Why Passover Is NOT a High Day
_______________________________________
Perhaps because some Jews eventually and wrongfully combined the
Passover with the first high day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, some believe
that Passover is the first day of Unleavened Bread. But is it?
If these two observances are the same day, then why do
they each have their own designation: "Passover" and "Feast of
Unleavened Bread"? Similarly, the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles is
separate from the last Great Day on the eighth; each having its own
identification and meaning, even as one comes immediately after the other.
Overwhelming evidence in both Old and New Testaments
shows that Passover was never considered a high day or kept as a Sabbath. The
Passover was, however, a memorial of a certain event that was to be remembered
in its own distinctive way separate from the feast that follows.
Originally the Jews kept two separate observances,
just as Yahweh had commanded in Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23. But at the time of
their exile to
Noteworthy, however, are the more Scriptural Karaite
Jews and Samaritans who still observe Passover on the 14th and the Feast of
Unleavened Bread beginning the 15th (see Which Day Is the Passover? by Phinehas
Ben Zadock).
This is what the Encyclopedia Judaica says: "The
feast of Passover consists of two parts: The Passover ceremony and the feast of
Unleavened Bread. Originally, both parts existed separately; but at the
beginning of the [Babylonian] exile they were combined," Vol. 13, p. 169.
This is a significant statement. Later Jewish practice combined the two
observances on the 15th of Abib.
The Jewish Encyclopedia validates the
fact that the two observances were originally separate: "Leviticus 23, however,
seems to distinguish between Passover, which is set for the fourteenth day of
the month, and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. ...The Festival lasted seven
days, from sunset on the fourteenth day to sunset on the twenty-first day"
("Passover," p.548).
The book The Torah, by W. Gunther Plaut,
tells us, "The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread rituals were
originally two separate observances which were combined sometime between the
events of the Exodus and the redaction of the text," p.456.
So history as well as the Jews
themselves admit that at one time - when Yahweh gave the law to
Passover Scripturally precedes the days of Unleavened Bread, and has a uniquely separate meaning that is lost
when it is thrown in with the Feast that follows.
12 Reasons Why the Passover Is Not the
First High Day
In
Yahweh's commands, the Feast were to be kept as, and were to include, special
high days of rest, convocation, and
fellowship (a gathering together of the congregation); in contrast, the Passover was commanded to be kept solemnly by
individual families huddled in fear within their separate homes (Ex.
12:1-13).
An Old Testament Scripture that seems to put "feast" and "Passover" together is Exodus
34:25, where the word "feast" is chag and refers to the sacrificial VICTIM of Passover - NOT the FEAST of Passover.
What some fail to point out is that chag has
two primary meanings, only one of which is "feast." Notice how Strong's renders it: "2282
= chag = (from 2287); a festival, or
a VICTIM therefore: - solemn feast (day), SACRIFICE, solemnity."
Using the correct meaning for chag, Exodus 34:25 would more accurately read, "Thou shalt not
offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice with
leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the victim [chag] of the Passover be left unto the morning."
An abundance of other important differences separates
Passover and the Feast that follows it. Here are some of them:
1.
No Feast in
However, the Passover was an entirely
DIFFERENT story. Israel did indeed keep the Passover and its sacrifice in Egypt
- in Goshen on the 14th, proving that it could not have been part of the Feast
that Moses said could not have been part of the Feast that Moses said could be
kept only "in the wilderness" and NOT among the Egyptians.
2.
Strangers Prohibited; Strangers Accepted - Yahweh specifically commands in the law that NO STRANGER
shall eat of the Passover ("There shall no stranger [alien] eat
thereof," Ex.
Here again the Feast of Unleavened Bread
is markedly different. Unlike with the Passover, strangers are commanded to
keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread: "Seven days shall there be no leaven
found in your houses: for whosoever eats that which is leavened, even that soul
shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, WHETHER HE BE A STRANGER or
born in the land" (Ex. 12:19).
Strangers are to be included in keeping
Yahweh's Sabbaths and Feast (see Ex.20:10, Lev. 16:29, Deut. 29). Prohibiting
uncircumcised strangers to partake of Passover sets Passover apart from a
Feast. Passover is a separate memorial kept a day before the Feast of
Unleavened Bread only by those who have been circumcised.
3.
One Serious, the Other Joyful - Unlike a typical Feast with its fellowship gatherings and
camaraderie, Passover was anything but a happy time, Exodus 12:1-14. It was
kept by Israel SEPARATELY in their homes, and was marked by death, sadness, and
trepidation as the death angel "passed over" (hence the name
"Passover"). It is the same in the New Testament with the beating and
death that Yahshua suffered - every somber time.
4.
No Labor on the High Day -
Joyfully gathering at Rameses as the
preparation day (Passover day) ended,
5.
Unleavened Bread with Different Meanings - Even the unleavened bread used in the two observances has
entirely different connotations. Yahshua said the unleavened bread taken at
Passover represented His body, Matthew 26:26. On the other hand, Paul said the
unleavened bread eaten during the Feast for seven days represented
"sincerity and truth." "Therefore let us keep the feast, not
with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the
unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth" (1Cor.5:8).
6.
Scripture Contrasts the Two - Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are not one and the
same feast because Scripture gives many separate distinctions for each. We find
that the observance called Passover is on the 14th, and another observance
called the Feast of Unleavened Bread is on the 15th. They constitute two
observances on two DIFFERENT days. Similarly, the Feast of Tabernacles is a
Feast for seven days, followed by a separate day called the last Great Day on
the eighth.
These Scriptures show a marked contrast
between Passover on the one day and the Feast that follows the next day: The
law said, "In the FOURTEENTH day of the first month at even [twilight, Tanakh, Jewish translation] is Yahweh's Passover. And on the
FIFTEENTH day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto Yahweh:
seven days you must eat unleavened bread" (Lev. 23:5-6).
"And in the FOURTEENTH day of the
first month is the Passover of Yahweh. And in the FIFTEENTH day of this month
is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten" (Num. 28:16-17).
Here are two different observances kept on
two different days. How much clearer can Yahweh be ?
7.
Passover Not Called a High Day - Yahweh calls Passover a "service," not a Sabbath, Exodus
12:25-26; 13:5. In contrast, the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins and ends on a
high day Sabbath, Leviticus 23:7-8.
8.
Passover-Feast Dividing Line - Just after
9.
Where Are The OTHER Passover Offerings? - The law of Number
28:24-25 says, "After this manner you shall offer daily, throughout the
seven days, the meat of the sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto
Yahweh: it shall be offered beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink
offering, And on the seventh day you shall have an holy convocation; you shall
do no servile work." Special offerings were required for all seven days of
the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The seventh day being a
special convocation, the last high day.
If Passover is the first day of the feast,
why didn't
10.
Does Passover Memorial Make Eight Days of the Feast? - From the time we take the emblems of
unleavened bread and the cup, we are to purge (Strong's No. 1571 ekkathairo), meaning to cleanse
thoroughly, to eliminate, to purify, to get rid of the old leaven. Does this
mean that we are now keeping eight days of unleavened bread rather than seven,
as some allege?
The laws says we
are to eat unleavened bread at the Passover memorial service (Ex. 12:8).
Passover day, being the "preparation" for the high day of the coming
Feast (Mark
No command exists, however, to eat
unleavened bread on the rest of the Passover day, only to use unleavened bread
for the memorial itself. The command for DAILY eating of unleavened bread comes
with the start of the feast on the 15th (Lev. 23:6; Num. 28:17). Saying that
eating the unleavened Passover symbol at the start of the 14th constitutes
eight days of eating unleavened bread is faulty human rationale. It is no more true than saying that putting Yahshua in the tomb
a few minutes before sunset accounts for one of the three days in the
"three days and three nights" prophecy of Matthew
Yahweh simply tells us that the Passover
memorial bread must be unleavened.
11.
Getting the Leaven Out - We
spend the rest of Passover day taking leaven from our houses, then begins a separate seven days of eating unleavened
bread. Whether we choose to call that eating unleavened bread
"eight days" is irrelevant - especially when the bible is dealing
with two different, separate, and distinct observances.
Because the Savior has been sacrificed for
our sins, we are then to continue to feed upon the "unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth." We are to keep (No. 1858 heortazomen, "keep on keeping") the Feast in the physical
and spiritual sense.
Having partaken of the "Bread of
Life," we eat nothing leavened to rest of the 14th. Then we begin eating
unleavened bread on the 15th and for the six days thereafter.
Eating toasted leavened bread at breakfast
and a sandwich at
Consider this fact - on Passover night
ancient Israelites still had leavened bread in their houses. The leaven stayed
in their houses, while they removed THEMSELVES from it the daylight portion of
Passover day as they gathered to leave
If Passover is the first high day of
Unleavened Bread, then
Instead of getting the leaven out of their
houses, they themselves got out of their "leavened" houses and took
unleavened bread and kneading troughs with them on this preparation day before
the high Sabbath. We do the same on Passover day as we separate ourselves from
leavening. And so by the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread all
leavening is removed. The we begin eating unleavened
bread for seven complete days.
12.
Preparation Day Is Not A High Day, But The Preparation For It - The Passover is called the
"preparation day" for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which begins on
the annual Sabbath on the fifteenth of Abib (Matt. 27:62; Mark
Notice: Preparation is Strong's
Concordance Greek Dictionary No. 3904, "Paraskeue, par-ask-yoo-ay; as if from No. 3903;
readiness:- preparation [3903: get ready: - prepare
self, be (make) ready]" for the high day.
Keep in mind that there was no command for
“Preparation” As Found In the
New Testament Scriptures
The New Testament shows beyond any doubt that the
"preparation" day, meaning Passover, came before the first high day
Sabbath of the Feast.
"And now when the even was come,
because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of
Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of
Yahweh, came and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of
Yahshua" (Mark 15:43).
Here preparation day is plainly defined
for us: it is the day before the high Sabbath. This preparation was the Passover - the day our Savior was put to
death and Joseph of Arimathaea took the body of Yahshua and prepared it for
burial (just before sundown). Passover was BEFORE the high day, not the high
day itself. This honorable man and follower of Yahshua knew he had to get the
Savior's body off the tree and buried before sundown began the high day.
Another passage reads, "And that day was the
preparation, and the Sabbath drew on" (Luke
Here are other New Testament verses speaking of the
preparation day:
"The Jews therefore, because it was the
preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the tree on the Sabbath
day, (for that Sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs
might be broken, and [that] they might be taken away" (John 19:31).
The Jews knew that the coming sunset brought on the
first day of Unleavened Bread, a high Sabbath. Joseph and Nicodemus knew about
and honored the coming Sabbath of Abib fifteen, which followed the preparation
day.
"And, behold, [there was] a man named Joseph, a
counselor; [and he was] a good man, and a just: (The same had not consented to
the counsel and deed of them;) [he was] of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the
"And there came also Nicodemus, which at the
first came to Yahshua by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about
an hundred pound [weight]" (John
Both Joseph and Nicodemus were eager to get Yahshua
down from the tree before nightfall because of Deut.
"There laid they Yahshua therefore because of the
Jews' preparation [day]; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand" (John
"And that day was the preparation, and the
Sabbath drew on" (Luke
"And he bought [Strong's No. 59, agorazo=to go to market] fine linen, and
took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen, and laid Him in a sepulchre, which
was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre"
(Mark 15:46).
Buying and Working Prohibited on a High
Day Sabbath
Joseph
of Arimathaea, a disciple, bought fine linen. He hurried to put the body of
Yahshua away before the high day arrived at sunset. Wrapping the body in fine
linen, he laid Him in the tomb. How could Joseph buy fine linen if the
Passover, the preparation day, was a high Sabbath? Obviously he would not have
bought the linen to wrap the dead body in until AFTER he saw Yahshua nailed up
to die, which happened about 9 a.m. on Passover.
While eating the Passover with His disciples, Yahshua
told Judas," What you do, do it quickly," John 13:26-30. The disciples
assumed Yahshua meant the Judas was to buy necessities for the coming Feast of
Unleavened Bread (v. 29). If Passover were a high day, would they presume that
Judas was to do business on a high day?
Luke
The KJV translates agros 21 times field, 7 times country, 4 times land(s), 1 time farm, and 1 time piece
of ground. Simon is coming in from the fields on Passover day. Would an
honorable disciple of Yahshua be working in the fields if this were a high day
Sabbath? Wouldn't he be at the temple? Again, the simple explanation is that
Passover is not a high Sabbath, but the preparation for the high day in which
we remove leaven.
Misconstrued Old Testament Verses
Explained
Some
think Passover is just like the other Feasts of Leviticus 23, believing it is a
Feast proper. The Hebrew of verse 4, however, does not say that these are all chag (festivals) of Yahweh, but moedim -- meaning appointed times, not
necessarily "feasts." Passover is a moed, an appointed time to observe, not a Feast.
A Jewish translation of the Old Testament, the Tanakh,
renders many difficult passages more accurately than the King James. Paul tells
us that the job of preserving the Scriptures was given specifically to the
Jews: "What advantage then has the Jew? Or what profit is there of
circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed
the oracles [utterances] of Yahweh" (
We will now see how this Jewish translation of the
Hebrew clears up the Old Testament passages that are misleading in the King
James Version.
Exodus
If we take out the word "it," which was
added by translators and is in italics in most KJVs, we gain a much more
accurate understanding of the original meaning: keep the Passover for a
memorial, and then keep a Feast to Yahweh afterward. Recall that the Hebrew had
no punctuation. The semicolon here could just as well have been a period,
separating the two observances as Yahweh does in the law passages of Leviticus
23:5-6 and Numbers 28-16-17.
Exodus 12:14-15 in the Tanakh reads: "This day shall
be to you one of remembrance: you shall celebrate it AS [emphasis ours] a
festival to Yahweh throughout the ages; you shall celebrate it as an
institution for all time. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the
very first day you shall remove leaven from your houses, for whoever eats
leavened bread from the first day to the seventh day, that person shall be cut
off from
Now let's look at Exodus
12:18:"In the first [month], on the fourteenth day of the month at
even, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the
month at even."
Some teach that this passage shows that the Feast runs
from the 14th to the 20th. Let's look at two pivotal words here:
"even" and "until," each of which complements and supports
the proper meaning.
The word "even" is from the Hebrew 'ereb, from the root 'arab, meaning to grow dusky at sundown.
Does "at even" mean the beginning of the 14th at sundown (end of the
13th) or the end of the 14th at sundown? If Yahweh meant the beginning of the
14th He would have used ben ha arbaym,
as He did for Passover at the beginning of the 14th (see Ex. 12:6, Lev. 23:5;
Num. 9:3, 5, 11).
Turn back to Leviticus 23:32, a passage that uses
"even" in the same way, only in reference to the day of Atonement:
"It [shall be] unto you a Sabbath of rest, and
you shall afflict your souls: in the ninth [day] of the month at even [ereb], from even [ereb] unto even [ereb],
shall you celebrate your Sabbath." We know that Atonement is kept on the
10th according to Yahweh's distinct command in verse 27. The 10th is defined
here as starting from the evening of the 9th, meaning end of the 9th as the
10th begins.
Attempts have been made to twist this verse,
essentially saying that the word "ninth" is not even in the text,
which is absolutely false. Ninth here is the Hebrew tish'ah, and means a nine, nonad (The New
Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-Aramaic Lexicon). Strong's (8672) says tish'ah means nine or ninth, through the
idea of a turn to the next number 10.
Some believe that Exodus
The word "until" is ad, from Strong's No.
5704 and 5703. Ad means a terminus or
ending with a durative quality. In other words, extending through the period
and then ending. Hebrew numeration here uses terminus a quo to terminus ad quem,
meaning INCLUSIVE of both ends. The prime root is 5710, adah, meaning to advance, pass on and continue through.
Therefore, the Feast of Unleavened Bread continues
through the 21st and then ends. That means it must begin on the 15th if it is
to be a seven-day Feast that ends on the 21st.
To demonstrate, look at Exodus 12:15. The same word ad (until) is used here as well,
speaking of the Feast of Unleavened Bread: "...from the first day until [ad] the seventh day." Until means
extending THROUGH the seventh day, otherwise the Feast would be only six days
long -- stopping at the end of the sixth. So verse 15 supports this proper
rendering of verse 18. We do not stop at the end of the 20th, but CONTINUE
THROUGH the 21st for seven full and complete days of a Feast that begins on the
15th.
Numbers 28:16-18: "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of
the month, there shall be a Passover sacrifice to Yahweh, and on the fifteenth
day of that month a festival. Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days.
The first day shall be a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your
occupations" (Tanakh). What
could be clearer? The 14th is the Passover and the 15th a high day that starts
the Feast!
Deuteronomy 16:1-3: "Observe the month of Abib and offer a Passover
sacrifice to Yahweh your Elohim, for it was in the month of Abib, at night,
that Yahweh your Elohim freed you from
Deuteronomy 16:4: "And there shall be no leavened bread seen with
thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there
[anything] of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain
all night until the morning." According to Wilson's Old Testament Word
Studies, the word "day" (Heb. yown, No. 3117) "is frequently put for time in general, or for
a long time; a whole period under consideration" (p. 109). Verse four
speaks of the first day as the start of the Passover and Feast period. Notice
how the verse separates the two observances, first speaking of the seven days
of Unleavened Bread. Then in another thought it deals with Passover through a
separate clause beginning with the conjunction "neither."
Although this passage presents difficulty for some,
the proper understanding of it conforms to every other passage showing a
distinction between Passover and the Feast that follows.
Deuteronomy 16:7-8: "And you shall roast and eat [it] in the place
which Yahweh your Elohim shall choose: and you shall turn in the morning, and
go unto your tents. Six days you shall eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh
day [shall be] a solemn assembly to Yahweh your Elohim: you shall do no work
[therein]." On Passover night
Deuteronomy
Ezekiel 45:21 in the King James translation is unclear, seemingly
calling Passover a Feast and implying that it is part of Unleavened Bread:
"In the first [month], in the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have
the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten."
Remember that Hebrew was not punctuated. The translators could just as well
have rendered the verse this way: "...you shall have the passover. A feast
of seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten." This verse would then
agree with all those others that separate the Passover on the 14th from the
Feast of Unleavened Bread on the 15th as Yahweh commands in the law.
The Tanakh does properly separate the two, translating the Ezekiel 45:21 passage this way:
"On the fourteenth day of the first month you shall have the passover sacrifice; and during the festival of seven days
unleavened bread shall be eaten."
Other translators of this passage also separate the
two observances. The New Revised Standard Version reads: "In the first
month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall celebrate the festival of
the passover, and for seven days unleavened bread
shall be eaten."
The New Berkeley Version in Modern English on Ezekiel 45:21 reads: "In the first month, on
the fourteenth day of the month, you shall hold a feast of the Passover, and
during the feast of seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten."
Lamsa's Holy Bible from Ancient Eastern Manuscripts on Ezekiel 45:21 reads: "In the first month, on
the fourteenth day of the month, you shall celebrate the feast of the passover, and you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days.
The Jerusalem Bible renders it: "On the fourteenth day of the first
month, you must celebrate the feast of the Passover. For seven days everyone is
to eat unleavened loaves."
Even in practice we see that Passover and the Feast
were separate. When Josiah reinstituted the Passover and Feast of Unleavened
Bread in 2Chronicles 35, we read that
"And the children of
When Hezekiah rediscovered Passover and the Feast of
Unleavened Bread in 2Chronicles 30, the people were so thrilled that they
decided to keep the Feast seven more days, which they did with gladness, verse
23. But nowhere does the text tell us that they kept the Passover twice. Why?
Because Passover is a separate annual MEMORIAL, observed only one time a year
as all memorials are.
Critical New Testament Verses
Now
let's concentrate on the New Testament and certain verses there that are
commonly used in support of a 14th high day. Remember, the New Testament must
support the truth we have established in the Old.
Matthew 26:2 and 5 gives some Bible students difficulty. Verse 2 reads, "You know that after
two days is [the feast of] the passover, and the Son
of man is betrayed to be impaled." Then verse 5 is linked to verse 2 by
those who want Passover to be the first day of the Feast, which reads,
"But they said, Not on the feast [day], lest there be an uproar among the
people."
The pivotal words added by translators are: "the
feast of" and "day." In two days the Passover was to arrive.
They were planning their attack on Yahshua, but decided that to do so during
the Feast would invite a Jewish revolt. The word "on" in verse 5
should be rendered "during" (Greek en). Bullinger's Companion Bible points out that "on the
feast" should read, "during the feast,"
thus relegating it to any time during the seven days of Unleavened Bread.
Understanding the Greek and the error of translators,
we can clearly see that there is no combining of Passover with the first day of
the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
The chief priests and Pharisees on the high day
requested that Pilate station a guard at the tomb of Yahshua (Matt. 27:62). Matthew 26:17: "Now the first
[day] of the [feast of] unleavened bread the disciples came to Yahshua, saying
unto him, Where will you that we prepare for you to eat the passover?"
Notice in your Bible that the words "day"
and "feast of" are in italics, showing that these words were again
added by translators. Omitting these translator-added words the verse reads:
"Now the first of the unleavened bread [or unleaveneds] the disciples came
to Yahshua, saying..." The word "first" is Strong's No. 4413, protos,
meaning foremost (in time, place, order, or importance):- translated; before,
beginning, best, chief, first of all.
The verse should more accurately read: "Now
before the unleavened bread the disciples came to Yahshua, saying unto him,
Where will you that we prepare for you to eat the passover?"
The sense is that the time of unleavened bread would
soon be upon them. Rabbinic teaching was to have all leaven removed by around
the fourteenth, and the entire celebration became known as the "Feast of
Unleavened Bread," also known as "Passover."
Mark 14:1-2: "After two days was [the feast of] the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and
the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put [him] to death.
But they said, Not on the feast [day], lest there be an uproar of the
people."
Notice here once again the words "the feast
of" and "day" are not in the Greek text, but were added by the
translators. It should read, "After two days was the passover,
and of unleavened bread..." They could not delay, they had to get the Savior killed before the Feast day of Abib 15 arrived. In
two days Passover would be upon them, and in three
days the Feast.
(Passover afternoon when Yahshua died could not have
been the first day of the feast or the uproar they feared most from the Jews
would most assuredly have happened!)
One interlinear Greek study Bible shows how the Greek
renders this passage: "It was now the passover and the unleavened bread
after two days..." The Complete Biblical Library.
If Passover and the Feast are one and the same, why
are they continually spoken of separately? Why not always just
"Passover" or just the "Feast of Unleavened Bread"?
Mark 14:12: "And the first day of unleavened bread, when
they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we
go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?" (Mark
In this passage the word "first" is protos, and according to The New Thayer's Greek English Lexicon, protos means "before something
else." It is rendered "prior" in the Latin versions. Therefore,
the passage in the Greek says it was PRIOR TO Unleavened Bread when they killed
the Passover.
The word "day" is from the Strong's 2250, hemera, and could have been translated period, age, time, or while
for improved clarification. Putting these facts together we get: "And
prior to the time of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover..."
What many don't understand is that the entire season
came to be referred to simply as "the Passover," as we see in the
following Evangel of Luke.
Luke 22:1: "Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh,
which is called the Passover." Luke apparently recognizes the error of
this vernacular and points out that the Feast of Unleavened Bread is
"called" the Passover. Note his careful wording -- he does not say
Unleavened Bread "is" the Passover, but "is called" the
Passover!
Who called it the Passover, then? The answer is the
Pharisees, whose minhag (customs)
differed from those of the Sadducees who managed the temple. As noted, the
Pharisees combined Passover with the 15th high day. To add to the confusion,
the Essenes were promoting a solar calendar with entirely different dates
still.
So which of these schemes did Yahshua follow? That's
simple. He was faithful to the law given in the Old Testament. That is why we
find that He had already kept Passover (at the start of the 14th) while other
Jews were yet to keep it (on the 15th). We must also be faithful to the law and
not base our obedience on misunderstanding of Greek and English translators.
Now look at Luke
22:7: "Then came the day [hemera:
period, time] of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed." Luke is writing generally here, as he defines the season
of the year.
Verses Clearly Differentiating Between
the 14th and 15th
Yahweh
says Passover is the 14th of Abib. The Feast begins on the 15th. The following verses makes that fact undeniable and absolutely crystal
clear:
In the FOURTEENTH [day] of the first month at even [is] Yahweh's passover.
And on the FIFTEENTH day of the same
month [is] the feast of unleavened bread unto Yahweh: seven days you must eat
unleavened bread. In the first day you shall have an holy convocation: you shall do no servile work therein. But you shall offer an
offering made by fire unto Yahweh seven days: IN THE SEVENTH DAY [IS] AN HOLY CONVOCATION: you shall do no
servile work [therein]" (Lev.
23:5-8).
"And in the FOURTEENTH day of the first month [is] the passover of
Yahweh. [The Passover was kept in individual homes.] And in the FIFTEENTH day of this month [is] the
feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. In the first day [shall be] an holy convocation; you shall do no manner of servile work
[therein]:" [The convocation was to recall
And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on
the FIFTEENTH day of the first
month; on the MORROW [next day], AFTER the Passover the children of
"You may not sacrifice the passover within any of
your gates, which Yahweh your Elohim gives you: But at the place which Yahweh
your Elohim shall choose to place his name in, there you shall sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the
season that you came forth out of
"And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service
of Yahweh, which [is] at
Watch That Punctuation!
Growing
evidence has convinced many scholars that both Old and New Testaments were
written in Hebrew and then translated into primarily Greek, then to Latin, then
English. The Hebrew has no punctuation, leaving the English text at the whim of
the translators. Therefore, we cannot rely upon the punctuation of questionable
verses to establish a doctrine, which some have done in attempting to show a
high day Passover.
For example, the following examples, are used to prove an erroneous first day of the week resurrection:
"Now when [Yahshua] was risen early the first
[day] of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast
seven devils" (Mark 16:9). As it reads, Yahshua rose the first day of the
week. However, other texts show that He was raised on the seventh-day Sabbath
and had already risen by the first day of the week. The correct punctuation
should be:
"Now when Yahshua was risen,
early the first [day] of the week He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of
whom he had cast seven devils." The comma being placed after the words "was risen" gives the sense
that Yahshua had risen some time earlier and then appeared first to Mary
Magdalene. "Was risen" is a past participle. In other words, sometime
in the past He had arisen.
Here's another example of poorly punctuated text that
sends some veering away from the truth: "And Yahshua said unto him,
'Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me
in paradise'" (Luke
The punctuation of Luke 23:43 implies that the thief on the tree would be with Yahshua in paradise that very day.
However, Yahshua was seen for 40 days after His resurrection and the thief was
never with Him. Further, Yahshua did not enter paradise "that day."
The comma (indicating a pause) should be after the word "today."
The sense is that although Yahshua is nailed to the
tree, physically weakened, a beaten victim about to die, yet in spite of His
circumstance, He would triumphantly establish His kingdom with the malefactor
being a part of it.
Erroneous punctuation occurred because the early
Christian translators were not Hebrew scholars They based their translations on the Greek or the Latin text. To punctuate a
sentence properly, one must understand the situation and context and thoroughly
comprehend the original writings being translated. Hebrew had no punctuation.
Neither was the Hebrew divided into chapters and verses. All is done by
translators.
The lesson is, we cannot
establish a doctrine on verses with man-made punctuation that is at times
unreliable and contradictory.
Evidence Is Overwhelming
Scripture
is clear. From virtually any angle one cares to look it, Passover is on one day
(14th of Abib) and the Feast of Unleavened Bread follows on the next day (the
15th). The two are separated by when they are observed, by whom, by the purpose
of each, by the atmosphere of each, by how
© 2007 Yahweh’s Assembly in Yahshua
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