Πεντεκοϛὴ, a solemn festival of the Jews; so called, because
it was celebrated on the fiftieth day after the sixteenth of Nisan,
which was the second day of the passover. The Hebrews call it the feast
of weeks, because it was kept seven weeks after the passover. They then
offered the first fruits of the wheat harvest, which was then completed;
beside which, they presented at the temple seven lambs of that year, one
calf, and two rams for a burnt-offering; two lambs for a peace-offering;
and a goat for a sin-offering, Lev. xxiii, 15, 16; Exod. xxxiv, 22;
Deut. xvi, 9, 10. The feast of pentecost was instituted among the
Israelites, first, to oblige them to repair to the temple of the Lord,
there to acknowledge his absolute dominion over the whole country, by
offering him the first fruits of the harvest; and, secondly, to
commemorate and give thanks to God for the law which he had given them
from Sinai, on the fiftieth day after their coming out of Egypt. The
modern Jews celebrate the pentecost for two days. They deck the
synagogues, where the law is read, and their own houses, with garlands
of flowers. They hear an oration in praise of the law, and read from the
Pentateuch and prophets lessons which have a relation to this festival,
and accommodate their prayers to the same occasion. It was on the feast
of pentecost that the Holy Ghost descended in the miraculous manner
related, Acts ii.
it was celebrated on the fiftieth day after the sixteenth of Nisan,
which was the second day of the passover. The Hebrews call it the feast
of weeks, because it was kept seven weeks after the passover. They then
offered the first fruits of the wheat harvest, which was then completed;
beside which, they presented at the temple seven lambs of that year, one
calf, and two rams for a burnt-offering; two lambs for a peace-offering;
and a goat for a sin-offering, Lev. xxiii, 15, 16; Exod. xxxiv, 22;
Deut. xvi, 9, 10. The feast of pentecost was instituted among the
Israelites, first, to oblige them to repair to the temple of the Lord,
there to acknowledge his absolute dominion over the whole country, by
offering him the first fruits of the harvest; and, secondly, to
commemorate and give thanks to God for the law which he had given them
from Sinai, on the fiftieth day after their coming out of Egypt. The
modern Jews celebrate the pentecost for two days. They deck the
synagogues, where the law is read, and their own houses, with garlands
of flowers. They hear an oration in praise of the law, and read from the
Pentateuch and prophets lessons which have a relation to this festival,
and accommodate their prayers to the same occasion. It was on the feast
of pentecost that the Holy Ghost descended in the miraculous manner
related, Acts ii.