Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.
Seven weeks shalt thou number - the feast of weeks, or a WEEK OF WEEKS; the feast of Pentecost (see the notes at Exodus 34:22; Leviticus 23:10; Acts 2:1). As on the second day of the Passover, a sheaf of new barley, reaped on purpose, was brought into the sanctuary and presented as a thank offering to God, so on the second day of Pentecost a sheaf of new wheat was presented as first-fruits (Exodus 23:16; Numbers 28:26) - a free-will spontaneous tribute of gratitude to God for his temporal bounties. This feast was instituted in memory of the giving of the law-that spiritual food by which man's soul is nourished (Deuteronomy 8:3).