Deuteronomy 16:9-17

<p>     Moses had previously directed Israel to observe the annual feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread, both of which commemorated Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt (Deut 16:1-8). In this pericope, Moses instructs them to observe the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths (Deut 16:9-17).</p> <p>     Moses opens, saying, “You shall count seven weeks for yourself; you shall begin to count seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain” (Deut 16:9). It was the responsibility of the Israelites to begin counting from the time they began to harvest the grain, and they were to count forward seven weeks. This would have corresponded to the time when they harvested grain in March-April. Thus, the Feast of Weeks would have occurred in late May or early June, depending on when the harvesting began. Jack Deere states, “It was also known as the ‘Feast of Harvest’ (Ex 23:16) and the ‘day of firstfruits’ (Num 28:26). Later it was given the title ‘Pentecost’ based on the Septuagint’s translation of the ‘50 days’ (Lev 23:16).”<a href='#_ftn1'>[1]</a> Peter Craigie writes:</p> <ul><li>"The dating of the feast is given in relative and imprecise terms in this context; seven weeks (hence the title of the feast, “Weeks”) were counted from the beginning of the harvest of grain. In Lev 23:15-16, the date is more explicitly defined as being fifty days (seven weeks, the fiftieth day being the day of the festival) after the offering of a sheaf at the beginning of Passover."<a href='#_ftn2'>[2]</a></li> </ul> <p>     On the fiftieth day following the beginning of the grain harvest, Moses instructs, “Then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give just as the LORD your God blesses you” (Deut 16:10). This was to be a time of celebration to the Lord in which Israelites brought a “freewill offering” in proportion to the Lord’s blessing. Jack Deere writes:</p> <ul><li>"The Feast of Weeks was a celebration o