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 The first instance on record is thirty-three years after they had withdrawn from themselves the divine protection by imbruing their hands in the Saviour's blood, when Cestius, the Roman general, slew fifty of the people of Lydda while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 called to him out of the mountain, saying, You shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the sons of Israel: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. read more. And now if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to Me above all the nations; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the sons of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which Jehovah commanded him. And all the people answered together and said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people to Jehovah. And Jehovah said to Moses, Lo, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever. And Moses told the words of the people to Jehovah. And Jehovah said to Moses, Go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. And be ready for the third day. For the third day Jehovah will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai. And you shall set bounds to the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves. Do not go up into the mountain, or touch the border of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be surely put to death. There shall not be a hand to touch it, but that he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether beast or man, it shall not live. When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come up to the mountain. And Moses went down from the mountain to the people, and sanctified the people. And they washed their clothes. And he said to the people, Be ready for the third day. Do not approach a woman. And it happened on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain. And the voice of the trumpet was exceedingly loud, so that all the people in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God. And they stood at the lower part of the mountain. And Mount Sinai was smoking, all of it, because Jehovah came down upon it in fire. And the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and became very strong, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice. And Jehovah came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And Jehovah called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And Jehovah said to Moses, Go down. Command the people, lest they break through to Jehovah to gaze, and many of them perish. And let the priests also, who come near to Jehovah, sanctify themselves, lest Jehovah break forth upon them. And Moses said to Jehovah, The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai. For You commanded us, saying, Set bounds around the mountain, and sanctify it. And Jehovah said to him, Away! You go down, and you shall come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to Jehovah, lest He break forth upon them. And Moses went down to the people, and spoke to them.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. read more. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of Jehovah your God. You shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger within your gates. For in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day, and sanctified it.
And you shall sow your land six years, and shall gather in the fruits of it. But the seventh year you shall let it rest and let it alone, so that the poor of your people may eat. And what they leave, the animals of the field shall eat. In the same way you shall deal with your vineyard and with your oliveyard.
And you shall command the sons of Israel that they bring you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always
And this is what you shall offer upon the altar: two lambs of the first year day by day forever. The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at evening. read more. And with the one lamb a tenth part of flour mixed with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil, and the fourth part of a hin of wine, a drink offering. And you shall offer the other lamb at evening; you shall do to it according to the meal offering of the morning, and according to its drink offering, for a sweet smell, an offering made by fire to Jehovah. This shall be a burnt offering forever throughout your generations, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before Jehovah, where I will meet you, to speak there to you.
And Aaron shall burn sweet incense on it every morning; when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it. And when Aaron lights the lamps at evening, he shall burn it, a perpetual incense before Jehovah throughout your generations. read more. You shall offer no strange incense on it, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meal offering. Neither shall you pour drink offering on it.
Three times in the year your men shall appear before the Lord Jehovah, the God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders. Neither shall any man desire your land when you shall go up to appear before Jehovah your God three times in the year.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering. It is the burnt offering for burning on the altar all night to the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it. read more. And the priest shall put on his linen garment. And he shall put his linen breeches on his flesh and take up the ashes which the fire has consumed with the burnt offering on the altar. And he shall put them beside the altar. And he shall strip off his garments and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it. It shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it. And he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. The fire shall always be burning on the altar. It shall never go out. And this is the law of the food offering. The sons of Aaron shall offer it before Jehovah before the altar. And he shall take from it his handful of the flour of the food offering, and of the oil of it, and all the frankincense which is on the food offering, and shall burn it on the altar for a sweet savor, the memorial of it, to Jehovah. And the rest of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten with unleavened bread in the holy place. They shall eat it in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation. It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of My offerings made by fire. It is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering is. All the males among the sons of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute forever in your generations concerning the offerings of Jehovah made by fire. Everyone that touches them shall be holy. And Jehovah spoke to Moses saying, This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer to Jehovah in the day he is anointed, the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a continual food offering, half of it in the morning and half of it at night. It shall be made in a pan with oil; you shall bring it in. And you shall offer the baked pieces of the food offering, a sweet savor to Jehovah. And the priest of his sons, who is anointed in his stead, shall offer it. It is a statute forever to Jehovah. It shall be wholly burnt. For every food offering for the priest shall be wholly burnt. It shall not be eaten.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before Jehovah and they died.
And this shall be an everlasting statute to you, to make an atonement for the sons of Israel for their sins once a year. And he did as Jehovah commanded Moses.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, The feasts of Jehovah, which you shall proclaim, holy convocations, even these are My appointed feasts. read more. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work. It is a sabbath to Jehovah in all your dwellings.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Also, on the tenth of this seventh month, this is a day of atonement. It shall be a holy convocation to you. And you shall afflict your souls and offer a fire offering to Jehovah. read more. And you shall do no work in that same day, for it is a day of atonement, in order to make an atonement for you before Jehovah your God. For any soul who is not humbled in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And any soul who does any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. You shall do no kind of work. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be to you a sabbath of rest, and you shall humble your souls. In the ninth of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your sabbath.
Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath to Jehovah. You shall sow your field six years, and you shall prune your vineyard six years, and gather in the fruit of it. read more. But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest to the land, a sabbath for Jehovah. You shall neither sow your field, nor prune your vineyard. You shall not reap that which grows of its own accord of your harvest, neither gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It is a year of rest to the land. And the sabbath of the land shall be food for you, for you and for your servant, and for your slave woman and for your hired servant, and for your stranger who stays with you, and for your cattle, and for the beast that is in your land, shall all the increase of it be for food.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Command the sons of Israel, and say to them, My offering and My bread for My sacrifices made by fire, a sweet savor to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me in their due season. read more. And you shall say to them, This is the fire offering which you shall offer to Jehovah: two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, a continual burnt offering. The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer between the evenings. And a tenth of an ephah of flour for a food offering, mixed with the fourth of a hin of beaten oil. It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained in Mount Sinai for a sweet savor, a fire offering to Jehovah, and its drink offering shall be the fourth of a hin for the one lamb. Pour a drink offering of strong drink to Jehovah in the holy place. And the other lamb you shall offer between the evenings, even as the food offering of the morning, and as its drink offering, you shall offer it, a fire offering, a sweet savor to Jehovah.
And in the beginning of your months you shall offer a burnt offering to Jehovah: two young bulls, and one ram, seven lambs of the first year without spot, and three tenth parts of flour for a food offering, mixed with oil, for one bull, and two-tenth parts of flour for a food offering, mixed with oil, for one ram; read more. and a separate tenth part of flour mixed with oil for a food offering to one lamb, for a burnt offering of a sweet savor, a fire offering to Jehovah. And their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine to a bull, and the third of a hin to a ram, and a fourth a hin to a lamb. This is the burnt offering of every month throughout the months of the year. And one kid of the goats for a sin offering to Jehovah shall be prepared, besides the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.
And in the seventh month, on the first of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no laboring work. It is a day of blowing the trumpets to you. And you shall prepare a burnt offering for a sweet savor to Jehovah: one young bull, one ram, seven lambs of the first year without blemish. read more. And their food offering shall be flour mixed with oil, three tenth parts for a bull, two tenth parts for a ram, and one tenth part for one lamb, for the seven lambs, and one kid of the goats for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you; besides the burnt offering of the month, and its food offering, and the daily burnt offering, and its food offering, and their drink offerings, according to their ordinance, for a sweet savor, a fire offering to Jehovah. And you shall have a holy convocation on the tenth of this seventh month. And you shall afflict your souls. You shall not do any work. But you shall offer a burnt offering to Jehovah for a sweet savor: one young bull, one ram, seven lambs of the first year. They shall be to you without blemish. And their food offering shall be flour mixed with oil, three tenth parts to a bull, two tenth parts to one ram, one tenth part for the one lamb, for the seven lambs; one kid of the goats for a sin offering, besides the sin offering of atonement and the continual burnt offering and the food offering of it, and their drink offerings.
And you shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there, and rejoice before Jehovah your God.
And Nehemiah, the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to Jehovah your God. Do not mourn or weep. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, Go eat the fat and drink the sweet, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our LORD. And do not be sorry, for the joy of Jehovah is your strength. read more. And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, Be quiet, for the day is holy. And do not be grieved. And all the people went to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words which were declared to them.
because Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, the lot, to finish them and to destroy them. But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked plot which he had plotted against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the wooden gallows. read more. Therefore, they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore, for all the words of this letter, and which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come to them, the Jews ordained, and took on them and on their seed, and on all such as joined themselves to them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their time every year, and that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, and these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed. And Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority to confirm this second letter of Purim. And he sent the letters to all the Jews, to the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth, in order to confirm these days of Purim in their set times, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had ordered them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed the matters of the fastings and of their cry. And the order of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim. And it was written in the book.
And His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.
After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
And the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem, and it was winter.