Numbers 29:35 - Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

On the eighth day ye shall have a solemn assembly. — Or, closing feast day. The word azereth, which is here and in the parallel passage in Leviticus 23:36 (comp. Nehemiah 8:18; 2 Chronicles 7:9) rendered “solemn assembly,” is used in Deuteronomy 16:8 of the seventh or closing day of the Feast of the Passover. It is used in Jeremiah 9:2 and Amos 5:2 in a more general manner. In the former of these passages it is used of an assembly or confederacy of false dealers, and in the latter it appears to include solemn festivals generally, without limitation to the last day of their duration. The primary notion appears to be that of restraint — i.e., from the performance of servile work. The sacrifices of the eighth day were the same as those which were appointed for the first day of the seventh month, i.e., the Feast of Trumpets, and also for the tenth day, or Day of Atonement. (See Leviticus 23:36, and Note.)