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berkano
Advanced Member

uSA
129 Posts

Posted - 29 Mar 2003 :  15:25:29  Show Profile  Visit berkano's Homepage  Reply with Quote
I have some thoughts and questions about the use of Roman Numerals, Roman Dates, etc. I want to use the right method to avoid bad results, and I don't want to be so persnickety that making some small mistake would cause unnecessary alarm. Basically I would like a better understanding of how men in the ecclesia should conduct their writing in a Lawful manner.

One. I notice that the Non-Statutory Abatement rests on one point that the date and numbering formats used by the Roman courts and agencies are foreign to our Lawful Christian venue, and not recognized. Being that in the superior Court these marks are considered unlawful and void, is that to mean that we should *never* use this type of dating and numerals? For instance, if I am keeping a personal diary and I date the entries in DD/MM/YYYY format, does that indicate my diary is part of a commercial activity that I am engaged in? What about the use of the same practice in writing letters or anything else that is not specifically a legal document? If some government agent stole my diary and it had Roman-style dating on the entries, would this indicate that the de facto government somehow has some twisted formula to use this for jurisdiction over me?

Two. Use of Roman names for months. If I date something by using the Roman name for a month [for example, "The first day of August"] would that be wrong to do? Should Christians write out all dates on everything without exception, and if so, why, and what does this accomplish for him/her?

Three. Use of a private shorthand and a private date format. Let's assume I invent my own private shorthand for writing notes, dates, and other things that I do not intend for public consumption, and I invent an abbreviated dating format, or even an abbreviation or symbol to stand for something like the phrase, "The Lord, Jesus the Christ." I know that many during the middle ages considered writing, especially writing with uncommon characters, to be a mark of evil power or witchcraft. Can some inherent evil be assumed from a practice such as this?

Four. Use of a private language and grammar format for brevity. Let's assume that I use a private, redacted form of English or some other language that makes writing significantly faster than regular English usage. Would this practice have any potential wrong in it? What if the language is very exact and legalistic, leaving little or no room for error or misunderstanding of meaning?

Five. Things and practices to avoid. What things and practices should be specifically avoided, and under which circumstances?

Six. Use of receipts. I read somewhere (can't remember where) that one should not make use of receipts when buying or selling anything. Is there some reason one should not keep store receipts for items purchased?

-- Berkano

Edited by - berkano on 29 Mar 2003 19:22:16

Walter
Advanced Member

USA
144 Posts

Posted - 09 Apr 2003 :  20:48:55  Show Profile  Visit Walter's Homepage  Reply with Quote
This won't eactly answer your questions, but I made some notes on the calendar here:
http://home.earthlink.net/~walterk1/Patr/Misc/TheCalendar.html
For example, a style once employed was: "the Second Month vulgarly called April..."
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Robert-James
Advanced Member

uSA
353 Posts

Posted - 09 Apr 2003 :  21:13:23  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Greetings Berkano. You question everything! He who seeks, shall find. I am distilling my thoughts to not think or talk in the "days" mondaytuesdaywednesdaythursdayfridaysaturdaysunday. The problem arises in communicating to others. For years now many of us have known that the sacred calendar starts the year on what is called the spring eqinox. We are today in the first month...Abib and the 21st day. the last day of the feast of unleavened bread. The leavened bread Jews teach something else. We were warned not to eat of the leavened bread of the pharasees, which now include about all Christian teachers, excepting the elect. But including all the 501-C3ers. If I have to include a Roman date on something { parenthesis} is for information only. Never in scripture is a day of the week given a name. As long as there is the matrix, we will have problems of communicating with the dead, or better yet, those yet born again. I would ask You to re-examine the sacred names of The Father and Son, as per proverbs 30:4. I have written and had served non-statuary abatements with the sacred names written throught and the action verb...messiah rather than Christ. And they are Standing. Christ is not a "last name". Paul travailed with his children of faith, till messiah be formed in them. Taint no Jesus statue forming either. I think a great mystery is within John's writings in his first letter when he says that the anti-annointed deny Yahushua ...is come...in the flesh. "Is come" seems to be poor English. Were the translators trying to hide something? If Beranko is come in the flesh, Beranko is here! For eyes to see and ears to hear! James said for some to be spotless, and this is what You may be called to Become. And much of this spotlessness will be the words that proceed from your mouth, or words that are penned from your hand. Be of good cheer, He shall show Us how to Overcome also. Overcome in greek is nike, and in today's world, nike means...just do it. {Nice parallel, though the CORPORATION NIKE is headed for perdition}. For something else on the sacred time line: two times a day the priests offered sacrifices of incense....9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. For Us, this is the appointed time of prayer, also. Check the first few chapters of Acts for a start on verification. Though, We can also be instant in prayer too. Try for a seven day period...try not to verbally mention a secular named day of the week. And don't bite your tongue everytime you slip up....you won't have a tongue left!!!
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Cornerstone Foundation
Advanced Member

uSA
254 Posts

Posted - 31 Jan 2004 :  11:05:42  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Robert-James:

We very much appreciated the contents of your post above.

We perceive that these are very important matters for Yahweh's Ecclesia to be addressing...Thank You.

It is our understanding that today (until 12:00 noon)is the 12th day of the 11th month on the ancient Hebrew calendar that Yahweh gave to Israyl.

We are willing to change and get in conformance to the right calendar if we are not on the right calendar. We have looked into the calendar issue quite alot and are still in that process.

Do you agree or disagree that we have the correct day stated for today?

Marty
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Robert-James
Advanced Member

uSA
353 Posts

Posted - 31 Jan 2004 :  12:01:33  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Greetings in the name of Yahuweh El-Elyon.
Well brother, I have today being the 10th day of the eleventh month. The eleventh month starting on what is called Jan.22. The time element is divided into four quarters, and each one has not the same number of days...the earth wobbles, and it is the division of 365.242 into 360 degrees. We will have two "last days" this year. Usually there is only one, but this being a leap year, the new year will commence on again, what is called March 20th...the first of abib. These signs are set by the heavens, which is our Father's handiwork. The lunar calendar brings too much emotion with it. I know the lunar and solar calendars meet every 19 years, for confirmation, but the sun is the greater light.
As a side bar, Julius Caesar moved the new year date from the spring eqinox, to JANUARY 1st. The anti-christ changes the times and seasons! {Rome}. I am amazed that Issac Newton, Ben Franklin and many others never caught this.
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Cornerstone Foundation
Advanced Member

uSA
254 Posts

Posted - 31 Jan 2004 :  12:43:22  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Robert-James

Greetings in the name of Yahuweh El-Elyon.
... the sun is the greater light.
Robert-James:

It is also interesting to note that the moon technically and scientifically speaking is not a light at all...it is only a reflector of the sun's light.

We believe Yahweh knew that when He inspired Moses to write Genesis 1:14-16.

We understand the sun and the stars to be the lights referred to in Genesis 1:14-16.

We encourage readers to take into consideration what is commanded in the following verses of Scripture when considering what Genesis 1:14-16 actually states (without adding italized words added by the translators.)...(We have been told that the last word in verse 16 "also" may have been inappropriately added by translators who perhaps felt that Yahweh had forgotten to state exactly what He meant here.):

Dueteronomy 4:2; 12:32
Proverbs 30:6
Revelation 22:18-19 (possibly)

Marty
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Cornerstone Foundation
Advanced Member

uSA
254 Posts

Posted - 31 Jan 2004 :  13:16:00  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Robert-James

Greetings in the name of Yahuweh El-Elyon.

We will have two "last days" this year. Usually there is only one, but this being a leap year, the new year will commence on again, what is called March 20th...the first of abib.

As a side bar, Julius Caesar moved the new year date from the spring eqinox, to JANUARY 1st. The anti-christ changes the times and seasons! {Rome}. I am amazed that Issac Newton, Ben Franklin and many others never caught this.
Robert-James:

Where can we find the information concerning Julius Ceasar's changing of the new year date so that we can show it to others that are skeptical?

Does it state any where in Scripture or in the ancient writings other than in Exodus 12:2 that Israyl is to be on a solar year that begins at the vernal (spring) equinox?

Marty
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Cornerstone Foundation
Advanced Member

uSA
254 Posts

Posted - 01 Feb 2004 :  14:27:55  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Robert-James

Greetings in the name of Yahuweh El-Elyon.
Well brother, I have today being the 10th day of the eleventh month. The eleventh month starting on what is called Jan.22. The time element is divided into four quarters, and each one has not the same number of days...the earth wobbles, and it is the division of 365.242 into 360 degrees.

Robert-James:

Pursuant to our effort to attempt to synchronize our Hebrew calendar with yours we need to deal with several writings that seem to conflict with the statement above i.e. ("and each one has not the same number of days").

Are the following words from I Enoch 81:5-7 reliable words? "With respect to the progress of the sun in heaven it enters and goes out of (each) gate for thirty days, with the leaders of the thousand classes of the stars; with four which are added, and appertain to the four quarters of the year, which conduct them, and accompany them at four periods. Respecting these, men greatly err, and do not calculate them in the calculation of every age; for they greatly err respecting them; nor do men know accurately that they are in the calculation of the year. But indeed these are marked down for ever; one in the first gate, one in the third, one in the fourth, and one in the sixth: So that the year is completed in three hundred and sixty-four days."

There is more concerning this in I Enoch elsewhere in Chapter 81 and in Chapter 74 and we believe in the Book of Jubilees.

After a considerable amount of study we feel we have been given some understanding in these matters but we do not have a full understanding and have not, at this juncture, been able to reconcile all passages.

If others in the Body of Messiah have insight into these matters we would be very appreciative of hearing from you.

Marty
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Robert-James
Advanced Member

uSA
353 Posts

Posted - 02 Feb 2004 :  13:51:37  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Greetings Marty, and all.
Most encyclopedia's tell the story of Julius Caesar's changing the first day of the year, maybe under calendar or Julius Caesar. It was done approximately...the year 45 b.c. Truthfully, b.c. and a.d. are also spurious dates.
I would not rely on the latter day book of Enoch, or even the book known as Jubilees as pure copies. Good readings for thought stimulation...yes.
We all admit that the sabbath day of rest...as a type and shadow of even something else, is the seventh day. Inquiring minds ask, "seventh day from what"?
Those living within the world system feel very comfortable choosing either a SATURDAY or a SUNDAY as THEIR sabbath. The thing is is that sabbath day is not of our choosing, rather Father's. We all need to learn to line up with His will, and let our will go by the wayside.
Think all four gospels have wording similar to, "in the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn"...regarding the empty tomb and the resurrection. Exceedingly cryptic, and also a major clue regarding when a sabbath day begins or ends, in the natural.
We need revelations to "dawn" on us. Zerah, the son of righteousness.
We have a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the Day Star arise in your hearts.
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Cornerstone Foundation
Advanced Member

uSA
254 Posts

Posted - 02 Feb 2004 :  15:43:57  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Robert-James

Greetings Marty, and all.
We all admit that the sabbath day of rest...as a type and shadow of even something else, is the seventh day. Inquiring minds ask, "seventh day from what"?
Those living within the world system feel very comfortable choosing either a SATURDAY or a SUNDAY as THEIR sabbath. The thing is is that sabbath day is not of our choosing, rather Father's. We all need to learn to line up with His will, and let our will go by the wayside.

Robert-James:

We agree strongly that the "Sabbath day is not of our choosing, rather Father's. We all need to learn to line up with His will."

If this is going to be discussed in much detail it may be appropriate to start a new topic because the Sabbath may be only indirectly related to this topic.

It is our understanding that the Hebrew word for "week" is shabua.

We have read that in all commands relating to the weekly Sabbath, the word shabua (week) is never used. Only in a couple of verses which speak of a festival sabbath is any reference or connection to a week ever given.

The author went on to state that "no where in the Old Testament does it say that the Sabbath was on the seventh day of the week."

The author also points out that Yahweh did not command "Thou shalt keep the seventh day of the week on the Gregorian calendar." It seems to us that Yahweh did in fact give us (Israyl) a calendar that is in counter-distinction to the Gregorian calendar. In Exodus 12:2 we understand that Yahweh told Moses to tell us "this month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you."

If Abib is the first month for you. Does it follow that Abib 1 is the first day of the year for you...and the first day of the first month for you...and the first day of the first week for you?

If it is; then can we tell by other Scriptures which days are sabbaths?...and when we know which days are sabbaths...do we know that we are commanded to work six days prior to a sabbath?...then rest on the sabbath and then work six more days as commanded?

For us does it really matter what day of the week Julius Ceasar or Pope Gregory decreed that it is?...or shall we do as Robert-James suggests and "learn to line up with (Yahweh's) will"?

Marty



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Robert-James
Advanced Member

uSA
353 Posts

Posted - 02 Feb 2004 :  19:57:36  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Greetings Marty,
a child can 'understand' the first day of the year concept, and count six days foreward. No moons-men-dogma-etc. An oath sworn in the old days was said seven times. A woman is unclean for seven days...her week. I like the saying by Isaiah that all OUR righteousness is as a filthy rag {menstrous}. A woman bleeding-did not conceive. But, and, when we put on His righteousness...well, conception to Truth is possible.
A sabbath is not necessarily sabbaths. 52 weekly sabbath days, 7 days of passover, 1 day of pentacost, one day of the blowing of trumpets, one day of atonement, 8 days of tabernacles, equals 70 days, pretty kewl.
It is simple to make a sacred calendar...provided the spring equinox is a given. And, since I am not an astronomer, I trust others to be truthful regarding the equinox, first day of summer-fall vernal date, and the starting day of winter. The sabbath and feast days can then be found using scripture only.
If everyone on earth died, we...you and me, could raise an exceedingly tall pole, oblesk, mark the shadows daily, and find Father's calendar again. Noah knew this, and all trained in the Faith of our father's, know this knowlege.
Every year has a "last day", which is not counted. "Last day" is mentioned eight times in the gospel of John.
George Bush Jr. attacked Iraq on the 'last day', last year. It was the first day of the year for the poor Iraq people! What a new year present!!!
The sacred calendar folds perfectly in two, between spring and fall. Albiet, the time of days, is not exactly 365.242 in half. The earth wobbles, as a man drunk! For all nations have drunk of the fornication of the whore.
The pyramid of Giza fame, had its four sockets...foundation stones, 365.242 sacred cubits apart. But, the pyramid was not built to the specifications of the four sockets. Man...the builders, rejected the Chief Cornerstone, Yahushuah was slain before the foundations of the world...hence man's labor has been in vain.
Side bar; an Egyptian inch and a British-American inch vary the width of a hair or two, over a period of over 5,000 years. Thomas Jefferson held sure, denying the French/godless milliMETER...meter non-science.
If a man does not know what time it is, he can become easily confused...all brainwashing involves this concept. We are under the unction to re-new Our minds, to the mind of messiah Yahushuah. He operated on a different calendar than the talmudic Jews of His day. Scriptures verify Truth...rightly divided.
Your turn brother.........
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Walter
Advanced Member

USA
144 Posts

Posted - 07 Feb 2004 :  11:22:24  Show Profile  Visit Walter's Homepage  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Cornerstone Foundation

If Abib is the first month for you. Does it follow that Abib 1 is the first day of the year for you...and the first day of the first month for you...and the first day of the first week for you?


I finally figured out that Abib first is also the first weekly sabbath of the year. I have poorly organized notes here: http://home.earthlink.net/~walterk12/Xian/Cal/Calendar.html
All but two commanded feasts (sixth day of passover & day of atonement) then fall on weekly sabbaths; pentecost is a two-day sabbath. But others will probably disagree.

Th Egyptians kept / keep a "solar" calendar based on the star Sirius (I think) - not lunar. That at the time of the exodus their seventh month happened to start on the VE would be another of God's provisions and I would expect that to have been the case.

But the subject of calendars is a hotly debated topic and belongs in its own thread; and is, as you mentioned, off point in this one.
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Cornerstone Foundation
Advanced Member

uSA
254 Posts

Posted - 07 Feb 2004 :  17:26:39  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Walter

quote:
Originally posted by Cornerstone Foundation

If Abib is the first month for you. Does it follow that Abib 1 is the first day of the year for you...and the first day of the first month for you...and the first day of the first week for you?


I finally figured out that Abib first is also the first weekly sabbath of the year.

All but two commanded feasts (sixth day of passover & day of atonement) then fall on weekly sabbaths; pentecost is a two-day sabbath. But others will probably disagree.


Cornerstone Foundation wrote:

Our understanding of this seems to be in sync with yours for the most part if not entirely.

Walter also wrote:

But the subject of calendars is a hotly debated topic and belongs in its own thread; and is, as you mentioned, off point in this one.

Cornerstone Foundation wrote:

Perhaps the fact that it is a "hotly debated issue" is an indication that it is a very important issue.

Perhaps you, or someone else who knows how, would like to start a new thread to discuss this issue.

If there are those who disagree with us and can back up their reasons for disagreement with sound logic from authoritive sources we would really like to hear from them.

Our knowledge in this area is incomplete. If we are in error or on the wrong track we would like to know about it so that we can make a correction.

Marty
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Robert-James
Advanced Member

uSA
353 Posts

Posted - 07 Feb 2004 :  20:57:40  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Greetings,
my Blacks 4th Addition has under A B, the wording, "sacred calendar", and it shows the first month of the year to be March. It then mumbles on about moon's and stuff. September {7th} October {8} November {9} December {10}...all count from March, being the first month. I think that the KJV term, new moon, is a misunderstanding, and correctly reads, first of the month. Ancient Israelites would observe the start of each of the twelve months, as calendars from the local store, well, you get the picture.
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Manuel
Advanced Member

USA
762 Posts

Posted - 07 Feb 2004 :  21:42:12  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Greetings all,
It is when Spring begins when the sun shines and awakens life. Hybernating beasts come out of their slumber, plants rise from their dorment stage, and Light shines at its fullest potential on us all. The beginning.

Manuel
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BatKol
Advanced Member

USA
735 Posts

Posted - 08 Feb 2004 :  09:44:17  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
RObert-James said: I think that the KJV term, new moon, is a misunderstanding, and correctly reads, first of the month.

BatKol: I am curious to know why you think the first of the month can not be gauged by the New Moon. Do you know what the root for the word month is? Also, there have been much study, both historically and scripturally, that support the first appearence of the cresent sliver as the start of the month. I do agree with your statement that the year starts in March.
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Robert-James
Advanced Member

uSA
353 Posts

Posted - 08 Feb 2004 :  10:17:23  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Greetings,
the new moon is invisible! The waxing moon is that first sliver one sees. The crescent {waxing} moon is what the lunar folks use as their new moon. A 'phases of the moon' chart shows this clearly.
I just can't buy into more than twelve months in a year. Scripture never even hints that the crescent moon is the first of the month. A crescent moon is already 3 1/2 days from being the "new moon". Ok?
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BatKol
Advanced Member

USA
735 Posts

Posted - 08 Feb 2004 :  12:10:34  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Robert-James what you are calling the invisible new moon is what the scientists labled as the new moon. There is much evidence to back up that the new moon of the time of the ancient Isralites was the first sliver cresent. Scholars and Scripture both agree on this one. The invisible new moon concept is from the scientists, not Tanakh. OK?
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BatKol
Advanced Member

USA
735 Posts

Posted - 08 Feb 2004 :  14:00:13  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Consider this well written summary from a man who is working on the Dead Sea Scrolls project in Jerusalem. I have not seen any decent refutations of this below:

Ps 104:19:

"He created the moon for Mo'adim [appointed times]"

The Hebrew term Mo'adim [appointed times] is the same word used to describe the Biblical Holidays. Leviticus 23, which contains a catalogue of the Biblical Holidays opens with the statement: "These are the Mo'adim [appointed times] of YHWH, holy convocations which you shall proclaim in their appointed times [Mo'adam].". So when the Psalmist tells us that God created the moon for Mo'adim [appointed times] he means that the moon was created to determine the time of the Mo'adim of YHWH, that is, the Biblical Holidays.

"Hodesh" Is Related To the Moon

The above verse clearly teaches us that the holidays are related to the moon. But when the Torah was given Ps 104 had not yet been written by the Levitical prophets, and the question still remains of how the ancient Israelites could have known this. The answer is that the Hebrew word for month (Hodesh) itself indicates a connection to the moon. We can see this connection in a number of instances in which Hodesh (month) is used interchangeably with the word "Yerah", the common Biblical Hebrew word for moon, which by extension also means "month". For example:

"...in the month (Yerah) of Ziv,
which is the Second month (Hodesh)..." (1Kings 6,1)

"...in the month (Yerah) of Ethanim... which is the Seventh month (Hodesh)..." (1Kings 8,2)

Another proof that Hodesh is related to the moon (Yerah) is the phrase "A Hodesh (month) of days" (Gen 29,14; Nu 11,20-21) [meaning a period of 29 or 30 days] which is equivalent to the phrase "A Yerah (month/ moon) of days" (Dt 21,13; 2Ki 15,13). Clearly then Hodesh is related to "Yerah", which itself literally means "moon".

"Hodesh" Means New Moon (Day)

The primary meaning of Hodesh (month) is actually "New Moon" or "New Moon Day" and it is only by extension that it came to mean "month", that is, the period between one New Moon and the next. This primary meaning is preserved in a number of passages such as 1Sam 20,5 in which Jonathan says to David "Tomorrow is the New Moon (Hodesh)". Clearly, in this verse Hodesh is used to refer to the specific day on which the month begins and not the entire month. Another passage which uses Hodesh in its primary sense is Ez 46,1 which talks about "The Day (Yom) of the New Moon (Ha-Hodesh)". Clearly in this verse Hodesh (New Moon) is a specific event and the beginning of the month is the day on which this event (New Moon) occurs.

The Biblical New Moon is the "First Crescent"

"Hodesh" (New Moon), is derived from the root H.D.SH. meaning "new" or "to make new/ renew". The Crescent New Moon is called Hodesh because it is the first time the moon is seen anew after being concealed for several days at the end of the lunar cycle. At the end of the lunar month the moon is close to the sun 1 and eventually reaches the point of "conjunction" when it passes between the Sun and the Earth 2. As a result, around the time of conjunction very little of the moon's illuminated surface faces the Earth and it is not visible through the infinitely brighter glare of the sun. After the moon moves past the sun it continues towards the opposite side of the Earth. As it gets farther away from the sun the percentage of its illuminated surface facing the Earth increases and one evening shortly after sunset the moon is seen anew after being invisible for 1.5-3.5 days. Because the moon is seen anew after a period of invisibility the ancients called it a "New Moon" or "Hodesh" (from Hadash meaning "new").

Crescent New Moon vs. Astronomical New Moon

Many people have been led astray by the inaccurate use in modern languages of the term "New Moon". Modern astronomers adopted this otherwise unused term, which had always referred to the first visible sliver, and used it to refer to conjunction (when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, at which time it is not visible). The astronomers soon realized that the inaccurate use of "New Moon" to refer to conjunction would lead to confusion so to be more accurate scientists now distinguish between "Astronomical New Moon" and "Crescent New Moon". "Astronomical New Moon" means New Moon as the term is used by astronomers, i.e. conjunction. In contrast, "Crescent New Moon" uses the term in the original meaning of the first visible sliver. A good English dictionary should reflect both meanings. For example, the Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged Edition defines New Moon as: "The moon either when in conjunction with the sun or soon after being either invisible [Astronomical New Moon] or visible [Crescent New Moon] only as a slender crescent." (square brackets added by NG).

The Supposed Evidence For "Concealed Moon"

Having been confused by the use of the term New Moon in modern astronomy some people have sought Biblical support for this incorrect meaning of the term. Ps 81,3 [Heb. 81,4] is usually cited which says:

"Blow on a horn for the Hodesh (New Moon)
On the Keseh (Full Moon) for the Day of our Hag (Feast)."

According to the "Concealed Moon Theory", the term "Keseh" is derived from the root K.S.Y. meaning "to cover" and thus means "covered moon" or "concealed moon". According to this interpretation, when the verse says to blow on a horn on the day of Keseh it actually means "[blow on a horn] on the day of Concealed Moon". However, the language does not support this argument for the second half of the verse also refers to the day of Keseh as "the day of our Feast (Hag)". In the Bible, Feast (Hag) is a technical term which always refers to the three annual pilgrimage-feasts (Matzot, Shavuot, Sukkot; see Ex 23; Ex 34).3 New Moon Day (Hodesh) is never classified as a "Pilgrimage-Feast" so Keseh/ Hag can not possibly be synonymous with New Moon Day (Hodesh). It has further been suggested that Keseh refers to the Biblical holiday of Yom Teruah (Day of Shouting), which always falls out on New Moon Day. However, the Bible describes Yom Teruah as a Moed (appointed time) and never as a Hag (Pilgrimage-Feast) so Keseh/ Hag can not refer to Yom Teruah either.

What Does Keseh Really Mean?

It is likely that Keseh is related to the Aramaic word "Kista" and the Assyrian word "Kuseu" which mean "full moon" (see Brown-Driver-Briggs p.490b) [Hebrew, Aramaic, and Assyrian are all Semitic languages and often share common roots]. This fits in perfectly with the description of Keseh as the day of the Hag since two of the three Pilgrimage-Feasts (Hag HaMatzot and Hag HaSukkot) are on the 15th of the month, which is about the time of the Full Moon!

More on "Concealed Moon"

Another point to consider is that there is no actual "day" of concealed moon. In fact the moon stays concealed anywhere from 1.5 to 3.5 days in the Middle East. It has been proposed that the "day" of concealed moon is actually the day of conjunction (when the moon passes between the Earth and Sun). However, it was only 1000 years after Moses that the Babylonian astronomers discovered how to calculate the moment of conjunction. Therefore, the ancient Israelites would have had no way of knowing when the moment of conjunction takes place and would not have known on which day to observe "Concealed Moon Day".

It has been suggested that the ancient Israelites could have looked at the "Old Moon" and determined the Day of Conjunction by when the Old Moon was no longer visible in the morning sky. However, such a method would not work in the Middle East where the so-called "concealed moon" can remain concealed for as many as 3.5 days! It is in fact common for the moon to stay concealed for 2.5 days and in such instances how would the ancient Israelites have known which day was the Day of Conjunction?

In contrast, the ancient Israelites would have been well aware of the Crescent New Moon. In ancient societies people worked from dawn to dusk and they would have noticed the Old Moon getting smaller and smaller in the morning sky. When the morning moon had disappeared the ancient Israelites would have anxiously awaited its reappearance 1.5-3.5 days later in the evening sky. Having disappeared for several days and then appearing anew in the early evening sky they would have called it the "New Moon" or "Hodesh" (from Hadash meaning "New").

Robert-James I would be pleased to FWD your refutation of the above to the author.


Edited by - BatKol on 09 Feb 2004 15:41:19
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Bondservant
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Posted - 08 Feb 2004 :  14:06:24  Show Profile  Visit Bondservant's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Batkol, please post the name of the researcher, or an internet link, or list your written source of this so that others (including myself) can research this on our own. Otherwise, your post is nothing more than a rumour.
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Robert-James
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uSA
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Posted - 08 Feb 2004 :  15:51:49  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
BatKol, I quit listening to Jewish 'authorities many MOONS ago. Tremendous scientific wisdom was implanted by design, in the pyramid of Giza...thousands of years before scribes left Babylon. Phi, pi, 365.242, the list is so far, limitless.
BatKol, this is just it...that religious men deny scientific evidence to support their traditions.
Is it not obvious that the moon rules over the night {CainaNIGHT}, and the sun-son rules the IsraeLIGHTS?
The moon has no light in and of itself, but it is used for two occasions; passover and the start of the 'day' of atonement.
The tanakh says that the sun rises, which is not correct. We must have common sense when reading scripture...till we have the mind of messiah complete, in us.
Scientists study the handiwork of YHWH's heavenly creation. The ancient faith of my father's, well they were scientists of their day. They did not need the book of remembrance. Enoch was translated after 365 years...solar time. Now if the clue were to be pointed to lunar time, Enoch would have lived 354 years.
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