-
Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!
The Jewish Calendar Explained
- Thread starter 37818
- Start date
Very good explanation of the modern Jewish calendar.
The problem comes in when we try to apply that to pre-4th century Judaism.
The readon is calculating cycles came about to prevent errors that the ancient method held and to account for the Diaspora.
When reading the Bible we always have to remember that we are reading about real people and real events, not some mythology or fictional account.
For example:
1. In the 6th Century BC Passover was observed on the 2nd month of the religious calendar.
2. At the start of the Hasmonean period Nisan began late because the Seleucids burned fires to create enough smoke to obscure visibility.
3. In the 2nd century AD Nisan started on the wrong day due to Sanhedrin error.
It is interesting to know the system modern Jews use. It may be cool to use this to look at past tide charts as well.
But when studying the Bible we always need to understand the people at that time rather than impose current standards onto them.
1.In the Bible at least two witnesses who observed the new moon would go to the Sanhedrin.
2. The Sanhedrin would separate the witnesses and question them individually.
3. The Sanhedrin would discuss their findings among themselves.
4. If satisfied observation reports matched and the new moon was indeed visible then the Sanhedrin would announce the start of Nisan (the 1st day of the Jewish religious calendar).
The reason the mathematical calendar cannot be used to determine biblical dates is that it does mot account for observation or error. Was the sky overcast, preventing visability? Did the Sanhedrin make an error?
The problem comes in when we try to apply that to pre-4th century Judaism.
The readon is calculating cycles came about to prevent errors that the ancient method held and to account for the Diaspora.
When reading the Bible we always have to remember that we are reading about real people and real events, not some mythology or fictional account.
For example:
1. In the 6th Century BC Passover was observed on the 2nd month of the religious calendar.
2. At the start of the Hasmonean period Nisan began late because the Seleucids burned fires to create enough smoke to obscure visibility.
3. In the 2nd century AD Nisan started on the wrong day due to Sanhedrin error.
It is interesting to know the system modern Jews use. It may be cool to use this to look at past tide charts as well.
But when studying the Bible we always need to understand the people at that time rather than impose current standards onto them.
1.In the Bible at least two witnesses who observed the new moon would go to the Sanhedrin.
2. The Sanhedrin would separate the witnesses and question them individually.
3. The Sanhedrin would discuss their findings among themselves.
4. If satisfied observation reports matched and the new moon was indeed visible then the Sanhedrin would announce the start of Nisan (the 1st day of the Jewish religious calendar).
The reason the mathematical calendar cannot be used to determine biblical dates is that it does mot account for observation or error. Was the sky overcast, preventing visability? Did the Sanhedrin make an error?