The Scriptural New Year (Revised 2.2014)

NOTE: This article is part of a much larger work titled "Look at the Stars." I have placed this article on its own for study, but it will be better understood after reading the first four chapters in the larger work.

If you have followed all of the information in this book up to this point you are to be highly commended. I remember when I first attempted to study the stars from a Biblical perspective. I was VERY discouraged to say the least. Why? Well, it wasn't because the subject was not interesting, it was because I had such a difficult time comprehending what I was studying. After about a month of research I put the subject "on the shelf," and moved on to other things. It wasn't until early on in the Gregorian year of 2011 when I picked the subject of the stars back up. I soon saw that for whatever reason, Yahweh had decided to grant me the wisdom I needed to study these "starry" issues out. Points began to pop off of the pages of all the books I read in my research, and I eventually taught a 4 part sermon series at the congregation I attend titled "Look at the Stars." It is from that sermon series that this book was birthed.

I have studied much about the topic of the calendar in Scripture, but most of my study was based upon the heavenly lights of the sun and the moon. I believe it is to these creations of Yahweh (and I now see that the stars are included) that we must look to determine His calendar. He tells us in Genesis 1:14-18 that He appointed these lights in the heavens for signs, seasons, days, and years. 

He is basically saying, "These lights (sun, moon, and stars) will be used to determine time." 

When we look in Scripture and find certain appointments of Yahweh on a particular month throughout the year, we must know what type of year is being spoken about and then calculate our months accordingly. Otherwise we will find our selves showing up to worship Him on a day that He never appointed. Putting it simply, if Yahweh wants to speak with someone on the 1st day of the 1st month of the year, He is not talking about January 1st. This may be the first month on the Gregorian calendar that is used in America today, but that doesn't make it the 1st month on Yahweh's heavenly calendar. For starters, January is in the middle of winter when everything is dead in nature, and secondly, the very name of this month stems from the Roman deity Janus, a god of new beginnings, gates, and doors. Janus had two faces; one to take out the old year and one to bring in the new. This doesn't sound like a kosher start to Yahweh's year if you ask me.

Let me say briefly here that I do not condemn anyone who makes an effort to determine the first month of Yahweh's year, even if you disagree with what I believe. This doesn't mean that there exists more than one truth here, I just recognize that followers of Yahweh are doing what they know when it comes to keeping His appointments. I respect the effort, and I honestly believe Yahweh does too even when we may be celebrating the wrong date or day due to our present ignorance.

Before I get into how the stars relate to the Biblical new year, let me give you some background about my views concerning Yahweh's calendar. I used to always (for 15 years) take the first new moon AFTER the spring equinox to begin the first month of the year. As a matter of fact, when I first published this work you are reading now (in early 2012) I held to that position. I believed it was the best choice to make when determining the first new moon of a new (Biblical) year. I now take a different position. All of the evidence in favor of this "new" position (it is only new in my walk with the Father) was right in front of me the entire time, but for whatever reason there existed a block in front of my eyes that had not been removed. I believe that Yahweh is sovereign in all of His creation, and for purposes known only to Him, He did not enable me to see what I now believe to be the truth about the Biblical new year until the Gregorian month of February 2013. I had caught a glimpse of it in the early part of the Gregorian year 2012, but now it is more than a glimpse to me. I still do not condemn others who arrive at different conclusions than myself, but I must follow the path that I believe the evidence leads to. 

So... let me start explaining.

BRIEF SYNOPSIS

In a nutshell, I now believe that the criteria for determining the first lunar month of Yahweh's year is to make certain that Passover (the 14th day of Abib, the full moon) falls on or after the spring equinox. This means that sometimes the new moon of the 1st month will fall before the spring equinox, and sometimes after, but Passover should always fall on or after the spring equinox. 

In more specific detail I would say that so long as the equinox has taken place, the Passover lamb can be slaughtered. So, you could have a very close call in rare times when the spring equinox would land on the 14th day of Abib, but still before the time of the slaughtering of the lamb. My current view (although I am open to more fine tuning) is that this day would be taken as Passover, and then that evening you would eat the Passover with unleavened bread to begin the spring festival, i.e. the first high day of unleavened bread.

Abib is the Scriptural name for the first month of Yahweh's year (Exodus 13:4; 23:15; 34:18; Deuteronomy 16:1). I believe one way to reckon the revolution of a complete SOLAR year is from spring equinox to spring equinox. Once an old revolution ends, at the spring equinox, a new revolution begins. It is important that all of the feasts (appointed times) be observed inside of this year. It is equally important that the Passover/Feast of Unleavened Bread is not kept twice in one solar revolution. This is because we have the commandment from Yahweh that three times in the year all the males of Israel are to appear before Yahweh at His feasts (Exodus 23:16; 34:22). If we keep one Passover after the spring equinox, we cannot keep another Passover before the next spring equinox, else we would be keeping two Passovers in one solar revolution. This would make FOUR feasts in the year rather than THREE.

Considering that the barley in Israel is harvested in the spring time of the year (Leviticus 23:9-11; Joshua 5:10-14; Ruth 2:17-23), the spring equinox is the logical candidate to take for determination, because this involves the lights in the heavens on the direct basis on Genesis 1:14-18. As a matter of fact, the only thing in the heavens that takes place during this spring time of the year is the (1) spring equinox, AND with what we have learned about the stars, (2) the sign of the Ram or Aries. When all the dust settles, we will see that the heavenly lights work together in unity as a faithful Israelite family to let us know when the first Biblical month should be heralded.

WHICH HEAVENLY LIGHT DETERMINES THE YEAR?

It is helpful at this point to recognize that the year is longer than the month in Scripture. This may seem elementary, but it is key in determining which light in the heavens is the primary determiner of the year. Exodus 12:2 speaks of the "first month of the year," while Ezekiel 32:12 speaks of the "twelfth month" of the year." Here we see a mention of the 1st month of a year, and the 12th month of a year. What this shows is that the year is a longer division of time than the month. 

Biblical months are determined by the moon. We learn this from the Hebrew word chodesh, a word that is translated either "month" or "new moon" in Scripture (Exodus 12:2; 1 Samuel 20:5; Ezekiel 46:1). This word chodesh is at times used interchangeably with another Hebrew word yerach (1 Kings 6:38; 8:2), a word that specifically means "moon" (Deuteronomy 33:14; Isaiah 60:20).  The moons lunation is on average 29.5 days in length. Seeing that there can definitely be at least 12 months in a year, we multiply 12 by 29.5 and come to 354.  We must then have a heavenly light consisting of a revolution pattern that is longer than 354 days, and we do.

Sun’s Revolution = 365.25 Days
Conclusion: The Sun Primarily Determines the Year

So the sun is the primary determiner of the year, and the moon is the primary determiner of the month. I believe there is Scriptural/Spiritual significance in this. We learned in an earlier chapter that in the mind of Jacob-Israel (Genesis 37:9-11), the sun typified the masculine gender while the moon typified the feminine gender. Scripture does teach that man is to be the priest of his home, ruling wisely. We see this taking place in the heavens. The sun is the greatest of the lights in the heavens (Genesis 1:16) so it makes sense that it would have the headship in the calendar. How does it have the headship? It does so by having the greatest of all the revolutions, a revolution made up of about 365 days. The moon fits into this revolution with 12 smaller revolutions of its own. Let me also add in passing (more will be added later) that Jacob-Israel saw the stars in Joseph's dream as representations of his children/sons. The "sons of Jacob-Israel" (the stars) will be in obedience to their "father and mother" (sun and moon) when it comes to the start of a new Biblical calendar year.

UNDERSTANDING EXODUS 12:2

In Exodus 12:2 we find Yahweh declaring to Moses a calendar statement. Yahweh says that "This month is to be the beginning of months for you; it is the first month of your year." I believe He is having to reveal this month to His people because they had been in Egyptian bondage following an Egyptian calendar that was not in complete harmony with Yahweh's calendar. It would be like us now in 2013 learning Yahweh's calendar for the first time. We think January is the first month of the year, but Yahweh would say to us, "No, this month will be your first month of the year from now on."  

Reading this in our English translations may cause us to just continue on to verse 3 not thinking anything of the heavenly lights. Recognizing a few key terms from the Hebrew text is enlightening. First off, the word chodesh is used 3 times in this one verse. It is actually used once in the singular and twice in the plural. Translating each of these more literally as "moon" or "moons" yields the following:

Exodus 12:2
This moon shall be for you the chief of the moons. It shall be for you the first of the moons of the year.

Right away we are able to detect that Exodus 12:2 builds upon Genesis 1:14-18, but we need not stop here. Another term that we should translate more literally is the word "year." This word can be literally translated as "revolution" in reference to a revolution of time. Knowing what we have learned so far drives us in the direction of recognizing this particular revolution to be a solar one. So, translating the calendar passage accordingly then gives us the following:

Exodus 12:2
This moon shall be for you the chief of the moons. It shall be for you the first of the moons of the revolution.

I used to believe (from spring in 1998 to winter in 2013) that this verse proved that a person MUST take the first new moon after the spring equinox to begin the year. I also used to think that Exodus 12:2 was describing a new moon that came after the spring equinox. However, based upon other astounding evidence, I've come to see that this is not a necessity. I now see how Exodus 12:2 does not necessarily describe a new moon day that took place after the equinox. 

Following the context of Exodus 11 through 12 we do see that Yahweh was speaking to Moses on the 14th day of the moon in Exodus 12:2. If you think that seems like a stretch at first, just give me a few moments to explain.

Open up your Bible to Exodus 11. In verse 1 Yahweh says that He is going to bring one more plague on Pharaoh and Egypt. He tells the Israelites to spoil the Egyptians in verse 2, and then He says "About midnight I will go throughout Egypt" verse 4. Notice He says "about midnight" which leans heavily towards pointing out that Yahweh was speaking to Moses sometime on the 14th day of Abib, probably early in the morning. His use of "about midnight" shows that Yahweh would go throughout Egypt on the next midnight that would occur, i.e. during the evening of the 15th day of Abib.

It is after this that Yahweh speaks of the first moon of the revolution. We Bible students familiar with Yahweh's calendar see the Hebrew word chodesh and sometimes automatically think, "first day of the month," but the word chodesh can refer to any day within the moons lunation (like Genesis 7:11 which speaks of the 17th day of the chodesh).

What if the word chodesh in Exodus 12:2 is a reference to the middle of the month, the full moon, the night of Passover? Remember, Yahweh has already said "about midnight" I will go throughout the land of Egypt. Exodus 12:2 should then be understood as Yahweh meaning, "This full moon is to be the beginning of months to you. It is the first full moon of your revolution." The criteria is not that the first day of the month be in the spring if the year, but that the feast (full moon) be. 

When we move on into Exodus 12, we see Yahweh saying "I will pass through the land of Egypt on THIS night" (verse 12). After all the instructions were given we read Moses telling the Israelites to go select an Passover lamb and slaughter it (verse 21). There is no indication that the Israelites had to wait a couple of weeks to select and slaughter the animal. Then we read in verse 29 "Now at midnight Yahweh struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt." What does "at midnight" mean if not that very next midnight that took place?

Your first objection to all of this will probably be the instructions that are given in Exodus 12:3-5. I know that was the first response I had the first time I heard this presented. But think about it. What I have shown from both Exodus 11 and 12 flows perfectly. Couldn't the instructions for the 10th day of the chodesh/moon be understood to apply for the coming years? Even though Yahweh was speaking to Moses here on the 14th of the moon doesn't mean he couldn't give Moses instructions for what to do on the 10th day of the moon the following Passover.

I believe by just reading the flow of the text through Exodus 11 and 12, one will see that Yahweh was speaking to Moses on the 14th day of the moon. After Yahweh's speech, the Israelites drew out a lamb and killed the Passover. That next evening, at midnight, Yahweh went through the land of Egypt.

The focus then is on the first FULL MOON or FEAST MOON of the revolution. While there will be times when we begin Abib on or after the spring equinox, this is not a MUST for criteria. Abib can begin before the spring equinox, so long as when we arrive at Passover, we are in the new season or revolution of the sun.

UNDERSTANDING DEUTERONOMY 16:1

There is yet another text in Torah that I believe has been misunderstood by thousands of people. I'm not trying to say I'm the only one who has the truth on this text, but I believe it will become painfully obvious to you once I explain it. The first time I saw it, I couldn't believe that I'd missed it for 15 years. I had read the verse at least 100 times before!

We read here to "Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to Yahweh Elohim." What most feast-keeping groups do is automatically assume that the word "month" (chodesh) is a reference to the new moon or first day of the month. But remember, chodesh is a term that can refer to ANY day of the moon. It all depends on the context and semantics within each verse. 

In this case, what is the obvious context? Well, it's the Passover! I mean, it says it right there in the first sentence! Just in case we don't get it, the verse goes on to say "For in the month of Abib, Yahweh brought you forth out of Egypt by night." When did Yahweh bring Israel out of Egypt? It was in the middle of the moon on the 15th (Numbers 33:3) or full moon (Psalm 81:3-6), not on the new moon.

Once again, in a verse that people often use to speak about the first day of the month, the focus is on the middle of the month. The 14/15th day of the moon. Yahweh wants us to be sure to keep the Passover in the new season or revolution.

WHAT ABOUT EXODUS 40?

In Exodus 40:1-2, and 17, Moses was told by Yahweh to set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation on the first day of the first month.  In Exodus 40:17 we read the following: "And it came to pass in the first month, in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up." So Moses reared the Tabernacle up on Abib 1 of the second year.  The word year here is again shaneh, just as in Exodus 12:2, and refers to a solar revolution of time.

So the tabernacle was reared by Moses in the first day of the first month of the second revolution (referring to the 2nd of the 40 years in the wilderness after they left the land of Egypt).  Again, a new revolution of the sun begins at the time of the spring equinox.  Exodus 40:1-2, 17 may be speaking of a new moon that came AFTER the spring equinox, but I no longer believe that the new moon MUST come after the spring equinox in order for Abib 1 to be declared.  This verse then, at the most, would prove that it CAN happen, but the verse falls short of proving that it MUST happen. 

The spring equinox is the only choice to make when looking to the sun, because the only turning point of the sun in the spring is the spring equinox. This aligns With Genesis 1:14 where we read that Yahweh said the heavenly lights would be used in determining signs, seasons, days, and years.

WHY THE EQUINOX?

Now, some may ask, "Why should we pick the spring equinox as a primary determining factor for the Biblical new year?" Let me delve into this a little before we move on. The word equinox is not an ancient Hebrew word. The equivalent and older Hebrew word in view is the word tekufah, a word used in direct relation to Yahweh's calendar in the book of Exodus 34:22 (this verse will dealt with in detail soon). The word tekufah is used in Scripture, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Apocrypha. This word is used to refer to natural distinctive points or time intervals associated with the heavenly bodies of the sun and moon. This word references times in the suns path or course, namely the two equinoxes (spring and fall) and the two solstices (summer and winter). 

We find mention in Scripture of a particular point of time in relation to the Feast of Tabernacles, the last of the three major appointed times in Israel. The Scripture I speak of is Exodus 34:22 which reads as follows:

Exodus 34:22 KJV
And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end. 

There are a few times in the Scripture where Yahweh commands the men of Israel to appear before Him at the place that He chooses. These three times are Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. They are also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Ingathering. 

In Exodus 34:22 we are told that the Feast of Ingathering (Tabernacles) takes place "at the year's end." A surface reading of this text might cause us to think that the Feast of Tabernacles takes place in the last month of the year (the "years end"), but when we examine Scripture more closely we see that Tabernacles is always linked to the seventh month of the Biblical year (Leviticus 23:34; Numbers 29:12; Nehemiah 8:1-17). The question we must ask is why does Yahweh call the time around the seventh month "the year's end" when we know that a Biblical year can contain at the very least, 12 months?

When we dig deeper into the text of Exodus 34:22 we see that Bible translations vary on how to render this text. For example:

Exodus 34:22 Darby
And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the first-fruits of wheat-harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the turn of the year.

Exodus 34:22 YLT
And a feast of weeks thou dost observe for thyself; first-fruits of wheat-harvest; and the feast of in-gathering, at the revolution of the year.

Exodus 34:22 HCSB
Observe the Festival of Weeks with the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the agricultural year.

Exodus 34:22 NASB
You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.

Exodus 34:22 NWT
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.

So some translations say "year's end" or "end of the year" while others say at the "turn of the year." Which translation is most accurate? When we look at the underlying Hebrew term behind the translation we find the following:

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
8622 tekufah; from 5362; a revolution, i.e. (of the sun) course, (of time) lapse:--circuit, come about, end.

Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon
...circuit, as of the sun, Psalm 19:7; hence the course of time, of season, 1 Sa. 1:20 ... after the course of a year, 2 Chr. 24:23; compare Ex. 34:22...

TEKUFAH IN EXTRA-BIBLICAL LITERATURE

At this point I would like to quote a portion of a paper titled, "Treatise on the Biblical Calendar" by Herb Solinsky.  The paper I quote from is the second edition of his study dated April 3, 2009. He shares some very important historical information regarding the proper meaning of tekufah. The section I quote is from pages 135-137. The article can be accessed at the following location: biblicalcalendar.org

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"The Hebrew word tekufah, Strong's number 8622, occurs four times in the Bible, Ex 34:22; I Sam 1:20; II Chr 24:23; Ps 19:7. In 1907 when the BDB lexicon was published, the Dead Sea Scrolls were not yet discovered and clarifying insightful meanings into some ancient Hebrew words were not yet available. The Dead Sea Scrolls use the Hebrew word tekufah in contexts before the first century.

The paper by Hoenig (Hoenig, Sidney B. “Textual Readings and Meanings in Hodayot (I QH)”, pp. 309-316. The Jewish Quarterly Review, Vol. 58, 1967-1968) discusses a scroll labeled I QH among the Dead SeaScrolls. On pages 312-313 he explains two expressions found there: one is “tekufah of the day” and the other is “at the appointed time of the night at tekufah”. Hoenig explains that the former means “zenith of the day” meaning “noon” and the latter means “at the appointed time of the night at zenith” meaning “midnight”. It is particularly interesting that in the expression “at the appointed time of the night at tekufah” the Hebrew word for “appointed time” is moed, the same word used for the holy days in Lev 23 and for seasons in Gen 1:14. Thus it is not foreign to ancient Hebrew to use or associate tekufah with moed. This use of tekufah shows two heavenly bodies, the earth and sun, interacting on a daily basis so that at astronomically distinctive points in time tekufah refers to those points in time.

In the book chapter by Johann Maier (Maier, Johann. “Shire Olat hash-Shabbat. Some Observations on their Calendric Implications and on their Style”, pp. 349-384. The Madrid Qumran Congress, Vol. 2. Edited by Julio Trebolle Barrera and Luis Vegas Montaner. Leiden: Brill, 1992) one of the Dead Sea Scrolls is discussed that contains the Hebrew word tekufah. On page 146 Maier writes, “The Songs themselves are attached to the thirteen Sabbaths of one quarter or season (tekufah) of a year, according to the editor the first quarter (the Nisan season) only.” Here we see the Hebrew word tekufah used for the season of spring, which begins with the vernal equinox and ends with the summer solstice. Here also astronomically distinctive points in time involving the earth and sun define a time period called tekufah.

The intertestamental apocryphal Book of Sirach (also known as Ecclesiaticus) contains the Hebrew word tekufah. This book was written in Hebrew about 190 BCE, but today only incomplete sections of it have survived, having been discovered with thousands of other Hebrew texts in the attic of a synagogue in Cairo, Egypt toward the end of the nineteenth century. The treasure of texts in that attic, which survived for many hundreds of years, is known as the Cairo Geniza. There are many copies of Sirach in Greek translation, and most of the Hebrew words in Sirach 43:7 are preserved, one of them being tekufah. The Greek translation for tekufah is suntelia (Strong's Greek number 4930), which means completion, fulfillment, or destruction. These words indicate a point in time at which some event occurred. In harmony with this idea, the Jerusalem Bible translates Sirach 43:7, “the moon it is that signals the feasts, a luminary that wanes after her full”. Here “her full” refers to the full moon and is translated from tekufah or suntelia. Here tekufah refers to a natural distinctive time of the moon in its movement about the earth.

These contexts from the Dead Sea Scrolls and from Sirach from before 70 CE show that the Hebrew word tekufah is used to refer to natural distinctive points or time intervals associated with the heavenly bodies of the earth, sun, and moon. On page 394 of the lexicon by Holladay the word tekufah is defined. The parentheses and square brackets are part of the text of that book by Holladay where he writes about tekufah “turning (of sun at solstice) Ps 19:7; (of the year, i.e. end of year, at autumnal equinox) Ex 34:22; (of the days [i.e. of the year] = end of year I Sam 1:20."
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To quote again from Mr. Solinsky's paper, "The Hebrew word tekufah is used to refer to natural distinctive points or time intervals associated with the heavenly bodies of the earth, sun, and moon." This understanding, gained from examining the word tekufah in both Biblical and extra-Biblical sources, shows that the term not only applies to the spring and fall equinox, but also to the two solstices of the year (that the sun makes) as well as other time periods like noon, midnight, full moon, etc.  

EXODUS 34:22 and IMPORTANT HISTORICAL WRITINGS

This brings us back to Exodus 34:22 where we are told that the Feast of Ingathering is celebrated at the "turn (tekufah) of the year (shaneh)." We know for certain that the Feast of Unleavened Bread is celebrated in the first month of the year (Leviticus 23:5-8), which is in the spring season. This lets us know that the tekufah spoken of in Exodus 34:22 is not the spring equinox, i.e. the turning of the sun in the spring. 

Likewise, the Feast of Ingathering would not be tied to the "summer solstice/tekufah" seeing that we've already pointed out that this feast (Ingathering/Tabernacles) takes place in the seventh Biblical lunar month. The summer solstice is too close in proximity to the spring equinox (approximately 91 days from it) to be in the seventh month. The logical conclusion is that Exodus 34:22 is speaking of the autumnal or fall equinox. This is the "turn of the year" that Moses wrote of in Exodus 34:22. We could legitimately paraphrase the text as follows:

Exodus 34:22 (Paraphrase)
Celebrate the Feast of Weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the autumnal equinox.

Let me now show corroborating evidence that this is how the text in Exodus 34:22 was understood at the time of our Messiah. We learn this from reading the writings of Philo, a Levite/Israelite, that lived before, during, and after the time period of Yeshua of Nazareth. He recorded in his writings how the people of Israel celebrated the appointed festivals to Yahweh, in Jerusalem, during the first century A.D. while the second Temple was still standing. Within his writings he gives us some very specific time indicators as to WHEN these festivals were celebrated by the nation of Israel. We must remember something very important here. Philo is not just giving his opinion on when these feasts take place, he is relaying to his readers what his nation does, as a whole, in Jerusalem, each and every year. Philo writes:

Philo - On the Creation - (116) [pp. 93-94 Colson-Whitaker Translation]
The sun, too, the great lord of the day, bringing about two equinoxes each year, in Spring and Autumn, the Spring equinox in the constellation of the Ram, and the Autumn equinox in that of the Scales, supplies very clear evidence of the sacred dignity of the 7th number, for each of the equinoxes occurs in a 7th month, and during them there is enjoined by law the keeping of the greatest national festivals, since at both of them all fruits of the earth ripen, in the Spring the wheat and all else that is sown, and in Autumn the fruit of the vine and most of the other fruit-trees.

Philo says that the sun brings about two equinoxes each year, and he then names these two equinoxes to be the spring equinox and the autumn equinox. It is interesting that he points out the particular zodiac sign in which these equinoxes occur. The spring equinox takes place in the Ram (Aries) while the autumn equinox takes place in the Scales (Libra). 

Philo goes on to say that this (what he has just said about the equinoxes and zodiac) speaks to the sacredness of the number 7, because each of these equinoxes occurs in a 7th month. 

This is where you may need to slow down and meditate a while. I know that I had to think about this for a while in order to see what Philo is actually referring to. I've had a tendency in the past to read every place Philo mentioned the word "month" and automatically think of the lunar cycle of the month. What I had failed to see is that Philo sometimes speaks of lunar months, and then he sometimes speaks of solar months or segments throughout the zodiac. I touched on this in the previous chapters dedicated to the stars when I spoke of Philo writing about the three zodiac signs that were assigned to each of the four seasons of the year. In other words, Philo speaks of 3 SOLAR MONTHS in each season of the year, each month containing 30 degrees or approximately 30 days in which the sun passes through a zodiac sign. 

This is what Philo is speaking of in the before mentioned quote in "On the Creation." He is saying/meaning that each equinox takes place in a 7th SOLAR month. If one begins to count from the spring equinox (the Ram) and count towards the fall equinox (the Scales) he will have a counted a total of 6 months (through the zodiac), with the autumn equinox marking the beginning of the 7th SOLAR month. If one then begins to count from the autumn equinox towards the spring equinox he will have counted a total of another 6 solar months (through the zodiac), with the spring equinox marking the beginning of the 7th month. This is why Philo emphasizes the sacredness of the number 7 in his calculations. Each equinox occurs in a "7th solar month" depending upon where you begin counting.

Go back to the previous quote and read it again slowly. After Philo mentions the equinoxes occurring in a 7th month he then goes on to say that during them (these 7th months) there is a law concerning keeping the greatest national festivals. By "greatest" he means longest festivals: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Tabernacles (both lasting 7 days). In other words, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is kept in the solar month of the Ram, and the Feast of Tabernacles is kept in the solar month of the Scales. At this point you might be thinking, "But I thought the Biblical months were determined by the moon?" You are correct in thinking that way, and I hope to show you how the moon ties into the picture, but for now I want to continue to point out what I've just shown by going to other places in the works of Philo.

Philo - Special Laws II (153) [p. 399 Colson Translation]
But the month of the autumnal equinox, though first in order as measured by the course of the sun, is not called first in the law...

Philo here again speaks of the month of the autumnal equinox. This is one of those "7th months" that Philo spoke about in "On the Creation." Take note here that Philo specifically mentions this month of the autumn equinox as being measured by the course of the sun, and not of the moon. He MUST be writing about the segment in which the sun passes through the zodiac sign of the Scales (Libra). Philo goes on a bit after this (155) to say, "The feast begins at the middle of the month, on the fifteenth day, when the moon is full." In this portion (155), Philo is certainly speaking of a lunar month, but in order for everything to harmonize, he must be speaking of a lunar month - in relation to the solar month - that began at the autumnal equinox. Let's move to another quote.

Philo - Special Laws I (181) [p. 203 Colson's Translation]
At the first season which name he gives to the springtime and its equinox, he ordained that what is called the feast of unleavened bread should be kept for seven days, all of which he declared should be honored equally in the ritual assigned to them. For he ordered ten sacrifices to be offered each day as at the new moons, whole-burnt offerings amounting to seventy in all apart from the sin offerings. He considered, that is, that the seven days of the feast bore the same relation to the equinox which falls in the seventh month as the new moon does to the month.

Philo here is speaking of the spring equinox, and he very plainly says that during this time period the Feast of Unleavened Bread (which Passover "kicks off") is to be kept. He is tying the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the spring equinox. This is very critical, because if we insist that Abib 1 (the new moon) must ALWAYS fall AFTER the spring equinox, we will at times have the Feast of Unleavened Bread falling 4-6 weeks after the spring equinox (as much as 45 days). This will also mean that in these cases that the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread will not fall within the sign of Aries (the Ram), but rather move into the next zodiacal sign of Taurus (the Bull). This is not what Philo is describing that the people of Israel (including Yeshua of Nazareth) did in the 1st century, therefore it must not be the criteria for establishing when the month of Abib takes place.

Before I move on to the next quote, notice that Philo mentions the equinox which falls in the 7th month. This is Philo reiterating what he wrote in "On the Creation." Philo calls the SOLAR month that the spring equinox begins "the 7th month" because he is counting from the autumnal equinox (which he has before called the first month as measured by the course of the sun - Special Laws II.153). It all depends on where you begin counting.

Philo - The Decalogue (161) [Colson's Translation]
To seven he gives the chief feasts prolonged for many days, two feasts, that is for the two equinoxes, each lasting seven days, the first in the spring to celebrate the ripeness of the sown crops, the second in the autumn for the ingathering of all the tree-fruits; also seven days were naturally assigned to the seven months of each equinox...

Philo here again mentions the "chief feasts" which last seven days. We know that he is still talking about the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Tabernacles. Notice that he says "two feasts" are for the "two equinoxes." This places these major feasts in relation to the equinoxes, which would not make sense if the feasts were at times 4 to 6 weeks (28 to 42 days, and as much as 45 days) away from the equinoxes. Philo then goes on to mention spring and autumn and then he says that 7 days were assigned to the 7 months of each equinox. When he speaks of 7 days he is talking about the length of the "chief feasts." When he speak of the 7 months of each equinox he MUST be speaking of the seven SOLAR months through the zodiac that each of these two equinoxes "jump start."

Notice how that both Aries and Libra can be termed "7th months" depending on where you begin counting.
        
Aries (1) [7]    Taurus (2) [8]    Gemini (3) [9]    Canc. (4) [10]    Leo (5) [11]    Virgo (6) [12]= 6 mths.

Libra (7) [1]    Scorpio (8) [2]    Sagitt. (9) [3]    Capri. (10) [4]    Aquar. (11) [5]    Pisces (12) [6]= 6 mths.

Philo - Flaccus (XIV.116) [Yonge's Translation]
...for it was the general festival of the Jews at the time of the autumnal equinox, during which it is the custom of the Jews to live in tents.

This quote will bring us back full scale to our original Scripture text in Exodus 34:22. I have already mentioned the reasons why I believe that the tekufah in Exodus 34:22 is referencing the autumnal equinox. Philo's writings do corroborate my understanding, especially this writing of Philo from the portion of his work titled "Flaccus." 

Notice that he speaks of the festival of the Jews (more correctly Yehudim or Judahite), and then he adds "AT THE TIME OF THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX." We can be sure that Philo is speaking of the Feast of Tabernacles/Ingathering because he then mentions that it is their custom to live in tents at this time. 

Now this (along with all of the other quotes I've given thus far from Philo) shows that the first lunar month of the year (beginning Abib 1) must be determined in such a way as to allow for the Feast of "Tents" (Tabernacles/Ingathering) to take place at the autumnal equinox.  If we ALWAYS take the new moon AFTER the spring equinox as our criteria for Abib 1, we will at times have the Feast of "Tents" falling 4 to 6 weeks AFTER the autumnal equinox (completely passed the segment of the Scales/Libra) rather than being in close proximity to it. However, if our criteria is that Passover (the 14th day of Abib) must fall on or after the spring equinox, it will yield the Feast of "Tents" to either overlap or come in very close proximity to the fall equinox. This is in harmony with Exodus 34:22 as well as with the writings of Philo, a Levite who lived during the time of Yeshua of Nazareth, and was simply writing about the "when" of the appointed times of his fellow countrymen.

CORROBORATING EVIDENCE FROM JOSEPHUS

What makes this even more interesting is that another contemporary of Philo writes something that completely harmonizes with what I've just presented. His name is Flavius Josephus, an ancient Israelite author I've already mentioned a few times in this work. Take a look at what Josephus writes in his works.

Josephus - Antiquities 3.10.5(248)
In the month of Xanthicus, which is by us called Nisan, and is the beginning of our year, on the fourteenth day of the lunar month, when the sun is in Aries, (for in this month it was that we were delivered from bondage under the Egyptians), the law ordained that we should every year slay that sacrifice which I before told you we killed when we came out of Egypt, and which was called the Passover...

Let me point out the beauty in all of this. I'm even astounded as I sit here and write. All of this actually brought me to tears the other day when the pieces of the puzzle came together. 

First, Josephus mentions the month that is called "Nisan" by his people and he terms that month the beginning of their year. This is not out of harmony with Scripture. Abib is the primary name (being the Hebrew name) for the first month of the year. After the Babylonian captivity, there are Scriptures which call the month of Abib by the name Nisan (Nehemiah 2:1; Esther 3:7). 

Secondly, take special notice that Josephus then mentions something about the 14th day of the LUNAR month. He is very specific to write that this month (Abib/Nisan) is a LUNAR month. This follows nicely with Scripture which clearly indicates (as I pointed out earlier) that the feasts are kept in months that are lunar. But take note that for Josephus to specifically point out a LUNAR month, there must have been at least one other (maybe more than one) type of month in view.

Thirdly, and this is where it all comes together, Josephus then mentions that the 14th day of this LUNAR month takes place when the SUN is in ARIES. This now (the sun in Aries) is a reference to a SOLAR month, the same solar month that Philo describes in his writings as a "7th month." 

Thus we have the sun, moon, and stars (all the lights of Genesis 1:14-18) working harmoniously together to let us know when the first appointed festival of the year is to be observed. Why I could not see this for so many years baffles me, but Yahweh does everything in His time.

This is all very important information to understand, because this lets us know that the first new moon of the year (Abib) should be determined in such a way as to allow the Feast of Tabernacles or Ingathering to take place at the autumnal equinox. When we make sure that the Passover falls on or after the spring equinox, this makes the Feast of Ingathering always at the fall equinox, exactly how Philo described. If our criteria is to always take a NEW MOON AFTER the spring equinox as Abib 1, we will have years where the Feast of Ingathering is celebrated LONG AFTER the fall equinox, in contradiction to Exodus 34:22, as well as in contradiction to when Philo said his nation observed the feast. Not to mention that there will be years where the Passover does not take place in the sign of Aries.

UNDERSTANDING THE SEPTUAGINT

It is also interesting to note how the Greek Septuagint translates the text of Exodus 34:22. The Torah section of the Septuagint dates back to around the middle of the 3rd century B.C.

Exodus 34:22 (LXX) 
And thou shalt keep to me the feast of weeks, the beginning of wheat harvest; and the feast of ingathering in the middle of the year.

While the Hebrew Scriptures inform us that the Feast of Ingathering is to be celebrated at the "turn of the year" (the fall equinox/tekufah), the Septuagint calls this the MIDDLE of the year. From this we learn that the translation of "end of the year" (Exodus 34:22) in the KJV is not to be understood as the end of the year in the sense that one year is ending and another is beginning. The translation "turn of the year" is more appropriate. It harmonizes with the "middle of the year" in the Septuagint. 

Both texts are correct. The Hebrew centers in on the turning point of the sun in the fall, while the Greek centers in on what time of the SOLAR year it is. From spring equinox to fall equinox is about 182 days. From fall equinox back to spring equinox is roughly the same length. Thus the fall equinox is correctly said in the Septuagint translation to be in the middle of the solar revolution.

This means that the "middle" of the year is at what we now call around September 22 or 23 on our current Gregorian calendar. If we make certain that Passover always falls on or after the spring equinox (in the sign of Aries), then Tabernacles will overlap or come into very close proximity to September 22 or 23, i.e. the middle of the SOLAR year. The way that I've been determining the beginning of the year in the past (from 1998 to 2012), I have sometimes celebrated Tabernacles in the last week of October and even into the first week of November, long after the fall equinox and the "middle" of the year as mentioned in the Septuagint. 

ARAMAIC TARGUMS

With the aforementioned information in our minds it will be suitable at this point to quote from two Aramaic Targums on the ancient understanding of Genesis 1:14. The Targums are old Aramaic paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible which speak to us of how Israelites in ancient times understood the texts of Hebrew Scripture. In this case let's look at two of these Targums in Genesis 1:14, a verse which is basic and fundamental in understanding the Biblical calendar.

Genesis 1:14 (Targum of Jonathan Ben Uzziel) 
And the Lord said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens, to distinguish between the day and the night; and let them be for signs and for festival times, and for the numbering by them the account of days, and for the sanctifying of the beginning of months, and the beginning of years, the passing away of months, and the passing away of years, the revolutions of the sun, the birth of the moon, and the revolvings (of seasons).

Genesis 1:14 (The Targum of Onkelos) 
And the Lord said, There shall be Lights in the expanse of heaven, to distinguish between the day and the night; and they shall be for signs and for times, for the numbering of days and years.

These Targums can be accessed here: targum.info/targumic-texts/pentateuchal-targumim/

These two texts show us that anciently Genesis 1:14 was understood to be saying that the lights in the heavens were to determine the calendar (that the people of the Most High were to follow). We have seen how that the heavenly light of the sun, specifically the revolutions or path of the sun, primarily determine the Biblical year.

MORE FROM OUR FRIEND PHILO

Let me now delve into some of the other places in the writings of Philo that I previously believed to be evidence for ALWAYS taking the new moon after the spring equinox to begin Abib 1. I am now able to see that these places within the writings of Philo DO NOT teach this at all. I actually wonder why I even believed they did to begin with. Sometimes we learn things from others and read texts with certain presuppositions in our minds rather than extracting from the text itself. Let me show you what I'm talking about.

Philo - On the Life of Moses II (222, 224) [pp. 510-511 of Yonge's translation]
(222) Moses puts down the beginning of the vernal equinox as the first month of the year... (224) Accordingly, in this month, about the fourteenth day of the month, when the orb of the moon is usually about to become full, the public universal feast of the Passover is celebrated...

Here Philo speaks of Moses placing the beginning of the spring equinox as the first month of the year. What I failed to see before is that Philo is NOT talking about a lunar month in this sentence. Philo is talking about a SOLAR month (in the first sentence) rather than a LUNAR month because the lunar month does not always begin at the beginning of the spring equinox (the sign of Aries). The lunar month fluctuates back and forth within the solar cycle. Philo is instead speaking of what we have already covered throughout his writings. He is talking about the SOLAR month that begins at the spring equinox (the sign of Aries), and extends for a period of 30 days or degrees. With this understanding in our minds it makes perfect sense for Philo to say that Moses puts down the BEGINNING of the spring equinox as the first month of the year. Every year the spring equinox will begin the first SOLAR MONTH of the new cycle.

Within this let us not dismiss what else Philo says here. A bit later, in section 224, Philo writes of the 14th day of the month when the moon is about to become full. There is no doubt that Philo is speaking of a LUNAR month in this statement. Placing the two statements together yields exactly what we saw before in the writings of Josephus. The Passover (14th day of the lunar month) must fall in the first SOLAR month of the year. This is precisely what Philo is getting at in the before mentioned quote. This writing of Philo's has nothing to say about making sure the new moon (Abib 1) takes place after the spring equinox.

Before I delve into this next quote from Philo (in regards to the beginning of the year) let me say that you must have (prior to reading it) a proper understanding of everything I've quoted from Philo thus far. You must recognize that Philo speaks much of the sun, moon, and stars (all three) in his writings. You must know that every time Philo mentions a "month" or "months" that he is not always speaking from a lunar perspective. Philo knew well of the ALL the lights in the heavens.

*Let me briefly make mention here that Philo never mentions basing the Biblical new year on agriculture. You would think that if the month of Abib was based upon observing a very particular stage of the barley in the land of Israel (as some calendar students suggest) that Philo would have at least mentioned this in passing, but he doesn't. Philo does remark about how nature blossoms at the spring equinox, but he never speaks of waiting to hear reports of whether the barley was in a certain stage so that the new year could then be announced based upon the barley harvest. Philo does however mention, more than once, the calendar of the Almighty in the heavens. He writes:

On the Creation 19 (59-60) [pp. 45-47 Colson-Whitaker Translation]
It is added, moreover, "and for appointed time" (Gen. 1:14). By "appointed times" Moses understood the four seasons of the year, and surely with good reason... Now the four seasons of the year bring about achievement by bringing all things to perfection, all sowing and planting of crops, and the birth and growth of animals. The heavenly bodies were created also to furnish measures of time: for it is by regular revolutions of the sun, moon, and the other bodies that days and months and years were constituted.

The Special Laws 1.16 (90) [pp. 151-153 Colson Translation]
If the light of the sun had never shone, how could the numberless qualities of bodily things have been perceived? Or the multiform varieties of colours and shapes? Who else could have shewn us nights and days and months and years and time in general except the revolutions, harmonious and grand beyond all description, of the sun and the moon and the other stars? How but through the same heavenly bodies teaching us to compute the divisions of time could we have learnt the nature of number?

So we do see that Philo not only spoke of the sign of Aries in relation to the spring equinox, he also grouped the stars in with the "time-tellers" in the heavens in both of the aforementioned passages

Philo - QA on Exodus - Book 1, Section 1 [pp.2-3 in Marcus translation]
Scripture thinks it proper to reckon the cycle of months from the vernal equinox... that time which proceeds from the vernal equinox also appears as the beginning both in order and in power... And thus those who are learned in astronomy have given this name to the before mentioned time, for they call the Ram the head of the zodiac since in it the sun appears to produce the vernal equinox... Scripture presupposes the vernal equinox to be the beginning of the cycle of months...

This quotation from Philo used to be my main source for pushing the belief that Abib 1 must be a new moon that falls after the spring equinox. Let me explain why that is NOT what Philo is saying here.

When Philo speaks of reckoning the cycle of months FROM the spring equinox, he is speaking of the cycle of SOLAR months, not lunar. He mentions this elsewhere in his "Questions and Answers on Exodus" (Book II, page 125) when he writes, "At each season of the year the sun completes (its course) through three zodiacal signs, which He has called 'mixing-bowls,' since three powers, distinct and separate from one another, undergo a unified mixing to make up the time of one year. For example, the spring (consists of) Aries, Taurus, Gemini; and again, in the summer (we have) Cancer, Leo, Virgo; and in the autumn, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius; and in the winter, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces." 

Each of these zodiac signs make up one SOLAR month or segment within the solar cycle throughout the year. Aries begins at the spring equinox, thus Philo says that the cycle of months is reckoned FROM the equinox. We know this to be true because (as quoted before) Philo goes on to say in this section that, "And thus those who are learned in astronomy have given this name to the before mentioned time, for they call the Ram the head of the zodiac since in it the sun appears to produce the vernal equinox." Notice that Philo says the Ram is the HEAD of the zodiac, and this is because the sign of the Ram begins to take place in conjunction with the spring equinox. 

Philo is not writing about taking a new moon AFTER the spring equinox. He actually NEVER writes about that being a criteria. Philo only speaks of the cycle of SOLAR months beginning at the spring equinox and the sign of Aries. He calls Aries a "7th month" (counting from the fall equinox) and says that the Passover (Abib 14 of the LUNAR month) and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Abib 15-21 of the LUNAR month) takes place in this SOLAR month.

EUSEBIUS' WRITING ABOUT ANCIENT CALCULATIONS

I'd like to now venture into another ancient writing that I used to believe gave evidence of always taking the new moon after the spring equinox for Abib 1. Once again, I am now amazed that I never saw what I am about to show you before. I am able to see it as clear as crystal now.

While studying all of the aforementioned information in regards to the stars and the Biblical new year I ran across a section in the writings of Eusebius that I believe deserves some attention. Eusebius is usually termed the "father of Church history" seeing that he chronicled the events of the first three centuries of the Christian church. Eusebius lived from 260 A.D. to 340 A.D. and his writings come down to us with the title Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History. In Book 7, Chapter 32 of his work he quotes an extract from the Canons of Anatolius on the Paschal (Passover) Festival. I will first quote this section (parenthesis 14 - 18) in its entirety, and then I will do my best to unpack certain portions of this quote.

(14) You have therefore, in the first year, the new moon of the first month, which is the beginning of every cycle of nineteen years, on the 26th of the Egyptian month Phamenoth. But according to the months of the Macedonians the 22nd of Dystrus. But as the Romans would say, before the 11th of the calends of April.
(15) But the sun is found on the said 26th of the month Phamenoth, not only as entering the first segment (of the zodiac), but on the 4th day is already found passing through it. But this segment they generally call the first dodecatomorium, and the equinox, and the beginning of the months, and the head of the cycle, and the head of the planetary course. But that (segment) before this, they call the last of the months, the twelfth segment, and the last dodecatemorium, and the end of the planetary revolution. Hence, also, those that place the first month in it, and that fix the 14th of the month by it, commit, as we think, no little and no common blunder.
(16) But neither is this our opinion only, but it was also known to the Jews anciently, and before Christ, and was chiefly observed by them, as we may learn from Philo, Josephus, and Musaeus; and not only from these, but also from those still more ancient, i.e., the two Agathobuli, commonly called the masters, and of Aristobulus, that most distinguished scholar, who was one of the seventy that translated the holy Scriptures from the Hebrew for Ptolemy Philadelphus, and his father, and dedicated his exposition of the law of Moses to the same kings.
(17) These when they resolve inquiries on Exodus, say that all ought to sacrifice the Passover alike after the vernal equinox, in the middle of the first month. But this is found to be when the sun passes through the first segment of the solar, or, as some call it, the zodiacal circle. But this Aristobulus also adds, it was requisite that not only the sun should have passed the equinoctial segment for the feast of Passover, but the moon also.
(18) For as there are two equinoctial segments, the vernal and the autumnal, and diametrically opposite to each other, and since the day of the Passover is given on the 14th of the month at the evening, the moon will stand diametrically opposite to the sun, as may be seen in full moons. Thus the sun will be at the vernal equinox, the moon, on the contrary, at the autumnal equinox.

So much could be deciphered from this quote, but I am going to let you the reader do most of the deciphering (smile). I would though like to examine this quote beginning at parenthesis 16.

(16) But neither is this our opinion only, but it was also known to the Jews anciently, and before Christ, and was chiefly observed by them, as we may learn from Philo, Josephus, and Musaeus; and not only from these, but also from those still more ancient, i.e., the two Agathobuli, commonly called the masters, and of Aristobulus, that most distinguished scholar, who was one of the seventy that translated the holy Scriptures from the Hebrew for Ptolemy Philadelphus, and his father, and dedicated his exposition of the law of Moses to the same kings.

Anatolius is here saying that the ancient Israelites before the time of the Messiah (among whom are the historians Philo and Josephus) chiefly observed the correct beginning of the year and knew of the blunder mentioned in parenthesis 15 of fixing the 14th day of the first month by the 12th segment of time (12th tropical zodiac sign) or the last of the months. Notice that in mentioning the "blunder," it is the 14th day of the first month (Passover) that is under consideration, and not the new moon. 

In other words, we must make sure that we do not place THE 14TH DAY of the first month in the wrong segment of time. He then mentions one man that lived earlier in time named Aristobulus who was believed to be one of the 70 scholars that worked on translating the Hebrew Scriptures into the Greek language beginning in the 3rd century B.C. Evidently, Anatolius was acknowledging that men like Philo, Josephus, and Aristobulus knew how to correctly calculate the beginning of the year as it pertained to the Hebrew calendar. Let's now proceed to parenthesis 17.

(17) These when they resolve inquiries on Exodus, say that all ought to sacrifice the Passover alike after the vernal equinox, in the middle of the first month. But this is found to be when the sun passes through the first segment of the solar, or, as some call it, the zodiacal circle. But this Aristobulus also adds, it was requisite that not only the sun should have passed the equinoctial segment for the feast of Passover, but the moon also.

Notice that Anatolius speaks of these aforementioned men resolving inquiries on Exodus, and he is probably talking about Exodus 12:2 which is a calendar verse. He says that all of these men believed that the Passover was to be sacrificed after the vernal (spring) equinox, in the middle of the first month, when the sun passes through the first segment of the zodiacal circle (Aries). I understand the reference to the middle of the first month to be speaking of mid-way through the first moon or lunar month on the Hebrew calendar, i.e. the 14th day of Abib when the Passover is to be sacrificed. 

Anatolius goes on to say that this time is found to be when the sun passes through the first segment of the zodiacal circle, which we know from this study to be the segment of Aries (the Ram) which begins at the vernal equinox.

What is very interesting to me is what he then mentions concerning Aristobulus. Aristobulus adds this: it was required that not only the sun should have passed the equinoctial segment (vernal equinox) for the feast of Passover to take place, but the moon as well. What is the meaning of this?

I used to believe that what Aristobulus meant was that in order for Passover to be reckoned properly, one not only had to wait until the sun passed the spring equinox, but also had to wait until the new moon passed the spring equinox, but I now see that I was reading that into this historical text. 

Recognize that the entire context is about the Passover. Aristobulus is saying the same thing the other men are saying in a different way. In other words, you cannot just go ahead and sacrifice the Passover as soon as the sun enters into the sign of Aries, you must wait for the moon - THE FULL MOON - to take place within the sign of Aries. This aligns perfectly with Philo and Josephus. Notice again the last section of this quote from the works of Eusebius.

(18) For as there are two equinoctial segments, the vernal and the autumnal, and diametrically opposite to each other, and since the day of the Passover is given on the 14th of the month at the evening, the moon will stand diametrically opposite to the sun, as may be seen in full moons. Thus the sun will be at the vernal equinox, the moon, on the contrary, at the autumnal equinox.

Take note how the emphasis is not placed upon the new moon, but rather the 14th day of the month and the full moon. This is how Aristobulus put it. Two criteria (or actually three) must be met. The spring equinox, the full moon, and the sign of Aries.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

The main point here is for us to recognize that Exodus 34:22 gives us an anchor in Hebrew Scripture for the Feast of Tabernacles to take place at the fall equinox, or as the Septuagint calls it, the middle of the year. This happens on our current Gregorian calendar on September 22 or 23. If we make certain that Passover always falls on or after the spring equinox, then the Feast of Tabernacles will overlap or come close to the fall equinox, and thus be at the middle of the SOLAR year. If we make it a must for the NEW MOON of Abib 1 to always come after the spring equinox, we will have some years in which the Feast of Tabernacles falls 4 to 6 (as much as 45 days) weeks after the fall equinox, completely outside of the sign of Libra - the measuring scales. This not only contradicts Exodus 34:22, but it also flies in the face of how two ancient historians, Philo and Josephus, relayed to us the "when" of the Hebrew festivals. Philo and Josephus place the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread after the spring equinox and in the sign of Aries. Neither historian EVER stated that the new moon of Abib 1 MUST fall after the spring equinox. Philo also clearly stated that it was the custom of his people to live in tents at the fall equinox, in perfect harmony with Exodus 34:22.

Let me point out one more thing again before I close this chapter. The method that I have described in this section uses the sun, moon, and stars to determine the Biblical calendar. Over the years I have met people who disregard the sun, and others who disregard the moon. I have met very few people who even know how the stars fit into the calendar, and this included myself for several years until Yahweh opened my mind to be able to understand how the stars work. As far as I can see, what I've described in this chapter is the only method that does not throw out one of the lights in the heavens in its calculation. The heavens work as a faithful Israelite family in complete unity. The sun (father), moon (mother), and stars (children) all with one voice tell us when to begin our lunar cycle of months within the solar cycle of months in accordance with the signs of the tropical zodiac. It really is beautiful if you stop and think about it.

With this method there certainly will be times when the new moon after the spring equinox will be Abib 1, I believe such may have happened in Exodus 40:1-2, and 17, but this is not a necessity.

TACKLING A FEW OBJECTIONS

One might wonder how this next quote from Philo fits into the mix.

Philo - The Special Laws I (186 and 189) [pp. 205-207 Colson's Translation]
When the third special season has come in the seventh month at the autumnal equinox there is held at its outset the sacred-month-day called trumpet day... on the 10th day is the fast... on the 15th day of this month at the full moon is held the feast of tabernacles...

Philo speaks of the third season of the year, which begins at the autumnal equinox (what we would call September 22 or 23). Philo mentions the Feast of Tabernacles taking place in this season (as he has in the previous quotes I gave) but he also seems to suggest that "trumpet day" (Yom Teruah) and "the fast" (Yom Kippur) take place in this season. However, it is a fact that no matter what method one chooses to use to begin the new year there will be times when Yom Teruah does not take place at or after the autumnal equinox occurs. Case in point was last year (2012) when I kept the Feast of Tabernacles from October 1 to October 7, but Yom Teruah (shoutings/trumpets) took place on September 17. If we use the method of always taking the new moon AFTER the spring equinox to determine Abib 1, then where Yom Teruah falls depends on how close the lunar new moon comes after the spring equinox.

What I believe we should recognize here is that this is the only place within Philo that he mentions Trumpets and Atonement in the context of the fall equinox. This one place would have to harmonize with all of the other places that we have considered in Philo up to this point. For example, when Philo talks about the "7th month at the autumnal equinox," he is talking about a SOLAR month that begins at the fall equinox. He then speaks of Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles. When we take EVERYTHING Philo said about the feasts, we see that the only feast truly tied to the fall equinox is the Feast of Tabernacles. This makes the most sense because the Hebrew Scriptures never tell us that Yom Teruah or Yom Kippur take place at the tekufah (fall equinox - Exodus 34:22). Scripture only states that the Feast of Ingathering (Tabernacles) is required to be kept at the tekufah of the year.

What about the knowledge of astronomy? Some have remarked that the ancient Israelites would not have known when the spring equinox took place, before it ever took place. They go on to say that this would make it very difficult for people to arrive in Jerusalem for the festivals, if, let's say, the Passover fell on the day right after the spring equinox. My response to this is: taking all of the evidence into consideration, the ancient Israelites must have had a greater knowledge of astronomy than we give them credit for. They must have been able to know when the spring equinox was going to take place before it ever happened. When I sit and meditate upon this I think of a simple way of knowing, like counting from the fall equinox. They knew (according to the writings of Philo) that there was an almost equal amount of days between the equinoxes, so they could have counted from the fall equinox and knew before hand when the spring equinox was going to happen, and then make sure that Passover took place after the spring equinox. From what I've studied on the ancient understanding of the heavenly lights, ancient peoples may have known more about the heavens than modern astronomers today.

UNDERSTANDING THE EQUINOX

I'd like to now close out this study by explaining some points concerning the equinox. The word equinox is based on the Latin language, stemming from two Latin words, aequus meaning equal, and nox meaning night. The understanding of this word is that this is the time when the night is equal with the day. All ancient peoples that tracked the path of the sun noticed that the sun always rose in the east and set it the west, but it did not always rise due east or set due west. 

The sun would go to one extreme in the year and rise far north-east, and also go to the other extreme in the year and rise far south-east. Directly in between these two extremes is due east. The sun rises due east twice a year, and because at these two times the night portion is equal with the day portion, later peoples used the word equinox to describe these two days. These days fall out on our current Gregorian calendar in the spring on March 19-21, and in the fall on September 22-23. Every single ancient civilization or ancient author that I'm aware of believed this very thing. Of course our current Gregorian calendar was not known to them, but the equinoxes that fall at the end of March and September today are the same equinoxes that all ancient peoples used.

The ancient Hebrews reckoned equal day and night by the heavenly light of the sun in the sky, as well as the moon and the stars. So long as the sun ruled, it was considered day. Anytime the moon ruled the night, or the stars, it was considered night. This means that day (as opposed to the night) was from sunrise to sunset, as Yahweh tells us in Genesis 1:16, "The greater light to rule the day." He also speaks of this in Psalm 113:3 where it says, "From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same Yahweh's name is to be praised." This speaks of the time period that is opposite of the night, namely the day. In the spring time of the year, on the Gregorian March 19, 20, or 21, you will have an equal amount of day (the time the sun is ruling) and an equal amount of night (the time the sun is not ruling, but the moon and the stars rule).

I would like to make the point that we can know this is how day and night were presented in Scripture by recognizing the texts that mention hours within a day. Yeshua the Messiah, in speaking of the time period for work, tells us in John 11:9, "Are there not 12 hours in the day?" Yeshua here speaks of the daylight period as opposed to the night. 12 hours in the day is also seen in the parable of the vineyard laborers in Matthew 20. Here we see that some laborers were hired at the 11th hour (vs. 9) and only worked for 1 hour (vs. 12). Other laborers entered the work place at the 3rd hour and the 6th hour of the day. I want you to think about this for a second. How were these hours measured during the time of Yeshua? For instance, how did Peter know that it was the 3rd hour of the day in Acts 2:15? Remember when he told those listening to the apostles speak in foreign languages, "These men are not drunk as you suppose, seeing it is only the 3rd hour of the day." How did he know? Did he look at his wristwatch?

Well of course not. He knew by the position of the sun in the sky. Hours were only measured during the daylight period, and since hours were measured by the position of the sun, hours were only measured from sunrise to sunset. From the time the sun came up above the Yahweh made horizon to the time the sun went down below the Yahweh made horizon. This is how ancient peoples knew what time of the daylight portion they were standing in.

This aligns perfectly with Genesis 1:14-18 where it tells us that the lights in the heavens are to be for telling time. I have had a tendency in the past to focus only on the moon, and in doing so have not focused enough upon the greater light, the sun (or the other lesser light of the night, the stars). It was by this heavenly body (the sun) that the day was determined and in turn the various hours within the day such as the 3rd, 6th, or 9th hours of the day.  We do read of an ancient sun-dial in the Scriptural books of 2 Kings 20:11 and Isaiah 38:8, so this practice of tracking the hours of the day by the sun is very, very old. 

Do not let the practice of tracking the sun with a sun-dial scare you. Many people hear about Biblical Calendar observers watching the moons phases and think that this constitutes moon worship. There are even fewer believers in Yahweh that study the zodiac, the constellations in the heavens. This is because there is either a large or faint idea in the back of our mind that the zodiac is something that is only pagan. In reality, all of these heavenly bodies and their movements in the sky are placed there by Yahweh for His people. It is not a sin to study the moon and stars for the purpose of telling signs and seasons. Likewise, it is not a sin to track the sun with a sun-dial for the purpose of telling the hours of the day, the SOLAR month of the year, or for that matter, when Yahweh's year begins. Did pagans use sun-dials? Well sure, but they also used the moon and the zodiac. None of this means we should discard these Yahweh ordained lights for the true calendar. 

So, in summary, the sun is the greater light in the sky and it consists of a revolution of about 365 days. The moon is the lesser light in the sky and it consists of at least 12 revolutions a year (an average of 29.5 days a piece) totaling about 354 days. These lunar months must fit into the solar revolution somehow, and we must know when to begin numbering the lunar months with the first month of Abib. Seeing that the Biblical year begins in the spring time, when everything has come to life, the logical candidate in the solar revolution to begin a solar year is the spring equinox, a time in the solar year when the sun rises due east and sets due west causing an equal amount of night and day. The simple step of making sure that Passover (Abib 14) falls on or after the spring equinox allows for everything in the heavens to be in unity together. This in turn places the Feast of Tabernacles at the fall equinox (or in close proximity to the fall equinox), which Scripture commands (Exodus 34:22) and Philo, a first century Levite-Israelite speaks of.