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The
Biblical
Calendar
By Don Esposito
(c) Word of Truth Publications 2013
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Gen 1:14 And Elohim said, Let light sources be inthe expanse of the heavens, to divide between theday and the night. And let them be for signs and for(Holy day) seasons, and for days and years
The Biblical calendar is Yahweh’s clock in the sky toshow His covenant people when to keep the properHoly Days for worship toward Him.Discover in this book the amazing way that thiscalendar works.
THIS BOOK IS NOT TO BESOLD!
It is written and produced in the public interest to awakenand make Christianity aware of the lies and the distortion of
facts in history and doctrine of the body of believers ofYahshua the Messiah. If you would like to help producemore books for distribution, send your contribution to:
Don EspositoPO BOX 832
Carteret, NJ 07008 USA
Permission is granted to copy and distribute this book in part or in wholeon condition that context or meaning is not altered or changed.
Copyright Word of Truth Publicatio " #$%&
Printed in the United States by:
Morris Publishing • 3212 East Highway 30 • Kearney, NE 688471-800-650-7888
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Table of Contents:
1) The Biblical Calendar, How It Works
2) How Does the Year Begin
) How Does the !onth Begin
") When is the Con#$nction
%) When Was the Cr$cifi&ion
') What Year Was the Cr$cifi&ion
() What Da is the *asso+er
) How to Co$nt to -ha+$ot . The /0er -acrifice
) The $nar -abbath Ill$sion
13) When Does the Da Begin
11) Concl$sion
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Cha4ter 1: The Biblical Calendar How It
Works
If someone would do a history of the world study they
would find out that for millenniums civilizations have been
keeping a vast variety of different methods to calculate
time and to formulate calendars.
And although there have been hundreds of varyingmethods for determining time, in most calendars through
the ages there have been certain constants such as a 7
day week and also most civilizations determining the
separation of the year by the vernal equinox.
hat has turned out to be a most intriguing situation
though is the recent calendar methods that have cropped
up in calculating the biblical !oly "ays in #eviticus the
$%rd chapter. And as there has been a rise in Internet
sites over the last $& years so has the rise been in biblicalcalendars and calculations.
I believe that many of these new theories that are arising
on the sub'ect may be founded on sincerity of heart, but
also misguided on fact and premise.
#iving in Israel over the last (% years and studying the
biblical calendars from renowned experts here in Israel
for over () years, I can conclusively state that it is
virtually impossible to come up with the accurate *iblical
+alendar without being in the land of Israel andunderstanding both the agricultural cycle, and the ancient
process of worship.
umber one, when we even start to look at the biblical
command of keeping the !oly "ays of -ahweh, the very
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first premise is that Israel would be here in the #and of
Israel.
Lev 23:10 Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say
to them, When you come in to the land which I am
giving to you, and have reaped its harvest, and have
brought in the Omer, of the beginning of your harvest, to
the priest,
Lev 23:11 then he shall wave the Omer before YAHWEHfor your aeptane! on the morrow of the Sabbath the
priest shall wave it"
-ou will never find even one scripture in the entirety of
the *ible that would even remotely make one think that
the intention of the !oly "ays was ever meant for any
other place on earth, but Israel. hat is clear. /erusalem
is the center of the earth 01zek %23($4, and the only
place on earth that 5cripture states where -ahweh dwells.
hen one looks at 6salm (%7 you can see that in biblicaltimes there was no other thought at feast time but to be
in /erusalem.
Psa 137:1 #here by the rivers of $abylon we sat down!
also we wept when we remembered %ion"
Psa 137:2 We hung our lyres on the willows in its midst"
Psa 137:3 &or there our aptors asked us the words of a
song! yea, our plunderers ased !oy, saying, "ing to
us a song o# $ion%
Psa 137:& 'ow shall we sing the song o# ()'W*'on a #oreign soil+
Psa 137: If I forget you, O 'erusalem, let my right
hand forget!
Psa 137:- let my tongue leave to my palate, if I do not
remember you, if I do not bring up 'erusalem above the
head of my (oy"
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It is hard for a western mindset $(st century believer to
understand the sanctity and sovereignty that /erusalem
had over pilgrims during biblical times. In this world
where many groups keep the feast of -ahweh on cruise
ships and water parks most 'ust cant imagine how the
land of Israel and being in /erusalem during ancient times
was synonymous with actually keeping the feast itself.
.eu 1-:1- /hree times in a year shall all yourmales appear e#ore ()'W*' your *lohim in the
place which 'e shall choose erusalem: In the
&east of )nleavened $read, and in the &east of Weeks
and in the &east of #abernales" And they shall not
appear before YAHWEH empty,
/erusalem, the city of the 8reat 9ing 0:ath )3%)4 is and
always will be everything that has to do with the feasts of
-ahweh and their meaning to !is covenant children. It is
almost impossible to truly understand the *iblical
+alendar without ever being in Israel for even one feast
and without understanding that the calendar and its
calculation did not 'ust have to do with setting time, but
also it had to do with the agriculture of Israel and with
setting worship.
he ancient circular worship pattern when looking at the
calendar and !oly "ays cannot be ignored if one wants to
calculate the *iblical +alendar correctly. -ahweh works in
the circular and not the linear and if one wants to
understand the pattern !e devised from 5cripture, thenhe must lose his *abylonian mindset and start to also
think in the circular and not linear.
his pattern shows not only that -ahweh does not change
0:al %3;4, but it also shows !is eternal existence in the
circular mode, never ending, 'ust simply coming back to
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the beginning of the same pattern that !e exists in. 5ince
-ahweh does not change if you can find the pattern, then
simply follow it on each course of the calendar during the
year.
#ets look at an example of -ahwehs circular pattern of
worship.
hen Israel came into the 6romised #and under the
leadership of /oshua one of the first things they did was
to defeat and conquer /ericho. ow lets look at what
-ahweh had them do before they marched on and
conquered the city.
os -:2 And YAHWEH said to 'oshua, See I have given
eriho and its king, mighty warriors, into your hand"
os -:3 And you shall go around the ity, all the men of
battle, going around the ity one! so you shall do si*
days"
os -:& And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets oframs+ horns before the ark" And on the seventh day you
shall go around the city seven times, and the priests
shall blow with the rams+ horns"
os -:11 And the ark of YAHWEH went around the city ,
going around one time" And they ame into the amp,
and remained in the amp"
os -:1& And they circled the city on the seond day
one time, and returned to the amp" So they did si* days"
os -:1 And it happened on the seventh day, they roseearly, at the dawning of the day, and went around the
city seven times in the same way" Only on that day they
circled the city seven times"
os -:1- And it happened at the seventh time the
priests blew with the rams+ horns" And 'oshua said to the
people, Shout &or YAHWEH has given you the ity"
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hy would -ahweh have them circle the city for seven
days< *ecause !e was teaching them !is pattern of
worship. In the last few years, archaeologists here in
Israel have 'ust discovered the true biblical 8ilgal. It was
quite a discovery. he complex was symmetrically shaped
like a sandal showing the scripture that -ahweh stated
=every plae that their foot treads will be theirs-"
hat was also amazing was that the heel of the foot wasan exact circular pattern where the priests used to walk
around at feast time because of the following scripture.
*4o 23:1& #hree times in the year you shall make a
#east to .e"
he word for feast here is not chag but chagag. #ook at
the 5trongs +oncordance definition of chagag.
cha^gag
A primitive root 0compare !$$2%, !$%$24> 4ro4erl to
0o+e in a circle, that is, 5s4ecificall) to march in a
sacred 4rocession, to observe a festival
his was showing the circular pattern to worship in and
must not be ignored if one wants to understand the
*iblical +alendar, as the things on the earth are simply
patterns of the things in the heavens 0!eb 23)4. It is also
interesting to note that the word 8ilgal means wheel.
-ahweh created the luminary bodies on day four ofcreation week.
5en 1:1& And Elohim said, /et light soures be in the
e*panse of the heavens, to divide between the day and
the night" )nd let them e #or signs and #or 'oly
day seasons, and #or days and years%
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As you can see from the above scripture these luminaries
will be the circular pattern of time for days, and months,
and !oly "ay seasons and years. he only measurement
of time that would not be controlled by the sun and moon
and stars would be the 7 day weekly cycle that was set
down at creation with six days of creation and the 7th day
being the 5abbath.
his circular pattern of the weekly and yearly cycle hasbeen constant for almost ;,&&& years now and is quite
consistent in 5cripture as well as even most societies
throughout the world. his is because most societies also
used the heavenly bodies for calculating time and used
the sun and moon along with the five ma'or planets of
/upiter, 5aturn, :ars, ?enus, and :ercury> together this
formed the number 7 in which the constant 7 days week
developed in most societies through antiquity.
5ince the *ible also clearly delineates the 7 day weekly
cycle throughout, it would automatically rule out the false
notion of the lunar 5abbath, which states that the
5abbath rotates monthly according to the ew :oon and
one month it can be on a uesday and the next month on
a hursday. *ut this would contradict the rock solid
biblical premise of a seven day weekly cycle throughout.
he luminaries 0sun, moon and stars4 make a circular
pattern of movement, and create what we know as days,
and months and years. he sun controls the day, the
moon the month, and the sun and stars control the year.here are ($ constellations on the ecliptic circle called the
:azzaroth in 5cripture, which represent the ($ tribes of
Israel and the sun moves into a different constellation
every %& days and then, at the division of the year, at the
vernal equinox, it moves back into the first constellation
again.
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he *ible also said in 8enesis (3(@ these movements
would be for 0signs. his !ebrew word 0owth also
means prophetic signs. Interesting enough because of the
wobble of the earth on its axis roughly every $(;& years
the sun would be in a different constellation at the ew
-ear. his is called the procession of the equinoxes.
his yearly procession each and every year from creation
has told the plan of -ahweh in the heavenly bodies.
his has told the plan of -ahweh in the heavens from
creation. At creation the vernal equinox and year started
at the constellation of the Bx. In !ebrew the ox was the
original word picture of the first letter in the !ebrew
alphabet called =aleph and denotes headship and
strength as an ox denotes strength.
e also know in 5cripture -ahshua is called the C Aleph-
and the =#av > the aleph being the first letter in the
alphabet and the tav being the last letter in the alphabet.
he :azzaroth turned about the time of the making of the
covenant with Abraham and at that time the year was
now starting when the sun was in the constellation of the
ram.
e know the ram was -ahwehs provision to Abraham
instead of his son Isaac to be sacrificed and was symbolic
of 1lohim providing !is only 5on -ahshua as the
substitute for each of our sins, if we believe in !im and
repent.
hen, when -ahshua was born the :azzaroth turned
again and the year started when the sun was in the
constellation of the fish> the fish being a sign of -ahshua
coming and making us fishers of men.
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Also in 8en @23(; when /acob blessed 1phraim and
:anasseh he also gave them this blessing.
5en &6:1- #he .essenger that redeemed me from
every evil, may He bless the youths! and may my name
be alled on them, and the name of my fathers, Abraham
and Isaa, and may they lie #ishes grow into a
multitude in the midst of the earth"
It is also interesting to note that the symbol of the tribe
of both 1phraim and :anasseh is the ox. And now in
these last days it is most interesting that the :azzaroth is
getting ready to change again in this coming decade to
the sign of the man bearing the water being poured out.
his is clearly showing the :essianic age is ready to
emerge and -ahshua, the great 9ing, who has the only
true living water, will be pouring it out all over the earth
during !is millennial reign.
oh 7:37 1ow on the great day, whih is the last of the
feast 2#he eighth day3, Yahshua was standing and He
ried out and said, If a man thirsts, let him ome to .e
and drink"
oh 7:36 Anyone who believes in me as the sriptures
have said, rivers o# living water will #low #rom his
elly%
ev 22:1 And he showed me a pure river o# water o#
li#e, bright as rystal, oming forth out of the throne of
YAHWEH and of the /amb"
1ven the pagan astrologers call this constellation
C A4uarius which means water carrier or cup carrier. he
!eavenly Dather knew the end from the beginning and
has given this circular pattern to both time and worship
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for !is true elect to be able to understand the times that
we are living in and -ahwehs great plan of salvation.
I want to make a very important point here as when you
look at the signs of the constellations that I have 'ust
mentioned, as with the sun and moon and stars
designating the calendar throughout the year, these are
all heavenly bodies not tampered with or manipulated by
man.
!ow could man make the :azzaroth turn every $()&
years so that the constellations that tell the plan of
salvation would be shifted into another constellation< It is
impossible and a clear sign that -ahweh is supreme and
only !1 515 E6 !1 +A#1"AF I !1 !1A?15G
It is quite ridiculous and naHve to think that the biblical
calendar would be dependent on man planting barley or
having to visibly sight a crescent moon. he *iblical
+alendar is only dependent on -ahwehs circular patternthat !e has set up at creation and that !e uses for the
nation of Israel and to predetermine the !oly "ays.
.eu 11:11 $ut the land whih you are entering to
possess it is a land of hills and valleys, drinking water
from the rain of the heavens!
.eu 11:12 a land whih YAHWEH your Elohim ares for!
the eyes of YAHWEH your Elohim are always on it #rom
the eginning o# the year to the end o# the year%
Israel is the only land in the world that -ahweh cares for
and watches from the beginning of the year to the end of
the year or from =e4uino* to e4uino* as we will
conclusively see that the equinox in 5cripture is the
dividing point of the yearly cycle.
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he last point that I want to make in this introduction
before getting into each and every timing aspect of the
*iblical +alendar is that as where the heavenly bodies
0sun, moon, and stars4 sets the circular pattern of the
calendar itself, the *iblical +alendar is also confirmed by
the earthly sign of the agriculture in Israel.
"ue to the "iaspora most have never even visited the
land of Israel, never mind living here and watching theagricultural cycle, so most people totally miss the earthly
confirmation of the heavenly bodies and will keep the
!oly "ays many times completely outside of the
agricultural growing season, in which each is needed
according to which particular feast is being kept.
In each !oly "ay season there is an earthly sign that
confirms the calendar marked by the sun, moon and
stars. "uring 6assover there will be ripe barley for the
omer waving ceremony and the beginning of the grain
harvest. hat harvest will continue for about two months
till the time of 5havuot.
ext you have the summer fruits that are harvested in
early to mid5eptember in anticipation of the 5ukkot
festival. 5ukkot according to 5cripture must take place
after the autumn equinox and then the pilgrim would
bring up all his harvest fruits to /erusalem to both tithe
and sacrifice to -ahweh for the bountifulness of the
harvest and also to en'oy the fruit of his labor and en'oy
the festival with his family and friends.
#iving here in Israel has been such a blessing to see
-ahwehs hand in !is creation all year long. And although
it is feast time that you see the fruition of the harvest,
you can see -ahwehs creation all year long from seeing
the first ripe fig to seeing the flower bud for the first
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pomegranate. A believer can see the *iblical +alendar at
work with the agricultural growing cycle of the set apart
special 6romised #and of Israel.
I pray as you study the beautiful *iblical +alendar that
-ahweh created for !is covenant people that you will
have a much greater appreciation for the importance of
the land of Israel with both the issue of the calendar and
actually even the covenant itself.
Almost all covenant blessings one way or another are tied
into the physical 6romised #and of Israel. Bnly by coming
here at feast time and seeing how the calendar works
with the agricultural and the worship process of -ahweh
can one fully appreciate the original intent of everything
that -ahweh put into the *iblical +alendar at creation. I
invite you to spend a feast here in the 6romised #and
with us. It will change your life forever.
ow, on to the *iblical +alendarG
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Cha4ter 26 How Does the Biblical Year Begin7
he Fomans start the year in /anuary, in the dead of the
winter, whereas the Brthodox /ews start the year in
5eptember Bctober according to the manmade rules of
the Fabbis. *ut when does the *ible say is the beginning
of the year<
*4o 12:2 /his month )viv shall e the chie# o#
months #or you% It shall e the #irst o# the months o#
the year #or you%
?ery clearly the year begins in the spring when the
6assover is celebrated. he first month of the *iblical
+alendar is called Aviv. ow we know from "eut (;3J that
we must start our 5havuot count 8when the sicle hits
the standing grain9 or in other words when the barley is
ripe. otice it never states that barley is the parameter for
the (st day and beginning of the year, B#- that it is the
agricultural parameter for the beginning of the count to
5havuot. his point alone proves barley is not the
parameter to start the year, but simply an earthly
agricultural witness that the year has already begun. he
*iblical +alendar is celestial as well as agricultural as
where the /ewish calendar does not take any of these
things into account.
here is another important part of 5cripture that the
current modern /ewish calendar does not also consider to
the actual start of the year> this is the biblical precedent ofwaiting until after both the vernal equinox and the
precession of the equinox, when the sun both passes the
equator to start spring, and also passes from the ($ th
constellation back to the first one, to finish its full yearly
cycle.
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5cripture clearly tells us that we are to equate time by the
celestial bodies in the sky.
5en 1:1& )nd *lohim said, Let luminaries e in the
e4panse o# the heavens, to divide etween the day
and the night% )nd let them e #or signs and #or
seasons, and #or days and years%
Psa 10&:1; 'e made the moon #or seasons
mo when it is sunset we start
our new day, the moon to rule the month> when it finishes
its full rotation and restarts itself at con'unction the new
month begins, and a combination of the sun and stars to
rule the year.
*4o 3&:22 )nd you shall oserve a =east o# Wees
#or yoursel#, the #irst #ruits o# the harvest o# wheat9
also the =east o# Ingathering a#ter the turn o# the
year /eu#ah%
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he word for turning of the year in !ebrew is ekufah.
his word actually means a revolution of the sun. his
happens twice a year. Bnce when the sun passes the
equator from the southern hemisphere to the northern
hemisphere in spring, and again when it passes back on
the other side of the earth from the orthern hemisphere
back to the south on about 5eptember $($%, each year.
+learly you cannot start :onday in the middle of 5unday,
and you cant start /anuary in the middle of "ecemberand likewise you cant start your new year in the middle
of winter of the previous year, before the vernal equinox
comes and the changing from winter to summer. Also
note in the original !ebrew, the word =at- is not in the
original !ebrew but is added and actually the word =after-
is more properly inferred from the original language. #ets
prove this point from the following scripture.
Lev 23:10 Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say
to them, When you ome in to the land whih I am givingto you, and have reaped its harvest , and have brought
in the Omer, of the beginning of your harvest, to the
priest,
he above scripture is speaking about the Deast of
Dirstfruits and the omer count to 5havuot. ?ery plainly
from this scripture we see that this happens 89T; THY
H8
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Also look at3
.eu 1-:13 You shall perform the &east of #abernales
seven days a#ter you have gathered in #rom your
grain>#loor, and #rom your winepress%
Again we see that 5ukkot is AD1F the harvest is not only
ripe, but harvested. his takes anywhere from $ to %
weeks before one could go up to 5ukkot and clearly
delineates again a later feast C )=/* the equinox and
B before. As long as the year is properly started after
the vernal equinox in the spring, then you will always have
your fall harvest and 5ukkot also align after the autumn
equinox. #ets also look at the following scripture to see
the importance of waiting to start the biblical year till after
the =tekufah or the full rotation of the sun at the equinox.
*4o 23:1& #hree times in the year you shall make a
feast to .e"
*4o 23:1 You shall keep the &east of )nleavened$read" Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I
have ommanded you, at the set time of the month of
Aviv" &or in it you ame out from Egypt, and they shall
not appear before .e empty"
*4o 23:1- Also the &east of Harvest, the first fruits of
your labor, of what you sow in the field" Also the =east o#
Ingathering, a#ter the going out o# the year , at your
gathering your work from the field"
In verse (; we see the feast of 5ukkot being called the ==east o# Ingathering. It is called this due to the fact of
taking in or ingathering the harvest fruits for 5ukkot. e
also see that this feast happens after =the going out of the
year 0the agricultural year4 or after 0the autumn
e4uino*-" If you start your year in the winter before the
vernal equinox you will also throw off the sequence of the
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rest of the !oly "ays and will be keeping the Deast of
Ingathering 05ukkot4 in early 5eptember before the
turning of the year 0autumn equinox4 and before the
harvest has been gathered.
In years past when the /ewish calendar started incorrectly
one month early I have shown pictures that the harvest
was plainly not ready as summer was still present. It
would have been inconceivable in biblical times that apilgrim would come up to /erusalem for 5ukkot empty
handed as all his harvest was rotting away on the ground
after he was gone. Femember, for most of Israel with
travel time they were gone from their homes for around a
month at feast time. he harvest must be in first and then
the pilgrim takes the harvest to /erusalem to celebrate and
worship with -ahweh the 6rovider of the !arvest.
+learly, 6assover must be kept in its season 0spring, not
winter 4 from year to year, and then, 5ukkot 0Deast of
Ingathering4 will also be in its season after harvest.
*4o 13:10 /hou shall there#ore eep this ordinance
Passover in his season #rom year to year%
Also, look at this word ekufah used in another scripture to
clearly show it is relating to the equinoxes.
2?h 2&:23 And it happened, at the turn o# the year ,
that the army of Syria ame up against him!
!ere, it is referring to spring and the turning of the year atthe vernal equinox. 5o the *ible conclusively shows the
wording used =turning of the year- in several places in
5cripture is related to the agricultural season starting at
the vernal equinox in :arch and ending at the autumn
equinox in 5eptember. he modern /ewish calendar does
not take into account the turning of the seasons from after
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the vernal equinox occurs, but in some years, such as
$&(%, the year starts in winter before the vernal equinox
to keep it in line with the 1aster season and the old /ulian
calendar.
heir mistake is quite simple. -ahweh states, as we
already have shown that = Aviv is the beginning of months
to you 2E* 67873" *ut according to the modern /ewish
calendar they start the year in the 7
th
month and countback the days to Aviv and 6assover. hen as long as
6assover 0and not the 6st day of the month of Aviv3 falls
after the vernal equinox, they will still start the year even
though the first $ weeks may still be in winter and still part
of the old year. Again, their mistake is following the
tradition of the Fabbis in starting the year in ishri, the 7 th
month and not starting it in Aviv, the first month.
hy is it, according to the rabbinical /ewish calendar that
6assover cannot come before the vernal equinox< It is
because the Fabbis say you cannot have two 6assovers in
the sa0e ear>
Should the #ekufah of #ammu9 e*tend till after the
Suoth &estival, or the #ekufah of #ebeth till the si*teenth
of 1isan, the year would be interalated, so that the
#estivals might #all in their due seasons, vi@%,
Passover in "pring, "uccoth in )utumn"2Sanh 66b3
5o there you have it, according to the /ewish calendar,
they are saying that the vernal equinox I- indeed thebeginning of spring and the ew -ear> that is why they will
?
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of Aviv can still be in the Bld year, back in winter. his is
totally illogical.
he calendar they are using today is ?/T the one used in
the time of the (st century when -ahshua the :essiah
walked the earth, as even the 1ncyclopaedia /udaica
openly admits that the modern /ewish calendar started in
the fourth century by a Fabbi named !illel the $nd and was
not completely codified until the earliest the (&
th
centuryA".
It is generally aepted that ertain elements of the
alulated 'ewish alendar, ommonly in use today, were
odified in appro*imately :;< =" E" by the 2president of the
'ewish Sanhedrin3, Hillel II" 2Enylopaedia 'udaia3
#et me add some historical proof to dogmatically show that
the calendar that the /ews used in the first century A" was
one that started in spring and not fall and the year did
?/T ever start before the vernal equinox or the precessionof the equinox. here are ($ constellations in the sky and
the sun goes through each one approximately every %&
days. After it has gone through the ($th and starts back in
the first one, then the ew -ear can start.
he /ewish historian /osephus referred to this in Antiquity
of the /ews when he stated
0the year had now begun as the sun was now in the
onstellation of Aries"-
Also, the noted historian 1usebius had much to say
confirming that ancient Israel 8W8Y- waited until after
the vernal equinox to start the year in spring and B
winter.
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&tracts fro0 the Canons of 8natoli$s on the *aschal
9esti+al
$ut as the >omans would say, before the eleventh of the
alends of April" 26;3 $ut the sun is found on the said
twenty?si*th of the month @hamenoth, not only as entering
the first segment 2of the 9odia3, but on the fourth day is
already found passing through it" $ut this segment they
generally all the first dodeatomorium, and the eAuino4,and the eginning o# the month , and the head o# the
cycle , and the head of the planetary ourse" $ut that
segment, and the last dodeatemorium, and the end of the
planetary revolution" 'ence, also, those that place the
#irst month in it, and that #i4 the #ourteenth o# the
month y it, commit, as we thin, no little and no
common lunder " 263 $ut neither is this our opinion
only, but it was also known to the 'ews aniently, and
before .essiah, and was hiefly observed by them, as we
may learn from @hilo, 'osephus, and .usaeus, BB26C3#hese, when they resolve in4uiries on E*odus, say that all
ought to sacri#ice the Passover alie a#ter the vernal
eAuino4, in the middle o# the #irst month" $ut this is
found to be when the sun passes through the first segment
of the solar, or, as some all it, the 9odia irle" $ut this
Aristobulus also adds, it was re4uisite that not only the sun
should have passed the e4uinotial segment for the feast
of the @assover, but the moon also" But that the #irst
month o# the 'erews must occur a#ter the eAuino4
may e gathered also #rom the oo o# *noch"-
e see also in the (Jth 6salm that there is more to
determine the proper observation of time than 'ust the
new moon.
Psa 1;:1>- #he heavens delare the glory of Elohim! and
the firmament shows His handiwork" Day unto day utters
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speeh, and night unto night shows knowledge" #here is no
speeh nor language, where their voie is not heard"
/heir line is gone out through all the earth , and their
words to the end of the world" In them hath He set a
tabernale for the sun, Whih is as a bridegroom oming
out of His hamber, and re(oies as a strong man to run a
rae" His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and
'is circuit /eu#ah unto the ends of it8 and there is
nothing hid from the heat thereof"
he question of exactly what the connection is between the
times and the seasons may well be understood in the term
for line, which connotes onnetion, and certainly would
include more than a simple sunriseKsunset repetition,
particularly in the light that is their line, the line of the
heavens and firmament, not 'ust the line of the sun. he
line mentioned in !ebrew thought is always circular and
not linear.
hile the daily rotation of the earth provided the smaller
connecting circuit, the returning of the sun each year to
the same point at the vernal equinox was the greater
connecting circuit. Drom the earliest times there was an
understanding of the geometry of the earth, and that the
sun in its transit across the equatorial line created the
equinoxes. his astronomical event precludes any artificial
manmade rules. #et us look at another scripture that
shows this same concept.
.eut 11:11 $ut the land whih you are entering to possess it is a land of hills and valleys, drinking water from
the rain of the heavens! 67 a land whih Yahweh your
Elohim ares for! the eyes of Yahweh your Elohim are
onstantly on it #rom the eginning o# the year to the
end o# the year%
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hen you read this scripture in !ebrew, it is once again
showing a circular pattern, not a linear one. -ahwehs eyes
are always on the land of Israel in a neverending circular
pattern, which is physically manifested by the =tekufah- or
circuit of the sun, portrayed yearly with the start of the
ew -ear at the vernal equinox.
hat the learned men of old understood that Abib (st
always fell 89T; the vernal equinox is crystal clear. hedebate of when 6assover and the Deast of Enleavened
*read were properly kept hinged on this single event.
5@eter, the $ishop of Ale*andria, mentions that the 'ews
had kept the @assover properly up to the destrution of
'erusalem in CF ="E" $ut after the destrution of the ity
they Cerr in reconing the eginning o# the month,
which is #irst amongst the months o# the year, on the
fourteenth day of whih, being aurately observed,
)=/* the eAuino4 , the anients elebrated the @assover
aording to the Divine =ommand8 whereas the men o#
the present day now celerate it B*=D* the
eAuino4 , and that altogether through negligene and
error, being ignorant how they elebrate it in their
seasonB Anti?1iene &athers, Gol" GI, p" 7
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Also, during the time of the 1lephantine letters of the /ews
in "iaspora in 1gypt, never once did they start the year
before either the precession of the equinoxes or the vernal
equinox. his is important as these letters are starting
from the )th century *+ around @J)*+. his was less than
(&& years after the fall of 5olomons emple and it is
extremely telling that these people only one generation
removed from 5olomons emple 1?1F once started the
year before the vernal equinox.
#ook at the following quoted excerpt from3 9enneth D.
"oig, 1ew #estament =hronology, 0#ewiston, -3 1dwin
:ellen 6ress, (JJ&4.
0.any of these legal douments inlude the re4uired
Egyptian ivil year date" Double?dated douments inluding
the Hebrew dates of the Elephantine 'ews over the period
C6 to F7 $=E" #his inluded evening to evening days
and a Eew (ear eginning in Eisan )viv only a#ter
the Fernal *Auino4 " Almost all of the datable douments
an be referred bak to a Eisan )viv eginning only
a#ter the Fernal *Auino4 each year%
hen the /ews went into "iaspora after the *ar 9okhba
Fevolt in (%) A" they systematically changed the method
of calculation and at some point even started to keep the
6assover itself in winter.
The blessed on the 2rd of ?issan and thus the whole
nation announced that tekufat issan begins on the $%rd
ofissanG herefore, *esach of that ear the celebrated
in the winter teu#a, disobeying the positive, explicit
biblical commandment to =keep the spring month. hey
also disobeyed the explicit words of +hazal, who said in
Fosh !ashanah $(a, ;a+ H$na bar 8+in sent to
;abba: If o$ see that the teu#a of Te+et e&tends to
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the si&teenth of ?issan, intercalate this ear and do
not hesitate, as is written: Eee4 the 0onth of
s4ringF>G
Bnce !illel the second centralized the calendar in %)J A",
the ancient method of always calculating the first day of
the ew -ear Aviv after the vernal equinox was no longer
used and exchanged for a calculated calendar based on the
new moon closest to the equinox.
*arley was never a measure for calculating Aviv (, as it
would be clearly evident in "iaspora that one could not
ever start the ew -ear or observe 6assover, as it would
be impossible in "iaspora to know when barley is ripe in
Israel, and the growing season for barley is different all
over the world. 6eople who mistakenly use 1x J3%( to
equate barley to the beginning of the year, fail to
recognize that at the time of this scripture Israel was still
in 1gypt where the barley growing season runs from
planting in August to harvest in early Debruary, which is
totally contrary to Israels growing season of planting in
late BctoberKovember to harvest in late :arch early April.
his fact clearly shows that barley is not the parameter for
equating Aviv (, as it would have been impossible to
properly date Aviv ( and the 6assover date from "iaspora.
Also, if ripe barley in Israel is the only method to calculate
the year how were years calculated before (@@7 *+1 when
Israel entered the 6romised #and< +learly oah calculated
months 08en 73((4 and was not using barley to knowwhen the year began and couldnt have seen barley while
inside the ark.
5en 6:13 And it happened in the si4 hundred and #irst
year, at the eginning, on the #irst o# the month , the
waters were dried up from off the earth" And 1oah
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removed the overing of the ark and looked" And, behold
#he fae of the earth was dried"
5en 6:1& )nd in the second month, on the twenty
seventh day o# the month, the earth was dry%
#ikewise, and of great importance on this sub'ect, most
recently the true 8ilgal was found in Israel and the place is
in the shape of a sandal, with the foot of the sandal in a
perfect circular pattern in which the priests would circlewithin the sandal on !oly "ays in worship to the one true
1lohim, whose heavenly bodies circle throughout the year
in showing !is sovereignty over !is creation. #ook at the
following scripture3
*4o 23:1& #hree times in the year you shall make a
#east to .e"
he word for feast here is =hagag which means
H22(
, cha^gag, khaw?gag+
A primitive root 0compare !$$2%, !$%$24> 4ro4erl to
0o+e in a circle, that is, 0specifically4 to march in a
sacred 4rocession, to oserve a festi+al>
Also, there are ($ constellations on the ecliptic circle called
the mazzaroth in 5cripture in which the sun passes
through another constellation every %& days and then,
when it passes the vernal equinox it resets itself in the first
constellation again to start the ew -ear.
1ven the /ewish historian /osephus tells us that =the year
an now start beause the sun is in Aries. Also look at the
following quote from the historian 6hilo3
=8nd the s$n the r$ler of the da, 0aking two
e$ino&es e+er ear, both in the spring and the
autumn. The +ernal e$ino& in the constellation of
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8ries, and the a$t$0nal one in ibra, give the most
evident demonstration possible of the divine dignity of the
number seven. Dor each of the equinoxes takes place in
the seventh month, at which time men are expressly
commanded by law to celebrate the greatest and most
popular and comprehensive festivals> since it is owing to
both these seasons, that all fruits of the earth are
engendered and brought to 6erfection> the fruit of 8rain,
and all other things which are sown, owing to the vernalequinox> and that of the vine, and of all the other plants
which bear hard berries, of which there are great numbers,
to the autumnal one. 06hilo, on the creation of the
world,(3((;4
!ere are several other quotes from 6hilo about the yearly
cycle of the sun, moon and stars as biblical markers of
time.
=The were also created to ser+e as 0eas$res of
ti0e for it is b the a44ointed 4eriodical re+ol$tions
of the s$n, and 0oon and other stars, that das and
0onths and ears are deter0ined. 0Bn +reation (3)J
;&4
Goses puts down the eginning o# the vernal
eAuino4 as the #irst month o# the year, 06hilo on :oses
$3$$$4.
/hen the twelve stones on the reast, which are not
lie one another in color, and which are divided into#our rows o# three stones each, what else can they
e emlems o#, e4cept the circle o# the ma@@aroth<
Dor that also is divided into four parts, each consisting of
three animals, by which divisions it makes up the seasons
of the year, spring, summer, autumn, and winter,
distinguishing the four changes, the two solstices and the
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two eAuino4es, each o# which has its limit o# three
signs o# this ma@@aroth, y the revolutions o# the
sun, according to that unchangeable, and most lasting,
and really divine ratio which exists in numbers 06hilo on
:oses $3($@4
+learly, the ancient records tell us that ancient Israel
understood the circular pattern of the heavenly bodies and
how it was connected to worship toward -ahweh eachcycle of each year. hey also understood the plan of
salvation that is told throughout the year through the ($
constellations of the :azzaroth that represents the ($
tribes of Israel and the birth, life, death, and resurrection
of -ahshua :essiah.
In order to understand the *iblical +alendar one must
understand the circular pattern of worship at feast time
due to both the !oly "ays being connected to the yearly
cyclical pattern of the agricultural cycle and the circular
pattern of the heavenly luminaries, the sun, moon, and
stars. It has always been understood from biblical times
that the equinox is the dividing point of the year and the
growing cycle.
In contrast, history shows us, and it is no secret, that the
modern /ewish calendar is based from a @th century Fabbi
and it was not codified for several hundred years after that
and it is not based on the original !ebrew calendar from
5cripture. 1ven in the almudic writings of the $nd to @th
century it clearly states that the 6assover must be inspring and not winter.
he modern /ewish calendar also has @ postponement
rules, so that if the !oly "ays happen to fall on a certain
day of the week that is not convenient to keep them, then
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they simply postpone the !oly "ay 0in some ases up to 7
days4 to the next day that is acceptable to the Fabbis.
A?BI but
it is true. In Fabbinical /udaism it is taught that the Fabbis
have the authority from heaven to change the orah and
even !oly set apart appointments of -ahweh. he almud
also states that -ahweh is only one of 7& Fabbis and must
submit to the will of the other Fabbis. #et me list the @postponement rules that the current /ewish calendar uses
when the !oly "ays fall on inconvenient days of the week.
E.5. aval Bbservatory summarizes the four dehiyyot
LpostponementsM as follows3
• 0a4 If the ishri molad falls on day ( L5undayM, @
LednesdayM, or ; LDridayM, then ishri ( is postponed
one day.
•
0b4 If the ishri molad occurs at or after (2 hours0i.e., noon4, then ishri ( is postponed one day. If this
causes ishri ( to fall on day (, @, or ;, then ishri ( is
postponed an additional day to satisfy the postponement
rule 0a4.
• 0c4 If the ishri molad of an ordinary year 0i.e., of
twelve months4 falls on day % LuesdayM at or after J
hours, $&@ halakim Lat or after about %3(( a.m.M, then
ishri ( is postponed two days to day ), thereby satisfying
the postponement rule 0a4.
• 0d4 If the first molad Lthe ishri molad M following a
leap year falls on day $ L:ondayM at or after () hours,
)2J halakim Lat or after about J3%$ a.m.M, then ishri ( is
postponed one day to day % LuesdayM.
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Femember also as already shown, that the modern /ewish
calendar starts the year incorrectly from ishri and B
from the biblical Aviv. he main points of postponing
-ahwehs sacred set apart days is so a !oly "ay and in
particular the "ay of Atonement 0Yom ippur 4 will not fall
on a Driday or 5unday, which the /ews conceive as a
burden due to the 5abbath day next to it.
In addition, they will not allow the last day of the Deast ofabernacles to fall on a 5abbath due to a ritual that /ewish
tradition used to perform in beating willow branches, which
they believe would be breaking the 5abbath day. 5o
instead of changing their man made tradition, they 'ust
postpone the !oly "ay to another day.
owhere in 5cripture does it ever state that any man has
the authority to change !oly time. here is a man coming
0the anti?messiah4 who will attempt to change times and
laws and is strictly condemned for doing so 0"an 73$)4.
?ery clearly, 5cripture tells us to keep the 6assover on the
(@th day of the first monthG 61FIB"G hen the new moon
occurs, then on the (@th day from that time, you are to
keep the 6assover. B!1F1 does 5cripture ever even
remotely suggest about postponing -ahwehs !oly
Appointments.
5ome will still argue that the oracles of -ahweh were given
to the /ews and we must follow whatever calendar they
use, even if it is wrong.
om 3:1 What advantage then hath the ew+ or
what pro#it is there o# circumcision+
om 3:2 Guch every way: chie#ly, ecause that unto
them were committed the oracles o# (ahweh%
his is not proper reasoning or the meaning of this
scripture.
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he oracles of -ahweh spoken about in Fomans the %rd
chapter is not even remotely hinting that the /ewish
Fabbis were given authority to change the eternal word of
-ahweh and that believers in -ahshua must follow them.
he word oracle comes from the 8reek word logos, and
means the utterance or words of -ahweh were given to the
/ews to preserve, ED/ change. /udah never lost their
identity because it was their 'ob to preserve the orahunabated so that the people would still have the pure word
of -ahweh for when the :essiah would come in the first
century A".
Fomans %3($, is stating that the advantage that /udah
had over 1phraim is that since they always had the written
orah preserved, then they had the first chance at
salvation, as where 1phraim, who had lost his identity had
to wait patiently in captivity for the good news message to
come to them. *y far in no way does the fact that /udahs
'ob was to preserve the written orah give them liberty to
change any part of it. Anyone who even changed one word
of 5cripture was under a curse.
.eu &:2 (ou shall not add to the Word which I
command you, nor tae #rom it, to eep the
commandments o# (ahweh your *lohim which I
command you%
Actually the oracles of -ahweh 0His written word 4 were
only entrusted to /udah until the :essiah would come andthen it would be the 'ob of the followers of the :essiah to
preserve the true unadulterated word from there.
5en &;:10 /he sceptre shall not depart #rom udah,
nor a lawgiver #rom etween his #eet, until "hiloh
come9 and unto him shall the gathering o# the people
e%
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Also, you must remember the @ postponement rules
mentioned above W; ?/T I? 9/;C in the first
century in the days of -ahshua, and I will quote straight
out of the /ewish :ishnah to prove that point conclusively.
It is from the :ishnah that we learn that a !oly "ay could
occur on any day of the week 0"ansbys translation4 such
as is given on p. ($), N;3 On a &estival?day ne*t to the
Sabbath, whether before it or after it, a man may preparetwo ErubsB-
5till with the :ishnah, on p. (@; N(& we learn that the
6th Aviv may fall on a Sabbath> pp. (J7, $&(, $(% show
that the old calendar is not in harmony with the present
day /ewish calendar. In fact p. )&J NC shows that the
Day of Atonement ould fall on a &riday, the day before
the weekly Sabbath. his is in direct opposition to the
modern /ewish calendar which has postponements rules
so the "ay of Atonement cannot be either before or after
the weekly 5abbath.
5o there you have it. If we are to follow the Fabbis for
the setting of the calendar, which Fabbis of which era do
we follow, as the /ewish calendar today is not the
calendar used in the days of -ahshua, and not even the
one used in the $nd to @th century, as at that time the
6assover used to fall before the vernal equinox and now
the 6assover, but not the first day of Aviv, must fall after
the vernal equinox. Also, there were no postponement
laws in the time of -ahshua and the year before he died-om 9ippur actually fell on a 5unday, which would be
against one of the rules of postponement.
I would also like to prove from the ew estament that
conclusively there were no postponement rules in the first
century, during -ahshuas ministry.
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oh 7:2 )nd the ewish =east o# the /aernacles
was near%
oh 7:37 )nd in the last day o# the great #east,
(ahshua stood and cried out, saying, I# anyone
thirsts, let him come to Ge and drin%
oh 7:3 )nd they each one went to his house%
oh 6:1 But (ahshua went to the Gount o# Dlives%
oh 6:2 )nd at dawn, 'e again arrived into the
temple9 and all the people came to 'im% )nd sittingdown, 'e taught them% /his is the ne4t day a#ter
the last great day
oh ;:1 )nd passing y, 'e saw a man lind #rom
irth% It is still the same day a#ter last 5reat day
oh ;:7 )nd 'e said to him, 5o, wash in the pool o#
"iloam, which translated is "ent% /hen he went and
washed, and came seeing%
oh ;:1& )nd it was a "aath when (ahshua made
the clay and opened his eyes%
Interesting enough if you read the above scriptures you
will see that the #ast 8reat "ay or the 2th day of the feast
was on a Driday and the next day was a 5abbath when
-ahshua healed the blind man. 9nowing this for sure from
5cripture, 'ust merely count back from Driday, the #ast
8reat "ay which is the $$nd day of the 7th month, back to
the (&th day of the month, which is -om 9ippur, and you
will see that it was on a 5unday, so right here from
5cripture one can easily disprove that there was any type
of postponement rules for -om 9ippur not falling on a5unday in the first century.
5cripture is very clear. -ahweh created the 5un and moon
and stars to tell us the timing of !is !oly "ays. o man
has the authority to change that. o postpone the Deast of
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rumpets for a day is no different than postponing the
5abbath for 5unday. here is no scriptural basis for either.
+learly, from 5cripture we are to start the year in spring
after the vernal equinox and not in winter before it> thus,
the next new moon after the equinox was the beginning
month of Aviv, thus always occurring in the spring. If the
($th month of the year 0Adar4 fell early enough to allow
another new moon to occur before the vernal equinox, itnecessitated adding a (%th month and waiting until the
vernal equinox was observed as the beginning of spring
and the ew -ear. his addition of an intercalary month
always kept the (st month of the year after the vernal
equinoxG
he year is an astronomical event determined by the sunG
It is the point at which the revolution of the earth around
the sun comes to complete its cycle. he sun determines
the yearG And that returning point is the vernal equinox.
"etermining 6assover after the beginning of the ew -ear,
i.e. after the ?ernal 1quinox, then setting Aviv (st before
the vernal equinox, would be allowing 6assover to be in
the ew -ear, but setting Aviv (st before the year ends,
i.e. before the circuit of the sun is complete at the vernal
equinox is still in the winter of the previous year, which is
not Aviv. hat is the reason for intercalary years, i.e. the
addition of an extra month, so that the first new moon
after the year begins, after the vernal equinox, is Aviv.
he year $&(% is one such year when the /ewish calendar
will be starting the year in winter, one month earlier than
the *iblical +alendar.
his brings us to one most important point why -ahweh
and the *iblical +alendar never had people visually
observing the heavenly bodies to start time, but it was
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actually the absence of seeing these bodies that
controlled time.
he day starts when the sun disappears over the
horizon and is not visible any longer. he month starts
at con'unction when the last waning crescent has
disappeared and now the moon is in perfect alignment
0con'unction4 with the sun and earth, and the year
begins when the sun passes the equator and now isback into the first heavenly constellation of the year.
Again this is not something that you go and physically
sight but we know the day of the vernal equinox by the
shadow of the thing ot seen 0the sun4 as we read in
!ebrews ((3(.
'e 11:1 Eow #aith is the sustance o# things
eing hoped, the evidence o# things not having
een seen%
It is by the shadow of the sun that one can determinethe day of the equinox as was done in biblical times
with sundials. here have been many ancient sundials
found right near the emple :ount in /erusalem and it
is even stated that 5olomon built the emple so that
the sun would shine through the eastern gate only on
the day of the equinoxes, the dividing point of the
winter and summer and the old year and ew -ear.
hen the next new moon after the equinox is Aviv, the
beginning of months. !ow simple -ahwehs *iblical
+alendar really is.
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Cha4ter 6 When Does the !onth
Begin7
hat is a new moon according to 5cripture< 1verything
that our !eavenly Dather does has 'udicial order.
5imply put 'udicial order is the order that -ahweh set
out at creation of how things work, such as gravity.
-ahwehs 'udicial order sets precedent for our lives and
how we are to worship !im. 5o when looking at what
constitutes a new moon according to 5cripture, we will
look at the precedents that !e has set, since !e does
not change Gal 3:-%
'e 11:1 Eow #aith is the sustance o# things
eing hoped, the evidence o# things not having
een seen%
'e 11:3 By #aith we understand the ages to
have een #ramed y the Word o# (ahweh, so thatthe things seen should not come into eing out o#
things that already appear%
5o here we see the precedent laid out at creation is
that the things created did not come into being out of
things that already appeared. he same way that the
world started in darkness 08en (3$%4, and the day
starts in darkness, and even life in the womb starts in
darkness, the precedent set is that the month starts at
con'unction, the exact time each month that the earth,
the moon and the sun are lined up in perfect order. It
is like when your watch is at exactly ($3&& oclock and
resetting, when the moon and earth and sun totally line
up at that one moment each $J O days at con'unction,
which is the beginning of the new month.
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-ahweh is perfect and symmetrical. he sun, moon and
stars are a clock in the sky. 5ince most people in
ancient times were either farmers or shepherds it
stands to reason that -ahweh would make telling time
very simple, logical and symmetrical.
hen you see a quarter moon the month is P over.
hen you see a full moon the month is half over. hen
you see a waning P of a moon left, the month is Qover, and when the moon is dark again at con'unction
it is resetting the new month. If someone was starting
the new month by visually sighting a crescent moon,
then when you see a quarter moon it would not be P
of the month over, when you see a full moon, it would
not be O of the month over. It would throw off the
symmetrical sighting of the whole moon cycle.
Also if we look at 8enesis (3(@3
5en 1:1& And Elohim said, /et light soures be in thee*panse of the heavens, to divide between the day and
the night" )nd let them e #or signs and #or 'oly
day seasons, and #or days and years%
5o we see again the precedent set out by -ahweh is
that the luminary bodies 0sun, moon, and stars4 would
be the dividing factor on calculating time. 5ince the sun
is the greater light it would rule the day, and the moon
being the lesser light would rule the month, and a
combination of the sun and stars and their yearlyrotation and cycle would rule the year. his is how the
!oly "ays would be counted. Also notice there is
nothing stated here about barley. 6lease read our study
paper on ='ow .oes the Bilical (ear Begin to
know more about the biblical way for starting the year.
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ow, also notice that it never states that you must
visibly sight the sun or moon to start your day or
month. he complete opposite> we know the day starts
with the absence of the sun, and the monthly cycle
equally starts with the absence of the moon. As the sun
passes over the horizon and can no longer be seen, the
new day begins, 'ust as when the waning crescent
disappears and the moon enters perfect alignment with
the sun and earth at con'unction and starts the newmonth.
Psa 10&:1; He made the moon for seasons
2mo+edim3! the sun knows it5s going down"
otice that the sun knows its going down. As
mentioned, it is the absence of the sun that starts the
day as it is the absence of the moon that starts the
month.
!ebrew originally was a hieroglyphic language andinstead of having letters it had $$ pictures. hen you put
the pictures together they made words and sentences.
he original Hebrew word 4ict$re for new moonG is
the separation, o# the cycle or pathway, o# the
consuming moon>G his would have to be con'unction.
he moon never stops, it is always moving in its rotation,
but once roughly every $J O days that cycle passes at
one split moment with the earth and suns cycle causing
the darkness of the moon and separation from its cycle of
light. he con'unction cycle is very constant roughly every$J O days, but because its rotation is elliptical and not
circular, visibly sighting a crescent can range anywhere
from ($ hours after con'unction to 7$ hours after
con'unction. -ahweh would not use such an unreliable
source to start the month and also have to depend on
mans reliability in reporting it.
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Also, what if it is cloudy< !ow would one visibly sight a
moon in such conditions, they would have to postpone
the new month even though the moon may be visible
because they cannot see it due to the cloud cover. his
would be no different than the postponement rules of
the Fabbis in starting the ew -ear. Also, when one is
sighting a crescent in /erusalem to begin the month,
how would someone in the E5A before modern
technology know when a crescent moon was sighted inIsrael< !ow could you start your year and month and
keep 6assover correctly without knowing when the
month began<
!ere are few questions that crescent moon sighters must
ask themselves when looking into the proper manner of
how the biblical month begins.
(4 If one is sighting a crescent moon to start the month,
then do you go by a local crescent sighting or by
/erusalem< If a local sighting is stated, then there could
be up to % different dates for the same !oly "ay and if
they are going by a sighting in /erusalem, then how
could you know when a crescent was sighted in
/erusalem before telephones and Internet. !ow could
ew +ovenant believers keep the 6assover every year as
commanded if they did not know when was Aviv (< his
is also a good argument against starting the year by only
barley in /erusalem.
$4 If you must physically see the moon to start themonth, then what do you do when it is cloudy< hat if
the moon would have been seen if the clouds are not
there and they postpone simply because of the clouds
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%4 Also, since the moon cycles path has a ) degree
angle compared to the earth, the new moon can be seen
as early as (2 hours after con'unction one month, or up
to 7$ hours another month, almost a @ day difference in
other months. !ow could you be almost @ days into the
moon cycle and only call it day one<
.eu 1-:1 Dserve the month )viv, and per#orm
the Passover to ()'W*' your *lohim% =or in themonth o# )viv ()'W*' your *lohim rought you
out o# *gypt y night%
+rescent moon proponents will frequently go to this
scripture as proof that one must physically sight a
crescent moon to begin the month. !owever, he word
used for =observe in the original !ebrew is 5trongs
2(&@ =Shawmar and does not mean to physically look
at, but rather to keep, to guard and protect, to be
aware of. It is the exact same word that is used in
1xodus %(3(;, when we are told that we are to observe
the 5abbath day, and I dont think anyone will argue
that on the 5abbath we are not visibly sighting
something to start the day, actually it is the very
opposite, it is the absence of the sun that tells us that
the 5abbath has started.
And this brings us to the most important point why
-ahweh and the *iblical +alendar never had people
visually observing the heavenly bodies to start time,
but it was actually the absence of seeing these bodiesthat controlled time.
he day starts when the sun disappears over the
horizon and is not visible any longer. he month starts
at con'unction when the last waning crescent has
disappeared and now the moon is in perfect alignment
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0con'unction4 with the sun and earth, and the year
begins when the sun passes the equator and now is
back into the first heavenly constellation of the year.
Again this is not something that you go and physically
sight but we know the day of the vernal equinox by the
shadow of the thing ot seen 0the sun4 as we read in
!ebrews ((3(.
'e 11:1 Eow #aith is the sustance o# thingseing hoped, the evidence o# things not having
een seen%
It is by the shadow of the sun that one can determine
the day of the equinox as was done in biblical times
with sundials. here have been many ancient sundials
found right near the emple :ount in /erusalem and it
is even stated that 5olomon built the emple so that
the sun would shine through the eastern gate only on
the day of the equinox.
?ol 2:1- #herefore do not let anyone 2outside the
body3 (udge among you about eating, or drinking, or in
how you keep the feast days, or the new moon, or the
Sabbath day,
?ol 2:17 which remain shadows of oming things,
but the body of .essiah"
-ahweh specifically made the calculating of time the
way !e did so that men would not ha+e to +isibl
sight the s$n or 0oon, or stars and then start toworship them as the pagans did. If you look at the
orah, you will see that -ahweh specifically
commanded not to look at or worship the sun, the
moon and the stars.
.eu &:1; and that you not li#t up your eyes
towards the heavens and when thou see the sun
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and the moon and the stars, even all the host o#
heaven, and you e drawn away and worship
them, and serve them9 which ()'W*' your
*lohim has allotted to all the peoples under all
the heavens%
ow do you honestly think in an area where people
were worshipping the sun and moon and stars, and
with the Israelites propensity to paganism with thegolden calf, that !e would really have them go every
month out to sight a crescent moon< It would be like
sending an alcoholic to watch a room full of whiskey
and telling him not to drink.
Also, lets look at the following scripture in the book of
"euteronomy.
.eu 17:2 When there is found among you, in one of
your gates whih YAHWEH your Elohim is giving to you,
a man or woman who does that which is evil in the sight o# ()'W*' your *lohim , in transgressing His
ovenant,
.eu 17:3 and has gone and served other gods ,
and worshiped them! or the sun, or the moon, or
o# the host o# the heavens, which I have not
commanded9
.eu 17:& and it has been revealed to you, and you
have heard, and searhing have searhed! and, behold,
it is true! and the thing is onfirmed, that this hateful
thing has been done in Israel,.eu 17: then you shall bring out to your gates that
man or that woman who has done this evil thing, the
man or the woman! and you shall stone them with
stones, and they shall die"
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hen -ahweh appeared to Israel at :ount 5inai !e
specifically only let them hear !is voice but did not
allow them to see any image so that they would not try
to make an idol out of it. In the same manner -ahweh
would never have Israelites visibly sight a crescent
each month knowing it would provoke them to making
idolatrous images.
.eu &:11 And you drew near and stood below themountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the
heart of the heavens, darness, cloud and thik
gloom"
.eu &:12 And YAHWEH spoke to you out of the midst
of the fire! you heard the sound of words, ut you did
not see a #orm , only a voie"
hen Israel entered the land of +anaan 0later to be
called Israel4 under /oshua, there were +anaanites,
6erezites, /ebusites, Amorites and other pagans whowere living there and sanctifying the crescent moon.
his is why -ahweh told Israel not to do such a thing
and this is why very clearly visibly sighting a crescent
moon is not the way that the *iblical +alendar starts
the month.
here is a word in !ebrew for crescent, but it is never
used, not even once when referring to the new moon.
he word used in 5cripture when referring to the new
moon is 0>osh =hodesh which literally means the headof the month or beginning of the moon cycle, which
again gives reference to the con'unction or starting
point of the moon cycle, when the sun, moon and earth
are in perfect alignment, and there is absolutely no
evidence that Israelites ever visibly sighted a crescent
before the *abylonian captivity. *y the time a crescent
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would be visible this would no longer be the head of
the cycle or Fosh +hodesh, but would be one to % days
into the cycle itself.
#ets look at another scripture that does use the
!ebrew word for crescent Csaharon3
Isa 3:16 In that day YAHWEH will take away the
beauty of the ankle braelets, the headbands, and the
crescents,
Isa 3:1; the pendants, the braelets and the veils!
If one is honest they will admit that the word crescent
is only three times mentioned in 5cripture and never in
connection with the start of the month, but always in
connection with a pagan amulet that is being ripped off
and destroyed.
As mentioned, the word for ew :oon in 5cripture is
=>osh =hodesh and literally means 0the head of thenew . he word =moon or in !ebrew =Yarah is not
even mentioned, never mind the fact that crescent is
not mentioned.
he name #ucifer in !ebrew is he^ yle^ l 0read 3 hay
laleR4. According to 5trongs "ictionary it means 0in the
sense of brightness4> light3 #ucifer.
he word he^ yle^ l in !ebrew has the same meaning in
Arabic. Hilal 0Arabic4 3 , is an Arabic termھل
particularly associated with the crescent moon, first
developed in preIslamic Arabia.
he very slight crescent moon is what is first visible a
day or two or three after a new moon. :uslims start
their month not by con'unction but by the cultic
crescent moon. :uslims look for the hilal 0crescent4
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when determining the beginning and end of Islamic
months. In the modern world, !ilal is a representation
of the moon in Arabian astrology.
In modern times, !ilal was connected with the later
:onotheistic deity of Allah. he worshipping of Allah is
always connected to the moon, and through the
discernment of the 5cripture we all know that he^ yle^ l
0!ebrew4 or !ilal 0Arabic4 is the same ob'ect. !e is#ucifer or 5atan. 5o from the above example we can
see that the worshipping of Allah is the worshipping of
the moon god and also the worshipping of #ucifer.
+rescent moons are also connected with communism,
occultism and other secular nonbiblical evil
associations. he crescent moon is also an attribute of
Isis, the 8reat :other of the 1gyptians, and in
+hristian iconography, of the =?irgin :aryS.
It is inconceivable that -ahweh would use such anoccultic, pagan, symbol to start !is *iblical +alendar
each and every month.
If we read the story of 8ideon in /udges 23$(, it is
telling us that -ahweh does not like moon god
worshipping.
dg 6:21 And %ebah and %almunna said, You rise up
and fall on us, for as the man, so is his might" And
Jideon rose up and killed %ebah and %almunna, and
too the moon crescents whih were on the neks of
their amels"
here are no biblical or historical records that ever
show that Israel was visibly sighting a crescent moon
to start the month before they came out of the
captivity of *abylon in )%J *+. As a matter of fact, we
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know that Israel retained the crescent moon from
*abylon because once they returned from the captivity
they also adopted the *abylonian names of the
months, such as isan, and ammuz. #et me give the
following scripture to prove the point that during the
time of 9ing "avid the nation of Israel was not sighting
a crescent moon to start the month, but were going by
calculation.
1"a 20: And David said to 'onathan, $ehold, the
new moon is tomorrow " And sitting I should ertainly
sit with the king to eat" And you shall send me away,
and I shall be hidden in the field until the third evening"
"avid very distinctly stated that the ?W !//? is
T/!/;;/W= If Israel was visibly waiting to sight a
crescent moon, then how would he conclusively know
the ew :oon would be the next day< 5ome may then
say maybe this was the %&th day of the month and it
had to be the ew :oon< !owever, as a matter of fact
this cannot be the %&th day of the month as the ew
:oon celebration that takes place in the above
scripture lasts for $ days and the ew :oon would
have been the $Jth day or %&th day, but there is never
%( days in a biblical month. +learly if the ew :oon
was conclusively known, then it had to be calculated
according to the con'unction.
owhere in 5cripture does -ahweh ever command to
visibly sight a crescent moon to start the month. hefollowing scripture will prove this point.
Psa 61:3 Blow the ram
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his scripture, which was originally written in !ebrew, has
always been known to refer to the Deast of rumpets or in
!ebrew -om eruah. 5o if the first day of the 7th
month isa new moon and it is =overed- or 0onealed as the
scripture states, then it can only be referring to the
con'unction and not sighting a crescent. he word for
covered moon is =keseh and in !ebrew means to be fully
covered, or concealed, which again can only refer to the
con'unction of the moon.
Also on the Deast of -om eruah look at the following
scripture3
Lev 23:2& Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, In the
seventh month, on the #irst o# the month, a Holy
Day Sabbath shall be to you, a memorial alamation
of the resounding of trumpets, a holy gathering"
+learly, the feast of rumpets is only /? da> the
first day of the 7th month. !owever, if you are going by
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a crescent sighting, then you would not see the
crescent till sometime after sunset and not knowing if it
would be sighted or not would force the act of keeping
this day as a 5abbath whether or not the crescent
would actually be seen.
his fact alone clearly shows that the calendar has to
be calculated according to con'unction as !oly "ay
5abbaths must begin at sunset and the crescent is notseen until later in the evening and how would you know
whether this was the first day of the seventh month
until later in the evening when the crescent would or
would not appear. If the !oly "ay is calculated from
sunset to sunset, then also the means to calculate the
day must also be known before sunset to know
whether or not it is the !olyday. It is totally ridiculous
to think that -ahweh would command a !olyday to be
observed and you would not be able to know whether it
was that day until later in the evening after the mooncame up or didnt come up.
Also, we know that -ahshua was not crucified on a
Driday, as you cannot get three days and three nights
in the grave from Driday afternoon until 5unday
morning 0:ath ($3%2@&4, but !e was crucified mid
week. ow if you go to the year !e was crucified in %&
A.". you can only come up with a midweek crucifixion
if you start your month by con'unction, but if you are
visibly sighting a crescent, you are back to a Driday
crucifixion, which is impossible according to 5cripture.
here is ample historical proof to clearly show a %&
A.". crucifixion.
Another important point to make when discussing this
sub'ect is that although we know that Israel was visibly
sighting a crescent moon after coming out of *abylon,
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we also know that !illel the 1lder 0ot !illel the $nd4
reinstituted the con'unction for starting a month in
(&*+, 'ust 7 years before the birth of -ahshua.
In the book :agid !arakia on page %) it states that the
Fabbis at the time of !illel knew how to calculate the
months, but guarded it as a secret and simply used the
sighting of the crescent to confirm their calculations.
Fegardless, though, history clearly tells us that !illelthe 1lder in (&*+ reinstituted calculating the month by
con'unction as /im Ingle also stated in his *iblical
+alendar dissertation. 5o well respected was !illel the
1lder that the almud actually calls him the successor
to the priest 1zra.
=#here is one among you who is worthy that the
Shekinah should rest on him as it did with .oses, but
his generation does not merit it" #he sages present set
their eyes on Hillel the Elder" And when he died they
lamented and said, Kalas the pious man, the humble
man, the disiple of E9ra-" 0he *abylonian almud
5anhedrin ((a4
hen we look at -ahwehs pattern 0that does not
change :al %3;4 we see from 8en (3(@ that -ahweh
sets the standard for time by the natural, circular,
rotation of the sun, moon and stars. hen the earth
revolves once on its axis it is called a day from sunset
to sunset 0#ev $%3%$4. hen the earth circles around
the sun from equinox to equinox in a complete circularrevolution, it is a year, and when the moon makes a
full revolution around the earth and resets itself at
con'unction it is a month. *y calculating the moon by a
crescent moon it throws the whole circular pattern of
everything off by up to % days.
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he crescent is not a constant and can be seen
anywhere from ($ hours after con'unction to up to 7$
hours later. In the entirety of 5cripture there is not one
single command to visibly sight a crescent to start the
month, but as 6s 2(3% clearly states, he ew :oon
starts at the time of the covered moon 0con'unction4.
*y human beings incorrectly bringing human response
into the equation, whether it be by man plantingbarley, or men sighting at what time the crescent moon
was seen, it negates the sovereign power that -ahweh
has over !is luminary bodies. owhere in 5cripture is
any human activity connected with being needed to be
able to start a new time cycle as is witnessed during
oahs flood 08en 23(%(@4.
Actually, -ahweh simply tells us in 5cripture what the
markers are for the time !e created 08en (3(@4 and
man was simply meant to watch for those markers and
see the heavenly signs for the start of the day, month,
and year, but not to try to cause them.
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Cha4ter " 6 Which Da is the
Con#$nction7
-ahweh works in the circular not the linear and the month
revolves around the geometrical sphere of the moon as a
perfect circle. hen you see a quarter moon it is P of the
month. hen you see a full moon it is half month, when
you see a waning quarter it is Q over and when the moon
is dark and resetting it is new moon. -ahweh also forbids
us in "eut @3(J to look up at the sun and the moon and
stars and to worship them. his is why, among many
other reasons, I believe the scriptural way to begin the
new month is by the con'unction of the moon, instead of
visual observance of a crescent moon which came out of
*abylon.
5o the next question would be, when do we calculate the
beginning of the new month, on the day of con'unction or
wait until sunset of that day< I believe this chapter willanswer that question.
Dirst of all lets define what a con'unction is. According to
the 1ncyclopedia *ritannia in astronomy, a con#$nction
is an a44arent 0eeting or 4assing of two or 0ore
celestial bodies at the sa0e celestial longit$de> The
!oon is in con#$nction with the -$n at the 4hase of
?ew !oon, when it 0o+es between the arth and
-$n and the side t$rned toward the arth is dark.
here are several fallacies connected with the
con'unction. Bne is that it happens at every place on
earth, at the same time all over the earth. It is because of
this false belief that some keep the new moon on the day
of con'unction, starting the evening before the
con'unction actually happens, even though this may be
up to $% hours before the actual con'unction, and is still
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the last day of the old month. 5ome of these same people
will contest that we cannot start the year before the
vernal equinox, because you would be starting a new year
before the old year is over. Although we also believe that
the year cannot start until the changing from winter to
summer, this is a total contradiction to starting every new
month before the actual con'unction really happens.
he problem is with some peoples flawed definition ofwhat a con'unction is. *asically from the above definition
we see that a con'unction is basically an eclipse of the
moon, due to it lining up between the earth and sun, and
causing one side to be basically dark. *ecause it is the
instant when the :oon and the 5un have the same
ecliptical longitude the moon is actually never (&&T dark,
but still cannot be seen with the naked eye. Dor the
crescent sighters who claim the month must start by
light, they are ignorant to this fact that even at
con'unction there is light already 'ust not visible to thenaked eye. 5o there argument is baseless, but that they
must witness this light before they can belief the new
month actually began. *ut as we already proved =faith is
the evidence of things unseen, and -ahwehs biblical
timing does not need mans unfaithful testimony to start
the heavenly cycle which begins at con'unction each
month.
#ogic will tell you that if an eclipse is happening in /apan
it cannot be happening on the other side of the globe in
ew -ork at the same time. 5o although the ew :oon
con'unction happens at only one moment in time roughly
each $J and O days, it does not occur at every place on
earth. *y the very definition of a con'unction the celestial
bodies 0in this case the moon, sun and earth4 must be in
the same longitude. hen the moon is in con'unction with
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