There are few references to the Passover in OT (Nu 9 (P), Jos S'"-" (P), 2Ch 30. 35, Ezr 6'», 1 Eg ii...8...u.i7.i..«).ji.i! 710. U). In NX see Mt 2g». 17. 18. i« Mjj 141. IS. n. i» Lij 2" 22'- '• •• "• "• '° Jn 2'»-» 6' 11» 12' 13' 18^ w 19", Ac"l2^ 1 Co 5'! He 11*. Later Jewish ordinances distinguish between the so-called ' Eg^-ptian Pa.ssover,' that is, as it was enjoined for the first night of its celebra- tion, and the ' permanent Passover,' as it was to be observed by Israel after tlieir possession of the land of promise (Edersheim, Bible History, vol. ii.). On the later additions to the Paschal ceremonial, e.g. the recitation of the history of redemption, the four cups, the Hallel (Ps 113-118), the Chagigdh, cts., see Edersheim, The Temple: its Ministry and Services at the Time of Jesus Christ, chs. xi. xii. ; and for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, see ch. xiii. of the same.
(2) The Feast of Pentecost. — (i.) n'lyiD?' it\, ioprii epSondSuv, the Feast of Weeks (Ex 34" (JE), Dt 16") ; (ii.) Tv;- 313, ioprii Sepur/ioO, the Feast of Har- vest (Ex 23" (J)) ; (iii.) D-nD5n cV, ^ iifUpa tup viwv, the Day of Firstfruits (Nu 28» (P) ; cf. Ex 22* (J) 23'» (J) 34»(JE)). Fifty days after the offering of the Paschal wave-sheaf, the Feast of Pentecost, or \\eek8, or Harvest, was kept on or about tlie 8th of Sivan, the third month. It lasted a single day (Dt le""'-). The day was a dav of 'holy convoca- tion' (Lv 23^' (P)). The feast marked the com- pletion of the corn harvest, and according to the later Jews it commemorated the giving of the law (Edersheim, The Temple, etc., ch. xiii. p. 225). It closed the New Year holiday sea.son. The sacri- fices were similar to those offered on the seven days of the F. of Mazzfjth (Nu 28*'-»' (P)). The char- acteristic ritual of this feast was the offering and waving of two leavened loaves of wheaten flour, together with a sin-ofi'ering, burnt-offerings, and peace-offerings (Lv 23"-*'(H )). As a wave-sheaf was iiffered at Mnzzith, which marked the commence- ment of harvest, as the consecratiim of the first- fruits, so two wave-loaves were offered at Pentecost, which marked the completion of the com harvest. The feast is not referred to in OT, but see 2 Mao 12», Ac2'20", 1 Co 16» (cf. Edersheim, TU Temple, pp. 225-231).
(3) The Feast of Tabernacles. — nS^rn jn, iopri) CKTiruv, F. of Tabernacles or Booths ('l^v 23**, Dt 16"); TC><C '(3. (op^n crvPTeXtlaf (Ex 23"'|, io/n-r) iri'i'a^ury^t (Ex 34*^), the F. of liiL'atliering. This feast was observed from the 15lh to the 22n<l of Tisri (the seventh month), following closely upon
the Fast on the 10th day of the month — the Day of Atonement. It marked the completion of the harvest of fruit, oil, and wine, and historicallj- it commemorated the wanderings in tlie wilderness. It was the harvest-home at the close of the year, when people came ' from the villages and towns to the fruit gardens to live in bootlis, and enjoy a happy autumn holiday' (Ex 23" (J) 34-'' (JE), Lv 23"-*'; »»-"(PH), Nu 29'»-«' (P), Dt IS''""' 31"'-'»). The sacrifices at this feast were far more numerous than at any other. On each of the seven da\-s 1 kid of the goats was offered as a sin-offering, and 2 rams and 14 lambs as a burnt-offering. Also 70 bullocks were offered on the seven days, beginning with 13 on the first day and diminishing by one each day until on the 7th day 7 were oifered (Nu 29'-"**). After the seven days a solemn day of ' holy convocation ' was observed ( ' the last day, that great day of the feast,' Jn 7"), whicli marked the conclusion, not only of the Feast of Tabernacles, but of the whole cycle of the festal year. On this day 1 bullock, 1 ram, and 7 lambs were offered as a bumt-offering, and 1 goat for a sin-offering (Nu 29''-''). The feast is alluded to in 1 K 8» l^'^ 2 Ch 5' 7*"-, Ezr 3\ Neh 8"-'», Zee 14"-'», Jn 7'-10»'. On the later ceremonies connected with the feast, e.g. the procession to SUoam to fetch water and its solemn libation at the altar (Jn 7"), the singing of the Hallel (Pss 113-118), the daily processions round the altar, and the sevenfold repetition on the seventh day (Ps 118'-"), the lighting of the four great golden candelabra in the court of the women (Jn 8'^), the singing of Pss 105. 29. 50. 94. 81. 82, and the public reading of the law on the first day of the week in the Sabbatical year, see Edersheim, The Temple, etc., ch. xiv. pp. 232-249 ; Westcott on St. John, notes on ch. 7^ 8'-. [On the daily service, which formed the substratum of the entire worship of the Temple, the morning and evening sacrifices which were offered on every Sabbath and every festival day, see Scliiirer, II,/P ii. 273-299.]
III. The Minor Festivals. —(1) The Feast of Pnrim (Dl'3, <j>povpal). — In 2 Mac IS** it is called 17 MopSoxai'/ci) v/Upa, ' Mordecai's Day.' It is said to have been instituted by Mordecai to commemorate the overthrow of Hainan and tlie failure of his plots against the Jews (Est 3' 9"-»=). It was held on the 14th and 15th of the month Adar (the twelfth month). The 13th of Adar — ' the day of Nicanor ' — originally a feast to commemorate his death (1 Mac 7^', 2 Mac 15**), at a later time became a fast — 'the Fast of Esther' — in preparation for the Feast of Purim, which was of a very joyous character. De Lag:irdo (fcillowed by Schultz, OT Thcol. p. 431, and Kmyl. lirit. 9th ed. vol. xx. p. 115) thinks that the feast which dates from the Persian period is itself of Persian origin, Purim being derived from the Persian Furdigan (I'ordigaii, Pardiyan) the <povpnala and (fioupSiaot one of thedreek recensions of Esther pointing to a form (povpSaia in.stead of Purim.