Lev 23 | TNotes

23:2 ^a These appointed festivals included occasions for eating, resting, and even fasting. For additional details, see Num 28–29 ^b.
Summary for Lev 23:5-8: 23:5-8 ^c Passover ... Unleavened Bread: These feasts were instituted on the eve of the exodus from Egypt (see Exod 12:1-28 ^d). Passover was the first of three great festivals (Deut 16:16 ^e), followed by the Festival of Harvest (Lev 23:15-21 ^f) and the Festival of Shelters (23:34-43 ^g). 23:5 ^h Passover began at sundown on the fourteenth day of the first month, as the new day was beginning (see study note on 11:24-25). The Passover feast included a roast lamb, bitter salad greens, and bread made without yeast (Exod 12:8 ⁱ), all representing Israel’s liberation from Egyptian bondage.

• The first month marked the beginning of the Jewish calendar as late as Ezra 6:19 ^j. The month’s earliest name, Abib (“spring, fresh grain”; Exod 13:4 ^k; 23:15 ^l; 34:18 ^m; Deut 16:1 ⁿ), was partially replaced by the name Nisan after the Babylonian exile (Neh 2:1 ^o; Esth 3:7 ^p).
23:6 ^q Following Passover was the Festival of Unleavened Bread, during which Israel ate bread made without yeast (see study note on 2:11) to remember the Egyptian slavery that it represented and the haste with which they departed Egypt (Deut 16:3 ^r).
Summary for Lev 23:10-14: 23:10-14 ^s Just as the burned portion of each sacrifice represented the whole offering and the tithe symbolized that all of a person’s money belonged to God, so also the first portions of each harvest, or first crops, symbolized the entire harvest, and even the land itself (25:23 ^t), as belonging to the Lord. In the barley harvest, the first portions were offered as part of the Festival of Unleavened Bread (23:6 ^u, 10-12 ^v). The first portions of the wheat harvest were offered during the Festival of Harvest (23:15-21 ^w; Exod 34:22 ^x). These gifts to God recognized God’s prior gifts to Israel (see Lev 2:1 ^y). The entire offering of first crops became the property and food of God’s representatives, the priests (see 2:14-16 ^z).
23:11 ^aa The phrase lift it up symbolizes presenting the grain to the Lord (see study note on 7:34).
23:14 ^ab Israelites could not eat food from the harvest on that day until they acknowledged God’s provision by presenting him with the appropriate offering.
Summary for Lev 23:15-21: 23:15-21 ^ac Israel was to start the count of seven full weeks on the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The fiftieth day marked the beginning of the Festival of Harvest (the New Testament name of “Pentecost” is derived from the Greek word for “fifty”). For this festival the people were to offer the first portions of the wheat harvest. Each person was also required to take three quarts of fine flour and bake two loaves of yeast bread. These offerings were then presented to the priest officiating at the sanctuary. See also study note on Exod 23:16.
23:18 ^ad The liquid offerings probably consisted of two quarts of wine (see Exod 29:40 ^ae; Num 15:5 ^af, 10 ^ag).
23:24 ^ah On the first day of the appointed month in early autumn: The Israelite calendar was divided into two half-years. The first half-year began with the first month, Nisan (Babylonian name) or Abib (the more ancient agricultural name). The second half-year began with the seventh month (Tishri in the modern Jewish calendar). The celebration of this holiday marked the beginning of the second half-year.
23:27 ^ai The Day of Atonement was the most solemn day in the Israelite calendar and the only day of fasting (ch 16 ^aj). The high priest made atonement for the corporate sin of the people, laying the theological foundation for the atonement made by Jesus Christ (Heb 9:11-12 ^ak).
Summary for Lev 23:29-30: 23:29-30 ^al cut off ... destroy: See study note on 7:20-21; cp. Exod 31:14 ^am, 15 ^an; 35:2 ^ao.
Summary for Lev 23:34-43: 23:34-43 ^ap During the Festival of Shelters, the Israelites lived in temporary shelters for seven days. This commemorated the time they had spent in tents and other temporary shelters during the wilderness wanderings and also recalled God’s faithfulness to them during those times. For a list of sacrifices to be offered each day, see Num 29:12-34 ^aq.
23:39 ^ar after you have harvested all the produce: The Festival of Shelters was also called the Festival of Final Harvest (Exod 34:22 ^as) because all of the unharvested fruit and vegetables were gathered.
23:43 ^at The Israelites were never to forget God’s great acts of redemption on their behalf, but were to remind each new generation of what God had done (Deut 4:9 ^au; 11:19 ^av). Their understanding of who they were and of who God was revolved around their knowledge of those things. See Deut 6:20-24 ^aw; 26:5-9 ^ax; Josh 24:2-13 ^ay; Ps 136 ^az.