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Leviticus 23:15
Leviticus 23:15 teaches that the Pentecost count begins by using "the Sabbath" to determine when the wavesheaf is to be offered, and therefore, where to begin the fifty-day count. Is this Sabbath a weekly Sabbath, as practiced by the Sadducees? Or is it the first day of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15), as practiced by the Pharisees? Or is it the last day of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 21), as practiced by the Essenes and Falashas (Ethiopian Jews)? We do not have to be confused! We can know that "the Sabbath" mentioned in Leviticus 23:15 can be only a weekly Sabbath and not a holy-day Sabbath by looking at the very nature of Pentecost itself—it must be counted. We do not have to count for Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Trumpets, Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Last Great Day because they occur on the same day of the Hebrew calendar every year. Therefore, no counting is required for these days. Similarly, consider that the first day of Unleavened Bread is always on Nisan 15 and the last day of Unleavened Bread is always on Nisan 21. If either of these holy-day Sabbaths is used to begin the count, Pentecost would always be on a particular day in the month of Sivan, either Sivan 6 or 12, respectively. If we use either of these holy-day Sabbaths as the starting point, Pentecost would be just like all the other holy days, occurring on the same day every year on the Hebrew calendar. No counting would be required, thus contradicting the Word of God. On the other hand, the weekly Sabbath that falls within the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a constantly fluctuating day on the Hebrew calendar. According to the Hebrew calendar rules, this weekly Sabbath can fall on any of four days in the month of Nisan—Nisan 15, 17, 19, or 21. This varying date for the Sabbath within the Feast of Unleavened Bread requires counting Pentecost just as God has instructed. To use either of the holy-day Sabbaths during the Feast of Unleavened Bread as a starting point is to violate God's clear command to count. Only the weekly Sabbath meets God's requirement of counting to Pentecost. Another reason that proves we should count from the weekly Sabbath and not a holy-day Sabbath is the appearance of the definite Hebrew article, ha, that normally precedes "Sabbath." In the Old Testament, this designation, hashabbath, indicates the weekly Sabbath about 95 percent of the time. In Leviticus 23, a form of "Sabbath" appears in Hebrew twelve times and "Sabbaths" twice. The article ha appears before "Sabbath" three times, and each time it refers to the weekly Sabbath. Two of these occurrences concern the Sabbath in question (verses 11, 15). It also appears once before "Sabbaths" (verse 15), also referring to weekly Sabbaths. Another point to consider is that the Sadducees, for the most part, were of the priesthood, who were responsible for maintaining the integrity of the worship system. While their practice is not indisputable proof of anything, it can offer helpful corroboration. They taught that Pentecost always fell on a Sunday. The Sadducees used the weekly Sabbath falling within the seven-day festival of Unleavened Bread to determine the Wavesheaf Day. Likewise, they counted fifty days using the weekly Sabbath falling within the Feast of Unleavened Bread to determine the day to observe Pentecost. The Sadducees followed God's three-step process revealed in Leviticus 23:15-16 and began that process with a weekly Sabbath—not a holy-day Sabbath.
Pat Higgins
Which Sabbath Begins the Count?
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