God’s Biblical Calendar
This article talks about:
- God's Calendar & Appointed Times
- Symbolism of the Feasts
- Spiritual Awareness of God's Timeline
-By Pnina-
All of us have calendars. Maybe it is on our phone. A calendar to remind us of the family birthdays and anniversaries might also be found on the walls of bathrooms or on our refrigerators with our plans for the coming weeks. On many of those calendars, we might find the dates of the Biblical holidays during that year. Those holidays are not mere dates; they represent a connection between the heavens and earth, between history and future.
In the very beginning of the Bible, in Genesis 1:14, before man was even created, God already took care of the calendar, as we read, “And God said: let there be lights in the firmament of heaven, to distinguish between day and night; let them be signs and appointed times, days and years.” Those lights in the firmament are not only crucial for all the natural processes on earth, like the coming and going of seasons, but they also show us where we are on His calendar. So, the heavens are intricately connected to that calendar. Besides that, the Feasts and Holy Days of Israel are related to the agricultural processes in the land, and thus, there is also an earthly aspect to the calendar that exists. Not only are those two aspects found in the calendar, but it is also a reminder of historic events and a hope for the future. The holy days remind us of the great miracles God did for His people in the past on their way out of Egypt as well as the events in the life of Yeshua. They, especially the feast of Tabernacles, give us hope for the future when it will come to pass what John heard, “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle [Sukkah; סוכה] of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God’” (Rev. 21:3).
The Hebrew word in the Bible used for the most holy days, is mo’ed (מועד), meaning, ‘appointed time, appointed place or meeting’. It is thus not a mere moment in time; it is a moment of meeting with the Creator. This reminds us of the Biblical term for tabernacle, called the ‘Ohel Mo’ed’, the tent of meeting.
The three pilgrimage holidays are a clear manifestation of a meeting, “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed” (Deut. 16:16). During those mo’edim (appointed times), the men ascending to Jerusalem would bring to the Lord some of their agricultural production.
To learn more about the connection between agriculture and the Biblical calendar, we need to take a step back and look at the structure of God’s calendar.
The Jewish calendar as we know it today is lunisolar, based on both the moon and the sun, as opposed to the Christian calendar which is based on the sun-cycle only, and the Islamic calendar which is based on the moon-cycle only. A lunar calendar has 12 months of 29 or 30 days for a total of 354 days, so to be reconciled with the solar calendar, 7 intercalary months are added over a 19-year cycle. Therefore, in the Hebrew calendar today there are years which occasionally, like the current year, have a second month of Adar.
The Jewish calendar we know today however, is not entirely found in the Bible. In the earlier books of the Bible, we find only four names of months (or literally ‘moons’ ירח in Hebrew): Aviv, Ziv, Ethanim, and Bul. The month of Aviv meaning ‘spring’ is the first month, the month of Ziv meaning ‘light’ is the second month, the month of Ethanim meaning ‘permanent’ (in the plural form) or ‘ever-flowing’ refers to the seventh month, and Bul the meaning of which is a little more obscure is the eighth month. The first month of Aviv corresponds to March-April in the Gregorian calendar (which is used in most parts of the world today), and the seventh month corresponds to September-October.
However, as you might know, nowadays the Jewish calendar starts with the month of Tishrei in September-October. The names Tishrei, Cheshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Shevat, Adar, Nisan, Iyar, Sivan, Tammuz, Av, and Elul are taken from the Babylonian month-names and only some of them are found in the Biblical books from time of the Babylonian exile onwards. The month of Tishrei got its name from the Akkadian word tašrītu, "beginning". It is generally accepted that this change in the Hebrew calendar happened somewhere in the first centuries AD, and various reasons for this change might be thought of.
However, there is an earlier example of the same pattern of months found in a 10th century BC text from Israel. One of the oldest known Hebrew writings, the so-called Gezer Calendar, shows us the division of the months. The inscription, found near Gezer about 30 km west of Jerusalem, might be translated as follows:
- Two months of ingathering (olives)/ Two months
- of sowing (cereals)/ Two months of late sowing (legumes and vegetables)
- A month of hoeing weeds (for hay)
- A month of harvesting barley
- A month of harvesting (wheat) and measuring (grain)
- Two months of grape harvesting
- A month of ingathering summer fruit
- Avi.…[Broken]
If we read the text as a calendar, we interestingly see that the first months mentioned here are the months of gathering (ירחו אסיף). In Exodus 23:15-16, we read, “You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty); and the Feast of Harvest, the first fruits of your labor which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labor from the field.”
Here, the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) is named Chag ha-Asif (חג האסיף), the Holy Day of Ingathering. Living in Israel, one might see around the month of October the olives that are picked and gathered. In ancient times the grape harvest might also have been around that time of the year. Though we see that the Biblical calendar places the Ingathering in the seventh month, the Gezer text places it as first.
Various interpretations of the text exist. Some claim it is a school-text written by a pupil, others interpret it as a song, or as a document used for gathering taxes. One of the interpretations that stood out to me looked at a different aspect of the text, which might teach us something today. The explanation assumes that most farmers were likely analphabetic in the 10th century BC. But even if they couldn’t read or write, they would learn the agricultural activities from observing, practicing, and experiencing, rather than from reading texts. A farmer would know when to sow or harvest and did not need a written document to remind him. Thus, another purpose of the text should be thought of.
Texts of a similar genre are known from other places in the Ancient Near East, where the most important source of life, water, was not always abundant. Not having the rainfall needed in the right time of the year was one of the main concerns of any farmer. Since almost every natural phenomenon was believed to be the act of a deity with his own will, the farmer should please the sun and the moon, the god of the river, and the god of the winds, as well as many others in order to have a good harvest. The farmer was responsible to sow and harvest at the right time to keep up the cosmic order. A wise farmer would know the patterns of wind and rain and would understand the way of nature from his own experience and tradition.
However, in a sharp contrast, the Bible tells us that real wisdom cannot be gained by our experience, but rather, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). God gave us understanding of the natural world to a certain level, but the sustenance of life is not based upon our understanding. Deuteronomy 11: 13-15 reminds us, “And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.”
A wise farmer is a farmer who fears the Lord and keeps His commandments. Then he will be blessed, and after he gathers in his grain, wine, and oil, he brings part of it as an offering to the Lord at His appointed times.
Some lessons might be learned from those texts, even for us who are not farmers in the land of Israel, living in a reality without a Temple in Jerusalem. The first and most obvious lesson is, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). We should not rely on our experience, our ability to predict the weather, or our advanced technologies. All our livelihood is provided by God.
A second lesson might be to give back to the Lord part of what He has blessed us with. The ancient Israelites brought their first fruits to the temple. We can bring our offerings in many ways, whether material or not. The Biblical calendar reminds us of God’s provision for our lives, and though it is always good to bring our offerings to God, during the holidays we are especially reminded of our blessings and our obligation to give thanks.
A third lesson, on which I will elaborate a little, is the importance of the awareness of the times. As mentioned above, the first month of the Biblical year is Aviv or Nisan in the spring. In the modern calendar, Tishrei is the first month in the fall. The first holiday of that month, the Day of Trumpets, is mostly called Rosh Hashanah, the New Year. This shift in understanding has an impact on our understanding of the future-aspect of the holy days. As mentioned above, the days have historical reasons, starting with Passover and the story of the Exodus. Then, according to tradition, the Torah was given at mount Sinai at the time of the Feast of Weeks. The freedom from slavery and the giving of the Torah are reflected in the gospels, in Yeshua’s death and resurrection at Passover, and in the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on His followers during the Feast of Weeks. The Feast of Tabernacles, the third major holiday, has a future promise, as we saw in Revelation 21:3.
But before that moment, there will be judgement, which we are reminded of during the day of Trumpets when we hear the calling to repent and also during the Day of Atonement. The order of the months and holy days is thus crucial to understand the order of the timeline of world history. If the focus on (the meaning of) the holy days is not right, we might spiritually fall asleep and be unaware of the times we live in.
We do not only need awareness of what time of the year it is, but also what year in time it is. Yeshua taught about the end of the age and amongst other things mentions the luminaries as a major sign: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Matt. 24:29). Those signs, amongst others, are a clear indication that the day is near. Therefore, Yeshua said, “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So, you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!” (Matt. 24: 33).
Our consciousness of God’s calendar, visible in the luminaries, the agricultural cycle of the land of Israel, and in the historical events is crucial. In Numbers 10:10, God says: “And on your joyous occasions, your appointed feasts, and the beginning of each month, you are to blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to serve as a reminder for you before your God. I am the LORD your God”.
As a farmer gets ready for the harvest, we need to be ready for Yeshua’s return. The future Day of Judgement, followed by a period wherein He will ‘tabernacle’ amongst us might be very near. Are we like the ancient farmer, ready for the right task at the right time? Do we, like the ancient farmer, rely on our own understanding and wisdom gained by experience, or do we have real wisdom which is fear of the Lord? Do we have first (spiritual) fruits to offer the Lord, so that we might not appear before Him empty-handed? God reminds us during the year, through His Feasts and Holy Days, of His plan with the world. May we be prepared for the next ‘meeting’!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pnina has been living in Israel for the past five years while also studying Biblical archaeology. She likes to explore the land of Israel, uncover its past, and enjoy the variety in nature, people, and stories that the land is blessed with.