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Category: Appointed Times

Shavuot - שבועות

Tags:  shavuot

Most Christians know the story of Pentecost in Acts chapter two: the mighty wind, the tongues of fire, Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) and the speaking in every language. Very few, however, are aware of the Torah background behind this event.

As believers return to an observance of the biblical festivals, they are always blessed and delighted by Shavuot. The church holiday they once knew only as a remembrance of Acts chapter two is actually a biblical appointment filled with a wealth of meaning and symbolism.

From the Barley Harvest to the Wheat Harvest

The Torah commands us to count the days of the Omer. On the day after the Sabbath during the week of the Festival of Unleavened Bread—the day on which the first fruits of the barley were harvested and offered up in the Temple—we are commanded to begin a countdown to the next festival.1 We are told to count forty-nine days, and upon their completion, the fiftieth day is the appointed time of the Festival of Pentecost. Both the English and Hebrew names for the festival reflect this counting. The English name, Pentecost, is from the Greek equivalent of ïfiftieth day.’ The Hebrew name for the festival is Shavuot, which means ïweeks.’ It is so named because of the seven full weeks (forty-nine days) of counting. The counting is a chain that links the Festival of Unleavened Bread to Shavuot. In this sense, Shavuot concludes the festival season that began with Passover.

Shavuot is a harvest festival. Just as the week of Unleavened Bread celebrates the ripening of the barley crop, in a similar way, Shavuot celebrates the ripening of the wheat crop. At Shavuot, the first fruits of the wheat harvest were brought to the Temple and baked into two loaves of leavened bread. The interim forty-nine days of counting are called "the counting of the Omer" because day one begins the harvest of a single barley sheaf (omer) and day forty-nine...

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© 2009 First Fruits of Zion. All rights reserved. We encourage you to share this material with your friends for further personal study. However, This material may not be republished, in print, electronically, or any other form without our prior permission. Adapted from Bikurei Tziyon #64 .

For more information about this issue, click here.

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