Deuteronomy 16:16

16 All your men must appear before God, your God, three times each year at the place he designates: at the Feast-of-Unraised-Bread (Passover), at the Feast-of-Weeks, and at the Feast-of-Booths. No one is to show up in the Presence of God empty-handed;

Deuteronomy 16:16 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 16:16

Three times a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord
thy God
This has been observed before, ( Exodus 23:17 ) ( 34:23 ) , and is repeated here for the sake of mentioning the place where they were to appear, which before now was not observed, and indeed it is chiefly for that the other festivals are here recited:

in the place which he shall choose;
which though not expressed is now easily understood; and the three times at which they were to appear there were, in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles; or passover, Pentecost, and tabernacles; and of numbers of people going up from the country to each of these feasts, we have instances in the New Testament; to the passover, ( Luke 2:42 Luke 2:44 ) ( John 11:55 ) , to Pentecost, ( Acts 2:5-11 ) , to tabernacles, ( John 7:2 John 7:10 ) ,

and they shall not appear before the Lord empty;
Aben Ezra observes, the meaning is, not empty of the tribute of the freewill offering of their hand, and which Jarchi more fully explains of the burnt offerings of appearance, and of the peace offerings of the Chagigah, or money answerable to them; which, according to the Misnah ^F17 was a meah of silver for a burnt offering, and two pieces of silver for the Chagigah, which weighed thirty two barley corns ^F18

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 Chagigah, c. 1. sect. 2.
F18 Maimon. & Bartenora in ib.

Deuteronomy 16:16 In-Context

14 Rejoice at your festival: you, your son, your daughter, your servant, your maid, the Levite, the foreigner, and the orphans and widows who live in your neighborhood.

15 Celebrate the Feast to God, your God, for seven days at the place God designates. God, your God, has been blessing you in your harvest and in all your work, so make a day of it - really celebrate!

16 All your men must appear before God, your God, three times each year at the place he designates: at the Feast-of-Unraised-Bread (Passover), at the Feast-of-Weeks, and at the Feast-of-Booths. No one is to show up in the Presence of God empty-handed;

17 each man must bring as much as he can manage, giving generously in response to the blessings of God, your God.

18 Appoint judges and officers, organized by tribes, in all the towns that God, your God, is giving you. They are to judge the people fairly and honestly.