Of Barley and Moons
Dr. Randy White On the evening of March 23, a small group of Biblical literalists in Jerusalem were looking closely to the sky, scouring the horizon for the slightest sliver of a new moon at dusk. The same had already searched the northern Negev of Israel for barley heads turned golden in the abib stage. Why do these literalists care about barley and moons? Let’s begin the journey at the fourth day of creation, when God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;” (Genesis 1:14, NASB95) Take note that the lights were to be for seasons. The Hebrew word is not adequately translated, as can be seen by the 225 times the word is used in the Hebrew Scriptures. A good understanding of the word can be seen in 2 Chronicles 31:3, where King Hezekiah “appointed the king’s portion of his goods for the burnt offerings, namely, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths and for the new moons and for the fixed festivals, as it is written in the law of the Lord.” The phrase fixed festivals is the same Hebrew word as is translated seasons in Genesis 1:14. The word literally denotes a meeting, especially a solemn occasion such as the Holy festivals of the Jewish people. Now, having established that the lights of the heavens are the establishment point for the fixed festivals, should we use the light of the day (the sun) or of the night (the moon) as the tell-tale sign? After all, in our 365 day solar year, the 28, 29, 30, or 31 day month does not align with the 30 day moon cycle. The answer is fairly easy, since the word hodesh, which is often translated “month” in our English Bibles, is literally the word for “new moon.” The moon, not the sun, will mark the month, according to the standard of creation. So the new moon is the beginning of the new month, and 12 new moons would mark a year, in its most simplified terms. From time-to-time there would be a leap month, making a 13 year month, as you will soon see. Since the moon travels in a circle, which moon would be considered the first new moon? That is, which month is the first month of the festival year? (The Jewish civil year begins with Rosh Hashanah, but this is not the day of the festival new year). For the Hebrew slaves, the Lord set the new year to coincide with the Exodus, saying, “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you” (Exodus 12:2, NASB95). Exodus 13:4 calls this first month “the month of Abib” (or Aviv). The Hebrew abib is not a name, it is a description. Literally, it describes the stage of grain. In fact, Exodus 9:31-32 tells us that the Barley was destroyed by the plague of the hail because it was abib but the wheat was not harmed because it was afilot (dark, in contrast to the golden abib barley). The New American Standard translates abib in Exodus 9:31 as “in the ear.” In Exodus 23:15 and 34:18 the Hebrews are instructed to take the Passover in the month in which the barley is abib. While a scientific calendar has long replaced the visible lunar calendar, there are still a few who reject the modern methods and keep a close eye for the new moon in which the barley is abib. From this, all the fixed festivals of the first half of the year are set. What if the barley was not abib_as the 13th new moon arrived ( the moon that should mark the beginning of a new year)? Then the Israelites were to wait in their observance of the fixed festivals, thus adding a leap month to the calendar. Only when the barley is abib at the arrival of the new moon can the beginning of the year be marked. When this moon was spotted, then the count began. On the 10th day of this month, they were to select a lamb and put it on display. On the 14th of the month that lamb was to be sacrificed for the Passover. On the 15th of the month they were to begin seven days of unleavened bread, recalling the haste in which they left Israel. On the day after the Sabbath which falls after Passover they were to observe the Feast of First Fruits, which began the “Feast of weeks” and concluded 50 days later at Pentecost. Two notes of interest before I conclude. First, since barley was in abib at the new moon of March 23, the 14th day (Passover) falls on a Friday, just as I believe it did on the year of the crucifixion of Jesus. This means that we are in a year in which the days of the week align with the calendar of the crucifixion year—the last Supper on Thursday, Crucifixion and Passover on Friday, the Feast of Unleavened Bread beginning on Saturday, and the offering of the First Fruits on Sunday. 1 Corinthians 15:20 speaks of Jesus as the “first fruits” of the resurrection of the dead. Appropriately, Jesus was sacrificed as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” on Passover, and was resurrected and presented to the Father on the Sunday which was the Feast of First Fruits! Secondly, this helps us understand why Jesus said that no man could know the day of the coming rapture. On a Christian calendar, your birthday is always set. On a Hebrew calendar, the start date of the New Year is only known a few days prior, when barley is seen in the abib stage prior to the new moon. Much could be written about our 365 day year compared to a Biblical 360 day year, about the scientific versus visual appointment of the new moon, and about the Feasts of the Lord. Perhaps this article will encourage you to dig deep! __ Dr. Randy White is Pastor of First Baptist Church in Katy, TX, and the teacher on the daily broadcast of Word for the World. Contact him by email at randy@localhost/rwmold. Register for his e-mail newsletter here.