When is Wave-Sheaf

June 1, 2021

By Mark Farquharson

There are two main views, Wave-Sheaf is after the first Holy Convocation of Unleavened Bread on the 16th of the first Hebrew month of Nisan. This view was held by the Pharisees. Many refer to the first Holy Convocation as a sabbath, I cover the difference below. The Sadducees held the view that Wave-Sheaf was after the first weekly Sabbath that was after Passover.

Flavius Josephus lived 37 AD to 100 AD and write about when the Wave-Sheaf was in “The Antiquities of the Jews,” Chapter 10, section 5. He covers the Pharisees position on Wave-Sheaf. He does not mention the Sadducees view. Josephus was born shortly after the resurrection of Christ, but that does not mean we can rely on what he says for when Wave-Sheaf was. It is not about when a certain person or group believed when Wave-Sheaf was, it is about correctly understand from the Bible when your should hold Wave-Sheaf.

Sabbath or Not a Sabbath?

Are the first day and the last day of unleavened bread actually sabbaths or not.

Leviticus 23:7-8 On the first day—a holy convocation, shall there be to you: no laborious work, shall ye do. So then ye shall bring near an altar-flame unto Yahweh, seven days,—on the seventh day, shall there be a holy convocation, no laborious work, shall ye do. {REB}

They are refer to as holy convocations or assembles, gatherings in other translations. Sabbaths are also holy convocations. Many people refer to the first day and the seventh day of Unleavened Bread as sabbaths for this reason. In the past I also have refer to them as sabbaths or special sabbaths of Unleavened Bread.

Leviticus 23:3 Six days, shall work be done, but, on the seventh day, shall there be a sabbath of sacred rest a holy convocation, no work, shall ye do,—a sabbath, shall it be unto Yahweh, in all your dwellings. {REB}

The Sabbath is a holy convocation, a day in which you should do no work at all. However while both are holy convocations, the ones in the week of Unleavened Bread are never called sabbaths. They are not refer to as sabbaths in Leviticus 23:7-8 or in Exodus 12:16.

There is a difference on the Sabbath you can do no work what so ever, however on the holy convocations of Unleavened Bread you can prepare meals {Exodus 12:16}.

Leviticus 23:11 and he shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh, that ye may be accepted,—on the morrow of the sabbath, shall the priest wave it. {REB}

This then is the weekly Sabbath as explained in Leviticus 23:3, and this is also the case in Leviticus 23:15-16. when it explains about the count to Pentecost. There is no reason to think that this is the first Holy convocation as this is not called a sabbath.

Thus wave-sheaf is after the sabbath and not after the first holy convocation of unleavened bread.

Can you hold Wave-Sheaf on the First Holy Convocation of Unleavened Bread

There are those who hold the view that you can hold Wave-Sheaf on the 15th of the first Hebrew month if the Passover falls on the Sabbath. They refer to Joshua 5:11-12, as an example of this taking place. They were not to eat the produce of the land or the roast grain/corn until the wave-sheaf had occurred {Leviticus 23:14}. But is this really the case did they hold the wave-sheaf in Joshua 5 on the 15th after the Passover?

No not at all, they could not hold the wave-sheaf on the 15th, because that is a holy convocation, the only work one is permitted to do is for the preparing of meals as people must eat {Exodus 12:16}. No other work is allowed. The wave-sheaf requires work, as the first fruits of the harvest are offered for the Lord. Thus one has to get the first fruits from the field. Also they could not eat of the crops or produce of the land, because that requires work to harvest the fields, something they were not allowed to do.

Some translations have the words “old corn” or “old gain” suggesting that they ate the corn that was stored from an earlier harvest. These translations include KJV {King James}, YLT {Young’s Literal}, and LITV {Literal Translation of the Holy Bible}. However the word “old” was not in the original Hebrew, this was added. There are a number of translations that use the words “produce of the land,” this indicates that they ate what was harvested from the fields. Translations that use the words “produce of the land,” are ASV (American Standard Version), BBE (Bible in Basic English), LEB {Lexham English Bible}, NKJV (New King James Version), RSV (Revised Standard Version), and the WEB (World English Bible). REB {Rotherham Emphasized Bible} uses the words “corn of the land.”

Passover can refer to the day and can also refer to the week of Unleavened Bread as well. Clearly they ate of the produce of the land in the week of Unleavened Bread, because they ate unleavened cakes/bread.

Joshua 5:11 And they did eat of the corn of the land, on the morrow of the passover, unleavened cakes and parched ears of corn,—on this selfsame day. {REB}

Not the next day on the 15th which was the Holy convocation of unleavened bread, but after the weekly Sabbath., sometime in the week of unleavened bread.

{Note this forms part of the update of the article: True Count to Feast of Weeks, Pentecost. }