D16-5: A Point About Passover That Confuses Both Jew And Gentile Believer Alike

Today I want to point out something concerning the Passover celebration that confuses BOTH gentile and Jewish believers alike.

FIRST, understand that PESACH (Passover in English) is only a one-day feast that occurs every year on AVIV 14th.  

In the Babylonian tongue, AVIV 14th would be NISAN 14th and again this takes place around March-April according to our secular calendar.

SECOND, the following day after Passover on AVIV 15th, a seven-day Biblical feast called “The Feast of Unleavened Bread” or in Hebrew “The Feast of Matza”  kicks off.

THIRD, right dead smack in the middle of the “The Feast of Unleavened Bread”, on AVIV 16th yet another biblical feast begins.

This festival is the “Feast of FirstFruits” or in Hebrew BIKKURIM.

In rapid-fire succession, Passover which is a 1-day feast kicks off on AVIV 14th.

Then immediately afterwards on AVIV 15th, the 7-day Feast of Unleavened Bread begins.

Finally, on AVIV 16th, the 1-day Feast of FirstFruits begins.

Here’s a quick snapshot summary:

AVIV 14th: Pesach (1-Day Event)
AVIV 15th: Matza (7-Day Event)
AVIV 16th: Bikkurim (1-Day Event)

So we can see that Bikkurim (FirstFruits) overlaps with the Feast of Matza (Unleavened Bread).

Now here’s what you’ve got to understand and this is why there is so much confusion surrounding the issue.

Because these three springtime Biblical Feasts run so closely together with the Feast of Matza seated smack dab right in the center of all three feasts, it became normal to just refer to ALL of these three Feasts bundled together as either the… 

…”The Feast of Matza (Unleavened Bread)”…

…OR…

…”Pesach (Passover)”.

Got it?

Long before Yeshua came on the scene, the terms PESACH (Passover) and MATZAH (Unleavened Bread) were used interchangeably to refer to all three of the springtime Biblical feasts.

Therefore, as a result, and we shouldn’t be too surprised about this, we’ll find the same linguistic phenomenon occurring in the New Testament gospels.

Sometimes the word “Passover” will be used to refer to only the one-day celebration of Passover AND…

…other times, it will be used to refer to the entire bundle of three feasts.

In addition, the “Feast of Matza” will also sometimes be used to refer to the entire bundle of three feasts even though technically it is a 7-day feast that begins on AVIV 15th which is the day after Passover.

Pretty darn confusing, isn’t it?

So what’s the big takeaway here?

The big takeaway is that this is a perfect example of why it’s so important to adopt a Hebrew mindset when reading Holy Scripture regardless of whether we’re reading the TANAK (“Old” Testament) or the New Testament.

This issue has nothing to do with our modern tendency to oversimplify things by coming up with bumper-sticker theological doctrines.

Nor does this have anything to do with gentile errors when it comes to understanding the Hebrew language (though there are a ton of them).

Nope, this issue is firmly connected to Hebrew culture, thought and tradition.

Minus understanding the Hebrew mindset when reading Scripture, you’ll think that what you’re reading is simple and straightforward when it isn’t.

Applying a modern Greek black-and-white linear style of thinking to Scripture passages that are buried deep in Hebrew thought and customs is just going to lead you into the weeds when it comes to really understanding what God spoke through His Chosen People.

I’m done.