The Jewish Pilgrimage Festivals and Their Relationship to King Benjamin's Speech

(Acknowledgment for the following material is given to John W. Welch and his article "King Benjamin's Speech in the Context of Ancient Israelite Festivals," a FARMS reprint, 1985.)

Jewish Pilgrimage Festivals

In the Jerusalem of Lehi's day, there were three major annual pilgrimage "feasts" during which throngs of Jewish pilgrims came to Jerusalem. A "feast" was not merely a meal but rather a celebration or festival. Deuteronomy 16:16 prescribes that all male Israelites must "appear before the Lord" three times a year. In Exodus 23:14 the Lord commanded: "Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year." Thus participation in these festivals was a commandment and an integral part of the law of Moses. The general purpose of these festivals is to enter into and renew the covenants Jehovah had made with his people Israel.

An interesting perspective is afforded by obtaining some idea of the numbers of people involved in these feasts. These figures aren't available for the year 600 BC, but it is estimated by one authoritative source (Edward Lohse, The New Testament Environment, 154) that the population of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus Christ, some 600 years after Lehi's day, was about 25,000. A realistic estimate is that some 100,000 pilgrims descended on Jerusalem during these celebrations. Finding accommodations for all of these was possible only because the citizens of Jerusalem were obliged to provide hospitality to these pilgrims without charge, because Jerusalem was regarded as the possession of all Israel.

In Lehi's day Jerusalem was a boom town, but its economy was based on the fact that it was a holy city, a pilgrimage city. It had no real natural resources of its own. Its economic base was formed by the thousands of Israelites who thronged to the city during the festivals. Those who were successful in business traded among the pilgrims.

Feast of Passover

The first of these festivals occurred in the spring and was called the Feast of the Passover or the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It was celebrated in honor of Israel's liberation from Egypt and to anticipate the long-hoped for arrival of the greatest Deliverer, the Messiah. Jewish tradition held that he would come at Passover time. This "feast" or festival lasted eight days. Strictly speaking, the term "Passover" referred to the sacrifice offered on the afternoon of the first day (the lamb), and the "Feast of Unleavened Bread" referred to the rest of the week-long celebration (Exodus 12:15-20; Exodus 23:15; Exodus 34:18; Deuteronomy 16:1-8). Practically speaking, the entire eight-day celebration was often referred to as the "Passover." The English word Passover is a translation of the Hebrew pesach, which means "to skip over," and carries the connotation of "protecting." The Greek equivalent of pesach is pascha. Hence, the term "paschal lamb," which was sacrificed as part of the annual ceremony so that Israel would always remember the Lord's power and protection. It was not that the destroying angel passed by the houses of the Israelites, but that the Lord stood guard, protecting each blood-sprinkled door!

The procedures for the first day (the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan) were carefully spelled out and observed. The Jews celebrating the festival gathered together in groups consisting of at least ten males, and often more. Presumable these were family groups. The group had to be large enough to consume a lamb. Between 3 o'clock and 5 o'clock p.m. each family group purchased an unblemished one-year-old lamb and took it to the altar of the temple where it was sacrificed by the Levite priests who splashed some of the blood against the altar and burned some of the fat upon the altar. The lamb was then taken by the group and prepared in a carefully prescribed way and roasted.

The family group had previously selected a room large enough to accommodate them all as they reclined to eat the Passover meal (the Seder). The room was searched and cleansed of anything leavened (containing yeast).

When the new day began at sundown, the Passover meal was eaten (between sundown and midnight in conformity with Exodus 12:6). Because the Jewish day began at sundown, the Passover meal itself took place on the fifteenth of Nisan. The meal began with a glass of wine over which the father of the group uttered a few introductory remarks. Then they partook of a relish consisting of green and bitter herbs. One of the father's sons then asked, "How is this night different from all other nights? For on all other nights we eat both leavened and unleavened bread, but on this night only unleavened bread. On all other nights we eat meat that is roasted, boiled, or cooked; but on this night only roasted." The father then answered the query by referring to the experience of Israel at the time of the exodus from Egypt. The unleavened bread was eaten because Israel had to leave Egypt so hastily that there was no time to wait until the leaven had caused the dough to rise. Bitter herbs were eaten as a reminder that the Egyptians made the lives of their ancestors in Egypt bitter. Then followed a song of praise called the "Hallel" (Psalms 113-115). A second cup of wine was then drunk and the main meal (the lamb and unleavened bread) was then blessed by the father and eaten by the group. Prayers were said over the third and fourth cups of wine, and the reciting of another part of the Hallel concluded the meal.

On the night of the first day, the "cup of Elijah" was left out by each group in anticipation of the prophet Elijah's eventual return to announce the imminent coming of the Messiah.

The rest of the week was spent in observing some additional mandatory dietary proscriptions and special prayers. Also there was some celebrating in some non-mandatory ways including renewing old acquaintances, processions, dancing, feasting, and even drunkenness.

The question of the relationship of the Savior's Last Supper to the Jewish Seder is an interesting one. The synoptic gospels indicate that the Last Supper coincided with the Passover meal (Matthew 26:17-20; Mark 14:12-17; and Luke 22:7-18). However, the Gospel of John maintains that the Jews observed the Passover the evening after the Last Supper-on the evening of Jesus's death and burial (John 13:1; John 13:29; John 18:28; John 19:14; John 19:31; John 19:42). It seems likely that if the Last Supper was a Passover meal, as the synoptics declare, then Jesus celebrated it a day ahead of its observance by the Jewish people.

After the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in AD 70, it was no longer possible to sacrifice Passover (Paschal) lambs. Since then Passover has been observed by Jews throughout the world without a lamb. Their hope is that one day the temple will be restored and the Jews will once again bring their lambs for sacrifice and observe the Passover in the Holy City. This hope is expressed in the cry with which the Passover is concluded: "Next year in Jerusalem!"

The symbolism of Passover and the coming of the Messiah. The special foods and other items of the Passover, as well as their arrangement, were highly symbolic, although most Jewish people today do not recognize or acknowledge the Messiah-centered symbolism of those elements. Following is a summary of the most important elements of the Passover:

1. Just as "the firstborn in the land of Egypt [would] die" (Exodus 12:5), so Jesus, the Firstborn of the Father (D&C 93:21), would die. The reader should remind himself that Jesus's title the "Firstborn" has only to do with his birth in the spirit and not his mortal birth.

2. Just as the Passover sacrifice was a male lamb "without blemish" (Exodus 12:5), so Jesus was "as of a lamb without blemish" (1 Peter 1:19) and was called the Lamb of God (1 Nephi 11:21).

3. Just as no bone of the Passover lamb was to be broken (Exodus 12:46), so no bone of Jesus was broken during his atoning sacrifice (John 19:36).

4. Just as no stranger was to eat of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:43), so, too, no stranger (one who is estranged from God through unworthiness) is to eat of the emblems of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, the sacrament (3 Nephi 18:28-30).

5. Just as hyssop was associated with the Passover sacrifice (Exodus 12:22), so hyssop was associated with the crucifixion, the sacrifice of the Lamb of God (John 19:29). While on the cross, his only spoken expression of physical suffering was his crying out "I thirst." Some soldiers attending him lifted a vinegar-filled sponge to his lips on a hyssop branch. The vinegar was a kind of cheap, sour wine commonly drunk by poorer people and soldiers (see the commentary on Luke 23:27-31). The hyssop is a small tree, actually a shrub or bush. It is used as a food, spice, and medicine, and the woody stem and branches are often used for kindling. Its appearance is unimposing and unpretentious. Use of the hyssop branch may have some symbolic relation to the saving blood spread on the houses of Israel during the first Passover night (Exodus 12:21-23) or to the blood of remission that Moses applied to the people (Exodus 24:6-8; Hebrews 9:19-21). Paul noted that the Mosaic practices were "patterns," "figures," "shadows," and "images" of things to come (Hebrews 9-10). Or it may have been a symbol of humility involved in the fulfillment of a messianic prophecy: "In my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink" (Psalm 69:21).

6. Just as the blood of the Passover lamb caused death to pass by the believers (Exodus 12:13), so the blood of the Lamb of God causes the effects of sin or spiritual death to pass by the believers (John 1:29; Alma 7:14; Alma 11:40-43).

Feast of Pentecost

Fifty days after the Passover comes the Feast of Pentecost or the Festival of Weeks. It is also referred to as the Feast of the Harvest or the Feast of the First Fruits. The term pentecost (literally, "the fiftieth day") has reference to the seven-week period of harvest. This is a one-day festival that marks the end of the grain harvest, and the "first fruits" of the grain harvest are presented to the Lord as an offering of thanksgiving. This offering was often specifically two loaves of bread which were actually presented to and consumed by the Levite priests. This feast has also been connected with the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai, but this is a development that occurred much later than Lehi's time-probably about AD 200.

Feast of Tabernacles

The Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths (also called Succot) was a seven-day festival which took place in the autumn. It commemorated the completion of the agricultural year and celebrated the beginning of the new year. It was also held to recall Israel's wilderness pilgrimage and to renew Israel's covenant with the Lord. "Booths" were shelters constructed of branches and vines. The original significance of the "booths" derived from an agricultural practice: to protect the olive orchards in the month of harvest (September), their owners used to guard them by night, standing in these booths. Later on, the booth was reinterpreted as a symbol of Israel's wilderness experience. Each celebrant had to provide himself with a booth in which he slept and ate all his meals for seven days. This was done in remembrance of Israel's journey through the wilderness.

The Jewish Festivals and the Book of Mormon

Now, all of this may be of general interest to students of the Bible, but why are we considering ancient Jewish festivals in the context of our Book of Mormon study? It is important to keep in mind that in Lehi's day, a person could not keep the Law of Moses without observing these annual feasts. These were holy celebrations and were kept and remembered even more intently than was the strictly observed weekly Sabbath. Certainly these holidays were important to Lehi and his descendants. Even though they knew that in Jesus Christ the Law would find its fulfillment, they did keep the Law of Moses (see 2 Nephi 25:24). Even as late as 74 BC, the Nephites still observed the Law of Moses (Alma 30:3). Even the Lamanites, in the days of their righteousness, kept the Law of Moses (Alma 25:15). Thus, in the Book of Mormon we might expect to find evidences that the people observed the ancient Jewish holidays or feasts which were an indispensable part of that law.

Why do we not find specific reference to these holidays in the Book of Mormon? Perhaps the authors assumed that the reader would understand the holidays and that specific mention was not necessary. For example, the word "tents" in Mosiah 2:5 might have been readily associated by a Nephite with the Feast of Tabernacles. Perhaps Mormon's abridgment might have obscured or eliminated some more specific references which might have been present in the original text. Whatever the reasons, evidence will be presented in this article that in the Book of Mormon, especially in King Benjamin's speech, these feasts were known and observed in the lands of Nephi and Zarahemla.

An important part of these Jewish celebrations was the prayers that were offered. One prayer of thanksgiving that has been handed down in Jewish culture is called the She-hekheyanu. The text of this prayer is as follows: "Praised art thou Lord our God, King of the universe, who hast kept us and hast preserved us and enabled us to reach this festival season." Brother John W. Welch, in his article referenced above, has found some interesting similarities in the key words of this prayer (in italics) and the key words in Mosiah 2:19-21. Study these three verses in Mosiah 2 and see if you can see the correlations. Might King Benjamin have been reciting, at least in part, a liturgical prayer from one of the ancient Israelite festivals?

It seems logical to speculate that King Benjamin would have planned and scheduled his greatest speech to coincide with some great Israelite time of public observance. We do read of the preparations he made for this occasion. For example, he built a tower and made written copies of his words for many of his people. He asked his son to gather the people together on the following day (Mosiah 1:10). This implies either that the land of Zarahemla was very small or that the people were already gathered at Zarahemla for a pilgrimage festival. Such a festival might have been an ideal time for Benjamin to schedule the coronation of his son Mosiah.

Now, it is likely that the Nephites reckoned time by a lunar calendar in which the year lasted just over 354 days (see the commentary for 1 Nephi 10:4). How might we expect, then, that the years of the Nephites would continue, over the many years of Nephite history, to coincide with the seasons, since the seasons obviously are determined by the revolving of the earth around the sun-in other words, by the solar calendar with years lasting just over 365 days. If Passover is to be observed in the spring, Pentecost in the summer, and the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall or harvest season, would not the synchrony between the seasons and the parts of the year fail after several years? It would indeed. Randall P. Spackman, however has pointed out that at this particular time in Nephite history (the beginning of the year 124 BC), the Feast of Tabernacles would have occurred in mid November ("Introduction to Book of Mormon Chronology: The Principal Prophecies, Calendars, and Dates," a FARMS reprint, 28).

Brother John W. Welch has also outlined evidences that King Benjamin's speech was planned and delivered at the time of the New Year festival or what might correspond to the ancient Feast of Tabernacles or Booths. Briefly summarized, those evidences are:

1. The New Year festival began with burnt offerings of animals. To his speech, Benjamin's people brought "the firstlings of their flocks that they might offer sacrifice and burnt offerings according to the law of Moses" (Mosiah 2:3).

2. It is possible that the New Year festival marked the beginning of the new agricultural year, and one of the purposes of the festival was to insure the success of the coming year's crop. This is consistent with Benjamin's promise to his people that they "shall prosper in the land" (Mosiah 2:31) if they obeyed the commandments of God. Similarly, after Benjamin's speech, the new "King Mosiah did cause his people that they should till the earth" (Mosiah 6:7). Perhaps this was a royal pronouncement made to mark the beginning of a new agricultural year.

3. The New Year festival was a time of judgment, and God was entreated to show mercy to his children. In Benjamin's speech, he referred several times to the judgment. He pronounced the fate of those who died enemies to God (Mosiah 2:37-38). He commented upon the nature of God's judgment, for behold he judgeth, and his judgment is just" (Mosiah 3:18); he makes it clear that only little children are exempt from this judgment (Mosiah 3:17); he declares that the words spoken by him on that occasion would stand to judge the people (Mosiah 3:24-25); and he speaks of judgment by fire (Mosiah 2:38). Benjamin also mentioned the concept of mercy (Mosiah 2:39; Mosiah 3:26; and 5:15), and his people fell down upon the earth and responded in unison, "O have mercy!" (Mosiah 4:2).

4. The New Year Festival was a day to celebrate the kingship of God. In his speech, Benjamin emphasizes that God is the real king, not himself or Mosiah, his son. He says, "If I, whom ye call your king . . . do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King" (Mosiah 2:19).

5. In Jewish tradition, the New Year was an appropriate time to celebrate the creation of the earth. References to the creative role of God are found in Benjamin's speech (see Mosiah 2:20-25; Mosiah 3:8; Mosiah 4:2; Mosiah 4:9; Mosiah 4:12; Mosiah 4:21; Mosiah 5:15).

6. The New Year was a day of remembering. Benjamin stresses prominently the theme of remembering in his speech (see Mosiah 1:3; Mosiah 1:6; Mosiah 1:7; Mosiah 1:17; Mosiah 2:40; Mosiah 2:41; Mosiah 4:11; Mosiah 4:30; Mosiah 5:11-12; Mosiah 6:3). Specifically, it was important to remember the poor, a theme not ignored by Benjamin (Mosiah 4:13-28).

7. A characteristic ritual of the New Year Festival was the sounding of the horns. Horns are never mentioned in Benjamin's speech, but it seems reasonable to suppose that some kind of cue, such as the blowing of a horn, might have been given to call the people to fall together to the ground (Mosiah 4:1), and twice to cry aloud all with one voice (Mosiah 4:2; Mosiah 5:2).

In this context, Alma's wish that he might speak with the "trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth and cry repentance unto every people" (Alma 29:1) is interesting. Alma's psalm (Alma 29) might even have been a part of the Nephite New Year celebration. Note that it is presented in the Book of Mormon shortly after the end of the fifteenth year of the reign of judges (Alma 28:9).

8. Jewish tradition has one greeting his friends during the New Year celebration with "May you be inscribed [in the book of life] and sealed for a good year." In his speech, Benjamin gives his people a name that cannot be "blotted out [of the book of life] except by transgression" (Mosiah 5:11).

9. A more modern counterpart of the ancient Jewish New Year Festival is Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement. In Benjamin's speech, there are seven explicit references to the atonement (Mosiah 3:11; Mosiah 3:15; Mosiah 3:16; Mosiah 3:18; Mosiah 3:19; Mosiah 4:6; Mosiah 4:70).

10. Also on Yom Kippur, sacrifices were made. The priest would purify the temple by sprinkling blood around it (Leviticus 16:16-20). If this type of temple purification took place at the time of Benjamin's speech, then significant contextual impact would be added to Benjamin's saying that the Lord "dwelleth not in unholy temples" (Mosiah 2:37). Also Benjamin's references to "the atoning blood of Christ" (Mosiah 3:19) would fit appropriately here.

11. Leviticus 16:7-10 describes the so-called scapegoat ritual in which the high priest on the Day of Atonement took two goats. One was sacrificed, and upon the other the high priest placed his hands and transferred to it all the sins of Israel. This scapegoat was then taken into the desert. The man who took the goat into the wilderness became impure and could not come back into the camp until he burned his clothes and washed himself. Perhaps it is in this context that the individual who breaks the covenant, according to Benjamin, is "consigned to an awful view" of his guilt and "into a state of misery and endless torment" (Mosiah 3:25). He will ultimately be driven away and cast out (Mosiah 5:10-14). Benjamin makes no reference to a goat, but he does speak of driving out an ass (Mosiah 5:14).

12. During Yom Kippur, confession was important, and the priests would confess the sins of his people and the people also confessed their own sins. Note the confession of the people of King Benjamin (Mosiah 4:2; Mosiah 4:5) and also the confessions of the king himself (Mosiah 2:26).

13. So holy and unspeakable was the name of God, YHWH, that it was unlawful to utter his name in ancient Israel, except on the Day of Atonement. During the Yom Kippur service, the priest said this name out loud, and each time the people would fall prostrate on the ground. It is interesting that during his speech, Benjamin stated that one of the central purposes of the assembly was to "give this people a name" (Mosiah 1:11-12). With great solemnity he revealed the name of "Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things," along with the name of his mother Mary (Mosiah 3:8). Finally, he gave the people the name and told them, "This is the name that I said I should give unto you" (Mosiah 5:9-14). It is a remarkable fact that in Benjamin's speech, the words "Lord God," "Lord God Omnipotent" or "Lord Omnipotent" appear exactly ten times (Mosiah 2:30; Mosiah 2:41; Mosiah 3:5; Mosiah 3:13; Mosiah 3:14; Mosiah 3:17; Mosiah 3:18; Mosiah 3:21; Mosiah 3:23; Mosiah 5:15). It is plausible that at each of these places the people would have fallen down in profound reverence and awe as they heard Benjamin pronounce the holy name of God. Benjamin observed in Mosiah 4:1 that the people "had fallen to the earth."

14. The Feast of Tabernacles was a day of national assembly, a great pilgrimage festival. All of the people would gather especially around the temple. Benjamin caused all the people in his land to "gather themselves together" (Mosiah 1:18) and to "assemble together" (Mosiah 2:9; Mosiah 2:27). They gathered "round about" the temple in Zarahemla (Mosiah 2:5-6).

15. According to Jewish tradition, the first Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot, was celebrated at the foot of Mount Sinai six months after the Exodus from Egypt. The seven elements of that first Sukkot, found in Exodus 24, are noteworthy, for they also are found in Benjamin's speech and characterize the essence of this New World celebration. Let's reiterate each of these elements along with its Book of Mormon correlate. (1) Moses recited God's commandments which he wrote in a book (Exodus 24:3-4). Benjamin spoke of God's commandments (Mosiah 2:31) and caused his words to be written (Mosiah 2:8). (2) "All the people answered with one voice, and said, 'All the words which the Lord hath said will we do'" (Exodus 24:3). Benjamin's people also answered in a unison affirmation (Mosiah 4:1-2; Mosiah 5:2-5). (3) A altar was constructed. (4) Sacrifices were offered (Exodus 24:5-6). Sacrifices are mentioned in connection with Benjamin's speech (Mosiah 2:3). (5) Moses read to the people from the book of the covenant (Exodus 24:7). Benjamin affirmed that he "taught [his people] that [they] should keep the commandments of the Lord in all things which he hath commanded" (Mosiah 2:13). Such teaching would have consisted in large part of simply reading the Law. (6) The people of Moses repeated their covenant of obedience (Exodus 24:7). In response to Benjamin's teachings, his people repeated their covenant of obedience (Mosiah 5:2-5). Finally, blood was sprinkled on the people, sealing their covenant (Exodus 24:8). Benjamin spoke of the blood of Christ in Mosiah 3:18, and his ceremony ended with the blessing that God "may seal" the people his (Mosiah 5:15).

16. During the Feast of Tabernacles the Israelites sat in booths in commemoration of the tents in which their ancestors had sojourned for forty years in the wilderness during the Exodus from Egypt. During Benjamin's speech, each family had a "tent with the door thereof towards the temple, that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which King Benjamin should speak unto them" (Mosiah 2:6). To the Nephites, the tents may well also have symbolized the time when Lehi and his family had "dwelt in a tent" (1 Nephi 10:16), for Benjamin convenes his celebration in part to remember how distinctive his people were, whom "the Lord God hath brought out of the land of Jerusalem" (Mosiah 1:11).

It has also been suggested that the tents symbolized poverty and were a reminder that the Jews live in each place for only a little while. They wander incessantly from country to country. Similarly, Benjamin reminded the people of their poverty, of their dependence on God, and of their need to remember to impart of their substance liberally.

17. The Feast of Tabernacles was a time of covenant renewal when the people renewed their covenant with God to be his people and obey his laws. Benjamin's people entered into just such a covenant (Mosiah 5:1-7). Benjamin's people all fell down simultaneously and spoke certain words in unison (Mosiah 4:1-3; Mosiah 5:1-5). This suggests that they were involved in a ritual or ceremonial situation. The words they spoke may have been customary words, known to them beforehand.

18. The Feast of Tabernacles was also an important royal event, a day of the king. This would make it especially suitable for a coronation day. In ancient Jerusalem, royal events were sometimes scheduled well in advance to coincide with the Feast of Tabernacles. This was the case with the dedication of Solomon's temple, which waited eleven months to take place on this symbolic day (1 Kings 8:2-66). Typically, on this day, the king would speak to the people often from a specially erected platform. In keeping with this theme, it was also a day on which Jehovah was hailed as the heavenly king. The prophet Zechariah prophesied that the Messiah will come on the day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Zechariah 14:16). This corresponds with Benjamin's reference to God on this day as the "heavenly king" (Mosiah 2:19) and also with Benjamin's discussion of the coming of the Messiah (Mosiah 3:1-10).

19. This was also a day of reckoning and accounting for the king himself. He was required to stand before his people and give an accounting of his administration. See the verses in Mosiah with a similar theme (Mosiah 2:12-16). The king in Israel was required to be humble. Deuteronomy 17:20 specifies "that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren." Benjamin said, "I have not commanded you to come up hither that ye should fear me, or that ye should think that I of myself am more than a mortal man. But I am like as yourselves" (Mosiah 2:10-11; see also Mosiah 2:26). The king in Israel was required to keep a copy of the Law with him, so that he might always remember the commandments of God. Accordingly, King Benjamin makes mention of the brass plates of Laban, on which were written the Law of Moses (Mosiah 1:2-7) and of the other records as he handed them over to Mosiah (Mosiah 1:16).

In conclusion, it would seem likely that King Benjamin's speech was delivered in the fall, at the time of the year when ancient Israelites as well as the peoples of Book of Mormon would have been celebrating their great autumn festival.