Exodus 23:16

16 And the feast of Heruest, when thou reapest the firstfrutes of thy laboures which thou hast sowne in the felde. And the feast of ingaderynge, in the ende of the yere: when thou hast gathered in thy laboures out of the felde.

Exodus 23:16 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 23:16

And the feast of harvest
This is the second feast, the feast of wheat harvest, between which and barley harvest were fifty days; or between the firstfruits of the one and the first fruits of the other were seven weeks, as Aben Ezra observes, and was sometimes called the feast of weeks; at which feast were to be brought,

the first fruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field;
the two wave loaves or cakes, made of the first new wheat, which was the effect of their labour in tilling the field, and sowing it with wheat, and reaping it:

and the feast of ingathering, [which is] in the end of the year, when
thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field;
this is the third feast in the year to be kept, and was kept at the close of the year, at the revolution of it, when a new year began that is, according to the old account, which made Tisri the month in which this feast was kept, the first month of the year; whereas, according to the new count, it was the seventh month from the month Abib, now made the first of the months upon the Israelites coming out of Egypt in that month: this is the same feast with the feast of tabernacles, but here called the feast of ingathering, because at this time of the year all the fruits of the earth were gathered in; the corn, and wine, and oil, and all other fruits, on account of which there was great rejoicing, as there ought to be.

Exodus 23:16 In-Context

14 Thre feastes thou shalt holde vnto me in a yere
15 Thou shalt kepe the feast of swete bred that thou eate vnleuend bred .vij. dayes loge as I comaunded the in the tyme appoynted of the moneth of Abib, for in that moneth thou camest out of Egipte: ad se that noman appeare before me emptie.
16 And the feast of Heruest, when thou reapest the firstfrutes of thy laboures which thou hast sowne in the felde. And the feast of ingaderynge, in the ende of the yere: when thou hast gathered in thy laboures out of the felde.
17 Thre tymes in a yere shall all thy men childern appere before the Lorde Iehouah.
18 Thou shalt not offer the bloude of my sacrifyce with leuended bred: nether shall the fatt of my feast remayne vntill the mornynge.
The Tyndale Bible is in the public domain.