Sabbath.
- Exodus 20:8-11 (BSB)“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.”The fourth commandment grounds the seventh-day rest in God's own rest after creating the world.
- Genesis 2:2-3 (BSB)“And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished.”God rested on the seventh day and set it apart as holy at creation.
- Exodus 31:13 (BSB)““Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep My Sabbaths, for this will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.”The Sabbath is a sign between God and Israel that He is the LORD who sanctifies them.
Theological
True or False: Before listing the yearly feasts, the LORD reminds Israel that the last day of every week is a day of full rest on which no labor is allowed.
Answer: True
This is true. The festal calendar of chapter 23 is headed by the weekly Sabbath (23:3): six days of labor, then a day of complete rest and sacred assembly binding in all Israel's dwellings. The annual feasts are thus built on the weekly Sabbath rhythm. That rhythm is grounded in the creation week, when God rested and sanctified the final day (Genesis 2:2-3), a grounding the fourth commandment makes explicit (Exodus 20:8-11). For Israel the Sabbath also functioned as a covenant sign that the LORD is the one who sanctifies His people (Exodus 31:13).
- Leviticus 23:3 (BSB)“For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.”Before the yearly feasts, the LORD restates the weekly Sabbath.
- Exodus 20:8-11 (BSB)“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.”The fourth commandment grounds the seventh-day rest in God's own rest after creating the world.
- Genesis 2:2-3 (BSB)“And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished.”God rested on the seventh day and set it apart as holy at creation.
- Exodus 31:13 (BSB)““Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep My Sabbaths, for this will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.”The Sabbath is a sign between God and Israel that He is the LORD who sanctifies them.
General
At the harvest festival of Weeks, which animal was prepared as the sin offering (23:19)?
Answer: One male goat
Alongside the loaves, Israel offered seven yearling male lambs, two rams, and a young bull as burnt offerings; a single male goat for the sin offering (an offering to deal with sin); and two yearling male lambs for a peace offering (23:18-19). Even at a joyful harvest festival, the people could not come before God without a sacrifice for sin. Hebrews explains that such sacrifices reminded Israel of sin every year and that animal blood could never itself remove sins (Hebrews 10:3-4). Christ, by contrast, offered a single sacrifice for sins for all time and then sat down at God's right hand, His work finished (Hebrews 10:11-12).
- Leviticus 23:18-19 (BSB)“Along with the bread you are to present seven unblemished male lambs a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the LORD, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings—a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. You shall also prepare one male goat as a sin offering and two male lambs a year old as a peace offering.”Lists the burnt offerings, the sin offering, and the peace offering for the Feast of Weeks.
- Hebrews 10:3-4 (BSB)“Instead, those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”The repeated sacrifices were a yearly reminder of sin and could not themselves take sin away.
- Hebrews 10:11-12 (BSB)“Day after day every priest stands to minister and to offer again and again the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.”Christ offered a single sacrifice for sins for all time, in contrast to the repeated priestly offerings.
Theological
Which animal does 23:19 designate as the sin offering at the festival of Weeks?
Answer: One male goat
The offerings at Weeks comprise seven yearling male lambs, two rams, and a young bull as burnt offerings; a single male goat for the sin offering; plus two yearling male lambs for a peace offering (23:18-19). Even the harvest festival requires a sin offering; joyful communion with God presupposes atonement. Hebrews observes that these recurring sacrifices kept sin in remembrance year by year, since animal blood cannot take sins away (Hebrews 10:3-4), whereas Christ offered a single sacrifice for sins for all time and sat down, His priestly work complete (Hebrews 10:11-12).
- Leviticus 23:18-19 (BSB)“Along with the bread you are to present seven unblemished male lambs a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the LORD, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings—a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. You shall also prepare one male goat as a sin offering and two male lambs a year old as a peace offering.”Lists the burnt offerings, the sin offering, and the peace offering for the Feast of Weeks.
- Hebrews 10:3-4 (BSB)“Instead, those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”The repeated sacrifices were a yearly reminder of sin and could not themselves take sin away.
- Hebrews 10:11-12 (BSB)“Day after day every priest stands to minister and to offer again and again the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.”Christ offered a single sacrifice for sins for all time, in contrast to the repeated priestly offerings.