Deuteronomy16

Deuteronomy 16 outlines the observance of three annual feasts: Passover and Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles, emphasizing their proper celebration at the Lord's chosen place with rejoicing and offerings. It also commands the appointment of just judges and officers, prohibiting bribery and partiality. Finally, the chapter forbids idolatrous practices like planting groves or setting up images near God's altar.
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The Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread

1
Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, because in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. ​
2
You are to offer to the LORD your God the Passover sacrifice from the herd or flock in the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for His Name. ​
3
You must not eat leavened bread with it; for seven days you are to eat with it unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left the land of Egypt in haste—so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt. ​
4
No leaven is to be found in all your land for seven days, and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day shall remain until morning.
5
You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns that the LORD your God is giving you.
6
You must only offer the Passover sacrifice at the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name. Do this in the evening as the sun sets, at the same time you departed from Egypt. ​
7
And you shall roast it and eat it in the place the LORD your God will choose, and in the morning you shall return to your tents. ​
8
For six days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day you shall hold a solemn assembly to the LORD your God, and you must not do any work.

The Feast of Weeks (Shavuot)

9
You are to count off seven weeks from the time you first put the sickle to the standing grain. ​
10
And you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with a freewill offering that you give in proportion to how the LORD your God has blessed you, ​
11
and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you. ​
12
Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and carefully follow these statutes. ​

The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)

13
You are to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. ​
14
And you shall rejoice in your feast—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you.
15
For seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the LORD your God in the place He will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that your joy will be complete. ​

Mandatory Annual Pilgrimages

16
Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed. ​
17
Everyone must appear with a gift as he is able, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you. ​

Establishing Justice and Authority

18
You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment. ​
19
Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. ​
20
Pursue justice, and justice alone, so that you may live, and you may possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you. ​

Prohibition of Idolatry

21
Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole next to the altar you will build for the LORD your God, ​
22
and do not set up for yourselves a sacred pillar, which the LORD your God hates. ​

Study Notes for Deuteronomy 16

Verse 1

Observance of the Passover (Pesach) is tied directly to the historical memory of the Exodus, which occurred in haste. Abib (later called Nisan) is the first month of the religious calendar.

Verse 2

The command to sacrifice the Passover 'in the place which the LORD shall choose' reinforces the Deuteronomic principle of centralizing worship, preventing unauthorized local shrines.

Verse 3

Unleavened bread (matzah) is called the 'bread of affliction' because it symbolizes the speed of the departure from Egypt and the suffering endured there, emphasizing continuous remembrance.

Verse 6

The ritual timing—'at the going down of the sun'—marks the transition into the 15th day of Abib, ensuring accurate observance of the moment of departure.

Verse 7

The instruction to return to their tents the next morning indicates that while the sacrifice must be central, the people did not need to reside permanently at the chosen sanctuary during the entire feast.

Verse 9

This festival, known as the Feast of Harvest or Weeks (Pentecost in Greek), marks the conclusion of the spring grain harvest, occurring seven weeks after the beginning of the barley harvest.

Verse 10

The offering is a 'freewill offering' proportional to God's blessing, linking agricultural success directly to required gratitude and generosity towards the Lord.

Verse 11

The emphasis on including the socially vulnerable (Levite, stranger, fatherless, widow) underscores the theological principle that communal rejoicing must be radically inclusive.

Verse 12

The remembrance of slavery in Egypt serves as the ethical foundation for observing these statutes, ensuring that Israel treats others justly and celebrates inclusively.

Verse 13

This final major festival celebrates the autumn harvest (gathering corn and wine) and commemorates Israel’s dwelling in temporary shelters during the wilderness wanderings.

Verse 15

The command to 'surely rejoice' is repeated, emphasizing joy as a required element of worship, based on the assurance of God’s blessing upon their labors.

Verse 16

This verse summarizes the law of mandatory pilgrimage, requiring all adult males to appear at the central sanctuary three times a year, symbolizing national unity and allegiance.

Verse 17

The instruction that they 'shall not appear before the LORD empty' establishes the principle of proportional giving; offerings must reflect the relative blessing the individual has received.

Verse 18

The transition here moves from religious observance to civil structure. The appointment of judges and officers (shoterim) in every city ensures local application of divine law.

Verse 19

The prohibition against perverting justice, respecting persons (favoritism), or taking bribes is foundational to the covenant society, protecting the vulnerable from corruption.

Verse 20

The pursuit of absolute justice ('that which is altogether just') is tied directly to the continued inheritance and life in the land, illustrating the theological connection between morality and national destiny.

Verse 21

This law strictly forbids planting sacred poles (Asherah poles, often associated with Canaanite fertility cults) near the altar of Yahweh, demanding purity in worship space.

Verse 22

The prohibition against setting up a sacred pillar (matzevah) or standing stone—even if intended for Yahweh—aims to prevent the adoption of foreign religious practices associated with idol worship.

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