Leviticus 23 · WEB
The Sacred Appointed Times (Feasts of the Lord)
Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.
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Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2"Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'The appointed feasts of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my appointed feasts.
3"'Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no kind of work. It is a Sabbath to Yahweh in all your dwellings.
4"'These are the appointed feasts of Yahweh, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their appointed season.
5In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, is Yahweh's Passover.
6On the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to Yahweh. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
7In the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.
8But you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh seven days. In the seventh day is a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.'"
9Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
10"Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap its harvest, then you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.
11He shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh, to be accepted for you. On the next day after the Sabbath, the priest shall wave it.
12On the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb without defect a year old for a burnt offering to Yahweh.
13The meal offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to Yahweh for a pleasant aroma; and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin.
14You shall eat neither bread, nor roasted grain, nor fresh grain, until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God. This is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
15"'You shall count from the next day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven weeks shall be completed.
16You shall count fifty days to the next day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new meal offering to Yahweh.
17You shall bring out of your habitations two loaves of bread for a wave offering made of two tenths of an ephah of fine flour. They shall be baked with yeast, the first fruits to Yahweh.
18You shall present with the bread seven lambs without defect a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to Yahweh, with their meal offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
19You shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings.
20The priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering before Yahweh, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to Yahweh for the priest.
21You shall make proclamation on the same day: there shall be a holy convocation to you; you shall do no regular work. This is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
22"'When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap into the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor, and for the foreigner. I am Yahweh your God.'"
23Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
24"Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest to you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.
25You shall do no regular work; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh.'"
26Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
27"However on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement. It shall be a holy convocation to you, and you shall afflict your souls; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
28You shall do no kind of work in that same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before Yahweh your God.
29For whoever is not afflicted in that same day shall be cut off from his people.
30Whoever does any kind of work in that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.
31You shall do no kind of work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
32It shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. In the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your Sabbath."
33Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
34"Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of booths for seven days to Yahweh.
35On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no regular work.
36Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. It is a solemn assembly; you shall do no regular work.
37"'These are the appointed feasts of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh, a burnt offering, and a meal offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, each on its own day;
38besides the Sabbaths of Yahweh, and besides your gifts, and besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings, which you give to Yahweh.
39"'So on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruits of the land, you shall keep the feast of Yahweh seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest.
40You shall take on the first day the fruit of majestic trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God seven days.
41You shall keep it as a feast to Yahweh seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations. You shall keep it in the seventh month.
42You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All the native-born in Israel shall dwell in booths,
43that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.'"
44So Moses declared to the children of Israel the appointed feasts of Yahweh.
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Summary
Chapter 23 is the festival calendar of Israel, presenting seven appointed feasts (Hebrew: *moadim*, "appointed times") that structure the entire liturgical year. They are: the weekly Sabbath, Passover (1st month, 14th day), Feast of Unleavened Bread (1st month, 15th-21st), Firstfruits (day after Sabbath during Unleavened Bread), Pentecost/Weeks (fifty days after Firstfruits), Trumpets (7th month, 1st day), Day of Atonement (7th month, 10th day), and Feast of Booths/Tabernacles (7th month, 15th-21st day). Each feast commemorates God's work and anticipates future fulfillment.
Themes
- God structures time — the feasts sanctify the calendar year
- Each feast rehearses a redemptive act of God (Exodus, wilderness provision, harvest, atonement)
- Community celebration is central to covenant life
- The feasts create intergenerational memory: "that your generations may know"
Key verses
- Lev 23:2 — “The appointed feasts of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my appointed feasts.”
- Lev 23:22 — “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap into the corners of your field... you shall leave them for the poor, and for the foreigner. I am Yahweh your God.”
- Lev 23:43 — “That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
Context & background
These feasts were established at Sinai (modern Sinai Peninsula, Egypt) and connected Israel's worship to agricultural seasons, historical memory of the Exodus, and anticipation of future redemption. Many Bible scholars note that the spring feasts (Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Pentecost) were fulfilled by Jesus' first coming: Passover (crucifixion), Unleavened Bread (burial), Firstfruits (resurrection — Paul calls Christ "the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep," 1 Cor 15:20), and Pentecost (the giving of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2). The fall feasts (Trumpets, Atonement, Booths) are widely understood to anticipate the second coming and final restoration. All these feasts are still observed in Judaism today.
Cross-references
- 1 Cor 15:20 — Christ the "firstfruits" of the resurrection, fulfilling the wave offering of Lev 23:10-11
- Acts 2:1-4 — Pentecost (fifty days after Passover) — the Holy Spirit given, fulfilling the Feast of Weeks
- Col 2:16-17 — Paul describes the feasts as "a shadow of the things to come" with Christ as the substance
- Exod 12 — The original Passover institution, commemorated in the feast of Leviticus 23
- John 7:37-39 — Jesus' declaration "if anyone thirsts, let him come to me" at the Feast of Booths