Category: Passover

Passover, the Story

The Yahu Ranger Report has added a new Deep Dive discussion titled Passover, the Story.

Using AI to bring Scripture to life, this discussion aims to provide a clearer understanding of the Passover supper and the practice of eating unleavened bread for seven days, while also summarizing the experience of the Exodus. This event marked the first time the Israelites were commanded to sacrifice and eat a Passover animal.

These discussions are adapted from the original “Yahu Ranger Report” Topics and Mini-Pods, drawing every insight directly from that research.

Think of it as sitting in on an engaging, unhurried Bible study between friends — except the friends just happen to have all the research from the Yahu Ranger archives at their fingertips, and they’re not afraid to push each other (or you) toward deeper understanding.

Dive in! Let the dialogue draw you closer to the truth of Yahweh.

Listen to the Deep Dive now:

Passover, the Story

For a complete list of available Deep Dives, please visit the  Yahu Ranger Deep Dive page.

We’ll be adding new Deep Dive conversations regularly, and every new release will land straight in your inbox alongside the regular Yahu Ranger Report updates.

Thank you for walking this road with us. We hope these conversations stir your enthusiasm, sharpen your mind, and draw you ever closer to the wishes of Father Yahweh and His Son, Yahushua the Messiah.

In Yahweh’s service,

The Yahu Ranger Team

Pharisee Influence

The calendric system utilized by the Hillelic Pharisees between 41 and 365 C.E. becomes an essential issue for our study. Various present-day researchers, both from rabbinic Judaism and neo-Christianity, have, without adequate foundation, concluded that the Hillelic system was the original method required by Scriptures.

Both rabbinic Judaism and neo-Christian groups, as a result, have assumed that the Israelites always had waited to declare a New Moon Day until the night that its first crescent was witnessed. For some Christian messianic groups, it is presumed that authority to continue this practice in Christianity is brought forth from Romans 3:1-2 and Matthew 23:3. The question is, Do these passages actually support such a conclusion?

The willingness to accept the pro-Pharisaic interpretation of the two above passages comes as the result of two circumstances:

• The assumption that the Jews from this period must have known and practiced the true system.

• The victory of the Hillelic Pharisees in their political struggle against their religious rivals, leaving predominantly Pharisaic records as our primary source for Jewish practices of the first and subsequent centuries C.E., somehow proves their authority. Continue reading “Pharisee Influence” →

Jewish Authority

There is yet another important question that must be addressed pertaining to Yahweh’s instructions from Scriptures regarding when to begin the sacred months and years. How much authority do we allow the Sadducees, Pharisees, or any of the other ancient Jewish groups regarding the sacred calendar?

In reality, there is no justification at all for accepting as authoritative the teachings of any of the Hasidic groups, especially the Pharisees, or even that of the Aristocratic sects of the Sadducees, Boethusian Sadducees, or Samaritans. All systems must be weighed against what Scriptures actually state, not vice versa.

If after examining Scriptures we find that one or another of these groups held true to some of the practices and doctrines that were originally commanded, the most we can say is that they were observing that point correctly. Yet any conclusion must be tempered by the scriptural warnings about the various teachings of the Sadducees, Pharisees, and scribes (lawyers). Continue reading “Jewish Authority” →

Passover – Abib 14 is a Festival Day!

YRR has released an audio Mini-Pod covering the topic of “Passover – Abib 14 is a Festival Day!”

It is abundantly clear that an overwhelming amount of evidence supports the 7-day observance of Passover and Unleavened Bread being Abib 14-20.

Also, it can be demonstrated that this was the practice of Yahushua the messiah, and the early assemblies who later were referred to as Quartodecimans.

Nevertheless, many would stubbornly disagree with this conclusion in the face of the facts and continue with a modified form of the traditional Pharisaic/Hasidic practice.

This newer modified or hybrid form would have an 8-day observance of eating unleavened bread from Abib 14-21.

Scriptures clearly indicate that Yahushua ate his Passover meal just after sunset on Abib 14, one day prior to the Passover meal of the Jewish religious leaders on Abib 15.

If one followed the example as set forth by Yahushua the messiah, they would observe the 7-day Khag of Passover and Unleavened Bread from Abib 14-20.

This audio presentation can be accessed and listened to at the following link:

M015. Passover – Abib 14 is a Festival Day! – (14:27)

It can also be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Podbean, among others.

Sanctification of New Moons – Pt. 2

Defective and full Months
The Pharisees established rules that limited not only the number of months which could be defective (i.e., only 29 days long) or full (i.e., consisting of a full 30 days) but even limited which months were eligible.

The Mishnah states:

There are never less than four “full” months in the year, nor do more than eight (full) months require to be taken into account.31

In turn, they point out that there were never more than eight or less than four defective months. Meanwhile, a 12 lunar-month year has no less than 352 days and no more than 355 days, while a 13 lunar-month year has no less than 383 days and no more than 385 days.32

These reckonings were further encumbered by other restrictions which ignored the reality of the new moon phases. For example, the last month of the year, Adar—the month which precedes Nisan, the first month of the next year—is always defective,33 as was, except in special cases, the sixth month, Elul.34 The first and seventh months, on the other hand, i.e., Nisan and Tishri, were “never intercalated,” that is, they were always full.35 Continue reading “Sanctification of New Moons – Pt. 2” →

Sanctification of New Moons – Pt. 1

The Hillelic Pharisees differed from their religious counterparts in that they followed the Babylonian custom of demanding that there must be witnesses who could testify to a Calendar Court confirming the sighting of the moon’s crescent on the very first day of the new moon. They also required official sanctification of the new moon by their Calendar Court.

Our attention will now shift to examining the rules for sanctification and dissemination for the Hillelic New Moon Day. As we shall see, many of these regulations prove to be arbitrary and counter to scriptural intent.

Sanctification
The Hillelic Pharisees considered it “a religious duty to sanctify (the new moon) on the strength of actual observation.”1 This duty was required, “even though the observation is not necessary for the purpose.”2

Maimonides argues this Pharisaic position when he writes: Continue reading “Sanctification of New Moons – Pt. 1” →

The Pharisaic Calendar and Court – Pt. 2

The Calendar Court

The Hillelic system for determining the New Moon Day and how to intercalate the year operated through a court panel of three judges.25 In the time of the Temple, these judges represented the Court of Elders and, after the Temple’s destruction in 70 C.E., the Great Sanhedrin of Pharisees.

The Mishnah reports:

The intercalating of the month and the intercalating of the year (are decided upon) by three (judges). So (says) Rabbi Meir. But Rabban Simeon ben Gamaliel says: The matter is begun by three, discussed by five, and decided upon by seven; but if it is decided upon by three the intercalation is valid.26

Later, the number of the assembly of participating members was changed to 10 judges.27 The leading judge was the Nasi. New Moon Days were sanctified by at least two of the three members of the court.28 Continue reading “The Pharisaic Calendar and Court – Pt. 2” →

The Pharisaic Calendar and Court – Pt. 1

In 41 C.E., the Aristocratic system of determining new moons and the intercalation of a year, previously calculated only by the priests who were the descendants of Aaron, the high priest, was officially usurped by the Nasi (head of the Sanhedrin) of the Hillelic Pharisees.

Thus began a process wherein the Hillelic party, starting with Gamaliel I, using the “traditions of their fathers” and heavily influenced by Babylonian customs, instituted a series of modifications that forever changed the requirements for determining the beginning of a month and a year in what became known as Orthodox Judaism.

These new calendar regulations were created for two reasons: Continue reading “The Pharisaic Calendar and Court – Pt. 1” →

The Lying Pen of the Scribes

YRR has released an audio Mini-Pod covering the topic of “The Lying Pen of the Scribes.”

There are 134 times when Jewish copyists (or Sopherim) of the Masoretic text, believing that certain passages were too often quoted that used the sacred name Yahweh, changed the primitive Hebrew text to read adonai or eloahim instead of Yahweh.

Unfortunately, many have failed to realize the extent of the tampering of our present Hebrew Masoretic Text, especially regarding the sacred name Yahweh.

This tampering also extended to the name Yahu, the praenomen of the preexistent Yahushua the messiah. Before Yahushua became a human, his full name, as given by Scriptures was Yahu Yahweh.

This audio presentation can be accessed and listened to at the following link:

M014. The Lying Pen of the Scribes – (9:35)

It can also be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Podbean, among others.

Passover – Egyptian Confirmation

YRR has released an audio Mini-Pod covering the topic of The Festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread.

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. 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.

This audio presentation can be accessed and listened to at the following link:

M013. Passover – Egyptian Confirmation 1 – (11:51)

It can also be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Podbean, among others.

Abib 14 – A High Sabbath

YRR has released two audio MIni-Pods covering the topic of The Festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread, Abib 14.

This two-part series demonstrates that the Hebrew text of the book of John (MS. Vat.ebr.100) establishes that Abib 14 is a High Sabbath and the first day of the Festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread.

The MIni-Pods can be accessed and listened to at the following links:

M011. Abib 14 – A High Sabbath – Part 1 – (13:25)

M012. Abib 14 – A High Sabbath – Part 2 – (14:21)

They can also be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Podbean, among others.

Abib 14 – Passover a High Sabbath

This study will provide evidence demonstrating that Abib 14 is a High Sabbath and marks the first day of the 7-day Festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread.

In addition to existing Greek texts, another source we will utilize to support our conclusions is a New Testament Hebrew manuscript known as Cochin MS O.o.1.32.

Discovered in 1806 in the Synagogue of the “Black Jews” in Cochin, India, and linked to Ezekiel Rahabi II, the Hebrew manuscript’s existence in a Jewish community suggests it could preserve a rare Hebrew translation tradition.

Some scholars speculate it might draw from early Jewish-Christian or Ebionite texts, which used Hebrew or Aramaic for Christian scriptures, potentially dating back to the 1st-4th centuries C.E.

With this information in hand, our initial exploration will address the issue of the anointing and burial of Yahushua the Messiah’s body.

The Greek and Hebrew texts both state that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus buried Yahushua’s body during the late afternoon of Abib 14.

The Burial
The relevant passage of John 19:38-40 when translated from the Greek and Hebrew texts, is as follows: Continue reading “Abib 14 – Passover a High Sabbath” →

Passover – The 7-Day Festival

Many find the Festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread to be the most complex of Yahweh’s sacred days.

This prompts the question: why does so much confusion surround it?

To address this situation, it is important to note that the expectation to observe Yahweh’s sacred days dates back to Adam and Eve.

Let’s consider a few relevant passages from Scriptures.

And eloahim said, Let there be luminaries in the open expanse of the heaven to divide between the daytime and the night and let them be for signs and for מועדים (moadim; APPOINTED TIMES) and for days and years; and let them be for illuminations in the open expanse of the heaven to give light on the land; and it was so. And eloahim made the two great luminaries: the great luminary for ruling the day and the smaller luminary for ruling the night, and the stars. And eloahim set them in the open expanse of the heaven to give light upon the land and to rule over the daytime and over the night, and to separate between the light and the darkness. (Gen. 1:14-18)

He (Yahweh) made the moon for the מועדים (moadim; appointed times), the sun knows where he enters in. (Psalm 104:19)

Yahweh’s Festival Days are clearly designated as the moadim, or appointed times, which supports the fact that these Festival Days were observed from the very beginning in the Garden of Eden.

Abraham Kept the Festival Days
At a minimum, the Scriptures indicate that Abraham, who lived long before the Torah of Moses was established, observed Yahweh’s Festival Days. Scriptures tell us:
Continue reading “Passover – The 7-Day Festival” →

Passover – A Challenge: 7 or 8 Days?

A popular Sacred Name group offers an article titled “Why Passover is Not a High Day.” This article contains the subtitle “12 Reasons Why the Passover Is Not the First High Day.”

We shall present a few excerpts from the article to illustrate the reinterpretations of Scriptures utilized to justify the predetermined conclusions regarding the Festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread.

The following are “Reasons” 10 and 11. We will employ the following format to address the issues:

•  SNG Statement  ( Sacred Name group statement)
•  YRR Response  (Yahu Ranger response).

Reason 10

– DOES PASSOVER MEMORIAL MAKE EIGHT DAYS OF THE FEAST? –

•  SNG STATEMENT: From the time we take the emblems of unleavened bread and the cup, we are to purge (Strong’s No. 1571 ekkathairo), meaning to cleanse thoroughly, to eliminate, to purify, to get rid of the old leaven. Does this mean that we are now keeping eight days of unleavened bread rather than seven, as some allege?

•  YRR RESPONSE: The SNG STATEMENT implies that after eating the Passover meal at the beginning of Abib 14, one is to begin to purge or get rid of the old leaven that still remains in the home.

♦
Continue reading “Passover – A Challenge: 7 or 8 Days?” →

Passover – Tampering of Scriptures

In an effort to support an 8-day observance of Passover and Unleavened Bread from Abib 14 to 21, many self-proclaimed followers of Yahweh manipulate the straightforward message conveyed in certain scriptural passages.

For example, they cite Exodus 12:14 as evidence, claiming it has been misinterpreted. They argue that Passover Day, which falls on Abib 14, is neither a Festival Day, a High Sabbath, nor the first day of Unleavened Bread. As a result, they treat Passover Day merely as a memorial and a preparation day.

It is also claimed that the Festival of Unleavened Bread begins on their designated High Sabbath of Abib 15 and continues for six days, ending on Abib 21, totaling seven days. Yet, it’s important to note that people begin eating unleavened bread on Passover Day, Abib 14.

Therefore, when they add the one-day observance of the Passover Memorial (Abib 14) with the seven days of the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Abib 15-21), it totals eight days of eating unleavened bread.

However, the information provided to support this eight-day practice lacks scriptural backing. Nowhere in the Scriptures is there any instruction to eat unleavened bread for a total of eight days.

Continue reading “Passover – Tampering of Scriptures” →