The Holy Days of Israel

THE GENTILE BELIEVER AND THE HOLY DAYS OF ISRAEL
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Dr. Paul Manuel—April 2004

What is the gentile believer's relationship to the holy days of Israel? That is, what should he observe today? The answer lies with identifying which of God's commands apply in the absence of the temple and in view of the varying relationships gentiles have to God's people.

I. The enduring (permanent) responsibilities of God's people

Several phrases in Torah indicate the abiding relevance of divine ordinances in the divine economy.

A. Phrases that mark permanent responsibilities

1. An "eternal covenant" is a contract with no termination in view.¹
2. An "eternal ordinance" is legislation that also bears no expiration date.²
3. The phrase "throughout your/their generations" indicates continuation as long as the nation exists.³

To stress the ongoing importance of certain commands, two or three phrases will appear in combination,⁴ although most of those instructions pertain to the sanctuary and are not possible to observe apart from it. The phrase "before the Lord" (after construction of the tabernacle) also marks activity in the sanctuary and applies to most holiday observances.⁵ In contrast, the phrase "in all your dwellings" marks a practice that obtains beyond the sanctuary into the local community and may, thus, designate what is pertinent today (in the absence of a temple),⁶ especially when this phrase⁷ appears with those marking permanent responsibilities.

B. Holidays that are permanent responsibilities

Some of the festivals have explicit application, and all of them have limited application because of their dependence on the sanctuary or their restriction to the land.⁸ In certain cases, the sanctuary plays a central role.

1. Festival of Weeks

Lev 23:21 'On this same day you shall make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

2. Day of Atonement

Lev 23:31 "You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 32 "It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath."

For other festivals with this designation, the sanctuary plays a lessor role, making the setting broader.⁹

3. Festival of Unleavened Bread

Exod 12:14 'Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it [as] a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it [as] a permanent ordinance.... 17 'You shall also observe the [Feast of] Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance.... 20 'You shall not eat anything leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread...."' 42 It is a night to he observed for the LORD for having brought them out from the land of Egypt; this night is for the LORD, to be observed by all the sons of Israel throughout their generations.

4. Sabbath

Exod 35:2 "For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy [day], a sabbath of complete rest to the LORD; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. 3 "You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the sabbath day."

Lev 23:3 'For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings.

Observing most holy days today (Weeks, Trumpets, Tabernacles¹⁰) entails refraining from "laborious labor" and, if possible, gathering for a "holy convocation." Other holy days have more specific applications. The Festival of Unleavened Bread adds abstaining from leaven and the "memorial" of Passover.

The Sabbath requires "complete rest" as well as a "holy convocation." The Day of Atonement requires "complete rest" and the fast (see the explanation of abstaining from food in n. 8).

II. The varying (possible) relationships to God's people

A. Hebrew phrases that mark varying relationships

While these commands certainly apply to God's people, Israel, to what extent do they also apply to others? In the OT, especially in Torah, three Hebrew terms describe gentiles who have differing relationships to the native Israelite and who have differing responsibilities to abide by the same rules.

1. The permanent resident ("alien/stranger") is a gentile¹¹ who lives in the land of Israel¹² and whose obedience to torah is obligatory.

Consequently, he participates in many aspects of Israelite society. The biblical record says much about his inclusion in holy day observances.¹³

• Passover¹⁴

Exod 12:19 Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether [he is] an alien or a native of the land.... 48 But if a stranger sojourns with you, and celebrates the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near to celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat of it. 49 The same law shall apply to the native as to the stranger who sojourns among you.

Num 9:14 'If an alien sojourns among you and observes the Passover to the LORD, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its ordinance, so he shall do; you shall have one statute, both for the alien and for the native of the land."

•  Sabbath

Exod 20:10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; [in it] you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your [stranger] who stays with you.

Exod 23:12 Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease [from labor] so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as your stranger, may refresh themselves.

Deut 5:14 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; [in it] you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your [stranger] who stays with You....

• Day of Atonement

Lev 16:29 [This] shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you;

• Feast of Weeks

Deut 16:11 and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite who is in your town, and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst, in the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name....

• Feast of Booths¹⁵

Deut 16:14 and you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your towns.

Moreover, the inclusion of permanent residents in covenant renewal ceremonies indicates that God expects them to participate as fully as they are able.¹⁶

2. The temporary resident ("sojourner" often in parallel with "hireling") is a gentile who lives in the land of Israel for a time and whose obedience to torah is voluntary.

Consequently, he participates in few aspects of Israelite society. The biblical record says nothing about his involvement in holy day observances, issuing only one prohibition.¹⁷

• Passover sacrifice¹⁸

Exod 12:45 A sojourner or a hired servant shall not eat of it.

3. The foreign national ("foreigner") is a gentile who lives outside the land of Israel (although he may visit the land) and whose obedience to torah is voluntary.

Consequently, he also participates in few aspects of Israelite society. Again, the biblical record says nothing about his involvement in holy day observances, issuing only one prohibition.¹⁹

• Passover sacrifice²⁰

Exod 12:43 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "This is the ordinance of the Passover: no foreigner is to eat of it....

That the Passover is the sole annual festival mentioned in connection with the temporary resident and the foreign national, suggests it may have been especially appealing to them.²¹ Gentiles may have enjoyed dining with Jews on this occasion and, while not eating the paschal lamb, experiencing the rehearsal of God's great deliverance. Other festivals, whose observance had more to do with the sanctuary, may not have been as attractive and would not have involved them.

The Sabbath also seems to appeal to gentiles, including those outside the land, and God encourages them to keep it.

Isa 56:6 Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath and holds fast My covenant; 7 Even those I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.

God states that obedience is meritorious for gentiles who identify with the Diaspora (i.e., the Jewish community in exile).²² The reference to covenant indicates that He has more than just the Sabbath in view, yet, by singling out that holiday, He indicates its particular appropriateness for gentiles who seek Him. While most foreign nationals in scripture (even those who visit Israel) probably have no interest in Israel's God, being more concerned with commercial or political matters, for those who do turn to Him and embrace His law, He promises divine favor.²³

B. Greek phrases that mark varying relationships

In the New Testament, especially in Acts, two Greek terms describe gentiles who have differing relationships to the native Jew and who have differing responsibilities to God's law.

1. The proselyte is a gentile who converts to Judaism, undergoing circumcision and immersion, and whose obedience to torah is obligatory.

Consequently, he participates in most aspects of Israelite society. The biblical
record says nothing about his participation in holy day observances, but he would keep all of them, as would the native-born (see n. 13).²⁴

2. The God-fearer is a gentile who comes to Judaism, without undergoing circumcision and immersion, and whose obedience to torah is voluntary.

Consequently, he participates in some aspects of Israelite society.²⁵ The biblical record says little about his involvement in holy day observances, mentioning only two precepts.

• Sabbath²⁶

Acts 13:14 [Paul and Barnabas] arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue.... 16 Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, "Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: ...26 "Brethren, sons of Abraham's family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.

Acts 17:1 b ... they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures.... 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women.... 17 So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing [Gentiles], and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present.

The earliest gentile believers were God-fearers and may account for the majority of non-Jews in the early church.²⁷

• Passover²⁸

1 Cor 5:8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Cor 11:23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same way [He took] the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink [it], in remembrance of Me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.

Despite the eventual separation of church and synagogue, Judaism continued to attract gentile believers, significantly enough that ecclesiastical officials had to issue legislation prohibiting participation in Jewish activities, such as holidays. While some of these church dicta forbade observing any Jewish holidays, the two that receive explicit mention are the Sabbath and the Passover, which indicates that many Christians did, indeed, keep them.²⁹

What is the gentile believer's relationship to the holy days of Israel? That is, what should he observe today? Because most gentile believers are not residents of Israel, they do not have the same obligation to God's law as Israelites do. Their responsibility is akin to that of the (OT) foreigner. Because most gentile believers are not converts to Judaism, they do not have the same obligation to God's law as Jews do. Their responsibility is akin to that of the (NT) God-fearer. Nevertheless, the Lord invites both foreigner and God-fearer to join God's people, and He encourages them specifically to keep the Sabbath and (to the extent permissible) the Passover.³⁰

Bibliography

Manuel, Paul, 2007, "The Sinaitic Law and the Gentile Believer." http://paulwmanuel.blogspot.com.

Endnotes

[1] They include arrangements... (All biblical passages are from the NASB.)

• With Noah

Gen 9:16 "When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."

• With Abraham

Exod 17:13 "A [servant] who is born in your house or who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.... 19 But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.

• With Israel

Lev 24:8 "Every sabbath day he shall set it [bread] in order before the LORD continually; it is an everlasting covenant for the sons of Israel.

• With Phinehas

Num 25:13 and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.

References outside the Torah to "eternal covenant" include:

2 Sam 23:5 "Truly is not my house so with God? For He has made an everlasting covenant with me [David], Ordered in all things, and secured; For all my salvation and all [my] desire, Will He not indeed make [it] grow?

Isa 24:5 The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant.

Isa 55:3 "Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, [According to] the faithful mercies shown to David.

Isa 61:8 For I, the LORD, love justice, I hate robbery in the burnt offering; And I will faithfully give them their recompense And make an everlasting covenant with them.

Jer 32:40 "I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me.

Jer 50:5 "They will ask for the way to Zion, [turning] their faces in its direction; they will come that they may join themselves to the LORD [in] an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.

Ezek 16:60 "Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.

Ezek 37:26 "I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever.

Ps 105:10 Then He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant, 11 Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan As the portion of your inheritance," [= Chr 16:17-18]

Some passages use "eternal" as an adverb.

Judg 2:1b I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, 'I will never break My covenant with you.

Ps 105:8 He has remembered His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations, [= 1 Chr 16:15]

Ps 111:5 He has given food to those who fear Him; He will remember His covenant forever...9 He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name.

1 Chr 16:15 Remember His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations,

2 Chr 13:5 "Do you not know that the LORD God of Israel gave the rule over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt?

[2] Most of these pertain to the priests.

• Priestly garments

Exod 28:43 They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they enter the tent of meeting, or when they approach the altar to minister in the holy place, so that they do not incur guilt and die. It [shall be] a statute forever to him and to his descendants after him.

• Priestly ordination

Exod 29:9 You shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and bind caps on them, and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute. So you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.

• Priestly portion

Exod 29:28 It shall be for Aaron and his sons as [their] portion forever from the sons of Israel, for it is a heave offering; and it shall be a heave offering from the sons of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, [even] their heave offering to the LORD.

Lev 10:15 "The thigh offered by lifting up and the breast offered by waving they shall bring along with the offerings by fire of the portions of fat, to present as a wave offering before the LORD; so it shall be a thing perpetually due you and your sons with you, just as the LORD has commanded."

Lev 24:9 "It shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the LORD'S offerings by fire, [his] portion forever."

Num 18:8 Then the LORD spoke to Aaron, "Now behold, I Myself have given you charge of My offerings, even all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual allotment.... 11 "This also is yours, the offering of their gift, even all the wave offerings of the sons of Israel; I have given them to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a perpetual allotment. Everyone of your household who is clean may eat it.

• Ordination offering

Lev 6:22 The anointed priest who will be in his place among his sons shall offer it. By a permanent ordinance it shall be entirely offered up in smoke to the LORD.

• Day of Atonement

Lev 16:29 "[This] shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you.... 31 "It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute.... 34 "Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year." And just as the LORD had commanded Moses, [so] he did.

• Red heifer

Num 19:10 'The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; and it shall be a perpetual statute to the sons of Israel and to the alien who sojourns among them.... 21 'So it shall be a perpetual statute for them. And he who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening.

Two passages outside the Torah use "eternal ordinance," referring to the grain offering.

Ezek 46:14 "Also you shall provide a grain offering with it morning by morning, a sixth of an ephah and a third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour, a grain offering to the LORD continually by a perpetual ordinance.

Jer 5:22 'Do you not fear Me?' declares the LORD. 'Do you not tremble in My presence? For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it. Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.

[3] They include:

• Preserving manna

Exod 16:32 Then Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded, 'Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt." 33 Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar and put an omerful of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations."

• Priestly ordination

Exod 40:15 and you shall anoint them even as you have anointed their father, that they may minister as priests to Me; and their anointing will qualify them for a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.

• Burnt offering

Exod 29:42 "It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the doorway of the tent of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there.

• Incense offering

Exod 30:8 "When Aaron trims the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense. [There shall be] perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.

• Day of Atonement

Exod 30:10 "Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year; he shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD."

• Anointing oil

Exod 30:31 "You shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations.

• Priestly restrictions

Lev 21:17 "Speak to Aaron, saying, 'No man of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect shall approach to offer the food of his God.

Lev 22:3 "Say to them, 'If any man among all your descendants throughout your generations approaches the holy [gifts] which the sons of Israel dedicate to the LORD, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from before Me; I am the LORD.

• Festival of Firstfruits

Num 15:21 'From the first of your dough you shall give to the LORD an offering throughout your generations.

• Sacrifice for unintentional sin

Num 15:23 [even] all that the LORD has commanded you through Moses, from the day when the LORD gave commandment and onward throughout your generations,

• Wearing tassels

Num 15:38 "Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.

[4] Passages that join "eternal covenant" and "throughout your/their generations" include arrangements:

• With Abraham

Gen 17:7 "1 will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.... 9 God said further to Abraham, "Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 12 "And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a [servant] who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants. 13 "A [servant] who is born in your house or who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.... 19 But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.

• With Israel

Exod 31:13 "But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for [this] is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.... 15 'For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death. 16 'So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.'

Passages that join "eternal covenant" and "eternal ordinance" include:

• Priestly portion

Num 18:19 "All the offerings of the holy [gifts], which the sons of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a perpetual allotment. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD to you and your descendants with you."

Passages that join "eternal ordinance" and "throughout your/their generations" include:

• Priestly maintenance

Exod 27:21 "In the tent of meeting, outside the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the LORD; [it shall be] a perpetual statute throughout their generations for the sons of Israel.

• Priestly ordination

Num 18:23 "Only the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

• Priestly portion

Lev 6:18 'Every male among the sons of Aaron may eat it; it is a permanent ordinance throughout your generations, from the offerings by fire to the LORD. Whoever touches them will become consecrated."

Lev 7:34 'For I have taken the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution from the sons of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons as [their] due forever from the sons of Israel.... 36 'These the LORD had commanded to be given them from the sons of Israel in the day that He anointed them. It is [theirl due forever throughout their generations."

• Priestly washing

Exod 30:21 "So they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they will not die; and it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations."

• Priestly abstinence

Lev 10:9 "Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you will not die—it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations—

• No demon sacrifices

Lev 17:7 "They shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons with which they play the harlot. This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations."

• • Festival of Tabernacles

Lev 23:41 You shall thus celebrate it tasi a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It [shall be] a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month.

• Sanctuary lamps

Lev 24:3 "Outside the veil of testimony in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the LORD continually; (it shall bel a perpetual statute throughout your generations.

• Priestly trumpets

Num 10:8 "The priestly sons of Aaron, moreover, shall blow the trumpets; and this shall be for you a perpetual statute throughout your generations.

• Foreign offerings

Num 15:14 'If an alien sojourns withyou, or one who may be among you throughout your generations, and he [wishes to] make an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the LORD, just as you do so he shall do. 15 '[As for] the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the alien who sojourns [with you], a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as You are, so shall the alien be before the LORD.

[5] The relevant passages are:

Exod 23:14 Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me. 15a You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread..., 16 "Also [you shall observe] the Feast of the Harvest [of] the first fruits...also the Feast of the Ingathering.... 17 Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord GOD.

Exod 34:23 Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. 24 For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no man shall covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the LORD your God.

Deut 16:16 Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.

• Festival of Unleavened Bread

Exod 23:15 You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed.

• • Day of Atonement

Lev 16:30 for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD.

• • Festival of Firstfruits

Lev 23:10c ... you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. 11a He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD for you to be accepted....

Deut 26:10b And you shall set it down before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God;

• Festival of Tabernacles

Lev 23:40 Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.

Deut 31:10b ... at the Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place which He will choose, you shall read this law in front of all Israel in their hearing.

• Festival of Weeks

Deut 16:11 ...you shall rejoice before the LORD your God... in the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name.

[6] This is the case when the practice outside the sanctuary does not depend on a practice inside the sanctuary.

• Festival of Unleavened Bread

Exod 12:20 You shall not eat anything leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.

• Sabbath

Lev 23:3b You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings.

• Festival of Firstfruits

Lev 23:21 On this same day you shall make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling[s] throughout your generations.

• Day of Atonement

Lev 23:31 You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling[s].

• Prohibition against consuming fat or blood

Lev 3:17 It is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall not eat any fat or any blood.

This is not the case when the practice outside the sanctuary depends on a practice inside the sanctuary.

• Festival of Firstfruits

Lev 23:14 ...until you have brought in the offering of your God, you shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor new growth. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling[s].

[7] It does not occur outside the Torah in legal passages.

[8] Some festivals, even with this phrase, have no application beyond the sanctuary (see Firstfruits in n. 6). The same is true for commands limited to the land.

• Cities of Refuge

Num 35:29 'These things shall be for a statutory ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

Other festivals (those lacking this phrase) have limited application beyond the sanctuary.

• Festival of Trumpets

Lev 23:24 "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing [of trumpets], a holy convocation. 25 'You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD."

Num. 29:1 'Now in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall also have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. It will be to you a day for blowing trumpets. 2 'You shall offer a burnt offering as a soothing aroma to the LORD: one bull, one ram, [and] seven male lambs one year old without defect; 3a also their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil...

• Festival of Tabernacles

Lev 23:35 'On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind. 36 'For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the LORD; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work.... 40 'Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. 41 'You shall thus celebrate it [as] a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It [shall be] a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 'You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, 43 so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God."

The phrase "native-born in Israel" (only here in v. 42) would seem to exclude gentiles, although most Jewish commentators understand it to include proselytes. If so, then the future observance by Israel's enemies probably refers just to their paying homage to the Lord at that festival. In any case, proper observance is "before the LORD" in Jerusalem.

Zech 14:16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.

The phrase "holy convocation" generally referred to assembly at the tabernacle/temple, as the additional instruction to offer a sacrifice makes clear, and the prohibition against "laborious work" was probably to encourage attendance there.

• Festival of Unleavened Bread

Lev 23:7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work. 8 But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.

Num 28:18 On the first day [shall be] a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. 19 You shall present an offering by fire, a burnt offering to the LORD.... 24 [Y]ou shall present daily, for seven days, the food of the offering by fire, of a soothing aroma to the LORD.... 25 On the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work.

• Day of Atonement

Lev 23:27 On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the LORD.

Num 29:7 Then on the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall humble yourselves; you shall not do any work. 8a You shall present a burnt offering to the LORD....

NB: The admonition to humiliation is a standard injunction for this day.

Lev 16:29 . . . in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls... 31a "It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls....

Lev 23:27 On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement...you shall humble your souls.... 29 If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people.

Num 29:7a Then on the tenth day of this seventh month... you shall humble yourselves....

Other passages equate humiliation with fasting.

Ezra 8:21a Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God....

Isa 58:3a Why have we fasted and You do not see? [Why] have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?' ...5a "Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself?

Dan 10:3a I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed.... 12 Then he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on. . . humbling yourself before your God....

Hence, the day has been marked by a fast since before the first century.

Acts 27:9b ...since even the fast was already over, Paul [began] to admonish them,

Cf. m Yoma 8:1 On the Day of Atonement it is forbidden to (1) eat, (2) drink, (3) bathe, (4) put on any sort of oil, (5) put on a sandal, (6) or engage in sexual relations.

Traditionally, the very young, pregnant women, nursing mothers, the very old, and the infirm are exempt from the fast.

• Festival of Firstfruits

Lev 23:16 You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the LORD.... 21 On this same day you shall make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

Num 28:26 Also on the day of the first fruits, when you present a new grain offering to the LORD in your [Feast of] Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work.

• Festival of Tabernacles

Num 29:12 Then on the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work, and you shall observe a feast to the LORD for seven days. 13 You shall present a burnt offering, an offering by fire as a soothing aroma to the LORD....

[9] One set of instructions concerns dietary restrictions.

• Prohibition against consuming fat or blood

Lev 3:17 It is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall not eat any fat or any blood.

Lev 7:26 You are not to eat any blood, either of bird or animal, in any of your dwellings.

[10] There is no contemporary application for the Festival of Firstfruits.

[11] By the early Second Temple Period, this category apparently included Samaritans.

Luke 17:15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, 16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? 18 "Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?"

[12] Gentiles probably chose to live in Israel for different reasons, not the least of which was economic; hence, their frequent characterization as poor (initially, at least) and the law's concern for their welfare.

Lev 25:35 Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his means with regard to you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you.... 37 You shall not give him your silver at interest, nor your food for gain.... 39 If a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to you that he sells himself to you, you shall not subject him to a slave's service. 40 'He shall be with you as a hired man, as if he were a sojourner; he shall serve with you until the year of jubilee.

Lev 25:45 'Then, too, [it is] out of the sons of the sojourners who live as aliens among you that you may gain acquisition, and out of their families who are with you, whom they will have produced in your land; they also may become your possession.

Lev 25:47 Now if the means of a stranger or of a sojourner with you becomes sufficient, and a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to him as to sell himself to a stranger who is sojourning with you, or to the descendants of a stranger's family

 Nevertheless, the desire for greater prosperity was not their only motivation.

• Rahab (survival)

Josh 2:9 and said to the men, "I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you.... 12 "Now therefore, please swear to me by the LORD, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father's household, and give me a pledge of truth, 13 and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death."

• Ruth (loyalty)

Ruth 1:16 But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you [or] turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people [shall be] my people, and your God, my God.

The greater attraction for those who lived outside the land may have been Israel's God.

• Zerephat widow

1 Kgs 17:9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you." ... 15 So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for [many] days.

• Naaman

2 Kgs 5:17 Naaman said, "If not, please let your servant at least be given two mules' load of earth; for your servant will no longer offer burnt offering nor will he sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD.

• Ethiopian eunuch

Acts 8:27 . . . there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship,

[13] Other aspects of Israelite society include:

• Offerings

Lev 17:8 ...Any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, 9 and does not bring it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to offer it to the LORD, that man also shall be cut off from his people.

• • Prohibition against consuming blood

Lev 17:10 And any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people.... 12 "Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, 'No person among you may eat blood, nor may any alien who sojourns among you eat blood.' 13 "So when any man from the sons of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, in hunting catches a beast or a bird which may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.

NB: The apostles apply this prohibition to all God-fearers, which advises caution against assuming that Torah is applicable only to gentiles living in the land.

Cf. Acts 15:19 "Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, 20 but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. 21 For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath."

• Ceremonial purification (see the related topic, Atonement, below)

Lev 17:15 When any person eats [an animal] which dies or is torn [by beasts], whether he is a native or an alien, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening; then he will become clean.

Num 19:10 'The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; and it shall be a perpetual statute to the sons of Israel and to the alien who sojourns among them.

NB: Given their need for ritual purity, permanent residents might not have been excluded from the sanctuary. Nevertheless, the lessor standard to which God holds them suggests that they still could not participate fully.

Deut 14:21a-b You shall not eat anything which dies [of itself]. You may give it to the alien who is in your town, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are a holy people to the LORD your God.

in Zavim 2:1 All are susceptible to uncleanness through flux, even converts....

• Prohibition against sexual immorality

Lev 18:26 But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations, [neither] the native, nor the alien who sojourns among you

• Prohibition against child sacrifice

Lev 20:2 . . . Any man from the sons of Israel or from the aliens sojourning in Israel who gives any of his offspring to Molech, shall surely be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones.

• Offerings

Lev 22:18 . . . Any man of the house of Israel or of the aliens in Israel who presents his offering, whether it is any of their votive or any of their freewill offerings, which they present to the LORD for a burnt offering— 19 for you to be accepted— [it must be J a male without defect from the cattle, the sheep, or the goats.

Num 15:13 All who are native shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the LORD. 14 If an alien sojourns with you, or one who may be among you throughout your generations, and he [wishes to] make an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the LORD, just as you do so he shall do. 15 '[As for] the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the alien who sojourns Iwith you], a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the alien be before the LORD. 16 'There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you."

• Prohibition against blasphemy

Lev 24:16 Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The alien as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.... 22 'There shall be one standard for you; it shall be for the stranger as well as the native, for I am the LORD your God."

• Atonement

Num 15:26 'So all the congregation of the sons of Israel will be forgiven, with the alien who sojourns among them, for [it happened] to all the people through error.... 29 'You shall have one law for him who does [anything] unintentionally, for him who is native among the sons of Israel and for the alien who sojourns among them. 30 'But the person who does [anything] defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from among his people.

Cf. in Ker 2:1 R. Eliezer b. Jacob [late 1St c] says, "A proselyte is one whose atonement is not complete until the blood will be sprinkled on his behalf."

Despite being a non-Israelite, the permanent resident receives divine protection in the land.

• Harvest

Lev 19:10 Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God. Lev 23:22 When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien. I am the LORD your God.

Deut 24:19 When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not go over it again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.

• Justice

Exod 22:21 You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Cf. in B Metz 4:10 If he was a child of proselytes, one may not say to him, "Remember what your folks used to do!" For it is said, And a proselyte you shall not wrong nor oppress (Exod 22:20).

Lev 19:33 When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 'The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.

Cf. Jer 22:3b . . . do not mistreat [or] do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.

Deut 1:16 . . . Hear [the cases] between your fellow countrymen, and judge righteously between a man and his fellow countryman, or the alien who is with him.

Deut 10:18 He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. 19 So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

Deut 24:14 You shall not oppress a hired servant [who is] poor and needy, whether [he is] one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns.... 17 You shall not pervert the justice due an alien [or] an orphan, nor take a widow's garment in pledge.

Deut 27:19a Cursed is he who distorts the justice due an alien, orphan, and widow.

• Sabbatical year produce

Lev 25:6 All of you shall have the sabbath I products] of the land for food; yourself, and your male and female slaves, and your hired man and your foreign resident, those who live as aliens with you.

• Charity

Lev 25:35 Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his means with regard to you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you.

Deut 14:29 "The Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.

Deut 14:2 la-b You shall not eat anything which dies [of itself]. You may give it to the alien who is in your town, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are a holy people to the LORD your God.

NB: Apparently, there is still a difference between the resident alien and the native Israelite, in that the latter must adhere to a higher standard of holiness.

Deut 26:11 and you and the Levite and the alien who is among you shall rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given you and your household. 12 When you have finished paying all the tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and to the widow, that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. 13 "You shall say before the LORD your God, 'I have removed the sacred [portion] from [my] house, and also have given it to the Levite and the alien, the orphan and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments.

• Refuge

Num 35:15 'These six cities shall be for refuge for the sons of Israel, and for the alien and for the sojourner among them that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.

Josh 20:9 These were the appointed cities for all the sons of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them, that whoever kills any person unintentionally may flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the congregation.

[14] Circumcision marks an individual as a member of the covenant community.

Gen 17:12 And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a [servant] who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants. 13 A [servant] who is born in your house or who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.

When a gentile undergoes this procedure, he becomes part of Israel, and his offspring are regarded as Israelites.

m Pesah 8:8 A proselyte who converted on the eve of Passover [the fourteenth of Nisan]the House of Shammai say, "He immerses and eats his Passover offering in the evening." And the House of Hillel say, "He who takes his leave of the foreskin is as if he took his leave of the grave [and must be sprinkled on the third and seventh day after circumcision as if he had suffered corpse uncleanness]."

m Ed 5:2 A man who became a proselyte on the day before Passover—The House of Shammai say, "He immerses himself and consumes his Passover offering in the evening." And the House of Hillel say, "He that separates himself from his uncircumcision is like one that separates himself from the grave."

[15] While these gentiles participated in the festivities,, they did not necessarily live in booths, as that represented a uniquely Israelite experience.

Lev 23:42 You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, 43a so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt.

The term "native" occurs 14x, in almost all cases with the term for permanent resident, indicating that both parties have the same responsibilities.

• Passover: to eschew leaven and be circumcised

Exod 12:19 Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether [he is] an alien or a native of the land.

Exod 12:48 But if a stranger sojourns with you, and celebrates the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near to celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat of it. 49 The same law shall apply to the native as to the stranger who sojourns among you."

Num 9:14 If an alien sojourns among you and observes the Passover to the LORD, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its ordinance, so he shall do; you shall have one statute, both for the alien and for the native of the land.

• Day of Atonement: to eschew work

Lev 16:29 [This] shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you;

• Diet: to eschew improperly slaughtered meat

Lev 17:15 When any person eats [an animal] which dies or is torn [by beasts], whether he is a native or an alien, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening; then he will become clean.

• Morality: to eschew improper relations

Lev 18:26 But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations, [neither] the native, nor the alien who sojourns among you

• Blasphemy: to eschew profaning God's name

Lev 24:16 Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The alien as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.... 22 There shall be one standard for you; it shall be for the stranger as well as the native, for I am the LORD your God.

• Sacrifice: to atone for unintentional sins and to suffer excommunication for intentional sins 

 Num 15:29 You shall have one law for him who does [anything] unintentionally, for him who is native among the sons of Israel and for the alien who sojourns among them. 30 'But the person who does [anything] defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from among his people.

There is even a passage using the native's previous status of permanent resident in Egypt as a guide for his present treatment of the permanent resident in Canaan.

Lev 19:34 The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.

The only exceptions, the two instances in which "native" occurs alone, pertain to the obligations to dwell in booths (above) and to offer the first sacrifice upon entering Canaan (below).

Num 15:13 All who are native shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the LORD.

[16]  Relevant passages include:

Deut 29:10 You stand today, all of you, before the LORD your God: your chiefs, your tribes, your elders and your officers, [even] all the men of Israel, 11 your little ones, your wives, and the alien who is within your camps, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, 12 that you may enter into the covenant with the LORD your God, and into His oath which the LORD your God is making with you today, 13 in order that He may establish you today as His people and that He may be your God, just as He spoke to you and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Deut 31:12 Assemble the people, the men and the women and children and the alien who is in your town, so that they may hear and learn and fear the LORD your God, and be careful to observe all the words of this law.

Josh 8:33 All Israel with their elders and officers and their judges were standing on both sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, the stranger as well as the native. Half of them [stood] in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had given command at first to bless the people of Israel.... 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel with the women and the little ones and the strangers who were living among them.

Regardless of a gentile's participation in the covenant before his conversion, the rabbis considered that act as the defining marker of his obligation.

m Hal 3:6 A convert who converted [to Judaism] and had dough in his possession [at the time he converted]—[if the dough] was prepared before he converted, it is exempt [from dough offering]. But [if it was prepared] after he converted, it is subject [to dough offering]. And if it is uncertain [whether the dough was prepared before or after he converted], it is subject [to dough offering].

m Ketub 4:3 The convert whose daughter converted with her, and she [the daughter) committed an act of fornication [when she was a betrothed girl]—lo, this one is put to death through strangling.

m Qidd 3:5 He who says to a woman, "Lo, you are betrothed to me after I convert to Judaism," or "after you convert,"...she is not betrothed.

m Hul 10:4 A convert who converted and had a cow—[if] it was slaughtered before he converted, it is free of priestly dues. [If it was slaughtered] after he converted, it is liable.

[17]  Other aspects of Israelite society include:

• Priestly portion

Lev 22:10 No layman, however, is to eat the holy [gift]; a sojourner with the priest or a hired man shall not eat of the holy [gift].

NB: This exclusion applies to all non-priests, Israelite and non-Israelite.

Despite being a non-Israelite, the temporary resident also receives divine protection in the land.

• Sabbatical year produce

Lev 25:6 All of you shall have the sabbath I products] of the land for food; yourself, and your male and female slaves, and your hired man and your foreign[er], those who live as aliens with you.

• Charity

Lev 25:35 Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his means with regard to you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you.

• Refuge

Num 35:15 'These six cities shall be for refuge for the sons of Israel, and for the alien and for the sojourner among them; that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.

[18] This particular exclusion, being the only holiday prohibition that specifically appears in Torah, may indicate that the temporary resident participated in other aspects of this celebration.

[19] Other aspects of Israelite society include:

• Interest-free loans

Deut 15:3 From a foreigner you may exact [it], but your hand shall release whatever of yours is with your brother.

Deut 23:20 "You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess.

• Monarchy

Deut 17:15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses, [one] from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman.

• Sanctuary

Ezek 44:9 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the sons of Israel, shall enter My sanctuary.

[20] This particular exclusion, being the only holiday prohibition that specifically appears in Torah, may indicate that the foreign national participated in other aspects of this celebration.

[21] Subsequent OT references to the Passover, however, make no mention of gentiles.

[22] This passage may refer also to the Messianic Age, when there will still be a distinction between godly gentiles, those who live outside the land (above) and those who live in the land (below). 

Isa 14:1 When the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and again choose Israel, and settle them in their own land, then strangers will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob.

Ezek 47:22 You shall divide it by lot for an inheritance among yourselves and among the aliens who stay in your midst, who bring forth sons in your midst. And they shall be to you as the native-born among the sons of Israel; they shall be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.

[23] Such was the request of Solomon's prayer and the response to Cornelius's prayer.

I Kgs 8:41 "Also concerning the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, when he comes from a far country for Your name's sake... 43 hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, to fear You, as [do] Your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Your name.

Acts 10:1 Now [there was] a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the [Jewish] people and prayed to God continually.... 22 They said, "Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was [divinely] directed by a holy angel to send for you [to come] to his house and hear a message from you." ...28 And he said to them, "You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and [yet] God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.

[24] Three passages use this term.

Matt 23:15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

Acts 2:5 Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven... .10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,

Acts 6:5 The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.

[25] God-fearers identified with the nation to varying degrees, following some but not all biblical precepts. The minimum for them, according to the rabbis, were the so-called Noahide laws, although official codification of those laws may have come after the first century.

Gen 9:4 Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, [that is], its blood. 5 Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from [every] man, from every man's brother I will require the life of man. 6 Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.

b Sanh 56a Our Rabbis taught: Seven precepts were the sons of Noah commanded: social laws [i.e., justice], to refrain from blasphemy, idolatry, adultery, bloodshed, robbery, and eating flesh cut from a living animal.

[26] Gentiles (including those in the Diaspora) accepted God's invitation through Isaiah to keep the Sabbath, and by the first century many were attending the synagogue service. Four passages use this term, three of which speak about the God-fearer's presence in the synagogue on the Sabbath.

Acts 10:1 Now [there was] a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the [Jewish] people and prayed to God continually.... 22 They said, "Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was [divinely] directed by a holy angel to send for you [to come] to his house and hear a message from you." ...35 but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.

Acts 13:43 Now when [the meeting of] the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.

The Jerusalem Council referred to this in its ruling, confirming the practice for gentile believers.

Acts 15:20 . . . we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. 21 For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.

God-fearers may have included others Luke mentions but does not so designate..

• Ethiopian eunuch

Acts 8:27 So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship,

• Lydia

Acts 16:14 A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.

• Titius Justus

Acts 18:7 Then he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue.

[27] During his earthly ministry, Jesus was selective about his audience, expanding it only after his resurrection.

Matt 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: "Do not go in Ithel way of [the] Gentiles, and do not enter [any] city of the Samaritans; 6 but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Matt 15:22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and [began] to cry out, saying, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed." ...24 But He answered and said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Matt 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

When God-fearers began to accept the gospel, which had previously gone only to Jews, there were Jewish believers who thought that step should be part of a formal conversion process along with circumcision.

Acts 15:1 Some men came down from Judea [to Antioch] and [began] teaching the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." ...5 [In Jerusalem] some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses."

The Jerusalem Council did not want to discourage new believers by confronting them with an extensive list of requirements ("a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear" Acts 15:10). The rabbis may also have recognized such a distinction.

m Ber 2:2 Said R. Joshua b. Qorha [mid-2 nd c.]... "one may first accept upon himself the yoke of the kingdom of heaven and afterwards may accept the yoke of the commandments.

The apostles may have been demonstrating a concern similar to Jesus'.

Matt 11:29a "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.... 30 "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

The Council was especially mindful of those gentiles who may have had little or no previous contact with Judaism and, therefore, recommended a measured adoption of God's laws.

Acts 15:20 ...that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.

(This list may be different from the Noachide laws [n. 25], because the latter was not yet officially codified.) The assumption was that, as gentiles gradually became more familiar with God's expectations, they would conform their lives accordingly. This response fulfilled Jesus' parting instruction to the disciples that they teach believing gentiles "to observe all that I commanded" (Matt 28:20), which would include his discourse on the value of obeying the whole of Torah.

Matt 5:19 Whoever...annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others [to do] the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches [them], he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

The Council's approach is similar in principle to Hillel's (one command), albeit more extensive in practice (four commands).

b Shab 31a . . . a certain heathen came before Shanimai and said to him, "Make me a proselyte on [the] condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot." [Shammai replied by beating him off with a stick.] When [the would-be convert] went before Hillel, [Hillel] said, "What is hateful to you do not [do] to your neighbor, that is the whole Torah, the rest is commentary [on it]; go and learn it."

The Council may also have wanted to avoid conflating or confusing conversion to Judaism with salvation from sin, and so decided to separate the two actions, a problem Paul addresses.

Gal 5:2 Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. 4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

Gal 6:12 Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh.

In any case, the goal for believing gentiles is the same standard of holy living that God prescribed for Israel, while recognizing how gentiles' varying relationships to God's people (see II.) determine their particular responsibilities.

[28] God prohibited the foreigner from eating the Pascal sacrifice. The two elements Jesus invested with additional significance, however, were both permitted. After the Roman destruction of the temple and the cessation of sacrifices, the one restriction that distinguished Jewish observance from (uncircumcised) gentile observance became moot.

[29] The legislation restricting gentile Christian activity, which spans several centuries, appears primarily in the western regions of the church.

• Councils of the Empire up to the Theodosian Code

• Elvira (Spain, c. 300)

• Canon 50 prohibited sharing feasts with Jews.

• Antioch (341)

• Canon 1 prohibited eating Passover with Jews.

• Laodicea (360)

• Canon 29 prohibited resting on the Sabbath.

• Canon 37 prohibited sharing feasts with Jews.

• Canon 38 prohibited observing Jewish feasts.

• Apostolic Canons

• Canon 69 prohibited feasting or fasting with Jews.

• Legislation of the Western Kingdoms: The Visigoths

• Laws of Recceswinth (c. 652)

• 12.2.5 prohibited observing Passover and other Jewish feasts.

• Laws of Erwig (c. 680)

• 12.3.5 prohibited observing Jewish festivals (punishable)

• Councils of the Visigoths

• Adge (506)

• Canon 40 prohibited clergy and laity from observing Jewish feasts.

•  Legislation of the Western Kingdoms: The Burgundians

• Council of Epaone (517)

• Canon 15 prohibited attending Jewish banquets.

• Legislation of the Western Kingdoms: The Franks

• Charlemagne—Cap. Acquisgran (789)

• 15 (= Laodicea, Canon 29) prohibited resting on the Sabbath.

• Councils of the Franks

• Vannes (465)

• Canon 12 prohibited clergy from frequenting Jewish feasts.

• Orleans III (538)

• Canon 13 prohibited attending Jewish festivals.

• Macon (58 1)

• Canon 15 prohibited participating in Jewish festivals.

•  Councils of the Eastern Empire

• Trullanum (692)

• Canon 11 prohibited eating unleavened bread with Jews.

[30] For gentile observance of other Mosaic legislation, see Manuel 2007 'The Sinaitic Law and the Gentile Believer."