The Hebrew Calendar

By James McBride

There is much confusion among Christians about the ins and outs of the Calendar we use to determine the Festivals.

The vast majority of the Churches of God follow the “Hebrew Calendar”. It is used almost universally by Sabbatarian Christians for determining the date of the Lord’s Supper (Nissan 14) and for the dates of the other Holy Days of Scripture. It is available as Spier’s Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar.

However, some have had concerns about the basis of this calendar and there are several in use by a tiny minority of Christians. Some insist only on “observation”. Others don’t accept the traditional “postponements” included in the Hebrew calendar. These variations have, sadly, proved divisive and have led to God’s people observing His Festivals at different times.

Back in the late 70s the Church of God ministry investigated the matter thoroughly and concluded that Spier’s calendar was perfectly adequate for our determination of the Festival dates. Rabbi Julian Jacobs of London assured me (when I was preparing this article): “There is no doubt that [Spier’s] calendar is remarkably accurate and cannot be bettered. It is certain that it will not be amended at any time in the future, nor is there any need for amendment”. He also indicated that observation (i.e. going out and looking at the state of the crops around Jerusalem) is not used by Jews today, but that the “burgeoning of nature” doesn’t differ greatly from the calculated calendar.

The Jews, of course, may have it wrong. But do they?

No Revealed Calendar

Perhaps surprisingly, there is no revealed calendar in the entire Bible. Ancient Israel used an existing calendar which was one of many in use by different nations. The chief Bible pointer is Exodus 12:2 “This month [of Abib = green ears] shall be for you the beginning of months. We can derive from the Bible that this was the green ears of barley in Spring. “Months” are chodesh = new moon. But when to determine the “new moon”? (It could occur at an unobservable time - behind clouds, when too sunny to view, etc. ) What about geographical displacement for sightings of the moon? (The new moon arises in Jerusalem earlier than, for example, in London.) And which month is “green ears”? (They could be green in two consecutive months, or green until the last day of the month. The Bible doesn’t say!)

Ancient Calendars

There is little detail given. Was this detail revealed, but not recorded in the canonical Scripture? Or, did Israel - like other ancient nations - build on a common knowledge of the calendar? Recall that Noah used a form of calendar. Josephus records the tradition that Abraham taught the sciences to the Egyptians, including astronomy.

In Romans the apostle Paul tells us that “the Jews were entrusted with the oracles [Gk = logia = sayings] of God” (ch. 3: 2). That is, they preserved traditional knowledge not directly recorded in the Holy Scriptures (but not contrary to Scripture). We know from history, for example, that the Sanhendrin were the custodians of the calendar. They were the successors of “the seventy” of Numbers 11: 16- 24. Isn’t it likely that these Spirit-filled men - in Moses’ time and their successors throughout Israel’s history - were responsible for this task of calendar maintenance?

A calendar is used to predict. That used by Noah had a regular thirty-day month. So, too, did the Egyptian calendar. But if Moses - or we - used it, our predictions would soon be askew! Cosmic activity has since conspired to alter the year’s length. Yet there’s no Bible instruction to tell us that there are an average 29d 12h 44m in a month! It had to be figured, calculated. The Chinese compensated by adding an extra month every thirty years. The Greeks added days every 3rd, 5th and 8th year. So how did they know to “intercalate” extra months to compensate? And when to do so? Clearly by the appliance of science - and common sense! They certainly didn’t get it direct from the written Word of God, the Holy Scriptures.

Postponements

Some Christians also worry about the “postponements” incorporated in the calendar by the Jews for religious purposes - for example that Yom Kippur must not fall adjacent to a weekly Sabbath.

The Law imposed specific religious duties on the priests for the weekly Sabbath and the Holy Days, including the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. So it’s not unreasonable to expect that these duties would be taken into account when working out the calendar. But there is no Biblical reason to hinder the calendar rules being written in this way.

Even in the time of Jesus the calendar was calculated and widely distributed to the Jews scattered around the world in advance of the New Year. This was to facilitate their attendance at the great Pilgrim Festival in Jerusalem. They did indeed still observe the New Moons - both for calendar calculation and symbolic purposes.

In other words, the Bible is not a sufficient instrument to be an exact guide to the calendar - whether observed or calculated. Nor was it ever intended to be. “Tradition” preserved the calendar.

And we hold that the Jews, as God’s people, still have the authority to provide an authentic calendar - even though they may stray on other matters. (As, for example, on which days on that calendar to hold the Festivals.)

It’s a pity that all Bible Christians cannot agree to unite on the use of the calendar. It’s a major force designed to bring us together, but is all too often used to make distinctions between brethren resulting is shameful division. A major change was made anciently by King Jeroboam which confirmed the northern Israel tribes in idolatry (I Kings 12: 32).

If you have further queries about this, please don’t hesitate to write to our address in Lincoln.

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