What does Leviticus 23 require Israel to do on the Lord’s holy days?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

Israel must keep the stated dates, rest as commanded, and bring the stated offerings. The chapter also requires food to be left for the poor and strangers and seven days in tabernacles so later generations will know how God brought Israel out of Egypt.

Chapter breakdown

Leviticus 23 sets out the holy days to be kept. The Lord tells Moses to speak to the children of Israel and call the Lord’s feasts holy. They are to work for six days. The seventh day is holy because it is the sabbath rest: they must do no work that day in any of their homes. They must also celebrate the Lord’s holy days in their seasons.

On the fourteenth day of the first month, at evening, comes the observance the text calls the phase of the Lord. On the fifteenth day of that month begins the Lord’s feast of unleavened bread. They must eat bread made without leaven for seven days. The first day is most solemn and holy, with no servile work. They must offer sacrifices in fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day is more solemn and more holy, again with no servile work.

The Lord again tells Moses to speak to Israel. When they enter the land he will give them and reap their corn, they must bring sheaves of ears, the firstfruits of the harvest, to the priest. On the day after the sabbath, the priest must lift the sheaf before the Lord so it may be acceptable for them, and sanctify it. On the same day, a first-year lamb without blemish must be killed for a whole burnt offering to the Lord. With it they must offer two tenths of flour mixed with oil as a burnt offering with a sweet smell, and wine amounting to one quarter of a hin.

They must not eat bread, parched corn, frumenty, or the harvest until the day they offer some of it to their God. This rule lasts for ever through their generations and in all their dwellings. From the day after the sabbath on which they offered the sheaf of firstfruits, they must count seven full weeks. On the day after the seventh week ends—the fiftieth day—they must offer a new sacrifice to the Lord.

From all their dwellings they must bring two firstfruits loaves, baked from two tenths of flour with leaven. With the loaves they must offer seven first-year lambs without blemish, one calf from the herd, and two rams as a whole burnt offering, with their drink offerings, for a sweet smell to the Lord. They must also offer a buck goat for sin and two first-year lambs as peace offerings. After the priest lifts them with the firstfruits loaves before the Lord, they fall to his use. The people must call this day most solemn and most holy and do no servile work. This is an everlasting rule in all their dwellings and generations.

When they reap the corn of their land, they must not cut it to the very ground or gather the ears that remain. They must leave them for the poor and for strangers. The Lord identifies himself as their God.

The Lord tells Moses to instruct Israel about the first day of the seventh month. They must keep a sabbath, a memorial with the sound of trumpets, and call it holy. They must do no servile work and offer a whole burnt offering to the Lord.

The Lord again speaks to Moses. The tenth day of the seventh month is the day of atonement, most solemn and holy. The people must afflict their souls and offer a whole burnt offering to the Lord. They must do no servile work because it is a day of propitiation, so that the Lord their God may be merciful to them. Anyone whose soul is not afflicted that day will perish from among his people. God says he will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work that day. They must therefore do no work; this is an everlasting rule through their generations and dwellings. It is a sabbath of rest. They must begin afflicting their souls on the ninth day at evening and keep the sabbath from evening until evening.

The Lord tells Moses to instruct Israel to keep the feast of tabernacles for seven days, starting on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. The first day is most solemn and most holy, with no servile work. They must offer whole burnt offerings to the Lord for seven days. The eighth day is also most solemn and most holy, with whole burnt offerings. It is a day of assembly and congregation, with no servile work.

These are the Lord’s feasts, which they must call most solemn and most holy. On them they must bring offerings to the Lord, including whole burnt offerings and drink offerings according to the rite of each day. These are besides the Lord’s sabbaths, their gifts, what they offer by vow, and what they give to the Lord voluntarily.

After gathering all the fruits of their land, they must celebrate the Lord’s feast for seven days from the fifteenth day of the seventh month. The first and eighth days are days of rest. On the first day they must take the fruits of the fairest tree, palm branches, boughs of thick trees, and willows from the brook, and rejoice before the Lord their God. They must keep this seven-day feast each year in the seventh month. It is an everlasting rule through their generations.

They must dwell in bowers for seven days; everyone of the race of Israel must dwell in tabernacles. God gives the reason: their descendants must know that he made the children of Israel dwell in tabernacles when he brought them out of Egypt. He is the Lord their God. Moses tells the children of Israel about the Lord’s feasts.

The story inside

The tabernacles command gives an action and its stated purpose. Once the fruits of the land are gathered, Israel must keep the feast for seven days, rejoice before God, and dwell in tabernacles. The rest days and offerings are part of the observance, but the dwelling command also carries a lesson for descendants: they are to know that God made Israel dwell in tabernacles when he brought them out of Egypt. The chapter explains that connection itself; the required practice keeps that event before later generations.

Lessons worth keeping

1
The offering comes before eating the harvest. The ban on bread, parched corn, frumenty, and the harvest lasts until the day an offering is made to God, making the order of these actions part of the command.
2
The harvest instructions include the poor and strangers. Israel must leave the ears that remain and must not cut the corn to the very ground; gathering the harvest does not remove those duties.
3
Dwelling in tabernacles has a stated teaching purpose. Descendants are to know what God did when he brought Israel out of Egypt, so the feast includes an act connected to that remembered event.

Test your recall

Why must everyone of the race of Israel dwell in tabernacles during the seven-day feast?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 13164–13178
Leviticus Chapter 23 Holy days to be kept. 23:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23:2. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: These are the feasts of the Lord, which you shall call holy. 23:3. Six days shall ye do work: the seventh day, because it is the rest of the sabbath, shall be called holy. You shall do no work on that day: it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your habitations. 23:4. These also are the holy days of the Lord, which you must celebrate in their seasons.
Lines 13180–13192
23:5. The first month, the fourteenth day of the month at evening, is the phase of the Lord. 23:6. And the fifteenth day of the same month is the solemnity of the unleavened bread of the Lord. Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread. 23:7. The first day shall be most solemn unto you, and holy: you shall do no servile work therein. 23:8. But you shall offer sacrifice in fire to the Lord seven days. And the seventh day shall be more solemn, and more holy: and you shall do no servile work therein.
Lines 13194–13210
23:9. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23:10. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: When you shall have entered into the land which I will give you, and shall reap your corn, you shall bring sheaves of ears, the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. 23:11. Who shall lift up the sheaf before the Lord, the next day after the sabbath, that it may be acceptable for you, and shall sanctify it. 23:12. And on the same day that the sheaf is consecrated, a lamb without blemish of the first year shall be killed for a holocaust of the Lord. 23:13. And the libations shall be offered with it: two tenths of flour tempered with oil, for a burnt offering of the Lord, and a most sweet odour. Libations also of wine, the fourth part of a hin.
Lines 13212–13221
23:14. You shall not eat either bread, or parched corn, or frumenty or the harvest, until the day that you shall offer thereof to your God. It is a precept for ever throughout your generations, and all your dwellings. 23:15. You shall count therefore from the morrow after the sabbath, wherein you offered the sheaf of firstfruits, seven full weeks. 23:16. Even unto the morrow after the seventh week be expired, that is to say, fifty days: and so you shall offer a new sacrifice to the Lord.
Lines 13223–13240
23:17. Out of all your dwellings, two loaves of the firstfruits, of two tenths of flour leavened, which you shall bake for the firstfruits of the Lord. 23:18. And you shall offer with the loaves seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one calf from the herd, and two rams, and they shall be for a holocaust with their libations for a most sweet odour to the Lord. 23:19. You shall offer also a buck goat for sin, and two lambs of the first year for sacrifices of peace offerings. 23:20. And when the priest hath lifted them up with the loaves of the firstfruits before the Lord, they shall fall to his use. 23:21. And you shall call this day most solemn, and most holy. You shall do no servile work therein. It shall be an everlasting ordinance in all your dwellings and generations.
Lines 13242–13245
23:22. And when you reap the corn of your land, you shall not cut it to the very ground: neither shall you gather the ears that remain. But you shall leave them for the poor and for the strangers. I am the Lord your God.
Lines 13247–13254
23:23. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23:24. Say to the children of Israel: The seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall keep a sabbath, a memorial, with the sound of trumpets, and it shall be called holy. 23:25. You shall do no servile work therein, and you shall offer a holocaust to the Lord.
Lines 13256–13278
23:26. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23:27. Upon the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the day of atonement. It shall be most solemn, and shall be called holy: and you shall afflict your souls on that day, and shall offer a holocaust to the Lord. 23:28. You shall do no servile work in the time of this day: because it is a day of propitiation, that the Lord your God may be merciful unto you. 23:29. Every soul that is not afflicted on this day, shall perish from among his people. 23:30. And every soul that shall do any work, the same will I destroy from among his people. 23:31. You shall do no work therefore on that day: it shall be an everlasting ordinance unto you in all your generations, and dwellings. 23:32. It is a sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict your souls beginning on the ninth day of the month. From evening until evening you shall celebrate your sabbaths.
Lines 13280–13292
23:33. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23:34. Say to the children of Israel: From the fifteenth day of this same seventh month, shall be kept the feast of tabernacles, seven days to the Lord. 23:35. The first day shall be called most solemn and most holy: you shall do no servile work therein. And seven days you shall offer holocausts to the Lord. 23:36. The eighth day also shall be most solemn and most holy: and you shall offer holocausts to the Lord. For it is the day of assembly and congregation. You shall do no servile work therein.
Lines 13294–13300
23:37. These are the feasts of the Lord which you shall call most solemn and most holy, and shall offer on them oblations to the Lord: holocausts and libations according to the rite of every day. 23:38. Besides the sabbaths of the Lord, and your gifts, and those things that you offer by vow, or which you shall give to the Lord voluntarily.
Lines 13302–13314
23:39. So from the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you shall have gathered in all the fruits of your land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord seven days. On the first day and the eighth shall be a sabbath: that is a day of rest. 23:40. And you shall take to you on the first day the fruits of the fairest tree, and branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook: And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God. 23:41. And you shall keep the solemnity thereof seven days in the year. It shall be an everlasting ordinance in your generations. In the seventh month shall you celebrate this feast.
Lines 13316–13326
23:42. And you shall dwell in bowers seven days. Every one that is of the race of Israel, shall dwell in tabernacles: 23:43. That your posterity may know, that I made the children of Israel to dwell in tabernacles, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. 23:44. And Moses spoke concerning the feasts of the Lord to the children of Israel.