4th Month in IAUA's Sacred Calendar

4th Month Tammuz June-July 2012-2013

New Moon Day: Thursday, June 21, 2012

7th Day Sabbaths: Thursdays, June 28, July 5, 12, 19

Pentecost: Last Sabbath of the Month- July 19
For those of you traditionally celebrating Pentecost in the beginning of the 3rd month, and unfamilar with this new understanding of Pentecost in the 4th month, please search this blog for other articles I have posted regarding a new understanding of the timing and placement of Pentecost.

8th Month Cheshvan October~November 2011~2012

9th Month Yah's Calendar Dec-Jan 2010-2011
(See notes under the calendar for explanation of some minor changes.)

 (Click on the calendar for larger image)

There were some minor changes made this month in constructing the calendar. Two items have been incorporated into construction of Yah's calendar; one is restoring the use of Jerusalem as the center of the beginnings of the calendar, and the other has to do with assuring that the full moon occurs on the 15th of the month, the 2nd Sabbath. There is historical evidence that the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Tabernacles occurred on the full moon, the 15th day of the month and sabbath. The question is then asked, why doesn't the full moon fall on the 15th day, the 2nd Sabbath all the time? If the month is started correctly, then they should. Months have 29 or 30 days alternately to compensate for the 29.53 day lunar cycle. So the 15th day should be more or less exactly in the middle of the month, on the 15th day. It should also serve to correctly place the 30th day every other month. Feel free to offer your comments or criticisms by clicking on the email link in the upper right of the page.

The Pleiades Confirms Yahuwah's Calendar of the Heavens

When the full moon rises in the evenings of Oct 24th and 25th, the 17th and 18th days of the 7th month on Yah's calendar this year, it will be in close proximity to the Pleaides, signaling confirmation of the 7th month.  This closeness of the full moon and the Pleiades did not occur in Sept-Oct, the 6th month of the biblical year, although some calendar followers celebrated the 7th month at that time.

The Pleaides signaled that a 13th month needed to be inserted in March-April of 2010,... thus confirming that April-May would be the first month of this year. If the year began in April-May, then Oct-Nov would be the 7th month, which we are in now. 

The moon will rise about 15 minutes slightly ahead and to the upper right of the Pleiades on the evening of the 24th , and slightly behind and to the lower left of the Pleiades by about 15 minutes on the evening of the 25th. 

It will take your eyes awhile to adjust to the night sky and you may not be able to see the Pleiades immediately upon rising, but you should be able to see it by about 9PM Eastern Time. Binoculars may be effective in helping to locate the Pleaides before you actually see the star cluster.

Feel free to drop me a note in an email if you are successful in spotting the Pleiades.

Here's a link to a more in-depth article on the Moses-Pleiades connection:
http://yahwehstruelunarsabbathcalendar.blogspot.com/2010/03/moses-pleiades-and-nebra-sky-disk-what.html
And here's another link to an article by an astronomer working on the Nebra Sky Disk project;
http://yahwehstruelunarsabbathcalendar.blogspot.com/2010/07/german-astronomer-confirms-possible_4400.html

Moses, the Pleiades and the Nebra Sky Disk

Moses, the Pleiades, and the Nebra Sky Disk

What did Moses see, and when did he see it?

Before the Exodus

Somewhere deep in the heart of the Nile Delta in Egypt, around the mid 1400’s BC, the Israelites were about to gain their freedom after 430 years of captivity, as slaves to the Egyptians. It is approaching the time in bible and world history known as “The Exodus.”


Just prior to the exodus, God gave Moses some instructions. In Exodus 12:2, God said to Moses, "You are to begin your calendar with this month; it will be the first month of the year for you.” (CJB) We know this to be the spring of the year, at the time of the Passover, as the very next instructions were the preparation for, and the participation in, what would become a memorial for all time. This first month of the biblical year was known as Abib, meaning “green ears” or the time of the spring barley harvest. God’s instruction to Moses begs the question, what did God show to Moses to indicate the beginning of the biblical year?

Beginning of the biblical year

What did God mean when He said, “You are to begin your calendar this month?” Obviously He demonstrated or showed Moses something, and the question since that time, about 3500 years ago is, what did God show to Moses so that he could reckon the first month of the biblical year? Not only reckon it at that time; but to possibly reckon it for all time. Since then, the moon has played an important role in God’s sacred calendar. Not only has the moon played a part, but the sun and the stars as well. The heavenly bodies are each figured into God’s calendar and set times. Whether they are called seasons, mo’ed’s, appointed times, feasts, or holy days, they are all set forth by the celestial bodies.

Elements of God’s calendar in the heavens

God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to divide the day from the night; let them be for signs, seasons, days and years; and let them be for lights in the dome of the sky to give light to the earth"; and that is how it was. God made the two great lights — the larger light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night — and the stars. Gen 1:14-16

How the months of the calendar are reckoned

For thousands of years, those following the biblical calendar have reckoned their months by the moon, and the years by the sun. Usually the month is begun following the first sighting of the visible crescent moon. The first day is celebrated as new moon day, then the 6 work days, followed by the 7th day sabbath. According to the criteria given throughout scripture, Sabbaths can be found on the 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th days of the month, following the new moon. Then the cycle begins again. Over the millennia, all calendars have undergone corruption and aberration. The 7th day sabbath has been celebrated by Jews and other Sabbathkeepers on the Roman Saturday since early Christianity, and certainly by the 4th century when the Jewish calendar was set in stone so to speak. The corruption of the calendars is a subject for another time. No matter what man has done to the calendars over the millennia, God is about to set it right. The original calendar of scripture is being restored to its rightful place.

Standards for reckoning the beginning of the year

In the paragraph above, we discussed the beginning of each month, but what about the first month of the year? Since scripture talks about the month of Abib, or green ears, one standard is held to be the barley harvest, when the barley has matured enough for the “wave sheaf” celebration on the 16th day of the first month, the day of the resurrection of Christ.

The other standards, which are more widely held today, is the visible crescent moon in relationship to the vernal equinox; meaning the point at which the sun crosses the equinoctial line, and the days begin growing longer, and the nights shorter. At about the moment of the equinox, the days and nights are equal length.

One standard says the new moon nearest the equinox; the other standard says the new moon after the equinox. With these two standards, each side is right some of the time, and one side is right all the time, depending on which side you’re on. About half of the time, the new moon nearest the vernal equinox falls on the side after the equinox, so that puts that group in harmony with the other group. Then there is the standard that says Passover cannot fall before the vernal equinox. In other words, it’s a mess, and it has gone on for hundreds of years, each camp saying the other camp is wrong. So is there truth to be found in any of this mess? Is the moon and its relationship to the equinox the final arbiter of the beginning of the year? Let’s explore a little further to see.

The Equinox is not as it appears

Let’s throw a “monkey wrench” in here. We’ll plug in another factor that isn’t often considered. When the instructions were given to Moses in about 1446BC (still disputed), the vernal equinox was in a different place in the heavens at the start of the biblical year than it is now. In other words, when the sun crossed the equinoctial line in the heavens, it was in Aries. But it is not there today. Josephus, the noted historian tells us that the sun was in Aries at the time of the Passover in biblical times. So we know from history and scripture that at the time of the exodus, the sun and the visible crescent moon were in Aries, or that section of the heavens that has been labeled as Aries. It was still in the same relationship at the time of Christ. This is in the first month of spring, and the beginning of the biblical year.

Let me suggest a caveat in at this point. If you rely on the information from astrologers and the mainstream informational pundits, to tell you where the sun is in the heavens when it crosses the equinox, you’re in trouble. The astrological prevaricators will tell you that the first sign on the spring side of the equinox is Aries. And 3500 years ago, they would be right; but not today. By the time the sun and the moon arrive in Aries today, the vernal equinoctial line is in Pisces, or the place in the heavens that astrologers have assigned to it. The equinox used to arrive in Aries around Mar 20 or 21. Today it doesn’t arrive in Aries until April 18th. It’s a shifting process called “precession of the equinox.”  It’s what accounts for the wobble of the earth on its axis causing the equinox to drift backward in time. So the equinox is not the likely candidate to permanently reckon the beginning of the year.

 This image shows the backward drift, or “precession” of the equinoxes. This affects both equinoxes and solstices, shifting these imaginary boundaries in the heavens out of place from their original locations. Currently, the vernal equinox has drifted backward into Pisces, and almost into Aquarius. Instead of the sun being in Aries when spring comes, it is in Pisces. The vernal equinox does not arrive in Aries with the sun until April 18th.

What about “…and the stars?”

It was about this time during my research that I realized that most of the focus of the celestial bodies of God’s calendar is on the sun and the moon. I started asking what the role of the stars is in the calendar. “. . . the larger light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night — and the stars.” But what were we doing to include the stars in the reckoning? It was like we were leaving out a third of the equation or formula. In reality, all three of the heavenly objects should be included in the calendar.

The Pleiades

When I started looking at this dilemma, I suspected there had to be something else that Moses would have seen, in addition to the visible crescent moon. And sure enough there is. In the Redshift astronomy program, I set the program to look at the evening sky at the time of the exodus, the first month and spring of the year, to see if I could see what Moses saw. It wasn’t until I unplugged everything else that wasn’t there at the time of Moses, that I saw what I believe he saw. When Moses looked at the sky at that time, he didn’t know about the “astrological” signs, and all the other aberrations man has assigned. Granted there are references to celestial signs in scripture, i.e. Orion, Pleiades, and Arcturas, etc. But there were none of the labels of man’s reckoning as we see today. If Moses wrote the book of Job, as some suggest he did, most definitely he would have known about these particular stars and their places in the sky.

It didn’t take long to discover what I was fairly certain Moses saw. But I had to test the theory. So I began looking at the same time every year, by looking first for the new moon, then the visible crescent after the equinox. I used the new moon after the equinox as I believe the sun, as well as the moon, has to be fully out of winter in order to begin the New Year. The days must be longer than the nights. I believe this study will eventually bear that out. By the time I advanced the sun and the moon into Aries in the astronomy program, there it was; what I had been looking for. It was the Pleiades, in close proximity to the crescent moon. Now I needed to test the theory a little more and every time it has held up. At a point around the time of the first visible crescent after the equinox, the moon arrived in the vicinity of the Pleiades. It was the kind of evidence I was looking for. And so far, it appears that the same thing happens every year, in the first month of spring. So far, I’ve checked the last 10 years for starters and the Pleiades and the new crescent moon keep company usually around the end of March and into mid-April.

The Character of the Pleiades: 
Now you see it; now you don’t

The Pleiades, also known as the "seven sisters," lies near the ecliptic plane of the sun, moon and the planets in the heavens. All of the celestial objects that travel in the ecliptic plane pass near the Pleiades at some point during the year.

The Pleiades is not visible all year; but it is visible when it is supposed to be, and needed for confirmation. The Pleiades is actually what is known as a star cluster, with 6 of the 7 main stars visible to the naked eye at various times. It looks very much like a “little dipper.” The most prominent star in the cluster is Alcyone, one of the seven sisters in Greek mythology, which is the third brightest star in Taurus. The remaining stars of the "seven sisters'' are Electra, Celaeno, Taygeta, Maia, Merope, and Asterope, some of which form a big dipper pattern with other bright stars in the cluster, making it easy to recognize.

Visibility of the Pleiades varies throughout the year. The Pleiades start to rise in the night sky in June, just before sunrise, and they begin to rise a little earlier each morning afterwards. They are best viewed in December, when they rise as the sun is setting, and then set at sunrise, allowing them to be seen throughout the entire night. As the winter progresses, they begin to rise a bit later after sunset. By March and mid-April, you can only see them for a short time setting in the West, just after sunset. Since the Pleiades are located in the sign of Taurus, they are too close to the sun to be visible during May, when the sun is also in the same sign. On a clear night the unaided eye can usually spot at least six of the brightest stars in the cluster, but it actually consists of hundreds of stars.

What role do the Pleiades play in the heavens?

It seems to be somewhat commonly known that the Pleiades signaled the time of planting in the spring, and the time to harvest in the fall. So it makes sense that it would be visible with the new crescent at the beginning of the year in spring. Not only is it visible with the crescent in the spring to signal the beginning of the planting season, it is also visible in the 7th month of the biblical year, the harvest season, when it is a full moon; i.e. “harvest moon.” I’m convinced that one of the reasons that night watches were held in ancient times is that someone could observe and record what was happening with the moon and the stars at night.

Almost all ancient cultures watched and had a name for Pleiades, usually associated with agriculture and moisture/rainfall. The ancients knew this cluster as the "rainy stars" because their rising heralded the beginning of autumn and the onset of the rainy season in many parts of the world. Inca farmers watched Pleiades to assess future crops. Early Greek seamen knew them as the "sailing stars" and would only sail when the stars were visible at night. One of the Navajos' names for the group is the "Hard Flint Boys," and Subaru is the Japanese name for Pleiades (note the Subaru logo).

Where is the Pleiades anyway?

It depends on the time of year. Pleiades lies near the ecliptic (the path of the sun). Around the first of November it will be rising in the east (about where the sun did) just at twilight. In early February the Hard Flint Boys will be directly overhead at twilight. By early May they'll be setting just at twilight, ahead of Orion. During May and early June Pleiades is absent from the sky--it can't be seen because it's too close to the sun. Then it appears (and remains) as a morning star until November. Between November and May watch for the Hard Flint Boys dancing and scuffling along the ecliptic.

Finding the Pleiades in the night sky

Pleiades can be a little hard to see, and to many it appears as a small cloud. Its appearance varies from night to night depending on atmospheric viewing conditions. Sometimes, when conditions are good, you can see all the 'Seven Sisters' twinkling. First find Orion's Belt--the three stars, close together, in a straight line. Then following the indicated line in the figure below, passing just below Aldebaran, as it points to Pleiades. The figure below is Orion and Pleiades when they're high overhead.

The crescent’s last crossing of the Pleiades till 2023

The Pleiades and the crescent moon made a spectacular showing in the evening sky on Saturday March 20, 2010, when the moon occulted (moved in front of) some of the stars in the Pleiades cluster. Normally, only in close proximity, the moon does occasionally move in front of part of the cluster. It’s quite a sight. We won’t see that occultation again for another 13 years, till 2023.

Note: Although it is reported that this is the last occultation of the moon across the Pleiades until 2023, some astronomy sites and articles are reporting that a similar scenario will occur on April 16, 2010. Only visual observation will confirm this predicted scenario.

 This is an image from the astronomy program Stellarium (free at Sourceforge) on the night of March 20, 2010 when the moon occulted the Pleiades. Notice that it strongly resembles the little dipper. This image is as you would see from earth. If you rotate the image 90 degrees left, you will see the same image that is represented on the Nebra Sky Disk.

The Nebra Sky Disk

While researching the relationship of the new crescent moon and the Pleiades, I inadvertently learned of a relatively new celestial reckoning device of sorts that was discovered around 1999, quite by accident. A couple of treasure hunters in the vicinity of Nebra, Germany, found the disk and several other ancient and valuable artifacts with the help of metal detectors. They tried to make off with their loot, and fence it for profit. But as luck would have it, authorities caught up with them and retrieved the disk. No one knew for sure what they had when they recovered it.

The disk has been tested, deciphered, validated, and proven that it is authentic in terms of age and composition. It is estimated to have been buried around 1600BC, and it may have originated as far back as 1700-2100 BC. It is said to be at least 3600 years old. It may well be the oldest calendar or astronomical artifact known to date. This is the easy part.

What is not so easy is the interpretation of exactly what the disk shows. Even though it has been examined for 10 years now, it is still highly controversial as to its full intended meaning. One thing I noticed in reading several papers, articles and reviews, is that the authenticators seem to be missing a piece from their understanding, consideration and reviews. That piece is God’s sacred calendar of scripture. This is where it gets really interesting.

 The main areas of dispute seem to be that the markings appear that they should be from Egypt or Mesopotamia. But the artifact was found in Germany. Researchers state that Germany would not have followed a celestial reckoning such as this. The materials have been authenticated to have originated locally, meaning that the device was probably not made or fabricated in Egypt or Mesopotamia and brought to Germany. It remains somewhat of a mystery even today.

Some of the parts are fairly easily identified, and agreed upon. One that seems to be agreed on is the crescent, and the group of stars to the upper left of the crescent, which most scientists and researchers have identified as the Pleiades. One of the main disputes is over what the round object is on the left. Some say it is the sun, some say it is the moon. It appears to be inconclusive to some if the portrayal is daytime or nighttime.

The disc was originally smeared with rotten eggs. These would have caused a chemical reaction on its bronze surface, which would have turned the disc's background a deep violet color simulating a night sky out of which the gold-embossed stars would have shone.

Elements of the Nebra Sky Disk

Some authenticators and researchers insist that the round object to the left of center labeled sun is in fact the sun. Because of that, it is said the device is probably only valid as a marker for a solar eclipse as indicated.

Others say the round object is the moon, but seem to be without further explanation.

Since I am not an authority in such matters, I will not attempt to dispute what researchers, deciphering experts, and others have said. I will simply give my opinion based on how I see this device fitting into the overall picture of God’s sacred calendar.

I won’t deal with the planets shown near the crescent except to say when you set the astronomy program to the parameters given, i.e. April 16, 1699BC; those planets are part of the heavenly picture.

I agree that the crescent is in fact the crescent, and that the Pleiades are as shown. What is interesting is the relationship between the two. To demonstrate this point, here’s an image from an astronomy program taken on the evening of Saturday March 20 2010. It clearly demonstrates what the Nebra Sky Disk is showing.

 This image is from Redshift Astronomy program and is taken on March 20 2010 about 2130 hours. This would be about the time the moon passed in front of the Pleiades. What is most astounding about the crescent and the Pleiades on the disk, is that that at least one researcher says that it is portrayed in the position as it would be seen if a 13th month would need to be intercalated. This image is as you would see it from earth. If you rotate the image 90 degrees counter-clockwise, you will see the image as it is represented on the disk. Interestingly, this biblical year, 2009-2010 needed a 13th month inserted. Notice the similarity between the astronomy program image and the representation on the disk. Whether it is true in the end remains to be seen. But it does seem to be a little more than coincidental.

It is at this juncture the point needs to be made or at least mentioned. The fact that the disk may suggest the insertion of a 13th month, and this year a 13th month needed to be inserted, it has to be considered that the beginning of the year is affirmed to start after the vernal equinox, and not before. In the end, this evidence could serve to eliminate the confusion of multiple Passovers, and whether the year should be started with the new moon nearest the vernal equinox. The equinox seems to have drifted out of the picture.

As far as the identity of the other object, I believe it is the moon; the full moon, and here’s why. If the disk portrays the crescent moon and the Pleiades, then it has to be considered that it is at least after sunset, and probably dark or nighttime. That being the case, why would not the other object be representative of nighttime? I also believe its position in relationship to the Pleiades is portraying what it might appear like in the harvest season. Again, it seems to be a bit more than just coincidence to not have some merit. (See image below)

Harvest Moon and the Pleiades in the 7^th month

Here’s an image from Redshift astronomy program for October 25 2010, as it would appear from earth. This would be about the 18th day of the 7th biblical month in 2010, following the harvest season of scripture. Note the relationship of the round object to the Pleiades similar to how it is shown on the Nebra Sky disk. This is why I suspect that the round object on the disk may be the moon and not the sun.

Watch for the crescent and the Pleiades on April 16 2010

This is the “sign” for the beginning of the biblical year

Here’s an approximation of how the moon will appear in proximity to the Pleiades on the night of April 16, 2010, at about 2130 Hrs. The moon will be approximately 20 degrees above the horizon at 8:50PM, about 45 min after sunset. The Pleiades will be just above that by approx 2 degrees or so. You should be able to see the Pleiades without the aid of binoculars, but have them for a more spectacular sight

For those that observe the new moon nearest the vernal equinox, or the bowl crescent level with horizon as the beginning of the biblical year, a problem is presented in that the moon is nowhere near the Pleiades on the evening of the visible crescent. It is still in Pisces on the night of 16th and possibly into Aries on the night of the 17th. The moon did not arrive in the vicinity of the Pleiades until the evening of March 20 2010 when it passed across (occulted) the front of some of the stars in the Pleiades. It was at this time that the moon, in relationship to the Pleiades, as shown on the Nebra Sky Disk, indicated that a 13th month needed to be inserted into the biblical year.

 What did Moses see in the sky just before the Exodus?

This image from Redshift Astronomy program shows an approximation of what the sky might have looked like on April 9 1446 BC from the approximate location in Egypt where the Israelites were slaves. Time and date are approximate and the sun has been left shown to show the relationship of the sun, moon and Pleiades. It is only an estimation of visibility as the moon is only a little over 5 degrees above the horizon which means limited visibility. Note the relationship of the moon and the Pleiades.

Conclusions

• Astronomy programs have confirmed the occurrence of this annual event for the last decade, as well as the next, including various points in history.

• When Moses looked at the sky at the time of God’s instructions, the Pleiades were in the sky, in close proximity to the visible crescent. (see earlier image)

• The Pleiades appears annually in close proximity to the visible crescent moon, just after sunset, in the spring, at the beginning of the first biblical month.
•       
• The Pleiades, in harmony with the visible crescent, must be considered as visual evidence for the beginning month of the year.

• The vernal equinox has shifted backwards through the heavens to no longer be valid as a reference point for the biblical new moon to begin the New Year.

• The beginning of the biblical year in the spring must be considered as being fully after the vernal equinox, when the sun and the moon are in Aries and the crescent moon is in proximity to the Pleiades.

• Visual observations need to be confirmed, but the beginning of the biblical year should be considered when the visible crescent and the visible Pleiades are in close proximity, but a month later when indicated that a 13th month should be inserted.

• The Nebra Sky Disk confirms the validity of the use of the Pleiades in the visual sighting for the beginning of the biblical year.

• Since the Nebra Sky Disk predates the time of the calendar given to Moses, the barley harvest has to be considered as secondary to obvious hard evidence i.e. the Pleiades; otherwise as confirmation.

• The Nebra Sky Disk, even with its controversies, presents coincidences with the calendar of scripture to not be considered as valid for review and possible use.

• And finally, isn’t it just like God to use a heavenly marker like a cluster of “seven” stars to lead us in His way? What other symbolism will we discover waiting for us here?

LINKS AND NOTES:

Several excerpts from Archaeology and Astronomy publications on Nebra Sky Disk

http://www.donsmaps.com/skydisc.html

Review of Nebra Sky Disk by Andis Kaulins, deciphering expert; pros and cons

http://ancientworldblog.blogspot.com/2006/03/nebra-sky-disk-eclipse-erroneously.html#

Article by Roarie Starbuck on history of Hebrew words of Pleiades

Depictions of Pleiades absent from Jewish history prior to time of Christ

creation.com/images/pdfs/tj/j20_2/j20_2_100-103.pdf

Article by Olga Morales on Pleiades

Meaning of Pleiades to Freemasonry, Mayan, mythology, JW’s, astrology and Mazzaroth

http://www.hiddenmysteries.org/mysteries/whatsthis/33.html

Inquiries have been submitted to astronomers, USNO, and Nebra Sky Disk project for confirmation.

You can Google “crescent moon Pleiades” and you will find web articles about this annual event for nearly every year for the last decade.

Those Crazy Lunar Sabbath People: How Do They Do That?

Why do the Moon Phases coincide with 7th day Sabbaths of Lunar Calendar

(Caution: This post is an attempt at using humor to point out an aspect of the lunar sabbath calendar that can't be disputed. No seriousness is intended in making the point; there is no intention to place lunar sabbathkeepers in a negative light.)

Let's assume for a moment that those Lunar Sabbath people are crazy. Certifiable. Let's just say they have completely lost their wits, and don't have a gnat's chance of making it out on the last bus to the kingdom. Bear with me here.

Now, according to these "lunartics," they say they have found evidence in scripture of a calendar. It's an old calendar. Very old. At least as old as Moses. And they say this calendar, is of all things, governed by the moon. Now, doesn't that beat all? That's an absolutely preposterous idea. Ask any Adventist and that's what they will tell you. "Oh, that's nothing but error," they say. So the Adventists go back to their corner, and the lunar sabbath people go back to theirs. End of story. Or is it?

According to those fanatics, they say there is a formula in the Bible for determining the calendar, month by month. Here's comes that "moon" thing again. They say when they see the sliver of the new moon in the western sky, after the moon has been completely dark for a day or so, just after sunset, it begins New Moon day, and is the 1st day of the month. They go on to say that the day after new moon day is the 1st day of the 1st week of that month. On that 1st day of the week, they count the days for 7 days and come to, voila, the "7th day Sabbath." It is the 8th day of the month. Then they do it again, repeating this cycle 4 times each month.

When they, these insane lunar sabbath people do this, they say their 7th day sabbaths are on the 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th days of the month. Each and every month of the year.

Now this is where it really gets crazy. These folks have gone way off the deep end here. They say that the 1/4 phases of the moon occur on or near these same 7th day sabbaths on the 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th days of the month.

Then these far out folks even say they have evidence from their prophet that supports this pattern. And they present us with the following:

"The first of these festivals, the Passover, the feast of unleavened bread, occurred in Abib, the first month of the Jewish year, corresponding to the last of March and the beginning of April. The cold of winter was past, the latter rain had ended, and all nature rejoiced in the freshness and beauty of the springtime. The grass was green on the hills and valleys, and wild flowers everywhere brightened the fields. THE MOON, NOW APPROACHING FULL, (on or near the 15th day) made the evenings delightful." pp538

"The Redeemer, in company with his disciples, slowly made his way to the garden of Gethsemane. The PASSOVER MOON, BROAD AND FULL (on or near the 15th day), shone from a cloudless sky." 3SP95

"On the FOURTEENTH day of the month, at even, the Passover was celebrated, its solemn, impressive ceremonies commemorating the deliverance from bondage in Egypt, and pointing forward to the sacrifice that should deliver from the bondage of sin." PP 540

"These types were fulfilled, not only as to the event, but as to the time. On the FOURTEENTH day of the first Jewish month, the very day and month on which, for fifteen long centuries, the passover lamb had been slain, Christ, having eaten the passover with his disciples, instituted that feast which was to commemorate his own death as "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."  GC400

"That was a never-to-be-forgotten SABBATH (15th) to the sorrowing disciples, and also to the priests, rulers, scribes, and people. At the SETTING OF THE SUN ON THE EVENING OF THE PREPARATION DAY (6th day of week, 14th day of the month) the trumpets sounded, signifying that the SABBATH (15th) had begun. The PASSOVER was observed as it had been for centuries, while He to whom it pointed had been slain by wicked hands, and lay in Joseph's tomb." DA774

Imagine that? What a crazy story. What nerve they have telling us that the 1/4 phases of the moon coincide with the 7th day Sabbaths in that calendar they say they found in the Bible.

How do those crazy lunar sabbath people make those moon phases come out that way anyway?

Millerite Use of the Luni-Solar Calendar

What Calendar did the Millerites use to determine Oct 22 1844

ADVISORY: USE OF ASTRONOMICAL AND RECKONING DATA USED IN THIS STUDY SHOULD BE VERIFIED BY THE READER AND USER.

I have been shown that many who profess to have a knowledge of present truth know not what they believe. They do not understand the evidences of their faith. They have no just appreciation of the work for the present time. When the time of trial shall come, there are men now preaching to others who will find, upon examining the positions they hold, that there are many things for which they can give no satisfactory reason. Until thus tested they know not their great ignorance. And there are many in the church who take it for granted that they understand what they believe; but, until controversy arises, they do not know their own weakness. When separated from those of like faith and compelled to stand singly and alone to explain their belief, they will be surprised to see how confused are their ideas of what they had accepted as truth . . . . Maranatha 45

Seventh-day Adventists grow up hearing about "October 22, 1844!" They are shown from scripture and historical documentation that the 2300 day prophecy, beginning in 457 B.C., ended in 1844 on the Day of Atonement. What most people do not know, however, is how the Millerites arrived at that specific date. Why October 22? Why not July 10?

Leviticus 23 states that the Day of Atonement shall be observed on the tenth day of the seventh month, so where does October 22 come in? It is probably news to most Adventists that the Millerites did not use the Gregorian calendar to establish the Day of Atonement for 1844. But they did not.

As far back as April, and then in June and December of 1843, and in February of 1844 . . . [William Miller's associates] came to a definite conclusion. This was that the solution of Daniel's prophecy is dependent upon the ancient or original Jewish form of luni-solar time, and not upon the altered modern rabbinical Jewish calendar. 1

The Jews, in 1844, kept Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) on September 23. The Millerites were well aware of this and references to it show up in their publications. However, when challenged or mocked for insisting on a date which even the Jews themselves did not keep, the Millerites commonly replied, "Every scholar knows that we are correct by the original calendar."

The Millerites were deep students of the scriptures. The Seventh-day Adventist church owes much to their diligent, deep study of the Bible. They discovered that within Judaism, there were two distinct ways of computing the calendar. The rabbinical, which starts its new year, Nisan 1, on the new moon closest to the vernal equinox, and the Karaite which, following Mosaic calendation principles, placed its Nisan 1 on the first new moon after the vernal equinox if the barley harvest was ready. If not, they would intercalate an extra month.

The Millerites rejected the rabbinical first day of Nisan on March 21 in 1844, and chose the April new moon for the beginning of the true type of the ancient first month. April 19 was the day.2 They argued that the modern Jewish calendar is based upon decisions that were unknown in the time of Christ.3

The Karaites were a sect of Jews who "gave up the system of rabbinical calendation, and made the intercalation of a leap month dependent upon the ripened barley, according to Moses." 4 They have been called the "Protestants of Judaism." 5 "Karaism clashed seriously with the parent faith, shook off the yoke of traditionalism, proclaimed the right of private judgment, and maintained that the original Scripture is a full and sufficient guide."6

Knowing that the Millerites used the Karaite calendar is important, but there is another point regarding the Millerite computation of the Oct. 22 date that is vital to know. The Millerites arrived at Oct. 22 as being the Day of Atonement by calculation.

Had the leaders waited until October to visually observe the first appearance of the moon by which to date Tisri 1, there could have been no seventh month movement, for there would have been insufficient time. They had to make their calculation in advance from standard moon tables which were abundantly available.7

The date of October 22 being the ending date of the 2300 year prophecy was first announced by Samuel Snow on July 21, 1844. He gave a discourse at the large Boston Tabernacle on the text "Behold the Bridegroom cometh (on the tenth day of the seventh month), go ye out to meet Him!" However, it was not until the camp meeting held at Exeter, New Hampshire (August 12-17) that the message really took hold. At this camp meeting, Snow gave three sermons.

The first was on the 1844 ending of the great prophetic time periods; the second on the Mosaic sanctuary service types, and their antitypical fulfillment in the Christian dispensation; and the third on the date of Christ's crucifixion in the 'midst' of the seventieth prophetic week, which therefore brought an end of the 70 weeks in the seventh month of A.D. 34. And in consequence, the close of the 2300 years would similarly extend to the seventh month of 1844, which equated largely with the month of October.8

From this revival comes the name "seventh month movement". Again, they arrived at the date of October 22 by calculation, for had they waited until they could observe the first crescent moon, there would have been no time for them to give the Midnight Cry. The Millerites already knew that the first day of the first Jewish month (Nisan 1) fell on April 19 in 1844. The way they reasoned it was thus: "Since the crucifixion occurred 'in the midst of the week' in the spring of the year, and hence in the middle of a literal Jewish year and also of a prophetic year, therefore the end of the prophetic year must come in the autumn. In other words, the prophetic years of Daniel end in the fall and not in the spring."9

Calendation was not altogether the key to the new chronology which suddenly confronted the people in the summer of 1844, and which gave life to the midnight cry. The mainspring lay concealed in Daniel 9 and Matthew 25. Samuel Snow was one of several to discover that six lunar months had yet to be added to the spring date -- itself a month later than first computed -- in order to complete the prophecy. Snow got this largely from Daniel 9. His argument was simple, but impelling -- that if Christ was crucified in the midst of the 'week,' in the spring, then the end of the week, and therefore the end, not only of the 487th year, but also of the 2300th year, would come six lunar months later in the autumn.10

[October 22] was computed by adding six lunar months or 177 days, to April 19, and thereby obtaining as the first day of the seventh month, October 13, from which nine days more extended to the tenth day on October 22. The Millerites have left an official statement that they thus "reckoned" from the "appearance of the moon on the 18th of April" and thereby found that "the seventh Jewish month commenced with the appearance of the moon on the 13th of October, so that the tenth day of the seventh month synchronized with the 22d of that month."11

This is an extremely important point to know because, although there were new moons observed in all of the months leading up to the seventh month, there was no new moon to be observed the night of October 12/13. Why? Technically, it has to do with how soon the new moon can be seen after conjunction – the point in time when the moon, earth and sun are all in alignment and the moon cannot be seen.12 At the U. S. Naval Observatory website, the conjunction is referred to as the "new moon." However, in Bible times the months did not start until the first crescent could be observed.13 Typically, it takes two days for the crescent of the new moon to appear.In simple terms, no new moon was observed the night of Oct. 12/13, 1844, because the moon's meridian (or the highest point of its arch before it set) was below the horizon in most of New England, the land of the Midnight Cry. Furthermore, the moon set only ten minutes after the sun did on Oct. 12, thereby making the sky too light to observe it anyway. The Millerites knew that under Mosaic calendation, a new moon was declared after 30 days regardless of whether or not it was observed.14 Therefore, they were all in agreement that October 13 was the first day of the seventh month (Tisri 1) and that the tenth day was the 22nd of October. Sylvester Bliss, in the Millerites' official report in January, 1845 affirms: "Reckoning from this [Nisan] moon, the seventh Jewish month commenced with the appearance of the moon on the 13th of October."15 Thus, the tenth day of the seventh month was October 22.

Was October 22 the correct date for Day of Atonement in 1844? Absolutely.

Under the Mosaic system the cleansing of the sanctuary, or the great Day of Atonement, occurred on the tenth day of the seventh Jewish month (Leviticus 16:29-34), when the high priest, having made an atonement for all Israel, and thus removed their sins from the sanctuary, came forth and blessed the people. So it was believed that Christ, our great High Priest, would appear to purify the earth by the destruction of sin and sinners, and to bless His waiting people with immortality. The tenth day of the seventh month, the great Day of Atonement . . . which in the year 1844 fell upon the twenty-second of October,16 was regarded as the time of the Lord's coming.17

The Millerites showed great courage in following the Lamb to arrive at October 22.

Their [sic] remarkable stand of the Millerites, in 1843 and 1844, in rejecting the current Rabbinical calendation, and reviving the original Jewish year of the crucifixion period . . . that they might correctly determine the close of the 2300-year period, took clear, scholarly thinking, intensive research, extraordinary moral courage, and really heroic, decisive action. They risked all upon this crucial position.18

Not only was Catholicism directly opposed to their prophetic interpretations, but almost all of Protestantism had rejected it as well. Furthermore, and "most serious of all, Jewry had many centuries before abandoned the calendation given to Moses, which had been operative in principle and in essentially identical form in both the 5th century B. C. and the 1st century A. D."19 These centuries are important because the former embraces the beginning date of the 2300-year time prophecy, while the latter includes the verifying date of the Passover/crucifixion which occurred in the midst of the 70th prophetic week of the longer time prophecy.

Painstakingly studying the Karaite protest in the Middle Ages against the Rabbinical perversion of the calendar, they at last deliberately and irrevocably accepted, restored, and applied to their time-prophecy problem, the earlier calendation championed by the Karaites. And this they did in defiance of the whole body of Rabbinical scholarship and the general current practice of Jewry.20

There were many in 1844 who made merry over a lunar reckoning that was not based upon the modern Jewish calendar. The answer was returned: "Every scholar knows that we are correct as to the Karaite seventh month." The Millerites were well aware of the rabbinical seventh month in September in 1844, and the circumstance was often mentioned in their papers. At the same time they were emphatic in their challenge that they dissented from the modern Jewish calendar because it did not agree with the laws of Moses.21

To be consistent with Adventism's spiritual forefathers, Seventh-day Adventists of today need to compute when the true Sabbath occurs by using the same calendar utilized for determining the Day of Atonement in 1844.

Those who cling to old customs and hoary errors have lost sight of the fact that light is ever increasing upon the path of all who follow Christ; truth is constantly unfolding to the people of God. We must be continually advancing if we are following our Leader. It is when we walk in the light that shines upon us, obeying the truth that is open to our understanding, that we receive greater light. We cannot be excusable in accepting only the light which our fathers had one hundred years ago. If our God-fearing fathers had seen what we see, and heard what we hear, they would have accepted the light, and walked in it. If we desire to imitate their faithfulness, we must receive the truths open to us, as they received those presented to them; we must do as they would have done, had they lived in our day.22

To follow the Lamb withersoever He goeth, Yahuwah God's people must be as brave as their forefathers, advancing further in the path first traveled by those who have long since gone to their rest.This chart from the United States Naval Observatory website shows all of the lunations for 1844. The conjunction of each lunation is listed under the column "New Moon". Because it typically takes two days before the first appearance of the new crescent, add two days to each conjunction date to arrive at the date of the visible new moon.

In March, the conjunction, and thus the visible new moon, arrived too early for the barley harvest to be ripe so the Millerites intercalated another month as per Mosaic law. This chart is in accordance with their repeated statements that the visible new moon in April was the 19th – two days after the conjunction on the 17th.

The seventh lunation's conjunction was on October 11, which placed the first of the month, Tisri 1, on October 13. Ten days later is the Day of Atonement, the tenth day of the seventh month, on October 22.

U.S. Naval Observatory
Astronomical Applications Department

_____________________________________
1 L. E. Froom, Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Review & Herald Publishing Association, 1982, Vol. 4, 796, emphasis supplied.
2 Joseph Bates, Second Advent Waymarks and High Heaps, New Beford, 1847.
3 Grace Amadon, "Millerite Computation of the October 22 Date", Box 2, Folder 4, Grace Amadon Collection.
4 Froom, Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Review & Herald Publishing Association, 1948, Vol. 2, 197.
5 Albiruni, The Chronology of Ancient Nations, as quoted in ibid., 196.
6 Ibid., 197.
7 Amadon, "How the Millerites Chose October 22", Box 2, Folder 4, Grace Amadon Collection, emphasis original.
8 Froom, Prophetic Faith, Vol. 4, 803.
9 Bates, Second Advent Waymarks and High Heaps, 17, quoted in "Millerite Computation of October 22 Date", Box 2, Folder 4, Grace Amadon Collection.
10 Amadon, "Brief Review of the New Views Regarding Millerite Chronology", Box 2, Folder 4, Grace Amadon Collection.
11 The Advent Shield, Boston, 1844-5, Vol. 1, 278, as quoted in ibid.
12 The conjunction is also called the "black moon."
13 "That the first day of a lunar month begins with the 'first appearance,' or phasis, of the moon - is a precise calendar principle" ("The 1844 Problem - As Checked By Astronomy", Box 2, Folder 4, Grace Amadon Collection).
14 Among those who keep the Sabbath based on the luni-solar calendar, there is some confusion over whether to start the month off of the conjunction of the moon or its first visible crescent. October 22, 1844, provides the answer. If the months were to start at the conjunction, then the tenth day of the seventh month would have fallen on October 21, not 22. The U. S. Naval Observatory confirms that the conjunction of the moon occurred at 11:25 p.m. on October 11, 1844. The Millerites, however, knew that the Jews calculated it off of the first visible crescent and so they did the same.
15 The Advent Shield, January, 1845, 278, as quoted in "Brief Review of the New Views Regarding Millerite Chronology", Box 2, Folder 4, Grace Amadon Collection.
16 See United States Naval Observatory chart at end of chapter.
17 Ellen G. White, Great Controversy, 400, emphasis supplied.
18 Amadon, "Courageous Action Of Millerites On 'Jewish Calendar' Problem", Box 2, Folder 4, Grace Amadon Collection.
1 Ibid.
20 Ibid.
21 Amadon, "Millerite Computation of the October 22 Date", Box 2, Folder 4, Grace Amadon Collection.
22 Ellen G. White, Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists, 197.

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Historical Evidence Proves Calendar and Sabbath Change

Historical References of Calendar and Sabbath Changes

Encyclopedia Biblica 1899

"The Hebrew Sabbathon was celebrated at intervals of seven days, corresponding with changes in the moon's phases..." Encyclopedia Biblica, 1899 edit., p.4180

In the years following Clement of Alexandria’s time, an ominous change started to take place that was to radically change the Christian concept of the Sabbath. “This intimate connection between the week and the month was soon dissolved. It is certain that the week soon followed a development of its own, and it became the custom -- without paying any regard to the days of the month (i.e. the lunar month) -- ...so that the new moon no longer coincided with the first day of the week."  Encyclopedia Biblica (The MacMillan Company, 1899. P. 5290).

 

“The introduction...of the custom of celebrating the Sabbath every 7th day, irrespective of the relationship of the day to the moon's phases, led to a complete separation from the ancient view of the Sabbath...”  Encyclopedia Biblica 1899 p4179

"The four quarters of the Moon supply an obvious division of the month... it is most significant that in the older parts of the Hebrew scriptures the new moon and the sabbath are almost invariably mentioned together. The [lunar] month is beyond question an old sacred division of time common to all the semites; even the Arabs who received the week at quite a late period from the Syrians, greeted the New Moon with religious acclamations. We cannot tell [exactly] when the Sabbath became dissociated from the month." Encyclopedia Biblica (1899 edit) pp 4178 and 4179

"The Hebrew Month is a lunar month and the quarter of this period-one phase of the moon-appears to have determined the week of seven days." Encyclopedia Biblica, (1899 edit.) p.4780

Encyclopedia Britannica

The calendar was originally fixed by observation, and ultimately by calculation. Up to the fall of the Temple (AD 70), witnesses who saw the new moon came forward and were strictly examined and if their evidence was accepted the month was fixed by the priests. Eventually the authority passed to the Sanhedrin and ultimately to the patriarch. Gradually observation gave place to calculation. The right to determine the calendar was reserved to the Patriarchate. The Jews of Mesopotamia [in Babylon] tried in vain to establish their own calendar but the prerogative of Palestine was zealously defended."

So long as Palestine remained a religious centre, it was naturally to the homeland that the Diaspora looked for its calendar. Uniformity was essential, for if different parts had celebrated feasts on different days, confusion would have ensued. It was not until the 4th century A.D. that Babylon fixed the calendar." Encyclopedia Britannica; Vol 4, article "Calendar"

In the 21st century, we take for granted a seven-day week. However, in some ancient cultures, the length of the week differed.  According to the Encyclopedia Britannica:

 “Among primitive peoples, it was common to count moons (months) rather than days, but later a period shorter than the month was thought more convenient, and an interval between market days was adopted. In West Africa some tribes used a four-day interval; in central Asia five days was customary; the Assyrians adopted five days and the Egyptians, 10 days, whereas the Babylonians attached significance to the days of the lunation that were multiples of seven. In ancient Rome, markets were held at eight-day intervals; because of the Roman method of inclusive numeration, the market day was denoted nundinae (“ninth-day”) and the eight-day week, an inter nundium.”  Measurement of time and types of calendars: Standard units and cycles”; Britannica 2002 Deluxe Edition; 1994-2002; Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Philo of Alexandria

"[The moon] receives the perfect shapes in periods of seven days-the half-moon in the first seven days period after it's conjunction with the sun, full moon in the second..." The Works of Philo, The Special Laws, I, XXXV (177), page 550

The Popular and Critical Bible Encyclopedia

"Among all early nations the lunar months were the readiest large divisions of time... (and was divided in 4 weeks), corresponding (to) the phases or the quarters of the moon. In order to connect the reckoning by weeks with the lunar month, we find that all ancient nations observed some peculiar solemnities to mark the day of the New Moon." The Popular and Critical Bible Encyclopedia 1904 edit) Vol. 3, p. 1497

Rest Days; Hutton Webster

"The (early) Hebrews employed lunar seven-day weeks, which ended with special observances on the seventh day but none the less were tied to the moon's course."

Hutton Webster in his book Rest Days, page 254-255

"These imported [from Babylon] superstitions eventually led Jewish rabbis to call Saturn Shabbti, 'the star of the Sabbath.' [and] it was not until the first century of our era, when the planetary week had become an established institution, that the Jewish Sabbath seems always to have corresponded to Saturn's Day [Saturday]." Rest Days, p244 Hutton Webster

An old and still common theory derives the Sabbath institution from the worship of Saturn after which planet the first day of the astrological week received its designation. The theory is untenable for more than one reason. In the first place the Hebrews did not name their weekdays after the planets, but indicated them by ordinal numbers. In the second place Saturn's day began the planetary week, while the Jewish [Hebrew] Sabbath was regarded as the last day of the seven, a suitable position for a rest day. And in the third place neither the Hebrews nor any other Oriental people ever worshipped the planet Saturn as god and observed his day as a festival.  Rest Days p243, Hutton Webster

Those who argue that the present Saturday of the Roman planetary week was always the 7th day of the week  are either ignorant of the real facts or otherwise are plain and blunt liars. All authoritative sources plainly show that originally in Rome the week consisted of  EIGHT days. And as long as this was the case the week did not begin with SUNDAY but rather with SATURDAY. Yes, in ancient Rome SATURDAY was the FIRST and not the SEVENTH day of their consecutive week. Hutton Webster in his book Rest Days: A Study in Early Law and Morality, on p. 264 clearly points out that originally in Rome, SATURDAY - the DAY of SATURN - began the Roman astrological week: “…the worship of SATURN after which planet the first day of the astrological week [Saturday] received its designation…SATURN'S DAY [SATURDAY] BEGAN THE PLANETARY WEEK, while the Jewish Sabbath was regarded as the LAST DAY.”

It is therefore not true that Saturday was ALWAYS the 7th day of the week. At the time the Romans changed their weekly cycle and made Sunday to be their 1st day of the week and Saturday therefore the 7th, the Jews themselves ceased to observe the Sabbath according to the LUNAR PHASES - as they have done for hundreds of years - adopting the Roman planetary week and Saturday their new 7th day of the week. The Jews did not only abandon and discard the older practice of observing the Sabbath which was closely tied to the phases of the moon but they have eventually even come to call this new Saturday of the Roman planetary week by the name SHABBATH and the planet Saturn by the name SHABBTI, which means “the star of the Sabbath.” Explains Hutton Webster:

“These imported superstitions eventually led Jewish rabbis to call Saturn SHABBTI, "the STAR OF THE SABBATH," [and]...it was not until [after]the first century of our era, when the planetary week had become an established institution, THAT THE JEWISH SABBATH SEEMS ALWAYS TO HAVE CORRESPONDED TO SATURN'S DAY… Dio Cassius [Roman historian born 155 A.D., died after 230 A.D.] also speaks of the Jews having DEDICATED TO THEIR GOD THE DAY CALLED THE DAY OF SATURN “ [Rest Days, p. 244-245]. 

Roman Calendar Encyclopedia; Days of the week

1st Century (A.D. 70)

How great are the things the enemy did wickedly in the Holy place. They hated your glory in the midst of your solemnities. They placed their signs and banners on the highest places. . . . They burned with fire your sanctuary; they befouled the tabernacle of your name in earth. The kindred of them said together in their hearts; make we all the “feast days” of God to cease from the earth. Psalms 74:3, 7, 8  Wycliffe Bible 1378

2nd Century (Emperor Hadrian)

This change from the luni-solar to a fixed solar calendar occurred in Rome during the repressive measures which were enacted against ALL Jewish customs . . . during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. With the fall of the Nazarene headquarters...at Jerusalem, this new Roman calendar quickly spread throughout ‘Christendom.’ This new calendar not only replaced yearly festival dates such as Passover, but it also revamped the concept of the week and its seventh day. Iranaeus 2nd Century A.D.

4th Century (Emperor Constantine in 321)

The modern seven-day week came into use during the early imperial period, after the Julian calendar came into effect, apparently stimulated by immigration from the Roman East. For a while it coexisted alongside the old 8-day nundinal cycle, and fasti are known which show both cycles. It was finally given official status by Constantine in 321. Roman Calendar Encyclopedia, Days of the Week

Schaff-Herzog Religious Encyclopedia

The  association  of  sabbath  rest  with  the  account  of  creation  must  have  been  very ancient among the Hebrews, and it is noteworthy that no other Semitic peoples, even the  Babylonians,  have  any  tradition  of the  creation  in  six days.  It  would  appear  that the  primitive  Semites  had  FOUR  CHIEF  MOON  DAYS,  probably  the  first,  eighth, fifteenth,  and  twenty-second  of  each  month, CALLED SABBATHS from the fact that there  was  a  tendency  to  end  work  before  them  so  that  they  might  be  celebrated joyfully. Among the Babylonians these seventh days through astrological conceptions became ill-omened, while the sabbath in the middle of the month [15th]  was made a day  of propitiation,  and  its  name was  construed  as  meaning  "the  day  for ending  the wrath of the gods." The Israelites, on the other hand, made the sabbath the feasts of a  living  and  holy  God.  The  work  of  man  became  symbolic  of  the  work  of  God,  and human  rest  of  divine  rest,  so  that  the  sabbaths  became  preeminently  days  of  rest. Since,  moreover,  the  LUNAR  MONTH  had  29  or  30  days,  the  normal  lapse  of  time between sabbaths  was six days, although sometimes seven or eight; and six working days were accordingly assigned  to the creation,  which was  to furnish a prototype for human life. the connection of the sabbath with lunar phases, however, was [later] discarded by the israelites..." (The New Schaff-Herzog Religious Encyclopedia pp. 135-136).

Scribner's Dictionary of the Bible

"In the time of the earliest prophets, the New Moon stood in the same line with another lunar observance, the Sabbath. Ezekiel, who curiously enough frequently dates his prophecies on the New Moon.... describes the gate of the inner court of the (new) temple looking eastward as kept shut for the six working days, but opened on the Sabbath and the New Moon." Scribner's Dictionary of the Bible (1898 edit) p.521

Shawui Calendar; Ancient Sabbath Observance

"The [lunar] calendar was used by all the original disciples of Yeshua. This original Nazarene lunar-solar calendar was supplanted by a Roman "planetary week" and calendar in 135 C.E. when the 'Bishops of the Circumcision' (i.e. legitimate Nazarene successors to Yeshua) were displaced from Jerusalem. This began a three hundred year controversy concerning the true calendar and the correct Sabbath." Shawui Calendar: Ancient Shawui Observance

Early historical records clearly confirms that very early Gentile Christians also kept the same Sabbath as the Nazarenes. This practice was first changed by [Pope] Sixtus in 126 AD, and later officially changed by a royal Roman decree from the emperor Constantine. Observance of the Sabbath day was made illegal and observance of a "sunday" of a fixed week was made mandatory for all except farmers. Previous to this time the Roman saturday was the first day of the Roman week. The veneration of the Sun in the second century AD began to pressure Roman culture to change the first day of their week from Saturn Day to sunday. Shawui Sabbath: Ancient Sabbath Observance

 “Most theologians and some scholars assume that mainstream Jewish society, at the time of Jesus...was practicing a fixed seven-day week which was the same as the modern fixed seven-day week. This is extremely doubtful. The change, from a lunar to a fixed week, was brought about by the power and influence of Rome. As long as the Nazarenes held power in Jerusalem, all Roman practices and customs, including that of THE CONSECUTIVE WEEK, WERE HELD AT BAY” Shawui Sabbath: Ancient Sabbath Observance

The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar; Arthur Spier

Since Biblical times the months and years of the Jewish calendar have been  established by the cycles of the moon and the sun. The traditional law prescribes  that the months shall follow closely the course of the moon . . . In the early times of  our history the solution was found by the following practical procedure: The  beginnings of the months were determined by direct observation of the  new moon.  . . .

This method of observation and intercalation was in use throughout the period  of the second temple (516 B.C.E. – 70 C.E.), and about three centuries after its  destruction, as long as there was an independent Sanhedrin. In the fourth  century, however, when oppression and persecution threatened the  continued existence of the Sanhedrin, the patriarch Hillel II took an  extraordinary step to preserve the unity of Israel . . . he made public the system of  calendar calculation which up to then had been a closely guarded secret. It had been used in the past only to check the observations and testimonies of witnesses, and to  determine the beginnings of the spring season.   

In accordance with this system, Hillel II formally sanctified all months in advance,  and intercalated all future leap years until such time as a new, recognized  Sanhedrin would be established in Israel. This is the permanent calendar according  to which the New Moons and Festivals are calculated and celebrated today by the  Jews all over the world. Like the former system of observation, it is based on the  Luni-Solar principle. Arthur Spier, The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar

The Seven Day Circle; Eviator Zerubavel

The  Jewish  and  and  astrological  weeks  evolved  quite  independently  of one  another. However,  given the coincidence of their  identical length,  it  was  only  a matter of time before   some   permanent   correspondence   between   particular   Jewish   days   and particular  planetary  days  would  be  made.  a  permanent  correspondence between   the   sabbath   and   "The   Day   Of   Saturn"   was   thus established...[some  time]  later  than  the  first  century  of  the  present  era,  Jews even  came  to  name  the  planet  saturn  shabtai,  after  the  original hebrew   name   of   the sabbath,   shabbath.   Moreover,   as   they   came   into closer  contact  with  Hellenism,  their  conception  of  their  holy  day  was  evidently affected  by  the  astrological  conception  of  saturn  as  a  planet that has an overwhelming negative influence (a conception which, incidentally, is  still evident  even  from  the  association  of  the  English  word  "saturnine"  with  a  gloomy disposition).  There are traditional Jewish superstitious  beliefs  about  demons  and  evil spirits  that  hold  full  sway  on  the  Sabbath,  and  an  old  Jewish  legend  even  links  the choice of "the day of Saturn" as the official Jewish rest day with the superstition that it would be an inauspicious day for doing any work anyway! (The  Seven  Day  Circle:  The  History  and  Meaning  of  the Week, Eviator Zerubavel, New York: The Free Press, 1985. P. 17).

On page 11 Zerubavel makes some interesting comments about the Jewish divorcement of YEHOVAH's true Sabbath day from the lunar phases --...the  dissociation  of  the  week  from  a  natural  cycle  such  as  the waxing and waning of the moon can  be  seen  as  part  of  a  general  movement  toward introducing a supranatural deity. Not being personified as any particular natural force, the Jewish god was to be regarded as untouched by nature in any way. Accordingly, the day dedicated to this god was to be regarded as part of a divine temporal pattern that   transcends  even  nature  itself.  That  obviously  involved dissociating the week from nature and its rhythms.  Only  by  being  based  on  an  entirely artificial  mathematical  rhythm   could  the  Sabbath  observance  become totally independent of the lunar or any other natural cycle.

Zerubavel goes on to say that

A  continuous  seven-day  cycle  that  runs  throughout  history  paying  no  attention whatsoever  to  the  moon  and  its  phases   is   a   distinctly   Jewish invention. Moreover,  the  dissociation  of  the  seven-day  week  from  nature  has  been  one  of  the most  significant  contributions  of  Judaism  to  civilization.  Like  the  invention  of  the mechanical clock some 1,500 years later, it facilitates the establishment of what Lewis Mumford   identified   as   "mechanical   periodicity,"   thus   essentially   increasing   the distance  between  human  beings  and  nature.  Quasi  [lunar]  weeks  and  [continuous] weeks    actually  represent    two fundamentally distinct modes of temporal organization of human life,   the   former   involving   partial adaptation to nature, and the latter stressing total emancipation from it. The invention   of   the   continuous   week   was   therefore   one   of   the   most   significant breakthroughs  in  human  beings'  attempts  to  break away from being  prisoners  of nature [and from under God's law] and create a social world of their own (The Seven Day Circle, p. 11).

The Dead Sea Scrolls

When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, archaeologists found several  manuscripts which dated, approximately, from the 1st century B.C. What made  these particular documents so unusual, however, is that they were for the express  purpose of synchronizing the lunar calendar to a longer solar calendar.  Archeologists found that two of these scrolls (4Q320 and 4Q321) recorded  the beginnings of the solar months and the festivals. A third manuscript,  4Q321a, might also have given this information, but because part of the text had  disintegrated over time, it is impossible to know for sure. 

The following quotes show how luni-solar dates correspond to dates on the  solar calendar. It is important to note that at this time, the Jews were under the  dominion of the Romans and the solar year to which they were comparing the luni- solar dates was likely the Julian calendar or its immediate predecessor.

The following quotations are taken from The Dead Sea Scrolls, translated by  Michael Wise, Martin Abegg, Jr., and Edward Cook:   

4Q320 Mishmerot A (fragment 1, column 1):  Line 6: [On the fifth day of Jeda]iah is the twenty-ninth day (of the lunar  month), on the thirtieth day of the (first solar) month.  Line 12: [On the Sabbath of the course of Seori]m is the twenty-ninth day (of the  lunar month), on the twenty-fifth day of the seventh (solar month). 

4Q321 Mishmerot Ba (fragment 1, column 1):  Lines 4 and 5: . . . and the first crescent [of the moon] is on the sabbath of the course  of Pethahiah, on the ninth of the [solar] month.

4Q321a Mishmerot Bb: This  fragment regulates the lunar calendar to the solar for the first year, months two  through five.   

Line 4: [(The full moon is on the) Sabbath of the course of Koz, on the thirtieth day  of the second (solar) month, and the first crescent is on the first day of Malchijah, on  the seventeenth] of the month.   

Line 5: [(The full moon is) on the first day of Eliashib, on the twenty-ninth  day of the third (solar) month, and the first crescent] is on the second day  of Jeshua, on the [sixteenth] of the month.

Universal Jewish Encyclopedia

 "...each lunar month was divided into four parts corresponding to the four phases of the moon. The first week of each month began with the new moon, so that, as the lunar month was one or two days more than four periods of seven days, the additional days were not reckoned at all." The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol 10. p482 Article "week"

"The idea of the week, as a subdivision of the month [was found]...in Babylonia, where each  lunar  month  was  divided  into  four  parts,  corresponding  To  The  Four Phases Of The Moon. The first week of each month began With The New Moon,  so  that,  as  the  lunar  month  was  one  or  two  days  more  than  four  periods  of seven  days,  these  additional  days   were  not  reckoned  at  all.  Every  seventh  day (sabbatum) was  regarded  as  an  unlucky  day.  This  method  of reckoning  time spread westward  through  Syria  and  Palestine,  and  was  adopted  By  The  Israelites, probably after they settled in Palestine" (The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia vol. 10, p. 482. Article "Week.").

"In the Diaspora the New Moon came to occupy a secondary position in contrast to  the Sabbath; the prohibition against work and the carrying on of commerce was  lifted, and the New Moon, although still celebrated by means of increased offerings,  soon was reduced to the rank of a minor of half holiday. Its importance was confined  to the fact that it remained of great value and necessity for the fixing of the  festivals." (Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, "New Moon," Vol. 8, p. 171.

Revised July 10 2011