Exodus 23:14-17

23:14 “Three times ¹  in the year you must make a pilgrim feast ²  to me. 23:15 You are to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; seven days ³  you must eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you, at the appointed time of the month of Abib, for at that time ⁴  you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before ⁵  me empty-handed.

23:16 “You are also to observe ⁶  the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors that you have sown in the field, and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year ⁷  when you have gathered in ⁸  your harvest ⁹  out of the field. 23:17 At ¹⁰  three times in the year all your males will appear before the Lord God. ¹¹ 

Exodus 34:23

34:23 At three times ¹²  in the year all your men ¹³  must appear before the Lord God, ¹⁴  the God of Israel.

Deuteronomy 16:16

16:16 Three times a year all your males must appear before the Lord your God in the place he chooses for the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Temporary Shelters; and they must not appear before him ¹⁵  empty-handed.

Deuteronomy 16:2

16:2 You must sacrifice the Passover animal ¹⁶  (from the flock or the herd) to the Lord your God in the place where he ¹⁷  chooses to locate his name.

Deuteronomy 8:12-13

8:12 When you eat your fill, when you build and occupy good houses, 8:13 when your cattle and flocks increase, when you have plenty of silver and gold, and when you have abundance of everything,

[23:14]  ¹ tn The expression rendered “three times” is really “three feet,” or “three foot-beats.” The expression occurs only a few times in the Law. The expressing is an adverbial accusative.

[23:14]  ² tn This is the word תָּחֹג (takhog) from the root חָגַג (khagag); it describes a feast that was accompanied by a pilgrimage. It was first used by Moses in his appeal that Israel go three days into the desert to hold such a feast.

[23:15]  ³ tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.

[23:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “in it.”

[23:15]  ⁵ tn The verb is a Niphal imperfect; the nuance of permission works well here – no one is permitted to appear before God empty (Heb “and they will not appear before me empty”).

[23:16]  ⁶ tn The words “you are also to observe” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:16]  ⁷ tn An infinitive construct with a preposition and a pronominal suffix is used to make a temporal clause: “in the going in of the year.” The word “year” is the subjective genitive, the subject of the clause.

[23:16]  ⁸ tn An infinitive construct with a preposition and a pronominal suffix is used to make a temporal clause: “in the ingathering of you.”

[23:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “gathered in your labors.” This is a metonymy of cause put for the effect. “Labors” are not gathered in, but what the labors produced – the harvest.

[23:17]  ¹⁰ tn Adverbial accusative of time: “three times” becomes “at three times.”

[23:17]  ¹¹ tn Here the divine Name reads in Hebrew הָאָדֹן יְהוָה (ha’adon yÿhvah), which if rendered according to the traditional scheme of “Lord” for “Yahweh” would result in “Lord Lord.” A number of English versions therefore render this phrase “Lord God,” and that convention has been followed here.

[34:23]  ¹² tn “Three times” is an adverbial accusative.

[34:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “all your males.”

[34:23]  ¹⁴ tn Here the divine name reads in Hebrew הָאָדֹן יְהוָה (ha’adon yÿhvah), which if rendered according to the traditional scheme of “Lord” for “Yahweh” would result in “Lord Lord.” A number of English versions therefore render this phrase “Lord God,” and that convention has been followed here.

[16:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[16:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “sacrifice the Passover” (so NASB). The word “animal” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[16:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in the previous verse.