The Hebrew Calendar

GODS TRUE HOLY SACRED HEAVENLY CELESTIAL OBSERVABLE LUNAR JEWISH HEBREW BIBLE CALENDAR This covers some of the methods that people use or have used to determine which day begins each calendar month, which new moon begins each lunar year and a number of varying leap year systems.

HISTORY From the observation of the new moon to begin the month various methods of calculation were introduced to produce the calculated system in use today. According to the bible the Hebrew day begins at evening (Gen 1:5, Lev 23:32) and ends when the sun is down (Lev 22:7, Deut 23:11) "The day together with the night that went before." (Mishna, Hullins 5:5) The months and the seasons begin with the new moon (hodesh), yareah = moon. (Nu 10:10, Ps 81:3, 104:12, Isa 66:23, Ez 46:1,3,6) (Reclaiming the DSS, Schiffman, p292, p305, Cat' 296.155/50) The years were to begin with the month of the Spring harvest which was called Abib but today is called Nisan. (Ex 13:4, 23:15, 34:8, Deut 16:1)
At the time of the flood story in Genesis there was no one watching from the garden of Eden or Jerusalem or anywhere else on earth to sight the new moon and announce the beginning of each new lunar month, perhaps there may have been too many clouds to have been able to see it anyhow. The new year had begun 1 month and 17 days before Noach entered the ark, this is according to the date that is given in Gen 7:11-13 according to the Masoretic Text, the Qumran Scrolls, the Book of Jubilees, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Peshitta and the Targums but the Septuagint says it was the 27th of the second month (Dead Sea Discoveries, Hendel 4Q252, p72-3) According to Josephus the flood began "in the second month called by the Macedonians Dius but by the Hebrews Marchesuan for so did they order their year in Egypt.- on the 27th day of the forementioned month. When the rain ceased, the water did but just begin to abate after one hundred and fifty days that is on the seventeenth day of the seventh month." (Ant 1:3:3-4) [Dius corresponds to Marchesvan or the eighth Hebrew month which is a six month difference to most accounts.] From the 27th to the 17th would require 5 months of 32 days to reach a total of 150 days so it appears pretty obvious that the 150 days started from the 17th of the second month and not from the 27th.

30 day months 17th to 17th	30 day months 27th to 17th	32 day months 27th to 17th
13 [or 14] days of Iyar (or Heshvan)	3 [or 4] days of Iyar (or Marchesvan)	5 [or 6] days of Heshvan (Dius)
30 days of Sivan (or Kislev)	30 days of Sivan (or Kislev)	32 days of Kislev
30 days of Tammuz (or Teveth)	30 days of Tammuz (or Teveth)	32 days of Teveth
30 days of Av (or Shevat)	30 days of Av (or Shevat)	32 days of Shevat
30 days of Elul (or Adar)	30 days of Elul (or Adar)	32 days of Adar
17 days of Tishri (or Nisan)	17 days of Tishri (or Nisan)	17 days of Nisan (or Adar II)
Total = 150 days [or 151]	Total = 140 days [or 141]	Total = 150 days [or 151]

[Using inclusive counting the totals would be 151 days, 141 days and 151 days]

  According to Langdon (p65) Hippolytus uses Aramaic Syriac months and says it was "On the 27th day of the month Jair which is the second Hebrew month, the ark rose - neared Mt Kardu on the first day of the tenth month. And that is the second month Kanun. And Noah came out of the ark on the 27th day of the month Jair." (Fragments from commentaries, The Law, Section 5, A-N, Vol 5, p198) Theophilus explains that Kardu is called Godash by the Orientals and Ararat by the Arabians and Persians.
From the 17th day of the second month until the 17th day of the seventh month was 150 days. (Gen 8:4) "At the end of 150 days the waters had abated and in the seventh month on the 17th day of the month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat." (Gen 8:3-4) This makes 5 consecutive months of 30 days each, but the moon takes an average of 29 1/2 days to orbit the Earth and this results in months of either 29 or 30 days which are impossible to synchronize with continuous 30 day months. The only way they appear to be able to be reconciled with lunar months of 29.5306 days is if the speed of the moon was moving about 12 hours a month slower than it is today.
   The Islamic calendar rules which are "based on scientific understanding" say that the "maximum number of consecutive months" are "four for 30 day months and three for 29 day months" (RAS. Vol 35, p427) but it appears obvious that this was not the system that Noach was using during the time of the flood.
The Qumran calendar divided the year into four parts made up of 91 days each, so it was not this calendar that was used either, which would have had 152 days by the 17th day of the 7th month as it would have included two of the 31 day months.
   There are some who say that there was a calendar that had 30 days in the first six months and 29 for the remainder, but even if there was, it would not have been a truly lunar calendar and would soon have been out of harmony with the actual phases of the moon as would the Zoroastrian calendar with its 12 months of 30 days plus 5 days. Some think it is possible to have five consecutive lunar months of 30 days each, the first month having 30 days is followed by a second 30 day month beginning on the first day from the conjunction, the third month from the second day after the conjunction, the fourth supposedly beginning from the third day after the conjunction but then how can you get a fifth month of 30 days when 72 hours is the maximum time after conjunction for the moon to become visible? This stretch of the imagination is made to accommodate Gen 8:3-4, so we can safely say that none of these calendars have true lunar months.
   Jens using the modern Jewish calendar thinks the waters prevailed until the 1st day of the 10th month (Gen 8:5) and concludes that because Gen 8:4 says "the ark came to rest" that this means that the 17th of the 7th month was a sabbath day and so counting back 177 days from the 1st day of the seventh month he says the first day of the year was a Tuesday and the 27th of the second month was a Sunday.
   Genesis 8:5 continues "the waters decreased -- until the first day of the tenth month" which seems to indicate 73 days, v6, 40 more days, v10, 7 more days, v12, 7 more days, until v13, the first day of the first month, which adds up to a total of 277 days. If we make a sub-total here assuming the first month also had 30 days, then from the first day of the first month when Noach was 599 years old, being in his 600th year, to the first day of the first month the following year is 47+277 = 324 days, but this also assumes that Noach removed the cover after the dove did not return. (Gen 8:12-13) Disregarding this sub-total and counting from the seventeenth day of the second month when Noach was 599 to the 27th day of the second month in 600, which was ten days longer than a 12 month lunar year, we only have a year of 324 days, although the raven in Gen 8:7 may have spent some unrecorded time, if it was 30 days the year could have 354 days or if the raven flew for 40 days the year could have been 364 days. Considering the J, E, P, and D division of these verses as provided in "The Century Bible" by W H Bennett and in "Who Wrote the Bible" by Richard Friedman the figures the bible provides are probably from at least two different accounts that need to be studied separately.
   During the flood there was no barley crop growing to indicate that the time was ready to begin the year so Harold Hemenway thinks Noach "must have used the equinox to figure the holy days." (Whats Wrong with the Calendar, p32)
   Noach is said to have boarded the ark on the 17th day of the second month, and having been able to keep the Passover (or succot) about a month before the flood began he would have been able to count the 50 days to Pentecost. Hemenway seems to think that Noach needed to check the equinox to be able to keep the feasts that followed, but Noach was inside the ark and even if there were no clouds at sunrise and sunset the ark would need to have been in a fixed position and not rocking about on the waters so that the steady shadow of a sunstick could be checked for its east-west alignment in both the morning and the evening to find out on which day the (September or March) equinox fell. Although he could have found the northern Autumn equinox in September this way after the ark had landed on the mountain, the story says that he remained inside the ark, so it seems unlikely he used a sunstick to check the date of the equinox, but he could have determined the date of the equinox sufficiently accurately without tables by simply counting off the days of a 364 or 365 day solar calendar but he did not need to check the equinox, he only needed to know what was the first day of the seventh and first months but as Noach is said to have been inside the ark and we would expect that the sky would have been cloudy, he was probably unable to see each new moon so each month would have been 30 days long. An explanation for this is that the Mishna gives any month that cannot be determined due to cloudy weather or sighting of the moon, a length of 30 days, "There are never less than four "full" months in the year, nor do more than eight months require to be taken into account" (Arakhin 2:2, Danby p544) "and between four and nine in leap years" (Judaica Cal', p49) Later in post Talmudic times this was changed to be 5 to 7 "full" months (Finegan p42, and Ency' of Jewish Religion, Calendar) the remaining months would only have had 29 days, this would be a maximum of 240+116 = 356 days which is only 1 day more than the current Hebrew lunar calendar laws allow but if the first month before the flood also had 30 days then there could only be 7 months of 30 days during the first year of the flood making a year of 355 days. The length of the year in Temple times could apparently vary between 352 to 356 days. (Judaica Cal' p49) God tells Noach to leave the ark on the 27th day of the second month (Gen 8:14-16) which Jubilees 6:11 says was "the new moon of the third month" which is not necessarily contradictory because having 7 or 8 months of 30 days each when some of them may actually have only been 29 days long could have added 2 or 3 days to the year and may have made the 27th day, the day of the new moon, to fit perfectly, on which it says Noach "offered burnt offerings" (Gen 8:14) Noach could have kept the Passover on the 14th of the first lunar month about 4 weeks before the flood began on the 17th of the 2nd month and also counted the 50 days to Pentecost but if he knew about the festivals and kept them, then he seems to have had to estimate the festivals of the seventh month and may have kept them a few days "late". The ark rested on the 17th of the 7th month which was the 3rd day of the feast of Tabernacles but according to the reckoning of Josephus this would have been the 17th of Nisan which would have been the 3rd day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. There are 3 things that we can learn from the calendar Noach used.
1) It was not based on the monthly conjunctions.
2) It did not use the "mean new moon viewed from Jerusalem"
            3) Postponements are at least this old.

ABRAHAM is thought to have lived during the reign of King Hammurabi (1945-1902BC, Hertz p403) and lived in Ur of the Chaldees in Mesopotamia before he moved to Hebron in Canaan (Palestine or Israel) and would have known how the Babylonians used a lunar calendar which was probably the same system followed by Melchizedek the priest.

MOSES lived in Egypt in the days of Hobab the priest of Midian. At the time of the Exodus in about 1450-1410BC "the first command given to the Israelites as a people-" was Exodus 12:2 which says "this month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year unto you". (AJN, March 19-1999, p29) There are no details given about how it was observed. Esther 3:7, Zech 7:1 and 1 Esdras 5:6 confirm that Nisan is the first month. Esther 8:9 says "the third month which is the month of Sivan,-" Jer 36:22 also agrees that Nisan was the first month by saying "it was the ninth month, and the king was sitting in the winter house and there was a fire burning-" (O'Neil, p37) also 1 Macc 4:52 says "the ninth month, which is the month of Chislev," Esther 2:16 says "-the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth," 1 Macc 16:14 says "the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat." and 2 Macc 15:36 says "the twelfth month-which is called Adar in the Syrian-" and is supported by Esther 3:7, 8:12 and 9:1. At the time of Moses when Aaron was anointed with the holy oil (Ex 30:30) the Levitical priests and their descendants of the Great assembly were given the authority or responsibility of deciding how the laws were to be administered. (Deut 10:8, 17:12, 21:5, 33:8-10) It was the priests who were given the job of proclaiming the beginning of each month and year. On the day of the new moon the priests were to blow the silver trumpets "-at your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months you shall blow the trumpets-" (Nu 10:10, Ps 81:3-4) also they were to sacrifice 2 bullocks, 1 ram and 7 lambs (Nu 28:11) there was also a drink offering of wine (v14) and 1 goat. Today each month is announced on the prior sabbath day. Just as it was the responsibility of the priests to blow the trumpets before going to war so it was not left to anyone else who thought they saw the new moon a day or so earlier or later to disagree with them and proclaim a different day, month or year and follow another calendar system even though the judges did not have to see the new moon themselves but relied on witnesses reports to make their decision to begin the new month. The sighting of the new moon could vary within different areas of the country and so on some occasions it may only have been seen by a few witnesses from outside Jerusalem. Simply because some individual does not see a new moon does not mean they are obliged to keep a different day or perhaps an entire year than those who do see it but some people get rather fanatical about advocating that it is necessary that someone is able to see the first visible appearance of the light of the new crescent to signal the start of the new month but the suns light is being constantly reflected from the edge of the moon 24 hours of every day, even at the time of conjunction, but these calendar experts who create their own definitions think that God only recognizes their judgment of how much of the suns reflected light is required to be seen to begin a new month. The priesthood was later given to Phinehas the son of Eleazar "and he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood;" (Numbers 25:13, 1 Macc 2:54) "The high-priesthood continued in the family of Eleazar, the third son of Aaron, till the time of Eli, BC1200-1141, who was of the family of Ithamar, the younger son, but it was restored to the house of Eleazar in the person of Zadok, who received it when Abiathar was dismissed by Solomon, 1 Ki 2:35, thus fulfilling the prediction in 1 Sa 2:30." (Young, Concordance, Aaronites p2) After the time of David was the house of Hakkoz or Koz. (1Chron 24:10, Ezra 2:61, Neh 3:4, 21, 7:63)(AJN p30, July 25 1998)
   Ezra 7 lists the priests after the return from the Babylonian captivity which continued through the Maccabeean period, the Sanhedrin and then later the decisions were made by the Rabbinate majority, and the descent of the Aaronite line has been traced by examination of the family DNA. "Studies have shown that 70 percent of Sephardi Cohens and 40 percent of Ashkenazi Cohens have the same alignment of Y chromosomes, which come only from the father. This points to descent from a common ancestor. (The Jerusalem Post via AJN, Jan 8 1999 p13) Some Orthodox Jews are seeking newborn sons of Cohanim -priestly class to be raised in preparation for the third temple. (AJN, p2, March 6 1998) In Ezekiel the job is given to the prince who has sons. (Ez 45:17, 46:16)
   The Mishna mentions the goats sacrificed at the new moon. (Pesahim 7:4, Danby p145) In the days of the second temple the beginning of the months were sanctified and announced, then at night signal fires were lit but in later times these were replaced by messengers sent out from Jerusalem because the Samaritans who some have thought began their months at the time of the conjunction were probably lighting their signal fires a day or two earlier than the Jews were, and so were misleading to the dispersion. (Finegan p41)
   Epiphanius says "The Samaritans were divided into four sects. (Gorothenes, Sebuaeans, Essenes and Dositheans) These agreed on circumcision, the Sabbath, and the other matters in the Law. -- a dispute has arisen among them, I mean among Sebuaeans, Essenes and Gorothenes. The nature of the dispute is this. The Law directed the Jews to gather at Jerusalem from all quarters - often, at three times of year, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost and Tabernacles. Jews lived here and there both in Judaea and Samaria, and therefore used to travel across Samaria to Jerusalem. Since Jews and Samaritans would meet at one season, with their gathering for the festival, this caused fighting. Besides when Ezra was building Jerusalem after the return from Babylon, and the Samaritans asked if they could contribute aid to the Jews and take part in the building, and were refused by Ezra himself and Nehemiah, then in anger and rage the Sebuaeans changed the dates of the feasts. -- They put the new moon of the Feast of Unleavened Bread after the new year, which falls in the autumn- that is, after the month of Tishri, which is called August by the Romans but Mesori by the Egyptians, Gorpiaeus by the Macedonians, and Apellaeus by the Greeks. They begin the year at that point and celebrate the Days of Unleavened Bread immediately, but they celebrate Pentecost in the autumn, and observe their Feast of Tabernacles at the time of the the Jewish Days of Unleavened Bread and Passover. But the Gorothenes and the others did not listen to the Sebuaeans. When Essenes are in the neighbourhood of the others they do the same as they; only Gorothenes and Dositheans have the contention with Sebuaeans. And they, I mean Gorothenes and Dositheans, keep the Feasts of Unleavened Bread, Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles, and their one fast-day, when the Jews observe them." (The Panarion, Section 1:11) From this we can see that the feast of Tabernacles was held in the Egyptian month of Mesore which falls between July 25 to August 23 and so calculating back from this it appears the Hebrew year could have begun in Mecheir (Jan 26 - Feb 24). Tricentius said "the Jews erroneously sometimes celebrate their Pascha in the month Phamenoth," (Feb 25 to Mar 26).

THE BARLEY HARVEST Some people who seem to want to try to usurp the roll of the Levitical priesthood get very pedantic about the condition of the barley harvest in Israel being ripe before being harvested and being suitable in their estimation for offering the Omer or firstfruits of the harvest. Isa 65:5 mentions those who separate themselves or the "holier than thou". They ignore or only accept some biblical directions and like Korah or king Saul they make their own contrary decisions instead of following those decisions made by the Levites who the bible says were appointed for this purpose. The bible does not specify that the firstfruits are to be of barley, but based on the account of the Exodus the leaders chose to use barley for the Omer rather than using oats, rye, spelt, wheat, millet etc.
The calendar was given to Moses in Egypt, where the growing conditions vary from those of Palestine. The Egyptian month of Tubi or Tubah begins on January 9 or 10 which was called Botti (barley) and was when they celebrated the festival called the Swelling of the Barley. (Coptic p439) The month of harvest began on March 10-11, (p442) and it was in Egypt that the command was issued "this shall be the first month of the year to you" (Exod 12:2) Just before the Exodus from Egypt in the month of Abib, Exodus 9:31-32 says "the flax and the barley were ruined for the barley was in the ear", so if it is the condition of the barley that is so important to begin the month of Abib then it is the condition of the crop in Egypt that they should inspect, but as barley can be in the ear for several weeks or months, instead of trying to pontificate upon how ripe or ready the barley should be to harvest, would not a better indicator be to check that "the wheat and the spelt" in Egypt have not "come up" (Ex 9:32) "The harvest in the Ghor [the lower elevations west of the Jordan River] begins at the beginning of April (or sometimes at the end of March);" (Solinsky, p47) As they were not to delay offering the firstfruits why would they wait until the new moon after the equinox to begin the year ? "a small variation in the time of planting the barley does not effect the annual time of the ripening of the grain" (Abib and the Barley Harvest, p46) but different varieties of barley planted in different locations could change the time for harvesting and so result in the choice of an earlier or later lunar month to begin the year.
   Solinski says p48, there is about a sixty day variation in the time of the ripening of the Barley. (from Whats Wrong p32)
   The exact time of the ripening of the barley crop each year is unpredictable and can vary a bit each season.
   Wade Cox says the harvest is never before the equinox and begins towards the end of March in the earliest areas where it is lower and warmer near Gaza West Jordan and the South, and Jerusalem is about three weeks later. (The Journal, Feb 1997 p9)
   Hemenway says the earliest that the barley begins to ripen in Palestine is in the last days of March at the earliest and the cutting is begun at the end of April in the lower and warmer parts. (p36-37) The harvest of barley begins in the Jordan valley about the middle of April and in the highlands up to a month later. (Principals of Chronology p33)
   Gary Miller says the harvest in the Negev is in the last week of April or first week of May. (The Land Sabbath p13)
   Carl Obeirn says the green ears are in the entirety of the land in March April and May and that the harvest begins in the first week of May. (p11,22)
   Philo of Alexandria who lived at the same time as Jesus said "Moses dates the first month of the year's revolution at the beginning of the spring equinox." (Moses 2:41:222, Loeb, Vol 6 p559) and again in the Special Laws 1:180-1 "-the springtime and its equinox, he ordained that what is called the feast of unleavened bread should be kept for seven days,-" (Loeb, LCL Vol 7 p203) "at that season, namely, the springtime, when the feast is held, the fruit of the corn has NOT reached its perfection, for the fields are in the ear stage and NOT YET MATURE FOR HARVEST." (The Special Laws, 2:158, Loeb Vol 7 p403) "In the middle of the spring comes the corn harvest" (1:183) This does not say that they began the year "after" the equinox, it says that the first month was "at" the equinox. Some people believe that the new moon can only be correctly determined by accurately observing it from Jerusalem because the sighting of the new moon can vary from different locations, but again it was in the land of Egypt that it was announced to the Israelites that "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months." (Ex 12:2) and for the next 40 years each month was observed while they wandered in the wilderness on their journey from Sinai to Canaan, perhaps God told them when to begin each month and year otherwise we are not told how without a barley crop they determined which month was to begin the year, yet some think they used the equinox.
The time to begin Nisan depended upon whether the priests thought "the first grain would be ripe for cutting at Passover time." This was the "formal start of the grain harvest." (A Commentary on the Torah by W. Gunther Plaut p921-924)
   It is apparent that the Omer or Firstfruits were harvested by the priests as early in the season as possible before it was in the ideal condition for harvesting so as not to delay the harvesting or jeopardize the farmers crops and avoid the risk of the crop being ruined by being left to stand longer than necessarily. Solinsky thinks that it was not important that the crop was left standing for an extra month when it was ripe but the Firstfruits were the very earliest part of the crop and it was not necessary for the farmers to harvest the rest of the crop immediately but they could leave it to stand longer if they wanted or needed to give it more time to ripen. The Christian typology of the Wavesheaf shows the firstfruits offering should be made during the Days of Unleavened Bread, before the harvest, not after it. ["Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of the ripe fruits,-" (Exod 22:29)]
   Some said the crop was not to be reaped before offering the Omer but others permitted it but disallowed stacking it. (Men 10:7-9, Danby p507) Jerico "reaped and stacked before" offering the Omer (Pes 4;8, Note 4, Danby p141, Rodkinson Vol 3, p102)
   This presents a bit of a puzzle, did the year begin late or did Jerico keep the Wavesheaf and Pentecost late? or perhaps Pentecost was only counted and kept from the time when the first offering was made regardless of when any late offerings were brought.
   Was the Day of the Wavesheaf and Pentecost ever disorganized ?
   The beginning of the barley harvest marked which month begins the year and the Passover falls on the 14th of this first month, so both events are integral to the first month.
   There is no law, (and therefore no sin) regarding whether the harvest should begin before or after the equinox, it was up to the priests to decide if the harvest was ready.
   According to Anatolius it was Aristobulus who said that the Passover followed the equinox but that does not mean that another leader could not decide at a later time to make the Passover fall before the equinox as it did in the days of Anatolius about AD270.
   Talmon shows the turn of the year was with Nisan. (King, Cult - p130)
   Although "tekufa" originally may have only referred to the season, by the time of the Babylonian Talmud about AD500 it is used to refer to the equinox although there were differences of opinion as to whether the new year should begin before or after the tekufa. (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin, Rodkinson Vol 8 p29)
   The date of the tekufa was not essential for determining which lunar month was to begin the year as the "lateness" of the tekufa was not considered to be sufficient grounds alone, to add an intercalery month. (B.T. Sanhedrin) [Its "lateness" in the lunar month.]
   It is doubtful whether "tekufa" originally meant the equinox but was probably meant to equate with the spring or autumn seasons which can alter from year to year, "-the pigeons are still soft, and the lambs still thin and the time of spring has not yet arrived; and it has pleased me to add to this year thirty days." (Sanhedrin, Rodkinson p25)
   Another reason for not intercalating an embolistic 13th month was if it was a sabbatic year, or in years of famine. (B.T. Sanh' Rod' Vol 8, p26-27)

THE ARK The headquarters for the priests was centered around the location of the ark, which when the Israelites entered the Promised Land was carried to Shiloh, (Josh 18:1) it was later taken to Mizpah (Josh 20:1,27) then Bethel, (26-27) and then returned to Shiloh. (1 Sam 4:1) In the days of Eli the high priest the ark was moved from Shiloh to Ebenezer (1 Sam 4) It was captured and taken to Ashdod by the Philistines (1 Sam 5) they moved it to Gath (1 Sam 5:8) then to Ekron (v10) and two cows took it to Bethshemesh, "house of the sun" (1 Sam 5:2) then to Kiriath-jearim (1 Sam 7:2) called Baalah (1 Chron 30:13-16), later in the days of Saul "the ark of God went at that time with the people of Israel" (1 Sam 14:18) David had it brought on a cart from Ba'al-judah (2 Sam 6:2) to Perez-uzzah (v8) then it went to the house of Obed edom (v10) then into the city of David (v16) Abiatha and Zadok took it to the brook Kidron (2 Sam 15:23) then back to Jerusalem (v29) It was around this time that there was a division among the priesthood. The Shiloh priests moved to Nob others remained scattered among the tribes while the priests under Zadok made Jerusalem their headquarters and soon after this Solomon sent Abiathar the priest away to Anathoth. (I Kings 2:26-27) An indication of the use of calendar calculation is made when David said to Jonathan "behold tomorrow is the new moon", (1 Sam 20:5, 18, 24) this is the same Hebrew word "hodesh" (new moon) that is used in Ex 19:1 "In the third MONTH,-" and was probably done by alternately counting 29 and 30 days and in Davids day it was celebrated by a feast, later in the Book of Judith 8:6 there is a similar forecast. Some have concluded from Amos 8:5 that they should not work on the day of the new moon but Ex 40:2 shows it was the day they set up the tabernacle and Ezra 7:9 also shows it was not a rest day or feast day.
   To astronomers the term "new moon" means the conjunction or molad but some call the first visible sighting (phasis) a few days later, the "new moon" and some even claim that the full moon is the new moon.
   David purchased the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. (1 Chron 21:25) and we are told that Solomon built the temple on the threshing floor of Araunah (2 Sam 24:18-25, 1 Kings Ch's 5 and 6) According to Plaut (p193) these two were brothers, and the ark with the tablets was put into the holy of holies (1 Kings 8:6-9) but there is no mention of the Urim and Thummim, the Urim is mentioned in the time of Saul. (1 Sam 28:6)
   The Samaritans say that in the days of Uzzi or Ozis the high priest (1 Chron 6:6) that the ark was brought to Mt Gerizzim, (Krugal, note p380)
   The Ethiopian Orthodox church say they have the ark which was brought to Ethiopia by king Solomons son Menelik. (Sydney Morning Herald, March 23, 1992) His mother is said to have been the Queen of Sheba.
   Michael Sanders of Irvine, California says the Harris papyrus in the British Museum identifies the Judean hills as the site of an Egyptian temple where he believes the ark was buried after a raid by an Egyptian king on Solomons temple in the tenth century B.C. (Independent News, Oct 1998, p4)
   The Baptist archaeologist Vendal Jones believes that it is hidden "somewhere beneath the dust and rubble of the Qumran caves-" (Sydney Morning Herald, Sat July 25, 1998) which also adds that another archaeologist with the Israeli Antiquities Authority called Ya'akov Billig says the treasures could be near the Temple Mount or taken to Rome. "Yehuda Getz claims to have located the Ark - in 1981 - a passage along the Western Wall. Deep within, they discovered a secret chamber in which is hidden treasures from the temple along with the Ark." (New Millennium, Dec 1994, p34) 2 Maccabees 2:4-5 says that Jeremiah (c650-586BC) hid it in a cave on Mt Nebo and sealed it up (Deut 34:1) saying, "The place shall be unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows his mercy." (v7)
   The Mishna says the ark was hidden under the pavement opposite the wood store in the temple. (Shekalim 6:1-2, Danby p158)
   Plaut refers to the Ark in Tosefta Sota 13:1 (Haftarah Commentary, p228) The Babylonian Talmud says that it had long staves and was hidden by king Joshiah and was not in the second temple. (Yoma Ch 5, Rodkinson Vol 3 p73-78) Opinion has it that it disappeared at the time of the Babylonian captivity around 587BC and has not been seen since.
   Josephus says Pompey found the place empty, he also mentions the vaults and caverns under the temple. (Wars 6:8:4-5)
   The Mishna also records that there were excavations in the rock under the courts of the temple. (Parah 3:2-3, Danby p699) "there are 49 cisterns and 43 underground passages which crisscross the netherworld below the al Aqsa compound'" (GTA Newsletter Feb 16, 1998) and the Australian Independent News reports, "Apparently water has started to flow from below the sacred rock on the Temple Mount." (Sept, 1999, p6) The Moslem council who control the site of the temple do not allow excavations to be made.
   Jeremiah 3:16 says "in those days says the Lord, they shall no more say 'the ark of the covenant of the Lord' it shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed, it shall not be made again."

THE GEZER CALENDAR was found in Gezer which is in the foothills SE of Jaffa. (Biblical Archaeology, U220.93/6) 1908 Finegan says it was written in about 925BC (p33) It begins with the Olive harvest about Sept/Oct and has 7 months of harvesting.
        His two months of (olive) harvest
        His two months of sowing (planting)
        His two months of late sowing (planting)
        A month of hoeing weeds (of flax)
        A month of harvesting barley
        A month of harvesting and measuring (feasting)
        His two months are cutting grapes (tending vines)
        A month collecting summer fruit.

   This can be found in B.A.R. 50:187 and Finegans Chronology p33.
   Philo of Alexandria (20BC to AD50) said "When the third special season has come in the seventh month AT THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX there is held at its outset the sacred-month-day called trumpet day," (The Special Laws 1:186, Loeb Vol 7, p205) "But the month of the autumnal equinox, though first as measured by the course of the sun, is not called first in the law, because at that time all the fruits have been gathered in and the trees are shedding their leaves -" (The Special Laws 2, Ch 28, Loeb Vol 7 p399-401) "The last of the annual feasts, called Tabernacles recurs at the autumn equinox." (The Special Laws 2, Ch 33:204, Loeb Vol 7, p435) Both Trumpets and Tabernacles cannot occur "at" the equinox as they are two weeks apart so we should accept that this should be understood as loose or general terminology.
   Ptolemy (AD100-178) says that all the crops were harvested by the time of the fall (September) equinox. (Tetrabiblos, Book 2:10, Loeb p197). Leviticus 23:39 says the feast in the seventh month was held after the harvest had been gathered in, otherwise they would have had little to celebrate, and if the following year was a sabbatical year, which began with the 10th of Tishri, it would have been too late to gather it in after the feast, so it appears that the Canaanite year began roughly with what we call March as the Gezer calendar shows seven months between the start and finish of the harvests while Leviticus shows there was only six months, which may help to explain why Elul was thought to have sometimes been intercalated in the Hebrew calendar the same as it was in the 17th year of the Babylonian calendar, if this was ever actually done by the Israelites it possibly would have sometimes caused the Feast of Tabernacles to fall in late October, but later only an extra Adar could be added to the Hebrew calendar. (BT Sanhedrin 12b, Finegan p43)
   On page 122 of the book called King Cult and Calendar by Shemaryahu Talmon he says that in 1 Kings 6:38 it says that Solomons temple was completed in the month of Bul, the eighth month, but notes that this remark is dropped from the parallel version in 2 Chron 5:3 and that the dedication took place in the month of Etanim, the seventh month, during the Feast of Tabernacles. "the most plausible explanation for these contradictory statements is to be found in the assumption that the two dates given are based on two different calendars. - Jeroboam readjusted the time-reckoning to actual climatic and agricultural conditions prevalent in the north of Palestine." The institution by Jeroboam of a feast in the eighth month was associated with idolatry (1 Kings 12:32) and the cause of the Israelites captivity, but the parallel account continues, and in 1 Kings 8:2 is where it too says, "Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month." as Plaut points out on page 222 of his Haftarah Commentary this feast was probably 11 months after the temple was finished. It is thought that the Israelites may have come under the influence of the Egyptian solar calendar until about 604BC. (Finegan p36) Others do not think so.

AHAZ In the time of the reign of king Ahaz of Judah (740-724BC) the use of sundials can be seen. (2 Kings 20:11, Isaiah 38:8) Herodotus says that the sundial, the gnomon and the twelve divisions of the day came into Greece from Babylon. (The Histories, Book 2:110, Penguin p169) Some using what they call a seven year solar calendar, use a sundial to determine the date of the equinox (March 19-22) which they then use as the start of the year and determine the dates for keeping the bible feasts. They quote John 11:9 where near the time of his death on Passover Jesus said, "are there not 12 hours in the day?" indicating to them that this was at the time of the March equinox. After Ahaz died his son Hezekiah began to reign over Judah. (2 Kings 18-20) The Babylonian Talmud says Hezekiah made the month of Nisan intercalary, "which was not approved of" (Passover Ch 4, Sanhedrin, Rodkinson, Vol 8, p28) This would have caused Judah to also have kept the feast in the 8th month (seven months from Passover instead of only six) as Israel had done.
   In 587BC Judah was conquered and the people taken captive to Babylon in the east where the new moon is not always seen at the same time as it is in Jerusalem. On some days the new moon is not seen in Babylon but is visible 37 minutes later in Jerusalem, which means that the Hebrew month in Jerusalem would begin a day before it did in Babylon. (Babylon Chronology by Parker and Dubberstein, p24, and Principals of Chronology by J.Finegan, p40) so while the Israelites were in captivity they could not know when the new moon appeared in Jerusalem to begin the month and so they probably had to follow the Babylonian calendar. In later times it is known that the Day of Atonement for the Jews in Jerusalem did not always co-incide with the date in Babylon. (Bab' Talmud, Gemara on New Year, Mishna 1:4)
   It was during the time of the Babylonian captivity that a Greek astronomer lived called Thales of Miletus (640-546BC) who is said to have discovered how to forecast eclipses of the sun. (Herodotus, Histories, Penguin p 70)
   Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD23-79) called Pliny the Elder who died when Mt Vesuvius erupted in AD79, says Thales foretold an eclipse of the sun in the fourth year of the 48th Olympiad, the 170th year of Rome, sometime between January to June in 584BC, LCL says 585BC. (Book 2, Ch 9, Loeb p203) This cycle of the eclipses of the sun and moon caused by their conjunction takes 223 lunar months or "6585.32 days, or 18.03 solar years" which is 18 years and 10 days if there are 5 leap years or 11 days if it only includes 4 leap years, (Eclipse, p327-8) some say 11 1/3, some 11 3/4 plus or minus a day due to leap years. The Witness to the Stars says on p169 that it is 18 years 10.96 days. This eclipse period of the sun and moon was later called the Saros by the 10th century lexicographer called Suidas. (Ency' Brit 1966) Another opinion is that, "Edmond Halley, in 1691, erroneously called this cycle the saros and it has been known by that name ever since." (Stars and the Calendar p18) "But as the Saros does not reproduce the conditions of an eclipse with absolute exactness, and as the difference increases with every successive return, a time comes when the return of the Saros fails to bring about an eclipse at all. If the eclipse be a solar one before this takes place, a new eclipse begins to form a month later in the year than the old one, and becomes the first eclipse of a new series. (Witness of the Stars, p179) "they occur in sub series 6 months apart but the sub-series consist of only 3 to 6 successive eclipses, the intervals between sub-series are either 11 months (rare), 17 or 23 months (notice: 5 plus a multiple of 6)." (Search, Vol 7, March 1976, p71)
   In Early Astronomy by William O'Neil on p29 he says "A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon is full and is near a node, one of the two points where the Moons orbit crosses the ecliptic." The time between the moon making a double crossing of the ecliptic is called the draconic month which is 27.21222 days. On p31 he says "- about every six synodic months (6 x 29.53059 days or 177.18354 days) and every six and a half draconic months (6.5 x 27.21222 days or 176.87943 days) the Moon will be full and near a node. The Moon moves eastward on average at 13.176 degrees per day so that after six synodic months and approximately six and a half draconic months the full Moon will have moved about 2.689 degrees closer to a node or by that amount past it on average. Thus for some three to five successive six-month intervals the full Moon will be within 5 to 6 degrees of a node and there will be a total eclipse." In his book O'Neil also explains other scientific details about this. Bickerman says that eclipses reoccur on about the same dates every 56 years. (p86)
   The calculated times that are given in modern tables for conjunctions and eclipses of the sun and moon for thousands of years can be shown to be accurate because "the path of an eclipse would be displaced in longitude with respect to the path that would have occurred -" so the records of historical sightings at various locations confirm the speed of rotation has remained constant. (M-Hill, Vol 6, p522)
   The Babylonians recorded eclipses from 730BC (Bickerman p23) and the Chinese reportedly kept astronomical records from 770BC which have been used to check this accuracy. This 18 year "Saros" eclipse cycle should not be confused with the 18.6 year Nutation cycle or the 19 year Metonic cycle.

MONTH NAMES After the Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity, the Canaanite names of the months were replaced by the adoption of names having similarity with the Babylonian names;
   1) Nisan for Nisanu. 2) Iyyar for Ayaru. 3) Sivan for Simanu. 4) Tammuz for Du'uzu. 5) Av for Abu. 6) Elul for Ululu. 7) Tishri for Tashritu. 8) Heshvan for Arahsamnu. 9) Kislev for Kisimu. 10) Tevet for Tebetu. 11) Shevet for Shabatu. 12) Adar for Adaru. (Mapping Time, E.G.Richards p222).
Abib or Aviv (fresh or green ears, or spring) became Nisan, (Neh 2:1, Esther 3:7) from the Sumerian word Nesag meaning first. (Cultic Calendars by Mark Cohen p305) The second month Ziv or Zif, (1 Kings 6:1,37) (glory, brightness, the splendour of flowers [Finegan p34]) became Iyar (light). Esther 8:9 mentions the third month of Sivan. Tammuz the sun god became the name of the fourth month. Tsach, a summer month (Isaiah 18:4, Jer 4:11) was replaced. (Finegan p34, JPS Torah Commentary, Exodus Note 2, p244) The 6th month became Elul (Neh 6:15) "shouting for joy" (p39). The 7th month Ethanim, (strong, steadily flowing streams,) (permanent, Finegan) became Tishri "from the root 'seru' which means to begin" (AJN Oct' 1997). Bul (fruit) became Marheshvan or moon eight from Arah Sammu in Akkadian, in the language of the Assyrians and Babylonians. (CoG7D calendar 1995, Peaks Bible Commentary, Weights 1975)
   It is a bit curious why the seventh month, when the harvest was completed and they kept the Feast of Ingathering, was not called Bul, the month of fruit, instead of the eighth month, but it is acknowledged in 1 Kings 6:38 that it is the eighth month. Strongs concordance says Bul was the rain god, which does not appear to have been a divinely inspired nomination for it either. Chislev (Neh 1:1) Tebeth (Esth 2:16) Shebat (storms and rain) the eleventh month. (Zech 1:7). Adar "fire god" (Youngs p13) (Ezra 6:15, Esther 3:7, 13, 8:12, 9:1, 15, 17, 19 and 21)
   Although they were similar it appears they were not necessarily identical just as the Julian and Gregorian calendars use the same month names but the days fall on different dates, particularly in the 17th year of the 19 year cycle when the embolistic month was added after Ululu in the Babylonian calendar but was not added until after Adar in the Hebrew calendar and that is only if they began the year on the same new moon and were using the same pattern for the leap year cycle to begin with.

THE 19 YEAR METONIC CYCLE Some say the Chinese were the first to use a 19 year cycle from 770BC others say it was the Babylonian astronomers who were the first to have used a 19 year cycle but as can be seen in the book, Babylonian Chronology 626BC, the Babylonian leap years were not very regular at the beginning but became more uniform after the time of the Greek mathematician called Meton (432BC) who with the help of Euctemon formulated the Metonic cycle of 19 years or 235 lunar months, which he gave a rounded figure of 6940 days, which is used to determine the age of the moon. 365.2422 days x 19 = 6939.60 and 29.53059 days x 235 = 6939.69 "the difference between 235 lunar months and 19 solar years is only - 2 hours 4 min 25.22 seconds." (Chronology, Finegan, p31) Brown explains it this way, "6940 days exceeds 19 solar years by about 9 1/2 hours and 235 lunar months by 7 1/2 hours." (Stars and the Calendar p9) and Solinsky says "A Metonic cycle divided by 19 is 6.553 minutes more than a tropical year." (p58) Martin says the figure used in the Hebrew calendar for the length of the solar year is 6 minutes 39 1/3 seconds too long. (Manual, p7) Mentons system is said to have been used in the Greek calendar. (Universal Jewish Ency') Some say it was not. It has 12 years of 12 lunar months and 7 years of 13 lunar months.
   The Babylonian calendar intercalated the seven extra lunar leap year months, (a 13th or embolistic month) into the 19 year cycle at the end of the year in the 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17 and 19th years except in the 17th year when the leap month was added following the sixth month called Ululu or Elul. The Babylonian calendar used this fixed system from about 367BC and began each year after the March equinox, but using this calendar would sometimes have caused the Passover to fall in the sign following Aries called Taurus. (Caldwell CoG)
   Some think that the Babylonian calendar is Gods calendar and that the year should only begin after the Equinox but as the historical Babylonian records show that before about 500BC the Babylonian calendar began before the equinox and that it was only due to the drift of the 19 year cycle that the year later only began after the equinox, so then either it was not Gods calendar before 500BC because it began before the equinox, or if it was Gods calendar then it is okay for the year to begin before the equinox as the Sanhedrins calendar anciently sometimes did. In the modern Hebrew calendar used today the 1st of Nisan sometimes falls before and sometimes after the date of the March equinox.
   It takes 20 solar years of 365 1/4 days for the same dates of the first year of the cycle to repeat themselves, but the dates do not fall on the same days of the week. Using the modern Hebrew calendar of AD801 it often shows a difference in the date of one day, due to the postponements and also sometimes because of the accumulated difference in time between the solar and lunar cycle. It is due to "the irregular Gregorian leap year rule and the irregular applicability of the" postponements. (Calendrical Calculations, p89)
   The Metonic cycle was improved on by Cyzicus Calippus or Kallippos (370-300BC) in his Calippic Period of 4 Metonic cycles, making the cycle 6939 days, and later improved on by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus about 146-126BC. According to Finegan the figure is 6939.601777 days (p32) [In the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Vol 6 p465 it says under equinox, "Since the vernal equinox was in the constellation Aries when Hipparchus studied it 2000 years ago it is known as the first point in Aries, it is however in Pisces." In the Childrens Britannica Vol 11 p277 under Signs of the Zodiac it says "The ancient Babylonian astronomers named each sign after the constellation which lay in it, thus in each case the sign and the constellation in it had the same name. This is no longer so: each constellation now lies in the sign next to the one that bears its name - the constellation Aries lies in the sign Taurus, the constellation Taurus in the sign Gemini and so on." This is due to the precession of the equinoxes over its 25,800-26,000 year cycle which is a little uncertain "Because of tidal friction the earth is gradually slowing in its rotation resulting in a corresponding increase in the precession of the equinoxes." (Scientific America 246, 144 1982 p109) "The sun is vastly more massive than the moon but it lies at so great a distance that its tide raising influence is only 5/11 that of the moon. The moon attracts most strongly the side facing it, least the side facing away from it. This difference in attractive force raises a tidal bulge which we know by its presence as high tide. When the attractive forces of the sun and moon combine - at new and full moon, the bulge is greatest and what are called "spring tides" result. When these two forces oppose, the bulge is least and "neap tides" result, at first and third quarter moon. The earth rotates under the tidal bulge bringing to almost every shore two high tides and two low tides every lunar day of 24 hours 50 minutes. (M Casale, New Moons) Because the rotation of the Earth has been slowing down, it has been adding 1/2000 of a second to each day and so 22 seconds have been added to our clocks between 1972 to 1998.]
   Sometime between the destruction of the temple in AD70 and AD137 it is evident that the 19 year cycle was not being followed by the Jews because it is recorded in the Tosefta, Sanhedrin 2:2-9 that Akiva (d AD137) "once intercalated three successive years as an emergency measure owing to the omission of intercalation over a period of some time. (Enc' Judaica, Cal' p49) Also shortly following this around AD141 there was a difference of opinion between the Babylonian and Palestinian leaders about when to have the leap year. ("The History of the Jews" by Graetz ,Vol 2, p433, 443-4. Available on the internet) Graetz tells us this was resolved when the Babylonians reversed their decision to add a leap year.
In the1968 booklet "The Crucifixion was Not on Friday" by Herman Hoeh on pages 21, 44-45 Herman refers to this and presuming there was a fixed 19 year cycle in operation at the time he says that before AD142 the leap years were in the 2, 5, 7, 10, 13, 16 and 18th years of the 19 year cycle but that from AD142 they were moved to be one year later to be the same as the cycle used in todays calculated calendar and that this was done to prevent the passover falling too late. (When the Passover falls at the correct time, being "too late" or "too early" is merely opinion) Herman says on p21, 44-45 of the booklet that in the time of Christ the Passover could not occur earlier than six days after the vernal equinox, so he says the Passover could not have occured on the calculated calendar date of the 26th of March in AD31. Following on from this Herman says that because the 19 year cycle was one year earlier in AD30/31 that AD30/31 was a leap year and would have had a thirteenth month added to it. AD30/31 was the 10th year of the calculated calendar cycle and was not a leap year and even if the cycle did fall one year earlier as he claims then it would have been the 9th year of the cycle which was not a leap year either, so either way AD30/31 would not have been a leap-year! The following chart shows the 19 year cycle of the calculated Hebrew calendar that begins in 3761BC and is presently in use.

THE 19 YEAR CYCLE OF THE CALCULATED HEBREW CALENDAR (GREGORIAN YEARS 3761BC TO AD2223)
3761/3742=1	3001/2982=41	2241/2222=81	1481/1462=121	721/702=161	40/59=201	800/819=241	1560/1579=281
3742/3723=2	2982/2963=42	2222/2203=82	1462/1443=122	702/683=162	59/78=202	819/838=242	1579/1598=282
3723/3704=3	2963/2944=43	2203/2184=83	1443/1424=123	683/664=163	78/97=203	838/857=243	1598/1617=283
3704/3685=4	2944/2925=44	2184/2165=84	1424/1405=124	664/645=164	97/116=204	857/876=244	1617/1636=284
3685/3666=5	2925/2906=45	2165/2146=85	1405/1386=125	645/626=165	116/135=205	876/895=245	1636/1655=285
3666/3647=6	2906/2887=46	2146/2127=86	1386/1367=126	626/607=166	135/154=206	895/914=246	1655/1674=286
3647/3628=7	2887/2868=47	2127/2108=87	1367/1348=127	607/588=167	154/173=207	914/933=247	1674/1693=287
3628/3609=8	2868/2849=48	2108/2089=88	1348/1329=128	588/569=168	173/192=208	933/952=248	1693/1712=288
3609/3590=9	2849/2830=49	2089/2070=89	1329/1310=129	569/550=169	192/211=209	952/971=249	1712/1731=289
3590/3571=10	2830/2811=50	2070/2051=90	1310/1291=130	550/531=170	211/230=210	971/990=250	1731/1750=290
3571/3552=11	2811/2792=51	2051/2032=91	1291/1272=131	531/512=171	230/249=211	990/1009=251	1750/1769=291
3552/3533=12	2792/2773=52	2032/2013=92	1272/1253=132	512/493=172	249/268=212	1009/1028=152	1769/1788=292
3533/3514=13	2773/2754=53	2013/1994=93	1253/1234=133	493/474=173	268/287=213	1028/1047=153	1788/1907=293
3514/3495=14	2754/2735=54	1994/1975=94	1234/1215=134	474/455=174	287/306=214	1047/1066=154	18071826/=294
3495/3476=15	2735/2716=55	1975/1956=95	1215/1196=135	455/436=175	306/325=215	1066/1085=155	1826/1845=295
3476/3457=16	2716/2697=56	1956/1937=96	1196/1177=136	436/417=176	325/344=216	1085/1104=156	1845/1864=296
3457/3438=17	2697/2678=57	1937/1918=97	1177/1158=137	417/398=177	344/363=217	1104/1123=157	1864/1883=297
3438/3419=18	2678/2659=58	1918/1899=98	1158/1139=138	398/379=178	363/382=218	1123/1142=158	1883/1902=298
3419/3400=19	2659/2640=59	1899/1880=99	1139/1120=139	379/360=179	382/401=219	1142/1161=159	1902/1921=299
3400/3381=20	2640/2621=60	1880/1861=100	1120/1101=140	360/341=180	401/420=220	1161/1180=160	1921/1940=300
3381/3362=21	2621/2602=61	1861/1842=101	1101/1082=141	341/322=181	420/439=221	1180/1199=161	1940/1959=301
3362/3343=22	2602/2583=62	1842/1823=102	1082/1063=142	322/303=182	439/458=222	1199/1218=162	1959/1978=302
3343/3324=23	2583/2564=63	1823/1804=103	1063/1044=143	303/284=183	458/477=223	1218/1237=163	1978/1997=303
3324/3305=24	2564/2545=64	1804/1785=104	1044/1025=144	284/265=184	477/496=224	1237/1256=164	1997/2016=304
3305/3286=25	2545/2526=65	1785/1766=105	1025/1006=145	265/246=185	496/515=225	1256/1275=165	2016/2035=305
3286/3267=26	2526/2507=66	1766/1747=106	1006/987=146	246/227=186	515/534=226	1275/1294=166	2035/2054=306
3267/3248=27	2507/2488=67	1747/1728=107	987/968=147	227/208=187	534/553=227	1294/1313=167	2054/2073=307
3248/3229=28	2488/2469=68	1728/1709=108	968/949=148	208/189=188	553/572=228	1313/1332=168	2073/2092=308
3229/3210=29	2469/2450=69	1709/1690=109	949/930=149	189/170=189	572/591=229	1332/1351=169	2092/2011=309
3210/2391=30	2450/2431=70	1690/1671=110	930/911=150	170/151=190	591/610=230	1351/1370=170	2011/2030=310
3191/3172=31	2431/2412=71	1671/1652=111	911/892=151	151/132=191	610/629=231	1370/1389=171	2030/2049=311
3172/3153=32	2412/2393=72	1652/1633=112	892/873=152	132/113=192	629/648=232	1389/1408=172	2049/2068=312
3153/3134=33	2393/2374=73	1633/1614=113	873/854=153	113/94=193	648/667=233	1408/1427=173	2068/2087=313
3134/3115=34	2374/2355=74	1614/1595=114	854/135=154	94/75=194	667/686=234	1427/1446=174	2087/2108=314
3115/3096=35	2355/2336=75	1595/1576=115	835/816=155	75/56=195	686/705=235	1446/1465=175	2108/2127=315
3096/3077=36	2336/2317=76	1576/1557=116	816/797=156	56/37=196	705/724=236	1465/1484=176	2127/2146=316
3077/3058=37	2317/2298=77	1557/1538=117	797/778=157	37/18=197	724/743=237	1484/1503=177	2146/2165=317
3058/3039=38	2298/2279=78	1538/1519=118	778/759=158	18/AD2=198	743/762=238	1503/1522=178	2165/2185=318
3039/3020=39	2279/2260=79	1519/1500=119	759/740=159	AD2/21=199	762/781=239	1522/1541=179	2185/2204=319
3020/3001=40	2260/2241=80	1500/1481=120	740/721=160	21/40=200	781/800=240	1541/1560=280	2204/2223=320

   If the Sanhedrin were using any cycle it would have been the "Aries" cycle mentioned by Josephus and it would not have been necessary to make AD141/142 a leap-year as it would not have delayed the Passover but if they did advance the leap years one year in AD141/142 supposedly "to prevent the passover falling too late" then as AD141/142 was not a leap-year then by adding an embolistic month, instead of preventing the Passsover from "falling too late" it would have caused the Passover to fall even later.
   For calendar purposes the start of any new 19 year cycle could begin on any one of the 19 years of the cycle, (Talmudic Chronology, p45) and not even necessarily follow any regular pattern for the insertion of the 7 embolistic months, but a natural cycle becomes apparent when the regularity of the "Aries" system is maintained, but over time this will drift due to the gradual accumulated difference of time between the length of the solar and lunar cycles. This can be seen in the Babylonian calendar where Solinsky mentions "that in 500 B.C.E. Nisanu (the Babylonian first month) began four days prior to the vernal equinox-" (p54), but it no longer does today.
   In the charts of "Babylonian Chronology" by Parker and Dubberstein, (p25-29) it shows the Babylonian month of Nisanu started increasingly more often before the time of the equinox (about the 25th of March) the further back you look prior to 500BC but then after about 500BC they taper off and only begin after the date of the equinox..
   It appears that the Levitical priests have not devised any regulated method of when to "correct" the results of this change due to accumulated time in the calculated calendar.
   It is doubtful that the Jews were using any fixed 19 year cycle in the time of Christ or at any time before about AD250 because it is said they did not add the leap month to sabbatical years and this division of 7 into 19 makes any such harmony to be impossible. "A Sabbatical year could not be a leap-year, but that preceding it was always such. Sometimes two, but never three, leap-years succeeded each other." (Edersheim, Festive Cycles, p200)
   The old Babylonian calendar and the modern Hebrew calendar both have a 19 year cycle but start from different years, eg the first years of the 19 year cycle in the Babylonian calendar began on the 1st of Nisan, which was Sunday April 20th in 25BC, Tuesday April 20 in 6BC, Friday April 20th in AD14, and Sunday April 19 in AD33 and so on, while in todays Hebrew calendar the 19 year cycles begin on the 1st of Tishri, which was Tuesday Sept 24 (approx) in 37BC , Thursday Sept 24th (approx) in 18BC, Saturday Sept 23rd in AD2, Thursday Sept 25th in AD21, Monday Sept 23rd in AD40 etc, (O/S dates).
   Josephus shows that as the Passover fell in between the date of the equinox and the end of Aries that neither the Babylonian or the modern Hebrew calendar was being used by the Sanhedrin in his time and presumably was not being used in the time of Jesus either so it appears that the method of intercalation at the time was not cyclical but irregular.
   Modifying the Babylonian calendar to conform to the method that Josephus describes means beginning the year before or after the equinox which was about March 22 at that time. The first month of the year could begin on March 10 giving a possible choice of a number different 19 year cycles that could have been guiding their decisions. One is with the 19 year cycle beginning from the Hebrew year starting with Nisan in 10BC, AD10, AD29 and AD48 etc, another one beginning in 21BC, 2BC, AD18, AD37 etc, and one beginning with 18BC, AD2, AD21, AD40 etc, which is the same as the modern Hebrew calendar that today begins in Tishri instead of Nisan.
   Depending on the solar dates Josephus would have used for Aries the Hebrew year could begin as early as about March 10 although Pliny said that Aries was in the 8th degree by the time of the equinox and so possibly Nisan could have begun as early as the 2nd of March (O/S) during the first century AD.

TWO 19 YEAR CYCLES OF JOSEPHUS USING ARIES (MARCH 23 TO APRIL 22 O/S)

ROMAN YEAR	NISAN 1	DATE OF PASSOVER	MONTHS BAB/JOS	BABYLONIAN CYCLE	ARIES CYCLES	MODERN CYCLE
11/10 BC	March 17	March 30	12 13	15	19 11	8
10/9 BC	April 5	April 18	12 12	16	1 12	9
9/8 BC	March 25	April 7	13 12	17	2 13	10
8/7 BC	March 14	March 27	12 13	18	3 14	11
7/6 BC	April 2	April 15	13 12	19	4 15	12
6/5 BC	March 22	April 4	12 12	1	5 16	13
5/4 BC	March 10	March 23	12 13	2	6 17	14
4/ 3 BC	March 29	April 11	13 12	3	7 18	15
3/2 BC	March 18	March 31	12 13	4	8 19	16
2/1 BC	April 7	April 20	12 12	5	9 1	17
1BC/AD1	March 26	April 8	13 12	6	10 2	18
AD1/2	March 16	March 29	12 13	7	11 3	19
AD2/3	April 3	April 16	13 12	8	12 4	1
AD3/4	March 23	April 5	12 12	9	13 5	2
AD4/5	March 11	March 24	12 13	10	14 6	3
AD5/6	March 30	April 12	13 12	11	15 7	4
AD6/7	March 20	April 2	12 12/13	12	16 8	5
AD7/8	M 10 / A 8	M 23 / A 21	12 13/12	13	17 9	6
AD8/9	March 28	April 10	13 12	14	18 10	7
AD9/10	March 17	March 30	12 13	15	19 11	8
AD10/11	April 5	April 18	12 12	16	1 12	9
AD11/12	March 25	April 7	13 12	17	2 13	10
AD12/13	March 13	March 26	12 13	18	3 14	11
AD13/14	April 1	April 14	13 12	19	4 15	12
AD14/15	March 21	April 3	12 12	1	5 16	13
AD15/16	March 11	March 24	12 13	2	6 17	14
AD16/17	March 29	April 11	13 12	3	7 18	15
AD17/18	March 18	March 31	12 13	4	8 19	16
AD18/19	April 6	April 19	12 12	5	9 1	17
AD19/20	March 27	April 9	13 12	6	10 2	18
AD20/21	March 15	March 28	12 13	7	11 3	19
AD21/22	April 3	April 16	13 12	8	12 4	1
AD22/23	March 23	April 5	12 12	9	13 5	2
AD23/24	March 12	March 25	12 13	10	14 6	3
AD24/25	March 30	April 12	13 12	11	15 7	4
AD25/26	March 19	April 1	12 12/13	12	16 8	5
AD26/27	M 10 / A 8	M 23 / A 21	12 13/12	13	17 9	6
AD27/28	March 28	April 10	13 12	14	18 10	7
AD28/29	March 16	March 29	12 13	15	19 11	8
AD29/30	April 5	April 18	12 12	16	1 12	9
AD30/31	March 25	April 7	13 12	17	2 13	10
AD31/32	March 14	March 27	12 13	18	3 14	11
AD32/33	April 1	April 14	13 12	19	4 15	12
AD33/34	March 21	April 3	12 12	1	5 16	13
AD34/35	March 11	March 24	12 13	2	6 17	14
AD35/36	March 30	April 12	13 12	3	7 18	15
AD36/37	March 18	March 31	12 13	4	8 19	16
AD37/38	April 6	April 19	12 12	5	9 1	17
AD38/39	March 26	April 8	13 12	6	10 2	18
AD39/40	March 15	March 28	12 13	7	11 3	19
AD40/41	April 2	April 15	13 12	8	12 4	1
AD4142	March 23	April 5	12 12	9	13 5	2
AD42/43	March 12	March 25	12 13	10	14 6	3
AD43/44	March 31	April 14	13 12	11	15 7	4
AD44/45	March 19	April 1	12 12/13	12	16 8	5

HISTORICAL UNCERTAINTY The added months in the "Aries" system could even have been irregular as there is the problem of trying to reconcile the system Josephus has given us which has a basically regular pattern of leap years and with the Mishna that shows that the weather conditions could delay the beginning of the year and that sabbatical years were not made leap years and only had 12 months not 13 months and that Akiva "established 3 leap years one after another" (BT, Rodkinson, Vol 8, p27) which shows that a fixed system was not being used in the time of Akiva but if a 19 year cycle was being used the two last cycles (on the table above) appear to be the most likely as they are supported by the Libyan archaeological evidence that the Hebrew year of AD23/24 had an embolistic 13th month added.
   There is an observation made in the Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar by Arthur Spier, 1952 on p229, where he shows by using tables that since the introduction of the fixed Hebrew calendar the difference of present day Hebrew dates of the yearly feasts on the 19 year cycle are 4 1/2 days later than they were compared to that of 1,000 years ago. This is because the 19 year Metonic cycle is only 6939.601777 days (Finegan, p32) and the extra 2h 4m 25.22s every 19 years adds up to an additional day about every 228 years. According to Reingold and Dershowitz the authors of a book called Calendrical Calculations the difference is one day in 216 years. (New Year Mag' Oct 3-1997 p3-4)
   Arthur Spier explains "The difference between the traditional length of the sun year and the respective astronomical figure S* (365d 5h 48m 46.069sec) is, however, not negligible and causes the Hebrew year to advance against the sun approximately 4 1/2 days in a thousand years." (Early edition p226, late edition p22) This "has postponed Pesah already in the 8th and 19th year of the cycle more than a month from the astronomical spring equinox." (p227)
   Hemenway says that "the Passover - is now almost eight days ahead of the seasons as regulated by the sun from its beginning in AD359." (What's Wrong-, p45)
   Solinsky says 7 days 8 hours have been added since AD359. (p59)
Comparisons show only seven complete days have been added in the last 2000 years. For example, in AD31 which was the 10th year of the modern 19 year cycle when the Passover would have been on March 27 O/S (March 25 N/S), the 10th year in AD1987/88 was on Friday April 1, (N/S) showing it is now 7 days later.

SEASONS Some believe the season of spring is only to begin after the equinox. Who decided this?
Doesn't the bible tell us that it is the ripening of the harvest that indicates when the first month of spring has arrived?
Isn't the first month of the new lunar calendar year determined by the ripening of barley, not the equinox?
Modern research points to Babylon as the source of the division of the year into 4 seasons using the solstices and equinoxes which were considered as important points of the year. "The little we know about their dealing with solstices and equinoxes reveals only a schematic division of the year in four sections of equal length" (Neugebauer, Vol 1 p56) while Greek astronomers in the fifth century BC took an interest in determining equinoxes and solstices.
   Due to the repositioning of the stars caused by the 25,800 to 26,000 year cycle of precision, it seems the earlier divisions were replaced by new stars which now marked the solstices and equinoxes, gradually the elliptic was divided into the 12 "houses" which became a uniform 30 degrees each, which progresses forward each 2,150 years to be replaced by the following "house". There are actually about 14 "signs" or "houses" along the suns elliptic path, some are larger than 30 degrees and some smaller, but these others like the southern constellation called Ophiuchus (serpent bearer) are usually ignored, leaving a uniform 6 northern and 6 southern constellations called the zodiac.
   In Sky and Telescope Oct' 1995 p31 there is a list of the epochs of the signs or houses, each lasting for about 2,150 years, Leo 10000-9000BC, Cancer 8000-7000BC, Gemini 6000-5000BC, Taurus 4000-3000BC, Aries 2000-1000BC, Pisces AD1000-2000, Aquarius AD3000-4000, taking the first position after the March equinox.
    Jean Meeus says that the March equinox passed from Taurus to Aries in 1867BC, entered Pisces in 69BC will enter into Aquarius in AD2597 and enter into Capricornus in AD4313. (Sky & Telescope, September 1974, p139-147)
   So much for "the dawning of the age of Aquarius", although the Fifth Dimension may have a revival in about 600 years time?
   Anciently the seasons were described as seed time and harvest, summer and winter (Gen 8:22) although there are references to the time of year when plants "spring" (Joel 2:22, Job 38:27, Isa 61:11) the bible does not refer to a season called Spring. The month of green ears was not called spring and the seasons were not confined between any two dates such as the time of the solstices or equinoxes as they are today. The Babylonians had only two seasons.
The Egyptians had 3 seasons, Inundation in Thoth (September) Cultivation in Tybi (January) and Harvest in Pachons (May). These three seasons had four 30 day months and were called Akhe, Pero and Shom (The Pictorial Ency' of Geography)
   Mackey spells them Akhet (inundation in Toth), Proyet (Sowing in Tybi) and Shomu (low water in Pachons).
   In the first millennium BC the Aryansin of Northern India had a system of five seasons. (O'Neil, Early Astronomy, p11)
   Herodotus shows that by the time he wrote in about 450BC that spring was a season "-the spring of the year, the fairest of the four seasons." (Histories, Ch 7, Penguin, p498)
   Aristobulus of Paneas shows that by his time, 200-150BC, the equinox played a role in the Hebrew calendar, where the seasons (Tekufa) were thought to refer to the solstices and equinoxes. (Ency' Judaica, Tekufa)
[Tekufah in Ex 34:22 means "revolution" in Hebrew. (Strongs H 8622 and H 5362) If tekufah meant the equinox then because it is a solar calendar event that occurs around the 23rd of September each year, it is impossible for it to fall every year during succot which is between the 15th to 21st of Tishri on the Hebrew lunar calendar. This shows that the word tekufah should not be taken as an exactly precise term applying to the Hebrew lunar calendar and that its meaning in the bible is to only be understood as a general term for this time of the year. People want to argue that because Isaiah 1:14 says, "Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth:-" that it is condemning the feast dates people observe who use the modern Hebrew calculated calendar with its postponements. If this is true then as Hosea 2:11 says "I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts -" then, it appears that God also hates those who observe the sabbath day and those who also use visual calendars to determine their feast dates too.]
   According to the Ency' Judaica 1971, p444, Aristobulus was of the family of the anointed priests and teacher of Ptolemy, and is believed to be the same Aristobulus who is mentioned in 2 Maccabees 1:10. He is thought to have been responsible for the introduction of the rule that the Passover should only be observed after the time of the equinox. Anatolius of Alexandria quotes him as saying "all alike ought to sacrifice the Passover after the vernal equinox in the middle of the first month, (Ch 3), for the Feast of the Passover it was necessary not only that the sun should pass the equinoctial segment but the moon also (Ch 4, A-N Vol 6 and also Eusebius) This decision of Aristobulus to only keep the Passover after the March equinox was not based on some specific biblical instruction, and later history shows that it was not always followed but using this rule the first month could begin as early as about 14 days before the equinox, about the 10th of March O/S.
   Following this rule made the Hebrew calendar become a more sun oriented system than it was previously by making the Passover to fall no earlier than the equinox while later Josephus shows us that the Passover was kept in Aries which prevented it from falling any later than about April 22 and suggests that the Babylonian calendar was not being used by the Sanhedrin in his day, which would have the Passover in some years falling nearly 2 weeks later than this but again these were modifications that could be changed by the Levitical court at any time.
   It was shortly after the time of Aristobulus that the Greek astronomer Hipparchus discovered the precession of the equinoxes.
   It is thought that the 364 day solar calendar was developed by some Jews at about this time. It had 4 seasons of 91 days each which were divided by signs (1 Enoch 72:6-34) which are described as days of equal day and night, (the equinoxes), and the shortest and longest days, (solstices).
   The year began after winter when "leaves are produced on all the trees" (1 Enoch Ch 82:15-17) which is a description of spring, which is followed by summer (v's 18-20)
   The 364 day solar calendar began the year from the time of the March equinox (Ch 72:6-9, 32) The Babylonian lunar calendar began after the equinox.
   The date of the equinox is about March 20 (N/S) so the Passover according to the 364 day solar calendar in the book of Enoch would have been about two weeks later in about the first week of April each year, while using the method followed by Josephus it could fall anytime in the 30 days following the equinox, and Epiphanius said that the Samaritans kept the feasts "when the Jews observe them." (Section 1,12, Brill p35) and that the Passover was kept at the equinox. (Epiphanius, Brill p43)
   In the Books of Enoch by Milik p275 the seventh Abyssinian month called Megabit (February 25 to March 26) is said to have "9 parts day and 9 parts night" "and the night is equal to the day" (1 Enoch Ch 72:32) and it is the following Abyssinian month called Miyazya (March 27 to April 25) which is said to be "10 parts day and 8 parts night" which corresponds to Nisan.
   According to Schurer p600, the four seasons in the Dead Sea Scrolls are, Season of Harvest, Season of Summer fruits, Season of Sowing and Season of grass. (The History of the Jewish People)
   Philo of Alexandria (20BC to AD50) said springtime and its equinox was the first season. (Loeb, Vol 7, p203)
   Pliny the Elder about AD77 mentions the Roman dates of the solstices and equinoxes being the 7th or 8th day before the calends of April, July, October and January which he says was March 25, June 24, September 24 and December 25, (from O'Neil, p85)
   Josephus writing about AD93-94 said that the Passover occurred when the sun was in Aries, the equinox was on March 22 (O/S) at this time.
   Ptolemy (AD127-151) likened the 4 seasons to the growth from youth to old age and mentioned that the vernal equinox was in Aries (Tetrabiblos 1:10)
   The Romans are thought to have believed the equinox was on March 18. (Post-Nicene, Vol 14 p55) Columella said Aries began on 17 March and the Equinox was on the 24th and 25th of March. (Book 9, LCL III, p71 and p87)
   Anatolius, Bishop of Laodicea wrote in about AD270 giving the dates used to divide the seasons of the year as March 25, June 24, September 24 and December 25. (Anatolius Ch 16, A-N Vol 6, p151) In AD270 the actual (O/S) dates were March 21, June 23, September 23 and December 21 but it appears that March 18 or 19 (both O/S and N/S) was believed to be the date of the equinox as he says the equinox was in its fourth day on March 22. (Ch 2, p146)
   In Ch 17 he repeats three of these which were apparently recognized as the dates of the solstices and autumn equinox of June 24, September 24 and December 25 which he said divided the seasons, but conspicuously left out March 25 (Ch 17) which he may have realized contradicted the date of March 18 or 19. (Ch 2)
   As Anatolius says that the Vernal equinox fell on March 25 and because Pliny the Elder had said that "there are two equinoxes, in spring and autumn, when it coincides with the centre of the earth at the eighth degree of Aries and Libra," (Natural History, 2:17, LCL Vol 1, p225) then 8 degrees or 8 days before March 25 would have been March 18 which was the date the Romans used as the date of the equinox for their calculations of "Easter" before the Council of Nice, and may explain why he said it was "in its fourth day" on the 22nd, although the "fourth day" would have been the 21st, perhaps Anatolius could not reconcile the fictitious Roman date with this other date he had. Anatolius does not seem to have resolved the contradictory views of whether the solstices and equinoxes began the seasons or "hold the middle of the season" as he gives both opinions.
   The British and north American seasonal divisions are according to the solstices and equinoxes while in Australia and other nations in the southern hemisphere where the seasons are the opposite of those in the northern hemisphere spring begins on September 1.
   Some think that the bible festivals should only fall within the man-made definitions of the seasons using the solstices and equinoxes as the dividing dates for them, some believe the feasts should fall in each of these four seasons while others think it is wrong for the Feast of Trumpets to fall in summer in one year and autumn in another. (Gods Calendar in the Heavens p18)
   Using the dates for the spring season in Australia of September 1 to November 30 the "autumn" festivals would be kept within the same season, but the bible does not restrict a season to such a limited definition and does not confine the seasons to within fixed solar dates. Although some people have become accustomed to accept a particular specific meaning to "the turn of the year" it is not specifically defined to be before, on, or after the equinox.
   The Hebrew calendar does not have fixed dates for solar phenomenon such as the solstices or equinoxes, Psalm 104:19 says that it is the moon (if anything) that has been appointed for seasons, not the solstices and equinoxes.

ARMSTRONG CALENDAR ERROR In an article about the Passover, Garner Ted's father said "The first day of the new year always begins with the day nearest the spring equinox when the new moon is first visible to the naked eye at Jerusalem." (Tomorrows World, March 1971) All anyone needs to do to show that this is untrue is to read about the Hebrew calendar in one of the Encyclopedias or check a Hebrew calendar which shows that neither the beginning of the months or the new year on the 1st of Nisan, is dependant upon the visibility of the new moon at Jerusalem or the day that is nearest to the spring equinox and he never followed this rule anyhow but followed the Jewish dating of the holy days according to the modern Hebrew calculated calendar.
The determination of the dates in the calculated Jewish calendar that we use today are the results of the rules of AD801.
Nisan always has 30 days so when the equinox falls on March 20 then Nisan 1 on or after April 4 is not the closest day to the date of the equinox and when the equinox falls on March 21 then anything on or after April 5 is not the closest date for Nisan 1.
The bold italic dating in the list below demonstrates some examples of his false teaching.

YEAR	EQUINOX	NISAN 1
1970	21st March	Tue-April-7
1971	21st March	Sat-Mar-27
1972	20th March	Th-Mar-16
1973	20th March	Tue-Apr-3
1974	21st March	Su-Mar-24
1975	21st March	Th-Mar-13
1976	20th March	Thu-Apr-1
1977	20th March	Su-Mar-20
1978	20th March	Sat-Apr-8
1979	21st March	Th-Mar-29
1980	20th March	Tu-Mar-18
1981	20th March	Sun-Apr-5
1982	20th March	Th-Mar-25
1983	21st March	Tu-Mar-15
1984	20th March	Tue-Apr-3
1985	20th March	Sa-Mar-23
1986	20th March	Th-Apr-10
1987	21st March	Tu-Mar-31
1988	20th March	Sa-Mar-19
1989	20th March	Thu-Apr-6
1990	20th March	Tu-Mar-27
1991	21st March	Sa-Mar-16

If HWA himself did not understand what he was preaching after more than 40 years what hope did his "dedicated, consecrated, converted, FULLY instructed and trained, ordained ministers -" have? Not unlike the lies and fables of the Catholic Church and its daughters who still peddle their errors after nearly 2000 years of accumulated false teachings.
If God inspired HWA, then why like the Catholic Church was there any need to "correct" the teachings.

DETERMINING NEW MOONS AND NEW YEARS If the visual sighting of the moon from Jerusalem is required then those who follow this idea will probably have some difficulty with Matt 24:29 and Mark 13:24 that forecasts a time when "the moon shall not give her light."
   The sighting of each new crescent changes due to a number of things that alter the position or affect the viewing of the moon each month. "the lunar orbit is not without blemishes. It wavers. From time to time it appears to nod at the Earth, and also shake from side to side like a head saying no. This movement is called libration." (The Moon by J Sadil)
   The rotation of the moon on its axis is nearly uniform but not its orbital motion which appears to swing 8 degrees east and west each month. (McGraw-Hill Ency' of Science and Technology, p484)
   1) Due to the variable 22 to 24 degrees [average of 23.44] tilt of the earth the seasons change each year and this viewing angle can alter the daily time of visibility of a new moon in Jerusalem in the northern hemisphere to about 16 to 24 hours at the time of the March equinox and about 18 to 48 hours at the time of the September equinox and is usually measured in terms of the Gregorian solar calendar date. Further north at 51 degrees sighting can vary from 20 to 63 hours causing the length of the lunar month to vary from between 29d 6h 14.4m to 29d 19h 12m. (Solinsky, p10, 17, 19, 27-30)
   2) The speed of the moon and its distance from the earth varies. The Earth travels on an elliptical path at varying speeds and the moon accelerates on its elliptical orbit when it approaches its closest point to the earth called perigee, but slows down and takes longer because it has further to travel when it nears its most distant point called apogee, "the velocity of the moon depends upon its distance from the earth and the phenomenon called variation. Furthermore, the moon's distance from the earth depends upon the phenomena called annual inequality, mean anomaly, and the eccentricity of the moon's orbit (which depends upon evection which is partly determined by geocentric latitude)". (Moses Calendar, p30) [What was that again ?]
   3) The view from the earth varies due to the changing position of the earth traveling on an elliptical orbit which is also eccentric so the closer the moon is the bigger and faster it is and so it can be seen for longer.
   4) The time since conjunction and the distance of separation between the sun and moon.
   5) The observers latitude, longitude, altitude, attitude, poor or aided eyesight, atmospheric interference and atmospheric absorption of light.
In the Hebrew calendar the length of the months and years are determined by the lunar cycle. A lunation varies between 29.26 to 29.80 days. (Bick', p18)
   The moon takes an average of 29.5305879 days or 29 days 12 hours 44 minutes and 2.79 seconds to circle the Earth. (O'Neil, Time and the Calendar, p24)
   Solinsky quoting Kopal says "it averages 29.5305883 days" (p8)
   The Ency' Judica says it is 29d 12h 44m and 2.841s. "This discrepancy is constantly increasing by a very small figure, owing to the secular acceleration of the mean lunar motion,-" (Cal' p46)
   [The McGraw-Hill Ency' of Science and Technology says the "sideral period is slowly lengthening and the distance - between centers of mass is increasing, because of tidal friction in the oceans of the earth" (Vol 11, p463) "a sideral month is the period of time it takes the Moon to revolve around the Earth once- 27 days 7 hours 43 minutes and 11 1/2 seconds on average."(Sadil, The Moon and the Planets, p53)]
   The Astronomical Almanac 2000 giving the length of mean months says,"synodic month (new moon to new moon) 29.530589 - 29d 12h 44m 02.9s" (pD2). Twelve of these lunar months are about 11 days less than the solar year.
   Martin (p6) gives the figure of 10 days 21 hours 121 halakim 48 regaim and Spier says "The hour is divided into 1080 Halakim (parts), abbreviated 1080p. One Helek (part) is divided into 76 Regaim (moments), abbreviated 76m.
   In conventional time divisions, 1 part corresponds to 3 1/2 seconds; 1 moment is equal to 5/114 seconds. (The Comprehensive Calendar, p217) The Hebrew calendar day has 25920 parts of 3 1/2 secs. (Calendrical Calcs' p85)
   The Hebrew calendar is made up of these lunar months and just as without a calculated system it requires a choice to be made as to which month to add the extra time on to when it adds up to a full day, so it also had to be decided which years were to have the extra or embolistic 13th month added to them so that the Hebrew year would not begin too early before the solar year with its season of spring, so similarly someone had to predict or decide if the grain would be sufficiently ripe to be ready to offer on the day of the Wavesheaf, which was found to be about the time of the March equinox. Even using a calculated or fixed calendar one or more people have to choose which calendar system will be used.
   According to the Ency' Judaica 1970, The first historical mention of the Sanhedrin is in the statement of Josephus (Ant 14:91) that in 57BC Gabinus divided the country into five synedria or synodi (Wars 1:70). They met at the temple and from there "the law went forth to all Israel." (San 11:2, Tosef Sanh 7:1) It is not known for certain if the high priest or a Judge, a Nasi, was its leader although the secular leaders such as Herod had some influence in its decisions. It was a court of three members of the Sanhedrin who decided and announced which day was the beginning of the new month, except in the years when an extra month was to be intercalated, then it involved at least seven members. (Mishna Sanhedrin Ch 1:2)
   The court held secret meetings on the 30th day of each month which were restricted to only allow admission of the decision makers of these matters.
   The priests in charge had to decide what day was to begin the month, and which month they would declare that the crop would be ready to begin a new year with, whether they would choose the earlier new moon or whether they would wait another 29 or 30 days until the following new moon, then they would blow the trumpets and offer the sacrifices according to what they had been instructed in Numbers 10:10, 28:11, they did not blow the trumpets on two or more different days to satisfy peoples varying beliefs and opinions, there was only one day for each feast, when there was uncertainty as to which day would be the 1st of Tishri it is said they kept 2 days, (Arthur Spiers) but there were not two days of Atonement. In Hebrews 9:7 Paul says "only the high priest goes, and he but once a year," so because there was only one temple and one Day of Atonement and as the High Priests at this time were Sadducees even Paul who was a Pharisee shows here that he accepted the decision of the court otherwise the High Priest went in on a day which was not the Day of Atonement.
   The beginning of the months could even be delayed on the actual day because it had not yet been proclaimed. (R Sh 3:1, Danby p191)
   The Babylonian Talmud shows that the times of the festivals are instituted, not by God but "by the Israelites themselves by making months intercalary or ordinary." (B.T. Passover, Rodkinson, Ch 10 p248-9) and as the UCG Doctrinal Statement on the Hebrew calendar says on p6 "The use of an intercalary month in itself is a form of postponement"
   Richards says that the postponement rules "prevent the occurrence of two consecutive days on which the preperation of food and other necessary tasks such as the burial of the dead is forbidden." (Mapping Time, p227)
   Solinsky dismisses this argument because between 1900 to 2000 the 15th of Nisan fell on a Sunday 11 times. (Solinsky, p58)
   If the Jews in Jerusalem had been using the Babylonian calendar there would have been no need for these monthly meetings of the Sanhedrin to be held and for the lighting of signal fires and later for messengers to be sent out to the Jews in Babylon and the Diaspora although they would have been familiar with its 29 and 30 day months and its 19 year cycle.
   The Sanhedrin probably took it into consideration and were perhaps guided by it but they were not governed by its rules but checked with the witnesses of the new moon, even the use of these witnesses shows the uncertainty involved in deciding which day was to begin the month.
   It was Gamaliel the Elder (AD10-80) who decided calendar questions "while the temple still stood" (Mishna, Passim, Danby p189) if confirmation of the new moon was delayed they began the month a day later, (p193, 3) and they would hallow the month even if it was not at the "proper time". (p190, 7)
   The Tosefta shows that the opinion of the Nasi determined the law, "so long as Rabban Gamaliel was alive the law followed his opinion" (Taaniyot 2:5) even the high priests followed the decisions of the court. "Tradition has it, that neither high-priest nor king ever took part in these deliberations, the former because he might object to a leap-year as throwing the Day of Atonement later into the cold season; the king; because he might wish for thirteen months, to get thirteen months revenue in a year!" (Edersheim, p200)
   The nasi Gamaliel II (AD80-120) and the High priest Joshua disagreed as to which day was to be the Day of Atonement. Gamaliel ordered Joshua to come to him on the day that Joshua thought should have been the Day of Atonement. Joshua obeyed Gamaliel and traveled to Javneh on that day to see him and so accepted as Gamaliel had ordered. (Mishna, Passover 2:9, Danby p191)

THE LIBYIAN INSCRIPTION
   Solinsky tries to support the idea that the Babylonian calendar was used by the Jews in Palestine by referring to a marble plaque or tablet that was found in Libya, "-the Jewish community at Berenice (Libya) voted 'at the Feast of Booths' was dated Paophi 25, year 55 (of local era, that is, 22 October 25 C.E.)." (Cambridge History of Judaism, Vol 1, p64, Special Reserve 296017)
   This claims that this Feast of Booths in the 55th year of the Era of Actium was in AD25 and that these Jews who followed the Hebrew calendar had a leap year the same as it was in the Babylonian calendar in AD25, but "the people of Cyrene dated their monuments by the number of years that had passed since Actium was fought." (Cyrene and Apollonia, p19, 939.75/9) The Battle of Actium was fought on Tuesday the 2nd of September in 31BC (not O/S Monday due to the pontiffs leap-year error). The battle was won only 5 days after Thoth 1 which was the start of the Egyptian year that is also called the "fixed Alexandrian year" which was introduced in about 26BC and was used as the beginning of this era; "by the Egyptians this era was dated from the year of the battle. - the year of Augustus, by the Egyptian reckoning, commenced on the 29th of August," (Bond, p204). Bickerman shows these were two different eras. (p73) The 55th year of Actium ran from August 29 in AD24 to August 28 in AD25 and so the 55th year of Actium ended before the Feast of Booths occurred in October of AD25. The Feast of Booths in October of AD25 would have been in the 56th year of Actium. This shows that the Feast of Booths in year 55 of Actium counting from the 29th of August in 31BC was in AD24, not in AD25, (The Hebrew year to which this Feast of Booths referred, occurred between March 30, (Nisan 1) in AD24 and ended on March 18 in AD25) which shows AD24 to have been the year in which the Hebrew leap year occurred which was at the end of the previous Hebrew year that began in March of AD23 and this is the same year as it would have been using the "Aries" system of Aristobulus where the passover follows the date of the equinox as described by Josephus. October the 22nd did not actually fall during the Feast of Booths in either AD24 (Sunday) or AD25 (Monday) in either the Babylonian or Hebrew calendars but it did in AD20 (51), AD23 (54), AD26 (57) when using Oct 1-8 for Tishri 1.
   As either Oct AD26 to Oct AD27 or Oct AD27 to Oct AD28 was a sabbatic year and would only have 12 months then the end of the previous year in March/April of AD26 or AD27 was probably made a leap year in the "Aries" system.
   Bond says that some continued using the imperfect Egyptian calendar so possibly after 55 years Phaophi 25 was 13 days later and fell on November 7.
   Solinsky thinks the date was close enough for AD25, but as the 22nd of October in AD25 was the Day of Atonement according to the Babylonian calendar (In Parker & Dubberstein, Babylonian Chronology 626BC to AD45 edition it is the day following the day of Atonement but this is changed or corrected in their 626BC to AD75 edition) so it is doubtful whether this was the day or the year.

                                YEARS OF ACTIUM

YEAR	Began on August	Year	Ended on August	Year
1	29th	31BC	29th	30BC
2	30th	30BC	28th	29BC
3	29th	29BC	28th	28BC
4	29th	28BC	28th	27BC
5	29th	27BC	29th	26BC
6	30th	26BC	28th	25BC
7	29th	25BC	28th	24BC
8	29th	24BC	28th	23BC
9	29th	23BC	29th	22BC
10	30th	22BC	28th	21BC
11	29th	21BC	28th	20BC
12	29th	20BC	28th	19BC
13	29th	19BC	29th	18BC
14	30th	18BC	28th	17BC
15	29th	17BC	28th	16BC
16	29th	16BC	28th	15BC
17	29th	15BC	29th	14BC
18	30th	14BC	28th	13BC
19	29th	13BC	28th	12BC
20	29th	12BC	28th	11BC
21	29th	11BC	29th	10BC
22	30th	10BC	28th	9BC
23	29th	9BC	28th	8BC
24	29th	8BC	28th	7BC
25	29th	7BC	29th	6BC
26	30th	6BC	28th	5BC
27	29th	5BC	28th	4BC
28	29th	4BC	28th	3BC
29	29th	3BC	29th	2BC
30	30th	2BC	28th	1BC
31	29th	1BC	28th	AD1
32	29th	AD1	28th	AD2
33	29th	AD2	29th	AD3
34	30th	AD3	28th	AD4
35	29th	AD4	28th	AD5
36	29th	AD5	28th	AD6
37	29th	AD6	29th	AD7
38	30th	AD7	28th	AD8
39	29th	AD8	28th	AD9
40	29th	AD9	28th	AD10
41	29th	AD10	29th	AD11
42	30th	AD11	28th	AD12
43	29th	AD12	28th	AD13
44	29th	AD13	28th	AD14
45	29th	AD14	29th	AD15
46	30th	AD15	28th	AD16
47	29th	AD16	28th	AD17
48	29th	AD17	28th	AD18
49	29th	AD18	29th	AD19
50	30th	AD19	28th	AD20
51	29th	AD20	28th	AD21
52	29th	AD21	28th	AD22
53	29th	AD22	29th	AD23
54	30th	AD23	28th	AD24
55 *	29th	AD24	28th	AD25
56	29th	AD25	28th	AD26
57	29th	AD26	29th	AD27
58	30th	AD27	28th	AD28
59	29th	AD28	28th	AD29
60	29th	AD29	28th	AD30
61	29th	AD30	29th	AD31
62	30th	AD31	28th	AD32

BABYLONIAN CALENDAR

DAY OF ATONEMENT	FEAST OF BOOTHS
AD23 Thursday October 14	Tuesday October 19-26
AD24 Tuesday October 3	Sunday October 8-15
AD25 Monday October 22	Saturday October 27-Nov 3

JOSEPHUS CALENDAR

DAY OF ATONEMENT	FEAST OF BOOTHS
AD23 Wednesday September 15	Monday September 20-27
AD24 Tuesday October 3	Sunday October 8 -15
AD25 Saturday September 22	Thursday September 27-Oct 4

THE LEAP YEAR The Mishna shows that during the time of the Sanhedrin the year was generally calculated ahead but probably not fixed absolutely because they knew ahead when to plant the barley "seventy days before Passover" so that the harvest would be ready for offering on the day of the Wavesheaf. (Menahoth, Meal Offerings 8:2, Danby p502)
   N. Bar-Droma of the Israeli Department of Agriculture says "In the Talmud it is mentioned that there were years that the barley was not ripe at Passover. To be able to bring the Omer sacrifice of barley in time to the Temple, they used to sow barley upon some flat roofs in the Jerico valley, which would be ready and apt to the Sacrifice on the Passover." (Solinskys Appendix Notes)
   There is no record of any fixed time for the intercalation of the 13th month even though they would have known about the 19 year cycle used in the Babylonian calendar.
   There was some uncertainty up to the last moment as to if a year would be a leap year and whether Adar would be intercalated or not (Erub' 3:1), and if the scroll would need to be read again in Adar 2. (BT, San 11B) (Finegan)
   In the years when the leap month was to be added, there was an additional period of 30 days preparation, which also supports that the added month was estimated, calculated or in some way pre-determined, but not necessarily fixed beforehand at this time. (BT, Passover, p7)
   For the 30 days before Passover they were not to sell any leaven, (BT, Pes' Gemara, Rodkinson p31) and also restricted in other ways. (Sheb 2:6, 9, Mishna, Danby p41)
   The leap year could be declared conditionally any time during Adar. (Eduyoth 7:7, Danby p435)
   There were two elders who lived during the time of Jesus called Shammai (50BC to AD30) and Hillel (c30BC to cAD10) Their schools which continued after them were basically Pharisaic and their rules concerning the calendar and its operation are recorded in the Mishna and Talmud. One of these rules regarding the Wavesheaf offering was the selection of three different regions where the Firstfruits were to be harvested from, "Moreover they must be offered from the choicest [produce]. Which is the 'choicest [produce]'? Michmas and Zenoah come first in their quality of fine flour; and second to them is Hapharaim in the valley." (Near Mt Tabor) "The produce from any land was valid, but they used to bring it [only] from these places." (Menahoth 8:1, Danby p502)
   Philo said it was not for everyone but for those who came from the holy land,-" (On Dreams 2, 11:75, Loeb Vol 5 p477)
   "-the Omer (as the first of the harvest) was brought only from the land of Judah." (Sanhedrin, Rodkinson Vol 8, p26)
   "at that season, namely, the springtime, when the feast is held, the fruit of the corn has not reached its perfection, for the fields are in the ear stage and not yet mature for harvest." (Philo, The Special Laws 2, 158, Loeb Vol 7, p403). Philo in The Special Laws 2, Ch 29, (LCL Vol 7, p416-7) and also Josephus in Antiquities 3:250, both mention barley, but the bible does not require that the Omer is to be made from barley. It was used because it was "in the ear" in Egypt at the time of the Exodus, (Ex 9:31).
   "The prescribed rite for the Omer is that it should be brought from [barley growing] near by. If [the crop] near Jerusalem was not yet ripe, it could be brought from any place.- (Men 10:2, Danby p505) The instruction in Lev 23:9 was "When you come into the land which I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest;"
   Living outside the promised land, like the half tribe of Manesseh, did not mean they could ignore their responsibility to the Levites. It was apparently the duty originally of the Israelites to bring their barley firstfruits to the priests but later it became the priests responsibility to cut the firstfruits and offer them while the Israelites brought their firstfruits to the priests at the Feast of Firstfruits or Pentecost.
   The Wavesheaf was apparently intended to be offered from what was naturally produced by the weather in Palestine, "When ye be come into the land which I give unto you," (Lev 23:10) although this instruction was given at Sinai and not in Palestine, but today the Firstfruits for the Omer could presumably be grown in a glasshouse or be transported to Jerusalem, (if the temple was rebuilt) from "any land" in the world that the Israelites have been given to live in to ensure it was ready on the Day of the Wavesheaf and at any time before or after the equinox if it was thought to be necessary. Josephus shows us that the grain was not always ripe and was given a hurry up to dry it out by the priests "-they take a handful of the ears and dry them" (Ant 3:10:5)
   If you offer a cereal offering of your firstfruits to the Lord, you shall offer for the cereal offering of your firstfruits crushed new grain from fresh ears parched with fire." (Lev 2:14)

AFTER AD70 After the destruction of the temple, Johanan ben Zakkai the nassi was allowed to establish the Sanhedrin at Jabneh near Tel Aviv and colleges were established in Tiberius in Galilee and Usha, while the Galut, the exile or Diaspora established centers in Alexandria, Babylonia, Arabia, Greece and Italy. In Babylon there were colleges in Sura, Pumbedita, Nehardea, Machoza and Nizibis. (Jewish History, R Lampert p12-13)
   Hadrian visited Jerusalem in about AD130-131.
   The Sanhedrin moved to Tiberius in Galilee in about AD135 then moved to Babylon in about AD150. (NJH p120) later the center of administration moved into Europe then to the United States but has recently returned back to Israel.
   At the time of the destruction of the temple "the majority of the Sadducees were slain but the Pharisees mostly survived" "after the ruin of the temple the Pharisees rose in power, whereas the Sadducees declined." (BT- M.Rodkinson Vol 10, Appendix B p143)
   Josephus writing in this period shows that the Hebrew calendar months followed the same pattern as the Macedonian calendar with Nisan being the same as Xanthicus which was generally taken to be equal to about March on the Julian calendar, indicating that the Passover fell closer to March than April.
   In Antiquities he says "In the month of Xanthicus which is by us called Nisan, and is the beginning of our year when the sun is in Aries (for in this month it was that we were delivered from bondage under the Egyptians - which is called the Passover." (Ant 3:10:5)
   Because the date of the equinox is not fixed but can vary over time, between the 19th to 22nd of March (N/S) it shows that by using the system described by Josephus (that the Passover was celebrated in Aries) it means that the month of Nisan would sometimes have to begin up to two weeks before the equinox to do this. The leap year was not regulated or determined by a fixed calendar system such as the Babylonian system but was determined by the Passover following the equinox and confirmed by the court of the Sanhedrin.
   Firstly the Hebrew year could begin before the equinox while the Babylonian calendar began the year only after the equinox.
   Secondly Aries was fixed in the solar calendar to the 30 days from the equinox. (Anatolius said the segment ended on April 21st, Ch 15, p151)
   Thirdly, the record of 3 leap years being together in a row in the time of Akiva again shows the calendar was not being regulated by any fixed 19 year cycle and was not in harmony with the Babylonian calendar at this time.
   Some believe that the Babylonian calendar was used in Palestine by the Jews in Jesus' day, but although they were similar it appears that not only the start of the year but also the beginning of the months of the Palestinian and Babylonian calendars did not always begin on the same day.
   During the time of Simon b Gamaliel 1 (AD10-80) the uncertainty around the intercalation of second Adar shows they were not using a fixed leap year system. (Megillah 1:4, Danby p202)
   It was probably between AD80-120 that the Sages testified that the coming year "could be declared a leap year anytime during Adar."
   The beginning of each month was decided by 3 judges of the Sanhedrin. (San' 1:2 p382)
   The declaration of an extra month could be made at any time during Adar but it was conditional upon the approval of the president or nasi of the court. (Mishna, Eduyoth (Testimonies), 7:7, Danby p435) Some think that this means that at this time they were disregarding the barley crop and that this signaled the use of some form of calculation being introduced into the calendar. (Biblical Calendar p20) but the addition of the 3 leap years in a row by Akiva to correct the calendar shows that no fixed system was in operation.
   After the Bar Kochebah wars (AD132-135) the emperor Hadrian (AD117-138) persecuted the Jews and during this time, AD135-138 Hananiah the son of Joshua's brother "began to intercalate the years and fix new moons outside Palestine", in an effort to make the Jews of Babylon independent, but he was defeated by some of the scholars sent from Palestine who had "ministered in the sanctuary" (BT Berakoth 63a, Soncino p398) These two sources must have differed otherwise there would have been no conflict.
   Sometime between about AD270-330 there appears there was another Hananiah from Babylon, who also began to make calendar decisions outside Palestine, but he was also defeated. (Who's Who in the Talmud, p201)
   The oral law was compiled in about AD200 by Judah the Prince, of Babel (AD170-217). He was Pharisaic and left out much material that was contrary to his views, which was later compiled into the Tosefta.
   According to Julius Africanus (AD200-245) possibly an 8 year cycle was in use in his day "the Jews insert three intercalary months every eight years" (The Chronology, Ch 16:3, 18:2, A-N Vol 6 p137) this may or may not have been a regulated system and it could merely have been an observation and it could not have lasted for long because 19/7 = 2.71 years while 8/3 = 2.66 years.
   In about AD250 the first known calculated Hebrew calendar was compiled for the next 60 years by Mar Samuel also called Samuel Yarhina'a (c AD170-257)(Judaica 46-7) but there are no known remains of it left.
   The recognition of Mar Samuels calculated calendar shows that there was no fixed system being used by the Jews prior to the system he devised and shows they were not using the Babylonian calendar. His new system would have brought no recognition if it had been identical to the Babylonian calendar.
   It is not known whether this calendar of Mar Samuel was adopted or not.
   Dionysius Bishop of Alexandria (AD200-265) seems to have been the first to be aware of some who were keeping the Passover before the equinox and said the passover should only be kept after the equinox. (A-N, Vol 6 p110)
   Anatolius of Alexandria (AD230-280) who became Bishop of Laodicea (Eusebius Book 7, Ch 32 Penguin p252) in about AD270 mentions a 19 year cycle. (Ch 2 A-N Vol 6, p146 and Ch 12 p149) If the Jews at this time were using a calendar having a 19 year cycle then it seems this fixed cycle resulted in the Passover falling before the equinox. This seems to have upset Anatolius who claimed "The Passover ought invariably to be sacrificed after the spring equinox" (A-N Vol 6, Ch 9, p148). He explains his reasoning "Accordingly it is enjoined that the festival be kept after the equinox because the moon of the fourteenth, if before the equinox or at the equinox does not fill the whole night." The bible does not enjoin this! This idea probably originated with Philo who said regarding the eating of the Passover on the evening of the 15th of Nisan "The feast begins at the middle of the month, on the fifteenth day, when the moon is full, a day purposely chosen because then there is no darkness, but everything is continuously lighted up as the sun shines from morning to evening and the moon from evening to morning -" (The Special Laws 2:155, Loeb Vol 7 p401) "that day the sun and moon rise in succession to each other with NO INTERVAL between their shining, which is not divided by any borderland of darkness." (Special Laws 2:210, Loeb Vol 7, p439)
   As sunset only varies by a minute or two each day but the difference for the moon to rise is around an hour later each day, a calendar can be constructed by following Philos description of the evening of the 15th day of the month using the computer calculated times of sunset and moonrise.
   Using this method described by Philo the months could apparently begin a day earlier for the Jews in Egypt who were closer to the equator, than for those in Jerusalem and further east in Babylon.
   As an example the sun set at 6.13pm on both Monday March 26 and also on Tuesday March 27 in AD31 and the moon rose at 5.17pm on Monday March 26 and at 6.22pm on Tuesday March 27, as there is still some light for some time after sunset which is about as much as there is when the moon is shining by itself he may have observed no "borderland of darkness" on either of these two days but with "no interval between their shining", the evening at the beginning of the Passover on the 14th of Nisan in AD31 would have been on Sunday March 25 or if the sunset and moonrise covered the 5 minute period between them, which is more likely, then the day before the 15th, the 14th of Nisan, would have been on Monday March the 26th.
   The astronomical conjunction was on Sunday March 11, counting back 15 days from Tuesday March 27 to the beginning of Philo's month would make the month of Nisan to have begun with Tuesday March 13, while the month of Addaru on the Babylonian calendar began with Wednesday March 14, but it appears that the actual Hebrew month of Nisan was delayed and began with Thursday March 15.
   In Chapter 8 Anatolius says it was certain calculators in Gaul. Ch 9 "who have added three days before the equinox in which they hold that the Passover may be celebrated - it has been clearly determined that the Paschal Festival cannot be celebrated at the equinox." He says the equinox was "the starting point of the course of the planets." (Ch 2), and gives the date of the equinox as Dystrus 22 the same date as recorded in the Apostolic Constitutions which may have also been written about this time. The equinox on both the Julian and Gregorian calendars was about the 20th or 21st of March when he wrote in about AD270 which shows he was a day or two late anyhow. He also says that Origen (AD185-254) included the equinox in his calculation of 'Easter' when he wrote his 'Easter' book in about AD230.
   Peter of Alexandria (c AD260-311) also said much the same thing, "after the equinox, the ancients celebrated the Passover - whereas the men of the present day now celebrate it before the equinox. (Fragments from the Writings of Peter Ch 2) In chapter 3 Peter mentions who he is referring to and implies that it was Jews who were doing this. Although Peter says that the equinox was in the Law, there is no such mention of it at all and he later admits "for the ancients SEEM to have kept it after the vernal equinox" (A-N Vol 6, Ch 3 p281)
   In the Apostolic Constitutions Book 5 Ch 17 it says "observe the days of the passover exactly, with all care, after the vernal equinox, lest ye be obliged to keep the memorial of the one passion twice in a year. Keep it only once in a year for him that died but once." (A-N Vol 7 p446) and later in Book 8, Ch 47 the 8th canon says "if any bishop, or presbyter, or deacon shall celebrate the holiday of the passover before the vernal equinox with the Jews, let him be deprived." (p500) also later in the 4th century in the Life of Constantine 3:18 it shows that two passovers could fall between the equinoxes which these Jew hating followers of the solar calendar system believed was a wrong practice because they thought that it was the vernal equinox that determined the division of the year, and that as it was thought to comprise the one year, the passover should be kept only once between the equinoxes but the bible nowhere says this, instead it used the harvest which was determined by the priests and could be ready either before or after the equinox and later by their fixed calendar.
   Tricentius is recorded as saying "For this is not the first time that by observing the course of the moon they are compelled to celebrate it (Passover) twice in the month of Phamenoth (Feb 25 to March 26) and once every three years in the month Pharmuthi; for from the beginning, before the advent of Christ, they seem to have always done so." Peter of Alexandria replied "On this point the Jews never went wrong (because they were in everyday contact with those who were eyewitnesses and attendants), and certainly not from the beginning before the birth of Christ. For it was not because of the Paschal legislation that God says they always erred in their heart,-"
   Anatolius also devised a 19 year cycle for the observance of "Easter" Sunday following the dates of the Julian calendar which can be found in the Ante-Nicene series, Vol 6, p149-150. His table shows the length of the lunar months were apparently still irregular when he wrote in about AD270 as the date of the mean equinox was on March 20-21 around this time according to both the O/S and N/S calendars, and assuming the passover fell in the first month which followed the equinox we have:-

Teveth or Shevat	Jan 1 to Jan 30	30 days
Shevat or Adar 1	Jan 31 to Feb 28	29 days	non leap year
Adar 1 or 2	Mar 1 to Mar 29	29 days
Nisan	Mar 30 to Apr 27	29 days
Iyar	Apr 28 to May 27	30 days
Sivan	May 28 to Jun 25	29 days
Tammuz	Jun 26 to Jly 25	30 days
Av	Jly 26 to Aug 24	30 days
Elul	Aug 25 to Sep 22	29 days
Tishri	Sep 23 to Oct 22	30 days
MarHeshvan	Oct 23 to Nov 20	29 days
Kislev	Nov 21 to Dec 20	30 days

   We cannot be sure that this was the pattern followed by the Sanhedrin on any particular year at this time but it shows the observation of Anatolius.

THE FIXED CALENDAR The first known step toward the use of a fixed calendar is the mention in Menachem Raab 22 that in the days of Ulla (3rd century CE) the festivals were intentionally shifted around to prevent them coming on certain days of the week. (Plaut p1221) By the time of Yose b Bun about AD300 the first day of Tishri was being postponed from Wednesdays and Fridays but not yet from Sunday. (Jerusalem Talmud, Meg 1:2, 70b, Judaica p49)
   In AD325 the council of Nicea organized by the Emperor Constantine concluded that the equinox fell on March 21 and announced that the church "should have nothing in common with the Jews."
   It is said that it was Hillel 2 (AD330-365) who fixed Hosanna Rabbah (Tishri 21) to never fall on sabbaths. (J.T. Suk 4:1)
   Hillel of Tiberias is said to have published the system in AD344 but its distribution was delayed. (Judaica, Hillel)
   Due to persecution of the Jews by Constantius the Sanhedrin were prevented from fixing the date of the leap year so in the 670th year of the Seleucidean era (Oct AD358 to Oct AD359) Hillel 2 the Nasi published the method used for determining the calendar.
   It is uncertain what the calendar of Hillel originally contained (Judaica p500-3) but it probably fixed the leap years of the 19 year cycle.
   As some postponements had already been introduced it was distinct from the Babylonian calendar but probably based on alternating 29 and 30 day months.
   It is thought to have been based on Mar Samuel's calendar (Graetz Vol 2, p572-4)
   The Ency' Judaica says that "intercalation seems to have depended on actual calculation - handed down by tradition in the patriarchal family." From this time on the calendar was said to have been fixed.
   In AD415 when Gamaliel 6 was in charge of the Sanhedrin, the Emperors Honorius and Theodosius 2 abolished his post of nasi. (Judaica)
   In AD425 when Gamaliel 6 died with no sons the Emperor abolished the Sanhedrin. (New Jewish History p120)

MOSLEMS After the time of Mahomet (AD570-632) the religion of Islam, "making of peace" also used a lunar calendar. The Muslim calendar has 12 months but has no added month to keep it in harmony with the seasons and takes almost 33 years for the months to go through the cycle of the seasons.
   In the time of Omar Khayyam, Malikshah reformed the calendar (OK p41) "the Moslems divided the calendar into cycles of 30 years; for the first 19 years of each cycle the twelfth month has its normal value of 29 days, but for the next 11 years it has 30 days. By this simple dodge the average length of the calendar month is increased from 29.50 to 29.530556 days which is about 0.000033 days or 3 seconds shorter than the true lunar month. Thus the Moslem calendar keeps the month in step with the moon so accurately that it would take about 2500 years for it to be wrong by one complete day. (Stars & C, p8) Some Moslems appear to still rely on visual sighting. In 1992 the Moslems who also have difficulty with the first sighting of the NM celebrated the first day of the month Shawwal in South Thailand on Friday April 3, half Indonesia close to Penang on Saturday April 4 and over most of the world on Sunday April 5. (RAS Vol 35, p450)
   A Moslem called Mohammad Ilyas has been working on this problem and says "The computation of the appearance of the new crescent is a very long and difficult procedure." (RAS Vol 35, p431-3)
   Each month the ILDL (International Lunar Date Line) occurs at different locations around the world and Ilyas has reduced the area of uncertainty of sighting the NM to about plus or minus 30 degrees or 2,000 miles around the ILDL he has worked out. (RAS p452) But calculations and computer programs can only provide the "expected" time of visibility. "It is not possible to predict accurately the dates on which the new crescent moon will first be seen each month." (p452) and basically all the calculations can do is "help test the reliability of sighting reports." The Moslems themselves say "it is not necessary to be able to sight the new moon at each and every place." (p455)

KARAITES According to the Karaites the Hebrew calendar underwent a reform in AD801 they say the Rabbinate no longer sanctified the moon by actual observance but followed these rules:-
   A) Passover can never fall on Monday, Wednesday or Friday, and it must
      co-incide with the day of the 9th of Av of that year.
   B) Shavuot can never fall on Tuesday, Thursday or Friday and it must
      co-incide with the second day of Passover.
   C) Rosh Hashanah can never fall on Sunday, Wednesday or Friday and must
      co-incide with the third day of Passover. Thus Simhat-Torah must
      co-incide with the fourth day of Passover.
   D) Yom Kippur can never fall on Sunday, Tuesday or Friday and must
      co-incide with the fifth day of Passover.
   E) Purim can never fall on the Sabbath, Monday or Wednesday and must
      co-incide with the sixth day of Passover.

   By preventing Rosh HaShanah from falling on Wednesday and Friday it prevents Yom Kippur from falling next to the sabbath. (AJN Oct 3-1997 p4) O'Neil says (p94) that it was to prevent Yom Kippur from falling on the sabbath, but this is wrong because sometimes it does fall on the sabbath.
   Some refused to follow this ruling and Annan ben David the Nasi called the Sadduceen sect Karaites. (BT, Rodkinson, Vol 10, Appendix B, p143)
   The Karaites continued to use the actual observance of the moon to determine when to begin each month, they later became disunited and different groups kept different days.
   The length of the years would now need to change to fit the rules and the months could begin a few days earlier or later giving 353-355 or 383 to 385 days. These rules for the fixed calendar also determine the relationship of the dates and days in the months throughout the year so for example "the 15th of Iyar can never fall on a Wednesday or Friday". (Talmudic Chronology, p42)
   There was disagreement over the postponement rules between AD921 and AD923 when Ben Meir of Palestine declared Marcheshvan and Kislev to have only 29 days while Saadia ben Joseph al-Fayyumi and the heads of the academies of Babylon said they were "complete", having 30 days. In AD923 "the calculated conjunction fell just after midday, but the Jerusalem authorities insisted that the first delaying rule applied only when the conjunction was at 12:35:40 pm or later." (Cal' Calcs', p89) The Babylonian majority won the disagreement.
   In about AD1000 it appears that there were more modifications added to the system for calculating when the conjunction took place and the length of the year so as to make the calendar more regular as it is today.
   These later rules can be found in the Ency' Judaica, The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar by Arthur Spier, also Ernest Martin, etc.

PREDICTING THE NEW MOON (PHASIS) BY CALCULATION
   Samaritans say that their method of starting the month from the conjunction (up to 6am) was passed down from Adam.
   The bible does not mention the conjunction or say that the days start from the conjunction, Psalm 81:3 says "blow up the trumpet at the new moon," but the bible does not define what a new moon is, or how many need to see it to confirm that it is a NM. It is thought that the months began by the first visual observation of the NM following the conjunction, which cannot be definitely predicted and written down in advance because the first appearance of the NM is said to vary from about 15 hours to 72 hours after the conjunction and perhaps even as low as 13 hours. (Sky & Telescope Dec 95, p71)
   Pliny said that Aries was the only sign in which the old moon and the new moon are visible on the same night (Book 2, Ch 15, Loeb p223) "a man might theoretically observe the crescent as early as 6 hours after the conjunction, but not a moment earlier." (Martin, ASK Manual, p16)
   There are varying views as to the angle required to see the first crescent ranging from 4 to 12 degrees. Greenwich Observatory says "it is unlikely that the new crescent will be visible unless the elongation exceeds 10 degrees, and the altitude of the moon exceeds 5 degrees when the depression of the sun is 3 degrees." (RGO 1997, RAS Vol 5, p442, 520.5/27)
   O'Neil says a 7 degree separation is needed and that the NM can not be seen until after sunset because the sun blots out the moons fainter reflected light. (Time and the Calendar, p26) These views are a far cry from Pliny the Elder who was contemporaneous with Jesus and said "while within 14 degrees of the sun she is always invisible." (Natural History, 2:11, LCL, p207)
Sydney observatory says that the NM can be seen before sunset but also say that the NM (probably meaning the conjunction) cannot be seen during the day, even with a telescope, but Magdi Shamuel of the Karaites says "It is the visibility to the naked eye that is the essence of the New Moon, without which there is no newness (the moon is visible every day with the lasar/radar method) They use "two parameters, namely the 'Percentage of the Moon's Surface Lit' and the Moon's Lagtime". - "If the Lagtime is great enough the moon may first appear before sunset. - the age of the moon cannot be determined from the moon's height above the horizon on a given night but only from additional factors such as the season, the speed which the moon moves away from the sun, and the distance of the moon from the earth and from the sun." (From the Karaite Calendar on the internet)
   Solinsky quotes from Schoch p51 which agrees with this "if a new crescent is at least 34 hours after the astronomical new moon, it may be visible a while before sunset. If this should occur, the first day of the month does not begin at the previous sunset for the following reason. Num 10:10; 28:11-14; 1 Chr 23:31 require that the priests perform specific animal sacrifices on the first day of each month. This requires more time than would be available if they did not learn that the new crescent had been sighted until shortly before the day was to end at sunset." (Moses Calendar, p39)
   Atmospheric conditions such as cloudy days could prevent the sighting of the NM so this method was unreliable.
   According to the Mishna it was the accepted practice to only accept the evidence of the witnesses of the new moon until the time of the afternoon sacrifice. (Rosh haShanah 4:4) but if the witnesses did come they kept the rest of the day as "holy" and also kept the next day as "holy" too. Any decision on this is for the Levitical priests to make and as they do not sacrifice today there is no shortage of time involved.
   Solinsky holds the idea that if the new crescent is broken by the shadows of the moon then it should not be considered to be the first day of the month and that "it is sensible to assume theoretical visibility in very close borderline cases." (p23), but who was given the responsibility of defining how much reflected sunlight should be required and from where on the moon it appears. Even before conjunction a thin crescent or halo of reflected light is noticeable silhouetted against the darkness and if the sight is obscured by clouds and is not seen, who was authorised to make the decision of proclaiming when to begin each month ?
   The decision as to which day is the NM resting on the mean or calculated time before or after midday of either the conjunction or its appearance called the phasis has to be decided by some authority. Some human or group of humans must make the decisions about which day is to be proclaimed as the first of the month and which month is to begin the year.
   To predict when the NM will first be seen following the monthly conjunction some say the angle of separation from the sun should be at least 7 to 10.5 degrees, but some go lower and some go higher up to 12 degrees. Some measure the time lag after sunset until when the moon sets which the Babylonians, Hindus and Muslims say needs to be 48 minutes or 12 degrees. (RAS p445) The time needed for this separation to occur is usually about 16 to 30 hours after the conjunction, but this varies at different latitudes. According to Ilyas at the equator or 0 degrees, it can be as short as 16 hours.
   Here are some views of how long after conjunction it takes for the NM to become visible:-
   1) 14h 53m (Solinsky, p22-3)
   2) 15.4 hours. (Explanatory Supplement, p590)
   3) 18 to 72 hours. Also the moon rises faster when the moon is closest to the earth at perigee. This is when the 18 hour sightings are more likely to be made. (Enc' Judaica, 1972 p46)
   4) 30 hours (Clark p157)
   5) "The new crescent is not seen until one, two, or rarely three days after conjunction." the March equinox is also the time when first day appearances are most likely to be seen due to the elliptic being more overhead. (Hemenway, What's Wrong with the Calendar, p18-20)
   6) "the first visible crescent occurs rarely on the day (reckoned from midnight) of conjunction, and more commonly on the first or second day after (and sometimes the third day after) depending on the time of the year and the latitude of the observer." (O'Neil, Time and the Cal' p27)

HOW LONG AFTER SUNSET
   How long after sunset does it take before a NM can be seen:-
   1) 20 minutes (Maimonides, Solinsky, p23)
   2) 30 minutes (Michigan State Uni')
   3) 35 m (H Solinsky [p23] 35)
   4) 45 m (Muhammed Manzoor Khan)
   5) 48 m (Sky & Telescope July 1998, p34) (from Hemenway p21-2)

THE DATE LINE
   The sighting of the NM can vary in different locations. People either side of the international date line may see the same NM simultaneously although regarding it as occuring on a different day or date. Some think that the dateline should run through Iraq where they believe that the garden of Eden was located. One congregation in Canada claim the date line where new days begin "includes Jerusalem on one side and Baghdad on the other." Could you imagine the turmoil of west Jerusalem keeping the sabbath while east Jerusalem hummed with activity with Jumbo jets roaring above and being reversed twelve hours later when the west would be back at work while the east was trying to get some peace and quiet?
   Some say it should run through Jerusalem and that all the world should begin each day in harmony with Jerusalem time although there is no history of any such thing in effect. The majority of Jews accept the Pacific date line.

TODAY Since the time of Adam and Eve there have been divisions of opinion about what is right and wrong and what to do in the prevailing circumstances.
   The question of leadership and authority has been disputed. Korah disagreed with Moses, Jeroboam disagreed with Rehoboam, the Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes and others disagreed over calendar dates the Karaites split amongst themselves and today confusion still prevails.
   Some think that the Babylonian calendar is Gods calendar and that the year should only begin after the Equinox but as the historical Babylonian records show that before about 500BC the Babylonian calendar began before the equinox and that it was only due to the drift of the 19 year cycle that the year later only began after the equinox then either it was not Gods calendar before 500BC because it began before the equinox, or if it was Gods calendar then it is okay for the year to begin before the equinox as the Sanhedrins calendar did.
    As Yechezkel Reich shows his book The Jewish Leap Year, the Levitical priests who were left in charge of the calendar came to agreement by deciding matters by majority consensus.
   Edersheim says "a majority of voices would suffice to determine which year was to be made a leap year by insertion of a thirteenth month." (Temple p200)
   If the instruction to obey those who sit in Moses seat does not mean the calendar issues and questions, then did they have any authority at all when it was under Moses authority that the Levites operated. Today both the civil government, the Knesset, and the religious majority subscribe to the use of the same fixed calculated Hebrew calendar and as Norman Edwards has said "there is no great dividing line between "civil" and "priestly" functions in the Old Testament." (Biblical Calendar Basics p9)
   Some argue that because the Scribes, Sadducees and Pharisees were divided or wrong in certain beliefs that the leaders have no authority to dictate the calendar to us today and that they have no more authority than any other Tom, Dick or Harry who reads the bible and comes to some alternative conclusion. The calendar was one area where their decisions were law and their decisions were to be followed. (Deut 17:9-13, 18:15-19)
   The perogative of when to blow the trumpets to announce the beginning of the new month which was accompanied by sacrifices etc was not given to the Samaritans, Moslems or backyard astronomers.
   Either before or since the destruction of the temple in AD70 these literal requirements could no longer be carried out but that has not changed the "everlasting covenant" given to the Levites and even if some "mistakes" have been made who else but the Levitical priests bears the responsibility for them. (Mishna, Moed, Rosh ha Shanah 2:7)
   People have come up with numerous explanations to try to justify their own ideas about the calendar by saying that the seat of Moses was not the seat of Aaron when Aaron's authority was given under Moses. Did Moses and Aaron use different calendars? It has been suggested that because John Hyrcannus "subdued all the Idumeans" (Ant' 13:9:1) so that the Idumeans became known as Jews that somehow since then the Idumeans have now replaced the Levites. How could they when any Levites who are unable to prove their descent are barred from serving. Some seem to think that God somehow broke his unbreakable covenant with the Levites. (Jeremiah 33:18-21) Others say that the Melchisedek ministry has replaced the Levitical system so that we no longer have to obey those who sit in Moses seat but instead this somehow gives them the right to decide things for themselves, while they seem to forget that the High priest of the Melchisedek ministry is Jesus and he told his followers, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you,-" (Matt 23:2-3) so until they decide to do things differently, or until kingdom come, their system is the law. Jesus nowhere disputed the calendar but only confirmed that his followers are to "practice and observe whatever they tell you". Obeying them is obeying Gods instruction while rejecting them and trying to follow any of the multitude of counterfeits is to disobey what Jesus plainly commanded.

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