moon nearest the spring equinox (equinox is the two times a year when day and night are equal in length)
is chosen to begin the year; that is, the new moon which normally coincides with the natural conditions in
Israel which the ancient Sanhedrin looked for when they selected Abib's new moon.
Most years in the sacred calendar consist of 12 months, each of 29 or 30 days. Thus, assuming six months
at 29 days and six months at 30 days, a normal year would contain about 354 days. This figure is about
11.25 days short of a 365.25 day solar year, which is the time the earth takes to complete one orbit of the
sun. In order to ensure that the Feasts of the Most High occur at their appointed seasons (Passover in the
Spring, First Fruits in the summer and Tabernacles in the Autumn) it is necessary for this 11 day annual loss
to be made good every two or three years. This is done by intercalating (adding) an extra month after the
twelfth month to make the calendar harmonise with the solar year and the agricultural seasons. This extra
month (Adar two) results in a leap year - which has 13 months.
To summarise the foregoing, we may say that in the sacred calendar:
A day begins and ends at sunset, at the going down of the sun. A month begins and ends when the new moon is sighted by an observer at Jerusalem. Months are
either 29 or 30 days in length. A year begins in Israel's spring with the new moon nearest (before or after) the spring equinox.
Ordinary years have 12 months and leap years have 13 months.Note: In the popular Jewish calendar, the year begins in autumn with the month of Ethanim (Tishri). Strictly,
this is the start of the agricultural year. The religious year begins in the spring with the Passover month of
Abib (Nisan).
―And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto
you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you”. (Exod 12:1)
―This day came ye out in the month Abib‖. (Exod 13:4)―The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I
commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt‖.
(Exod 34:18)In ancient times, years were usually numbered from important events such as a ruler's birth, coronation or
death. Examples are:
―In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the
same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened‖.
(Gen 7:11)
―In the year that king Uzziah died...‖ (Isaiah 6:1)―Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea,
and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee...‖ (Luke 3:1)What is a Hebrew week and when does it start?
The week is another important cycle operating within the sacred calendar. It was designed by the Most High
to regulate the physical, mental and spiritual welfare of the human race. Peoples of all religions have a seven
day week; a fact which is strong proof that all nations came from a common ancestor who received the
seven-day week from the Creator. At first glance, the week appears to have no connection whatsoever with
the movements of the earth, the moon and the sun. The week, however, forms the basis of an important
spiritual cycle of sevens, which we refer to as the Sabbatical cycle. The sabbatical cycle figures
extensively in Bible prophecy. The Sabbatical/Jubilee cycles mentioned in Leviticus chapter 25 are briefly
described later in this section.
In the sacred calendar, the days of the week are not named, but numbered: first day, second day, third day,
etc.