The times., 1899-05-15
BESTOW Al OF THE
GIFT OF TONGUES
Historic Import of the Day Ct
PentecOst.
One Of the Three Principal Festivals
of the Hebrew Church.
CommemOrntion of the Desccn. of
the Holy Ghost Upon
the Apostles.

Yesterday was the day of Pentecost.
Pentecost is a word from the Greek, mean
ing literally. the "fftieth" 1t is one of
the three principal festivals OF the Hebrew
Church, and with the Christians it ranks
as a festival day next after Easter.
With the Christians it commentaries
the day when, as related in the Acts. the
Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles
and bestowed on them the gift of tongues.
The second chapter of the Acts of the
Apostles relates this miracle. as follows:
And when the Pentecost was fully come
they were all with one accord in one
place. And suddenly there came sound
from heaven as of a mighty rushing wind,
and it filled all the house where they were
sitting; and there appeared unto them
cloyen tongues like as of fire, and it sat
upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utter
ance. And there were dwelling at Jerus-
alem Jews, devout men. out of every na-
tion under heaven. Now when this was
noised abroad, the multitude came togeth-
er and were confused. because every man
heard them speak in his own language.
And they were all amazed. and marveled,
all these that speak, Galileans? And now
hear We every man in our own tongue.
wherein We were born?
'Parthians and Medes. and Elamites,
and the dwellers in Mesopotamia and in
Judea and Cappadocia. in Pontus and Asia.
Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in
the parts of Libya. about Cerene, and
strangers of Rome. and prosylites. Cretes
and Arabians We do hear them speak in
our own tongues the wonderful words of
! God And they were all amazed, and
we're in doubt, saying one to another,
What meaneth this? Others, mocking,
said. These men are full of new wine
But, Peter. standing UP with the eleven
! lifted up his voice and said unto them
For these are not drunken. as We sup
| pose. seeing ii is but the third hour OF
the day"
The day with the Jews is known as Sha-
| buoth. and is kept by them as commanded
in Exodus xxiii:14. Is. and 16. as follows
Three times shalt thou keep feast
unto me in the year.
Thou shalt keep the feast of unleayened
bread: (thou shalt eat unleayened bread
seven days, as | commanded thee, in the
time appointed of the month Abb. for in
| it thou camest out of Egypt, and none
shall appear before me empty.)
And the feast of harvest the first fruits
Of thy labors which thou hast sown in the
| field; and the feast OF ingathering. which
! is in the end of the year. when thou Last
gathered in thy labors out of the field"
| Thus. with the Jews, was the day origi-
nally instituted as harvest feast to cele.
brate the gathering of the first fruit OF
the new wheat crop. and the occasion o
| their Offering AT the sanctuary. By the
Jews 1t is called the Feast Week. ac-
cording to Exodus xxxiv:22: And thol
shalt observe the feast of weeks, of tn,
first fruits Of wheat harvest. and the feas
OF ingathering at the years end"
II is said that it came to be known a'
the Feast of Weeks from the sever
weeks intervening between it and the pre-.
ceding Passover. which was one o
the earliest corn gathering. according
TO Deuteronomy xvi:9: Seven week.
shalt thou number unto thee: begin Il
| number the seven weeks from such time
as thou beginnest TO put the sickle to tn,
| corn" Counting the full term of tbs
| period OF days. the days of Omer as the!
are called, makes the day following tn,
close of the seventh week the fiftieth
whence comes the Greek name Of the fes
| tiyal of Pentecost.
The day was set apart for the offering o.
two loaves of learened bread from the foul
of the new wheat harvest.
In the same way that the feast OF un-
| ieavened bread-the memorial of Exodus
came to be regarded as the beginning o.
| the harvest, so reyersely the harvest fes-
| tival came TO have significance in connec-
| ton with the PRONUNCIATION of the laws Of
| Sinai. through its falling on the anniver-
/ szry of that event.
Especially in the centuries since the dis
persion. the historic import of the Feast
OF the Weeks became predominant. and the
special stress laid by the Talmudic writers
! on this aspect of the festival has CON
! hrned 1t among the Jewish people as a
memorial of the covenant Of the law.