The arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost — the Greek name for Shavuot (שׁבועות), the Jewish Feast of Weeks — empowers followers of Jesus to continue their Messiah’s mission. The way that Acts presents Pentecost echoes the giving of the Torah on Sinai, and shows how God reclaims those of Israel who had been lost after the sin of the golden calf. The advent of the Spirit fixes the problem that occurred in the wilderness, and highlights the divine desire to heal and restore the Jewish people.
According to Judaic tradition, Shavuot commemorates the gift of the Torah through Moses. Acts reflects this relationship between Pentecost and Sinai by using language that recalls events in Exodus. For example, with reference to believers at Pentecost, Luke says that “tongues of fire (πῦρ; pur) appeared to them” (Acts 2:3). Similarly, Exodus notes that the Lord “descended on [Mount Sinai] in fire (πῦρ; pur)” (19:18 LXX). More, just as the divine descent onto Sinai is accompanied by the “sound” (φωνή; foné) of thunder and trumpet (Exod 19:16-19 LXX), the “sound” (φωνή; foné) of a rushing wind accompanies the Spirit’s arrival (Acts 2:6). Insofar as God descends in fire and sound in the wilderness, and God’s Spirit descends in fire and sound at Pentecost, Luke presents the Holy Spirit’s arrival recapitulating the giving of the Torah at Sinai.
Soon after Moses receives the Torah, however, the Israelites rebel against God by building the golden calf. The Jewish-Greek translation of Exodus 32 uses language to describe this rebellion that Luke repurposes in the Pentecost account. Responding to Israel’s idolatry, “All the Levites assembled together (συνέρχομαι; synérchomai)” around Moses before killing a number of the people (32:26). Luke also describes a gathering of the Jewish people, not as a precursor to death, but to new life in the Spirit: “And at this sound [of the Spirit] the multitude assembled together (συνέρχομαι; synérchomai)” (Acts 2:6). Thus, Acts repurposes Exodus’ language to allude to the coming restoration at the outpouring of the Spirit.
After the Levites do their destructive duty, the Hebrew notes, “that day about three thousand (ביום ההוא כשׁלשׁת אלפי; bayom hahu kishloshet alphei) men of the people fell” (Exod 32:28). Luke draws on this Hebrew phrasing in the description of the Spirit’s saving work among the Jewish people: “Those who received [Peter’s] word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand ((ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ… ὡσεὶ τρισχίλιαι; heméra ekeíne… hoseì trischíliai) lives” (Acts 2:41). Whereas the golden calf incident ended in the loss of three thousand, the Holy Spirit ensures that the three thousand who were lost are reclaimed at Pentecost. God’s Spirit enacts an initial restoration of the chosen people as a foretaste of the salvation that goes from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.
Shalom. Thank you for this explnation of what was a Jewish Shavout/Pentecost. Excellent, my first thoughts would be, at that time and space in history – what other point of reference would have existed in Jerusalem other that of Torah? I’ll answer my own question with… none! The way in which we perceive Acts 2 today must be a contrived understanding. I sincerely respect this handling of Scripture with Grace on full display. Would you apply a similar study comparing 1Kin.19:18 and Rev.11:13? 7000 living one place and 7000 slain in the other? Elijah would be the common denominator if his life brings life, and his death brings judgement. Mal.4:6. Shalom. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll take a look at the Revelation-1 Kings connection and see if I can put an article together.
Thank you! This is why I like your contributions: again and again unexpected discoveries and wonderful connections in the Scripture revealed! Thanks for reading, Arend.
I never noticed this parallelism even though I have seen that Pentecost was the reversal of Babel, and Peter's quotation of Joel as being fulfilled in Pentecost was also a signal that Peter saw the resurrection of Jesus as the initiation of the "last days." Thanks! My Jewish wife (long a secular Jew) became a Believer in Israel&baptized in the Jordan River! My point? She had picked up on Mt. Sinai's "about 3,000 died - Pentecost - about 3,000, "come to life" soon after her new look at Scriptures. Thnk U Thanks for reading, Hal. Wow, well done to your wife for catching the connection between the 3,000 -- that's very astute! -- most scholarly commentaries don't pick up on the parallel. Cool story about her baptism in the Jordan :) All the best from IBC. Israel Bible Center equips you with the tools you need to enter into the Jewish world of Scripture. We provide first-rate teaching, and the opportunity to learn from some of the world’s top scholars. As a student, you will be able to interact personally with our teaching faculty, and gain access to hundreds of hours of Bible courses, including The Jewish Gospel of Matthew and The Hebrew Psalms: How To Worship God. Become a part of the community of teachers and students at Israel Bible Center today!
As always these are filed and, as a teacher, always used to students. Off the point. How often have we heard I am so glad to know this wonderful explanation! Thank you so much ?! Thanks for reading, Nahshon.
Another super insight Dr Schaser, thank you so much. As I see commented on here, I am not the first to miss this connection, while catching the giving of the Torah-Day of Pentecost connection. At IBC I recently learned about "Chiasms" too. It's almost become a game to see how many times I can find the Passover theme played out in a new Bible location. Now I am going to start looking for these types of parallels. Thank you for getting me started with this article! Thanks for reading and studying with us, Gaea.
This lesson is very well done on The Holy Spirit I have a question Is baptism of The Holy Sprit and Speaking in Tongues. Related to this subject? Today! Thanks for your question, Betty. Yes, the event at Pentecost is related to the "baptism of the Holy Spirit" to which Luke alludes later in Acts (cf. 11:16; 18:25-26) and earlier in the Gospel and Acts (Lk 3:16; Acts 1:5). From Luke's perspective, baptism in the Spirit is another way of saying something like "immersion into God's activity on earth," which empowers people to spread the gospel. Speaking in tongues (i.e., God-given utterances that translate into various earthly languages) often accompanies the arrival of the Spirit in Acts (e.g., 10:46; 19:6). We are glad that you are finding our articles enlightening. You’ve already started your path into Scripture, but there’s so much more that awaits you! Consider enrolling in our immersive online courses: The Jewish Gospel of Matthew or The Hebrew Psalms: How To Worship God. We guarantee that they will deepen your understanding of Scripture and enrich your faith experience.
Load more commentsJ.
Pastor Hal, Ph.D.
"...never heard it - are they all going to hell!?" REFER TO REVELATION 14:6,7, there's the answer.