Shavuot Reckoning

Yom haBikkurim
Day of the First Fruits
by Baruch Ben Daniel

Perhaps you've come up against "the Great Controversy" regarding which Shabbat determines the Feast of First Fruits; the weekly Seventh Day Shabbat; or the annual Shabbat of Chag HaMatzah (Feast of Unleavened Bread)? Yom Omer is the day that one begins to count the omer that leads up to Shavuot (Feast of Weeks -Pentecost is from Greek) fifty days later. Scripture says that we are to begin counting on the "day after Shabbat" during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

"And you shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall you number fifty days;" ( Leviticus 23:15-16)

Shavuot is a Shabbat unto YHWH and no work is to be done, therefore it is very important to know which day we are to begin the count. The Sadducees elected to follow the weekly Seventh Day Shabbat, but, the Pharisees opted for the first Shabbat of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the annual High day Shabbat.

We know that Mashiyach presented himself to the Father as the wavesheaf offering of Firstfruits the day after the weekly Shabbat. In fact it was on the first day of the week (a Sunday) when Y'shua said to Miriam in John 20:17 "do not touch me because I have not ascended to my Father," but later that day he had returned and appeared to other disciples. Y'shua also stated that he would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. He was put in the grave on the eve of the preparation day, just before the first Shabbat of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, not a weekly Shabbat but the Shabbat of the Feast. Pesach was on a Wednesday and he was put in the tomb just before sunset on Wednesday afternoon. Three days and three nights later means that he resurrected before sundown on the end of the weekly Shabbat. Y'shua said he would be in the tomb three days and three nights as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish, he said and meant three literal days and three literal nights. A Tuesday or Thursday Pesach does not work. Pesach would have had to fall on a Wednesday if Mashiyach was up out of the tomb before Firstfruits which was on Sunday, if it were a day or two after Wednesday we would not have a full three days and three nights. Neither would Y'shua say "don't touch me" if he had already presented himself when he was first seen on Sunday morning. Obviously Y'shua did this for a good reason, this testimony made it into the written record so we can understand that he fulfilled the Firstfruits offering on the appointed day. But the thinking that Firstfruits has to be on a Sunday because of the resurrection, isn't the only strong argument that can be made.

It's certainly not a "goyish" thing either as some posture that Yom HaBikkurim must fall on the day after the weekly Shabbat. Sadducees, Karaite and Essenes are as Jewish as the Pharisees and they concluded that Shavuot always falls on a Sunday. The Essenes though, waited until the following Shabbat after the Chag, rather than the first weekly Shabbat during the Chag before they began counting the omer.

There are some good arguments on both sides of this issue, but it seems that Yom haBikkurim or the counting of the omer begins the day after the first weekly Shabbat after Pesach, not the Shabbat of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

If the Shabbat of Unleavened Bread were intended, it is more likely that miqra kodesh would have been noted in Torah, rather than "Shabbat". Read Vayikra/Leviticus 23:3-11 and you will discover that "Shabbat" is NOT mentioned for either the first miqra kodesh of Unleavened Bread, nor the last, but in verse 11 the day after "Shabbat" is the word used for determining Yom HaBikkurim.

And continue reading to Vayikra/Leviticus 23:15, 16;

And you shall count unto you from the morrow after the Shabbat1, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Shabbats2 shall be complete: Even unto the morrow (next day) after the seventh Shabbat3 shall you number fifty days; and you shall offer a new meat offering unto YHWH.

Notice how there are three mentions of Shabbat in these two verses? It's interesting to note that some Messianic Bible translators like David Stern and a self proclaimed Netzarim Rosh Beit Din scholar (James Trimm), retain the first Shabbat1 but have removed the second and third "Shabbat" and inserted the word weeks2 and week3, but Torah uses "Shabbat" throughout. Torah does not say shavuot (weeks) or shavua (week) but Shabbat in all three occurrences! David Sterns translation reads, "until the day after the seventh week" which may be confusing. Which seventh week? Well that means the seventh week after the beginning week which started the day after the Shabbat which was not the weekly Shabbat but the first Shabbat of Chag HaMatzah week? Nope. Let's just stick with what it says. The day after the Seventh Shabbat. Done! Everyone knows that you can't eat of the harvest until the offering is made to YHWH and neither does YHWH say to wait until a Shabbat after the Chag, so therefore it must be the very first Shabbat during the Chag... to satiate the appetites of millions of hungry folks!

Vayikra/Leviticus 25:8;
And you shall number seven Shabbats4 of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven Shabbats5 of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.

Oops! Some of the "Messianic" translators, like David Stern, did NOT translate this as "weeks" but Shabbats4&5, why? Here Torah says seven Shabbats, NOT seven weeks! Why not make a consistent translation?

The commandment to number "seven weeks" is mentioned in D'varim/Deuteronomy 16:9;

Seven weeks shall you number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain.

The Hebrew word here is NOT Shabbat, but shavua (weeks) after you "...put the sickle to the standing grain." But some Torah students take shavua (week) from this verse and overlay it over Shabbat in Vayikra/Leviticus 23:15, 16, why? Tradition. In reality no one is going to put their sickle to the standing grain (harvest) on a weekly Shabbat, therefore if a person were to follow the Shabbat of Unleavened Bread argument then it would be possible that First Fruits fall on a weekly Shabbat and that doesn't work.

Furthermore, Jeremiah 5:24 reads;
Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear YHWH our Elohim, that gives rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserves unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.

Everybody knows that a week begins on Yom Rishon (the first day) and ends on the Seventh Day Shabbat. Had the duration of time (i.e. 50 days) been the focus rather than the seven "Shabbats", we would see the term 50 days being more prominent. Rather what we see is a mini type of the Yovel (Jubilee) cycle. Both the feast of Shavuot (Pentecost) and the Yovel have very significant agricultural directives that are used to prophetically teach us about the plan of redemption. The Yovel is based on "seven weeks" of seven year cycles that begin and end on a Shabbat year, the Shabbat year culminates on a shmittah, where the land is given a Shabbat rest. There are seven shmittah (land rests) that culminate in the seventh cycle which is 49 years, then the following year is a Yovel (Jubilee). As we count the seven weekly Shabbats and celebrate Shavuot on the day after the weekly Shabbat, we are following the same pattern, and we are reminded of the Yovel.

The "poof" of Joshua 5:10-12
And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept Pesach on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the old grain of the land on the morrow after Pesach, unleavened cakes, and parched [corn] in the selfsame day. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

This Scripture indicates that Pesach was celebrated on the 14th as commanded in Vayikra/Leviticus 23:5 not the 15th of Nissan as with the Pharisees (Orthodox) tradition. The morrow after Pesach is the 15th of Nissan which is the first day of Chag HaMatzah (Feast of Unleavened Bread) a day of rest according to Vayikra/Leviticus 23:6-8. And they are clearly eating the old grain on this first annual Shabbat of Chag haMatzah. Notice that the Scripture clearly says OLD GRAIN which means that they had not celebrated FirstFruits. OOPS!!! They could NOT eat the NEW GRAIN until they offered the Wave (lifted up) Offering to YHWH. So although this verse is used as a prooftext, the text says OLD GRAIN which really doesn't give us definitive proof at all. SORRY.

The fact of the matter is that Joshua 5:10-12 proves nothing (no poof) in regards to whether Yom HaBikkurim begins on the day after the beginning of Chag haMatzah or the weekly Shabbat. But it does shed some light on the fact that the Pharisees are voluntarily keeping the 15th as their Pesach rather than the 14th day YHWH commanded in Torah!

In conclusion, there are a couple factors that lead one to believe that Yom Omer begins on the morrow after the weekly Shabbat. Putting the sickle to the harvest would never happen according to this reckoning but also it would be impossible for Y'shua to fulfill the First Fruits wave sheaf offering according to most Christian and Messianic reckoning. When we trust that three days and three nights is a very literal period of time, that is extracted from Jonah's experience in the belly of the great fish, then we must be consistent and factor this span of time into the week of his sufferings. When we do so we cannot have him being the First Fruits on a weekly Shabbat and he could not possibly be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth and still be the First Fruits offering on the third day. In reality Y'shua would have to be in the tomb for three days and three nights and then on the 4th day from the time he was put into the tomb he could present himself to his Father and this is exactly what he did.

YHWH be with you,
Shalom U'Vrachot,
Baruch Ben Daniel

"One man discriminates between days; and another judges all days alike. But let every one be sure, in regard to his knowledge. He that esteems a day, esteems [it] for his Master: and he that esteems not a day, for his Master, he does not esteem [it.] And he that eats, eats to his Master, and gives thanks to Elohim: and he that eats not, to his Master he eats not, and gives thanks to Elohim. For there is not one of us, who lives for himself: and there is not one, who dies for himself. Because, if we live, to our Master (Y’shua) it is we live; or if we die, to our Master it is we die. Whether we live, therefore, or whether we die, we are our Master’s." Romans 14:5-8

Note: I observe the Chag on what I believe to be the correct day, but this does not in any way prohibit me from joining with others for according to their timing. Some believers say they would rather be wrong and celebrate on the wrong day to maintain unity with their families and congregations rather than cause division, they believe "majority" sanctifies the day. I personally believe this is a dangerous position to take because it is these very issues that test whether the love in our hearts for truth is greater than our social, political or religious needs. "...as it is written: That you might be upright, in your declarations; and be found pure, when they judge you" (Romans 3:4). Therefore, if you know to do good and do it not, it becomes sin unto you. It is foolish to "second guess" or to assume that we know so much about the Feasts and their importance to make judgments that overrule the Word of YHWH. On the other hand, if a person is not fully convinced either way then there is no reason not to fast and pray and seek YHWH for these things. This issue is not so easy to make a definitive conclusion on, I've also observed the Feast according to both reckonings, it is not an easy matter to resolve with Scripture alone, but at the very least we must be true to how the Ruach is leading us rather than opting for the most convenience for a job schedule... or some other matter.