Feasts and fasts (Hastings' Dictionary)

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), (2) The New Moon (1) B-\n, (2) v-irh -irix, (3) J^in B'nn, (4) c'C'Tn '¥"«■;, vovfi-qvla, yeofi-qvla. — Closely asso- ciated with the Sabbath (see above).

' When under the influence of the Chaldee method of dividing time, the course of the moon with its four phases was adopted as the unit of time measurement, the new moon and the 7th day were naturally regarded as the chief divisions of time, and therefore as holy days' (Schultz, OT Theol. i. 204). From 2 K 4=3 it would appear that the prophets were in the habit of gathering the people around them, and perhaps of granting inquirers and sui>pliants an audience at new moons and on Sabbatlis.

At every new moon the number of bumt-oflcrings was largely increased ; and in addition a kid of the goats was to be ofl'cred for a sin-ofiering (Ex 40^-'' (P), Nu lO'" (P) 28"-'» (P) 29" (P), IS 20»-"=», 1 Ch 23-'", 2Ch2*, 2Ch29", Ps 81»«, Is 1"», Hos 2", 1 Es 5M. ns. n. §8 916. ". n, 1 Mac 10«, Col 2"). (3) The Feast of Trumj^ets on the 1st day of the Sabb.atical month, nvin jW;i, iivqtioawon aa.\irlyyuv. — The 7th month — Tisn — was tlio sacred month.

On the new moon of the 7th month — the Feast of Trumpets — additional burnt ■ ollorings were sac- rificed (Nu '29i-« (P), Lv 23-^- ^ (P)). (4) Tlie Sabbatical Year, px^" J'lnje' n;B', ad^^ara drairawit TJ yi (Ex 2.3">- " (J), Lv Oo'"'-"-'" (II), Lv 26"-" (H), Dt 15'" 31»-").— The Sabbatical year represented a still further consecration of time to God. The land was to keep a Sabbath. The liclds were neither to be tilled nor reaped.

' Nature is to be set free, as it were, from the service which mankind exacts from her, and to be left entirely to herself. Only what she voluntarily oilers IS to be taken, and that not for any selfish purpo.se' (Schultz, OT Theol. i. 303). "Hebrew slaves were to be set free unless they wished to remain in ser-ice (Ex 21'-' (J)). A harvest was tc 860 FEASTS AJfD FASTS FEASTS AND FASTS be given qratii to the poor of the people (Ex 23"'- " (J)). Release from debt is prescribed (Dt 15''').

In Ex 23 (J) the arrangument is made for man ; it is a limitation for the common good of private rights of property in land, — in fact, for the oenetit of the landless, who in the 7th year are to have the usufruct of the soil ; in Lv25 (ll) the arrangement is for the sake of the land, — that it may rest, if not on tlie 7th day, at least on the 7th year ; and for the sake of the Sabbath, — tliat it may extend its supremacy over nature also (Wellhauaen, Prolegomena, 118). At the F.

of Tabernacles at the commencement of the Sabbatical year, the whole law was read in the hearing of the people (Neh 8"'"). The 70 years' captivity and the land's desolation were regarded as making up for the unobserved Sabbaths of the land (Camb. Comp. to the Bible, p. 412) (2Ch 362», Jer34", ). After the return from exile Nehemiah bound the Jews by a covenant to keep them (Neh 10"). (5) The Year of Jubilee * nm, iipecris, SaV, 4viavrii i(f>4<T€u)s (TviMurla (Lv 25"-" 27"-").— Peculiar to P.

As the Sabbatical year corresponded with the 7th day, so the year of Jubilee corresponded with the 50th, i.e. Pentecost.

'As the fiftieth day after the seven Sabbath days is celebrated as a closing festival of the forty, nine days' period, so is the fiftieth year after the seven Sabbatic years, as rounding off the larger interval ; the seven Sabbaths falling on harvest time, which are usually reckoned specially (Lk 6'), have, in the circumstance of their interrupting harvest work, a particular resemblance to the Sabbatic 5 ears which interrupt agriculture altogether.

ubUee is thus an artificial institution super- imposed upon the years of fallow, regarded as har- vest Sabbaths after the analogy of Pentecost ' (Well- hausen, Prolegomena, 119). There were two main elements in the Jubilee — the emancipation of the Hebrew slave, and the return of mortgaged pro- perty to its hereditary owner. Cf. 2 Ch 36-', Jer 348. r*. i». n^ e^Ij 4gi7^ fa gl'- •" 63<, Lk 4's-". But in Jer the term nhi used in Lv 25'° is applied only to the 7th year.

'The year of Jubilee was proclaimed by the sound of a trumpet on the Day of Atone- ment (Lv 25'). IL Thb Great Historical Festivals, t— As the new moon and the Sabbath were lunar feasts, the Passover (with the Feast of Unleavened Bread), Pentecost, and Tabernacles were solar festivals, i.e. festivals which followed the seasons of the year.

' Three times in the year shalt thou hold pilgrimage unto me, three times in the year shall all thy men appear before J", the God of Israel' (Ex 23'«-" (J), 34» (JE), Dt 16'«). (I) The Passover np;, irdcrxa. The Feast of Un- leavened Bread ri'ii-jri :n, ioor^ rSir a^viMv. — The Passover, though followed by the Feast of Un- leavened Bread (Mazzith), was distinct from it both in its origin and in its observance. In Ex 12 and 13 two narratives are combined.

Ex 12'"" (P) refer to the Passover, 12"-" (P) refer to the seven days' F. of Mazz6th, 12^'-" (JE) refer to the Pass- over, 12"-» (P) refer to the Passover, 13»-"> (JE) refer to MazzCth (Driver, LOT, 25). Josephus distinguishes tlie Passover from the F. of MazzCth (Ant. 111. X. 5), 'The F. of Unleavened Bread succeeds tliat of the Passover, and falls on the fifteenth day of the month, and continues seven days' (cf. Lv 23'- • (P), Nu 28" " (P)).

But in • "Im in Lt 2S'0 retere to the ' liberty ' of Sabbatical year, in Jer 34- '■ " to the liberty of slaves in 7th year of service, in Ezk 46" prob. to Jubilee. In Is 61" its use is fl({urative. ♦ The distinctive feature of these D'jn is that they are not merely religious festivals like those of the 'sacred seasons' (D'^Hto), but imply, like the Arab. /ia;(«ame word), apUgrimage «o a tancttutry (tee Driver, DexU. 188 B.) Mk 14'- ", Lk 22' they are practically identified.

' The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread form a double festival, just as the Day of Atonemen and the Feast of Tabernacles do. It is undoubtedly as a direct preparation for the F. of Unleavened Bread that the Passover is celebrated on the evening before the latter feast begins ' (Schultz, OT Thcol. vol. i. p. 364) [Lv 23'" (P) '"■'♦ (H), Nu 9=-' (P) 28'«-s» (P) 33» (P), Dt lG'-«- '»].

The parallelism between the feast of the first montli and the feast of the seventh month should be noticed. The tenth day of the first montli, for choosing the Lamb, is parallel to the tenth day of the seventli month, the Day of Atonement. "The Passover on tlie fourteenth day of the first month and the seven days' F. of MazzGth are parallel to the eight days of the F. of Tabernacles.

The Passover, which was a sacrificial feast (Ex 12"), was observed on the fourteenth day of the first month, Abib (the month of ears, because in it tlie ears of wheat first appear), later Nisan (Est 3', Neh 2'). The Feast of Unleavened Bread was the opening as Pentecost was tlie closing festivitj' of the seven weeks' 'joy of harvest' (Dt 16', Lv '23" (H)). Passover and MazzGth must be distinguished. Wellhausen (Prolegomena, 87 ff.)

has shown how the Passover np5 points back to the sacrifice of the firstlings (Ex 34"»- (JE) IS'-"- (JE), Dt IS""- 16'"-). It is because J" smote the firstborn of Egypt and spared those of Israel that the latter tliencefurward are lield sacred to Him. Because Pharaoh refuses to allow the Hebrews to offer to their God the firstlings of cattle that are His due, J" seizes from him the firstborn of men. On the origin of the Paschal ritual and its connexion with Arabian and other customs, see W. R.

Smith, RS, 227, 280, 344, 345, 406, 431, 464, 465 ; Schultz, OT Theol. i. p. 364 : Cobb, Origines Judaicce, 138. ' In the three great festivals we can plainly discern relics of the cus- toms which preceded their legal institution. In the first (the Passover) we can distinguish the earlier belief, out of which the offering of the firstlings of the flock sprang, from the enactments which are proper to the institution of the Pass- over.' Cf. also for the feasts generally W. R.

Smith, The Prophets of Israel, new ed. pp. 56, 384 tf., where he clearly, after Wellhausen,* proves that the chief occasions of worship in Israel (MazzCith, Pentecost, and Tabernacles) were the agricultural feasts, just as among the Canaanites and otbT ancient nations. The real starting-point for a study of Jewish sacred feasts is Gn i'^- (J), ' Abel was a shepherd, and Cain was a linsbandman.

And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of thefntit of the ground an offering unto the Lord ; and Abel also brought an ofl'ering of the firstlings of his sheej).' ' It is,' says Wellhausen (Prolcg. p. 89), 'out of the simplest, most natural, and most widespread ofl'erings, those of the first- fruits of the flock, herd, and field, the occasions for which recur regularly with the seasons of the year, that the annual festivals took their rise.

The Passover corresponds with the firstlings of Abel the shepherd, the other three (MazzCth, Pentecost, and Tabernacles) with the fruits pre- sented by Cain the husbandman ; apart from this difference, in e.ssence and foundation they are all precisely alike.' Thus the Pas.sover in its origin must be distinguished from the three agricultural feasts. It was a sacrificial feast, and had nothing to do with agriculture or harvest.

The name 'sacrifice' (nji) is distinctly applied to it (Ex 12'^ (JE) 34«> (JE), cf. 1 Co 5'). In Nu 9'-'» (P) it is a Korban or offering (|5"|B). Like the peace-ofl'erings, the chief part of it was eaten by the worshippers j • ' Not only in the Jahwistic but also in the Deuteronomifl le^rislation the festivals rest upon agriculture, the bajjis at onc« of life and of religion ' (ProUg. p. 91).

FEASTS A:^D fasts FEASTS AND FASTS 861 like the Ein-ofTermes, there was an element of atonement in it (2 Ch 30" 35" refer to the spriuk- ling of the blood of the Passover) ; like the bumt- oB'erinj^, it was whole — no bone of it was broken ; it was roast with fire — anything left was burnt with fire. In the two accounts of the Passover in Ex 12, several points of importance are omitted in the first, e.g.

tue character of the lamb, and the manner in which it was to be eaten ; fresh points are added in the second, e.g. the hyssop, the Dasin, and that none were to leave their houses till the morning. On each of the seven days of the F. of Mazzuth, which followed the Pas.sover, 2 young bullocks and 1 ram and 7 lambs of the first 3'ear were ottered as bumt-ofl'erings, with their meal and drink-oflierings, together with a goat for a sin- offerinc and the continual, i.e.

daily bumt-ofTering (Nu 2S'»-» (P)). On the second day of MazzOth— Abib (Nisan) 16th — a sheaf of the new com was ofTered as a wave-offering, together with a lamb of the first year for a bumt-ottering (Lv 23'»-" (H)). The first and last days of the fea.st — the 15th and 21st days of the month — were days of ' holj- con- vocation,' in which no servile work might be done (Lv 23' (P)). 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. Edersheim identifies the F.

of Purim with the unnamed feast in Jn 5', 'for no other feast could have intervened between December (Jn 4") and the Pfuisover (Jn 0^), except that of the " Dedica- tion of the Tem])le," and that is specially desig- nated as such (.In lO'-'^) and not simply as a Feast of the Jews' (y'Ac Temple, etc., p. 2!il).

On the eveninj; of the 13th of Adar the whole Book {Megilfah or Roll) of Esther was read at the syna- gogue service, to keep the memory of the great deliverance by Esther alive, ' the chihlren raising their loudest and angriest cries at every mention of the name of Hainan, the congregation stamping on the floor, with Eiustern demonstraiivene.ss, and imprecating from every voice the curse, " Let his name be blotted out, the name of the wicked shall 862 FEASTS AND FASTS FEASTS AND FASTS rot."

Year by year in the Nazareth synagogue Jesus must have seen and heard all this, and how the reader tried to read in one breath the verses in which Haman and Iiis sons are jointly mentioned, to show that they were hanged together' (Geikie, The Life and Words of Christ, i. 226). Edersheim (The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, i. 229) speaks of the ' good cheer and boisterous enjoyments' of the Feast of Purim, some of its customs ■ almost reminding ua of our fifth of November.'

(2) The Feast of the Dedication oftlie Temple (nsin, n-;n njjq, iy^alvia, 1 Mac 4«-»9, 2 Mac lO"*-; <t>(oTa, Jos. Ant. XII. vii. 7). — It was instituted by Judas Maccabseus in B.C. 164, when the temple which had been desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes was once more purified and re, dedicated to the service of J". It commenced on the 25th of Chislev (the ninth month), and lasted for eight days.

' All through the land the people assembled in their synagogues, carrying branches of palm and other trees in their hands, and held jubilant services. No fast or mourning could commence during the feast, and a blaze of lamps, lanterns, and torches illuminated every house, within and without, each evening. In Jerusalem the temple itself was thus lighted up.

The youn" of every household heard the stirring deeds of tue Maccabees, to rouse them to noble emulation, and with these were linked the story of the heroic Judith and the Assyrian Holofemes ' (Geikie, The Life and Words o" Christ, vol. i. p. 225).

It will be noticed that in four particulars the Feast of the Dedication resembled the Feast of Tabernacles, (l)in its duration of eight days ; (2) in the chanting of the Hallel (Pss 113-118) ; (3) in the practice of carrying palm branches ; (4) in the illumination of the temple. Edersheim, in The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, ii. 227 f.

, thinks that the first three particulars were derived from the Feast of the Taoemacles, and that the last (the temple illumination) passed from the Feast of the Dedication into the observances of the Feast of Tabernacles. The date of the Feast of the Dedication, the 25th of Chislev, some hold to have been adopted by the ancient Church as that of the birth of our blessed Lord — Christmas— the dedication of the true temple, which was the body of Jesus (Jn 2") (Edersheim, The Temple, etc., p.

293, and ' Christmas a Festival of Jewish Origin ' in The Leisure Hour for Dec. 1873). The F. of the Dedication is mentioned in Jn 10~. (3) The Feast oj Wood Offering or of the Wood- carriers, (vXoipoplw (Jos. BJ, II. xvii. 6), on the 15th of Abib — being the last of the nine occasions on which offerings of wood were brought for the use of the temple (cf. Neh lO** \3").

The Feast of the Reading of the Law (1 Es 9", Neh 8) ; Tlie Feast of Nicnnor on the 13th of Adar ( 1 Mac 7') ; The Feast of the Captured Fortress on the 23rd of lyyar (the second month) (1 Mae 13»"-»-) ; and The Feast of Baskets, evidently ' never attained to any real religious significance ' (see Schultz, OT Theol. i. 431, and Edersheim, The Temple, etc., 295 f., on the Feast of Wood Ottering). IV. Fasts. — (1) The Day of Atonement. — oV C'lssn, iiiUpa i^iKaanov, lit.

Day of the Coverings or Atonements (Lv 16 (P) and 23='-'= (H), Ex 301" (P), Nu 29'"" (P)). It was the onlv fast day prescribed by the law (Lv 23-'' (H)). In the Talmud it is called ' The Day ' (n-v) ; in the NT it is called ' the fast,' Ti yri<rreia (Ac 27"). The sacrifices were three- fold: (1) the ordinary daily sacrifices; (2) the special expiatory sacrifices of the day ; (3) the festive sacrifices (Nu 29'-").

The characteristic feature of the day was the otTering of the sin-olfer- ing of atonement by the high priest alone (Lv 16^) — not in his gorgeous otticial dress, but in the simple white linen robes of purity and consecration (Lv 16^- 2»-' 23-"- '■>-, Nu 29'). The order of proceedings is given in Lv 16. In w.-'" we have the general outline, in vv."

-** the details, which were as follows: (1) The killing of the bullock by the high priest as a sin-ofl'ering for himself and his house ; (2) the burning of incense in the Holy of Holies by the high priest ; (3) the sprinkling of the mercy -seat (IXajT-f/pto)' iirlde/uL) with the blood of the priest's sin-ofl'ering ; (4) the casting lots upon the goats of the people's sin-ofl'ering, one goat for J", one for Azazel (^!«!;?

, Philo, 'The one goat is given to " the fugitive creature," and the lot which it received is named in the prophecy " sent away " [referring to dTroTro/nTraroi' by which the LXX tr.SiNi^], because it ispersecuted, expelled, anddriven faraway by wisdom.' Willis,' Azazel, the name of a personal being, in opposition to J", the personal name of God.' Schultz, 'Some powerful being to whom the animal is assigned, and to whom it is sent with the now forgiven guilt of the reconciled people. .

This being must be conceived of as strange and unholy. . An Aramaic name for an unclean and ungodlike power, which has its abode in the wilderness, in tne accursed land out- side the sacred bounds of the camp.' Watson in Camb. Com,p. to the Bible, ' Azazel, the completely separate one, the evil spirit regarded as dwelling in the desert'). See Azazel.

(5) The killing of the goat of the people's sin-offering by the high priest; (6) the sprinkling of the mercy-seat with the blood of the people's sin-offering ; (7) the sprinkling of the blood of each sin-ofl'ering on the golden altar of incense and before it seven times ; (8) atonement for the court and altar of bumt- otfering ; (9) confession of sin over the live goat, and his dismissal into the wilderness to Azazel ; (10) resumption by the high priest of the gorgeous robes of his office; (11) the offering of burnt- ofl'erings and burning the fat of the sm-offerings ; (12) the burning of the sin-offerings without the camp (He 13'°''^).

The chief purpose of the Day of Atonement was to preserve the holiness of the sanctuary as a fit place of meeting between God and man. There were five subjects of atonement : (1) The Holy Sanctuary (i.e. the Holy of Holies)- (2) the Tent of Meeting (i.e. the Holy Place) ; (3) the altar (i.e. of bumt-oflering) ; (4) the priest ; (5) all the congregation. It is significant that there is no mention of the Day of Atonement until Sir 50'^-. Zee 3° is doubt- ful. In Neh 8 it might have been expected.

Neh Y7Sb_938 records (1) the observance of the Feast of Trumpets on the first day of the seventh month of the year B.C. 444 ; (2) the celebration of the Fe-ist of Tabernacles, including the reading of the books of the law day by day, from the 15tn to the 22nd of the same month ; (3) the observance of a day of general fasting and prayer on the 24th day of the same month. Either the 24th day was observed in place of the Day of Atonement on the lOtli dav, or the latter had not yet been appointed.

It is difficult to avoid the latter alternative. ' This testimonium e silentio is enough ; down to that date (B.C. 444) the great day of the Priestly code (now introduced for the first time) had not existed ' (Wellhausen, Prolegomena, p. 111). For the refer- ences in the NT see Ro 3'-"* (iKaar-fipiov, rria:), He 2" 414-I8 51-10 gis. JO 'ya2-28 gi-« gii-it 1310-12 1 Jn 2" 4" (IXacTjuo's) (Willis, Worship of the Old Covenant, pp. 201-214; Edersheim, The Temple, etc., ch. xvi. pp. 263-288).

See further. Atonement (Day of). (2) Other Fasts. — The Dayof Atonement was the onlv fast day prescribed by the law. But we read of indiWdual and national fasts in Jg 20'-'*, 1 S 7' 31", 2 S 12", 1 K 21»- '" ", Jon 3'- ''• \ .fer 14''' 30"'- », La 2'», Jl l" 2', », Is .58'-', Neh 0"'-, Est 4-«, Dn 10», 1 Mac 3". Two passages in Zee call for comment, FEASTS AND FASTS FEASTS AND FASTS 863 SYNOPSIS OF FEASTS AND FASTS. Group, Feast or Fut. 1. Sabbath 2. New Mooa 3.

Sabbatical Montb, Feast of Trumpets i. Sabbatical Tear Exodua, 1623-*) 208 231=3113-18 8421 S6S 40111 2310. U Leritaciu. 193 2SS2fl3 2SM.K 261-7.20 23 2632- 3S Numben. 163M6289-10 1010 2S11-"- 31 298 291-« Deutero- nomy. Sis-U 151-11 319-13 References outside Peatateuch. 1 8 20». «, 2 K 4a 118-7, Neh89-I31ipi 1315-22, Is 662^8 6S12, Jer 17»-»7, Ezk 2012-18, Hos 213, Am 8° Referenres in New Test. Ut 12'J-13, Mk 31^, Lk CD-ID 1310-17 Jn 51 18, 914-19. 1 S 205, Ps 813. «, l8 Col 2l«. 113.

1-1, Am 85, IMac i NehSS-M 2Ch 3621, Neh 1031, Jer 34", 1 Mac 653 6. Jubilee Tear 26-' 2717-2 Is 611-2 634, Jer 34 Lk 4121, Rev 211-e. 14. 16. 17 (■/), Ezk 4617 1. Passover Uafzdth and 12. 131-10 2314-17 23»-U 9^14 2810-25 161-8. U Jos 50 10, 2 K 2.321 23, 2 Ch 30. 35, Ezr 619, Ezk 4621 Mt 261 2, 5lk 141.12 14-18, Lk 2-»221-7. 8, 11-13-16, Jn 213 64 1166 121 131 1828.39 1914, Acta 124 1 Co 6«. 2. Pentecost 222» 2316. 18 3422.26 2310-0 282M1 1«»-1S 2 Mao 1233 Ac 21 2018, 1 Co 168. t.

Tabernacle! 2316 349 2334-36. S9-U 291140 1613-16 3110-13 1K82 1232, 2Ch53 7», Ezr 34 814-17, Zee 1418-19 Jn 71-1021. L Purim L Dedication or Lights Est 916^32, 1 Mac 749, 2 Mac 1636 1 Mac 45»«, 2 Mac 106-7 Jn 51 (7). Jnl02». E:-^ Day of Atonement . MM 297-U Zee 8»(?), Sir 60««- 1 Ac 279, He 21 414-16 6' 1" 619.20 723.28 81-8 91116. 7''' and 8".

In T*"' Zechariah, in answer to an in- quiry put to him by the men of liethel about fast- inj;, declares that J" demamis no fasts, but only observance of His moral commands.

Two fasts had been in observance in the 5th and 7th montlis for seventy years, — tlie fast of the 5th month (9th Abib), in memory of the destruction of the city and temple by fire (2 K 25") ; and the fast of the 7tb month (2nd Tisri), in memory of the murder of Gedaliah and the annihilation of all that remained of the Jewish state (Jer 41). In ch. 8 he pictures the Messianic future, when the fast days willbecomesea-tonBof gladne.ss and cheerful feasts. He adds to 7'° two other fasts : the fa.

st of the 4th month (17th Tnmmuz), in memory of the capture of Jerusalem (.ler .39-), and the fast of the 10th nxinth (10th Tebetli), in memory of tht com- mencement of thesicKe of Jeru.-^alem by Nebuchad- rezzar (2 K 25'). Zechariah knows nothin;; of 'the Fa.it' — the Day of At<mement. Later fa-sts ' came into a position co-ordinate with the feasts, ana became a stated and very important element of the ordinary worship' (Wellhausen, PruUgu- mena, 112).

Fasting degenerated into formalism and self-righteousness. In the NT cf. Mt 6""'- 9", Mk 21"'-, Lk S""- 18", Ac 27», 2 Co 6» 11-''. After the destruction of Jerusalem b.v Titus, the system of fasts received such an impulse that it was necessary to draw up a list of the daj's on which fa.sting was forbidden. The present Jewi.sli calendar contains twentj'-two fa.st-days, besides the Day of Atonement, the Fast of Esther, and the four fiusts of Zee 8'9 (Edersheim, The Temple, etc., pp. 297-301).

LlTBRATCRB. — Edershclm, The Tempi: iU Minuttry and Seri'icejt, 144-300, The Life and Tinier of Jfxiif the Mesgiah ; Oeikie, The Li/e and Worde of Christ ; \\'cllhausen, Prolrnn- ■mma, 83-120 ; Scliultz, OT Theology, i. 180. IW. 2112, 359-3419 372, 402. On p. 350 will be found an exlmustive list of Cennni. literature on the 'Sacred Seasons.' Vol. ii. 87-luo ; Willis, Tht Worship 0/ the Old Covenant, 190-214 ; W. R. Smith, The Jrophets of Igrarl, new ed. with intro<i. and notes bv I'rnf.

Chovnc, :«j, 60, 3M. OTJC, 240, 209, liS^, 221, 227, 245, 2S0, 3411., 396, 403f., 416, 4:M, 4.'i2, 464; Cobb, Oriliiien Jvdaiar, 137-1.39 ; Uolicrtson, Karlii IMirrion of Israel, 303, 372, S78, iS.'i, 307. 401, criticJHiii of Wcllliuuson ; Schiiror, U.fP {jtaturita); Wut.son, Catnltriit'if Vomjmnion to the llihte, 411-417; Driver, Druti-ronoiny (i^tnyiin), Joel and Amos. 16, 43 f., 55; Trumbull, r/irMAoMC'oMlluiU, 209t., «W. E. El.MKk Hardino.

THE END OF VOL L S«4 The following important articles, among others, may be expected in th« Second Volume : — FresT-FRUITB . Professor A. S. Peake. Holy Spieit . Flood .... Mr. F. H. Woods. HOSEA .... Food . . Professor A. Macalister. House .... Fool .... Professor Geerhardus Voe. Hymn .... FOEKIGNEE . Mr. John A. Selbie. Idolatky. . Forgiveness Mr. J. F. Bethune-Baker. Incarnation . Fringes . . Professor A. R. S. Kennedy. Isaiah .... Gabbatha . Professor Eb. Nestle. Israel. .

Gad Professor W. H. Bennett. Iturjea . . Gadaka . . Sir Charles Warren. Jacob .... Galatia . . Professor AV. M. Ramsay. James .... Galatians(Ep.) Professor Marcus Dodn. Jehu .... Galilee . . Dr. Selah Merrill. Jeremiah . Games .... Dr. Thomas Nlcol. Jericho . . Gate .... Sir Charles Warren. Jerusalem . Genealoot . Professor Ed. L. Curtis and Jesus Christ . Professor B. W. Bacon. Jew .... Genesis . . Professor H. E. Ryle. Job Geology . . Professor F.dward Hull. Joel .... Gethsemane .

Lieut. -Col. Conder. John (Baptist) Giant .... Professor Willis J. Beecher. John .... Gilead . . Professor Driver, Dr. Merrill, John (Epp.) . and Professor Bennett. Jonah .... GlLGAL . . Dr. F. J. Bliss. Jordan . . Glory .... Mr. G. Buchanan Gray and Joshua . . Professor Massie. Jubilee . . God Professor A. B. Davidson and Jubilees (Bk.) Professor W. Sanday. Jud^a. . Golgotha . Sir Charles Warren. Judas Iscariot Gospels . . Professor V. H. Stanton. Judges . . GRACE .... Principal A.

Stewart. Justification . Habakkuk . Professor S. R. Driver. Kingdom OF God Hades .... Professor S. D. F. Salmond. Kings .... Haggai . . Mr. G. A. Cooke. Lamentations . Hamath . . Professor W. Max MUUer. Language of Hebrews (Ep.) Professor A. B. Bruce. the Old Test. Herod. . Mr. A. C. Headlam. Language of Hexateuch . Mr. F. H. Woods. the New Test. HiNNOM . . Sir Charles Warren Latin Versions Hittites . . Professor A. H. Say<v Law .... HOIWESS . .

Professor Jolin Skinner and Professor G. B. Steven*. Lbfbost . . Professor H. B. Swete. Professor A. B. Davidson. Sir Charles Warren. Professor Walter Lock. Professor W. P. Paterson. Principal R. L. Ottley. Professor G. A. Smith. Professor H. E. Ryle. Professor G. A. Smith. Professor H. E. Ryle. Professor J. B. Mayor. Principal Owen C. Whitehouaa Professor A. B. Davidson. Dr. F. J. Bliss. Lieut. -Col. Conder. Professor W. Sanday. Mr. A. Lukyn Williams. Professor W. T. Davison. Professor G. G.

Cameron. Mr. Bebb. The late Principal Reynolds. Professor Salmond. Professor Ed. Konig. Sir Charles Warren. Professor G. A. Smith. Mr G. Harford-Battersby. Mr. A. C. Headlam. Sir Charles Wilson. Dr. A. Plummer. Mr. G. A. Cooke. Principal D. W. Simon, Professor J. Orr. Mr. C. F. Bumey. Mr. J. A. Selbie. Professor D. S. Margolioath. Professor J. H. Thayer. Dr. H. A. A. Kennedy. Professor Driver and Profeiiaaf Denney. Professor Macalister.

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