“So Shlomo celebrated the festival at that time. All Israel, a huge gathering [that had come all the way] from the entrance of Hamat to the Vadi [of Egypt], celebrated with him before Adonai our God for seven days and then for seven more days — fourteen days in all.” – 1 Kings 8:65
The concluding parts of this chapter are turning out to be a great review of the material we studied in the Book of Leviticus.
Alrighty, so now it’s time to get nerdy as all heck on you folks.
So in verse 65 (copied and pasted above), we’re told that Solomon celebrated a festival, right?
Now, since this chapter has been all about Solomon’s momentous Temple Dedication Ceremony…
You’re probably assuming that the word “festival” here is referring to the Temple Dedication Ceremony.
Am I right or am I right?
Well, the answer is…not exactly.
Lemme show you what I mean.
You’ve gotta uncover the original Hebrew to find the right answer.
The word for “festival” here is CHAG or HAG, depending on how you write out the word in English.
Now, what do we know about the word CHAG?
The word CHAG is commonly used for a biblical festival, especially in connection with the pilgrimage festivals when Hebrew men were required to travel to Jerusalem.
So the Temple dedication ceremony itself ain’t the CHAG.
It belongs in a totally different category.
But here’s where things get REALLY interesting.
If we look at the parallel account in 2 Chronicles 7, we get the missing piece of the puzzle.
The dedication of the altar lasted seven days.
Then Solomon and all Israel celebrated the feast for another seven days.
And then, on the eighth day, they held a solemn assembly.
In other words, the “seven days and seven days” mentioned in 1 Kings 8:65 weren’t fourteen days of Temple dedication.
There were actually TWO seven-day periods happening back-to-back.
First came the seven-day dedication of the altar.
Then came the seven-day festival.
And which biblical festival occurs for seven days during the seventh month?
SUKKOT!
That’s right.
The Feast of Tabernacles.
Remember, 1 Kings 8:2 specifically tells us that all Israel assembled to Solomon during the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
And according to Leviticus 23, Sukkot begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month and lasts for seven days.
So the chronology becomes crystal clear.
Solomon’s Temple dedication took place immediately before Sukkot.
The dedication lasted seven days.
Then Sukkot was celebrated for seven days.
Then came the eighth-day solemn assembly.
So the CHAG mentioned here is not the Temple Dedication Ceremony.
It’s Sukkot!
And that’s a pretty amazing connection when you think about it.
Solomon’s magnificent Temple was being dedicated right before Israel entered into one of its most important biblical festivals.
Now, to get even more nerdy on your rear ends.
In both the New Testament and modern conversational lingo amongst Jews…
It’s typical to refer to the first pilgrimage festival as PESACH (Passover) instead of MATZA (Unleavened Bread).
But technically speaking, that’s incorrect.
Why?
Because PESACH, MATZAH, and BIKKURIM are three springtime feasts that occur back-to-back, one right after another.
First comes Passover (Pesach).
Then, the very next day, comes the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matzah).
Then comes Firstfruits (Bikkurim).
Passover is a one-day feast.
Unleavened Bread lasts for seven days.
Firstfruits is also a one-day feast.
Now, here’s the thing.
Only the festival of MATZA, or Unleavened Bread, is the CHAG, or pilgrimage festival.
Passover and Firstfruits ain’t CHAGs.
Ya feeling me here?
So why would a homie travel up to Jerusalem for the feast of Matzah a day early?
Well, think about it, man.
The trip up to Jerusalem was long and difficult.
If you were already making that trip, didn’t it make perfect sense to arrive one day early and celebrate Passover in Jerusalem?
Ya feeling me here?
If you arrived a day earlier, you could have your Passover lamb slaughtered by a priest, have it prepared in the holy city, and celebrate the Passover meal together with other Israelites who had come to Jerusalem from all over the land.
Scripture doesn’t require any of this, by the way.
A person did NOT have to come to Jerusalem early for Passover.
But if you were already making the long journey to Jerusalem for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, coming a day early was a very natural thing to do.
So what takeaway can we extract from this?
Well, here’s what’s coming to me.
It’s perfectly cool…
And actually a wise thing to do…
To arrange your obedience to the Lord’s commands in a way that’s convenient, as long as you don’t break the Lord’s commands.
Don’t do as the Christians do and just throw the Lord’s commands in the trash and create a ridiculous doctrine that says the Messiah of Israel abolished the very laws of Israel established by His Father in Heaven.
If it becomes a challenge to obey the Lord’s commands, then find some way to work around it.
The Orthodox community is actually a good model to emulate in this case.
They do all their shopping and cooking before the sun sets on Shabbat (Friday night), so they can properly rest when Shabbat rolls around.
And I’m sure that over the years they’ve developed other ingenious ways to obey the Lord’s commands when circumstances might make it difficult to do so.
Alrighty, gonna call this a wrap.
NEXT TIME WE BEGIN 1 KINGS CHAPTER 9
P.S. A reader, Lian Paran, brought up an important point.
Technically speaking, the Torah never calls that third springtime feast “Bikkurim.”
Check out Leviticus 23:10.
The offering is called the omer of RESHIT KETZIRCHEM, which means “the first of your harvest.”
The word there is RESHIT, not BIKKURIM.
So where does BIKKURIM show up?
A few verses later, in the section on Shavuot.
Leviticus 23:17 and 23:20 talk about the two loaves as LECHEM HABIKKURIM, the bread of the firstfruits.
And Numbers 28:26 straight up calls Shavuot YOM HABIKKURIM, the day of the firstfruits.
So in the Torah’s own vocabulary, BIKKURIM belongs to Shavuot.
Then why does everybody call the springtime offering “Bikkurim”?
Blame the English translations, man.
They translate both RESHIT and BIKKURIM as “firstfruits.”
So English readers see “Firstfruits” in both places, and the Hebrew word BIKKURIM ends up tagging along to the springtime feast too.
And here’s one more nerdy detail on the timing.
Leviticus 23:11 says the omer gets waved “on the day after the Sabbath.”
No matter which traditional reading of that verse you go with, that day lands DURING the seven days of Matzah.
So if you really wanna be precise about it, the lineup is Pesach, Matzah, and Reshit Ketzirchem, with the Reshit Ketzirchem offering happening right in the middle of the week of Matzah.
Todah rabah, Lian, for the great insight!
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