Grammatical Diagram of Leviticus 23:15–16
The Count to Pentecost is a Three Part Count
First, the text itself, as translated by Brother King James.
15 -“And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
16 — Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto YHWH.” Leviticus 23:15–16
Before lending an explanation to the complexity of the above text, let us become familiar with a list of Hebrew grammatical parts of speech that we need to identify to understand Leviticus 23:15–16 fully. These uses within Hebrew Grammar can be seen at the following links, breaking down both verses accordingly:
Leviticus 23:15 Hebrew Text Analysis
Leviticus 23:16 Hebrew Text Analysis
Noun — person, place, thing, or idea.
Subject — the main point of the sentence, performing the action of the verb.
Verb — the action made by the subject.
Adjective — lends information to or about the subject.
Preposition — shows the relationship of a noun in the sentence concerning direction, location, time, cause, or manner.
Conjunction — a word that connects words, phrases, or clauses in a sentence.
Progressive Conjunction — is a type of conjunction that links two actions or clauses, where the second action follows or builds upon the first, often showing progression in time, logic, or narrative flow, and usually holding a second part of speech.
First Person — The one doing the speaking.
Second Person — The one being spoken to.
Third Person — The Personal Pronoun being spoken about.
Example: “YHWH (1st) said to Moses (2nd), tell the children of Israel (3rd)….”
Qal — sheds light on the action being taken. It is a secondary verb, attached to the primary verb, explaining the action further.
Imperfect — an incomplete action, or something yet to come. It always introduces a conjunction, and it usually has an Imperfect verb on the other end, like bookends or brackets.
Masculine — Usually the subject or the direct object in a sentence or phrase. The main point. Verbs can also have gender as a part of speech.
Feminine — Usually the secondary or indirect object in a sentence or phrase. That which supports the main point. It can also be a verb.
CS — The Construct State is a special form of a noun used to show possession or close connection between two nouns or subjects. When a noun is in the construct state, it is linked directly to the following noun or subject, forming a genitive phrase. It forms a noun-to-noun relationship. It joins two thoughts like a conjunction.
SC — usually stands for Subject + Construct or more commonly Subject + Clause, depending on the context.
Conjunction-W — is the Hebrew letter וְ (vav or waw), which primarily functions as the word “and”. It joins words, phrases, or clauses, similar to the English words “and,” “but,” or “then,” depending on the context.
Clause — is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb, and expresses a complete or partial idea.
Here is the way the text is translated from the most accurate translation dealing with this text (in my opinion) — The New American Standard Version.
15 -“And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
16 — Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto YHWH.” Leviticus 23:15–16
Notice the colon “:” ending verse 15. The translators understood the part of speech used to end verse 15 and that which begins verse 16, tying these two thoughts together. You can not have part one of the clause (number seven Sabbaths) divorced from part two of the clause (the morrow after the seventh Sabbath). These two must be understood in their proper order and their proper relationship to one another. This same order and relationship is repeated in the following passage using linguistic parts of speech… A third portion of the sequential clause (shall you number fifty days).
Three parts to the counting process.
Part 1 — Number seven complete Sabbaths.
Part 2 — Come to the day after the seventh Sabbath
Part 3 — Number 50 days.
The use of conjunctions between these three portions denotes their distinction from one another. One can not be the same as another. The day after the seventh Sabbath can not be a part of the seven Sabbaths, nor can it be lumped into the 50 days. It is closed off from both via bookend conjunctions.
So, let’s break it down, word by word…
Since no one disagrees with the first part of verse 15, at least amongst Lunar Sabbath Keepers… The words, “And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath (Abib 15), from the day (Abib 16) that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering;” are well understood. Likewise, the last half of verse 16 holds no debate to its meaning. The words, “Then you shall bring a grain offering, new, to YHWH.” are well understood to mean the action taken on the Day of Pentecost, the 50th day.
Thus, let’s break down the statement, “seven sabbaths shall be complete.” The order from the Hebrew interlinear says it like this:
“Seven Sabbaths completed shall be.” The last word, “shall be,” is very important.
Word Part of Speech Hebrew
Seven Number / Feminine Singular שֶׁ֥בַע
Sabbaths Noun / Common Plural שַׁבָּת֖וֹת
Completed Adjative / Feminine Plural תְּמִימֹ֥ת
Shall Be Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3PF תִּהְיֶֽינָה׃
These four words make up a verbal clause, not a sentence, describing the action of counting, which opens the verse.
Now, let’s break down what is happening within this last word, translated as “shall be.”
First of all, “shall be” is the main verb in the “verbable” clause, denoting the kind of action taken concerning the seventh complete Sabbath. The verb in the clause is actually “shall be completed”; however, because the word “completed” is first used as an adjective, it splits its duties, both describing the type of seven Sabbaths (they must be completed) and describing what shall be, acting as an adverb.
That said, here is the main point concerning these two words: ‘completed’ and ‘shall be’.
“Shall be” stands alone as the verb in the clause because of the other parts of speech and tenses attached to it… Qal, Imperfect, and 3rd person.
Remember Qal, which sheds light on an action yet to be taken. In other words, “shall be” points to what comes next in the text. Qal can point back to an action; however, it would be listed as “Qal-Imperf–Perf”, not Qal-Imperf. The word “shall be” is listed as Qal-Imperf, and the 3rd person refers to the command or importance of its completeness to Israel.
The point being, the part of speech shows the word’s role in introducing the following or ongoing action to be taken, found at the beginning of verse 16. It is acting as the first half of the colon process, joining the two parts of the three-part count together.
Now to verse 16…
Word Part of Speech Hebrew
Even until Preposition (Progressive Conj.) עַ֣ד
The Day / After Noun Feminine / Preposition מִֽמָּחֳרַ֤ת Subject + Construct / Masculine
The Sabbath Article / Noun Construct State הַשַּׁבָּת֙
The Seventh Article / Number Ordinal Fem-Singlular הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔ת
Shall You Number Verb — Qal — Imperf — 2nd Person Masculine תִּסְפְּר֖וּ
Fifty Number / Common Plural חֲמִשִּׁ֣ים
Days Noun / Masculine Singular י֑וֹם
“Then you shall bring a grain offering, new, to YHWH.”
A second witness to the fact
There is a tried-and-true principle of scriptural study that never fails to uncover mistranslations and misconceptions throughout the Bible. Going to the root of the keyword in question, then applying that root meaning to the surface definition of the word, causes all mistranslations to vanish like a bad smell in the wind. Concerning Leviticus 23:15–16, the key word is the first word in verse 16, translated as “until.”
The surface definition of this word (H5704) ‘ad is:
Original Word: עַד
Part of Speech: preposition; preposition; conjunction
Transliteration: `ad
Pronunciation: ahd
Phonetic Spelling: (ad)
Definition: Until, as far as, up to, while, during
Meaning: as far as
Properly, the same as ad (H5703) (used as a preposition, adverb or conjunction; especially with a preposition)
The words “the same as ad (H5703)” in the above surface definition direct the reader to the word ad to find the root; thus, ad would be a form of the root ‘ad (H5704). So, let’s look at ad (H5703)
Original Word: עַד
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: `ad
Pronunciation: ahd
Phonetic Spelling: (ad)
Definition: Forever, perpetually, continually, until, eternity
Meaning: a, terminus, duration, advance, perpetuity
eternity, everlasting, old, perpetually, world without end. From adah (H5710); properly, a (peremptory) terminus, i.e., (by implication) duration, in the sense of advance or perpetuity
Thus, these two words have a common root. The word adah (H5710). So, let’s examine that word to find the starting point of the understanding we need.
Original Word: עָדָה
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: `adah
Pronunciation: ah-DAH
Phonetic Spelling: (aw-daw’)
Definition: To pass on, advance, adorn
Meaning: to advance, pass on, continue, to remove, to bedeck
adorn, deck self, pass by, take away. A primitive root; to advance, i.e., pass on or continue; causatively, to remove; specifically, to decorate.
Now, when we apply all three definitions to the word being used in the text, which has been translated as “Until”, we can understand this word accordingly:
To come to, advance or pass by, to continue on, (to the next side of the command).
Thus, the text says:
“You shall number seven Sabbaths, they shall be complete, until you come to the day after the seventh Sabbath. You are then to continue to pass by that single day, to then number 50 days.”
Three parts to the count:
1 — Seven Sabbaths
2 — The single day after the seventh Sabbath
3 — Then after that single day, number 50 days.
Consider a second witness to this understanding. The word translated as “until” is also used throughout the Torah when referring to any unclean person. They are always unclean “until” evening.
Evening is a broad space of time lasting from its beginning, when the sun is at its highest point at noon, until the moment when light is entirely gone in the western sky, marking the start of night or dusk.
Question: At what point after a person has washed or fulfilled whatever command YHWH had for them are they clean? According to the Western understanding of the word “until,” a person can be considered clean at High Noon, but this is not the case under a Hebrew understanding. By a Hebrew understanding, being unclean until evening is to be unclean until the daylight portion of the day has elapsed.
In other words, the unclean person remains in the unclean state until evening comes; he continues in an impure state until evening has been completed. When evening is over, if he has washed, he is then pronounced clean. Thus he came to, passed through, and continued until that single period of evening was completed.
The same word, ‘ad (H5704) is used in all the cases of an unclean state and the count to Pentecost in Leviticus 23:16.
Joey Thompson
Joeythompson777@aol.com