78 Bible Verses About Old Testament Festivals
Bible verses about Old Testament Festivals
Exploring the Old Testament Festivals through scripture offers a profound journey into God's redemptive plan and His enduring faithfulness. These festivals, rich in symbolism and historical significance, provide glimpses into the Messiah and His ultimate sacrifice. By studying these sacred celebrations, we gain a deeper appreciation for the roots of our faith and a clearer understanding of God's character. Uncover the spiritual meaning behind Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles, and discover how these ancient observances continue to speak to us today, revealing timeless truths about grace, redemption, and the promise of eternal life found in Jesus Christ.
Featured Verse
2 Kings 13:1 (KJV)
In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king of Judah Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years.
Old Testament Festivals: Feasts, History & Meaning
And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.
All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of the Lord made by fire: every one that toucheth them shall be holy.
According to the commandment of the Lord they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as the Lord commanded Moses.
This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah by their families; even to the border of Edom the wilderness of Zin southward was the uttermost part of the south coast.
And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.
The children of Merari by their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth–lehem–judah.
And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud.
The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords,
At that time the Lord said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood.
And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits:
And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt offering, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon.
And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:
And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the Lord hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;
And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven:
In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king of Judah Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years.
And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death.
And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.
And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and his vow.
And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.
One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering:
And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach:
And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.
But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.
All the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon’s servants, were three hundred ninety and two.
And in the place of the boil there be a white rising, or a bright spot, white, and somewhat reddish, and it be shewed to the priest;
For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,
And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
All these men of war, that could keep rank, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel: and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king.
And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, recorder.
These are the divisions of the porters among the sons of Kore, and among the sons of Merari.
And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.
And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot,
And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.
Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun.
And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice,
Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you.
And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get;
Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings.
The king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one;
The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle,
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel.
Wherefore Adoni–zedek king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying,
Thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them: (the shekel is twenty gerahs:)
And thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons.
But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.
And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.
From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation.
And the sons of Kohath; Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath were an hundred thirty and three years.
But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them.
And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot.
And on the seventh day ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou redeem, according to thine estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.
And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.
But ye shall offer a sacrifice made by fire for a burnt offering unto the Lord; two young bullocks, and one ram, and seven lambs of the first year: they shall be unto you without blemish:
And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.
And the house which king Solomon built for the Lord, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits.
Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.
And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammoth–dor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities.
Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards.
Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
And all the meat offering that is baken in the oven, and all that is dressed in the fryingpan, and in the pan, shall be the priest’s that offereth it.
And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her suburbs, and Kartah with her suburbs,
And their coast was from Heleph, from Allon to Zaanannim, and Adami, Nekeb, and Jabneel, unto Lakum; and the outgoings thereof were at Jordan:
In the first day shall be an holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work therein:
He appointed also the king’s portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the Lord.
And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
And four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
And Aaron spake all the words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.
And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the Lord commanded Moses.
The woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even.
Exploring Old Testament festivals through scripture reveals their profound significance as God-ordained times of remembrance, thanksgiving, and repentance for the Israelites. These verses illuminate how each festival—Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Weeks (Pentecost), Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles—pointed backward to God’s deliverance and provision while also foreshadowing future redemption. Reflecting on these feasts, we gain deeper insight into God's character, His covenant relationship with humanity, and the anticipation of the Messiah. Though the ceremonial aspects are fulfilled in Christ, the underlying principles of gratitude, sacrifice, fellowship, and hope remain timeless. Studying these Old Testament festivals encourages us to examine our own lives, celebrate God's faithfulness, and anticipate the ultimate fulfillment of His promises. We can apply these lessons by actively remembering God's work in our lives, practicing hospitality, seeking forgiveness, and living in joyful expectation of His return.