Leviticus 23:6 - The Passover Feast

Audio Bible

Context

The Passover Feast
…5The Passover to the LORD begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. 6On the fifteenth day of the same month begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 7On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any regular work.…

Cross References

Exodus 12:15-20
For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to remove the leaven from your houses. Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. / On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly, and another on the seventh day. You must not do any work on those days, except to prepare the meals—that is all you may do. / So you are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt. You must keep this day as a permanent statute for the generations to come. ...Numbers 28:17-25
On the fifteenth day of this month, there shall be a feast; for seven days unleavened bread is to be eaten. / On the first day there is to be a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work. / Present to the LORD a food offering, a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished. ...Deuteronomy 16:3-8
You must not eat leavened bread with it; for seven days you are to eat with it unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left the land of Egypt in haste—so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt. / No leaven is to be found in all your land for seven days, and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day shall remain until morning. / You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns that the LORD your God is giving you. ...Matthew 26:17-19
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” / He answered, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him that the Teacher says, ‘My time is near. I will keep the Passover with My disciples at your house.’” / So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.Mark 14:12-16
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” / So He sent two of His disciples and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jug of water will meet you. Follow him, / and whichever house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is My guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’ ...Luke 22:7-13
Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed. / Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” / “Where do You want us to prepare it?” they asked. ...1 Corinthians 5:7-8
Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. / Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth.Exodus 13:6-7
For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. / Unleavened bread shall be eaten during those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, nor shall leaven be found anywhere within your borders.Joshua 5:10-11
On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while the Israelites were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the Passover. / The day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land.2 Chronicles 30:21
The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and priests praised the LORD day after day, accompanied by loud instruments of praise to the LORD.2 Chronicles 35:17
The Israelites who were present also observed the Passover at that time, as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.Ezra 6:22
For seven days they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread with joy, because the LORD had made them joyful and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to strengthen their hands in the work on the house of the God of Israel.Ezekiel 45:21
On the fourteenth day of the first month you are to observe the Passover, a feast of seven days, during which unleavened bread shall be eaten.John 6:4
Now the Jewish Feast of the Passover was near.Acts 12:3
And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Exodus 12:15,16
Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel…

Exodus 13:6,7
Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD…

Exodus 34:18
The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.

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Leviticus 23

On the fifteenth day of the same month
This phrase refers to the Hebrew month of Nisan, which is the first month of the Jewish religious calendar. The fifteenth day follows the Passover, which is celebrated on the fourteenth day. This timing is significant as it marks the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a festival that commemorates the Israelites' exodus from Egypt. The fifteenth day is a full moon, which was often associated with festivals and celebrations in ancient cultures.

begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread
The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a seven-day festival that immediately follows Passover. It is a time of remembrance for the haste with which the Israelites left Egypt, not having time to let their bread rise. This feast is one of the three pilgrimage festivals where Jewish males were required to appear before the Lord in Jerusalem. The absence of leaven symbolizes purity and separation from sin, as leaven often represents sin and corruption in the Bible (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).

to the LORD
This phrase emphasizes that the feast is dedicated to God, highlighting its religious significance. It is an act of worship and obedience, acknowledging God's deliverance and provision. The phrase "to the LORD" underscores the covenant relationship between God and Israel, where the people are called to remember and honor God's mighty acts on their behalf.

For seven days
The duration of the feast is significant, as the number seven often represents completeness and perfection in the Bible. This week-long observance allows the Israelites to fully engage in the remembrance and celebration of their deliverance. It also provides a time for spiritual reflection and renewal, as they focus on God's faithfulness and provision.

you must eat unleavened bread
Eating unleavened bread, or matzah, is a central command of the feast. This practice serves as a tangible reminder of the Israelites' hurried departure from Egypt, where they could not wait for their bread to rise. Unleavened bread is also a symbol of purity and separation from sin, as it lacks the fermentation process that leaven undergoes. In the New Testament, unleavened bread is seen as a type of Christ, who is sinless and pure (1 Corinthians 5:7). The act of eating unleavened bread during this feast is a call to holiness and a reminder of the believer's need to live a life set apart for God.

Persons / Places / Events

1. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant God of Israel, who commands the observance of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

2. The Israelites
The people of God who are instructed to observe this feast as part of their covenant relationship with Him.

3. The Feast of Unleavened Bread
A seven-day festival following Passover, commemorating the Israelites' exodus from Egypt and their hasty departure, which did not allow time for their bread to rise.

4. Egypt
The place of bondage from which the Israelites were delivered, symbolizing sin and oppression.

5. Unleavened Bread (Matzah)
Bread made without yeast, symbolizing purity and the haste of the Israelites' departure from Egypt.

Teaching Points

Symbolism of Unleavened Bread
Unleavened bread represents purity and separation from sin. Just as the Israelites were to remove leaven from their homes, Christians are called to remove sin from their lives.

Remembrance and Deliverance
The Feast of Unleavened Bread serves as a reminder of God's deliverance from bondage. Believers are encouraged to remember their own deliverance from sin through Christ.

Obedience to God's Commands
Observing the Feast was an act of obedience. Similarly, Christians are called to live in obedience to God's Word, reflecting His holiness in their lives.

Community and Fellowship
The communal aspect of the feast emphasizes the importance of fellowship and unity among God's people. Christians are encouraged to gather and support one another in their faith journey.

Lists and Questions

Top 10 Lessons from Leviticus 23What are the Holy Days of Obligation?What are the religious festivals mentioned in the Bible?What is the Feast of Unleavened Bread?What does the Bible say about celebrating events?

(6) Seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.--See Exodus 12:15; Exodus 12:18-20.

Verse 6. - The Feast of Unleavened Bread was instituted at the same time with the Feast of the Passover (Exodus 12:15-17), and from the beginning the two festivals were practically but one festival, never separated, though separable in idea. The Passover, strictly so called, lasted but one day, Nisan 14; the Feast of Unleavened Bread lasted seven days, Nisan 15-21. The whole made a festival of eight days, called indifferently the Feast of the Passover, or the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The bread to be eaten throughout the festival was unleavened, in order to remind the Israelites of the historical fact that on account of the urgency of the Egyptians, "the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders" (Exodus 12:34), and quitted the land of their affliction in haste. Accordingly, in the Book of Deuteronomy it is appointed, "Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou earnest forth out of the laud of Egypt all the days of thy life" (Deuteronomy 16:3). Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

On the fifteenth
וּבַחֲמִשָּׁ֨ה (ū·ḇa·ḥă·miš·šāh)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article | Number - masculine singular
Strong's 2568: Five

day
יוֹם֙ (yō·wm)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117: A day

of the same
הַזֶּ֔ה (haz·zeh)
Article | Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

month [begins]
לַחֹ֣דֶשׁ (la·ḥō·ḏeš)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2320: The new moon, a month

the Feast
חַ֥ג (ḥaḡ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2282: A festival gathering, feast, pilgrim feast

of Unleavened Bread
הַמַּצּ֖וֹת (ham·maṣ·ṣō·wṯ)
Article | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 4682: Sweetness, sweet, an unfermented cake, loaf, the festival of Passover

to the LORD.
לַיהוָ֑ה (Yah·weh)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

For seven
שִׁבְעַ֥ת (šiḇ·‘aṯ)
Number - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7651: Seven, seven times, a week, an indefinite number

days
יָמִ֖ים (yā·mîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3117: A day

you must eat
תֹּאכֵֽלוּ׃ (tō·ḵê·lū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 398: To eat

unleavened bread.
מַצּ֥וֹת (maṣ·ṣō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 4682: Sweetness, sweet, an unfermented cake, loaf, the festival of Passover

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Leviticus 23:6 Catholic BibleOT Law: Leviticus 23:6 On the fifteenth day of the same (Le Lv Lev.)