Leviticus 23 (KJV) - Bible Truth Library

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Leviticus 23

Lev. 23:2 KJV (With Strong’s)

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feastsw of the Lord, which ye shall proclaimx to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.

Lev. 23:4,37• ⁴These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
³⁷These are the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day: (Lev. 23:4,37)

Ex. 32:5• ⁵And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord. (Ex. 32:5)

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Psa. 81:3• ³Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. (Psa. 81:3)

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Feasts,

Israel

Cross References

the feasts.God appointed several festivals among the Jews.

The Passover was celebrated on the 14th, or rather 15th day of the first month in the ecclesiastical year, which was the seventh of the civil year, and lasted seven days.

The Pentecost was celebrated on the fiftieth day after the passover, in memory of the law's being given to Moses on Mount Sinai, fifty days, or seven weeks after the departure out of Egypt.

The word is derived from the Greek word [Pentekoste,] which signifies the fiftieth.

The Hebrews call it the feast of weeks, Ex 34:22. The feast of trumpets, celebrated on the first day of the civil year, when a trumpet was sounded, to proclaim its commencement, which was in the month {Tisri,} answering to our September, Le 23:24, 25.

The new moons, or first days of every month, were, in some sort, a consequence of the feast of trumpets.

God ordained that, by giving him the first-fruits of every month they should acknowledge him as the Lord of all their time, and own his providence, by which all times and seasons are ordered.

The feast of expiation or atonement was kept on the 10th day of {Tisri} or September: the Hebrews call it Kippur, i.e., pardon or expiation, because it was instituted for the expiation of their sins.

The feast of tents or tabernacles was so called, because the Israelites kept it under green tents or arbours, in memory of their dwelling in their passage through the wilderness.

It was celebrated on the 15th day of {Tisri,} and continued eight days:

the first and last days are the most solemn.

Besides the feasts mentioned by Moses, we find the feast of {lots,} or {Purim,} which was celebrated among the Jews of Shushan on the 14th of {Adar,} which answers to our February.

The feast of the dedication of the temple, or rather, of the restoration of the temple, which had been profaned by Antiochus Epiphanes, which is thought to be the feast mentioned in the gospel Joh 10:22, was celebrated in the winter.

{Moâdim,} properly means assemblies, convened at an appointed time and place.

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Ex. 23:14‑17• ¹⁴Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
¹⁵Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
¹⁶And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field.
¹⁷Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God. (Ex. 23:14‑17)

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Isa. 1:13‑14• ¹³Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
¹⁴Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. (Isa. 1:13‑14)

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Isa. 33:20• ²⁰Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. (Isa. 33:20)

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Lam. 1:4• ⁴The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. (Lam. 1:4)

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Hos. 2:11• ¹¹I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts. (Hos. 2:11)

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Nah. 1:15• ¹⁵Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off. (Nah. 1:15)

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John 5:1• ¹After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. (John 5:1)

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Col. 2:1• ¹For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; (Col. 2:1)

proclaim

Ex. 32:5• ⁵And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord. (Ex. 32:5)

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Num. 10:2‑3,10• ²Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.
³And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
¹⁰Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the Lord your God. (Num. 10:2‑3,10)

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2 Kings 10:20• ²⁰And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it. (2 Kings 10:20)

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2 Chron. 30:5• ⁵So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the Lord God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it was written. (2 Chron. 30:5)

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Psa. 81:3• ³Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. (Psa. 81:3)

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Joel 1:14• ¹⁴Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord, (Joel 1:14)

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Joel 2:15• ¹⁵Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: (Joel 2:15)

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Jonah 3:5‑9• ⁵So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
⁶For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
⁷And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:
⁸But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
⁹Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? (Jonah 3:5‑9)

J. N. Darby Translation

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the set feastsf of Jehovah, which ye shall proclaim as holy convocations—these are my set feastsf.

JND Translation Notes

"Fixed times [for drawing near to God]." so vers. 37,44; Ex. 13.10; Num. 15.3; 29.39; Deut. 31.10; 1 Chron. 23.31, etc.