Quote:The first day of the Feast is the 15th of the first month (Tuesday the 30th this year) and the seventh day is on Monday April 5.
That's basically how I see it.
We've had lots of discussion about this in our group.
My understanding is this:
Keep the lamb from the 10th "until" the 14th day, and kill it at evening.
The original meaning was evening, the
start of the 14th day. (Genesis -- evening, morning... the first day...)
At midnight on the 14th day, death came through Egypt.
The people hustled out of Egypt, for the express purpose of a Feast to Yahweh in the Wilderness -- on the 15th day.
We are told that the 14th is a "memorial of the sacrifice of Yahweh's passover"; but it is not a holy convocation.
(In my mind, that's because the Messiyah could not be sacrificed on a holy convocation.)
Even though you eat unleavened bread in the Passover, the 14th is the Passover, and the 15th is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As John 19 says, they had to get Yahshua off the pole and into the grave before sunset (the end of) the 14th day -- start of the 15th day, because "that sabbath was an high day" -- the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. On the seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, another Holy Convocation.
But during the Babylonian captivity, Israel picked up the Babylonian interpretation of the word "evening", what we would call afternoon, before sunset; and began slaughtering their lambs toward the end of the 14th day.
This confusion is still with us today; but the beautiful thing about it is, it let our Messiyah eat the Passover at the "correct" time with His disciples (not early); and yet be sacrificed at the same time as the priests were slaughtering the Passover lambs for Israel (because they were late); at the end of the 14th.
Although the 14th is not a holy convocation, I took the day as a "memorial of the sacrifice". I'm fortunate I was able to spend it (Sunday night and Monday) fellowshipping and worshipping with like minded believers. They met again on Tuesday -- I took the day off work, and spent it with the family; including reading Exodus with my 8yo daughter.
Hallelu-yah!