Feast of Pentecost

Pentecost, which means "fifty," is celebrated fifty days after Passover. It is the only one of the three pilgrimage feasts which did not commemorate a specific event in Israel's history. Eventually it came to be associated with the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. Pentecost, which is the Greek word for "fiftieth," is called in Hebrew ag Shavuot, that is,"the Feast of Weeks" (Exod. 34:22; Lev. 23:15-22). Its name derived from the fact that it was celebrated seven weeks after the Passover, on the fiftieth day (Lev. 23:15-16; Deut. 16:9-10). It is also called the "Feast of Harvest" (Exod. 23:16) and the "Day of Firstfruits" (Num. 28:26). Pentecost was a one-day festival in which all males were to appear at the sanctuary and a Sabbath in which all servile labor was suspended. The central feature of the day was the offering of two loaves of bread for the people from the firstfruits of the wheat harvest (Lev. 23:17). As the omer ceremony signified the onset of the harvest season, the pr…