Exodus 23:14-17

"Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep: seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib (for in it thou camest out of Egypt); and none shall appear before me empty: and the feast of the harvest, the first-fruits of thy labors, which thou sowest in the field: and the feast of ingatherings, at the end of the year, when thou gatherest in thy labors out of the field. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord Jehovah."

"Three times in the year ..." This is repeated (Exodus 23:14,17) and is the new revelation of these verses, two of the feasts being introduced here for the first time. Note that the Feast of unleavened bread was not a new feast. It had already been mentioned at the time of the Passover, hence, the words, "As I commanded thee" (Exodus 23:15), an expression conspicuously omitted in this first mention of the other two feasts. These three great festivals were known throughout the history of Israel as Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Martin Noth and other critics have alleged that these feasts were taken over by the Jews from the pagan peoples surrounding then, and adopted into their worship,[16] but the Scriptures leave no doubt whatever of the origin of all three. In all history, there is no record anywhere of unleavened bread being considered anything special in pagan religions. How did it get into these feasts? It all went back to that hasty departure of Israel from Egypt. When they were in too big a hurry to leaven bread! No critic on earth will ever be able to get rid of that witness of the divine origin of these feasts. The omission of the word Passover in connection with the feast of unleavened bread in these verses was due to its being absolutely unnecessary to mention it.