Purim, New Moons and Calendar Confusion

February 16, 2012

Purim, New Moons and Calendar Confusion

By Robert Fitzpatrick

The new information we’ve learned from the book of Esther is very encouraging. By showing us that Mordecai was honored and Haman was executed on the 17th day of the second month, it confirms our understanding that Judgment Day began last May 21 after the last of God’s elect were saved. This information also suggests the possibility that around the days of Purim this year, we may see the Lord’s return. We need to remember, however, that this is only a possibility.

Some people seem very certain the end will come during Purim, based on the new information and a belief that the Bible indicates we will know the date for the Lord’ s return. That certainty, however, is not justified because it is not clear that we will know the date.

For example, we can understand the Lord’s promise that the wise will understand “time and judgment” (Ecclesiastes 8:5) as having already been fulfilled when we understood that Judgment Day began May 21. Therefore, it’s possible we won’t know the date for the last day until we are actually in it. We may hope for the Lord’s return early this March, but we need to prepare ourselves for a much longer wait in case He doesn’t return then. We may just have to live with a period of “tarrying” of unknown duration (see Matthew 25:5). It could be that the Lord never will reveal the date of His return.

We should also recognize that any numerical pattern based on March 9 of this year is not valid. How can that be? The reason is that the true dates for Purim are not March 8 and March 9! The proof for this is a little involved. In order to understand it, we need to understand the true Biblical calendar and how it differs from today’s Hebrew or Jewish calendar.

New Moons and the Hebrew Calendar

First, we’ll consider the Hebrew calendar. This is the calendar used by many Jews today. I’m afraid we’ve all gotten a bit confused in our use of it. We will see that the Hebrew calendar does not exactly follow Biblical rules for time keeping.

Today’s Hebrew calendar is definitely not the same calendar used by ancient Israel. If you do some checking, you’ll find that this is the case. The modern Hebrew-calendar is believed to have originated in the fourth century AD. At that time, Hillel II, president of the Sanhedrin, introduced a calendar based on mathematical and astronomical calculations. He may have released it right after developing it; or it may have been a closely guarded secret for years before it was made public.

That fourth century calendar is the basis for today’s Hebrew calendar. However, since the fourth century additional rules have been added. According to some sources, it wasn’t until the 12th century AD that the Hebrew calendar finally had all of its rules.

According to the Hebrew calendar, each month is supposed to begin with a new moon. This is not as simple as it sounds. First, we need to understand what a new moon is. There are actually two different meanings to the term “new moon.”

The symbol for a new moon on your calendar represents the astronomical new moon. The exact minute when a new moon occurs during any given lunar cycle can be determined by calculations. You cannot see the astronomical new moon, because it happens when the moon is positioned so that it isn’t reflecting any of the sun’s light. The time from one new moon to the next may be as little as 29 days, 6 hours and 30 minutes; and as much as 29 days, 20 hours. The average is 29.530594 days.

You may have noticed that an astronomical new moon is represented as a solid, black disk on a calendar. This is appropriate, because at the moment a new moon occurs there is actually nothing to see. This happens once every month when the moon is between the earth and the sun (but not in line with them, otherwise there would be an eclipse). The astronomical new moon is also called a dark moon. Reportedly, a Saudi prince once booked a ride on a space flight so that he could be in orbit to look for the moon when the new moon was scheduled to occur. He couldn’t see it: when the moon isn’t in position to reflect the sun’s light, it’s as if it isn’t there.

In ancient times, a new month began when a thin crescent of the moon first became visible after the moon had gone “black” at the end of the previous month. That is the second meaning of “new moon”– it marks the day when the moon is in its waxing (increasing) stage and a lunar crescent can once again be seen. After it becomes a full moon, it then begins to wane (decrease) until it disappears. Then the cycle begins again. In ancient times, as soon as a lunar crescent became visible a new moon was declared. (You can know the stage of the moon by facing it and noticing its open side. If you can stick your left finger into its open side, it’s waxing. If you can stick your right finger into its open side, it’s waning.)

For ancient Israel, it was important to know when the new moon began because the Lord required special sacrifices to be made then (see Numbers 28:11-15, 1 Chronicles 23:31, 2 Chronicles 2:4, 8:13, 31:2-3, Isaiah 1:13-14, Ezekiel 45:17-19, 46:1-7, Hosea 2:11, Ezra 3:5, Nehemiah 10:32-33). Also, the Lord sometimes chose the occasion of a new moon to speak to His prophets (see Numbers 1:1, Ezekiel 26:1, 29:17, 31:1, 32:1, Haggai 1:1); and there were some noteworthy events on the first day of the month throughout Old Testament times (see Genesis 8:5, 13, Exodus 40:2, 17, Leviticus 23:24, Numbers 1:18, 33:38, Deuteronomy 1:3, 2 Kings 4:23, 2 Chronicles 29:17, Amos 8:5, Ezra 7:9, 10:16-17). The Lord even used the new moon in an illustration of time to represent eternity (Isaiah 66:23).

Apparently, most religious Jews today use the calculation-based Hebrew calendar discussed here; but some, such as Karaite Jews, follow the ancient practice of visible sightings to determine times for new moons. There is a big problem, however, when your decision for the beginning of a new month is based on a sighting of the moon’s first visible crescent.

The problem is that many factors enter into an observer’s ability to see a very thin crescent of moon. For example, there may be clouds to prevent a sighting. If you know that a lunar crescent is there behind the clouds, should you declare the beginning of a new month even though you can’t see it? Here is another case: suppose you can see the crescent by using a telescope, but you can’t see it without one: did the new month begin? (According to a posting on the Internet, the Saudi Arabians send up airplanes to try to spot the lunar crescent when it can’t be seen from the ground. Their requirement is that the crescent must be seen.)

Other factors also need to be considered when the requirement is for an actual sighting. For instance, one person may have much sharper vision than another. Yet even a person with excellent visual acuity may suffer a brief period of blurred vision. Experience also seems to be a factor. A trained observer is supposed to be able to see a crescent that an untrained person could not see.

You may be wondering how long it takes a visible lunar crescent to appear after an astronomical new moon has occurred. Once again, it depends on conditions. Apparently, 17 hours is considered borderline in most months. One report claims that the record for seeing the new moon with the unaided eye is a little less than 15 ½ hours. With binoculars, it’s supposed to be about 13 ½ hours. At the other end of the scale, there was a report that on one occasion a new moon was still not visible in Washington DC even after 28 hours.

Getting back to the Hebrew calendar, we find that it isn’t only a lunar calendar. It is considered to be a combination lunar-solar calendar. It gives an estimate, by calculation, of the day by which a lunar crescent will have become visible – provided the day doesn’t conflict with other criteria; if it does, then it appears that the calendar pushes the start for the new month back by one day. (Here is an example of an additional requirement built into the Hebrew calendar: the calendar is adjusted so that the Jewish New Year – Rosh Hashanah, which is the feast of trumpets in Leviticus 23:24 – cannot occur on a Sunday, a Wednesday, or a Friday).

It’s useful to compare the Hebrew calendar with the Islamic calendar. The Islamic calendar is considered to be a true lunar calendar. In 2011, according to the Hebrew calendar most of the months began a day later than they did according to the Islamic calendar. For instance, the first month of the Hebrew calendar (Nisan) began on April 5; that agrees with the Islamic calendar’s start for a new month. When we look at the second month, however, we find that it began on May 5 according to the Hebrew calendar but on May 4 according to the Islamic calendar. (Both calendars begin the new month at sunset the previous evening of the day shown as the first of the month on their calendar.) So we see that the Hebrew calendar, even though it is a remarkable invention, cannot be relied upon to tell us when a new lunar month begins. However, when we go back to the Bible we find a way to make that determination.

The Bible Shows Us The Way

It’s interesting that whenever we see the word “moons” used in the Old Testament, we always find the word “new” in front of it and the same Hebrew word used for it in each verse. That word is Strong’s number H2320: chodesh. It’s related to the word translated as “rebuild” (H2318, which is “chadash”). Also, in almost every case in the Old Testament the word translated as “month” or “months” is also “chodesh,” H2320. Therefore, even though you won’t find a verse explicitly stating that a new month begins with a new moon, the Bible is certainly indicating that this is the case.

Even though the time for an astronomical new moon can be very accurately calculated, it’s impossible to calculate how long it takes for that month’s lunar crescent to become visible. How then can we know when a new month begins? There is a simple solution: find out when the astronomical new moon occurs according to Jerusalem time; if it occurs before sunset in Jerusalem, then the new month begins that evening.

The Bible justifies this solution. Notice 1 Samuel 20:5:

And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even.

The same idea is found in 1 Samuel 20:18:

Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.

In both verses, the Hebrew word used for “new moon” is “chodesh.” (Jewish history tells us that when the new moon’s crescent was seen, the news was sent by signal fires and messengers. Supposedly, under the emperor Constantine these practices were prohibited; and from then on the Hebrew calendar was based on calculations.) Notice that in both verses, both David and Jonathan know that the new moon begins the following day. Neither has seen it or been informed that it is visible. Yet they know when the new moon will begin and are making plans based on that knowledge.

People back in the time of King David were as smart as people are today - and possibly even smarter. They may not have known how to calculate exactly when a new moon began in prior years or when a new moon would begin far into their future; but they would have known approximately how long a lunar month lasts and therefore would have known when to expect the next month to start.

Our Key Dates, Using the Bible’s Rules: May 21

If we apply the Bible’s rules, we can determine correct dates (according to our Gregorian calendar) for dates identified in the Bible by month and day. To determine a date, we must know when the astronomical new moon for that Biblical month occurs according to Jerusalem time; if it occurs before the sun sets in Jerusalem, then the new month begins that evening at sundown and continues until the following evening at sundown.

Also, it’s important to realize that the first month begins in the spring according to the Bible. We know this from Exodus 12:1-2:

And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

God gave Israel their calendar just before the first Passover. That first month is called Nisan (Esther 3:7) or Abib (Exodus 13:4). The word “Nisan” dates from the time of the Media-Persian empire; but the word “Abib” is Strong’s number H24. Besides being used to refer to the first Hebrew month, “Abib” has also been translated as “in the ear” (referring to barley, in Exodus 9:31) and as “green ears” (referring to corn as translated in Leviticus 2:14). From these two uses we see its connection with spring.

Using the Bible’s rules, the first date we will check is the 17th day of second month in 2011. According to a NASA website for moon phases, there was a new moon (astronomical new moon) on May 3 at 6:51 AM UT (Universal Time). When that new moon occurred, it was May 3 at 8:51 AM Jerusalem time based on time zone information at a World Clock website. That was well before the sun went down over Jerusalem that evening. Therefore, the second month of the Biblical calendar began in the evening of May 3. A true Biblical calendar should show May 4 as day 1 of the second month, but the Hebrew calendar shows May 5 as day 1. Counting forward from the date according to the Biblical calendar, we find that the 17th day of the second month was actually May 20, not May 21!

Although this finding might at first be very disturbing, it could actually clarify our understanding of both May 20 and May 21. The 17th day of the second month began in the evening on Thursday, May 19 and ended in the evening on Friday, May 20. That’s why a true Biblical calendar would show May 20 as the 17th day of the second month. We always suspected that the Lord would be saving people until the last moment of the day when He “shut the door” on salvation. When the Lord told us about shutting the door to the ark (Genesis 7:16), He gave us a picture of something that happened quickly. Until the door to the ark was shut, Noah would have been busy getting the animals on board. Therefore, it could be that the Lord was saving people until sundown on May 20. Just around the time the sun went down, He apparently “shut the door” on salvation. A few hours later, May 21 began at midnight according to our calendar. That was the first full day when there was no salvation. And so the message of May 21 as Judgment Day was correct.