Israel’s Rhythm of Celebration: Three Annual Festivals: The sabbatical themes of rest, remembrance, and concern for the poor are all woven into Deuteronomy’s summary of the three major annual festivals, which take their place in what Braulik called the “holy rhythm” of Israel’s life—sabbath days, seasonal festivals, annual and triennial tithes, sabbatical years (“Die Abfolge,” pp. 259ff.)—thus continuing this section’s link with the fourth commandment: “remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”

The Feast of Weeks

16:9–12 This was the feast that is otherwise known as Pentecost, a word deriving from the LXX translation of Leviticus 23:16, referring to the “fifty day” period from the beginning of the harvest to the celebration of this feast. Full details of the timing and rituals of this fe…