（利23）学习俄梅珥的奥秘 On the secrets of omer

(ChatGPT translation from Chinese, edited by Mijiale, 中文在后面）

After the Feast of Unleavened Bread, about fifty days later, comes Pentecost. Between these two festivals, the Israelites are to “count the omer,” as commanded in the Bible according to Leviticus 23:15-16:

“You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the Lord.”

This “counting of the omer” involves calculating day by day and week by week until the arrival of Pentecost, also known as the Feast of Weeks.

What is the omer? The term “omer” mentioned in the scripture refers to both a unit of weight and a type of offering. It is equivalent to approximately 43.2 eggs in size, or about 4-5 pounds. This is because Exodus 16:36 states that an omer is one-tenth of an ephah, and an ephah is the weight of 432 eggs.
What is the wave offering of grain? According to Wikipedia, this offering consists of newly harvested barley, weighed at the size of one omer. Offering this grain allows the consumption of the new year’s produce. This offering is made on the sixteenth day of the first month of the biblical calendar (in the spring).
What happened on the sixteenth day of the first month? Before Leviticus, there are no significant historical events recorded on the sixteenth day of the first month. The fourteenth day marks the preparation and sacrifice of the Passover lamb, followed by the Exodus from Egypt on the fifteenth day, the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. However, the L-rd transcends time. Subsequent biblical events may be related to the “wave offering” on the sixteenth day.
- The first instance is found in Joshua chapter 5, where after the Israelites entered the promised land, the manna from heaven ceased, and they began to eat the produce of the land. Joshua 5:11-12 states: “On the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.” According to Rashi on Joshua 5:11, here the “day after the Passover” refers to the sixteenth day of the first month, which is the day of the “wave offering” of grain, not the fifteenth day. I speculate that they ate the new produce of that year after offering the wave offering of grain, rather than last year’s stored grain. (I speculate that “parched grain” indicates that the newly harvested grain was not yet fully dried and needed to be parched.)
- The second instance is the resurrection of Jesus recorded in the New Testament. If Jesus was crucified on the fourteenth day of the first month, which is the Passover, and he rose from the dead on the third day, then he would have risen on the sixteenth day, the day of the “wave offering” of grain. Some Christians refer to this day as the “Feast of Firstfruits” also, as mentioned in this link. (I believe there is some biblical basis for this, as Leviticus 23:10 refers to the offering as “the first ripe sheaf,” although it is barley, not the “first ripe wheat” mentioned later in verse 20.) Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians 15:20, Paul says, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” So the resurrection of Christ corresponds to the Old Testament offering of “the first ripe sheaf” on the sixteenth day of the first month.
Why start counting from the sixteenth day and continue for fifty days? This method of counting links the two major festivals. From a New Testament perspective, it connects the Resurrection with the Day of Pentecost, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, where the disciples were instructed to wait for the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ resurrection, and the Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost. From an Old Testament perspective, it connects the Passover with the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai on Pentecost. This reflects the idea that the Israelites’ redemption from Egypt was to enter into a covenant with the Lord at Mount Sinai, as the Passover marks their salvation and Pentecost traditionally commemorates the day they received the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinaihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shavuot. Furthermore, the Israelites beginning to eat the produce of the land on the sixteenth day of the first month, and the receiving of the Ten Commandments on the fiftieth day (the sixth of the third month), are also connected. In Leviticus 26:3-4, the Lord says to the Israelites, “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.” The promised land is a unique place; eating its produce is directly linked to keeping the commandments of the Lord.
Why offer an omer of grain? The Hebrew term for the grain offering is “omer,” possibly suggesting the amount to be offered. Additionally, an omer is also the amount of manna provided to the Israelites daily in the wilderness. When the Israelites first offered an omer of barley upon entering the promised land, they understood that the Lord’s provision never ceased; whether from the earth or from the heavens, it is a miraclehttps://theparkforum.org/843-acres/from-survival-to-cultivation/. This is evident by comparing Exodus 16:35:
“The children of Israel ate manna for forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.”,
and Leviticus 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.”

（利23）俄梅珥的奥秘

无酵饼节开始后大约五十天，就是五旬节。两个节日之间，以色列人要”计算俄梅珥”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counting_of_the_Omer, 要一天一天一周一周计算，等待五旬节（又称七七节）。这个“计算俄梅珥”是圣经的诫命，是根据

利23:15-16 “你们要从安息日的次日，献禾捆为摇祭的那日算起，要满了七个安息日。到第七个安息日的次日，共计五十天，又要将新素祭献给耶和华。” 我们不禁好奇，会问一系列问题:

一。俄梅珥是什么？

上述经文提到所献的“禾捆”在希伯来文叫俄梅珥。它又是一个重量单位，大小是43.2个鸡蛋（大约4-5磅）。这是因为出埃及记16:36 说，俄梅珥乃伊法十分之一。而一伊法是432个鸡蛋的重量。

二。“献禾捆为摇祭” 是用什么禾捆，献多少？

根据 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omer_offering，这是用一俄梅珥重量的新收割的大麦所献的祭。献了这“禾捆”，才允许吃新一年的出产。献祭的这天是圣经历的正月十六（在春天）。

三。正月十六发生了什么？

在利未记之前，圣经没有记载显著的历史事件发生在正月十六。正月十四下午是献逾越节羊羔的日子，然后在半夜埃及长子被击杀，然后正月十五是以色利人出埃及的日子，成了无酵饼节的头一天。无酵饼节的第一天正月十五和第七天正月二十一都被设为安息日，分别纪念以色列人出埃及与过红海。但正月十六在圣经到此为止还没有明显的记载。但是造物主超越了时间。在之后的圣经，记载过两次相关的事件，与正月十六的“献禾捆”可能有关系。

第一处是约书亚记5章，以色利人进入应许地后，天降的吗哪吃完了，就开始吃当地的土产：（书5:11-12）“逾越节的次日，他们就吃了那地的出产。正当那日吃无酵饼和烘的谷。他们吃了那地的出产，第二日吗哪就止住了，以色列人也不再有吗哪了。那一年，他们却吃迦南地的出产。” 根据https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Joshua.5.11.1?lang=bi

，这里逾越节的次日，指的是“献禾捆”之日正月十六，而非正月十五，我猜测他们是“献禾捆”之后吃了当年新的土产，而不是去年的陈粮。（我猜测“烘的谷”表示那新收的谷穗还没晒干，需要烘烤。）

第二处是新约记载的耶稣复活。如果耶稣是在逾越节正月十四受难的，并且在第三天复活，那他就是在正月十六的“献禾捆日” 复活的。这一天有的基督徒把它也称为“初熟节”，例如https://r.729ly.net/devotionals/devotionals-mw/devotionals-mw-mw230404, 我看这也有一定的圣经根据，因为利23:10 把这所献的禾捆称为“初熟的庄稼一捆”，不过这是大麦，而非后来23:20所说的“初熟麦子”（小麦）。

另外，保罗在哥林多前书15:20说，“但基督已经从死里复活，成为睡了之人初熟的果子。” 所以基督徒的复活节对应于旧约里献上“初熟的庄稼一捆”的圣经历正月十六。

四。为什么要从正月十六开始计算七个安息日，共记五十天？

这样的逐天计算，可以把两大节日联系起来。在新约角度来看，这把复活节与五旬节的圣灵降临日联系起来了，因为使徒行传记载了耶稣复活后叫门徒们等待圣灵降临，而圣灵是在五旬节降临的。从旧约角度看，这样的逐天计算，把逾越节与五旬节的西奈山立约联系起来了。在旧约里，这表示主的子民出埃及得救是为了去西奈山与主立约，因为逾越节是以色利人得救的时间，而五旬节是在三月初六，是以色列人传统上纪念在西奈山接受十诫与主立约的日子https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shavuot。另外，正月十六日所对应的以色列人开始吃地的土产，与第五十天（三月初六）所对应的接受十诫也是有联系的，在利26:3-4主对以色列人说，“你们若遵行我的律例，谨守我的诫命，我就给你们降下时雨，叫地生出土产，田野的树木结果子。” 应许之地是个奇特的地方，吃它的土产，与守主的诫命有着直接的联系。

五。为什么这“献禾捆”要献一俄梅珥的重量？

这禾捆的希伯来文就叫俄梅珥，可能隐含着当献的重量。另外，一俄梅珥也是以色列人在旷野每天所得到的天降吗哪的重量。当进入应许之地的以色利人首次献上一俄梅珥的大麦时，他们会明白，主的供应从不间断，而且地的土产与天降吗哪都是神迹，都是恩典https://theparkforum.org/843-acres/from-survival-to-cultivation/。让我们对照以下两处经文，就知道造物主不会让尽心尽性尽力跟随祂的人断绝供应。

出16:35

“以色列人吃吗哪共四十年，直到进了有人居住之地，就是迦南的境界。”

利23:10

“你晓谕以色列人说，你们到了我赐给你们的地，收割庄稼的时候，要将初熟的庄稼一捆带给祭司。”