Deuteronomy 16:16

16 All of your men must appear in front of the LORD your God at the holy tent. They must go to the place he will choose. They must do it three times a year. They must go there to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths. No man should appear in front of the LORD without bringing something with him.

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 Be filled with joy at your Feast. You, your children, and your male and female servants should be joyful. So should the Levites, the outsiders, and the widows who are living in your towns. And so should the children whose fathers have died.

15 For seven days celebrate the Feast in honor of the LORD your God. Do it at the place he will choose. The LORD will bless you when you gather all of your crops. He'll bless you in everything you do. And you will be full of joy.

16 All of your men must appear in front of the LORD your God at the holy tent. They must go to the place he will choose. They must do it three times a year. They must go there to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths. No man should appear in front of the LORD without bringing something with him.

17 Each of you must bring a gift. Do it in keeping with the way the LORD your God has blessed you.

18 Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes. Do it in every town the LORD your God is giving you. They must judge the people fairly.