Deuteronomy 16:1–17

Original Meaning

The Festival of Passover (16:1–8)

THE ORIGINS OF THE Festival of Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread are described in detail in Exodus 12 and elsewhere. The present version of this festival differs from earlier treatments in several significant respects.1 Since some scholars exploit these differences as insurmountable contradictions, a brief response may be helpful. If we read the Pentateuchal books as a continuous narrative, these tensions all find ready answers.

The location of the festival. Exodus 12 presents the Passover as a domestic observance in contrast to a centralized festival. However, technically, the rituals prescribed in verses 1–14 do not pertain to the annual festival commemorating the exodus from Egypt; these are instructions for the one-time historical event involving Yahweh’s envoy of death passing over the Israelites’ houses in the final plague that swept through Egypt. Since the Israelites in Egypt lacked a central place of worship, a reference to such a place in Exodus 12 would have been anachronistic. Furthermore, whereas Leviticus 23:4–8 classifies the memorial festival of Passover as a miqrâʾ qôdeš, which may mean “sacred proclamation”2 or “sacred assembly” (NIV), Exodus 12:6 opens the way for a centralized observance with the expression, “the people of the community of Israel.”

Our text uses the expression ʿ ^aṣeret (NIV “assembly”), which suggests a mandatory celebration for Yahweh (Deut. 16:8), with the people gathering at a particular place. The designation of the Passover elsewhere as a “pilgrimage festival” reinforces this understanding. Since the exodus involved freeing a “people,” a national—rather than family—commemoration of that event is appropriate. Thus while the original Passover was observed in Israelites’ homes, a national celebration was anticipated from the beginning.

The sacrificial victim. While Deuteronomy’s inclusion of animals from the “herd” (16:2) differs from Exodus 12:3–5, this is not a contradiction. “Sheep” and “goats” were natural victims in the original context, because the event required an animal that could be easily butchered and consumed in one evening. Although cattle were sacrificed at Sinai, their number in the Israelite camp may have been limited until the slaughter of the Midianites.3 Furthermore, since cattle were acceptable for other sacrifices, to sacrifice bovines at the Passover is not extraordinary.4

Boiling the meat of the sacrificial animal. The verb bâšal may indeed mean “to boil” (Ex. 12:9; Deut. 14:21), but this is not required when fire is the specified agent (2 Chron. 35:13). This Hebrew verb means “to cook” generally, which may involve boiling in liquid, but could also mean roasting over a fire (cf. NIV) or frying in a pan.5 While Exodus 12:9 prohibits boiling the Passover meat in water, Deuteronomy is silent on how the food may or may not be prepared.

Merging the Festivals of Passover and Unleavened Bread. Many scholars maintain that the festivals of Passover and Unleavened Bread have separate origins6 and that Deuteronomy’s conjunction of the two is innovative.7 However, Exodus 34:18–25 links these festivals, and the account of the original Passover integrates unleavened bread firmly into the narrative (Ex. 12:8, 15–20, 34, 39). Furthermore, although Deuteronomy 16:1–8 treats the Passover as a pilgrimage festival, the notion that Deuteronomy robs the Festival of Unleavened Bread of this character is contradicted by verses 16–17.8 The tensions between Deuteronomy 16:1–8 and 16 do not rise to the level of contradictions.

With respect to style and structure, Deuteronomy 16:1–17 appears more legislative than any previous text. Although this text lacks formal imperatives, verb forms with imperatival force anchor every independent clause. Nevertheless, motive and modifying clauses continue as Moses seeks to inspire the Israelites with the joy of feasting in the presence of Yahweh. Structurally, this passage divides into three parts: (1) the charge to keep the Passover (v. 1); (2) instructions for keeping the Passover (vv. 2–7); (3) the charge to keep the Festival of Unleavened Bread (v. 8). The outer elements echo the Sabbath command of the Decalogue, creating an effective “sabbatical envelope” around the entire unit.

The charge to keep the Passover (v. 1). Following the instructions on feasting in the presence of Yahweh in 14:22–15:23, Moses announces, “Observe the month of Abib.” Because everyone was aware that Passover was to be celebrated on Abib/Nisan 14, there was no need to specify the date here.9 Abib was the first month of the year,10 which may suggest that this celebration also functioned as a New Year Festival.11 The command to observe a month seems odd and probably refers to all the ceremonies scheduled for that month (cf. Ex. 12:3; Lev. 23:9–14).

Passover was the most important festival of the month and probably the entire liturgical year. While the English rendering “to pass over” has a long history linked to the word’s association with ʿābar (“to pass by,” Ex. 12:23), the verb pāsaḥ should probably be understood as “to offer protection for.” To translate pesaḥ simply as a synonym for ʿābar obscures the primary significance of the celebration: to commemorate Yahweh’s protection of the houses of Israel from the envoy of death the night of their departure from Egypt. This interpretation is reinforced by the explanatory clause at the end of verse 1, which focuses on Yahweh’s rescue of Israel from Egypt. The qualification “at night” reminds readers that Yahweh’s acts of protection preceded their exodus (cf. Num. 33:3).

Instructions for keeping the Passover (vv. 2–7). Like the other Pentateuchal accounts of the Passover, Deuteronomy 16:1–8 offers only a bare outline of the rituals involved in the festival. (1) Israelites were to celebrate the Passover at the place Yahweh would choose to establish his name (vv. 2, 6, 7b).12 Moses categorically prohibits observing the Passover in Israelite towns.

(2) The Passover involved eating.13 The verb “sacrifice” (zâbaḥ, v. 2) refers to the ritual slaughter of an animal, which for Israel usually meant a meal eaten by worshipers in the presence of Yahweh. Moses’ expansion of the fare to include cattle anticipates Israel’s transition from a nomadic people dependent on sheep and goats to a settled agricultural economy, in which cattle play an important role (cf. Deut. 32:13–14).

The text only hints at how the people are to prepare the sacrificial victim, and the clues are not presented in chronological order. We may rearrange the four significant stages as follows. (1) The Passover animal14 is slaughtered in the evening as the sun sets (v. 6), to coincide with the timing of Israel’s exodus from Egypt.15

(2) The meat of the animal is cooked (v. 7). Since Exodus 12:9 prohibits boiling the meat in water, this probably involved roasting it directly over a fire or indirectly in a pan.

(3) The people eat the Passover. Occurring three times in verses 3–7, the verb “to eat” functions as the key word of this passage. In keeping with Exodus 12:10, verse 4b specifies that none of the meat from the evening slaughter may be left over until the next morning. The reference to the Passover as “the first day” (v. 4) assumes the conjunction of Passover with the Festival of Unleavened Bread.

(4) Having eaten, in the morning the worshipers return to their tents (v. 7b)—temporary dwellings that the people have pitched in the vicinity of the central sanctuary. The reference to “tents” rather than “houses” echoes Moses’ earlier report concerning the events at Sinai (5:30) and reinforces the notion that the purpose of “the place [Yahweh would] choose as a dwelling for his Name” was to enable the Israelites to fellowship with him in the land in perpetuity.

In summarizing the Passover ritual, we have jumped ahead of the text, for the reference to “the first day” (v. 4) links this event with the Festival of Unleavened Bread (maṣṣôt, vv. 3–4).16 The prohibition on eating leavened bread at the Passover (v. 3a) opens the door naturally for an aside on the Festival of Unleavened Bread.17 Except for the repeated phrase “with it,” which binds the festivals together, the opening command, “for seven days eat unleavened bread,” echoes Exodus 13:6a, which marks the transition from the Passover to instructions regarding the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Although Moses alludes to the need for haste in the journey out of Egypt as necessitating unleavened bread (v. 3c), by referring to the maṣṣôt as “bread of affliction,” he links the Festival of Unleavened Bread with the Israelites’ experience of slavery in Egypt.

The last clause of verse 3 provides the rationale for the Festival of Unleavened Bread. It serves as an annual reminder of the day the Israelites left Egypt. In verse 4a Moses strengthens the prior prohibition by banning all leaven from Israel’s borders throughout the seven-day observance (cf. Ex 13:7). However, the meaning of “your borders” (g^ebûl; NIV “your land”) is uncertain. If this term applies to the boundaries of the temporary village set up around the central sanctuary, then the injunction involves those gathered for worship at the central shrine. However, if the term refers to the boundaries of individuals’ personal allotments or the national territory of Israel (cf. 19:3, 8, 14), the prohibition applies to all Israelites, whether or not they attend the Festival of Unleavened Bread at the central location. Since only males are required to participate in the festival (v. 16), presumably women and children who remained at home would also be subject to the prohibition.

The charge to keep the Festival of Unleavened Bread (v. 8). The instructions on Passover conclude with a final summary, highlighting three primary features of the Festival of Unleavened Bread (v. 8). (1) Whatever else the Israelites eat during the festival, for six days their bread must be unleavened. (2) On the seventh day the community is to gather in holy convocation before Yahweh—a mandatory assembly of worshipers on the eighth day of the festival (Lev. 23:36; Num. 29:35).18 Referring to the last day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread as the seventh day (rather than the eighth day) prevents blurring the boundary between the Festivals of Passover and the Unleavened Bread and links the pattern of this week more closely to the seven-day weekly rhythm of life.19

Bridging Contexts

SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF THE festivals. Moses, the authoritative interpreter of Israel’s legal tradition and pastor of the people of Yahweh, demonstrates great respect here for the nation’s spiritual heritage. However, he is also mindful of the new circumstances that await God’s people. Assessing the influence that Moses’ instructions on these festivals had on Israel’s history is difficult. The memory of Moses’ injunction to keep the Passover seems to have been short-lived. According to Joshua 5:10–11, Joshua timed the crossing of the Jordan so that as soon as they entered the Promised Land, the Israelites could celebrate this feast and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. On the fourteenth day of the month (which month is not specified), before they launched their campaigns against the Canaanites, they paused for worship. Whether or not the Passover was celebrated at Sinai or during the desert journeys, the two accounts in Exodus 12–13 and Joshua 5:10–11 stand as bookends on either side of Yahweh’s great acts of salvation, provision in the desert, covenant ratification, and guidance to the Promised Land.

The narrator of these events caught their significance by noting that the day after the Passover celebration, the Israelites feasted on the produce of the land. More than any other festival, the Passover defined Israelite identity; and more than any other festival, it declared who Yahweh was. Joshua and his generation recognized that they were the products of Yahweh’s grace and that he had kept all his promises.

Subsequent records indicate that hereafter the Festival of Passover was more honored in the breach than in the observance. The Chronicler observes that in the wake of Solomon’s construction of the temple, he led the people in the celebration of all the holy days in Israel’s religious calendar, including the three mandatory pilgrimage festivals: Unleavened Bread, Weeks, and Booths (2 Chron. 8:13). In light of the close association of Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread in Deuteronomy 16:1–8, we may assume the observance of the Festival of Unleavened Bread began with the Passover celebrations. Except for a late retrospective reference to Samuel (2 Chron. 35:18), the narratives are silent on the Passover until the time of Hezekiah, who led Judah in the celebration and even attempted to engage Israelites in what was by then the Assyrian province of Samaria (2 Chron. 30). However, the Chronicler adds that the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were celebrated one month late because the priests had not been adequately prepared (30:2–3, 13). This observance seems to have stirred the conscience of the people, precipitating a nationwide campaign against pagan and syncretistic forms of worship (31:1). But this revival was short-lived. Under Manasseh, the festivals devoted to Yahweh were suppressed and displaced by pagan rituals.

Finally, toward the end of the seventh century BC, as part of the reforms of Josiah, Manasseh’s grandson, the Passover was celebrated one more time. Both the deuteronomistic historian (2 Kings 23:22) and the Chronicler (2 Chron. 35:17–19) observe that the Passover had not been celebrated like this since before the founding of the monarchy. This event provides a terminal bookend to match Joshua’s in Joshua 5:10–11, but it was too little, too late. Because of their infidelity to Yahweh as prescribed by Moses in the book of the Torah, the doom of Judah had already been sealed (2 Kings 22:15–20). The nation was destroyed and its population dragged off into exile. Not until they had experienced a new exodus and the temple, the symbol of Yahweh’s presence in Jerusalem, had been rebuilt, would they celebrate these most fundamental festivals again (Ezra 6:19–22). At that time, in accordance with Deuteronomy 12:5, they sought Yahweh in the place he had chosen to establish his name, and in accordance with 16:1–8 they celebrated the Passover in his presence.33

The Festival of Weeks seems to have suffered from even more serious neglect. Except for the Chronicler’s reference to this festival as one of the three annual mandatory pilgrimages that Solomon observed in conjunction with the building of the temple (2 Chron. 8:13), the Old Testament is completely silent on this observance.

The Festival of Booths seems to have fared slightly better. Indeed, some suggest that this festival was the most important festival in preexilic Israel.34 Although the festival is mentioned by name only five times,35 on several occasions it is referred to as “the festival of the LORD” (Judg. 21:19; Hos. 9:5; cf. Lev. 23:39), or simply “the festival.”36 Later in Deuteronomy Moses will highlight the significance of the Festival of Booths by calling for the reading of the Torah every seven years at this festival (31:9–13), which is what the Israelites did in Nehemiah 8:13–18.

Of these three festivals the Passover (together with the Festival of Unleavened Bread) is by far the most prominent in the New Testament. The Festival of Unleavened Bread is mentioned six times, but only once apart from the Passover connection.37 The Passover, on the other hand, is mentioned dozens of times. However, only Hebrews 11:28 recalls the original Passover event. According to Luke 2:41, Jesus’ parents demonstrated their piety every year by attending the Passover. John 6:4 highlights its centrality in the Jewish religious calendar by calling it “the Passover, the feast of the Jews.” Remarkably, all the remaining references to the feast in the Gospels are associated with the passion of the Messiah.38

While the New Testament never mentions the Festival of Weeks by this name, “Pentecost” is mentioned three times (Acts 2:1; 20:16; 1 Cor. 16:8). If this festival involved covenant ceremonies (including the reading of the Decalogue), as some suggest,39 then the significance of the events of Pentecost described in Acts 2 is heightened dramatically. Believers in Jesus specifically have become the heirs of the covenant. Indeed, the book of Acts traces the expansion of the boundaries of the covenant community with the recurrence of these “Pentecostal” phenomena to include Samaritans (Acts 8:14–17), Gentile proselytes in Judea (10:44–48; cf. 9:17), and people of Asia Minor, including Gentiles (19:1–6).

John 7:2 contains the only reference to the Festival of Booths in the New Testament, but this is sufficient to demonstrate that this festival was still observed in the days of Jesus.

Contemporary Significance

CHRISTIANS AND THESE FESTIVALS. Although the book of Hebrews declares that the ceremonial and festival calendar of ancient Israel is rendered obsolete through the sacrifice of Christ, remarkably the Passover is not actually abrogated. Instead, it is radically transformed.40 At his Last Supper, which was itself the Passover meal, Jesus declares himself the Passover Lamb, through whose death the judgment of God is averted and the redemption of his people is bought. Jesus is the Lamb without blemish who gives his life—though without a bone of his body being broken—so that all who partake of him might be free.41

With Paul the identification is complete, for in 1 Corinthians 5:7 he declares, “Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” Decades after the death of Christ, John explicitly speaks of the Passover as “the Passover of the Jews” (John 2:13; 6:4; 11:55), suggesting perhaps that by then it was distinguished from “the Passover of Christians.”

Admittedly, apart from the Lord’s Supper, the New Testament never prescribes specific festivals and celebrations for God’s new covenant people. However, this should not be interpreted to suggest we need not bother with commemorative rituals and events. On the contrary, the church as a whole and individual congregations in particular would do well to establish memorial festivals that bind us to believers everywhere (Easter, Pentecost, Christmas, etc.) and to keep alive in our minds the reality of God’s work on our behalf. But even as we celebrate the ecumenical festivals of the church year and the commemorative festivals of our local congregations, like the ancient Israelites we must beware of the danger of mere externalism. In Deuteronomy 16 Moses the pastor reminds us that acceptable worship must be conducted in spirit and in truth—that is, driven and energized by the Spirit of God, enacted according to the revealed will of God, and practiced by those who faithfully embody covenant righteousness.

Christmas and ascension. Although the Festival of Passover has been transformed by the gospel and the festivals of Weeks and Booths are no longer mandatory for Christians, the North American church would do well to observe festivals marking the events associated with the birth of the church and its foundation as the new Israel of God. Judging by the attention it receives, the most important event on the church calendar is Christmas, which supposedly celebrates the birth of Christ. We should not be surprised if the world tries to remove “Christ” from “Christmas” and to secularize this holiday as a winter festival. However, even in Christian circles this observance has been cluttered by so many distractions—Santa Claus, Christmas trees, holly and ivy, overindulgent exchange of gifts, and raw commercialism—that its roots and meaning are scarcely recognizable. From a biblical perspective, the birth of Jesus was indeed an occasion for cosmic celebration (Luke 2:14), but we need to remember the dismal backdrop to this event: that Jesus was born to die. He is Immanuel (“God with us”) indeed, but he is also “Jesus,” who saves his people from their sins. This event should commemorate both God’s grace to us and our depraved and rebellious undeservedness.

When I was a child, I can recall services commemorating the ascension of Jesus forty days after Easter, and Pentecost (in our Mennonite circles Pfingsten) ten days later on the seventh Sunday after Easter. But outside Anglican and Lutheran circles among evangelicals in North America, these observances have been largely forgotten. Tragically, the loss of the observance has been accompanied by a loss of consciousness of the original events and of an appreciation for their momentous theological significance. Aware of Jesus’ ascension, we anticipate his immanent return (Acts 1:11), and mindful of the outpouring of the Spirit on the disciples at Pentecost, we celebrate the inclusion of all who believe in Jesus in the reconstituted covenant community.

A biblical theology of worship. Whatever our disposition toward these memorial events, Deuteronomy 16:1–17 presents Christians with an extraordinarily rich resource for developing a biblical theology of worship. Among the lessons we might apply to contemporary worship, the following deserve consideration. (1) True worship involves an engagement with God and is focused on him. According to Jesus himself, true worship focuses not on the place but on the person of Christ, who is Yahweh incarnate (John 4:21–24).

(2) True worship occurs at the invitation of the Lord and must be conducted on his terms.

(3) True worship is communal. In worship the redeemed gather to celebrate the kindness that God has lavished on us collectively, without merit and without prejudice. Furthermore, true worship tears down the barriers of gender, class, and race. As Paul writes in Galatians 3:28, in the presence of God “there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

(4) True worship is driven by a deep sense of gratitude to God, first for his redemption, and second for his lavish daily provision. In true worship our focus is not on what we are doing for him but on what he has done for us. For this reason true worship should be a joyful event, not a burden to be legalistically borne.

(5) Finally, true worship involves the lavish offering of one’s resources and even oneself (Rom. 12:1) in sacrifice to and for the service of Christ.

Original Meaning

The Festival of Weeks (16:9–12)

AMONG ANCIENT ISRAEL’S MAJOR religious festivals, the Festival of Weeks exhibits several distinctive features. (1) It is never assigned a precise date on the religious calendar (v. 9; cf. Lev. 23:15–16). (2) Though our text links the festival with Israel’s experience in Egypt (v. 12), the festival is never associated with specific events in their history. Instead, it has the appearance of an agricultural festival. (3) References to the festival are rare in the Old Testament. In keeping with its harvest associations, it is referred variously as “the Festival of the Harvest” (Ex. 23:16), or “the Day of Firstfruits” (Num. 28:26a).20 Being celebrated fifty days after Passover (Lev. 23:16), later Greek texts refer to this festival as Pentecost.21

Whereas Leviticus 23:15–21 and Numbers 28:26–31 deal with technical aspects of the offerings on the Festival of Weeks, the treatment here is anything but clinical. The prescriptive style of the previous verses continues, but the tone is more pastoral. Here Moses seeks to motivate Israelites to keep the Festival of Weeks from an understanding of the profound theology that underlies it. Our headings below reflect the threefold structure of the text.

The timing of the Festival of Weeks (v. 9). Although the name of the festival does not appear until verse 10, the word from which it derives its name, š^ebuʿôt (“weeks”), occurs in verse 9. Instead of specifying a date for its celebration, twice the opening statement calls on the people to “count off seven weeks.” The point of reference is “the time you begin to put the first sickle22 to the standing grain.” In the context of Leviticus 23:11–16, this “time” would probably be the last day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is identified as “a sacred assembly.”23 Here the festival would have fallen in the month of Sivan (May-June), so that the Festivals of Unleavened Bread and Weeks respectively served as bookends on either side of the grain harvest.

The essence of the Festival of Weeks (vv. 10–12a). The description of the Festival of Weeks provides three important details. (1) It is a pilgrimage festival (v. 10). Although Leviticus 23 and Numbers 28 do not refer to it as a “pilgrimage festival,” the use of the word ḥag (“Feast”) here and in Exodus 34:22 places the festival alongside Passover and the Festival of Booths. In contrast to the detailed list of offerings prescribed in Leviticus 23:15–21 and Numbers 28:26–31, our text simply invites Israelites to present a generous freewill offering to Yahweh “in proportion to” the harvest. The expression for offering refers to a gift offered spontaneously and joyfully, without regard to cause. The standard for the offering, as “the LORD your God has given you,” links it with the treatment of debt-servants (15:12–18). Moses hereby declares that those who are genuinely grateful for the grace of God in the harvest will be liberal in their offerings.

(2) The Festival of Weeks is to be a joyful celebration (v. 11). Although pilgrimages to the place of worship would require considerable effort, the Festival of Weeks is cast as an opportunity to celebrate before Yahweh. And with greater enthusiasm than earlier invitations (12:12, 18), the catalogue of participants includes every imaginable member of the community. Combating natural tendencies toward marginalization of outsiders, the list draws all of them, beginning with members of the household, but including outsiders to the community and the economically vulnerable.

(3) The Festival of Weeks is a memorial celebration (v. 12a). Breaking rank with other accounts, Moses links the observance of this festival with Israel’s experience in Egypt. By associating what was otherwise an agricultural festival with Egypt, he highlights the conviction that everything Israel has is to be received as a gift. Like his provision of salvation, Yahweh’s provision of harvest calls for free and spontaneous expressions of gratitude.

The concluding charge to observe the Festival of Weeks (v. 12b–c). The instructions on the Festival of Weeks conclude more formally than any witnessed previously with a double call to observe these ordinances. The combination of verbs “and you shall keep and do”24 (NIV translates “follow carefully”) and the phrase “these decrees” link this text with 26:16.25 The vocabulary places this interpretation of the Festival of Weeks on par with the earlier announcement and explanations of the festival.