God's Clock - the Biblical Year - Part 2

How Do the Heavenly Lights Define a Biblical Year?

While the Bible never once tells us to calculate the year from the barley. The Bible does tell us that the heavens are to be used for calculating days, festivals (annual holy days) and years. 

Genesis 1:14 - “And God 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.”

From the New Jerusalem Bible translation:

"God said, "Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days and years" (Genesis 1:14).

From the New American Bible translation:

"Then God said: "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years" (Genesis 1:14).

If the heavenly lights are to be used to "indicate" years, they must be used to determine the start and end of the year. But how does this work? And is this Biblical? Or is this just another example of humans putting words into Scripture that simply aren't there?

For the majority of those who use the heavenly lights to determine the beginning of the Biblical year, it is the Vernal Equinox they look for as the key event. From there, some division in perspective follows. Some believe the closest new moon to the Vernal Equinox is the first day of the first month of the new year, while others believe that the first new moon after the Vernal Equinox is the first day of the new year.

Before we address which new moon (if any) surrounding the Vernal Equinox should be used as the first day of the Biblical year, let us first determine whether the Vernal Equinox is a valid starting point at all. Perhaps, it like the barley harvest is putting words in Scripture that simply aren't there.

But Vernal Equinox Isn’t In the Bible! Is it?

While it has been given a very pagan name, the celestial event which has come to be called "vernal equinox" is certainly a heavenly happening. And it has being taking place annually in the heavens since ancient times. But, this in and of itself is not compelling enough evidence to denote that this heavenly event is the one that begins the year as mentioned in Genesis 1:14.

"It seems to have been understood all over the world, from ancient times until now, that the vernal equinox signals the arrival of spring and the autumnal equinox signals the arrival of fall. ... Wait until the sun signals the arrival of spring at the equinox, then select the first visible new crescent for the beginning of months: ... the first month of the year to you." A Paper, "Does Close Count?," by Henry Wylle.

Having been a common denotation for the beginning of Spring also does not put the Vernal Equinox in a favorable position as being the indicator of the beginning of the Biblical year. The real issue is what does the Word of God say on the subject? But, before we go to the Word of Yahweh on the subject, let us first be very clear about the science of the vernal equinox.

The equinox is either of two points on the celestial sphere at which the ecliptic intersects the celestial equator. Either of the two times during a year when the sun crosses the celestial equator and when the length of day and night are approximately equal; the vernal equinox or the autumnal equinox. 

The term "vernal equinox" is Middle English, from Old French equinoxe, from Medieval Latin aequinoxium, from Latin aequinoctium: aequi-, equi- + nox, noct-, night. Equinox literally means "equal days and nights."

To further understand this solar event, please consider the illustration above. The upper panel shows that on an equinox (which occurs twice a year: once in the Spring and once in the Fall), neither half of the Earth points directly towards the Sun. In fact, the Sun is at the equator, so both halves of the Earth are getting about the same amount of sunlight.

The bottom panel of the picture shows how the sun looks to someone standing on the ground at the equinox. The equinox occurs when the sun "crosses" the equator.

Having given a brief overview of the science of the equinox, let us now address the real issue at hand. Does the Bible tell us that the equinox is the marker for the beginning or end of the Biblical year? If so, this is the celestial event which denotes which new moon is the first of the Biblical year. If not, this cannot be the correct method for determining the year. The ultimate event must be Biblical if it is truth.

At first, it appears that there is no Biblical reference to the vernal equinox. It simply isn't there as any Bible student can confirm by searching the Strong's Concordance. But this is only how things appear at first. Instead of trying to find the vernal equinox term in the Bible going from English first, let us search for it in Hebrew. Hebrew words have multiple meanings and the translators of the Bible may have selected from any one of them when translating the original text.

The Hebrew word for equinox is tekufah. This word refers to the solstices as well as to the equinoxes. And notibly tekufah is in original Hebrew text of the Bible!

Tekufot (plural) means "seasons;" literally, "circuit, to go round." The four seasons in the year are called tekufot. More accurately, tekufot is the beginning of the four seasons. ...Tekufah stands for the true, not the mean, equinox. The tekufah (singular) of Nisan denotes the sun at the vernal equinox. The next tekufah denotes the summer solstice. The third tekufah denotes the fall equinox. And the fourth tekufah denotes the winter solstice.

The four Tekufot of the Biblical year are:

• Tekufah Nisan or Abib, the vernal equinox (Spring) - This occurs when the sun enters Aries; this is the beginning of spring, or "eit hazera'" (seed-time), when day and night are equal.
• Tekufah Tammuz, the summer solstice - This occurs when the sun enters Cancer; this is the summer season, or "'et ha-air" (harvest-time), when the day is the longest in the year.
• Tekufah Tishri, the autumnal equinox - This occurs when the sun enters Libra, and autumn, or "'et ha-hair" (vintage-time), begins, and when the day again equals the night.
• Tekufah Tevet, the winter solstice - This occurs when the sun enters Capricornus; this is the beginning of winter, or "'et ha-oref" (stripping-time), when the night is the longest during the year.

The original Hebrew word Tekufah appeared in four Scripture texts. Let us see if any of them refer to the beginning or ending of the Biblical year.

1.     First use of Tekufah in Scripture - It is called the "end of the year"

"And it came to pass at the end of the year [tekufah], that the Syrians came up against him..." (2 Chronicles 24:23).

2.     Second use of Tekufah in Scripture - It is referred to as the "year's end"

"And you shall observe the feast of weeks, even the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end [tekufah]" (Ex. 34:22).

3.     Third use of Tekufah in Scripture - It refers to the whole circuit of the heavens as they progress through the seasons

"In them [the heavens] He has set a tent for the sun, which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong man runs it's course with joy. It's rising is from the end of the heavens and it's circuit [tekufah] to the end of them, and there is nothing hid from it's heat" (Psalm 19:4,5 RSV).

4.     Fourth use of Tekufah in Scripture - It refers to the time when Samuel was born

"And it came to pass, when the time [tekufah] was come about, that Hannah conceived, and bore a son..." (1 Samuel 1:20).

Of these four quotations, two use the term tekufah to refer to the end of the Biblical year. This appears to support the teaching that the vernal equinox is the end of the year from which we watch for the first new moon. Both the vernal equinox and the new moon are heavenly events, fulfilling the requirements of Genesis 1:14. The new moon following the vernal equinox, or more accurately the tekufah, is the first day of the new year.

We can be certain of this, because Scripture tells us to use the Spring New Moon - Abib - to start the biblical year. We find this in Exodus 12:2 - 

Exodus 12:2 "This month (New Moon) shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you." 

From the context, we can be certain that this first new moon of the biblical year is in the Spring, because it refers to the timing of Passover. Additionally, we find that Spring is when the prior biblical year comes to an end. If the prior year ends in the Spring, it is logical then that the new year must also start in the Spring:

"And it came to pass, after the year was expired (tekufah) , at the time when kings go forth to battle..." (2 Sam. 11:1 KJV). 

For clarity, here's the same verse in the Revised Standard Version: 

"In the spring of the year, the time when kings go forth to battle, ..." (Ibid., RSV) 

Biblically then, the end of the year was the Spring - marked by the Tekufah.

Most Christians have heard of the significant finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls (largely found in Qumran - see the above map). But, many have not heard of a small, equally significant limestone device found along with the scrolls. Pictured below, archaeologists have determined that this Qumran Sundial was used for the purpose of determining the Spring tekufah (vernal equinox).

Uwe Glessmer and Matthias Albani, "An Astronomical Measuring Instrument from Qumran", The Provo International Conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls, Technological Innovations, New Texts, and Reformatted Issues, edited by Donald W. Parry and Euguene Ulrich (Boston: Brill, 1999), p. 442.

The Encyclopedia Britannica, 1944 edition, Vol. 4, states under "Calendar - Ecclesiastical Calendar" that: 

"The Jews celebrated their Passover on the 14th day of the first month, that is to say, the lunar month of which the 14th day either falls on or next follows the day of the vernal equinox." Later in this same volume, under "Calendar - Jewish", it is stated that "The Feast of Passover, on 14 Nisan (Abib) could not begin before the spring Tequfah." The term Tequfah is defined as "the mean beginning of the seasons" - so the "spring Tequfah" referred to here is the vernal equinox. The Biblical year starts with the lunar month in which Passover (the 14th day of the month) falls on or after the spring equinox."

Looking up "Tekufot" in the Encyclopedia Judaica confirms this. It states: 

"The equinox occurs because of the (apparent) action of the sun. The earth, which is tilted 23.5 degrees, circles the sun, creating our seasons (spring, summer, fall and winter). The equinox occurs when the sun "crosses" the equator. The Hebrew word is tekufah, and refers to the solstices as well as to the equinoxes."

Additional historical confirmation for tekufah being the end of the Biblical year is found in the writings of Flavius Josephus and Philo Judaeus. Both of which were Jews contemporary to Christ.

“In the month... which is by us called Nisan, and is the beginning of our year, on the fourteenth day of the lunar month, when the sun is in Aries, (for in this month it was that we were delivered from bondage under the Egyptians,) the law ordained that we should every year slay that sacrifice which I before told you we slew when we came out of Egypt, and which was called the Passover; and so we do celebrate this passover in companies, leaving nothing of what we sacrifice till the day following. The feast of unleavened bread succeeds that of the passover, and falls on the fifteenth day of the month, and continues seven days, wherein they feed on unleavened bread...” Flavius Josephus

As is shown in the above picture, the time "when the sun is in Aries" is the tekufah or vernal equinox.

"Moses puts down the beginning of the vernal equinox as the first month of the year, attributing the chief honour, not as some persons do, to the periodical revolutions of the year in regard of time, but rather to the graces and beauties of nature which it has caused to shine upon men; for it is through the bounty of nature that the seeds which are sown to produce the necessary food of mankind are brought to perfection … Now wheat and barley are among the things which are very necessary…" Philo Judaeus. Translated by C.D. Yonge. "A Treatise on the Life of Moses, Book II, XLI." The Works of Philo Complete and Unabridged. Hendrickson Publishers, 1995.

It is important to understand the timing of the Biblical year, as it affects the timing of Yahweh's annual holy days. 

Ezekiel 20:19-20 - “I am Yahweh your God; walk in My statutes, and keep My judgments, and do them; And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I Am Yahweh your God.”

The old, original way of defining the year, as given at Creation, is solely by the heavens. This is why Noah could know that a new year had begun while he was on the ark and the earth was fully covered in water (no barley harvest). The old ways are the right ways...  Indeed, just as it states in Genesis 1:14, the heavenly lights are God's Clock. And they determine all Time - including the year.

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