Unknown to most followers of Yahweh, there is a remarkable witness that provides evidence for the practice of the 7-day Festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread occurring on Abib 14-20.
This witness comes from an extra-biblical work, the Book of Yashar, also known as Sefer Ha-Yashar.
The present copy of the Book of Yashar is by no means to be assigned the authority of Scriptures. However, what the text says regarding the Passover of the Exodus nevertheless proves quite informative and interesting.
Book of Yashar
81:5 And the children of Israel TRAVELED FROM EGYPT AND FROM GOSHEN AND FROM RAMESES, AND ENCAMPED IN SUCCOTH ON THE FIFTEENTH DAY of the first month.
81:6 And the Egyptians buried all their first born whom Yahweh had smitten, and all the Egyptians buried their slain for three days.
81:7 And the children of Israel traveled from Succoth and encamped in Ethom, at the end of the wilderness.
81:8 And on the third day after the Egyptians had buried their first born, many men rose up from Egypt and went after Israel to make them return to Egypt, for they repented that they had sent the Israelites away from their servitude.
81:9 And one man said to his neighbor, Surely Moses and Aaron spoke to Pharaoh, saying, We will go a three days’ journey in the wilderness and sacrifice to Yahweh our eloahi.
81:10 Now therefore let us rise up early in the morning and cause them to return, and it shall be that if they return with us to Egypt to their masters, then shall we know that there is faith in them, but if they will not return, then will we fight with them, and make them come back with great power and a strong hand.
81:11 And all the nobles of Pharaoh rose up in the morning, and with them about seven hundred thousand men, and they went forth from Egypt on that day, and came to the place where the children of Israel were.
81:12 And all the Egyptians saw and behold Moses and Aaron and all the children of Israel were sitting before Pi-hahiroth, eating and drinking and CELEBRATING THE KHAG (FESTIVAL) OF YAHWEH.
81:13 And all the Egyptians said to the children of Israel, Surely you said, We will go a journey for three days in the wilderness and sacrifice to our eloahi and return.
81:14 Now therefore THIS DAY MAKES FIVE DAYS SINCE YOU WENT, why do you not return to your masters?
This much can be agreed upon by all sides. The Israelites began their physical journey from Rameses to Succoth on Abib 15.
And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children. Exodus 12:37
And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the Passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which Yahweh had smitten among them: upon their eloahi also Yahweh executed judgments. And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and pitched in Succoth. Numbers 33:3-5
Yashar 81:5 confirms that not only did the Israelites begin their physical travel on Abib 15, but they also arrived at Succoth the very same day.
81:5 And the children of Israel TRAVELED FROM EGYPT AND FROM GOSHEN AND FROM RAMESES, AND ENCAMPED IN SUCCOTH ON THE FIFTEENTH DAY of the first month.
Five Days Since
We will now advance to Yashar 81:12, where Pharaoh and his Egyptian army catch up to the Israelites in order to bring them back to Egypt.
81:12 And all the Egyptians saw and behold Moses and Aaron, and all the children of Israel were sitting before Pi-hahiroth, eating and drinking and CELEBRATING THE KHAG (FESTIVAL) OF YAHWEH.
According to Yashar, when the Egyptian army met up with the Israelites, they were celebrating the KHAG (FESTIVAL) OF YAHWEH. This Festival could be none other than the last day of the Khag of Unleavened Bread!
It should be noted that the last day of the Khag of Unleavened Bread would take place after sunset, the beginning of the day.
The Egyptians then issued the following statement regarding the number of days that had transpired since the Israelites began their travel from Rameses.
81:14 Now therefore THIS DAY MAKES FIVE DAYS SINCE YOU WENT, why do you not return to your masters?
The Hebrew text of Yasher 81:14 has:
ועתה הלא זה חמשה ימים היום הלכים
A more literal English translation would read:
“And now, is not this five days of the day of going …?”
In other words, at the very time the Egyptians spoke to the Israelites, it was the fifth day of the Israelites’ departure from Rameses!
Doing the Math
Let us now do the math and find out what day of Abib, the last day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, falls on.
We would all have to agree that we should start our count from the day the Israelites began their physical journey from Rameses. Therefore, we will now proceed to count off 5 days of travel.
Day 1: Abib 15
Day 2: Abib 16
Day 3: Abib 17
Day 4: Abib 18
Day 5: Abib 19
It is apparent that there is a glaring problem with the dates for Abib.
According to the Book of Yashar, the Egyptians spoke to the Israelites on Day 5, the last day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread.
81:12 And all the Egyptians saw and behold Moses and Aaron and all the children of Israel were sitting before Pi-hahiroth, eating and drinking and CELEBRATING THE KHAG (FESTIVAL) OF YAHWEH.
As our countdown shows, we cannot even satisfy the requirements for the Quartodeciman practice (System A) of a 7-day Festival of Passover/Unleavened Bread, which would place the last day of Unleavened Bread on Abib 20.
Of course, this has a much more damaging effect on the popular 8-day construct (System G), practiced by most today, where the last day of Unleavened Bread occurs on Abib 21.
At this stage of analysis, one might conclude that the Book of Yashar is in error and should summarily be discarded, void of any reliable facts that could be depended upon for sound scriptural doctrine.
On second thought, if one were to examine it closely, maybe the Book of Yashar is right after all.
Egyptian Perspective
The first observation about the Book of Yashar is that it was written from a Hebrew perspective. Therefore the days are reckoned from the view that the 24-hour day begins and ends at sunset.
In Yashar 81:13-14, notice that it is Egyptians who state how many days had transpired since the Israelites began their physical journey out of Egypt.
81:13 And all the Egyptians said to the children of Israel, Surely you said, We will go a journey for three days in the wilderness and sacrifice to our eloahi and return.
81:14 Now therefore THIS DAY MAKES FIVE DAYS SINCE YOU WENT, why do you not return to your masters?
Therefore, logic dictates that the days must be reckoned from an Egyptian perspective, not a Hebrew one.
Consequently, unlike the Hebrew day, one must recognize that the Egyptian day began and ended with sunrise!
It would now be prudent to review our thinking process regarding Yashar 81:14.
Keep in mind that all evidence indicates that the Israelites began their physical journey on Abib 15. They also would have left during the daylight hours, as noted in the following verses in Scriptures:
And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the Passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. Numbers 33:3
For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which Yahweh had smitten among them: upon their eloahi also Yahweh executed judgments. Numbers 33:4
Not only did the Israelites leave in full sight of the Egyptians, but the Egyptians were burying their dead, indicating these events occurred during the daytime!
Therefore, we can now begin a new count with an Egyptian timeframe as follows:
Day 1: Abib 15-16 Sunrise to sunrise
Day 2: Abib 16-17 Sunrise to sunrise
Day 3: Abib 17-18 Sunrise to sunrise
Day 4: Abib 18-19 Sunrise to sunrise
Day 5: Abib 19-20 Sunrise to sunrise
It is clearly evident that the Book of Yashar is correct after all!
The Festival of Passover/Unleavened Bread is a 7-day Festival, Abib 14-20.
Even if one were to take the alternate view that the Egyptian day began and ended at midnight, it makes no difference. The result is the same.
More importantly, an 8-day scenario consisting of Abib 14-21 is unsupportable.
It is also evident that it is impossible to construe from the book of Yashar a 7-day Festival of Unleavened Bread to be Abib 15-21.
What the Book of Yashar demonstrates regarding the Festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread is what Scriptures have shown all along.
The 7-day Festival of Yahweh is Abib 14-20!