Albert Barnes Commentary Leviticus 23

The specified times for public worship according to the Law were:

1. The daily morning and evening sacrifices, sometimes called the continual burnt-offering.
2. The weekly Sabbath.
3. The day of the new moon.
4. The set feasts (Numbers 29:39) or appointed times of annual observance, of which there were five: the Passover, the Day of Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. For each of these occasions special sacrifices were appointed (Numbers 28; Numbers 29).

The feasts - literally, the appointed times. So in (Leviticus 23:4), (Leviticus 23:37), etc. This section (Leviticus 23:1–38) sets forth for practical guidance how the Lord's appointed times, weekly as well as annual, related to the ordinary occupations of the people.

Holy convocations - Days of sabbatical rest for the whole people; they derived their name from gatherings for religious edification, which, in later times, were probably held in every town and village in the holy land. There were in the course of the year, besides the weekly Sabbaths, seven days of holy convocation (Exodus 12:16); (Numbers 28:18), (Numbers 28:25–26); (Numbers 29:1), (Numbers 29:12), (Numbers 29:35), with a distinction between them regarding strictness of observance (Compare Leviticus 23:3, Leviticus 23:28 with Leviticus 23:7).

The seventh day had been consecrated as the Sabbath of Yahweh, symbolizing His own rest; it was the acknowledged sign of the covenant between God and His people. See the Exodus 20:1-11 notes. As such it properly held its place at the head of the days of holy convocation.

The recurrence of the sabbatical number in the five annual days of holy convocation should be noticed.

In Leviticus 23:5, the Passover, or Paschal Supper, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, are plainly described as distinct feasts. See Exodus 12:6, Exodus 12:15, Exodus 12:17; Numbers 28:16–17.

(Leviticus 23:6) See Exodus 12:6. According to the Hebrew method of reckoning, the 15th day of the month began on the evening of the 14th. The day of holy convocation with which the Feast of Unleavened Bread began (Leviticus 23:7) was the 15th, and that with which it ended was the 21st .

(Leviticus 23:7) Feast – The three festivals (often called the Great Festivals)—Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles—to which the name חג (chag)—that is, a feast or rejoicing—properly belongs (Leviticus 23:6, Leviticus 23:34, Leviticus 23:39, Leviticus 23:41), were distinguished by the attendance of the male Israelites at the national sanctuary (Exodus 34:23; Deuteronomy 16:16).

In later times, they were called by the rabbis “pilgrimage feasts.” It is worthy of note that the Hebrew word is identical with the Arabic “haj,” the name of the pilgrimage to Mecca, from which comes the well-known word for a pilgrim, “haji.”

No servile work – literally, no work of labor, no work that belongs to one’s worldly calling, such as labor in agriculture or handicraft. The preparation of food was permitted (Exodus 12:16), a license not granted on the weekly Sabbath or on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:28, Leviticus 23:30; Exodus 20:10; Exodus 35:3).

(Leviticus 23:8) The sacrifices meant here are named in Numbers 28:19-24.