Observational Hebrew Year of Moses, by: OP Armstrong P.E.

OBSERVATIONAL HEBREW YEAR OF MOSES by O.P. Armstrong July - 2016 Equinox

(interval 365.2422 days)

by Solar Alignment Observation

God, through Moses, ordained the first month of the Jewish calendar year to start in spring. Many writers consider the date of this first month start as a great mystery. The Hebrew word for 'month' and 'new moon' are interchangeable and translated by context. Each new moon was to be celebrated by trumpets; Nu10:10, Ps81:3, 2Ch2:4. This was practiced from Moses, at least thru the time of Paul's epistles, Col2:16. The ancient means to select when the 1st month of each new year started has been avidly discussed by many writers. This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.... keep this ordinance in ITS SEASON from year to year, Ex12:2,13:10 .

And Moses was learned in ALL the wisdom of the Egyptians... Acts 7:22 Indeed it is a mystery, if the ancient‟s time keeping method of simple alignment is not understood. Much ink has been used talking of the Barley harvest.

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OBSERVATIONAL HEBREW YEAR OF MOSES by O.P. Armstrong July - 2016 But finding the first solar month could be accomplished from the Temple Mount by watching where the sunrise happened in east upon Mount Olivet. This is illustrated in the prior picture. Another method is to use a gnomon or obelisk. This was widely employed by the Egyptian culture to find time, direction and seasons. The method is illustrated by the attached pictures. During desert travels, after the Exodus, the tabernacle was to be erected with principle ordinates. The ordinates were easily obtained by use of a gnomon, that could also serve to mark the spring equinox. “for the south side.... And for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side there shall be twenty boards.. tabernacle, westward..” Ex26:18-27. For the Christian era, this importance is two fold. First is to know that a bible year is a solar year.

Use a BAY To improve shadow definition

Second is in keeping Church Calendar. For that calendar is set by Easter and it shall be the 1st Sunday following the 1st Full Moon after the Spring or Vernal Equinox of each year. 2

OBSERVATIONAL HEBREW YEAR OF MOSES by O.P. Armstrong July - 2016 Great Egyptian culture (of Moses time) used such methods as

The illustrated by the Pyramid alignments on principle ordinates. Many other ancient cultures also used monument markers to mark the four seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

The Mosaic holidays revolved around spring and autumn. Three main holidays were given by Moses. First was Passover, with main dates on 10th and 14th day of 1st month. Next was Pentecost, Lev23:16, Count 50 days to the day after the 7th Sabbath; then you shall offer.. & last as: „In the 7th month, on the 1st day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets.. Lev23:24. Marking time was mandated by the Sabbath or 7th year and Jubilee or 50th year & 7 day week by a 7th Holy Rest vs Egypt 10day week. The Sothic calendar system (365 days, circa 3,000BC) started at Heliacal rising of Sirius upon Summer Solstice, June20±. They Intercalated the last days of a year. The current rabbinical calendar, has 365.2468days/Year. Only the 1st to 7th months were critical to the ancient Hebrew calendar. The time after the 12th month unto the start of the next year new month could be counted as intercalated days, with an ignored month, if only interested in months 1 to 7.

North Khufu Sphinx

EAST South

Great

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OBSERVATIONAL HEBREW YEAR OF MOSES by O.P. Armstrong July - 2016 Another way is to make an extra long 12th month. No where in bible is mention of a 13th month, hence Adar2. But a leap month is required in a lunisolar calendar. A new year should start in 1st lunar month where the 14th lunar day falls on or after the spring equinox. This makes "days per year cycles" of 353/355 and 383/385 days. About every 3rd year will be a leap year of about 384 days. Counting of these days fall into 3 methods. Strictly observational says watch for the time of equinox, then look for the new moon. The lunar cycle length (29/30 days comes from Ur of Chaldeans. Solar year count of 365d was known in Egypt. By these facts an end of year estimate is had for the 1st new moon of a new year. Lastly is the 4th century rabbinical calendar, molad method of 365.2468day/Year, vs. 16th century Gregorian calendar of 365.2425 d/Y. Bible Basis of 12 Months: 1Kgs4:7 “... twelve officers over all Israel... each man his month in a year...” 1Ch27, 12months1year, “all the months of the year...The twelfth captain for the twelfth month.” The sacred duties were divided into 24 groups, this suggests rotation of a group every 2 weeks.

Twelfth month: had at least 27 days as seen by 2Kg25:27, it was given the name of Adar, see Est3:7&13,8:12,9:1. Here an eleventh month of 29 days is found by inclusive count, Neh6:15, 52 less 25 days equal 27 plus the start stop days of 2 gives 29 days. Also in story of Noah are found 5 months of 30 days each, Gen7:11,24 & 8:3-4. This indicates bible months are lunar months. For the lunar month must alternate 29 and 30 days to match the 29.5 days of average lunar period.

Equinox Sunset Alignment at Giza Looking due West Khufu

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Sphinx N

S E

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OBSERVATIONAL HEBREW YEAR OF MOSES by O.P. Armstrong July - 2016 Marking time by equinox of the two seasons has the least long term jitter. Long term Jitter is caused by earth polar precession, as demonstrated by below graphic. Moses used the most stable year start marker.

Stonehenge is one of many known archeoastronomy sites. It was used to mark seasons. Researcher J. Q. Jacobs has documented these sites extensively.

Refs: https://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/pacalc.html http://judaicseminar.org/halakhot/calendar_jewish.htm https://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/calendar/ http://www.knowth.com/loughcrew.htm https://stellafane.org/misc/equinox.html http://www.lavia.org/english/archivo/egyptiancalendaren. html http://www.michaelsheiser.com/PaleoBabble/IslerMethod OfFindingExtendingDirection.pdf

Only at equinoxes does sun rise due east and set due west. 5

OBSERVATIONAL HEBREW YEAR OF MOSES by O.P. Armstrong July - 2016

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Marking Years by Astronomical Moments of Equinox and New Moon: The first new moon of each new year is selected so the 14th day (full moon) must fall on or after the Spring Equinox. This causes the lunar months to cycle in a progression of 400 Years of 12 lunar months to about 233 years of 13 lunar months. By using observation, the years of 12 and 13 moons will be automatically selected from the determination rule. Over increasing intervals (19,38,190,391) the average length of a year will trend towards 365.2422 days. This is demonstrated by graph above. In whole days, average results are same.

OBSERVATIONAL HEBREW YEAR OF MOSES by O.P. Armstrong July - 2016 Egyptian tools at time of Moses Equinox Sunrise at Giza

East

West

North

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OBSERVATIONAL HEBREW YEAR OF MOSES by O.P. Armstrong July - 2016 The Solar Lunar cycles are times periods that give repeating calendar cycles. The older cycles are the Saros, (18 Year) and Metonic, 19Y. Some other whole year cycles are Half Sar, 9Yr, Unidos, 65Y, 176Y, 298Y. Longer Cycles are Trihex, 195Y, Hipparchus, 345Y, Gregorian1, 353Y, Gregoriana 372Y, Hexdodea 390Y, Grattan Guinness 391Y, Gregorian2, 725Y, 1042Y.Any multiple of smaller cycles can be tried, like double basic 1042Y. Meton's cycle of 19 years harmonizes the solar year (19 solar years) with the lunar month (235 lunar months) with a remainder of about 2 hours and 3 minutes by which the solar year finishes earlier than the lunar. Another cycle is 190 or 10 Metons. M. de Cheseaux's cycle of 315 years harmonizes the solar and lunar years within 3 hours and 24 minutes. The Metonic 19-year cycle gets rid of most of it's remainder in a larger Biblical cycle of 2,300 years, Dan8:14. Cheseaux's cycle, 315 years, is one quarter of a larger Biblical cycle of 1,260 years (Dan. 8:12; 12:7; Rev. 12:6,14) which is ten times more accurate than Meton's cycle. After 1260 years the sun and moon return, within less than half a degree, to the same point of the ecliptic precisely, and that within an hour of each other. If we subtract 1260 from 2300 we get 1040 which is the longawaited solar-lunar cycle that harmonizes all three measurements: the year, month and day "with an almost imperceptible error" (Error is .11 of a day, Parker's Celestial Cycles, p.22). In fact, this 1040 year "Daniel Cycle" reaches an error of one day in 15,056 years. Every 687 years the sun and the moon come back into the same relative positions to within 43 minutes. In 1906, Dr. W. Bell Dawson discovered that the average of 2300 and 1260 lunar years, or 1780 lunar years, was almost exactly equal to 1727 solar years, giving a cycle of even higher accuracy than the 1040 "Daniel Cycle." The most accurate anomalistic cycle (the time it takes for the moon to return to the corresponding point on its elliptical orbit), viz. 1336, is the difference between 1727 and 391. (see Soli-Lunar Cycles In Greek Research and Jewish Revelation by Walter S. Ridgway, UBC, 1946).

Without Equinox Sunset

Without Equinox Sunset

With Equinox Sunset

Meridian Alignments W

N

E

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OBSERVATIONAL HEBREW YEAR OF MOSES by O.P. Armstrong July - 2016 The Gnomon or Obelisk is an astronomical measurement device. The solar alignments are the main aspect to determine seasons. This is possible because of the orbital layout. These facts are shown here in theory and in practice. Omitted here but given earlier is the BAY tool to improve shadow definition. Without that Egyptian tool, the accuracy is decreased as suggested by some. In church times these are used in order to better calculate the astronomical event of EASTER. See next slide.

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OBSERVATIONAL HEBREW YEAR OF MOSES by O.P. Armstrong July - 2016 The Gnomon of SaintSulpice is an astronomical measurement device located in the Church of Saint-Sulpice (Église SaintSulpice) in Paris, France. It is a gnomon, a device designed to cast a shadow on the ground in order to determine the position of the sun in the sky. In early modern times, other gnomons were also built in several Italian and French churches in order to better calculate the astronomical event of EASTER.

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OBSERVATIONAL HEBREW YEAR OF MOSES by O.P. Armstrong July - 2016 Cambodia, Angkor Wat On the morning of the spring equinox, the sun rises up the side of the central tower of the temple and crowns its pinnacle. El Castillo, Mexico One of the most famous ancient spring equinox celebrations was the Mayan pyramid in Chichen Itza, Mexico. The pyramid, also known as El Castillo, has four staircases running from the top to the bottom of the pyramid's faces. The staircases were built at a carefully calculated angle so that at the precise moment of the equinox and for a period of about half an hour, a snake of sunlight appears to slither down the stairs. The Kukulkan appears twice a year, on the spring and autumn equinox, when day and night, light and dark, are equal and in balance.

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OBSERVATIONAL HEBREW YEAR OF MOSES by O.P. Armstrong July - 2016

The Wagon Wheel of Native American plains Indians have summer solstice and other alignments. One is located Between Cody and Lovell Wyoming. It is called Big Horn Medicine Wheel. In the 4 Corners area exist solar monuments left by Anasia tribes. Shown to the left is the sun dagger design at Fajada Butte in Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Many other monuments like Pinson mounds West Tenn., Mounds at Earle & Scott Arkansas and the Henges of Ireland & UK show how ancient peoples accurately tracked the seasons by observation without calculators and equations. 12