Festivals & practices
Pentecost
A harvest festival observed on the fiftieth day counted from the offering of the first grain sheaf.
Also called · Feast of Weeks · Shavuot
What it means
The Old Testament calls it the Feast of Weeks. Leviticus 23 counts seven Sabbaths from the day after the Sabbath when the sheaf is offered, then calls for a new grain offering on the fiftieth day. The name Pentecost refers to that fiftieth day.
Deuteronomy 16 calls families, servants, Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows to rejoice and bring gifts at the place chosen by God. They must also remember their slavery in Egypt.
How it appears in the Bible
Acts 2 records the Holy Spirit coming on this festival and the disciples speaking of God’s mighty works in other languages. Peter testified to the gathered crowd about Jesus’ death and resurrection.