The wave sheaf offering is found in Leviticus 23:9-14.  It is a ceremony that starts the fifty-day count to “the Feast of Weeks”.  The Feast of Weeks is called Shavuot by the Jews and also referred to in the New Testament as Pentecost (from the Greek meaning fiftieth).

Of the various Jewish groups and Christian churches who keep the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, there is little agreement on when the wave sheaf should be offered and consequently when the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost (occurring fifty days later) is. 

This article seeks to answer the question, “When exactly is the wave sheaf offering?”  This paper could have been titled, “What is the correct date for Pentecost?” as the wave sheaf offering establishes the timing of Pentecost.

Wave Sheaf Offering

The instructions for the wave sheaf offering occur immediately after that of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread in Leviticus 23.

Lev 23:9  And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev 23:10  “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest.
Lev 23:11  He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.

The next two verses concern additional offerings for the day.  Next we are told that the wave sheaf offering must be made before eating any of the harvest.

Lev 23:14  You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

Note that the sheaf was waved on the day after the weekly Sabbath (the first day of the week) as soon as the harvest was reaped.  There is no stipulation that this should be done within the Days of Unleavened Bread.  Indeed there is no mention of the Days of Unleavened Bread.  There is no tie to the Days of Unleavened Bread other than they both occur in the spring.  The wave sheaf offering might fall before, after, or during the Days of Unleavened Bread.

The Feast of Weeks

Here are the instructions for The Feast of Weeks, which come directly after those for the wave sheaf offering.

Lev 23:15  ‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed.
Lev 23:16  Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD.

From these verses we clearly see that the timing of the wave sheaf offering determines the Feast of Weeks.  The next few verses concern additional offerings for the day.  This special day is an annual Sabbath on which no work is to be done.

Lev 23:21  And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

Note that the counting for Pentecost starts from the day after the Sabbath – the day on which the sheaf was waved.  Thus Pentecost always falls on the first day of the week.

Deuteronomy 16:9 reiterates the instruction about when to start the count for Pentecost.

Deu 16:9  “You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain.

Note again that counting starts from the beginning of the harvest.  There is no mention of the Days of Unleavened Bread. 

Discussion

How did the Jews end up with a fixed date for Pentecost (Shavuot) rather than relying on when the harvest is ripe?  At some point, maybe at the time of the diaspora, the rabbis realised their scattered brethren would have a problem.  Should they rely on when the harvest was ready in the Holy Land?  In which case how would they know when this took place as communication of this would take weeks, maybe months.  Or should they rely on the harvest in the region where they lived?  And if so, does God sanction multiple wave sheaf offerings at various times and places?   The whole situation is very confusing.  To avoid such confusion, the rabbis settled on a way of calculating Pentecost by determining the day of the wave sheaf offering which did not rely on the harvest.  They made an administrative decision which was clearly not unanimous as it resulted in:  some Jews, such as the Pharisees, selecting the first day of Unleavened Bread (which results in Sivan 6 for Pentecost); some Jews selecting last day of Unleavened Bread (which results in Sivan 12 for Pentecost); and other Jews, such as the Sadducees, selecting the weekly Sabbath within the Days of Unleavened Bread.

Most churches of God select the weekly Sabbath within the days of Unleavened Bread.  The reason for this stems from the following.

1. The understanding that the wave sheaf offering pictures the ascension of Jesus Christ which leads to the conclusion that His ascension occurred on the day of the wave sheaf offering.  (See “What is the meaning of the wave sheaf offering?”)
2. The ascension occurred on the first day of the week.  (See the section below.)
3. The day preceding the ascension, the weekly Sabbath, was in the middle of the days of Unleavened Bread. (See “Was Jesus resurrected on Sunday?”)

From the above three points, it is clear that in the year of Jesus’s crucifixion, the wave sheaf offering occurred the day after the weekly Sabbath in the middle of the days of Unleavened Bread.  From this the churches of God conclude that the first and last days of Unleavened Bread are incorrect choices for the Sabbath.

The various Churches of God debate among themselves which Sabbath to choose when Passover falls on a Friday (and thus the First Day of Unleavened Bread on a Sunday and the last on a weekly Sabbath). 

Should they choose the weekly Sabbath after the Passover, thus placing the wave sheaf offering on the First Day of Unleavened Bread?  Or should they choose the following weekly Sabbath (the last Day of Unleavened Bread), thus placing the wave sheaf offering outside the Days of Unleavened Bread? 

It’s a fairly pointless argument because it fails to acknowledge that a decision has been made in the first place to fix the date rather than rely on when the harvest is ripe.

The Ascension Occurred on the First Day of the Week

We know that Jesus ascended to His Father on the first day of the week from the gospel accounts of Matthew and John.  John records that early on the first day of the week Jesus did not allow Mary to touch Him because He had not yet ascended to His Father.  But Matthew records His disciples holding His feet on the first day of the week, clearly showing by that later on in the day He had ascended to His Father and returned.

Joh 20:1  Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
…
Joh 20:17  Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ “

Mat 28:1  Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
…
Mat 28:9  And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.

Conclusion

When exactly is the wave sheaf offering?  According to Scripture it is the day after the Sabbath as soon as the harvest is ripe.  Pentecost is fifty days later, which means that the wave sheaf offering and Pentecost always fall on the first day of the week.

However, considering the impracticalities of knowing when the harvest is ripe for the wave sheaf offering, the most reasonable solution is to pick the day after the weekly Sabbath within the Days of Unleavened Bread.  This fits well with the fulfillment of the wave sheaf offering – Jesus Christ’s ascension to His Father – which happened the day after the weekly Sabbath within the Days of Unleavened Bread.