Is This the New Year?

Exodus 12:2 “This month will mark the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year for you.”

In the Exodus story, God tells Moses that THIS MONTH will be the first month of the year. That would seem to indicate that they were keeping a different calendar before this time. Of course, all of the Israelites alive then would have been born and raised as a slave in Egypt, so it would make sense that they followed the Egyptian calendar. And the Egyptian calendar is an interesting one with only three seasons. Actually, they had three calendars each based on the sun, moon, and agricultural seasons, but the beginning of the year may not be what you would expect.

I’m sure you’ve heard of Rosh HaShanah. It’s the first day of the new year on the Jewish calendar, but it’s in the seventh month. How does that work? Some believe that the Jews adopted the Babylonian practice of the new year beginning in the seventh month. And many in that group lambast the day as being pagan and should be avoided, especially since YHWH said that the month that begins spring is the 1st month of the new year. Not so fast. The Babylonian calendar in use at the time of the exile calls Nisan the first month of the year. As a side note, the only month with a name in the Bible prior to the exile was the first month, called Abib (or Aviv). All the books in the Bible written after the exile have names for the month that correspond to the Babylonian names for the months, including the first month being changed from Abib to Nisan. It doesn’t look like Rosh HaShanah has anything to do with Babylon practices.

Let’s get back to the Egyptian calendar. We know that the Romans (and our current Gregorian calendar) started the new year after the winter solstice, which began the rebirth of the sun. Surely the Egyptians did the same thing since they believed in the sun god, Ra. If you thought that to be the case, you’d be wrong. The three seasons on the Egyptian calendar all had to do with the Nile River. The year began with the flooding season followed by the receding and rising seasons. The flooding season begins in August to September, the same time as the seventh month.

While the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, the beginning of the year for them would have been at the new moon at the start of the flooding season. At the time of the exodus, YHWH changed it to what they would have known as the seventh month. Today, Israel has what they call the civil calendar, starting with the seventh month, and the religious calendar, starting with the first month. Rosh Hashanah is the start of the civil calendar but it’s not because of adopting some pagan practice or because they are holding on to the past practice of following the Egyptian calendar. It’s much more interesting than that.

The Jewish new year is on Rosh HaShanah, which means that the number of the year is added at that time. The current year is 5783, beginning on the 1st day of the seventh month in 2022. Where does the number 5783 come from? That is the suspected number of years since creation. (There are roughly 240 years missing from Jewish history, but that’s disputed.) Tradition holds that the first day of creation was on the 1st day of Tishri, the seventh month. The years are counted from that point. That is why Rosh HaShanah is the New Year on the Jewish calendar. YHWH said the first month would be in the spring, which is why Tishri is the seventh month. Now, believing that creation happened on the 1st of Tishri is pure speculation because there is no way to prove or disprove it. But it brings up an interesting observation.

Kinetic Love Ministries had a poll up asking, “How long were Adam and Eve in the Garden before the Fall?” There were only three responses. One person selected one week, while the other two chose ‘other’. There was one comment that said, “We are not told in Scripture; the length of time is not the issue, rebellion is.” That is true, but there’s not a definitive answer to the question. That is why it is called an ‘opinion’ poll. KLM also had a survey asking, “Why is the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) on the 10th day of the month?” There was one response that said, “Because that’s when YHWH says it is.” I would like to combine these two questions to show you something that I find interesting. It’s pure speculation, but interesting.

If the first day of creation was on the 1st of Tishri, then Adam and Eve would have been created on the 6th and the first Sabbath on the 7th. Genesis 3:8 says that Adam heard the voice of YHWH walking in the garden. It is a common belief that God communed with Adam in the Garden, so let’s just say that’s what happened on the 8th day. What if Adam and Eve ate of the fobidden fruit on the 9th day? As the evening approached and the voice of YHWH came walking in the Garden, that’s when the events of Genesis 3 could have taken place. It would be the end of the 9th day and the beginning (evening) of the 10th day. The 10th of Tishri is the Day of Atonement.

Look what it says in Leviticus 23. Verses 27-28 “Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the LORD. 28 And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God.” Verse 32 “It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath.”

Notice that YHWH was specific about this particular sabbath that it begins at the evening of the ninth and goes until the evening of the 10th. The timing of the sabbaths is a whole other topic, but it’s very interesting that the evening of the ninth is specifically mentioned. If Adam and Eve sinned on the 9th and the voice of YHWH came that evening while they were hiding, then YHWH would have killed an animal and shed its blood to make skins of clothing for them on the 10th day of the month. The Day of Atonement.

I know it’s all speculation, but just maybe that is why the 1st of Tishri begins the Jewish new year (to coincide with creation) and the Day of Atonement is on the 10th day, because that was when the shedding of blood atoned for the sin of Adam and Eve. YHWH moved the new year to the spring to coincide with His plan of salvation and lay out the timing of Yeshua’s first and second coming.

Happy New Year, everyone, and let’s prepare for the Lord’s Passover.