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 Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread

16:1–8  In these verses Deuteronomy has woven together very closely two of Israel’s feasts that elsewhere are described separately. In Exodus 23:15 and 34:18, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is mentioned without reference to the Passover; while in Levitic…