Biblical Days
Conventional Wisdom tells us, that a day is 24 hours. Starting from 12 a.m, and finishing 24 hours later at 12 a.m. But the question is, was it always like this in times past?
When Does A Day Start In The Bible?
It’s important to understand what a true biblical day is, because this is necessary when practicing the faith.
If we go back to the beginning. In the Book of Genesis we are told that the day began in darkness…
Genesis 1:1-5
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
This is quite similar to today’s calculation of a day which starts at 12 a.m. midnight, when it’s dark. The difference is, that within scripture we’re told that day begins and ends in the evening…
This is making reference to the natural light outside rather than a clock which we have today.
A closer look at one of the “appointed times” i.e. “the day of Atonement”, which is a one-day fast (which commands us not to eat for a day) shows how a day was represented.
The scripture tell us this one day fast takes place from evening to evening…
Leviticus 23:32
32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
So, we are told the fast is “ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even”. This means evening on 9th day to evening on the 10th day.
This fast was for the 10th day, but starts on the 9th day in the evening which shows us that a day started at evening the day before.
When Does A Day Start In The Bible
This gives us the evidence to clearly and authoritatively know that a day within the bible starts in the evening and ends in the evening the next day.
As previously mentioned this is similar to a conventional day, from 12 a.m. to 12 a.m. but without using a clock.
Biblical Month
To find out how many months there are in a biblical year we have to delve further into the scriptures. The two books that need to be read are the Book of Enoch (Jude 1:14), and the Book of Jubilees…
The book of Enoch 72:8-32 gives an accurate calculation of how many days there are in a month. We are told that there are 30 days in 8 of the months and 31 days in the 4 others.
A month only has 30 days and 31 days when it transitions into the next season. So again, that means that 4 months have 31 days, and 8 months have 30 days.
This gives the year a total of 12 months, 364 days.
Read for the Book Of Enoch 72:8-32 here for a full explanation
The Misconception About The Biblical Word For Month
There is a misconception about the word month in the Hebrew which needs to be cleared up.
There are those that believe that the word month in the scriptures is talking about the moon…
This belief means months are calculated according to the visual sightings of the moons. But when we look at the Hebrew word for month we find where ever it relates to the months of the year, the word used is:
“New Month”, not “New Moon”.
The word used is ‘chodesh’ meaning ‘month‘ Strong’s 2320
We know this because the word for “New Moon”, is a different Hebrew word. This word is never used when the scriptures are talking about a new month, if it was the word…
‘yareach’ meaning ‘moon‘ Strong’s 3394 would have been used and it isn’t.
A month biblically, is not, and was never calculated using the moon cycle. There’s no evidence of this anywhere in the scriptures.
The number of days each month has is confirmed in the book of Jubilees and the book of Enoch 72:8-32
These two books give us the number of days each month has within a biblical year.
We are also told in the book of jubilees, that the days of biblical feasts (“appointed times”) would be put out of order, if the biblical calendar wasn’t adhered to…
Book Of Jubilees 6:33
33 But if they do neglect and do not observe them according to His commandment, then they will disturb all their seasons, and the years will be dislodged from this (order), [and they will disturb the seasons and the years will be dislodged] and they will neglect their ordinances.
This was a prophecy given to Moses when he was given the days, months and yearly calculations, by the Most High…
This prophecy has clearly come to pass today, if not merely because of the fact that I’m discussing the biblical months here. But also the fact that we have a calendar with more than the 364 days the Most high created for the year.
The Julian Calendar
The months today are calculated from the Julian calendar, a spin off from the Biblical Hebrew calendar (Found in scriptures). Some months have 30 days one has 28 days and the rest are 31 days long.
Here’s a look at how many days each month has…
September, April, June and November have 30 days.
February has 28 days.
January, March, May, July, August, December and October have 31 days.
How Many Days In A Biblical Year?
When we calculate a year today we are told that it is 365 days, which is how many the Julian calendar has.
To find a biblical year within the scriptures we also need to read the Book of Enoch and the Book of jubilees.
Book Of Enoch 72:32
32 On that day the night decreases and amounts to nine parts, and the day to nine parts, and the night is equal to the day and the year is exactly as to its days three hundred and sixty-four.
The Day The Biblical Year Begins
The book of Enoch tells us that the year begins when we find equal parts day and equal parts night.
Equal parts day and equal parts night is the day of the Equinox…
The Spring Equinox is a time each year when both day and night have equal amounts of time. This takes place on one day each year to start the Spring time, and according to the Most Highs time the year.
This is the day that the Most High created to begin the year. This is the first day of the Hebrew month…
It is the month, the first “Appointed Time” Passover takes place.
Book Of Jubilees 6:32
32 And command thou the children of Israel that they observe the years according to this reckoning-three hundred and sixty-four days, and (these) will constitute a complete year, and they will not disturb its time from its days and from its feasts; for everything will fall out in them according to their testimony, and they will not leave out any day nor disturb any feasts.
The Book of Jubilees, tells us that there are 364 days in a year. This is contrary to conventional understanding, that tells us that there are 365 1/4 days in a year.
The 1/4, was added to account for a leap year every 4 years, to keep the seasons in order.
To find the first day of the year we must first find the day of the Spring Equinox. Then start the beginning of the year on the 4th day (Wednesday) which is the first day of the Most High’s year. Although the week cycle will always start on a Sunday which is the first day of the week.
The Modern Julian And Gregorian Calendars
The Julian Calendar was created by Julius Caesar’s in 46 BC. This calendar was implemented on the 1st of January 45 BC in the Roman provinces.
Interestingly, this is at the time that the Romans began to rule over Israel, confirmed in the Prophecies of Daniel. The Roman kingdom is foretold as the second to last kingdom to rule the earth.
You can read about the prophesied kingdoms here: The Four Beast’s Of Daniel And Revelation? Definitive Guide
This let’s us know that Israel did not use the Julian or Gregorian calendars, until after they were conquered.
The Julian calendar was used in most of Europe and American settlements up until 1582.
The Julian Calendar, was replaced by the Gregorian calendar. By Pope Gregory the VIII.
Ironically the change for the Julian Calendar came because it is out of sequence with the Equinox.
The difference between the Julian (365.25 days) and Gregorian (365.2425 days) calendars is 0.002%.
The Gregorian calendar differs from the Julian only in that no century year is a leap year unless it is exactly divisible by 400 (e.g., 1600, 2000).
BRITANNICA ENCYCLOPEDIA
The scriptures tell us that the Spring Vernal Equinox begins and ends a biblical year. So, doesn’t it make sense to follow what the Most High told Israel, seeing as he created the world?
Who Changed Times And Laws?
I’ve spoken about the Julian and Gregorian calendars and I think this is the perfect segway into a question you might have:
Who changed times and laws?
When we read the book of Daniel, he prophecies about the last Kingdoms, one of which is the Roman Kingdom.
Now we know the changing of the times, days, months and years, is the reason why the feasts (appointed times) are out of sequence according to the scriptures.
Daniel 7:25
25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
The scripture above highlights a time when the children of Israel would be in captivity, as well as true believers. During this time (which is also today) that second to last Kingdom i.e. the Roman empire would blaspheme the Most High’s commands and laws.
This would happen to such an extent the changing of laws would take place…
We know that since the council of nicea of 325AD, there’s been a lot of changes against the laws of the Most High.
Changes such as:
- Sunday worship instead of Sabbath worship which is on the 7th day Saturday.
- Christmas celebration, (which should be the Hanukkah celebration) which is unbiblical.
- The Easter celebration (which should be the Passover and unleavened bread celebration) which is also unbiblical.
So we see the wording here is “think to change times and laws“, because the times and laws remain the same. It’s our job as responsible believers to keep the times and laws that the Most High commanded us to.
Conclusion
Unfortunately the biblical calendar is always overlooked today. There’s an assumption that the Romans got their calendar calculations from their own wisdom, but they didn’t.
When we study the scriptures there is strong reason to believe the Romans took their understanding from the Hebrews. They then modelled their calculation of the months and years to suit Roman needs.
Biblical Calendar VS Modern Calendar
The difference that we find, is that the Romans decided to start the year during the winter time.
This makes sense for Pagans because Romans were known to worship during the winter solstice on the 25th of December.
This is contrary to what the scriptures tell us. We are told in the Book Of Enoch that the Year begins during the Equinox in spring. This is the time when we find equal parts day and equal parts night on a single day.
Lunar calendars start the year either at a new moon, or at a full moon, which is taken as the beginning of a lunar month. A true lunar month is around 29.5 days long, because the moon takes 29.5 days to orbit the earth (29 days, 12 hours 44 minutes and 2.8 secs according to current astronomy, or 3 and a third seconds according to the current Hebrew Calendar). We currently use a Solar calendar which starts the new year after a complete orbit of the earth around the sun. Such an orbit takes almost precisely 365.25 days. This period is around 12.4 lunar months. The Greeks, the Babylonians and the ancient Hebrews all operated lunar calendars before Christ. In 46 AD, Julius Caesar issued a decree changing the Roman calendar from Lunar to Solar. The resulting Julian calendar, based on the calculations of Sosigenes, had 365 days in each year and a leap year every 4th year with 366 days. So the Julian calendar had precisely 365.25 days in every year. It had 12 months whose lengths exactly fitted the year. In 1582 AD this calendar had become ten days out, since the true solar year is 365.2421896698 days long not 365.2500, (making it not much better than a lunar calendar by 1582 as regards seasons starting at the correct time). So Pope Gregory XIII abolished October 5th to October 14th, in that year, and he abolished leap years in century years, unless such years were divisible by 400. This is because...
365 97/400 = 365.2425 which is 0.00031 days out per year, or 26.78 seconds.
The resulting Gregorian calendar is the one in use today.
The Passover is still celebrated by Jews today and is in late March/Early April, on Nisan14. It occasionally coincides with 'Good Friday’ (well, statistically every 7 years). Of course it coincided in 33 CE, when Jesus was killed, since Jesus was killed on the Jewish Passover, he being the greater Passover lamb.
7 In the first month, that is, the month Nisan... [to] the 12th, that is, the month Adar. (Esther 3 NWT)
1 In the month [hodesh] of Ziv, that is, the 2nd month [hodesh] (1 Kings 6).
9 In the 3rd month, that is, the month of Sivan (Esther 8).
15 At length the wall came to completion on the 25th [day] of Elul, in 52 days. (Nehemiah 6 NWT)
2 In the lunar month [yerah] of Ethanim in the festival, that is, the 7th month [hodesh] (1 Kings 8).
38 In the lunar month [yerah] of Bul, that is, the 8th month [hodesh] (1 Kings 6).
1 On the 4th [day] of the 9th month, in Chislev (Zechariah 7).
16 In the 10th month, that is, the month Tebbeth (Esther 2).
7On the 24th day of the 11th month, that is, the month Shebat (Zechariah 1).
7 In the 1st month, that is, the month Nisan, in the 12th year of King Ahasuerus, someone cast Pur, that is, the Lot, before Haman from day to day and from month to month, [to] the 12th, that is, the month Adar (Esther 3).
1 Kings was written before and Esther and Zechariah were written during or after the 70 year Babylonian exile of Judah (586 to 516 BC - see later).
19 And he proceeded to burn the house of the [true] God and pull down the wall of Jerusalem; and all its dwelling towers they burned with fire and also all its desirable articles, so as to cause ruin.
20 Furthermore, he carried off those remaining from the sword captive to Babylon, and they came to be servants to him and his sons until the royalty of Persia began to reign,
21 to fulfill Jehovah's word by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had paid off its Sabbaths. All the days of lying desolated it kept Sabbath, to fulfill 70 years (2 Chronicles 36).
The remainder of the names of the months can be deduced from Josephus (the Jewish historian) or the Talmud or current Jewish calendars. The post Babylonian exilic names were the month names used in Babylon.
11 In the 600th year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the 17th day of the month, on this day, all the springs of the vast watery deep were broken open and the flood gates of the heavens were opened (Genesis 7).
3 And the waters began receding from off the earth, going and receding, and at the end of 150 days the waters were lacking.
4 And in the seventh month, on the 17th day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat (Genesis 8).
When the waters are lacking the Ark would run aground, so from this we deduce that 5 months was 150 days, so there were 30 days in each Biblical Lunar Calendar (BLC) month. If all the months were the same length.
19 You will eat, not one day nor two days nor five days nor ten days nor twenty days,
20 but up to a month of days, until it comes out of your nostrils and it has become a loathing to you, just because you rejected Jehovah, who is in your midst, and you went weeping before him, saying: Why is it that we have come out of Egypt? (Numbers 11).
14 So he dwelt with him a month of days (Genesis 29).
13 And he continued to reign for a lunar month of days (2 Kings 15).
So a month of days was a specific number of them. So all months had the same length (30 days).
13 and remove the mantle of her captivity from off her and dwell in your house and weep for her father and her mother a month [yerah] of days; and after that you should have relations with her, and you must take possession of her as your bride, and she must become your wife. (Deuteronomy 21 NWT)
29 And all the assembly got to see that Aaron had expired, and all the house of Israel continued weeping for Aaron 30 days. (Numbers 20 NWT)
8 And the sons of Israel proceeded to weep for Moses on the desert plains of Moab 30 days. At length the days of weeping of the mourning period for Moses were completed. (Deuteronomy 34 NWT)
So a yerah is most definitely a 30 day long calendar month. But a hodesh (meaning new moon or new month) could be either a 30 day calendar month or a 29½ day lunation, or an actually new moon sighting. The trouble is that Leviticus23 and all the festivals are defined in terms of Hodesh. Yerah only appears 6 times for month in the entire bible...
13 and remove the mantle of her captivity from off her and dwell in your house and weep for her father and her mother a month [yerah] of days; and after that you should have relations with her, and you must take possession of her as your bride, and she must become your wife. (Deuteronomy 21 NWT)
1 And it came about in the 480th year after the sons of Israel came out from the land of Egypt, in the 4th year, in the month [hodesh] of Ziv, that is, the 2nd month [hodesh], after Solomon became king over Israel, that he proceeded to build the house to Jehovah.
37 In the 4th year the house of Jehovah had its foundation laid, in the lunar month [yerah] of Ziv;
38 and in the 11th year, in the lunar month [yerah] of Bul, that is, the 8th month [hodesh], the house was finished as regards all its details and all its plan; so that he was 7 years at building it. (1 Kings 6 NWT)
2 So all the men of Israel congregated themselves to King Solomon in the lunar month [yerah] of Ethanim in the festival, that [month] is, the 7th month [hodesh]. (1 Kings 8 NWT)
13 Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a month [yerah] of days in Samaria. (2 Kings 15 KJV - adapted from the Hebrew)
8 And I finally effaced 3 shepherds in one month [yerah], as my soul gradually became impatient with them, and also their own soul felt a loathing toward me. (Zechariah 11 NWT)
From these scriptures it is apparent that yerah = hodesh in the cases of Ziv, Ethanim and Bul. So 'hodesh' can certainly means a 30 day calendar month. But hodesh is a different Hebrew word and literally means new moon. So it can take that meaning and does take that meaning we think in the case of the festival of the new moon, which does not occur on the first of the calendar month, but occurs at e the sighting of the new moon.
5 saying, 'How long will it be before the new moon [hodesh] passes and we may sell cereals? Also, the Sabbath, and we may offer grain for sale; in order to make the ephah small and to make the shekel great and to falsify the scales of deception; (Amos 8 NWT)
10 And in the day of your rejoicing and in your festal seasons and at the commencements [reshith] of your months [hodesh] [the actual new moon day], you must blow on the trumpets over your burnt offerings and your communion sacrifices; and their use must serve as a memorial for you before your God. I am Jehovah your God. (Numbers 10 NWT)
The BLC therefore has 12 months each of which is 30 days long. So it spans 360 days. But there are 365.25 days in the Solar year. Furthermore 12 lunar cycles only take 354 days since each cycle is 29.5 days long. So we have a problem at the end of each year where the thirteenth lunar cycle is starting around 11 days (365 - 354) early with respect to the Solar calendar. The way the Hebrews dealt with this, was that sometimes the next year did indeed start with the next lunar month, and other times it skipped a month, or rather the previous year had another month added. This month was called Veadar, or ‘second Adar’. The 14th month then became the first of the new year. The Modern Jewish calendar adds a 13th month every 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th & 19th years in a 19 year cycle. The first new moon and the first full moon of the 19th lunar year occur on the same solar day that they did in the first lunar year. This is not how the ancient Hebrews did it however. They added an extra month only when the 14th day of that month was not in spring, in the sense that it did not start after the day of the vernal equinox.
The bible defines the 12 months of the year as follows:
1 As for the sons of Israel by their number, the heads of the paternal houses and the chiefs of the thousands and of the hundreds and their officers that were ministering to the king in every matter of the divisions of those that came in and that went out month by month for all the months of the year, each division was 24,000.
2 Over the first division of the first month there was Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel, and in his division there were 24,000.
3 Some of the sons of Perez the head of all the chiefs of the service groups were for the first month.
4 And over the division of the second month there was Dodai the Ahohite with his division, and Mikloth was the leader, and in his division there were 24,000.
5 The chief of the 3rd service group for the third month was Benaiah the son of Jehoiada the chief priest, and in his division there were 24,000.
6 This Benaiah was a mighty man of the 30 and over the 30; and [over] his division there was Ammizabad his son.
7 The 4th for the 4th month was Asahel, Joab's brother, and Zebadiah his son after him, and in his division there were 24,000.
8 The 5th chief for the 5th month was Shamhuth the Izrahite, and in his division there were 24,000.
9 The 6th for the 6th month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, and in his division there were 24,000.
10 The 7th for the 7th month was Helez the Pelonite of the sons of Ephraim, and in his division there were 24,000.
11 The 8th for the 8th month was Sibbecai the Hushathite of the Zerahites, and in his division there were 24,000.
12 The 9th for the 9th month was Abi-ezer the Anathothite of the Benjaminites, and in his division there were 24,000.
13 The 10th for the 10th month was Maharai the Netophathite of the Zerahites, and in his division there were 24,000.
14 The 11th for the 11th month was Benaiah the Pirathonite of the sons of Ephraim, and in his division there were 24,000.
15 The 12th for the 12th month was Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel, and in his division there were 24,000 (1 Chronicles 27).
There was no ministering recorded for any 13th month. So presumably there was actually no ministering in the 13th month (Veadar). In non (lunar) leap years (years with no 13th month or intercalary month) the last 5/6 days of Adar are coincident with the first 5/6 days of Nisan (because 12 lunar cycles are 354.36707 days, and 12 BLC months are 360 days). Adar25/26, the 355/6th day of the year, is Nisan1 in the next year, and Adar30 is Nisan5/6 in the new year. Likewise in the case of Solomon’s food:
7 And Solomon had twelve deputies over all Israel, and they provided the king and his household with food. It would devolve upon each one to provide the food one month in the year (1 Kings 4)
2 As for the courtyard that is outside the temple. Cast it clear out and do not measure it, because it has been given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city underfoot for 42 months.
3 And I will cause my two witnesses to prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days dressed in sackcloth (Revelation 11)
This period of 42 months is 42 months all of which are one of the 12 months above. In other words if it started in Nisan then it ended in Tishri, 3 years and 6 months later. There is no 13th month mentioned anywhere in the bible explicitly. In fact there would have been 43 lunar months in the period of 42 BLC months. Likewise, if the period of 1260 days started on Nisan18 it would end on Tishri18 three years later. In fact there may well have been 1240 or 1280 true days between these two BLC dates, separated by 1260 BLC days, each one of which is in a 30 day BLC month.
To apply bible prophecy to dates today we need to know when each first month of the lunar year starts. We need to know Nisan1 for each year. The modern Jews calculate it so that Nisan14 is on or after March 26th. This is because they start the year on Tishri 1 and are effectively choosing this month with reference to the Autumn equinox. The early Christian Churches calculated it so that the Passover, Nisan14, is on or after March 21st, the date they chose for the Vernal Equinox, when day and night are precisely the same length, see: www.ozramp.net.au/~sanhub/godstime.htm
Comments from Anatolius, Bishop of Laodicea, [c.230-c.280] are confirmatory of what has already become very evident. Nor is this an opinion confined to ourselves alone. For it was also known to the Jews of old and before Christ, and it was most carefully observed by them. And this may be learned from what Philo, and Josephus, and Musaeus have written; and not only from these, but indeed from others still more ancient, namely, the two Agathobuli, who were surnamed the Masters, and the eminent Aristobulus, who was one of the Seventy who translated the sacred and holy Scriptures [i.e., the Septuagint] of the Hebrews for Ptolemy Philadelphus [285-246 B.C.] and his father, and dedicated his exegetical works on the law of Moses to the same kings. These writers, in solving some questions which are raised with respect to the Exodus, say that all alike ought to sacrifice the Passover after the vernal equinox in the middle of the first month" (Ante-Nicene Fathers, (Eerdmans, 1986), Vol 6, The Paschal Canon of Anatolius of Alexandria, III, p. 147).
Norm Womersley and Orest Solyma have produced the clearest explanation we have seen (from Appendix B of the web page above - altered)
The 1st day of the lunar month is a new moon, therefore the full moon occurs on the 14th-15th of the month. A lunar month is 29 days 12 hours 44+ minutes long.
The first month, Abib or Nisan (in the northern hemisphere; Jerusalem as the focus Psalm 122; 135:19-21; Zechariah 14:1-4; Revelation 21:2-3), is the beginning of the sacred year when the days start to get longer. Some barley is ready for harvesting (Leviticus 23:10; Ruth 1:22; 2:23; 2Samuel 21:9), but reaping may continue as late as August in higher altitudes. Wheat and rye are still immature in spring (Exodus 9:31,32). This season must coincide with the Vernal Equinox, which causes seasonal change and crop development not vice versa. The 20th-21st March is the turn from winter to summer of a solar year (Genesis 1:14). Biblically, it is the start of the summer season (Genesis 8:22; Psalm 74:17).
Passover is an 8 day feast, including Unleavened Bread, a day, or a meal (Matthew 26:17; Ezekiel 45:21; Numbers 9:6; Luke 22:15). Included is the Lord's Supper on the 14th Nisan, the Night to be Much Observed on the 15th Nisan, (i.e., 14th-15th at the time of a full moon), followed by the Wave-Sheaf Offering (God's acceptance of the resurrected Christ), both set during the Days of Unleavened Bread, and with the seventh day of Unleavened Bread being 21st Nisan. The full moon of Passover must be the first full moon and after the new moon nearest to the Vernal Equinox, i.e., nearest to March 20th-21st.
This calculation wherein the Passover is the first 14th day of a lunar month to fall on or after the day of the vernal equinox is the way that God stipulated things should be done after the Exodus:
2 And Jehovah now said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month will be the start of the months for you. It will be the first of the months of the year …
5 ...you may pick from the young rams or from the goats. And it must continue under guard until the 14th day of this month…
11 ...and you must eat it in haste. It is Jehovah’s Passover (Exodus 12).
23 And it will certainly occur that from new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath all flesh will come in to bow down before me, Jehovah has said (Isaiah 66).
God was stipulating that Nisan, the Passover month, the month in which the Jews left Egypt, was to be the anchor month for the lunar calendar (whereas before this it was Tishri). This month is synchronised to the Solar calendar, to the seasons, through the spring equinox which defines the beginning of the spring and harvesting half of the year. Basically the Passover is the first 14th day of a lunar month where this day is actually in spring (which starts after the Hebrew day of the vernal equinox).
Incidentally the Hebrew language has no word for Spring or for Autumn. Both testaments only talk about the seasons (appointed times) of summer and and winter.
22 For all the days the earth continues, seed sowing and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, will never cease (Genesis 8).
17 It was you that set up all the boundaries of the earth; Summer and winter, you yourself formed them (Psalm 74)
15 And I will strike down the winter house in addition to the summer house.' And the houses of ivory will have to perish, and many houses will have to come to their finish,' is the utterance of Jehovah (Amos 3).
8 And it must occur in that day [that] living waters will go forth from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. In summer and in winter it will occur (Zechariah 14).
So it appears that both seasons were 6 months long for the Jews. Today, since we have a solar calendar, we would run 6 month seasons between the equinoxes. But no so for the Jews with a lunar and agricultural calendar. To the Hebrew summer was the harvest season and winter was the no harvest season. The spring rain and the autumn rain are mentioned in English translations of the old testament, but the Hebrew words used stand for first-rain [
22 For all the days the earth continues, seed sowing and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, will never cease (Genesis 8)
1 When David himself had crossed over a little beyond the summit, there was Ziba the attendant of Mephibosheth to meet him with a couple of asses saddled and upon them 200 loaves of bread and 100 cakes of raisins and 100 loads of summer fruit and a large jar of wine (2Samuel16)
8 it prepares its food even in the summer; it has gathered its food supplies even in the harvest (Proverbs 6).
39 However, on the 15th day of the 7th month, when you have gathered the produce of the land, you should celebrate the festival of Jehovah seven days. On the 1st day is a complete rest and on the 8th day is a complete rest (Leviticus)..
32 Now you learn from the fig tree parable. Just as soon as its branch grows tender and it puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near [Summer being the Hebrew harvest season from Nisan16 (first fruits) to Tishri14 (he last day of the harvest before the first Sabbath of the festival of Booths. The buds come out just before Nisan16]. (Matthew24).
2 Speak to the sons of Israel, and you must say to them, 'The seasonal festivals of Jehovah that you should proclaim are holy conventions. These are my seasonal festivals:
3 'Six days may work be done, but on the 7th day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy convention. You may do no sort of work. It is a Sabbath to Jehovah in all places where you dwell.
4 'These are the seasonal festivals of Jehovah, holy conventions, which you should proclaim at their appointed times/seasons (Leviticus23):
The Old BLC had a Tishri1 year start
Before the exodus from Egypt Josephus tells us that the first month of the year was Tishri:
The catastrophe happened in the 600th year of Noah’s rulership, in what was once the second month, called by the Macedonians Dius, and by the Hebrews Marsuan (Marheshvan or Heshvan), according to the arrangement of the calendar which they followed in Egypt. Moses, however appointed Nisan, that is to say Xanthicus, as the first month for the festivals, because it was in this month that he brought the Hebrews out of Egypt. He also reckoned this month as the commencement of the year for everything relating to divine worship. But for selling and buying and other ordinary affairs he preserved the ancient order (Jewish Antiquities Book I).
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on this day all the springs of the vast watery deep were broken open and the floodgates of the heavens were opened (Genesis 7).
The bible shows that the agricultural year, which was the fiscal year in what was an agricultural economy, started in the seventh month, Tishri:
22 And you will carry on your festival of weeks with the first ripe fruits of the wheat harvest, and the festival of ingathering, at the turn of the year (Exodus 34).
16 Also the festival of the harvest of the first ripe fruits of your labours, of what you sow in the field, and the festival of ingathering at the outgoing of the year, when you gather your labour from the field (Exodus 23).
13 The festival of booths you should celebrate for yourself seven days when you make an ingathering from your threshing floor and your oil and winepress (Deuteronomy 16).
So the turn and outgoing, meaning beginning, of the agricultural year was the seventh month. The ingathering of all the crops is obviously a good end to an agricultural year. The modern Jews celebrate their new year on Tishri1. This day was the start of the agricultural or secular year. Since the bible does not introduce this new year as a new concept, one can deduce that this was the one being used before the change to Nisan for the sacred new year as mentioned above in Exodus 12:2-11.
To calculate which day Nisan14 is we need to know when the new and full moons are around March 21st for the last 6,000 years. There are two great websites for this at: http://astropixels.com/ephemeris/phasescat/phasescat.html written by Fred Espenak of Nasa (moon phases from 2000BC to 3000AD) and http://www.paulcarlisle.net/mooncalendar/ (moon phases from 3999BC to 3999AD) . They use Gregorian dates on and after 1582 October 15th, which was the first day after 1582 October 4, abolishing October5 to October14 inclusive by Papal decree. They use Julian dates before October 5th that year, as mankind did.
Celebrating the new year is very popular around the world. People throw cute parties, spend time with their families, watch the ball drop in Times Square, craft their new goals and resolutions for the upcoming year. However, as my family and I learned more about keeping the commandments of God we started to ask the question, “should Hebrews celebrate the Gregorian New Year in the same way as the rest of the world?” “ Should we celebrate the New Year at all?”
My family never really celebrated the new year. We always prayed the new year in during Watchnight services and ate snacks – chips, cheesecake, and pop were always a fun staple! When I was younger I was a little sad because we couldn’t watch the ball drop in Times Square during our time zone, but I eventually got over it.
However, even though we never really celebrated the new year, as we learned more about the High Holidays, we stopped our mini celebration of the Gregorian new year. Our reasoning behind this was – we didn’t want to spend time on holidays that were man-made and were without any real meaning, holidays that were not the High Holidays. Instead, we wanted to focus all our energy on celebrating the Holidays that God commanded us to celebrate.
The Gregorian calendar that we use today has undergone many changes over the centuries. It was based on the ancient Babylonian calendar, then the ancient Egyptians, which was then changed by the Romans and Popes to be the calendar we have today. In the same way, the calendar has changed many times, the date and the celebration of the New Year have changed as well. Each civilization had a time set aside to celebrate the start of a new year.
Many of the traditions and celebrations that we celebrate today were traditions and customs adopted by these ancient civilizations. Customs such as throwing elaborate parties and parades, self-introspection and reflections, eating specific foods, sending well wishes, and having non-work or minimal work days, were all common during this time. Another common theme was the celebration of false gods. The Ancient Babylonians and Romans each held a festival in honor of their gods during this time.
Let’s look at these ancient festivals and traditions as well as when the true Biblcal New year occurs.
Ancient Babylon – New Year’s History, Celebrations, and Traditions
The ancient Babylonians celebrated the new year in the spring in a huge festival in honor of their chief god.
“Akitu” or “Akitum” meaning barley-sowing or head of the year was a spring festival in ancient Mesopotamia held by the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians. This festival marked when the barley was harvested, the beginning of the new year, and it was a time to honor their god – Marduk (Wikipedia “Akitu“).
The ancient Babylonians celebrated the new year on the first new moon after the vernal equinox, usually in late March. This was a time for the ancient Babylonians to honor the rebirth of the natural world with a festival called Akitu, this festival dates back to 2000 B.C. During this festival, statues of the Babylonian gods were paraded throughout the city, and rituals were performed that were believed to symbolically cleanse the world and prepare the world for a new year and the return of spring (History “Ancient New Years“).
The festival of Akitu was celebrated in the Neo Assyrian Empire following the fall of the Babylonian empire, in the Seleucid empire and finally in the Roman Empire introduced by emperor Elagabalus (A.D. 218 – 222) (Wikipedia “Akitu“).
Ancient Rome – New Year’s History, Celebrations, and Traditions
Like the ancient Babylonians before them, the Roman calendar originally corresponded with the vernal equinox. The early Roman calendar designated March 1st as the beginning of the new year. Over time, the new year was changed to January and became the time to inaugurate Roman consuls into power starting in 153 B.C. (Wikipedia “New Year’s Day“).
The month of January was dedicated to the Roman god Janus. The Romans were superstitious and believed that the beginning of something represented how something would end. They wanted to start this month off right because hopefully, it would lead to a good year.
Different celebrations of the Romans on this day were – a short workday, exchanging of good words and well wishes with each other, exchanging of dates, figs, honey, and coins, and offering wheat and salt offerings to the gods (Wikipedia “Janus“).
The ancient Roman god Janus was the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, doorways, passages, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces facing in opposite directions. Janus is believed to be the gatekeeper of the gates connecting Heaven and Earth and is the guardian over all the passages that are related to time and motion (Wikipedia “Janus“, “New Year’s Day“, “Janus and Juno” ).
Janus was seen as symbolically looking back at the old and at the same time looking ahead to the new. He was symbolic of the transition from one year to the next. With this idea in mind, it is very common to reflect on the previous year while looking ahead and planning for the next, in the form of resolutions, reflections, goal setting, etc (History.com “Ancient New Years“).
Making goals, resolutions, reflecting on the past year, and planning for the next is not a bad thing. However, the making of these goals and resolutions during the time that was dedicated to a false deity on a false new year is the problem.
Medieval Christendom – New Year’s History, Celebrations, and Traditions
When the Roman Empire fell, the Roman Catholic Emperors who subsequently took over were infamous for trying to blend pagan traditions with Christianity. They did this with Halloween, Christmas, Easter, and New Year’s celebrations.
Throughout Medieval Christian Europe, the new year was celebrated on a variety of days. Many such days were, December 25th to celebrate the birth of Jesus, March 1st after the Roman style, March 25th to celebrate the day the angel Gabriel told Mary she would be Christ’s mother, and on Easter Sunday. During this time, it was popular for Christians to exchange gifts, because the new year celebration fell during the twelve days of Christmas, which started on Christmas day and ran through January 6th.
Over time, the calculation systems used to calculate Easter under the Julian calendar became a problem, causing calendar drift. This caused the date of the vernal equinox to occur in late winter rather than early spring. To fix this problem, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII declared the universal usage of the Gregorian calendar, which is the calendar used today. This change made the 1st of January the date of the new year (Wikipedia “New Year’s Day“, “Pope Gregory XIII“).
One way the Anglican and Lutheran churches tried to Christianize the new year was by celebrating the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ on January 1st. This is the day to celebrate Jesus’ circumcision on the eighth day of his life, if he was born on December 25th. The Roman Catholic Church also uses this day to celebrate the Virgin Mary (Wikipedia “New Year’s Day“).
As we have seen, the new year celebrations of January 1st have a history of pagan roots and traditions. They celebrate false deities and have many traditions associated with idol worship. Now let’s take a look at the true new year.
The Biblical New Year
The Biblical new year starts in the month Aviv, Abib, or Nisan, which occurs in March or April of the Gregorian calendar. During this time, barley is said to be in the Aviv stage when the seeds are full-sized, full of starch but not yet dried. The first spring High Holiday is Passover, this holiday occurs when the barley harvest begins (Wikipedia “Aviv“).
The Lord told Moses that the new year, the beginning of months, was in the Spring and started in the month of Aviv.
Shemoth ( Exodus ) 12 : 2: “This month to you the beginning of months: it is the first to you among the months of the year.”
Debarim ( Deuteronomy ) 16 : 1: “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover unto the Lord thy God: for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.” KJV
Shemoth ( Exodus ) 13 : 4: “For on this day ye go forth in the month of new.” Septuagint
Shemoth ( Exodus ) 23 : 15: “Take heed to keep the feast of unleavened bread: seven days ye shall eat unleavened bread, as I charged thee at the season of the month of new, for in it thou camest out of Egypt: thou shalt no appear before me empty.” Septuagint
The month of Aviv has been called the month of Nisan since the Babylonian captivity.
Nehemiah 2 : 1: “ And it came to pass in the month Nisan of the twentieth year of King Artasastha, that the wine was before me: and I took the wine, and gave to the king: and there was not another before him.”
Esther 3 : 7: “ In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.” KJV
Nisan
Abib, Aviv, or Nisan is the first month of the Hebrew calendar, it has 30 days and corresponds to March or April. In Biblical Hebrew, Aviv means fresh or young ears, and in modern Hebrew, Aviv means spring (Biblehub.com “Aviv“, Morfix “Aviv“).
The name Nisan is Sumerian and it means first fruits. In the Babylonian Calendar, this name was Arah Nisanu meaning “the month of beginning” (Wikipedia “Nisan“).
Things that happened in this month in Biblical History
- 1 Nisan – The waters of the flood subsided from off the earth (Genesis 8: 13)
- 14 Nisan – The Feast of Passover is celebrated (Leviticus 23:5)
- 15 Nisan – Exodus from Egypt and the Feast of Unleavened Bread is celebrated (Exodus 12: 16 – 17, Leviticus 23: 6)
- Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron dies (Numbers 20:1)
- Nehemiah talked to King Arthasatha or King Artaxerxes I about returning to Israel to rebuild Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:1)
God didn’t command us to celebrate the new year, but if you are going to celebrate the new year it should be the Biblical New Year! Knowing when the new year will occur is an important marker for the rest of the year, especially with regards to determining the dates of the High Holidays.
There are many things that people take into consideration when determining which calendar to use, therefore there is much debate on what calendar to use. I will link my blog post about the calendar my family and I use and a little about our thought process when we chose it.
The Gregorian New year time can be a fun time to spend time with family, have parties, and look with expectancy towards the new year. While these things aren’t inherently bad, they are traditions and customs that were associated with the celebration of false deities during this time of year. Instead of celebrating this false new year, we should observe the Biblical New Year, which occurs in the Spring. During this time we are preparing our houses, our hearts, and our minds for Passover. This is a special time that the Lord invites us to partake in. I hope you have a wonderful celebration, Shalom!
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