Establishing the Beginning of the Year, and the First (1st) Month
Genesis 1:14 “Let them be for Signs and Seasons, and for Days and for Years.”
Yahuah’s Appointed Timekeepers
Genesis 1:14
“Then Alahym said, ‘Let there be Lights in the Firmament of the Shamym (Heavens) to Divide the Day from the Night; and Let them be for Signs (Oth 226: Sign, Token, Mark, Miracle) and Seasons (Moed 4150: Meeting, Appointed Time, Appointed Feast), and for Days (Yom 3117: Day, Days) and for Years (Shanah 8141: Year, Years)’.”
From the Beginning, Yahuah Appointed the Sun and Moon and Stars (Constellations) to Mark Time. Not Human Tradition. Not a Pagan Civil Calendar. Not a later Rabbinic Calculation. But before Yasharal (Israel) left Mytsrym (Egypt), Yahuah Gave a Direct Command that Would Define His People’s Entire Worship, Feasts, and Counting of Days. That Command is the Biblical New Year and the Beginning of Months.
Genesis 1:14-16 establishes the Sun as the Greater Light meant to Rule the Day, Separate Winter from Summer, and Define “Years” alongside the Moon for “Appointed Times” (Mo’edim).
The Sun’s Circuit: The Sun’s Circuit, (approx. 365 days) Dictates the Overall Year, while the Moon Dictates Months within that Year.
𐤕𐤒𐤅𐤐𐤄
תְּקוּפָה
Tequfah · Strong’s 8622
Circuit, Cycle, Season, Revolution
Often used to describe the Sun’s Circuit or Cycle, representing a Divinely Ordered Path that Completes and Begins anew. The word appears four (4) times in the Hebrew Scripture, each highlighting a “Turning” or “Completion” of Time.
Tequfah — The Four Scriptural Appearances
Exodus 34:22
“And you Shall Observe the Feast of Weeks, of the First Fruits of Wheat Harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the End of the Year.”
The Feast of Ingathering “at the End (Tekufat) of the Year,” often Associated with the Completion of the Harvest Cycle.
2 Chronicles 24:23
“So it Happened in the Spring (Tequphah) of the Year that the Army of Syria came up against him; and they came to Yahudah (Judah) and Yarushalym (Jerusalem), and Destroyed all the leaders of the people from among the people, and sent all their Spoil to the King of Damascus.”
Notes an attack in the “Spring (Tequphah) of the Year”.
Psalm 19:6
“Its Rising is from One End of Shamym (Heavens), And its Circuit to the Other End; And there is Nothing Hidden from its Heat.”
Describes the Sun’s “Circuit (Tequphah) to the other End” of the Shamym (Heavens).
The Vernal and Autumn Equinoxes
Tekufah 8622; Circuit, Cycle, Season, Revolution: The Scriptural New Year Begins at the Time of the Vernal Equinox, when Day and Night are of Equal Length, Signifying the Start of the Season of Spring, or the Month of Abib.
Exodus 34:22 is the primary Scripture often associated with the Autumn Equinox, referring to the “Turn of the Year” (Tekufat Ha-Shanah) when the Feast of Ingathering (Tabernacles) is Observed. While Scripture does not Explicitly Name the “Spring or Autumn Equinoxes,” verses such as Genesis 8:22 and Psalm 104:19 establish Yahuah’s Order for Seasons, Seedtime, and Harvest.
Time of Ingathering
Exodus 23:16
“and the Feast of Harvest, the Firstfruits of your Labors 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 Labors from the Field.”
The “Festival of Ingathering at the End of the Year” when Crops are Gathered.
Exodus 34:22
“And you Shall Observe the Feast of Weeks, of the Firstfruits of Wheat Harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the Year’s End.”
Often Interpreted as a Reference to the Autumn (Fall) Equinox, Marking the Time for the Feast of Ingathering.
Genesis 8:22
“As long as the Earth Endures, Seedtime and Harvest, Cold and Heat, Summer and Winter, Day and Night will Never Cease.”
Psalm 104:19
“He Appointed (Asah. 6213; to Make, to Act, to Accomplish, to Perform) the Moon to Mark the Season (2165. Zeman, Appointed Time, Definite Time), and the Sun Knows its Arrival (Mabo.3996; Entrance, Coming, Entry).”
Ecclesiastes 3:1
“To Everything there is a Season (2165. Zeman, Appointed Time, Definite Time) a Time for every Purpose under Shamym (Heaven).”
Summer and Winter Solstice
A Solstice is an Astronomical event occurring Twice (2) Yearly (June and December) when the Sun reaches its Highest or Lowest Point in the Shamym (Heavens/Sky) at Noon. It Marks the Longest Day (Summer) or longest Night (Winter) of the Year, caused by the Distance away from the Sun. The Sun’s Highest Path appears to Stop before Reversing Direction. Signifying the transition of Seasons.
Summer Solstice: Occurs around June 20-21 in the Northern Hemisphere, Marking the Longest Day and the Start of Summer
Winter Solstice: Occurs around December 21-22 in the Northern Hemisphere, Marking the Shortest Day and the Start of Winter.
Combined Lights (Lunisolar)
Combined Lights (Lunisolar): While the Sun Determines the Year, The Month of Abib is Heralded by the First (1st) New Moon (Lunar Month) after the Vernal Equinox.
The First (1st) Month, The Month of Abib
Exodus 12:2
Yahuah Commanded Musha (Moses) that the Month of the Exodus (Pesach) would be the First (1st) Month of the Year. Abib means “Green Ears” or “Spring,” anchoring the New Year to the Season of New Life, not the Dead of Winter.
Agricultural Evidence: The New Year is also established by “Abib” (Ripening of Barley) in the land of Yasharal (Israel), Confirming the Arrival of the New Season, so the Wave offering is Ready to be Roasted for First Fruits Offering.
John 15:2 uses the Metaphor of Pruning Branches to Ensure more Fruit is Produced, often Associated with the Shedding.
The Authority of Yahuah’s Word
Exodus 12:1
“Now Yahuah Spoke to Musha (Moses) and Aaron in the land of Mytsrym (Egypt), saying, ‘This Month Shall be your Beginning (Rosh. 7218; Head, Heads, Top) of Months (Hhodesh 2320; Month, Months, New Moon); it Shall be the First (1st) (Rishon; 7223; First, Former, Chief, Primary) Month of the Year (Shanah 8141; Year) to you.'”
𐤓𐤀𐤔
רֹאשׁ
Rosh · Strong’s 7218
Head, Heads, Top — “Beginning” of Months
𐤇𐤃𐤔
חֹדֶשׁ
Hhodesh · Strong’s 2320
Month, Months, New Moon
𐤓𐤀𐤔𐤅𐤍
רִאשׁוֹן
Rishon · Strong’s 7223
First, Former, Chief, Primary
𐤔𐤍𐤄
שָׁנָה
Shanah · Strong’s 8141
Year
This is not Musha’s (Moses) idea. It is not a Human Calendar Reform. Yahuah Himself Speaks in Mytsrym (Egypt) before the Exodus, before the Giving of the Turah at Sinai. The New year is not tied to a land yet, but to a People being Redeemed. The Authority Rests Solely on Yahuah’s Command.
Key Principle
We Do Not Decide When the Year Begins. Yahuah Decides. Any Calendar that does not Start with this Command is Man-Made, it does not Require any Mathematical Formula to Determine the Number of Days each Month, or Adding Four (4) “Intercalary” Days to Divide the Seasons, or to Make a Calendar to line up with The Zadok Priestly order. It does not matter how Ancient or Widespread it may or not be, Yahuah’s Command is our only Authority.
The First (1st) Month Defined
Exodus 12:2
“This Month Shall be your Beginning (Rosh. 7218; Head, Heads, Top) of Months (Hhodesh 2320; Month, Months, New Moon);”
Deuteronomy 16:1
“Observe the Month of Abib, and Keep the Pesach (Passover) to Yahuah your Alahym, for in the Month (Hhodesh 2320; Month, Months, New Moon) of Abib Yahuah your Alahym Brought you Out of Mytsrym (Egypt) by Night.”
The Month is Named Abib (meaning “Green Ears” or “Ripe Grain”) the time when Barley in the land of Yasharal (Israel) reaches the Stage of Abib. This is the only Scriptural Name for the First (1st) Month. The Original Command Ties it to the Agricultural Sign of Spring. Later it is called Nisan.
Esther 3:7
“In the First (1st) Month, which is the Month of Nisan, in the twelfth (12th) year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, the lot), before Haman to determine the Day and the Month, until it fell on the twelfth (12th) Month, which is the Month of Adar.”
No other Month, not even the First (1st) of Tishri (Seventh (7th) Month is ever called the “Beginning of Months” in Scripture.
Yahuah’s Calendar is Agricultural and Astronomical, not Mathematical or Traditional. The New Year Begins when the Barley is Abib and the New Moon is Sighted, not by Fixed Dates as on a Pagan Roman Calendar (January 1) nor by Rabbinic Postponements (Rosh Hashanah).
The First (1st) Month of the Year
Exodus 12:2b
“…it Shall Be the First (1st) Month (Hhodesh 2320; Month, Months, New Moon) of the Year to you.”
Leviticus 23:5
“And in the First (1st) Month (Hhodesh 2320; Month, Months, New Moon), on the Fourteenth (14th) Day of the Month (Hhodesh 2320; Month, Months, New Moon), is Yahuah’s Pesach (Passover).”
The “First (1st) Month” is the Month of the Pesach (Passover) (Abib 14). The “First (1st) Day” of that Month is the New Moon of Abib. Then the Counting of Omer up to Shavuot (Pentecost), Sighting the New Moon for the Sounding of Trumpets on the First (1st) Day) of the Seventh (7th) Month, Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) on the 10th Day of the Seventh (7th) Month, and Sokkut (Tabernacles) the 15th Day of the Seventh (7th) Month, all flow from a New Moon (Month) Starting Point each new Month (Hhodesh 2320; Month, Months, New Moon).
Yahuah did not give multiple New Years. There is only One “First (1st) Month.” The civil New Year of Modern Judaism (Tishri 1) has no Scriptural basis as a “New Year.” It is called the “Memorial of Blowing”.
Leviticus 23:24
“Speak to the Children of Yasharal (Israel), saying: ‘In the Seventh (7th) Month, on the First (1st) Day of the Month, you Shall Have a Sabbath-Rest, a Memorial of Blowing of Trumpets, a Qadush (Holy) Gathering.'”
The “Seventh (7th) Month” is never called the First (1st). The Month (Hhodesh 2320; Month, Months, New Moon) of Abib is the Only Starting Point.
Exodus 13:4
“On this day you are going out, in the Month (Hhodesh 2320; Month, Months, New Moon) of Abib.”
Exodus 34:18
“You Shall Keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread… for in the Month of Abib you Came Out of Mytsrym (Egypt).”
The Exodus is the Foundational Event of Yahuah’s Calendar, Not Creation. Genesis 1 gives Seasons but no New Year Command. Redemption Defines Time. The New Year Begins with the Month (Hhodesh 2320; Month, Months, New Moon) of Redemption.
No Other Month is Called “First (1st)”
Numbers 9:1–2
“Now Yahuah Spoke to Musha (Moses) in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the First (1st) Month (Hhodesh 2320; Month, Months, New Moon) of the Second (2nd) Year after they had Come Out of the land of Mytsrym (Egypt), saying, ‘Let the Children of Yasharal (Israel) Keep the Pesach (Passover) at its Appointed Time.'”
The Counting of Years (Second (2nd) Year, Fortieth (40th) Year, etc.) Always Begins from this First (1st) Month. No Scripture Ever Calls the Seventh (7th) Month the “New Year.” The Phrase “End of the Year, refers to the Agricultural Harvest Cycle, the Seventh (7th) Month is the End of the Harvest, not the Beginning of a New Year. The New Year is the First (1st) Month.
Exodus 23:16
“and the Feast of Harvest, the Firstfruits of your Labors 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 Labors from the Field.”
Exodus 34:22
“And you Shall Observe the Feast of Weeks, of the Firstfruits of Wheat Harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end.”
Yahusha Kept This Same Scriptural Calendar
Matthew 26:17–19
“Now on the First (1st) Day of Unleavened Bread the Disciples came to Yahusha, saying, ‘Where will you have us Prepare for you to eat the Pesach (Passover)?’ He said, ‘Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my Disciples.’ And the Disciples did as Yahusha had Directed them, and they Prepared the Pesach (Passover).”
Mark 14:12–16
“And on the First (1st) Day of Unleavened Bread, when they Sacrificed the Pesach (Passover) lamb, his Disciples said to him, ‘Where will you have us go and Prepare for you to eat the Pesach (Passover)?’ And he sent Two (2) of his Disciples and said to them, ‘Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the Master of the house, The Teacher says, Where is my Guest Room, where I may eat the Pesach (Passover) with my Disciples?’ And he will Show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there Prepare for us. And the Disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Pesach (Passover).”
Luke 22:7–8
“Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Pesach (Passover) must be killed. And He sent Kepha (Peter) and Yahukanan (John), saying, ‘Go and Prepare the Pesach (Passover) for us, that we may eat.'”
The Ruach HaQudesh Confirms the Appointed Times
Acts 2:1
“When the Day of Shavuot (Pentecost) had fully come, they were all with One (1) Accord in One (1) Place.”
Shavuot (Pentecost) is counted from the Sabbath within Unleavened Bread, which is in the First (1st) Month. The Ruach HaQudesh fell on the Very Day Yahuah had Appointed, not on a Man-Made Holiday. The Ruach Honors Yahuah’s Calendar.
Refuting False New Years by Scripture Alone
Deuteronomy 4:2
“You Shall Not Add to the Word which I Command you, nor Take from it, that you May Keep the Commandments of Yahuah your Alahym which I Command you.”
Jeremiah 10:2–3
“Do Not Learn the Way of the Heathen… for the Customs of the Peoples are Futile.”
“This Month Shall be Your Beginning of Months”, the Month Begins with the New Moon, not a Fixed Equinox Date.
How to Observe the Biblical New Year
Watch for the New Moon of Abib. Scripture says the Moon is for “Seasons” (Moedim/Appointed times).
Psalm 104:19
“He Appointed the Moon for Seasons (4150. Moed; Meeting, Appointed Time, Appointed Feasts); The Sun knows its Arrival, (3996. Mabo; Entrance, coming, entry).”
The Sun’s Cycle is Described Primarily as a Constant, Divinely ordered Movement that Marks Time and Signifies Yahuah’s Faithfulness. Key Passages Describe the Sun Rising, Setting, and Hurrying Back to its Place to Begin again, Emphasizing the Reliability of Creation.
Core Scriptural Teachings on the Sun’s Cycle, Repetition and Order
Ecclesiastes 1:5 is no idle meteorological comment. The relentless Circuit of the Sun magnifies Yahuah’s Sovereignty, Spotlights Human Frailty, Authenticates Intelligent Design, and Gestures toward the Greater Light of Mashyach’s Resurrection. Every Dawn is theology in the Sky.
Ecclesiastes 1:5
“The Sun also Rises, and the Sun goes Down, And Hurries to the Place where it Arose.”
Describing the Sun’s Rising and Setting, then Hastening Back to the Place where it Rises. This is often interpreted as a metaphor for the Monotonous yet Dependable Cycles of Life under Yahuah’s Sovereignty.
The Sun’s “Panting” Return Mocks Human Pretensions of Novelty.
Ecclesiastes 1:9
“That Which has Been is What will Be, That Which is Done is What will be Done, And there is Nothing New under the Sun.”
We labor, but the Horizon always Swallows Yesterday’s Triumphs. By Contrast, Yahuah “does not Faint or Grow Weary”.
Isaiah 40:28
“Have you not Known? Have you not Heard? The Everlasting Alahym, Yahuah The Creator of the ends of the Earth, Neither Faints nor is Weary. His Understanding is Unsearchable.”
The Cycle invites Humility and Dependence on the Eternal Alahym.
Psalm 113:3
“From the Rising of the Sun to its Going Down Yahuah’s Name is to be Praised.”
Purpose and Function
Genesis 1:14–18
“Then Alahym said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the Shamym (Heavens) to Divide the Day from the Night; and let them be for Signs and Seasons, and for Days and Years; and let them be for lights in the Firmament of the Shamym (Heavens) to give light on the earth’; and it was so. Then Alahym Made Two (2) Great lights: the Greater light to Rule the Day, and the Lesser light to Rule the Night. He made the Stars also. Alahym set them in the Firmament of the Shamym (Heavens) to give light on the earth, and to Rule over the Day and Over the Night, and to Divide the Light from the Darkness. And Alahym Saw that it was Good.”
The Sun was Created to Distinguish Day from Night and to Serve as a Sign for Seasons, Days, and Years.
Divine Control
Psalm 104:19
“He Appointed the Moon for Seasons (4150. Moed; Meeting, Appointed Time, Appointed Feasts); The Sun knows its Arrival, (3996. Mabo; Entrance, coming, entry).”
Notes that the Sun “Knows when to Arrive,” underscoring that its movement is governed by Yahuah. Similarly,
Psalm 19:4–6
“Their line has gone out through all the Earth, And their Words to the End of the World. In them He has Set a Tabernacle for the Sun, Which is like a Bridegroom Coming out of His Chamber, And Rejoices like a Strong Man to Run its Race. Its Rising is from One (1) end of Shamym (Heaven), And its Circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its Heat.”
Describing the Sun as a “Champion” Running its Course across the Shamym (Heavens), and like a Bridegroom Coming out of His Chamber.
The Sun is frequently used to Symbolize Yahuah’s Unchanging Nature and Covenant Faithfulness.
Genesis 8:22
“While the Earth Remains, Seedtime and Harvest, Cold and Heat, Winter and Summer, And Day and Night Shall Not Cease.”
Malachi 4:2
“But to you Who Fear My Name The Sun (Shemesh. 8121; Sun, Daylight) of Righteousness (6666. Tsedaqah; Justice) Shall Arise With Healing (4832. Marpe; Cure, Health, Remedy) in His Wings; And you Shall Go Out And Grow Fat like Stall-fed Calves.”
Jeremiah 33:20–21
“Thus Says Yahuah; If you Can Break My Covenant of the Day, and my Covenant of the Night, and that there should not be Day and Night in their Season; then My Covenant may also be broken with Daud (David) My Servant and with My Ministers the Levites who are Priests, so that Daud (David) will Not Have a Son to Reign on his Throne.”
Returning to Yahuah’s Calendar
The First (1st) Visible Crescent after the Vernal Equinox (Equal Light/Dark), when the Barley in Yasharal (Israel) reaches Abib confirms our First (1st) Month.
Do not use Calculation or Tradition. Yahuah said “this Month”, meaning Observation, not a Fixed Calendar. The Pharisees and later Rabbis changed this; return to the Witness of the Sun and Moon as Yahuah Appointed them. Reset your Spiritual Year. Just as Yahuah told Yasharal (Israel) in Mytsrym (Egypt): “This is the Beginning.” Leave behind the old Year of Bondage. Let the First (1st) Month Remind you that Redemption Determines your Time.
Psalm 33:12
“Baruk (Blessed) is the Nation Whose Alahym is Yahuah.”
HalluYAH!!! Praise Yahuah for His Set Apart Calendar Governed by the Great Lights of the Shamym (Heavens)!
Watch & Listen
Full Message & Open Discussion
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