Nov. 26, 2022 Updated r.6.0.

Previous version: Title <Walk through the Scripture #7 Time & Calendar>

Mar. 9, 2022 Updated r.6.0.0

Sep. 25, 2021 Updated r.5.7.8
Sep. 9, 2021 Updated r.5.7.6
Apr. 23, 2021 Updated r.3.7.5

WB#7 – Time & Calendar

[See also related compassion files

<Walk through the Bible #8 – Festival, Feast, & Passover>

<Walk through the Bible #9 – Passion Week Chronology>
<Walk through the Bible #10 – Selected Biblical Chronologies>]
<Walk through the Bible #11 – Sabbath>,

This is one of the supplements to IRENT, a new translation of the New Testament which
is based on the linguistic and literary critical approach. The translation with associated
supporting files is open to the public and available free to all for you to challenge and be
challenged. You should find this helpful in many ways. It is, however, to make the
reading rather more careful than to make it comfortable and easy for reading and studying
the Bible. And foremost it is here to help ourselves help and continually unlearn, re-learn
and learn afresh!

As with everything in life, many fails to unlearn those things cherished dearly. It is a life
changing effort. Sadly, no one wants to unlearn. But we all need to unlearn, sometimes
from the ground up. It pays to unlearn!

1
 IRENT Vol. III. Supplement
No. 1 (Words, Words, and Words)
No. 2 (Text, Translation, and Translations)
No. 3-A (Name, God, Spirit)
No. 3-B ('Jesus Christ' vs. 'Yeshua Mashiah')
No. 3-C (Tetragrammaton)
No. 3-D (Trinity)
No. 4 (Man, Anthropology, and Religion)
No. 5 (People and Persons)
No. 6 (Place, Things, and Numbers)
No. 7 (Time & Calendar)
No. 8 (Festival, Feast, & Passover)
No. 9 (Passion Week Chronology)
No. 10 (Selected Biblical Chronologies)
No. 11 (Sabbath)
No. 12 (Infancy Narrative, Virgin & Virgin Birth)

WALK THROUGH THE BIBLE

No. 7 Time & Calendar

2
 No. 7. Time and Calendar

This paper began from the need to unravel the calendation in the
Gregorian and the rabbinic Jewish calendars which is distinct from the
Biblical calendar. When such different calendars are used in reading
the Bible, the inevitable confusion and conflation have caused
enormous contention and contradiction in the biblical the timeline and
chronology, especially of the Passion Week.

See the file <Walk through the Bible #9 - Passion Week Chronology>.

See also: <((WB#7)) Calendation Practicum>.

3
 PART I. CALENDAR ISSUE
Ref. http://biblicalcalendar.org/

The word 'calendar' here basically means for calendar system, not calendar table. To know
about calendars is so important in reading the Bible to understand and study which often
demands careful following of the timeline in the biblical narratives.

1. calendar system = a scheme of fixing the beginning, length, and divisions of a year and arranging
days and longer divisions of time (such as weeks and months) in a definite order, sometimes along
with multiyear cycles.

2. calendation = calculation and mechanics of creating a calendar, which is involved in studying

calendars for biblical chronology and timeline is also used.

3. calendar table = a tabular register of days according to a system usually covering one year and
referring the days of each month to the days of the week; also an orderly list involved with dates (e.g.
monthly or weekly; daily calendar; work calendar, desk calendar, etc.)

The true Biblical calendar is essential when reading the Bible

to follow the narratives with correctly interpreted timeline.

The Biblical calendar, which is a luni-solar one, is remarkable; it makes the chronology and the
narrative timeline so clear and easy to follow. a

On the other hand, the solar Gregorian calendar which is the one being universally used,
actually do bring confusion into the chronology and timelines, especially of the biblical
Passover-Passion Week. b The rabbinic Jewish calendar, which is a hybrid of solar and lunar
calendation, does not help and does actually compound problem.

When these non-biblical calendars are brought into the biblical texts, these serves as the source
of confusion, contradictions, conflicts and scholarly contentions in the study of chronology and
timelines, being entrenched ecclesial traditions.

a
Some may find it for keeping certain days in their religious purpose, especially for lunar
sabbath keeping.
b
Passover-Passion Week in the New Testament is different from the liturgical Holy Week of
the Churches. See in the companion file <Walk through the Scripture #6 - Passion Week
Chronology>.
4
Basic concepts of the Biblical calendar: Day, Hour, Week, Month, Year

In any study, one has to grasp the basic vocabulary of words and terms which is essential,
especially of various units to see in what sense in the Bible and how they are used – rather
than as specialized terms in physics. a It is true also for understanding the biblical narrative
correctly.

It is important to see that the words, which are often used interchangeably, are NOT to be
taken as same. We have to make sure each word or term used correctly with clear meaning
and usage. It is being extensively covered in this paper. Here is some introductory to provide
a bearing on this subject.

(1) The word ‘*day’ (as 'daylight period') throughout the Bible is that which begins with
sunrise.

A day is reckoned to start at dawnb whether it is a day for daylight period or a day of a
calendar day in the biblical calendar. A calendar day may be reckoned to start at an artificial
point of time, e.g. 12 a.m. in the Gregorian and at sunset in the rabbinic Jewish calendar
which is not used in the Bible (OT & NT).

A day (as 'daylight period') ends with sunset; evening is the first part of the night which is
time for rest same as sabbath rest of the daylight period.

It is also used infrequently used in the Bible for a day of 24 hours, esp. when more than one
day is counted.

Even though the Gregorian calendar system is what we use every day, the notion of a day is
something to do with sun’s rising to bring a morning of a new day in every culture and
language. The problem is that the Jewish tradition of a long history of taking a day to begin at
sunset originates a confusion of how they reckon a 'calendar day'. This is the main source of
confusion, conflict and contention we face when we follow the biblical narratives with the
correctly understood timeline. See ‘*day and night’ ‘*morning and evening’

(2) The word ‘hour’ in the Bible is a duration of ‘hour period’ on a sundialc with 12 hour-
periods for a daylight period ('day'). It is not 'hour on the clock' which is for specifying the
point of time. Nor it is a time duration of 60 minutes. In NT as well as OT, the hour-period is
counted from the sunrise; not from midnight.

To give an example of ordinal numerals, 3rd hour is a period from ≈ 8 to 9 a.m. By the
number itself simply represents the end point of an hour period, with '3rd hour' being
a
https://youtu.be/4vCtsvlN7Uo Who Came Up with Days, Hours, Minutes and Seconds?
b
‘dawn’ = morning twilight. http://loveandtruth.net/sabbath-morning.html <When does Sabbath begin -
Morning or Evening - by Price (1995)> - a copy in <IRENT Vol. III - Supplement (Collections #5A -
time + calendar)>
c
A sundial used in the ancient time would be a simpler design – (1) a base (surface) and (2) a gnomon
with a stylus w/ or w/o a nous and (3) hour lines engraved to divide the daylight period into 12 equal
hour-periods, - varies through the years; not fixed 12 hours of each 60 min duration. [ /Sundial
/History_of_sundials /Schema_for_horizontal_dials ] /ancient-greek-sundials.html ] [Ancient Greek one
has the alphabet engraved [Α Β Γ; Δ Ε Ζ; Η Θ Ι; Κ Λ Μ] on it.]
5
comparable to our 9 o'clock which is the time 9 on the clock. a [There is no such notion of
'minute' (1/60 of an 'hour'). [In physics, the duration of a day is not quite equal to 24 'hours'
with the term 'hour' precisely defined.b]
(3) The word ‘week’ in the bible is of lunar week with each day being determined by the
moonc, not the sun. This is in contrast to the solar week d as in Gregorian calendar as well as
the Jewish calendar which is cyclic continuous, independent of months or years. In the bible
there is no such a vocabulary of the 7 named days of the solar week, Sunday to Monday’ with
Saturday for Sabbatarian's sabbath.

As used in the Biblical times, 'week' is non-continuous lunar week. A 'full week' consists of a
period of six work-days and a rest day on its 7th day (biblical lunar sabbath). e Thus, it has 4
'full weeks' with 4 sabbath days which are fixed on 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th day of the
month, every month. This follows the pattern of the Creation Week (Gen 1:3 to 2:4). Thus,
7th day of the lunar week is not related and does not correspond to Saturday of solar sabbath
in the solar week.

The day before sabbath is 'eve of sabbath' (on 6th day of the lunar week; not Friday).
'First day of the week' in the Bible is unrelated to 'Sunday'.
Passover in the Bible was not something on 'Friday'.
Note: the early Julian calendar (first half of 1st century CE) it was an 8-day week system
(labelled A to H).
Cf. Monday is the first day of the week in International standard ISO 8601

(4) 'month' in the Bible is a lunar month (29 or 30 days) with the 'lunation' of 29½ + 'days'.
Day 1 is the New-Moon day which comes after the lunar conjunction. Day 30, if present in
the month, is a transitional day which is not a work day or a sabbath day. It is also present in
the Jewish calendar. In contrast, a year in the Gregorian calendar simply has 12 months; these
are solar months, being unrelated to the moon, moon phase or lunation, nor to the sun.

The first month of a year is the month of Abib. This corresponds to the month of Nisan which
is 7th month of the Jewish civic year with the Jewish calendar. When reading any article on
the Passion week with the term 'Nisan', it is most likely of sunset-to-sunset day with the
Jewish calendar used. However, even when the term 'Abib' is used, one has to make sure
whether it is not with sunset-to-sunset day as reckoned for ‘Nisan’. [*Difference btw Abib
and Nisan]

(5) 'year' of the calendar in the Bible is a luni-solar year of 12 lunar months with 13th month
added for the intercalary (leap) year to prevent the Passover coming before the spring of the
year. Passover cannot be before the vernal equinox.
a
Cf. four night-watches in the Bible; cf. Romans also used 12 hour-divisions of a night period. E.g. Act
23:23 (‘at third hour of the night’).]
b
Se different ‘days’ - stellar vs. *sidereal vs. solar day. Bouchard – A Day Is Not 24 Hours.
c
Psa 104:19 "[YHWH] made the moon to mark the set-times [moadim > H4150 moed] seasons; the
sun knows its time for setting [H3996 mabo]."
d
'solar week' = week in the solar calendation, that is, 'planetary week' as it is using the names of planets for
the names of the week.
e
http://lunarsabbath.info/id19.html; www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/lunar-sabbath-the-defense-
part-3.html
6
The true biblical calendara is from its concise, clear, and compact of simple
calendation; with none of nonsense 'scientific' mathematical complexity; it needs
discovered, recovered and appreciated. It is beautiful and elegant. It is easy to
understand even for a child to draw up a calendar table [the one shown here below],
which is same for every month and every year. All needed astronomic data (date and
time) of the moon conjunction to overlay the Gregorian calendar days/dates. [See
elsewhere on * how to determine the New-Moon day and the First month.]

The usefulness of the biblical calendar is that it makes the correct and clear
understanding of the biblical narratives possible, especially of the Passion Week.
Some may find to need it for keeping certain days in their religious practice,
especially for lunar sabbath keeping. [See below in this file an example of the 2017
Abib calendar with the Gregorian days and dates are overlaid.]

In stark contrast, our modern Gregorian calendar (for which 'Common Era Calendar'
may be a more neutral term) is artificial, complex, and inelegant. We have no way to
create a monthly calendar when we are left alone without any information to find on
what day/date we are today. With non-biblical calendars, it is impossible to find what
day it is when living without a calendar table and without having marked off every
day. There is nothing to make it possible; no astronomical phenomena to help resolve
it. All we do is keeping track of day in order to create monthly and annual calendar.
We may reckon proleptically days and date back to the past, but there we will not find
the very beginning day of our existence on the earth. There, Saturday of the solar
week was simply taken as 7th day of the week for Sabbath by the Saturday
Sabbatarians, without any scientific basis. For that matter, they are using seven
named days of the solar week after names of the planets, b which has nothing to do
with the 7 numbered days of the lunar week.

a
'true biblical calendar' – is a recovered Biblical Calendar because it has to be recovered from the Biblical
texts and history. Named as 'Creator's Calendar' (www.thecreatorscalendar.com and www.worldslastchance.com ).
[Note: some are not true biblical calendars – https://aroodawakening.tv/biblical-hebrew-calendar/ (called 'Creator's
Calendar') and www.TorahCalendar.com (called 'Creation Calendar'), both with sunset-to-sunset reckoning of
Hebrew day.]
b
In the early Julian calendar, it was an 8-day week, each day simply labeled A to H. It's interesting to find where
and when and how the Jewish people in diaspora was forced to accept the Roman 7-day week with names after
pagan gods, to settle Saturday as their sabbath day.
7
A. Three different calendars
For the purpose of reading and studying the Bible we have to deal with three
relevant calendar systems; their difference is one thing we have to pay attention to.

(1) the Gregorian: – solar – the 'common civil calendar', or 'common era
calendar (CEC)';a
(2) the Hebrew (Jewish, or rabbinic Jewish): – luni-solar with– in use for
religious use in keeping special days and festivals;
(3) the true biblical: – luni-solar.

Just as a calendar day is reckoned to start at 12 a.m. in Gregorian calendar, – an

artificial time point unrelated to any observable and measurable phenomenon, there
is nothing wrong in the Jewish calendar to reckon the calendar day to start with
sunset. Such calendation is a matter of convention, custom, and tradition. b Any
group of people can set up their own calendar system for their own use. It would
require how it is aligned with other calendars which they may have to be dealt with.
However, that cannot justify the unnatural and illogical expression to say a day
begins at sunset with evening and that evening is the beginning of a day and
morning is the closing of a day, etc. etc. – all which is entertained in the Jewish
mindset.

For the biblical calendar used in the Biblical times, its calendar day is reckoned at
dawn with a day begins with sunrise. Note how the word ‘day’ is confused with the
notion of ‘calendar day’ when the Jewish calendar wrongly applied to the time
markers in the biblical text.

It is essential to use the true biblical calendar to follow the biblical narratives, esp.
of the Passion Week. The other two calendars should not be used to study dates or
timelines, but they are only to look for how dates fall on their calendars in
(unreliable) proleptic mode in comparison with how the dates are relevant to their
religious calendars.
When studying the Passion Week Chronology, it is important and almost imperative to use Abib date
with a day beginning at dawn and to avoid using Nisan date with a day reckoned to start at sunset
with evening as the beginning of a day (‘Hebrew day’!). Some (e.g. https://clearbibleanswers.org/)
are vehemently against the luni-solar biblical calendar which has 4 lunar weeks in every lunar month.
Instead, they are stuck with the solar calendar with solar months and solar weeks which began in the
form of Julian calendar.

a
history of Roman calendars (Early Roman, Julian and Early Julian w/ 8-day week).
https://keisan.casio.com/exec/system/1227757509 [conversion Julian-Gregorian]
b
Any people group may use it special calendar for their use, especially for religious use. The only
misgivings of using the rabbinic Jewish calendar are (1) that they use it (devised in 4th century CE) as
if it is the calendar used in the Bible times for reading their Bible – and (2) they have the notion of
‘day’ and ‘calendar day’ mixed up, thinking that ‘a day begins sunset’, a linguistic and literary
absurdity.
8
9
 To carefully remove the error and uncover truth, restoring it to
its full glory, requires much diligent, painstaking effort. The one
principle all truth seekers must keep in mind is that truth will
never contradict itself. What is in the Scripture can stand only in
harmony with each and all of parts together. If one passage of
the Bible appears to contradict another passage, it is a clear
invitation: Dig here! There is more truth to be discovered that
will reconcile what appears as inconsistency or contradiction. In
reality, there is no inconsistency. Truth never contradicts itself!
That which contradicts is not truth.

It is true that in this life not all questions will be answered. The author of life and the
source of the Scripture will never force people to believe if they do not want to believe.
Thus, there will always be hooks on which to hang doubts or even to repudiate the truth
by those who do not wish to believe. In such areas, it is the privilege of those who believe
what is told is true to put trust on the One who never lies. A few times the Scripture text
is somewhat frustratingly terse, not giving all the details about time-markers we like to
have as in narratives of our time and modern culture and doesn’t make temporal
sequences clear for us to follow easily. That said, careful examination of all the evidences
reveals the harmony of all four Gospel accounts. Each gospel provides parts of the whole,
like pieces of puzzle which, when properly understood, proves that there is no conflict.

Time-markers embedded in the biblical narratives, especially of the Passion Week,

enables the readers reconstruct the chronology and see events in sequence on a timeline
correctly. These will have a final say whether any scenario or explanation is correct or
not.

The works of many scholars in their explanation and expounding regretfully bring the
readers to confront such confusion from conjecture and conflation. Instead of
clarification, contradictions are left to stand. All that God created – for us – follows how
God is. What we call the Law of God is not a set of rules or regulations, but the very logic
of all things. Logic exists only with reason and harmony. The Scripture, if it ever comes
as the Word of God, cannot stand contradictory to itself. Most has failed to adequately
resolve difficulties and discrepancies within the narrative itself. All the statements and
claims are, when looked in carefully, not original and most have not verified the source
materials from which they find support for their own half-cooked conclusions, often from
arguments with circular reasoning.

At the bottom of things there are a few stumble-blocks for them; thus, their claims are full
of confusion and contradiction. (Amazingly they don’t even get perplexed by their
obfuscation.) (1) that ‘hour’ ‘day’ ‘week’ ‘month’ in the Scripture text is not same as it is
used in English; (2) that ‘day’ in the Scripture begins with morning and is reckoned to
start at dawn (not at sunset'); while as a calendar day is reckoned to start at an arbitrary
point of time (such as midnight or sunset) in different calendar systems; (3) that in a 7-
day week there is only one sabbath day, on seventh day the lunar week. It is defined in
the Bible as the day after 6 work days (i.e. on the 7th day of full week); (4) sabbath is not
on every seven days in continuity, and (5) that it is not difficult to see the validity of the

10
 claim that it is a lunar sabbath a (‘sabbath in the lunar week’= ‘lunar sabbath’) which was
kept in the time of the Scripture, with nothing common with a solar sabbath (that is,
Saturday sabbath in the solar week).

A commonly asked question is ‘Was it on Friday that He was crucified?’ and on this there
are ardent arguments for their own answer, despite the fact that even the words such as
‘Friday’ are NOT in the Bible at all. With a closely related question ‘Was it Sunday when
he rose?’ we are peeking into the very chronology of the Passion Week. Only with proper
keys used to unlock at the start, one can dispel all the confusion, contradictions,
conjectures, and controversies. Scholars of anachronistic mindset looked for the year of
His crucifixion to happily find a year in which Nisan 14 fell on Friday (e.g. CE 33),
where there is no such vocabulary ever used in the Scripture of the named week of
Gregorian calendar.

One of the wrong keys is the use of Gregorian calendar system in understanding Biblical
narrative and timeline. The commonly used words and phrases, which are also used in the
Bible translations, are used in different sense from what should be in the Scripture.
Another one is the Hebrew tradition of sunset-to-sunset for its calendar day b Like the
Biblical lunar calendar it is also luni-solar but is with major differences. We need a
paradigm shift in approaching the problems of the Passion Week Chronology by shifting
from non-biblical to a Biblical lunar calendar system. Without it, all the right answers we
may find remain incomplete and arguments would be indecisive and remain subject to
another counter argument.

Now, the true Biblical lunar calendar has a simple and elegant calendation using only the
Sun and the Moonc in their relation to be known. With this calendar on hand it is possible
to overlay what day of the modern Gregorian week was for His crucifixion (candidates
have been Friday, Thursday, and Wednesday). The year of His crucifixion is the first item
which is needed before all other questions can be answered. Possible years are CE 33, 31
or 32 from dubious interpretations of some data they could find. Then one has to make
sure what day the Scripture tells – it is Abibd 14 of the Passover Week.

It is shown that the year of His Crucifixion was found to be CE 30 on the basis of several
conclusive and converging data. The Passover day Abib 14 of His crucifixion falls on
Wednesday when a correct method of determining New-Moon-day is applied to the
astronomical data. Not only arguments on various crucifixion day but also elaboration in
the timeline of the Passion Week needs to be scrutinized before accepting them. To say
a
lunar sabbath – there are volumes of articles written which feverishly try to refute the notion of
lunar sabbath. It contrasts with the solar sabbath taking Saturday as sabbath day (E.g.
http://revelation1412.org/literature/lunar-sabbaths/ )
b
Problem of the mindset of reckoning a day as sunset-to-sunset which was of a Greek origin:
Though we may accept this Judaic convention for their calendar system such, like midnight-to-
midnight Gregorian, several commonsense questions arise. Not only there is no usefulness of such
convention, it borders on absurdity. (1) Is 12:00 midnight the middle of the night or middle of the
day? Cf. 1Ki 18:26-29 ‘noon (tzerim) – middle of day – comes after morning (bqr). Some texts are
misread as if sabbath begins after sunset: (1) Neh 13:18-21; 7:3; (2) Jos 8:29; Mk 15:42; Deu 21:23.
Cf. Expression ‘night and day’ 13x; ‘day and night’ 28x (e.g. Gen 8:22; Jer 33:20-21; 25-26; always
‘40 days and 40 nights’ www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtB5e-t981o
c
http://aa.quae.nl/en/antwoorden/maan.html#4 [Answer book on the Moon]
d
Abib 14 (in contrast to Nisan 15) – See Deu 16:1.
11
 that it occurred on a certain day of the week is anachronistic, putting the cart before the
horse.

Yes, His resurrection, which was on first day of the week (lunar week, not solar
Gregorian) according to the New Testament records, is found to fall on Saturday in April
of the year 30 CE when followed on the basis of timeline narrated clearly in the Scripture.
The biblical phrase, 'preparation day' (rendered as 'eve' in IRENT) of 'sabbath day' has
nothing to do with 'Friday' of our Gregorian week, despite linguistic remnant of such
mistake on the term for 'Friday' in a number of modern European languages.

As long as we have deeper understanding from the Scripture, how Sunday became a day
of worship for many since mid-4th century CE in the Constantine Catholic Church
tradition should not really be of concern. That they call Sunday is their <first day of the
week> (solar week of our modern Gregorian calendar) is also not of our concern. (Some
countries in the word have Monday or Saturday as the first day). As they have Easter in
their liturgical week set to be on Sunday of a date calculated by a certain rule, it is also
not of our concern neither, since it is disconnected from the day of Resurrection,
historically and chronologically. Sunday by its name had a connection to the Sun which is
the figure for the Sun-god Mithra of the pagan cult which was popular in that period of
time of Roman Empire). Most Churches have it as a day of worship; however, they do not
worship Sunday (‘day of Sun’), but they gather to worship a on Sundays. While ‘worship’
is an act in every day of a person’s life. Whether a formal corporate worship (as in a
church setting) has to be a certain day of the week, we find no command whatsoever in
the Scripture; all we read is about the practice of the followers of the Mashiah gathering
on the first day of the lunar week, which in the church history of rising of the Constantine
Catholic Church to settle on the day of Sun though it had surely nothing to do with the
then pagan practice of Sun-worship. If the church is decided to transfer worship day, say,
to Saturday, would it be blamed of worshiping Saturn-god? The names of the seven days
of the solar week in use globally have nothing to with how the names originated at the
start. That people worship on a certain is nothing; that the Mashiah rose on a certain of
the week is nothing. These are all the shadows of things to come and should not affect
who we are in the Mashiah.

Such importance of having something on a certain day of the week or a certain day in the
year is only relevant in liturgical practice of religions, as people bind themselves to. It is
only for our modern mind set to associate a certain event with a particular day of the
week. Seeing that we have no such vocabulary of the named days of the solar week, who
is going to pass judgment onto others regarding all these non-essential things in the life of
the whole body of the Mashiah? (Cf. Col 2:16). It really does not matter what day of the
week the Crucifixion was on, though Friday itself is not a possibility when we find CE 30
to be the year of His death. Same holds true for which day of the week was for His
a
worship - Note the word ‘worship’ in our religious practice does not have an exact counterpart in the
Scripture. A sabbath day was not a day of ‘worship’ as such. A closest to the word ‘worship’ in modern
English usage many be the ancient Judaic tradition of ‘holy convocation’ during the festivals and also on
seventh-day sabbath (Lev 23:3). Cf. the ancient Judaic practice of ‘[blood] sacrifice’, which has been done
away with (1) for the Judaic people when the Temple-based Judaism disappeared after the Fall of Jerusalem
in CE 70 and (2) for all humanity when Yeshua died as the Last Passover Lamb on that particular day of
Passover in the human history. Yeshua said “the hour is coming — indeed, it is here now — when the true
worshiper will worship the Father, yes, in spirit and truth.” (Jn 4:23 –IRENT translation). [Cf. Rm 12:1.
latreia ‘service’ ‘worship’] [Cf. individual and family worship as a basic unit; problems with ‘public
service’.]
12
resurrection. Instead, what is important is how to follow the timeline of the Passover-
Passion week as clearly as possible as narrated in the Scripture. [For details on various
issues, see the companion file <Walk through the Bible 9 – Passion Week Chronology>.]

So, in summary, it is incumbent for us in our thinking to abandon the ingrained practice
of reading the Scripture: mixing with man-made artificial calendar systems, which serve
their own particular and peculiar needs, be it civilian (with our modern Roman
Gregorian) or religious (with Jewish calendar for the Jewish people in keeping their
festivals). In that way many questions of the Passover Week chronology have been finally
cleared up – with His crucifixion on Abib 14th (= Day of Passover on CE 30 – Apr 5,
Wednesday) and resurrection on Abib 16th (= 1st day of the lunar week = Friday) in the
dawn. More importantly than just finding out what day of the modern week they fell on,
the true Biblical lunar calendar is something we should follow for understanding the
Scripture goes and scrutinizing the conventional calendar keeping such as the issue of
keeping sabbath and other festival days. I am confident that I have presented the topic so
that the readers can judge with a firm grasp of the various issues without difficulty, once
they cease to see things through their own glasses, colored by the diverse opinions and
conjectures.

[Please be noted: Even if all my arguments and conclusions are correct, there is always
one step more to the goal of reaching the truth. In addition, any source from which
relevant material, either as inaccuracies to be refuted or statements to give clear
understanding, is quoted in this article, should be treated as such. No endorsement is
intended to give to the whole article, or to the other content of their web sites, whether
they deal with this issue of Passion Week chronology, or other subjects, including their
own beliefs and dogmas.]

Three major calendar systems compared:

[ www.calendar-origins.com/calendar-origins.html origins of calendars and other tidbits.]

A calendar system is based on three astronomical phenomena: the rotation of the Earth about its
axis (a day); the revolution of the moon about the Earth (a month); and the revolution of the
Earth about the sun (a year). These three phenomena are independent of each other, so there is
no direct correlation between them. On average, the moon revolves around the Earth in about
29½ days. The Earth revolves around the sun in about 365¼ days, that is, about 12.4 lunar
months.

The civil calendar used by most of the world, Gregorian calendar system, is a solar calendar
with no correlation between the moon cycles and the month, with arbitrarily setting the length
of months to 28, 30 or 31 days.

Calendar Biblical Jewish Chinese Islamic Gregorian

Type Luni-solar lunar solar
Day start at Dawn w/ Sunset at Midnight w/ Sunrise at 12 a.m.
29 days (short), 30 12 months;
Month 12 months w/ 13th leap month days (long month); 29 to 30 days
in 15-mo or 17-mo cycle in a month
Leap
Embolic year with 13th mo. 13th mo. (after Feb). - Leap day Feb 29
in 19-year cycle every 3 years nearly every 4 yrs.
7-day lunar week;
Week Non-continuous, 7-days solar week, named after planets, continuous, cyclic
Non-cyclic@

13
 @ 4 full 7-day weeks in a month with extra 1 or 2 days for New-Moon day and transitional day.

The problem with a strictly lunar calendar that there are approximately 12.4 lunar months in
every solar year, so a 12-month lunar calendar is about 11 days shorter than a solar year and a
13-month lunar is about 19 longer than a solar year. The months are seen to drift around the
seasons on such a calendar: on a 12-month lunar calendar, a given month that is supposed to
occur in the Spring, would occur 11 days earlier in the season each year, eventually occurring in
the Winter, the Fall, the Summer, and then the Spring again. On a 13-month lunar calendar, the
same thing would happen in the other direction, and faster.

To compensate for this drift, the luni-solar calendar uses a 12-month lunar calendar with an
extra month occasionally added. E.g. In the Jewish calendar, the month of Nisan occurs 11 days
earlier each year for two or three years, and then jumps forward 30 days, balancing out the drift.

In ancient times, this month was added by observation: The Sanhedrin observed the conditions
of the weather, the crops and the livestock, and if these were not sufficiently advanced to be
considered "spring", then the Sanhedrin inserted an additional month into the calendar to make
sure that Passover would occur in the spring (it is, after all, referred to in the Torah as Chag he-
Aviv, the Festival of Spring!).

A year with 13 months is referred to in Hebrew as Shanah Me'uberet, literally: a pregnant year.
In Gregorian calendar, the commonly called leap year is different in that February would have
an extra day (29 days). The additional month is known as Adar I, Adar Rishon (first Adar) or
Adar Alef (the Hebrew letter Alef being the numeral "1" in Hebrew). The extra month is
inserted before the regular month of Adar (known in such years as Adar II, Adar Sheini or Adar
Beit). Note that Adar II is the "real" Adar, the one in which Purim is celebrated, the one in
which yahrzeits for Adar are observed, …

In the fourth century, Hillel II established a fixed calendar based on mathematical and
astronomical calculations. This calendar, still in use, standardized the length of months and the
addition of months over the course of a 19-year cycle, so that the lunar calendar realigns with
the solar years. ‘Adar I’ is added in the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th and 19th years of the
cycle. The current cycle began in Jewish year 5758 (the year that began October 2, 1997).
[edited www.jewfaq.org/calendar.htm ] This is the Jewish calendar currently used in modern
times, which is not same as the biblical calendar. Note: Not all biblical calendars to be easily
found online in various names are same.

*Calendar systems – three systems needed for NT study.

1. Roman Calendar system – (Julian and Gregorian) – A solar calendar. Day is

reckoned from 12 a.m. (cf. ‘midnight’ is the ending of a day) in civil use; it was from
sunrise in official calendar. Since this is the global civil calendar, it serves as a reference
one for comparison with the two following below. [Note - it was 8-day week in the early
Julian calendar system, labelled A to H – changed with pagan 7-day week with the
names of day after the planets.] [Cf. ‘Common Era Calendar’ is a neutral term in place
of 'Gregorian calendar'.] [Note: the calendar of the Roman Republic was luni-solar with
the early Julian calendar (e.g. in the Gospel times) had 8-day weeks, each day being
labelled A to H.]

2. Rabbinic Jewish calendar system – A luni-solar calendar used by modern Jewish

people is a fixed calendar established by Hillel II in the fourth century CE (around 351
CE) for the Diaspora Jews, based on mathematical and astronomical calculations (also
14
 known as Conjunction calendar). [It is important to keep in mind that this is not the one
in use in New Testament times (of the first century). Much confusion, conflict,
contradiction, and controversy we have are the result of being unaware of this fact.]
(1) The seventh month of the Jewish year is Tishri (Tishrei); days are contiguous from
one month to next and 1st of the month does not reset to begin anew. The molad of
Tishri is the most important date in the Jewish calendar; it is the Jewish New Year.
(2) Day is reckoned to start at sunset; a new calendar day begins with evening.
(3) Jewish Sabbath is on 7th day of the solar week which corresponds to Saturday of the
solar week of the Roman calendar system, which is their 7th day for most, but for
some 6th day. [Jewish calendar adapted Judaic festival days onto Roman calendar.]
(4) Affected by the non-biblical Postponement Rules to adjust the date of Rosh Hashana
vis-à-vis certain days of the solar week.a [None of the rules are found in the Bible.]
(5) "19-year Metonic cycle" was adopted from the Greek for Intercalation for leap year.

It is futile, neither feasible or useful, to try to draw up a calendar for the year of the
Crucifixion in a proleptic Jewish calendar. Such thing is a work of useless fabrication,
fictional bogus. In reading the Bible, any idea of such non-biblical calendar system should be
erased from one’s thinking in following timeline and chronology.

A fundamental problem is that they assert as if such man-devised calendar system was in
place from Day One (Gen 1:5) of the Creation! of God’s creation and assume that they could
arrive that day proleptically on our modern calendar. If that’s true, what day of our calendar
should the creation Day One fall? They should show how precisely the earth is old and
assume that they can pinpoint the first day of the creation, by tracing back with our modern
calendar!

[See for the subject See a separate file <((For WB #5 )) Gen 1.5 Day and Night – Text and
interpretation> in the folder <'day' 'counting days' 'ereb' 'hour' 'time'> in the zip file IRENT
Supplement III (Collections #5A – time + calendar)]

(For the leap year see * Metonic Cycle.)

a
http://postponements.com/id57.htm Dehioth: The Rules of Postponement
/Mathematics_of_the_Jewish_Calendar/ four_postponements_of_the_New_Year
15
 3. Biblical lunar calendar system – A luni-solar Scripture-based calendar which is
recovered from the Scripture itself is essential to follow the Biblical narratives. This is the one
which should be used in following the NT chronology, including that of the Passion-Passover
week. Calendars other than the true biblical calendar actually mislead and causing much
conflict, contradiction, and confusion. It is governed by the sun and the moon (Gen 1:3-5 light
vs. darkness; day vs. night; 14-19 (the great and less luminaries)a.

(1) A day in the Bible begins with morning and is reckoned to start at dawn (‘morning
twilight’), not at sunset.
(2) A month begin with the New-Moon day [* How to determine the New-Moon day
correctly – see below.]
(3) 'Week' in the Bible is 7-day lunar week. The weekly cycle restarts each month, all tied to
the lunar cycle There are always four 7-day weeks in every month [i.e. ‘full or complete
week’], on the same day 2 to 8; 9 to 15, 16 to 22, and 23 to 29 – with sabbath always fall on
8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th. The 1st day which is New-moon day. The 30th day, if present in a
given month, is a transitional day. Both New-Moon day and 30 th day are not sabbath, nor
work days. All other calendar systems including the Jewish calendar and the Common Era
Calendar (i.e. Gregorian) are of continuous cyclic weeks.
(4) The seven numbered days of the lunar week are unrelated to the seven named days of the
Gregorian solar week. They do not correspond; though <first day of the week> for the lunar
week may happen coincidentally fall on the first day of the solar week (Sunday) for
example.
(5) Sabbath is lunar sabbath and is on seventh day of the lunar week. It is the day after 6
work days. There is only one sabbath in a week regardless whether it is a regular week or a
7-day long festival week. [Cf. Special *annual sabbath-rest (Lev 23:32 in the ‘Day of
Atonement’) from the evening before till the next evening. It is unrelated to the weekly
sabbath.]
(6) Observing the ‘turn of the year’ in the spring tells whether a leap month is added to the
end of the year – to prevent spring to arrive too early. [see under the heading '* turn of the
year']
(7) The first [lunar] month of the biblical year is Abib. The calendar begins with the New-
Moon day nearest the vernal equinox. [Cf. Nisan is 7th month of a Jewish civic year.]

Using only the luminaries [Sun and Moon] of the firmament, God’s calendar is renewed, reset,
and “zeroed out” every Spring as the month of Abib is observed (Deu 16:1). Every month is
renewed and reset likewise. At any locality it is a simple matter to construct the calendar (every
month) by observing rise and set of the Sun and the Moon, without being affected by the
vagaries of the time zone system (e.g. across the International Date Line). [Be aware that some
may use Abib dates but with sunset-to-sunset days, same as Nisan of the Jewish calendar.]

a
‘sun’ (H8121 shemesh Gen 15:12); ‘moon’ (H3394 yareach Gen 37:6). Cf. ‘star’ (H3556 kokab Gen
1:16); Psa 89:27 moon.
16
For the purpose of following the Passion-Passover Week timeline, the correct biblical
lunar calendar is essential. The dates on the proleptic Julian calendar is not possible to
determine dates on the proleptic Jewish calendar. [Gregorian dates = Julian – 2 for 100
BC to 100 CE.]

The calendar had 364 days each year, beginning on a 4th day of a solar month (x: Wednesday –
how so?) every spring. [How was the first day of a month determined??] It had four quarters of
exactly 13 weeks each, so that every quarter-year began on a Wednesday (4th day of the week).
Each quarter had three months, the first two having 30 days, and the third having 31 days. The
months were numbered from 1 to 12, beginning in the spring. Thus, … it was so tightly tied to the
week that every day occurred on the same day of the week every year. In particular, their sacred
feast days always occurred on the fixed dates. [This solar calendar cannot be applied to the
chronology and timelines of the bible.]

Cf. Qumran Calendar www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/meridian/2003/qumran.html

www.kingscalendar.com/NEW-WP/
The Jubilee Calendar of the Essenes which measures 364 days per year, was artificially divided into
thirteen months (13) of four (4) weeks of seven (7) days, with the thirteenth month being ‘carried over’
so to speak, so that every twelve (12) solar years, an extra year (13th) is created.

… The solar year was comprised of 364 days. These years were then artificially divided into periods of
seven (7) day weeks, four (4) week months, and twelve (12) month years. Each year created then totaled
only 336 days, effectively creating a thirteenth spare year for every Twelve solar year period.

17
Table: Three major calendar systems compared:

Three major calendar systems

Roman
Hebrew Biblical Lunar
Julian Gregorian
In the Bible
Since BC 46 CE 1582 CE 4th century & throughout
Year solar luni-solar
Month solar lunar
Week solar solar lunar
Day@ MN-to-MN (12 a.m.) Sunset-to-sunset Sunrise-to-sunrise
Days of 8 days# 7 solar days 7 solar days + Hebrew 7 numbered days
the week names
Solar sabbath Lunar sabbath

Sabbath n.a. On Saturday as 7th day On Day 7 of the

of the solar week lunar full week$
Sunset-sunset (24 hrs) Day-time period
1st day of Sat, Sun, or Mon% Yom Rishon (= 1st day
the week Sunday)
1st day of the n.a. Dark Moon + dawn after
month calculation and rules conjunction
1st day of the Rosh HaShanah Abib 1
month New Year Day on Tishri 1
* The calendation for the true biblical calendar is something to be recovered from the Bible
texts, not like man-made calendars such as the Jewish calendar (the rabbinic Jewish since
Hillel II.)
& Because of different calendation, a proleptic Jewish calendar cannot be applied on the
biblical narratives.
% In modern times * first day of the week is 'Monday'. (Sunday is in the first column of the
calendar table; it does not make it first day), 'Saturday' (in Arabic countries). In late Julian
calendar with the solar week named after the planets, the one listed first was Dies Saturni (=
of Saturn), not Deis Solis (= of Sun).
@ A day-long activity in the biblical narratives may begin in the evening. This does not
make it a proof-text for sunset-to-sunset day reckoning as in Jewish calendation – 'day
begins at sunset'. [Cf. Lev 23:32; 'keeping sabbath from evening' = it is not of weekly
sabbath, but about sabbath-rest of the special annual sabbath. Note: 'sabbath keeping' is for
the daytime period only.]
# 8 days – labelled A to H.
$ Four sabbaths in a month – 8, 15, 22, 29th day of each month. The biblical Sabbath is lunar
Sabbath, not solar sabbath of Saturday (which in Jewish calendar on their 7th day of the
solar week).

18
**Abib vs. Nisan:

 H24 abib (8x) **Abib –

'ear of grain' Exo 9:31; Lev 2:14
'month of the Abib' (ha-Aviv) (6x) Exo 13:4; 23:15; 34:18 (2x); Deu 16:1 (2x);
 H5212 Nisan (2x) (month of Nisan) Esth 3:7 (first month); Neh 2:1 – [the word
used in the post-Exilic period. 7th month of Jewish calendar with a day reckoned
to start at sunset.
 H2320 chodesh (283x) (A) 'month' (calendar month or duration) – mostly; (B)
'new moon' (1Sam 20:5, 18, 24, 27, 34); 2Kg 4:23; 1Ch 23:31; 2Ch 2:4; 8:13; 31:3; Ezr 3:5;
Neh 10:33; Psa 81:3; Isa 1:13, 14; 47:13; 66:23; Ezk 45:17; 46:1, 3, 6; Hos 2:11; 5:7; Amos 8:5]

It pays to think always in terms of Abib dates instead of Nisan dates to follow the biblical narratives.

Abib vs. Nisan

(late March - early April)

Abib Nisan
Biblical Calendar, luni-solar Hebrew, luni-solar
Calendar
(throughout the Bible) (only after 4th century)
Month 1st month of the year 7th month of the year

Week non-continuous, non-cyclic continuous cyclic.

4 full-weeks in lunar month.
Day Sunrise to sunrise Sunset to sunset @
1st day dawn after the conjunction Fixed by calculation
Fool moon On 14th Variable (14, 15, 16) *
Lunar sabbath Solar Sabbath:
Sabbath (for daylight period) (sunset to sunset 24 hours)
7th day of the lunar week Saturday day of the solar week
Cf. Abib 14 Daytime = Nisan 14 daytime

Abib is the name of the first month of the biblical luni-solar calendar in which a
calendar day begins with morning and is reckoned to start at dawn (‘morning
twilight’), not at sunset. It is the first month of the Jewish ecclesiastical year,
corresponding to the Gregorian March-April.

This month was called Nisan after the Babylonish captivity. It is the seventh month of
the civil year in the [rabbinic] Jewish calendar [after Hillel II] with a day reckoned to
start at sunset. It comes after Adar and before Iyar.

[Twelve or Thirteen (in leap year) months a year. ‘Wave barley sheaf offering’ for
Abib 16 needs the month to be for barley harvest.]

19
* some years, full moon may be Nisan 14 or 16 in the rabbinic calendar –
depending on how the New-Moon day is determined?

Notable days in Abib:

 Abib 10, Day 2 of the lunar week. The day the Passover lambs were selected. [So-called
‘Palm Sunday’ in the artificially constructed liturgical ‘Holy Week’. A neutral term is ‘the
Palm Day’]
[Why did Yeshua made His anti-triumphal entry into Jerusalem in the last week of His life
on Abib 10?
(1) Into the world He came to die – Mt 16:21; //Mk 10:32-34; //Lk 9:22;
(2) He was to die as the Passover lamb (1Co 5:7)
 Abib 14 is the Passover [memorial] day – with the Passover lamb sacrifice and the
Passover memorial meal. /x: Passover feast;
[daytime = Nisan 14 for the Crucifixion]
[evening = Nisan 15 for the Passover meal for Yehudim with the rabbinic calendar.]
 Abib 15 (7th day of the lunar week); day of sabbath; the first day of the Matzah festival
 Abib 16 (1st day of the lunar week); the Wave Sheaf day of the firstfruits. Resurrection
‘in the dawn’ (= Nisan 16).

Cf. ‘dawn’ = morning twilight [cf. ‘dusk’ = evening twilight]. E.g. ‘in the dawn’ ‘at dawn’ ‘with
dawn’
cf. S2020 epiphōskō (2x) (for a day to dawn – ‘grow light’); Mt 28:1 Lk 23:54
Cf. ‘4th watch of the night’ [= ‘dawn watch’, but actually ‘pre-dawn watch’]

The Nisan date is 12 hours ahead and the Julian date is 6 hours ahead of the Biblical Abib date.
The difference of 12 hours btw Abib date and Nisan date becomes significant for dating of
night-time events which may cross two calendar dates. When Abib and Nisan are parallel, the
date is same for daytime period on both Abib and Nisan. As to night time events, Nisan would
be one day ahead.

Note that the difference between Abib and Nisan date is not just 12 hours when comparing
dates for a particular even in the Biblical calendar and the Jewish calendar. Since the first date
of the Abib (1st month of the biblical year) and of Nisan (7th month of the Jewish year) are by
different calendation, the day may not be same btw the true biblical calendar and the proleptic
Jewish calendar. Also, the month for Abib and of Nisan itself may not fall in the same months
in the year on Gregorian calendar, as how Nisan 1 is determined (along with the fixed
Metonic cycle) may not be same as how it is for Abib 1.

This is a source of much confusion, conflict and contradictions in understanding the timeline of
the Passion Week. Two calendar days are also involved for those midnight events in the
Gregorian calendar. Checking off dates and counting days are cumbersome, as is the case with
the Friday crucifixion scenario.

20
 Table: Abib vs. Nisan vs. Julian Date:

◙ conjunction – CE 30 Mar 22 Wed. 19:32 Jerusalem time

Abib 1 Abib 2

Mar 22 Wed Mar 23 Thu Mar 24 Fri

Nisan 1 Nisan 2 3

@ Passover – CE 30 Apr 5, Wed.

@Abib 14 Abib 15 Abib 16

† † M 

Apr 5 Wed Apr 6 Thu Apr 7 Fri

Nisan 14 Nisan 15 Nisan 16 17

E.g. the Passover memorial meal M on Abib 14 evening [Nisan 15 evening].

[Cf. Last Supper on Abib 12]
[Cf. Pilate’s Sentencing on Abib 13]
Abib 14 daytime for the Crucifixion = Nisan 14 daytime ††
Abib 14 evening for the Passover memorial meal is on Nisan 15 evening.
Abib 16 in the dawn = Resurrection ; the Risen Lord to the disciples in the morning.

Cf. The early Julian calendar (1st c. CE) had an 8-day week (labelled A to H).

21
Monthly Calendar – Abib, 30 CE.
[Diagram] – the biblical calendar overlaid with proleptic Gregorian dates

29 ← 12th m
Abib [Mar – Apr]
Mar 22

◙ (Wed)
in the year 30 CE

New-Moon Work Days Lunar

Day Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 sabbath

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu

Mar 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Nisan 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Abib 9 10 11 12 ¡ 13 † † 14 15

Mar 31 Apr 1 2 3 4 5 6☼

Nisan 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Abib  16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Apr 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Nisan 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Abib 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Apr 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 ◙

Nisan 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

30 ← abib
◙21 ← April
30 ← Nisan

1 (New-Moon day); 30 (transitional day)

22
Dates Black – Biblical calendar day – Abib, 1st month.
Dates Red – Lunar Sabbath
Dates Brown – Nisan (Hillel calendar); Ereb Pesach – Nisan 14 – Mar 27
Dates Green – Gregorian;
Dates Purple – Sun;

Spring Equinox – Mar 20

Full Moon –☼ Apr 6, @19:43, ☼ [May 6, @03:01] – UTC
Dark Moon – ◙ Mar 22, Wed, @ 17:47. [◙ Apr 21, @ 09:37] [◙ May 21, @01:13] – UTC

Last Supper – Abib 12

Pilate’s Sentencing ¡ – Abib 13;
Crucifixion † † – Abib 14; - Apr 5 Wed – Passover Day.
Resurrection  – Abib 16 – Apr 7 Fri (in the dawn).
Proleptic date for Easter – Apr 9

23
This difference shown in the table above provides a key to solve the enigmatic Passion Week
chronology problems. Abib is the first month of the sacred year with a dawn-to-dawn day in the
true biblical calendar; Nisan is the 7th month (eighth, in leap year) of the civil year in the Jewish
calendar with a sunset-to-sunset daya. Here the date is same on both for day time events; only night
time events have one calendar day difference. It is true when two calendars happened to correspond
each other, since Jewish calendar [which was not before 4th century] is constructed on different
principles and rules. This also affects how the 1st day of the new year is determined.

The Jewish calendar devised in 4th c. (by Hillel II) [3761 BC = year 1 AM] is based on the
astronomical calculation only and follows the Rules of Postponement to determine the 1st day
of the Tishrei, the 1st month of the Jewish secular year. This is not relevant to the Biblical time
period. The leap year is based on the fixed 19-year Metonic cycle (after the Greek). An
intercalary 13th month would have to be added on seven occasions during the nineteen-year
period (235 = 19 × 12 + 7).

Because of differences in calendation, dates of Nisan and Abib do not necessarily coincide. All the
dates in Nisan for the study of the Passover-Passion Week is for comparison purpose only as it is
not possible to find a proleptic rabbinic calendar of Abib in CE 30. It is prudent to stay away from
using the term ‘Nisan’ when studying the Passion Week Chronology. Biblical narratives cannot be
followed with the rabbinic Jewish calendar which is not the one used in the Biblical times.

The proper key, the only key to work out clearly, is the very use of the true calendar system found
in the Scripture in order for us to read the Scripture narratives as it was to be read, not mixed up
with Jewish calendar system compounded with the Julian-Gregorian vocabulary. It will give a
tremendous help to enable the readers find host of other issues elucidated clearly – such as “Was
the crucifixion on Nisan 14th or, even, 15th?”, “Was the Lord’s Last Supper the specific Passover
meal”, “When and on what day and time was the Resurrection?”, etc.

So then, it is incumbent on our readers to pay attention to how different the calendar systems are.
We have to realize that words, phrases, and expressions as appear in the Scripture, which serve as
the time-markers in the narratives, do not have same meaning, usage, and connotation as in their
modern language.

The Biblical lunar calendar system, luni-solar, alone provides the readers with a proper guidance
to follow any chronology of the events and narratives in the Bible. This fits well the axiom of
biblical hermeneutics – let the Scripture interpret the Scripture. Only then, the dates may be located
correctly on the corresponding Gregorian calendar.b

On the other hand, we have to deal with Jewish calendar c (a luni-solar one), one important point
which is a stumbling block to proper and clear understanding of the chronology in the biblical
narratives. This has been in use by the Jewish people ever since the calendar system as devised by
Rabbi Hillel IId in 4th century CE. It is NOT same as the Biblical lunar calendar. In addition to its
a
Note: when a day-long activity begins at sunset in the biblical narratives, this should not make one a proof text
to take a day in the Bile to begin at sunset as in the rabbinic Jewish calendar. (E.g. Lev 23:32).]
b
Julian and Gregorian calendars░ [Sosigenes, an Alexandrian astronomer, reformed in 46 BC the then
Roman Republic luni-solar calendar into a solar calendar of Julius Caesar, similar to the Egyptian calendar then
in use. This Julian calendar was adopted by Roman Emperor Constantine in 321 CE and further adapted by
Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 CE.]
c
Ref. strictly on Jewish calendar – Remy Landau, http://hebrewcalendar.tripod.com Jewish calendar Science
and Myths
d
Hillel II ░ (359 CE) Ref. E.G. Richards (1998), Mapping Time – The Calendar and its History, p. 223.
His calendation for the rabbinic Jewish Calendar was confirmed around 12th century - rabbi Maimonides).
www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/constantine-hillel-two-men-who-deceived-the-whole-
24
reckoning of a calendar day from sunset (from Babylonians), it also uses solar week ('planetary
week' named after the planets), like Roman calendars, with seven numbered days of the week
corresponding exactly to the named days of the Gregorian week. Man-devised calendar systems
(Babylonian to Roman to modern astronomic-mathematical construct) cannot be used to interpret
the Scriptural narrative. The astronomers made a mistake, not it was not in their calculation, but
because of their assumption that the sixth day of the Biblical week was identical to Friday of the
modern week. The 14th of every lunar month in the Scripture is always the sixth day of the lunar
week, which is the sabbath eve (= preparation day just before the Sabbath on the 7th day). As the
Julian week at the time of Christ’s death was an eight-day week, the Biblical week and the modern
week do not align. Saturday has nothing to do with the genuine seventh-day Sabbath. The true day
of His resurrection happened to be on Sunday in a proleptic Gregorian calendar; not that He was
resurrected on Sunday.

Another great source of error is the notion of the ‘continuous weekly cycle’ on a solar calendar.

If any conclusion of one’s claims is to be valid it has to be able to have all the relevant texts in the
Scripture clearly understood and be able to explain what it is said and why it is said and it should
keep all things in harmony with each other and in the whole Scripture.

*Abib is the first month of the year in Biblical lunar calendar (Exo 12:1-2)
 It has the ‘Passover’ [memorial] [Abib 14]
 It has the Festival of the Matzah [Abib 15-21]
 It has the day of offering the firstfruits of the barley harvest [Abib 16]
[Wave sheaf offering; 1st day of Counting of the Omer ] [H6016 *omer –
sheaf]
 It is named the month of the Abib (because the barley crops would be
getting brittle, generally yellow-streaked.)

Abib 14 is the day of Passover (sunrise to sunrise). It is on 6th day of the lunar week
(which is the sabbath-eve (sabbath preparation day). This was the day of Yeshua’s
Crucifixion (from  9 a.m. to  3 p.m.). The Passover [memorial] (not a ‘feast’) distinct
from ‘festival’ which refers to the whole 8-day festival season including the 7-day
Festival of the Matzah) was during night time with the Passover memorial meal taken at
the evening of the very same calendar day of Abib 14. Note: The Last Supper [on Abib
12] was NOT the Passover memorial meal (which was to come later on Abib 14 for
Yehudim).

What is special about this month? If I may forget all the dates, months, years, even my
birth date, — let all the holidays, memorial days, or festival days (including Christmas,
Easter, Yom Kippur, etc.) of our culture and religions may be forgotten — I should never
forget this month in CE 30. Why this month? It is the fateful, yea, faithful month where
the Passover Week of the Exodus deliverance of Israel and the Passion Week of the
Mashiah for our humanity’s deliverance, when the deliverance of Israel as well as the plan
of deliverance of all the humanity got accomplished. Ever since the creation the humanity
on the downhill, this month ascends up high on Golgotha. Under the shade of the Cross,
He, the Son of God, the self-expression of God who reveals, He invites all of us from our
sin, which our blindness to God’s love is.

world.html - Constantine (c. 272 – 337 CE) and Hillel II.

The period from 10 CE to 210 CE is known as the era of Tannaim (repeaters or teachers.) This is
the period in time when most of the rabbis mentioned in the Talmud lived.
25
www.setapartpeople.com/why-we-do-not-follow-the-jewish-calendar

Start of the year:

What is interesting is that it requires only two of the three conditions for them to delay the start of
the year. If the barley is Aviv but the fruit are not yet in the correct state and it is before the
equinox, the new year may not start. It is also specific that this is measured in Judea, Transjordan
and Galilee. Judea must always be one of the three where the conditions are favorable. Judea is
where the temple is. After the Bar Kokhba revolt in 132 – 135 CE the Jews were banned from
Jerusalem. Thus, they could no longer determine the condition of the barley in Jerusalem. They
could still use other parts of Judea. This practice is nowhere recorded in scripture and they do not
claim that it is scriptural. The introduction of the equinox for determining the new year is thus a
tradition of men. The first month is the only one named in the Scripture = 'Abib'.

Start of the month:

We know from the historical records that Judaism still used the sighting of the new-moon during the
Second Temple period. We also have proof that this practice continued even after the Romans destroyed
the second temple. A group of Jewish scholars, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai and his disciples, fled from
Jerusalem before the destruction. They settled themselves in a town called Yavneh (Yavne, Yabneh or
Jamnia). Rabbi Yochanan established a Sanhedrin there that could instruct the scattered communities.
This instruction included the setting of the date for new months. Rabbi Yochanan was the leader of the
council from around 70 to 80 CE. He was succeeded by Gamliel II.

The Hillel II Calendar

… there were many changes to the reckoning of time before Hillel II. … the calculated calendar was in
use in the diaspora before 257 (death of Mar Samuel.) Why was it then necessary for Hillel to introduce
another calendar? … several of the Roman emperors started to persecute Judaism. They tried to prevent
the Jews from following their customs and traditions. These “customs” included keeping the
commandments of YHVH. We know that emperors like Hadrian, who reigned from 117 to 138 CE,
started to persecute the Jews. This was most likely also a result of the Bar Kochba revolt of 132 – 135
CE. By the reign of Constantine the Great in 306 -337, Christianity became the official religion. The
differences between Christianity and Judaism became plain then.

In anticipation of what could happen, Hillel II decided to ensure that the nation could function without
the Sanhedrin. He did this to preserve the unity of the nation. To ensure that all the Jews throughout the
world celebrated the feasts on the same day, he decided to publish a calendar. Hillel II based this
calendar on the calculations that were already in use to anticipate the sighting of the moon. With this
calendar, Hillel formally sanctified all the months and the leap years.

This calendar standardized the length of months at 29 days, 12 hours, 793 parts. Thus, a month has 29
days (“haser” / defective) or 30 days (full). It also calculates the addition of months over the course of a
19-year cycle (mahzor). This allows for the lunar calendar to realign with the solar years. Adar II (13th
month) is added in the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th and 19th years of the cycle. Common years (12
months) have 353, 354, or 355 days and leap years (13 months) have 383, 384, or 385 days. The effect
of these variations is the variation in the length of the months of Heshwan and Kislew. The calendar uses
the 1st of Tishri to calculate the start of the new year. The day that the conjunction of the moon of
Tishri happens determines the start of the new year. … Nowhere in Scripture is 1 Tishri called the “head
of the year” (Rosh haShannah.)

26
Meaning of abib:
The name of month Abib derives from Heb. word abib – to do with barley harvest in the
spring time ready for the Wave Barley Sheaf offering. [Twelve or Thirteen (in leap year) months a
year, as the ‘Wave barley sheaf offering’ to be on Abib 16 needs the month to be for barley
harvest.]
[‘Wave offering 'sheaf offering' 'omer offering' -- Lev 23:11 on Abib 16, coming after the Passover
day on Abib 14 and the first day of the Matzah Festival on Abib 15 (= sabbath, 7th day of the lunar
week). It is kept on Nisan 16 with different regulations depending on whether it falls on sabbath
Saturday or not on their Jewish calendar.]

The Hebrew word abib = (H24 ‘ripening ears’) Lev 2:13, 14, not 'green ears' as wrongly
translated in KJV, NWT, etc. /fresh ears – ESV; /fresh grain – NIV; etc. [JB shows no hint
of this word.] (same for a different Hebrew word karmel in Lev 23:14 (‫ַּכרמִ יאֵל‬ ְ H3759
field, plantation, fruit; ears of grain, etc. – green ears in KJV; new grain in NWT).

[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/abib
an ear of barley or flax (x: corn), the month of newly-ripened (not green as in KJV
translation) grain (Exo 13:4; 23:15); the first of the Jewish ecclesiastical year, and the
seventh of the civil year. It began about the time of the vernal equinox, on 21st March. It
was called Nisan, after the Captivity (Neh 2:1). On the fifteenth day of the month, harvest
was begun by gathering a sheaf of barley, which was offered unto the Lord on the
sixteenth (Lev 23:4-11). - Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary]

www.nazareneisrael.org/books/torah-calendar/aviv-barley-and-the-head-of-the-year/

Although modern agriculture uses different terms, for our purposes, barley and other
cereal grasses can be thought to pass through the following stages of growth:

 Vegetative (growth) stage;

 Budding and flowering (‘cotton’) stage;
 Seed pod formation stage;
 Milk stage;
 Soft dough (‘abib’) stage;
 Hard dough (‘karmel’) stage; (H3759 ‘new or green ear of grain’ Lev 2:14)
 Ancient ripe.
After flowering, barley forms a seed pod, which soon fills with a milky fluid. This fluid
slowly becomes harder and more substantive, until finally it becomes more of a solid
than a liquid. Once the contents of the seed pod have solidified to the point that they
resemble bread dough, the barley has reached the stage where its development can be
thought of as being “in the ear” (‫)ָאבִיב‬, because the main development of the plant now
takes place in the fruiting ear.
Because abib barley has a soft dough-like consistency, it is still not as hard (or as
substantial) as it will be when it is fully ripe. For at least two more weeks abib barley
still needs to mature on the stalk before it can be harvested for long term storage, or used
as a Wave Sheaf Offering. However, even though it is still too moist to put into long
term storage without drying it first, abib barley is solid enough that one can make a meal
out of it if one first lightly roasts it in fire, a process known as ‘parching.’ Parching
drives the moisture out of the immature grain, and makes it hard enough that it can be
cracked, or ground into flour. Parched grains are mentioned in Lev 23:14, Joshua 5:11,
1Sam 17:17, 25:18, and Lev 2:14. Lev 2:14 shows us that parched grains are even

27
substantial enough to be used as a firstfruits offering.

28
Basic features of the Gregorian calendar:

1. History from Julian calendar (since Oct. 1582).

2. Year is a solar year with 12 named months for 365 days (366 days in leap year every 4 year
or so).a
3. Month is a solar month with 30 days x 4 months; 31 days x 7 months; /28 days x 1 month
(29 days leap month) for Feb. – The 4 seasons are rather constant in relation to the months.
4. Day as a calendar day is reckoned to start at 12 a.m. which is not same as 'midnight' (same
for '12 p.m.' vs. midday or noon).
5. Week is a solar, with 7 named days repeating without interruption (same in the rabbinic.
6. Saturday is the 7th day of the solar week for most cultures (6th for some). It’s solar sabbath
which is kept by the Jewish and most other Sabbatarians. It contrasts the biblical lunar
Sabbath of 7th day of the lunar week with sabbath-rest for the daytime period only. Two are
unrelated. Days such as Saturday, Sunday, etc. are not in the Bible and cannot be used to
follow the biblical timeline.
7. The New Year’s Day is a civil date; it is simply from the ancient Roman custom.b
8. No astronomical indicator/sign to tell what day (on the calendar) a particular day (e.g. New
Year day or 'today') is.

Roman calendars -- Gregorian, Julian, and pre-Julian

Ref: Roman calendar
www.thoughtco.com/roman-calendar-terminology-111519 Roman Calendar Terminology -
Nones, Kalends, Ides, and Pridie
www.polysyllabic.com/?q=calhistory/earlier/roman/kalends [A copy in the Collection]

http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/roman-calendar.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_calendars#Roman_calendar

In AD 525 Pope John I asked Dionysius Exiguus, a Scythian monk, to prepare a calendar for the
Western Church. He dated Christ’s birth as Year 753 of AUC (ab urbe condita – ‘from Founding
of Rome’ – pre-Julian Roman calendar). January 1, 754 AUC became AD 1 (that is, CE in modern
term). Christ’s birth was thought to have occurred one week earlier, on December 25.

The years before were calculated at BC (abbreviation of the phrase ‘Before Christ’) and the years
after as AD (abbreviation of Latin phrase anno Domini, meaning ‘year of Our Lord’). In this
reckoning, there was no year zero. The calendar went from 1 BC directly to AD 1. There was only
problem with this scheme. Later research showed that Dionysius missed the date by at least four
years because he miscalculated the death of Herod. Our present calendar is four years off.

In modern times, the common notation of worldwide acceptance is CE (Common Era) instead of
AD; and BCE (Before Common Era) instead of BC www.religioustolerance.org/ce_info.htm
[Note: In IRENT-related material, BC is used instead of BCE; not as the abbreviation of ‘Before

a
Bissext, or Bissextus (Lat. bis, twice; sextus, sixth) was the day intercalated by the Julian calendar in the February
of every fourth year to make up the six hours by which the solar year was computed to exceed the year of 365 days.
The day was inserted after 24 February, i.e. the sixth day before the calends (1st day) of March.
b
In 45 BC, New Year’s Day is celebrated on Jan 1 for the first time in history as the Julian calendar takes effect.
www.history.com/this-day-in-history/new-years-day http://earthsky.org/earth/why-does-the-new-year-begin-on-
january-1

29
Christ’, but as a simplified notation BCE.]

30
Basic features of the Jewish calendar: ‘peculiarities’

The current Jewish calendar has to be examined on its own merits and should not be the
basis of the understanding timeline in the Bible, since it was simply not present to be
employed in the Biblical time period. Bringing into the Bible anachronistically and
proleptically would be founded upon assumption, presumption, presupposition, and
ignorance – these will wreak havoc to proper understanding of the timeline, with eventual
confusion and conflict in the readers’ mind.

1. History – Calendation by Hillel II at 4th century

2. Year is a luni-solar with 12 named months + 13 months for the leap year. A year has 353,
354 or 355 days [in which 30 days of the intercalary montha are added]
3. Month is a lunar month either with 30 days or 29 days. The leap month of 29 days when is
added before the last most Adar; two become Adar I and Adar II.
months; 31 days x 7 months; /1 x 28 days (29 days for leap year) for Feb. – The 4 seasons
are rather constant in terms of months.
4. A Hebrew day (as a calendar day) is reckoned to start at sunset.
5. Week is a solar, with 7 named days in Hebrew (as well as Gregorian), continuous without
interruption.
6. Jewish Sabbath is on 7th day of the solar week and is taken to correspond to Saturday in
Gregorian calendar (beginning at sunset on the preceding day).
7. How was the New Year fixed? 19-year Metonic cycle. How did the cycle start in the
current pattern to tell a year fall in a certain year of the cycle (e.g. CE 30)?
8. Jewish New Year day is Tishrei b the 7th month in the biblical year. The New-Moon day of
this month ('Rosh Hodesh') is affected by man-made Rules of Postponement which was
imposed in order to avoid it to occur on certain days of the week, postponing one or two
days.

Superficially the Jewish calendar may look as a Biblical lunar calendar, but fundamentally
different. If, for a certain day on the Gregorian calendar, the date on both Jewish and RBC
happen to coincide or one-day’s difference, it would be just fortuitous. Comparing these side by
side would just give an idea of how they look contrastingly. Only for those using the calendar of
their choice for religious reason these luni-solar calendars are meaningful (e.g., Judaism or
Seventh day Sabbatarians). Esp. meaningless is comparison between two for the year 30 CE in
the study of the Passion Week Chronology of the Gospels in the New Testament.

Hillel's calendar is not, in every detail, the Jewish calendar we have today, as the postponement
rules were not yet fully developed, but the dates and duration of the festivals and length of
months were firmly established (Segal, p. 307). So, the system of the fixed calendar was not yet
developed until about ad 485 (Maimonides, Intro., p. xli).
www.cogeternal.org/text/004hebrewcalreliable.htm#HebrewCalendarDevelopment
*(One month added towards the end of the year to prevent Passover from occurring in winter in
the following year – with Adar II appearing in March of next year, e.g. in 1929, …2005, …., 2011,
2014, 2016, 2019, … 2043.) Nisan 14 is when Jewish begins celebrating Passover Week. Date
of the 1st day of Jewish Passover festival, Nisan 15 (= ‘Pesach I’).

a
The term ‘intercalary month’, rather than ‘leap month’, helps avoid confusion of calendars,
which used a leap day instead. See http://calendars.wikia.com/wiki/Leap_month_calendar
b
The present Jewish calendar is interested in only one new moon (actually the molad), and that is
for the seventh month. All the other new moons in the year are totally ignored. But in New
Testament times the Jews actually had eyewitnesses watching out for EVERY new moon in the
year. You didn't need any calculations. You simply added 29 days.
31
Basic features in the Biblical Lunar calendar:

Summarized for the study of the Scripturea

1. Day is that which begins with sunrise. Used in the sense of both daylight period and a calendar
day. b

2. Year in the Bible is solar year. [The Sun governs seasons and four seasons are kept constant as
to the months.]

3. Month is lunar. [Determined by the Moon and its phases in contrast to the solar month in the
Gregorian calendar] A lunar month is 29 or 30 calendar days. (A leap month is needed to keep
the seasons with a solar year → 'luni-solar calendar'.)

The first month is called ‘Abib’ (of 30 days); the rest are by the ordinal numerals. The
beginning of the (Abib) of the Scripture resets every year and is determined by the
conjunction (‘dark moon’ ‘astronomical new moon’) closest to the equinox. [Exo 34:22c]
(The Passover cannot come before the equinox.) [Ref. WLC-biblical-calendation-reckoning-
the-new-year.html – a copy in Collections #5 for IRENT Vol. III - Supplement.]

4. Week is lunar and is numbered; not named as in the solar week of Julian-Gregorian and the
Jewish calendars. The weeks are noncyclic discontinuous with 4 full 7-day weeks in a month.
A full ('complete') week is seven days – the only thing common with other two calendars. The
first day (‘New-Moon Day’) as well as 30th day of the month, if any (a transitional day), are
not part of a week.

Biblical sabbath:

It is lunar sabbath on the Day 7 of the lunar week in the lunar month. [It is in contrast to solar
sabbath, which on Saturday of the pagan solar week in the solar month, same as is in the
Jewish calendar. This is also observed by the 7th day Sabbatarians.]
Four sabbath days in a month – they are fixed as on 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th day of each month
in the biblical calendar. Not related to Saturday of the solar week – one of greatest confusions
in understanding biblical narratives.
Sabbath-rest is for the daytime period only; not for 24 hours as in Sabbatarian and Jewish
practice. Sabbath injunctions are not applicable outside daytime period.
Weekly sabbath is not to be confused with the annual day of sabbath of sabbath-rest on the Day
of Atonement (Lev 23:32).

a
Calendar day of the Roman Gregorian Calendar is from 12 A.M. to 'midnight'. The rabbinic Jewish
calendar day is sunset-to-sunset; they got mixed completely 'day' for daylight period and 'day' for
calendar day. For the Recovered Biblical Calendar, see www.worldslastchance.com
http://creationcalendar.com/ http://thecreatorscalendar.com [Cf. http://torahcalendar.com/ is with
sunset-to sunset day – "Hebrew Month begins at the moment of sunset the evening the moon's crescent
first becomes potentially visible to the naked eye in Jerusalem, assuming ideal sighting conditions ;-<]
b
[cf. night begins at sunset with coming of evening. the last (4th) watch of night in the Bible, is it
called ‘dawn watch’ ‘pre-dawn watch’]
c
Exo 34:22 "And you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks, that is, the first-fruits of the wheat harvest,
and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn [H8622 tequphah] of the year."
32
33
 New-Moon day, first day of a lunar month, is that which [as a calendar day] begins at dawn after
Dark Moon at luni-solar conjunction (‘dark moon’ = ‘astronomical new moon’ – a moon phase, not
to be confused with 'New-Moon day'). With non-cyclic weeks in the Biblical lunar calendation,
every month resets itself with the New-Moon day.

When the old moon ends its lunar cycle of about 29 and ½ solar days, a new lunar cycle (or new
moon) automatically begins immediately after conjunction, and whatever solar day that happen “in”,
“that day” is the "DAY OF THE NEW-MOON" (yom haHōḏeš Ezk 46:1) or day of the new cycle!
This is the solar day in which you blow the trumpet “in”! (“in the beginning of your mouths”, Num
10:10, which is referring to the day the month begins in, NOT the next day, when the moon is hours
old, not new) [from http://lunarsabbath.info/id50.html ]

*How to Determine the New-Moon Day: a

'sighting of the first crescent' (i.e. 'waxing crescent moon') method is impractical to determine
the New-Moon Day – host of questions on the sighting by whom, by how many observers,
where, how, and when. 'Crescent moon visibility' itself has to be considered.

'Crescent Moon Visibility': "Although the date and time of each 'New Moon' can be
computed exactly, the visibility of the lunar crescent as a function of the Moon's "age" — the
time counted from New Moon — depends upon many factors and cannot be predicted with
certainty. During the first two days after New Moon, the young crescent Moon appears very
low in the western sky after sunset, must be viewed through bright twilight, and sets shortly
after sunset. The sighting of the lunar crescent within one day of New Moon is usually
difficult. The crescent at this time is quite thin, has a low surface brightness, and can easily be
lost in the twilight. Generally, the lunar crescent will become visible to suitably-located,
experienced observers with good sky conditions about one day after New Moon. However, the
time that the crescent actually becomes visible varies quite a bit from one month to another.
Naked-eye sightings as early as 15.5 hours after New Moon have been reliably reported …"
[Here, 'new moon' means 'astronomical new moon', i.e., 'dark moon' = the moon phase at the
conjunction.] [Ref. http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/crescent.php – (a copy in Collection #5A)]

"Last day" of the [old] month can only be determined by a phase of the moon that is counted
during the night. If the conjunction occurs at night, then that night, due to the “part of” rule,
will determine that this 24-hour day is the last day of the month. If, on the other hand, the
conjunction occurs during the daytime, then that day of the conjunction cannot be counted until
the following night. In this latter case, that following night determines the last day of the
month.

a
For detail, see http://yahweh.org/publications/articles/rules/rules_new_moon.pdf - a copy in the zip
file 'On 'new moon' and 'moon phase' in IRENT Vol. III Supplement (Collections #5A - time +
calendar).
34
B. Vocabulary related to chronology and calendar
We are endowed with the gift of language and thinking. Our statements are valid and
understandable only when bound by logic. When we are looking for reputing others’
claims and resolve issues, the foremost requisite is precise definition of the words and
terms. It does not matter whether it is something theoretical or practical, be it religious,
philosophical, scientific, or literary fields.

As to words relevant to the Scripture it is so easy for us to automatically assume that they
mean and are used in the same way we use in modern English. These words are inevitably
colored and distorted, much more so by ecclesiastical traditions and practices of religions.

Without clear definition of words and terms, any argument or claim we come up will
prove to be useless and waste of our effort and we remain incapable to clearly understand
and explain all the relevant texts in the Scripture. Below in the following a few of
important words and phrases are dealt with for clarification.

Day of the week or date of the month belong are of calendar issues; year of the events is a
chronology issue (e.g. the year of His birth or His crucifixion).
 Calendars, Chronology; solar week (planetary week) vs. biblical lunar week.
 Hour, Day, Night, Evening; Dawn, morning; day vs date.
 Week; month; New-Moon day; dark moon (moon at conjunction); full moon
 Sabbath, Shabbat = on Day 7 of the lunar week for daytime period only
 Sabbaths = in the sense of ‘(7-day) week’ = Does not mean ‘Saturday’.
 Day 6 of the week [= sabbath-preparation day = sabbath eve]
 Day one of the week in the Bible – it does not mean ‘Sunday’
 Weekend = (Sat.+) Sunday; first day of the week is not Sunday but Monday. a
 Festival vs. Feast – in English (– same word in Gk. or Heb)
 Shavuot (‘Pentecost’) & 'omer count'
 Passover ('Pesach') – Passover meal (a memorial meal) (x: Passover feast);
Passover [memorial] day;
 Festival of Passover (Passover Festival = Festival of the Matzah); Cf. 'eat for the
Passover (season)', rather than 'eat the passover' (KJV) or 'eat the Passover' (-
most)
 Preparation day = 'the day before a special day'. IRENT renders it as 'eve', e.g. for
Sabbath eve, eve of the Passover day, etc. Does not mean “Friday”. [Cf. 'Christmas
eve'].
 ‘Christian Easter’ vs. ‘Jewish Passover’ vs. Biblical Passover. [Cf. 'Christian
Passover' (a church jargon)]
 'annual sabbath' – scholar's jargon which does not appear in the Bible. The term
may be applied to the special sabbath rest on the Day of Atonement; unrelated to
7th day of the week. (Lev 16:29-31, 23:27, 32) and Day of Shofar blowing [1st
day of 7th month for sabbath – New-moon day – Lev 23:24-25 (Rosh Hashanah –
Jewish New Year].

a
See ISO 8601 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_week_date . That Sunday is in the first column of a
monthly calendar should not mean it is first day of the week. Calling it first day is mistaken from the Holy
Week of the Church calendar. https://youtu.be/qSQ3cU32ukw https://youtu.be/YFdmOBqqtAA
https://youtu.be/I59ZJQo1T68 https://youtu.be/g6sRKq5CHKU
35
1. Sun, Moon, Earth
Signs; Set-times [moadim];

'Moon' – capitalized for Earth's Moon when used in astronomical context (e.g., ‘The
moon is bright tonight’, ‘the Moon orbits Earth’, 'Jupiter's moons').
H3394 yareach (26x) – the moon Gen 37:9;
H3391 yerach (13x) – month; Exo 2:2;
H3842 lebanah (3x) – moon SoS 6:10; Isa 24:23
H2320 chodesh (283x) – mostly ‘month’ Gen 7:11; – ‘new-moon’ (21x) Num 29:6;
1Sam 20:5, 18, 24, 34; 2Kg 4:23; 1Ch 23:31; 2Ch 31:3; Ezr 3:5; Neh 10:33; Psa
81:3; Isa 1:13, 14; 47:13; 66:23; Eze 46:1, 3, 6; Hos 2:11; 5:7; Amo 8:5;
H3677 keseh (2x) full-moon Psa 81:3; Pro 7:20;

Cf. H7720 saharon (3x) crescent ornament Jud 8:21, 26; Isa 3:18;

'Sun' – capitalized our Sun in the Solar System when used in astronomical context. (e.g.,
‘when the sun was going down’ Gen 15:12) H8121 shemesh (134x)
‘Earth’ – capitalized for our planet when used in astronomical context. E.g. the
heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1) H776 erets (2503x);

2. Calendars, Dates, Chronology

Need to keep in mind are three different calendars – Roman (Julian and Gregorian)
Calendars, Jewish calendar, and the Biblical lunar calendar.
To grasp the Passion narrative clearly it is essential to follow its internal chronology using
the Biblical lunar calendar. One cannot bring in an external chronology using the other
calendar systems into the Scripture narrative to understand and interpret.

The Scripture provides all the clues necessary for proper understanding. The calendar
systems other than the very Biblical lunar ones may only serve to show how the dates are to
be aligned against each other. Thus, necessarily any liturgical calendar currently in use does
not correspond to that of the Scripture, being having historically, chronologically and
theologically dissociated from the Scripture narratives.

Passover week, Passion week; Holy Week

The biblical Passion Week (with numbered days of the lunar week) does not match with
the liturgical Holy Week of Constantine Catholic Church tradition with the named
planetary days of the solar week. The Passover Week is the week of the Passover festival
season – From the Passover day (Abib 14) to the end of the 7-day long festival of the
Matzah (Abib 15-21) with Abib 15 = high sabbath (Jn 19:31).

Thematically and theologically the Passion Week cannot exist without reference to the
Passover Week; hence another inclusive term ‘Passover-Passion Week’.

36
Table: Julian vs. Gregorian calendars
Difference between Gregorian and Julian calendar dates
Julian calendar from BC 45; Gregorian from AD 1582
October 4, 1582 Thursday in Julian calendar was followed by October 15, 1582 Friday in
Gregorian https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_calendar

(For CE 28-70, proleptic Gregorian date = Julian date – 2) (For CE 2100 – 2200, G = J - 14)
Table: Date for Nisan 15

Hebrew Year in CE Nisan 15@

3790 CE 30 Julian Apr 6, Thu
CE 31 Julian Apr. 25, Wed
CE 32 Julian Apr 14, Mon
CE 33 Julian Apr. 3, Fri
CE 70 Julian Apr 13, Fr
Gregorian Apr. 6, Fri
5772 CE 2012 (J = March 24)
5773 CE 2013 Gregorian Mar. 25, Mon
(J = March 12)
5774 CE 2014 Gregorian Apr 14, Mon
@ Nisan 15 (Pesach I) – conflicting and confusing data on CE 28, 30, 31, 32 on google search
www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3920-calendar-history-of

37
*OT Festivals/feasts:

A single Hebrew and Greek word for ‘festival’ and ‘feast’ – ‘Festival’ for a week long; ‘feast’ for
a single day event, focused on festive meal.

List of Festivals
Spring –Festival of the Passover; Festival of the Matzah; First-Fruits Feast
Feast of Shavuot – see 'omer count'
Fall – Day of Shofar-blowing; Day of Atonement;
Fall – Festival of the Sukkot (Tabernacles, Tents, Booths) [Cf. Heb. word /lulab for the festive
palm branch which was carried and waved on the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot).] [Cf. Palm day in
the Passover-Passion week – Abib 10.]

Note: Shavuot is determined by the omer count; traditionally 50 days from the day after Abib 15
[High Sabbath (Jn 19:31) – weekly sabbath falling on the first day of the 7-day festivals]; careful
reading of OT in Lev is needed to tell it is <7 'full-weeks'> + 50 days, not <'7 full' weeks> + 50 days.]

Confusion about the day omer counting begin – is it the day after the sabbath or Nisan 16

38
'Day of Firstfruits' (Abib 16) Lev 23:9-12

The day following the first day of the Matzah Festival is called Reshit Katzir the "beginning of the
harvest" or Yom HaBikkurim "the Day of Firstfruits".

In ancient times, on this day a sheaf (omer) of barley (the first grain crop to ripen) was waved before
the LORD in a prescribed ceremony ["Wave Sheaf Offering"] to mark the start of the omer count,
thereby initiating countdown to the harvest festival of Shavuot. *omer count Lev 23:15+16; Deu 16:9-
10.

Cf. www.truthontheweb.org/sheaf.htm#5 Determining Elevation Sheaf Day & Pentecost

[Note: problem of fixing the beginning day for the omer count – confusion due to lack of biblical
calendar which leads to the wrong idea of Abib 16 not same as 1st day of the Lunar Week. It also reads
only Lev 23:15 but fail to read also v. 16.

39
Hebrew Months

www.jewfaq.org/calendar.htm

Months of Jewish calendar

Civil
No. Name Length
Equivalent
1st Nisan [Abib/Aviv] 30 Mar-Apr
2nd Iyar [ziv] [bul] 29 Apr-May
3rd Sivan 30 May-Jun
4th Tammuz 29 Jun-July
5th Av 30 July-Aug
6th Elul 29 Aug-Sep
7th Tishrei 30 Sep-Oct
8th [Mar]Cheshvan 29/30 Oct-Nov
9th Kislev 30/29 Nov-Dec
10th Tevet 29 Dec-Jan
11th Shevat— 30 Jan-Feb
12th Adar 29 Feb-Mar
↓ Leap year ↓
12th Adar I 30 Feb-Mar
13th Adar II 29 Mar-Apr

Standard year → 353, 354, or 355

Total
Leap year → 383, 384 or 385

Tebeth (Tevet) – Esth 2:16 (10th month)

Elul – Neh 6:15; Kislev (Chisleu – KJV) – Neh 1:1,
Adar – Ezr 6:15; Shebat (Shevat) – Zec 1:7
the month Bul – 1Kg 6:38
What is Jewish calendar and its calendation? Inherent problems of the calculated Jewish calendar
system unfit for a biblical calendar ( http://82.221.105.8/~theshini/?p=2922 )

A calendar system (other than the common civil calendar) is purely for use in a religious purpose,
i.e. dates of festival days.

www.goldensheaves.org/images/Hebrew-calendar-dvpmt-hc.pdf - Development of Jewish calendar

www.bethelcog.org/church/church-of-god-articles/can-we-rely-on-the-hebrew-calender
www.jewfaq.org/calendr2.htm - See how it is calculated. (See how it is different from the concise,
simple, and uncomplicated Biblical lunar calendar system as shown above.)

40
Year; Intercalation; Calendar Eras

Biblical year = 360 days [Cf. Rev 12:6 (3.5 years = 1260 days)]

In the Scripture, a year (which is lunar year of 354 days) begins with spring (in the month Abib). It
begins with summer (in the month of Tishri) for Jewish calendar. Luni-solar calendars may require
intercalations of both days and months to follow the seasons or moon phases.

A year in the Julian-Gregorian calendar is a solar year of 365 days and it begins in mid-winter.

‘Calendar era’ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_era

AUC - Anno Urbis Conditae: AUC or a.u.c. or a.u.), a Latin phrase meaning "from the founding of
the City (Rome)", traditionally dated to 753 BC
AM - Anno mundi ("year of the world") – Jewish calendar
AD - Anno Domini; = CE (Common Era) with BC (Before Christ) or BCE (Before Common Era)

3. Hour, Day, Night, Evening; Dawn, Early in the morning;

*time; - meaning and definition; measurement; measuring device. Point of time, period of time,
duration time.

measuring devices of time – sundial, water-clock, clock, atomic time;

*hour;
/Time

/Parts_of_a_day
Day, Daylight period; Night (Night period);
Morning and evening;
Sunrise and sunset;
Dawn and dusk; (morning and evening twilight)
Noon and midday;
Midnight and 12 a.m.

‘late night’ – n. a night when a person stays awake until a late hour; adj. happening very late in the
evening or at night:

*Astronomical terms
https://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/RST_defs.php

Definitions: Horizon; Rise & Set – Sun and Moon; Transit; Twilight

‘point of time’ vs. ‘period of time’

Words of time concept are related to either to ‘point of time’ or ‘period of time’ (= 'duration of
time'). For example, the English word ‘hour’ may be used in either sense. Some connotes only a
point of time – e.g. ‘sunrise time’, ‘12 p.m.’, etc.; while some expressions are for a period of time –
e.g. ‘evening’, ‘morning’. Note that here the point of time demarking the beginning and the end of a
period may not be exact – e.g. ‘dusk’ begins with sunset but ends when darkness sets in (with no
precise time for it to be pinpointed.)
41
The use of the word ‘day’ and ‘hour’ in the Bible is not same as with the technical term day and hour
used as a unit of measurement for a period of time (with day in SI unit = 86400 seconds. Though not
SI unit, hour is defined as = 60 min = 3600 seconds). The word 'hour' in NT is a period of time 1/12
of the daylight period or the night period. Of Variable length; only roughly '60' minutes. E.g. 'hour'
in ordinal numeral, e.g. sixth hour, is the sixth hour period from the sunrise – an hour period before
midday (≈ noon).

*hour
*hour: *hour-period vs. hour on the clock.
Related words:
 chronos (time); ‘en stigmē chronou’ (Lk 4:5);
 atom – (smallest indivisible unit); ‘en atomō’ (1Co 15:52) (‘in an atom of time’ - IRENT; ‘in
an instant’; ‘in a moment’); [Ref. I.M. History (1998), The Far Side of Armageddon, p. 15]
 kairos – e.g. ho kairos mou (my time)

Whether it occurs as ordinal numeral (e.g. ‘third hour’) or as cardinal (e.g. 'two hours'),
the word ‘hour’ in the Bible is the etymologically related Gk. hōra.
An hour in the Bible is a period of time 1/12th of daylight period. It is for the duration of
‘hour-period’a on the sundial, not for 'hour' on the clock (= o’clock), which is the term
referring to a point of time). Used with an ordinal numeral, it may represent the hour at the
end of an hour-period.
A day has 12 hour-periods (Jn 11:9). The duration of an hour-period is not fixed but varies
depending on season and latitude. The word is not used as a unit of time, an hour of 60 min (in
physics).b

The length of this biblical ‘hour’, that is, 'hour period', varies since the daylight period by
itself varies according to the latitude and the season. [It is an expression somewhat
analogous to an English adjective ‘hour-long’.]

If we assume sunrise was at 6 a.m. and sunset at 6 p.m. with daylight period of 12 hours,
each would be 60 min. Then “third hour” (as on the sundial) ( Mt 20:3; Mk 15:25; Act 2:15 ) is
equivalent to a period of ≈ 8 to 9 a.m. and 'ninth hour' ( Mt 20:5; 27:45, 46; Mk 15:33, 34; Lk
23:34; Act 3:1; 10:3, 30; Rev 21:20 ) ≈ 2 to 3 p.m. Here midday (not 12 o’clock p.m.) would
be between sixth and seventh hour-period. Note: All instances in NT were concerned with
the daytime events, except one in Act 23:23 (‘on third hour of the night’). This is also a
single example in the NT for Roman reckoning of night period into 12 hours. Cf. four
night-watches.
[With approximate time in Jerusalem in the Passover festival season is given here to show
difference of time-reckoning by the sun-dial and by the clock:
sunrise is ≈ 6 a.m., sunset ≈ 6:00 p.m.
length of day 12 and 1/2 hours; length of ‘hour’ – about 62 min.

b
[in Physics] an hour = 60 min; a minute = 60 sec (a day = 86, 400 secs), with a second as a basic unit of time,
originally defined as 1/86,400 of the mean solar day; now a newly defined 1997 in SI system (ISO
1000:1992). The terms ‘minute’ and ‘second’ are not of biblical vocabulary: a minute is a period of time
equal to sixty seconds. The second is the base unit of time in the ISO, which is precisely measured in physics
using cesium-133 atom. http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/second-s-or-sec . Cf. See *atom of time in the
appendix.
42
 midday = btw sixth and seventh hour ≈ from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
(Ref. www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=110 )

'Hour' expressed in cardinal numbers:

For a certain point or duration of time (e.g. ‘at that hour’, ‘in the hour’, or for a duration (e.g. 'for about
two hours' hōs epi hōras duo Act 19:34). Often it is used figurativelya.
 "there are twelve hours in the day' – Jn 11:9; [i.e. twelve hour-periods as on a sundial in the
daylight period.]

'Hour' expressed in ordinal numerals:

With sunrise, we have first hour-period on a sundial with 12th hour-period before sunset.

During 'Day' (Daylight period) [Noon/midday is not same as 12 p.m.]

Passion week Outside Passion week

6th hour ≈ noon
– Jn 4:6;
In G-John 6th hour ≈ noon 7th hour ≈ 1 p.m.
–19:14@ – Jn 4:52;
10th hour ≈ 4 p.m.
– Jn 1:39;
3rd hour ≈ 9 a.m.
3rd hour ≈ 9 a.m. – Act 2:15;
– Mt 20:3; Mk 15:25@; 6th hour ≈ noon
Others 6th hour ≈ noon – Act 10:9;
– Mt 20:5; 27:45; Lk 23:44; 9th hour ≈ 3 p.m.
9th hour ≈ 3 p.m. – Act 3:1; 10:3; 10:30;
– Mt 20:5; 27:45, 46; Mk 15:33, 11th hour ≈ 5 p.m.
34; – Mt 20:6, 9;

@ Jn 19:14 (Pilate's sentencing) and Mk 15:25 (Crucifixion) have been misread and
misunderstood to find alleged contradiction in timing. Without realizing that they are
in two different dates a day apart, some tried to come up with G-Jn using this as
alleged Roman time reckoning from midnight to read it as 6 a.m. – impossible to
bunch together all the evens from the Arrest to Crucifixion in to such a short period
time (allocating about 9 hours). No evidence of such time reckoning is in NT. All are
biblical, Jewish, and even the Romans did same, counting it from sunrise, not from
midnight like our Gregorian calendar.

Cf. During night period: [S5438 phulakē 'watch'] *watch of the night’
 'third hour of the night' ≈ 9 p.m. – Act 23:23 (Roman reckoning of time
counting from sunset for night time period – 12 hour-periods; comparable to 12
hour-periods of day time period.)
 “in the second watch or in the third watch [of the night]” – Lk 12:38
 Cf. Mk 13:35 “evening or midnight or *at rooster-crow watch
 Mt 26:34, 74, 75; Mk 13:35; Lk 22:34, 60; Jn 13:38; 18:27; the rooster-crow watch ~
be called out ░ (= third watch of the night Lk 12:38)] [called out with shofar blowing

a
It may be metonymic for undefined time point, phase, or period. Some translates it as ‘time’ which has a
different nuance (– e.g. hē hōra mou ‘my hour’ Jn 2:4); even paraphrases as ‘moment’ (– e.g. Rev 3:3 in JNT).]
43
 by a temple-crier kohen.]
 Cf. Mk 13:35 “at dawn”
[S4404 prōi (12x) = morning twilight] [See Jn 18:28] [It’s after ‘fourth watch of the
night’ Mk 6:48 //Mt 14:25)] – NIV, NET, WNT; /> in the dawn; /x: early in the
morning – NWT; /xxx: in the morning – ESV, NASB, KJV, NKJV, HCSB, GW;
/xxx: at the morning – LSV; /x: in the early morning; /xxxxx: at sunrise – GNT;

44
Diagram: Day and Hour.
[# A comparison diagram of ‘hour-period’ on the sundial vs. ‘hour’ on the clock]
Source – originally from www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/you-asked-what-time-did-jesus-die the
image is missing on the webpage.]

[This diagram needs re-drawing: To reposition the labels as shown by arrows. To change 12
hours to 12 hour-periods. To add 12th. Move the label four watches into the middle of pies.
Replace morning-watch with ‘dawn watch’, which is made here a part of the night. To add
labels, early morning, late morning, early afternoon, late afternoon.

45
[The diagram below needs to be corrected by placing ‘hour’ in a pie, not on the point in the circle.

It should be remembered that there is no number "0" in their numbering systems in the ancient
Hebrew, Greek and Latin (Roman) civilizations. There is no concept of ‘zero hour’.]

www.thecreatorscalendar.com/day-genesis-genesis-1-1-5/

46
Source: http://thecreatorscalendar.com/the-night-is-cut-off-as-in-circumcision-psalms-90-3-6/
[Needs conversion of 1st hour to 1st hour-period etc. No zero hour should be there.]

FIRST CENTURY ACCOUNTING OF TIME – from Delitzsch Hebrew Gospels p. 467

12 hour-periods in a day [i.e. daylight period]
3 [4] watches of the night. kkk

Midday →

‘between the two setting-times’

Early afternoon
Late afternoon

<sunset> followed by
<dusk> = <evening twilight>
1st watch of the night
2nd watch of the night
3rd watch of the night
4th watch of the night

<dawn> = <morning twilight>

Followed by <sunrise>
Early morning;
Late morning; Forenoon

→ Midday

 Four watches according to Rabbi

Yehuda HaNasi: 1-3; 4-6; 7-9; 9-12

 Three watches according to

Rabbi Nathan: 1-4; 5-9; 10-12

 Four watches according to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: 1-3; 4-6; 7-9; 9-12

 Three watches according to Rabbi Nathan: 1-4; 5-9; 10-12 th hour-period

47
 The Time of Events in The Gospels

The Gospels occasionally mention the time of the day that certain events occurred. However, time of
day was measured and described differently than it is today. One notable difference is that there was
not nearly so much emphasis on precision in ancient times. This is partly because of cultural
differences and partly because methods of measuring time were less exact. (This may account for
discrepancies between differing accounts.)

The daylight period from sunrise to sunset was divided into twelve equal portions, termed "hours". So,
when the text mentions the "third hour", we are not talking about a precise moment, but rather a span
of time lasting one-twelfth of the duration of sunlight in a day.

Due to the tilt of the earth's axis, the duration of daylight is shorter in the winter and longer in the
summer. As a result, "hours" will vary in length at different times during the year.

The night was also divided into twelve hours and into periods called "watches". Talmudic sages
disagreed as to whether there were four watches of three hours each or three watches of four hours
each. In the early morning and night, time was also often determined based on the level of darkness.
This is measured by means such as the visibility of the stars or the ability to recognize a face at a
certain distance.

Table: complied from the chart in Delitzsch p. 467

EVENT TIME Recorded in

1. Yeshua Prays Alone morning twilight Mk1:35
early in the morning,
Jn 20:1
2. Women Come to the Tomb being still dark
With the sun about to rise Mk 16:2
very early in the morning Lk 24:1
3. Woman Caught in Adultery morning Jn 8:2
4. Yeshua's Crucifixion third hour Mk15:25
5. First Set of Hired Workers third hour Mt 20:3
6. Yeshua Stands before Pilate about sixth hour @ Jn 19:14
7. Yeshua Meets Samarian Woman about sixth hour Jn 4:6
8. Second Set of Hired Workers about sixth hour Mt 20:5
Mt 27:45; Mk 15:33; Lk
9. Darkness over the Land sixth hour to ninth hour
23:44
10. Servant's Son's Fever Fades seventh hour Jn 4:52
11. Yeshua's Death about ninth hour Mt 27:46; Mk 15:34
12. Third Set of Hired Workers about ninth hour Mt 20:5
13. Yohanan's disciples follow Yeshua about tenth hour Jn 1:40 [39]
14. Fourth Set of Hired Workers about eleventh hour Mt. 20:6
15. The Sick Are Brought to Yeshua evening, the sun had set Mk. 1:32; Lk. 4:40
16. Yeshua Walks by the Sea fourth watch of the night Mt 14:25; Mk 6:48; $
@ Abib 13, the day before the Crucifixion (Abib 14, Passover day)
$ //Jn 6:17 ‘by now it was dark’

48
‘my hour’; ‘my time’; last day; last days; the end; eschaton; eschatology

G-Jn:
 my hour – Jn2:4; 7:6; Gk. hē hōra mou– (‘hour’ in figurative sense);
/mine hour – KJV; /> my time
 his hour– Jn 7:30; 8:20; /> his time
 my time – Jn 7:6 Gk ho kairos ho emos

[Ref: Adrio König (1989), The Eclipse of Christ in Eschatology – highly readable and
excellent, not a word to be missed.]

“on the last day” (/> at the last day; /> in the last day)
 en tē eschatē hēmera - Jn 6:39; 11:24 (resurrection); Jn 12:48; (judgment)
 tē eschatē hēmera Jn 6:40, 44, 54; (resurrection)
Cf. en tē eschatē hēmera (on the last day - great day - of the festival) Jn 7:37;

“the last days’”

 ep’ tais eschatais hēmerais (in the last days) Act 2:17;
 ep’ eschatais hēmerais (in the last day) Jam 5:3; 2Ti 3:1;
 ep’ eschatōn tōn hēmerōn touōn (in these last days) Heb 1:2;
 ep’ eschatōn tōn hēmerōn (in the last days) 2Pe 3:3;

49
*day;

Related words: “day” ‘*day and night’ ‘*morning and evening’. Each term → meanings –
definitions – usages (Many faces of a word).

day: The word is fourth among the nouns in a list of the English word frequency. a It has a
number of meanings, depending on the context it is used such as of astronomy, physics, and
various calendar systems.b In summary, it is:
(1) Any period of 24 hours. E.g., I've been here for two days and a bit.
(2) Syn. with /Daytime in contrast to ‘night time’
(3) A period of 24 hours beginning at an artificial point of time esp. for calendar days. E.g., from 12
a.m. in the Gregorian calendar – ‘the day begins at midnight’. A biblical calendar day is reckoned to
start at dawn; a rabbinic Jewish calendar reckoned to start at sunset.
(4) idiomatic or figurative: e.g., It took three days (continuous) to travel; We worked two days last week
(non-continuous). The day belonged to the Allies. Every dog has its day. Our days are numbered. The
day of salvation is here.
Moved from <Walk through the Bible #1 – Words, Words, and Words>]

A day in the bible is that which begins with sunrise to bring ‘morning’ [H1242 boqer
(214x). Gen 1:5 first part of ‘day’]. A day [as a daylight period] ends with sunset to bring
‘evening’ which is the first part of the night providing relief, rest, recovery. Note: A day
may be used also to cover a period of 24 hours which begins with sunrise (comparable to a
biblical calendar day).

In the Bible ‘day’ is that which begins with sunrise, not at sunset. All the occurrences of
these expressions ‘day and night’, ‘night and day’, ‘evening and morning’, ‘morning and
evening’, ‘after night comes next day’, etc. in the Bible narratives tells that morning is in the
beginning of a day and evening is in the ending of a day. Some examples of these are cited
and ignored by those who claim that the Bible proves that a day begins at sunset – as they
wish and as they are hooked on.
www.chabad.org/.../The-Jewish-Day.htm
www.chabad.org/.../Why-do-Jewish-holidays-begin-at-nightfall.htm
www.yeshiva.co/ask/7469
https://torahcalendar.com/SUNSET.asp Determining the Hebrew Day

A calendar day in the Bible is reckoned to start at dawn (= morning twilight). Cf. Start at
sunset in the rabbinic Jewish calendar. Cf. Start at 12 a.m. in the Gregorian calendar [not at
‘midnight’].

A Hebrew day (also called ‘Jewish day’). Here, the word ‘day’ is certainly obfuscation
from their linguistic confusion of ‘day’ and ‘calendar day’.

a
Ten most frequent words in English (noun) listed in order: man, time, men, day, work, way, life, people,
hand, place.
b
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/day#Etymology In /Physics it is as a unit
of measurement for duration of time. It is defined as 86,400 SI seconds. In /astronomy it is a rotational period of a
planet (especially Earth); e.g., A day on Mars is slightly over 24 hours.
50
What the heck is day?
The word day has a number of meanings, depending on the context it is used such as of
astronomy, physics, and various calendar systems. As a special term in physics and
astronomy it is approximately the period during which the Earth completes one rotation
around its axis, which takes about 24 hours.

In all the languages and every culture, the notion of ‘day’ is that which begins with sunrise. It is
absurd to say a day begins at sunset! That nonsense was simply a product of confused minds when
they ignored difference of it from a calendar day which may be reckoned to start at the various time
point, i.e. 12 a.m. for the Gregorian calendar and the sunset in the rabbinic Jewish calendar (aka
‘Hebrew day’, or a Jewish day, from evening to evening).

(A) The basic meaning of the word ‘day’ as appears in the Bible is daylight period
[of app. 12 hours]. (Gen 1:5a; cf. Jn 11:9)a.

(B) A time period with a daylight period followed by a night-time period, not just
as a duration of 24 hours. E.g. Gen 1:5b. E.g. Exo 20:9 ‘six day to work’. Often as in
idioms, e.g., ‘several days’ ‘day and night’.
[H3117 yom (2303x) day(time); Gen 1:5; day (of 24 hours) Lev 8:35]
[H3119 yomam (51x) day(time) Exo 13:31; Lev 8:35]

[Genesis 1:5 simply tells that the light period is called ‘Day’ which begins with sunrise.

A day begins with sunrise to bring ‘morning’ (H1242 boqer 214x. the first part of
‘day’)
A day ends with sunset to bring ‘evening’b (H6153 ereb 134x. the first part of ‘night’)
‘dawn’c = ‘morning twilight’ (That which begins before sunrise)
‘dusk’ = ‘evening twilight is dawn (That which begins at sunset is dusk)
daylight period = forenoon + afternoon
night period = evening + midnight

Cf. ‘morning’ [‘early morning’ + ‘late morning’];

'afternoon' [‘early afternoon’ + 'late afternoon];
'evening' ['early evening' + 'late evening'];
'two setting-times' – late afternoon.

With a day as a duration, a part of a day may customarily be reckoned as one day when
counting a number of 'days' lapsed. Cf. inclusive vs. exclusive counting.

Cf. ‘a day’s journey’ Num 11:31; ‘three day’s journey’ Exo 3:18; ‘seven days journey’
Gen 31:23;
Cf. ‘day of the month’ Gen 7:13
Cf. ‘day of sabbath’ Exo 20:8; Day of sabbath + six days = patterned after Genesis days.
Cf. ‘day one, second day, third ~, fourth ~, fifth ~, and sixth day’ (Gen 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23;
31) [not ‘evening and morning = day’]
Cf. Gen 2:5 ‘in the day that YHWH Elohim created the earth and the heavens’.

a
In Gen 1:5a (‘day-light period is called Day’) [the rabbinic Jewish tradition misinterprets this Genesis text
to support the notion of a day being sunset-to-sunset, resulting from confusion between 'day' and 'calendar
day']; Jn 11:9 (‘there are twelve hours in the day’)
b
Cf. ha’arbayim ‘in the *two setting-times’ – (mid) afternoon. /xx: evening; /xx: twilight;
c
‘dawn’ – lit. "the rising of the morning" – coming forth of the stars (Neh 4:15, 17).]
51
“*forty days” Gen 7:17; 8:6; 50:3; Exo 24:18; Num 13:25; 14:34; Ezk 4:6; Jon 3:4
[H705 arbaim (135x) forty]
forty days (Mk 1:13; Lk 4:2) //forty days and forty nights (Mt 4:2)

“fifty days’ Lev 23:16 (counting omer for ‘Pentecost’ Cf. Act 2:1)

(C) ‘day and night’ ‘night and day’ ‘evening and morning’ ‘morning and evening’ ‘darkness
~ light: all the occurrences of these expressions in the Bible tells morning is in the beginning
of a day and evening is in the ending of a day. Some examples of these are cited and ignored
by those who claim that the Bible proves a day begins at sunset (a hilarious Hebrew day).
Cf. ‘there came evening and there came morning (Gen 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23; 31; 2:2)
Cf. Exo 18:13 ‘from the morning until the evening’
Cf. Num 9:15, 21; 19:7 ‘from evening until morning’
Cf. ‘unclean until evening’ Lev 11:24 – 22:6; Num 19:7, 8, 10, 21, 22. [do not say a
new day begins at evening] Cf. ‘clean in the evening’ Num 19:19.
Cf. Psa 30:5; ‘night ~ morning’
Cf. Gen 1:5 ‘day ~ and night’; Gen 8:22 ‘day and night’
Cf. Jer 33:25 ‘not with day and night’
Cf. Num 11:32 ‘that day, all night, and all the text day’
Cf. Lev 23:32 ‘… in the evening; from evening to evening’ (on the Day of
Atonement) [not that a day begins at evening!]
Cf. Lev 23:5 ‘between the two setting-times’; /x: between two evenings; /xxx:
twilight;
Cf. Jos 8:29 ‘hanged until evening and as soon as the sun was down’
// Deu 21:23 ‘not remain overnight’]
Cf. Lev 17:15 (‘unclean until evening’
Judg 19:5-9 ‘on the fourth day ~~ early in the morning ~~ until afternoon ~~
spend night ~~ tomorrow’
Isa 9:2 ‘darkness to light’;
Isa 45:7 ‘form the light and create darkness’
Jn 1:5; 8:12; Lk 1:79; 2Co 4:6, ‘light ~ ~ darkness’
Mt 4:16; 10:27; Act 26:18; 1Pe 2:9; Eph 5:8; ‘darkness ~~ light’
Mk 15:42; ‘when evening having arrived ~~ it was eve, that is, the day before
the sabbath’

‘day + night’ for sabbath: Cf. Neh 13:15 (‘on the sabbath’, ‘on the sabbath day’) → Neh
13: 19 [‘as it began to dark before sabbath ~~ the gates to be shut, and ~~ not be opened till
after sabbath’]

“*forty days and forty nights” Gen 7:4, 12; Exo 24:18; 34:28; Deu 9:9, 11, 18, 25; 10:10;
1Ki 19:8; 1Sam 17:16 (“morning and evening for forty days”);

(D) daylight [period]: (cf. daytime). the time period between sunrise and sunset; the
interval of the daylight period between two successive nights; a period of time during
which the Sun is above the horizon, the daylight hours from sunrise to sunset (Gen
1:5) Opposite: night (time) – Gk. nux.

E.g. Exo 20:8 ‘Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy’.

52
 Sabbath rest applies only to the daytime period, which is what is needed for rest from
labor with sabbath keeping as the night time is naturally set aside for time of resting.
Sunrise is defined as the instant at which the upper edge of the sun's disc appears above the
horizon in the east, as seen by an observer at a particular location on earth. As atmospheric
refraction causes the sun to be seen while it is still below the horizon, both sunrise and sunset
are in a sense from optical illusion.
Noon: 12 p.m. is not identical to ‘midday’ (‘noon’) which is the mid-point of daytime period
when the sun is at highest point.

Gen 1:8b, 13a, 19a, 23a, 31b

And there comes evening [when the ‘day’ ends]
and there comes morning [when the ‘night’ ends]
~ evening ~ and ~ morning ░ [not ‘a day and a night’] [The text does not say ‘a day is from evening to
morning’.]

[It’s not about the order of the word that the phrase should be ‘morning and evening’ instead of ‘evening
and morning’ – as some use this as proof-text to argue for ‘a day to begin at sunset’ – getting mixing up
the notion of ‘day’ (daytime period) and a calendar day of arbitrary convention.] [light = day(period) with
its beginning portion being ‘morning’; darkness = night with its beginning portion being ‘evening’.
‘evening and morning’ is not same as ‘darkness and light’, nor ‘night and day’. Cf. Dan 8:14 ‘It will be for
2300 evenings and mornings’; 8:26 ‘vision of the evenings and the mornings’. These express does not
prove that a day begins with evening at sunset as with the rabbinic Jewish calendar.]
[i.e. as work is done during day light period and then evening comes; a day is completed when morning
comes for a next day to begin – exactly as in 1:18]

Gen 1:5 — day one ░ [H3117 yom – here ‘day’ as a day of 24 hours)] [There is no 'first day' in the
creation week. The notion of 'first day' is from a wrong idea of the creation week being consisting of literal
7 days, with a day = 24 hours! The creation week in Genesis account gives a framework for the
calendar which has 7 days in a week. Here, a 'week' is irrespective whether it is a lunar week of the
biblical calendar or a solar week of the Gregorian and the rabbinic Jewish calendars.] /(dash) day one -
NIrV!, ISV, YLT; /xxx: were the first day – KJV; /xx: (dash) the first day – NIV; /xx: (colon) the first day
– HCSB; /xx: (comma) the first day – ESV; /xxx: (comma) one day – CJB, RSV, NASB, AMP, Rhm,
ASV; /xx: a first day – NWT; /xx: that was the first day – GNB; [Ref. Averbeck, “A Literary Day, Inter-
Textual, and Contextual Reading of Genesis 1 and 2”, 7–34.
http://tgc-documents.s3.amazonaws.com/themelios/Themelios40-2.pdf#page=34 Richard Averbeck, "The
Lost World of Adam and Eve: A Review Essay" Themelios 40.2 (2015): 226–39.]

https://youtu.be/M2ddFaQJdxA
The theme of ‘something is said about out of darkness come first and then light’ is used for
proof-text to claim that a day beginning at evening!! (a hilarious Hebrew day).
https://youtu.be/4eeH5Qvo-Jk (1st one hour)
https://youtu.be/R5xBdoWegTQ WHEN DOES A DAY START - MORNING OR EVENING? (Part
1)

[www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtB5e-t981o (WHEN DOES A DAY START - MORNING OR EVENING?

PART 4) Neh 13:18-21]
[‘at the end of the day period work’ and ‘at the end of the night period of rest’]
[‘as the daylight period ends’ and ‘as the night period ends’]

53
“A day is not 24 hours”

“A day is not 24 hours”

[Bouchard – a copy in the collection]
https://medium.com/the-philipendium/a-day-is-not-24-hours-c36ee96078c6

Our system of telling time is based on the premise that every day is exactly 24 hours long
— quite precisely, with no exceptions. This concept is fully ingrained into our culture, a
core principle of our modern technological society. At the same time, we are taught in
school that a day corresponds to one complete rotation of the Earth on its axis.
Unfortunately, these two concepts don’t quite match up — and the mismatch is more than
just a few milliseconds. In fact, the mismatch amounts to several minutes every day.
Furthermore, because our traditional concept of a “day” is actually defined by the cycle of
sunlight and darkness — and not by one rotation of the Earth — the length of a real day is
not consistent, but varies somewhat during the year. We only pretend that all days are the
same length — by averaging the length of all the days in the year, and then defining this
average as a “standard day” of exactly 24 hours.

Solar day ; /Stellar_day; /*Sidereal day

…
Summary
… How long is a day? If we define a day based on an actual, daily, observable physical
phenomenon, then we have two possible answers. If we define a day as one complete spin
of the Earth on its axis — a stellar day — then a day is about 4 minutes less than 24 hours.
If we define a day as the time between true noon one day and true noon the next day — a
solar day — then the length of a day varies throughout the year, ranging from 21 seconds
less than 24 hours to 30 seconds more than 24 hours. But if we take the average length of
all the solar days in a year, then the result is exactly 24 hours, which is how we arrived at
our standard day. However, there are only 4 times each year when the standard day and the
true solar day have the same length. The upshot is that the standard 24-hour day is not
something found in nature, but a human invention that only roughly corresponds to the real
days — solar days or stellar days — that we actually experience on Earth.

54
 Recap:

A. *When does a day begin? a

It depends of what is meant by 'day'. What the heck is day to begin with for any discussion?
It truly is different to different users for their diffident use, like any word subjected to discussion.

B. What is day?
In the bible ‘day’ is that which begins with sunrise. In all the languages and cultures, ‘day’
is something which begins with sunrise b. A day from sunset to sunset as for the Jewish people
and the Muslim does not belong to the Bible.

The sun (the greater luminary to rule the day – the lesser luminary to rue the night (Gen 1:16,
18). – The sun to do with day, year and season; the moon to do with months and weeks for
work days, sabbath days, new moon days. This does not mean than sabbath begins with
sunset.]

C. What is a calendar day?c

Covering 24 hours (duration of a solar day) with a day (the period of daylight period) and a
night-time (the period of darkness), a calendar day is that which is reckoned to start d [not
‘which begins’] at a different point of time the arbitrarily determined in various calendars
systemse. In the Bible, whether it is daylight period or a daylight period plus a night-time
period, a day comes with surmise to bring in the morning.
 (1) In the Gregorian calendarf ('Common Era Calendar') – at 12 a.m. g
 (2) In the rabbinic Jewish calendarh – at sunset
 (3) In the biblical calendar – at dawn

a
See a zip file Collections on Time, Day, Hour for #5A for IRENT Vol. III Supplement.
b
Cf. ‘dawn’ (morning twilight) – it is followed by ‘morning’, the beginning portion of 'day'.
c
It is in this sense the word day is used when expressed as days in ordinal numerals in a month or a week
and also when used to count off the number of days elapsed. (e.g. Deu 16:8). A comparable Gk. word for
this is nuchthēmeron (night + day). Note: Other languages may have different words for day as daytime
period - (Ko. 낮) and day as a calendar day (Ko. 하루).
d
Note different nuance of two expressions: a phrase ‘is artificially reckoned to start’ vs. another phrase
‘begins’.
e
“… We can consider ‘a new day’ as beginning at dawn, when the sunrises, or … with sunset, or … with
‘true midnight’ (halfway between sunset and sunrise). The midnight system is considerably less variable in
day length than either the dawn or the dusk systems. Duration btw 12 a.m. and midnight can be varied as
great as an hour in USA (up to 2 hours during the months of the Daytime Saving Time).”
https://medium.com/the-philipendium/a-day-is-not-24-hours-c36ee96078c6
f
Cf. the early Julian Roman calendar with a calendar day of midnight-to-midnight (not 12 a.m.) had its
counting hours (as by the sundial) from sunrise (for daytime period) and from sunset (for night period), not
from midnight.
g
Note: a [calendar] day begins and ends at the same point of time in a 24-hour period but differently
expressed: it begins at 12 a.m. and ends at midnight in the Gregorian calendar.
Cf. 'noon' vs. midday – it is compounded by Daylight Saving Time convention effected in many parts of
the world.
h
‘Hebrew calendar’ – since 4 th century B.C. devised by Hillel II as they could not practice the biblical
calendation after the destruction of the Temple based Judaism.
55
D. “Keeping the sabbath day set apart”: [Exo 20:8 ‘remember to keep ~’; Deu 5:12-16
‘keep it holy/sanctified’.]

The Moon governs ‘months’ and ‘weeks’ along with the New-moon day and sabbath
days in a month; as the Sun does ‘days’ and ‘years’ and ‘four seasons’. It is on 7 th day
of the lunar week which falls on 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th day of the lunar month with
New-Moon day on 1st; a translation day on 30 th if any. Solar weeks with planetary
names are from the Roman calendar (late Julian and Gregorian). a The Early Julian
calendar had 8-day week (labelled A to H).

Sabbath-rest applies to the daytime period as the night-time by itself is for the time of
resting.

Greek & Hebrew words for ‘day: ‘*Hebrew day’.

[See expressions and phrases with 'day' in <Walk through the Bible #1 - Words, Words and Words>
Gk. hēmera (S2250)
[Related words: 'today' (sēmeron S4594); 'tomorrow' (epaurion S877 – Mt 6:34)]

H3117 yom (2303x) day (as daytime period) (Gen 1:5a); or day (as daytime + night-time)
(Gen 1:5b, 8b, 13a, 19a, 23a, 31b; Lev 8:35, etc.)
H3118 yom (16x) daytime Ezr 6:9; Dan 2:28; [Why two Strong numbers?]
H3119 yomam (51x) daytime Exo 3:23; 13:31; Lev 8:35; Job 5:14
Hebrew word yom is translated as 'day' in most places in OT with 'day' as a daylight period,
or occasionally as a calendar day. Metonymically as a space of time,
 the word may be used in the sense of a year,
Exo 13:10 ["year after year" (H3117)],
Lev 25:29 ["within a full year' (H3117) and will last a year (H8141 – shanah)]
Num 9:22 ["for two days (H3117) or a month (H2320 chodesh) or a year (H3117)"]
etc.
 It can be a month, Deu 21:13 ["mourn for a full month" (H3117) + (H3391 yerach – month);
Cf. Num 20:29 'mourn for thirty days' (H3117)
 and it can be a week, Dan 10:2 ["in those days" (H3117) ~ "for three full weeks" H3117];

Heb. shakhar Neh 4:21 (- break of day – ISR; /daybreak – HCSB; /dawn – ISV, NET,
NASB; /rising of the morning – KJV; /rising of the dawn – Darby; /break of dawn – NWT,
ESV)

Heb. word onah, ‫ עֹונָה‬literally means "time period" or "season". In the context of the Jewish
laws of niddah, it usually refers to a day (for daylight period) or a night. Each 24-hour day thus
consists of two onot (plural for onah). The daytime onah begins at "netz hachamah" (Hebrew
for sunrise, also commonly called "netz") and ends at "shekiat hachamah" (Hebrew for sunset,
also commonly called "shekiah"). The night-time onah lasts from sunset until sunrise. The word
is not used in this sense in OT (e.g., Exo 21:10). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onah Content
changed?

a
The Early Julian calendar had 8-day week (labelled A to H). It was effective during the Gospel times in
the Second Temple Period of the Jewish people.
56
The problem with the erroneous idea that ‘a day begins at sunset’ or ‘a day begins with evening’ as
perpetuated in Jewish tradition (same in Islam). It came from their confusion of the day as daylight period
and as a calendar day. In turn, they find erroneous proof-texts (Gen 1:5 and Lev 23:32) – a Hebrew day,
also called a Jewish day!

From CBL
1:5. God named the light "day" and the darkness, "night", no such a distinction had been made
before. Here day is used of the light portion of the 24 hours (the earth was probably rotating on its
axis from the beginning, thus giving 24-hour days). The reference to the evening and morning
shows the creative acts were distinct and separate from each other and were not part of a gradual
evolutionary process. "Evening" indicated God was through with that creative act. "Morning"
indicated God was ready to begin the next one. Bible believers give several interpretations to the
word "day" in this chapter. The twenty-four-hour day theory takes them be ordinary days and
nothing else. The interval and restitution theory (also called the "gap" theory) interprets verse 2 to
represent an interval after the original creation and shows them to be days of re-creation. The day-
age theory takes them to represent ages of various length, perhaps overlapping, with distinct creative
acts followed by periods of development. All these theories reject the theory of atheistic evolution
by purely natural means.

[https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=z0ytVvRfXVgC&…&hl=en&pg=GBS.PP1

The Believer's Guide to Bible Chronology: From Man's Beginning to the End of Acts
Charles Ozanne (2011) p. 18

When did the day begin?

It is disputed by scholars whether the day in the Bible began in the evening or the morning. Many
would say it began in the evening, but here in Genesis 1 there can be little doubt that it begins in the
morning with the creation of light. Genesis 1:3 goes on to mention the day before the night ("God
called the light Day and the darkness he called Night"), and concludes with the statement, "And
there was evening (terminating the daylight) and there was morning (terminating the darkness), day
one." The word translated "and there was" is the same as "came to pass" or "happened". First the
evening happened as the day came to an end, and then the morning happened as the night came to
an end. It is the same in verses 14 and 16: the day precedes the night and the creation of the sun
precedes the creation of the moon and stars. This appears to be the regular practice throughout the
Bible, but with regard to festivals and special occasions it is stipulated that they should commence
the previous evening. In Exodus 12:18 for example it says, "In the first month, on the fourteenth day
of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread." The feast was to begin in the evening
preceding the. fifteenth, but the day is still called the fourteenth day of the month. It is the same with
regard to the Day of Atonement: "On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening
to evening shall you keep your Sabbath" (Lev 23:32). Here also the evening before the tenth, when
the Sabbath began, is still called the ninth. There may be exceptions but this appears to be the
general rule.

57
*Hebrew day (Jewish day)

‘Hebrew day’ (also called ‘): ‘a day’ is reckoned to start at sunset in the Jewish calendar a,
having made havoc from confusion of ‘day’ and ‘calendar day’ which was brought from
Babylonians https://youtu.be/C9TwrazbbI0..
Many confusing statements and confusions on chronology and timeline of events are
made on ‘day’ that which is reckoned to start at sunset in the Jewish calendar.
https://torahcalendar.com/SUNSET.asp
… ‘A Hebrew Day begins at sunset. [i.e. a transition from evening twilight to night and
another from morning twilight to day. Gen 1:5 & Lev 23:32 <Day of Atonement for
the (annual?) sabbath rest> are used as their groundless *proof-texts.

The first half of a Hebrew Day lasts from the moment of sunset to the moment of
sunrise. [i.e. the night period] The Scriptures divide the time between sunset and
sunrise into four watches each containing three Hebrew Night Hours.

The second half of a Hebrew Day lasts from the moment of sunrise to the moment of
sunset. [i.e. the daytime period]
When some events occur during the change-over period (e.g. midnight in CEC; late
afternoon in the Jewish calendar; in the dawn in the biblical calendar) it is somewhat
confusing and difficult to fix a precise calendar date involved.

What is causing unnecessary havoc in following the biblical narrative

timeline?

Day in the bible, b on the other hand, is simply and clearly that which begins with sunrise
regardless the word is used in the sense of a daylight period c or a calendar dayd. E.g.
'three days' may mean three daylight periods or three calendar days.

In the Gregorian calendar we use, it reckons a day to start at 12 A.M. It is a calendar day;
no one is confused of Gregorian 'calendar day’ and ‘day’. The word ‘day’ in everyday
usage in all languages and culture, except Judaism and Islam, is that which begins with
sunrise.

With the Jewish calendar, a day is reckoned to start at sunset (after Greek). This causes
much confusion when following the timelines in the biblical narratives.

When they say a day begins at sunset, it is simply a linguistic nonsense. The Jewish way of thinking
keeps their calendar day confused with ‘day’. Someone even wrote ‘how natural a day begins at
a
This sunset-to-sunset day reckoning has caused in following Biblical narratives.
b
In the Bible, the word 'day' is not used as a unit of time equal to 24 hours, corresponding to the duration of a
rotation of the earth on its axis (‘solar day’) ‘day’ as a unit of time of 24 hours. With an hour being a period
of 60 minutes with a minute 60 seconds (a day = 86, 400 seconds), with a second as a basic unit of time,
originally defined as 1/86,400 of the mean solar day, now new definition 1997 in SI system (ISO 1000:1992).

The terms ‘minute’ and ‘second’ are not biblical vocabulary: a minute is a period of time equal to sixty
seconds. The second is the base unit of time in the ISO, which is precisely measured in physics using cesium-
133 atom. http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/second-s-or-sec . Cf. See *atom of time in the appendix.
c
= from sunrise to sunset. Syn. ‘daytime’ ‘daytime period’. The length of a daylight period varies by season
and latitude (btw 10 to 14 hours in Israel).
d
= daylight period + night period = a 24-hour day on a calendar.
58
 sunset’! To say “a day begins at sunset”, then, means that the midday for them is strangely with
sunrise, not around noon!e The word ‘daybreak’ (Act 20:11) as such cannot be found in their
vocabulary since it can only mean ‘sunset’ to them, setting of a day! Why would Jewish people say
‘now a new day begins’ at sunset, when they are moving into a period of time of rest and sleep? It’s
an example par excellence of language perversion, with no practical usefulness whatsoever outside a
peculiar religious tradition.

No one would and should ever read 'day' as something to begin at sunset in reading the narratives in
the New Testament. What about these examples: 'after some days' (Mk 2:1) or 'night and day' (Mk
4:27) for example? . For sure, with our Gregorian calendar system, at midnight it becomes a new
calendar day ('date'). No one, however, would think that it is at midnight that a new day ‘begins’.

Note: That something was told to begin at the evening does not prove that a day begins with
sunset. E.g.

Exo 12:18 it says, "In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month in the
evening, you shall eat unleavened bread". It does not mean that the Festival of the
Matzah begins in the evening of Abib 14.
Lev 23:32: *Day of Atonement: "On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening,
from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath." Here, it is not about weekly 7th
day sabbath which was to be kept for daytime period, but the only annual sabbath rest
which was told here to keep from the evening.

Having a vocabulary with words clearly defined is an essential first step for understanding any
subject worthy of discussion and debate. For the biblical narratives, it is essential also to employ the
very calendar system used in the Bible and have to put other calendar systems aside as they actually
get in the way. [E.g. for the night time events, the dates in Abib are one day earlier in Nisan.]

e
Middle of a day is at midday (noon) in Gregorian; at sunset in the Biblical; with sunrise in the Jewish calendar.
59
*Proof-texts used to justify sunset-to-sunset day of their calendar system:

*Gen 1:5 [See below in the appendix for the text of Gen 1:3-5]
To assert that a day began in the evening they claim that the Bible says ‘evening and morning
makes a day’, writing:

<these words beginning in Genesis 1:5, “And the evening and the morning were the first day”,
are “always used to show when a day begins when it relates to a certain day”>. a

It seems that they may be actually trying to change the phrase ‘evening and morning’ to read as ‘night and
day’ (to make up a day).b The fact is, the Hebrew word ‘yom’ (‘day’) in the Genesis creation account Gen
1:5 – 2:4 has nothing to do with the unit of time or duration (that is, 24 hours). It is simply a literary term
in reference to the God’s creative work. Hence, the so-called creation dayc is an appropriate term as there
was no notion of any calendar and notion of a calendar day until the fourth day of the Creation in Gen
1:14-19.

It is simply absurd to say ‘a day is made up of ‘morning and evening’, nor ‘evening and morning’. A day,
by any means and in any languages, is that which begins with sunrise with the basic sense of a day light
period. It is also used as a calendar day (‘date’; made up of day + night), esp. when counting off days.

But there is a natural way to read: it began with the morning with the creation of light. The text mentions
the day which came before the night (“Elohim called the light Day and the darkness he called Night”), and
concludes with the statement, "And there were evening (ending the daylight) and morning (ending the
darkness) – day one''.d

The word translated "and there were" is to be read same as "came to pass" or "happened". First, the evening
comes as the day came to an end, and then the morning comes as the night came to an end. It is same in the
verses 14 and 16: the day precedes the night and the creation of the sun precedes the creation of the moon
and stars.

Other OT texts where certain things/events begin with sunset are taken as the proof-texts the definition of
'day' to be that which begins at sunset, including sabbath day. The have confused the word 'day' with
'calendar day'.

Note: ‘darkness’ is not something created but is simply absence of light and provides time for rest. Sabbath
rest is enjoined for daylight period only as night time is by itself time for rest.

a
Quoted from Rabbi Nathan Bushwick (1989), Understanding the Jewish Calendar p. 4., which reads “… the
definition of a day is one complete cycle of setting, rising, and setting of the sun. It is not defined by time on a
clock or any other device. It is defined only by the sun.” – [this is a typical the Jewish mindset of a day of
sunset-to-sunset. – ARJ]
b
When the phrase ‘(by) night and day’ always used in the context some activity that was done night and then
day, it never proves that night and day making up a day ‘night and day’: 1Sa_25:16; 1Ki_8:29; Isa_27:3;
Jer_14:17; Mk_4:27 (sleep and rises, night and day); Mk_5:5; Lk_2:37; Act_20:31; Act_26:7 (KJV error);
1Th_2:9; 3:10; 2Th_3:8; 1Ti_5:5; 2Ti_1:3; [Note: NWT has wrongly in Deu 28:66.]
c
A so-called ‘creation day’ – The creation day by itself would be a ‘revelatory-day’ in the literary framework,
not ‘calendar day’, or a code for much longer periods (eons), e.g. 1000 years – all from attempted midrashic
eisegesis. A calendar system adopted in human civilizations, which is rooted in Gen 1:15, did not come into
existence at the time of Creation itself. See also ‘creation week’. Cf. ‘24-hour-day theory’ of ‘Creationism’. See
elsewhere ‘*religion vs. science’. Some takes it equivalent of an ‘epoch’, of which duration is not an essential
idea.
d
The text was variously rendered: /And there was evening and there was morning, the first day – ESV; /xx: and
the evening and the morning were the first day - KJV; /There was evening, and there was morning, making the
first day – NET; /And evening passed and morning came, making the first day – NLT; /and there was evening
and there was morning, one day – NASB;
60
61
62
‘Day’ used figuratively or idiomatic

in figurative sense, in idiomatic usage; fixed phrases and expressions

[Note: No matter how it is used, the basic sense of the word ‘day’ is that which begins with
morning.]

 ‘Genesis day’ [Day one (not the first day) → to 2 nd Day → to 7th day] – it is not a ‘24-
hour day’.
 Cf. ‘day of YHWH’ Isa 2:12
 Figurative use: e.g. Heb 3:8;
 ‘a day or two’ Exo 21:21
 pl. ‘days’ Gen 5:4; Psa 90:12,
 yom lassanah
 'a year for each day' (Num 14:34). /each day for a year – KJV;
 'a day for each year' (Ezk 4:6) /each day a year' – KJV;

 sabbath day’ – day on which Sabbath falls, always refer to daytime period.
 a feast day (cf. ‘festival days’)
 the Day of Atonement. Lev 16:29-31; 23:26-32

 A generic span of time (Gen 26:8; Num 20:15);

 A given point in time (Gen 2:17; Gen 47:29; Ezk 33:12).
 In the plural, the word may also mean the span of life (Psa 102:3 [4]) or a year (Lev
25:29; 1Sa 27:7).
 The prophets often infuse the word with end-times meanings or connotations, using it in
connection with a future period of consequential events, such as the "day of YHWWH"
(Jer 46:10; Zec 14:1) or simply, "that day" (Isa 19:23; Zec 14:20-21). So-called
prophetic days.
 ‘years’ in English idiom – e.g. Lk 2:3 ‘many days’ – many ‘years’ as of age.

 Jn 11:39 it is fourth day ░ [S5066 tetartaios (1x)]; [i.e. been dead 'for three days'] [← 11:17 'had
been four days in the tomb', not 'for four days']; /it is three days since he died – WNT; /x: it has
been four days – HCSB; /xx: has been there four days – NIV; /been dead four days – ESV,
NASB; /been dead four days – KJV; /been buried four days – NET; /

See ‘On third day’ vs. ‘three days later’ vs. ‘after three days’. See in the file <Counting days in
the Bible and 'on the third day'

63
*Time sequence of the events
→in a day or in a period of more than one day:
Next day → dawn → sunrise (beginning 1st hour of the day) → morning → midday
→ afternoon → ‘between the two setting-times’ → sunset (ending of 12th hour of
the day) → dusk → evening → night (‘four watches of the night’) → tomorrow [i.e.
next day] → next night.

When evening come – does not change into the next day
Morning after the night – belong to the next day, not same day.

Nowhere in the bible show events in history and in conjunction with festivals and
sabbaths occurring with ‘evening’ as the beginning of the fictitious Hebrew day. E.g.
Judg 19:8-9; Next day [H4283 mochorath (32x) ‘next day’ ‘tomorrow’ Gen 19:34]
Jon 4:5-7 [H4297 machar tomorrow Exo 8:32 ‘later’ Gen 30:33] [H5927 888x to go
up; to rise, to dawn (Gen 32:24, 26; Jon 4:7)]
Num 11:32 gathered quail - All that day and all night and all the next day
1Sam 11:9-13 tomorrow 19:9-12; 20:5, 18-19, 34-35
Gen 19:23, 27, 30, 33-35 – next day coming after night
Exo 13:21 ‘by day and by night’
Job 5:14 ‘In the day darkness shall come upon them, and let them grope in the
noon-day even as in the night: - Brenton] [H6672 tsohar 24x midday, noon]
Exo 29:35, 38-41; //Lev 7:11, 15-18; Exo 12:3, 6, 10, 13, 14-15, 29, 34-37;
Num 33:3; (after the Passover night event)
Gen 1:31-2:1; Exo 20:8-11
Jn 9:4 (‘day’ to ‘night’)
Psa 104:19-23; Neh 7:1-3; 13:19; Jos 2:5; Exo 16:11;
Mk 15:42; Exo 16:12-27; Lev 23:27-32 (Day of Atonement]
Mk 4:1, 35; Jn 20:1, 19; Mt 28:1 Mk 16:1

 E.g. Exo 12:18 (‘eating unleavened breads for evening meal – on Abib 14); Deu 16:4, 6
(‘slaughter by the evening' – most read it as 'in the evening); Num 9:15 (‘what appeared
to be fire remained over the tabernacle until morning’) – specially claiming that sabbath
hours is reckoned from evening to evening!
 And when something is said as ‘evening and morning’ is taken as the proof that ‘day
should begin at evening’! – E.g. Dan 8:14, 26; 2Co 11:25.
 Something that ends at evening does not mean that it is ending at the end of a (24-hr)
day. Exo 12:18 “you shall eat the unleavened bread until evening of twenty-first day of
the month”.
 ‘Remain unclean (defiled) until evening’ (Lev 11:24, 25, 27) sounds for them same as
‘evening is beginning of day’!
www.tedmontgomery.com/bblovrvw/emails/Sabbathobservance.html
 Cf. Deu 21:23 – “his corpse shall not remain all night [H3885 luwn] hung on the pole but
shall bury him same day” – [‘day’ here cannot refer to that which begins at sunset.]
 Lev 16:29-31; 23:26-32 [7th mo, 10th day; not sabbath (as of weekly sabbath) but a
special sabbath-rest at Yom Kippur ('Day of Atonement') (the only occasion in which
the term 'annual sabbath' may be applied – the phrase which by itself does not appear in
the Bible) on 10th of the lunar month. It is with fasting at evening, from evening [of 9th
day] till evening [of 10th] to have sabbath-rest for your sabbath');
www.jewfaq.org/holiday4.htm

Even with a biblical luni-solar calendar this Jewish notion of sunset-to-sunset day is advocated
with faulty interpretation of these OT texts. E.g.
www.yhrim.com/Teaching_Documents/The_Beginning_of_a_Day_~_2-5996_-

64
 _may_2014.pdf An edited file is included in (Collection #5A) for IRENT Vol. III Supplement

'between the *two setting-times'

[>>’ between evenings’; >> between two evenings]

‘between two evenings’ or ‘between the evenings’ is a confusing term. ‘*between the two setting-times’
(Everett Fox) is linguistically accurate and is preferred.

[ha’arbayim (11x) Exo 12:6; 16:12; 29:39, 41; 30:8; Lev 23:5; Num 9:3, 5, 11; 28:4, 8] [←
H6153, ereb (134x)] /between two setting-times –
Fox; /in the late afternoon – NET; /xx: between the evenings – LSV, YLT; /xxx: twilight – NIV,
NASB, HSCB; /xxx: in the evening – NKJV, GNT, ISV;

Num 28:4 Offer one lamb in the morning [babboqer (74x) ← H1242 boqer (214x)] and the other
lamb in the afternoon … 28:8a Offer the second lamb in the afternoon …

The period btw (1) the sun’s setting down from high noon position and (2) its setting
down from the horizon. That is, afternoon – the time period when the Passover lamb
killed – ≈ Death of Yeshua]

See the file <Study on 'evening' and the Hebrew word 'ereb'> with a copy of
<Biblical meaning of “ben ha-Arbayim”> [Paul Finch – Ch.17, pp. 245-264] as an
attachment to pdf.] www.centuryone.com/2736-4.html ]

http://themessianicfeast.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/TMF_Between-the-Evenings.pdf

[See WB #9 – Passion Week Chronology]

In its quoted phrase ‘the paschal lamb was offered during the afternoon on the eve of Passover’
(i.e. Jewish Encyclopedia), ‘Passover’ is metonymy for Passover festival (Nisan 15 to 21), not
Passover memorial [Abib 14].

65
66
*evening
‘Evening’ is the first part of ‘night (period)’ from sunset to midnight [comparable to ‘morning’ being
from sunrise to noon (≈ forenoon). It is the beginning of night and the ending of day (cf. morning –
ending of night and beginning of day).

[Note: To say a 'day' begins at sunset is linguistically and logically absurd. Confusion over the notion
'evening' as the beginning of a day for the Jewish mindset comes along with mixing up ‘day’ and
‘calendar day’ from the convention of the Jewish calendar to reckon a day to start at sunset.]

In the OT we come across the express ‘night over and the next day comes’ while misusing Gen 1:5 and
Lev 23:32 (*Day of Atonement) as proof-texts. How can the Jewish mindset ever comfortable with their
idea that a ‘day’ begin at sunset??

Mk 1:32 And evening having come a when the sun had set, b

As a Greek word
Gk. hesperan [S2073 – 3x] (Lk 24:29; Act 4:3; 28:23)
Gk. opse [S3796 –3x] ‘evening’ Mk 11:19; Mk 13:35; ‘after’ Mt 28:1;
Gk. opsios [S3798. opsias – 14x; opsia – 1x] evening [Note: NWT erroneously renders
opsias Mt 27:57 and Mk 15:42 as 'when it was late on that day'.]

As an English word
Note: Example of lexicographers’ error - a strange dictionary definition is added of evening:
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition: “Chiefly Southern U.S. the time
from noon to twilight” as a meaning for the word ‘evening’.
Merriam Webster Dictionary: “Chiefly Southern & Midland: afternoon”

A lexicography, not a mere dictionary, is needed. it should show evidence of the examples of
idiomatic phrase, since idiomatic usage by itself give the word a different (confusing indeed)
meaning.

a
1:32 evening ░ [S3789 opsias (15x) evening]
b
1:32 as the sun set ░ [ho hēlios + S1416 (2x) dunō – Lk 4:40] [Sabbath rest is for day time only and ends at sunset;
‘day’ in the Bible is that which begins at dawn, not at sunrise, nor at sunset.]
67
In Hebrew
H6153 *ereb (134x) evening, Gen 1:5 etc.

That something is done until, before, or on sundown does not prove that sunset brings a new day.
Eph 4:26 (the sun sets);
2Sam 3:35 (before the sun goes down);
Jos 8:28-29 (ad et ha-areb [until time of the evening] at sun’s going down);
Deu 21:23 (luwn ‘remain overnight’).

Two words 'sundown' + 'Sabbath' appear in a verse does not mean that Sabbath itself begins
when the sun goes down. – (Neh 13:19).

The expression ‘night and day’ does not mean that a day is what consists of ‘night’ followed by
‘day’ (2Tm 1:3; 2Co 11:25). Neither the phrase "evening (ereb) and morning (boqer) → day
one" in Gen 1:5 does mean that evening and morning consists a day, nor does it mean that a day
begins with evening and ends with morning!

See the file <Study on 'evening' and the Hebrew word 'ereb'> in the zip <Collections #5A – time
+ calendar>.

See the file <Study on 'evening' and the Hebrew word 'ereb'> with a copy of <Biblical meaning
of “ben ha-Arbayim”> [Paul Finch – Ch.16, pp. 239-244] as an attachment to pdf. [
www.centuryone.com/2736-4.html
Example of the Hebrew Word “erev” used as a marker for the end of the afternoon. [bold italics
are his]
1) Jer 6:4-5 “4 … for the day goes away, For the shadows areb [of evening] are lengthening. 5 Arise,
and let us go by night, …”
2) Gen 24:11 “[Abraham’s servant] made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water
at the time ereb [of evening] when they [women] go out to draw water.”
3) 1King 22:35-36; “35 … [the king] died in the evening; the blood from the wound ran down into the
bottom of the chariot. 36 As the sun was setting, a cry went through the camp, …]
//2Chr 18:34 “… the king propped himself ad ha-areb [until the evening] and died at the time of the sun’s
setting down.”
4) Jos 10:26-27 “… [the bodies] were left hanging one the poles ad ha-areb [until the evening].”
5) Judg 19:14, 16 “14… And the sun went down on them near Gibeah, …, 15 and they … spend the
night … 16 And behold, an old man was coming ba-erev (at evening) from his work in the field.”
6) 1Sam 17:16 “And the Philistine [Goliath] drew near, ha-skem [morning] and ha-ereb [the evening],
and showed up forty days”
7) Deu 23:11 “… but when erev comes, he shall bathe himself in water, and as the sun sets, he may
come inside the camp.”

[However, in the phrases #1- #5 the word ‘ereb’ itself is used as ‘coming of evening’, not just as
‘period of evening’ – ARJ]

68
‘evenings and mornings’

[The expression ‘evening and morning’ in Daniel does not encompass 12 hours (half a day), nor it
is a period of ‘day’ (whether daylight period or 24-hour period), but simply a portion of a day (of
24-hour period). It is used as proof-texts for the common Jewish idea of a day which begins with
evening at sunset.]

Dan 8:14 And he [one of the holy ones – v. 13] said to me [Daniel],
“I will be for 2,300 evenings and mornings. [8:26]
Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.”
Dan 8: 26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings [8:14]
that has been told is true,
but seal up the vision,
for it refers to many days from now.”

69
*eve
The common English word *eve is the day or period of time immediately before an event or occasion:
Also as evening or night before a special day, usually a holiday, for example Christmas Eve.

See * preparation

www.etymonline.com/word/eve

Note: This fails to cover the word ‘eve’ as used in the sense of ‘the day before’

*eve (n.)
c. 1200, eve "evening", especially the time between sunset and darkness, from Old English æfen, with loss of
terminal -n (which, though forming part of the stem, perhaps was mistaken for an inflection), from Proto-
Germanic *æbando- (source also of Old Saxon aband, Old Frisian ewnd, Dutch avond, Old High German
aband, German Abend, Old Norse aptann, Danish aften), which is of uncertain origin. Now superseded in its
original sense by evening.

Specific meaning "day before a saint's day or festival" is from late 13c. Transferred sense of "the moment right
before any event, etc." is by 1780. Even (n.), evening keep the original form.

evening (n.)
from Old English æfnung "the coming of evening, sunset, time around sunset," verbal noun from æfnian
"become evening, grow toward evening", from æfen "evening" (see eve). As a synonym of even (n.) in the sense
"time from sunset to bedtime", it dates from mid-15c. and now entirely replaces the older word in this sense.
Another Old English noun for "evening" was cwildtid.

even (n.)
"end of the day,", Old English æfen, Mercian efen, Northumbrian efern (see eve (n.)).

Cf. 'eve' (the day before) – e.g. “Eve of Passover (Abib 13)”, “Eve of Sabbath”, “Eve of the
Passover Festival (=Abib 14)” – it is not 'evening'. Cf. Christmas eve

70
*night
lā·yə·lāh (33x) ← H3915 layelah (233x) Gen 1:4,

‘by night’ Gen 31: 39; Exo 13:22; Num 9:16; 14:14; Deu 16:1; Jos 8:3; Jdg 6:27; 9:34;
20:5; 1Sam 28:8; 2Sam 21:10; Psa 91:5; 105:39; Isa 4:5; Jer 31:35 Hos 4:5;
'in the night' 'at night' - Num 11:9; Deu 23:10 (cf. v. 11 in Fox); 1Kg 3:19; Job 34:20;
'of the night' – Job 4:13; 20:8; Sos 5:2
'for 40 nights' – Gen 7:4; Exo 24:18
Deu 16:1b YHWH your Elohim brought you out of Egypt by night [/at night – Fox]
[after Sabbath rest during daytime was over].
[QQ *Fox has different chapter break. Deu 22:29 (not 30); 23:26 (not 25)]
It has Deu 22:1-29 instead of 22:1-30; Deu 23:1-26 instead of 23:1-25]
ḇal·lā·yə·lāh (2x) Jer 6:5a Arise, and let us attack in the night

night – Gk. nux (S3571); Heb. layelah (H3915)

sunrise and sunset vs. dawn (morning twilight before sunrise) and dusk (evening twilight after sunset).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night night = night time = the period of ambient darkness from

sunset to sunrise

As day begins with sunrise with morning break, that which begins with sunset is ‘night’. See above
under the subheading *day for <the text of Gen 1:3-5> where the Scriptural definition of ‘day’ as well
as ‘night’ is clearly stated. What we have from a Jewish interpretation over millennia goes simply
against what the text is truthfully saying.

It is divided into four watches; it is also divided by 12 (seen once in NT – Act 23:23 ‘third hour-
period of night’) having different length for ‘hour-period’ of daytime (12 hour-period).

*watches of the night'

The night period was divided into watches, each watch representing the period for which
sentinels or pickets remained on duty. Cf. in Book of Mishna.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watches_of_the_Night
www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/watches-of-night/

In OT, three watches of the night – from sunset to 10 p.m.; from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.; and
from 2 a.m. to sunrise
"in the night at beginning of the watches," (Lam 2:19)
‘at the beginning of the middle watch’ (Judg 7:19)
‘in the morning watch’ (Exo 14:24; 1Sam 11:11)
‘in the watches of the night’ (Psa 63:6; 119:148; Lam 2:19)

It was divided into four after the Roman reckoning. E.g.

Mt 14:25; Mk 6:48 "fourth watch of the night" – about 3 hours before dawn. [dawn-watch].
Mk 13:35 "whether in the evening or at midnight or at the rooster-crow watch (‘3rd watch the
of night’ Lk 12:38) or at dawn (≈ early in the morning. Not ‘in the early morning’) "
Mt 24:43 ‘in what watch of the night’
71
Notable events during the night and early morning hours/watches:
www.theglobalwatch.com/significance-of-the-4th-watch.html
Gen 32:24 Jacob wrestled with God ‘until day breaking’
Exo 14:24-26 Moses led the Israelites across the Red Sea in the morning watch.
Judg 7:19-24 Gideon defeated the Midianites at the beginning of the middle watch,
Mt 14:25-26 Stormy sea at fourth watch of the night – Yeshua & Petros
Lk 2:8-14 The angels to the shepherds in the field at night announcing the birth of the savior.
Mt 28:1 First day of the week began to dawn --- the empty tomb.
Mt 25:1-13 The bridegroom woes His bride in the middle of the night,
SoS 2:17; 4:6 ‘until the day breaks’

*rooster-crow watch'
'rooster-crow watch' alektorophōnia (noun) itself is only once in Mk 13:35. [≈ third watch of night Lk
12:38 from midnight to 3 a.m.]

alektora phōneō (‘rooster to crow’) rooster-crow watch is announced/called out —not 'a rooster to crow'
but 'a shofar blowing to announce time' of the City gate opening (by a temple-crier kohen) as in the Peter’s
denial pericope (Mt 26:34, 74, 75; Mk 14:30, 68, 72; Lk 22:36, 60, 61; Jn 13:38; 18:27).]
/a Temple-crier calls out – ARJ; /the rooster crows– ESV, NIV trio, TCNT, ERV, GNB, NLT,
AUV, MSG, NKJV, SourceNT; /a rooster crows – ALT, NET, NASB, GW, CEV, ISV,
Wuest; /x: the cock crows – RSV, NRSV, KJV+, Mft, PNT, TNT, Cass, Barclay; /a cock crows
– AMP; /a cock to have crowed – Diagl; /the cock shall crow – ISR; /the cock’s second cry –
BBE; /

"Temple-crier - gaver in Aramaic, Hebrew for 'cock' or 'rooster', He was responsible for opening the
temple before dawn and calling out loudly, 2 to 3 times to announce the early morning services." [AENT
fn. https://youtu.be/xPTk1g_qkhE http://www.aent.org Aramaic English New Testament (AENT)]

It was not possible to keep fowls in the Holy City.

'cock crow'; '

[ quoted in http://themessianicfeast.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/TMF_Between-the-Evenings.pdf ]

"Jesus said Peter would deny him three times before the cock crows. In fact, that early morning
“cock crow” (“cock summons” in Greek) was not a rooster, as many suppose, but the calling out
to the priests to make ready for the morning sacrifice. There were three callings (summons) that
went forth: early, middle, and late. The Talmud shows that there were twelve cocks (similar to
faucets) at the laver in the Temple where the priests would first wash their hands and feet to
prepare for the sacrifices. [fn 365] The Jewish Encyclopedia (under Gebini) says this temple
crier’s voice (cock crow) could be heard for miles as he called the priests to prepare for the
sacrifice [fn 365:The mention of the cock crow appears in the Babylonian Talmud, Book 3, Tract
Yomah, ch. 1, pp. 27–28, http://sacred-texts.com/jud/t03/yom06.htm; the reference to the twelve
cocks at the laver where the priests would wash appears in Book 3, Tract Yomah, ch 3, pp. 51–
53, http://sacred-texts.com/jud/t03/yom08.htm]

72
*midnight

midnight

(1) the point of time in the middle of night period – at 12 a.m. – is at the ending of a
[calendar] day.
(2) the period of time in the middle of night period (about 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.)

/Midnight the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on
the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the
opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours.

[Exo 12:29 middle of the night ░ [H3915 layil or lel or layelah (233x) Gen 1:5] [+ H2677
chatsi (125x)]

It contrasts to 12 a.m. (or 00:00 hour) (= ‘12 o’clock in the night’) on which a Gregorian
calendar day reckoned to start. It is an artificial notion; there is no astronomical sign/pointer to
tell when it is 12 a.m.a

Solar midnight [‘true might’] is the time opposite solar noon and is the midpoint
between the sunset to sunrise being equidistant from dusk and dawn.

In the era before the modern clock, a specific hour of the night could not be precisely known,
whereas an hour of the day was easily determined by sighting the position of the sun along
with a sundial. Thus, ‘day’ was taken as it should mean that which begin with sun’s rising -
simple, reproducible and recognizable – without being affected by the artificial non-biblical
calendation, such as the Julian/Gregorian and the rabbinic Jewish calendars.

Often confusion arises when dealing with events occurring in the night because of the date
change occurring past midnight.

http://archive.org/details/dailylifeinancie035465mbp
(www.beaglesoft.com/timehistoryroman.htm ) “… Hence a first discrepancy between the civil
day, whose twenty-four hours reckoned from midnight to midnight, and the twenty-four hours
of the natural day which was officially divided into two groups of twelve hours each, twelve of
the day and twelve of the night.” Capcopino (1940), Daily Life in Ancient Rome, pp. 148-9.

a
Likewise, it is not possible to tell when the new year day is. One cannot tell a given day is the
certain day on a Gregorian calendar by observing astronomical signs.
73
*Morning; *sunrise
‘Morning’ is the first part of a daytime period and it begins with sunrise (= morning break)
as dawn (= morning twilight) is dissipated (not ‘dawn break’ which refers to ‘beginning of
dawn’ with light hinted up in the sky. Opposite of ‘dusk setting in’). Thus, ‘morning’ (a
period belonging to ‘day’) is what follows after ‘dawn’ same as ‘evening’ follows ‘dusk’.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning morning = the period from sunrise to noon.

[See G-Mk <Appendix ((early in the morning))>] [‘dawn’ = S4404 prōi ‘early in the
morning’ Mt 16:3; Mk 1:35; Mk 16:2 (lian prōi) ‘very early in the morning] [not to be
confused with ‘in the early morning’]

[Cf. the Greek expressions in Lk 24:1 (orthrou batheos) and Mk 1:35 (ennuchon) – in the
sense
[Jn 20:1c ‘prōi skotias eti ousēs’; Cf. Mt 28:1 ‘tē epifōskousē eis mian sabbatōn’]
(cf. orthrou Jn 8:2) (orthros – dawn – Danker) [Not ‘early period of dusk right after sunset (- in
Jewish calendar, at the time right after the Sabbath day was over).]

The sense of morning is ‘ending of night’, ‘coming of daylight’ (Gen 29:25), ‘beginning of
day’ (Gen 29:25; Exo 10:13; 14:27; Jdg 19:25; Ruth 3:13), ‘bright joy after night of distress
(figuratively) as well as ‘coming of sunrise’ (see next table). [Cf. evening is the beginning of
night and the ending of the day.]

*Sunrise:
'rising' H4217 miz-rə-ḥāh (Jos 12:1; Psa 50:1)
'coming out' H3318 kə-ṣêṯ (Gen 19:23; Jdg 5:31)
'(sun) rises' H2224 zā-rə-ḥāh (Gen 32:31; Exo 22:3; Jdg 9:33; 2Sam 23:4; Psa 104:22) etc.

See * sun goes down

H1242 boquer ‘morning’

H6924 qedem 'east' Gen 2:8; Jos 19:13
H4217 mizrach; place of sunrise; east (Exo 38:13); toward the sunrise (Num 2:3; Jos 12:1)
H8121 same 'sun' Jos 12:1

Lk 1:78 sunrise ░ [S395 anatolē] (11x) ‘the east’ Mt 2:1; here 1x ‘rising (of sun)’] /x: dawn;
Rev 7:2 apo anatolēs ‘from sun’s rising’ ‘from the east’
Act 20:11 achri augēs ‘until daybreak’ [S827 augē (1x) ‘brightness (of sun)’ daylight’]
S3722 orthros (3x)]
Act 5:21 hupo to orthron ‘on the day-break’
Lk 24:1 orthrou batheōs ‘very early in the morning’
Jn 8:2 orthrou ‘early in the morning’

Mk 1:35 And early in the morning, still much dark,

1:35 early in the morning ░ [S4404 prōi (12x)]
1:35 still much dark ░ [ennucha lian] [S1173 ennucha (1x); S3029 lian (12x)]

Cf. An idiomatic expression of ‘three in the morning’ for ‘3 A.M.’ is a phrasing less mathematically
sophisticated. However, such example of an idiom does not give another meaning of ‘A.M.’ for the
word ‘morning’. [a common lexicographer’s error.]
74
75
 *morning; early morning, *forenoon (‘late morning’), A.M.; *midday, *noon, high noon; noon
time; noon hour; *afternoon; early afternoon; late afternoon; P.M;

Day and daytime begin with sunrise with morning; that which begins with sunset is night (it cannot
be called by any logic ‘day’); it begins with evening.

The word ‘morning’ may extend to forenoon (which means a period before midday). The word
‘evening’ may be used in dialect and in context to extend back to the afternoon period, but
evening does not begin at noon! How the word is being used differently in speech in dialects and
idioms does not make claim to have different meanings (a lexicographer’s fallacy). [See
elsewhere in this article on the problem of interpreting the Hebrew idiomatic phrase ‘* between
the two setting-times’ (/x: between the two evenings; /x: between the two twilights; /xx: at
even; /xx: in the evening).]

An English translation word ‘noon’ (which is not used in IRENT) is used for ‘sixth hour’ (hēra
hektēs Mt 20:5; Mk 15:33; Lk 23:44; Jn 4:6; Act 10:9) and for ‘midday’ (mesēmbria – Act 22:6;
hēmeras mesēs – Act 26:13). Though it is synonymous with ‘noon’, the term ‘midday’ helps to
avoid association of the word ‘noon’ with ‘noon hour’ or ‘noon time’ which is 12 o’clock in the
daytime. (12 p.m.) [Cf. 12 a.m. to begin a calendar day (at midnight)] So, the word ‘midday’ in
biblical use approximates from sixth hour-period to seventh hour.

Psa 113:3 From sunrise until sunset YHWH’s name is to be praised.

[For ‘sunrise/sunset’, see http://youtu.be/GJ4Qp2xeRds How High Can We Build? (toward the end
from 05:00 on time-line).]

*midday; *noon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noon noon = the point of time set at 12 p.m.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midday midday = the point of time of the middle of daylight period

Midday: an arbitrary period (not 'point') of time in the middle of the day ('daylight period').
True ‘midday’ is ‘solar noon’ or ‘high noon’ when the sun is at highest point (halfway from
sunrise to sunset). Cf. ‘noon time’ (or ‘noon hour’) = 12 p.m.

An English translation word ‘noon’ (which is not used in IRENT) is used for ‘sixth hour’ (hēra
hektēs Mt 20:5; Mk 15:33; Lk 23:44; Jn 4:6; Act 10:9) and for ‘midday’ (mesēmbria – Act 22:6;
hēmeras mesēs – Act 26:13). Though it is synonymous with ‘noon’, the term ‘midday’ helps to
avoid association of the word ‘noon’ with ‘noon hour’ or ‘noon time’ which is 12 o’clock in the
daytime. (12 p.m.) [Cf. 12 a.m. to begin a calendar day (at midnight)] So, the word ‘midday’ in
biblical use approximates from sixth hour-period to seventh hour.

Act 22:6 S3314 mesēmbria

Act 16:13 S3319 mesē + hēmeras

76
There is no such notion of 'middle of a day' at 'noon time' as of a 24-hour calendar day, which
ever calendar system is under consideration. In the Bible 'day' is that which begins with sunrise,
be it of a day as daylight period or of a day as a biblical calendar day.

Ref. www.worldslastchance.com/topical-biblical-studies/download/183 (Midday in the Bible: Was God

Confused? – See a copy and other related files in the folder <Collections on 12-hour sabbath and when
day begins> in the zip IRENT Vol. III - Supplement (Collections #5B - Sabbath day)>

noon (n.) www.etymonline.com/word/noon

mid-12c., non "midday," in exact use, "12 o'clock p.m.," also "midday meal," from Old English non
"3 o'clock p.m., the ninth hour from sunrise," also "the canonical hour of nones", from Latin nona
hora "ninth hour" of daylight, by Roman and ecclesiastical reckoning about 3 p.m., from nona, fem.
singular of nonus "ninth", contracted from *novenos, from novem "nine" (see nine).

The sense shift from "3 p.m." to "12 p.m." began during 12c., … the meaning change from "ninth
hour" to "sixth hour" seems to have been complete by 14c.

midday or noon = Gk. sixth hour (Act 10:9; Jn 19:14) with a day into 12 hour-periods, counting
from sunrise in all the three calendar systems in consideration for the study of the biblical
narratives. Yes, it includes Roman reckon, not to be disturbed by an alleged Roman system used
in some places (- not all!) in G-John.
1Kings 18:26a "from morning [H1242 boqer 'morning' – Gen 1:5, 8, etc.]
until noon [H6672 tsohar '(24x) – ['noon', 'midday' – Gen 43:16, 1Kg 18:26, 27, 29, etc.] ['window' – Gen 6:16]
Psa 55:17 "evening [H6513 ereb] morning, and at noon"

Gen 19:15; 32:26; when the daybreak [H7837 shachar > 'dawn' – NIV; /x: morning – KJV] came up
[H5927 alah 'come up' 'arise']

Cf. Jos 6:15 [H7925 shakam (65x) – 'rise up early'] [H7837 shakar (25x) ‘dawn’ Gen 19:15, Amos 4:13]

"Day" (Hebrew, "yom"): In the Bible, the season of light (Gen. 1:5), lasting "from dawn [lit. "the rising
of the morning"] to the coming forth of the stars" (The Jewish Encyclopedia, 475.)
"Among the ancients the day was reckoned in a great variety of ways...'From dawn to dark'...was the
ancient and ordinary meaning of a day among the Israelites....

... The Israelites regarded the morning as the beginning of the day; in the evening the day declined 'or'
went down,' and until the new day ('morning') ... it was necessary to 'tarry all night' (cp Judg. 19:6-9) ...
Num 11:32 'all that day and all the night and all the next day'). Not till post-exilic times do we find
traces of a new mode of reckoning which makes day begin with sunset and continue till the sunset
following...

... Thus it was in the nature of things that morning, ...midday, ... and evening...should be distinguished,
and equally so that morning should be spoken of as the rising of the morning, the breaking of the day
(Gen. 19:15). ..." (Encyclopedia Biblica, 1035-1036.)

“When Hebrew writers refer to the only times of day recognized by them, they do so in terms of the
natural divisions of morning, noon and evening, times which, of course, varied in length depending
upon the actual seasons of the year.” (Life and Language in the Old Testament, 33, 36, 37.)

www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/about-sun-calculator.html
www.timeanddate.com/sun/israel/jerusalem
77
[www.gaisma.com/en/location/jerusalem.html as of Apr 3, 2015]

[Diagram]

[Daylight saving time]

[In the above diagram, daylight saving time effect has been removed.]

78
AM - Latin ante meridiem, lit. "before midday", i.e. morning or before noon.
M - Latin meridies, lit. "midday" [Cf. ‘noon’]
PM - Latin post meridiem, lit. "after midday", i.e. afternoon or evening.
MN - Latin media nox, lit. "midnight".

[Cf. ‘meridian’ meaning midday is an archaic English]

Cf. Noon and midday are not same: noon is conventionally referred to the time 12 o'clock
midday (12 p.m.); midday is used colloquially to refer to a range of time, often 11 a.m. to 1
p.m.

Solar noon is when the sun transits the celestial meridian –the time when it is highest above the
horizon (at its highest elevation in the sky) on that day, which is the basis of the terms ante
meridiem (a.m.) and post meridiem (p.m.)
The sun is directly overhead at solar noon at the Equator on the equinoxes, at the Tropic of
Cancer (latitude 23° 26′ 16″ N) on the June solstice, and at the Tropic of Capricorn (23°
26′ 16″ S) on the December solstice. In the Northern hemisphere the sun is directly to the
south of the observer at solar noon, and in the Southern hemisphere it is directly to the
north.
The clock time of solar noon depends on the longitude and date. 12 o'clock apparent solar
time, or around 12 – 1 p.m. local time, depending on daylight saving time and the moment
when the sun crosses the meridian.

Cf. At the change of the date in our common era calendars, the expression ‘12 midnight’ (12
a.m. midnight) still presents ambiguity regarding which specific date it refers to.
www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=noon
[mid-12c.] non "midday, 12 o'clock p.m., midday meal",
from [Old English] non "3 o'clock p.m., the ninth hour", also "the canonical hour of nones"
from [Latin] nona hora "ninth hour" of daylight, by Roman reckoning about 3 p.m., from nona,
fem. singular of nonus "ninth" (see nones).

Sense shift from "3 p.m." to "12 p.m." began during 12c., when time of Church prayers shifted
from ninth hour to sixth hour, or perhaps because the customary time of the midday meal shifted,
or both. The shift was complete by 14c. (same evolution in Dutch noen).

Related word: Gk. augē (Act 20:11 daybreak. Cf. augazō 2Co 4:4 – ‘illumine’);
Related English expressions: ‘late morning’; ‘early afternoon’; ‘late afternoon’; early evening;
late evening; early night; late in the night; deep in the night;

79
*Dawn

‘*dawn’ = morning twilight of a short period of time before sunrise with appearance of light in
the sky (= ‘dawn break’) with darkness of night (the fourth watch) giving way to morning of a
new day (Cf. early morning, morning, forenoon).

A day begins with sunrise (= morning break), a calendar day in the bible is reckoned to start
at dawn (not at sunset).a E.g. the resurrection of Yeshua was ‘in the dawn’ of Abib 16 [1 st day
of the lunar week]. The disciples met their risen Master in the morning.

In Mt 28:1 ‘as the dawn toward the first day of the (lunar) week’ (IRENT rendering) b. Here it
refers to dawning of the first day of the lunar week begins. Later, in the morning on that day He
made his appearance to His disciples being shown to a group of women (‘Sunday’ in the Holy
Week in the Church calendar).

[H7837 shachar] e.g. Jos 6:15; (1Chr 23:30-31 ‘dawn’ and ‘dusk’

[Gk. prōi ‘in the dawn’≈ ‘at dawn’, /x: ‘early in the morning’ cf. ‘dawn break’]
[Cf. not to be confused with ‘in the early morning’ → about 6 to 9 a.m. from
sunrise. vs. ‘late morning’.

[Cf. ‘forenoon’ is a period before the noon from morning [break] vs. ‘afternoon’ – a
period from the noon till evening.
‘dawn break’ - light to begin shown in the sky as the 4th watch of the night (‘dawn-watch’
or pre-dawn watch?) comes to close. /x: beginning of ‘dawn (watch)’.
‘morning break’ ‘daybreak’ – with sunrise for a new 'day'.
Cf. expressions: ‘at dawning’ ‘at dawn’ or ‘at dawn break’; ‘in the dawn’; 'day is dawning';
‘upon the dawning’
Cf. ‘crack’ as in ‘at the crack of dawn’.
Cf. ‘breaking’ = bursting forth onto the scene to make its presence
(www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/83038-Meaning-of-quot-Breaking-Dawn-quot )
https://youtu.be/vnjAfhPBg3I When Does a Day Begin? from www.worldslastchance.com/
(note: ‘dawn’ vs. ‘sunrise)
https://youtu.be/Xe424_hURSw When Does the Day Begin in Scripture? (CC & Transcript)
https://youtu.be/xDZNfUuqiE8 When does a biblical day begin?
[reads the text of Mt 28:1 ‘In the end of the sabbath day as it began to dawn toward the first day
of the week’ – the wrong translation by KJV. @01:29]
https://youtu.be/R5xBdoWegTQe
WHEN DOES A DAY START - MORNING OR EVENING? PART 1
https://youtu.be/Vs19gS14qyk
https://youtu.be/UW3DdysjCb8
https://youtu.be/EtB5e-t981o [4 parts by #bsavedcom]
https://youtu.be/-t7x5UOh78M (When does the day start - 2hr long! Waltschoe)

a
In the Jewish calendar, the dawn sits in the middle of a 24-hour day! – not at beginning.
b
Mt 28:1 tē epiphōskousē eis mian sabbatōn [KJV translation ‘as it began to dawn toward the first
day of the week’. Cf. IRENT rendering, ‘at the dawning toward the first day of the week’.]
80
*dusk

'dusk' – Evening twilight (after sunset).

– a short period of time after sunset. No clear ending-time. [Note: sunrise follows
dawn; sunset follows dusk.]
[evening] twilight begins when the same limb sinks below the horizon
("sheḳi'at ha-ḥammah"). … says: "Twilight begins with sunset and lasts as long
as there remains a glowing reflection in the east: when the lower part of the
heavens becomes pale and the upper part is still aglow it is twilight; and when
the upper part likewise becomes pale it is night."

“dusk” or “twilight”; beyn ha-shemashot, “between the suns” “afternoon

sun”. “evening sun”??; https://forward.com/articles/4471/between-two-evenings/
‘dusk’ is not beyn ha-arbayim,

A related word: S2020 epiphōskō (2 x) –Mt 28:1 and Lk 23:54

Mt 28:1 The verbal phrase tē epiphōskousē ('at the dawning') with t he sense of
‘dawning to bring the first day’.
Lk 23:54 ‘sabbath day was coming on’
[Note: The time setting has nothing to do with the twilight of dusk as placed in the popular
Wednesday crucifixion with the Resurrection being placed on Saturday evening or late
afternoon.]

Some with Jewish mind-set of reckoning a day to start at sunset try to read this erroneously as
‘a day beginning at dusk’ (at evening) with sunset (e.g. David Bivin), rather than ‘at dawn’.
[See a baloney work by Randall Buth, Cignelli & Buth_11-10-2005_Resurrection.pdf – a copy
included in this zip file: Appendix (Mt 28.1); Mt 28.1 Explained; on Gk. opse.
www.jerusalemperspective.com/13865/ ]
… Sabbath started a few minutes before sundown on Friday and ended a few minutes
after sundown on Saturday evening, with the beginning of first day of the week on
Saturday evening. You may wonder why the gospel writers would use an idiom
epiphōskein "to dawn, shine" to refer to sundown, evening, nightfall. Well, they did.
There is universal agreement in Luke's case. There was a Hebrew idiom along these
lines, first attested in the Mishnah as well as later Aramaic and Hebrew texts. No one
knows for sure exactly how the idiom developed (the evening star?) …

81
Diagram: *Dawn and *Dusk:

http://wordpress.mrreid.org/2013/02/05/dawn-dusk-sunrise-sunset-and-twilight/

Sunrise and sunset are the observable points at which the top edge of the Sun reaches the
horizon; the only difference between them is the direction in which the Sun is moving at the
time. It actually occurs when the top of the Sun is 0.57° below the horizon due to refraction of
the Sun’s light by the atmosphere.
Twilight is the name given to the period between dawn and sunrise, or between sunset and
dusk, when light is still visible in the sky due to sunlight scattering off the atmosphere. It can
also be separated in astronomical, nautical and civil sections by how far below the horizon the
Sun is.
Dawn occurs before sunrise, before the top of the Sun reaches the horizon. Astronomical
Dawn is the point at which it becomes possible to detect light in the sky, when the sun is 18°
below the horizon. Nautical Dawn occurs at 12° below the horizon, when it becomes possible
to see the horizon properly and distinguish some objects. Civil Dawn occurs when the sun is
6° below the horizon and there is enough light for activities to take place without artificial
lighting.
Dusk occurs after sunset, once the top of the Sun has passed the horizon. As with dawn there
is astronomical dusk, nautical dusk and civil dusk, occurring at 18°, 12° and 6° below the
horizon respectively.

www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-dusk-and-vs-dawn;

www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14114-sun-rising-and-setting-of-the
[dawn vs. astronomical twilight (dusk) - 1 1/5 periodical hours]
Dawn Sunrise Sunset ‘twilight’ ends
Nisan 14 daytime
begins
1905 Apr 9 13 hr. 2 m. 05:30
1907 Mar 29 12 hr 30 m. 05:51
e.g. Apr 10 12 hr 59 m 03:58 05:31 18:30 20:05

Following morning twilight, sunrise comes - the upper limb of the sun appears ("heneẓ ha-
ḥammah").

Note: OED the entry ‘dawn’ (verb) – “intr. To begin to grow daylight: said of the day,
morning, light; also simply with it.”

82
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight

[dusk = evening twilight] [dawn = morning twilight]

- at the top and bottom is true midday (‘noon’) and midnight; not 12 o’clock.
- ‘day’ for day-period is from sunrise to sunset; ‘night’ for night-period is from sunset to sunrise
- length of daytime and the time of sunrise and sunset do vary, depending on latitude and season

*afternoon
= early afternoon and late afternoon.

Cf. ‘forenoon’

‘early in the morning’; ‘dawn’

[S4404 prōi (12x) in the dawn; early in the morning; [not to be confused with ‘in the early
morning’]
See Appendix: ((Early in the morning))
[cf. Greek expressions for ‘early morning’ period - prōi, prōia, orthros, orthrinos]

Mt 16:3; 21:18; Mk 11:20; 15:1; 16:9; Jn 18:28; Act 28:23;

Mt 20:1 hama prōi ‘early in the morning’
Mk 1:35 (+ still much dark); prōi ennucha lian
Mk 16:2 lian prōi ‘very early in the morning’
Jn 20:1 (+ skotias eti 'still dark')]
Mk 13:35
“in the evening or midnight or at rooster-crow watch (‘3rd watch the of night’ Lk 12:38) or in
the dawn”
/early in the morning – NWT; /x: at dawn – NIV, NET, WNT; /in the morning – ESV, NASB, KJV,
NKJV, HCSB, GW; /xxx: at the morning – LSV; /xxx: at sunrise – GNT;

83
Night hours

Act 23:23 third hour of the night ░ [i.e. hour-period. Cf. 'hour-period' on a sundial’ for
daytime); [≈ 9 p.m.] [This is the only example of an ordinal number for Roman reckoning of
hour-periods of the night with a night period divided by 12, same as a day was.] [Cf. Jewish
reckoning is to divide a night into four watches and to divide a day into 12 hour-periods.]

*Watch of the night

Four Watches of the night: (3 watches by Jewish reckoning? 4 –by Greek & Roman)

First watch ≈ 6-9 p.m. – Lam 2:19;

[S3571 nuktas (62x) Lk 21:37 at the nights]
Evening - [Mt 14:26; Mk 13:35];
Second watch ≈ 9 p.m. to midnight. [to check Rev 9:16; Acts 23:23; Exo. 3:21; 11:3, 4; 12:35,
36; Psalm 119:148]
Middle watch – Judg 7:19 [To check Psa119:62; Isa 42:22; Psa. 68; Acts 16:25; 27:25-44; Exo
12:29]
Third watch ≈ midnight to 3 a.m. Mk 13:25 [‘midnight – Mt 25:6; ‘at midnight’ – Act 16:25; Psa
119:62] Exo 14:24; 1Sam 11:11
Fourth watch ≈ 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. – Mt 14:25; [Exo 14:24; 1Sam 11:11 ‘morning watch’] [‘pre-
dawn watch? ‘dawn watch’?] [Check Isa 58:8, H7837 shachar; Rev. 22:76] [It ends
with dawn coming.]
H821 ashmoreth ‘watch’ – Judg 7:19; Psa 63:6; 90:4; Lam 2:9
H6979 aphaph Job 3:9 dawning of day;
www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/mse/w/watch-of-the-night.html
[a copy in the collection]

Lk 12:38 second and third watch of the night

Mk 6:48 (peri tetartēn phulakēn tēs nuktos) //Mt 14:25(tetartē phulakē tēs nuktos);
about in the fourth watch of the night ░ (≈3 to 6 a.m.; before dawn of a new day)
/about the fourth watch of the night – KJV; /x: as the night is ending – NET; /shortly
before dawn – NIV, ISV; /x: about three o’clock in the morning – NLT; /> around
three in the morning – HCSB;

[S5438 phulakē (47x) 'prison'; 'keeping watch on' 'watch (of the night)']
Mk 13:35 “in the evening, midnight, at rooster-crowing watch [= third watch of the
night], in the dawn [≈ early in the morning].

<http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/b-greek/2008-June/046758.html [B-Greek] Time Reference

in Jn 6:16-21, Matt. 14:22-27, Mk 6:45-62>

The practical aspect of a fisherman's life in a traditional way is clear, fishing is done from
midnight to about four o'clock. Fish disappears to deeper waters as light comes up. Since they
were fishing, it has to be night. Because it is so obvious to the writers of the Gospels, did not
need any further time specification.

Cf. 'fourth watch of the night' (Mt 14:24; Mk 6:48) = the last portion of a night (about 3 hours
before a new day) – [can be called ‘pre-dawn watch’, ‘dawn watch’??]

84
85
4. *month; *year
*year and *month - defined

‘Month’ in the Scripture is a lunar month (29 or 30 days); with its first day to begin a month
with ‘new-moon’ [which literally means ‘new month’]. [See References on Moon Phase]. The
word ‘month’ in our modern solar calendar has nothing to do with the moon and the moon
cycle.

There are 13 lunar months in a leap year in the Biblical calendar and the rabbinic Jewish
calendar – hence it is a luni-solar, not lunar calendar as in Islam.

After ‘dark moon’a (which occurs at lunar conjunction and may be precisely determined by
astronomical calculation – the astronomical 'new moon' should not to be confused with the
New-Moon day (the first day of a lunar month), the crescent of the rebuilding (‘waxing’) moon
light then becomes visible [how many hours later?].

Moon vs. month – see **moon for Hebrew words chodesh, yareach, lebanah.

[Nathan Bushwick, p. 5]

A month is defined [as to its duration ARJ]:

as the time between a dark moon to the next. [It is a lunar month in the lunar calendar; not
solar month of the solar calendar.] This is, on the average, a little more than twenty-nine and a
half days. But the month is not defined in terms of days just as the year is not. The month is
defined only by the cycle of the moon. It is possible through many observations and great
effort to determine how long this period is in terms of days, hours, minutes, and seconds, but
that is not the definition of a month. It is just a relationship between two independent units of
time, days and months.

When one unit of time is defined in terms of another, as an hour is defined in terms of a day,
the relationship between them is exact. An hour is exactly one twenty-fourth of a day and a day
is exactly twenty-four hours. It is true because they were defined that way. But if two units of
time are independent, as the day and the month are, it is necessary to determine by observation
what the relationship between them is. As we carefully count the days from one new-moon to
the next, month after month, we determine more and more accurately the exact length of a
month. Similarly, we can count the days from one season to the next to determine the length of
the year.

There are three independent units of time, the day, the month and the year. The first step in
understanding the calendar is understanding the relationships between them, and how a unified
system can be formed from them. The great civilizations of the world have struggled with this
problem. For us, the answer has always been found in the Torah, handed down from generation
to generation, and forms the basis of the Jewish calendar to this day.

a
= so-called ‘astronomical new moon’
86
87
 [Nathan Bushwick, p. 5]

A year is defined
as one cycle of long and short days, or one cycle of the seasons. You can start on any day, as
long as you go through all the seasons and come back to a day of the same length. The
period from the longest day of summer to the longest day of the next summer is one year.
Similarly, the period from the shortest day of winter to the shortest day of the next winter is
also one year. The relationship between years and days is not like the relationship between
days and hours. An hour is defined as one twenty-fourth of a day, but a day is not defined as
one 365 1/4th of a year. Days and years are independent. Each is defined by a motion of the
sun, one by its rising and setting, and the other by its changes through the seasons. By
careful measurement we are able to determine a relationship between these two units of time.
That is, that a year equals approximately 365 1/4 days. But that relationship is neither the
definition of the year nor of the day.

“*forty years” Exo 16:35; Num 14:34; 32:13; Deu 2:7; 8:2, 4; Deu 29:5; Jos 5:6; Judg 3:11; 5:31;
8:28; Judg 13:1; 1Sam 4:18; 2Sam 5:4; 15:7; 1Kg 2:11; 11:42; 2Ki 12:1; 2Ch 9:30; 24:1; Neh
9:21; Psa 95:10; Ezk 29:11, 12, 13; Amo 5:25;

H2320 chodesh (283x) month; new-moon

(1) month: Exo 12:2 (3x) ‘this month (Abib)’; ‘months’; ‘the first month’
[Exo 13:4; 23:15; 34:18; Deu_16:1; Eze_3:15] (Cf. ‘Nisan’ as the seventh month of a civic calendar -
Neh_2:1; Est_3:7)
First month Exo 40:1; 2Ch 29:3
Second month Gen7:11; 8:14; Exo 16:1; Num 9:11
Third month 2Ch 15:10; 31:7
Fourth month 1Ch 27:7
Fifth month 2Ki 25:8; 1Ch 27:8
Sixth month 1Ch 27:9
Seventh month Gen 8:4; Lev 16:29; 23:24, 27
Eighth month 1Kg 6:38; 12:32
Ninth month Lev 23:32; Ezr 10:9
Tenth month Gen 8:5; 2Kg 25:1
Eleventh month Deu 1:3;
Twelfth month Ezk 32:12; Est 3:7; 1Ch 27:15; Eza 10:9; Jer 52:31
(2) new-moon
1Sam 20:5, 18, 24, 27, 34; 30:5; 2Kg 4:23

H3394 yareach (26x) moon Gen 37:9; Deu 4:19;

88
Calendar year; BC and AD; BCE and CE;
Note: there was no number "0" in their numbering systems in the ancient Hebrew, Greek and Latin civilizations.
In the different context, we have no year 0 for CE or BC. After BC 1 comes CE 1.

For neutral terms – CE for 'Common Era'; BC for 'Before Common Era'; not as 'Before Christ',
rather than BCE (Before Common Era). Cf. 'Common Era Calendar' is preferred to 'Gregorian
Calendar' – neutral from religious history.

Year continues, does not ‘change’. The beginning of the calendar year as in the Gregorian calendar
is artificial. There is nothing to tell what is the first of day of a year to be. In the Bible, the year
turns. The ‘turn of the year’ in the Bible is a specific notion, related to [spring] * equinox. See
below.

*Month; New Moon; New-Moon day

Month in the Scripture is lunar month. [Gen 7 – 8] It can only be 29 or 30 days. Its first
day is ‘New-Moon day’. It is associated and determined by moon cycle, quite unlike a solar
month as in the solar (Gregorian) calendar system.

Lunation = the mean time for one lunar phase cycle (i.e., the synodic period of the Moon).
It is about 29.5 days (on average 29.530589 days, or 29 days + 12 hours + 44 minutes and 3
seconds). The actual time interval between consecutive new moons varies greatly. (e.g. 29
d + 6.5 hrs to 29 d + 20 hrs). http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/astronomy/Lunation.html
In a lunar or luni-solar calendar each month corresponds to a lunation, i.e. lunar month.

Moon phase; waxing and waning; full moon and dark moon

[See under ‘* Moon Phase: Terminology’]

Once the moon wanes again into total darkness, people would begin to look in the sky for
the moon to reappear. Since a month cannot be shorter than 29 days, moon is expected to
reappear not sooner than sunset ending day 29, and not later than sunset ending day 30. It is
tied the visibility of a new young crescent moon; it is not dependent on its observability by
human eyes. Eyewitnesses cannot possibly be used to determine when the New-Moon day
actually is – all depending on locality (cannot be applied outside Palestine!), visibility,
observability, and verification of eyewitness, etc. It must have worked for the people in the
ancient time and in the ancient Palestine, but a sighting of the crescent moon, which cannot
be reliable, cannot be now applicable worldwide.

89
*New-moon day – How to determine the beginning day of a month:
[Heb. chodesh; (lunar) month; Heb. rosh chodesh (head of the month) 1st day of the month]

Like the transition day (Day 30 of the month), the New-moon day (= 1st day of the lunar
month), does not belong to work day or sabbath day. No restriction to work on the new-moon
day, a feast day.a

Not to be confused with astronomical new moon, which is really be called 'dark moon'
– at luni-solar conjunction – about 30 hours of darkness – Colin Humphreys. The main point
is to determine what day we take as first day of the lunar month, not at what precise moment a
new month begin.

https://youtu.be/p5oS5pL00ds <Understanding New Moons & Translation Days>

www.worldslastchance.com]

[Cf. The expression 'observe the new moon' = 'keeping the feast of the New-Moon day'. Cf.
'sighting the new moon crescent' https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Hebrew_Roots/New_Moon ]
http://members.cogwa.org/uploads/Hebrew_Calendar_-_Study_Paper.pdf
www.karaite-korner.org/new_moon.shtml
5-Stern (2001), Calendar and Community [Ch. .3 The New Moon, p. 99] – (A copy in IRENT
Vol. III Supplement – Collections #5A)

a
E.g. Exo 40:2. 'On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle [H4908 mishkan], the
tent [H168 ohel] of meeting [H4150 moed 'set-time']'.

Jos 6:15 "On the seventh day [of the month] the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the town
as they had done before. But this time they went around the town seven times." The battle of Jericho was
a seven-day event. they were battling 7 days but no sabbath day was involved (← New Moon day + 6
work days).
www.creationcalendar.com/AnsweringObjections/Objection26.html
90
 First day of a lunar month ('New-moon day').

The month begins with the first dawn that which is coming after the moon begins receiving its
earliest light from the sun and ends when the moon is completely void of light at the
conjunction. [See how this is determined according to the interpretation – some by the
crescent moon observed, etc.]
(1) as the day following the first visible crescent, [by sighted new crescent – unfit for a
practical consistent calendation – a first sighting of the new moon could occur any time
between about 15 and 48 hours after a conjunction.
www.joybysurprise.com/First_Day_Of_The_Month_.html ]

(2) commences at first dawn after conjunction of the moon with the sun. "New-Moon day:
The Dawn After Conjunction." [www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/future-
lunarsolar-conjunction-dates.html]

This is important the beginning of a new month is correctly determined because each
month it determines the actual date of the annual holy days which occur in that month. The
annual holy days fall in first month (Passover Day and Days of the Festival of the Matzah),
fourth month (Feast of Shavuot – in the summer harvest season for summer wheat, grapes,
etc.), and seventh month (Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Festival of Sukkot, and
Shemini Atzeret – the “Eighth Day”).

Note: ‘New-moon (day)’ in the Scripture should not be confused with the so-called astronomical
new moon which is at luni-solar conjunction with the moon itself not visible (‘dark moon’). Note
also in the lunar month of 30 days, 30th day (as last day of a lunar months) belongs to ‘new-moon
celebration’ but not to be confused as the New-Moon day, the first day of the lunar month.

“Blow the shofar at the time of the NEW-MOON (Chodesh); at the full [keseh] moon, on our
solemn feast day. For this is a statute for Israel, a LAW of the God of Yaakob” ( Psa 81:3-4).
The new-moon was reckoned by actual personal observation, not by astronomical calculation.
(‘Observe [Abib =] the month of Abib …’– Deu 16:1)

Nehemiah Gordon:
“The Crescent New Moon* is called Hodesh [< Chodesh?] because it is the first time
the moon is seen anew after being concealed for several days [how many?? – ARJ] at
the end of the lunar cycle. At the end of the lunar month the moon is close to the sun
and eventually reaches the point of ‘conjunction’ when it passes between the Sun and
the Earth. As a result, around the time of conjunction very little of the moon’s
illuminated surface faces the Earth and it is not visible through the infinitely brighter
glare of the sun. After the moon moves past the sun it continues towards the opposite
side of the Earth. As it gets farther away from the sun the percentage of its illuminated
surface facing the Earth increases and one evening shortly after sunset the moon is
seen anew after being invisible for 1.5 to 3.5 days. Because the moon is seen anew
after a period of invisibility the ancients called it a ‘New Moon’ or ‘Hodesh’ (from
Hadash meaning ‘new’).”

91
 wlc/new-moon-day-the-dawn-after-conjunction.html
"New Moon Day Commences at the Dawn After Conjunction

The Reasoning behind the Method

The moon begins to illuminate immediately after conjunction. We cannot see it,
though, until the sun sets because the moon is obscured by the greater light of the
sun. The fact that we cannot see the moon immediately after conjunction,
however, does not negate the fact that it has already began a new revolution with
new illumination. Often, the first visible crescent will be seen on the evening of
New Moon Day, displaying her new light to the viewer.

The reason for taking the day after conjunction as New-Moon day, as opposed to
the actual day that conjunction takes place, is because a day cannot simultaneously
be part of the old month and part of the new month. Therefore, the first dawn after
conjunction takes place is the beginning of the new month. There are two main
arguments, which have compelled us to make the shift from the [Sighting] First
Visible Crescent to First Dawn After Conjunction: …"

" Consistency: Beginning the Day at Dawn (as opposed to sunrise)

A Biblical day begins at dawn, at the earliest introduction of light, and ends at
dusk, with the complete absence of light. In a consistent pattern, the month begins
with the first dawn immediately after the moon becomes illuminated and ends
when the moon is completely void of light at the conjunction. (Not being able to
see the moon's initial illumination does not change the reality that it is taking
place. The light of the first visible crescent is only evidence of what began taking
place immediately following the moon's conjunction with the sun.) "

Reckoning the day after conjunction as New-Moon day, however, places the full
moon on the 14th/15th of the month, which is in harmony with Psa 81:3.

The astronomical full moon does not consistently fall at the exact midpoint between two lunar
conjunctions. The full moon may follow the lunar conjunction by 4/6 as little as 13 days, 21
hours and 53 minutes, or by as much as 15 days, 14 hours and 30 minutes. That is why months
vary in length between 29 and 30 days. This anomaly is because the moon’s orbit is not
perfectly circular.

Cf. Yom Teruah or Rosh Hashanah by other names as well. It is known as Yom HaDin (Day of
Judgment), Yom HaDat Olam (Day of the Birth of the World, or the Ages), Yom Zikhron Teruah
(Day of Memorial of Shouting, Blowing or Sounding the Ram’s Horn). But perhaps most
interestingly, it is known as Yom HaKeseh (Day of Concealment).

www.rmg.co.uk/explore/astronomy-and-time/time-facts/equinoxes-and-solstices

The Earth takes approximately 365.25 days to go around the Sun. This is the reason we
have a leap year every four years, to add another day to our calendar so that there is not a
92
gradual drift of date through the seasons. For the same reason the precise time of the
equinoxes are not the same each year, and generally will occur about 6 hours later each
year, with a jump of a day (backwards) on leap years.

*Determining a New Year and a new month for the Biblical luni-solar
calendar:
See a separate file <Calendation Practicum>]

See below for 'biblical calendation system'.

https://youtu.be/cTZ4qBGWvO4 How to Determine the 1st Day of the 1st Month

93
5. ‘*Week’

Seven-day planetary week – 7 named days – from late Julian calendar to Gregorian.
www.hope-of-israel.org/weeklycycle.html

Outside the Bible, the term /week is a /time unit equal to seven /days
(1) any of a series of 7-day cycles used in various calendars; especially
(2) a period of any consecutive 7 days.

In the Gregorian calendar and also in the Jewish calendar, it is solar week, continuous and cyclic
– repeating, unrelated to the solar month. The calendar week is a 7-day period beginning on
Sunday and ending on Saturday (with weekdays + weekend); continuous without interruption
having occurred through Julian to Gregorian changeover.

As a term used in the bible, however, 'week' is of different meaning and more specific. It refers to what
is called '*complete week' in Lev 23:15 (see below). It simply describes what a lunar week is in the
lunar month of the biblical calendar. It is a 7-day period with six work-days followed a day of
sabbath-keeping.a It is not just any 7 consecutive days on a calendar with solar weeks as we are
accustomed to with the Gregorian calendar — a Roman in the origin, but now the universal civic
calendar, not a 'pagan' calendar.b

On the other hand, the solar week has its days of the week named after the planets, hence another
name 'planetary week' for the Gregorian calendar. It was originally with Saturday as its first day. c
These do not have anything common with 7-numbered days of the lunar week.

Biblical lunar weeks are thus non-continuous and non-cyclic; every month is independent of the month
preceding or following. The numbered 7 days of a week remain unchanged corresponding to the
calendar dates in every month. E.g. Day 8 in a month is always on 7th day of lunar week (sabbath day
in the Scripture). Hence you need one monthly lunar calendar table (29- or 30-day long), which
remains same for all and every month.

A Biblical month (either 29- or 30-day long) consists of 4 such complete weeks (hence 4 sabbaths).
The 1st day of the month is called the New-Moon day and it is NOT a sabbath day, neither a work-
day. The same holds true for 30th day of the month (in case the month is 30-day long), which is a
transitional day. Obviously, these do not and cannot constitute a week, hence the notion of 'complete
a
Last 7th day of the lunar week is for sabbath keeping. It does not have a name; the expression 'Sabbath
day' is not the name for this 7 th day of the lunar week. The 7 days of the biblical week are just numbered,
not named like in the Gregorian calendar. The 'sabbath' in the Bible is thus a lunar sabbath, whereas it is
a solar sabbath which is kept by the Jewish people and Christian Saturday Sabbatarians.
b
the term 'pagan calendar' is misapplied to the Gregorian calendar by Covher (YHWH's Unique Time-
piece, p. 78) taking the pagan origin of the name of Church holidays (Christmas and Easter) and the names
for the days of the week after pagan gods.
c
The original order was Saturn (Saturday 土), Sun (Sunday 日), Moon (Monday 月), Mars (Tuesday 火),
Mercury (Wednesday 水 ), Jupiter (Thursday 木) & Venus (Friday 金). Moreover, some countries have
other than Sunday as the first day of their week – e.g. Saturday in Islamic countries; Monday as in ISO
8601 standard, in Eastern Asia and European countries. https://youtu.be/qSQ3cU32ukw
[ www.cjvlang.com/Dow/SunMon.html ] Note: a the proto-Julian calendar had 8-day weeks (labeled A to
H), not 7-day one.
94
week'.

95
 '*complete week' Lev 23:15

– <seven complete-weeks>; not <complete seven weeks>; nor <seven complete sabbaths>. [See
elsewhere also for * plural sabbaths]
– The word 'complete' in the phrase <seven complete weeks> should not be read as <seven weeks being
completed> – 'all seven counted'?

[Cf. A translation problem of <'seven weeks which are of complete week> (in short, 'seven complete
weeks') in the *omer counting to determine the date of the Feast of Shavuot: The expression 'complete'
here in this text is used specifically as "6 work-days followed by a day of sabbath keeping" (the last 7th
day of the lunar week).

It is not about something being 'completed', 'perfect' or even 'unblemished' (dictionary reading for
sacrificial animal). 'perfect week'!? 'perfect sabbath'!?

Cf. The phrase <seven whole weeks> may easily be misregistered as <seven weeks in whole'> or
<entire seven weeks>. The expression, 'complete sabbath' or 'perfect sabbath', is non-sensical.

Thus, seventh day of the lunar week for * sabbath keeping does not correspond to
Saturday of the solar week of our Gregorian calendar or the Jewish calendar. Likewise, first
day of the lunar week does not correspond to Sunday. People think or even read something
like Saturday, Sunday, etc. is in the Scripture when actually none is there! A few modern
easy-read Bibles have them, committing a great error, patently anachronistic.

Sabbath falls on 7th day in the lunar week; four sabbaths on 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th day of every
month. Only the day coming after 6 workdays is sabbath day. Sabbath-rest is only for the daytime
period, not 24 hours.

In contrast Jewish Sabbath day is Saturday and it is solar sabbath that they keep from Friday sunset
to Saturday sunset for 24 hours according to their calendar with sunset-to-sunset day reckoning.

As long as Sunday is at week end, ** first day of the week in the Gregorian calendar (i.e.
solar week) is Monday. It is Monday (월요일)., not Sunday (일요일), that is the first day.
That we have Sunday on the first column [left-most] of the calendar in USA (and others)
does not mean that it is first day of the week. Please don't confuse (1) the day of the
beginning of the week which is Monday throughout the world with (2) the day of the week
on the first column of monthly calendar (Monday or Sunday). Noteworthy is the Islamic
96
religious calendar has their weekend correspond to Thu-Friday of Gregorian calendar with
the first day of their week to fall on Saturday, which is on the right most column. Sunday is
not first day of the week in any calendar system.

First day of the week of the luni-solar calendar in the Bible does not correspond to Sunday
of the solar week of the solar calendar. Two calendars can be aligned to compare days of a
week but does not remain equated through a month or year. [Note: The Easter is Sunday on
Church calendar; it has nothing to do with the day of the actual resurrection. In 30 CE, it
was Saturday; the crucifixion was Wednesday (Not Friday).]

When the Julian calendar changed over from 8-day week (labeled A through H) to 7-day
week, the first day of such a week was actually assigned as Dies Saturnis (day of Saturnus,
of Saturn, a Roman god → Saturday). a This is solar week (planetary week, named after the
planets) which the Romans copied from Persian tradition. Later on, in the history of
Diaspora Jews, they were compelled to adopt the solar week. b

Note: In NT 9 places - Mt 28:1; Mk 16:2, 9; Lk 18:12; 24:1; Jn 20:1, 19; Act 20:7; 1Co 16:2 – all
as in the phrase ‘on the day one of the [lunar] week’, with the word ‘week’ is sabbatōn (plural) in
Greek and etymologically related to the word for ‘sabbath’ - sabbath rest).

In OT, the Hebrew word for ‘week’ appears only three times (in 2 places) – (1) Gen 29:27, 28
‘week (of wedding festival of Yaakob and Rachel), and (2) Dan 9:27 (as a prophetic week).

Note: The term ‘creation week’ is coined to refer seven days in the literary framework of the
Creation pericope (Gen 1:4-31 – 2:4), a literary week, not a literal week. This should not be
confused with a calendar week [‘week in a calendar’]. God’s creation act did not come with any
preconceived calendar. Man had to devise for use a biblical lunar calendar system on the basis of
Gen 1:14 with the sun and the moon serving as sign-posters. It should be noted that ‘Day One’ of
the creation in Gen 1:4 does not connote first day of the week – with ‘week’ as spoken in our
modern solar calendar. By the same token, neither the first day nor the last day of the God’s
creation work to prepare the earth for humanity can be located in any man-devised calendar. To
claim God did something to fit a human devised calendar [as in an attempt to support ‘Saturday
sabbath’] actually borders on blasphemy. The so-called ‘young earth theory’ of the Creationism is
another example of religious, doctrinal and ideological product of human minds, with total
disregard of the literary nature of the Scripture – the Scripture taken as if a sacred book of the
codes to decipher for a religion and reinterpreted by using language of science.

a
The Roman named seven days of the planetary week (introduced in the 1st century CE):
1. dies Saturni (Saturn); 2. dies Solis (Sun); 3. dies Lunae (Moon); 4. dies Martis (Mars); 5. dies
Mercurii (Mercury); 6. dies Jovis (Jupiter); 7. dies Veneris (Venus); [Arranged in the order of their
periodic times (Saturn taking the longest and the Moon the shortest time to complete the round of the
heavens by their proper motion) www.newadvent.org/cathen/03158a.htm Christian Calendar]
b
Pompey's Siege of Jerusalem (Pompey the Great) 63 BC during the Festival of Passover, it
happened that the day of Saturn in the planetary week of the pagans corresponded to the
Sabbath, 7th day of biblical week. Cf. Dios Cassius, Roman History (222-33 CE). (Roman
historian)
www.livius.org/articles/person/cassius-dio/
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/37*.html
(typo "excavation" < exception)
http://history-world.org/dio2.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompey#Judea
97
'eight days' 'eighth day'

‘eight days’ – Lk 9:28 (about 8 days later); Jn 20:26 (eight days later);

‘on the eighth day’ – Lev 23:36, 39 the day that follows 7 days of the Festival of Sukkot (from 15 th to 21st
of the 7th month Tishri), that is, 22nd day. It is a weekly sabbath.

for brit milah: ‘on the eighth day’ (Lev 12:3); ‘eight days came to the full’ (/x: 8 days later; /x: after 8 days)
(Lk 2:21); ‘eighth day’ (Lk 1:59; Act 7:8; Phi 3:5)

'Eighth day' in OT with something to do with scarifies [Exo_22:30; Lev_9:1; Lev_12:3; Lev_14:10;
Lev_15:14; Lev_15:29; Lev_22:27; Lev_23:36; Lev_23:39; Num_6:10; Num_7:54; Num_29:35;
1Ki_8:66; 2Ch_7:9; 2Ch_29:17;
Neh_8:18; Eze_43:27] [See in the file <OT Texts on Time, Calendar, Festivals>]

Names of the Days of the Week

Names of the Days of the Week

Day of the Week In Hebrew Gregorian

First Day Yom Rishon Sunday

Second Day Yom Sheini Monday
Third Day Yom Shlishi Tuesday
Fourth Day Yom R'vii Wednesday
Fifth Dayy Yom Chamishi Thursday
Sixth Day Yom Shishi Friday
Seventh Day (Sabbath) Yom Shabbat Saturday

98
*Sabbath

‘Sabbath’ – as to Sabbath day or Sabbath keeping

‘sabbath’ – as to sabbath-rest

‘a master over sabbath rest’– Mt 12:8 //Lk 6:5 /Mk 2:27-28

Pl. sabbaths:
‘after the week’ (sabbaths) – Mt 28:1a;
on the day of the week – Mt 28:1b; Mk 16:2; Act 13:14; 16:13; 20:7
on the first day of the week – Lk 24:2; Jn 20:1, 19
‘on the sabbath day’– Lk 4:16; Acts 13:14
sabbaths – Col 2:16;

Gen 1:3-5; 14-19; 2:1-3 [Genesis creation and sabbath]

Gen 7:4, 10; 8:10, ‘seven days’

Gen 8:13 ‘first day of the month’

30 days to each month in Noah’s time
29/30 days

at Mount Sinai
Exo 19:1 ‘third month’
Exo 19:16 ‘third day’ [Pentecost]
Exo 20:8-11 (in Ten Commandments) Exo 31:12-17 - Sabbath keeping]

‘Lord’s day’ by Pope Sylvester 314-337 CE.

In 387 CE Sunday was called ‘Lord’s day’ by Roman decree

Exo 34:21; Isa 58:13; Neh 10:31; 13:15-22 keep the Sabbath
Gen 1:14 cf. Lev 23:1-44

sabbath in the Biblical calendar is lunar sabbath. It falls on 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th day
every lunar month (not same as is the case in the Jewish calendar). 'Sabbath' rest is for 12
hours – daytime period only.

The Day of Atonement (vide supra) – 'sabbath of sabbaths' – is on the 10th of the 7th
month of the biblical calendar ('Tishri', the first month of the Jewish civil year). It is not
weekly sabbath, but annual sabbath with fasting from the evening of the day before until
the evening of 10th day.

Lunar sabbath is quite different from that of the solar week used by the Judaic people and
by the Saturday Sabbatarians – which may be labelled as ‘solar sabbath’.

See * sabbath in the file <Walk through the Bible #11 – Sabbath>
‘keep the sabbath sanctified/holy’ (Deu 5:12; Exo 31:14);
‘observe the sabbath day’ (Deu 5:15);
‘keep the sabbath to observe the sabbath’ (Exo 31:16).
99
 (H8104 shamar 469x 'keep' ‘watch over’) (H6213 asah 'make' 'do' ‘observe’)

cf. ‘sabbath’ as the day of sabbath (on 7th day of the lunar week) vs. ‘sabbath’ as sabbath
rest for the daylight period of the sabbath day. E.g. events from before and after sabbath in
the Passion Week. [See in <Walk through the Bible #9 - Passion Week Chronology>.

lunar vs. solar sabbath; 'Seventh day of the week' vs. 'Saturday'

Many languages including European and Arabic have their word for Saturday which is
etymologically derived from Sabbath. Some tries to find this as a proof of the biblical
Sabbath is on Saturday. Actually, it is the result of following the tradition of taking
'Saturday' as 7th day of the week in the Bible.]

 The sun to rule over [H4475 memshalah] the day (Gen 1:16; Psa 136:8). The sun
brings a day. A day is that which begins with sunrise, not with sunset.
 A calendar day in the bible starts at dawn. Cf. at 12 a.m. in Roman calendar
and at sunset in the rabbinic Jewish calendar. For the Jewish people a day that
begins with sundown is a calendar day, not a day.
 The moon to rule over the night (Gen 1:16); ‘the moon and stars’ (Psa 136:9).
 The two great luminaries (> ‘lights’) serve as signs for ‘set-times’ (moadim /x: seasons)
by the moon and for ‘years’ and ‘days’ by the sun (Gen 1:14). [‘set-times by YHWH’
(Exo 9:5) – include ‘feasts/festivals’ and ‘sabbath’
 The biblical Sabbath is on Day 7 of the lunar week. It is not related to Saturday of the
solar week, as in Sabbatarian and Jewish sabbath which is kept from sunset of Friday to
sunset of Saturday.
 The days of Sabbath are only in 'complete weeks' (4 times – on 8th, 15th, 22nd
and 29th day of the month, every month of the lunar calendar) in lunisolar
calendar; not continuously on every 7 days as in the solar calendar.
 Sabbath rest which is for a daytime period only on the 7th day. It is meant resting from
daily labor. The expression ‘keeping Sabbath’ is to have Sabbath rest for the daytime
period on the Sabbath day. Sabbath rest for the night time is conceptually and
linguistically contradictory.

Our common words Friday, Saturday, Sunday to Thursday of the named days of the
Gregorian solar week do not belong to the biblical vocabulary. To use such non-
biblical terms to follow and examine the biblical narratives is anachronistic and causes
misunderstanding of the timelines in the biblical narratives. It should be noted that
early Julian calendar for several hundred years had a week with 8 days [labelled A to
H], not 7 named days.

When everyone knows that it is on the seventh day of the week; but it remains a useless fact; such a
statement is ambiguous and misleading without qualifying on which kind of week (lunar vs. solar) and
on which calendar in use. In the Scripture, the 7th day for Sabbath is of the lunar week, not of the
solar week. It does NOT correspond to Saturday of the solar week in Roman (late Julian and
Gregorian) calendars. The seven named days of the week in Gregorian calendar has no correspondence
to the seven numbered days of the biblical week. The Jewish people forced into such a compromise to
adopt solar calendation; the 7th day of the solar week that had become Saturday become their 7th day
of the week for Sabbath since 3rd century CE. Such religious solar sabbath has become the tradition
of the Sabbatarians (including Christians) almost two millennia. The truth of the biblical calendar with
the non-cyclic lunar week is completely forgotten — 7th day of biblical lunar week is unrelated to
Saturday.
100
101
 [Note: ‘sabbath keeping’ is of the Mosaic covenant. The date of historical Exodus of Israel people was
on Abib 15 (on 7th day of the lunar week), however the practice of sabbath-keeping as a law did not
exist until the giving of the Law at Sinai.a

*Special sabbath-rest day – Yom Kippur [See WB#1 Appendix]

Lev 16:29; Lev 23:24; Lev 23:27; Lev 23:32; Num 29:7

Lev 23:32 This [on the day of Atonement] is

a [special] sabbath of sabbath-rest for you
And you are to deny your [mortal] soul
On the ninth day of the [lunar] month
in the setting-time;
from evening to [next] evening

This is the annual sabbath-rest from evening to evening with fasting; it is not like the weekly
sabbath on 7th day of the lunar week which is for the daytime period only and night is by
itself for the time of rest.
A weekly sabbath which is kept on 7th day of the lunar week for the daytime period.
The first day of 7-day festivals fall on the weekly sabbath – called 'High Sabbath'.

‘Sabbath’ in the Bible is lunar sabbath; it begins with sunrise. On the other hand, the solar
sabbath by the Sabbatarians, including the Jewish people, begins with sunset on Friday.
Note: there is only one day in a week is sabbath – weekly sabbath.
Lev 23:3 "For six days, work may be done, but on the seventh day
there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, a sacred assembly.
You are not to do any labor;
it is a Sabbath to YHWH wherever you live.

*High Sabbath vs. a myth of ‘two Sabbaths in a week’:

Two sabbath theories – variously concocted:
(1) a festival sabbath followed by a weekly sabbath, back to back;
(2) a festival sabbath followed by a work day followed by a weekly sabbath;
(3) two sabbaths doubled up in the year 33 CE.

In contrast to High Sabbath (Jn 19:31) – the first day of 7-day long festivals falls on 15th day (a lunar sabbath) of
the month.

Additionally, the last day of a 7-day long Festival week is a special day as well. With laborious works
to be ceased, however, this should not be confused with ‘sabbath-rest’ of sabbath day. [See a further
discussion on the wrong idea of having two sabbaths in the festival week. If they claim is correct, we
have, according to their logic and since they are using (proleptic) Jewish calendar system, Nisan 15
(Thu) as Sabbath (because it’s the first day of the Festival. They label it ‘annual festival sabbath’ and
call Nisan 17 as regular weekly sabbath (because it’s Saturday), plus, they read Nisan 21 the last day
of the Festival as 'sabbath'). Here, they wind up having not just two, but three sabbath days in a
week! What an idea to shoot oneself in the foot! Cf. When the context does not mean several occasions of
sabbath, the plural word 'sabbaths' (as in Mt 28:1) is used in the sense of ‘week’. It does not mean there were two
sabbaths in that Passion week!

a
Some claims that [Saturday] sabbath keeping predates Judaism! Adam, Noah, Abraham kept it?
How did they? With what rules and regulations for ‘not do this’ and ‘not do that’? Or with worship –
what is worship for them? With sacrifice? What sacrifice and where and how?]
102
 ‘Sixth day of the week’:
'Sixth day' (of the week) as appears in the Scripture is of the lunar week. [Repeat, it is not of the
solar week]. It is the day is one before the Sabbath. It is a day of preparation (for sabbath). The word
'preparation' of a certain day means 'eve', here eve of sabbath. It does not correspond to Friday, which
is the term in the solar week, both in Gregorian and Jewish calendars.

With Biblical lunar calendar, there is only one (and one kind of) sabbath in a 7-day full week – on its
seventh day. The week-long Festivals are scripturally designated with its first day to begin on 7th
day sabbath. In such a week, there is no ‘festival sabbath’ as such distinct from the weekly sabbath;
there are no two sabbaths, neither ‘double sabbath’ (two sabbaths falling on same day), nor two
sabbaths back-to-back — but only one which is called High Sabbath. It should not be confused with
the word ‘sabbath’ by itself, which means ‘sabbath-rest’, not related to the weekly sabbath day. (e.g.
at the Day of Atonement).

*Preparation day vs.*Friday:

[WB #9 – ‘Passion Week Chronology’]
Since 4th century CE, with its the continuous cycles of 7 days influenced by 7-day solar
week of the Julian calendar system, 7th day in the Hebrew became equated with Saturday.
Hence Sabbath keeping is on Saturday for the Sabbatarians (Christians) and the Jewish
people. So is the word preparation, which is eve of 7th day Sabbath, has become synonymous
with Friday of our Gregorian calendar. Thus, the word related to 'preparation' has long been
found for Friday in the Greek language (down to Modern Greek) and other modern
European languages. This is men's tradition; not by the Biblical tradition. a

This convention causes a havoc for proper understanding of the Biblical chronology, by
introducing into the Scripture something which is alien, because all this is late developed,
disconnected from the Scripture based calendar system. As a note, when they do in terms of
our modern Gregorian named days of the solar week (Sun to Sat) and, moreover, without
giving clear definitions of the words and terms, any writing or claim on the Passion Week
chronology and timeline to describe days and dates should be questioned. By consistently
rendering it as 'eve' in IRENT, a major source of confusion and misunderstanding the Passion Week
narrative is removed, cutting off association of the word 'Preparation' with 'Friday'.

a
The word for Saturday in some languages is derived etymologically from the Hebrew word ‘sabbath’
itself.
103
Paraskeuē – preparation vs. eve

Gk. S3904 paraskeuēa (6x) 'preparation' – ('preparing'; 'making ready') b is used in the NT as a
metonymic for preparation day which refers to a day before a special day. IRENT renders it
consistently as 'eve' in the sense of 'the day before' (a particular day), not 'preparation' as most do.c
/the Preparation of the Jews – LSV; /the Jews’ Preparation day – NKJV; /the Jews’ preparation
day – KJV; /the time to prepare for the sabbath – CEV; /the day before the Sabbath – GNT; /the
Jewish day of preparation – NIV; /

In NT All six occurrences all are in the Passion narratives in the Gospels. The context tells which
day the eve refers to:

(A) In most places, it is metonymic for eve of sabbathd [The exact full phrase ‘preparation of
sabbath’ itself does not appear] (= Day 6 of the lunar week) (→ Heb. Ereb shabbat = Gk. S4513
prosabbaton) (e.g. Abib 14).

 Mk 15:42 epei hēn paraskeuē ho estin prosabbaton

Because it was <eve>, that is the day before sabbath [death of Yeshua]
 Lk 23:54 hēmera ēn paraskeuēs kai sabbaton epephōsken
The day was <eve> and sabbath was-coming. [entombment]
 Jn 19:31epei paraskeuē hēn
because it was <eve> of High sabbathe [death of Yeshua]
 Jn 19:42 dia tēn paraskeuēn tōn ioudaiōn
because of the <eve> of the Yehudim [entombment]

 Cf. [Abib 15] Mt 27:62 tē de epaurion meta tēn paraskeuēn

On-the next-day after the <eve> of sabbath [= the Sabbath] [request for the Roman
guard]

The sabbath eve in the Bible does not correspond to 'Friday' of our Gregorian calendar which
is also used in Jewish calendar (taking their 7th day to be Saturday). Likewise, the first day in
the lunar week in the Bible does not correspond to 'Sunday', which is sometimes polemically
referred as ‘the eighth day’ – which is beyond the seven days of Creation. A lack of such
calendar knowledge has been one of a few main causes of contention, conflict, and
contradiction in the Passion Week chronology.

Danker p. 269 paraskeuazō – [par, skeuazō ‘fit out, prepare’] prepare – a. act Act 10:10; 1Pt 2:8 v.l. –
b. mid. of being ready, for war 1Co 14:8; for carrying out a collection 2Co 9:2f.] παρασκευή [formed
in association w. paraskeuazō] in NT only a period of preparation for a festival: day of preparation Mt
27:62 (the preparation); Mk 15:42 (anarthrous); Lk 23:54 (anarthrous); Jn 19:14 (anarthrous), 31
(anarthrous), 42. (the preparation)

b
The Gk. word became mistaken as a name in the Bible for our ‘Friday’ of the solar week (in Gregorian calendar,
also in the rabbinic Jewish calendar) The two do not correspond to each other.
c
E.g. Jn 19:42 /the Sabbath eve for the Yehudim – IRENT; /the Preparation of the Jews – LSV; /the Jews’
Preparation day - NKJV; /the Jews’ preparation day – KJV; /the time to prepare for the sabbath – CEV; /the day
before the Sabbath – GNT; /the Jewish day of preparation – NIV; /
d
Of sabbath – it is High Sabbath in the Passover Festival.
e
[Cassirer renders in Jn 19:31 as 'the eve of the Passover' with ‘Passover’ as the Festival, not the Memorial.]
104
 (B) in one place (Jn 19:14) as eve of the Passover [Memorial] day (i.e. Abib 13). This should not
be confused with ‘eve of High Sabbath’ (that is, the Passover day = Abib 14). It was the day of
Pilate's sentencing. It is the day before the Crucifixion (on Passover day Abib 14).

 Jn 19:14 ēn de paraskeuēs tou pascha

“it was eve of the Passover [day], about sixth hour”
'the time was eve of the Passover, about midday' – Cassirer;
Also, in FF Bruce (1983) The Gospel & Epistle of John

Here, it is usually translated as ‘the preparation of the passover’ (KJV). Such a translation is
understood by most as ‘the preparation of the Passover Festival’, that is, ‘the preparation (day) of
the Passover Festival sabbath’. Such a misreading puts this important time-marker in the Passion
Week narrative for the mid-day sentencing Abib 14 (Passover day) onto the very same day as for
the crucifixion in the Synoptic Gospels (Mt 27:45; //Mk 15:33; //Lk 23:44) (= ‘Friday’ in their
traditional crucifixion day scenario)! The result is that they have no solution for such discrepancy
and have to leave the biblical texts contradictory. [See on ‘significance of Jn 19:14’.]

[WB #10 ‘Passion Week Chronology’ for Jn 19:14 ‘eve of the Passover [memorial] day’.]

105
Problem of ‘*Sunday’ vs. <*first day of the week>a:
(as to the day of His resurrection):

In Catholic Constantine Church tradition, the Resurrection for them is on ‘Sunday’, not because they
were able to prove it was so, because their tradition has ‘first day’ = ‘Sunday’ on the Gregorian
calendar. [Cf. it is referred as ‘the eighth day’ – which is sees as the day following seven days of
Creation.] What the day of the week was the Resurrection on is to be found correctly only when the
day falls on is determined comparing the calendar systems.

'first day’ – concordance search in N.T.

‘*first day – concordance search in NT

1. The expression ‘first day of the month (or the year)’ does not appear in NT text.

2. 'first day since' (2 x with prōtēs)

Phi 1:5 apo tēs prōtēs hēmeras from the first day (when you heard the Gospel)
Act 20:18 apo prōtēs hēmeras from the first day (when I arrived)

3. ‘the first day of the week’ (6 x with mia; 1 x with prōtē) [note: of the lunar week, not
solar].

kata mian sabbatou 1Co 16:2 every first day of the week
eis mian sabbatōn Mt 28:1;
tē mia tōn sabbatōn //Mk 16:2; //Lk 24:1 //Jn 20:1
tē hēmera ekeinē tē mia [tōn] sabbatōn; Jn 20:19 (‘following that first day of the week’)
prōtē sabbatou //Mk 16:9 (‘the first day of the week’)

Cf. Act 20:7 (‘one of the sabbaths’);

4. ‘cf. 'at the beginning day for the unleavened bread’ [not 'the first day of the
Festival of the Matzah’]

//Mk 14:12 tē prōtē hēmera

//Mt 26:17 tē prōtē);

a
https://youtu.be/qSQ3cU32ukw <한주의 시작, 일요일일까? 월요일일까?> [the beginning day of the
week – Sunday or Monday?] www.timeanddate.com/calendar/days/monday.html
106
 'first day of the week'
 Mt 28:1; Mk16:2, 6; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1, 19 – in the Passion Week narrative;
 Acts 20:7 – 'breaking bread' (cf. Lk 24:30; Act 2:46; 27:35) (In Lord's Supper 1Co 11:24)
 1Co 16:2
www.sabbath.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Basics.FAQ/ID/135/Is-Sunday-Worship-
Mentioned-in-New-Testament.htm

[See Appendix – (('first day of the week' in Gospels & Acts))>.]

In the early days when the Julian Roman calendar began adopting 7-day week system in
place of its original 8-day week (labeled A through H in nundinal cycle), this phrase ‘<first
day of the week> (of the lunar week) became mistaken same as ‘1st day of the solar
week’; thus, apparently becoming to be equated as ‘Sunday’. [As to the days of the week
in Roman calendar, it was day of Saturn, not day of Sun that was the first day.]

It became apparent as shown in the works of Church Fathers that 1st day of the week was
Sunday – Justin Martyr (CE 140 – Apology, Ch. 67); Irenaeus (CE 178 – Lost Writings of
Irenaeus, seventh fragment); Cyprian (about CE 255) [Source - Ralph Woodrow (2004),
Three Days & Three Nights – Reconsidered in Light of Scripture, (ISBN 0-916938-11-5)
pp. 29-30.]

However, while in modern times Gregorian calendar is universally adopted for the civil
use, some countries have Monday as the first day of their week (East Asia), while a few
have Saturday (Arabic countries).

Most erroneously take ‘week’ in the bible is as that of the Gregorian week; thus 1 st day of
the lunar week s read as ‘Sunday’ of the solar week. Many have carried over such a
convention into reading the Scripture itself.
E.g. A margin note at Jn 20:19 – in Michael Magill, TransLine, p. 385 “Some takes
the phrase as ‘Sunday’ by a Roman reckoning.”
E.g. In a manner of cultural and historical anachronism some recent English Bibles
translate it unabashedly or nonchalantly as ‘Sunday’ in the various places of NT
inconsistently (Mt 28:1; Mk 16:2, 9; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1, 19; Act 20:7; 1Co 16:2;
Rev 1:10) as below:

Sunday or other such named days of the week have nothing to do with the numbered days of the
week in the Scripture.

107
‘Sunday’, which should not be in NT English translations, is found many Bible translations:
JNT Mk_16:9;
GW Mt_28:1; Mk_16:2, 9; Lk_24:1; Jn_20:1, 19; Act_20:7; 1Co_16:2;
GNB Mt_28:1; Mk_16:2, 9; Lk_24:1; Jn_20:1, 19; 1Co_16:2;
CEV Mt_28:1; Mk_16:2; Lk_24:1; Jn_20:1, 19; 1Co_16:2;
ERV Lk_24:1; Jn_20:1; 19; Act_20:7;
NLT Mt_28:1; Mk_16:2, 9; Lk_24:1; Jn_20:1, 19;
MSG Mk_16:2, 9; Lk_24:1; Act_20:7; 1Co_16:2; Rev_1:10;

Put 'Sunday' in the intra-text explanatory notes

ALT Mt_28:1; Mk_16:2,9; Lk_24:1; Jn_20:1; Act_20:7 1Co_16:2;
AUV Mt_28:1; Mk_16:2, 9; Lk_24:1, 22 Jn_20:1, 19, 26; Act_20:7 1Co_16:2; Rev_1:10

It matters simply because it is a day in the Church Holy Week with Sunday as the Resurrection day.

Mk 16:9(early in the morning) on the first day after sabbath░ \ (anastas de prōi) prōtē
sabbatou
[The word sabbatou (sing. genitive) ‘coming after sabbath’ = ‘from Sabbath’. The phrase prōtē
sabbatou only once here in NT but should be taken same as ≈ ‘the day one (or, first day) of the
week’ Mk 16:2= Lk 24:1= Jn 20:1(tē mia tōn sabbatōn); Mt 28:1 (tē ~ eis mian sabbatōn) –
sabbatōn is plural and in the sense of ‘week’.] [Cf. A similar syntax in ‘deutera sabbatōn’ ‘day
two of the week, (as ‘Monday’), in Didache 8:1.]’
[= Abib 16. Soon morning is to break with sunrise for Day 2 of the week. The ‘Feast of
Firstfruits’ on Day one was during the preceding daytime.]
/= on the first day from Sabbath - ARJ; /on the first day ~ of the week – ARJ; /xxx: on Sunday – GNB,
JNT!!;

[For Mk 16:9 Syntax issue of the expression of <having risen up early in the morning
on the first day after sabbath> (anastas de prōi prōtē sabbatou), see also ‘Examining
Time-marker Biblical Passages’ in WB #9 ‘Passion Week Chronology’]

108
 Sabbath to *Sunday:
From /who-changed-the-sabbath-to-sunday/

Watering Down of the Sabbath in the First 300 Years: The Christiansa during the
apostolic era from about 35 to 100 AD kept Sabbath on the designated seventh day of
the week. For the first 300 years of Christian history, when the Roman emperors
regarded themselves as gods, Christianity became an “illegal religion”, and God’s
people were scattered abroad (Acts 8:1). Judaism, however, was regarded at that time
as “legal,” as long as they obeyed Roman laws. Thus, during the apostolic era,
Christians found it convenient to let the Roman authorities think of them as Jews,
which gained them legitimacy with the Roman government.

However, when the Jews rebelled against Rome, the Romans put down their rebellion
by destroying Jerusalem in AD 70 and again in AD 135. Obviously, the Roman
government’s suppression of the Jews made it increasingly uncomfortable for
Christians to be thought of as Jewish. At that time, Sunday was the rest day of the
Roman Empire, whose religion was Mithraism, a form of sun worship. Since Sabbath
observance is visible to others, some Christians in the early second century sought to
distance themselves from Judaism by observing a different day, thus “blending in” to
the society around them.

During the Empire-wide Christian persecutions under Nero, Maximin, Diocletian, and
Galerius, Sabbath-keeping Christians were hunted down, tortured, and, for sport, often
used for entertainment in the Colosseum (Coliseum).

Constantine Made Sunday a Civil Rest Day: When Emperor Constantine I — a

pagan sun-worshipper — came to power in AD 313, he legalized Christianity and made
the first Sunday-keeping law. His infamous Sunday enforcement law of March 7, AD
321, reads as follows: “On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people
residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed.” (Codex Justinianus 3.12.3,
trans. Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, 5th ed. (1902), 3:380, note 1.)

The Council of Laodicea in AD 364 decreed, “Christians shall not Judaize and be idle
on Saturday but shall work on that day; but the Lord’s day they shall especially honour,
and, as being Christians, shall, if possible, do no work on that day. If, however, they are
found Judaizing, they shall be shut out from Christ” (Strand, op. cit., citing Charles J.
Hefele, A History of the Councils of the Church, 2 [Edinburgh, 1876] 316).

a
The term 'Christians' are not to be applicable to them since the term is those of Christianism of
Constantine Church; totally unrelated with the people in the New Testament. Yeshua and his followers
were not 'Christians'. Yeshua is not the founder of Christianity or Christianism (religion of Christian
Church) - ARJ]
109
*Lord’s Day’ 'day of Adonai' 'the day of the Lord'

"Lord's Day" as in Rev 1:10 is not first day of the lunar week in the biblical calendar, neither of
Gregorian solar week (i.e. Sunday), [Many misread ‘first day the week’ in the Bible anachronistically as
Sunday, which has become the Church worship day since 3rd c.]

[of Yeshua] [cf. 'in the day' vs. 'on the day']
1Co 5:5 en tē hēmera tou Kuriou 'in the day of the Lord'
2Co 1:14 en tē hēmera tou Kuriou hēmōn Iēsou 'in the day of our Lord Yeshua'
1Co 1:8 en tē hēmera tou Kuriou hēmōn Iēsou Christou 'in the day of our Lord Yeshua
Mashiah'
2Th 2:2 hē hēmera tou Kuriou 'the day of the Lord' {/Mashiah}
Rev 1:10 on the Lord’s day ░ \en tē kuriakē hēmera; ('on the day belonging to the Lord') (not ‘of
LORD’ ‘of the Lord’).–xx: It was Sunday – MSG; /on the Lord’s day [i.e., Sunday] - AUV;

Cf. Day of Lord as to God:

Act 2:20 [← Joel 2:31] – prin ē elthein hēmeran Kuriou tēn megalēn kai epiphanē
"before coming of the great and awesome Day of Adonai"
1Th 5:2 – hēmera Kuriou ~~ erchetai – "Adonai's day comes ~~"
2Pet 3:10 – hēxei hēmera Kuriou – "Adonai's day will come"
2Pet 3:12 – (the day of the Elohim)
Rev 16:14 – (battle of the great day of the Elohim the Almighty);

'Day of YHWH' in OT /Day of Jehovah - NWT

 Jer 46:10 'that day belongs to Adonai YHWH of the Armies'
 'day of YHWH 's anger/wrath' – Zep 2:2, 3
 'the great day of YHWH' – Zep 1:14
 'day of YHWH' – Zep 1:7; Amo 5:18; Ezk 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:31; Oba 1:15

Cf. 'the day' Heb 10:25; 1Th 5:4

Cf. 'the day' 1Co 3:13 (of judgment);
Cf. 'on the day of the judgment' 1Jn 4:17

What day of the week is first day of the week?

It is noteworthy that many countries have Monday as the <first day of the week> a instead. It is
Saturday for Islamic reckoning.] And likewise, the Crucifixion for them is on ‘Friday’, but
without anything to do with which day it actually fells – Friday or not. In other words, the
Crucifixion is claimed to be on Friday, because that’s the way their tradition says.

a
https://youtu.be/qSQ3cU32ukw <한주의 시작, 일요일일까? 월요일일까?> [the beginning day of the
week – Sunday or Monday?] www.timeanddate.com/calendar/days/monday.html
110
111
5. *seasons; *harvest

Written in Paleo-Hebrew, the Gezer Calendar dates from the 10th century BC, the time of the
construction of Solomon's Temple. It contains the following text:
www.yrm.org/conjunction-equinox.htm

"Two months of harvest

Two months of planting
Two months are late planting
One month of pulling flax
One month of barley harvest
One month of harvest and feasting
Two months of pruning vines
One month of summer fruit"

John Beck (2015), Discovery House Bible Atlas

112
[what happened to 'two wheat harvests'?]
https://archive.gci.org/articles/harvest-seasons-of-ancient-israel/
www.gci.org/law/festivals/harvest

www.joybysurprise.com/Harvest_Times_In_Israel_.html

113
From the above, one can see that the harvest season in ancient Israel began in Adar
(Feb/March) and continued by stages into autumn. The barley harvest began in March-April:
the first sheaf being cut and waived in the middle of Aviv, which could be any time between
21st March and the middle of April. It is the same in modern Israel.

https://ahbjewishcenter.org/harvest.htm

http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/israel/maoz/english-2.htm
Description of the Agricultural Seasons
qzir se'orim, qzir hittim (Barley Harvest Season, Wheat Harvest Season)
The first grain to ripen was the barley. It was easy to grow because it needed neither much water nor
rich soil. Thus, it was advantageous during barren years. During the Biblical period, barley was
highly valued. Therefore, the barley had symbolic importance as well and was brought as an
offering during the waving of the 'omer ceremony. Towards the end of the First Temple period and
during the Second Temple period, and the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods, the value of barley as a
human staple decreased because of its low quality in comparison to wheat. However, it was still
important in animal feeding. Even at later dates, when the barley's economic value declined, it was
still used in the 'omer ceremony. It is possible that because of the barley's symbolic significance, the
Sages continued to refer to the Barley Harvest Season as part of the annual pattern of the
agricultural seasons.

The Wheat Harvest season began just a few weeks after the Barley Harvest season. Sometimes,
when the rabbinic sources refer to the Harvest Season, they refer to the Wheat Harvest Season only.
The term qazir became synonymous with summer just as the term harish/zera' with winter.

https://youtu.be/4Hmku0d6bv8
Wheat Harvest in Israel, Oh Really? Mar 31, 2011 - NehemiasWall.com – for silage

www.jw.org/en/publications/bible/study-bible/appendix-b/hebrew-calendar-biblical/

Exo 34:22 for "wheat harvest"

114
www.nehemiaswall.com/counting-omer#more-4701

Sent up a message: June 9, 2020.

In your article www.nehemiaswall.com/counting-omer#more-4701 you are starting the omer count

from Apr 12, 2020 as the 1st day of counting. That's Nisan 18. So, you have chag ha-shavuot fall on
May 31 (Sivan 8).

Don't I expect to start counting from Nisan 16 to fall on Sivan 6? How did two days discrepancy
come in your counting?

*Omer Counting

Check Lev 23:15-16 vs. Deu 16:9

Translation difficulty – Lev 23:16 (no //Deu)

Week 1 the 1st day of the 1st week of seven weeks.

April 12, 2020 (Nisan 18) – why does Nehemiah not start with Apr 10 for Nisan 16??]
Today is the 1st day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the
Sabbath.
…

….
April 18, 2020 [= Sat] the 7th day of the 1st week of seven weeks.
Today is the 7th day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the
Sabbath.
Today is Sabbath, the 1st Sabbath of seven Sabbaths.
Today completes the 1st week of seven weeks.
…
…
…
Week 6
May 17, 2020 the 1st day of the 6th week of seven weeks.
Today is the 36th day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the
Sabbath.

…
May 23, 2020 [= Sat] the 7th day of the 6th week of seven weeks.
Today is the 42nd day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the
Sabbath.
Today is Sabbath, the 6th Sabbath of seven Sabbaths.
Today completes the 6th week of seven weeks.

Week 7
May 24, 2020 the 1st day of the 7th week of seven weeks
Today is the 43rd day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the
Sabbath.

…
May 30, 2020 [= Sat] the 7th day of the 7th week of seven weeks.
Today is the 49th day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the
Sabbath.
Today is Sabbath, the 7th Sabbath of seven Sabbaths.
Today completes the 7th week of seven weeks.

Chag Ha-Shavuot (Feast of Weeks)

115
 May 31, 2020 [Sivan 8]
Today is the 50th day from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the Sabbath.
Today is the morrow of the seven Sabbath, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Harvest, the Day of Firstfruits.

Act 2:1 Shavuot – (Pentecost) – v. 13 ‘wine’ – it is only possible with summer harvest of
grape. Only the proper omer count brings Shavuot to summer, not with the traditional
counting to bring it to May.

Summary and conclusion remark on the biblical monthly

calendars:
We have the Gregorian calendara to make every day civil use of it. Lunar
calendars such as the Jewish calendar serves only for religious purpose in the
church liturgy and for the Sabbatarians. Since both are now fixed by calculation,
they remain that way until eternity! As for the BCL, a monthly calendar for each
year has to be drawn up, and moreover, it needs to be checked and verified in
order to follow the principles of fixing the New Year day and the New-Moon day
for every month. It has to be determined what year should have a leap month.
The purpose of searching for a Scripture-based calendar – (1) To study and
compare how different calendar systems which materially affect understanding
of timelines in the Bible and (2) to find the very calendar used in the Scripture to
help us follow the Passion Week narrative clearly and accurately, no confusion
or conflict among different Crucifixion day scenario.

A lunar calendar is being used for a special purpose – for keeping religious dater or civil
festivals in different cultural traditions. We need the accurate Scripture-based calendar
as it is essential to have the true Biblical lunar calendar in order to understand the whole
Passion Week narrative and its timeline. The traditional Gregorian calendar, which is the
international civil calendar, is not only unhelpful but actually misleading, hence
misinterpretation. We are to find the date of the Crucifixion with help of the biblical
lunar calendar. Whether the date searched out may be found to fall on Wednesday or
Thursday (with Friday ruled out) when aligned with Gregorian calendar, it is not an iota
of importance for us, except for its implication on the Church liturgy and Sabbatarian
tradition.

What is important and essential is that it was as the Passover [sacrifice] for YHWH
Elohim Yeshua died on the Passover Day of Abib 14. It cannot be on any other day to
serve the fundamental OT typology (historically and theologically the only connection
OT to NT). What day of the week it was is not relevant to the Biblical narrative and
chronology, since the named days of the solar week is alien to the Biblical times.

a
It is a replacement in 1582 but continuation of a later version of the Roman Julian
calendar, first implemented by Julius Caesar in 46 BC. A better name for it suitable for
globally minded millennium would be International Civil Calendar (ICL).
116
Abib 14 was the day of Passover [event] in Exodus; has been the day of Passover
[memorial] with a Passover sacrifice (lamb slaughtered) in the midafternoon for
Passover meal in the evening. Not to be confused Hebrew Pesach of Nisan 15 (which 1st
day of their 7-day long Passover festival), which corresponds to first day of the 7-day
long Festival of the Matzah (as in Gospelsa and OTb).

One has to see how immensely important it is to grasp the Biblical Lunar Calendar to
help understand the Biblical narrative in correct timeline. It is not much of significance
of having the certain day of the week which the Crucifixion or the Resurrection has to
be, except religious liturgical traditions. The salient points are again listed: (1) that a
biblical day begins with sunrise; (2) that Sabbath is on the 7th day of the lunar week
which is not related to our Saturday (despite Sabbatarian practice); (3) that there are four
sabbath days in one lunar month; (3) that Sabbath rest was effected on daytime period
only, as the night period itself is for the time of resting, and (4) that we have to have our
vocabulary in which the all the words or terms related to time, date, and festivals require
unambiguous definition to bring out their meaning clearly in the text. [E.g. Passover
(memorial) – with the Passover meal (a memorial meal) on Abib 14 evening. It is not
same as the 7-day long Passover Festival (= the Festival of the Matzah; Nisan 15 to 21.]

It is essential to follow the timeline in terms of Abib dates and the numbered days of the
lunar week. Below is a diagram to compare the two scenarios in term of the named days
of the solar week.
[With this simplified diagram below, it can be seen how the Matthean phrase ‘Three days
and three nights' (3 D and 3 N) (Mt 12:40) has been traditionally misinterpreted to fit in
various Crucifixion-Resurrection scenarios.
The context in both Jonah’s sign and the Passion week timeline gives a correct
interpretation – it is not about the duration of his being buried or remained dead, taking
'the middle of the earth' as 'in a grave underground', but if His suffering and death with
the phrase ‘in the idle of the earth’ as a Hebrew idiom of 'Yerusalem':
It is full three days, that is, Abib 13 (Sanhedrin + Pilate) (day + night), Abib 14
(Crucifixion and Entombment) (day + night), and Abib 15 Sabbath (day + night) [it is
sabbath on the first day of a 7-day festival = 'high sabbath'].
It covers the time period for His suffering AND death; from being under the hand of the
Yehudim in authority and the Roman power of Pilate through the Crucifixion and death
till the Resurrection dawn.]
Cf. a diagram in http://jesus-messiah.com/studies/resurrection.html
Cf. That Abib 14 falls on Wednesday in the proleptic Gregorian calendar is determined
based on the accurate astronomical data on the conjunction date and time, and the sunrise
time of that date in 30 CE. The next step is to determine what date to be the New-Moon
day for beginning of Abib and then the date for Abib 14 (Crucifixion day).
Note: In the ancient time, if people relied on the sighting of the first crescent, the date
could fall on a day later. In that case, the day of Crucifixion would fall on Thu (Apr. 6) as
is the case of the Thursday Crucifixion scenario, though no astronomical and calendric
consideration were ever clearly presented and analyzed by the proponents of that
scenario.

a
Mk 14:1; Lk 22:1;
b
Exo 12:14b-20; 13:3-7; 23:15; Lev 23:6-8; Num 28:17-25; Deu 16:3-4, 8, 16;
2Ch 8:13;
117
 From the Crucifixion to the Resurrection

Wed Scenarios
† † 

Abib 13 Abib 14 Abib 15 Abib 16 17

Day@ Day 6 Day 7 Day 1

Tue Wed Thu  Fri Sat 

Nisan 14 ᄉ Nisan 15 Nisan 16 Nisan 17

Friday Scenario
† † 

Wed Thu Fri Sat  Sun

 To Golgotha; † † Crucifixion;
 Resurrection;  wrong resurrection time in the non-biblical Wednesday scenario;
ᄉ– Passover meal (for Yehudim); @ Day of the lunar week
Note: ‘Day’ of Abib begins at dawn
Resurrection – in the dawn
7th Day of the lunar week is not same as Saturday.

References:
A. General References on Jewish calendar:
(1) COGWA (2013) The Hebrew Calendar - Study Paper
https://members.cogwa.org/uploads/COGWA-The_Hebrew_Calendar-Study_Paper.pdf
[A copy in the folder 'On Jewish Calendar' in <IRENT Vol. III - Supplement (Collections #5A -
time + calendar)>]
(2) Nathan Bushwick (1989), Understanding Jewish Calendar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_calendar
www.timeanddate.com/calendar/jewish-calendar.html

B. References on the biblical Calendar; luni-solar calendar

www.studiesintheword.org/original_calendar.htm (An investigation of The Calendar as
Described in The Bible by Wayne Bedwell 1993, 2007) [In Collections #5A see a copy:
"Bedwell – The Original Calendar for our Day"]
www.quadibloc.com/science/calint.htm
www.quadibloc.com/science/cal02.htm [Luni-Solar Calendar]
www.pburch.net/lunarcal.html
www.ministersnewcovenant.org/calendar.html
C. References on lunar sabbath

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 Luni-solar calendar (www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar)

High Sabbath = www.worldslastchance.com/lunar-seventh-day-sabbath/what-does-the-high-sabbath-

have-to-do-with-defining-the-true-calendar-of-scripture.html

the following eighth day = www.worldslastchance.com/appointed-feasts/can-you-please-explain-the-

last-great-day-and-the-eighth-day-of-the-feast-of-tabernacles.html

Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) = www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/pentecost-calculation-

restoration.html

www.worldslastchance.com/biblical-christian-beliefs/the-weight-of-evidence.html

Feast of Unleavened Bread = www.worldslastchance.com/appointed-feasts/it-has-been-explained-to-

me-that-the-feast-of-unleavened-bread-can-begin-on-any-day-of-the-week-what-are-your-
thoughts.html

www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/sabbath-at-sunset-absurd-and-impossible.html
www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/date-line-deception.html
www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/new-moons-sabbaths-and-gregorian-calendar.html
www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/new-moon-day-the-dawn-after-conjunction.html
International Date Line (IDL)= www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/international-date-
line-sabbath-unchanged.html

www.worldslastchance.com/objections-of-other-ministries-a-individuals/response-to-8-objections-of-
lynford-beachy.html (anti-lunar sabbath)

https://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub369/item2076.html <TIME IN ANCIENT ROME>

https://cas.wsu.edu/2020/02/25/origins-of-leap-year/

D. Moon data:

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.php
www.timeanddate.com/moon/israel/jerusalem
www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/future-lunarsolar-conjunction-dates.html
www.worldslastchance.com/new-moon/why-didnt-wlc-adopt-the-day-after-the-full-moon-as-
new-moon-day.html
E. Examples of erroneous doctrines perpetuated by proof texting:
 Saturday Sabbath
 Sunset to Sunset Reckoning of the Sabbath
 Sabbath & Feast Days Nailed to the Cross

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 PART II. CALENDATION

Summary chart: The Last Part of the Passion Week

Here is a summary horizontal chart for the Last Part of the Passion Week.

Last Part of the Passion Week

˅ ˄ ˅ ˄ ˅ ˄ ˅
● ☼ ● ☼ ● ☼ ☼ ●
ET
LS TR CX R
ᄉ
*Nisan 13 Nisan 14 Nisan 15 Nisan 16 17

Apr 4 (Tue) Apr 5 (Wed) Apr 6 (Thu) Apr 7 (Fri)

(Sat)

12 Abib 13 Abib 14 Abib 15 Abib 16

˅ sunrise; ˄ sunset; ☼ midday; ● midnight
LS Last Supper; TR Trial; CX – Crucifixion; ET – Entombed; ᄉ Passover Meal; R - Resurrection

Here S-W (Scripture-based Wednesday crucifixion scenario) (Abib 14 on Apr-5 Wed 30 CE) is
used. See how the reckoning by Abib is the only one to make the timeline in the Passion narratives
coherent without confusion or contradiction, when we read that He was to be raised in seemingly
conflicting time-marker expressions such as ‘on third day’ and ‘in three days’ with Day 1 (Abib 13);
Day 2 (Abib 14), and Day 3 (Abib 15). The names of the days of a Gregorian week, such as Fri, Sat,
and Sunday, non-biblical and anachronistic and fit only in the Church Holy Week lingo; they only
make the readers of the Passion narrative befuddled.

Here, dates of Nisan are after the Jewish calendar with sunset-to-sunset day reckoning; shown here
only for the purpose of comparison to the dates in Abib. Other than a difference of 12 hours, with
date for the daytime event same, both may not correspond in different years since the New-Moon
Day and 1st day of a month and the 1st month of the year are determined differently.

Note: a calendar 'day' in the Bible begins at dawn, not at sunset. (E.g. Resurrection – in the dawn of
Abib 16.)

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Vocabulary:
space-time; dimensions, (universe, physics, cosmology); space of time; duration of time

Computus

 [Late Latin]: computation, calculation; reckoning

 determining (Lat. computare) of dates.
 A medieval set of tables for calculating astronomical events and movable dates in the
calendar.
 In ecclesiastical usage it covers the ensemble of rules by which the date of Easter is
reckoned.

www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/computus

*time
Time & Telling time;
[Time-related terms: See also in WB# 6 Passion Week Chronology]
‘day’; ‘date’; ‘*dawn’; ‘sunrise’ ‘sunset’ ‘evening’ ‘midnight’ and ‘midday’
‘twilights – morning and evening’; ‘hour period’ vs. ‘hour’; ‘week’; ‘month’.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midday
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Week

Definition problems, e.g.

Morning (1) a period after sunrise till midday
(2) confusedly, a period after midnight.
Day (1) daylight period (2) a period of 24 hours (3) a calendar day which is recked to start at
an arbitrary time (e.g., 12 am – Gregorian calendar, ancient Egyptian and Roman civic
calendar (?); sunset to start a rabbinic Jewish calendar day; Cf. a day in the bible is that which
starts at dawn.
Midday vs. noon vs. 12 pm.
Midnight vs. 12 am.

‘narrative time’ vs. ‘event time’

www.exactlywhatistime.com/other-aspects-of-time/time-in-literature/

121
www.beaglesoft.com/timehistoryroman.htm

/horology

122
Units of time – day, hour, minutes, seconds
Measuring devices:
Sundial
Water clock;
/Ship's_bell (8 bells, one for each half-hour of a four-hour watch, timed with a 30-minute
hourglass)
Conventional clock

[See an attached file, “On the Substance of Time”. See below for ‘* atom of time’.]

Problem with the word ‘time’ – a notion, a concept, an idea, a (technical) term, etc.

Such a mysterious thing is! [From Wikipedia: time is a dimension in which

events can be ordered from the past through the present into the future,
and also the measure of durations of events and the intervals between
them. Time has long been a major subject of study in religion, philosophy,
and science, but defining it in a manner applicable to all fields without
circularity has consistently eluded scholars…]. In the well-quoted
Einstein's statement, "time is what clocks measure", it is actually about
‘duration of time’, not the notion of ‘time’ per se. Newtonian time – time as
a dimension, independent of events, in which events occur in sequence.
Another view is, it is, instead, a part of a fundamental intellectual
structure (together with space and number) within which humans
sequence and compare events. This second view, in the tradition of
Gottfried Leibniz and Immanuel Kant, holds that time is neither an event
nor a thing, and thus is not itself measurable nor can it be travelled. Time
is one of the seven fundamental physical quantities in the International
System of Units] – here, time is a unit of duration of time.

Does the idea that time is a dimension really help us comprehend and feel what this thing called
‘time’? What about the way we perceive that time flows – and flows continuously without ‘time
freeze’?

As time, space, energy and matter – the whole shebang of physics and physical reality – is just a
God’s creation work by His fiat, the God of the Scripture is supra-temporal (beyond the time
dimension) though He intimately relates to it, especially for humankind, a creation after His own
image. Any statement which tells about God is necessarily anthropomorphic.

Like ‘energy’ in physics, which exists in discrete quanta, time itself may be seen to exist
in discrete time quanta. See Appendix below for ‘* atom of time’

123
 Without movement, time cannot be measured. The modern calendar is a solar calendar,
which bases its days and years exclusively upon the sun. On the modern calendar, weeks
and months are not based on anything in nature. They are completely arbitrary. This is
different from the luni-solar calendar established by Yahuwah at the creation of the world.

“Time is an abstraction at which we arrive by means of the changes [motion] of things.”

Austrian Physicist, Ernst Mach (1838-1916)

“Time is an illusion." Albert Einstein

www.spudart.org/blog/einstein-time-stubbornly-persistent-illusion/
[It's just a persistent enigma for the physicists - ARJ]

'a day's journey':

['a day's journey' – unit of travel distance, not of duration/time.] [Smiths Bible Dictionary]
www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/36999910/lschapter9-passover-falls-on-shabbat-ponder-
scripture
e.g. Act 1:12 a sabbath day′s journey away ░ [2000 cubits – distance permitted to travel on sabbath Exo
16:29; about 0.57 mile; a little over 10 min walk.]
Num 11:31-21 Quail and a Plague
www.youtube.com/channel/UCcrgmGK5HIwND_j4t8EYCxg

http://vineyardjc.com/debunking-the-lunar-sabbath/

www.worldslastchance.com/objections-of-other-ministries-a-individuals/response-to-8-
objections-of-lynford-beachy.html

From the book (Why Weekly Sabbath Days are Determined by the Moon, by Arnold
Bowen)
www.ministersnewcovenant.org/uploads/9/1/6/1/9161032/ls_book_2013_1.0.pdf

124
www.biblestudytools.com/encyclopedias/isbe/days-journey.html

Gen 30:36; Num 10:33; 11:31; hemeras hodos, Lk 2:44):

The common way of estimating distances in the East is by hours and days. This is natural in a country
where roads are mere bridle paths or non-existent, as in the desert. The distance traveled must of course
differ largely according to the difficulties of the way, and it is more important to know where night will
overtake the traveler than the actual distance accomplished. A day's journey is now commonly reckoned
at about 3 miles per hour, the distance usually covered by a loaded mule, the number of hours being
about 8. Hence, a day's journey is about 24 miles, and this may be taken as a fair estimate for Bible
times.

[H1870 derek (706x)] way, road, path, journey = [S3598 hodon (101x)]
a sabbath-day's j. away Act 1:12
a day's journey distance; Lk 2:44
three-day's j. Gen 30:36; Exo 3:18; 5:3; 8:27; Num 10:33; 33:8
a day's j. Jon 3:4; 1Ki 19:4; Num 11:31
seven days j. Gen 31:23
eleven days [to go] from ~ to Deu 1:2
marching seven days 2Kg 3:9
[to check 1 Macc. 5:24, 7:45; Tobit 6:1]

‘*atom of time’:
Gk. word atomos (English word ‘atom’ is derived from it) would be an indivisible smallest
discrete unit. It was used to describe theoretically the smallest indivisible unit of matter
(Leucippus, 460 BC). It carries the idea of "indivisible," and the speaker/writer is free to supply
any category/object. This is a rather common characteristic of any language.

BDAG cites Aristotle, Physics 236a en atomō as referring to an instant of time. Symmachus's
translation of Isa. 54:8 uses the same phrase to indicate an instant, but he's late 2nd century CE.
(from Webb Mealy)

1Co 15:52 en atomō, en hripē ophthalmou “in an atom of time, in a blink of an eye”. KJV and
others translate the phrase as 'in a moment'. [For an intuitive and interesting presentation see an
attached file ‘The Substance of Time’ the 1st Chapter of I. M. History (1998), The Far Side of
Armageddon. (ISBN: 5550116049) – a copy is in the Collection.]

There is no reason not to apply this word to ‘time’ in addition to ‘matter’ (down to atom
before its internal structure further became known – nucleus and electrons, etc.), as the
concept of quantum for ‘energy’ in modern physics. The term ‘atom’ as an indivisible unit of
time, is comparable to ‘quantum’ in modern physics parlance. A discrete smallest unit of time
which runs in succession, giving illusion of continuous and ever-flowing. In between the
atoms of time would be ‘absolute void, emptiness, absence, 無 (kanji ‘mu’); 无 (simplified
Chinese, ‘wu’).

[The philosopher Whitehead] suggests that all created entities are made up of drops of
experience, and that existence itself, life itself for us humans, is an ordered series of extremely
brief occasions of experience. Ref. Korsmeyer JD ‘Evolution & Eden’ p. 97 (1998 Paulist Press).
Prob. from ‘Process and Reality’ (Alfred North Whitehead).

125
126
*moed; moadim;

[from www.iahushua.com/ST-RP/Calendar2.html ]
https://web.archive.org/web/20160209062052/http://www.iahushua.com/ST-RP/Calendar2.html

It is the sun and the moon that determine days, months, years, and set-times (* moed); / (Gen 1:14
“and let them (luminaries – sun and moon) be as signs [H226 oth (79x)] for set-times and days and
year.” – The sun governs ‘day’ ‘year’ and ‘seasons’; the moon governs ‘night’ ‘month’ ‘feasts’
‘festivals’. Sabbath in the Bible is lunar – 7 th day of the lunar week in the biblical calendar; cf.
Sabbath by Sabbatarians incl. Jewish people, is solar – Saturday of the solar week as in Gregorian
calendar). Cf. Muslims – on Friday.

‘Keep my sabbaths – this is a sign between Me [YHWH] and you [Israel]’ Exo 31:13

░ [H4150 moed – appointed time, place; meeting] /designated times; /appointed times –
Jubilee2k; /xx: festivals – HSCB ('religious ~' – GW); /xx: seasons – KJV, NASB, ESB, most; /xx:
sacred times – NIV; /[set-times include sabbaths, feasts, and festivals (Lev 23:1-44) which are
governed by both the sun and the moon (as in a luni-solar calendar). The rabbinic calendar is a
half- baked luni-solar, having luni-solar months, but solar weeks.]

Only in the settled agricultural societies harvest can be tied to their festivals. E.g. Israel after
Exodus. Thus, it is not the green ears of barley, but sun and moon which determine the calendar
and therefore the year. If not the barley harvest, what then signals the beginning of one year after
the end of the other? The equinox and the New-Moon day do this.

https://cong-heralds.com/feast-days/ MOADIM: FESTIVALS OF YHWH

Eight Moadim (Festivals of God) which are commanded (see Leviticus 23) to be
observed. One is repeated weekly, called Shabbat, while the other seven are annual.
1. Pesach (Passover)
2. Hag HaMatzot (Unleavened bread) a seven-day Moadim,
3. Bikkurim (Feast of First Fruits) is the first day of the week following the first weekly Sabbath
after the Passover.
4. Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) is the day following seventh weekly Sabbaths from the Feast of First
Friuts, and on this day we observe Shavuot (also called Pentecost).
5. Rosh HaShanah (Feast of Trumpets – also called Yom Teruah) is in late summer. This is the day
we blow shofars (trumpets). The first day of the Hebrew month Tishrei is considered to be the
agricultural new year.
6. Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) falls ten Days after Rosh HaShananh.
7. Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) is an eight-day Moadim.

SHABBAT
Cf.
Hannukah (Festival of Dedication, Festival of Lights): Mentioned in John 10:22-23, Psalm 30:1-
12. Also, the Apocrypha – I Mac Ch. 4; II Ma. Ch. 10.
a Jewish festival observed for eight days from the 25th of the Hebrew month Kislev (about mid-
December) in commemoration of the re-consecration (165 BC) of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Purim (Feast of Lots), early Spring, Adar 14th. Book of Esther; and the Apocrapha – Esther Ch.
14,15,16.

127
Calendation based on the Scriptures

Vocabulary

Calendar, calendation, lunar cycle, lunation. Epact (age of the Moon in phase). ‘embolic
month’ ‘intercalary 13th month’. Synodic months (lunar phases).

'tropical vs. *sidereal year for intercalary month. Metonic cycle.

*Embolic years (with a leap month) in the Jewish calendation (*leap year;
‘pregnant year’ Shanah Me'uberet) in 19-year Metonic cycle keeps the
spring season on time; barley harvest for the Passover season is assured.
[Note: the Metonic rule itself does not apply to the calendar in the biblical times.]

Ref:
www.worldslastchance.com/creation-week-/if-unbroken-chains-of-weeks-are-not-the-evidence-for-
the-creation-week-then-what-is.html
www.creationcalendar.com/CalendarIssue/28-8-15-22-29_Proof.pdf
www.creationcalendar.com/GraceAmadon/GreatCalendarControversy.pdf
[not to be confused with a bogus web articles on www.torahcalendar.com/ ]

Based on the article On Jewish calendar – a COGWA study paper

https://web.archive.org/web/20150323154037/http://members.cogwa.org/uploads/
Hebrew_Calendar_-_Study_Paper.pdf (2013 Church of God, a Worldwide Association); accessed
2016/6/6 (a copy is found in the IRENT Supplement III (Collections #5). It is not aware of
difference of solar vs. lunar year for 7th day of the week.

It should include those details, arguments and conclusions to search and recognize the true Biblical
lunar calendar – these are found here and there in this very PDF file. The aim is to help the readers
understand the Scripture text related to the chronology and festivals, rather than to come up such a
calendar to be employed by the modern readers of the Bible.

128
7-day continuous cycle myth:
www.yhrim.com/The_7_Day_Continuous_Cycle_from_Creations_Myth.pdf (old version)

www.yhrim.com/Teaching_Documents/The_7_Day_Continuous_Cycle_Myth-Update_11-
5998sc.pdf

[Note: This uses Jewish calendation with sunset-to-sunset day]

Gen 8:3 [mo. 2, 17th d. (← 7:11) → mo. 3 → mo. 4 → mo. 5 → mo. 6 →mo. 7]
[150 days = 30 days x 5 months. Each month in Noah’s time was 30-days; time was not
set on a continuous 7-day cycle. It was set by the new moon each month, called Rosh
Chodesh – New-Mood day.]

Genesis 1:14-18 And Elohim said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the
shamayim /heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs
/Sabbaths and for moadim /Feast, and for days, and years:

I’m only using the 14th verse, you can read the 15th through the 18th verses for yourself
If people could only understand, this is referring to the sun and moon; they would be
able to see from just this one verse, that YHWHs Calendar is Lunar-Solar by looking at
His Two Heavenly Witness, the sun and moon.
There is no such thing as a 7-day Continuous cycle from creation, that is a “myth”, and
we will prove this. In this document, The Word will prove to you how that YHWHs
Calendar is a Solar- Lunar Calendar just as it states in Genesis 1:14-18 and many other
verses and was put enforce in the very beginning.
YHWH /Yahuah instructs Moshe to make two silver trumpets

Numbers 10:1 And YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying, 2 Make two trumpets of silver; of a
whole piece shall you make them: that you may use them for the calling of the
congregation, and for the journeying of the camp.
Numbers 10:10 Also in the day of your Simcha / joy, and in your moadim /Feast, and in
the beginnings of your chodashim /month, you shall blow with the trumpets over your
burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your shalom /peace offerings; that they may
be to you for a memorial before your Elohim: I, I am YHWH your Elohim.

YHWH said that two silver trumpets were to be blown in the beginning of your months.
Every month in those days had 30 days. Then a new month was to begin. This shows us
a very important point; time was not set on a Continuous 7-day cycle. It was set by the
new moon each month, called Rosh Chodesh.

We take 30 days and divide it by the so called 7-day cycle from creation and what do we
get? 30 divided by 7 = 4 weeks and 2 days. This gives us four 7-day weeks with 2 days
left over at the end of the month. This proves that it impossible to have a 7-day
continuous cycle from creation. People are trying to use and to defend the pagan
Babylonian/Julian/roman/Gregorian calendar to show a continuous 7-day cycle that does
not exist.

129
 Also with the pagan calendar, the days of the week float all over the place. A roman
calendar which has a Saturday or Sunday on the 17th of this month, might be the 14th
next month. The days of the week move and change every month when compared to
what days of the month they land on. This is what happens when satan changes
anything! This is exactly the opposite from what YHWH's Word States.

All throughout YHWH's Word, He shows that His Weekly Shabbats, are always the 8th,
15th, 22nd, & 29th Days of the month, EVERY Month. The 7th Day Shabbat of each
week does not change or float!! You will never find a Shabbat in YHWH's Word that
occurs on any other day other than the 8th, 15th, 22nd, & 29th. This Alone destroys the
roman calendar.
We will begin to prove a 30-day month using the sun and moon, YHWHs Solar Lunar
Calendar. You must understand how to read YHWHs Calendar, the sun and moon, in
order to know the 30-day months.
Now let’s begin to understand YHWH's Calendar, that it is a Solar Lunar Calendar, and
NOT a 7-day continuous cycle “Myth”

The Word teaches that new moon / Rosh Chodesh is similar to a Shabbat Day. Let’s
read one of many verses about Rosh Chodesh in Amos 8:5
Saying, When will the Rosh Chodesh be gone, that we may sell our corn? And the
Shabbat, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel large,
and falsifying the balances by deceit?

Some of the Torah - Breaking Israelites wanted Rosh Chodesh / new moon and the
Sabbath to go by quickly, so they could sell their merchandise to the people. Both Rosh
Chodesh and the Sabbath is being shown as set apart days. Set apart for what? Set Apart
Days unto Yahuah, when we are to Worship Him and eat of His Word! His Sabbath day
is a day of Worship, Teaching and a day of rest.
We will go to the Book of Sefer Yahshar/Scroll of ….
(note here: they take sunset-sunset calendar)

HOW DO WE ARRIVE AT THE “FIRST DAY OF THE FIRST MONTH”?

When the next conjunction of the moon takes place after the equinox, that conjunction will
start the first day of the first month of the Year as shown below.

130
At the turn of the year we look for the next conjunction after the vernal equinox to begin
the first day of the year as shown in the 12th month as shown below.

In the 12th month above, the conjunction is on 29th. Next day is the first day year; Abib 1st
called Rosh Chodesh. The moon, which rules over the ‘night’, begins the months; but the sun,
which rules over the ‘day’, begins the days. The [biblical calendar] day starts at dawn. The
next conjunction (occurring in 29.5 days) is the end of the month.
[Note: A day starts at 12 a.m. in Gregorian calendar; at sunset in the rabbinic Jewish calendar
after Hillel II.]

131
* Biblical Calendation for New-Moon day and the New year
Visibility of the new moon crescent

The term ‘astronomical new moon’ is synonymous to (lunar) conjunction. It does not refer
to the first visible crescent moon, nor the biblical word 'New-Moon' (day).

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/crescent.php (Crescent Moon Visibility)

"Generally, the lunar crescent will become visible to suitably-located, experienced observers
with good sky conditions about one day after New Moon. However, the time that the crescent
actually becomes visible varies quite a bit from one month to another. Naked-eye sightings as
early as 15.5 hours after New Moon have been reliably reported while observers with
telescopes have made reliable reports as early as 12.1 hours after New Moon."

Determining the New-moon day: "Dawn After Conjunction" method

In the Bible, first day of the lunar month is called the New-Moon day.

Ref: (WLC - New-moon-day-the-dawn-after-conjunction) The "dawn after conjunction" method for

a specific location is the only method to allow properly determine the biblical New-Moon day of
a month (Day 1) with the day to begin with sunrise. The ancient tradition of "observing first
visible crescent" method is impractical, being affected by the observers' visibility problem and
requires the day after the first visible crescent.

To determine the New-Moon day is by the 'dawn after conjunction'. The ‘crescent method’,
'sighting of the first visible crescent in Jerusalem, cannot be used to determine the New-Moon
day which should be applicable on the global basis. It is NOT just the day after the first visible
crescent, with the observers' visibility problem.

[Note: the article says 'the Beginning a Day at Dawn'. A ‘day’ in the Bible is reckoned to begin
at dawn; sunrise brings morning of a new day. Morning follows dawn. It makes quite a
difference for an event occurring in the dawn as the dawn itself belongs to a new [biblical]
calendar day. E.g. the Resurrection – Abib 16 dawn with the risen Lord to the disciples through
the morning of the same date [→ Friday CE 30 Apr. 7]. The expression 'dawn and dusk' instead
of 'sunrise and sunset'.

https://youtu.be/p5oS5pL00ds <Understanding New Moons & Translation Days – wlc>

http://biblicalcalendar.org/ https://youtu.be/NSj0rSu_GS0 <The Biblical Calendar "Sabbaths and
New Moons" – against Lunar Sabbath>

www.worldslastchance.com/lunar-seventh-day-sabbath/why-dont-the-moons-primary-phases-always-line-
up-directly-with-the-sabbath-days-8th-15th-22nd-and-29th.html

 There are about 29.5 days between one conjunction and the next. Because
months cannot have 1/2 days, each lunar month is either 29 or 30 days.

 The lunar-solar conjunction can occur anytime during the day or night. New
Moon Day, however, always commences at the first dawn after conjunction.
132
 This means that sometimes the month will begin more than 23 hours after
conjunction, while at other times, the month will begin only a few moments
after conjunction.
 There are occasional anomalies in the moon’s behavior, meaning there are
times when the moon will not become 100% full until the 16th day of the lunar
month. [Cf. An example given had wrong astronomical data for dark moon.]

Astronomical data needed:

'dark moon', 'astronomical new moon' – moon at conjunction.
Vernal equinox date and time
• Dark moon date and time – conjunctions before and after equinox
• Sunrise time
[Ref: wlc/calculating-the-conjunction-no-computer <https://youtu.be/YnBokmH49VA> -
Calculating Conjunction - No Computer, No Problem

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/SpringPhenom.php
VERNAL EQUINOX; FULL MOON [On or next after date of equinox]; NEW
MOON [On or preceding date of equinox & Following equinox]
wlc/future-lunarsolar-conjunction-dates.html

A related question:

A scenario – we are stranded in an island with inhabitant and have no record to tell what
day/month it is.

How do we create a calendar of a month if we do not know how to determine what day/date
is today when we are isolated from outside world with no way to communicate - computers
with various programs, telescopes, clocks, watches, etc.? What are the bare essential tools?
A ruler and fingers.

133
*equinox;
The *equinox occurs because of the (apparent) action of the sun. The earth, which is tilted 23.5
degrees, orbits the sun, creating our seasons (spring, summer, fall and winter). The equinox occurs
when the sun "crosses" the equator. [ /Ecliptic_coordinate_system ]

Cf. ‘astronomical equinox’ vs. ‘ecclesiastical (approximation) of equinox’]

Cf. /Equinox 'vernal (spring) equinox' Mar 10, 20, or 21st; 'autumnal or fall equinox' Sep 23.

the Spring equinox (usually on March 20th; the earliest is on March 19th – 2096; the latest is on
March 21st in 2003).
https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/5-things-didnt-know-
about-spring-equinox.htm

precession of the equinox – motion of the equinoxes along the ecliptic (the plane of Earth’s orbit)
caused by the cyclic precession of Earth’s axis of rotation. /Precession /Axial_precession

Spring equinox – mostly on March 20. Occasionally Mar 21 (1967, 1971, 1975, 1979, 2024);
rarely Mar 19 (2020).

Equinox:
… Anciently there were several different means of computing the equinox. There was the
method of picking a date between the solstice dates. There was a method of picking the
midpoint between the solstice points. There was the method of using an equinox ring. There was
the method of using a date calculated in the past and still adhered to by tradition. There was the
method of calculating the date. The most ancient method, however, was to locate the cardinal
point of west. The day upon which the sun set due west or very slightly north of due west
became the first day of the year. This is the simple observational method of finding the equinox.
… www.torahtimes.org/writings/an-ancient-tradition/article.html

134
*turn of the year;
The Hebrew H8622 tekufah (4x) literally, "circuit, to go around" It refers to the solstices as well as
to the equinoxes. [cf. true equinox vs. mean equinox]

The tekufah for Abib denotes the sun at the vernal equinox; the next tekufah denotes the summer
solstice; the third denotes the fall equinox and the fourth denotes the winter solstice.

Tekufah appears in the Scripture four times, and relates to the calendar at least three times.
 "And it came to pass at the turn [tekufah] in the year that the Syrians came up against
him: ..." (2Chr 24:23). This refers to the end and, therefore, the beginning of another biblical
year, demarcated by the Vernal Equinox and the New-Moon day. Passover Festival; barley
harvest.
 "And you shall observe the Festival of Weeks, even the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the
Festival of Ingathering (syn. Festival of Sukkot; not a 'feast') at the turn [tekufah] in the
year (Exo 34:22). This refers to the fall equinox, the end of the summer growing season.
wheat harvest. [Lev 23:34 'On the fifteenth day of this seventh month']
Exo 34:22 at the turn of the year ░ - NRSV, CJB, NASB, NWT, ISR, NIV duo, BBE, ISV,
MSG, LITV, Darby; /xxx: at the end of the year – NET; /xx: at the year’s end – most, KJV++,
ASV, MKJV; /xxx: at the turn of the agricultural year- HCSB; />> in the autumn – GNB; />> in
the fall – NIrV, ERV; /xxx: at the end of the season – CEV; /xxx: at the end of the harvest
season – NLT;

 "And it came to pass when the time [tekufah /time – most] came Hannah conceived (1Sam
1:20)" "… offer sacrifice of ‘days’ (1Sam 1:21) Cf. Deu 12:26; 14:22 ‘produce from the
field’
 "[the sun] rising is from the end of the heavens and its circuit [tekufah – ‘course’- NLT] to
the end of them, and there is nothing hid from its heat." (Psa 19:6). This speaks of the sun's
daily course, or its yearly circuit through the equinoxes and the solstices, or both.

Cf. The phrase ‘the turn in the year’ is to avoid confusion with ‘the end ot the [calendar] year’; aside
from Gregorian and Biblical lunisolar there are two Jewish calendars –. Nisan is the 7 th month of the
civil year; 1st month of the biblical year.

In any case, the above Scriptures indicate that the ancients had understanding on the
equinox and its place in the calendation.

wlc-biblical-calendation-reckoning-the-new-year.html
H8666 teshubah 'a turn' 'a return' – as in "at the turn of the year" [(5x) 2Sam 11:1; 1Kg
20:22, 26; 1Ch 20:1; 36:10 – all in reference to spring time]
1Kg 20:22 at the turn of the year ░ - NASB, YLT; /x: at the return of the year – KJV, ASV; /next
spring – NIV; /in the spring – ESV, HCSB; /x: early this next year – ISV; /the next year – Douay;

H5362 naqaph 'go around' (Isa 29:1), '(en)circle' 'surround']

H3318 yatsa (1069x) Exo 23:16 ‘at the going out (end) of the year’
cf. Jos 3:15 'harvest time; /harvest season [H7105. qatsiyr + H3117 yom]
Cf. H6779 tsamach 'spring up', 'sprout' – Gen 2:5
Cf. H8141 shanah 'year'
Exo 33:16 at the goingout of the year░ [H3318 yatsa (1069x)] /in the going out –
AramaicPE, YLT; /end – most; /Ko. 물러가다;
msn.com/fall-equinox-2019-not-as-equal-as-you-may-think/
135
136
 www.gci.org/law/festivals/harvest
www.zimbio.com/pictures/ht0wjSaeeub/Wheat+Harvest+Begins+In+Israel ]

…. What time of the year should we be looking for this event of ‘turn of the year’
to begin Abib 1st to occur? (cf. such as Exo 34:22 which was at Fall)

It should occur toward the end of the year (not after). Why? Because this event is
telling us when the next year begins, so it must occur before the current year
ends. You do not need to know an Exact Day when the Turn of the Year occurs,
as you do with equinox. Only which Month, either the 12th or 13th month, the
Turn of the Year occurs in.
What time of the month should we be looking for this event? The 15th day of the month
as it is the only time of the month that both witnesses, the Sun and the Moon, are visible
at close to the same time of day, at sunset. At this time of the month, the moon is full.
Therefore, the moon is directly across from the Sun, and the moon is rising as the sun is
setting. Being the 15th day of the last month of the year, it also gives any Yisraelite
enough notice ahead of time, when they are required to be at Yerusalem for Passover]
A simple observation of the sunset and the moon rising to tell the turn of the year.
www.yhrim.com/The_Turn_of_the_Year.pdf (a copy in the collection) which
dictates whether 13th month is required. [See elsewhere here for * sunset and *
moonrise relationship.
www.yhrim.com/Hizqiyahu_the_Sun_Dial_of_Ahaz___the_29-30_day_month_-
_Updated_12-5994.pdf


137
138
Reckoning the New Year
How is the first day of a new year determined on the Gregorian calendar system? Any astronomical
consideration?

How to determine 1st day of the 1st Month in the Biblical calendar: = Method to
determine the New Year day:
The Passover should not come before the equinox and the season should be in line with
spring harvest (barley).

New-Moon CLOSEST to the equinox

wlc-biblical-calendation-reckoning-the-new-year.html
– a copy in Collections #5 for IRENT Vol. III - Supplement.]

"The Biblical New Year is reckoned by the New-moon closest to the vernal equinox. (at
the *turn of the year in the beginning of a biblical year) ["closest but it should not bring
Yom Kippur of Tishri 10 before the Fall equinox" – to check for an article on this issue. If
the one coming after the equinox is chosen, how far late the Passover would come in
April?]

(1) What does the Bible say or indicate about the New Year? Exo 12:2, Gen 1:14-15
(2) What do 1st century historians tell us about the New Year? Philo; Flavus Josephus;
Vernal equinox AD 31 – Mar 22.
Passover cannot fall before the equinox
Passover full moon must occur after equinox.
(3) Scripture indicates that the sun, moon, and stars are to be used for timekeeping.
(Gen 1:14-16; the sign of Aries)
(4) According to the Metonic Cycle, there are seven embolismic years within a 19-year
cycle:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
1
Exo 9:31 records that the barley and the flax were nearing maturity when they were
destroyed by the plague of hail. By this, we know that it was springtime, or nearing
springtime.
2
There are approximately 180 days between the autumnal equinox and the vernal equinox.
3
The First Fruits offering was to take place on the 16th day of the first month, following
the Sabbath of Unleavened Bread. (See Lev 23:9-11.)

"The year began with the month of Abib (or Nisan) (Exo 12:2, 23:15, Esther 3:7) with
the new-moon nearest the vernal equinox." [It keeps the 1st month be the month of aviv
(green ear of barley) with the Wave Sheaf Offering of Aviv 16th.] [Ref. William F.
Dankenbring, When Does the Biblical year begin? www.triumphpro.com/year-new-look-
at-beginning-of.pdf ]

139
Compare this with the unattainable argument below:
New-Moon that comes AFTER the Vernal Equinox
www.hope-of-israel.org/barley.htm [A copy in the Collection]
<John D. Keyser, "Does YEHOVAH God’s Year Start with the Barley Harvest?">
“…
If we hope to choose the New Moon nearest (either before or after) the equinox, we may fail
because of the uncertainty in the length of the lunar month. Suppose we choose a New Moon,
15 days before the vernal equinox on the assumption the month will have 30 days. However,
suppose it turns out to have only 29 days -- we will not have chosen the New Moon nearest the
equinox since there are 15 days before, but only 14 days after! We must wait until the equinox
is established, and only then can we choose a New Moon -- the New Moon next after that event.
[this argument is not convincing - AJR]

Because of the uncertainty regarding the length of the month (and other reasons) the year
should always begin with the New Moon next AFTER the Vernal Equinox -- rather than the
New Moon nearest the equinox.”

[If we take an extreme case, suppose New-Moon day falls as many days (29 days) after equinox
(Mar 20), that is, Apr 18, Passover would be as late as May 1! On the other hand, NM may
occur only as many as 13 days (Mar 6) before Equinox in order to keep Passover after Equinox.
www.yhrim.com/The_Turn_of_the_Year.pdf (in the Collection #5 for IRENT
Supplement III) – Dark Moon Day comes after Equinox for Aviv to arrive.

140
A *work sheet for Passover date

Mar 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31 Apr 1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 May 1 2

[simplistically New-Moon day (Abib 1) is taken a day after the conjuction]

Equinox – March 20; Passover day = Abib 14.
1. Passover cannot be before the Equinox. Suppose Passover w/ Full noon is on the day of Equinox,
New-Moon day would be Mar 7. (Conjuction on Mar 6 earliest).
2. Suppose Conjuction is on the day of Equinox w/ New-Moon day on Mar 21.
Passover would be Apr 3.
3. How late in Apr the Passover can come? with full moon on Equinox, next full moon - Apr 18 or 19
with lunation of 29 or 30 days. The latest date for Passover would Apr 19. Conjunction on Apr 4 latest.
The question is: Passover can be on 2nd Full Moon after equinox?? Cf. In Jewish calendar – the Passover
(Nisan 15) comes later than this when the previous month is Adar II. E.g. 2016 – Apr 22; 2005 – Apr. 23;
2024 – Apr 23. Cf. 2000 & 2008 – Ap 19; Cf. 2011 – Apr 18 – after Adar II but Full moon on Mar. 19.

141
 In CE 30 in the year Yeshua was crucified
Vernal Equinox: → Mar 22 Wed 22:37 [UTC]
Conjunction closest to Equinox: → Mar 22 Wed 19:46 [Jerusalem time]
Abib 1 (New-Moon Day) → Mar 23 Thu;
Abib 14 (Passover Day) → Apr 5 Wed [= the Crucifixion day]

Earliest and latest date for Jewish Pesach I (Nisan 15):

Case study: 2014 CE (w/ Adar II in 2013)

Nisan 15, Pesach I –– Apr 15 Tue
Easter – Apr 20

Case study: *2015 CE

Vernal equinox: Mar 20 UT 16:57; (EST 11:57) www.archaeoastronomy.com/2014.html

moon conjunction: Mar 20 UT 18:00; Israel 20 (CST 12:35; PST 10:36)
sunrise: Mar 20 (UT 13:54) (Israel 14:54; CST 06:53)
http://www.timebie.com/timezone/utcidt.php
Dawn after conjunction – Mar 21 – Abib 1
Apr 3 – Abib 14 - Biblical Passover

Nisan 15, Pesach I -– Apr 4 Sat; (Note: leap year 2013)

Easter – Apr. 5

142
www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/first-day-of-passover

Latest – Apr-25 in 2043*, 1929*

Earliest – Mar-26 in 2013, 1899; 2089

www.timeanddate.com/calendar/?year=2029&country=34
http://lunaf.com/lunar-calendar/2029/04/13/ 13 April 2029 @ 21:40 UTC.

In the example of the year 2013/2014 CE = AM 5774 (leap year 17th in the 19-year Metonic
cycle): 2015/2016 CE = AM 5776 (leap year – year 19 of the 19-year Metonic cycle):

 sunrise time 07:09 (Chicago) on Mar-11

 conjunction time 19:51 on Mar-11,
 the New-Moon day (Abib 1) is thus to be Mar-12 (for Abib 14 = Mar-25).

As to the beginning of Abib for the New Year, this conjunction on Mar-11 which is closest to
the equinox is what determines. Here the conjunction comes about 10 days before the equinox.
(www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/future-lunarsolar-conjunction-dates.html ).

2013 2014 2015 2016

143
A Comparison between different methods:

https://sites.google.com/site/calendarstudies/bible-studies/bible_study_year_of_crucifixion

Note: The author takes AD 33 as the year of the Crucifixion, along with Nisan date – starts at
sunset on the day before on Gregorian date

New Year: there are two different ideas for when a new year begins.
www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/biblical-calendation-reckoning-the-new-
year.html
 The first argues it begins with the moon conjunction closest to the vernal equinox (but
not more than 14 days earlier, i.e., one that would not result in Passover occurring
prior to the vernal equinox). [This ensures the Festival of Ingathering to be very near,
but not before, the fall equinox.]
 The second argues the new year begins with the first moon conjunction after the
vernal equinox (i.e., the post-equinox moon conjunction) – untenable.

New Month: there are two different ideas for when a new month begins.

 The first argues a new month begins on the day immediately following the
conjunction.
 The second argues it begins on the day following the conjunction plus 24 hours (a
period of 24 hours allows time for an observable crescent moon to form).

Various methods:

New year New month

using the conjunction starting on the day
Method 1: post-equinox immediately following the conjunction
Method 2 following the conjunction plus 24 hours
Method 3: closest to equinox immediately following the conjunction
Method 4: following the conjunction plus 24 hours

1 = post-equinox; the day after the conjunction

2 = post-equinox; the day + 24 hrs after conjunction
3 = closest to; the day after conjunction
4 = closest to; the day + 24 hours after conjunction

144
https://web.archive.org/web/20130605215923/https://www.worldslastchance.com/calendar-app-qaa-general/
which-dawn-and-dusk-times-should-we-follow--astronomical-nautical-or-civil.html

Which Dawn and Dusk times should we follow - Astronomical, Nautical, or Civil?

Question: Which Dawn and Dusk times should we follow when reckoning the parameters of day -
Astronomical, Nautical, or Civil? What does the Calendar App use?

Answer: Scripture is abundantly clear that a day begins with morning. The WLC Calendar
Application reckons the parameters of a day by astronomical twilight. This is because there is
absolutely no trace of sunlight before or after this period. In order to carefully keep the Sabbath day
holy, all who love the Sabbath and the Creator will be vigilant to guard these times of transition
from dark to light and light to dark that begin and end each day.

Note: This particular point may be considered a 'grey area' where we believe some flexibility can be
applied. Therefore, where technology is unavailable or personal observation is preferred, the
following may be used:
 End of the day: the beginning of nautical twilight (when the stars appear)
 Beginning of the day: the end of nautical twilight (when the stars disappear)

For More on the Biblical Parameters of a Day:

 When Does a Day Begin? (Video)
 When Does a Day Begin? (Article)
 When Does a Day Begin? (eCourse)
 When does a Day Begin & End? (Luni-Solar: You Ask, We Answer)
You can learn more about the civil, nautical, and astronomical twilight here:
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/RST_defs.php

[www.thecreatorscalendar.com/ = www.worldslastchance.com/ describe that the beginning of a

new day ‘at dawn’ which follows 4th watch of the night of the previous day.

145
 His Worksheet to find dates with different methods for Abib 1 & 14

https://sites.google.com/site/calendarstudies/bible-studies/
bible_study_year_of_crucifixion
Year →
1st month ↓ 30 30 31 33

Vernal Equinox Mar 22 Wed 3/21 (12:28) 3/21 (06:16) 3/20 Sun (17:50)
20:00

pre-equinox 3/20 (19:46) 3/10 (00:19) 3/17 Thu (12:38)

Closest Mar 22 Wed
Conjunction 21:09
post-equinox 4/19 (11:36) 4/08 (13:32) 4/15 Fri (21:09)

1st day _ 4/20 4/9 4/17

Method 1
14th day _ 5/3 Fri 4/22 Tue 4/30 Sat

1st day _ 4/21 4/10 4/18

Method 2
14th day _ 5/4 Sat 4/23 Wed 5/1 Sun

1st day Mar 23 Thu 3/22 3/11 3/18

Method 3
14th day Apr 5 Wed 4/4 Thu 3/24 Mon 3/31 Thu
1st day _ 3/23 3/12 3/19
Method 4
14th day _ 4/5 Fri 3/25 Tue 4/1 Fri
Day of Crucifixion – 14th Correct data ↑ all data is his table are incorrect @

146
 Method 1 = post-equinox; the day after the conjunction
Method 2 = post-equinox; the day + 24 hrs after conjunction
Method 3 = closest to; the day after conjunction → the only acceptable method.
Method 4 = closest to; the day = 24 hours after conjunction

@ All data wrong even different from the references he cited. – See copies below. However, it does
show how different dates from different methods.

The author claims: His table has been shown that AD 33 is the only year that satisfies all the relevant
scriptures for the Crucifixion!! Other possible years can be excluded based on either not satisfying a
Friday Passover crucifixion, or for being too early to allow a sufficient length for Jesus' ministry.
[His problem was that of the traditional Friday proponents – misreading the Gospel texts to read first
day of the week as Sunday.]
As shown here, other possible methods of calculating new years and new months can therefore
be excluded since they do not come up with the final conclusion of a Friday Passover on the 14th
day of the 1st month for AD 33 with the Method #4.

… the Method #4 should be the appropriate method for determining a new year is to use the
moon conjunction that occurs closest to the vernal equinox, and that the first day of a new month
is one that follows the moon conjunction plus 24 hours (time to permit a visible formation of a
crescent moon).

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/SpringPhenom.php GMT Julian

Julian Spring Equinox Dark Moon Full Moon

3 BC@ Mar 23 Sat 04:00 Mar 16 Sat 19:00 Mar 31 Sun 18:00
30 CE# Mar 22 Wed 20:00 Mar 22 Wed 18:00 Apr 6 Thu 20:00
31 Mar 23 Fri 03:00 Mar 11 Sun 23:00 Mar 27 Tue 11:00
33 Mar 22 Sun 15:00 Mar 19 Thu 10:00 Apr 3 Fri 15:00

@ - 3 BC, early Abib (Late March) - birth of Yeshua as a Passover lamb.

Cf. 3 BC Abib 14 (Mar 30 Sat)
# - 30 CE Abib 14 (Apr 5 Wed) - death of Yeshua as the Passover sacrifice.

147
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEcat5/LE-0099-0000.html

Lunar eclipses [BC 5 to CE 5]

https://web.archive.org/web/20090403060141/https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/phase/phases0001.html
<Phase of the Moon 1 to 100 CE>

Year 30 CE

148
www.judaismvschristianity.com/passover_dates.htm [Passover Dates 26-34 AD]

The following astronomical data in the first three columns below was obtained
from the U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department. The
pertinent file may be accessed at
https://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/SpringPhenom.php.

Note. The times of day given in the second and third columns have been adjusted
+2 hours from U.S. Naval Observatory figures to account for the difference
between Jerusalem Israel and Greenwich England (universal) time.
It should also be noted that the first evening of a visible crescent moon (column 4)
always occurs only minutes after sundown, which is at the very beginning of a
new day on the Jewish calendar. This Hebrew day correlates to the following day
on our Gregorian calendar as noted in the chart below (column 5). Column 6 is
Passover dates for the given years.

1st evening of visible 14th Nisan

Conjunction 1st Nisan
crescent (Passover)
C Vernal equinox
E Near or first after Gregorian; Beginning at sundown
equinox midnight to midnight the evening before)

= 30 CE – Abib 1 = Fri Mar 24; Abib 14 = Thu Apr 6. [i.e. Thu]

Note: 31 CE is astronomically wrong for the Passion date. 33 CE was based on the
wrong idea of the translation word 'Preparation' = Friday, whereas the word means
nothing more than 'eve' of a certain day (sabbath for most of examples).

149
Diagram from *New-moon day: The Dawn After Conjunction
['dawn' is not sunrise]
{data translated to CE 30}
(A) 'Day after Conjunction' New-Moon Day reckoning:

[Note: the noon to midnight axis (yellow to blue) needs to be redrawn

with 2-hr counter-clockwise rotation – marked with red arrows.]

(B) 'Dawn after Conjunction' New-Moon Day reckoning:

This method allows the entire world to begin their New-moons, Sabbaths, and Feast Days on the
same 24-hour Solar Revolution.

150
Leap years and Metonic cycle
Q: At what year does the cycle begin? How has it been determined in the beginning?
Historical? What part of the 19-year cycle are we in now?

www.ahavasisraelgr.org/rabbi-q-and-a/648-jewish-calendar

The 19th and last year of a 19-year cycle is a leap year.

AM 5758 – 5776* [AM 5776 = 2015 – 2016 CE] – This year.

AM 5777 – 5795* [AM 5795 = 2034 – 2035 CE]

Ref. Arthur Spier, The Comprehensive Jewish Calendar, (a 400-year Gregorian/Jewish

calendar, along with all of the rules and calculations that determine the Jewish calendar.)

Cf. on Calendation - google book reading –

Fasti temporis catholici, and Origines kalendariæ. [With] ... =
https://ia801403.us.archive.org/23/items/fastitemporisca00unkngoog/
fastitemporisca00unkngoog.pdf
Cf. the Jewish calendation; with counting for Tishri Oct-4-Thu to derive Passover to be on 31 CE
Apr-25-Wed (instead of Mar-27-Tue ???)
www.franknelte.net/pdf/pdf.php?article_id=111 Passover_dates_for_30_ad_and_for_31_ad. (A copy
in the Collection)

*Metonic cycle
What year is a leap year in Jewish calendar? What makes it that to begin with?

2015 – 2016 (for the Jewish Year - AM 5776)

--- A Hebrew Leap-Year of 13 months - 385 days ---
From September 14, 2015 ---Through--- October 2, 2016

[Jewish] scholars eventually declared years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19 of the 19-year
cycle to be leap years of 13 months each. … A given Hebrew year is a leap year
whenever its value divided by 19 leaves a remainder that is 0, 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, or 17. For
example, the year 5757H (1996/1997 CE) is a leap year because after division by 19, the
remainder is 0. That by the way also makes it the last year of the 303rd 19-year cycle.

In a Hebrew leap year, a 30-day month is added to the year. This month is today known
as the month of Adar I and is inserted immediately after the Hebrew month of Shevat. In
our times, the insertion tends to take place in the February/March period of the Gregorian
calendar year. …

[Quoting from Jonathan Hirshon (ed.), Hebrew Calendar Science and Myths
http://old.templesanjose.org/JudaismInfo/time/Hebrew_Calendar.pdf

QQ: How does the leap year cycle in the Biblical calendation compare with the Metonic cycle used in
the Jewish calendar? If the cycle is same, what year should be year 1 of the cycle? What or who
determines it?
151
152
[Edited on the Table 4.3 in Tom Anthony (2010), Crucified in Passover, pp. 62-63.]

Dates for Jewish Passover in a 19-year cycle

Year Order # of months Nisan 15$

in the year @
1997 1 12 Apr-22
1998 2 12 Apr-11
1999 3 13 Apr-1
2000 4 12 Apr-20
2001 5 12 Apr-8
2002 6 13 Mar-28
2003 7 12 Apr-17
2004 8 13 Apr-6
2005 9 12 Apr-24
2006 10 12 Apr-13
2007 11 13 Apr-3
2008 12 12 Apr-20
2009 13 12 Apr-9
2010 14 13 Mar-30
2011 15 12 Apr-19
2012 16 12 Apr-7
2013 17 13 Mar-26
2014 18 12 Apr-15
2015 19 13 Apr-4

2016 1 12 *Apr-23 Sat

2021 6 Mar 28 Sun

‘Jewish Passover’ is on Nisan 15

[beginning from sunset on the Gregorian day before]
2016 is Hebrew Year 5776.
Q: How did a certain year got settled on position 0
in the cycle at the beginning?
*: Cf. Biblical Calendar
– Abib 14 is on Apr-21-Thu, not Apr-22-Fri.
Some variance is due to how the New-Moon day is being fixed
for Abib 1 and adjustment by the leap month.

@
One month added towards the end of the year to prevent Passover from occurring in the
winter in the following year – with Adar II appearing in March of next year, e.g. in 1929, ….,
2011, 2014, 2016, 2019, … 2043.)
$
Nisan 15 is for First day of the Festival of the Passover = of the Matzah. Cf. ‘Date of
Passover = Nisan 14' in his book, listing correct Gregorian dates for Nisan 14.

153
 Mnemonic aid for Jewish leap years [
http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/6376/how-do-i-know-if-its-a-hebrew-leap-
year ]
 3, 6, 8, 10+1, 10+4, 10+7, and 10+9. (7 numbers to memorize).
 A piano keyboard arrangement (not actual number of keys to account for the
digits in there.)

Note: The Rule of Postponements has no place in the biblical lunar calendar. But how is the
Metonic cycle applied to the biblical calendar? Where does 30 CE fall in the cycle?

Metonic cycle [a cycle of 235 synodic months after which the phase of the moon recurs
on the same day of the year. (approx.) 19-year cycle.] [Meton of Athens (4th c. BC)a

[www.astrologyweekly.com/dictionary/metonic-cycle.php The discovery about 432 BC by

Meton, a Greek astronomer of Athens, of the moon's period of 19 years, at the end of which
the New-moon occurs on the same day of the year. Upon this he based certain corrections
of the lunar calendar. He figured the 19-year cyclic of 235 lunations (254 orbits) to consist
of 6,939d, 16.5h. This he divided into 125 full months of 30 days each, and 110 deficient
months of 29 days each. (v. Lunar Month.) the 235 full months, of 30 days each, totaled
7,050 days; hence it became necessary to suppress 110 days or 1 in 64. Therefore, the
month which contained the 64th day became a deficient month. As the true Lunation period
is 6,939d, 14.5h, his calculations showed a deviation of only two hours.] [29.5 d /mo = 354
days/yr (12 mos). https://youtu.be/diWyneRGgyk The 2000-Year-Old Computer -
Decoding the Antikythera Mechanism (2012)]

[The 19-year cycle does not cause the Jewish calendar to repeat itself every 19 Hebrew
years. The 19-year cycle only refers to the positions of the 13-month years in those cycles.
These years are the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, and 19th years of the cycle. Any of
those years can be either 383, 384, or 385 days long. http://hebrewcalendar.tripod.com/#19
<The Jewish Calendar Repetition Cycle>]

a
cf. A mechanical computation of this cycle was built into the Antikythera mechanism, which dates from
around the end of the 2nd century B.C.
154
 There are seven embolismic years within the 19-year cycle – years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19. The
pattern of common versus embolismic years is as follows. Embolismic years (years containing 13
months) are shown in red: two regular years 7 & 18 sandwiched [Ref. The Metonic Cycle Made
Simple wlc.com - a copy of the file is Collections #5 for IRENT Supplement III.]

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
There are never two embolismic years in a row.
There are never more than two common years before there is another embolismic year.

 There are never two embolismic years in a row.

 There are never more than two common years before there is another embolismic
year.

A 13th month is needed a little more than every third year. The pattern has been from
Hillel and holds now; but it cannot stay unchanged after a long span of time.a

[To determine whether a Jewish year is a leap year, one must find its position in the 19-
year Metonic cycle. This position is calculated by dividing the Jewish year number by 19
and finding the remainder. For example, Jewish year 5771 (2010-2011 CE) divided by 19
results in a remainder of 14, indicating that it is Year 14 of the Metonic cycle.]

E.g. Year 2015/16 CE = AM 5776 – divided by 19 = remainder 0. That means it is ear 19

of the cycle, i.e. leap year.b

www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/the-metonic-cycle-made-simple.html

The biblical calendar also requires intercalation. This is done by the addition of an extra month, a
13th month, in an "embolismic year". A strictly lunar calendar, such as that used by Muslims, floats
backward through the year. Thus, Ramadan sometimes occurs in the fall, but a few years later in the
summer, and a few years after that in the spring, and so forth. A luni-solar calendar, on the other
hand, anchors the lunar months to some event within the solar year. (For more on the Biblical New
a
A small amount (1 hour 26 min. 56 2/3 sec.) of difference in time between 19 years of Metonic
cycle vs. 19 solar years] cannot be ignored indefinitely. While it does not affect the pattern of
leap years from year 20 to 38, nor even from year 39 to 47, these extra hours eventually add up to
a day, and then to two days and more. In some years these extra days will effect whether the
tekufah falls before or after the sixteenth of the month, and therefore whether the year is a leap
year or not. This would alter the entire pattern. [infra, Bushwick p. 62]
b

Better forget about a mathematical (complicated!) formula to find the leap or regular year,
performing calculation on the Hebrew year in AM. And just enjoy
http://betterexplained.com/articles/fun-with-modular-arithmetic/

(7y+1) mod 19 < 7

If the remainder is less than 7, it's a leap year.
If it's 7 or greater, it's a regular year.

http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/6376/how-do-i-know-if-its-a-hebrew-leap-year
Or http://math.stackexchange.com/questions/46964/formula-for-occurrence-of-leap-years-in-the-
jewish-calendar

155
Year, refer to "Biblical Calendation: Reckoning the New Year.")

The Biblical calendar is luni-solar and begins with the New Moon nearest the vernal equinox.
Because the lunar year is 11 days shorter than the solar year, it is sometimes necessary to add a 13th
month to realign the lunar year with the solar year. Years containing 13 months are called
"embolismic years." These embolismic years fall into a very predictable 19-year cycle. Meton, a
Greek astronomer, is typically credited with being the first to discover this cycle. In actuality, he
merely introduced to the West the astronomical principles discovered by Kidinnu (or Cidenas), a
Babylonian astronomer from around the same time period.

…
You will need to check conjunction time and sunrise time for your specific location to ascertain the
Gregorian dates on which New-moon day will fall in your area.

In order to identify the start of a new year (Abib 1), we must locate the New Moon closest to the
vernal equinox. (Using this method typically places the start of the year between Mar 7 and Apr 6.)

Note: When we have correctly identified the New Moon closest to the vernal equinox, the following
criteria will be met:

The vernal equinox will take place before Passover (the 14th day of the lunar month).
The vernal equinox will take place before the full moon.

www.worldslastchance.com/topical-biblical-studies/download/185 <A “thirteenth month” is located

in Scripture>
Ezk 1:1-2 5th day of 4th month, 5th year of king Jechoaichin's captivity
Ezk 3:15 dwelt by the river for seven day- (to 11th day of 4th month)
Ezk 4:11 to lie on his left side 390 days and then on his right side 40 days (== 430 days)
Ezk 8:1 sitting on 5th day of 6th month in 6th year. [i.e. instruction to lie down on his sides
finished.
If a strictly solar calendar was used, he could not have possibly obeyed YHWH’s instructions by the
time reference given in Ezekiel 8:1. The days are accounted for only 403 days – which is 27 days
short.
The scriptural months are lunar, and that the new year is determined by the spring equinox it is a
necessity that a 13th month be added approximately every two to three years (7 times in 19 years). If
this is not done the festivals will be 11 days shorter every “strictly-solar year” that goes by, placing
the festivals out of their seasons in short order. This is exactly what happens with the Muslim
calendar which ignores the 13th month. Their festivals travel throughout all seasons of the year.

156
 Bushwick (1989), Understanding the Jewish Calendar.

[Left half from Bushwick; Right half – ARJ]

The column ‘Example of the current year’ is added to the table 7.1 in p. 58.
Blue shade: Conjunction precedes Equinox; Orange shade – same day;
Bold – this yeara; Δ p = difference in days from the previous Nisan 15.

(p.58)
Here, in the 20th year the tekufah and the molad fell at almost the same moment as they did in the first
year. … The 20th year is a regular year like the first year, the 21st is regular like the second, and the
22nd is a leap year like the third. The 20th through 38th years repeat the pattern of regular years and
leap years of the first nineteen years. In the first nineteen years we found that years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17,
and 19 were leap years and the rest were regular. In the 20th through 38th the corresponding seven
years – 22, 25, 27, 30, 33, 36, and 38 – are leap years and the rest regular.

a
E.g. Gregorian 2015-2016 CE = Jewish YEAR - AM 5776 [from Latin Anno Mundi]

(= September 14, 2015 through October 2, 2016) [19th year in the Metonic Cycle]

--- A Hebrew Leap-Year of 13 months - 385 days

--- 2016 is coincidentally a Gregorian Leap-Year of 366 days (with 29 days in Feb.)
157
(p. 57)
“… Whenever the difference between the tekufah (vernal equinox) and the molad (conjunction) is less
than 16 days, the year is regular. Whenever the difference is more, it is a leap year. …”

This would allow us to see the year is a leap year or regular year. It can be seen that t he 19-year cycle
is dependent on one factor, the temporal relation of the vernal equinox and the closest conjunction.
This factor is factored in the Jewish calendation. For the biblical lunar calendar, it does not rely on the
Hebrew Metonic cycle;  with leap years, the pattern would not match with it.

Ref. Bushwick (1989), Understanding the Jewish Calendar, pp.55-56. 0A copy of the
pages is included in the <IRENT Supplement III Collections #5>.]

www.avoiceinthewilderness.org/saccal/calbook.html#question1
www.hope-of-israel.org/crescentmoon.html

*Molad
a Hebrew word (meaning "birth") that also generically refers to the time at which the New
Moon is "born". The word is ambiguous, however, because depending on the context it
could refer to the actual or mean astronomical new moon (= lunar solar conjunction)
(calculated by a specified method, for a specified time zone), or the molad of the traditional
Jewish calendar (or another specified calendar), or at a specified locale the sighting of first
visible crescent after a lunar conjunction.

158
*

*Sun, **Moon; *luminaries; *new-moon (*new moon), 'month'; *stars;

Gen 1:16-19 <Sun and Moon>
1:14
And Elohim says:
"There shall come to be luminaries
into the expanse of the heavens
{to shine upon the earth}
to set apart the day from the night!
that they are going to serve as signs [Exo 31:13]
for set-times [Lev 23:1-44] and days and years.
1:15
And they come to be luminaries into the expanse of the heavens
to give light upon the earth!"
And it-becomes-so:
1:16
So Elohim makes the two great luminaries
— the greater luminarya to rule overb the Day
and the lesser luminaryc to rule over the Night —
and also the stars.
1:17
And Elohim sets them in the expanse of the heavens
to give-light upon the earth,
to rule over the Day and over the Night
1:18

and to set apart the light from the darkness. d

And Elohim sees that it is good.
1:19
And there comes evening,
and there comes morning [1:5, 8b, 13a, 23a, 31b]

a
1:16 the greater luminary ░ – i.e. the sun
b
1:16 rule over ░ - NET; /x: rule – KJV; /> have dominion over; - HCSB; /x: govern - NASB;
c
1:16 the lesser luminary ░ – i.e. the moon
d
1:18 Day ~ Night; Light ~ Darkness ░ [Note: the sequence in which ‘Day’ comes first, as it is that which begins
with sunrise as it does not begin with sunset.]
159
www.worldslastchance.com/view-video/2674/understanding-new-moons-translation-days.html
(https://youtu.be/p5oS5pL00ds >Understanding New Moons & Translation Days – wlc.com>

Sunrise and sunset; moonrise and moonset – see below.

Star H3556 kokab; Gen 1:16; S6798 astron Lk 21:25; Act 7:43, etc.
Morning star S5459 phosphoros 2Pe 1:19;
H1966 hele – 1x – Isa 14:12 /Lucifer -KJV; /morning star – NIV; /star of the morning – NASV; /Day Star –
ESV, ISV; /day-star -JPS; /shining star – NLT; /shining one – YLT; /
Planets –S4101 planētēs 1x Jud 1:13 /planets; /wandering stars - most; /xxx: wayward stars – NET; /xxx:
stars gone astray – YLT;
Constellation
Job 38:32 H4216 mazzaroth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazzaroth
2Kg 23:5 H4208 mazzaloth [/>> planets –KJV, EV, ASV, GNB, WEB, YLT; /xx: zodiac – GW;]
Both in LXX mazourōth
Aries – related to Vernal Equinox

Luminaries ░ Gen 1:14, 15, 16 - YLT!, CJB; /xxx: lights – most; [H3974 maor 'luminary' should
not be rendered as 'light', which is for H216 or (Gen 1:3). Cf. H215 or 'give light' (Gen 1:16)]
[two great luminaries – not to be called the sun and the moon in Gen Ch. 1. Gen 1:15-17 is the basis of a
Scriptural luni-solar calendar system, looking at two heavenly witness, the sun and the moon – no
support for 7-day continuous cycle as in the rabbinic Hebrew, Roman (Julian & Gregorian) and
Babylonian calendar systems.]

The sun was called 'greater luminary' (Gen 1:16 – haGadol haMaor). Heb. word for 'sun' appears first
time in Gen 15:12 [H8121 shemesh];

The **moon is called 'lesser luminary' (Gen 1:16 – haqqaton hamaor). Heb. word yareach for
'moon' appear first time in Gen 37:9.

H3394 yareach (26x)

(1) 'moon' Gen 37:9; Deu 4:9; 33:14; Isa 60:20;
(2) '(lunar) month' Exo 2:2; Deu 21:13;
H3842 lebanah (3x) 'moon' – SoS 6:10; Isa 24:23; 30:26.
H2302 chodesh
(1) mostly '(lunar) month' (260x) – Gen 7:11; Exo 12:2, 1Kg 6:1, 37, 38; 8:2, etc.;
(2) 'new moon day' (23x) – Num 29:6; 1Sam 20:5, 18, 24, 27, 34; 2Kg 4:24; 1Ch 23:31; 2Ch
2:4; 8:13; 31:3; Ezr 3:5; Neh 10:33; Psa 81:3; Isa 1:13, 14; 47:13; (66:23); Ezk 46:3, 6; Hos
2:11; (5:7); Amos 8:5]
Cf. rosh chodeshim 'New-Moon day' Num 10:10.

S4582 selēnē (9x) Mt 24:29; Mk 13:24; Lk 21:25, Rev 6:12, etc.

S3561 noumēnia (1x) 'new moon (feast)' Col 2:16

H3677 keseh (2x) Psa 81:3; Prov 7:20; 'full moon' (xxx: the time/day appointed - KJV), [Job 26:9 'the
face' is rendered as 'the face of the full moon' – NIV, NASB, NET; Cf. 'the face of his throne' – KJV]
[poss. From H3680 kasah 'to cover' Gen 7:19; Exo 24:15)
H7720 saharon – translated as 'crescent' is for an ornament (Jdg 8:21, 26; Isa 3:18). This word is not
seen associated with 'new moon' or 'month'.

160
Eight planets of the solar system: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet

Earth
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn – visible to naked eyes
Uranus, Neptune – not visible

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occultation

Occultation –an event that occurs when one object is hidden from the observer by another
object that passes between them.
If the closer body does not entirely conceal the farther one, the event is called a transit. transit.
occlusion = occultation + transit
if a shadow is cast onto the observer, it is called an eclipse.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_brightest_stars
https://cosmonova.org/naked-eye-planets/
www.campliveoakfl.com/what-planets-can-you-see-with-the-naked-eye/

The Sun is the brightest star as viewed from Earth, at −26.74 mag
The second brightest is Sirius at −1.46 mag.

Solar System: https://astrobackyard.com/planets-in-order/

Sun
Mercury −2.45 mag,
Venus −4.89 mag,

Earth the Moon −12.7 mag,

Mars −2.91 mag,

Jupiter −2.94 mag,
Saturn −0.49 mag.

Uranus*
Neptune*

*Planets not visible to the naked eye:

planetary conjunctions of two planets or three with or without the moon

three planets –
e.g., Venus, Mars, and Jupiter;
e.g., Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury

conjunction of the moon and planets https://in-the-sky.org/newsindex.php?feed=conjunctions

161
Reference resources on calendar:
www.aish.com/sp/ph/The-Moon-7-Jewish-Facts.html (a copy in the Collection)

www.astrosurf.com/luxorion/soft-calc2.htm
www.crescentmoonwatch.org/nextnewmoon.htm - provides very accurate predictions of
lunar crescent visibility around the world.

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/MoonFraction.php (United States Naval Observatory

www.truthofyahweh.org/moon.htm
This website posts the date and time the first visible crescent was observed around the world.
Additional observers willing to share what they have seen would be appreciated.

www.lunawheel.com
This website offers products for perpetual lunar calendars in the form of a compact, easy-to-use,
circular slide rule, etc.
www.celestialproducts.com This website sells a variety of moon calendar products.
www.4angelspublications.com/videos/#
Lecture II - "Continuous Weekly Cycle" Fact or Fiction? Part I, II, III.
http://thechronicleproject.org/PDF1/calendarfraud.pdf
www.4angelspublications.com/resources.php

http://www.math.harvard.edu/~knill/3dprinter/exhibits/bc/Meeus1988.pdf Jean Meeus (1988) Astronomical

Formulae for Calculators (4th ed.)
3. Julian Day and Calendar date
4. Date of Easter 67

http://www.willbell.com/math/mc1.htm Astronomical Algorithms - 1999 2nd Ed

Relevant chapters:
7. Julian Day 59
8. Date of Easter 67
9. Jewish and Moslem Calendars 71
10. Dynamical Time and Universal Time 77
11. The Earth’s Globe 81
47. Position of the Moon 337
48. Illuminated Fraction of the Moon’s Disk 345
49. Phases of the Moon 349
53. Ephemeris for Physical Observations of the Moon 371

Calendar conversion programs

Create a Calendar for any year: www.hcidata.info/cgi-bin/calendar.cgi?year=30&sun-
mon=&GJ=&ok=Generate+the+Calendar&.cgifields=sun-mon&.cgifields=GJ

Calendar conversion programs: btw Gregorian and Julian

Calendar conversion programs: btw Hebrew and Julian (such as
www.hebrewcalendar.net/htdocs/main.en.html – and Jewish calendar shows same result as in the
calendar
www.timeanddate.com/calendar/monthly.html?year=30&month=4&country=34 –
to show CE 30 Apr 6 = Thu = Nisan 15 (Passover I) (AM 3790)

162
References on the Moon and Moon Phase
www.judaismvschristianity.com/passover_dates.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/20140909184037/http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/phase/phases0001.html
www.astro.com/swisseph/ae50/ae__50_m0000.pdf
www.worldslastchance.com/ecourses/lessons/12-criteria-of-true-crucifixion-date-ecourse/22/
criteria-7-12.html
www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/data-services/spring-phenom
http://astropixels.com/ephemeris/phasescat/phasescat.html
www.fullmoon.info/en/fullmoon-calendar.html
www.moongiant.com/full_moon_calendar.php (not working)
www.timeanddate.com/moon/israel/jerusalem
www.universetoday.com/99588/full-moon-dates/
www.moonphases.info/moon_phases.html#phases_of_the_moon_calender_2007
www.moongiant.com/moonphases/April/30/
www.moonconnection.com/quickphase/ QuickPhase software. 13437915335006001
http://catholicism.about.com/b/2009/04/16/reader-question-is-the-date-of-easter-related-to-
passover.htm
http://aspire.cosmic-ray.org/Labs/LunarPhases/lunar_phases_main.html
www.timeanddate.com/calendar

http://stardate.org/nightsky/moon (a table of the month showing Mo on each day)

http://time.unitarium.com/moon/where.html (animation video of moon phase; date-time of next 1st
quarter, full moon, third quarter, and next dark moon)
http://legacysite2.timeanddate.com/calendar/ (moon phase date seems approximate without precise
reference to the time)
www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/qanda.html various articles

Ref. Henry Bowney (1844), Ordo Saeclorum: A Treatise on the Chronology of the Holy
Scriptures, and the Indications Therein Contained of a Divine Plan of Times and Seasons;
Together with an Appendix
https://books.google.com/books?id=KpIFMV0ChR8C free google ebook. Esp. Appendix p.
455-481 for §395 (Intro) to §400 Julian Calendar and §403-423 Ancient Hebrew Calendar;
§423-425 Paschal Calculation to §433.
(p. 523 for full moon date on Passion week.)

§471 [p. 522] … But these make 94,548 weeks [p. 523] and 4 days over, consequently
the day of that full moon, or 15 Nisan AD 30, began 4 days before a Monday, i.e. was a
Thursday, and the 14th Nisan therefore was a Wednesday. And this result is wholly
independent of the tables and of the Julian Calendar.

It appears then by this simple calculation that whether Mr. Greswell’s hypothesis of a
correction of the Julian Calendar be true or false, the 14th of the mean paschal moon in
AD 30 was a Wednesday, and the 15th a Thursday. In fact, the Julian reckoning has no
connexion whatever with the essential facts of the case. It is only for the convenience of
a name that we resort to it in any case of this kind. For the sake of a name, we lay out
these 661,840 days in years and months of the Gregorian style or nomenclature as far
back as 1752, and of the Julian beyond that year, supposing no interruption in the
enumeration, and we find that the day (already found to be a Thursday) which began

163
661,840 days before 25 April 1842 must on that supposition be called Thursday the
sixth of April AD 30 [1]. In like manner, on Mr. Greswell’s supposition, it will be called
Thursday the fourth of April AD 30. But whether it be called 6th April or 4th April, the
fact still remains, that the 15th Nisan (in this mean reckoning) was a Thursday. If any
person will still maintain that the 15th Nisan, or day of mean paschal full moon, in AD
30 was a Saturday, he must prove that 22,412 mean lunations are not as all astronomers
declare, 661,839-55428 days but two days less. This is the essence of the matter: the
Julian reckoning, regular or irregular, has nothing to do with the question except by
accident, i.e. for the convenience of a name.

Nothing can well be plainer than this, and it is much to be regretted that Mr. Greswell
did not get thus much insight into the matter, before he adopted a hypothesis which is
totally useless in respect of the point which he wishes to establish. The consequence is,
that he has gone on year after year, filling hundreds of pages with mere nonsense. Every
line that he has written on the coincidence of Julian with Jewish days and with days of
the week, involves a contradiction in terms. Thus when he says “15 Nisan AD 30 = 6
April”, he means by 6 April the day which began m days before a given epoch (e.g.
661,840d before 25 Apr. 1842): but when he adds “6 April = Saturday” he puts a new
sense on the term 6 April : it now means the day which began m - 2 days before the said
epoch (i.e. 661,838d before 25 Apr. 1842.) The case is precisely the same with every [p.
524] one of the many thousand propositions of this kind which occur in the Dissertations
and Prolegomena [1]: and all the Author's reasonings upon this subject only serve to
shew that he has never clearly apprehended the nature and meaning of calendar-
reckonings.

§472. Thus, when Mr. Greswell wrote that the 14th Nisan in AD 30 was the 5th of
April, he did not clearly represent to himself what that term, “5 April A 30”, stands for.
He got it as the name for the 14th Nisan by help of certain Tables of Eclipses
constructed by Pingré: viz. from a certain Julian date of an eclipse recorded in the tables
he calculated that the 14th Nisan in AD 30 was the 5th of April. But when his hypo
thesis offered itself, he never considered that these tables were formed upon the
assumption of an uninterrupted decursus of the Julian Calendar, and consequently, that
on his own hypothesis, every date recorded by Pingré ought to be placed, i.e. named,
two days earlier. Hence, in adopting the term “5 April” he virtually means the same
thing as the Dominical Tables, for those are founded on the same assumption as Pingré's
and other astronomical tables; in asserting that the 5th of April was a Friday, he means a
different thing, i.e. a day two days nearer to the present instant. That such is the fact he
is quite unconscious; and when he comes to state his meaning, one sees that the
confusion arises from a want of a clear perception of what is meant by the term "year",
insomuch that he fancies that merely by altering the name of a day, he alters its place, or
that by dropping two names of days, he annihilates the two days, i.e. two revolutions of
the earth on her axis.

164
www.jstor.org/stable/3262201 Grace Amadon, "Ancient Jewish Calendation" J. of Biblical
Literature Vol. 61, No. 4 (Dec., 1942), pp. 227-280:

(note: inaccurate astronomical data (p. 232) quoted from some source!

p. 252 footnotes:
#Hevelius insists that the first appearance of the moon does not commonly happen even on
the first day after conjunction: Selenograpia, Gedani, 1647, 273. Geminus: "When the
moon is in perigee and her motion quickest, she does not usually appear until the second
day" - Cf. note 62. The ancient Karaites did not begin their new month unless the
interval between conjunction and the subsequent sunset was over 22 hours: (!!)
#F. K. Ginzel, Handbuch der mathematischen und technischen Chronologie, 1911, 11, 82 f.

Note: Abib 1 (Nisan 1) should not be Mar 26, but Mar 23, day after the conjunction.

165
Biblical Lunar Calendar system:
A calendar of the Scriptural month
[Source Ref.: Troy Miller – http://creationcalendar.com/]

Significance of finding the true Biblical Calendar:

The need of the biblical calendar, not the rabbinic Jewish calendar, is (1) to
correctly follow chronology and timeline of the Biblical narratives, especially the
Passover-Passion Week, and (2) to use it to follow special biblical days as the
Bible dictates, not after the modern ecclesial calendar. The examples are: lunar
sabbath (not 'Saturday sabbath'), memorial days of the Lord's Last Supper and
the Passover Memorial Day (not feast day) as well as other biblical festivals. It is
not much of use unless the dates are correctly 'translated' into our Common Era
Calendar (i.e. Gregorian).

[Concept of biblical lunar sabbath should be kept in mind to follow this calendar system in
reading the biblical narratives, which is in contrast to non-biblical solar Sabbath of Jewish
calendar. Usefulness:
(1) to correctly follow the timelines in the Biblical narratives, which is impossible with
the Jewish calendar;
(2) to fine correct date for the major biblical events and festivals,
(3) to find correct biblical lunar sabbath in keeping Sabbath, not Saturday Sabbatarian
traditions compounded by sunset-to-sunset sabbath (incl. Jewish).

What is contained in a biblical calendar month – Troy Miller

Biblical Calendar Month

The first day is New-Moon Day: New-Moon Day is a holy gathering day, not a Sabbath.

In the evening at the end of this day, you will see the new waxing crescent moon (a thin
sliver) low in the western sky just after sunset. This first crescent announces that Day 2
of the month (the first work day of the week) will begin the following day. [Cf. In the Jewish
calendar, the first time that the waxing crescent moon is announced to have become ‘officially’ visible
(from Jerusalem) with witnesses marks the beginning of a new month – what time does it occur? before or
after sunset?] [Only the seventh New-Moon Day is for Sabbath rest, the Feast of Trumpets.

The 8th day is the First Sabbath of the Month: First Quarter Phase
The moon appears at sunset on the evening of the Day 7 day of the month (e.g. 8-14-2013).
This quarter phase announces that the Day 8 is Sabbath. In the northern hemisphere if
you are facing south, the moon will be seen at sunset overhead. This is the waxing first
quarter moon which is usually neither convex nor concave (but sometimes can be slightly
so), and with the flat side perpendicular to the earth.

166
The 15th day is the Second Sabbath of the Month: full moon
The moon can be seen rising in the eastern sky about the time the sun sets in the west on
the 14th day of the lunar month (e.g. 8-21-2013) (cf. 7-22-2013). This full moon announces
the next day (the 15the day) of the lunar month as Sabbath. The same day the moon
becomes full, it starts waning. The moon can look full for 2-3 days. The real moon normally
rises at or after sunset.

The 22nd day is the Third Sabbath of the Month: The Third Quarter (aka Last
Quarter) Phase
It is a waning quarter moon which is usually neither convex nor concave – but most
importantly, with the flat side perpendicular to the earth.
It can be seen early in the morning, with the rising of the sun with the moon directly
overhead, straight up when facing south in the northern hemisphere. Reason--the sun is
moving at right angles to the earth every quarter, so the moon at sunset on the 21st day
of the lunar month will be straight below the feet (on the other side of the earth) of the
viewer. If you wait until dawn, viola, the third quarter moon will be seen before the
Sabbath begins with dawning (as a new day). This announces the 22nd day of the lunar
month as a Sabbath day.

The 29th day 29 is the Last Sabbath of the Month:

The Waning Sliver, just prior to conjunction, can sometimes be seen but it will be in the
sun's glare at other times. If you don't see it, watch each evening at sunset until you see
the new thin crescent low in the western sky at sunset announcing the first work day. It
will only be one or two days until you see the crescent.

Sabbaths moons are normally seen before the Sabbath begins. The first two will be seen
at sunset the evening before, the last two will be seen at or before dawn before the
Sabbath begins.

The 30th day is a transitional day:

The 30th day of a lunar month (if it is a 30-day month) is part of the New-Moon
celebration.
No moon is visible. This is also the dark phase of the moon. [‘dark moon’ → 'astronomical
new moon', that is, the moon at luni-solar conjunction.]. There will be no transitional day
in a 29-day month

New Moon counts as neither as one of the 6 work days nor a Sabbath. It is a third
category of day; they do not constitute a week. Both 30th day and day 1 of the month
are part of a New Moon celebration. So, there are either one or two new moon days
each month. The 29th or 30th day ends the month and the 1st day begins every new
month. On the evening of the 1st day, the first new crescent (waxing sliver) can be
seen about 35 to 45 minutes after sunset just to the left of where the sun went
down, low in the western sky. This announces the beginning of day 2 of the new month,
which is the first work day of the first week of the new month. They are for holy
gathering to worship YHWH (Isa 66:23). [Cf. The New-Moon day of the 7th month is for
the Feast of Trumpets which is for sabbath-rest.]

A lunar week in the lunar months is not seven days but 6 work days followed by 1 sabbath
day. 2nd to 8th days of the month are the seven days of the first week of the lunar
month. The 2nd day through 7th day are work days, so are 9th through 14th, 16th through
167
 21st, 23rd through 28th of the four weeks of the lunar month.
Sabbath days are on Day 7 of the lunar weeks - on 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th days of the
month; four sabbath days in each month.

The gate to inner court of the ancient Tabernacle is shut on all six work days, but open
only on the New-Moon days and the Sabbath days (Ezk 46:1) the gate is not to be shut
until evening (Ezk 46:2). At the entrance of the Tabernacle (Ezk 46:3) people worshiped
on their worship days (the New-Moon days and Sabbath days). (Amo 8:5, Isa 66:23, 2Kg
4:23).

The REASON for any exceptions to the above is because the moon is not in a circular
orbit around earth. The egg-shaped orbit sometimes causes the moon to get to the next
phase more quickly (6 days instead of 7) if the moon is in apogee, the narrow pointy part of
its egg-shaped orbit; or causes the moon to delay getting to the next phase (8 days
instead of 7) if the moon is in perigee, the wide part of the egg-shaped orbit. [Typically,
the average length of time between phases is 7.3 days.] This can affect any of the 4
phases of the month, but normally affects either the first or third quarter phase and only
affects ONE phase in a month. [That said, even when a phase seems to be early or late,
the moon that announces the Sabbath will be in the right place in the heavens and the flat
part will be perpendicular to the earth, just may look a little skinny or a little pregnant.
Remember a clock on the wall tells time by location, not just appearance.] This does not
occur every month, maybe 4-5 times a year. When the moon was on a 30-day lunar cycle,
these things did not happen.

Troy Miller admin@creationcalendar.com

(edited on the material from www.creationcalendar.com )

[from https://youtu.be/WxmKC_69MQY <Forbidden lunisolar biblical calendar explained

in 10 verses>]
168
169
Lunar month & lunar day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_month

The orbit of the Moon is elliptical; the non-circular form of the lunar orbit causes variations in
the Moon's angular speed and apparent size as it moves towards and away from an observer on
Earth. [cf. 'lunar orbit' of something around the moon vs. 'the moon's orbit around the earth']
Apsis is an extreme point in the orbit of an object: perigee, the point of least distance; apogee,
of greatest distance.
The term lunar month usually refers to the synodic month because it is the cycle of the visible
phases of the Moon.

The synodic month (Greek: sunodikos, meaning "pertaining to a synod, i.e., a meeting"; in this
case, of the Sun and the Moon) is the average period of the Moon's orbit with respect to the line
joining the Sun and Earth. This is the period of the lunar phases, because the Moon's
appearance depends on the position of the Moon with respect to the Sun as seen from the Earth.

While the Moon is orbiting the Earth, the Earth is progressing in its orbit around the Sun. After
completing a sidereal month, the Moon must move a little further to reach the new position
having the same angular distance from the Sun, appearing to move with respect to the stars
since the previous month. Therefore, the synodic month takes 2.2 days longer than the sidereal
month. Thus, about 13.37 sidereal months, but about 12.37 synodic months, occur in a
Gregorian year.

Since Earth's orbit around the Sun is elliptical and not circular, the speed of Earth's progression
around the Sun varies during the year. Thus, the angular rate is faster nearer periapsis and
slower near apoapsis. The same is so for the Moon's orbit around the Earth. Because of these
variations in angular rate, the actual time between lunations may vary from about 29.18 to
about 29.93 days. The long-term average duration is 29.530587981 days (29 d 12 h 44 min
2.8016 s). The synodic month is used to calculate eclipse cycles.

Anomalistic month (See also: Lunar precession and Apsidal precession)

The Moon's orbit approximates an ellipse rather than a circle. However, the orientation (as well
as the shape) of this orbit is not fixed. In particular, the position of the extreme points (the line
of the apsides: perigee and apogee), rotates once (apsidal precession) in about 3,233 days (8.85
years). It takes the Moon longer to return to the same apsis because it has moved ahead during
one revolution. This longer period is called the anomalistic month and has an average length of
27.554551 days (27 d 13 h 18 min 33.2 s). The apparent diameter of the Moon varies with this
period, so this type has some relevance for the prediction of eclipses (see Saros), whose extent,
duration, and appearance (whether total or annular) depend on the exact apparent diameter of
the Moon. The apparent diameter of the full moon varies with the full moon cycle, which is the
beat period of the synodic and anomalistic month, as well as the period after which the apsides
point to the Sun again.

An anomalistic month is longer than a sidereal month because the perigee moves in the same
direction as the Moon is orbiting the Earth, one revolution in nine years. Therefore, the Moon
takes a little longer to return to perigee than to return to the same star.

www.universetoday.com/20053/lunar-month/
A lunar month is the duration it takes for the Moon to pass through each of its phases
(new moon, half, full moon), and then return back to its original position. It takes 29 days,
12 hours, 44 minutes and 3 seconds for the Moon to complete one lunar month. ['duration'
> 'amount of time'] [Q: how is it determined for a month to have 30 days? Should Abib

170
 have always 30 days? / as it depends on the mothed of determined the new-moon day.

You might have heard that the Moon only takes 27.3 days to complete one orbit around the
Earth. So why is a lunar month more than 2 days longer than the orbit of the Moon?

A lunar month is the duration it takes for the Moon to get from a specific phase, like a new
moon, back to the same phase. In other words, the Moon has to get back to the point in its
orbit where the Sun is in the same position from our point of view. Since the Moon is
going around the Sun with the Earth as part of its orbit, the Moon has to catch up a little bit
on each orbit. [???] It takes 2.2 additional days each orbit of the Moon to catch up.

This method of measuring a lunar month, from new moon to new moon, is known as a
synodic month. A [astronomical] new moon is defined as when the Moon has the same
ecliptic longitude as the Sun, as seen from the center of the Earth; when the Sun, Moon
and Earth are perfectly lined up.

www.universetoday.com/19725/lunar-day/
A lunar day is the duration it takes for the Moon to make one complete rotation on its axis
compared to the Sun. This is important because the Moon is tidally locked with respect to
the Earth. So it always points the same face towards the Earth as it goes around the planet.
So, how long is a day on the Moon?

The lunar day lasts 29 days, 12 hours and 44 minutes. And this the same time it takes for
the Moon to orbit around the Earth.

With respect to the background stars, however, the Moon only takes 27 days and 7 hours
for the sky to completely rotate back to its original position.

So why is there a difference? As the Earth and Moon are orbiting around the Sun, they
complete a circle over the course of the year. Each time the Moon goes around the Earth, it
needs to go a little further to get the Sun back into the same position.

If you ever get the opportunity to stand on the surface of the Moon, and look at the Earth, our
planet would always remain in the exact same position in the sky. The Sun, on the other hand,
will still rise, move across the sky and then set. Of course, an average day will last 29 days, 12
hours and 44 minutes until the Sun returns to the same position in the sky.

Astronomers say that the Moon is tidally locked to the Earth. At some point in the distant past,
the Moon rotated more rapidly than it currently does. The Earth’s gravity caused part of the
Moon to bulge out. The pull of gravity caused the rotation of the Moon to slow down until this
bulge was pointing directly at the Earth. At this point, the Moon was tidally locked to the
Earth; this is why it shows the same face to us.

And it’s also why a lunar day lasts the same as it takes the Moon to go around the Earth.

171
Drawing up monthly calendar of the true Biblical Calendar:

The true biblical calendar is concise, clear, and simple. Only one single
monthly calendar table is all you need. However, to be useful, it needs to overlay
the Gregorian dates on it and also the Jewish calendar dates to provide quick
comparison.

Because of 1st and 30th of the Lunar month it is complicated to draw monthly
calendar tables aligning the column alignment properly. The New-Moon day as
and, if present in a given month, the Transitional Day are of a different category
from the Work Days.

A simple format is to use the Biblical month calendar as a base template and to
overly the Gregorian and the Jewish calendar with appropriate arrangement the
columns for 6 and 12 hours offset in reckoning a calendar day. Daylight and
night period should be visually distinguished and put into colored shade.

The detail is covered in the separate file <Calendation Practicum> in the zip file
<IRENT Vol. III – Supplement>.

The monthly calendar to draw for the Biblical calendar needs the dates for the Gregorian and
the Jewish calendar dates.

To draw the calendar

1. A calendar format template.
2. To collect time-related data for a local time zone (and for Jerusalem): (full moon); (dark
moon); sunrise time; Vernal equinox;
2. To find the New-Moon day for the lunar month. Check for transitional day (Day 30).
3. To fix the month of the year. Check for intercalation.

[See collected reference material is IRENT Vol. III - Supplement (Collections #5A - time +
calendar)]

172
Data and rules to draw a calendar table:
 Time data on sunrise as well as dark moon and full moon. At a local time and
Jerusalem time zones. Cf. UTC time offset between local time and UTC.
 Date of the Vernal Equinox of the year.
 'Conjunction closest the equinox' – date time and the local sunrise time – to fix the
head of the New Year.
 Determine the date of the New-Moon day with 'dawn after the conjunction' method.
[The ancient 'sighting of the first visible crescent' method is impractical and
inapplicable.]
 29-day month and 30-day month Total 254 days /year. It is in a fixed pattern in the
Jewish calendar. [QQ: in the biblical calendar]
 12 months or 13 months per year [to compensate 11 days per year short of a solar
year of 365 days]. QQ: Which year would be set for year 1 of the cycle? A leap year
in the biblical calendar is determined by the temporal relation of the equinox and the
closest equinox – independent to the Jewish 19-year Metonic cycle. a

 Once it is done – check for Gregorian dates which fall on Abib 1 and Abib 14; also
check for the Nisan dates of the Jewish calendar.

A monthly calendar template is shown below.

Dates Black – Abib

Dates Green – Gregorian; Dates Purple – Sun;
Dates Brown – Nisan;
Dates Red – Lunar Sabbath days
☼ Full Moon – Mar 28, 1:48 p.m. (CDT); 9:48 p.m. (IDT)
◙ Dark Moon
– Mar 13, 4:20 a.m. (CST); 12:21 p.m. (ST)
– Apr 11, 9:30 p.m. (CDT); Apr 12, 5:30 a.m. (IDT);
Spring Equinox – Mar 20
Cf. Crucifixion † † – Mar 27 Abib 14 (Passover); Ereb Pesach – Nisan 14
Resurrection  –Abib 16 (‘in the dawn’)
Easter – Apr 4

a
[The true Biblical calendar is free of the so-called ‘Postponement Rules’ after Hillel II for the rabbinic
Jewish calendar, which fixes the day of Rosh Hashana with the 7th month Tishri as the 1st month of the
secular year.]
173
The Biblical calendar table (diagram)

Monthly calendar in the Biblical calendation:

Only one monthly calendar template is needed. Every month is same.

[from https://youtu.be/WxmKC_69MQY <Forbidden lunisolar biblical calendar explained in 10

verses>]

This diagram is the monthly calendar for the biblical calendar. This serves as a basis
for a template of the calendar to use, with Gregorian and Jewish calendar dates to be
overlaid.

174
Here, sabbath in the Biblical calendar is lunar sabbath. It falls on 8th, 15th, 22nd, and
29th day every lunar month (not same as is the case in the Jewish calendar). 'Sabbath'
rest is for 12 hours – daytime period only.

www.worldslastchance.com/luni-solar-calendar-with-feasts-days.html

175
 Biblical monthly calendar with the moon phase

From www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/new-moon-day-the-dawn-
after-conjunction.html [Here, NM = ‘astronomical new moon’ = ‘dark moon’]

176
A calendar format template – two consecutive months.

← Last
(20/30) ◙ [ 1st ] month [year]
month
New-Moon Work Days Lunar
Day Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 sabbath

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

30

[ 2nd] month [year]

New-Moon Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 sabbath

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

(1)

177
Monthly Calendar template

Biblical Lunar calendar with Gregorian & Jewish calendar dates to overlay

Biblical calendar Gregorian dates

Jewish calendar dates

1 (New-Moon Day); (30) (transitional day); ☼ full moon

(Dark moon ◙ for Jerusalem; ◙ for other places, such as Chicago)
"Day" in the Bible is that which begins with sunrise.

178
179
 Relation between a day in three different calendar days
with offset of 6 hrs. and 12 hrs.

(1st row) Biblical Calendar,

(2nd row) Gregorian Calendar,
(3r row) Jewish calendar

e.g. in 30 CE Passover Week.

Abib 12 ! 13 † † 14 15  16

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

Nisan 13 14 15 16 17

Abib 10 – Palm Day (Sat);

Abib 12 – L-S Last Supper;
Abib 13 – ! Pilate’s Sentencing;
Abib 14 – † † Crucifixion;
Abib 15 – High Sabbath;
Abib 16 –  Resurrection in the dawn.

180
2021 – Abib – overlaid with Rabbinic + Gregorian Calendars

29 ← 12th m
Abib [Mar – Apr]
Mar 12 Mar 13
(Fri) ◙ (Sat)
in the year 2021 CE

New-Moon Work Days Lunar

Day Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 sabbath

Abib 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

Mar 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Nisan 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Abib 9 10 11 12 ¡ 13 † † 14 15

Mar 22 23 24 25 26 27 28☼

Nisan 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Abib  16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Mar 29 30 31 Apr 1 2 3 4

Nisan 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Abib 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Apr 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ◙

Nisan 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

30 ← Abib
12 ← Apr
30 ← Nisan

1 (New-Moon day); 30 (transitional day);

Mar 20 (Equinox) Easter – Apr 4

☼ Full Moon – Mar 28, 1:48 p.m. (CDT); 9:48 p.m. (IDT)
◙ Dark Moon
– Mar 13, 4:20 a.m. (CST); 12:21 p.m. (ST)
181
 – Apr 11, 9:30 p.m. (CDT); Apr 12, 5:30 a.m. (IDT);

← Abib
30 2nd Lunar Month [Apr – May]
Apr 11 Apr 12
(Sun) ◙ (Mon)
in the year 2021 CE

New-Moon Work Days Lunar

Day Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 sabbath

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue

Apr 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Iyar 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

2nd mo 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Apr 21 22 23 24 25 26 27☼

Iyar 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

2nd mo 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Apr 28 29 30 May 1 2 3 4

Iyar 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

2nd mo 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

May 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ◙

Iyar 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

1 ←2nd m.
12 ← May
Sivan 1

☼ Full Moon – Apr 27, 2 p.m. (CDT);

◙ Dark Moon
– Apr 11, 9:30 p.m. (CDT); Apr 12, 5:30 a.m. (IDT);
– May 11, 1:59 p.m. (CDTi); 9:59 p.m. (IDT)

182
183
Calendar eras, Time Standard; and Time format
A calendar era. (cf. comparable terms – epoch, age, period, saeculum, aeon) for the year numbering
system. E.g.

AD (Latin: anno domini "in the year of the Lord"

(cf. BCE and CE http://calendars.wikia.com/wiki/Common_Era ; BCE itself be abbreviated as BC without
connotation of ‘before Christ’.) [‘Common Era Calendar’, a more neutral term, may be used in place of the
Gregorian calendar, without any conflict, confusion or ambiguity.]
AUC (Latin: anno urbis conditae "in the year of the founded city, Rome" from 753 CE)
AM (Latin Anno Mundi, meaning "in the year of the world" from 3761 BC.)

Time format
In Time in 24-hour format –no need to add p.m. E.g. 21:30.
However, a.m./p.m. needs to be indicated to clarify for the numbers less than 13 to 24 – e.g. 11:30
gets confused without explicit a.m. or p.m. indicator.

*Time Standard; *Time Zone

https://savvytime.com/converter/cst-to-utc CST to UTC converter

UTC – location-independent
UTC + 9 = Korea (15 hours ahead of Chicago)
UTC + 2 = Israel
UTC – 6 = CST (Chicago) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UTC_time_offsets

UTC – location independent. Not same as GMT and British S.T. (with DTS)
For Local time, beware of DST [differently in different country]
www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/history.html

[Cf. Local time zone vis-à-vis UTC. The problem with a single time zone for a large country like
China; in contrast to the problem with multiple time zones for a large country like USA.]

Chicago – CST, CDT

Israel – IST, IDT

184
Difference Between GMT and UTC

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is often interchanged or confused with Coordinated Universal Time
(UTC). But GMT is a time zone and UTC is a time standard.
Although GMT and UTC share the same current time in practice, there is a basic difference between
the two:
 GMT is a time zone officially used in some European and African countries. The time can be
displayed using both the 24-hour format (0 - 24) or the 12-hour format (1 - 12 am/pm).
 UTC is not a time zone, but a time standard that is the basis for civil time and time zones
worldwide. This means that no country or territory officially uses UTC as a local time.
Location independent.

UTC, GMT and Daylight-Saving Time

Neither UTC nor GMT ever change for Daylight Saving Time (DST). However, some of the countries
that use GMT switch to different time zones during their DST period.
For example, the United Kingdom is not on GMT all year, it uses British Summer Time (BST), which
is one hour ahead of GMT, during the summer months.

www.convertunits.com/dates/ [Date calculator for number of days btw 2 dates.]

www.calendar-12.com/moon_phases/2014
www.calendar-12.com/moon_phases/2016
www.fullmoon.info/en/fullmoon-calendar.html
www.newmoon.info/en/newmoon-calendar.html
www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/future-lunarsolar-conjunction-dates.html

(Q: difference in the minutes on Mar 9 01:54; Apr 7 11:24 for conjunction – any error on fixing
date of Abib 1, when seeing to the sunrise time?)
www.timeanddate.com/moon/usa/chicago?month=3&year=2016]

2016 Mar 8 – Dark moon–;

Mar 23 – Full moon
Nisan 1 – 2nd full moon after Equinox – Apr 22.

https://web.archive.org/web/20160304204141/http://museumvictoria.com.au:80/planetarium/
discoverycentre/moon-phases/moon-phases-2016/
Moon Phases 2016
UTC is 11 hours behind AEST. So, when it is 11:00 am AEST, it will be 12:00 am in UTC.
New Moon Full Moon
Time Time
Date Date
AEST < UTC AEST < UTC
Tue Feb 9 00:39 <13:39 Tue Feb 23 04:20 <17:20
Wed Mar 9 11:54 < 00:54 Wed Mar 23 22:01 <11:20
Thu Apr 7 21:24 <05:24 Fri Apr 22 15:24 <04:24
Sat May 7 05:30 < 18:30 Sun May 22 07:15 <20:15

www.timebie.com/timezone/londonchicago.php
www.almanac.com/astronomy/moon/calendar moon phase calendar
www.timeanddate.com/calendar/monthly.html?year=2014&month=4&country=34 calendar for Israel
185
 2014

Time standard conversion programs

Determine the difference between your local time and UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) From
www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/future-lunarsolar-conjunction-dates.html
 www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html
 www.thetimenow.com/time-converter.php
 www.thetimenow.com/utc/coordinated_universal_time
 www.worldtimeserver.com/current_time_in_UTC.aspx
 whatismytimezone.com/

*Sunrise and *sunset –

(every day) is a local phenomenon at the same moment along the same longitude. The sunrise time is
time-zone dependent. It gradually varies day by day in keeping with season change. sunset and sunrise
time

The Sun rises due east and sets due west only on 2 days of the year – the spring and fall equinoxes. On
other days, the Sun rises either north or south of "due east" and sets north or south of "due west".
http://solar-center.stanford.edu/AO/sunrise.html (Where does it rise and set?)

sunset and *moonrise relationship

https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/27788/difference-in-time-
between-sunset-and-moonrise-on-a-full-moon
http://askanastronomer.org/planets/faq/2016/02/13/sunset-and-moonrise/
http://star-www.st-and.ac.uk/~fv/sky/moon-general.html
 The Moon rises and sets every day, like the Sun. The Sun always rises in the
morning and sets in the evening; but the Moon does it at a different time
every day. The Moon s rises on average 50 minutes later each day
 At New Moon, the Moon rises in the morning; it's at its highest, in the south,
in the middle of the day and it sets in the evening - just like the Sun. Of
course, this is academic, since we can't see the Moon when it's New!
 By First Quarter, the Moon is one-quarter of the way around its orbit (and
half illuminated). It is now 90 degrees to the left of the Sun, and lags behind
it by 6 hours. So, it rises in the middle of the day, it's high in the south at
sunset, and it sets in the middle of the night.
 At Full Moon, the Moon is opposite to the Sun - 180 degrees away, and 12
hours behind it. So, the Moon rises as the Sun is setting; it's high in the south
at midnight, and it sets in the morning, with sunrise.

 The closer to the full moon it is, the closer Moonrise and Sunset will be.
 If the moonrise/set is not the same time as the exact Full Moon, then
moonrise/set occurs earlier or later than the sunset/rise.
186
187
 PART III. Appendix
*moon phase
Q: where in the sky can the moon be seen at a given date and time?

 www.moongiant.com/phase/9/5/2018
 https://futureboy.us/fsp/moon.fsp (Moon Locator)
 http://stellarium.org/ (v. 0.18.2).
After installion, it need reset location. F3 for search the object – 'moon'. If the moon is
not seen on the sky, it has probably set below the horizon. Click on F5 (time/date) -
Scroll to different dates or different time to check to see the moon up in the sky and to
flollow moonrise to moonset. To check the moon phase, zoom up.
 www.quickphase.com Moon Phase Calendar (QuickPhase Pro v. 4.1.1) – The vertical
axis of the crescent and the gibbous is diagrammatical shown as vertical in the
monthly calendar. The appearance of the moon in the monthly calendar is set for the
northern hemisphere; unfortunately, it remains same even if the location is chosen for
the southern hemisphere.
 https://stellafane.org/observing/moon_phase.html <Moon Phase Calculator:
New & Full Moons by Year>
The revolution of the Moon around the Earth causes the Moon to appear to change shape in the sky.
These apparently different shapes are called "phases" of the Moon. The Moon passes through a cycle
of eight phases which repeats itself every 29.5 days. There is no definite starting point for the cycle,
but phases follow one behind the other in a strict order.
Moon rise time is not a factor for lunar calendation.
How long does it take our Moon to go around Earth?

It takes 27 days, 7 hours, and 43 minutes (27.32+ days) for our Moon to complete one full
orbit around Earth. This is called the sidereal month and is measured by our Moon's
position relative to distant “fixed” stars. However, it takes our Moon about 29.53+ days to
complete one cycle of phases (from new Moon to new Moon). This is called the synodic
month. The difference between the sidereal and synodic months occurs because as our
Moon moves around Earth, the Earth also moves around our Sun. Our Moon must travel a
little farther in its path to make up for the added distance and complete the phase cycle.

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Appearance of the Moon; waxing and waning
https://youtu.be/9Fyn9dCv3E0 (The Moon Cycle)
A waxing moon will be illuminated on the right side and a waning moon will be
illuminated on the left side. [It is reversed in the southern hemisphere.]
 Waxing = Growing biGGer [as on successive days]
 Waning = shrinking smaller;
 Crescent = 'sickle-shaped' (smaller than half appears lighted)
 Gibbous = bulging (bigger than half appears lighted); ['humped']
 New moon [not to be confused with New-Moon day of a lunar month]

Illuminated Moon seen from the Earth

(area of the moon illuminated as in the Northern Hemisphere)

↓ Full Moon↑
(lighted side of the Moon faces toward Earth.) [Cf. lunar eclipse]
↓ Waning moon - the left half lighted ↑ Waxing moon - the right half lighted

↓ Waning Gibbous (G shape) ↑ Waxing Gibbous

↓ Waning Half-moon (3rd/Last Q) ↑ Waxing Half-moon (1st Q). (D shape)

↓ Waning Crescent. (C shape) (그믐달) ↑ Waxing Crescent ('new moon') (초생달)

Dark Moon ↑
= hidden moon (not visible) = 'astronomical new moon' = moon & sun in conjunction.
The lighted side of the Moon faces away from the Earth.

Mnemonic with alliteration

Left Moon – Last moon – Leaving ↓↓ First Moon – Right Moon – Rising ↑↑
waning/weakening; /become Leaner. Waxing/Gaining (Getting biGGer)
(decreasing diminishing disappearing) to Full Moon
to Dark Moon (to Banish to Black Moon)

189
 [from www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/q1295.html ]

www.moonconnection.com/moon_phases.phtml

190
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_phase

191
www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/moon/hemispheres.html
Does the moon look the same all around the world?

The first quarter: In the northern hemisphere looks like a growing

D, while in the southern hemisphere it looks like a C.

The last quarter: In the northern hemisphere looks like a C, while in

the southern hemisphere looks like a D.

In the Northern Hemisphere the sunlit part of the moon

moves from right to left:

D O C (D first quarter; O full Moon; C last quarter)

In the Southern Hemisphere the sunlit part moves from the

left to the right:

C O D (C first quarter; O full Moon; D last quarter)

The side of the Moon and its phases vary depending on our location on Earth.

Northern Hemisphere – Clockwise

The moon is seen in the south. East, where the sun and moon rises, is to the left, and
west (sunset and moonset) is on the right. In the northern hemisphere the apparent
movement of the sun and the moon is from left to right throughout the hours.

Southern Hemisphere – Counterclockwise

The moon is seen in the north. Facing the moon, the east is on the right and west on
the left. The sun and the moon seem to move across the sky from right to left.

192
 Northern Hemisphere Equator Southern Hemisphere

Young Moon

Old Moon

www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/moon/moon-sw.html
A simplified animation of the tilt of the waxing or waning Moon in different parts of the world
A simplified model of the tilt of the waxing or waning Moon in different parts of the world

193
 http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/about-us/46-our-solar-system/the-moon/o
OBSERVING THE MOON
Why is the Moon higher in the sky in winter and lower in the summer?
Does the Moon look different in the northern and southern hemispheres?
Does the direction of the moon's crescent change through the night?
On which days can I see the Moon in the evening / morning and why is this so?
How does the position of Moonrise and Moonset change?
Is the Moon always visible during winter on the North Pole?
How can you tell if a crescent moon is preceding or following a new-moon phase?
Is the Moon seen as a crescent (and not a "boat") all over the world? Is the same phase of the
moon visible from the Northern and Southern hemispheres?
A line drawn perpendicular to a line through the tips of the horns of the crescent moon doesn't point to
the Sun! Why not?

www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-resources/what-are-the-phases-of-the-moon/

The axis of the crescent change (vertical-horizontal):

How differently does the crescent look each month through a 12-month lunar cycle?
How much different btw the waning crescent and waxing crescent in a lunar cycle?
How differently in Northern vs. Southern hemispheres? At equator?
Illustration with diagrams
Counter-clockwise progress. Position of the sun – arbitrary on the diagram.
https://youtu.be/9Fyn9dCv3E0 (The Moon Cycle) – illustration

Appearance of the crescent or 'boat':

The orientation of the crescent moon depends on the season and the latitude of the observer; the size
of the crescent, however, is the same wherever you are.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lunar_libration_with_phase2.gif

In the Northern hemisphere it is as "right-side up", the concave part of the crescent points "left". For
those in the southern hemisphere it is "upside-down", pointing "right".

Since the transition must be smooth from a "left" pointing crescent to a "right" pointing one, we
require that the Moon be a "boat" instead of a crescent at the equator.

http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/our-solar-system/46-our-solar-system/the-moon/observing-the-
moon/124-is-the-moon-seen-as-a-crescent-and-not-a-boat-all-over-the-world-is-the-same-phase-of-
the-moon-visible-from-the-northern-and-southern-hemispheres-advanced

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/crescent.php

194
http://earthsky.org/?p=2447
www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/thinnest-crescent-moon/

www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/thinnest-crescent-moon/

A day-old crescent isn't too difficult to see and a worthy goal for the naked-eye observer. The
visibility of young (or old) crescents has much to do with the angle the Moon's path makes to the
horizon.

The Moon basically follows the ecliptic, the same path traveled by the Sun and planets. From mid-
northern latitudes in late summer and fall, the ecliptic tilts upward at a very shallow from the sunset
horizon, so thin crescents barely escape the solar glow and are difficult or impossible to see.

From winter through mid-spring, however, the lunar byway tilts upward at an ever-steeper angle
from the western horizon, placing the Moon higher up in the sky and offering us a better view. The
opposite situation rules at dawn, with summer and fall the best times to seek the waning crescent.

Because the Moon's orbit is tipped relative to the plane of Earth's orbit, it can range up to 5° north or
south of the ecliptic. If the crescent occurs around the northern extreme, visibility is improved for
mid-northern latitude observers and similarly for southern observers at its southern extreme.

Even though summer and winter crescents have identical elongations from the Sun, as shown in this
illustration, the late summer Moon's path more nearly parallels the horizon after sunset, so it's low to
begin with and sets early.
By late winter, the Moon's steeper path places it more directly above the Sun, bumping up its altitude.
Your latitude also factors into the Moon's altitude — the farther north (or south) of the tropics, the
lower the crescent Moon's path across the sky. Stellarium / Bob King

195
http://star-www.st-and.ac.uk/~fv/sky/moon-general.html

The Moon rises and sets every day, like the Sun. But the Sun always rises in the
morning and sets in the evening; the Moon does it at a different time every day.

At New Moon, the Moon lies in the same direction as the Sun. But the Moon is
orbiting around the Earth; every day, it moves eastwards (further left from the
Sun) by about 12 degrees. This means that it increasingly lags behind the Sun,
by about 50 minutes a day.
At New Moon, the Moon rises in the morning; it's at its highest, in the
south, in the middle of the day and it sets in the evening - just like the Sun.
Of course, this is academic, since we can't see the Moon when it's New!

Over the next few days, as the Moon grows to a crescent, it moves further left,
and lags more and more behind the Sun. Soon we can see it in the evenings, still
above the western horizon when the Sun has already set.
By First Quarter, the Moon is one-quarter of the way around its orbit (and
half illuminated). It is now 90 degrees to the left of the Sun, and lags
behind it by 6 hours. So, it rises in the middle of the day, it's high in the
south at sunset, and it sets in the middle of the night.

Over the next few days, as the Moon grows to a gibbous phase (more than half-
illuminated), it continues to lag further behind, rising later each afternoon and
setting later each night.
At Full Moon, the Moon is opposite to the Sun - 180 degrees away, and 12
hours behind it. So, the Moon rises as the Sun is setting; it's high in the
south at midnight, and it sets in the morning, with sunrise.

Over the next few days, as it shrinks back to gibbous again, it rises later in the
night.
By Last Quarter, the Moon is 270 degrees to the left of the Sun - or 90
degrees to the right of it; and it lags 18 hours behind the Sun - or it's 6
hours ahead. So, it rises in the middle of the night, it's high in the south at
dawn, and it sets in the middle of the day.

If you know how many days it is since New Moon, multiply that by 50 minutes,
to find out approximately how much the Moon is lagging behind the Sun.

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A first crescent in Northern vs. Southern hemisphere in December.

http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question43.html
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071126091757AAi3xUG

Appearance of the moon in different seasons

This diagram shows typical paths for the Moon during the year (and the resulting look of
the waxing crescent Moon) for a specific latitude in the northern hemisphere. Notice that
during winter, the Moon sets north of west and follows a path almost straight down to the
horizon. During the summer, the Moon sets south of west and follows a slanted path down
to the horizon

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www.canberratimes.com.au/technology/ask-fuzzy-does-the-moon-rise-and-set-in-the-same-
place-20140515-zrdpj.html

Does the moon rise and set always at the same place relative to a
stationary observer?

Note that where the moon rises and sets has no connection to its phase. So on a
given day a crescent moon, for example, can rise either north or south of east.

Like the sun, rising in the east and setting in the west? In reality the moon
generally rises either north or south of east and sets either north or south of
west.

The movement of the daily rise and set directions along the horizon form an
interesting and predictable pattern:

The sun – Sunrise and set directions have a similar but simpler pattern that
is easier to consider. As the Earth circles the sun it has a tilt of 23.5 degrees,
which gives rise to the seasons: in the summer half of the year the sun
appears in the southern part of the sky, while in the winter half it appears in
the northern part. Hence, in summer the sun rises south of east and sets
south of west and in winter it rises north of east and sets north of west.

The moon shows a similar pattern to the sun but, instead of taking a year, it
runs through the pattern in a month of 27 days, which is the time the moon
takes to circle the Earth.

For half the month the moon rises south of east and sets south of west.
During the other half it rises north of east and sets north of west.

If that seems complicated, there are simple aspects to it. In summer, as

mentioned earlier, the sun rises south of east and sets south of west. Since the
full moon is always opposite the sun, in summer months the full moon rises
north of east and sets north of west. Similarly, in winter the full moon rises
south of east and sets south of west.

198
http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/about-us/46-our-solar-system/the-moon/observing-the-moon/
128-how-does-the-position-of-moonrise-and-moonset-change-intermediate

Season Position of Sunrise/Sunset

Winter Southeast/Southwest
Spring East/West
Summer Northeast/Northwest
Autumn East/West

Only on the equinoxes (Sept/Mar 21st) does the Sunrise/set at due East/West. At the solstices
(Dec/June 21st) the position is its furthest South/North of East/West. How far to the North or
South – it is depends on your latitude.

The time of day that the Moon rises or sets depends on its phase:

This should be obvious when you remember that the phase of the Moon
depends on the relative positions of the Sun, Moon and Earth. For example,
when the Moon is Full it is opposite the Earth from the Sun, so when the Sun
sets, the Moon must rise and vice versa. Here is a table summarizing that:

Moon Phase Moonrise Moonset

New Sunrise Sunset
1st Q Local noon Local midnight
Full Sunset Sunrise
Last Q Local midnight Local noon

By local noon and local midnight, I mean the points when the Sun crosses the meridian,
and exactly 12 hours later. This can be different from the time on your watch because we
define time zones which all use the local time at the center of the zone.

So when the Moon is new, it rises and sets with the Sun, and the position of Moonrise/set
varies just like that of Sunrise/set. When the Moon is full however the pattern is inverted.
To be more explicit (again here this is for the Northern hemisphere, for the South
exchange North for South):

Position of Moonrise/set
Season
NEW 1st FULL 3rd
Winter SE/SW East/West NE/NW East/West
Spring East/West NE/NW East/West SE/SW
Summer NE/NW East/West SE/SW East/West
Autumn East/West SE/SW East/West NE/NW

Like the Sunrise/set positions, the amount of variation depends on your latitude.

199
 www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-resources/sunrise-moonrise-east/

Why does the Moon rise later every day?

As both Earth and the Moon are moving in their orbits, moonrise occurs
later every day. Just as Earth spins counterclockwise when viewed from the
North Pole, the Moon also orbits Earth counterclockwise. Therefore, every
time we spin 360° with respect to the stars, completing a sidereal day (23
hours and 56 minutes), the Moon has moved a little in its orbit around Earth.
The Moon orbits Earth every 27.32 days with respect to the stars, marking a
sidereal month, so the amount it moves in one sidereal day is (360/27.32)
degrees, about 13°. Earth turns 360° every sidereal day, so it will take about
13*(23.9/360) hours to make up the remaining 13°: 52 minutes. Each
moonrise, then, will occur roughly 52 minutes later than the one before it.

Because the phase of the Moon also depends on its position relative to Earth
and the Sun, the phase will change along with the time that the Moon rises and
sets. Read more about the hows and whys of the phases of the Moon here.

A Supermoon www.space.com/26503-supermoon-full-moon-rises-saturday.html

200
Remember D, O, C.
www.wikihow.com/Tell-Whether-the-Moon-Is-Waxing-or-Waning [A copy in the Collection]

Determining Moon Phases in the Northern Hemisphere: Hold out your right hand with your
thumb out, palm facing the sky. The thumb and forefingers make a curve like a backward C.
If the moon fits in this curve, it's a waxing moon (increasing).
If you do the same with your left hand and the moon fits in the "C" curve, then it is waning
(decreasing).

Since the moon always follows the same illumination pattern, you can use the shape of the letters D,
O, and C to determine if the moon is waxing or waning.
During the first quarter, the moon will look like a D.
When it’s full, it will look like an O.
And when it’s in the third quarter, it will look like a C.
 A crescent moon in the shape of a backwards C is waxing
 A half or gibbous moon in the shape of a D is waxing.
 A half or gibbous moon in the shape of a backwards D is waning.
 A crescent moon in the shape of a C is waning.

Determining Moon Phases

in the Northern Hemisphere in the Southern Hemisphere

waxing Right Half ↑ Full ↓ waning Gibbous 1st Crescent ↑ Full ↓ waning Left Half

201
https://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/moon_phases.php
New Moon - The Moon's unilluminated side is facing the
Earth. The Moon is not visible (except during a solar eclipse).

Waxing Crescent - The Moon appears to be partly but less

than one-half illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of
the Moon's disk that is illuminated is increasing.
First Quarter - One-half of the Moon appears to be
illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk
that is illuminated is increasing.
Waxing Gibbous - The Moon appears to be more than one-
half but not fully illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction
of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is increasing.
Full Moon - The Moon's illuminated side is facing the Earth.
The Moon appears to be completely illuminated by direct
sunlight.
Waning Gibbous - The Moon appears to be more than one-
half but not fully illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction
of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is decreasing.
Last Quarter - One-half of the Moon appears to be
illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk
that is illuminated is decreasing
Waning Crescent - The Moon appears to be partly but less
than one-half illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of
the Moon's disk that is illuminated is decreasing.

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Moon phase - Astronomical data
www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/future-lunarsolar-conjunction-dates.html

Conjunction date and time (in UTC)

Moon phase data: 30 – 33 CE (UTC):

(A) & (B) - data are very similar with minor number difference:

(A) http://web.archive.org/web/20140909184037/http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/phase/phases0001.html

(B) http://astropixels.com/ephemeris/phasescat/phases0001.html (year 1 to 100 CE;)

 www.timeanddate.com/calendar/monthly.html?year=30&month=4&country=34
CE 30 Apr-6-Thu = Nisan 15; full moon Apr 7-Fri
203
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/MoonPhase.php
www.moonconnection.com/moon_phases.phtml
www.wikihow.com/Tell-Whether-the-Moon-Is-Waxing-or-Waning
http://lunaf.com/lunar-calendar/2016/06/11/#next-7-days-moon-phases
www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast161/Unit2/phases.html
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/RST_defs.php

www.lpi.usra.edu/education/skytellers/moon_phases/about.shtml

*Full moon
*full moon www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/full-moon-daytime.html It is during the daytime at the
exact moment of that particular full moon alignment. (= "syzygy of the Sun-Earth-Moon-system"). At the
precise moment, the Moon is only visible in the night part of Earth, with a few exceptions.

Around the full moon phase, the Moon is visible in the sky approximately from sunset to sunrise. In very
special cases, you can see both the full moon and the Sun, as it rises or sets, at the same time, in opposite
directions.

Cf. full moon is on 14th or 15th day of a lunar month.

*New moon and *New-Moon day

Psa 81:3 <blow the shofar on the new-moon daya, and on the full-moon day, b [yes,] on the
day of our feast. c
Num 33:3 – This day refers to the day of the Exodus (on the fifteenth of the first month, the day after
the Passover);
Lev 23:5 – the fourteenth day of the first month at evening = Passover of YHWH
Lev 23:6 – the fifteenth day of the same month = 1st day of the Festival of the Matzah.
Exo 12:2 – this month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the
year to you.
1Sam 20:24, 27 ‘when the new moon was come …, and, next day = 2nd day of the month’
Num 10:10 – ‘blowing shofar on the solemn days and in the beginning of your months.
Sirach 43:6-8 – ‘moon – a light that decreases in her perfection’ (i.e. from the full-moon); increase
from new-moon.

a
Psa 81:3 on the New-Moon day ░ ba-chodesh (← H2320 chodesh) /at the new moon – NASB; /in the new moon –
KJV; /on the day of the new moon and on the day of full moon – NET; /during the new moon and during the full moon;
/on the new moon, blow the horn; On the full moon, for the day of our festival – NWT; /x: at Rosh-Hodaesh and at full
moon for the pilgrim feast – CJB; /Blow the ram’s horn on the day of the New Moon Feast. Blow it again when the
moon is full and the Feast of Booths begins – NIrV; /Sound the trumpets and start the New Moon Festival. We must
also celebrate when the moon is full – CEV; /Blow the ram’s horn at new moon, and again at full moon to call a
festival! – NLT; /xxx: v.3 Trumpets and trombones and horns: it's festival day, a feast to God! – MSG (baloney); /x:
when the moon is new and when the moon is full – GNT; /x: during the new moon and during the full moon – HCSB; /
[Cf. shofar-blowing ░ [H8643 teruah – alarm (Num 10:6); shofar-blowing (Lev 23:24; Num 29:1 on the first day of
the seventh month); Lev 25:9 (on the Day of Atonement)]. (Cf. H2689 chatsotrah 'trumpet' Num 10:2)]
b
Psa 81:3 on the full-moon day ░ [H3677 keseh – 2x + Pro 7:20] /at the full moon – ESV; /> when the moon is full –
NIV; /x: during the full moon – HCSB; /xxx: at the time appointed; /xxx: in the appointed time – KJV; /xxx: at the set
time – Douay [Cf. H4150 moed – 'set-time']; /xx: (omit) – YLT; [Note: 'new-moon' and 'full-moon' are not appositive
as some try to misread as 'in the new month, in the full moon'']
c
Psa 81:3 feast ░ [H2282 chag – here 'feast' of a day, not 'festival' of a week] /xx: solemn feast – KJV; /
204
 H2320 chodesh (over 270x) a 'new moon' or 'month'. The word itself is not used even once to denote
seeing something (i.e. the visible moon, the crescent, etc.). [← H2318 chadash ‘renew/rebuild’ 1Sam
11:14; Psa 51:10; Isa 61:4]

Cf. 'feast day' [H2282 chag + H3117 yom). [‘feast day’ Psa 81:3] [Neh 8:18; Num 28:17 'festival' for 7
days]
Cf. 'set-day day' (H4150 moed + H3117) [Lam 2:7; Hos 9:5] [Cf. 'good/beautiful day' (H3117 + H2867
dowb) 1Sam 25:8] [Cf. H2146 zikkaron – remembrance, memorial Exo 12:14]

www.worldslastchance.com/new-moon/why-didnt-wlc-adopt-the-day-after-the-full-moon-as-new-
moon-day.html

Lunar conjunction (lunar-solar conjunction) – date and time –

The [perfect] conjunction occurs at the same moment over the earth – at different local times.
Different dates for a conjunction are depending on the time when it is around 12 a.m. See
'(astronomical new moon)' https://youtu.be/uW6QqcmCfm8 (Strangest Time Zones of the
World). Not to be confused with the biblical one – it is hyphenated and capitalized as 'New-
Moon' throughout this paper in order to distinguish between them.

Ref.
https://youtu.be/c0mchnrKRYo The Full Moon is Not the New Moon [Psa 81:3 " in the new moon, in the full
moon …" the two are not appostive]
https://youtu.be/gciHdZIqeg8 [New Moon is not Full Moon].
https://youtu.be/k3ovFkL7x78. 'Full Moon is the New Moon'
www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/future-lunarsolar-conjunction-dates.html
www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/new-moon-day-the-dawn-after-conjunction.html
http://earthsky.org/space/astronomical-phenomena-events-for-this-year [Note - data are inaccurate.]
http://astropixels.com/ephemeris/phasescat/phasescat.html [Six Millennium Catalog of Phases of the Moon]

Moon phase and Sabbath days

Why don’t the moon's primary phases always line up directly with the Sabbath days: 8th,
15th, 22nd, and 29th?

There are about 29.5 days between one conjunction and the next. Because months
cannot have 1/2 days, each lunar month is either 29 or 30 days.

The lunar-solar conjunction can occur anytime during the day or night. New-moon day,
however, always commences at the first dawn after conjunction. This means that
sometimes the month will begin more than 23 hours after conjunction, while at other
times, the month will begin only a few moments after conjunction.

a
1kg 6:37 In the fourth year ~~~ in the month Zif.
6:38 And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month,
the month Zif ~~ the month Bul ░ [H3391 yerach (13x) (calendar) month Exo 2:2; Deu 33:1, etc.; (duration of)
month 2Kg 15:13; Job 3:6, etc.]

the eighth month ░ [H2320 chodesh (283x) 'month' 'new-moon' Gen 7:11; Exo 12:2, etc.]
205
 The perfect phases of the moon are achieved in an instant, but it takes 24 hours for
everyone on earth to see the moon. While some will see the perfect phases, others will
see the moon just before or just after it has achieved its perfect shape.
It should be noted here that there are occasional anomalies in the moon’s behavior,
meaning there are times when the moon will not become 100% full until the 16th day of
the lunar month. For example:

In Brisbane, Australia, the moon will not reach 100% illumination (Full Moon) until the
morning of July 2 (2015), which is the 16th day of the lunar month there. The moon,
during this particular lunation, takes longer than usual to become full, but then takes less
time to return to new moon.

New Moon = June 16 (2015) @14:05

It takes 15 Days, 12 Hours to get to…
Full Moon = July 2 (2015) @02:20
It then takes only 13 Days, 23 Hours to get to…
New Moon = July 16 (2015) @01:24

Moon phase in the Passover season

Full moon; Full moon at Passover

www.worldslastchance.com/lunar-seventh-day-sabbath/why-dont-the-moons-primary-phases-always-line-up-
directly-with-the-sabbath-days-8th-15th-22nd-and-29th.html

The full moon comes in the middle of month – 14th Abib night-period [= Nisan 15 night-period].
The calendar in the first century as in the Scripture is not same as the modern Hebrew one. The date
of Full Moon may vary depending on the location of the observer when the time is close to 12 a.m.
[Someone takes the full moon as the first day of the month (their new moon day)!a]

[Note: A lunar eclipse occurs at night at full moon, when Earth passes between the Sun and the
Moon with the Earth’s shadow falling on the full moon. A solar eclipse occurs in the daytime at dark
moon, when the Moon is between Earth and the Sun. So-called Crucifixion_darkness (Mt 27:45-50;
Mk 15:33; Lk 23:44) cannot be accounted for on the basis of solar eclipse.
http://earthsky.org/space/why-isnt-there-an-eclipse-every-full-moon ]

Full Moon date: Astronomers define when a Full Moon occurs by its phase as seen at the
so-called Standard Meridian on Earth which passes through Greenwich England.
(‘astronomical full moon’). Because of time zone difference, though the Full Moons occur
at the same evening [at the same moment over the Earth], do not have to occur on the same
calendar date.

www.astronomycafe.net/FAQs/q1465x.html [Is the Full Moon seen the same everywhere on

the same date? No.]
www.astronomycafe.net/FAQs/q1038x.html [Why does the moon rise 50 minutes later each day?]

a
(https://youtu.be/tWyTr3EEn3k) strangely sabbath on 8, 15, 22, 29th day of his calendar.
206
 Is the full moon always on the 15th [of Nisan = 14th of Abib - ARJ]?

From “THE HEBREW CALENDAR – Study Paper” (2013 COGWA)

http://members.cogwa.org/uploads/Hebrew_Calendar_-_Study_Paper.pdf

… the mean length of a lunar month is approximately 29.5 days, which means the
middle of the month (the full moon) is at the 14.75-day mark. So, day 15 of the
month would be the approximate halfway point. This means that on the evening of
the 15th day of the month, we should expect to see a full moon in the sky, since the
full moon falls halfway during the moon’s monthly cycle. But the 15th day may or
may not be the time when there is a 100 percent, fully illuminated moon.

One must realize that, in general, “full moon” is a reference to one of the phases of
the moon that lasts for approximately three nights. Most almanacs and calendars have
the full moon listed on the day that the sun, moon and earth align and the moon is
fully illuminated. This can be calculated precisely to the minute. But, just as the
astronomical new moon is only one way to define the new moon, so the astronomical
full moon is only one way to define the full moon. The best way to look at it is that
the new moon and the full moon are phases of the moon’s cycle rather than exact
moments in time (the astronomical new moon and full moon).

When the moon is between 95 percent and 100 percent full, it is difficult for one to
tell the difference with the naked eye. The 15th day of the seventh month will always
begin on one of these three evenings during the full moon phase on the Hebrew
calendar. This will also be true of the Night to Be Much Observed, which is the
evening of the 15th day of the first month. It should be kept in mind that there is no
scripture that requires there be a “perfect” full moon (100 percent illumination) on
the night of the Feast of Tabernacles or the Night to Be Much Observed. In fact, the
moon may not even be visible at the time when it is perfectly full (100 percent
illuminated). Since the moon continues through its phases whether it is day or night,
if the astronomical full moon occurs during the daytime, then technically you will
already be looking at a waning moon, with less than 100 percent illumination, by that
night.

This quote from the U. S. Naval Observatory may be helpful:

Although Full Moon occurs each month at a specific date and time, the
Moon’s disk may appear to be full for several nights in a row if it is clear.
This is because the percentage of the Moon’s disk that appears illuminated
changes very slowly around the time of Full Moon (also around New Moon,
but the Moon is not visible at all then). The Moon may appear 100%
illuminated only on the night closest to the time of exact Full Moon, but on
the night before and night after will appear 97-99% illuminated; most people
would not notice the difference. Even two days from Full Moon the Moon’s
disk is 93-97% illuminated.

Passover (Abib 14) is 14 days after the first New Moon after Vernal Equinox (i.e. Abib 1).
207
Passover full moon = the equinoctial full moon (that which occur after equinox) of the Passover season.

Cf. ‘Paschal full moon’ – refers to the ecclesiastical full moon (defined as 14th day of the
ecclesiastical lunar month (not same date of astronomical full moon, differing up to two days) in an
ecclesiastical lunar calendar of the northern spring used in Computus (determination of the date of
Easter).

Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets by Jean Meeus (2nd edition)

For 30 CE, the crescent of the moon could have been seen Mar 23 or 24
www.timeanddate.com/calendar/monthly.html?year=30&month=3&country=34
(Mar 23 Thu as Nisan 1 → Apr 5 Wed as Nisan 14.)
[some discrepancy in the time of the new moon (dark moon) in different reference sources.]

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/SpringPhenom.php accessed 07/12/17

Julian date; Jerusalem time (= 2 + GMT)
CE full moon@ dark moon% dark moon$
30 Thu Apr 6 22:00 Mar 22 Wed 20:00 Apr 21 Fri 11:00
31 Tue Mar 27 13:00 Mar 12 01:00 Apr 10 14:00
33 Fri Apr 3 17:00 Mar 19 12:00 Apr 17 21:00

@ on or next after equinox; % on or preceding equinox; $ following equinox

Green – for Nisan 1 & 14

http://web.archive.org/web/20090301015349/http:/eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/phase/phases0001.html
(Julian date; Jerusalem time = 2 + UT)
CE full moon dark Moon dark moon
30 Thu Apr 6 21:42 Mar 22 19:46 Apr 21 11:36
31 Tue Mar 27 12:55 Mar 12 00:10 Apr 10 13:32
33 Fri Apr 3 16:52 Mar 19 12:38 Apr 17 21:09

208
Location dependence: Time Zone conversion
The use of true sun time was abandoned when mechanical clocks allowed us — or perhaps
forced us — to adopt a standard length of 24 hours per day, regardless of the actual position
of the sun. Thus, sun time was replaced by local mean time — several centuries ago. But of
course, we don’t use local mean time anymore either. Ever since the 1880s, we have relied
instead on standard time, based on time zones. https://medium.com/the-philipendium/a-day-
is-not-24-hours-c36ee96078c6

TIME ZONE Conversion: https://savvytime.com/converter/utc-to-cst

Jerusalem location = 31.7833° (46 min 59 sec) N, 35.2167° (13 min 0 sec)
(elevation of 2,550 feet above sea level. Cf. Jericho is about 1,200 feet below sea level. Dead Sea
1400 feet below)
Jerusalem Time = UTC + 2
CST = UTC - 6
[Cf. Korea (KST)a + 9; US (EST) – 5]
[Cf. IST, CST - affected by DST → IDT, CDT]

Note: full moon time show some discrepancy among the various astronomical data sources;
however, it is in the night time of Abib 14 (Nisan 15).

[The Conjunction and New-Moon Day – date is location-dependent.]

Year Dark Moon Full Moon

CE
Israel USA Jerusalem USA

2017 Mar-28 Mar-27 Apr-11 -

(Nisan 1) (Nisan 15)
2016 Apr-7 - Apr-22 -
(Adar II 28) (Nisan 14)
2015 Mar-20 - Apr-4 -
(Adar 29) (Nisan 15)
2014 Mar-30 - Apr-15 -
(Adar II 28) (Nisan 15)
2013 Mar-11 - Mar-27 -
(Adar 29 (Nisan 16)
2012 Mar-22 - Apr-6 -
(Adar 28) (Nisan 14)
2011 Apr-3 - Apr-18 Apr-17
(Adar II 28) (Nisan 14)
2010 Mar-15 - Mar-30 Mar-29
(Adar 29) (Nisan 15)
2009 Mar-26 - Apr-9 -
(Nisan 1) (Nisan 15)

a
https://youtu.be/5ZJ7lqav55E [팩트체크] '표준시' 변경한 북한…한국은 못 바꾸나?
www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44010705 [For North Korea changed back to KST May 5, 2018.
209
www.timeanddate.com/calendar/monthly.html?year=2011&month=4&country=34
30 CE Dark Moon Full Moon
Jerusale Mar-22 (Adar 29) Apr-7 (Nisan 16)
m
Chicago Mar-21 Apr-6
31 CE Dark Moon Full Moon
Jerusale Mar-12 (Adar 29) Mar-27 (Nisan 15)
m
Chicago Mar-11 Mar-27
Data from Herman H. Goldstine (1994), New and Full Moons, One Thousand and One BC to
AD Sixteen Fifty-One (p. 86)

Note: This is the reference source mentioned in the Hoehner’s book (p. 100) which has this
reference in a footnote, confusingly in conjunction with a Thursday crucifixion scenario:

The year of AD 30 [for the crucifixion year] has also been debated, but is
reasonably certain that Nisan 14 was a Friday that year [fn]. [How could he say
‘reasonably’? Was it from his gut feeling?]

[fn] Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, pp. 39-40. “A new work containing the
computer print-out of the occurrence of the new moons further questions that
Nisan 14 in AD 30 occurred on Friday. According to the computer Nisan 14 in
AD 30 occurred on Thursday. See Herman H. Goldstine (1973), New and Full
Moons, 1001 BC to AD 1651.”

Hoehner quotes mistaken data by Goldstine who gives astronomical data only and
nowhere suggest that Nisan 14 in AD 30 occurred on Thursday.

Ref: Hoehner (1978), Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ

210
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=fS28b9GC1dcC&pg=GBS.PA2 (google book
online] https://books.google.com/books?id=fS28b9GC1dcC&hl=en

211
Fixing the first month [Abib] of a Biblical year

In order to identify the start of a new year (Abib 1), we must locate the New Moon closest
to the vernal equinox. (Using this method typically places the start of the year between
March 7 and April 6.) www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/the-metonic-cycle-
made-simple.html.

Fixing the New-Moon Day and the Passover Date:

With the accurate astronomical data on the conjunction ('dark moon' or 'astronomical new
moon'), how is the *New-Moon day of the month placed on the calendar? How did the 1st
century people actually determine the New-Moon day in that very month?

The New-Moon day determines the date of the Passover of CE 30, the day of the
Crucifixion. That will then show why it was on Wed, not Thu.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luni-solar_calendar
https://yrm.org/biblical-new-moon/(‘what is the biblical new moon’)
www.triumphpro.com/calendar-god_s-true-calendar-new-expanded-book.pdf [God's True
Calendar by Dankenbring]
The New-Moon day is the biblical day (sunrise-to-sunrise) beginning at dawn after the conjunction.
The Gregorian date for it is then to be located when the New-Moon day falls.

212
For the Month of Abib: When the New-Moon day Abib 1 was determined to be on Mar 23 Thu,
the Passover (Abib 14) is on Apr 5 Wed.
CE 30 Mar 22 Wed. ◙ @ 17:46 UTC; @19:32 ◙ Jerusalem time,
visible crescent – probable earliest time on the next Gregorian date

◙ ◙

Abib 1 Abib 2 Abib 14

Mar 22 Wed Mar 23 Thu Mar 24 Fri Apr 5 Wed

Adar 29 Nisan 1@ 2 3 14 15

Abib 14 (Passover day) cannot be Apr 6 Thu [as in a Thursday Crucifixion scenario] unless it
is fixed by the visible crescent method and if it were seen on Mar 24 Friday.
The Nisan date is 6 hours ahead of the Gregorian date; thus 12 hours ahead of the Biblical calendar date
(with same date for the daytime event). Here it is shown for comparison purpose only, as the Jewish
calendation does not apply in the biblical times and narratives. Also, the fixing of the new-moon day in the
Biblical times was by the "sighting first crescent" method.

To fix Abib 1 on Mar 23 Thu or Mar 24? → the Passover on Apr 5 Wed or Apr 6 Thu → resulting in
different Crucifixion scenarios.

$ If, however, one claims for the visible crescent method and would find it on Mar 24 Fri
instead of Mar 23 Thu as shown below, a day later than the it should, the Passover would
then fall on Apr. 6 Thu, which results in a Thursday Crucifixion scenario.

Mar 22 Wed Mar 23 Thu Mar 24 Fri

30 CE Abib 14

Abib 1 Abib 1 Abib 2 Apr 4 Tue

$→ ?? spurious Abib 1 Apr 6 Thu

www.waoy.org/How_Long_Was_Yeshua_Really_in_the_Grave.pdf by William Dankenbring

Here the author was shown to take the New-Moon day to be one day later (Mar 24 Fri)
(without giving why it should be) – to arrive Apr 6 Thu as the Day of Crucifixion (= Nisan
14).

 See also www.waoy.org/How_Long_Was_Yeshua_Messiah_in_the_Tomb.pdf by Rand Ben

Joseph (a copy in the collection).

213
Example – 2018 Aug.

When the conjunction occurs before the dawn. Kkk – duplicate to be removed
E.g. ◙ Dark moon – Aug 11, 2018 @ 04:48 CST DST.
The New-Moon Day falls on Aug. 11, the same Gregorian date as for Dark Moon.

Aug 11 Sat Aug 12 Sun Aug 13 Mon

◙
Biblical mo. New-Moon D. Day 2 Day 3
in Jewish mo. 1 d.
st
2 d. nd
3rd d.

If the conjunction is after dawn,

E.g. ◙ Dark moon – Mar 17 @ 08:12 CST DST
The New-Moon Day falls on Mar 18, the next Gregorian date coming after Dark Moon.

Mar 17 Sat Mar 18 Sun Mar 19 Mon

◙
Biblical mo. New-Moon D. Day 2
in Jewish mo. 1 d.
st
2nd d.

Biblical day is reckoned to start at dawn.

Hebrew day is reckoned to start at sunset.

214
The calendar of the month Abib 30 CE:
Spring equinox – March 23. New-Moon day Mar 23 Thu and the Passover Apr 5 Weda

Since the conjunction occurred Wednesday evening, the crescent moon for the new month coming –
Abib – could not possibly have been seen before Thursday evening. One cannot see the crescent on the
same evening the conjunction occurs. Normally it is visible about 24 hours later.

Work Days Lunar

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 sabbath

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu
23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

9 10 11 12 13 14 15
31 Apr 1 2 3 4 5 6
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
14 15 16 17 18 19 20

30
21

The would-be calendar to fit for a Thursday crucifixion scenario.

New-Moon Lunar
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6
day sabbath

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

Mar 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Apr 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

a
Not to be confused with the unbiblical Wednesday scenario with the Resurrection in the Sat afternoon.
215
 1 or #1 – New-moon D.; 14 or #14 – Passover D.
Red dates - Sunday
Mar 22 Wed 1 ◙ @ 4 a.m.
Mar 23 Thu 2
Mar 24 Fri 3 #1 @ 8 p.m.
Mar 25 Sat 4
Mar 26 Sun 5
Mar 27 Mon 6
Mar 28 Tue 7
Mar 29 Wed 8
Mar 30 Thu 9
Mar 31 Fri 10
Apr 1 Sat 11
Apr 2 Sun 12
Apr 3 Mon 13
Apr 4 Tue 14
Apr 5 Wed 15
Apr 6 Thu 16 #14

216
www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/new-moon-day-the-dawn-after-conjunction.html
New-Moon Day Commences at the Dawn After Conjunction.

Earliest visible crescent (how soon after the conjunction ??) – Mar 23 evening – should that be Abib
1? or why a day later Mar 24 by the Thursday proponents? William F. Dankenbring, "Jesus’ LAST
WEEK" – says it has to be Thursday – how so? www.triumphpro.com/newsflash_002.htm

http://triumphpro.info/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/jesus__last_week____new.htm

Referring to Jean Meeus (1995), Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets (2nd ed.). Part
4 “Phases of the Moon.” a
[try it on https://archive.org/details/astronomicaltabl00meeu (1983 ed.)]

"… This remarkable work provides tables which shows the phases of the moon, including the New
Moons (molads) with an accuracy within 10 minutes or less, for any year from 1500 BC to 2999
AD) and shows the conjunction of the dark (new) moon for March, 30 AD, was on the 22nd day
of the month (Wednesday), at 17:32 GMT– that is, 5:32 PM, Wednesday evening! (about 7:32
Jerusalem time).

Since the conjunction occurred Wednesday evening, the New Moon crescent for the month just
beginning – Abib – could not possibly have been seen before Thursday evening. [But what about
Thursday evening?? - ARJ] You cannot see the crescent the same evening the conjunction occurs!
Normally it is visible about one day or 24 hours later – which fits the picture perfectly.]
This information means that Abib 1 was a Friday that week, and Abib 14 – the day of the
crucifixion – had to be on a Thursday, not a Wednesday or a Friday! [Is he using Abib date of
sunrise-to-sunrise day, not Nisan of sunset-to-sunset day? - ARJ] There is no disputing these f acts
– and the Jews plainly state that in those days the months were determined by the sighting of the
New Moon crescent by confirmed, authorized witnesses who were posted to watch f or it. …"

a
Cf. However, in the 3rd ed. 2016. www.willbell.com/almanacs/AstroTables.htm Part 4: Phases
of the Moon 1970–2050 – is there data on 30 CE?
Also includes Part 7: Other Tables
 Table for calculating the Julian Day
 Perpetual Calendar
 Date of Easter Sunday, 1583–2119
 Jewish Calendar, 2010–204
217
moon phase in the current years:
@www.moonconnection.com/quickphase/ QuickPhase software.
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/SpringPhenom.php Spring Phenomena 25 BCE to 38 CE
www.timeanddate.com/moon/israel/jerusalem
www.timeanddate.com/calendar/seasons.html?year=2000&n=110
www.timeanddate.com/calendar/monthly.html?year=1818&month=4&country=34
http://moonstick.com/moonstick.htm
http://astropixels.com/ephemeris/phasescat/phases0001.html (Phases of the Moon: 0001 to 0100)

A table of Vernal Equinox; dark moon, full moon, Nisan 15, Easter Sundays
[in Jerusalem time]
A table to cover dates for equinox and conjunction in UTC time (1802 to 2048) in The Metonic Cycle
Made Simple - World's Last Chance.com. [@ ‘Easter Sunday’ in the church liturgical Holy Week
does not correspond to the Biblical ‘Resurrection Day’.]

Spring @
Easter Sunday
Equinox Dark moon Nisan 15 % (Eastern)
Full moon
Mar-11 Sat 06:30 Mar-26 Sun 05:21
Mar-21 Apr-10 Mon 12:20 Apr-24 Mon 14:04 Apr-25**
1967

Mar-20 Apr-20
2008^ Apr-20 Sun 13:27
Apr-6 Sun 5:56 Mar-23 (Apr-27)
Mar-30
Mar-30 Tue
Mar-20 Mar-15 Mon –
2010 Apr-28 Tue
Apr-14 Wed

Mar-21 Apr-18 Mon 05:45 Apr-19

2011a Apr-24 (same) #
Apr-3 Sun 16:33

Mar-20 Apr-6 Fri 22:20 Apr-7 Apr-8 $ (Apr-15)

2012
Mar-22 Thu 16:38
Mar-11 Mon 21:52 Mar-27 Wed 11:29 *Mar-26
Mar-20 Apr-10 Wed 11:36 Apr-25 Thu 22:59 – Mar-31 (May 5)
2013

Mar-20 Apr-15 Tue 10:44 Apr-15 Apr-20 (same)

2014
Mar-30 Sun 20:45

Mar-21 Apr-4 Sat 15:07 Apr-4 Apr-5 (Apr-12)

2015
Mar-20 Fri 11:37

a
??? http://artscalendararticles.mysite.com/blank_7.html When the dark new moon appoints Passover to occur
on or after the date of the new solar year in March. The new solar year began on Mar 17, 2011, the date of the
equinox when the sun and moon divided night and day with 12 hours of darkness and daylight at Jerusalem,
Israel location; not at the man devised invisible equator. The Abib 1 dark new moon date is Mar 4, and it
appointed the Passover date, Mar 17, 2011, to begin in the beginning of the fourteenth day at evening or dusk, at
the setting of the sun.
218
Red color – Apr 20 = for Abib 15

219
Conflicting data below on these 1818 and 1897 in different data sources: what was the source for
this??
Spring
Equinox Dark moon Nisan 15 % @
Easter Sunday
Full moon

Mar-20 Mar-7 01:10 Mar-22 Mar-21 Mar-22 (Apr-30)

1818
(21 ?) Apr-5 … 15:46 Apr-20
(13 mos)

Mar-14 Sat 12:47 Mar-29 Sun 07:21 –

&
Mar-21 Fri Apr-5 Sat Apr-5
1897 Mar-20 Mar-3 + Apr-2 Apr-27 (Mon) 15:47?? –
Apr-13 Mon 06:22?
Red color – Apr 20 = for Abib 15

www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/the-metonic-cycle-made-simple.html

A case study: 1818 CE

Easter = Mar 22 !!!

www.dr-mikes-math-games-for-kids.com/easter-date-tables.html?century=19 (earliest
day for the Easter was Mar 22 – 1761 & 1881)

Equinox = Mar 21 Sat

Dark moon = Mar 24 Sun; Apr 23
Abib 1 = Mar 25; Abib 14 =
Full Moon =Apr 9 Tue = Nisan 15 = Passover

Israel 1818 CE March / Apr

220
 www.timeanddate.com/calendar/monthly.html?year=1818&month=3&country=34

See different data: Dark moon Apr. 5!!

 www.worldslastchance.com/yahuwahs-calendar/the-metonic-cycle-made-simple.html

 Check with 'moonstick' www.moonstick.com/moonstick.htm

% The Jewish Passover in the rabbinic Judaism is Nisan 15 on their calendar which
is not based on the Scripture. It is the first day of Passover Festival (= 1st day of the
Matzah Festival) This calendar day begins at sunset of the day before the Gregorian
date, whereas the Passover Day in the Scripture is on Abib 14, which is the eve (>
preparation day) for the High Sabbath (Jn 19:31). (Cf. for daytime events, date in Abib
and Nisan is same.)
& A different data - Mar 21 – dark moon; Apr 5 – full moon = Nisan 15 in the year with Adar
II month)
[ www.timeanddate.com/calendar/monthly.html?year=1897&month=4&country=34 ]
** (year with Adar II month – in Jewish calendar)
^ (When Did Month 1 Begin in 2008 CE? - Torah Calendar
www.torahcalendar.com/ -- note: this is with sunset-to-sunset Hebrew day; not true
biblical calendar.]

#http://5ko.free.fr/en/easter.php Eastern Orthodox Easter (called Pascha) comes

usually on different days since the basis of calculation is with different calendars.
It is never celebrated before the Passover on the same date (2010, 2011, 2014,
etc.)
$ Easter fell in the Passover Week. It may rarely fall on Abib 14 (Nisan 14). Easter day
and Passover are thematically unrelated since Passover and Resurrection are two different
events of days apart.
* Abib 15 on Apr 24. [Compare a similar situation in CE 31. Cf. Abib 14 on Apr 24 (with
Dark Moon on Apr 10).

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1925MNRAS..85.1000C
http://ns1763.ca/equinox/vern1788-2211.html
221
222
3. The Julian-Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar locked with the seasons, having no relationship
with the movements of the moon. Gregorian one is a reform of Julian calendar from October 4, 1582
CE (the "10 Day Gap").The early Julian used 8-day weeks (A to H). Therefore, the Gregorian
calendar is of no relevance with respect to times and dates in the Scripture.
It is possible to check to see which proleptic Gregorian date and day of the solar week that Abib 14
(Passover day) falls on; it has to be independent of the modern Jewish calendar (since 359 CE –
Hillel II)a. Such a Jewish calendar did not exist at any time in Israel's history prior to it and cannot be
used proleptically to construct a biblical calendar used in the first century CE.

5. To say He was crucified and resurrected on the certain named days of the solar week may serve
only for the purpose of the liturgical Holy Week of the Constantine Catholic Church tradition.
However, it is rather meaningless for the Biblical narrative itself. especially so when it is
disconnected chronologically from biblical timeline, resulted from misunderstand of the biblical
phrase ‘1stday’ to be Sunday, ‘7thday’ to be Saturday, etc. Whatever date the crucifixion happens to
fall on in a proleptic calendar, it has nothing to do with Friday in the church liturgical Holy Week.

a
Calendation by Hillel II, confirmed around 12th century - rabbi Maimonides.
223
* Gen 1:3-5 Day and Night; evening and morning; Genesis Day:
Gen 1:3
And Elohim says: [Psa 33:6, 9]
“Let light come to be!”

And there was light

Gen 1:4
(a) And Elohim sees the light — that it is good.
(b) And Elohim divides [the periods of]
the light and the darkness.

Elohim calls the [period of] light <Day!>

1:5

and the [period of] darkness He calls <Night!>

1:5 the light ░ [Note: Darkness was there; light came into this into darkness (v.2)]

1:5a day ░ [H3117 yom] [that is, ‘day light period’ ‘daytime’, not 24-hour day (or calendar day)]
[The Bible simply tells that the light period is called ‘Day’ which begins with sunrise. That which begins at sunset is
dusk. Cf. ‘morning’ [‘early morning’ + ‘late morning’]; 'afternoon' [‘early afternoon’ + 'late afternoon]; 'evening'
['early evening' + 'late evening']; 'two setting-times']

1:5 the darkness ░ [the period of darkness begins at sunset.]

Edited on http://thecreatorscalendar.com/sunrise-or-sunset-when-does-the-day-begin/

• In the beginning were nothingness, emptiness, and darkness over the face of the waters.
• The first act was to reveal LIGHT (not 'create light') and the first thing named was DAY. The
LIGHT (period) was called DAY and it was distinctly separated from the DARKNESS (period),
which was called NIGHT. Each creative act was accomplished during the DAY. Nothing was
created in the DARKNESS of NIGHT.

• The DAY was designed to begin with sunrise and end with SUNSET, containing no portion of
DARKNESS or NIGHT. Only a 24-hour cycle of time includes both the DAY and NIGHT (as in a
'calendar day').

[See a separate in the zip file <Collections on Time, Day, Hour for #5A> in <IRENT Supplement
III (Collections #5A – time + calendar)]

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 So then, there comes evening [when the ‘day’ ends]
and there comes morning [when the ‘night’ ends] [1:8b, 13a, 19a, 23a, 31b]

1:5ff So then ░ /Thus – ARJ; /So – NKJV, Rhm, Geneva; /xx: And [then] – ARJ; /x: And – most; /(omit) – HCSB,
CEV, NET, NLT, GNB, MSG, ISV, Fox; /

1:5 there comes ~ ░ /x: it became – Paul Finch (The Passover Paper, p. 184); />> there was – most; way·hî
[H1961 hayah] (cf. in v. 2, hā·yə·ṯāh; yə·hî 3, 6] /

1:5 evening ░ [from sunset to midnight. Heb. ereb] & morning = [from sunrise to midday]

1:5b, 8b, 13a, 19a, 23a, 31b there comes evening [when the ‘day’ = 'daylight period' ends] and there comes
morning [when the ‘night’ = 'the night period' ends] ░ [Repeating 6x in 6 verses but not in the 7 th day which is not
being completed]

[‘day’ – daylight; ‘night’ – darkness – Ozanne];

[“… and evening happened and morning happened, Petuha (‫)פ‬.]
[It’s not about the order of the word that the phrase should be ‘morning and evening’ instead of ‘evening
and morning’ – as some argues for ‘a day begins at sunset’]
[https://play.google.com/books/reader?
id=z0ytVvRfXVgC&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&authuser=0&hl=en&pg=GBS.PP1 Charles
Ozanne, Beginner’s Guide to Bible Chronology - From Man’s Beginning to the End of Acts, p. 18.
H1242 (boquer) 'morning' – from sunrise to noon. /x: ‘dawning’.
H3117 (yom) 'day' – from sunrise to sunset
H6153 (ereb) 'evening' – from sunset to midnight; /x: sun setting’

/'There was setting, there was dawning: one day' – Fox; /And evening passed and morning came, marking the first
day - NLT; / So the evening and the morning were the first day. – NKJV; /There was evening, and there was
morning, marking the first day – NET; /xxxx: The twilight and the dawn were day one. – ISV; /And there was
evening and there was morning, a first day – NWT; /x: and evening happened and morning happened, Petuha (‫)פ‬.;
evening ~ and morning ░ [not ‘a day and a night’] [The text does not say ‘a day is from evening to morning’.]
[It’s not about the order of the word that the phrase should be ‘morning and evening’ instead of ‘evening and
morning’ – as some use this as proof-text to argue for ‘a day to begin at sunset’ – getting mixing up the notion of
‘day’ (daytime period) and a calendar day of arbitrary convention.]
[i.e. as work is done during day light period and then evening comes; a day is completed when morning comes for a
next day to begin – exactly as in 1:18]; [www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtB5e-t981o (WHEN DOES A DAY START
- MORNING OR EVENING? PART 4) Neh 13:18-21]
there comes evening and there comes morning
there comes evening [as the ‘day’ = 'daylight period' ends] and there comes morning [as the ‘night’ = 'the
night period' ends]
[‘at the end of the day period work’ and ‘at the end of the night period of rest’]
[https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=z0ytVvRfXVgC&…&hl=en&pg=GBS.PP1 Charles Ozanne, Beginner’s
Guide to Bible Chronology – From Man’s Beginning to the End of Acts, p. 18.]

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 — thus day one [completed].

1:5 – day one ░ [Not ‘the first day’ nor ‘one day’] (Yom Echad, not Yom Rishon) (cardinal number; it
becomes ordinal from day two.) [‘echad’ – one; unity; with ‘day’ as a complete or full day. Here, it does
not refer to ‘daylight’ of v.5a, but the whole day (= ‘day + night’ = a calendar day);

'Day' in v. 5 is in cardinal number (i.e. one, two, three …‫( יום אֶ חָד‬yôm echad). All others in Gen 1:5 to
2:2 are ordinal numbers – 'second' to 'seventh': Also, days 2 to 5 lack a definite article ( ‫ה‬, ha, ‘the’)
while days 6 & 7 have one. So, the correct translation of Creation Week would be 'Day One' (1:5),
'second day’ (1:8), ‘third day’ (1:13), ‘fourth day’ (1:19), ‘fifth day’ (1:23), ‘the sixth day’ (1:31), and
‘the seventh day’ (2:2).

There is no 'first day' in the creation week. The notion of 'first day' is from a wrong idea of the creation week being
consisting of literal 7 days, with a day = 24 hours! The creation week in Genesis account gives a framework for the
calendar which has 7 days in a week. Here, a 'week' is irrespective whether it is a lunar week of the biblical calendar
or a solar week of the Gregorian and the rabbinic Jewish calendars.]

/(dash) day one - NIrV!, ISV, YLT, MSG, LXX (hēmera mia);; /x: the first day – most; /xxx: were the first day –
KJV; /xx: (dash) the first day – NIV; /xx: (colon) the first day – HCSB; /xx: (comma) the first day – ESV; /xxx:
(comma) one day – CJB, RSV, NASB, AMP, Rhm, ASV, JPS, UPDV, ACV, ASV, DRB, WEB,; /xx: a first day –
NWT; /xx: that was the first day – GNB; /dies unus – Vulg;

[so-called ‘creation-days’ is misleading. It’s not days of something being created, rather, it is ‘6 days of
making’ in the creation week, in which God’s work is done in ‘establishing’ ‘arranging’ and ‘making’,
etc.] [/> let there XYZ be – (a biblical jargon, not a common English phrase); /let there comes to be
XYZ; /let XYZ come out to show itself;]

[Ref. Averbeck, “A Literary Day, Inter-Textual, and Contextual Reading of Genesis 1 and 2”, 7–34. http://tgc-
documents.s3.amazonaws.com/themelios/Themelios40-2.pdf#page=34 Richard Averbeck, "The Lost World of
Adam and Eve: A Review Essay" Themelios 40.2 (2015): 226–39.]

*Gen 1:5 [thus is ~~ being completed] ░ [i.e. as work is done during daytime and thus evening comes;
and morning comes for a next day to begin] [This does not tell that a day is to begin at sunset, as
misinterpreted by rabbinic Judaic tradition.] /~ [thus having been finished]; /~ [thus being finished]; //[i.e. as
work is done during day light period and then evening comes; a day is completed when morning comes for a next
day to begin – exactly as in 1:18]; [www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtB5e-t981o (WHEN DOES A DAY START -
MORNING OR EVENING? PART 4) Neh 13:18-21]

Gen 1:3-5 – its pattern repeats vv. 6-8; 9-13, 14-19, 20-23, 24-31. A day (=daylight period) for work
→ evening to bring the night period of rest → morning to bring a new day.

Not 'evening + morning = day that which begins at sunset as in the Jewish thinging.

(Cf. 'day' – (1) a daylight period; (2) a period of 24 hours or (3) a calendar day. 'Day' in the Bible is
that which begins with morning, not with sunset. The so-called 'Genesis Day' actually refers to 'day'
as daylight period.

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Historiography and Chronology

/Periodization

/List of time periods

stone age
bronze age (3300 -300 BC)
iron age (1200 – 550 BC)

/Early Middle Ages = /Dark Ages in western Europe afte the Fall of the Western Roman Empire.
c. 5th–10th century
/Renaissance period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to
modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries,

Romanticism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries,

/Chronological dating

<End>

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