God, through Moses, ordained the first month of the Jewish calendar year to start in spring. Many writers say this first month start was a great mystery.
Ex12:2,13:10 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.... keep this ordinance in ITS SEASON from year to year.
Acts 7:22 And Moses was learned in ALL the wisdom of the Egyptians...
Indeed it is a mystery, if one does not understand the ancients time keeping method by simple shadow alignments. Much ink has been used talking of the Barley harvest. But finding the first solar month could be accomplished from the Temple Mount by watching where the sunrise happened in east upon Mount Olivet. This is illustrated in the first picture.
Another method is to use a gnomon or obelisk. This was widely employed by the Egyptian culture to find time and seasons. The method is illustrated in the attached pictures. During desert travels, after the Exodus, the tabernacle was to be erected with principle ordinates. The ordinates were easily obtained by use of a gnomon, that could also serve to mark the spring equinox. Ex26:18-27 for the south side.... And for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side there shall be twenty boards:.. tabernacle, westward,...
The Egyptian culture (of Moses time) used such methods as illustrated by the Pyramid alignments. Many other ancient cultures also used monument markers to mark the four seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. This is illustrated by the attached graphics.
The Mosaic calendar revolved around spring and autumn. Three main holidays were given by Moses. First was passover, with main dates on 10th and 14th day of first month. Next was Pentecost, Lev23:16 Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer.... The last as ... ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath- rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. Lev23:24. Marking years were mandated by the Sabbath (7) and Jubilee (50) years.
The Egyptian calendar system simply Intercalated the last days of a year. This is done in the current rabbinical calendar. Only the 1st to 7th months were critical to the ancient Hebrew calendar. The time after the 12th month unto the start of the next year new month could be counted as intercalated days, with an ignored month, if only interested in months 1 to 7.
Another way is to make an extra long 12th month. No where in bible is mention of a 13th month, hence Adar2. But these leap months are required for a lunisolar calendar. A new year should start in first lunar month where the 14th lunar day falls on or after the spring equinox. This requires "days per year cycles" of 353/355 and 383/385 days. About every 3rd year will be a leap year of about 384 days. Counting of these days fall into 3 methods. Strictly observational says wait until the equinox is seen, then simply look for the next new moon. The length of lunar cycle (29/30 days) and of solar year (365 days) are well known. Thus by these facts an end of year calculation can be made for when to declare the first new moon of the new year. Finally there is the molad method of the rabbinical calendar.
1Kings 4:7... twelve officers over all Israel,...each man his month in a year...1Ch27, 12months1year, all the months of the year...The twelfth captain for the twelfth month. The sacred duties were divided into 24 groups, this suggests rotation of a group every 2 weeks.
Twelfth month: had at least 27 days as seen by 2Kg25:27, it was given the name of Adar, see Est3:7&13,8:12,9:1. Here an eleventh month of 29 days is found by inclusive count, Neh6:15, 52 less 25 days equal 27 plus the start stop days of 2 gives 29 days. Also in story of Noah are found 5 months of 30 days each, Gen7:11,24 & 8:3-4. This indicates bible months are lunar months. For the lunar month must alternate 29 and 30 days to match the 29.5 days of average lunar period.
Marking time by equinox of these seasons has the least long term jitter. Long term Jitter is caused by earth polar precession, as demonstrated by the last graphic.
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