LEV 23

Leviticus 23:15

WEB

“‘You shall count from the next day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed.

BSB

From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you are to count off seven full weeks.

KJV

¶ And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:

Matthew Henry

Verses 15–22

Leviticus 23:15–22

Here is the institution of the feast of pentecost, or weeks, as it is called (Deu 16:9), because it was observed fifty days, or seven weeks, after the passover. It is also called the feast of harvest, Exo 23:16. For as the presenting of the sheaf of first-fruits was an introduction to the harvest, and gave them liberty to put in the sickle, so they solemnized the finishing of their corn-harvest at this feast. 1. Then they offered a handful of ears of barley, now they offered two loaves of wheaten bread, Lev 23:17. This was leavened. At the passover they ate unleavened bread, because it was in remembrance of the bread they ate when they came out of Egypt, which was unleavened; but now at pentecost it was leavened, because it was an acknowledgment of God's goodness to them in their ordinary food, which was leavened. 2. With that sheaf of first-fruits they offered only one lamb for a burnt-offering, but with these loaves of first-fruits they offered seven lambs, two rams, and one bullock, all for a burnt-offering, so giving glory to God, as the Lord of their land and the Lord of their harvest, by whose favour they lived and to whose praise they ought to live. They offered likewise a kid for a sin-offering, so taking shame to themselves as unworthy of the bread they ate, and imploring pardon for their sins, by which they had forfeited their harvest-mercies, and which they had been guilty of in the receiving of them. And lastly, two lambs for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, to beg a blessing upon the corn they had gathered in, which would be neither sure nor sweet to them without that blessing, Hag 1:9. These were the only peace-offerings that were offered on the behalf of the whole congregation, and they were reckoned most holy offerings, whereas other peace-offerings were but holy. All these offerings are here appointed, Lev 23:18-20. 3. That one day was to be kept with a holy convocation, Lev 23:21. It was one of the days on which all Israel was to meet God and one another, at the place which the Lord should choose. Some suggest that whereas seven days were to make up the feast of unleavened bread there was only one day appointed for the feast of pentecost, because this was a busy time of the year with them, and God allowed them speedily to return to their work in the country. This annual feast was instituted in remembrance of the giving of the law upon mount Sinai, the fiftieth day after they came out of Egypt. That was the feast which they were told in Egypt must be observed to God in the wilderness, as a memorial of which ever after they kept this feast. But the period and perfection of this feast was the pouring out of the Spirit upon the apostles on the day of this feast (Act 2:1), in which the law of faith was given, fifty days after Christ our passover was sacrificed for us. And on that day (as bishop Patrick well expresses it) the apostles, having themselves received the first-fruits of the Spirit, begat three thousand souls, through the word of truth, and presented them, as the first-fruits of the Christian church, to God and the Lamb.

To the institution of the feast of pentecost is annexed a repetition of that law which we had before (Lev 19:9), by which they were required to leave the gleanings of their fields, and the corn that grew on the ends of the butts, for the poor, Lev 23:22. Probably it comes in here as a thing which the priests must take occasion to remind the people of, when they brought their first-fruits, intimating to them that to obey even in this small matter was better than sacrifice, and that, unless they were obedient, their offerings should not be accepted. It also taught them that the joy of harvest should express itself in charity to the poor, who must have their due out of what we have, as well as God his. Those that are truly sensible of the mercy they receive from God will without grudging show mercy to the poor.

Cross-references: Deut 16:9 · Exod 23:16 · Lev 23:17 · Hag 1:9 · Lev 23:18 · Lev 23:21 · Acts 2:1 · Lev 19:9 · Lev 23:22

Hebrew interlinear

לָכֶם֙lakhemprep + suffix · pronominal · 2nd · masc · plur

H5608

סָפַרçâphar/saw-far'/

v n-m — score, inscribe, enumerate, recount, celebrate

Derivation: a primitive root;

properly, to score with a mark as a tally or record, i.e. (by implication) to inscribe, and also to enumerate; intensively, to recount, i.e. celebrate

KJV: commune, (ac-) count; declare, number, penknife, reckon, scribe, shew forth, speak, talk, tell (out), writer.

סָפַר

vb — count

סָפַר 107 vb. count, Pi. recount, relate

Qal 27

1. count things, to learn their number

2. number = take account of, carefully observe and consider, reckon

Niph. be counted, numbered

Pi. 67 recount, rehearse, declare

Pu. be recounted, related, rehearsed

סֹפֵר

n.m — enumerator

סֹפֵר, סוֹפֵר n.m. enumerator, muster-officer, secretary, scribe

H4283

מׇחֳרָתmochŏrâth/mokh-or-awth'/

n-f — morrow, tomorrow

Derivation: or מׇחֳרָתָם; (1 Samuel 30:17), feminine from the same as 4279;

the morrow or (adverbially) tomorrow

KJV: morrow, next day.

מָחֳרָת

n.f — the morrow

מָחֳרָת n.f. the morrow (the day following a past day)

H7676

שַׁבָּתshabbâth/shab-bawth'/

n — intermission, Sabbath

Derivation: intensive from 7673;

intermission, i.e (specifically) the Sabbath

KJV: ( every) sabbath.

שַׁבָּת

n.f — Sabbath

שַׁבָּת 111 n.f. and m. Sabbath

1. sabbath

2. day of atonement

3. sabbath year

4. = week (?)

5. = produce in sabbath year (growing of itself)

H3117

יוֹםyôwm/yome/

n-m — day

Derivation: from an unused root meaning to be hot;

a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)

KJV: age, always, chronicals, continually(-ance), daily, ((birth-), each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), elder, × end, evening, (for) ever(-lasting, -more), × full, life, as (so) long as (... live), (even) now, old, outlived, perpetually, presently, remaineth, × required, season, × since, space, then, (process of) time, as at other times, in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), × whole ( age), (full) year(-ly), younger.

יוֹם

n.m — day

יוֹם 2285 n.m. day

1. day, opp. night

2. Day as division of time

3. יוֹם י׳ day of Yahweh, chiefly as time of his coming in judgment, involving often blessedness for righteous

4. Pl. days of anyone

5. Days

6. יוֹם = time

7. Phrases

H935

בּוֹאbôwʼ/bo/

v — go, come

Derivation: a primitive root;

to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)

KJV: abide, apply, attain, × be, befall, besiege, bring (forth, in, into, to pass), call, carry, × certainly, (cause, let, thing for) to come (against, in, out, upon, to pass), depart, × doubtless again, eat, employ, (cause to) enter (in, into, -tering, -trance, -try), be fallen, fetch, follow, get, give, go (down, in, to war), grant, have, × indeed, (in-) vade, lead, lift (up), mention, pull in, put, resort, run (down), send, set, × (well) stricken (in age), × surely, take (in), way.

בּוֹא

vb — come in

בּוֹא 2569 vb. come in, come, go in, go

Qal

1. come in

2. come (approach, arrive)

3. go, i.e. walk, associate with

4. go from speaker, but with limit of motion given

Hiph.

1. cause to come in, bring in (conduct, lead, obj. persons and animals)

2. cause to come, bring, bring near, etc. (animate obj.)

Hoph.

a. be brought in (of pers. and things)

b. be brought

c. be introduced, put

H853

אֵתʼêth/ayth/

prt — self, even, namely

Derivation: apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity;

properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)

KJV: [as such unrepresented in English].

אֵת

mark of the accusative

אֵת the mark of the accusative, prefixed as a rule only to nouns that are definite

H6016

עֹמֶרʻômer/o'-mer/

n-m — heap, sheaf, omer

Derivation: from 6014;

properly, a heap, i.e. a sheaf; also an omer, as a dry measure

KJV: omer, sheaf.

עֹ֫מֶר

n.m — omer

עֹ֫מֶר n.m. omer;—a measure, only Ex 16

עֹ֫מֶר

n.m — sheaf

עֹ֫מֶר n.m. sheaf

H8573

תְּנוּפָהtᵉnûwphâh/ten-oo-faw'/

n-f — brandishing, tumult, undulation

Derivation: from 5130;

a brandishing (in threat); by implication, tumult; specifically, the official undulation of sacrificial offerings

KJV: offering, shaking, wave (offering).

תְּנוּפָה

n.f — a swinging

תְּנוּפָה 30 n.f. a swinging, waving, wave-offering, offering

H7651

שֶׁבַעshebaʻ/sheh'-bah/

n — seven, full, seven times, week, indefinite

Derivation: or (masculine) (שִׁבְעָה); from 7650; a primitive cardinal number;

seven (as the sacred full one); also (adverbially) seven times; by implication, a week; by extension, an indefinite number

KJV: ( by) seven(-fold),-s, (-teen, -teenth), -th, times). Compare 7658.

שֶׁ֫בַע

n.m — seven

שֶׁ֫בַע, שִׁבְעָה 394 n.m. et f. seven

H8549

תָּמִיםtâmîym/taw-meem'/

a — entire, integrity, truth

Derivation: from 8552;

entire (literally, figuratively or morally); also (as noun) integrity, truth

KJV: without blemish, complete, full, perfect, sincerely (-ity), sound, without spot, undefiled, upright(-ly), whole.

תָּמִים

adj — complete

תָּמִים 91 adj. complete, sound

1. complete, whole, entire

2. whole, sound, healthful

3. complete, entire, of time

4. sound, wholesome, unimpaired, innocent, having integrity

5. as neuter adj. = subst. what is complete, entirely in accord with truth and fact

H1961

הָיָהhâyâh/haw-yaw/

v — exist, be, become, come to pass

Derivation: a primitive root (compare 1933);

to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)

KJV: beacon, × altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, follow, happen, × have, last, pertain, quit (one-) self, require, × use.

הָיָה

vb — fall out

הָיָה 3570 vb. fall out, come to pass, become, be

Qal

I.

1.

a. Fall out, happen

b. occur, take place, come about, come to pass

2. esp. & very oft., come about, come to pass

a.

(1). וַיְהִי and it came to pass that, most often (c. 292 t.)

(2). rarely also Pf. c. וְ conj. וְהָיָה

b. less oft. וְהָיָה Pf. consec. and it shall come to pass, or frequentat. came to pass (repeatedly, etc.)

II. Come into being, become

1.

a. abs., in lively narrative, arise, appear, come

b. sq. prep.

2. become

a. sq. pred. noun (to be viewed as implicit accus.)

b. sq. pred. adj.

c. become like

d. sq. pred. לְ pers.

e. sq. לְ pred.

f. oft. c. לְ pred. לְ pers.

g. with עַל and לְ

h. sts. c. לְ pers. only = became the property of, come into the possession of

III. Be (often with subbordinate idea of becoming)

1. exist, be in existence

2. abide, remain, continue

3. with word of locality, be in or at a place, be situated, stand, lie

4. as copula, joining subj. & pred.

5. periphrastic conjug.

Niph.

1. either be done, be brought about, or occur, come to pass

2. be done, finished, gone

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