I have been trying to understand the timing of the Feasts of First Fruits and Pentecost. Reading Leviticus 23 has confused me since they seem to be related more to harvest times than specific dates. Did they float around depending on the harvests or did they come at specific times on the calendar?
In Biblical times, First Fruits and Pentecost were both keyed off the first Sabbath after Passover. You have to take Leviticus 23 chronologically from the beginning to see that. Firstfruits was the day after the first Sabbath following Passover and Pentecost was 7 weeks later, also on the day after the Sabbath. God always arranged for the grain to be ready to harvest in time for these feasts.
Passover was always the 14th day of the first month which would come on different days of the week from year to year. It’s like Christmas, which is always on the 25th, regardless of which day of the week it happens to be. Feast Fruits and Pentecost were always on Sunday but would be on different calendar dates from year to year. In that respect, they floated around but only within a 7-day range.