Does Exodus 12:18 Fit in a Sunrise Reckoning of the Day

Where Does Exodus 12:18 fit in the Biblical Feast Calendar?

Exodus 12:18 presents a bit of a conumdrum for those who reckon the biblical day by sunrise. This verse points to a particular place in time in the biblical feast chronology, specifically the point of transition between the 14th day and the 15th day. It says, "......on the fourteenth day at even." 

With a sunrise reckoning of the day, you only have one "even" and it is in the middle of the 24 hour period of the day, at the end of the daylight period, at sunset. Theoretically, Ex 12:18 should go at the end of the 14th day, but there is no "EVEN" at the end of the day, as it leads into dawn and sunrise. 

This methodology of reckoning the day forces Exodus 12:18 to be placed at the only other logical place in time, at sunset in the middle of the sunrise reckoned day. Since this is the point in time when the traditional Rabbinic Passover is held, it forces two separate festal events to occur at the same time, or overlap.

The graphic below should serve to demonstrate this problem visually:

Listed below are the observations and problems encountered between Exodus 12:18 and a sunrise reckoning of the day:

Ex 12:18 has nothing to do with the Feast of ULB except to define the beginning point at the end of the 14th day.

There is no scriptural command or support for Yahushua’s Passover with disciples on the 13th.

Traditional Rabbinic Passover and Feast of ULB cannot be merged into the same time period at the beginning of the evening on the 14th. Unfortunately, this is the only solution in a sunrise model of the day. And it is the problem of the 1st Century CE.

It needs to be understood that at the time of Yahushua’s Passover and Crucifixion, Passover and the Feast of ULB had been convoluted and merged, thereby presenting confusion in sorting out which was which, when one ended and the other began. John 18:28 is the most extreme example of this, indicated by the fact that it appears to contradict the other 3 gospel accounts of the events of the 14th day. This is also noted in Deu 16.

All commands for the Feast of ULB are on the 15th or the beginning of the 15th; not on the night of the 14th. This includes the removal of leaven from homes.

In a sunset model of the day, all of the events of the Passover and Crucifixion occur on the 14th day, according to scripture. This is impossible in a sunrise model of the day. There is no scriptural command or support for any of these events to occur on any other day.

In a sunset model of the day, there is an “even” at each end of the day, allowing for the proper timing and placement of events described in scripture.

In a sunrise model, there is only one “even” in a 24 hour day, in the middle of the 24 hour period, forcing certain events to be relocated.









Feel free to submit comments

Has The Meaning of "DAY" in Genesis Been Misinterpreted

A Closer Look At "Day" in Genesis: 12 Hours or 24? Sunrise or Sunset?

Here's some observations and questions to challenge your mental stewpot

I have read many papers, studied and looked at scripture over and over, and kept asking questions. What is the justification for sunrise reckoning of the day? And more importantly, what is the basis and support for sunrise sabbath and observance for only the daylight portion of the day, approximately 12 hours? Are there some things that are getting overlooked? The following are some observations and questions I have developed as I have looked at the account of Genesis 1 and 2, again and again.

"Sunrisers" hereafter refers to those holding a sunrise reckoning of the day, and daylight hours only observance of the Sabbath.

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When I read a paper or study on the sunrise position of reckoning the day, usually the first thing I notice is a definition from Strong's Concordance:

Strong's Definition: from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours)

Invariably, this seems to be the definition most "sunrisers" are relying on. But is it accurate? You might be interested to know that I have found Strong's to be the only place that I can find that definition at this point. If you have another source, I would sure like to see it. So if there is only one witness with this definition, is it accurate? And what is the source of Strong's information to formulate this definition?

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Here's the observations and questions to tickle your mental palate:

How many days are in creation week?

What is the length of those days during creation week?

If one believes in the 7 literal days of creations, then those days must be approximately 24 hours. If there are 7 days (whole units) in the creation week, what is the justification and scriptural support for redefining the "day" in Genesis as only 12 hours? (Particularly on the first 3 days when the sun was not yet appointed.)

 

What is the length of the 7th day in creation week?

If it is not 24 hours, what is the scriptural support for redefining it into another time period in Gensis? (12 hours)

What is the definition of day in the creation week?

    Strong's Definition: from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours)  

This is usually the first, and sometimes only, definition that those of the sunrise persuasion quote. Why is a definition used that could not have existed on the 1st day of creation?

What day was the sun "made" or activated during creation week?

This question of the definition of day has to be defined on day ONE, not on day FOUR.    One cannot simply redefine a day into 12 hours without support or confirmation from scripture.  

What does evening and morning mean on the 1st day of creation week, when no sun or moon was made/activated?

What is the meaning of day on the 1st day of creation week, when there was no sun and moon in play?

What is the scriptural support for 1/14th?

There are biblical principles for 1/10th, and 1/7th, (ten or seven). If the Sabbath is only 12 hours of daylight on the 7th day, (1/14th of a week) what is the biblical principle and support for 1/14th?

Recent studies about the cycle of 7 (septacircans) within the human body are very interesting. If this is a divine principle by design, what happens to our mind, body, and soul if we are not in harmony with that cycle? 

Here's a hypothetical question to consider:

According to sunrise reckoning, and daylight only observance of Sabbath, how would you know when to observe Sabbath if it was on one of the first three days of creation? Evening and morning existed, but no sunrise or sunset. (Remember, this is just hypothetical to make a point)

I'll be interested in your thoughts of course.

German Astronomer Confirms Possible Moses and Pleiades Connection

In 1999, the Nebra Sky Disk, one of the world's oldest archaeological artifacts was discovered in Nebra Germany. Considering its design, it may shed some light on Moses "beginning of months"

Sun or Moon? The Intercalary Rule on the Star Disc

Rahlf Hansen, Planetarium Hamburg,

(translated by Alex Leo, Planetarium Hamburg)

In an era where we have Organizers, GPS and radio controlled clocks it is difficult to imagine the difficulties encountered in early times to regulate their calendar. In those days the rhythms of the heavens were used to regulate time: the Sun provided the days and the years, the Moon provided the months and the weeks. Farmers need a solar calendar that shows the seasons. The narrow crescent evening Moon, known as the First Crescent, indicates the beginning of a new month just as the Islamic calendar still does today. But how does one reconcile the lunar year with the solar year, which is 11 days longer? In earlier times, this was done by introducing leap months.

We know of just such a rule from the Babylonian Cuneiform mul-apin text. If the First Crescent appears by the Seven Sisters star cluster, the Pleiades, during the spring month, in which the year begins, then this is a normal year. If, however, during this month the Moon does not appear in the Pleiades until the third day, it forms a wider crescent – a signal that a leap month must be added. It is exactly this phenomenon that is encrypted on the Star Disc. The width of the lunar crescent on the Star Disc corresponds to the Babylonian leap signal. On the first phase of the Star Disc are depicted the crescent, the golden circle, the seven point rosette and 25 additional golden points numbering 32 in total. The rosette is taken to represent the Pleiades. By interpreting the depiction as a record of an intercalary rule we’re not only explaining the width of the lunar Crescent but also providing an explanation for the number 32 and the meaning of the golden circle. The lunar month is 29.5 days long. If a leap month has to be added, the Moon will not appear in the Pleiades in its First Crescent phase but two days later with a wider crescent. In this case, 32 days must elapse from the previous First Crescent Moon. The 32 points on the Disc can thus be interpreted as the 32 days that elapse between the previous First Crescent Moon and the Moon appearing by the Pleiades in the spring month. As a leap signal, these 32 days are just as equally valid as the width of the lunar crescent. The leap signal is therefore doubly encoded on the Star Disc:

1.)  If a Moon Crescent having the thickness of the depicted crescent appears by the Pleiades in the Spring month, then this is a leap trigger.

2.)  If 32 days elapse from the First Crescent of the previous month (before the spring month) until the Moon in the spring month, then this is a leap trigger.

But the number 32 also has another meaning, linking the solar and lunar calendars. In 32 solar years, 33 lunar years elapse. If we interpret the golden disc as the Sun, then the 32 points are related to the Sun and we deduce the 32 solar years. If we also count the golden disc, then we get a total of 33. This refers to the Moon, the only remaining object on the disc, and so we get 33 lunar years.  

In Prof. Schlosser’s current interpretations, that have been extended and not contradicted in this text, the golden disc is interpreted as the Full Moon. Here it is also interpreted as the Sun. Sun OR Moon? The answer is Sun AND Moon. This is elaborated on in a further text. 3600 years ago the Pleiades disappeared in the dusk 12 days before the onset of Spring. If, ideally, the First Crescent Moon appears by the Pleiades on the last day of their visibility, then the Full Moon and the start of Spring coincide. The Full Moon in the Spring Month then signals the start of Spring and with it, in many cultures, the start of the new year. The Full Moon thus symbolizes the new solar year. Therefore the golden disc can be interpreted as the Full Moon in the Spring month AND as the Sun.

So here we have an astoundingly complex and nested design. On the one hand, the 32 golden points encode the leap signal of the 32 days to the Moon-Pleiades positioning. As well as symbolizing both the Full Moon by the Pleiades in Autumn (Schlosser’s interpretation) and the Full Moon in the Spring month at the beginning of Spring, the golden disc also symbolizes the Sun in relation to the 32 golden points representing solar years, and the Sun in relation to the start of the solar year at the Spring Full Moon. Via its width, the lunar crescent near the Pleiades (the rosette) directly indicates the leap signal and, together with the 32 golden points and the golden disc, symbolizes the 33 lunar years, that correspond to the 32 solar ones. The rosette representing the Pleiades shows, as Schlosser explained, exact dates in Spring (with the Crescent Moon) and in Autumn (with the Full Moon). And on the other hand, it triggers, together with the wide lunar crescent, the leap signal in the lunar calendar. 

This interpretation explains the number of golden points, the meaning of the golden disc, the width of the lunar crescent and why the lunar crescent is larger than the golden disc. If the Star Disc was used as a pictorial comparison of the width of the real Crescent Moon in the Spring month by the Pleiades, then the latter is the deciding object on the Disc and was made bigger than the golden disc.

In an era when no numerical intercalary rules were yet available, any celestial observations would have needed to reconcile the lunar and solar motions. The calendar was only regulated by these observations. In its time, this knowledge was very beneficial and can be considered as the Bronze Age hi-tech know-how. An obsession with such complexities need not astound us.

Whether this knowledge emerged locally or from as far a field as Mesopotamia, remains open. The clues on the encrypted world view and the rosette shape mentioned earlier however do not exclude a possible Mesopotamian origin and are in fact supported by this interpretation.  

See my previous article posted in March, "Moses, the Pleiades, and the Nebra Sky Disk"