Fifty Days after Passover is the Feast of Shavuot, known by Hellenistic Jews as Pentecost, as it is for Christians. It is known as the Feast of Weeks in English and as Pentecost (Πεντηκοστή) in Ancient Greek. It is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan, meaning it may fall May 15 – June 14. thus falling in the middle of the grain harvest. Between the harvesting of barley during Passover and of wheat at Shavuot. A period of 50 days or 7 weeks. Once Shavuot was properly established it became a season of gladness. (Jer. 5:24, Deut. 16:9–11, Isa. 9:2)

Exodus 34:22 New International Version (NIV)

²² “Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of In gathering at the turn of the year.^[a Footnotes: Exodus 34:22 That is, in the autumn

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At the foot of the Mountain: are Aaron and the children of Israel – and I stress children, who were afeared their leader had abandoned them for Moses had been upon the Mountain with the Lord for 40 days and nights. Come make us gods who will go before us, sort as though they had not faithfully followed the Lord God despite the Pillar of Fire and the Cloud. In their misunderstanding the children ay even have thought these to be gods. We don’t want this invisible god but ones that we can see!

Exodus 32:4 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

⁴ He took the gold from them, formed it in a mold,^[a] and cast an image of a calf; and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”

I don’t know about you but Aaron was awfully fast in collecting and creating the bronze idol – and those Levis who sucked up to Moses claiming not to have been unfaithful to the Lord, Why didn’t they stop it – for heavens sake! Causing so many deaths. And so this was Shavuot , –“The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died” Exodus 32:28 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

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Orthodox Jews aver that the Torah was given in the year 1312 BCE so when adding 30 to this we arrive at 1342 years between Shavuot and Pentecost – the birth of the church.

2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues^[a] as the Spirit enabled them…..

Acts 2:40 With many other words he (peter)warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹ Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.34,38

The Paraclete has arrived, filling the Apostles with the ability to speak many languages – Babel reversed – or rather that those with ears to hear all heard Peter’s message in their native tongue.

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Well it was Shavuot and we had been in Jerusalem since Passover, it was the Feast of Weeks, we had been eating a lot of dairy because it had something to do with the Israeltes not having time to carry out ritual slaughter, after the giving of the Law, so ate eggs and milk instead.

There was arithmatic involved somehow, gemetria, we had just begun learning it in school and somehow milk, chalav (חלב), was worth 40. So we eat dairy on Shavuot to remember the 40 days that Moses spent on Mount Sinai receiving the whole of the Torah (Deuteronomy 10:10). At least I think that is right – why can’t we have proper numbers like the Romans do, not letters in the Alefbet that have values. Then we wouldn’t have to do stupid arithmatic to work out what the Torah is rabbiting on about.

This was one of those special feasts, just for us guys,(when I was old enough) well at least the viewing of the Shew bread in the Temple is/ was.

Now this is what one of the “learned” had to say about whatever we were meant to be doing “On the festivals, the table would be raised aloft . . . and displayed to the pilgrims. The priests would call out: ‘Behold how precious you are to God! The bread was removed as required, but though seven days have passed they are still hot as if freshly baked’ (BT Menachot 29:A). So

AND this “showbread” refers to the “bread of faces” — or panim the plural form of “faces” Since this is the bread of God’s “Presence,” the term panim — plural for “faces” — refers to the faces of YEHOVAH God – So three times a year, well dad went to look at the faces of God in the Temple, – we sort of had to learn all this stuff, and this isn’t even the half of it- anyway I was too young to have to go since I had not yet made my Barmitzva.

I was going to do that nex year at Passover.

I had wanted to skive off with my friends that afternoon, we were going to look at all the sites and meet the local kids and in general have a good time –

BUT the parents said we were going to the public square to pick up gossip from all the Jews from different parts of the empire. Dad spoke a bit of Arabic and since he had friends there from his days as a Merchant he went off to find them – leaving mum and me to twiddle our thumbs or something.

What a something it was.

Suddenly, when I was getting a little bored, this strange man, (you could tell he was a Galillean because he smelt like fish) with others behind him came out to give a long speech. There seemed to have been a bit of an earth tremor since the house they came out from was shaking. Anyway, I was just about to say that this guy, I think he was called Peter or Cephas and he really gave us what for. Something about a man called Jesus who we were supposed to have crucified. He was yakking on like he was sloshed, at the third hour well, not even dad would do that.

Apparently I was gong to see visions, and be breathed on by something. And there was going to be an eclipse, and I was supposed to call on the name of the Lord, and believe and I wold be saved. Nothing like what the Rabies taught us at Tanach lessons. All this was some kind of blasphemy and to think dad had missed it ‘cos he would have been jumping up and down to hear such heresy.

The funny thing was, all those out of towners were understanding him even though they all spoke other languages. I heard some of them jeering, and some Romans carrying on, heckling this Peter.

“Repent and be baptized, so now I was going to get wet ,he was shouting,every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. That breath thing again,³⁹ The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Let’s hope it was those Arabs and Egyptians and not us. Acts 2:38-41 and appologies.

There was sort of a stampede as a huge number of people all ran forward and they said 3000 of the idiots had themselves dunked in the river Jordan.

We just learnt at School that 3000 were killed after Moses came down the Moutain, Maybe they got unbaptized or something.