But men are only gradually trained to the level of this holy and disinterested fear. They often have to be taught to fear God at all, even in tlie lower sense ; and this lesson is enforced by divine
FEASTS AND FASTS
FEASTS AND FASTS
85S
ponishments (1 S 12"'), just as civil punishments teach men the authority of the law through fear (Dt 13"). It is possible to trace pro^Tess in the conception of fear taught in the Lihle. Tlius at Sinai the people fear the fire (Ex 20'«-«') ; but at Horeb the prophet is taught to look for GoJ in the Btill small voice rather tlian in the fire and tempest (1 K 19") ; and Ezekiel is told not to crouch before God, but to stand upon his feet when God speaks to him (Ezk 2'). So in the NT boldness towards God is inculcated as much as fear, Christ having opened up the way of access for all wlio are united to Him : see Eph3'-, He 4" 10", 1 Jn 2=» 3^' 4" (cf. Ro 8'° contrast bet. spirit of bondage and of adop- tion). But Christ does not encourage the idea that it is as yet possible to supersede the motive even of selfish tear ; He ^ives grave warnings of tlie con- sequences that will follow sin hereafter, and, wliile He tells His 'friends' not to fear men. He bids them emphatically to fear Him who hath power to cast into hell (Lk l^"- »).
In Ac 'one that feareth God' ia often used technically to mean a proselyte, even though un- circumcised (Ac 10-). This is also the meaning of the word aepd/ieoos, one that worshippeth God, also translated 'devout.' See Courage, Reverexce.
W. O. Burrows.
FEASTS AND FASTS.— It will be convenient to divide this article * into four parts —
L FeA8t6 connected with the institution of the Sabbath. n. The great Historical FeativalB, Passover, Pentecost, and
Tabemacles. ni. The Minor Festivals. lY. The Fast of the Day of Atonement and the Minor Fasts.
I. Feasts connected with the Institution OF THE Sabbath.
(1) The Sabbath. (2) The New Moon. (3) The Feast of Trumpets on the 1st day of the Sab- batical month. (4) The Sabbatical year. (5) The Jubilee year.
The sacred number 7 dominates the cycle of religious observances. Every 7th day was a Sabbath. Every 7th month was a sacred month. Every 7th year was a Sabbatical year. After 7 times 7 was the year of Jubilee. The Feast of the Passover, with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, began 14 days (2 x 7) after the beginning of the month, and lasted 7 daj's. The Feast of Pentecost was 7 times 7 days after the Feast of the Passover. The Feast of Tabemacles began 14 days (2x7) after the beginning of the month and lasted 7 days. The 7th month was marked by (1) Feast of Trumpets on the 1st day. (2) Fast of Atonement on the 10th day. (3) Feast of Taber- nacles from the 15th day to the 21st. "The days of ' Holy Convocation ' were 7 in number — 2 at the Pas.sover, 1 at Pentecost, 1 at the Feast of Trumpets, 1 at the Day of Atonement, 1 at the Feast of Tabemacles, and I on the day following, the 8th day. (Willis, Worship of the Old Covenant, pp. 190, 191).
(1) The Sabbath, n;5», \Sn~^, aipparou.—ln Am 8', 2 K 4»- », Is 1", Hos 2" it is connected with the New moon. Probably, the .Sabbath was originally regulated by the phases of the moon, and thus occurred on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th days of the month, the new moon being reckoned as the first Sabbath. ' Among the Assyrians the first twenty-eight days of every month were divided into four weeks of seven days each, the seventh, fourteenth, twcnty-lirst, and twenty-eighth days respectively being Sabbaths, and there was a general proliibiticm of work on these days ' (George .Smith, Assyrinn Eponijm Canon, 19 f., quoted by Wellliausen, Prolcgomcwt, 112, and
• The article is general. Fuller details will be found undpr the articles on the separate Feasts and Fasts. See also the article Fabti.nq.
Schultz, OT Theol. i. 204, who also mentions the primitive Delphic custom of giving oracles on the 7th day as the day dedicated to Apollo). Schultz also points out that it is a mistake to derive the name Sabbath from the planet Saturn, which the Kabbis call ' Shabbti,' and thus to bring tlie Sabbath holiday into connexion with the Chaldee worship of the planets. ' The naming of the days after certain planet-gods can hardly be so old as the Sabbath holidaj-.
For the Sabbath law see Ex 16=»-*> (P and J), 20" (E), 23'2 (J), 31"-i« (P), 34»i (JE), 35= (P), Lv Vfi (H), 23' (P), 26- (H), Nu 15»-» (P), 2S»- '» (P), Dt 5'--'». In Ex 20» (E) it is to commemorate God's seventh day of rest at the creation. In Dt 5""" it commemorates the redemption of Israel from Egypt. On the Sabbath the daily morning and evening sacrifice — the ' continual sacrifice ' — of a Iamb as a burnt-ofTering was doubled. There is no evidence of Sabbath observance in the days of the Patriarchs. There is little evidence of Sabbath observance before the time of the Exile (Jer n*'-", Ezk 20'=- "• '«■ ^, Is 56=-« 58"). Greater strictness marks the post-exilic period (Neh S""'' 1031 1316-23) For the 39 kinds of work prohibited by the Rabbis on the .Sabbath, and for many other actions and employments which cannot be summed up under any of them which were also forbidden, see Schurer, HJP II. ii. 96-105, cf. 1 Mac 2»^-»»- »3-«, 2 Mac S^ 8-«-28 12'« W-, Mt 12'-'-\ Mk 3'-», Lk G'-'" 13'"-" 14'-«, Jn 5'-" 9»-". Sabbath-breaking was punishable with death (Nu 15'="- (P), Ex 31"*- (J)), cf. Ex 16° (J), where the Manna ceases on the Sabbath, and Ex 35' (P), where no fire is to be lighted. According to the testimony of Josephus, the high priest, although legally bound to ofiiciate only on the Day of Atonement, yet actually ollici- ated, as a rule, every Sabbath day, and on the occasion of the New Moons or other festivals in the course of the year (Jo.s. BJ v. v. 7),