Leviticus, Chapter 23

Leviticus Chapter 23

Verses 1-44: The Appointed Festivals

1. The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
2. “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: The LORD’s appointed festivals that you are to proclaim as holy convocations—these are My appointed festivals.”
3. “For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work; it is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings.”
4. “These are the LORD’s appointed festivals, the holy convocations you are to proclaim at their appointed times:
5. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the LORD’s Passover.
6. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Festival of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
7. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.
8. But you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.”
9. The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
10. “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land that I am giving to you and you reap its harvest, you shall bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest.
11. He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.
12. On the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD.
13. And the grain offering with it shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to the LORD for a pleasing aroma, and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin.
14. You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until this very day, until you bring the offering of your God; it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.”
15. “You shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you bring the sheaf of the wave offering; seven complete Sabbaths shall there be.
16. Until the day after the seventh Sabbath you shall count fifty days; then you shall present a new grain offering to the LORD.
17. You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread as a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of fine flour, they shall be baked with leaven as first fruits to the LORD.
18. And you shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, and one young bull, and two rams; they shall be a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
19. And you shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings.
20. The priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs; they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.
21. And you shall make proclamation on the same day; it shall be a holy convocation to you; you shall not do any ordinary work. It is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
22. “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.”
23. The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
24. “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath, a memorial with trumpet blasts, a holy convocation.
25. You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD.'”
26. And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
27. “However, on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present an offering by fire to the LORD.
28. And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God.
29. For any person who is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people.
30. And any person who does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people.
31. You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
32. It shall be to you a Sabbath of complete rest, and you shall afflict yourselves; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your Sabbath.”
33. The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
34. “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD.
35. On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.
36. For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall hold a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly; you shall not do any ordinary work.
37. These are the appointed festivals of the LORD, which you shall proclaim as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the LORD offerings by fire—burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its proper day.
38. This is in addition to the LORD’s Sabbaths and in addition to your gifts and in addition to all your vow offerings and in addition to all your freewill offerings, which you give to the LORD.
39. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the festival of the LORD for seven days; the first day shall be a day of complete rest, and the eighth day shall be a day of complete rest.
40. You shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.
41. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD for seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
42. You shall live in booths for seven days; all who are native Israelites shall live in booths,
43. so that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”
44. Thus Moses declared to the children of Israel the appointed festivals of the LORD.

Interpretation: Leviticus 23 outlines the sacred festivals and days of rest that God commands the Israelites to observe. These include the Sabbath, Passover, the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Offering of the First Fruits, the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). Each festival is a commemoration of the Israelites’ relationship with God and their history as a people. The Sabbath serves as a weekly day of rest and spiritual rejuvenation. Passover commemorates the Israelites’ liberation from Egyptian bondage, while the Festival of Unleavened Bread immediately follows, celebrating their freedom. The Offering of the First Fruits and the Feast of Weeks both relate to the agricultural cycle, expressing gratitude for God’s provision. The Day of Atonement is a solemn day of repentance and making amends with God, and the Feast of Tabernacles celebrates the Israelites’ reliance on God during their desert wanderings. These festivals are not only historical commemorations but also spiritual practices designed to cultivate a collective memory and a continuous bond between the Israelites and their God.