Shortly before Moses turned over his responsibilities as leader of the children of Israel to Joshua, he was instructed of the Lord to send the Israelites into battle against the Midianites. By this time there were a number of other kings that were involved in the battle, some five kings of Midian were slain in this battle. At the end of the verse it is simply stated: "Balaam also the son of Beor ["Bosor" in Greek] they slew with the sword."
Joshua and the Battle of Jericho - 1422 B.C.

Successor to the famous leader, Moses, Joshua is preparing an attack on Jericho in the mountains to the north-east of the Dead Sea. From the mountains, Joshua looks west across the river Jordan toward his destination. The territory God once pledged to Abraham and his descendants. At Joshua's command are some 40,000 Israelite men, descendants of the Hebrew slaves who fled Egypt. There is one problem: the country is already inhabited by Canaanites. Like any good military commander, Joshua's first requirement is to gather military intelligence. He sends out two spies across the Jordan River ahead of time. They go immediately to an inn that's run by a prostitute. In the ancient world, brothels and taverns were places to gather information. The spies meet a prostitute called Rahab. But things soon go wrong. No sooner have they come to her house than the King of Jericho sends his men, because he knows that the spies have arrived. Rahab takes charge of the whole situation. She hides the spies in the stocks of grain on her roof..When the King's guards come, Rahab said to them: "Some men came, you're right, but they left a long time ago when the city gate closed. If you rush ahead and go down to the Jordan, I think you'll find them there." So she sends the pursuers of the spies away and goes up to the roof and tells the spies that she knows that Israel will conquer the land. She knows that God has promised the land to them.

Joshua's army walked around the walled city of Jericho once a day for six days. Each time they walked priests blew trumpets. On the seventh day they circled seven times and the walls of the city came crashing down. Joshua and his army conquered the city, massacring every person they found. Only Rahab and her family were saved. Joshua and his people then continued to destroy other towns and cities and Joshua succeeded in conquering Canaan. .... source BBC

PENTECOST - SHAVUOT - WEEKS
When you shall come into the land which I shall give you and shall reap the harvest thereof ...   Even unto the morrow unto the seventh Sabbath shall you number fifty days; and you shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord. You shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenths deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven; they are the first fruits unto the Lord... Leviticus 23: 10,16,17 Pentecost means "fiftieth" in Greek and is celebrated fifty days after Passover at the end of May or beginning of June. Pentecost is also called the "Feast of Weeks," Exodus 34:22, and "Feast of Harvest," Exodus 23:16. The head of the household brought two loaves of bread to the feast. Each loaf was baked with a gallon ( 2 one- tenth of a deal portions Leviticus 23:17) of fine flour and leaven, so these were large loaves of bread. The bread was waved before the Lord in Thanksgiving for the Wheat Harvest which was at its peak.

 

From "Revealing Jewish Roots" by Bill Morford

There are seven seasons of the Lord in Leviticus 23. Three of these are Feasts: Unleavened Bread, Shavuot, and Sukkot. The shortest of these Feasts is two days long. Although we are more familiar with its Greek name, Pentecost , the real name is Shavuot, pronounced "sha-voo'-ote", meaning weeks. Each of these Feasts celebrates a harvest. Shavuot celebrates harvests of wheat and many garden vegetables. South Carolina, with a climate similar to Israel, also has three growing seasons, with winter rye, barley and other grains ripening in March-April, then wheat and garden vegetables in May-June and peanuts, cotton and soy beans in September-October.

After Jesus' resurrection, He walked the earth for forty days before telling the disciples to wait, saying, "Do not go away from Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Father which you heard from Me, for John the Baptist baptized in water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit after these not many days." (Acts 1:4-5 ) Ten days later in Acts 2:1-4 we have: "And when the day of Shavuot had come they were all in one place together. And a sound came suddenly out of heaven as bringing a violent wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting and dividing tongues like fire were seen on them and they sat on each one of them, and all were filled by the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages just as the Spirit was giving them to speak out boldly."... Three thousand responded to Peter's call to repentance that day. The only public place in Jerusalem that was available for a meeting such as this was the Temple. Solomon's Porch was open to teachers of Torah, so Peter was free to speak to those who wanted to listen.

Pentecost Bread Recipe

1 envelope active dry yeast, 1 1/2 cups warm water, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 eggs (or 4 egg whites), 6 to 6 1/2 cups unbleached whole wheat or barley bread flour, 1 lightly beaten egg white (to brush dough), sesame or poppy seeds

1. Dissolve yeast with pinch of sugar in 1/2 cup warm water. Set aside until foamy.

2. Meanwhile, in large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup warm water, sugar, salt, oil, and eggs (or egg whites). Stir well. When yeast mixture is ready, stir it in.

3. Add 4 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time, blending after each addition.

4. Spoon remaining flour onto wooden board and pour dough mixture onto it. Knead by hand for 5 to 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. 5. Put dough in greased bowl. Cover with towel, set in warm place, and let rise 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.

6. Punch down dough. Divide into three part, roll each into a rope, pinch ropes together, and braid from center to ends or from one end to the other. To make two medium loaves, divide dough in half, break each half into three parts, roll each into a rope, pinch together, and braid.

7. Preheat oven to 350. Place loaves on lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush loaves with lightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds. Bake for 30 minutes.