The Christian Sabbath Part 3: The Changing Jewish Sabbath

THE JEWISH SABBATH CHANGED ANNUALLY

Previously we have noted the twofold teaching of the Bible relative to the Sabbath; first as a universal principle stated by God at creation and confirmed in the Fourth Commandment, and second as a specific memorial day to the nation of Israel. The question under consideration in this chapter is the Jewish memorial Sabbath, was it on a fixed day of the week, or was it observed on a fixed date in the year necessitating a change in the memorial day each year?

From Scripture we gather that the Israelites had two years; a civil year which began about the time of our month of September, and a religious year beginning about the time of the latter part of our month of March. Their Sabbaths, the weekly memorial day, were dated from the first of the religious year (Lev. 23:4-6).

The first Sabbath mentioned in connection with Israel's second year began on the evening of the 14th of the month of Abib and concluded on the 15th (Lev. 23:6), and this feast of Passover, or of unleavened bread, continued seven full days, until the evening of the 21st (Exodus 12:18), concluding on the 22nd; for "from even unto even, shall you celebrate your sabbath" (Lev. 23:32) said God to Israel. Thus two Sabbath dates -- the 15th and 22nd -- are established in the month of Abib, the first month of their religious year. Since the Sabbath principle was, six days of labor before a seventh day of rest or Sabbath, it follows necessarily that Sabbaths also fell on the first and eighth days of the month. This month Abib was the beginning of months (Exodus 13:3, 4), therefore the first week of Israel's first month began on a Sabbath; also in each year, without exception, the first day of the month Abib must be a Sabbath. Thus by Scripture we have located the Sabbaths in the first month of Israel's religious year as being fixed dates in the month rather than being on a fixed day of the week.

In the light of that fact we ask; was this first Sabbath the seventh day of the last week of the old year, or was it the first day of the first week of the new year? By this Jewish Sabbath the sabbath principle given at creation and confirmed in the Fourth Commandment of the Decalogue is followed distinctly, for it is the Sabbath following six days of labor; but also it is the first day of the first week of the new Jewish religious year.

The Jewish memorial Sabbath always began on a fixed date in the year, just like our New Year's and Christmas Days, and not on a given day of the week (Exodus 12:1, 2; 13:3, 4). No method is known for computing the calendar by which a full year may be divided into an equal number of weeks of seven days each. Bible scholars are agreed that it is not possible to know accurately what calendar Israel followed before their captivity. If, as some think, it was a thirteen-month year with twenty-eight days each, this accounts only for 364 days, another day must be added somewhere to fill out the required 365 days. If, as some others think, it was twelve months of thirty days each, five intercalary days must be added to fill out the year. But in either case it is not possible for a regular week of seven days to be observed throughout the year and have the new year begin with a Sabbath, one extra day must be accounted for in order to bring this about. It is also important to note that there was in this first month a fixed work day, the tenth day of the month, when they were to gather the lambs to sacrifice (Exod. 12:3). This could not be a Sabbath, for no such work could be performed on a Sabbath, hence a weekly cycle Sabbath was impossible.

An example of this is our present New Year's Day. This year, 1939, it came on Sunday, but it will be 1950 before it occurs on Sunday again, and between these dates it will fall on all of the other days of the week. So an extra Sabbath had to be inserted in Israel's calendar somewhere to permit their memorial Sabbath to fall upon the first day of the month of Abib, the new year's day of their religious year.

Was this day inserted? Did God plan for its insertion, or was it man made? There are scriptural suggestions that it was inserted and according to the plan of God, and that this change came at the time of the Feast of Pentecost. The date of the Feast of Pentecost was established by counting "from the morrow after the sabbath" (Lev. 23:15-21) at Passover time when the grain harvest began and a wave sheaf was presented to God, "even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days;" and this "morrow after the seventh sabbath" was Pentecost; a Sabbath celebrating the rest after the labors of grain harvest, for this feast marked the close of the grain harvest when bread made from the freshly harvested grain was presented to God. This Pentecost was a holy convocation or Sabbath in which no servile work was to be done. Thus two Sabbaths, or memorial days, came in consecutive order, making a forty-eight hour Sabbath, which they observed. Since the Sabbath principle demanded six days of labor between Sabbaths, the seventh day or weekly memorial Sabbath would be numbered from Pentecost, and thus it would continue throughout the year. With this forty-eight hour Sabbath the religious year was adjusted to the calendar year and the first of the month of Abib would fall on the Sabbath. Thus it is apparent from the Scriptures that the Jewish memorial weekly Sabbath changed each year at the Feast of Pentecost.

But do not the Jews observe the seventh day of our week, Saturday, as their Sabbath today? They do. How do they reckon this seventh day as the Sabbath? They have adjusted their religious year to the present calendar year. The mode of reckoning time now used by the Jews, we are told, was perhaps perfected by Rabbi Hillel in the year 359 or 360 A.D. Some students place the date of this change as late as 500 A.D. Jewish authorities themselves recognize that there is no direct connection between their present calendar and that used by the original Israelites. In the Jewish encyclopedia these statements are found: "The modern Jewish calendar is adapted to the Greek computation exclusively." "The modern Jewish calendar seems to have been inaugurated in 363 A.D., and Rabbi Hillel appears to have modified it by introducing some innovations."

This present Jewish calendar differs from the original calendar at least in this fact that the Sabbath now has a fixed day in the week (Saturday) and needs not to be adjusted to a fixed date in the year. It is worthy of note that this observance of Saturday as Sabbath by the Jews dates no farther back than the fourth century after Christ. So Saturday is no nearer the original Jewish memorial weekly Sabbath, than Sunday or any other day of the week.