In this chapter an account is given of the several holy days, times, and seasons, appointed by God, under the general names of feasts and holy convocations; and first of the sabbath, Lev. 23:1–4; then of the passover and feast of unleavened bread, Lev.

And the Lord spake unto Moses Much about the same time as before; and having delivered to him various laws concerning the holiness of the people of Israel, who were to serve him, and of the holiness of the priests, that were to minister in holy things to him, and of the purity and perfections of…

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them Speak to them to gather together, and then say unto them what follows, they all being obliged to keep the feasts, and observe the solemnities hereafter directed to; though it may be the heads of the tribes and the elders of the people were…

Six days shall work be done Or may be done by men, any sort of lawful work and honest labour, for the sustenance of themselves and families: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest; from all bodily labour and work of any kind; typical of rest by Christ and in him: an holy convocation; when the…

These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, &c.] What follow besides the sabbath mentioned: which ye shall proclaim in their seasons; the proper times of the year, the day or days, and month in which they are to be observed; these were to be proclaimed by the priests with the sound of…

In the fourteenth day of the first month The month Nisan, the same with Abib, the month in which the children of Israel came out of Egypt, for which reason it was made the first month in the year, answering to part of our March and part of April; and for the same reason was the passover kept at…

And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord Which was the day the children of Israel went out of Egypt with their dough and leaven, having not time to leaven it; in remembrance of which this feast was appointed: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread;…

In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation That is, on the first of the seven days of the feast of unleavened bread, even the fifteenth day of the month Nisan; this was separated from the other days of the festival, and more particularly devoted to religions exercises, see ; ye shall do no…

But ye shall offer an offering made by, fire unto the Lord seven days A burnt offering was to be offered unto the Lord on everyone of the seven days, which were two young bullocks, one ram, and seven lambs; besides a meat offering, and a goat for a sin offering, ; in the seventh day is an holy…

And the Lord spake unto Moses At the same time, for what follow are the other feasts and holy convocations before spoken of: saying; as follows.

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them What is next observed, it being incumbent on them to do what is enjoined: when ye be come into the land which I give unto you: the land of Canaan, which God had given by promise to their fathers and to them, and which they were now going to…

And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord Or the omer of barley; this was done by the priest in the tabernacle and temple, where was the presence of God, and that before the handful of it was put upon the altar; which agitation or waving was, as Gersom says, towards the cast; it was moved to and…

And ye shall offer that day, when ye wave the sheaf Besides the daily sacrifice of the morning and evening, and the additional offerings made on everyone of the seven days of the feast of unleavened bread: an he lamb without blemish of the first year, for a burnt offering unto the Lord; typical of…

And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil The usual measure of flour to a meat offering was one tenth deal, ; but here it is doubled: some Jewish writers say [[14]] one tenth was on account of the lamb that was offered at this time, and the other as was…

And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears That is, they were not allowed to make bread of the new corn, as Aben Ezra and Gersom explain it; for they were obliged to eat unleavened bread at this time: but it might not be made of the new corn, until the above offering was made;…

And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, &c.] Not the seventh day sabbath in the passover week, nor the whole feast of unleavened bread, but the first day of it, which was an holy convocation, a sabbath in which no servile work was to be done, ; and it was from the day after…

Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath Or weeks, forty nine days being counted, the following was the fiftieth day, or Pentecost: shall ye number fifty days; from whence this feast had the name of Pentecost, ; all in Israel were obliged to number those days, except women and servants…

And ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals Out of their habitations in the land of Canaan; and not out of those without the land, as Jarchi observes; and not out of all of them, as Ben Gersom remarks; though the Vulgate Latin version has it, out of “all” of our…

And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish, of the first year That is, with the two wave loaves, the meat or bread offering: and besides these, and one young bullock, and two rams; in it is two young bullocks, and one ram; and Aben Ezra suggests, that this was at the will and…

Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering Which was for the sin of the whole congregation, typical of Christ, whose soul was made an offering for sin; in virtue of which all other sacrifices become acceptable to God, and believers enjoy the fruits and blessings of divine…

And the priests shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits The two loaves called the two wave loaves, ; with which were waved the two lambs of the peace offerings; and these alive, as Jarchi and Ben Gersom intimate.

And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you This proclamation was made by the priests with the sound of a trumpet, that the people might observe that this fiftieth day, or day of Pentecost, was devoted to sacred service, and that they were called to holy…

And when ye reap the harvest of your land This law is repeated from (Lev. 19:9, Lev. 19:10) ; and as Aben Ezra observes, the feast of weeks being the feast of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, it is repeated, that they might not forget what God had commanded them to do at that time, namely, to…

And the Lord spake unto Moses At the same time, in a continued discourse, concerning some other days, which were to be observed in a sacred manner: saying; as follows.

Speak unto the children of Israel For all the people of Israel were concerned in the following precept, and obliged to observe it, even priests, Levites, Israelites, proselytes, and freed servants; though other servants, and women, and children, were not obliged to hear the sound of the trumpets…

Ye shall do no servile work therein Only such as was necessary for dressing food, but not any manual work, such as servants were employed in on other days, as agriculture or any mechanic business: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord; a burnt offering, and what that was may be…

And the Lord spake unto Moses This phrase, which is a kind of preface to each precept, seems to be used to distinguish one from another, as the preceding one from the feast of Pentecost; and here, the day of atonement from that of the blowing of the trumpets; and afterwards, the feast of…

Also on the tenth day of this seventh month Tisri, the same as before, answering to part of our September, and part of October: there shall be a day of atonement; for all the sins of the year past; see (Lev. 16:29, Lev.

Ye shall do no work in that same day No more than on the weekly sabbath: for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God: (See Gill on Lev.

For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day That is, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem explain it, which can fast and does not fast; for a sick person, and a child under nine years of age, were not obliged to fast on this day [[14]]: he shall be cut off from among…

And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day Any sort of work whatever; for, as before observed, it was to be kept as strictly as the weekly sabbath: the same soul will I destroy from among his people; with the pestilence, as the above Targum; it seems to be but another phrase for…

Ye shall do no manner of work Which is repeated, that it might be observed, and to show how strictly God required this day should be kept, and how careful men should be of breaking the command in this respect, and how much he should resent it if they did: it shall be a statute for ever, throughout…

It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest (See Gill on Lev. 16:31); and this is thought by some [[15]] to be the sabbath spoken of in ; and ye shall afflict your souls; in the ninth day of the month at even; the fast was to begin at the close of the ninth day, and to continue to the end of the tenth;…

And the Lord spake unto Moses Concerning the feast of tabernacles here repeated and enlarged upon: saying; as follows.

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying Giving them directions about keeping a feast, in which the whole body of them had a very special and particular concern: the fifteenth day of this seventh month; the month Tisri or September: shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord;…

On the first day shall be an holy convocation When they should be called together to holy exercises, to prayer, praising, and reading the law; and at this present time they observe this day, by rising early in the morning and going to the synagogue, where they sing and pray much; and everyone takes…

Seven days ye shall offer an offering made, by fire unto the Lord A burnt offering; what this was, and how many were offered on each day, see at large in ; on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; as on the first day; (See Gill on Lev.

These are the feasts of the Lord Besides the sabbath, as Gersom observes; even the passover, the seven days of unleavened bread the day of Pentecost, the day of blowing the trumpets, the day of atonement, and the seven days of the feast of tabernacles; which ye shall proclaim to be holy…

Beside the sabbaths of the Lord The seventh day sabbaths, which were of his appointing, and sacred to his service and worship; on which, when any of the feasts fell, it did not hinder the observance of them, or the offering of the several sacrifices on them; nor were those of the sabbath to be…

Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month The month Tisri or September, the same month, and the same day of the month before observed; only another end and use of this feast is remarked, which was to give thanks for the fruits of the earth gathered in, as follows: when ye have gathered in the…

And ye shall take you the boughs of goodly trees Which the three Targums interpret, of citrons; and so Jarchi and Aben Ezra; and the Jews are so tenacious of observing this, that in those countries where this fruit grows not, they will send for it from Spain, where there is plenty of it: the Targum…

And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year Every year it was to be kept for the space of seven days, beginning on the fifteenth and ending on the twenty second of the month Tisri or September; it shall be a statute for ever in your generations; until the Messiah should come…

Ye shall dwell in booths seven days So that it seems they were not obliged to dwell in them on the eighth day, which was an holy convocation, a sabbath in which no servile work was to be done as the first, (Lev. 23:36, Lev. 23:39) .

That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths Which by the providence of God the Israelites were obliged to make for themselves to dwell in: when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; for the very first place they came to, when they departed from thence,…

And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord. ] The several feasts before recited, the order of them, the manner of observing them, and the time.