I’m still trying to find in the Bible where it mentions 13 months. Where do you find proof for this?
The Bible never provides an exact number of months for the biblical year. What it does provide is the method to begin the year and count each subsequent month. The Bible confirms that the first month of the biblical year is called “Abib.” Deuteronomy 16:1 states, “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto Yahweh thy Elohim: for in the month of Abib Yahweh thy Elohim brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.”
The word “observe” comes from the Hebrew shamar and means to guard. It also conveys the idea of watching. The word “month” derives from the Hebrew chodesh. Strong’s defines this word as, new moon and by extension, a month. Lastly, the word “Abib” is Hebrew and means, young ears of grain. Exodus 9:31 verifies that the grain spoken of is barley. It states that the barley was in the “ear” or Abib near the Passover observance (occurring on the 14th day of the first month, Lev. 23:5). Agriculturally, the wheat harvest begins in the third month, approximately two months after the beginning of the barley harvest.
These facts help in determining how to begin the biblical year. Deuteronomy 16:1 is literally commanding that we look for the new moon within the month of green ears. Agriculturally, Abib refers to when the barley enters the late dough stage, i.e., when the grain can be parched or roasted.
Therefore, Abib begins at the new moon crescent when there is barley in the dough stage or later. This occurs between March and April. Each subsequent month then begins with the sighting of the new moon crescent. Since there is an 11-day difference between the solar and lunar year, every 2-3 years a 13th month must be added to keep the seasons aligned. The Jews call this month Adar II. The Bible does not mention a 13th month.
The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary confirms this method, “The months began with the new moon, but the first month was fixed (after the Exodus and by the necessities of the Passover) by the ripening of the earliest grain, namely, barley.”
Additional evidence is found from the International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, “…Abib is not properly a name of a month, but part of a descriptive phrase, ‘the month of young ears of grain.’ This may indicate the Israelitish way of determining the new year (Ex 12:2), the year beginning with the new moon nearest or next preceding this stage of the growth of the barley.”
Since Exodus 9:31 and 12:2 shows that the barley was in Abib before the new moon crescent, this is the pattern YRM uses to fix the month of Abib.
It’s important to note that in the 4th century, Hillel II changed the biblical calendar and transitioned from a calendar based on observation to calculation, including using the conjunction to begin the month and the autumnal equinox to begin the year. Since the autumnal equinox occurs in the fall, corresponding to the 7th Jewish month, the Jews count backwards to mark the first biblical month. Along the way, they also add their postponements, ensuring that days like Yom Kippur does not occur alongside of a weekly Sabbath. To ensure the alignment of the seasons, they also employ a 19-year cycle, adding a 13th month at intervals of 2-3 years.
For more information on the Biblical calander check out our free booklet : The Biblical Calander
Also, watch our video, Deciphering the Biblical Calendar:
Of course when Deu 16:1 was given there was no barley planted in the wilderness, it simply meant the greening of spring. They pretty much read Deu 16:1 as to observe the month of the spring. Before the Hillel II calendar was instituted the Sanhedrin calculated the Spring equinox, then calculated when the following new crescent moon would be seen and had the eye witnesses to confirm it. From there they declared the first month of the year. This is the method used 2000 years ago and apparently Yeshua or his talmidim had no issues with it. This year the… Read more »
Since barley is wild to the Middle East, it is not unreasonable to believe that Israel used the barley during their time in the wilderness. We certainly know that the barley was abib in Egypt when Israel left Goshen. Exodus 9:31 states that the “barley was in the ear.” The word “ear” comes from the word abib. Therefore, even though Yahweh divinely appointed the first biblical month in Exodus 12:2, we find that the barley was within the correct stage. You state that abib simply means, “greening of spring.” This is not true. Most Hebrew dictionaries and lexicons clearly connect… Read more »
I have a few questions about the calendar. I have always thought there was a connection between leap months and holy years. Leap months are approximately 3 years apart and holy years are 7 years. The precast cycle of 24 weeks is what court my eye. I know the bead sea scroll Calander is a strict 7-day week 52-week year calendar but there is always 14 days between new moon and full moon implying the new moon starts when it reappears making the phases are all 7 days the last week ending with the moon in full shadow. With 4-week months… Read more »
No body in all the centuries that I have researched seems to have done the math about the calendars. If they would have, they would have discovered that the modern jewish calendar is off. It was never used in it’s current form in Biblical times. Since I’ve done the math, I’ve rediscovered that accurate Jewish calendar.
Is it safe to assume that you’re using all three witnesses of Light that our Abba of Lights created?
The calendar has been wrong from the first time man thought to change it. Adding postponements, changing it during the Babylonian captivity, then to make Rome feel better later on – it’s all wrong. The mere fact that you stated Hillel II changed it from observations (the way God intended it to be) to calculations is proof that the Jews have never learned that their ego will get them in trouble. Chosen? Yes. Disobedient? From beginning to end.
I suggest you relook at what a “new” moon was at Creation, and look at which nations used the Crescent 🌙… Nations such as Egypt/Assyria/Babylon/Rome/Greece/Islam, and more. Maybe the crescent moon is in error as it is written “He made Two Great lights”Gen 1:16/Psalms 136:7-9 Placing our trust in. Dictionaries of men is not wise as that’s wisdom of the world, not Scripture. Do you start your new day with evening/darkness? Remember it is written, “let there be light and let there be light” and Alahym saw the light was good and all of him divided the light from the… Read more »
“I suggest you relook at what a “new” moon was at Creation, and look at which nations used the Crescent 🌙… Nations such as Egypt/Assyria/Babylon/Rome/Greece/Islam, and more.” We have. it is funny, you left Israel out of that list of nations. They also observed the crescent moon. Even in Messiah’s time. It is all written down. But that requires you to read dictionaries and encyclopedias. Philo of Alexandria (20BCE-50CE) Confirms the sighting of the visible crescent moon. https://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/philo/book28.html The Mishnah also confirms this, written between 20 BCE and 220 CE https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/tractate-rosh-hashana-chapter-2 Of course these are NOT scripture. But they do… Read more »
I suggest you read genesis 7:4 and verse 12 also a covenant genesis 8:22..and day and night shall not cease goes with Jeremiah 33:20 pretty weil also numbers 11:32its loaded that the bible stars at days seems its hidden in plain sight especially 2Samuel 24:13-15 story of the 3day plague notice verse 15 …the morning to the time appointed.
I am a little bit disappointed that’ a man has caused the celebration of Passover for this year to be held one month after the biblical new year
1 Chronicles 27:1-15 talks about a year having 12 months.
2 kings 25:27 “…in the twelfth month”
Native Americans believe in a 13 month calendar according to the sections on a turtles back. Also according to the fact that a blue moon every two years fits better in a 13 month calendar. Although there may be no mention of a 13 month calendar in the bible God created13 things in 6 days according to Geneses.
To much confusion based on only tradition.
Genesis 1:14 says the sun, moon and stars are for signs, seasons, days and years.
Never does an earth sign trump a star sign.
Understanding the Mazzeroth is key to finding out how this really works.
And the new moon is not the traditions of man, but a full moon.
The holy writings reveal this fact, you have to let the holy Spirit guide you.
The Mazzeroth is a hapax legomenon in the scriptures (only appears once), So I am assuming you are getting your info from other sources?
If we used a 13 month year all the time we would have 28 day months that track closely with the lunar cycle. 365.25 days/yr ÷ 13 = 28.0961538462 days/ month. In 4 years a leap day would be needed to keep the Sabbath days in synch. The main benefit of this method of accounting is that by allowing the last day at the end of the forth year to be known as the 28th day of the present month and the 1rst day of the next month there would be no gap days like we see in the lunar-solar… Read more »