The weekly Sabbath is anchored in the New Moon

[Benaiah468]

This is the continuation of the Thread Crucifixion date of Jesus Christ.

The topic was closed at the request of the thread opener.

The first Sabbath is the 8th day of the month and the second Sabbath is the 15th.

prodromos​

I was under the impression that the Jews counted inclusively. Thus the 1st Sabbath would not be on the 8th as that is now the 2nd Sabbath.

That would make the first Sabbath on the day of the new moon. The new moon is considered like a sabbath - a day of no work. Every month begins with a new moon.

But how do you count inclusively in an uninterrupted sequence of weeks?

 

[Benaiah468]

And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. Lk 6:1
εγενετο δε εν σαββατω δευτεροπρωτω διαπορευεσθαι δια των σποριμων και ετιλλον μαθηται τους σταχυας ησθιον ψωχοντες ταις χερσιν

Focus on the word δευτεροπρωτω in the original Greek, it do not fit the Gregorian Calendar.

So some translaters decided to change the meaning of this verse. And we can see for example in the NIV, how they changed it to read

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, Lk 6:1a NIV

The NIV changed it when it said the second sabbath after the first , which we can see clearly on YHVH's calendar.

There are more bible's that got it wrong (NLT, ESV) but some Bible's got it right.

Click to expand...

JSRG​

Translators did not change the meaning. The divergence here is not because of a difference in translation, but a difference in the text itself that is being translated. In fact, your own link in the word δευτεροπρωτω notes this, saying "But the genuineness of the word is questionable. It is lacking in א B L 1, 33, 69 and some other authorities. Hence, Tr text WH omit the word; L Tr marginal reading brackets it."

The NET Bible gives a good though brief explanation of the issue in its footnote for the verse:

Most later mss (A C D Θ Ψ [ƒ] M lat) read ἐν σαββάτῳ δευτεροπρώτῳ (en sabbatō deuteroprōtō, “a second-first Sabbath”), while the earlier and better witnesses have simply ἐν σαββάτῳ (P א B L W ƒ 33 579 1241 2542 it sa). The longer reading is most likely secondary, though various explanations may account for it (for discussion, see TCGNT 116).

There are reasonable arguments for and against the deuteroproto being original, and I don't have a definite opinion on it. But if it is not original, then your subsequent argument becomes irrelevant.

Supposing it is original, however, we run into the problem that the translation from the kJV your argument relies on--"the second Sabbath after the first"--is itself speculative. The word in question, deuteroproto, literally means "second-first". It is found nowhere else in the Bible (Mark and Matthew describe the same incident and neither use the word). In fact, outside of this one verse and later writings referring to it, nothing like this phrase is found anywhere in any writing in Greek. Thus the translation "second Sabbath after the first" is already a guess, so one shouldn't be trying to rest their argument too much on what is already a guess.

But what seems to me a major problem with your subsequent argument is that if you are correct, it means Luke is including this detail to say it was the second Sabbath of the month. But why would Luke include this detail? Of what use is it to know that it was the second Sabbath of an unspecified month? It adds absolutely nothing to the narrative and gives the reader no real knowledge. So even supposing that this word was original to the text, it doesn't explain why it would be there at all. Some of the explanations you reject seem much more plausible than your interpretation for the simple fact that those are specific enough about the date that there would be an actual reason to include the detail.

The objection as to why Luke should mention this detail (the second Sabbath of the month) is justified. There should be a reference mentioned to an event connected with this date. This event should also be the key to understanding this particular date.

I will come back to this later.

 

[Benaiah468]

I originally assumed that deuteroprotos was the last day of a 30-day month. In 30-day months, the last Sabbath (29) is followed by another day of rest (30), before the new moon day marks the beginning of a new lunar cycle.

But after Brother Janzen's explanation, I come to the same conclusion as him, especially because he identifies the key event associated with the word deuteroprotos, which can therefore assign the specific date to the lunisolar calendar.

Below, I present an abridged version of his argument with my own insertions.

And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; How he went into the house of G-d, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone? And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. Lk 6:1-5

So why do several translations mention this second after the first in the description of this Sabbath?

Deutero is the Greek word for “second” in time, place or rank. Protos is the Greek word for “first” or “highest” in time, place or rank. If you put the two words together to form a compound Greek word, you get: deuteroprotos. This compound Greek word occurs only in the Gospel of Luke and is not found anywhere else in the entire Greek NT. This word is not found in all Greek manuscripts of the Gospel of Luke, but in many.

The word δευτεροπρωτω, the second first, is omitted in four other texts - the Syriac, the later Arabic, all Persian, Coptic, Ethiopic and three Itala (Latin translation of the Bible). A marginal note in the later Syriac says: This is not included in all copies.

Although the word deuteroprotos should be considered original according to the established rules of textual criticism, most critics advocate the removal of the term as it is considered too difficult.

The term has puzzled scholars since as early as the 4th century CE, when Jerome (Latin church father) confesses in a letter to Nepotianus that he consulted his master Gregory of Nazianzus (Greek church father) and was unable to determine the meaning of the word.

Incidentally, Jerome was the author of the Latin Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Hebrew OT and the Greek NT, the beginnings of which are dated to the 4th century. In textual criticism (which determines what belongs in the manuscripts of the NT and what does not), it is generally accepted that the more difficult reading is the correct one. This is because later scribes are more likely to change the reading of a manuscript to one that is easier to understand or to remove a difficult reading altogether because they considered it unimportant.

Therefore, several learned theologians believe that the word originally existed.

But what does it mean?

What is meant by the “deuteroprotos” or “second-first Sabbath”?

The most common view on this is that of James Strong. He believes that this refers to the first Sabbath after the second day of unleavened bread. This view can be found in many commentaries on Luke. The second day of unleavened bread took place on the 16th day of the month of Abib. Many commentators believe that Luke is talking about the following Sabbath.

But isn't this view far-fetched? It focuses on the second day of Unleavened Bread, which is a working day and not a Sabbath. That simply doesn't make sense.

Others think it refers to the second Sabbath in the count up to Pentecost. In other words: “the second Sabbath after the first (Sabbath)”.

In counting to Pentecost, we are instructed to count seven Sabbaths in full. Therefore, we have a first and a second Sabbath in the count. The problem with this is that the phrase “the second Sabbath after the first” in the KJV is an interpretation of the literal Greek word “deuteroprotos”. The literal reading is “second first Sabbath”, not “the second Sabbath after the first”. The literal reading would lead us to believe that both the words “deutero” and “protos” describe this particular Sabbath.

There are also other assumptions, which we will not consider here.

The Sabbath referred to here is presumably the new moon Sabbath and not the weekly Sabbath. The term “second first Sabbath” therefore refers to a specific new moon.

The new moon occurs once every lunar month and its beginning is celebrated for either one or two days. Lunar months have either 29 or 30 days. If a lunar month has 29 days, the next day is the new moon festival. If a lunar month has 30 days, the 30th day and the following day 1 are celebrated as a two-day new moon festival. Not two new moons, but one new moon that extends over a period of two days. The second day of the new moon festival is the first or most important day of the new month.

We find case law for this practice in 1 Samuel 20, where Jonathan and David discuss King Saul's attitude towards David. We will therefore take a closer look at 1 Samuel 20 as it is relevant to understanding Luke 6:1-5.

 

[Benaiah468]

And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life? And he said unto him, G-d forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will shew it me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so. And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death. Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee. 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. 1 Sam 20:1-5

Here David speaks to Jonathan about the approaching new moon. Note also that in v.5 David connects the new moon with the meal with the king. This was not an ordinary lunch. It was a special meal planned for a special day - the new moon. That is the context.

However, David is in a sense asking Jonathan to hide in the field until the third evening.

Why does David mention the number 3 here?

What on earth would cause David not to mention the second evening, which would be the night after the meal?

The first night was the night ahead (the meal was eaten that night), and the next day was the second day with another evening. Why did David want to hide in the field until the evening of the third day? There is a reason. Not only did David know in advance when the new moon would be, but he also knew that two days of the new moon would be celebrated that month, making a total of three days if you count the Sabbath (29) before it

Let's move on to verses 6-12. In verse 6, David is still talking to Jonathan

If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. If he say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him. Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thee: notwithstanding, if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father? And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee: for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee? Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly? And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field. And Jonathan said unto David, O Lord G-d of Israel, when I have sounded my father about to morrow any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and shew it thee; 1 Sam 20:6-12

Note the connection between vv. 5 and 12 (underlined).

The Lord do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it please my father to do thee evil, then I will shew it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and the Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father. And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the Lord, that I die not: But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the Lord hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the Lord even require it at the hand of David's enemies. And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul. Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty. And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel. And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark. And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the Lord liveth. But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: for the Lord hath sent thee away. And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the Lord be between thee and me for ever. So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat. And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty. Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean. 1 Sam 20:13-26

Jonathan and David therefore make a pact or covenant. David fears for his life because of King Saul, as v.1 indicates. As v.5 and v.18 show, David usually ate a special dinner with the king on the new moon. Notice that in v.18, after Jonathan says, “Tomorrow is the new moon,” he tells David, “You will be missed, for your place will be empty.” Jonathan is not talking about an everyday workday here. In v.19 Jonathan mentions these three days again. This is the third time in this chapter that these three days are mentioned: Verses 5, 12 and 19 all allude to the three days.

Here we read that David did exactly what he had asked Jonathan to do: he went and hid in the field. Then came the new moon, and King Saul sat down to eat. David's seat was empty, but we read that Saul said nothing that day because he thought that something had happened to David that had made him unclean. Notice again that this is no ordinary meal. Saul believes that David stayed away from this particular meal because of some uncleanness. Whether or not we understand why Saul assumed ceremonial uncleanness as the reason for David's absence is irrelevant. It shows that this meal was special because of the new moon.

 

[Benaiah468]

In v.27, the words “which was” (KJ21) and “day” are printed in italics. They have been added to the English translation to clarify the meaning

And it came to pass on the morrow, [which was] the second [day] of the month, that David’s place was empty. And Saul said unto Jonathan his son, “Why cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday nor today?” 1 Sam 20:27 KJ21

However, they are missing in the Hebrew text. The Hebrew text here simply reads “ha chodesh ha sheni”, which literally means “the new moon on the second” or “the month on the second”

And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month [chodesh], that David's place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to day? 1 Sam 20:27
וַיְהִ֗י מִֽמָּחֳרַ֤ת הַחֹ֙דֶשׁ֙ הַשֵּׁנִ֔י וַיִּפָּקֵ֖ד מְקֹ֣ום דָּוִ֑ד ס וַיֹּ֤אמֶר שָׁאוּל֙ אֶל־יְהֹונָתָ֣ן בְּנֹ֔ו מַדּ֜וּעַ לֹא־בָ֧א בֶן־יִשַׁ֛י גַּם־תְּמֹ֥ול גַּם־הַיֹּ֖ום אֶל־הַלָּֽחֶם

The word “chodesh” can refer to the new moon day itself or be used in the context of any day of the month (1 through 30). Context and grammar should always be considered to determine the correct understanding of “chodesh” in a particular text of the Hebrew Scriptures. The phrase “ha chodesh ha sheni” is found only here in 1 Sam 20:27 .34, as well as in 1 Kgs 6:1 and 1 Chr 27:4.

The context in 1 Kgs 6:1 and 1 Chr 27:4 shows that the second month is meant. Each text speaks of the second month (as a whole) of a biblical year. Of all the Hebrew texts in Scripture that speak of the second day of the monthly lunar cycle, none reads “ha chodesh ha sheni”. This is a unique Hebrew reading. Therefore, it is obviously not the second day of the lunar cycle (a regular working day) that is meant here, but the second day of the new moon festival.

This explains why Saul freaked out and wondered why David did not come to eat yesterday (1st day of the new moon) and today (2nd day of the new moon). The NASB reads in v.27:

But it came about the next day, the second day of the new moon,... 1 Sam 20:27

The NASB often translates “chodesh” as “month”, but in this case they chose “chodesh” as “new moon” because they believe that the new moon festival is still taking place.

In Hebrew, there is only one word - “chodesh” - which means either “new moon” or “month”. Context and grammar show which word is meant in the respective text. In Greek, however, there are two words: one word for month - mén - and another for the special new moon - nouménia. For example, it is used in Colossians 2:16, where it reads:

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Col 2:16

We know that Paul is not only talking about a month here because of the context, but also because he uses the specific Greek word nouménia, that only means new moon and not month or any day within the lunar month. Other texts in the NT, such as Rev.22:2, use the Greek word μῆνα (mēna) and clearly refer to the monthly period. This is very significant as Josephus, in his Antiquities of the Jehudites, tells the story of Jonathan and David in the first book of Samuel.

Josephus' writings were originally written in Aramaic, but were then translated into Greek by himself (he was fluent in both languages). In Antiquities of the Jews - Book VI, 236, Josephus writes:

[236] ὡς δὲ καὶ τῇ δευτέρᾳ τῆς νουμηνίας
[236] But when he was not there either on the new moon,

Josephus could have used the Greek word mén, which means month, if he had understood 1 Sam 20:27 as the second day of the lunar cycle. However, we know that Josephus did not understand the text in this way. He therefore used the Greek word, which can ONLY mean new moon, and understood that there was a second day of the new moon feast, which was the main day of the new month.

If you look up this text in the popular translation of Josephus by William Whiston, you will find that he translated it into English as “second day of the month”. However, this is an error on Whiston's part. The Greek text of Josephus uses nouménia, the same Greek word that Paul uses in Col 2:16. Whiston should have translated the word in English as new moon. These points, along with 1 Sam. 20, are why many scholars actually believe that two days of new moons were celebrated in 30-day months.

A scholar named Solomon Gandz writes in his treatise “The Origin of the Two New Moon Days” (1949):

"...the 30th day is always observed as the new moon day, but the difference between the defective and the full month is as follows: If the past month was defective, the 30th day is the first day of the new month; if the past month was full, the 30th day is still observed as the new moon day, inasmuch as part of it belongs to the new month, but it is counted as the completion, i.e. as the last day, of the past full month, whereas the 31st day is counted as the first day of the new month."

If we understand the text in this way, we realize why three days were mentioned in three separate verses before we reach v.27.

Our understanding and belief in lunar Sabbaths helps here. Day 1 was the Sabbath, days 2 and 3 the new moon feast.

But if we read on, there is much more to discover. Back to v.27, correctly translated

And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the new moon, that David's place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to day? And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem: And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the king's table. Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness? For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done? And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David. So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the new moon: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame. 1 Sam 20:27-34

V.34 contains exactly the same sentence as v.27: ha chodesh ha sheni - the second new moon. This is not about one of the six working days, but about the second day of the new moon festival. Remember that not only does the context suggest this, but that v.27 and 34 of 1 Sam. 20 are unique compared to the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures. There is no other Hebrew scripture that speaks of a numbered day of the lunar month and reads in Hebrew like vv.27 and 34: ha chodesh ha sheni. This is because the phrase refers to the second day of the new moon feast and not the second numbered day of the lunar cycle.

Look at v.35

And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him. 1 Sam 20:35

David said he would hide in the field until the evening of the third day (verse 5),

The first meal was eaten the night after their conversation, on the new moon, and the second meal was eaten the following night, on the second new moon. Let's continue:

And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond thee? And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master. But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter. And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city. And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded. And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city. 1 Sam 20:36-42

So Jonathan keeps his promise with the arrows and sends David away secretly and in peace, but Saul is still in pursuit of David's life. Because the chapter ends here, we are tempted to close the Bible and think, well, that was a pretty intense account, but remember that the division into chapters and verses was not part of the original Hebrew scriptures.

 

[Benaiah468]

1 Sam:21 begins after that, but the thought and the story continue, and it is still the new moon. It is the second day of the new moon feast, but the first, or may I say the main, day of the new lunar cycle. Note that this new moon is the second of one count and the first of another count. It is a second-first Sabbath, if you will.

We read:

Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. (David is lying here, but he is running for his life.) Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present. And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women. (Hallowed bread = shewbread or bread of the presence) And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, (this is key; what does he mean by "these three days" ??? remember 1Sam20:5,12,19 all mention 3 days) and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel. (there is differences in how English translations translate verse 5 at the end, but the KJV most likely has the right idea when we read vs. 6) So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away. 1 Sam 21:1-6

V.6 tells us that the bread the priest gave David was the showbread that had been taken from the table and replaced with fresh, warm showbread.

And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the Lord. And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord. Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. Lev 24:5-8

The last Sabbath of the lunar month was just taking place when Jonathan and David spoke to each other in 1 Sam. 20:5. Towards the end of this Sabbath, the week-old showbread [which according to Josephus, Antiquities 3 (255) was unleavened] was removed and replaced with warm showbread. There were twelve loaves in all, and David did not appear in the tabernacle until about a day and a half after the bread was removed. It is not far-fetched to assume that the removed bread had not been completely eaten by the priest or priests in the tabernacle.

The timeline locates David in the tabernacle where he spoke with Ahimelech on the new moon, or should I say the second-first or second-highest Sabbath. Second because it is day 2 of the new moon feast. First or last because it is day 1 of the next lunar cycle.

Notice here that while the new moon is not THE Sabbath, there is nothing wrong with calling the new moon a Sabbath because it is different from the 6 days of labor according to Ezekiel

Thus saith the Lord G-d; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. Ezek 46:1

The fact that the day of the new moon is a Sabbath rest is clearly stated by YHVH in the third book of Moses - pay special attention to this:

Speak to the children of Israel and say, “In the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a day of rest [Hebrew: shabbathon] for you, a commemoration with the sound of horns, a holy convocation. [The Hebrew name of this festival is zikkaron teruah; later it was called Rosh ha shanah (“the beginning of the year”) as a New Year's festival]. You shall do no workday labor, but shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. Lev 23:24-25

The usual new moon days of the other months are also days of trumpet blowing, so these days are also Sabbath rest.

There is no question that the new moon is not an ordinary day of work - a day of worship without buying or selling (Ezek.46:1; Isa.66:23; Amos 8:5). YHVH wants us to work these six days, but we are admonished to rest after six days of work, which is the 8th day in the 7th month. Then six more days of work, then rest and worship on the 15th day, and so on. So it goes on year after year, from one new moon to another and one Sabbath to another.

David ate the shewbread on the second day of the new moon feast, which was the main day or the first day of the new lunar cycle. This is the reason why Jesus mentions David in Lk 6:1-5. Let's conclude this long, technical lesson. Let's read the text in Luke again and translate σαββάτῳ δευτεροπρώτῳ as the second chief Sabbath (this is how JP Green's Interlinear translates it)

And it happened on the second chief sabbath, Lk 6:1a Green's Literal Translation (LITV)

(Green's Literal Translation or the Literal Translation of the Holy Bible (LITV) is a Bible translation by Jay P. Green Sr. that was first published in 1985).

And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; How he went into the house of G-d, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone? And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. Lk 6:1-5

There is more to say about the meaning of these verses, but the intention in this lesson was to explain in detail on which Sabbath Jesus walked through the cornfields. This also helps us to understand texts like Amos 8:5 much better. When we read the greedy, sinful merchants of the land ask:

Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat? Amos 8:5-6

The reason they could not sell on the new moon was because it was considered by the Israelites to be a Sabbath in a sense. It is true that a period of two days (Sabbath followed by new moon) caused such disgust among these merchants, but how much more would a period of three days cause these merchants to say these words in disgust. Three Sabbaths without trade would make them nervous. Imagine if trade in your town came to a standstill for three days.

 

[SabbathBlessings]

This is the continuation of the Thread Crucifixion date of Jesus Christ.

The topic was closed at the request of the thread opener.




That would make the first Sabbath on the day of the new moon. The new moon is considered like a sabbath - a day of no work. Every month begins with a new moon.

But how do you count inclusively in an uninterrupted sequence of weeks?

Do you have any Scripture to back up any of this? There is nothing about a new Sabbath in the Scripture. God said the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, Exo 20:10 it is the Holy Day of the Lord thy God Isa 58:13 so there is other and He said He would not alter His Words, not a jot or tittle. Mat 5:18-19

The 4th commandment is more than the Sabbath commandment. Its a commandment for all days.

He commanded us to work 6 days Exo 20:9 but on the seventh day we are to rest from our works and keep the Sabbath day holy Exo 20:8-10 doing the ways of God Isa 58:13 so no secular work on Sabbath, which is today, not any other day thus saith the Lord.

We have to remember when we disobey God especially when linking to His personal Testimony Exo 31:18, the Ten Commandments what all man will be Judged by hence why it is in heaven under His mercy - His unedited version Heb 8:1-5 Rev 11:18-19 they are all connected. If you choose to not obey God and work when He said to keep the Sabbath day holy or make a common day a holy day, we are essentially stealing time from God and coveting something that doesn't belong to us. This is what happened to Eve when she coveted the forbidden fruit in the garden and ended up stealing something that didn't belong to her, it separated man from God. Isa 59:2 Why breaking one commandment we break them all James 2:11-12 and this is not the way to reconciliation, its the opposite. Rev 22:14-15

Its best to let God be God and not find creative ways to change what He said is unchangeable. God wrote it God spoke it, there is no greater authority than He and I do not believe we will end up in a different result than anyone else in the Bible who broke God's Sabbath without repenting and turning from our sin and obeying God through love and faith.

Eze 20:13 13 Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes; they despised My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; and they greatly defiled My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them in the wilderness, to consume them.''


Ezekiel 20:16 because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they even profaned My sabbaths, for their heart continually went after their idols.

Eze 22:26 Her priests have [a]violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.

Eze 23:38
Again, they have done this to Me: they have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and have profaned My sabbaths.

Neh 13:17
Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing you are doing, by profaning the sabbath day?

Neh 13:15
In those days I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs and all kinds of loads, and they brought them into Jerusalem on the sabbath day. So I admonished them on the day they sold food.

God does not change, the Sabbath rest is still according to the commandment in the NT Luke 23:56, sin is still breaking God's law in the NT 1 John 3:4 breaking one we break them all quoting directly from the Ten Commandments James 2:11-12 the wages of sin is still death Rom 6:23 we have another option, we can obey God the way God said because He is God or we can follow the popular traditions of man despite the warning of Jesus Christ Mat 15:3-14 Mark 7:7-13 Jesus keeps His promises so we need to be careful what we are teaching Mat 5:19 and where that result leads Mat 7:23

 

[SabbathBlessings]

1 Sam:21 begins after that, but the thought and the story continue, and it is still the new moon. It is the second day of the new moon feast, but the first, or may I say the main, day of the new lunar cycle. Note that this new moon is the second of one count and the first of another count. It is a second-first Sabbath, if you will.

We read:

Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. (David is lying here, but he is running for his life.) Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present. And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women. (Hallowed bread = shewbread or bread of the presence) And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, (this is key; what does he mean by "these three days" ??? remember 1Sam20:5,12,19 all mention 3 days) and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel. (there is differences in how English translations translate verse 5 at the end, but the KJV most likely has the right idea when we read vs. 6) So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away. 1 Sam 21:1-6

V.6 tells us that the bread the priest gave David was the showbread that had been taken from the table and replaced with fresh, warm showbread.

And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the Lord. And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord. Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. Lev 24:5-8

The last Sabbath of the lunar month was just taking place when Jonathan and David spoke to each other in 1 Sam. 20:5. Towards the end of this Sabbath, the week-old showbread [which according to Josephus, Antiquities 3 (255) was unleavened] was removed and replaced with warm showbread. There were twelve loaves in all, and David did not appear in the tabernacle until about a day and a half after the bread was removed. It is not far-fetched to assume that the removed bread had not been completely eaten by the priest or priests in the tabernacle.

The timeline locates David in the tabernacle where he spoke with Ahimelech on the new moon, or should I say the second-first or second-highest Sabbath. Second because it is day 2 of the new moon feast. First or last because it is day 1 of the next lunar cycle.

Notice here that while the new moon is not THE Sabbath, there is nothing wrong with calling the new moon a Sabbath because it is different from the 6 days of labor according to Ezekiel

Thus saith the Lord G-d; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. Ezek 46:1

The fact that the day of the new moon is a Sabbath rest is clearly stated by YHVH in the third book of Moses - pay special attention to this:

Speak to the children of Israel and say, “In the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a day of rest [Hebrew: shabbathon] for you, a commemoration with the sound of horns, a holy convocation. [The Hebrew name of this festival is zikkaron teruah; later it was called Rosh ha shanah (“the beginning of the year”) as a New Year's festival]. You shall do no workday labor, but shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. Lev 23:24-25

The usual new moon days of the other months are also days of trumpet blowing, so these days are also Sabbath rest.

There is no question that the new moon is not an ordinary day of work - a day of worship without buying or selling (Ezek.46:1; Isa.66:23; Amos 8:5). YHVH wants us to work these six days, but we are admonished to rest after six days of work, which is the 8th day in the 7th month. Then six more days of work, then rest and worship on the 15th day, and so on. So it goes on year after year, from one new moon to another and one Sabbath to another.

David ate the shewbread on the second day of the new moon feast, which was the main day or the first day of the new lunar cycle. This is the reason why Jesus mentions David in Lk 6:1-5. Let's conclude this long, technical lesson. Let's read the text in Luke again and translate σαββάτῳ δευτεροπρώτῳ as the second chief Sabbath (this is how JP Green's Interlinear translates it)

And it happened on the second chief sabbath, Lk 6:1a Green's Literal Translation (LITV)

(Green's Literal Translation or the Literal Translation of the Holy Bible (LITV) is a Bible translation by Jay P. Green Sr. that was first published in 1985).

And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; How he went into the house of G-d, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone? And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. Lk 6:1-5

There is more to say about the meaning of these verses, but the intention in this lesson was to explain in detail on which Sabbath Jesus walked through the cornfields. This also helps us to understand texts like Amos 8:5 much better. When we read the greedy, sinful merchants of the land ask:

Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat? Amos 8:5-6

The reason they could not sell on the new moon was because it was considered by the Israelites to be a Sabbath in a sense. It is true that a period of two days (Sabbath followed by new moon) caused such disgust among these merchants, but how much more would a period of three days cause these merchants to say these words in disgust. Three Sabbaths without trade would make them nervous. Imagine if trade in your town came to a standstill for three days.

The New Moon is not a Sabbath, it means the beginning of the month because they did not have calendars back than and that's how they new where they were in the month by the moon. There were also new moon feasts days, just like there were sabbath(s) feasts that had nothing to do with the weekly Sabbath commandment. These annual sabbath(s) feast days came after the fall of man, the weekly Sabbath started at Creation Exo 20:11 Gen 2:1-3 when God made everything according to His perfect plan. God called the annual sabbaths your sabbaths, He called the weekly Sabbath My Sabbath, the holy day of the Lord and He said He would not change His weekly Sabbath, not a jot or tittle as it is connected to His Ten Commandments, God's personal Testimony Exo 31:18 Deut 4:13 , written and spoken by the God of the Universe and there is no greater authority than He, so best to let God be God and follow and serve Him, through faith the way He said.

The weekly Sabbath links back to Creation according to God's own Testimony Exo 20:11 Gen 2:1-3 nothing about new moons at Creation.

Happy Sabbath all!

 

[Benaiah468]

Do you have any Scripture to back up any of this? There is nothing about a new Sabbath in the Scripture. God said the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, Exo 20:10 it is the Holy Day of the Lord thy God Isa 58:13 so there is other and He said He would not alter His Words, not a jot or tittle. Mat 5:18-19

The 4th commandment is more than the Sabbath commandment. Its a commandment for all days.

The lunar Sabbath is not a new Sabbath; it is numbered in sevenths from the new moon and is the seventh day of the week. Weeks have been integrated into the lunar month since the beginning of time, space, and matter. The moon is the clock that orbits the round Earth and represents the reference for biblical time.

If this reference is ignored, it must be replaced by an arbitrary, man-made marker (like the IDL). The date line runs from the North Pole to the South Pole right through the Pacific Ocean. However, an ocean cannot be a date line. That squiggly line through the Pacific where days begin and end has no legal authority and technically doesn’t exist. It is pretty arbitrary

Without the IDL keeping track of what day passes by and what day has arrived, there would just be chaos and confusion as to what day it is.

However, the true calendar, which was established at creation, is based on the phases of the moon (Gen 1:14; Ps 81:3). Therefore, neither Saturday nor Sunday is the OT Sabbath, and the IDL does not matter at all.

When Samoa switched its time zone to be west of the IDL on Dec 29, 2011, it caused a shift in the day for Seventh-day Adventists. This meant their traditional Sabbath, which begins on Friday evening, would now be observed on Sunday instead of Saturday. This change has led to some Adventist congregations in Samoa continuing to observe the Sabbath on Saturdays, while others have adapted to the new Sunday observance to maintain the unbroken seven-day cycle.

Surely Adventists in both countries should worship together on the same seventh day.

The date line dilemma in Samoa shows that one cannot rely on the international date line to determine the Sabbath.

Therefore, what can you contribute to solving the Samoan Sabbatarians' problem?

There were also new moon feasts days, just like there were sabbath(s) feasts that had nothing to do with the weekly Sabbath commandment. These annual sabbath(s) feast days came after the fall of man, the weekly Sabbath started at Creation Exo 20:11 Gen 2:1-3 when God made everything according to His perfect plan.

The Sabbath is introduced in the first book of Moses. It does not say:

“Count all seven days”,

but:

And G-d said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: Gen 1:14

The word for times is Strong's #H4150, 'religious feasts'.

In the first book of Moses, it is stated that the "religious feasts" are marked by the

lights in the firmament of the heaven Gen 1:14b

In the Book of Psalms, the light is identified as the moon

He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down. Ps 104:19

The Sabbaths and feast days are linked by the 4th Commandment, which is found in two different books of the Bible:

The 4th Commandment in the Second Book of Moses clearly refers to the Sabbath on the seventh day, which is based on creation;

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy G-d: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Ex 20:8-11

the 4th Commandment in the Fifth Book of Moses clearly refers to the Sabbath on the seventh day, which is based on the deliverance from Egypt that took place on the night of the Feast Day #576ff (hebr.: chag) of Unleavened Bread

Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy G-d hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy G-d: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy G-d brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy G-d commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. Deu 5:12-15

Note that the Sabbath commandment in the fifth book of Moses does not mention creation, but the Exodus from Egypt, which took place on the 15th day at night. To reiterate:

The seventh-day Sabbaths are always on the same date: The 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th of the month, and they share the same calendar as the feast days - the lunar calendar.

God called the annual sabbaths your sabbaths, He called the weekly Sabbath My Sabbath, the holy day of the Lord

The Bible identifies both the weekly Sabbath and the annual holy days as "My feasts". In Lev 23:2, G-d explicitly calls the annual feasts "My feasts". Additionally, G-d commands that "they shall hallow My Sabbaths" (Ezek 44:24), which includes both the weekly Sabbath and annual holy days (Lev 16:31 and Lev 23:32).

Eze 20:13 13 Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes; they despised My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; and they greatly defiled My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them in the wilderness, to consume them.''


Ezekiel 20:16 because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they even profaned My sabbaths, for their heart continually went after their idols.

Eze 22:26 Her priests have [a]violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.

Eze 23:38
Again, they have done this to Me: they have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and have profaned My sabbaths.

Neh 13:17
Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing you are doing, by profaning the sabbath day?

Neh 13:15
In those days I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs and all kinds of loads, and they brought them into Jerusalem on the sabbath day. So I admonished them on the day they sold food.

Did the Jews keep up with the Sabbath?

No.

YHVH caused them to forget it (Lamentations 2:6). The Israelites had also forgotten it in Egypt, seeing that YHVH had to make it known to Moses (Ex 16).

The reason most Jews today keep Saturday is exactly the same reason most Christians keep Sunday - because of Constantine's calendar changes and the persecutions he used to enforce those changes. Before that, in 46-45 BCE, Julius Caesar (the Julian calendar) had separated the months and weeks from the moon and introduced a continuous eight-day cycle, which he did not enforce on other nations within the empire.

In 321 CE, Constantine created a compromise calendar. He mixed the Hebrew idea of a seven-day week with the Julian concept of a continuous weekly cycle and added the worship of the “sun god” from Mithraism to create the Roman calendar used today. He enforced his calendar throughout the Roman Empire with military might.

As a result of these changes, which were enforced by persecution throughout the Roman Empire, the Jewish Sanhedrin met for the last time around 350 CE and changed its calendar to the form used by most Jews today, in which the Sabbath falls on Saturday. The other feast days are determined according to a form of the lunar calendar.

The Constantinian calendar was slightly changed by Pope Gregory to the calendar used today.

The weekly Sabbath links back to Creation according to God's own Testimony Exo 20:11 Gen 2:1-3 nothing about new moons at Creation.

The very fact that Isa 66:22-23, Ezek 46:1-3, and Lev 23 exist is evidence that even YHVH utilized the New Moon “IN THE BEGINNING” of time on earth. Beginning each Year and Month with the New Moon is a much more impressive and synchronized example of the start of all things than simply assuming that the day prior to the first day of creation was the seventh day of the previous week’s cycle, fully divorced from the very LIGHTS He was creating for SIGNS and SIGNALS of TIME.
#598

 

[SabbathBlessings]

The very fact that Isa 66:22-23, Ezek 46:1-3, and Lev 23 exist is evidence that even YHVH utilized the New Moon “IN THE BEGINNING” of time on earth. Beginning each Year and Month with the New Moon is a much more impressive and synchronized example of the start of all things than simply assuming that the day prior to the first day of creation was the seventh day of the previous week’s cycle, fully divorced from the very LIGHTS He was creating for SIGNS and SIGNALS of TIME.
#598

Isa 66:22-23 is not referring to any feasts days, the New Moon here is just a reference to the beginning of the month. Nothing about it being a Sabbath, it is two different cycles month to month on every New Moon and from one Sabbath to another.

The Sabbath is every 7 days on the seventh day according to God's written and spoken Word Exo 20:10

The New Month is every 30 days or the beginning of the New Month.

The Scriptures clearly show the Sabbath continues for all flesh, not just the Jews but would be for the saved or saints from one Sabbath to another as a holy convocation gathering before Jesus to worship Him, and from one New Moon to another. It doesn't say the Sabbath is anchored in the New Moon anywhere in Scripture and best not to add whats not there. Some think every New Moon in the New Heaven will also be a Sabbath and the months will be every 28 days, but that's just speculation, I just pray we are there to find out.

 

[Benaiah468]

Lets examine the 10th of the first month, which is not a weekly Sabbath.

Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb... And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. Ex 12:3-4 .6

YHVH gives Moses instructions here as to when and how His children should keep the Passover, shortly before He will lead them out of Egypt. In order to be able to keep it, however, an unblemished lamb had to be selected from the flock that was worthy to be offered as a sacrifice.

The lamb was to be chosen on the 10th day of the first month of the year. It had to be male, a year old and without blemish. That is, without any defects or deformities that would make it unusable as a sacrifice (Lev 22:20-24; Deu 15:21). This instruction was so important because this lamb pointed to the future Messiah who, as of a “lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Pe 1:19), laid down His life for our transgressions of the law through His “precious blood” in order to snatch us from the clutches of death and give us eternal life (Eph 1:7; Hebr 9:12).

The 10th day of the First Month is also significant because the Lamb was not only closely examined by the priests on that day, but also for the tenth day of the First Month in the year of the crucifixion of the Messiah. Just as the lamb at the time of the Exodus from Egypt could also be examined by the people from the 10th to the 14th day, so it was with Jesus.

Exactly on the 10th day of the first month, He entered Jerusalem on a donkey (Zec 9:9; John 12:12-18). The people acclaimed Him and shouted:

“Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord [YHWH]” (Ps 118:26; John 12:13). During this event, the Son of G-d presented Himself to the Jewish nation as the Messiah. For centuries, the Jews set apart the Passover lamb on this same day.

The 10th day of the first month was always a very busy day. It could never have been a seventh-day Sabbath - not in the time of Moses and also not in the time of the Messiah. As it says in John 12:1, the Messiah came to Bethany six days before the Passover. This is the 9th day of the month. V.12 goes on to say that He entered Jerusalem on a a young ass “on the next day”. The people heard that "their King” was coming and a large crowd took "branches of palm trees" that day and went forth to meet him (v13).

This busy 10th day of the setting apart of the Passover lamb also indicates that the 15th day was always both the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and a seventh-day Sabbath (cf. Lev 23:5-7; John 19:31) #579. It cannot be, as some assume, that the 15th was an “annual Sabbath” while the weekly Sabbath was a few days earlier. That would completely confuse everything.

 

[Benaiah468]

Isa 66:22-23 is not referring to any feasts days, the New Moon here is just a reference to the beginning of the month.

And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, […], shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. Isa 66:23

Isaiah 66:23 describes in a prophetic vision that in the kingdom of G-d, all living beings will come to worship Him on every new moon and Sabbath, according to the Bible verse. This symbolizes the worldwide recognition and worship of G-d in a state of justice and peace.

The verse line emphasizes that worship will no longer be limited to a single place, but will extend to all people. Every new moon and Sabbath will serve as an occasion for worship, with the mention of the new moon and Sabbath pointing to the sacred rhythm of worship and the feast of creation.

In many places in the OT, the day of the new moon is called the Sabbath alongside the seventh day. All these verses show that the new moon day existed as a holiday alongside the Sabbath. They also reveal that this new moon day was a holiday, but it cannot fall on a seventh-day Sabbath or on a working day.

The day of the new moon also seems to have been observed during the last temple until around 70 CE. This is reported by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian. He described the Temple and its rituals in his works, including "Antiquities of the Jews" and "The Jewish War"

“Only spotless priests, clothed in byssus and, most importantly, without having drunk wine, went to the place of sacrifice and the temple out of reverence for the service, so that they would not make a mistake in their duties. The high priest went up with them, but not always, only on the Sabbaths, the new moons and when a traditional festival or a gathering of the whole people was celebrated throughout the year. When he was on duty, he wore a belt at the bottom that covered his loins up to his pubis, a linen ephod and a hyacinth-blue overgarment that reached down to his ankles and covered his whole body, trimmed with fringes.“
S.: Flavius Josephus, History of the Jewish War, Book II, Chapter 3, translated by Dr. Heinrich Clementz, p. 50

The Temple was a central place of worship for Jews, and priests played a crucial role in performing sacrifices and other rituals.

Josephus's writings detail the attire of priests during their service, including the belt at the bottom of their clothing, covering their loins up.

The belt was likely part of the clothing to maintain modesty and proper decorum during the religious service, according to the provided texts.

Key points from Flavius Josephus' account:

• Sabbaths:
  The high priest attended the Sabbath, which was a day of rest and religious observance.
• New Moons:
  The high priest also participated in the observance of new moons, another significant event in the religious calendar.
• Festivals:
  The high priest's presence was required during annual festivals, which were important religious celebrations.
• Not always present:
  It's important to note that the high priest wasn't always present, only on the specific occasions mentioned above

In The Special Laws II Philon from Alexandria, a Jewish writer and philosopher from Alexandria, writes

XXVI. (140) Following the order which we have adopted, we proceed to speak of the third festival, that of the new moon. First of all, because it is the beginning of the month, and the beginning, whether of number or of time, is honourable… XXVII. (145) And after the feast of the new moon comes the fourth festival, that of the passover, which the Hebrews call pascha, on which the whole people offer sacrifice, beginning at noonday and continuing till evening...

it is two different cycles month to month on every New Moon and from one Sabbath to another… It doesn't say the Sabbath is anchored in the New Moon anywhere in Scripture and best not to add whats not there.

The Almighty gave the following instruction for the service of the sanctuary:

Thus saith the Lord G-d; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. Ezek 46:1

You left out this important verse that I listed, to justify why I come to the conclusion that the weekly Sabbath is related to the day of the new moon.

According to this instruction from the Almighty, the gate of the inner court of the tabernacle/temple was to be open on the Sabbath and on the day of the new moon. On the six working days of the week, however, it was to remain closed. Thus, this text already states that there were three specific types of days that never overlapped. In this way, the Bible shows that new moons could never be Sabbaths and could never be working days.

The New Month is every 30 days or the beginning of the New Month.

However, if we take a look at the Gregorian calendar, we see no new moon holidays there at all. Indeed, even the month does not begin with the new moon. As there are no public holidays for the new moons, they sometimes happen to fall on Sabbaths and sometimes on working days. This one example already shows that today's Gregorian calendar differs greatly from the time system of the ancient people of Israel and its unique design, as the weeks wander, causing simple working days to fall on new moon days.

The Scriptures clearly show the Sabbath continues for all flesh, not just the Jews but would be for the saved or saints from one Sabbath to another as a holy convocation gathering before Jesus to worship Him, and from one New Moon to another.

And what from one New Moon to another?

The answer is: To gather before Jesus to worship Him.

The Sabbath is every 7 days on the seventh day according to God's written and spoken Word Exo 20:10

It is impossible to locate the seventh-day Sabbath without observing the previous signal of the new moon. Understanding the significance of the new moon is therefore extremely important. According to biblical calculations, this not only marks the beginning of the month, but the phases of the moon give the month its entire framework for the weeks and the seventh-day Sabbaths.

The Bible repeatedly presents these three different types of days - the working days, Sabbath days and new moon days. Below are further biblical statements that confirm this:

Amos 8:5
2 Kings 4:23
Isaiah 66:22-23

If the months were determined by the moon, but the weeks were completely independent of it and lined up without interruption (as in today's Gregorian solar calendar, which pays no attention to the moon), then the day of the new moon would usually fall on a working day and every few months on a seventh-day Sabbath. Here are some examples of other verses in which the monthly new moon day is mentioned as an independent holiday together with the weekly Sabbath holiday and the annual holidays:

2 Chronicles 2:3;
2 Chronicles 8:13;
2 Chronicles 31:3;
Nehemiah 10:34;
Ezekiel 45:17

A “lunar week” always consists of six working days and the seventh-day Sabbath. However, the new moon day and the “month completion day” (days when the moon gives no light) do not count as part of the week.


Asked once again:

What can you contribute to solving the Sabbatarian's problem after the Dateline Change in Samoa?

 

[SabbathBlessings]

And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, […], shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. Isa 66:23

Isaiah 66:23 describes in a prophetic vision that in the kingdom of G-d, all living beings will come to worship Him on every new moon and Sabbath, according to the Bible verse. This symbolizes the worldwide recognition and worship of G-d in a state of justice and peace.

The verse line emphasizes that worship will no longer be limited to a single place, but will extend to all people. Every new moon and Sabbath will serve as an occasion for worship, with the mention of the new moon and Sabbath pointing to the sacred rhythm of worship and the feast of creation.

In many places in the OT, the day of the new moon is called the Sabbath alongside the seventh day. All these verses show that the new moon day existed as a holiday alongside the Sabbath. They also reveal that this new moon day was a holiday, but it cannot fall on a seventh-day Sabbath or on a working day.

The day of the new moon also seems to have been observed during the last temple until around 70 CE. This is reported by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian. He described the Temple and its rituals in his works, including "Antiquities of the Jews" and "The Jewish War"



The Temple was a central place of worship for Jews, and priests played a crucial role in performing sacrifices and other rituals.

Josephus's writings detail the attire of priests during their service, including the belt at the bottom of their clothing, covering their loins up.

The belt was likely part of the clothing to maintain modesty and proper decorum during the religious service, according to the provided texts.

Key points from Flavius Josephus' account:

• Sabbaths:
  The high priest attended the Sabbath, which was a day of rest and religious observance.
• New Moons:
  The high priest also participated in the observance of new moons, another significant event in the religious calendar.
• Festivals:
  The high priest's presence was required during annual festivals, which were important religious celebrations.
• Not always present:
  It's important to note that the high priest wasn't always present, only on the specific occasions mentioned above

In The Special Laws II Philon from Alexandria, a Jewish writer and philosopher from Alexandria, writes






The Almighty gave the following instruction for the service of the sanctuary:

Thus saith the Lord G-d; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. Ezek 46:1

You left out this important verse that I listed, to justify why I come to the conclusion that the weekly Sabbath is related to the day of the new moon.

According to this instruction from the Almighty, the gate of the inner court of the tabernacle/temple was to be open on the Sabbath and on the day of the new moon. On the six working days of the week, however, it was to remain closed. Thus, this text already states that there were three specific types of days that never overlapped. In this way, the Bible shows that new moons could never be Sabbaths and could never be working days.




However, if we take a look at the Gregorian calendar, we see no new moon holidays there at all. Indeed, even the month does not begin with the new moon. As there are no public holidays for the new moons, they sometimes happen to fall on Sabbaths and sometimes on working days. This one example already shows that today's Gregorian calendar differs greatly from the time system of the ancient people of Israel and its unique design, as the weeks wander, causing simple working days to fall on new moon days.




And what from one New Moon to another?

The answer is: To gather before Jesus to worship Him.




It is impossible to locate the seventh-day Sabbath without observing the previous signal of the new moon. Understanding the significance of the new moon is therefore extremely important. According to biblical calculations, this not only marks the beginning of the month, but the phases of the moon give the month its entire framework for the weeks and the seventh-day Sabbaths.

The Bible repeatedly presents these three different types of days - the working days, Sabbath days and new moon days. Below are further biblical statements that confirm this:

Amos 8:5
2 Kings 4:23
Isaiah 66:22-23

If the months were determined by the moon, but the weeks were completely independent of it and lined up without interruption (as in today's Gregorian solar calendar, which pays no attention to the moon), then the day of the new moon would usually fall on a working day and every few months on a seventh-day Sabbath. Here are some examples of other verses in which the monthly new moon day is mentioned as an independent holiday together with the weekly Sabbath holiday and the annual holidays:

2 Chronicles 2:3;
2 Chronicles 8:13;
2 Chronicles 31:3;
Nehemiah 10:34;
Ezekiel 45:17

A “lunar week” always consists of six working days and the seventh-day Sabbath. However, the new moon day and the “month completion day” (days when the moon gives no light) do not count as part of the week.


Asked once again:

What can you contribute to solving the Sabbatarian's problem after the Dateline Change in Samoa?

There is no problem, the only problem is people not believing God's own Testimony, written and spoken by God, the Creator of everything.

Exo 20:10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.

In the Sabbath commandment, no mention of New Moons

Exo 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.


At Creation, no mention of New Moons when the very first Sabbath started

Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

So according to God's own Testimony the Sabbath is not connected to the New Moon nor does the weekly Sabbath ever change, it is the seventh day and regardless what man does to the calendar does not change when God said it was starting at Creation which is according to His perfect plan.

After the fall of man, came the annual feasts days, some were sabbaths, many never fell on the seventh day they fell on different days of the week depending on the year as they are completely different than the weekly Sabbath commandment, God's holy day. Isa 58:13 The New Moon just means New Month

Like we see in Isa 66:23 on the Hebrew the word used for this Text

chodesh: Month, New Moon
Original Word: חֹדֶשׁ
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: chodesh
Pronunciation: kho'-desh
Phonetic Spelling: (kho'-desh)
Definition: Month, New Moon
Meaning: the new moon, a month

So Isa 66:23 clearly shows two cycles when the saints will come before the Lord to gather to worship Him. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another.

Whatever God has in mind for the New Moon or New Month cycles, those making it to heaven won't be complaining. Some believe the months will be every 28 days so every New Moon will also be the Sabbath, but it doesn't say, this is just speculation.

Nothing about this changes anything like in verses Eze 46:1-3

According to God the seventh day is the Sabbath and it starts the calendar from Creation. Exo 20:11 No matter what man does with the calendar, we can look back from Creation and count 6 days to do work and labors Exo 20:9 this is a commandment, not a suggestion and are to keep the seventh day (Saturday), which is the Sabbath day holy Exo 20:8-10. Its why almost all ancient languages Saturday translates into Sabbath https://www.sabbathtruth.com/portals/20/documents/chart-of-the-week.pdf
Hasn't the calendar been changed? | Sabbath Truth

Just like we know from the Bible, Jesus rose on the first day of the week what we call Sunday and we know what day of the week that is, the Sabbath never changed from Creation. Man changed God's Sabbath just as we were warned would happen Dan 7:25 but we can follow popular traditions of man overing obeying the commandments of God mat 15:3-14 or we can just trust God the way He said, because He is God and knows what He is doing. Adam and Eve didn't think eating from a tree that didn't belong to them would change anything, but it changed everything. Just like when God in His own Words said the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God Exo 20:10, it's My holy day, the holy day of the Lord Isa 58:13 meaning there is no other, doing what we want with our time on this day over obeying what God said, has never worked out well for anyone in the Scripture and I do not think its going to work out well for us either.

You came up with a creative and complicated way to change what God said He would not Psa 89:34 Mat 5:18-13 Deut 4:2 hopefully you will reconsider, but if not I guess we will have to agree to disagree and all gets sorted out soon enough.

 

[Benaiah468]

There is no problem, the only problem is people not believing G-d's own Testimony, written and spoken by G-d, the Creator of everything.

YHVH has put in place a dynamic mechanism for keeping time, an Earth that rotates! When you travel eastward around the globe, traveling into the Sun, you are actually shortening your days so that an additional sunrise and sunset take place in relationship to people who stay at home’s time. When you travel westward around the globe, traveling away from the Sun, you are actually lengthening your days so that you loose a sunrise and sunset in relationship to people, who stay at home’s time. Meanwhile, people who stay at home time remains unchange for them.

This natural phenomenon creates a huge problem for the ‘unbroken chain of 7 Day weekly cycles’ theory.

You cannot circumnavigate the globe of the Earth without either gaining or loosing time in relationship to a fixed location. Circumnavigate the globe and you will either gain a sunrise and sunset or lose a sunrise and sunset depending upon whether you headed East or West. It is a problem which has no fix in a world where time is kept according to ‘an unbroken chain of 7 Day weekly cycles’ and you reckon days according to sunrises and sunsets!

Although the same reality exists in the Lunar Sabbath method of time reckoning it is corrected at the end of each and every month when the New Moon Day resets the weekly cycle and brings everyone back in harmony regardless of your travels around the world. In other words we must throw away the 'unbroken chain of 7 day weekly cycles' and look up to the heavens to mark time. If we do that we will all eat the Passover together on Day 14/Month 1 according to THE MASTER’S CLOCK!

Are you certain you want to float your boat on a sea of an 'unbroken chain of 7 day weekly cycles’ which supposedly extend all the way back to the beginning of creation?

According to G-d the seventh day is the Sabbath and it starts the calendar from Creation.

The government of Samoa ruled to move the IDL to its east, creating Samoa's Dateline Paradox, making it unclear which day is the Sabbath.

 

[SabbathBlessings]

The Sabbath is from evening to evening or from Sundown to Sundown Lev 23:32 Friday evening to Sabbath evening and can be enjoyed regardless where one lives in the world.. Its been kept since the days of the apostles Acts 15:21 Acts 18:4 Acts 13:42 Acts 13:44 and Jesus said it would be kept by His faithful almost 40 decades after His death Mat 24:20 and for eternity .Isa 66:23

Sadly, I think people underestimate the God of the universe. If He gives us a commandment, one He said to "Remember" He is going to give us the power to keep it which includes the day to keep. Exo 20:10 Many of the Jews today still keep the Sabbath from generation to generation. I guess its a matter of faith,. We can always try to find whats to disobey God, just like we can find ways to obey Him. Its really a matter of motivation and love.

https://manna.amazingfacts.org/amazingfacts/website/sabbathtruth/documents/chart-of-the-week.pdf

https://manna.amazingfacts.org/amazingfacts/website/sabbathtruth/documents/weekly-cycle.pdf

What About the Lunar Sabbath? | Sabbath Truth

There has been much talk in recent times about the Lunar Sabbath. What is this about? Where did this teaching come from? Is it Biblical?

www.sabbathtruth.com

Take care

 

[trophy33]

The Sabbath is from evening to evening or from Sundown to Sundown Lev 23:32

Well, because you reject for example the ISO calendar in Europe and elsewhere and argue that the "correct" week is since Genesis, then you must answer which timezone is the "correct" Genesis week.

When God in Genesis proclaimed the 7th day, was it according to the Middle East or according to the USA timezone? If you do not care, how do you know you keep the right "Genesis", Jewish Sabbath?

 

[SabbathBlessings]

Well, because you reject for example the ISO calendar in Europe and elsewhere and argue that the "correct" week is since Genesis, then you must answer which timezone is the "correct" Genesis week.

When God in Genesis proclaimed the 7th day, was it according to the Middle East or according to the USA timezone? If you do not care, how do you know you keep the right "Genesis", Jewish Sabbath?

If you do not believe that God spoke and it was so, like the Creation account when the Sabbath started, nothing I saw will convince you, but the Jesus and the apostles all knew how and when to keep the Sabbath, most ancient languages like Hebrews and Greek Saturday literally translates into Sabbath. Its a matter of faith to know God will preserve how to obey Him.

https://www.sabbathtruth.com/portals/20/documents/chart-of-the-week.pdf

For example Kione Greek (koine Greek was spoken from about 300 BC to 300 AD)

Saturday Το Σάββατο
Meaning Sabbath

 

[trophy33]

If you do not believe that God spoke and it was so, like the Creation account when the Sabbath started, nothing I saw will convince you, but the Jesus and the apostles all knew how and when to keep the Sabbath, most ancient languages like Hebrews and Greek Saturday literally translates into Sabbath. Its a matter of faith to know God will preserve how to obey Him.

https://www.sabbathtruth.com/portals/20/documents/chart-of-the-week.pdf

Yes, I do not believe Genesis is a literal history. But that does not mean that my question is not relevant to your belief system.

Why do you ignore the timezone which the Sabbath commandment was given in? Why do you think that you can live according to the US calendar instead?

 

[SabbathBlessings]

Yes, I do not believe Genesis is a literal history. But that does not mean that my question is not relevant to your belief system.

Why do you ignore the timezone which the Sabbath commandment was given in? Why do you think that you can live according to the US calendar instead?

Can you post the Scripture where the Sabbath is to be kept only in time zone it was given in? I can't find that anywhere in my Bible. No one knows where the Garden of Eden is and if we do not believe Moses according to Jesus, who wrote Genesis to be literal, one is going to have to deal with Jesus on this matter, John 5:46-47 this is way above me.

 

[trophy33]

Can you post the Scripture where the Sabbath is to be kept only in time zone it was given in? I can't find that anywhere in my Bible. No one knows where the Garden of Eden is and if we do not believe Moses according to Jesus, who wrote Genesis to be literal, one is going to have to deal with Jesus on this matter, Mat 5:46-47 it was way above me.

You said that the ISO calendar in Europe is wrong, because the Hebrew calendar is the right one, kept since creation. Don't you remember?

That is why I ask you why do you not keep the Sabbath according to the Hebrew timezone. Or, do you believe that God created according to the US week?