Reference: Feasts
American
God appointed several festivals, or days of rest and worship, among the Jews, to perpetuate the memory of great events wrought in favor of them: the Sabbath commemorated the creation of the world; the Passover, the departure out of Egypt; the Pentecost, the law given at Sinai, etc. At the three great feasts of the year, the Passover, Pentecost, and that of Tabernacles, all the males of the nation were required to visit the temple, Ex 23:14-17; De 16:16-17; and to protect their borders from invasion during their absence, the shield of a special providence was always interposed, Ex 34:23-24. The other festivals were the Feast of Trumpets, or New Moon, Purim, Dedication, the Sabbath year, and the year of Jubilee. These are described elsewhere. The observance of these sacred festivals was adapted not merely to freshen the remembrance of their early history as a nation, but to keep alive the influence of religion and the expectation of the Messiah, to deepen their joy in God, to dispel animosities and jealousies, and to form new associations between the different tribes and families. See also Day of EXPIATION.
In the Christian church, we have no festival that clearly appears to have been instituted by our Savior, or his apostles; but as we commemorate his death as often as we celebrate his supper, he has hereby seemed to institute a perpetual feast. Christians have always celebrated the memory of his resurrection by regarding the Sabbath, which we see, from Re 1:10, was in John's time commonly called "the Lord's day." Feasts of love, Jude 1:12, were public banquets of a frugal kind, instituted by the primitive Christians, and connected by them with the celebration of the Lord's supper. The provisions were contributed by the more wealthy, and were common to all Christians, whether rich or poor, who chose to partake. Portions were also sent to the sick and absent members. These love-feasts were intended as an exhibition of mutual Christian affection; but they became subject to abuses, and were afterwards generally discontinued, 1Co 11:17-34.
The Hebrews were a hospitable people, and were wont to welcome their guests with a feast, and dismiss them with another, Ge 19:3; 31:27; Jg 6:19; 2Sa 3:20; 2Ki 6:23. The returning prodigal was thus welcomed, Lu 15:23. Many joyful domestic events were observed with feasting: birthdays, etc., Ge 21:8; 40:20; Job 1:4; Mt 14:6; marriages, Ge 29:22; Jg 14:10; Joh 2:1-10; sheep shearing and harvesting, Jg 9:27; 1Sa 25:2,36; 2Sa 13:23. A feast was also provided at funerals, 2Sa 3:35; Jer 16:7. Those who brought sacrifices and offerings to the temple were wont to feast upon them there, with joy and praise to God, De 12:6-7; 1Sa 16:5; 2Sa 6:19. They were taught to invite all the needy to partake with them, De 16:11; and even to make special feasts for the poor, De 12:17-19; 14:28; 26:12-15; a custom which the Savior specially commended, Lu 14:12-14.
The manner of holding a feast was anciently marked with great simplicity. But at the time of Christ many Roman customs had been introduced. The feast or "supper" usually took place at five or six in the afternoon, and often continued to a late hour. The guests were invited some time in advance; and those who accepted the invitation were again notified by servants when the hour arrived, Mt 22:4-8; Lu 14:16-24. The door was guarded against uninvited persons; and was at length closed for the day by the hand of the master of the house, Mt 25:10; Lu 13:24. Sometimes very large numbers were present, Es 1:3,5; Lu 14:16-24; and on such occasions a "governor of the feast" was appointed, whose social qualities, tact, firmness, and temperance fitted him to preside, Joh 2:8. The guests were arranged with a careful regard to their claims to honor, Ge 43:33; 1Sa 9:22; Pr 25:6-7; Mt 23:6; Lu 14:7; in which matter the laws of etiquette are still jealously enforced in the East. Sometimes the host provided light, rich, loose robes for the company; and if so, the refusing to wear one was a gross insult, Ec 9:8; Mt 22:11; Re 3:4-5. The guests reclined around the tables; water and perfumes were served to them, Mr 7:2; Lu 7:44-46; and after eating, the hands were again washed, a servant pouring water over them. During the repast and after it various entertainments were provided; enigmas were proposed, Jg 14:12; eastern tales were told; music and hired dancers, and often excessive drinking, etc., occupied the time, Isa 5:12; 24:7-9; Am 6:5. See EATING, FOOD.
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And he presseth on them greatly, and they turn aside unto him, and come in unto his house; and he maketh for them a banquet, and hath baked unleavened things; and they do eat.
And the lad groweth, and is weaned, and Abraham maketh a great banquet in the day of Isaac's being weaned;
and Laban gathereth all the men of the place, and maketh a banquet.
Why hast thou hidden thyself to flee, and deceivest me, and hast not declared to me, and I send thee away with joy and with songs, with tabret and with harp,
And it cometh to pass, on the third day, Pharaoh's birthday, that he maketh a banquet to all his servants, and lifteth up the head of the chief of the butlers, and the head of the chief of the bakers among his servants,
And they sit before him, the first-born according to his birthright, and the young one according to his youth, and the men wonder one at another;
'Three times thou dost keep a feast to Me in a year; the Feast of Unleavened things thou dost keep; seven days thou dost eat unleavened things, as I have commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month of Abib; for in it thou hast come forth out of Egypt, and ye do not appear in My presence empty; read more. and the Feast of Harvest, the first fruits of thy works which thou sowest in the field; and the Feast of the In-Gathering, in the outgoing of the year, in thy gathering thy works out of the field. 'Three times in a year do all thy males appear before the face of the Lord Jehovah.
'Three times in a year do all thy males appear before the Lord Jehovah, God of Israel; for I dispossess nations from before thee, and have enlarged thy border, and no man doth desire thy land in thy going up to appear before Jehovah thy God three times in a year.
and hast brought in thither your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and your vows, and your free-will offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock; and ye have eaten there before Jehovah your God, and have rejoiced in every putting forth of your hand, ye and your households, with which Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee.
thou art not able to eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, and of thy new wine, and thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herd and of thy flock, and any of thy vows which thou vowest, and thy free-will offerings, and heave-offering of thy hand; but before Jehovah thy God thou dost eat it, in the place which Jehovah thy God doth fix on, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite who is within thy gates, and thou hast rejoiced before Jehovah thy God in every putting forth of thy hand; read more. take heed to thee lest thou forsake the Levite all thy days on thy ground.
At the end of three years thou dost bring out all the tithe of thine increase in that year, and hast placed it within thy gates;
And thou hast rejoiced before Jehovah thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite who is within thy gates, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are in thy midst, in the place which Jehovah thy God doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle there,
Three times in a year doth every one of thy males appear before Jehovah thy God in the place which He doth choose -- in the feast of unleavened things, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of booths; and they do not appear before Jehovah empty; each according to the gift of his hand, according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God, which He hath given to thee.
'When thou dost complete to tithe all the tithe of thine increase in the third year, the year of the tithe, then thou hast given to the Levite, to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, and they have eaten within thy gates, and been satisfied, and thou hast said before Jehovah thy God, I have put away the separated thing out of the house, and also have given it to the Levite, and to the sojourner, and to the orphan, and to the widow, according to all Thy command which Thou hast commanded me; I have not passed over from Thy commands, nor have I forgotten. read more. I have not eaten in mine affliction of it, nor have I put away of it for uncleanness, nor have I given of it for the dead; I have hearkened to the voice of Jehovah my God; I have done according to all that Thou hast commanded me; look from Thy holy habitation, from the heavens, and bless Thy people Israel, and the ground which Thou hast given to us, as Thou hast sworn to our fathers -- a land flowing with milk and honey.
And Gideon hath gone in, and prepareth a kid of the goats, and of an ephah of flour unleavened things; the flesh he hath put in a basket, and the broth he hath put in a pot, and he bringeth out unto Him, unto the place of the oak, and bringeth it nigh.
and go out into the field, and gather their vineyards, and tread, and make praises, and go into the house of their god, and eat and drink, and revile Abimelech.
And his father goeth down unto the woman, and Samson maketh there a banquet, for so the young men do;
And Samson saith to them, 'Let me, I pray you, put forth to you a riddle; if ye certainly declare it to me in the seven days of the banquet, and have found it out, then I have given to you thirty linen shirts, and thirty changes of garments;
And all the people come to cause David to eat bread while yet day, and David sweareth, saying, 'Thus doth God to me, and thus He doth add, for -- before the going in of the sun, I taste no bread or any other thing.'
in the third year of his reign, he hath made a banquet to all his heads and his servants; of the force of Persia and Media, the chiefs and heads of the provinces are before him,
And at the fulness of these days hath the king made to all the people who are found in Shushan the palace, from great even unto small, a banquet, seven days, in the court of the garden of the house of the king --
And his sons have gone and made a banquet -- the house of each in his day -- and have sent and called to their three sisters to eat and to drink with them;
Honour not thyself before a king, And in the place of the great stand not. For better that he hath said to thee, 'Come thou up hither,' Than that he humble thee before a noble, Whom thine eyes have seen.
At all times let thy garments be white, and let not perfume be lacking on thy head.
And harp, and psaltery, tabret, and pipe, And wine, have been their banquets, And the work of Jehovah they behold not, Yea, the work of His hands they have not seen.
Mourned hath the new wine, languished the vine, Sighed have all the joyful of heart. Ceased hath the joy of tabrets, Ceased hath the noise of exulting ones, Ceased hath the joy of a harp. read more. With a song they drink not wine, Bitter is strong drink to those drinking it.
Nor do they deal out to them for mourning, To comfort him concerning the dead, Nor cause them to drink a cup of consolations For his father and for his mother.
Who are taking part according to the psaltery, Like David they invented for themselves instruments of music;
But the birthday of Herod being kept, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst, and did please Herod,
Again he sent forth other servants, saying, Say to those who have been called: Lo, my dinner I prepared, my oxen and the fatlings have been killed, and all things are ready, come ye to the marriage-feasts; and they, having disregarded it, went away, the one to his own field, and the other to his merchandise; read more. and the rest, having laid hold on his servants, did insult and slay them. 'And the king having heard, was wroth, and having sent forth his soldiers, he destroyed those murderers, and their city he set on fire; then saith he to his servants, The marriage-feast indeed is ready, and those called were not worthy,
'And the king having come in to view those reclining, saw there a man not clothed with clothing of the marriage-feast,
they love also the chief couches in the supper, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
'And while they are going away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those ready went in with him to the marriage-feasts, and the door was shut;
and having seen certain of his disciples with defiled hands -- that is, unwashed -- eating bread, they found fault;
And having turned unto the woman, he said to Simon, 'Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house; water for my feet thou didst not give, but this woman with tears did wet my feet, and with the hairs of her head did wipe; a kiss to me thou didst not give, but this woman, from what time I came in, did not cease kissing my feet; read more. with oil my head thou didst not anoint, but this woman with ointment did anoint my feet;
'Be striving to go in through the straight gate, because many, I say to you, will seek to go in, and shall not be able;
And he spake a simile unto those called, marking how they were choosing out the first couches, saying unto them,
And he said also to him who did call him, 'When thou mayest make a dinner or a supper, be not calling thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor thy kindred, nor rich neighbours, lest they may also call thee again, and a recompense may come to thee; but when thou mayest make a feast, be calling poor, maimed, lame, blind, read more. and happy thou shalt be, because they have not to recompense thee, for it shall be recompensed to thee in the rising again of the righteous.'
and he said to him, 'A certain man made a great supper, and called many,
and he said to him, 'A certain man made a great supper, and called many, and he sent his servant at the hour of the supper to say to those having been called, Be coming, because now are all things ready.
and he sent his servant at the hour of the supper to say to those having been called, Be coming, because now are all things ready. 'And they began with one consent all to excuse themselves: The first said to him, A field I bought, and I have need to go forth and see it; I beg of thee, have me excused.
'And they began with one consent all to excuse themselves: The first said to him, A field I bought, and I have need to go forth and see it; I beg of thee, have me excused. 'And another said, Five yoke of oxen I bought, and I go on to prove them; I beg of thee, have me excused:
'And another said, Five yoke of oxen I bought, and I go on to prove them; I beg of thee, have me excused: and another said, A wife I married, and because of this I am not able to come.
and another said, A wife I married, and because of this I am not able to come. 'And that servant having come, told to his lord these things, then the master of the house, having been angry, said to his servant, Go forth quickly to the broad places and lanes of the city, and the poor, and maimed, and lame, and blind, bring in hither.
'And that servant having come, told to his lord these things, then the master of the house, having been angry, said to his servant, Go forth quickly to the broad places and lanes of the city, and the poor, and maimed, and lame, and blind, bring in hither. 'And the servant said, Sir, it hath been done as thou didst command, and still there is room.
'And the servant said, Sir, it hath been done as thou didst command, and still there is room. 'And the lord said unto the servant, Go forth to the ways and hedges, and constrain to come in, that my house may be filled;
'And the lord said unto the servant, Go forth to the ways and hedges, and constrain to come in, that my house may be filled; for I say to you, that none of those men who have been called shall taste of my supper.'
for I say to you, that none of those men who have been called shall taste of my supper.'
and having brought the fatted calf, kill it, and having eaten, we may be merry,
And the third day a marriage happened in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there, and also Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage; read more. and wine having failed, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, 'Wine they have not;' Jesus saith to her, 'What -- to me and to thee, woman? not yet is mine hour come.' His mother saith to the ministrants, 'Whatever he may say to you -- do.' And there were there six water-jugs of stone, placed according to the purifying of the Jews, holding each two or three measures. Jesus saith to them, 'Fill the water-jugs with water;' and they filled them -- unto the brim; and he saith to them, 'Draw out, now, and bear to the director of the apartment;' and they bare.
and he saith to them, 'Draw out, now, and bear to the director of the apartment;' and they bare. And as the director of the apartment tasted the water become wine, and knew not whence it is, (but the ministrants knew, who have drawn the water,) the director of the feast doth call the bridegroom, read more. and saith to him, 'Every man, at first, the good wine doth set forth; and when they may have drunk freely, then the inferior; thou didst keep the good wine till now.'
And this declaring, I give no praise, because not for the better, but for the worse ye come together; for first, indeed, ye coming together in an assembly, I hear of divisions being among you, and partly I believe it, read more. for it behoveth sects also to be among you, that those approved may become manifest among you; ye, then, coming together at the same place -- it is not to eat the Lord's supper; for each his own supper doth take before in the eating, and one is hungry, and another is drunk; why, have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or the assembly of God do ye despise, and shame those not having? what may I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I do not praise! For I -- I received from the Lord that which also I did deliver to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was delivered up, took bread, and having given thanks, he brake, and said, 'Take ye, eat ye, this is my body, that for you is being broken; this do ye -- to the remembrance of me.' In like manner also the cup after the supping, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; this do ye, as often as ye may drink it -- to the remembrance of me;' for as often as ye may eat this bread, and this cup may drink, the death of the Lord ye do shew forth -- till he may come; so that whoever may eat this bread or may drink the cup of the Lord unworthily, guilty he shall be of the body and blood of the Lord: and let a man be proving himself, and so of the bread let him eat, and of the cup let him drink; for he who is eating and drinking unworthily, judgment to himself he doth eat and drink -- not discerning the body of the Lord. Because of this, among you many are weak and sickly, and sleep do many; for if ourselves we were discerning, we would not be being judged, and being judged by the Lord, we are chastened, that with the world we may not be condemned; so then, my brethren, coming together to eat, for one another wait ye; and if any one is hungry, at home let him eat, that to judgment ye may not come together; and the rest, whenever I may come, I shall arrange.
These are in your love-feasts craggy rocks; feasting together with you, without fear shepherding themselves; clouds without water, by winds carried about; trees autumnal, without fruit, twice dead, rooted up;
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's-day, and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying,
Thou hast a few names even in Sardis who did not defile their garments, and they shall walk with me in white, because they are worthy. He who is overcoming -- this one -- shall be arrayed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the scroll of the life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before His messengers.
Fausets
Hag (from a root, "to dance") is the Hebrew applied to the Passover, and still more to the feast of tabernacles, as both were celebrated with rejoicings and participation of food (Ex 12:14; Le 23:39; Nu 29:12; De 16:22). But moed is the general term for all sacred assemblies convoked on stated anniversaries; God's people by His appointment meeting before Him in brotherly fellowship for worship. Their communion was primarily with God, then with one another. These national feasts tended to join all in one brotherhood. Hence, arose Jeroboam's measures to counteract the effect on his people (1Ki 12:26-27). Hezekiah made the revival of the national Passover a primary step in his efforts for a reformation (2Ch 30:1). The Roman government felt the feast a time when especial danger of rebellion existed (Mt 26:5; Lu 13:1).
The "congregations," "calling of assemblies," "solemn meetings" (Isa 1:13; Ps 81:3), both on the convocation days of the three great feasts, passover, Pentecost, and tabernacles, and also on the sabbaths, imply assemblies for worship, the forerunners of the synagogue (compare 2Ki 4:23). The septenary number prevails in the great feasts. Pentecost was seven weeks (sevens) after Passover; passover and the feast of tabernacles lasted seven days each; the days of holy convocation were seven in the year, two at Passover, one at pentecost, one at the feast of trumpets, one on the day of atonement (the first day or new moon of the seventh month), and two at the feast of tabernacles. The last two solemn days were in the seventh month, and the cycle of feasts is seven months, from Nisan to Tisri. There was also the sabbatical year, and the year of Jubilee.
The continued observance of the three feasts commemorative of the great facts of Israelite history make it incredible that the belief of those facts could have been introduced at any period subsequent to the supposed time of their occurrence if they never took place. The day, the month, and every incident of Israel's deliverance out of Egypt are embalmed in the anniversary passover. On the three great feasts each Israelite was bound to "appear before the Lord," i.e., attend in the court of the tabernacle or temple and make his offering with gladness (Leviticus 23; De 27:7). Pious women often went up to the Passover: as Lu 2:41, Mary; 1Sa 1:7; 2:19, Hannah. Those men who might happen to be unable to attend at the proper time kept the feast the same day in the succeeding month (Nu 9:10-11). On the days of holy convocation all ordinary work was suspended (Le 23:21-35). The three great feasts had a threefold bearing.
I. They marked the three points of time as to the fruits of the earth.
II. They marked three epochs in Israel's past history.
III. They pointed prophetically to three grand antitypical events of the gospel kingdom.
I. They marked the three points of time as to the fruits of the earth.
(I.) At the Passover in spring, in the month Abib, the first green ears of barley were cut, and were a favorite food, prepared as parched grain, but first of all a handful of green ears was presented to the Lord.
(2) Fifty days (as Pentecost means) after Passover came the feast of weeks, i.e. a week of weeks after Passover. The now ripe wheat, before being cut, was sanctified by its firstfruits, namely two loaves of fine flour, being offered to Jehovah.
(3) At the feast of tabernacles, in the end of the common year and the seventh month of the religious year, there was a feast of ingathering when all the fruits of the field had been gathered in. There was no offering of consecration, for the offerings for sanctifying the whole had been presented long before. It was not a consecration of what was begun, but a joyful thanksgiving for what was completed. See for the spiritual lesson Pr 3:9; Ps 118:15.
II. They marked three epochs in Israel's past history. Each of the three marked a step in the HISTORICAL progress of Israel.
(1) The Passover commemorated the deliverance out of Egypt when Jehovah passed over Israel, protecting them from the destroying angel and sparing them, and so achieving for them the first step of independent national life as God's covenant people.
(2) Pentecost marked the giving of the law on Sinai, the second grand era in the history of the elect nation. God solemnly covenanted, "If ye will obey My voice indeed and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people, and ye shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Ex 19:5).
(3) All the nation now wanted was a home. The feast of tabernacles commemorates the establishment of God's people in the land of promise, their pleasant and peaceful home, after the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, living in shifting tents. They took boughs of palm and willows of the brook, and made temporary huts of branches and sat under the booths. So in their fixed home and land of rest their enjoyment was enhanced by the thankful and holy remembrance of past wanderings without a fixed dwelling. Joshua especially observed this feast after the settlement in Canaan (as incidentally comes out in Ne 8:17).
Solomon (appropriately to his name, which means king of peace) also did so, for his reign was preeminently the period of peaceful possession when every man dwelt under his own vine and figtree (1Ki 4:25); immediately after that the last relic of wilderness life was abolished by the ark being taken from under curtains and deposited in the magnificent temple of stone in the seventh month (2Ch 5:3), the feast of tabernacles was celebrated on the 15th day, and on the 23rd Solomon sent the great congregation away glad in heart for the goodness that the Lord had showed unto David, Solomon, and Israel His people.
The third celebration especially recorded was after the Babylonian captivity, when the Jews were re-established in their home under Ezra and Nehemiah, and all gathered themselves together as one man on the first day of the seventh month, the feast of trumpets. Then followed the reading of the law and renewal of the covenant. Then finding in the law directions as to the feast of tabernacles, they brought branches of olive, pine, myrtle, and palm, and thick trees, and made booths on their roofs and in their courts, and in the courts of God's house, and sat under them with "great gladness" (Nehemiah 8).
III. They pointed prophetically to three grand antitypical events of the gospel kingdom. Prophetically and typically.
(1) The Passover points to the Lord Jesus, the true paschal Lamb sacrificed for us, whose sacrifice brings to us a perpetual feast (1Co 5:7).
(2) Pentecost points to our Whitsuntide (Acts 2) when the Holy Spirit descending on Christ's disciples confirms Christ's covenant of grace in the heart more effectually than the law of Sinai written on stone (2Co 3:3-18).
(3) Two great steps have already been taken toward establishing the kingdom of God. Christ has risen from death as "the firstfruits of them that slept" (1Co 15:20), even as the green ears of barley were offered as firstfruits at Passover. Secondly, the Holy Spirit has not merely once descended but still abides in the church as His temple, giving us a perpetual Whitsun feast, One step more is needed; we have received redemption, also the Holy Spirit; we wait still for our inheritance and abiding home. The feast of tabernacles points on to the antitypical Canaan, the everlasting inheritance, of which the Holy Spirit is the "earnest" (Eph 1:13-14; Heb 4:8-9). The antitypical feast of tabernacles shall be under the antitypical Joshua, Jesus the Captain of our salvation, the antitypical Solomon, the Prince of peace (Isa 9:6; Re 7:9-17).
The zest of the heavenly joy of the palmbearing multitude (antitypical to the palmbearers at the feast of tabernacles), redeemed out of all nations, shall be the remembrance of their tribulations in this wilderness world forever past; for repose is sweetest after toil, and difficulties surmounted add to the delight of triumph. Salvation was the prominent topic at the feast. In later times they used to draw water from the pool of Siloam, repeating from Isaiah 12 "with joy shall ye draw water from the wells of salvation," r
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And this day hath become to you a memorial, and ye have kept it a feast to Jehovah to your generations; -- a statute age-during; ye keep it a feast.
And now, if ye really hearken to My voice, then ye have kept My covenant, and been to Me a peculiar treasure more than all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;
and ye have proclaimed on this self-same day: a holy convocation is to you, ye do no servile work -- a statute age-during in all your dwellings, to your generations. And in your reaping the harvest of your land thou dost not complete the corner of thy field in thy reaping, and the gleaning of thy harvest thou dost not gather, to the poor and to the sojourner thou dost leave them; I Jehovah am your God.' read more. And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 'Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first of the month, ye have a sabbath, a memorial of shouting, a holy convocation; ye do no servile work, and ye have brought near a fire-offering to Jehovah.' And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, Only -- on the tenth of this seventh month is a day of atonements; ye have a holy convocation, and ye have humbled yourselves, and have brought near a fire-offering to Jehovah; and ye do no work in this self-same day, for it is a day of atonements, to make atonement for you, before Jehovah your God. 'For any person who is not humbled in this self-same day hath even been cut off from his people; and any person who doth any work in this self-same day I have even destroyed that person from the midst of his people; ye do no work -- a statute age-during to your generations in all your dwellings. It is a sabbath of rest to you, and ye have humbled yourselves in the ninth of the month at even; from evening till evening ye do keep your sabbath.' And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, In the fifteenth day of this seventh month is a feast of booths seven days to Jehovah; on the first day is a holy convocation, ye do no servile work,
Only -- in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, in your gathering the increase of the land, ye do keep the feast of Jehovah seven days; on the first day is a sabbath, and on the eighth day a sabbath;
'Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, Though any man is unclean by a body or in a distant journey (of you or of your generations), yet he hath prepared a passover to Jehovah; in the second month, on the fourteenth day, between the evenings they prepare it; with unleavened and bitter things they eat it;
'And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month a holy convocation ye have; ye do no servile work; and ye have celebrated a festival to Jehovah seven days,
and thou dost not raise up to thee any standing image which Jehovah thy God is hating.
and sacrificed peace-offerings, and eaten there, and rejoiced before Jehovah thy God,
'And among those nations thou dost not rest, yea, there is no resting-place for the sole of thy foot, and Jehovah hath given to thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and grief of soul;
and Caleb saith, 'He who smiteth Kirjath-Sepher -- and hath captured it -- then I have given to him Achsah my daughter for a wife.'
And so he doth year by year, from the time of her going up into the house of Jehovah, so it provoketh her, and she weepeth, and doth not eat.
and a small upper coat doth his mother make to him, and she hath brought it up to him from time to time, in her coming up with her husband to sacrifice the sacrifice of the time.
And Judah dwelleth -- and Israel -- in confidence, each under his vine, and under his fig-tree, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba, all the days of Solomon.
and Jeroboam saith in his heart, 'Now doth the kingdom turn back to the house of David -- if this people go up to make sacrifices in the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem, then hath the heart of this people turned back unto their lord, unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they have slain me, and turned back unto Rehoboam king of Judah.'
And he saith, 'Wherefore art thou going unto him to-day? -- neither new moon nor sabbath!' and she saith, 'Peace to thee!'
And assembled unto the king are all the men of Israel in the feast -- it is the seventh month;
And Hezekiah sendeth unto all Israel and Judah, and also letters he hath written unto Ephraim and Manasseh, to come in to the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem, to make a passover to Jehovah, God of Israel.
And they make -- all the assembly of the captives of the captivity -- booths, and they sit in booths; for the sons of Israel had not done, from the days of Jeshua son of Nun, so unto that day, and there is very great joy.
Blow in the month a trumpet, In the new moon, at the day of our festival,
A voice of singing and salvation, Is in the tents of the righteous, The right hand of Jehovah is doing valiantly.
A voice of singing and salvation, Is in the tents of the righteous, The right hand of Jehovah is doing valiantly.
I beseech Thee, O Jehovah, save, I pray Thee, I beseech Thee, O Jehovah, prosper, I pray Thee. Blessed is he who is coming In the name of Jehovah, We blessed you from the house of Jehovah,
Honour Jehovah from thy substance, And from the beginning of all thine increase;
Add not to bring in a vain present, Incense -- an abomination it is to Me, New moon, and sabbath, calling of convocation! Rendure not iniquity -- and a restraint!
For a Child hath been born to us, A Son hath been given to us, And the princely power is on his shoulder, And He doth call his name Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace.
And Jehovah hath become king over all the land, In that day there is one Jehovah, and His name one.
And it hath come to pass, Every one who hath been left of all the nations, Who are coming in against Jerusalem, They have also gone up from year to year, To bow themselves to the King, Jehovah of Hosts, And to celebrate the feast of the booths.
for I say to you, ye may not see me henceforth, till ye may say, Blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord.'
and they said, 'Not in the feast, that there may not be a tumult among the people.'
And there were present certain at that time, telling him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate did mingle with their sacrifices;
and the feast of the Jews was nigh -- that of tabernacles -- his brethren, therefore, said unto him, 'Remove hence, and go away to Judea, that thy disciples also may behold thy works that thou dost; read more. for no one in secret doth anything, and himself seeketh to be in public; if thou dost these things -- manifest thyself to the world;' for not even were his brethren believing in him. Jesus, therefore, saith to them, 'My time is not yet present, but your time is always ready; the world is not able to hate you, but me it doth hate, because I testify concerning it that its works are evil. Ye -- go ye up to this feast; I do not yet go up to this feast, because my time hath not yet been fulfilled;' and saying these things to them, he remained in Galilee. And when his brethren went up, then also he himself went up to the feast, not manifestly, but as in secret; the Jews, therefore, were seeking him, in the feast, and said, 'Where is that one?' and there was much murmuring about him among the multitudes, some indeed said -- 'He is good;' and others said, 'No, but he leadeth astray the multitude;' no one, however, was speaking freely about him, through fear of the Jews. And it being now the middle of the feast, Jesus went up to the temple, and he was teaching, and the Jews were wondering, saying, 'How hath this one known letters -- not having learned?' Jesus answered them and said, 'My teaching is not mine, but His who sent me; if any one may will to do His will, he shall know concerning the teaching, whether it is of God, or -- I do speak from myself. 'He who is speaking from himself his own glory doth seek, but he who is seeking the glory of him who sent him, this one is true, and unrighteousness is not in him; hath not Moses given you the law? and none of you doth the law; why me do ye seek to kill?' The multitude answered and said, 'Thou hast a demon, who doth seek to kill thee?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'One work I did, and ye all wonder, because of this, Moses hath given you the circumcision -- not that it is of Moses, but of the fathers -- and on a sabbath ye circumcise a man; if a man doth receive circumcision on a sabbath that the law of Moses may not be broken, are ye wroth with me that I made a man all whole on a sabbath? judge not according to appearance, but the righteous judgment judge.' Certain, therefore, of the Jerusalemites said, 'Is not this he whom they are seeking to kill? and, lo, he doth speak freely, and they say nothing to him; did the rulers at all know truly that this is truly the Christ? but this one -- we have known whence he is; and the Christ, when he doth come, no one doth know whence he is.' Jesus cried, therefore, in the temple, teaching and saying, 'Ye have both known me, and ye have known whence I am; and I have not come of myself, but He who sent me is true, whom ye have not known; and I have known Him, because I am from Him, and He did send me.' They were seeking, therefore, to seize him, and no one laid the hand on him, because his hour had not yet come, and many out of the multitude did believe in him, and said -- 'The Christ -- when he may come -- will he do more signs than these that this one did?' The Pharisees heard the multitude murmuring these things concerning him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers that they may take him; Jesus, therefore, said to them, 'Yet a little time I am with you, and I go away unto Him who sent me; ye will seek me, and ye shall not find; and where I am, ye are not able to come.' The Jews, therefore, said among themselves, 'Whither is this one about to go that we shall not find him? -- to the dispersion of the Greeks is he about to go? and to teach the Greeks; what is this word that he said, Ye will seek me, and ye shall not find? and, Where I am, ye are not able to come?' And in the last, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, 'If any one doth thirst, let him come unto me and drink;
and this he said of the Spirit, which those believing in him were about to receive; for not yet was the Holy Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
and the possessions and the goods they were selling, and were parting them to all, according as any one had need. Daily also continuing with one accord in the temple, breaking also at every house bread, they were partaking of food in gladness and simplicity of heart,
and were laying them at the feet of the apostles, and distribution was being made to each according as any one had need.
And in these days, the disciples multiplying, there came a murmuring of the Hellenists at the Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily ministration,
cleanse out, therefore, the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, according as ye are unleavened, for also our passover for us was sacrificed -- Christ,
And now, Christ hath risen out of the dead -- the first-fruits of those sleeping he became,
manifested that ye are a letter of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not in the tablets of stone, but in fleshy tablets of the heart, and such trust we have through the Christ toward God, read more. not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything, as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God, who also made us sufficient to be ministrants of a new covenant, not of letter, but of spirit; for the letter doth kill, and the spirit doth make alive. and if the ministration of the death, in letters, engraved in stones, came in glory, so that the sons of Israel were not able to look stedfastly to the face of Moses, because of the glory of his face -- which was being made useless, how shall the ministration of the Spirit not be more in glory? for if the ministration of the condemnation is glory, much more doth the ministration of the righteousness abound in glory; for also even that which hath been glorious, hath not been glorious -- in this respect, because of the superior glory; for if that which is being made useless is through glory, much more that which is remaining is in glory. Having, then, such hope, we use much freedom of speech, and are not as Moses, who was putting a vail upon his own face, for the sons of Israel not stedfastly to look to the end of that which is being made useless, but their minds were hardened, for unto this day the same vail at the reading of the Old Covenant doth remain unwithdrawn -- which in Christ is being made useless -- but till to-day, when Moses is read, a vail upon their heart doth lie, and whenever they may turn unto the Lord, the vail is taken away. And the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty; and we all, with unvailed face, the glory of the Lord beholding in a mirror, to the same image are being transformed, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth -- the good news of your salvation -- in whom also having believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise, which is an earnest of our inheritance, to the redemption of the acquired possession, to the praise of His glory.
for if Joshua had given them rest, He would not concerning another day have spoken after these things; there doth remain, then, a sabbatic rest to the people of God,
so also the Christ, once having been offered to bear the sins of many, a second time, apart from a sin-offering, shall appear, to those waiting for him -- to salvation!
about to receive a reward of unrighteousness, pleasures counting the luxury in the day, spots and blemishes, luxuriating in their deceits, feasting with you,
After these things I saw, and lo, a great multitude, which to number no one was able, out of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands, and crying with a great voice, saying, 'The salvation is to Him who is sitting upon the throne -- to our God, and to the Lamb!' read more. And all the messengers stood around the throne, and the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell upon their face, and bowed before God, saying, 'Amen! the blessing, and the glory, and the wisdom, and the thanksgiving, and the honour, and the power, and the strength, are to our God -- to the ages of the ages! Amen!' And answer did one of the elders, saying to me, 'These, who have been arrayed with the white robes -- who are they, and whence came they?' and I have said to him, 'Sir, thou hast known;' and he said to me, 'These are those who are coming out of the great tribulation, and they did wash their robes, and they made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb; because of this are they before the throne of God, and they do service to Him day and night in His sanctuary, and He who is sitting upon the throne shall tabernacle over them; they shall not hunger any more, nor may the sun fall upon them, nor any heat, because the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters, and wipe away shall God every tear from their eyes.'
Hastings
Introductory.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
for six days hath Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and resteth in the seventh day; therefore hath Jehovah blessed the Sabbath-day, and doth sanctify it.
'Six days thou dost do thy work, and on the seventh day thou dost rest, so that thine ox and thine ass doth rest, and the son of thine handmaid and the sojourner is refreshed;
'Three times thou dost keep a feast to Me in a year;
'Three times in a year do all thy males appear before the face of the Lord Jehovah.
and ye have kept the sabbath, for it is holy to you, he who is polluting it is certainly put to death -- for any who doeth work in it -- that person hath even been cut off from the midst of his people. Six days is work done, and in the seventh day is a sabbath of holy rest to Jehovah; any who doeth work in the sabbath-day is certainly put to death,
between Me and the sons of Israel it is a sign -- to the age; for six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, and in the seventh day He hath ceased, and is refreshed.'
'Three times in a year do all thy males appear before the Lord Jehovah, God of Israel;
in the first month, on the fourteenth of the month, between the evenings, is the passover to Jehovah; and on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast of unleavened things to Jehovah; seven days unleavened things ye do eat;
And in the day of your gladness, and in your appointed seasons, and in the beginnings of your months, ye have blown also with the trumpets over your burnt-offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace-offerings, and they have been to you for a memorial before your God; I, Jehovah, am your God.'
And the sons of Israel are in the wilderness, and they find a man gathering wood on the sabbath-day, and those finding him gathering wood bring him near unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto all the company, read more. and they place him in ward, for it is not explained what is to be done to him. And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'The man is certainly put to death, all the company stoning him with stones, at the outside of the camp.' And all the company bring him out unto the outside of the camp, and stone him with stones, and he dieth, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
'And in the beginnings of your months ye bring near a burnt-offering to Jehovah: two bullocks, sons of the herd, and one ram, seven lambs, sons of a year, perfect ones; and three-tenth deals of flour, a present, mixed with oil, for the one bullock, and two-tenth deals of flour, a present, mixed with oil, for the one ram; read more. and a several tenth deal of flour, a present, mixed with oil, for the one lamb; a burnt-offering, a sweet fragrance, a fire-offering to Jehovah; and their libations are a half of the hin to a bullock, and a third of the hin to a ram, and a fourth of the hin to a lamb, of wine; this is the burnt-offering of every month for the months of the year; and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering to Jehovah; besides the continual burnt-offering it is prepared, and its libation. And in the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, is the passover to Jehovah; and in the fifteenth day of this month is a festival, seven days unleavened food is eaten;
and the seventh day is a sabbath to Jehovah thy God; thou dost not do any work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and thine ox, and thine ass, and all thy cattle, and thy sojourner who is within thy gates; so that thy man-servant, and thy handmaid doth rest like thyself; and thou hast remembered that a servant thou hast been in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God is bringing thee out thence by a strong hand, and by a stretched-out arm; therefore hath Jehovah thy God commanded thee to keep the day of the sabbath.
Three times in a year doth every one of thy males appear before Jehovah thy God in the place which He doth choose -- in the feast of unleavened things, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of booths; and they do not appear before Jehovah empty;
thou dost not bring a gift of a whore, or a price of a dog, into the house of Jehovah thy God, for any vow; for the abomination of Jehovah thy God are even both of them.
and have seen, and lo, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances -- then ye have gone out from the vineyards, and caught for you each his wife out of the daughters of Shiloh, and gone to the land of Benjamin;
and Hannah, she is speaking to her heart, only her lips are moving, and her voice is not heard, and Eli reckoneth her to be drunken.
And David saith unto Jonathan, 'Lo, the new moon is to-morrow; and I do certainly sit with the king to eat; and thou hast sent me away, and I have been hidden in a field till the third evening; if thy father at all look after me, and thou hast said, David asked earnestly of me to run to Beth-Lehem his city, for a sacrifice of the days is there for all the family.
And Jonathan saith to him, 'To-morrow is new moon, and thou hast been looked after, for thy seat is looked after;
And David is hidden in the field, and it is the new moon, and the king sitteth down by the food to eat,
And he saith, 'Wherefore art thou going unto him to-day? -- neither new moon nor sabbath!' and she saith, 'Peace to thee!'
And Nehemiah -- he is the Tirshatha -- saith (and Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Levites who are instructing the people) to all the people, 'To-day is holy to Jehovah your God, do not mourn, nor weep:' for all the people are weeping at their hearing the words of the law.
And the lots we have caused to fall for the offering of wood, among the priests, the Levites, and the people, to bring in to the house of our God, by the house of our fathers, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of Jehovah our God, as it is written in the law,
In those days I have seen in Judah those treading wine-vats on sabbath, and bringing in the sheaves, and lading on the asses, and also, wine, grapes, and figs, and every burden, yea, they are bringing in to Jerusalem on the sabbath-day, and I testify in the day of their selling provision.
And I say to the Levites, that they be cleansed, and, coming in, keeping the gates, to sanctify the sabbath-day. Also, this, remember for me, O my God, and have pity on me, according to the abundance of Thy kindness.
and for the wood-offering at appointed times, and for first-fruits. Be mindful of me, O my God, for good.
Add not to bring in a vain present, Incense -- an abomination it is to Me, New moon, and sabbath, calling of convocation! Rendure not iniquity -- and a restraint!
O the happiness of a man who doth this, And of a son of man who keepeth hold on it, Keeping the sabbath from polluting it, And keeping his hand from doing any evil.
And sons of the stranger, who are joined to Jehovah, To serve Him, and to love the name of Jehovah, To be to Him for servants, Every keeper of the sabbath from polluting it, And those keeping hold on My covenant.
If thou dost turn from the sabbath thy foot, Doing thine own pleasure on My holy day, And hast cried to the sabbath, 'A delight,' To the holy of Jehovah, 'Honoured,' And hast honoured it, without doing thine own ways, Without finding thine own pleasure, And speaking a word.
and thou hast said unto them: Hear a word of Jehovah, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all inhabitants of Jerusalem, who are coming in by these gates, Thus said Jehovah, Take ye heed to yourselves, And ye bear not a burden on the day of rest, Nor have ye brought it in by the gates of Jerusalem. read more. Nor do ye take out a burden from your houses on the day of rest, Yea, any work ye do not do, And ye have sanctified the day of rest, As I have commanded your fathers. And they have not hearkened nor inclined their ear, And they stiffen their neck not to hear, And not to receive instruction. And it hath been, if ye certainly hearken unto Me, An affirmation of Jehovah, So as not to bring in a burden By the gates of this city on the day of rest, And to sanctify the day of rest, So as not to do in it any work --
And also My sabbaths I have given to them, To be for a sign between Me and them, To know that I am Jehovah their sanctifier. And -- rebel against me do the house of Israel in the wilderness, In My statutes they have not walked, And My judgments they have despised, Which the man who doth -- liveth by them. And My sabbaths they have greatly polluted, And I say to pour out My fury on them in the wilderness, to consume them.
Because against My judgments they did kick, And in My statutes they have not walked, And My sabbaths they have polluted, For after their idols their heart is going.
And My sabbaths sanctify, And they have been for a sign between Me and you, To know that I, Jehovah, am your God.
And I have caused to cease all her joy, Her festival, her new moon, and her sabbath, Even all her appointed times,
Who are panting for the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, And the way of the humble they turn aside, And a man and his father go unto the damsel, So as to pollute My holy name.
Saying, When doth the new moon pass, And we sell ground corn? And the sabbath, and we open out pure corn? To make little the ephah, And to make great the shekel, And to use perversely balances of deceit.
Saying, When doth the new moon pass, And we sell ground corn? And the sabbath, and we open out pure corn? To make little the ephah, And to make great the shekel, And to use perversely balances of deceit.
And the first day of the unleavened food, when they were killing the passover, his disciples say to him, 'Where wilt thou, that, having gone, we may prepare, that thou mayest eat the passover?'
Morish
The feasts of Jehovah, as instituted under the law as given by Moses, partake more of the character of commemorations, or assemblies of the congregation to celebrate special dealings of the Lord, and consequently special seasons in the history of His people, being called 'holy convocations.' A list of the yearly feasts is given in Lev. 23. The first mentioned is the Sabbath, and if this is counted as one, by considering the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread as one there are seven in all
See Verses Found in Dictionary
'Three times thou dost keep a feast to Me in a year; the Feast of Unleavened things thou dost keep; seven days thou dost eat unleavened things, as I have commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month of Abib; for in it thou hast come forth out of Egypt, and ye do not appear in My presence empty; read more. and the Feast of Harvest, the first fruits of thy works which thou sowest in the field; and the Feast of the In-Gathering, in the outgoing of the year, in thy gathering thy works out of the field. 'Three times in a year do all thy males appear before the face of the Lord Jehovah.
in the first month, on the fourteenth of the month, between the evenings, is the passover to Jehovah; and on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast of unleavened things to Jehovah; seven days unleavened things ye do eat; read more. on the first day ye have a holy convocation, ye do no servile work; and ye have brought near a fire-offering to Jehovah seven days; in the seventh day is a holy convocation; ye do no servile work.' And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 'Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, When ye come in unto the land which I am giving to you, and have reaped its harvest, and have brought in the sheaf, the beginning of your harvest unto the priest, then he hath waved the sheaf before Jehovah for your acceptance; on the morrow of the sabbath doth the priest wave it. 'And ye have prepared in the day of your waving the sheaf a lamb, a perfect one, a son of a year, for a burnt-offering to Jehovah, and its present two tenth deals of flour mixed with oil, a fire-offering to Jehovah, a sweet fragrance, and its drink-offering, wine, a fourth of the hin. And bread and roasted corn and full ears ye do not eat until this self-same day, until your bringing in the offering of your God -- a statute age-during to your generations, in all your dwellings. 'And ye have numbered to you from the morrow of the sabbath, from the day of your bringing in the sheaf of the wave-offering: they are seven perfect sabbaths; unto the morrow of the seventh sabbath ye do number fifty days, and ye have brought near a new present to Jehovah; out of your dwellings ye bring in bread of a wave-offering, two loaves, of two tenth deals of flour they are, with yeast they are baken, first -fruits to Jehovah. 'And ye have brought near, besides the bread, seven lambs, perfect ones, sons of a year, and one bullock, a son of the herd, and two rams; they are a burnt-offering to Jehovah, with their present and their libations, a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah. 'And ye have prepared one kid of the goats for a sin-offering, and two lambs, sons of a year, for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, and the priest hath waved them, besides the bread of the first -fruits -- a wave-offering before Jehovah, besides the two lambs; they are holy to Jehovah for the priest; and ye have proclaimed on this self-same day: a holy convocation is to you, ye do no servile work -- a statute age-during in all your dwellings, to your generations. And in your reaping the harvest of your land thou dost not complete the corner of thy field in thy reaping, and the gleaning of thy harvest thou dost not gather, to the poor and to the sojourner thou dost leave them; I Jehovah am your God.' And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 'Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first of the month, ye have a sabbath, a memorial of shouting, a holy convocation; ye do no servile work, and ye have brought near a fire-offering to Jehovah.' And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, Only -- on the tenth of this seventh month is a day of atonements; ye have a holy convocation, and ye have humbled yourselves, and have brought near a fire-offering to Jehovah; and ye do no work in this self-same day, for it is a day of atonements, to make atonement for you, before Jehovah your God. 'For any person who is not humbled in this self-same day hath even been cut off from his people; and any person who doth any work in this self-same day I have even destroyed that person from the midst of his people; ye do no work -- a statute age-during to your generations in all your dwellings. It is a sabbath of rest to you, and ye have humbled yourselves in the ninth of the month at even; from evening till evening ye do keep your sabbath.' And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, In the fifteenth day of this seventh month is a feast of booths seven days to Jehovah; on the first day is a holy convocation, ye do no servile work, seven days ye bring near a fire-offering to Jehovah, on the eighth day ye have a holy convocation, and ye have brought near a fire-offering to Jehovah; it is a restraint, ye do no servile work. These are appointed seasons of Jehovah, which ye proclaim holy convocations, to bring near a fire-offering to Jehovah, a burnt-offering, and a present, a sacrifice, and libations, a thing of a day in its day, apart from the sabbaths of Jehovah, and apart from your gifts, and apart from all your vows, and apart from all your willing-offerings, which ye give to Jehovah. Only -- in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, in your gathering the increase of the land, ye do keep the feast of Jehovah seven days; on the first day is a sabbath, and on the eighth day a sabbath; and ye have taken to yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palms, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of a brook, and have rejoiced before Jehovah your God seven days. And ye have kept it a feast to Jehovah, seven days in a year -- a statute age-during to your generations; in the seventh month ye keep it a feast. 'In booths ye dwell seven days; all who are natives in Israel dwell in booths, so that your generations do know that in booths I caused the sons of Israel to dwell; in my bringing them out of the land of Egypt; I, Jehovah, am your God.' And Moses speaketh concerning the appointed seasons of Jehovah unto the sons of Israel.
'These ye prepare to Jehovah in your appointed seasons, apart from your vows, and your free-will offerings, for your burnt-offerings, and for your presents, and for your libations, and for your peace-offerings.'
Three times in a year doth every one of thy males appear before Jehovah thy God in the place which He doth choose -- in the feast of unleavened things, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of booths; and they do not appear before Jehovah empty;
for bread of the arrangement, and the continual present, and the continual burnt-offering of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for appointed seasons, and for holy things, and for sin-offerings, to make atonement for Israel, even all the work of the house of our God.
to establish on them, to be keeping the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and the fifteenth day of it, in every year and year,
therefore they have called these days Purim -- by the name of the lot -- therefore, because of all the words of this letter, and what they have seen concerning this, and what hath come unto them,
And the dedication in Jerusalem came, and it was winter,
Smith
Feasts.
[FESTIVALS; MEALS]
See Festivals
See Meals
Watsons
FEASTS. God appointed several festivals among the Jews.
1. To perpetuate the memory of great events; so, the Sabbath commemorated the creation of the world; the passover, the departure out of Egypt; the pentecost, the law given at Sinai, &c.
2. To keep them under the influence of religion, and by the majesty of that service which he instituted among them, and which abounded in mystical symbols or types of evangelical things, to convey spiritual instruction, and to keep alive the expectation of the Messiah, and his more perfect dispensation.
3. To secure to them certain times of rest and rejoicings.
4. To render them familiar with the law; for, in their religious assemblies, the law of God was read and explained.
5. To renew the acquaintance, correspondence, and friendship of their tribes and families, coming from the several towns in the country, and meeting three times a year in the holy city.
The first and most ancient festival, the Sabbath, or seventh day, commemorated the creation. "The Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it," says Moses, "because that in it he had rested from all his work," Ge 2:3. See SABBATH.
The passover was instituted in memory of the Israelites' departure out of Egypt, and of the favour which God showed his people in sparing their first-born, when he destroyed the first-born of the Egyptians, Ex 12:14, &c. See PASSOVER.
The feast of pentecost was celebrated on the fiftieth day after the passover, in memory of the law being given to Moses on Mount Sinai, fifty days after the departure out of Egypt. They reckoned seven weeks from the passover to pentecost, beginning at the day after the passover. The Hebrews call it the feast of weeks, and the Christians, pentecost, which signifies the fiftieth day.
The feast of trumpets was celebrated on the first day of the civil year; on which the trumpets sounded, proclaiming the beginning of the year, which was in the month Tisri, answering to our September, O. S. We know no religious cause of its establishment. Moses commands it to be observed as a day of rest, and that particular sacrifices should be offered at that time.
The new moons, or first days of every month, were, in some sort, a consequence of the feasts of trumpets. The law did not oblige people to rest upon this day, but ordained only some particular sacrifices. It appears that, on these days, also, the trumpet was sounded, and entertainments were made, 1Sa 20:5-18.
The feast of expiation or atonement was celebrated on the tenth day of Tisri, which was the first day of the civil year. It was instituted for a general expiation of sins, irreverences, and pollutions of all the Israelites, from the high priest to the lowest of the people, committed by them throughout the year, Le 23:27-28; Nu 29:7. See EXPIATION, Day of.
The feast of tents, or tabernacle, on which all Israel were obliged to attend the temple, and to dwell eight days under tents of branches, in memory of their fathers dwelling forty years in tents, as travellers in the wilderness. It was kept on the fifteenth of the month Tisri, the first of the civil year. The first and seventh day of this feast were very solemn. But during the other days of the octave they might work, Le 23:34-35; Nu 29:12-13. At the beginning of the feast, two vessels of silver were carried in a ceremonious manner to the temple, one full of water, the other of wine, which were poured at the foot of the altar of burnt offerings, always on the seventh day of this festival.
Of the three great feasts of the year, the passover, pentecost, and that of the tabernacles, the octave, or seventh day after these feasts, was a day of rest as much as the festival itself; and all the males of the nation were obliged to visit the temple at these three feasts. But the law did not require them to continue there during the whole octave, except in the feast of tabernacles, when they seem obliged to be present for the whole seven days.
Beside these feasts, we find the feast of lots, or purim, instituted on occasion of the deliverance of the Jews from Haman's plot, in the reign of Ahasuerus. See PURIM.
The feast of the dedication of the temple, or rather of the restoration of the temple, which had been profaned by Antiochus Epiphanes, 1 Mac. 4:52, &c, was celebrated in winter, and is supposed to be the feast of dedication mentioned in Joh 10:22. Josephus says, that it was called the feast of lights, probably because this happiness befel them when least expected, and they considered it as a new light risen on them.
In the Christian church, no festival appears to have been expressly instituted by Jesus Christ, or his Apostles. Yet, as we commemorate the passion of Christ as often as we celebrate his Supper, he seems by this to have instituted a perpetual feast. Christians have always celebrated the memory of his resurrection, and observe this feast on every Sunday, which was commonly called the Lord's day, Re 1:10. By inference we may conclude this festival to have been instituted by Apostolic authority.
The birth-day of Christ, commonly called Christmas-day, has been generally observed by his disciples with gratitude and joy. His birth was the greatest blessing ever bestowed on mankind. The angels from heaven celebrated it with a joyful hymn; and every man, who has any feeling of his own lost state without a Redeemer, must rejoice and be glad in it. "Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, Isa 9:6. For this festival, however, there is no authority in Scripture, nor do we know that it was observed in the age of the Apostles.
On Easter Sunday we celebrate our Saviour's victory over death and hell, when, having on the cross made an atonement for the sin of the world, he rose again from the grave, brought life and immortality to light, and opened to all his faithful servants the way to heaven. On this great event rest all our hopes. "If Christ be not risen," says St. Paul, "then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept," 1Co 15:14,20.
Forty days after his resurrection, our Lord ascended into heaven, in the sight of his disciples. This is celebrated on what is called Ascension-day, or Holy Thursday. Ten days after his ascension, our Lord sent the Holy Spirit to be the comforter and guide of his disciples. This blessing is commemorated on Whit-Sunday, which is a very great festival, and may be profitably observed; for the assistance of the Holy Spirit can alone support us through all temptations, and guide us into all truth.
The pretended success of some in discovering the remains of certain holy men, called "relics," multiplied in the fourth century of the Christian church the festivals and commemorations of the martyrs in a most extravagant manner. These days, instead of being set apart for pious exercises, were spent in indolence, voluptuousness, and criminal pursuits; and were less consecrated to the service of God, than employed in the indulgence of sinful passions. Many of these festivals were instituted on a Pagan model, and perverted to similar purposes.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And God blesseth the seventh day, and sanctifieth it, for in it He hath ceased from all His work which God had prepared for making.
And this day hath become to you a memorial, and ye have kept it a feast to Jehovah to your generations; -- a statute age-during; ye keep it a feast.
Only -- on the tenth of this seventh month is a day of atonements; ye have a holy convocation, and ye have humbled yourselves, and have brought near a fire-offering to Jehovah; and ye do no work in this self-same day, for it is a day of atonements, to make atonement for you, before Jehovah your God.
Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, In the fifteenth day of this seventh month is a feast of booths seven days to Jehovah; on the first day is a holy convocation, ye do no servile work,
'And on the tenth of this seventh month a holy convocation ye have, and ye have humbled your souls; ye do no work;
'And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month a holy convocation ye have; ye do no servile work; and ye have celebrated a festival to Jehovah seven days, and have brought near a burnt-offering, a fire-offering, a sweet fragrance, to Jehovah; thirteen bullocks, sons of the herd, two rams, fourteen lambs, sons of a year; perfect ones they are;
And David saith unto Jonathan, 'Lo, the new moon is to-morrow; and I do certainly sit with the king to eat; and thou hast sent me away, and I have been hidden in a field till the third evening; if thy father at all look after me, and thou hast said, David asked earnestly of me to run to Beth-Lehem his city, for a sacrifice of the days is there for all the family. read more. If thus he say: Good; peace is for thy servant; and if it be very displeasing to him -- know that the evil hath been determined by him; and thou hast done kindness, to thy servant, for into a covenant of Jehovah thou hast brought thy servant with thee; -- and if there is in me iniquity, put thou me to death; and unto thy father, why is this -- thou dost bring me in?' And Jonathan saith, 'Far be it from thee! for I certainly do not know that the evil hath been determined by my father to come upon thee, and I do not declare it to thee.' And David saith unto Jonathan, 'Who doth declare to me? or what if thy father doth answer thee sharply?' And Jonathan saith unto David, 'Come, and we go out into the field;' and they go out both of them into the field. And Jonathan saith unto David, 'Jehovah, God of Israel -- when I search my father, about this time to-morrow or the third day, and lo, good is towards David, and I do not then send unto thee, and have uncovered thine ear -- thus doth Jehovah do to Jonathan, and thus doth He add; when the evil concerning thee is good to my father, then I have uncovered thine ear, and sent thee away, and thou hast gone in peace, and Jehovah is with thee, as he was with my father; and not only while I am alive dost thou do with me the kindness of Jehovah, and I die not, but thou dost not cut off thy kindness from my house unto the age, nor in Jehovah's cutting off the enemies of David, each one from off the face of the ground.' And Jonathan covenanteth with the house of David, and Jehovah hath sought it from the hand of the enemies of David; and Jonathan addeth to cause David to swear, because he loveth him, for with the love of his own soul he hath loved him. And Jonathan saith to him, 'To-morrow is new moon, and thou hast been looked after, for thy seat is looked after;
For a Child hath been born to us, A Son hath been given to us, And the princely power is on his shoulder, And He doth call his name Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace.
And the dedication in Jerusalem came, and it was winter,
and if Christ hath not risen, then void is our preaching, and void also your faith,
And now, Christ hath risen out of the dead -- the first-fruits of those sleeping he became,
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's-day, and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying,