Pentecost (Shavuot)

Pentecost — from the Greek pentekoste, "fiftieth" — is the Greek name for the Hebrew Festival of Weeks (Shavuot). It falls on the fiftieth day counted from the offering of the Omer at Firstfruits, after seven full weeks (Lev 23:15–21; Deut 16:9–12). On this day Israel brings the firstfruits of the wheat harvest: not raw grain but two finished loaves of leavened bread baked from fine flour, waved before the Lord with burnt offerings, a sin offering, and a peace offering. It is a sacred assembly, and no ordinary work may be done. Later Jewish tradition also celebrates this day as the anniversary of the giving of the Torah at Sinai, fifty days after the Exodus. On the Pentecost following Jesus' resurrection, while pilgrims from across the Diaspora were gathered in Jerusalem for the feast, the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples with the sound of a violent wind and tongues of fire, and they spoke in many languages so that every pilgrim heard the gospel in their own tongue. Three thousand were baptized that day — the firstfruits of the harvest the Spirit had come to bring in (Acts 2).