Pentacost
(Excerpt: Notes of Tampa, Sacred Heart’s Pastor)
The Greek name (pentēkostē) for the Jewish Feast of Weeks, deriving from its occurrence 50 days after
Passover (Acts 20:16; 1 Cor 16:8). Because the early Christians received the baptism of the Holy Spirit
on this day, the term is now more commonly used to refer to that event recounted in Acts 2:1–13.
The Feast of Weeks was the second of the three great Jewish feasts. Its name signified it concluded the period of seven weeks which began with the presentation of the first sheaf of the barley
harvest during the Passover celebration (Lev 23:15–16; Deut 16:9). Thus it was originally an
agricultural feast marking the end of the grain harvest and was celebrated during the month of Sivan
(May/June). Both Josephus (Ant 3.10.6 §252; JW1.13.3 §253) and Jewish intertestamental writings
(Tob 2:1; 2 Macc 12:31–32) refer to the feast as Pentecost. [AYBD 5:222-23]