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THE BIBLICAL BASIS OF THE SACRED CALENDAR
Part One: The Sacred
Calendar in Hebrew Scripture
The "calendar question" (that is, "What type of 'sacred calendar'
has God's approval?") is nothing new among God's people. Since at
least Second Temple times, whenever the authority of God's human
servants has been undermined or compromised, some (wishing to
establish their own authority) have
attacked or perverted the
biblical calendar. In recent times, many brethren and even ministers
of the Church of God have come to doubt the authority of our
received sacred calendar, partly because of clever arguments by the
factious, and partly because of the sheer complexity of the details
behind the sacred calendar itself.
This two-part series addresses some of the technical issues behind
the "calendar question", as well as other biblical and historical
evidences for the authority and
accuracy of the sacred calendar God's Church uses today.
It was originally written in response to several papers and
articles, and its content is laid out accordingly. While it does not
(and cannot) deal with every technical issue that might be raised, I
believe it gives a discussion sufficiently thorough to settle the
question.
Let us begin with an overview of the heart of the sacred calendar:
the Sabbath and Festivals, and especially the Holy Days. |
The Sabbath and Holy Days
In addition to the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17), God gave Israel a set of statutes and judgments (Exodus 21:1-33),
to which God added over a period of forty years. They were "case laws": specific,
case-by-case applications of the principles embodied in the Ten Commandments.
The Fourth Commandment gives man a day of rest, worship, instruction and fellowship: the seventh-day
Sabbath. By observing this day, we may know that the Creator sanctifies us
as His people (Exodus 31:13, 16-17). We also picture the future reconciliation of God, man and the physical creation
through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:10; Colossians 1:20), especially in the Millennium (Acts 4:20-21; Hebrews 4:1-11;
2 Peter 3:8-13; Revelation 20:1-6).
As "case laws" showing the full application
of the principles behind the Fourth Commandment, God also revealed to Israel seven
annual Festivals containing seven annual
Holy Days. They portray God's plan of salvation: the means by which He will
reconcile the world to Himself. The details of their observance thus comprise "a shadow of the things to come"
(Colossians 2:16-17).
God wants His people to observe these days together, in harmony with His laws and principles and with each other.
To do this, His people must have clear and consistent
rules for the setting and observance of these days.
The Sacred Calendar
The dates of the weekly Sabbath, Festivals and Holy Days are set according to a sacred calendar that is nowhere
fully detailed in the Bible. Rather, the Bible assumes that the sacred calendar exists, that it has been preserved accurately, and that those faithful to God know
about it. Otherwise, when would God's servants know when to proclaim these days or to keep
them?
We know God entrusted His "oracles" in Hebrew (including the commands regarding the Sabbath, Festivals
and Holy Days) to the Jews. This means that God must also have preserved the sacred calendar through the Jews --
despite themselves, if necessary (Romans
3:1-4).
The first step in proving this is a comparison of the principles behind our present sacred calendar with the calendrical
principles that the Bible itself outlines. Once we do this, we may know (the Interpreter's
Dictionary of the Bible and likeminded sources notwithstanding) that there
is such a thing in
principle as a "biblical" calendar: in all essentials, the same
"sacred calendar" that we use today in the Church of God.
Some Basic Calendar Astronomy
The biblical calendar (in both its sacred and civil forms) is a lunisolar calendar. It is not based merely on the solar year as is a purely solar calendar (such as
our Gregorian calendar), nor merely on the lunar month as is a purely lunar calendar (such as that used by Islam).
Rather, it uses the relationship of the lunar month to the solar year as its basis.
In the biblical calendar, the lunar month and the calendrical month are not
identical. This is because the lunar month is an uneven number of days long.
Moreover, the lunar month varies somewhat in length, due to the "eccentric" (non-circular, elliptical)
orbits of the earth and moon. This means that the calendrical month must be either 29 or 30 days long -- that is,
either somewhat less or somewhat more than the length of the lunar month.
For that matter, in the biblical calendar the length of the calendrical year is not
the same as the length of the solar year. This is because 12 lunar months
do not divide evenly into one solar year. A calendrical year must therefore have either 12 calendrical months (and
thus be shorter than the solar year) or 13 calendrical months (and thus be longer than a solar year).
A basic question we need to ask, then, is: When does the calendrical "month" (in Hebrew, chodesh or "renewal") begin in the biblical
calendar?
In antiquity there were two basic ways
of reckoning the calendrical month. One way was to observe the phases of the moon and to mark the beginning of the calendrical month when the moon was
at a particular phase -- usually, when the moon was first visible as a crescent after sunset. (The moon in such
a phase is often called a "new crescent" or -- borrowing from the Greek -- a phasis.) The only other way was to calculate the average length of the lunar month, and with it the mean
conjunction (the average time of the "new moon" or "dark moon"
-- in Hebrew, the molad), on the basis
of the exact timing of solar and especially lunar eclipses as measured over a period of years. The true conjunction (which may precede or follow the mean
conjunction by a number of hours) cannot be observed from earth, except from very restricted geographical locales
during total solar eclipses.
These two methods of reckoning the calendrical month do not give the same results month by month, even if one assumes that the calendar
day begins at the same longitude. Just before the fall equinox, the new crescent
cannot be seen from Jerusalem less than 20 hours after the true conjunction (or six hours after the mean conjunction
or molad). When the crescent appears,
it is already at least one calendar day old,1
or even two or three days old,2
as measured from either the true or mean conjunction.A calendar which begins its months with the new crescent will
set the "default position" of the first day of the month one day
later than a calendar which begins its months with the mean conjunction.
One would expect that a culture that called its month a "renewal" (as well as yareach, literally "moon") would begin its calendrical month with the molad, not with the phasis.3 The astronomical lunar cycle begins its "renewal"
with the astronomical new moon or true conjunction, not with the new crescent. Again, the sun and moon align with
the earth at the astronomical new moon, not at the new crescent.4 However, because the astronomical new moon normally cannot be seen from earth (and could not
be predicted with accuracy until modern times), ancient man used mean values for the timing of the conjunction of the sun and moon. All
else being equal, then, the first day of the calendrical month (rosh chodesh in Hebrew) should fall on the day of the
mean conjunction or molad -- not on the
day when the new crescent appears. As we will see, this is exactly what the Bible implies.
But the beginning of the lunar month is only one aspect of the "calendar question". Before we proceed
further, let us list the astronomical phenomena to which a calendar-maker might refer:
1) The day-night cycle (which varies seasonally depending on one's latitude);
2) The conjunctions and oppositions of the sun and moon;
3) Solar and lunar eclipses (which are related to the above);
4) The phases of the moon (in particular, the new crescent or phasis and the full moon);
5) The rising and setting points and times of the moon on the horizon;
6) The solstices and equinoxes of the solar year (which begin the seasons);
7) Planetary conjunctions, oppositions, and elongations of position from the sun;
8) The rising and setting points and times of certain "fixed stars";
9) Transient phenomena such as comets, meteors, novae and supernovae.
While the phenomena in category 9) have been observed and recorded by many peoples across history, by their very
irregularity they are of no use to the calendar-maker. Some ancient calendars do use some of the phenomena listed
in category 7) - but never any form of the Hebrew sacred calendar.5 All of the other phenomena were of keen interest to ancient man. Which of these are the bases
of the sacred calendar?
"Signs...Appointed Times...Days...Years"
Like the Sabbath itself, the astronomical principles behind the sacred calendar date to Creation Week.6 They are given in Genesis 1:3-4 and 1:14.
Let us examine Genesis 1:14 first. "Then God said, 'Let there be lights [the sun, moon and stars: 1:15-18]
in the expanse of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them
be for signs and for appointed times, and for days and years...". This
is a literal translation of the Hebrew Masoretic Text - the very "oracles of God" as preserved by the
Jews. This text even indicates the correct punctuation (through a series of "musical accents" accurately
preserved but long misunderstood by Judaism).7
This verse is written in priestly language,8 which means it has something to do with worship. Its terms are listed in their order of importance.
The verbal grammar and the phrase structure (syntax) of the verse shows that "signs" and "appointed
times" are connected, as are "days" and "years" in a different way. We know the motions
of the sun in the sky determine the "days". What, then, determines the "signs" and "appointed
times"? Do "years" here refer to solar years (determined by the sun alone), or calendrical years
(determined by both the moon and sun)?
An Astronomical Hierarchy
* "Signs" translates 'otot (the
plural of 'ot). A "sign" not
only marks something else as noteworthy;
it is noteworthy of itself. The "signs
of the heavens" caused superstitious fear among the pagans - as if the phenomena were omens of present or
coming events (Jeremiah 10:2). These were extraordinary,
yet obvious phenomena. Reasonably, these
"signs" were either the same as or included the "signs" mentioned in Genesis 1:14, which are
related to the motions of the sun and moon relative to each other and to the "fixed stars". Moreover,
since Jeremiah 10:3-5 seems to refer to an early precursor of the "Christmas tree" (a symbol connected
with the "rebirth" of the sun at the winter solstice), it is reasonable that at least some of the "signs"
in both passages relate to the solar seasons.
Which of the visible astronomical phenomena listed above fit all of the above criteria?
a) Solar and lunar eclipses;9
b) The solstices and equinoxes of the solar year.
The first set of "signs" point to two events God wanted man to note: the
conjunction and the opposition of the sun and the moon. The second set point
to the beginnings of the solar seasons
on which human agriculture depends. (Cf. Deuteronomy 33:15.) Both sets of events were measured very carefully by
ancient cultures.
On the basis of careful observation of lunar eclipses in particular, one may calculate not only the length of the
mean lunar month, but also the timing of the mean conjunction of the sun and moon. This latter event is called
the molad ("birth [of the moon]")
in the Hebrew calendar. Note the true conjunction10
may precede or follow the mean conjunction11
by several hours, according to the time of year. In the month of Tishri, the true conjunction may precede the mean
conjunction by as much as 14 hours or follow it by up to six or seven hours.12 In any case, calculations of the molad must use a mean length for the lunar month, because the motions of the sun and moon are irregular,
and because the true conjunction is normally invisible.
(This explains in part why a calendar based on observation of the new crescent is irreconcilable with one based
on calculation of the molad.)
Solar eclipses, though far more dramatic events (when total) than lunar eclipses, are not nearly as useful as lunar
eclipses for determining either the length of the month or the timing of the mean or true conjunction of the sun
and moon. For one thing, a total solar eclipse is visible only over a small portion of the earth, and even then
is seen by every observer at a different time. The chief value of solar eclipses to the calendar maker is that
they allow him to correct the calendar over time for the variable rotation of the earth. (The importance of this
fact will become apparent in Part II of this series.)
Yet the sacred calendar and its festivals are linked to the "full moon" (keseh) as well as the "new moon" or chodesh (Psalm 81:3, RSV). Timing the heavenly "signs" of Genesis 1:14 (in particular, the
lunar eclipses, which can be exactly timed over the whole night side of the earth at once) enables one to predict
the dates of future lunar and solar eclipses, and also to calculate the mean dates and times of the new and full
moons for calendrical purposes.
Everyone who has seen moonrise on the Night to be Much Observed and the first night of Tabernacles may appreciate
the results of such calculations! Abib/Nisan 15 and Tishri 15 coincide in principle with the dates of mean opposition
of the sun and moon: that is, the calendar days of the full moon. This might not necessarily be true if the months
began with the new crescent as seen at sunset, Jerusalem time.13
As noted, the interval between the true conjunction and the molad (whether astronomical or calendrical) is variable. The length of the calendar month (thanks
to the length of the average lunar month) also varies (between 29 and 30 calendar days). Tishri 1 (for astronomical
and religious reasons) may fall locally on the day of the molad or one or two days after it.14
Finally, for everyone to keep the same calendar day all
over the world, two full "clock" days
must pass for an observer at the longitude where the calendar day begins. When the Sabbath begins (on Friday at
sunset) at our present International Date Line (IDL), it is still Thursday night in western North America, Hawaii
and many South Pacific countries!
Any lunisolar calendar must take into account all
these factors and more. One may try to do this by watching for the new crescent, and never come up with a sacred calendar that everyone can agree to follow. Or one may determine the
beginning of the months by rules of calculation (based on the sound astronomical theory outlined by Genesis 1),
and come up with a unified, systematic calendar that works for everyone, everywhere.
Now it may still "seem right" to some men
to define the "new moon" as the new crescent rather than the mean conjunction. It's not natural for man
to trust in something that he cannot see, even in physical matters. So God gave the heavenly "signs"
(lunar and solar eclipses): things man can
see which point to something he cannot
see (that is, God's design behind the heavenly cycles).
Thus we can know when the rosh chodesh
(in Psalm 81:3, simply chodesh) falls
in the sacred calendar. All else being equal, it is the day on which the molad (not the new crescent) falls. But all else is not equal all the time! That is why there are postponements to the date of Tishri 1 (to which the dates of all the other calendrical "new moons"
are adjusted). We will return to these in due time.
* "Appointed times" translates mo`adim
(singular mo`ed). The word signifies a
time specifically set or appointed by
a person or circumstance. Translators differ as to the significance of mo`ed in Genesis 1:14 because they do not accept the simplest explanation of all the relevant facts.
We know that "He made the moon for appointed times [mo`adim]", in contrast to the sun which determines the beginning and ending of the day (Psalm
104:19, literal translation). We also know that mo`ed
may be connected with the seasons of the solar year (Genesis 18:10, 14, in which "the time of life" means
the spring season - cf. RSV; see also Leviticus 23:1-4). In Genesis 1:14, then, the "appointed times",
like the "signs" with which they are linked, are events determined by both the moon and the sun, this
time by the lunar phase cycles in combination with the solar seasons.
This correlation of the months with the seasons is directly responsible for the 19-year cycle of the Hebrew and
certain other calendars. (Nineteen solar [tropical] years equal almost exactly 235 lunar [synodic] months.) This
alignment, coupled with the biblical commands regarding the timing of Passover and Tabernacles, is also the reason
why there are seven intercalary or "leap" years
inserted among twelve common years in
the 19-year cycle. These numbers seven
and twelve are significant, in the light
of their importance in the Bible. They point to the completeness and perfect
organization of the calendar.
The relevant biblical commands are found in Deuteronomy 16:1 (with parallel verses in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers);
Exodus 23:16; and Exodus 34:22. According to Deuteronomy 16:1 and its parallels, Passover must fall in the first
month of spring - that is, "in the month of Abib [green ears or buds]". The ripening of early barley
and the appearance of new buds on trees is closely linked to the timing of the spring equinox relative to the lunar
months. A lunar month in which the spring equinox falls after the calendar date of the full moon (the 15th of the
month) cannot be "the month of Abib". When such a circumstance occurs, the following full lunar month
is to be reckoned as the first month of the sacred year (cf. Exodus 12:1-2).15
The following simple table illustrates the relationship between "the month of Abib" and the spring equinox:
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Notice that in our received calendar (as based on rules of calculation first published
in extant sources by Hillel II16
), "the month of Abib" is not always the month in which the spring equinox occurs. In the first illustrated
sequence, the 15th day of the lunar month (in principle, the calendar day of the mean full moon) in which the equinox
occurs falls after (but not too far after) the spring equinox; yet it is the following month which is "the
month of Abib". (In this case, the year is a leap year, for reasons that will be explained below.) In the
second, the 15th of the lunar month falls a little later, relative to the spring equinox. This month is, unquestionably,
"the month of Abib". In the third sequence, the spring equinox occurs well after the 15th day of the
lunar month in which it falls.17
In this latter case, once again, the month in which the equinox falls is not "the month of Abib"; the
following month is.
A common misconception is that "the month of Abib" is simply the first full lunar month after the spring
equinox. Another is that "the month of Abib" is simply the lunar month during which the spring equinox
actually falls. Nowhere does the Bible indicate either. "The month of Abib" is the month of green ears
-- the time when plants bud forth their leaves, and when the early grain crop ripens. Both the sun and the moon
(in that order) set the timing for this occurrence (cf. Deuteronomy 33:14 once again). But Israel had to "observe [watch for] the month of Abib", and make
its calendar calculations accordingly (Deuteronomy 16:1). This was a delicate matter. As shown above, there are
actually three possible interrelationships
between the spring equinox and the lunar months, and the calendar had to take all three of them into account.
Let us consider more fully what influenced the ripening of barley in the Holy Land. Traditional farmers in many
lands plant at the new moon, but harvest
at the full moon. One reason is that rainfall
(all else being equal, such as an ongoing "rainy season") is considerably more likely to occur at the
new moon than at the full moon. Another relates to the availability of moonlight after sunset for those reaping
the crop. Now in Israel, the "latter rains" came at the end of winter. By the time spring had come, the
rains had ended (cf. song 2:10-15). Thus the spring equinox had to come first, along with with the new moon immediately
preceding or following it and the "latter rains" associated with that new moon. As the first days of
spring lengthened, the waxing moon suppressed the rainfall and allowed the crop to dry and come to ripeness. Harvest
began on the Day of the Wave Sheaf Offering, which fell on the day of the full moon (Abib 15) or not many days
afterward within Unleavened Bread (cf. Leviticus 23:9-14; Deuteronomy 16:9; Joshua 5:10-12; and the chronologies
of the Exodus and of Jesus' ministry, including Luke 6:1-5 and parallel passages in Matthew 12:1-8 and Mark 2:23-28).
Exodus 23:16 ("…betse't ha-Shanah")
and 34:22 ("…tequfat ha-Shanah"),
which verses relate to the timing of Tabernacles, pose special problems through their terminology. Does betse't ha-Shanah ("when the year goes out")
refer to the beginning or the end of the year? Does tequfat ha-Shanah (literally "turning of the year") refer to the year's "turning" to its
end, or to the "turning" of one year into another? And what kind of "year" is meant here? In
our received calendar, Tabernacles falls in the seventh
month of the sacred year and the first month of the civil year (which begins with Trumpets)!
In the contexts of these verses, it is obvious that the agricultural year is meant. The agricultural year (as measured against the "signs of heaven")
ends at the fall equinox of the solar year. "When the year goes out" refers
to the exit or departure of the year --
but as the year begins, not as it ends as the usual usage of the verb root yatsa` might suggest.18 At or after the beginning of the agricultural year, then, Tabernacles is to be observed.
Likewise, "turning of the year" refers neither to a specific point in time19 nor to the time leading to the end of the agricultural year, but to the time when one agricultural
year "turns" into another.20
Again, this "turning" is not a specific date (as in the Rabbinic calendar21), but a period of
time, by the very nature of the word tequfah:
a period, once again, centered on the date of the fall equinox.
Thus there are three intersecting periods of time we must consider:
1) The seven days of Tabernacles (plus the "eighth day");
2) The period after the fall equinox ("when the year goes out");
3) The period surrounding the fall equinox ("[during the] turning of the year").
A simple chart of their intersection looks like this (* = the 15th day of the lunar month; all periods are approximate):
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Thus in our received calendar, and also according to Rabbinic tradition, Tabernacles can never occur wholly in summer. It may occur
partially or entirely after the fall equinox
- but never entirely before it. Only thus
can the biblical commands be reconciled
with the changing correlation between the lunar months and the solar seasons (in this case, between the month of
Tishri and the fall equinox).
Thus in every Metonic (19-year or 235-month lunisolar) cycle, twelve years (here, as reckoned from Tishri 1) have but one lunar month during which Passover may be kept, and one lunar month in the fall during which Tabernacles may be kept. Such years are (by definition)
common years. They have only twelve lunar months in them. All other years are (by definition)
intercalary or leap years. They have thirteen lunar months in them - and are always followed
immediately by common years.What is it then, in principle, that defines a common year in biblical terms (as translated into astronomical terms)? The
spring equinox must fall within a given lunar month before the calendar day of the full moon, or after the calendar day of the full moon within the previous lunar month; and the fall equinox must fall before or during (never after) the seven-day period beginning with
the calendar day of the full moon, six lunar months (counted inclusively) later. In
such years, only one month in the spring and one month in the fall meet the biblical criteria for determining the
months of Abib (Nisan) and Tishri.
During leap years, by contrast, two lunar months in the spring, in the fall or (rarely)
in both the spring and fall22 may
fulfill the above biblical and astronomical criteria. In all such cases, the later of any pair of months is the month that is defined as Abib and/or Tishri. (The third seasonal
Festival -- Pentecost -- adds its own control: its date must be reckoned inclusively fifty days after "the
morrow [within the Days of Unleavened Bread] after the [weekly] Sabbath". It occurs as one approaches another
milestone in the agricultural year: the summer solstice.)23
The following table illustrates (in part) the relationship between the lunar months and the solar seasons throughout
the solar year, and the timing of "the month of Abib" and Tabernacles
relative to these factors (all periods are approximate due to graphic limitations):24
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In the first example row, two months in spring may fulfill a
priori the biblical conditions for "the month of Abib". The spring
equinox occurs in the lunar month shaded in light gray. It also occurs just before the 15th day of that month.
Should that month be the month of Abib? No, because six months later (counting inclusively) Tabernacles would fall
wholly in the summer. It would indeed fall "(during the)
turning of the year", but not "when
the year goes out". In such a case, the year (as reckoned from the preceding
Tishri 1) is always a leap year. In the second example row, the fall equinox occurs during Tabernacles; in the
third example row, before it. In both cases, the spring equinox falls within (i.e., on or after the first day of)
"the month of Abib". Such years (again, as reckoned from the preceding Tishri 1 in all cases) are by
definition common years.
Thus within the Metonic cycle, there is a regular sequence of common and leap years, which shifts against the solar
seasons over the centuries.25 There
are other lunisolar cycles available to calendar makers (such as the 11-year Babylonian and 18-year Greek Saros
cycles), and leap year sequences other than those used historically in the Hebrew calendar. No alternatives, though,
are as suitable for keeping the Festivals aligned with the seasons. However, no regular sequence of leap years in a 19-year cycle can keep the sabbatical year from falling
in a leap year from time to time, whether the Jubilee cycle is observed or not.26
Note that three 19-year cycles (57 years) equal one 50-year Jubilee cycle plus one 7-year Land Sabbath cycle. Thus
the 19-year, Sabbatical and Jubilee Year cycles correlate with each other in a "full cycle" of 950 years.
(One more Jubilee cycle would bring us to 1000 years: the length of the prophetic
Millennium. This can hardly be a coincidence!) During one full cycle, 7 out
of 19 Jubilees (about 37%) would be leap years, while 49 out of 135 Sabbatical Years (about 36%) would be leap
years. Since there is no biblical law or principle forbidding this from occurring, God evidently intended not to
eliminate, but to minimize whatever hardship an extra-long Sabbatical or Jubilee Year would cause.
If we assume that from Ezra's time onward, only the Sabbatical Years were observed (cf. Nehemiah 10:31), then leap
years and Sabbatical Years would have coincided more often, causing greater hardship (in addition to that eventually
imposed by the Romans). On the other hand, later Jewish sources suggest that the Juiblee Year was indeed observed
so long as the Second Temple was standing (see footnote 26 once more). Either way, it is no surprise that many rabbis (after the fall of the Second Temple)
concluded one should not intercalate on Sabbatical or post-Sabbatical Years. Even so, some recommended intercalation
on the year preceding, some the year following the Land Sabbath, depending on whether they believed importing "herbs"
from "unclean" lands outside Israel was permitted (Sanhedrin 12a, Soncino edition, p. 53). The result? Confusion and an increasingly
irregular sequence of leap years -- not increasing
regularity as the Encyclopedia Judaica supposes ("Calendar", vol. 5, col. 49).
Now we are ready to explain other uses of mo`ed
in connection with the Festivals. We read in Leviticus 23:4 (KJV): "These are the feasts [mo`adim] of the
LORD...which ye shall proclaim in their seasons
[mo`adim]." The second usage of mo`adim refers to the appointed
times as set by the lunar cycles against the solar seasons in a 19-year cycle
(as implied by Genesis 1:14). The first usage refers by extension to the religious observances on specific days
during these "appointed times".27
But in the first usage, mo`adim does not
mean exactly the same thing as in Genesis
1:14 (though this usage derives from that
of Genesis 1:14).
In Deuteronomy 16:6, mo`ed is translated
"season" in the KJV. Here it refers to the anniversary of the very night when Israel left Egypt: a night
in the spring, when the moon is full (the 15th of Abib or Nisan). It does not refer to the solar "season"
of spring as such. But the "passover" eaten on that night (and discussed in verses 3-7) was not the lamb
mentioned in verse 2, but a bullock from the herd (same verse). This other "passover" was later called
Chagigah ("Festivity") in the
Second Temple service.28 Once this
is understood, the "Nisan 14/15 Passover question" may be resolved.
* "Days" (yamim, the plural
of yom) are determined by the apparent
motions of the sun in the sky (as caused by the earth's rotation). As we will see, days may be reckoned noon-to-noon
(for astronomical purposes) or sunset-to-sunset (for calendrical and religious purposes).
We find in Leviticus 23:32 and other verses that the calendar day is measured sunset-to-sunset.
What is not commonly recognized is that the language of Genesis 1 implies the existence of a round
earth, with the narrator recounting events as they appeared to occur at the
"prime meridian" of the earth. "And the evening and the morning were..." literally means "and
it came to be evening, and it came to be morning...", implying a sunrise-to-sunrise
local day. (The implications of this will be spelled out more fully below.)
* "Years" (shanim, plural of
shanah) are determined by the apparent
motion of the sun against the stars (thanks to the earth's revolution around the sun), which occur even as the
sun makes its daily motion through the sky.29
These "years" may be measured differently: against a particular star (the sidereal year), from noon to
noon (the solar year), relative to the spring equinox (the tropical year), relative to the fall equinox (the agricultural
year, as observed in the land of Israel), and so on. Since the sacred calendar and its Festivals are so closely
linked to the harvest seasons, it is closely connected with the tropical and agricultural years as well as the
solar year.
Thus Genesis 1:14 describes the astronomical hierarchy
on which the sacred calendar is to be based. One other factor must be considered: where the calendar day begins
on the earth's surface, as implied by Genesis 1:3-5 and other passages.
Noon, Sunset and Calendar Days
The timing of the molad is reckoned according
to the equatorial day, in which the length of day and night is always equal (cf. Judaica, columns 44 and 46). This makes perfect sense on a round earth (with or without a tilted axis,
if one raises this issue regarding the world before the Flood).
It is only an assumption, however, that the Hebrew calendar reckons the molad in terms of Jerusalem time (loc. cit.). The medieval Jewish sage Maimonides assumed this, based on Isaiah 2:3: "...for out
of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." In effect, he was stating that the
calendar day (for purposes of calculation) begins at Jerusalem, not east or west of it. But he was not stating an ancient tradition, but attempting to account for one.
Jerusalem's location at or near the "navel [geographical center] of the earth" (Ezekiel 38:12) makes
it an ideal center for God's future worldwide government and Work. It is not, however, ideally located as a referent for worldwide (as opposed to local)
time-keeping. Its longitude is too far west to mark either an "international date line" (IDL) or a meridian
six hours west of an IDL (from which noon may be measured for calendrical purposes). It is also too far east to
mark the "prime meridian" (PM), which now passes through Greenwich, England. The easternmost "end
of the earth" (i.e., of the earth's land masses) is not at Jerusalem, but many thousands of miles east of
it. Logically, the calendar day (as marked by an IDL) should begin there - not at a city west (even in antiquity)
of a considerable majority of the earth's human inhabitants.
Thus a sacred calendar based on Jerusalem time
(in which the calendar day begins at Jerusalem) rather than world time (in which the calendar day begins at an IDL) is by necessity a local calendar - and therefore truly useful only for Jerusalem and its environs. Since God intended
from the beginning that all humans everywhere
keep His Festivals (cf. Acts 15:18, KJV), let us take the simplest possible assumptions (based on what God reveals
to us about Creation Week) and see where they lead us.30
First, we see from Genesis 1:3-5 that God based the lunisolar calendar on world time, not local time -- which implies
an IDL east of Jerusalem, "the navel of the earth". Next, He started the calendar's daily and weekly
cycles on Day One of Creation Week, and the monthly, seasonal and solar cycles on Day Four. Further, Day Four likely
would have marked the fall (not the spring) equinox, making the season fall in the Northern Hemisphere and days
and nights equal all over the earth. (We assume the season was fall because God created seed-bearing plants and
trees on Day Three.31) Next, when
God separated light from darkness (1:3-5), the eastern half of the terminator (the boundary between day and night)
would have fallen on the meridian just east of the easternmost "end of the earth". This meridian would
have marked the IDL, the basis of world time. (The location of the IDL, of course, has been adjusted in modern
times for the benefit of the earth's inhabitants.) The western half of the terminator, by contrast, would have
falled on the "prime meridian" or PM (180 degrees or 12 hours west of the IDL). Finally (and this is
most important), the narrator of Genesis 1 would have described events using the language of appearance, and as
they would have appeared at the prime meridian.
Let us now go back in time to Genesis 1:3-5. At the terminator, the first calendar day (Day One, Year One) now
begins (verse 4). (Let us assume for argument's sake that the IDL is at our present 180 degrees longitude.) It
is now sunset at the eastern "end of the earth" (modern Siberia). Ninety degrees of longitude west of
the terminator (in modern Afghanistan), the local time is now 12:00 noon on Day Zero of the calendar. At the PM
(i.e., at the meridian passing through modern Greenwich, England, where the narrator's viewpoint actually is),
the local time is now 6:00 a.m. on Day Zero of the calendar. (Do not be confused by this. It is simply a matter
of how one counts the days on a round
earth.)
"And it came to be evening, and it came to be morning: Day One" (verse 5, literal Hebrew). In other words,
"the day ended with evening, and the night with morning" (The New
BDBG Lexicon, reference boqer, p. 134a). The simplest explanation of this wording is that the local
day as the narrator describes it begins and ends at sunrise. Such an observer
would see the evening (`erev) come twelve
hours later at sunset, then the morning (boqer)
come twelve hours later still at sunrise. Whereas an observer at the latitude of modern Afghanistanwould see the
evening come six hours after noon, then the morning twelve hours later, and finally noon six hours later still.
However, the calendar day is being reckoned
not from sunrise at the PM, nor from noon over Afghanistan, but from sunset at the IDL.32 Thus, at the latitude of modern Afghanistan, an observer
would experience six hours of daylight on (the calendrical) Day Zero before he begins Day One. Eighteen hours after
sunset, he would reach noon on Day One just as Day Two begins at the terminator.
We now go forward to verse 13: "And it came to be evening, and it came to be morning: Day Three" (literally,
"a Third Day"). Day Four of Year One is about to begin at the IDL. Everywhere else in the world, Day
Three has not yet ended. In Afghanistan, the local time is now 12 noon, Day Three. (It is now 6:00 am on Day Three
at the PM.) At this very moment -- the
exact time when the cycles of "signs, appointed times, days and years" have been "set to zero"
and are beginning -- the moon is in conjunction with the sun, marking the very first "new moon" of Tishri
(on what is now the Feast of Trumpets).33
Reasonably, the sun is also in total eclipse, marking the very first heavenly "sign" in the history of
man's world.
The Foundational Postponement
Now on what calendar day of Creation Week does the conjunction fall? On Day Three? No,
on Day Four! The calendar day is reckoned from sunset at the IDL, not from
sunrise at the PM or from noon over Afghanistan -- and still less from the meridian of Jerusalem (where it is still
the forenoon of Day Three).
About 14.7 (modern) days later, the moon is in opposition with the sun, marking the first full moon in world history.
Quite possibly, it is exactly 15 days later
-- for in Noah's day, a month (chodesh) had exactly 30
days (cf. the chronology of Genesis 7:11-8:14). It is now noon over Afghanistan
(Day 18) and sunset at the IDL (Day 19). Once again, the calendar day is reckoned from sunset at the IDL, not from
noon over Afghanistan -- so this opposition occurs on Day 19 (not Day 18) of the world calendar.
All this illustrates the biblical reason for Postponement Rule 2 (which, from a certain perspective, is nevertheless the foundational postponement): When Molad Tishri occurs at noon or later,
Tishri 1 is postponed until the next calendar day. This rule is a necessary
consequence of keeping time on a round earth, if one begins the calendar day at sunset when it arrives at the easternmost
"end of the earth".
Until about the middle of the last century, astronomical time (i.e., time as used to measure and calculate astronomical
events) has always been reckoned noon-to-noon, not sunset-to-sunset. Therefore, the calculations of the Hebrew
calendar must deal with astronomical time. Yet we know that the Hebrew calendrical day begins at sunset, and locally
whenever sunset arrives at a particular place on earth. This far from Creation Week, we cannot simply extrapolate
the present into the past and thus establish a benchmark
for the calendar: a time when the molad
coincided with solar noon at some point on the earth. Our present Hebrew calendar does have a benchmark from which
the Molad Tishri may be calculated for any given year: Sunday, October 6, 3761 B.C., 23 hours 204 parts, as converted
to the common civil calendar. (One hour is comprised of 1,080 parts.) However, while Rabbinic Judaism considers
3761 B.C. the year of the world's creation, the Talmudic chronology upon which this supposition is based is faulty
when compared with biblical indications.34
It is therefore not a reliable guide as to the date and time of the first Molad Tishri in world history.
In any case, we cannot justify the "noon-or-after" postponement by saying that the Sanhedrin needed at
least six hours to announce the impending arrival of Tishri 1. This is an attempt to reconcile
the irreconcilable (a calendar based on calculation and a calendar based on
observation). The Bible commands that the Feast of Trumpets be kept on one
day, not two
-- which proves all by itself that the
biblical "new moons" were set by calculation of the mean conjunction, not by observation of the new crescent. Notice by contrast that the empirical methods used by the Pharisees often forced the post-Temple Diaspora, and often even the post-Temple
Sanhedrin, to keep the Feast of Trumpets over two days. (In the case of the Sanhedrin, this is because it was uncertain
until the very last moment when the witnesses of the new crescent would arrive, and therefore whether the Sanhedrin
would sanctify the 30th or the 31st day since the previous new crescent as being the "new moon".) Nor
can we account for this rule by claiming (as did the Talmudists and Maimonides) that "if the molad falls before noon, the moon can be seen the same
day near sunset". This is not true all the time, or anything like it!
First, apart from exact knowledge of the
irregularities of the motions of the sun and moon (which the Jews did not have
and could not have had), one must base a lunisolar calendar either on the calculation of mean values or on direct
observation. Under these conditions, if the calendar is based on the calculation of Molad Tishri, then one may
know years (even centuries) in advance when Tishri 1 will occur. If the calendar is based on observation of the new crescent,
one cannot know in advance when the first
day of any month will occur -- in which case one cannot "sanctify the new moon" until the new crescent
actually appears at sunset!
Second, the new crescent of Tishri cannot be seen from Jerusalem less than 20 hours after the true astronomical
conjunction (or less than six hours after the mean astronomical conjunction, the same in
principle as the calculated molad), and then only at sunset. (The new crescent may appear at sunset nearly
72 hours after the true conjunction!) Remember, too, the true conjunction
can precede Molad Tishri by a maximum of 14 hours or follow it by a maximum of six to seven hours. Finally, the
Jews had no way of knowing in advance how far apart
Molad Tishri and the true conjunction would be, or even which would occur first!
True, the minimum time between Molad Tishri
and the new crescent is six hours (noon to sunset). But this is a very rare event. An exceptional event cannot
be used to justify a general rule.35
Besides (and this is most important), a local calendar that begins each month with the new crescent does not require a "noon-or-after" postponement
of any kind. According to the Talmud, the Pharisee-led Sanhedrin had to "sanctify the new moon" during
the "day" (Sanhedrin 11b); but
that meant in practice between sunset and full dark.
So the very existence of Rule 2 in our present calendar proves that our received calendar is not
the same as that of the Pharisees and their Rabbinic heirs. A "noon-or-after"
postponement for Tishri 1 only makes sense in a calendar that begins the months with the mean conjunction -- and
that only as reckoned according to world time,
not Jerusalem time. Were the molad reckoned against noon Jerusalem time, the calendar
would put the effective "date line" more than fifty degrees of longitude
west of where it should be for the benefit of everyone.
The Other Three Postponements
Is there a biblical reason for Postponement
Rule 1 (Trumpets cannot fall on the first, fourth or sixth days of the week)? If so, then since we know that Rule
2 also has a biblical basis (one dating back to Creation Week), we know that Rules 3 and 4 have a biblical basis
in principle as well. These last two rules are but corollaries of the first two, and of the necessary limits on
the lengths of the common and leap years in a 19-year cycle (that is, in a calendar based on calculation of the
molad).36
What reason does Rabbinic Judaism give for Rule 1? Mainly, to keep Atonement from falling on the sixth or first
day of the week, and to keep the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles (called Hoshannah
Rabbah by Rabbinic Judaism) from falling on the Sabbath.37 But why are these days singled out (and one of them not
even being a Holy Day)? Could this Jewish tradition be yet another post hoc explanation obscuring the real
reason for this rule?
Some in the Church of God have sought to justify the rule by this means: If Trumpets could fall on Sunday, Wednesday
or Friday, there would be four, two or four
consecutive Holy Day/Sabbath combinations in a given year. Preventing this from happening would have a number of
benefits, especially for women (who bear the brunt of food preparation for their families, now as in the past).
Given the biblical example of a "day of preparation" before the weekly Sabbath, this reasoning makes
a certain amount of sense (cf. Exodus 16:23) .38
But Rule 1 specifically affects four Holy
Days in a row: Trumpets, Atonement, the first day of Tabernacles, and the Last Great Day. If Trumpets could fall
on a Sunday, Wednesday or Friday, then three, one or all four fall Holy Days could occur back-to-back with the weekly Sabbath.39 Under Rule 1, none
of these days can fall before or after the Sabbath. But despite Rule 1, the Passover and all of the spring Holy
Days can and do occur (in the case of the true Pentecost, every year) back-to-back with the weekly Sabbath.
The fall Holy Days (in contrast to the spring Holy Days) are called High Holy Days by Rabbinic Judaism. (Do not
confuse this Jewish usage with the description of Abib/Nisan 15 as a "high day" in John 19:31.) When
we examine the Scriptures, we see that there is in fact a hierarchy of holiness in the Festivals: Atonement, the weekly Sabbath, the other fall Holy Days, and the spring
Holy Days, in that order.
First, what do the fall Holy Days have in common which sets them apart from the spring Holy Days?
1) They occur within the space of one month (and in the fall).
2) Each is called a shabbaton ("sabbatism",
"complete rest", etc.), a term which is also applied to the weekly Sabbath (but not to the spring Holy
Days).40
3) Three of them are separate, one-day Festivals (the other being the sole Holy Day out of seven Festival days).
This makes the meaning of each day stand out more readily than otherwise. Among the spring Holy Days, only Pentecost
is a one-day Festival (and is related by a count of days to Unleavened Bread as well).
4) They are associated (even in Rabbinic Judaism) with God's future judgment of the world.41
What do Atonement and the weekly Sabbath have in common?
1) They are both specifically called shabbat shabbaton, "a sabbath of complete rest" (Leviticus 23:3, 32). This is true of none of the
other Holy Days. (In particular, the other Fall Holy Days are simply called shabbaton, not shabbat shabbaton.)
2) No work of any kind is permitted on
these days (same verses). On the other Holy Days, no servile work is permitted. (The prohibition against "work" on the last Day of Unleavened
Bread, found in Deuteronomy 16:8, does not specify either "any work" or "servile work". It
is simply a general prohibition.)
3) Under the Old Covenant, he who worked on either of these days was to be "cut off from among his people"
(Leviticus 23:30; Exodus 31:14). Once again, this is not stated about the other Holy Days.
Thus, while all Holy Days are "sabbaths" (compare John 19:31), not every
Holy Day is called shabbaton, let alone
shabbat shabbaton. Atonement has the greatest
restriction on "work"; then, the weekly Sabbath; then, the fall Holy Days; then, the spring Holy Days.42 Note how the terminology and the restrictions
on "work" correlate: Atonement is called shabbat shabbaton (and enjoins fasting besides). The weekly Sabbath (on which one may eat but not cook food:
Exodus 16:23) is likewise called shabbat shabbaton.
The other fall Holy Days (which are special "feast days" of eating and drinking) are called simply shabbaton; and the spring Holy Days (notably the first
Day of Unleavened Bread,43 on which
we are specifically told food may be prepared: Exodus 12:16) are called by none of these terms.44
This correlation is what defines the "hierarchy of holiness" mentioned above - and it leads us to the
real reason for Postponement Rule 1. If
the weekly Sabbath and the fall Holy Days (especially Atonement) could fall back-to-back, it would become much
more difficult to keep any of them as God intended, let alone to discern their true meaning. Rule 1 solves this
problem, while keeping the lesser problems
posed by Sabbath/Holy Day combinations in the spring to a bare minimum.
So all four postponement rules have a
basis in biblical principles (two of them out of logical necessity). They are judgments based on the letter and spirit of the "oracles of God". Three of the rules are also
founded in practical calendar astronomy; and the fourth (Rule 1) is an act of mercy.45
These rules are also founded in the spiritual
principle behind true Sabbath-keeping. As the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27), so
the sacred calendar and its Festivals were meant to serve man, not man the calendar and Festivals. The same principle
applies to the astronomical cycles on which the sacred calendar is based (cf. Deuteronomy 4:19).
There are other principles that apply here as well. Would God have us serve the creation rather than the Creator
(Romans 1:25)? Would He have us walk by sight
rather than faith (2 Corinthians 5:7)?
Would He prefer a calendar that is not
"done decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 15:40), or that leads to confusion rather than to peace
(15:33)? Yet we are led to these things, if we misunderstand the implications of what God reveals about how the
calendar relates to the cycles He ordained in creation!
Based on Biblical and Practical Principles
So we have a biblical (and practical) principle behind the use of the molad rather than the new crescent to mark the "default
position" of the "new moon". We have equally biblical (and practical) principles behind the 19-year cycle and its sequence of 12 common
and 7 leap years. We have practical, biblical principles behind Postponement Rules 1 and 2, and by extension behind
Rules 3 and 4 as well. Only the sabbatical and Jubilee years are ignored by our calendar; but these are no longer
observed in this age, not even by Rabbinic Judaism. (Their observance must await the "world to come"
and its "restoration of all things".)
But the other biblical principles are still used correctly and in their proper
order by the sacred calendar today. They were used in the sacred calendar
of ancient Israel, because God's nature and character have not changed, nor have the ordinances of the heavens
established in Genesis 1 (cf. Psalm 148:1-6). Were these biblical principles also used in the sacred calendar of
Jesus' day? The basic answer to this question will be given in the second article in this series. ### |
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FOOTNOTES
1. In Rabbinic Hebrew, such a new crescent
is called yareach ben yomo (in English
idiom, "a day-old moon").
2. "In the region of Jerusalem...shortly
before the autumnal [fall] equinox the minimum interval from the true conjunction to the phasis [new crescent] is approximately 20 hours, while the maximum is close to 72 hours, with the
minimum of approximately 18 hours shortly before the vernal [spring] equinox and the various respective maxima
and minima throughout the year" ("Calendar", Encyclopedia Judaica, col. 46).
3. The Babylonians and Persians
began the months with the new crescent in their lunisolar calendar, and some Jews -- particularly the Pharisees
and early Rabbis, but also the Karaites -- followed their example. Their confusion of biblical and Babylonian principles
has led some to look to the Babylonian
calendar as a guide to reconstructing the original Hebrew calendar!
4. The timing and position of the
new crescent depend on the interval of time from the true conjunction (i.e., the astronomical new moon) to sunset,
the season of the year, the moon's position above or below the ecliptic (the yearly path of the sun), and the observer's
geographical location ("Calendar", Judaica,
col. 45).
5. As justification for the very
long lives of the ancients, Josephus states the following: "God afforded them a longer time of life on account
of their virtue and the good use they made of it in astronomical and geometrical discoveries, which would not have
afforded the time of foretelling [the periods of the stars] unless they had lived six hundred years; for the Great
Year is completed in that interval" (Antiquities of the Jews, Bk. III, ch. 9 (106), translated by William Whiston). The "Great Year" is the cycle
of years determined by the oppositions of Jupiter and Saturn. However, though Josephus mentions it as common knowledge
to ancient scholars, he does not link it to the sacred calendar.
6. This does not mean the benchmark
of the Jewish calendar actually dates back to Creation Week. The current "world era" of Judaism (Year
One = 3761 BC) is based on a misreckoning of biblical chronology. For example, it counts 892 years "from Noah
to Abraham". What it actually counts is the number of years from Noah's birth to Terah's 70th year. Yet a
comparison of Genesis 11:26, 32 and 12:4 with Acts 7:4 shows Abraham must have been born no less than 60 years
later.
7. Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura of
Paris deciphered these "musical accents". The first edition of her French book was published in 1976;
the second edition (1978) was translated in 1991 as The Music of the Bible
Revealed (BIBAL Press/King David's Harp, Inc.). In any case, the comma after
"appointed times" is dictated by the "grammatical rules" post-imposed upon the notation by
Rabbinic Judaism, as well as by Haïk-Vantoura's musical "deciphering key". (For further information
on Haïk-Vantoura's discovery, the reader may visit here, here, and here.)
8. This is apparently why the "Documentary
Hypothesis" claims this verse comes from a "priestly" (P) source. Cf. The
New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Genesius Hebrew-Aramaic Lexicon, 1979, pp. 17a, 417b.
9. Lunar eclipses are especially
valuable for the calendar maker, because they can be observed by everyone on the night side of the earth at the
same "world time". Solar eclipses, on the other hand, can only be observed by a few people on the day
side of earth; and every observer sees the eclipse at a different "local time" as well as a different
"world time".
10. Solar eclipses (especially total
ones) point (in theory if not in practice) to the astronomical true conjunction. Unfortunately, during a total
solar eclipse there is but one point on the path of the moon's shadow across the earth where one may actually observe
the moment of true conjunction.
11. The astronomical mean conjunction
is in principle (if no longer in exact timing) the same as the calculated molad. Cumulative errors in the calculations of the sacred
calendar and perturbations in the lunar and planetary orbits ensure that the two no longer coincide exactly.
12. "Owing to inequalities
in the rate of both the solar and the lunar motion in longitude, the mean conjunction [molad] may precede or be preceded by the true conjunction. The absolute maximum interval between
them, arising from the combined effect of the maximum quotas of the solar and lunar anomaly is approximately 14
hours. In Tishri ... approximately 14 hours is the maximum interval from the true conjunction to the mean conjunction,
whereas the maximum interval from the mean conjunction to the true conjunction will not exceed six to seven hours;
in Nisan ... approximately 14 hours is the maximum interval from the mean conjunction to the true conjunction and
only six-seven hours from the true conjunction to the mean conjunction; with varying seasonal maximum and minima
in the other months of the year." "Calendar", Judaica, col. 45.
13. The mean time from the true
conjunction to the full moon is about 14.7 days. Since the new crescent may appear up to three clock days after
the true conjunction of Tishri, does this mean that the 15th calendar day from the new crescent could begin after
the two-clock-day range during which the calendar day of the full moon occurs (cf. below, main text)? This is worth
further detailed study.
14. Tishri 1 may also fall "before
the day of the phasis [new crescent] begins
or, in some extremely rare cases, on the day immediately after the phasis (never later), with a rather wider range of the occurrence of the New Moon before and after
the day of the phasis in other months;
such oscillation is inherent in a system, like the present Jewish calendar, based on mean values." "Calendar",
Judaica, col. 46.
15. The musical accentuation confirms
that the order of the months in the calendar was changed at this time -- yet only for the sacred year, as the Bible,
secular history and Jewish sources such as Josephus all confirm that the civil year continued to be reckoned fall-to-fall.
16. "The persecutions under
Constantinus [the Roman Emperor Constantine] finally decided the patriarch, Hillel II, (330-365), to publish rules
for the computation of the calendar, which had hitherto been regarded as a secret science….This unselfish promulgation
of the calendar, though it destroyed the hold of the patriarchs on the scattered Judeans, fixed the celebration
of the Jewish feasts upon the same day everywhere. Later Jewish writers agree that the calendar was fixed by Hillel
II, in the year…359 C.E. Some, however, as Isaac Israeli, have fixed the date as late as 500. SAADIA afterward
formulated calendar rules [in the tenth century C.E./A.D]…" ("Calendar", Jewish
Encyclopedia, p. 500a). The Encyclopedia
Judaica concurs: "By the tenth century the Jewish calendar was exactly
the same as today" ("Calendar", p. 50b).
17. Even in the rabbinc calendar,
the "secret of intercalation" was this: "Whenever it becomes apparent that the winter will last
till the 16th of Nisan [as it would normally be reckoned by the rabbinic calendar], make that year a leap-year
[sic] without hesitation." This "secret" was "revealed" by Rabbi Huna ben Abin to Raba
in Babylonia (cf. "Calendar", Jewish Encyclopedia, p. 500b).
18. Cf. The
New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Genesius Hebrew-Aramaic Lexicon, p. 423a.
19. Cf. the other three places in
the Bible where tequfah is used (1 Samuel
1:20; 2 Chronicles 24:23; Psalm 19:6). In all cases, tequfah refers to a period, not a single moment or day, of "turning". (Cf. The New BDBG, p. 880b.)
20. One might be confused by the
usage of the nouns motsa'o (from the verb
yatsa') and tequfah in Psalm 19:6. Yet this verse refers to the rising ("exit") of the sun above the horizon and its turning to the place where it sets on the opposite horizon. Obviously, the latter follows the former.
Yet the "turning of the year" in Exodus 34:22 does not necessarily follow (in time order) the "going
out" of the year in Exodus 23:16, especially since the phrase "turning of the year" does not specify
progression to an end.
21. In the rabbinic calendar, tequfah refers to the specific date of an equinox or a
solstice. Thus rabbinic treatises on our received calendar refer to the "four tequfot", which are yet calculated by an arbitrary division of a solar year of 365¼ days
into four equal parts (Arthur Spier, The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar, pp. 19-20).
22. Such a year was 30-31 A.D.,
the year Jesus died on our Gregorian calendar. 1996-1997 was another, recent example.
23. Cf. my article, "Passover,
Unleavened Bread and Pentecost: The Solution to an Ancient Conundrum," which deals with this matter and many
others which have troubled the ministry and membership of the Churches of God.
24. I have made slight adjustments
to the lengths of the months (in terms of number of characters used) from Abib/Nisan to Tishri, in order to make
them conincide better with the various lengths of these months (29-30 days). This also makes the graph coincide
somewhat better with the actual relationship between the length of the lunar year and that of the solar year. However,
the seasons in this graph are all the same length, which is not true in the actual solar year.
25. Currently, the sequence of leap
years in a 19-year cycle is: 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17 and 19. In Jesus' day (as confirmed by astronomical calculations),
the sequence of leap years was: 2, 5, 7, 10, 13, 16 and 18. Notice that in Jesus' day, the pattern was shifted
back one year relative to the sequence in use today.
26. As it is claimed: "The
gradual regularizing of the intervals of intercalation had to be in terms of the seven-year sabbatical cycle as
none of the styles of the 19-year Metonic cycle would have been compatible with the rule not in intercalate in
sabbatical and post-sabbatical years..." ("Calendar", Judaica, col. 49.) By contrast, Arthur Spier alleges: "[The Jubilee Years] were counted, according
to Maimonides [a famous 12th-century codifier of biblical and Talmudic laws], only as long as the Temple was in
existence....The 7-year cycles, also called the Shemittah or release year periods, are counted, according to Maimonides
and to our present custom, from the year 3829 on [in the Hebrew calendar], the
year of the destruction of the Second Temple which was a Shemittah year [emphasis
mine]. Every year that leaves the remainder zero when divided by seven is a seventh or Shemittah year" (The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar, pp. 21-22). Moreover,
Spier asserts the year 3829 in the Hebrew calendar is actually 69 A.D., not 70 A.D. (op.
cit., p. 21). The problems of chronology associated with such claims are left
to be discussed elsewhere. The Bible at any rate says nothing about the keeping of the Jubilee Year in Second Temple
times. But could Jesus have quoted Isaiah 61:1-2 (which uses imagery connected with the "acceptable year of
the LORD") during an actual Jubilee Year (Luke 4:16-21)? This was apparently at Pentecost in the year 28 A.D.
(Frederick R. Coulter, A Harmony of the Gospels: The Life of Jesus Christ, revised edition [York Publishing Co., 1975], pp. 44-45). Five
seven-year cycles later brings us to 70 A.D., the year most scholars accept as the year of the fall of the Temple.
27. The Talmudists described the
Festivals as mo`adot, perhaps to distinguish
them from the "appointed times" (mo`adim)
during which they fell. Yet both words are used in the Bible to describe the Festivals (1 Chronicles 23:31; 2 Chronicles
8:13).
28. This solution (the only one
to the "Nisan 14/15 question" that does not lead to self-contradictions) is indicated in context by the
"musical accents" as deciphered by Haïk-Vantoura, and confirmed by a close examination of related
biblical texts. The solution deserves an article all by itself.
29. This seems to be why "for"
is not put before "years" in "and for days and years". "Days" and "years"
are linked in a more intimate way than are "signs" and "appointed times", grammatically and
astronomically speaking.
30. We cannot use modern astronomical
calculations or natural history to test these assumptions. "Nor can it be ascertained when, if ever, the moment
of the molad was identical with the moment
of the mean conjunction since, because of the great many inequalities in the moon's movement in longitude, it is
practically impossible to fix the mean position of the moon at any time" ("Calendar", Judaica, column 46.) But Genesis 1:14 indicates just such
a time (as we will see): the beginning of Day Four of Creation Week.
31. The Talmudists argued over whether
creation occurred in the fall or in the spring. Fall (Northern Hemisphere) seems the more reasonable assumption,
since most trees and grasses bear seed in the summer and fall, not in the spring.
32. Until very recent times, astronomical
events were reckoned noon-to-noon, while calendar days were reckoned (at least in the Hebrew calendar) sunset-to-sunset.
33. We say conjunction rather than opposition
because the lunar cycle begins with the conjunction. "And God made" the sun and moon "to divide
the day from the night" and "to rule over the day and over the night"; yet six hours later, when
the sun set over modern Afghanistan, the new crescent moon was probably visible for the first time.
34. The full implications of the
above two paragraphs are beyond this present study.
35. This statement by the Jewish Encyclopedia notwithstanding: "There was at
least the possibility of experts discovering the small sickle of the moon six hours after the [mean] conjunction;
and this possibility justified the authors of the calendar in fixing the day of the molad as the first of the new month, if the molad took place before noon" ("Calendar",
p. 503). In fact, this simply justified the identification of the Rabbinic and the calculated calendars (whereas
they are not the same in principle).
36. "Proceedings [of the Sanhedrin]
were at times deliberately prolonged or speeded up, with the occasional choice of some observational post favorable
for early sighting of the new crescent (Ein Tov),
in order to avoid whenever possible a festival day, especially the Day of Atonement, falling immediately before
or after the Sabbath. In keeping with this, the number of the full months varied between four and eight in the
common, and between four and nine in the leap years, with 352-6 days in 12 lunar months, variations greatly in
excess of those in the present calendar" ("Calendar", Judaica, col. 49). ( The phrase "Ein Tov" or `eyn tov, "good eye", refers to the location most favorable for sighting the new crescent,
not to the new crescent itself.)
37. Some writers allege that Postponement
Rule 1 in our received calendar grew out of a simpler postponement rule in the Rabbinic calendar (i.e., Tishri
1 cannot fall on the fourth or sixth days of the week). (Cf. "Calendar", Judaica, col. 50.) But this and many other assumptions made by Jewish and other students of the sacred
calendar beg the question of how an unsystematic, empirical calendar (based on one set of principles) could have
"evolved" into a systematic, theoretical calendar (based on another set of principles).
38. This verse describes the Sabbath
as shabbat shabbaton, "a sabbath
of solemn rest" - a phrase which will become relevant shortly, when we examine Leviticus 23.
39. Besides this, the first Day
of Unleavened Bread would fall on the sixth day of the week, which it never does now; but since it can also fall
on the first day on occasion, this would not be a serious change.
40. The Bible describes the Sabbath,
Festivals and Holy Days in a number of ways. Some of these descriptions apply to all God's "feasts" (mo`adim); others do not. For example, the Sabbath, Festivals
and Holy Days are all called "holy convocations" (miqra`ê qodesh); but only Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost and Tabernacles are each called chag (also translated "feast", but signifying
a seasonal pilgrimage festival). The interrelationship of certain other terms gives us a vital key to unlocking
the biblical reason behind Rule 1 (see main text below).
41. Modern popular Judaism, though,
links the seventh day of Tabernacles rather than the Last Great Day to the "last judgment". In Second
Temple times, the Last Great Day (called Sheminit Atseret
by the Jews, based on 2 Chronicles 7:9 and other verses) was a day devoted to prayer for rain.
42. One could say: "All Sabbaths
are equal, but some are more equal than others."
43. Of which the opening night is
called "a night to be much observed" in Exodus 12:42 (KJV) and the night of "passover" in Deuteronomy
16:2-7. But again, this other "passover" relates to the sacrifice of a bullock
in the sanctuary on the night of Abib/Nisan 15, not of a lamb
at home on the night of Abib/Nisan 14.
44. Reasonably, one could also prepare
food on the other spring Holy Days, especially Pentecost (which always follows the weekly Sabbath). This would
explain why none are called shabbaton,
and why all of them may fall back-to-back with the weekly Sabbath.
45. These postponements (the statements
of Arthur Spier in The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar,
p. 15, notwithstanding) are neither "exceptions to the rule" nor "the rule", but the hierarchical application of additional rules to the calendar.
In the parlance of modern technology, the date of Molad Tishri is the "default position" of Tishri 1
(Trumpets). When circumstances require it, one or more postponements are applied in a particular order. Thus "in
more than 60% of all years [Trumpets] does not occur on the day of the Molad Tishri but is postponed according
to one of the [postponement rules]" (loc. cit.).
It is not the frequency, however, but
the motivation of this circumstance that
determines what is the "rule".
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Copyright © 2008 By
John Wheeler (יוחנן רכב) -- All Rights Reserved. |
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Updated November 05, 2008 |
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