Why We Do Not Believe There is a Thirteenth Month in 2007

by Larry & June Acheson

T

he year 2007 is a controversial year for those who strive to keep Yahweh’s festivals in their ordained season. Some folks believe there are to be 13 months in the old year that, as of this writing, is about to expire. Others, like June and me, do not. The following is an assimilation of some things I have brought out in a few e-mails to those who have either inquired or sent us e-mail commentaries regarding their own position on this matter.

Before explaining when we believe the Scriptural year begins, I believe I should at least briefly explain how June and I reckon the beginning of the Scriptural month. Weagree with the conclusions reached by Jim Hollands in his online study entitled “A Discussion on Methods for Determining the New Moon” article/letter, which in turn means that we tend to go by the new moon sightings over Israel for determining the start of a Scriptural new month. In this electronic age, obtaining reports of new moon sightings over Israel is not at all difficult, and since we appreciate knowing that we are observing festivals on the same day that Yeshua would observe them, this seems to be the best option. Mr. Hollands does an excellent job of bringing out additional reasons for going with visible crescent as seen over Israel in his article, which may be viewed at the following URL:

We anticipate the new moon to be sighted over Israel on March 20, 2007, making March 21st “day one,” not only of the Scriptural month, but also of the new Scriptural year. Many, however, will regard next month as the 13th month of the old year instead of the first month of the new year, and therein lies the controversy. You see, I am on record as stating that I believe the Scriptural new year begins with the new moon sighting which occurs on or after the vernal equinox. According to the “official reports,” such will not be the case in 2007.

According to the “official reports” we have read about the vernal equinox this year, it should occur on March 20th at 6:08 PM CST, which will be 2:08 AM on March 21st in Israel. Since the new moon will have already been spotted over Israelsomeeight hoursbefore that time, for those who go by the Israel sightings, the new moon sighting of March 20th will precede the vernal equinox, not follow it.

This having been said, I would like to point out that I do not personally believe the ancients went by the same calculated vernal equinox that we use today. To give a very brief summary that depicts the problem, I would like to explain that I believe the ancients understood the equinox as being an observable event, and since the very notion of “equinox” conveys the understanding of “equal day and equal night,” we need to find out exactly “when” we can observe this event. According to the information I have found for our local area here in Plano, Texas, the sun rises at 7:35 AM on March 17th and sets exactly 12 hours later, at 7:35 PM. I found that there will be the same equal day and night scenario in Jerusalem that same day (5:48 AM/PM).[1]

The above findings closely parallel the information given by the U.S. Naval Observatory. The times given on their website do not allow for the early-than-normal time change in 2007. Otherwise, the times are nearly identical. What follows is a screen shot, along with my notes:

I am no vernal equinox expert, but it seems to me thatMarch 17thwould be the "vernal equinox day" that the ancients would have recognized. As such, the March new moon this year (whether you go by local sightings here in the United States on March 19th or Israel the following evening) would easily qualify as occurring after the vernal equinox. The way I see it, then, visible daylight and darkness are equal two or three days prior to the calculated equinox. The new moon thus occurs prior to the calculated vernal equinox, but after the observable equal daylight and darkness equinox that I believe was used by the ancients. If all believers recognized that method of determining the equinox, we would all be "on the same page" this year.

Again, I do not consider myself an expert when it comes to determining the vernal equinox. However, other folks who have spent considerable time studying this event agree that the observable vernal equinox occurs well before the calculated vernal equinox. Derek Davies offers the following information in his online mini-study entitled “Using the Observed Equinox”:

The fact is, the equinox (the sun crossing the equator) could be observed occurring as much as two days earlier than the calculated moment, at sunset on March 18, 2007. But it will most likely be observed by sunset of March 19. Therefore, it would be unnecessary to delay the start of the New Year by a month. Calculations strongly support the likelihood of this occurrence.

Many people have not realized this subtle but very real effect and how it will have a major influence on the determination of the beginning of the first month of this year, and when the Holy Days will occur. In the past, many have inadvertently been mixing observation of the new crescent moon with the calculation of the astronomical equinox. In the majority of years, this has had no adverse impact. But this year is different. This equinox is very, very close to the observance of the monthly, new crescent moon.

Therefore, and according to our understanding of Genesis, we will be watching for and using the observed occurrence of the equinox and the new crescent as our criteria.[2]

On his website, Derek offered a daily “blog” as he awaited the vernal equinox. Shown below are the commentaries he offered on the day prior to the observable equinox, as well as the actual day of the equinox. To add to the excitement, he posted photos displaying the sun’s position as it aligned perfectly with the two tripod poles he had set up, which were aligned with true west. Here are screen shots of those blogs:

Shown below is the commentary and spectacular photo submitted by Derek after sunset the following evening:

We hope this suffices to explain why, at least in 2007, we do not believe the Scriptural year is about to end contains thirteen months. The new year is about to begin! HalleluYah!

[1] I used the following website to calculate the sunrise/sunset calendar for the Plano, TX area:

[2] From the article “Using the Observed Equinox,” by Derek Davies, Jan. 23, 2007. Used by permission. This article may be read in its entirety by accessing the following URL: