Exodus 23:15
Read Exodus 23:15 Using Other Translations
What does Exodus 23:15 mean?
Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread
Which began on the fourteenth of the month Abib or Nisan, and
lasted seven days, during which time no leavened bread was to be
eaten by the Israelites, or to be in their houses, of which see
the notes on:
(See Gill on Exodus 12:15) (See Gill on Exodus 12:18) (See Gill on Exodus 12:19) (See Gill on Exodus 12:10) (See Gill on Exodus 13:6) (See Gill on Exodus 13:7)
thou shall eat unleavened bread, seven days, as I commanded
thee, in
the time appointed of the month Abib;
from the fourteenth of the month to the twenty first:
for in it thou camest out of Egypt;
in such haste that there was no time to leaven the dough in the
troughs; in commemoration of which this law was given, and this
feast was kept:
and none shall appear before me empty;
at this feast and the two following ones; for, besides the
offerings and sacrifices appointed, at the feast of passover was
brought a sheaf of the first fruits of the barley harvest; and at
the feast of pentecost the two wave loaves or cakes of the first
fruits of the wheat harvest; and at the feast of tabernacles they
appeared with palm tree branches, and boughs of goodly trees, and
poured out water fetched from Siloam, before the Lord: but to
this appearance the Jewish doctors F2 say,
``there was no measure fixed; for everyone, if he would, might go up and appear, and go away: according to another interpretation, for the burnt offering of appearance, and the peace offerings of the Chagigah, which a man is bound to bring, as it is written, "ye shall not appear empty"; there is no measure from the law, as it is written, "a man according to the gift of his hand", ( Deuteronomy 16:17 ) , but the wise men fix a measure; to the burnt offering a meah of silver, to the Chagigah two pieces of silver:''some understand this, not of their bringing anything with them to appear before the Lord with, but of what they should be blessed with there; even with the presence of God, and communion with him, and with the blessings of his grace and goodness; so that however they came, they should not remain, nor go away empty, and so have no cause to repent their appearance before him; but the former sense seems best.
F2 Bartenora in Misn. Peah, c. 1. sect. 1.
