_Shabuôth_, or the feast of Weeks, celebrated seven weeks later at the conclusion of the harvest (Deut. xvi. 10); called also _Ḳazir_, the feast of “Harvest” (Exod. xxiii. 16); _Sukkôth_, or the feast of Tabernacles, the autumn feast, called also _ha-Asiph_, the feast of “the ingathering,” when “thou gatherest in thy labours out of the field” (Exod. xxiii. 16). Since prior to their entry into Canaan the Israelites were nomads, and therefore did not observe harvest festivals, it is extremely probable that, in settling down among the Canaanites, they adopted these festivals from the people of the land, and celebrated them in honour of Jahwe, their God. These three great feasts were originally, among the Israelites, of equal importance, requiring presence at the sanctuary (Exod. xxxiv. 23); but there are indications that in quite early times the autumn feast of Tabernacles assumed pre-eminence. It is called “the feast,” or “the feast of Jahwe[234].” The other feasts were celebrated locally. From the present point of view it is important to note that each of these feasts is called _ḥag_: _ḥag ha-Mazzôth_, _ḥag ha-Ḳazir_, _ḥag ha-Asiph_; that is to say, to each is applied the term which originally denoted what was the essence of a festival, viz. the sacred dance round the sanctuary; and the same is true of the minor festivals which were celebrated at the local sanctuaries. In view of the fact that the feast was called _ḥag_ because of the sacred dance characteristic of it, no surprise can be felt at the non-mention of dancing at these feasts when they are spoken of in the Old Testament; it was so obvious and customary that any reference to it, excepting incidental allusions, would have been quite superfluous[235]. Such incidental allusions occur in the Psalms, as we have seen, and a more specific mention is met with in Judg. xi. 34: “And Jephthah came to Mizpah unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances”; we are not here concerned with the character of the feast referred to[236]; our point is that it was celebrated with dancing. Another and fuller illustration occurs in Judg. xxi. 19 ff., where mention is made of a feast which was held annually at Shiloh in honour of Jahwe; that it was a vintage feast is implied by the reference to the vineyards in which the Benjamites hid themselves[237]. At this feast it was the custom for the young girls to come out and dance: “When the maidens of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances”; and see verse 23. It is worth noticing how the dancing is mentioned as a recognized custom. The spot must have been a familiar one as the feast took place annually: we are reminded of _Abel-meḥolah_, “the field of dancing” (1 Kings xix. 16), which must clearly have got its name from the festival dancing which took place there habitually.