Reference: Festivals, Religious
Easton
There were daily (Le 23), weekly, monthly, and yearly festivals, and great stress was laid on the regular observance of them in every particular (Nu 28:1-8; Ex 29:38-42; Le 6:8-23; Ex 30:7-9; 27:20).
(1.) The septenary festivals were,
(a) The weekly Sabbath (Le 23:1-3; Ex 19:3-25; 20:8-11; 31:12, etc.).
(b) The seventh new moon, or the feast of Trumpets (Nu 28:11-15; 29:1-6).
(c) The Sabbatical year (Ex 23:10-11; Le 25:2-7).
(d) The year of jubilee (Le 23-27; 25:1; 8-16; 27:16-25).
(2.) The great feasts were,
(a) The Passover. (b) The feast of Pentecost, or of weeks. (c) The feast of Tabernacles, or of ingathering.
On each of these occasions every male Israelite was commanded "to appear before the Lord" (De 27:7; Ne 8:9-12). The attendance of women was voluntary. (Comp. Lu 2:41; 1Sa 1:7; 2:19.) The promise that God would protect their homes (Ex 34:23-24) while all the males were absent in Jerusalem at these feasts was always fulfilled. "During the whole period between Moses and Christ we never read of an enemy invading the land at the time of the three festivals. The first instance on record is thirty-three years after they had withdrawn from themselves the divine protection by imbruing their hands in the Saviour's blood, when Cestius, the Roman general, slew fifty of the people of Lydda while all the rest had gone up to the feast of Tabernacles, A.D. 66."
These festivals, besides their religious purpose, had an important bearing on the maintenance among the people of the feeling of a national unity. The times fixed for their observance were arranged so as to interfere as little as possible with the industry of the people. The Passover was kept just before the harvest commenced, Pentecost at the conclusion of the corn harvest and before the vintage, the feast of Tabernacles after all the fruits of the ground had been gathered in.
(3.) The Day of Atonement, the tenth day of the seventh month (Le 16:1,34; 23:26-32; Nu 29:7-11). (See Atonement, Day of.)
Of the post-Exilian festivals reference is made to the feast of Dedication (Joh 10:22). This feast was appointed by Judas Maccabaeus in commemoration of the purification of the temple after it had been polluted by Antiochus Epiphanes. The "feast of Purim" (q.v.), Es 9:24-32, was also instituted after the Exile. (Cf. Joh 5:1.)
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Moses went up to God, and Jehovah will call to him from the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob and shalt announce to the sons of Israel: Ye saw what I did to Egypt, and I will lift you up upon the wings of eagles, and I will bring you to me. read more. And now if hearing, ye shall hear to my voice, and watch my covenant, and ye were to me wealth above all peoples, for to me is all the earth. And ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These the words which thou shalt speak to the sons of Israel. And Moses will go and will call to the old men of the people, and he will set before them all these words that Jehovah commanded him. And all the people will answer together, and will say, All which Jehovah spake, we will do. And Moses turned back the words of the people to Jehovah. And Jehovah will say to Moses, Behold me coming to thee in the darkness of the cloud, so that the people shall hear in my speaking with thee, and also in thee shall they believe forever. And Moses will announce the words of the people to Jehovah. And Jehovah will say to Moses, Go to the people and consecrate them this day, and the morrow; and they washed their garments, And be ye prepared for the third day, for in the third day Jehovah will come down before the eyes of all the people upon mount Sinai. And set bounds to the people round about, saying, Watch for yourselves to go up into the mount, and to touch upon its extremity: every one touching upon the mount, dying, shall die. No hand shall touch upon it, for being stoned, he shall be stoned, or being shot, shall be shot; whether quadruped or man, it shall not live: in protracting the shouting, they shall go up upon the mount And Moses will come down from the mount to the people, and he will consecrate the people; and they will wash their garments. And he will say to the people, Be prepared; for three days ye shall not come near to a woman. And it shall be in the third day, it being in the morning, and there shall be voices, and lightnings, and a heavy cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceedingly strong; and all the people in the camp will tremble. And Moses will bring forth the people to the meeting of God out of the camp; and they will stand in the lower parts of the mount And mount Sinai smoked all of it, because that Jehovah came down upon it in fire: and its smoke will go up as the smoke of the furnace, and all the mountain will tremble exceedingly. And the voice of the trumpet will be going and strengthening exceedingly, Moses will speak and God will answer him by a voice. And Jehovah will come down upon mount Sinai to the head of the mount: and Jehovah will call for Moses to the head of the mount and Moses will go up. And Jehovah will say to Moses, Go down: protest to the people lest they shall break in to Jehovah to see, and a multitude fall from them. And also the priests drawing near to Jehovah, shall be consecrated, lest Jehovah shall break forth upon them. And Moses will say to Jehovah, The people shall not be able to come up to mount Sinai, for thou didst protest to us, saying, Set bounds to the mountain, and consecrate it And Jehovah will say to him, Go; come down, and come up, thou and Aaron with thee: and the priests and the people shall not break in to come up to Jehovah lest he shall break forth upon them. And Moses will come down to the people and will say to them.
Remember the day of the Sabbath to consecrate it Six days thou shalt work and do all thy service: read more. And the seventh day the Sabbath to Jehovah thy God: thou shall do no service, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy servant, and thy maid, and thy cattle, and thy stranger which is in thy gates. For six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all which is in them, and he will rest in the seventh day: for this Jehovah praised the seventh day and consecrated it.
Six years shalt thou sow thy land, and gather its produce: And the seventh thou shalt remit, and let it be; and the poor of thy people shall eat; and the remains, the beast of the field shall eat. So shalt thou do to thy vineyard and to thy olive tree.
And thou shalt command the sons of Israel, and they shall take to thee pure olive oil, beaten for the light, to lift up the light continually.
This which thou shalt do upon the altar; two he lambs the sons of a year for the day continually. The one he lamb thou shalt do in the morning; and the second he lamb thou shalt do between the two evenings. read more. A tenth of fine flour mixed with beaten oil, the fourth of an hin, and a libation, the fourth of an hin of wine, for the one he lamb. And the second he lamb thou shalt do between the two evenings, according to the sacrifice of the morning, and according to its libation, thou shalt do it for a smell of sweet odor, a sacrifice to Jehovah. A burnt-offering of continuance for your generations at the door of the tent of appointment before Jehovah, where I will meet with you there, to speak to thee there.
And Aaron to burn upon it incense of spices in the morning: in the morning in his adorning the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it And in Aaron's causing the lamps, to ascend between the two evenings, he shall burn incense upon it; continually before Jehovah for your generations. read more. And ye shall not bring up upon it strange incense; and a burnt-offering, a sacrifice and a libation thou shalt not pour out upon it.
Three times in the year all thy males shall be seen before the Lord Jehovah, the God of Israel. For I will dispossess the nations from before thee; and I enlarged thy bound: and a man shall not desire thy land in thy coming up to see the face of Jehovah thy God, three times in the year.
And Jehovah will speak to Moses, saying, Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This the law of the burnt-offering: it is the burnt-offering upon its burning upon the altar all the night till the morning; and the fire of the altar shall burn upon it read more. And the priest put on his garment of thread, and his drawers of thread he shall put upon his flesh, and he took up the ashes which the fire shall consume, with the burnt-offering upon the altar, and he put it beside the altar. And he put off his garments and put on other garments, and brought forth the ashes without the camp, to a clean place. And the fire upon the altar shall burn in it; and it shall not go out: and the priest burnt wood upon it in the morning, in the morning, and he arranged upon it the burnt-offering; and burnt upon it the fat of the peace. The fire shall always burn upon the altar; it shall not go out And this the law of the gift: the sons of Aaron bringing it before Jehovah, before the altar. And he took up from it his handful from the fine flour of the gift, and from its oil, and all the frankincense which is upon the gift, and he burnt upon the altar, an odor of sweetness, a remembrance to Jehovah. And the remainder from it Aaron and his sons shall eat: unleavened shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the enclosure of the tent of appointment they shall eat it It shall not be cooked leavened. I gave it their portion from my sacrifices. It is holy of holies, as the sin and the trespass. Every male of the sons of Aaron shall eat it A law forever for your generations, from the sacrifices of Jehovah; all which touch upon them shall be holy. And Jehovah will speak to Moses, saying, This the offering of Aaron and his sons, which they shall bring to Jehovah, in the day of anointing him; the tenth of the ephah of fine flour a perpetual gift, its half in the morning and its half in the evening. Upon a frying-pan with oil it shall be made; being dipped, thou shalt bring it in the cookings of the gift, in bits thou shalt bring near, an odor of sweetness to Jehovah. And the priest being anointed, of his sons, instead of him shall do it: a law forever to Jehovah: it shall be wholly burnt And every gift of the priest shall be wholly burnt: it shall not be eaten.
And Jehovah will speak to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, in their bringing near before Jehovah, and they shall die.
And this was to you for a law forever to expiate for the sons of Israel, from all their sins once in a year: and he will do as Jehovah commanded Moses.
And Jehovah will speak to Moses, saying to, Speak the sons of Israel and say to them, The appointments of Jehovah, which ye shall call them holy callings, these my appointments. read more. Six days shall work be done; the seventh day a Sabbath of rest, a holy calling: ye shall not do any work: it is a Sabbath to Jehovah in all your dwellings.
And Jehovah will speak to Moses, saying, But in this tenth of the seventh month, a day of expiation; shall be a holy calling to you, and ye humbled your souls, and brought a sacrifice to Jehovah. read more. And any work ye shall not do in that self-same day, for it is a day of expiation, to expiate for you before Jehovah your God. For every soul which shall not be humbled in, that same day, and it was cut off from its people. And any soul which shall do any work in that same day, I destroyed that soul from the midst of its people. Any work ye shall not do: a law forever to your generations in all your dwellings. A Sabbath of rest it is to you; ye humbled your souls: in the ninth of the month, in the evening, from evening to evening shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.
Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, When ye shall come into the land which I gave to you, the land shall rest a Sabbath to Jehovah. Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather its produce; read more. And in the seventh year, a Sabbath of rest shall be to the land, a Sabbath to Jehovah: thy field thou shalt not sow, and thy vineyard thou. shalt not prune. The overflowing of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, and the grapes of thy separation thou shalt not gather: a year of the Sabbaths shall be to the land. And the Sabbath of the land shall be to you for food; to thee and to thy servant, and to thy maid, and to thy hireling, and to thine inhabitant sojourning with thee. And to thy cattle, and to the beast which is in thy land shall all its produce be for food.
And Jehovah will speak to Moses, saying, Command the sons of Israel and say to them, My offerings and my bread for my sacrifices, an odor of my rest ye shall watch, to bring near to me in their appointments. read more. And say to them, This the sacrifice which ye shall bring near to Jehovah: two blameless lambs, sons of a year, for a day, for a burnt-offering continually. The one lamb thou shalt do in the morning, and the second lamb thou shalt do between the evenings. And a tenth of the ephah of fine flour for the gift mingled with oil beaten, the fourth of an hin. A burnt-offering of continuance being done in mount Sinai for an odor of sweetness, a sacrifice to Jehovah. And its libation, the fourth of an hin for the one lamb in the holy place: pouring out a libation, a strong drink to Jehovah. And the second lamb thou shalt do between the evenings, according to the gift of the morning, and according to its libation thou shalt do a sacrifice, an odor of sweetness to Jehovah,
And in the beginnings of your months, ye shall bring near a burnt-offering to Jehovah; two bullocks, sons of a cow, and one ram, seven blameless lambs, sons of a year; Three tenths of fine flour, a gift mingled with oil, for the one bullock, and two tenths of fine flour, a gift mingled with oil, for the one ram; read more. And a tenth, tenth of fine flour, a gift mingled with oil, for the one lamb, a burnt-offering, an odor of sweetness, a sacrifice to Jehovah. And their libations shall be half of the hin for the bullock, and the third of the hin for the ram; and the fourth of the hin of wine for the lamb: this the burnt-offering of the month in its month, for the months of the year. And one he goat of the goats for sin, to Jehovah, upon the burnt-offering of continuance, it shall be done, and libation.
And in the seventh month, in one to the month, a holy calling to shall be to you; all work of service ye shall not do: it shall be a day of signal to you. And ye did the burnt-offering for an odor of sweetness to Jehovah; one bullock, the son of a cow, one ram, seven blameless lambs, sons of a year. read more. And their gift fine flour mingled with oil, three tenths for the bullock, two tenths for the ram, And one tenth for the one lamb, for the seven lambs; And one he goat of the goats for sin, to expiate for you; Besides the burnt-offering of the month and its gift, and the burnt-offering of continuance and its gift, and their libation, according to their judgment, for an odor of sweetness, a sacrifice to Jehovah. And in the tenth to this seventh month a holy calling shall be to you: ye afflicted your souls: all work ye shall not do. And bring ye near a burnt-offering to Jehovah, an odor of sweetness: one bullock, son of a cow, one ram, seven lambs, sons of a year; blameless they shall be to you. And their gift fine flour mingled with oil, three tenths for the bullock, two tenths for the one ram, A tenth tenth for the one lamb, the seven lambs: One he goat of the goats for sin, besides the sin of expiations, and the burnt-offering of continuance, and its gift and their libations.
And sacrifice peace, and eat there and rejoice before Jehovah thy God.
And Nehemiah, (he the Tirshatha) will say, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites causing the people to understand, To all the people this day is holy to Jehovah your God; ye shall not mourn, and ye shall not weep. For all the people weeping in their hearing to the words of the law. And he will say to them, Go ye; eat fatnesses, and drink sweetnesses, and send portions to him for whom nothing was prepared: for the day is holy to our Lord: and ye shall not grieve, for the joy of Jehovah this is your strength. read more. And the Levites silencing to all the people, saying, Silence; for the day is holy; and ye shall not grieve. And all the people will go to eat and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great gladness, for they understood the words that were made known to them.
For Haman son of Hammedatha the Amite, oppressing all the Jews, purposed against the Jews to destroy them, and he cast Pur (this the lot) to discomfit them and to destroy them; And in her coming before the king, he said by letter he will turn back his purpose of evil that he purposed against the Jews upon his head: and they hung him and his sons upon the tree. read more. For this they called to these days Purim, for the name of Pur. For this upon all the words of this epistle, and What they saw upon this, and what came to them, The Jews set up and admitted upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all joining themselves to them, and they shall not pass by to be doing these two days according to their writing, and according to their time in every year and year; And these days being remembered and done in every generation and generation, family and family, province and province, city and city; and these days of the lots shall not pass by from the midst of the Jews, and their remembrance shall not be ended from their seed. And Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, will write with all power to set up the epistle of Purim, this second. And he will send the letter to all the Jews, to the seventy and twenty and a hundred provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, words of peace and truth, To set up these days of Purim in their times, as Mordecai the Jew set up to them, and Esther the queen, and as they set up for their souls and for their seed, the words of fastings and their cry: And the saying of Esther set up these words of Purim; and it was written in the book.
And his parents went every year to Jerusalem to the festival of the passover.
After these was the festival of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
And there was the festival of inauguration among the Jerusalemites, and it was winter..