Bible Commentary

Leviticus 23:2

Leviticus 23:2

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public Domain

Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. The translation should rather be, The appointed times which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are my appointed times.

The appointed times (mo'adin) include the great fast as well as the festivals, and the weekly and monthly as well as the annual holy days. The primary purpose with which the following enumeration of holy days is introduced, is to give a list of the holy convocations.

While the Israelites were still dwelling in the wilderness, a holy convocation appears to have been a religious assembly of all the males in the court of the tabernacle. After the settlement in Canaan, a religious gathering for prayer or festive rejoicing in all their dwellings, that is, wherever they lived, would have satisfied the command to hold a holy convocation, except on the three great festivals, when all who could, "kept the feast" at Jerusalem.

There were in all seven holy convocations in the year, besides the sabbath, namely, the first and last days of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Pentecost, the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Trumpets, the first and last days of the Feast of Tabernacles.

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Leviticus 23 — OverviewLeviticus 23 · Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BibleHitherto the levitical law had been chiefly conversant about holy persons, holy things, and holy places; in this chapter we have the institution of holy times, many of which had been mentioned occasionally…Leviticus 23 — OverviewLeviticus 23 · Treasury of Scripture KnowledgeLeviticus 23:1, The feasts of the Lord; Leviticus 23:3, The sabbath; Leviticus 23:4, The passover; Leviticus 23:9, The sheaf of first-fruits; Leviticus 23:15, The feast of Pentecost; Leviticus 23:22, Gleanings to be…Leviticus 23 — OverviewLeviticus 23 · John Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleIn this chapter an account is given of the several holy days, times, and seasons, appointed by God, under the general names of feasts and holy convocations; and first of the sabbath, Le 23:1; then of the passover and…Leviticus 23:1-3Leviticus 23:1-3 · Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BibleHere is, I. A general account of the holy times which God appointed (v. 2), and it is only his appointment that can make time holy; for he is the Lord of time, and as soon as ever he had set its wheels a-going it…Leviticus 23:1-3Leviticus 23:1-3 · The Pulpit CommentaryThe offering of rest: the sabbath. cf. Genesis 2:2, Genesis 2:3; Exodus 16:22; Exodus 20:8-11; Mark 2:23-28; Revelation 1:10. In the sacrificial worship we come across what is essentially different as an offering from…Leviticus 23:1-3Leviticus 23:1-3 · The Pulpit CommentaryThe sabbath. This is here classed amongst the "feasts of the Lord." The greater number of these were first observed after the settlement of the Israelites in Canaan; but the Passover was an exception, which was held at…