But I've lately been questioning the traditional assumption that the Torah's Calendar is Lunar at all.
Let's start with the fact that the Torah has completely different words for Month and Moon, that is not what I'd expect from an ancient strictly Lunar month based culture. Month is Chodesh/Hodesh (Strongs Number 2320) while Moon is Jerah/Yerach (3394). There are a few places where the latter word is used of a passage of time, but that's because even without a lunar calendar the concept of a month is still tied poetically to the Moon somewhat as it's phases come at least close.
Japan for example had a Lunar Calendar until 1873, and that's why their language uses the same word for both Month and Moon, Tsuki. That's why in the English version of episode 6 of my favorite Anime, Noir, it sounds weird when Mireille says "so many Months and Years have passed", in a language where all the word "month" means is a fraction of a year my mind goes "why even include months in that expression?". But I'm pretty sure in the Japanese she's saying "so many Tsuki and Hi", Hi being an alternate word for both Sun and Year and sometimes Day. So a more poetic yet equally literal translation would be "so many Moons and Suns have passed" which sounds more right even if technically equally as redundant.
The phrase "Rosh Chodesh" gets translated "New Moon" sometimes because of our traditional assumptions, but Rosh means the beginning or head of something not quite "New". Colossians 2:16 is the one New Testament reference to the Jewish concept of the "Rosh Chodesh", and it again uses a Greek word for Month, not Selene the word for the Moon.
Because we think of it as the Crescent New Moon so much talk about Rosh Chodesh is spent on saying we don't know for certain exactly when it is till it happens. With Dispensationalists saying it typologically fits the Pre-Trib Rapture and "no man knowth the day or the hour" verses. But there is one clear Biblical reference to people knowing for certain the next day is a Rosh Chodesh, 1 Samuel 20:5.
The Torah never talks about the Full Moon, even in regards to the Holy Days that should happen about then on a Lunar or Lunisolar calendar. Two verses elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible are often translated as referring to the Full Moon, but those are highly disputable as I've discussed before. For Psalm 81 I don't know how to translate it but my hunch is it's about the Jubilee Yom Kippur sounded Shofar. The word for "feast" used here is sometimes used of Sacrificial animals like Exodus 23:18, Psalm 118:27 and Isaiah 29:1, so that could be the Yom Kippur Sin Offering in this verse. The root of the word thought to refer to the Full Moon appears in Leviticus 16:13 where it's translated "cover".
And then there is all the evidence that The Bible clearly thinks of a Month as being 30 days not 29 and a half. It's there when you do the math of the Flood chronology of Genesis 7 and 8 with 5 months being exactly 150 days beginning on the 17th of the second month and ending on the 17th of the seventh month. And it's also in Revelation with 42 Months, 1,260 days and three and a half years being treated as synonymous time periods.
However there is one thing often taken as evidence for a 365 day year in the Torah, and that is how that number happens to be the number of years Enoch lived. But that could be a coincidence.
Genesis 1:14-19 discuses the Sun (greater light), Moon (lesser light) and stars being made for signs and for seasons and for days and for years. But you'll notice in verse 16 the Sun is made and talked about first, it has priority. And months are seemingly missing from the discussion.
It is well known that the Hebrew Calendar was influenced by the Babylonian Calendar during the Captivity, the names we're now used to calling the months come from Babylon for one thing. Well the thing is Babylon had a Lunisolar Calendar, so even that aspect of it could be Babylonian in origin.
Lunar Calendars were more popular with the ancient Pagans then you might expect given the modern popular narrative that ancient Paganism always started with Sun worship. In fact the most prominent not at all Lunar Calendar used by Pagans in classical antiquity was the Civil Egyptian calendar, but even they originally had a Lunar one which they kept using for ceremonial purposes. Actually even in Greece the Attic Lunar Calender's main purpose was for how they observed Pagan festivals.
Now as much as we love to see all things Egyptian as bad, it wasn't the Egyptians much of the Torah is telling the Israelites not to be like, it was the Canaanites, (When Jerusalem is derogatorily called "Sodom and Egypt" it's about them being inhospitable to strangers not any particular customs.). One of the Canaanite tribes was the Amorites, Babylon first became a major player in Mesopotamia under it's Amorite dynasty, so that Babylonian calendar could be Canaanite in origin.
There is one indisputable difference between the Torah Calendar and the Civil Egyptian Calendar, and that is when to start it. Exodus 12 proclaims Aviv (the time of the Barley Harvest, early Spring) to be the first month while the Egyptian Calendar starts near the Autumnal Equinox.
It is a common traditional conjecture that before Exodus 12 the first season was Fall rather then Spring, and that in Exodus 12 YHWH is swapping the First and Seventh months. I'd been thinking of making a post on how we can't entirely prove that using Scripture alone and so shouldn't build so many theories on it. But since they were in Egypt for several generations it's very possible the Egyptian Calendar was their starting point and what month to make the first month was the only change YHWH is making in Exodus 12. Though different agricultural and climate circumstances in Canaan probably brought further differences, the Egyptian Calendar was organized around 3 seasons rather then 4 because of how much they were ruled by the flooding of the Nile.
In a hypothetical Torah based Solar Calendar the Intercalary month of five or six days (if that was the method used for synchronization) would go between Adar and Nisan rather then in September. (BTW, those 5 days were when the Egyptians observed the birthdays of Osiris and Horus, not anywhere near Christmas. And the Egyptian new year was September 11th on our calendar coincidentally enough.) Or maybe you would try to put them before the Seventh Month to keep Yom Teruah close to the Fall Equinox.
Genesis 1:14 is possibly using Signs in place of Months, I have over the years gone back and forth on the Mazzaroth/Gospel in the Stars theory. Maybe fellow Mazzaroth proponents like Rob Skiba should consider that the Star Signs can be an alternative to the Moon for how to determine the months of the year. Josephus did refer to Nisan as being when the Sun is in Aries, in the first century the Sun entered Aries around the Spring Equinox, and that month is indeed when the Barley Harvest happens. The Romans had a Seven Day Barley Festival similar to Unleavened Bread that was the 12-18th of April, but due to the awkwardness of Caesar's revisions that may be off from when in the Sun's journey it was supposed to be.
It is popular to theorize that Revelation 12:1 is describing some astronomical alignment involving the Moon. If it is it could be an exception and not proof the months are usually defined by the Moon. But I'm skeptical of that altogether, I think it's probably a purely supernatural vision and not something predictable using Stelarrium.
Now I do believe the Passover through Pentecost of Christ's Passion, Resurrection and sending of the Holy Spirit was likely based on what the Jews of the time were doing regardless of if it was still accurate. But it may be it happened to be a year when they did line up, or at least close enough that First Fruits was the right Sunday. Since I favor 30 AD and a Thursday Crucifixion on the 14th of Nisan followed by a Sunday Resurrection on the 17th of Nisan, I have long placed the Passion on the 6th of April 30 AD and The Resurrection of the 9th.
But maybe not all the Jews were already using the Babylonian Calendar in Christ's time? Maybe it was originally mainly the Pharisees, who became the only sect to survive the 70 AD war? It was the Sadducees who actually controlled the Priesthood and The Temple, and according to Josephus they were a Torah only sect.
The Qumran Community who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls also rejected the Lunar Calendar, the Temple Scroll is our main source on their Calendar but it's discussed in other scrolls too. I don't think that Calendar is right either, like the Lunar Sabbath model it wants to synchronize the monthly and yearly cycle to the weekly cycle by giving every 3rd month an extra day creating a 364 day year. As I've talked about before the language in Leviticus 23 about Firs Fruits and Pentecost is clearly assuming they won't always line up. They make the first day of the year a Wednesday because that was the day the Sun and Moon were created. But at least they correctly placed First Fruits and Pentecost on Sundays. Weeks are not even remotely mentioned in the Genesis 1 account of the fourth day, so they aren't connected to the sun, moon or stars.
The Book of Jubilees was popular with them because it too rejected the Lunar Calendar (Chapter 6 verses 32-37). Something I bet Rob Skiba didn't notice when using the book for his agendas (This Calendar also seems to be endorsed by Enoch 72-82). But indeed Jubilees has the same problem as the Temple Scroll system. In fact it's criticism of the lunar system is a little hypocritical since it doesn't line up perfectly with the seasons either, being one day short of a solar year will inevitably create the same issue even if it'd take longer.
The Hebrew Roots movement has a lot of irrational fear of Sun Worship wrapped up into it. Obviously actually worshiping the actual Sun or Moon or any other inanimate object is a Sin. But Malachi does call Jesus the Sun(Shamash) of Righteousness, there is no equivalent title making the Moon a symbol of Jesus. So I have no problem believing Jesus Rose from The Grave at Sunrise on a Sunday Morning, or that he was born on or soon after the Winter Solstice. I'd rather base my calendar on the astronomical object that is explicitly a symbol of Jesus then one that is not and was frequently the basis for Pagan ceremonial calendars.
You might ask "are you gonna also question if Biblical days begin and end with Sunset?" Well I did consider it, but I concluded that they do. Genesis 1 lists them as Evenings and Mornings, and later Torah verses after Exodus 13 do the same, like Exodus 16 which is also the proper origin of the Sabbath. Also Exodus 27:21 and Leviticus 24:3. Instead I'm just going to point out that even that is also determined by the the Sun, when the Sun sets. [Update: on this paragraph I've had a change of mind since.]
But I'm not just disagreeing with the current Hebrew Roots movement here. This may shock you to learn but the Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and other mainstream Christian Churches do use the Moon to calculate "Easter". It's just that explaining why it doesn't always line up with Rabbinic Passover is complicated. In most Languages "Easter" is just called Pascha. If Catholic "Easter" was just a Christianized Spring Solstice festival as many allege it would consistently happen in the 20s of March.
Also remember that as a Six-Day Young Earth Creationist I do believe originally the Solar and Lunar cycles were in sync and there was no need to choose between them. I think that was the case at least until the Flood but maybe also till the time of Joshua or even Hezekiah.
I'm not ready to propose a specific calendar model just yet. I merely want to open up this line of discussion.
Or maybe I am. But take everything below with a grain of salt, it's all stuff I could easily abandon. What I've talked about above is the point of this post.
In Fact ignore everything below, I've revamped it all here.
[Update 2023: I have an even newer idea to add.
If you look at the chart on the Wikipedia page for Equinox, you'll notice that the Spring Equinox is the most consistent of the four cardinal points of the Solar Year. The other three have a two day margin of error on the Gregorian calendar, but the Spring Equinox is always March 20th. So that day is the ideal day to make the crux of a calendar.
I'm going to list here what names I'll call the months, so I'm more open to using the current traditional Hebrew names then others. Four have their pre-Captivity names mentioned in Scripture fortunately.
1st: Aviv (Exo 13:4, Exo 23:15, Exo 34:18, Exo 34:18, Deu 16:1, Deu 16:1)
2nd: Zif (1 Ki 6:1, 1 Ki 6:37)
3rd: Menahem (This name is often considered the Hebrew equivalent of Paraclete)
4th: Remmon (Zech 12:11)
5th: Abba
6th: Teshuvah
7th: Ethanim (1 Ki 8:2)
8th: Bul (1 Ki 6:38)
9th: Chesil (3685)
10th:Moladeth (4138)
11th:Etsah (6097)
12th:Adar (this one is a Biblical Hebrew word)
I did some math.
First I think March 21st should perhaps be the actual Rosh Chodesh of Aviv, the Equinox being the perfect day to end a year on. Though under the standard Jewish reckoning that would strictly begin the new year at Sunset of March 20th. That would fit a desire to keep the calendar observationally, you observe the Equinox during the day then begin the new Year and Month the next time the sun sets. And that happens to make the first six months line up with the Spring and Summer months of the French Revolutionary Calendar (the Thermidorian Reaction being Tish B'Av is kind of amusing), they would happen to line up perfectly if we instead put the leap days before the Ethanim.
The 7th day of Aviv (mentioned in Ezekiel 45) would be March 27th, the 10th of Aviv (day of the presentation of the Lambs and the Triumphal Entry) is March 30th, and the 14th (Peshach in Leviticus 23 and the Preparation day of Pasca in New Testament times) is April 3rd. That makes the 4th through 10th of April the seven days of unleavened bread, and First Fruits/Resurrection Day the Sunday that falls on the 5th-11th of April.
Then in Zif that makes May 3rd the Second Passover and the Thursday of May 14th-20th Ascension Day. May 20th would be the Rosh Chodesh of Menahem and thus no longer in Zif. Then the Sunday of May 24th-30th is Pentecost/Shavuot.
The Rosh Chedosh of Teshuvah (Haggai 1:1) would be August 18th, and Teshuvah 24 (Haggai 1:15) would be September 10th.
Six 30 day months from March 21st brings us to the start of Ethanim on September 17th (Yom Teruah) and then September 26th for Yom Kippur. Sunset of September 29th to Sunset of September 30th would be the 14th day of the Ethanim, which happens to be Michaelmas, it's long been my hunch that the 14th is the day John The Baptist was beheaded, six months before Jesus fitting the pattern of his nativity, and thus I associate Revelation 14-15 with the time between Yom Kippur and Tabernacles. After that the first day of Tabernacles is October 1st., then the seventh day of Tabernacles (as well as Haggai 2:1) is October 7th, and the Eight Day of the Feast is October 8th.
In the midst of Bul The Feast of Jeroboam falls on October 31st. Then All Souls' Day is the 17th of Bul, the day the Flood started.
That makes the 15th of Chesil, the day the Antiochus Epiphanes Idol on the brazen Altar was first set up, November 30th. That also makes Haggai 2:10-18 December 9th and the Eight days of Hanukkah December 10th through December 17th. During those days the Rosh Chodesh of Moladeth would be the 16th of December. And that makes December 25th the Tenth day of the Tenth Month.
On a 30 day Month calendar the expected time-frame of pregnancy is actually nine months and ten days, being 280 days. So the theory of a correlation between the pregnancy cycle and the Leviticus 23 Holy Days first proposed by Zola Levitt but also at times endorsed by Rob Skiba would place the expected birth in a pregnancy cycle that began on March 21st as December 25th. His Circumcision would then be January 1st and His presentation in The Temple would be February 2nd.
According to II Kings 25 the Tenth day of the Tenth month is the day Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem began and that's why it became one of the four major Fasts. Zechariah 8:14 foretells that all four of those Fast days of mourning will become feasts of joy and gladness. Perhaps Jesus being born on the first of them was the beginning of that process.
The Rosh Chodesh of Adar coincidentally falls on Valentines Day. The Fast of Esther (and Yom Nicanor) would then be February 26th, followed by Purim on February 27th and Shushan Purim on February 28th. Yom Adar would then be March 2nd or March 1st if the preceding February was a Leap Year.
The extra days would then be placed after Adar ends, which would be the Ides of March, unless the proceeding February was a Leap Year then Adar ends on White Day. When March follows a Leap Year February I'd make the first rather then last of the extra days the Leap Day, so that the Spring Equinox on March 20th and it's build up is always the same.
I think the first month of Elizabeth's pregnancy cycle was the 7th month. But because of the extra days before the first month begins that would place John The Baptist's Nativity on the 4th or 5th day of Remmon rather then the tenth, thus placing it on the 22nd or 23rd of June, making that traditional date just a little bit off. The 17th of Remmon would start at Sunset on July 4th, a night that fireworks go off in The United States.
I've alluded to how three of the four major Fast days became Joyous Celebrations, but it seems Tzom Gedaliah is still yet future, unless you consider International Talk Like a Pirate Day close enough.
Update:
I have also been considering slight variations to this, but I feel this version is the one truly not influenced by my personal biases even if it does look to reflect them in some way.
Starting a day sooner on the Equinox can make Machaelmas the first day of Tabernacles fitting it's history as a Feast Day, and then Christmas is only one day off which could make the 25th the day of the Magi's visit, or the 280 pregnancy could be counted no inclusively. And it would make the Flood's start line up with All Saints Day beginning at Sunset on Halloween. And Yom Kippur beginning at Sunset on September 24th could fit make a potential interesting theory for the Death and Resurrection of the Two Witnesses.
Starting the year on March 24th which could be astronomically justified by how that used to be the day the Sun was fully no longer in Pisces, is the model that makes the 14th of Aviv April 6th fitting my Thursday 30 AD Crucifixion view perfectly. And then makes Michaelmas day Yom Kippur fitting how the traditional Bible reading for Miachel is Michael casting Satan from Heaven in Revelation 12, an event I believe will be fulfilled on Yom Kippur.
I still consider starting the year at Sunset following the March Equinox the best option. The March Equinox can fall on a day other then March 20th, it can sometimes fall on the 19th or the 21st, but it currently seems pretty rare. The last time it did was in 2007 over a decade ago, and it won't do so again until 2044. In that context instead of a set number of extra days you just end the 12th month on the 360th day and are sort of between months until Sunset after the next Equinox is confirmed.
http://www.astropixels.com/ephemeris/soleq2001.html
However I have learned that When Julius Caesar first reformed the Roman Calendar he designed it so the Equinox would be on March 25th.
It also may be viable to consider lining up the Equinox with Passover itself rather then the start of the first month. Perhaps with the Equinox of the Passion being the weekly Sabbath and the Resurrection at Sunrise on the first morning that the day is longer then the night.
Bonus Coincidence for Anime fans. On the Gregorian Calendar the first and last episode of Revolutionary Girl Utena aired on April 2nd and December 24th, but Utena was a Late Night Anime meaning they would have aired after Sunset. I wonder if the fact that the show took 9 Months to air was maybe intentional to it's symbolism, it took 9 months to crack the Egg.
September 24th 2019 Update: I have recently read that in 30 AD and a lot of other years around there the Spring Equinox fell on March 23rd. That allows me to move the above proposed calendar down exactly 3 days, moving the 14th of Aviv from April 3rd to April 6th, the day I had previously placed the 30 AD Crucifixion on.
That moves the Fall Holy Days so that Yom Teruah is September 20th and Yom Kippur is September 29th.
April 2020 Update: I've changed my mind on when the Day begins and decided the Day does begin and end at Sunrise on the Biblical Calendar.
https://midseventiethweekrapture.blogspot.com/2019/12/im-starting-think-biblical-day-does.html
Also I've been thinking about taking the logic of the Temple Scroll/Jubilees/Enoch calendar of having the first day of the first month always be the same day of the week but simply changing which day.
Exodus 16 has been interpreted by Lunar Sabbath proponents as proof that that Second Month was one in which the 15th day was a Sabbath (with the 22nd as the first Sabbath of the Manna collecting). But since I no view the Torah as having Sunrise to Sunrise days, I think Exodus 16 doe shave that 15th day as the first day of the week. And makes that month one that begin on the first day of the week. And with 30 days months that counts backward to the first month beginning with the sixth day of the week.
The strictly Torah logic behind it is beginning the Calendar on the day Adam was created. And beginning Aviv on a Friday happens to fit perfectly a Thursday Crucifixion model, making the 14th Thursday and both the 10th and 17th Sunday and.
https://solascripturachristianliberty.blogspot.com/2019/12/inspiringphilosophys-videos-on-genesis.html
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