How does one figure when the month begins, scripturally speaking, especially those who claim to be seeking Yahweh’s truth?

Logic dictates that one would just add 28 days to the date of the last new moon. Then go outside and look low toward the western sky at sundown. Keep looking for up to two hours or so.

If you don’t see anything, repeat the process the next day and so forth until you do. Simple stuff, or so it seems.

It would have been simple except for the fact that when you personally did this a while back, a friend called you and said “Happy New Year” and proceeded to tell you that he saw the new moon.

Unfortunately, you never saw the thin crescent of the new moon even though you carefully scrutinized the early evening sky.

Questions
Because of this precarious situation, you proceeded to disagree with your friend’s conclusion. You questioned if he was wearing his eyeglasses, using binoculars or a telescope. You even wondered if he had been drinking any alcoholic beverages prior to his sighting. Many more questions were asked, and needless to say, the conversation did not go well.

Then you actually did see the new moon for the New Year, and you were sure you got it right this time. That worked until someone said you were wrong because the barley wasn’t ripe enough; therefore, you were one month off. At this point, a slight sense of frustration set in with the realization that maybe you just weren’t qualified (smart enough) to figure these things out. Best to stick with the experts (religious leaders) to get it right.

So simple enough (and we do want to keep things simple), you proceeded to consult various religious leaders, elders, and teachers of Scriptures. Now things began getting rather messy. Virtually no one could give you a consistent answer.

You now come to the stark reality: It’s been “New Moon Guesswork” all along.

So as a last resort to arrive at the correct answer, you set out to determine which Sacred Name group, among others, had the most followers as this would be the best criteria for arriving at Yahweh’s truth. Surely large numbers of people cannot all be deceived, and besides, Yahweh would not  permit it. So everything is simple now, and you can relax.

Remarkable stuff! Remarkable because it seems the New Moon controversy has been going on for over 2000 years with no end in sight! The truth is that we can end the debate if one carefully investigates Scriptures with an unbiased mind. We will proceed to do just that as we continue.

New Moon Clarity
Let’s start with the reasonably good premise that Yahweh wants mankind to observe his commanded festival and sacred days. (Exod. 23:14-17; Deut. 16:16)) Yahweh has also furnished us with a timing mechanism to observe these days at their proper times. For instance:

And eloahim said, Let there be luminaries in the open expanse of the heavens to divide between the daytime and the nighttime and let them be for signs and for 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 eretz (land); and it was so. And eloahim made the two great luminaries: the great luminary for ruling the daytime and the smaller luminary for ruling the nighttime, and the stars. And eloahim set them in the open expanse of the heaven to give light upon the eretz and to rule over the daytime and over the night, and to separate between the light and the darkness. (Genesis 1:14-18)

Give thanks to Yahweh . . . to him who made the great lights; for his mercy is world-age lasting; the sun to rule in the daytime, for his mercy is world-age lasting; THE MOON AND THE STARS TO RULE IN THE NIGHTTIME, for his mercy is world-age lasting. (Psalms 136:1, 7-9)

Thus says Yahweh who gives the sun for a light by daytime and STATUTES OF THE MOON AND STARS FOR A LIGHT OF NIGHTTIME. (Jeremiah 31:35)

He (Yahweh) made the MOON FOR THE MOADIM (appointed times), the sun knows where he enters in. (Psalms 104:19)

Moon and Stars Rule Nighttime
It seems very clear that the statutes of the moon, along with the stars, are used to determine the moadim (appointed times) of Yahweh. Therefore the legal authority of the moon and stars is during the nighttime. In contrast, the authority of the sun is the daytime. Indeed, in Scriptures, the days of the month, as well as all the moadim, are always counted by the 24-hour legal days of the moon, which begin at sunset.

From Jerusalem
Now that we have some facts, it would be helpful to know from what location on the earth should the calculations of time be legally considered.

For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Yahweh from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:3)

It seems that Scriptures are quite clear and unambiguous.

Most everyone realizes that the phenomena of the moon’s phases are caused by the moon’s revolution around the earth in relation to the sun. This lunar circuit takes about 29.5 days to complete, and then the process repeats. Our current months are based upon this cycle.

The lunar cycle point of completion is when the moon goes into conjunction with the sun. When the moon begins leaving its conjunction with the sun, the rebuilding or renewing of the lunar cycle is commenced.

So, at minimum, there would be some relationship with the moon completing its cycle for it to renew or rebuild along with the statute regarding the legal authority with nighttime. One might assume that the visual sighting of the New Moon crescent is required per Yahweh’s statute since in no way does this conflict with the concept of the rebuilding of the lunar cycle or new moon.

No Scriptural Command to See Crescent
One should note that nowhere in Scriptures is there a command for one to actually see a visible crescent of the moon to determine a new moon.

A possible scenario would be that everyone in the general location of Mt. Zion/Jerusalem would diligently look for the moon’s visible crescent, only to be disappointed by the fact that clouds were obstructing the moon and sun.

The next option would be to review the mathematics, for you wouldn’t be looking in the first place if there wasn’t some simple arithmetic at play.

Then there is the added problem of the simple math not being able to reveal a visible lunar crescent because the degree of separation of the moon and sun was too close to call.

Abraham Knew How to Calculate
But then you might say that Yahweh had to simplify it for simple people who could not perform the required calculations of new moons; therefore, he implemented the simple visual rule. Besides, aren’t we talking about farmers, sheepherders, and nomads of the desert?

Somehow even Abraham was able to keep Yahweh’s statutes correctly.

Because Abraham obeyed my (Yahweh’s) voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my STATUTES, and my laws. (Genesis 26:5)

Surely Abraham could not know about such things as mathematics and precise calculations. Unless, of course, there might be some evidence to the contrary. Josephus states:

HE (ABRAM) COMMUNICATED TO THEM (EGYPTIANS) ARITHMETIC, AND DELIVERED TO THEM THE SCIENCE OF ASTRONOMY; for before Abram came into Egypt they were unacquainted with those parts of learning; for that science came from the Chaldeans into Egypt, and from thence to the Greeks also. (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 1:8:2)

In addition, most are unaware that during the time of Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses, the year consisted of 360 days with 12 months of 30 days each. This means that the solar and lunar years were synchronized so that one could readily calculate Yahweh’s Festival Days accurately every year as the Old Testament patriarchs did.

Yahweh’s Clock Always Works
So far, we have evidence of Yahweh setting up a clock that all of mankind could use to accurately keep the statutes of his festivals and sacred days. Therefore, it is only logical that Yahweh would teach mankind how to understand the clock and its calculations.

This would also mean that the clock would work regardless of man’s handicap of poor eyesight or clouds obstructing the sky.

When one does the research, there can be found much evidence revealing that the ancients and later Jewish factions recognized the scriptural validity of mathematical calculations regarding the determination of the new moon.

For a more thorough discussion of the matter, please refer to the article by Qadesh La Yahweh Press titled “Rules for the New Moon.”

After perusing the referenced article, the following information will be just a bit easier to comprehend. This is how it works, and you really don’t need good eyesight or be concerned with any clouds in the sky.

How Yahweh’s Clock Works
It logically follows that before determining the first day of the month, you must determine when the last day of the month occurs.

In reality, the actual purpose of the conjunction is to determine the last day of the month. This is a lunar event and, therefore, can only legally be counted during the nighttime of a 24-hour day.

If the conjunction occurs during the night, then that 24-hour day is legally considered the last day of the month. The next day begins at sunset, which is New Moon day.

On the other hand, if the conjunction occurs during the daytime, the following day at sunset is legally counted as the last day of the month. This is because of the “part of” rule, as explained in “Rules for the New Moon.” New Moon day will commence with the second sunset after conjunction.

Keep in mind that the New Moon day is based upon the moon’s position as it relates to Mount Zion during the nighttime.

By now, some of you think that all this can’t be true because, based on the presented information, some new moons will be occurring that will not have a visible crescent after sundown.

If one is worried about not being able to see the thin crescent of the moon, then the following bears repeating, “One should make a note of the fact that nowhere in Scriptures is there a command for one to actually see a visible crescent of the moon to determine a new moon.”

For now, this should be enough information for the reader to ponder. Besides, the issue of the green ears of barley wasn’t even addressed, which is purportedly needed in addition to a visible New Moon crescent for the New Moon day, which begins the scriptural New Year. 

For the discussion regarding “green ears of barley,” please refer to:

The Abib and Barley Error – Pt. 1
The Abib and Barley Error – Pt. 2

If you are looking for more informative material regarding Yahweh’s calendar, be sure to check out another publication by QLYP titled: “The Festivals and Sacred Days of Yahweh.”