PENTECOST
926
PENTECOST
ever, a new meat-offering of two loaves is also brought. ' and with tlie loaves arc offered one bullock, two rams, and seven lambs, all burnt-offerings; a goat for a sin- offering, and two lambs for a peace-offering. These are the sacritices ordered in Lev. xxiii, 18. Hence the sacrifice on this day exceeds the two dailj' sacri- lices by three bullocks, tiiree rams, fourteen lambs (all tliesc twenty animals being a burnt-offering) ; two goats for a sin-offering, which are eaten ; and two lambs for a peace-offering, which are not eaten" (/(«/ JIa-Ckezaki, Ililchoth Tamidin U-j\losa2ihin, viii, 1).
Besides the two loaves with their accompanying sacrifices, and the special festival sacrifices which were offered for the whole nation, each individual who came to the sanctuary was expected to bring, on this festi- val, as on Passover and the feast of Tabernacles, a free-will offering according to his circumstances (Deut. xvi, 10-12), a portion of which was given to the priests and Levites, and the rest was eaten hy the respective families, who invited the poor and strangers to share it. It would seem that the character of this festival partook of a more free and hospitable liberality than that of tlie Passover, which was rather of the kind that belongs to the mere faniih' gathering. In this respect it resembljd the feast of Tabernacles. The Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the .widow were to be brought within its influence (Deut. xvi, 11, 14). The mention of the gleanings to be left in the fields at harvest for "the poor and the stranger," in connection with Pentecost, may perhaps have a bear- ing on the liberality which belonged to the festival (Lev. xxiii, 22). At Pentecost (as at the Passover) the people were to be reminded of their bondage in Egypt, and they were especially admonished of their obligation to keep the divine law (Deut. xvi, 12).
2. The Post-exilian Observance of this Festival. — More minute is the information in the non-canonical docu- ments about the preparation of tlie sacrifices and the observance of tliis festival in and before the time of Christ. The pilgrims went up to Jerusalem the day previous to the commencement of the festival, when they prepared everj-thing necessarj' for its solemn ob- servance ; and the approach of the holy convocation was proclaimed in the evening by blasts of the trum- pets. The altar of the burnt-sacrifice was cleansed in the first night-watch of the preparation-day, and the gates of the Temple, as well as those of the inner court, were opened immediatelj' after midnight for the con- venience of the priests, who resided in the city, and for the people, who filled the court before the cock crew, to have their burnt-sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings duly examined by the priests. AVhen tlic time of sacrifice arrived, the daily morning sacrifice was first offered, then the festival sacrifices prescribed in Xumb. xxviii, 26, 27. 30, while the Levites were chanting the Great Hallel (q. v.), in which the peo- ple joined; whereupon the congregation solemnly and heartilj' thanked God for the successful harvest, and the loaves of the new corn, with the accompanying sacrifices prescribed in Lev. xxiii, 18, were offered to the Ijord. The two loaves for the wave-offering were prejwred in the fullowing manner: "Three seahs of new wheat were brought into the court of the Temple; they were beaten and trodden like all meat-offerings, and ground into flour, two omers of which were sifted through twelve sieves, and the remainder was re- deemed and eaten by any one. The two omers of , flour, of which the two loaves were ma<le, were respec- tively obtained from a seah and a Iialf . . . kneaded separately and baked separately. Like all meat-of- ferings, they were kneaded and prepared outside, but baked inside the Temple, and did not set aside the festival, much less the Sabbath, so that thej' were baked on the daj- preceding the festival. Hence, if the preparation-daj' (-1:2 CT' S"") happened to be on a Sabbath, the loaves were ba,ked on Fridaj' (S"*.^'
r2T), and eaten on the third daj' after they were baked, which was the feast daj'." Tliey were leavened loaves according to the declaration of the law, and made as follows : " The leaven was fetched from some other place, put into the omer, the omer filled with flour, which was leavened with the said leaven. The length of each loaf was seven hand-breadths; the breadth, four hand-breadths ; and the height, four fin- gers" (Maimonides, lad Ha-Cliezaka, Ililchoth Tamidin U-Mosuphin, viii, 3-10, with Mishna, Menachoth, vi, G, 7; xi, 2; iv, 9). The two loaves thus prepared were then offered as wave-offerings, with two lambs, constituting the peace-offering, in the following man- ner: '-The two lambs were brought into the Temple and waved together by the priest while yet alive, as it is written, 'And he shall wave them ... a wave-offer- ing' (Lev. xxiii, 20) ; but if he waved each one sepa- ratel}', it was also valid, whereupon thej' were slain and fla^'ed. The priest then took the breast and the shoulder of each one (comp. Lev. vii, 30, 32), laid them down bv' the side of the two loaves, put both his hands under them, and waved them all together as if they were one, towards the east side — the place of all wave- offering — doing it forwards and backwards, up and down ; but it was also valid if he waved each sepa- rately. Hereupon he burned the fat of the two lambs, and the remainder of the flesh was eaten by the priests. As to the two loaves, the high-priest took one of them, and the second was divided among all the ofliciating priests (n~iT2C2il), and both of them were eaten up within the same day and half the following night, just as the flesh of the most holy things" (Maimon- ides, lad Ila-Chezaka, Ililchoth Tamidin U-Mosaphin, viii, 11. See Mishna, Mtnachoth, v, 6 ; Joseph. Ant. iii, 10, G; War, vi, 5, 3). After the prescribed daily sacrifice, the festival and the harvest sacrifice were offered for the whole nation. Each individual brought the free-will offering, which formed the cheerful and hospitable meal of the family, and to which the Levite, the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the stranger were invited. The festival in a minor degree continued for a whole week, during which time those who did not offer on the first day repaired their defects or negli- gence {Rosh Ila-Shana, 4 b). The offering of the first- fruits also began at this time (Alishna, Bikkurim, i, 7, 10) ; and it was for this reason, as well as for the joy- ous semi-festival daj's which followed the day of Holy Convocation, that we find so large a concourse of Jews attending Pentecost (Acts ii ; Joseph. Ant. xiv, 13, 14; xvii, 10, 2; llVw, ii, 3, 1).