Leviticus 23 15

Leviticus 23:15 kjv

And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:

Leviticus 23:15 nkjv

'And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed.

Leviticus 23:15 niv

"?'From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks.

Leviticus 23:15 esv

"You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering.

Leviticus 23:15 nlt

"From the day after the Sabbath ? the day you bring the bundle of grain to be lifted up as a special offering ? count off seven full weeks.

Leviticus 23 verses

Leviticus 23 15 Meaning

Leviticus 23:15 provides the foundational instruction for observing the counting period, known as the Counting of the Omer, leading up to the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot or Pentecost). It specifies that the counting is to commence from the day immediately following a Sabbath, specifically the day on which the wave offering of the first sheaf (omer) was presented. The duration of this count is explicitly set at seven complete weeks, leading to the fifty-day period.

Leviticus 23 15 Context

Leviticus chapter 23 meticulously outlines the Lord's appointed festivals (mo'adim), sacred times that serve as divine appointments between God and His people Israel. These festivals provided a rhythm for Israel's year, anchoring their agricultural and national life in remembrance of God's saving acts and covenant relationship. Verse 15 is embedded within the section detailing the Spring festivals. It directly follows the command for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, specifically addressing the ritual of waving the first sheaf (the omer) as a firstfruits offering from the barley harvest (Lev 23:9-14). This verse acts as a crucial calendrical bridge, initiating the seven-week countdown from the barley harvest offering to the subsequent wheat harvest, which culminates in the Feast of Weeks. Historically and culturally, these feasts were intertwined with Israel's agricultural cycle and deeply embedded in their experience as a nation delivered from bondage in Egypt and led into the Promised Land. The counting highlighted both agricultural dependency on God and spiritual readiness.

Leviticus 23 15 Word analysis

• You shall count (וּסְפַרְתֶּם, u'sfartem): This Hebrew verb (sāpar) signifies not merely numbering, but also to recount, rehearse, or enumerate with precision. The second-person plural imperative implies a direct, communal, and active responsibility for the people to undertake this action. It underscores diligence and attentiveness in observing God's appointed times.
• for yourselves (לָכֶם, lachem): This dative suffix indicates personal ownership and engagement. The counting was not just a priestly function but a command to every Israelite household. It suggests personal devotion and preparation for the forthcoming festival, cultivating anticipation and reflection.
• from the day after the Sabbath (מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת, mi'macharat ha'shabbat): This phrase has been a source of historical debate among Jewish interpretative traditions.
  • "the Sabbath" (ha'shabbat):
    • The traditional Pharisaic/Rabbinic interpretation understands "the Sabbath" here to refer to the first high holy day of Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:7-8), which functioned as a 'Sabbath rest,' irrespective of the weekly Sabbath cycle. Thus, the counting would begin on the 16th of Nisan.
    • The Sadducean/Karaite interpretation (and favored by some Christian scholarship) argues that "the Sabbath" refers to the regular weekly Sabbath that falls during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This interpretation would place the beginning of the count always on a Sunday. This latter view allows for Pentecost to always fall on a Sunday.
• from the day when you brought (מִיּוֹם הֲבִיאֲכֶם, mi'yom havi'akhem): This further clarifies the starting point of the count. It is not just "the day after the Sabbath" in general, but specifically the day when the offering occurred. This parallelism reinforces precision.
• the sheaf (אֶת־עֹמֶר, et-'omer): The "omer" refers to a dry measure of grain, a small bundle of barley, approximately 2.2 litres. This offering was specifically from the firstfruits of the spring barley harvest.
• of the wave offering (הַתְּנוּפָה, hat'nufah): The tenuphah was a distinct ritualistic movement performed by the priest, where the offering was moved horizontally (waving) before the Lord, signifying dedication to Him and acknowledging His ownership over the land and its produce. It also implied movement towards and away from the altar, perhaps symbolizing universal offering.
• seven full Sabbaths (שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתוֹת תְּמִימֹת, sheva shabbatot t'mimot):
  • "seven Sabbaths": Clearly indicates a period of seven weeks, or 49 days. The word shabbatot (plural of shabbat) here denotes weeks, cycles of seven days, emphasizing weekly completeness.
  • "full" (תְּמִימֹת, t'mimot): From the root tamam, meaning complete, perfect, sound, unimpaired. This stresses that the counting period must be entire, without interruption or omission. It requires precision and signifies the sacredness and holistic nature of the divinely ordained cycle. This completion leads to the 50th day.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "You shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought...": This opening clause emphasizes the personal and communal obligation of the Israelites. The doubling of the temporal indicator ("from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought") is a strong literary device. It provides specificity, intertwining the ritual wave offering of the omer with the first day of the count. This structure prevents ambiguity about when the counting should begin, fixing it precisely at the firstfruits offering. The act of counting transforms abstract time into a tangible journey toward a divine appointment.
• "seven full Sabbaths shall be complete.": This phrase establishes the exact duration and the required quality of the counting. "Seven Sabbaths" (seven weeks) totals 49 days. The descriptor "full" (temimot) underlines that the weeks must be uninterrupted and perfectly completed, leading to the climactic 50th day, Pentecost. This ensures the precise and divinely ordained timing of the festival that follows.

Leviticus 23 15 Bonus section

• The strict "counting of the omer" reflects divine exactitude in Israel's worship calendar, where every moment mattered in the preparation for encountering God.
• The precise agricultural timing, moving from the barley harvest (omer) to the wheat harvest (Pentecost), illustrates God's provision and the natural progression from the beginnings to the fuller abundance of His blessings.
• The eschatological connection to the "firstfruits" theme is profoundly seen in the New Testament with Jesus' resurrection, occurring on the very day the omer was waved, designating Him as the "firstfruits" of resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost as the firstfruits of a greater harvest of believers.

Leviticus 23 15 Commentary

Leviticus 23:15 provides a precise, divine blueprint for the timing of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks), anchoring it irrevocably to the Passover season. By mandating a fifty-day count starting the day after the firstfruits omer offering, God established a sacred temporal connection between deliverance from Egypt and the bounty of the land, foreshadowing the giving of the Torah at Sinai and later, the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The emphasis on counting "for yourselves" underscored a personal and communal responsibility to participate diligently in God's redemptive calendar, ensuring that no segment of the seven "full Sabbaths" (weeks) was neglected. The phrase "full Sabbaths" implies a demand for integrity and complete dedication to the prescribed rhythm. This exact counting period, initiated by the waving of the first barely sheaf and culminating in the presentation of two leavened loaves of fine flour at Pentecost, demonstrates a movement from the initial deliverance and firstfruits of the natural harvest to the full ingathering, symbolically reflecting the spiritual progression from individual salvation to the formation and empowerment of a Spirit-filled community.