Lunacy - Using the Moon for the Calendar
by Walter Kenaston
through the grace of IAUE Aleim (the Lord God)

BEING WORKED ON...

.

---

Looking at Genesis verses 7:11 and 8:4, we see that the one hundred and fifty days that Noah's ark floating ran from the seventeenth day of the second month to the seventeenth day of the seventh month - five (5) months. Examining the moon data sheet at nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/moonfact.html we see that the synodic period is 29.53 days. IF the month in Noah's time were lunar, then we would expect five months to be 29.53 * 5 or 147.65 days long; this could be as many as 149 solar days, if the fractional portion fell just at the end of the first and just at the beginning of the last days. 149 days maximum. But this falls short of 150 days, and unless other theories are offered with believable evidence, shows that the moon could not have been used by Noah to mark the months. (It has been offered that the moon could have had a longer period in those days, thus allowing five moon months to span 150 days. This requires the moon synodic period to exceed, by some small amount, 148 / 5 or 29.6 days. I'm willing to examine any credible data.)

Genesis 7:11* ¶ In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
Genesis 8:4* ¶ And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

---

The first important verses regarding the calendar is at Genesis 1:14-15:

The "lights" <03974> are that which produce light: lamps or luminaries, not the light <0215> that proceeds from them; these "lights in the firmament" must be producers of light, not merely reflections of it. Next note that <04150> usually means "congregations" or "assemblies", as opposed to the seasons of the year. Notice that "years" <08141> derives from <08138> which can mean "to repeat, do again, to fold, to duplicate"; implying that years are duplicates of prior years, and maybe "foldable" or made of a two repeated parts. So prehaps a more literal rendering would be:

The moon is not a light because it does not produce light but merely reflects the light of the sun. Sometimes this reflected light provides dim light for nighttime activities, but it does not rule the night and certainly not the day. It is the sun which marks out the daytime and nighttime periods. The moon is an unsteady reflection of light, and an unsteady guide, at best. The following verse does not mention the moon among God's luminaries at all:

The Hebrew word for "month" is codesh<02320> and the word for "moon" is yareach<03394>. According to Strong's, yareach is used 26 times in the Old Testament, each time rendered as "moon". The first occurance of yareach is at Genesis 37:9:

Genesis 37:9* And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

Before that, every occurance of "month" came from "codesh".

Yereach is derived from yerach<03391>, which is first used in Exodus 2:2, and is rendered both as "month" and "moon".

The word for "month" is codesh<02320> is rendered 254 times as "month" and 20 times as "moon". The overwhelming majority of renderings for "codesh" being "month", it is hard not to think that the renderings as "moon" are mistranslations.

Also examine ... :

Notice that "great lights" refers to not to luminaries but simply to light.

Also examine

A more literal translation might be:

The sun is attributed as having knowledge; the moon is dumb as a rock. And looking at the following verses, one sees that the moon governs the night and the beasts, but the sun governs the day and the affairs of men.

...

...

.

The Moon for "Seasons"

A passage which refers to the moon being for anything is Psalm 104:19. Here it is in context:

Psalm 104:
19 ¶ He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
21* The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.
22* The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.
23* Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.
24* O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

Those promoting the moon-based month say that verse 19 proves their point, but even a cursory reading does not support the moon having anything to do with months, only "seasons"; months are not seasons. And when one examines the verse and passage more closely, it is clear nothing of the sort is a viable conclusion.

The word translated "seasons" is mow'ed<04150>, which is the same word used for seasons in Genesis 1:14. This word has to do with congregations, feasts and assemblies rather than the four seasons of the year. The word "appointed" comes from "'asah"<06213> has the sense of "to make" or "to fashion" and cannot be construed as being put in a position to rule. It instead suggests being made as a helper or a servant; it is the word used in Genesis 2:18 when God made Eve as a helpmeet for Adam.

Looking at the later part of verse 19 of Psalm 104, "the sun knoweth his going down", we find that the phrase "his going down" is rendered from "mabow"<03996> which could also mean "coming in". Perhaps more importantly, the word "knoweth" rendered from "yada`"<03045> can have the sense of "to know" or "to make known" which indicates rulership. The sun is clearly in the dominate position to the moon.

Reading further, we see verses 20 and 21 are about the nighttime, and verses 22 and 23 are about the daytime. This suggests a parallel with the first and last halves of verse 19, that the "seasons"/congregations are at nighttime and the moon provides lighting like a street lamp. (The sun clearly lights the day.) The conclusion that the moon marks the months is not justified from this verse.

.

Ex 5:1* And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
Ex 10:9* And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD.
Ex 12:14* And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.
Ex 13:6* Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD.
Ex 32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
Le 23:6* And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
Le 23:34* Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.
Le 23:39* Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
Le 23:41* And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
Nu 29:12 And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days:
De 16:10* And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
De 16:15* Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.
*De 16:16* Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:
Jud 21:19* Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.

1Ki 3:15* And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
1Ki 8:65* And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.

***Isa 25:6* And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
.

Exodus 12:11* And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover.
Exodus 12:27* That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.

Leviticus 23:2* Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.

Isaiah 1:14 Your new moons <02320> and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.

.

------------------------------------

A search using Online Bible for codesh<02320> being translated as "moon" yields the following list.

1Sa 20:5 And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new moon <02320>, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even.
1Sa 20:18 Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon <02320>: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.
1Sa 20:24 So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon <02320> was come, the king sat him down to eat meat.
2Ki 4:23* And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon <02320>, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.
Ps 81:3* Blow up the trumpet in the new moon <02320>, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
Isa 66:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon <02320> to another <02320>, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
Eze 46:1 Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon <02320> it shall be opened.
Eze 46:6 And in the day of the new moon <02320> it shall be a young bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram: they shall be without blemish.
Am 8:5* Saying, When will the new moon <02320> be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

------------------------------------

Here are the uses of "yerach"<03391> (the root of "yereach"<03394> or "moon").

Ex 2:2* And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months <03391>.
De 21:13* And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month <03391>: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.
De 33:14* And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon <03391>,
1Ki 6:37* In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month <03391> Zif:
1Ki 6:38* And in the eleventh year, in the month <03391> Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.
1Ki 8:2* And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month <03391> Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
2Ki 15:13* Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month <03391> in Samaria.
Job 3:6* As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months <03391>.
Job 7:3 So am I made to possess months <03391> of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.
Job 29:2 Oh that I were as in months <03391> past, as in the days when God preserved me;
Job 39:2 Canst thou number the months <03391> that they fulfil? or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?
Isa 60:20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon <03391> withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
Zec 11:8 Three shepherds also I cut off in one month <03391>; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.

====================

02320 chodesh {kho'-desh}
from 02318; TWOT - 613b; n m
AV - month 254, new moon 20, monthly 1, another 1; 276
1) the new moon, month, monthly
   1a) the first day of the month
   1b) the lunar month

02318 chadash {khaw-dash'}
a primitive root; TWOT - 613; v
AV - renew 7, repair 3; 10
1) to be new, renew, repair
   1a) (Piel)
      1a1) to renew, make anew
      1a2) to repair
   1b) (Hithpael) to renew oneself

03394 yareach {yaw-ray'-akh}
from the same as 03391; TWOT - 913a; n m
AV - moon 26; 26
1) moon

03391 yerach {yeh'-rakh}
from a unused root of uncertain signification; TWOT - 913b; n m
AV - month 11, moon 2; 13
1) month (lunar cycle), moon
   1a) month
   1b) calendar month

04150 mow`ed {mo-ade'} or mo`ed {mo-ade'} or (fem.) mow`adah
(2 Chr 8:13) {mo-aw-daw'}
from 03259; TWOT - 878b; n m
AV - congregation 150, feast 23, season 13, appointed 12, time 12, assembly 4, solemnity 4, solemn 2, days 1, sign 1, synagogues 1; 223
1) appointed place, appointed time, meeting
   1a) appointed time
      1a1) appointed time (general)
      1a2) sacred season, set feast, appointed season
   1b) appointed meeting
   1c) appointed place
   1d) appointed sign or signal
   1e) tent of meeting

03259 ya`ad {yaw-ad'}
a primitive root; TWOT - 878; v
AV - meet 7, together 5, assemble 4, appointed 3, set 3, time 2, betrothed 2, agreed 1, appointment 1, gather 1; 29
1) to fix, appoint, assemble, meet, set, betroth
   1a) (Qal) to appoint, assign, designate
   1b) (Niphal)
      1b1) to meet
      1b2) to meet by appointment
      1b3) to gather, assemble by appointment
   1c) (Hiphil) to cause to meet
   1d) (Hophal) to be set, be placed before, be fixed

03996 mabow' {maw-bo'}
from 0935; TWOT - 212b; n m
AV - going down 6, entry 5, come 3, entrance 3, enter 2, in 2, west 1, westward 1, variant 1; 24
1) entrance, a coming in, entering
2) sunset
   2a) sunset
   2b) sunset, west

0935 bow' {bo}
a primitive root; TWOT - 212; v
AV - come 1435, bring 487, ... in 233, enter 125, go 123, carry 17, ...down 23, pass 13, ...out 12, misc 109; 2577
1) to go in, enter, come, go, come in
   1a) (Qal)
      1a1) to enter, come in
      1a2) to come
         1a2a) to come with
         1a2b) to come upon, fall or light upon, attack (enemy)
         1a2c) to come to pass
      1a3) to attain to
      1a4) to be enumerated
      1a5) to go
   1b) (Hiphil)
      1b1) to lead in
      1b2) to carry in
      1b3) to bring in, cause to come in, gather, cause to come, bring near, bring against, bring upon
      1b4) to bring to pass
   1c) (Hophal)
      1c1) to be brought, brought in
      1c2) to be introduced, be put

.