Counting the Omer

A Point of View

By L. Grant Luton

You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering.

Leviticus 23:15

This passage has been the source of sharp contention among many Messianic believers concerned about when to begin counting the omer during the days leading up to Shavuot. Some read “the Sabbath” in this passage as referring to the weekly Sabbath following Passover. Others read it as referring to Passover itself (which is also a sabbath). Hence, two conflicting methods for counting. Two different times for observing Shavuot. Division among the body of Messiah.

It is important for us to begin with an accurate definition of שבת (shabbat). Shabbat does not mean “rest”, as most people believe. Rather, it means “cease”. Nothing more. Nothing less. In fact, it is used not only in ceasing from work, but from a host of things. Following are a few examples [Forms of the word שבת (shabbat) – “sabbath” – appear in bold.]

• “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” (Gen. 8:22)
• And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them ceasefrom their burdens!” (Ex. 5:5)
• Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses … (Ex. 12:15)
• Then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for his loss of time and shall have him thoroughly healed. (Ex. 21:19)
• You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God cease from your grain offering … (Lev. 2:13)
• And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land… (Josh. 5:12)
• “For Adonai has made the Jordan a border between us and you, you sons of Reuben and sons of Gad. You have no portion in Adonai. So your sons might make our sons ceasefearing Adonai.” (Josh. 22:25)
• And he abolished the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places … (2Kings 23:5)
• And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” (Neh. 4:11)
• So these three men ceased to answer Job … (Job 32:1)
• From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength, because of Your adversaries, to make the enemy and the revengeful cease. (Ps. 8:2 )
• He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear … (Ps. 46:9)
• You have made his splendor to cease and cast his throne to the ground. (Ps. 89:44)
• All the wicked of the earth You discard like dross … (Ps. 119:119)
• The lot puts an end to quarrels and decides between powerful contenders. (Prov. 18:18)
• I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity. I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant … (Is. 13:11)
• The joy of our hearts has ceased; our dancing has been turned to mourning. (Lam. 5:15)

There are many more examples of how the Hebrew word shabbat (שבת) is used in the Tanach, but these will suffice to demonstrate that this word has a wide array of applications beyond a day of rest. So let us summarize what is demonstrated by these examples:

sabbath (שבת) = ceasing

ceasing = sabbath (שבת)

Now consider the following verses which do not use the word ‘sabbath’ (שבת), yet are all considered sabbaths in the Torah:

• Num. 28:18 – On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work… [Passover]
• Num. 28:25 – And on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. [7^th day of Passover Week]
• Num. 28:26 – On the day of the first fruits, when you offer a grain offering of new grain to Adonai at your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work … [Shavuot]
• Num. 29:1 – On the first day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a day for you to blow the trumpets. [Yom Teruah / Rosh Hashanah]
• Num. 29:7 – On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation and afflict yourselves. You shall do no work … [Yom Kippur]
• Num. 29:12 – On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall keep a feast to Adonai seven days. [Sukkot]

These verses are from Numbers 28-29, which lists the additional sabbath days found on the biblical calendar. My point here is that all these days are ‘sabbaths’ though the word itself is not used. But it doesn’t need to be used because these are days upon which work is not to be done. Since they are days of ‘ceasing’ from work, they are by definition sabbaths. So, according to Numbers 28:18 the first day of Passover is a sabbath since no laborious work is to be done.

This brings us to the ancient contention described at the beginning of this paper – a contention that was originally created by the Sadducees concerning Leviticus 23:15. They contended that the omer count begins on the first day after the weekly Sabbath instead of after the first day of Passover, which, as we have established, is also a sabbath.

We can summarize the two positions thus:

• Sadducees: The omer count begins after the first weekly Sabbath following Passover.
• Traditional: The omer count begins after the day of Passover, which is a sabbath.

So how do we resolve this contention? Does the Torah provide any clarification as to which ‘sabbath’ is in view? The answer is yes. Let’s look at Deuteronomy 16:9:

“You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain.”

Note that it does not say ‘count from the weekly Sabbath after Passover’, but from ‘the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain’. This always took place the day after Passover – the day of First Fruits – whichever day of the week that might be.

We find additional information in Joshua 5:10-11:

“While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain.”

Even here, we see the manna ceasing and the Israelites eating the grain from the fields. This has traditionally been considered the first “first fruits” observance after the exodus from Egypt.

Additionally, if God wanted us to begin the omer count on the day after the weekly Sabbath, He would simply have instructed us to begin counting on the first day of the week. Problem solved! After all, this is the method the Torah uses to designate all of the other holy days in Leviticus 23. (See verses 3,5,6,24,27,34,39) Why would God be so cryptic concerning the counting of the omer? Well, as it turns out, He wasn’t. He clearly describes Passover as a day of rest (which, by definition, makes it a ‘ceasing’ – שבת– day), and then says that after the “ceasing day” to bring the omer.

One last thing that I must mention – and maybe the most important thing – is that one of the primary purposes for God’s holy days is to bring His people together in unity. It is heartbreaking to see people divide from one another over something that is. Intended for unity! But which is worse, starting the omer count on the wrong day, or sowing discord among brothers? This is an apt example of straining out a gnat then swallowing a camel. And what a poor testimony this is to greater Israel! Shouldn’t we be modeling unity both among ourselves and with the Jewish people? But instead, we argue among ourselves while at the same time proclaiming to God’s ancient people, “We know better than you.”

I have an idea! Why not model humility? Especially in our handling of these ancient oracles that God entrusted to the Jews and not to us Gentiles. We are best at being light simply by being light, not by telling others that they are in the dark.