In the section xiv. 22-xvi. 17, dues and feasts are taken together.
In the first half (xiv. 22-xv. 18) there is a progression from those
acts which are repeated within the course of a year to those which
occur every three years, and finally to those which occur every seven;
in the second half (xv. 19-xvi. 17) recurrence is again made to the
principal, that is, the seasonal dues, first to the firstlings
and the passover feast, and afterwards to the two others, in
connection with which the tithes of the fruits are offered.
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It results from the very nature of the case that the people come
together to offer thanks for Jehovah's blessing, but no special
emphasis is laid upon this. In the Jehovistic legislation
(Exodus xxiii., xxxiv.) the terms have not yet come to be fixed,
so that it is hardly possible to speak of a "dies festus"
in the strict sense; festal seasons rather than festal days
are what we have. Easter is celebrated in the month Abib,
when the corn is in the ear (Exodus ix. 31, 32), Pentecost
when the wheat is cut, the autumn festival when the vintage
has been completed,--rather vague and shifting determinations.
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