Chapter Sixteen
Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread
16:1 “Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the LORD your God, for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the LORD your God, from the flock or the herd, at the place that the LORD will choose, to make his name dwell there. 3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste—that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. 4 No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the flesh that you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain all night until morning. 5 You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, 6 but at the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell in it, there you shall offer the Passover sacrifice, in the evening at sunset, at the time you came out of Egypt. 7 And you shall cook it and eat it at the place that the LORD your God will choose. And in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. 8 For six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD your God. You shall do no work on it.
Moses next begins to review the festivals. At first glance it appears that Moses is listing the three mandatory-to-attend festivals, using the term Passover as a metonym to refer to the Feast of Unleavened Bread (as Passover was not a festival that previously required attendance at the Tabernacle).[1] However, there are some fundamental differences in this lesson when compared with previous Passover instructions.
Moses begins with the standard Passover protocol describing the offering of the Passover, implying the animal that was sacrificed was to be taken from their flock or herd (later often purchased at the Temple) and eaten with unleavened bread (see Exodus 12:8). The second sentence of verse three begins the instructions for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The subject in the second sentence is not the meat from the Passover animal, it is unleavened bread. Some translations add a ‘with’ or similar wording, which can confuse some to think the subject of the previous sentence continues to the second sentence, it does not, as the meat was to be consumed during the night of the Passover (see verse four, see also Exodus 12:10; 23:18; 29:34; 34:25; Leviticus 7:15). Moses continues to describe how during the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread they are not to have any leaven near them.
Then in verse five, Moses proclaims that they are to no longer keep Passover at home as previously instructed, they are to do a pilgrimage to the location YHWH chooses (location where the Tabernacle has been moved to and then later at the Temple). This would not be a fourth pilgrimage required as Passover was the day before the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which did require attendance at the location chosen by God. This change was necessary as once they had settled in the Promised Land, they would not be able to celebrate Passover at home and then travel any distance to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread the next day. The remaining instructions in this text are consistent with previous instruction.[2]
Since this section appears to have merged Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread together without naming the Feast of Unleavened Bread, some believe that the two festivals were combined at this time to be called simply Passover. While the name is often used to describe both festivals, the name Feast of Unleavened Bread can also be found in Scripture referring to Passover.[3] There is no justification to believe that Moses was merging the two festivals together, there are still seven Mosaic festivals.
The Feast of Weeks
16:9 “You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. 10 Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the LORD your God blesses you. 11 And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. 12 You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.
Apparently, Moses assumed that they knew about the Feast of Firstfruits as the reference to, “the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain,” would not have any meaning otherwise.[4] Moses describes that they were to offer ‘mis·sǎṯ’[5], a unique Hebrew word that only appears this one time in Scripture, while the etymology is uncertain; it is believed to be a reference to a sufficient measure or a tribute of some nature, as it is followed by the Hebrew word ‘niḏ·ḇǎṯ’,[6] which refers to a freewill offering based on how well they were blessed by God. This is in addition to the previously instructed mandatory offerings (see Leviticus 23:16b-21 for the complete list and procedures for the required offerings during this festival).
In the Talmud, rabbis have identified three types of offerings that are to be presented during the pilgrimage festivals:
This was the second festival that required every male that is able to travel and do a pilgrimage to the location God chose (see verse 16 below). However, it is interesting to note that they were to rejoice before YHWH with their sons, daughters, male and female servants, Levites, sojourners, fatherless, and widows living nearby in their towns at the place that YHWH chooses. Some believe it was mandatory for the men and only voluntary for the others. According to the Hagigah Tractate of the Talmud, the “rejoicing offering” requires the women to participate but not with the other two offering types.[8]
The Feast of Booths
16:13 “You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. 14 You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. 15 For seven days you shall keep the feast to the LORD your God at the place that the LORD will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.
Even though neither Passover nor the Feast of Unleavened Bread are directly related to an agricultural season, the Feast of Firstfruits is. Overlapped and celebrated during the week-long celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Firstfruits celebrates the first harvest, that of barley. The Feast of Weeks, seven weeks later, celebrates the second harvest, the harvest of wheat and now in the fall, the last of the seven festivals, the Feast of Booths, celebrates among other things, the fruit harvest (including dates, olives, figs, grapes, etc.) and wine production.
Here again Moses instructs them to rejoice in the feast with the same group of people he identified in the instructions for the Feast of Booths. Like the Feast of Unleavened Bread, this festival was to be celebrated for seven days. This feast was regarded as the greatest and happiest of the seven festivals.[9] The Hebrew word translated here as ‘joyful’, is ‘śā·mēªh’,[10] used for the first time in the Bible, referring to being exceptionally glad. In context the blessings of God had led to great joy.
16:16 “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God that he has given you.
Moses clearly mandates the pilgrimage and attendance of all males to appear before YHWH at the Tabernacle (or later at the Temple) during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (now including Passover), the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths (see also Exodus 23:17; 34:23). This would refer to those capable of traveling and those that are ceremonially clean. Each one was to have some form of offering (as discussed above). They were to give as each one had been blessed by God.
Justice is Imperative
16:18 “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous. 20 Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
To assure justice would be available to all the people of Israel after they begin to spread out in the Promised Land, Moses tells them they are to appoint judges (Hebrew ‘šō·peṭîm’,[11] to govern) and officers (Hebrew ‘šō·peṭîm’,[12] magistrates, overseers) in each of their towns. The reference to “righteous justice” emphasizes justice done correctly as defined by God and His Word. Justice was not to be compromised through perversion, partiality or bribery. Once again Moses connects this to being obedient to God, allowing them to continue living in the land.
Forbidden Actions Judged - Part One
16:21 “You shall not plant any tree as an Asherah beside the altar of the LORD your God that you shall make. 22 And you shall not set up a pillar, which the LORD your God hates.
Immediately following the call for righteous justice, these two verses begin a brief section that continues through verse seven in the following chapter pertaining to various pagan worship practices that are to be judged unacceptable to God. While it may seem obvious that any practice associated with the worshiping of a false god would be considered wrong in God’s eyes, that kind of thinking was apparently not prevalent in those days. Historically some cultures have tried to rationalize and then justify a ritual, by thinking if a procedure or method was okay for one entity then it should be good for another. That kind of thinking is exactly what Moses is addressing and trying to stop before it can begin.
Asherah was the name of a Canaanite fertility goddess. Followers would place poles and pillars carved in her image or carve trees in places of worship and around homes throughout Canaan. They were often referred to simply as ‘Asherah’ (or “Asherim,” in the plural).[13] From the very first appearance of this name in Scripture, it was made clear that this practice was unacceptable, “You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),” (Exodus 34:13-14) Knowing that God is a jealous God and is not willing to ‘share’ attention, let alone any level of devotion to a false god, it should have been obvious that the concept was wrong.[14]
Considerations
Fertility Deities or God? Perhaps Both?
God brought the people of Israel out of bondage and offered to bring them to a land that He had promised to their forefathers. However, since it was known when they would occupy the land some four hundred plus years earlier, Satan had many years to spiritually pollute the land and make it an abomination to God and as uninviting to the Israelites as possible.[15] When they arrive, they hear about mighty men and giants occupying the land and refuse to enter. That generation, with only a few exceptions, died off in the wilderness. For the last forty years their God had accompanied them, guided them, protected them, fed them, and provided leadership for them and now they were ready to enter the Promised Land. But the blessings of provisions would soon stop, and they would need to learn how to farm.
When they were able to cross into the land, they found that the Canaanites were very successful farmers. The Israelites had plenty of experience as shepherds, but not much experience with agriculture. Some believe today that when the Israelites entered the land, they noted how the people were farming and saw how they also appealed to various fertility deities. They knew that God was truly the God of the wilderness, but what about farming? Would YHWH be enough, or would they also need to embrace Baal, Asherah, or one of the other Canaanite’s forty plus gods and goddesses? Even though God made it clear that He was the only true God, the lure was appealing which, sadly, remained persistent throughout all of Israel's early history.
⇐Previous Chapter (Introduction/Index) Next Chapter⇒
[1] See commentary under Exodus 12:15 and Leviticus 23:4-8.
[2] See commentary and Considerations under Leviticus 23:4-7.
[3] See commentary under Exodus 12:15.
[4] See commentary under Leviticus 23:15-16a.
[5] Strong’s Hebrew 4530.
[6] Strong’s Hebrew 5071.
[7] Neusner, J. (2011). The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary (Vol. 7d, p. iv). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.
[8] Neusner, J. (2011). The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary (Vol. 7d, p. 22, Folio 6B). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.
[9] See Considerations under Leviticus 23:44 regarding Sensational Celebrations.
[10] Strong’s Hebrew 8056.
[11] Strong’s Hebrew 8199.
[12] Strong’s Hebrew 7860.
[13] See commentary under Exodus 34:13-14, see also Deuteronomy 7:1-5; 12:3.
[14] See Considerations under Genesis 35:9-15 regarding Commitment, see also Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 5:9.
[15] See commentary under Genesis 15:13-16.