Calendrical Variations in Second Temple Judaism

Calendrical Variations
in Second Temple Judaism

Supplements
to the
Journal for the Study

of Judaism
Editor
Benjamin G. Wright, III

Department of Religion Studies, Lehigh University
Associate Editors
Florentino García Martínez

Qumran Institute, University of Groningen
Hindy Najman
Department of Religious Studies and Program in Judaic Studies, Yale University
Advisory Board
g. bohak – j.j. collins – j. duhaime – p.w. van der horst –
a.k. petersen – m. popoviĆ – j.t.a.g.m. van ruiten –
j. sievers – g. stemberger – e.j.c. tigchelaar –
j. magliano-tromp
VOLUME 159
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.nl/jsjs

Calendrical Variations
in Second Temple Judaism
New Perspectives on the ‘Date of the Last Supper’ Debate
By
Stéphane Saulnier
Leiden • boston
2012
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Saulnier, Stéphane.
Calendrical variations in Second Temple Judaism : new perspectives on the “Date of the Last
Supper” debate / by Stéphane Saulnier.
p. cm. — (Supplements to the Journal for the study of Judaism ; v. 159)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-16963-0 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Jewish calendar. 2. Judaism—History—Post-
exilic period, 586 B.C.–210 A.D. 3. Fasts and feasts—Judaism. 4. Jaubert, Annie. Date of the Last
Supper. 5. Lord’s Supper. I. Title.
CE35.S28 2012
529’.326—dc23
2011051421
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contents
Acknowledgements ......................................................................................... xi
List of Abbreviations and Bibliographical Notes ................................... xiii
Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1
1. Discrepancies in the Gospels’ Passion Narratives ....................... 2
2. Classical Attempts for Reconciling the Gospel Accounts ............ 3
2.1. The Chronology of the Synoptic Gospels is Correct .......... 3
2.2. The Chronology of the Fourth Gospel is Correct ............... 5
2.3. Both the Synoptic and the Johannine Chronologies
are Correct ...................................................................................... 10
3. Enquiries Undertaken in the Present Study ................................. 15
PART I
THE JAUBERTIAN THEORY
I. The Date of the Last Supper: Annie Jaubert’s Theory

Revisited ........................................................................................................ 19
1. Introduction ............................................................................................ 19
2. The Jaubertian Theory ......................................................................... 20
2.1. The Ancient Jewish Calendar in the Book of Jubilees ........ 20
2.2. The Sources of Christian Liturgy ............................................. 30
2.3. The Gospels .................................................................................... 38
2.4. Jaubert’s Conclusions .................................................................. 43
3. The Critics’ Appraisal of the Jaubertian Theory .......................... 44
3.1. The Calendar of Jubilees ............................................................. 44
3.2. Patristic Evidence: A Three-day Chronology of
Jesus’ Passion .................................................................................. 50
3.3. Jaubert’s Application of the Three-day Chronology to
the Gospel Accounts .................................................................... 53
4. Conclusions ............................................................................................. 62
vi contents
PART II
FESTIVALS AND THE SEASONS IN THE SOURCES
II. The Cycle of Festivals and the Seasons in the Hebrew Bible ...... 67

1. Introduction ......................................................................................... 67
2. The Pentateuch ................................................................................... 71
2.1. The Festival of Passover ........................................................... 72
2.2. The Festival of Unleavened Bread ........................................ 74
2.3. Festival of the Raising of the Sheaf ...................................... 75
2.4. The Festival of Weeks ............................................................... 75
2.5. The Festival of Tabernacles .................................................... 76
2.6. Other Festivals in the Pentateuch ........................................ 77
2.7. Festivals and the Seasons in the Pentateuch: Summary ..... 77
3. Festivals and the Seasons in Other Writings of the
Hebrew Bible ....................................................................................... 78
3.1. Ezekiel 45 ..................................................................................... 78
3.2. 1 Kings 12—King Jeroboam’s Calendar innovation
in Israel ......................................................................................... 79
3.3. 2 Chronicles 30 & 31—King Hezekiah’s Reform
in Judah ......................................................................................... 82
3.4. Ezra-Nehemiah ........................................................................... 88
4. The Cycle of Festivals in the Hebrew Scriptures: Summary
and Conclusion ................................................................................... 89
III. The Cycle of Festivals and the Seasons in the Book of Jubilees . 91

1. Introduction ......................................................................................... 91
2. The Festival of Passover in Jubilees .............................................. 92
3. The Festival of Unleavened Bread in Jubilees ............................ 106
4. The Festival of Weeks in Jubilees .................................................. 107
5. The Raising of the Sheaf in Jubilees .............................................. 108
6. The Festival of Tabernacles in Jubilees ........................................ 108
7. Summary: Festivals in Jubilees ....................................................... 112
IV. The Cycle of Festivals in the Dead Sea Scrolls ............................... 115

1. Introduction ......................................................................................... 115
2. The Festivals of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and
Second Passover ................................................................................. 117
2.1. The Passover ................................................................................ 118
2.2. The Festival of Unleavened Bread ........................................ 119
2.3. The Second Passover ................................................................ 121
contents vii
3. The Raising of the Sheaf ................................................................... 124

4. The Festival of Weeks ....................................................................... 126
5. The Festival of Tabernacles ............................................................. 128
6. Additional First-fruit Festivals in the Dead Sea Scrolls .......... 129
6.1. The Festival of New Wine—‫ התירוש‬/‫ מועד היין‬............ 129
6.2. The Festival of New Oil—‫ היצהר‬/‫ מועד השׂמנ‬.............. 134
6.3. The Festival of the Wood Offering—
‫ (מועד) קרבן העצים‬................................................................. 135
7. Festivals and the Seasons in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Summary . 136
V. The Cycle of Festivals in Other Relevant Jewish Sources ............ 139

1. Introduction ......................................................................................... 139
2. The Gezer Calendar ............................................................................ 139
3. The Elephantine Papyri ..................................................................... 141
4. Festivals in Josephus ......................................................................... 144
4.1. The Festivals of Passover and Unleavened Bread ........... 145
4.2. The Festival of Weeks .............................................................. 147
4.3. The Festival of Tabernacles .................................................... 147
4.4. Festivals and Seasons in Josephus: Summary ................ 148
5. Festivals in Philo ................................................................................. 148
5.1. The Festivals of Passover and Unleavened Bread ........... 148
5.2. The Raising of the Sheaf .......................................................... 150
5.3. The Festival of Weeks .............................................................. 151
5.4. The Festival of Tabernacles and “the Basket” ................... 151
5.5. The Number Seven and the Cycle of Festivals in Philo . 152
5.6. Festivals and Seasons in Philo: Summary .......................... 155
6. The Bar Kokhba Letters .................................................................... 156
7. Conclusions .......................................................................................... 158
PART III
SOME SPECIFIC CALENDRICAL ISSUES
IN SECOND TEMPLE JUDAISM
VI. Calendrical Issues in the Book of Luminaries (1 Enoch 72–82) ....... 163

1. Introduction ......................................................................................... 163
2. Discussion of the Dating of the Book of Luminaries ................ 164
2.1. Milik’s Hypothesis ..................................................................... 165
2.2. Assessment of Milik’s Hypothesis ......................................... 167
2.3. Summary ....................................................................................... 173
viii contents
3. Antiquity of the 364-day Year ...................................................... 174

3.1. An Egyptian Connection? .................................................... 174
3.2. A Babylonian Connection .................................................... 176
3.3. Summary .................................................................................... 177
4. Identification of Differing Lunar Reckonings in the
Book of Luminaries .......................................................................... 178
4.1. 1 En 73 and Lunar Reckoning .............................................. 179
4.2. 1 En 74 and Lunar Reckoning .............................................. 180
5. Summary and Conclusions ........................................................... 201
VII. The Calendrical Documents from Qumran .................................. 205

1. Introduction ...................................................................................... 205
2. The Meaning of X and dwq in 4Q320, 4Q321 and 4Q321a ...... 205
2.1. X and dwq/duqah in Recent Scholarship ........................ 208
2.2. Identity of X and dwq, a New Proposal ........................... 214
2.3. Summary ................................................................................... 226
3. The Ethiopic Book of Luminaries Once Again ......................... 226
4. 1 En 80:2–8—a New Interpretation ............................................ 227
5. Conclusions ....................................................................................... 230
VIII. Conclusions ............................................................................................. 233
1. The Calendar Objection Leveled Against the Jaubertian
Theory ................................................................................................. 233
1.1. The Calendar and the Seasons ........................................... 234
1.2. The Second Passover in the Sources ................................ 236
2. Specific Calendrical Issues in Second Temple Judaism ....... 238
2.1. Antiquity of the 364-day Year Calendar .......................... 238
2.2. Identification of a Forgotten Connection: Lunar
Reckonings in the Book of Luminaries ............................. 239
2.3. Contribution to the Identification and Interpretation
of the X and dwq Dates in 4Q320, 4Q321 and 4Q321a .... 239
3. Back to the Date of the Last Supper .......................................... 240
3.1. Calendrical Variations in Second Temple Judaism
and the Date of the Last Supper ........................................ 241
3.2. The Cycle of Festivals and the Date of the
Last Supper ............................................................................... 243
3.3. On the Question of Intercalation of the 364-day Year . 244
4. Areas for Further Enquiries ......................................................... 245
contents ix
Appendix: The 364-Day Year, the Lunar Cycle, and the

Triennial Cycle .............................................................................................. 247
Bibliography ........................................................................................................ 251
Index of Subjects ............................................................................................... 269
Index of Modern Authors ............................................................................... 271
Index of Scriptures and Other Ancient Writings .................................... 274
Acknowledgements
The first seeds for the present undertaking were sown during the academic
year 2000–2001, while participating in a seminar on the issue of the date of
the Last Supper in John’s Gospel, in the context of a second year BA Hon-
ours course on Johannine Literature, taken at Canterbury Christ Church
University. It is during this particular seminar that I was first introduced
to the work of the great scholar Annie Jaubert and her theory on the date
of the Last Supper. I was intrigued. Two years later I embarked on a doc-
toral program with the intention of researching further the issue. Initially
armed with firm resolve to solve the entire issue I quickly learnt that down
sizing and focusing my research proposal was indeed the way to go if I
intended to complete the project in a timely manner. Of the three main
areas covered by Jaubert’s novel thesis I decided to tackle first that which
to me seemed the most central, that is the various calendrical traditions
exemplified in the extant textual sources of the second Temple period.
The present undertaking is a somewhat revised version of the Doctoral
thesis. Some of the arguments therein where presented at various aca-
demic conferences (First Graduate Henoch Seminar 2006; SBL San Diego
2007; Fourth Henoch Seminar 2007; SBL New Orleans 2009) and have ben-
efited from the comments and criticisms received along the way. At this
stage I would like to take this opportunity, as is proper, to acknowledge
and thank the faculty and staff of both the Department of Theology and
Religious Studies and the Graduate School at Canterbury Christ Church
University (UK) for their support throughout this project. Special mention
must go to Dr. Brian Capper and Dr. Christine Pilkington, my first and sec-
ond supervisors throughout this project. Their unconditional support has
been much appreciated. As my teachers they have been worthy examples.
I would also like to extend my gratitude to Canterbury Christ Church Uni-
versity for providing financial support in the form of a Research Student-
ship in the early stages of this project.
I am grateful to the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council for their
generous financial support of the project in the form of a Doctoral Award
from 2003 to 2006, which among other things included full funding for a
twelve months stay as a Research Visitor in the Department of Theology at
the University of Notre Dame, IN, in 2005–06, which afforded me access to
one of the world experts in calendrical matters of Second Temple Judaism.
xii acknowledgements
And so I wish also to express my profound gratitude to Professor James

C. VanderKam, of the University of Notre Dame, for a wonderful welcome
and the truly exemplary spirit of collegiality he demonstrated during my
research stay and beyond. Professor VanderKam has contributed in a spe-
cial way to this project and has been a true inspiration, both as a scholar
and as a person.
Of the other scholars with whom I have conversed and learned from
during the course of the research stage of this project a special men-
tion must be made of Dr. Jonathan Ben-Dov, of the University of Haifa,
for selflessly providing a sounding board—and a critical eye—to some
of the ideas proposed therein. Of course, although I am honoured to be
able to single out these scholars for their contribution, all the customary
disclaimers apply.
Thank you to the staff at Brill Academic Press, especially Mattie Kuiper,
for their support. Most of all I am most thankful to my family: my chil-
dren Luc and Zoé for helping me keep my feet firmly on the ground—a
challenge when one is considering ancient calendrical matters, and Maria
my wife, whose tremendous support, seemingly boundless patience, and
countless signs of love have played a significant part in the completion of
the original doctoral thesis and of the present project. Quite simply, with-
out her this book would not have seen the light of day. You are wonderful
Maria, and I love you.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
List of Abbreviations
364DCT 364-day Calendar Tradition

364DY 364-day Year
AB Anchor Bible
AB Astronomical Book, 1 Enoch 72–82
ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary
ABRL Anchor Bible Reference Library
AfO Archiv für Orientforschung
AfOB Archïv für Orientforschung: Beiheft
AJEC Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity
ALD Aramaic Levi Document
Ang Angelicum
Bib Biblica
BASOR Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research
BNTC Black’s New Testament Commentaries
CahRB Cahiers de la revue biblique
BSac Bibliotheca Sacra
BZNW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche
CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly
CBQMS Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series
CBR Currents in Biblical Research
CQR Church Quarterly Review
CRINT Compendia rerum iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum
CSCO Corpus scriptorum christianorum orientalium. Edited by I.B.
Chabot et al. Paris 1903–
CSEL Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum
DJD Discoveries in the Judaean Desert
DSD Dead Sea Discoveries
DSSR The Dead Sea Scrolls Reader, edited by D.W. Parry and E. Tov
(Leiden: Brill, 2004–05)
EBib Études bibliques
EDSS Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls
ErIsr Eretz-Israel
ETR Études théologiques et religieuses
xiv list of abbreviations and bibliographical notes
EvQ Evangelical Quarterly

ExeTh Exégèse et théologie
ExpTim Expository Time
GAP Guides to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
Hen Henoch
HO Handbuch der Orientalistik
Hok Hokhma
HSM Harvard Semitic Monographs
HSS Harvard Semitic Studies
HT History Today
HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual
IEJ Israel Exploration Journal
IJSCC International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church
ITQ Irish Theological Quarterly
JANES Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Societies
JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society
JBL Journal of Biblical Literature
CS Journal of Cuneiform Studies
JHS Journal of Hebrew Scriptures
JJS Journal of Jewish Studies
JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies
JQR Jewish Quarterly Review
JSHRZ Jüdische Schriften aus hellenistisch-römischer Zeit
JSJ Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and
Roman Periods
JSJSup Journal for the Study of Judaism: Supplement Series
JSOTSup Journal for the Study of the Old Testament: Supplement Series
JSP Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha
JSPSup Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha: Supplement Series
JSS Journal of Semitic Studies
JTS Journal of Theological Studies
LAPO Littératures anciennes du Proche-Orient
LCL Loeb Classical Library
LD Lectio divina
MAIS Mémoires de l’Académie Impériale des Sciences
Mus Le Muséon: revue d’études orientales
NABU Nouvelles assyriologiques brèves et utilitaires
NTL New Testament Library
NTOA Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus
NTS New Testament Studies
list of abbreviations and bibliographical notes xv
NovT Novum Testamentum

Numen Numen: International Review for the History of Religions
OC Oriens Christianus
OJC Orientalia Judaica Christiana
Or Orientalia
OrChr Oriens Christianus
OTL Old Testament Library
OTP Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. Edited by J.H. Charlesworth.
2 vols. New York, 1983, 1985
RB Revue biblique
REJ Revue des études juives
RHE Revue d’histoire ecclésiastique
RHR Revue de l’histoire des religions
RevQ Revue de Qumrân
RSR Recherche de science religieuse
SAOC Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilizations
SB Sources bibliques
SBEC Studies in the Bible and Early Christianity
SBLSP Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers
SBT Studies in Biblical Theology
ScrHier Scripta Hierosolymitana
SHCANE Studies in the History and Culture of the Ancient Near East
SHR Studies in the History of Religion
SJ Studia judaica
SJLA Studies in Judaism in Late Antiquity
SJSOT Scandinavian Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
SJT Scottish Journal of Theology
SNEAC Studies in Near Eastern Archeology and Civilization
SNTSMS Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series
STDJ Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah
TSAJ Texte und Studien zum Antiken Judentum
TU Texte und Untersuchungen
TynBul Tyndale Bulletin
VE Vox Evangelica
VT Vetus Testamentum
VTSup Supplements to Vetus Testamentum
WBC World Biblical Commentaries
WMANT Wissenschaftlische Monographien zum Alten und Neuen
Testament
WTJ Westminster Theological Journal
xvi list of abbreviations and bibliographical notes
ZA Ziestchrift für Assyriologie

ZABR Zeitschrift für altorientalische und biblische Rechtgeschichte
ZAW Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
ZDPV Zeitschrift des deutschen Palästina-Vereins
ZNW Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft
ZPE Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik
Bibliographical notes
Bible
Unless otherwise stated, quotations from the Bible follow the RSV Second
(Catholic Edition).
Qumran documents
Unless otherwise stated, quotations and translations of the Qumran mate-
rial follow DJD (Oxford: Clarendon).
Pseudepigrapha
Translations of the Book of Jubilees follow J.C. VanderKam, The Book of
Jubilees (CSCO 511; Leuven: Peeters, 1989).
INTRODUCTION
Scope and Limits of the Present Enquiry
The events surrounding the last days of Jesus’ life have regularly drawn
the attention of scholars, notably in the field of New Testament studies.
Among these events, those portrayed by the Passion Narratives have held
a special place. On first reading, all the Gospel accounts of the Passion
of Jesus agree in suggesting that Jesus was crucified on a Friday, “day of
preparation” (Mark 15:42; Matt 27:62; Luke 23:54; John 19:31, 42). These
accounts also suggest that this particular Friday, beginning according to
Jewish reckoning on Thursday evening after sunset, was the day on which
took place all the events which form the Passion of Christ: the Last Sup-
per, the short stay at Gethsemane and the subsequent arrest, the trial,
crucifixion and burial of Jesus (Mark 14:17–15:47; Matt 26:20–27:61; Luke
22:14–23:56a; John 13:2–19:42).1 This is perhaps the extent to which the Pas-
sion Narratives appear to be in agreement. A close examination of the
accounts, however, soon reveals discrepancies between the portrayals.
Not all Gospel accounts of the Passion of Jesus relate exactly the same
events. The key issue, as identified by most scholars, is the apparent dis-
agreement between the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) and the
Gospel of John about the exact character of the last meal Jesus took with
his disciples. In particular, scholars are in disagreement about what are
often termed the Passover characteristics of the meal.2 This difficulty is
often perceived to be a direct consequence of the divergent chronologies
adopted by the Gospels.3 It is useful at this stage to present briefly the
1
Following J. Jeremias, Die Abendsmahlworte Jesus (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck and
uprecht, 1960), English translation The Eucharistic Words of Jesus (Translated by N. Per-
R
rin; London: SCM, 1966), the position is here taken that at the time of Jesus the reckoning
of the day was widely held to be from sunset to sunset, i.e., with the first sighting of the
stars after sunset (b. Ber. 2a, b. Bar). As suggested by Jeremias, a clear indication of this is
given in the fact that in Rabbinic Judaism, the sabbath was sanctified after sunset with the
qidduš, a blessing pronounced at the beginning of each sabbath (or feast day) to mark the
separation between profane and holy in the following manner: “R. Eleazar b. Zadok said: My
father . . . used to say over the cup, ‘(blessed be) he who has sanctified the sabbath day’. He
did not add a closing benediction.” The sabbath and feast days were dismissed by the hab-
dalah, “separation blessing,” to mark re-entry into profane time: Jeremias, Eucharistic Words,
15–6, 26.
2
Jeremias, Eucharistic Words.
3
The Synoptic Gospels are Matthew, Mark and Luke.
2 introduction
issues, and to review the three classical approaches scholars have tradi-
tionally rehearsed when tackling these issues.
1. Discrepancies in the Gospels’ Passion Narratives
The problem may be stated as follows. The Synoptic Gospels present the
Last Supper as a Passover meal. Mark 14:12 states: “And on the first day of
Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples
said to him, ‘Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the
Passover?’ ” The time reference in this verse clearly implies the day when
the Passover lambs were slaughtered, i.e., Nisan 14 in the afternoon.4 Mark
is unambiguous in suggesting that the preparation of the room, in which
Jesus was to eat the Passover with his disciples, took place on Nisan 14.
This was immediately followed, in portrayal, by the Last Supper, in the
evening that marked the start of Nisan 15 (Mark 14:17). The Passover char-
acter of the Last Supper is also suggested by Luke 22:15 “I have earnestly
desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer,” a passage considered
by some to be an early independent tradition.5
The picture described in the fourth Gospel is somewhat different and
contradicts to a certain degree the depiction found in the Synoptic Gos-
pels. The fourth evangelist agrees with the Synoptic Gospels that Jesus
was crucified on the Friday of the week when (the first day of) Passover
occurred. In John 18:28, however, the dating of this particular Friday differs,
it appears, significantly from the one recorded in the Synoptic Gospels:
Then they led Jesus from the house of Cai’aphas to the praetorium. It was
early. They themselves did not enter the praetorium, so that they might not
be defiled, but might eat the Passover. (John 18:28)
This suggests prima facie that the Passover lambs had not yet been
slaughtered in the temple. Jesus was crucified on Friday Nisan 14, “day of
4
Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, 17–8, has noted the contradiction contained in the time
reference: the day when the Passover lambs were slaughtered was rarely reckoned to be
the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread, which was Nisan 15. Jeremias shows that in
this verse the second part of the time reference, i.e., “when they sacrificed the Passover
lamb,” is meant to clarify the first part of the clause, “And on the first day of Unleavened
Bread,” and concludes that Mark 14:12 must be read to mean “the day when the Passover
lamb was slaughtered, Nisan 14” (Cf. the many examples adduced by Jeremias where the
same dynamic applies in Mark, e.g. 1:32, 35; 4:35; 13:24; 14:30, 43; 15:42; 16:2).
5
Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, 18–9, considers Mark 14:12–16 to be an extension of the orig-
inal Passion Narrative, and stresses the importance of finding early witnesses of the Passover
character of the Last Supper in the Synoptics. Cf. Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, 92 ff.
scope and limits of the present enquiry 3
preparation of the Passover” (John 19:14). The Passover meal had not yet
taken place, and therefore Jesus’ last meal with his disciples could not
have been a Passover meal.
Here is, in a very brief summary, the problem at hand: in the Synoptic
Gospels Jesus’ Passion starts with the Last Supper, seemingly a Passover
meal held on the official date of Nisan 15, a Friday (Thursday after sunset)
the year Jesus died. His Passion culminated with his crucifixion on Friday
afternoon, Nisan 15. In the fourth Gospel’s description of the events, how-
ever, Jesus takes his last meal on Friday (Thursday after sunset) Nisan 14,
the “day of preparation of the Passover” (John 19:14). Jesus is then crucified
the same Friday afternoon Nisan 14. According to the Synoptic Gospels the
Last Supper was a Passover meal, according to the fourth Gospel it could
not have been a Passover meal. From a historical critical perspective, which
accounts are to be historically trusted? Scholars usually follow three lines
of enquiry. Each, it seems, in an unsatisfactory manner. As we map out the
terrain it will suffice to outline briefly those possibilities, and to mention
in passing the main objections raised against each. We will then turn our
attention to the attempt at reconciliation put forward by Jaubert.
2. Classical Attempts for Reconciling the Gospel Accounts
Assuming the Gospel accounts do have a historical value, there have been
three lines of argumentation pursued in scholarship. The first tends to
accept the Synoptic tradition(s) as historically reliable. The second line
of argumentation favors the historical reliability of the Johannine chro-
nology. The third line shies away from ascribing exclusive historical
priority to either traditions, preferring to consider that both traditions
actually retain key historical elements that are of pivotal significance to
the exegete—whether one adopts a hermeneutic of history and faith or a
hermeneutic of history and suspicion.
2.1. The Chronology of the Synoptic Gospels is Correct

The first logical option with which we are presented is to accept the Syn-
optic accounts of Jesus’ Passion as historical, and to interpret John in this
light.6 The defenders of this position must account for the meaning of
John 18:28 “that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover,” as
6
Such position has traditionally been that of the western (Latin) Church, which uses
Unleavened Bread for communion.
4 introduction
the Synoptic accounts clearly suggest that the Last Supper was a Passover
meal. The options are somewhat limited.7 The term Passover must in this
context either be understood in the light of 2 Chr 30:22, where it is sug-
gested that, in the first year of King Hezekiah (cf. 2 Chr 29:3), the people
of Israel kept the festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days, and ate the
food of the festival during that period (2 Chr 30:21–22).8 The alternative
is to read John 18:28 in the light of such Talmudic sayings as “to eat the
Passover sacrifices.” Billerbeck has shown that the sacrifices of this feast
were occasionally called pesach, in line with Deut 16:2 and 2 Chr 35:7.9
However, “it is extremely questionable whether the Gentile Christians for
whom the fourth evangelist wrote would be able to understand such lin-
guistic subtlety.”10 Rather, their understanding is likely to have been literal,
with the inference that the Passover lamb was eaten on the evening fol-
lowing Jesus’ death. On this basis, one cannot accept the possibility that
the Synoptic accounts are right and John wrong.11
B.D. Smith has argued in favor of a reconciliation of the Gospel accounts
on the basis of an assimilation of the Johannine chronology to that of
the Synoptic.12 The Synoptic Gospels are clear that the Last Supper was a
Passover meal, eaten on the evening of Nisan 15.13 Further, there are indi-
cations in the fourth Gospel that the Last Supper was a Passover meal.14
For Smith, the data from John’s Gospel, usually used to argue that Jesus’
Last Supper was not a Passover meal (i.e., John 18:28; 19:31), have been
7
They have been conveniently summarized by Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, 20. For
a suggestion that “to eat the Passover” refers to the whole feast, see C.C. Torrey, “In the
Fourth Gospel the Last Supper Was the Paschal Meal,” JQR 42 (1951–52): 237–50. For an
opposite view, see K. O’ Brien, But the Gates Were Shut: Operation of Jerusalem’s Perimeter
Gates Within New Evidence and a new Methodology for Dating and Locating the Last Supper
and Identifying the Beloved Disciple in Jn 13: 25 Project, vol. 1 (San Francisco: International
Scholars Publication, 1996), 9.
8
On the passage in 2 Chronicles 30, see below Chapter 2.
9
Cf. H.L. Strack and P. Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und
Midrasch. Vol. 2 (Munich, 1922–28), 837.
10
Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, 21.
11
For scholars who defend the chronology of the Synoptic against John, see for exam-
ple: C.K. Barrett, The Gospel According to St. John (2nd ed.; London: SPCK, 1978), 51; D.A.
Carson, The Gospel According to John (Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 1991), 457–8.
12
B.D. Smith, “The Chronology of the Last Supper,” WTJ 53 (1991): 29–45.
13
B.D. Smith rejects the interpretation of R.T. France, “Chronological Aspects of ‘Gospel
Harmony’,” VE 16 (1986): 43–54, that crucifixion took place on Nisan 14 afternoon, with the
Last Supper taking place on Nisan 14 (evening before).
14
The meal in Jerusalem; the journey to the valley of Kidron, within the ritual limit
of the city; the reclining at table; the Levitical purity observed for the meal; the indica-
tion that the disciples thought Judas had gone to buy food for the poor. Cf. B.D. Smith,
op. cit., 31–2.
misunderstood “owing to an unfamiliarity with the use of Festival termi-

nology in first century Palestine relating to the Passover and the Festival
of Unleavened Bread.”15 Once it is seen that, firstly, John 18:28 φάγωσιν τὸ
πάσχα refers to the festival offering required on Nisan 15, and that Jesus’
accusers did not enter the praetorium because the corpse uncleanness
associated with Gentile houses would have defiled them, preventing them
from partaking of the sacrifice of the Passover lamb or festival offerings,
and, secondly, that παρασκευὴ (John 19:14) means “the day before the sab-
bath,” the two chronologies are brought in line. However, although Smith
is right to point out the looseness of meaning concerning the festival(s)
of Passover and Unleavened Bread, Jeremias’ objection mentioned in the
above paragraph also holds in this case.
2.2. The Chronology of the Fourth Gospel is Correct

If the first option breaks down, the second logical view is to accept that
the chronology of the Passion as expounded in the Gospel of John is his-
torically reliable, and the Synoptic accounts must be interpreted in the
light of the portrayal given by the fourth evangelist.16 Those who advocate
this position must posit that Jesus—a Jew—voluntarily anticipated the
Passover before the official date in the Jewish festal calendar. Many schol-
ars have followed and defended this position.17 One scholar who believes
that the gospel accounts of the Passion Narratives can be reconciled is
R.T. France.18 Reconciliation lies in a reinterpretation of the accounts of
the Synoptic Gospels. He rejects the attempts based on a reinterpretation
B.D. Smith, op. cit., 29–30.

15
16
This is the position traditionally accepted by the Eastern Church, which uses leav-
ened bread for communion.
17
For scholars who defend the chronology of John against that of the Synoptic, see
for example: V. Taylor, The Gospel According to Mark (2nd ed.; London: MacMillan, 1966),
667; R.E. Brown, The Gospel According to John (AB 29a; New York: Doubleday, 1970), 556,
who holds that the Passover characteristics of the meal influenced the Synoptics; I.H. Mar-
shall, The Gospel of Luke. A Commentary on the Greek Text (Exeter: Paternoster, 1978), 790;
M.D. Hooker, The Gospel According to St. Mark (BNTC; London: A. & C. Black, 1991), 334.
More recently, Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth. Holy Week: From the Entrance Into
Jerusalem to the Resurrection (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2011), 111 ff., has indicated his partial
acceptance of the position expounded by J.P. Meier, A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the His-
torical Jesus: The Roots of the Problem and the Person, Vol. 1 (ABRL; New York: Doubleday,
1991), 395 ff.
18
Cf. R.T. France, “La Chronologie de la Semaine Sainte,” Hok 9 (1978): 8–16; also France,
“Chronological Aspects”.
6 introduction
of John as being “clearly motivated by the desire to harmonize.”19 For

France, the external evidence points too strongly in the direction of Jesus
being crucified on Nisan 14,20 an argument supported by astronomical
evidence.21 Further, the list of events taking place on Nisan 15, a Holy
Day, is so great that it raises many obstacles.22 In the light of these, it
is preferable to reinterpret the Synoptic accounts. The key question thus
becomes: is it so certain that the Synoptic gospels do in fact date the Last
Supper and the crucifixion a day later? 23 In Mark 14:12, the meal after dark
cannot be the regular Passover, which by Jewish reckoning was going to
take place the next day. The evening belongs to the day of the killing of
the Passover lambs, and therefore the evening of the Last Supper in the
Synoptic took place before the killing on Nisan 14 in the afternoon. Jesus,
then, did not celebrate the official Passover, but anticipated it.24 France’s
argument is well thought out, but rather unconvincing. It creates the dif-
ficulty, in its reading of Mark 14:12, of making a chronology for the sup-
per itself incredibly tight, especially when one considers the preparations
involved.25 Further, to abandon the Synoptic Gospels’ assertions that the
Last Supper was a Passover meal is too great a price to pay, and the points
19
France, “Chronological Aspects,” 48. Examples of a reinterpretation of John can be
found in: M.S. Shepherd, “Are Both the Synoptics and John Correct About the Date of Jesus’
Death?” JBL 80 (1961): 123–32; D.A. Carson, “Matthew,” in Matthew, Mark, Luke (ed. F.E. Gae-
belein; Expositor’s Bible Commentary 8; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervann, 1984), 528–32.
20
The Babylonian Talmud, b. Sanh. 43a , 67a, refer to “Yeshua’s” execution “on the eve
of Passover;” the gospel of Peter states that Pilate “delivered him to the people on the
day before the Unleavened Bread, their feast;” Cf. W. Schneemelcher, Gospels and Related
Writings (eds E. Hennecke, W. Schneemelcher, and R.M. Wilson; vol. 1 of New Testament
Apocrypha; Westminster, 1963), 184.
21
On astronomical evidence applied to the dating of the crucifixion of Jesus, see C.J.
Humphreys and W.G. Waddington, “Astronomy and the Date of the Crucifixion,” in Chro-
nos, Kairos, Christos (ed. J. Vardaman and E.M. Yamauchi; Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns,
1989), 165–81; also C.J. Humphreys and W.G. Waddington, “The Jewish Calendar, a Lunar
Eclipse and the Date of Christ’s Crucifixion,” TynBul 43 (1992): 331–51. These are revisited
in various chapters of C.J. Humphreys, The Mystery of the Last Supper: Reconstructing the
Final Days of Jesus (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011). For a note of caution on
the use of astronomical data, see R.T. Beckwith, “Cautionary Notes on the Use of Calendars
and Astronomy to Determine the Chronology of the Passion,” in Chronos, Kairos, Christos
(eds J. Vardaman and E.M. Yamauchi; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1989), 183–205.
22
Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, 62–6.
23
France, “Chronological Aspects,” 49.
24
Some scholars who adopt the anticipated Passover view: V. Taylor, op. cit., 664–7;
R.H. Fuller, The Mission and Achievement of Jesus (London: SCM, 1954), 70–1; T. Preiss, Life
in Christ (London: SCM, 1954), 81–99; F.F. Bruce, New Testament History (London: Oliph-
ants, 1969), 182–3.
25
These included finding the location of the room by following the man carrying the jar
of water, followed by all the preparation for the meal. Cf. Carson, John, 456.
raised by Jeremias form a formidable objection to this position. Lastly, one

must wonder how likely it was that Jesus, a Jew, would have knowingly
breached the Mosaic Law by anticipating the Passover.26
R.E. Brown is also of the view that the Johannine chronology is a
reflection of the historical unfolding of the events of Jesus’ Passion.27 For
Brown, there are several reasons for which the chronology in the Synop-
tic Gospels should be viewed with caution. First, Mark mentions many
activities allegedly taking place that day that are hardly reconcilable with
a feast day in a Jewish setting. Second, Mark does not attempt to rec-
oncile the last day of Jesus with the earlier reference to the plot of the
Jews not to arrest Jesus on the feast. Third, there are no further refer-
ences to the feast of Unleavened Bread after the supper. These suggest to
Brown that Mark did not construct the Passover dating of the meal, but
rather took it up from tradition. He did not attempt to change it because
it “reflected a Passover characterization of the meal as liturgical theology
and not as history.”28 Here, argues Brown, we are in the presence of a
“theologoumenon . . . a dramatization of the pre-Gospel proclamation of
Jesus as the lamb of God.”29 Such pre-Gospel material is also present in
the fourth Gospel (cf. John 1:29, 36; 1 John 1:7; 2:2), but, significantly, not
in the context of the Last Supper. Rather, of the seven Passover references
in the fourth Gospel’s Passion Narrative, only one (John 19:14) refers to
Jesus being the Lamb of God. The Johannine chronology, therefore, is not
a construct to fit the theological insight. Rather, It portrays the events as
they took place: Jesus was crucified on Nisan 14, day of the slaughtering
of the Passover lambs.
While asserting that Jesus’ death occurred on Nisan 14—on the day the
Passover lambs were slaughtered—Brown falls short of stating that Jesus
and his disciples actually anticipated the Passover. He suggests, rather, that
“for unforeseen reasons” they celebrated a meal that had Passover char-
acteristics.30 But this position assumes that the Last Supper in the fourth
26
Strack and Billerbeck, op. cit., 844, vol. II; and 49, vol. IV. G. Dalman, The Words of
Jesus (translated by D.M. Kay; Edinburgh: Clark, 1909), strongly rejects this possibility.
27
“Since a Pilgrimage feast is the most plausible explanation of why Jesus and his Gali-
lean disciples were together in Jerusalem, I would regard as historical that Jesus’ final Sup-
per and crucifixion took place just before or at Passover”: R.E. Brown, The Death of the
Messiah. From Gethsemane to the Grave: A Commentary on the Passion Narratives in the
Four Gospels (New York: Doubleday, 1994), 1369.
28
Brown, Death of the Messiah, 1370.
29
30
Brown, John, 556.
8 introduction
Gospel took place on the evening before Jesus’ death. The time indication
in John 13:1 states “before the feast of the Passover” rather imprecisely.
Further, like all those which advocate a Thursday evening Last Supper,
this view suffers from the difficulties of trying to fit all the events of Jesus’
Passion in one night. Lastly, Brown does not account satisfactorily for the
Passover characteristics of the meal in John.
J. Meier is another scholar to accept firmly the historical reliability of
the Johannine account of the last days of Jesus’ life over that of the Mar-
kan presentation.31 On the basis of form and redaction criticism Meier
argues that the two key markan passages which contain Passover refer-
ences (Mark 14:1a, 12–16), and the significant passage in Luke 22:15–16, are
likely to be later additions or redactions. For Meier, once these additional
layers are removed, the markan and lukan accounts of the last supper are
stripped of their Passover characteristics.32 Once the Passover nature of
the supper is surrendered, one can appreciate that the Johannine account
shows itself to be a better alternative than the Synoptic portrayal. It is, for
Meier, a scholarly desire to fit the events surrounding the last supper—
and their significance—in existing defined religious categories that is
problematic. However, Jesus was no customary Jew, what he did was so
different that it cannot pass the test of historical conformity.33
It seems to be of little significance to Meier that the solution he favors
posits perhaps an overtly marginal Jew. But how marginal a Jew could Jesus
have been? Do not the Gospel accounts depict him as truthful and faithful
to the law of Moses, encouraging his would-be-followers to observe the
law, while being critical of some of his contemporaries’ own interpretation
of that law? It seems that by avoiding the solution to the problem of the
date of the last supper that posits two calendars behind the discrepancies
Meier is willing to compromise the significance of the extent to which
Jesus the Jew was an observant Jew of his time. True, there were various
philosophies among first century Jews, as Josephus himself clearly indicates.
And a close look at primary sources highlights that schisms between these
groups often gravitated around their differing interpretation of how, not
whether, scripture commands should actually be observed. The differing
31
Meier, op. cit., 395. Meier states: “a number of considerations lead me to favor the
basic outline of the Johannine chronology as the most likely.”
32
Meier, op. cit., 396–8.
33
The Roots of the Problem, 399. Meier states boldly: “Given the unique circumstances
of this unusual person, it is not surprising that what he did at his last meal with his inner
circle of disciples does not fit neatly under any conventional religious rubric of the time.”
interpretation between Pharisees and adepts of the 364–day-year tradi-

tion of the expression “from the day after the sabbath” (Lev 23:15), which
in the biblical text marks the day on which the counting of time should
start so that the festival of Weeks may be celebrated according to the law,
is a perfect example of this. By considering specific examples, the chap-
ters that follow will highlight the centrality matters calendrical played in
Second Temple Judaism. It was not a question of whether one should cel-
ebrate the festival, but a matter of when.
As a Jew of his time it is perhaps unlikely Jesus would have considered
the celebration of Passover optional. As a Jew of his time, would Jesus have
considered anticipating the Passover celebration? Some say he would.
Considering the ramifications of this would go beyond the limits of the
present enquiry and would lead into theological considerations that have
to do with the dual nature of Jesus Christ, as fully human and fully divine,
which are central to the theological field of Christology.
An additional key difficulty it would seem, especially for the exegete
interpreting the text from a hermeneutic of faith in a divinely revealed
text, is to posit an either/or solution to the problem above over a both/and
approach. At its simplest level, the question may be “if the text is divinely
revealed, how can it contain apparent discrepancies?” More to the point,
if the text is believed to be revealed—acknowledging that the process of
revelation, involving the giving and the reception and recording of that
revelation, somehow involves both human and divine natures (and per-
haps the use of the term hypostatic may be useful in qualifying the co-
agency at work)—is it not somewhat inconsistent with a hermeneutic of
faith to suggest that one account is right while another is wrong? It is this
difficulty which I believe leads Benedict XVI to reject partially the solu-
tion proposed by Meier, which argues for the acceptance of the Johannine
accounts over and above that of the Synoptic accounts.34 From another
angle, or shall we say, from a hermeneutic of suspicion, the argument is
neither here nor there, and questions raised by discrepancies between the
accounts may be approached with the full battery of tools available in the
critic’s historical-critical approach tool kit.
34
The Pope describes as “artificial” Meier’s argument that Passover references were later
additions/redactions in the markan narrative. The Pope adds: “The question remains: Why
did the Synoptics speak of a Passover meal? What is the basis for this strand of tradition?
Not even Meier can give a truly convincing answer to this question.” See Benedict XVI,
op. cit., 111.
10 introduction
2.3. Both the Synoptic and the Johannine Chronologies are Correct

For those scholars who approach these accounts from a historical critical
perspective, and who take a position against the possibilities expounded
above, the first preliminary conclusion that can be confidently stated is that
neither the Synoptic Passion Narratives, nor the fourth Gospel’s account
of the last days of Jesus, can be taken separately against the other. This
brings us to the second alternative, which must be considered in mapping
the terrain of this enquiry: this alternative boldly holds that despite the
apparent discrepancies, both the fourth Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels’
accounts are historically reliable in their portrayal of the Passion. Now, it
becomes apparent that for such a hypothesis to hold, one must posit that,
a) Jesus and his disciples ate the Passover on Friday (Thursday evening) 15
Nisan (cf. Synoptic), and b) the officials who brought Jesus to Pilate and
did not enter the praetorium for fear of defilement (John 18:28), had not
yet eaten the Passover on the day Jesus was crucified, “the day of prepa-
ration of,” Friday 14 Nisan. In this light, two observations can already be
made. First, either the Passover was eaten on two consecutive days or
on two different occasions during the week of Jesus’ death. Second, there
was, apparently, a difference either of calendar computation, or at least a
polemic around the start of Nisan that year.35 Alternatively, the accounts
must be reinterpreted to highlight their hidden agreement.
2.3.1. Passover Celebrated on Consecutive Days

D. Chwolson’s attempt at reconciliation has often been noted by scholars.36
Chwolson built his argument on two principles: a) Exod 12:6 stipulates
that the slaughter of the Passover lamb is to take place at “twilight,” the
transition between Nisan 14 and 15;37 and b) the sabbath rest must not
be violated.38 In the event of Nisan 14 falling on a Friday, the slaughter of
the Passover lambs at twilight would have interfered with the sabbath
rest. Chwolson argues that to avoid such interference, and due to the
sheer number of Passover lambs to process, the slaughter was moved that
year to Nisan 13 at twilight. The argument goes that the Pharisees pro-
ceeded to eat the Passover on that very evening, Nisan 14, with Jesus and
his disciples following this practice. The Sadducees ate the Passover at the
35
Presumably relating to the difference of observance of the new moon to declare the
start of the month between different Jewish groups.
36
D. Chwolson, Das Letzte Passamahl Christi und der tag seines todes (MAIS VII,
vol. XLI/1; Amsterdam: Philo Press, 1908, rep. 1979).
37
Cf. Lev 23:5; Num 9:3, 5, 11 ff.
38
Cf. Exod 20:8–11; Deut 5:12–15.
appointed time of Nisan 15, i.e., 24 hours later. Thus, it resulted in Passover
being kept on two consecutive days the year of Jesus’ death.39
This hypothesis meets with weighty objections. First, Chwolson assumes
that at the time of Jesus, the Passover lambs were still slaughtered at
“twilight.”40 But there is evidence to suggest that by this time the slaugh-
ter took place in the afternoon of Nisan 14.41 Second, it is unlikely that
either the Sadducees or Jesus would have contravened the Law willingly,
the former in finding themselves disobeying Exod 12:10. In Jesus’ case, he
would perhaps have breached the Law by not celebrating Passover at the
appointed time of Nisan 14/15 if other groups did; the issue is strictly that
we have no evidence that they did.42 The likelihood of this taking place is
rather slight.43 Chwolson’s theory is inconclusive.44
J. Lichtenstein also posited an hypothesis which rested on the assump-
tion that Passover was eaten on two consecutive days the year that Jesus
died.45 In this H.L. Strack and P. Billerbeck followed him.46 The main thrust
of their argument goes as follows. Towards the turn of the era, different
Jewish groups had different ways of interpreting Lev 23:15 as regards the
setting of the date of the feast of Weeks, or Pentecost.47 On the one hand
39
M.-J. Lagrange, L’Évangile de Jésus Christ (EBib; Paris: Gabalda, 1928), formulates a
similar theory, but ascribes the discrepancy to a difference in observance of the New Moon
between Galileans and Judaeans the year Jesus died. Cf. J.A. O’Flynn, “The Date of the Last
Supper,” ITQ 1 (1958): 59; E. Ruckstuhl, Chronology of the Last Days of Jesus: A Critical Study
(translated by V.J. Drapela; New York: Desclée, 1965), 30; Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, 22.
But the lack of evidence to corroborate the hypothesis weakens its appeal and weight.
40
Passamahl, p. 43 “when the 14th fell on a Friday there was no other solution than to
bring forward the slaughter of the sacrificial lamb to the preceding day, i.e., Thursday the
13th.” Cf. Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, 22 note 9.
41
Cf. Jub. 49:10 defines “between the evenings” as the “third part of the day;” Philo Spec.
2.145 indicates “beginning at noon.”
42
Cf. H.W. Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ (Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1977), 256.
43
Hoehner’s argument that Jesus would not have had Unleavened Bread for the feast is
not very convincing as it is possible to envisage that those groups who possibly anticipated
the Passover meal in the event of Nisan 14 falling on a Friday would presumably also antic-
ipate all due preparation for the Passover. To envisage otherwise does not make sense.
44
Scholars who followed Chwolson’s theory include J. Klausner, Jesus of Nazareth: His
Life, Time, and Teaching (translated by H. Dandy; London, 1925), 326–8; I. Zolli, Il Nazareno
(Udine, 1938), 207–9; Lagrange, L’Évangile de Jésus Christ, 495–7.
45
Cf. Aus J. Lichtenstein hebraischem Kommentar zum Neuen Testament (Schriften
des Institutum Judaicum zu Leipzig 43, 1895) 24–29; id. Commentary on St. Matthew (in
Hebrew, Leipzig, 1913) 122 ff.
46
H.L. Strack, Pesahim (Leipzig, 1911) 10; Strack and Billerbeck, op. cit., 847–53.
47
Cf. H.L. Strack, Pesahim (Leipzig, 1911) 10. Strack and Billerbeck, op. cit., 847–50;
J. van Goudoever, Biblical Calendars (Leiden: Brill, 1961 2nd ed.), 15–29 for evidence of
differences in reckoning the 50 days forward to Pentecost either from Sunday in Passover
week (Sadducees/Boethusians), or from Nisan 16, whichever day of the week this may have
12 introduction
the Boethusian priestly family (who were Sadducees) held that Pentecost
was not a movable feast and had to take place on a Sunday, while the
Pharisees believed otherwise.48 This divergence resulted, it appears, in
the year of Jesus’ death, in a calendrical polemic centered on the setting
of Nisan 1. The Sadducees held the view that Nisan 1 had fallen one day
later than the Pharisees reckoned. This Sadducean reckoning allowed for
Passover to fall on a Friday evening/Saturday, thus allowing “the day after
the sabbath” to be a Sunday, and thus ensuring that Pentecost fell on a
Sunday. A status quo was agreed between both parties, which resulted in
Passover being celebrated on two consecutive nights, the Thursday eve-
ning by the Pharisees and Jesus and his disciples (Synoptic), on the Friday
evening by the Sadducees (John). On this theory Jeremias commented:
“(it) has been so carefully argued, especially by Billerbeck, that its pos-
sibility has to be admitted.”49 Its main strength is that it allows all groups
to celebrate Passover at the right date of Nisan 14/15.50 Its main weakness,
however, resides in the lack of evidence concerning the slaughtering of
the Passover lambs being allowed by the Sadducees on two consecutive
days in the Temple.51 Further, there is no evidence of a polemic between
Pharisees and Sadducees over the start of Nisan the year that Jesus died.52
been (Pharisees). Cf. m. Ḥag 11:4; m. Menaḥ X:3. Much depended on their interpretation of
Lev 23:15 “And you shall count from the day after the sabbath.” Pharisees would interpret
sabbath to mean festival, and would consequently count the fifty days from the day fol-
lowing Passover (Nisan 16), while Sadducees would interpret sabbath literally and would
count the fifty days from the Sunday after Passover. Cf. Hoehner, Life of Christ, 256. The
Qumran Calendrical documents date the feast of Weeks/Pentecost to the 15 of the third
month, which suggest that they started their count of the fifty days on the day following
the sabbath which followed after the days of Passover and Unleavened Bread, the 26 of
the first month.
48
Cf. Ruckstuhl, op. cit., 30–2; Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, 23–4; Hoehner, Life of
Christ, 256; I.H. Marshall, Last Supper and Lord’s Supper (Exeter: Paternoster, 1980), 71–3.
49
Cf. Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, 23.
50
Cf. Hoehner, Life of Christ, 256.
51
Cf. Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, 23–4. Also Hoehner, Life of Christ, 256; Marshall,
Last Supper and Lord’s Supper, 71–3; France, “Chronological Aspects,” 44. More recently,
D. Instone-Brewer, “Jesus’ Last Passover in the Synoptics and John,” Expository Times 112
(2000): 122–23, has argued that the rabbinic debate concerning a Passover sacrifice (m.
Zebaḥ. 1:3), which had not been designated as such by the person offering it, provides
the evidence that was missing to the theories of Chwolson on the one hand, and Strack
and Billerbeck on the other. This evidence was identified, though not applied to these
two theories, by M. Casey, Aramaic Sources of Mark’s Gospel (SNTSMS 102; Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1998a), 223–5. The text shows that some Jews used to bring
lambs to be sacrificed on the afternoon of Nisan 13, and called them, perhaps, fellowship
offerings. Casey sees in this a willingness to avoid the rush of the feast.
52
Cf. France, “Chronological Aspects,” 256; Marshall, Last Supper and Lord’s Supper,
71–3.
J. Pickl approached the problem from a slightly different angle.53 On

the basis of a comparison between two passages in Josephus’ Antiqui-
ties (Ant. 3.249 and 2.317) referring to a different length of time for the
ἀζυμα—Unleavened Bread—he argued that because of the sheer number
of Passover sacrifices generated by the thousands of pilgrims in Jerusalem,
there arose the custom for the Galileans to slaughter their Passover lambs
on Nisan 13, while the Judaeans kept to Nisan 14. This practical reason,
however, loses its appeal when it becomes evident, as shown by Jeremias,
that the basis for the 8–day celebration of Unleavened Bread was a prac-
tice of the Diaspora, the eighth day being added at the end of the feast,
i.e., 22nd Nisan, and not at the beginning.54 It is unlikely that a practical
reason such as this would be enough to move the day of the meal, i.e., the
start of the feast.
H.W. Hoehner articulates a theory of harmonization of the Gospel
accounts based on the difference of day reckoning among Palestinian
Jews at the time of Jesus.55 He provides evidence for both the usually
accepted sunset-to-sunset reckoning of the day and the less commonly
attested sunrise-to-sunrise day reckoning.56 Hoehner argues that this dif-
ference throws light on the chronology of the Passion Narratives.57 Thus
in the Synoptic Gospels the Last Supper was a Passover meal. Following
a sunrise-to-sunrise reckoning, the Galileans, and with them Jesus and
his disciples, had their Passover lambs slaughtered in the afternoon of
Thursday Nisan 14, and ate the Passover with unleavened bread in the
evening of Thursday Nisan 14.58 Judaeans, on the other hand, could not
J. Pickl, Messiaskönig Jesus (München, 1935), 247 ff.

53
54
Cf. Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, 24.
55
H.W. Hoehner, “Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ,” BSac 131 (1974): 241–64;
Hoehner, Life of Christ, 65–71.
56
Cf. S. Zeitlin, “The Beginning of the Jewish Day During the Second Commonwealth,”
JQR 36 (1945–46b): 403–14, argues for a transition at the time of the exile from a morning
to morning to an evening to evening reckoning of the day. Hoehner contests the validity of
this argument on the basis of Exod 12:18 (Unleavened Bread), Lev 23:32 (Day of Atonement),
the weekly sabbath (cf. note 1), the order in which evening and morning are listed in Deut
1:33; 28:66; 1 Sam 25:16; 1 Kings 8:29; Esth 4:16; Mark 4:27; 5:5; Luke 2:37. Cf. R.T. Beckwith,
“The Day, Its Divisions and Its Limits in Biblical Thought,” EvQ 43 (1971): 218–27.
57
Hoehner here follows Morgenstern’s suggestion that the Galileans and the Pharisees
used a sunrise to sunrise reckoning, while the Judaeans and the Sadducees reckoned the
day to begin at sunset. Cf. J. Morgenstern, “The Calendar of the Book of Jubilees, its Origins
and its Character,” VT 5 (1955): 64–5 note 2.
58
Some scholars have asserted that in the New Testament, the first day of Unleavened
Bread was Nisan 14, and not Nisan 15. Cf. m. Pesaḥ 1:1–5; 3:6; 5:4. Beckwith regards this as a
reflection of “later custom, recorded in the Mishnah, of preparing for the feast of Unleav-
ened Bread by removing all leaven from the house on the fourteenth.” Cf. Beckwith, “The
14 introduction
slaughter their lambs until the Friday afternoon, Nisan 14 having started
on the Thursday evening. Consequently, they ate their Passover on Friday
evening, start of Nisan 15. As Hoehner suggests, this solution makes good
sense of the Pharisees’ refusal to enter the praetorium (John 18:28). The
theory suffers, however, from the difficulty of asserting that the Saddu-
cees allowed two consecutive days for the slaughter of the lambs in the
Temple, a point conceded by Hoehner himself.59 As already mentioned
for the theories that postulate differences in sighting of the new moon
that year, Hoehner’s theory is weakened by the lack of explicit statements
from the sources. More significantly, it is unlikely that the Pharisees would
have celebrated Passover on Nisan 14 and not on Nisan 15, thus disobeying
the Torah.60 And notwithstanding Hoehner’s evidence, the consensus at
the time of Jesus seems to have been for a sunset-to-sunset reckoning
of the day.61
2.3.2. Passover Celebrated According to Two Different Calendars

Prat ascribes the discrepancies between the Gospel accounts to two dif-
ferent, conflicting calendars being in use in the regulation of the cycle of
festivals amongst Palestinian Jews in the first half of the first century CE.62
Christ and his followers followed a Solar Calendar, while the Jewish
authorities fixed the date of Passover according to a lunar calendar.63 This
theory differs from all others based on calendrical issues in that it posits,
not a discrepancy based on the too conjectural possibility of a difference
in observance of the new moon to determinate the start of Nisan, but a
direct conflict between two intrinsically conflicting calendrical systems: a
solar and a lunisolar calendar.
This hypothesis of two conflicting calendars, lurking in the background
of the discrepancies between the Gospel Passion Narratives, formed the
central tenet of a major thesis which came to the fore in the 1950s. Profes-
sor Annie Jaubert, of La Sorbonne, Paris, identified in the early 1950s what
Day in Biblical Thought,” 222. See also J.B. Segal, The Hebrew Passover from Earliest Times
to AD 70 (London Oriental Series 12; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1963), 244–5.
59
Although Hoehner sees this as a real possibility due to the fact that the Sadducees
often had to bow to the wishes of the Pharisees, as indicated by Josephus Ant. 18.4 (17);
Babylonian Talmud b. Yoma 19b. Cf. Hoehner, “Chronological Aspects,” 262.
60
As noted by Marshall, Last Supper and Lord’s Supper, 73.
61
Cf. Jeremias, Eucharistic Words; Beckwith, “The Day in Biblical Thought,” 225, only
detects implicit evidence for a sunrise to sunrise reckoning.
62
F. Prat, Jésus Christ: Sa Vie, Sa Doctrine, Son Oeuvre (Paris: Beauchesne, 1947), 515 ff.
63
Cf. O’Flynn, op. cit., 59.
came to be known, and acknowledged amongst scholars, as the Jubilees

364-day year calendar.64 She claimed that this particular calendar, a char-
acteristic of which was to follow a sabbatical framework which allowed
it to celebrate feast days on the same day of the week year on year, was
what may be termed today the smoking gun upon which the hypothesis
of two conflicting calendars at the root of the discrepancies in the Passion
narratives could be positively formulated and defended. So, turning her
attention to the Gospel accounts, she sought to apply her discovery to
these discrepancies. The result was the publication of a rather short book,
but which has had a significant and lasting impact on the scholarly world
of New Testament Studies and Inter testamental Studies among others.65
3. Enquiries Undertaken in the Present Study
Some fifty years after the publication of Jaubert’s now famous theory,
the present work lays the foundations for its comprehensive timely
re-assessment. The present undertaking is organized around three parts.
Part I outlines the Jaubertian theory and assesses the responses formu-
lated by critics. In the process, the question of alignment of the 364-day
year with the agricultural season is identified as the primary challenge to
the theory (Chapter 1).
Part II is concerned with providing a refutation of the challenge iden-
tified in Part I. To this effect, the main second Temple Judaism literary
sources concerned with the exposition of the cycle of festivals are visited
and their contribution assessed. Chapter Two deals with the relevant pas-
sages of the Hebrew Bible, starting with Lev 23 as representative of the
Pentateuch, and then moving on to Ezek 45, 1 Kgs 12, 2 Chr 30 & 31, Ezra-
Nehemiah. Chapter Three focuses on the Book of Jubilees and its particular
contribution to the issue. Chapter Four considers the Dead Sea Scrolls,
while Chapter Five surveys other Second Temple material (Elephantine
Papyri, Josephus, Philo), as well as the Gezer Calendar, a First Temple
64
A.M. Jaubert, “Le calendrier des Jubilés et de la secte de Qumrân: ses origines bib-
liques,” VT 3 (1953): 250–64.
65
A.M. Jaubert, La date de la Cène: calendrier biblique et liturgie chrétienne (Paris:
Gabalda, 1957); English translation: A.M. Jaubert, The Date of the Last Supper (translated
by I. Rafferty; New York: Society of St. Paul, 1965). The recent publication of B. Lourié,
M. Petit, and A. Orlov, eds, L’Église des deux Alliances: Mémorial Annie jaubert (1912–1980)
(OJC 1; Piscataway, NJ: Georgias Press, 2008) in memory of Annie Jaubert, with contribu-
tions by respected scholars such as VanderKam, Beckwith, Bauckham, is a tribute to the
lasting impact Jaubert’s contributions had on the academic fields Jaubert researched.
16 introduction
piece of evidence, and the Bar Kokhba letters, of the post 70 CE period. In
each of the chapters the sources are assessed for their contribution to the
present enquiry. Throughout, a simple yet constant conclusion is drawn:
the entirety of the sources considered, without exception, and regardless
of the type of ephemeris they followed (354-day lunar year or 364-day
year), considered adherence of the cycle of festivals to the agricultural
rhythm a pre-requisite to following their religious obligations. This pro-
vides strong support to the proposition that the 364-day year was intended
to be attached to the agricultural cycle, thus removing permanently the
calendar objection leveled against Jaubert.
Part Three considers some specific ongoing aspects of calendrical issues
in Second Temple Judaism. In particular, differing lunar reckonings are
identified, for the first time, in the Book of Luminaries (Chapter Six). Chap-
ter Seven, in turn, engages with the contemporary discussion concerning
the identification and interpretation of the X and dwq dates recorded in
the Calendrical Scrolls from Qumran (4Q320, 4Q321, and 4Q321a).
Part I
The Jaubertian Theory

CHAPTER one
The Date of the Last Supper: Annie Jaubert’s

Theory revisited
1. Introduction
In 1957, in a book titled La date de la Cène, Annie Jaubert suggested a

novel solution to the problems raised by the discrepancies within the
Canonical Gospels’ Passion Narratives, especially their less than uniform
chronology of events.1 In a nutshell, Jaubert identified the characteristics
of the calendar of the pseudepigraphical Book of Jubilees, traced its origins
in Priestly writings of the Hebrew Bible, and investigated its influence on
early Christian Liturgy. Jaubert’s aim was to establish what Jaubert under-
stood to be the facts on which the tradition that placed the Last Supper
on Tuesday evening were based. Jaubert then investigated the extent of
this early Christian tradition, suggested some conditions in which it might
have originated and proposed some explanations for it. She proceeded
to establish the extent to which her hypothesis remained faithful to the
internal evidence.
In the context of the present study this first chapter is concerned chiefly
with the Jaubertian theory concerning the date of the Last Supper. In a
first part the theory proposed by Jaubert is scrutinized. The reconstruction
of what Jaubert coined “the ancient priestly calendar,” her consideration
of the Tuesday evening Last Supper tradition, and her proposed reconcili-
ation of the Gospel accounts will be sketched out. In a second part the
critics’ appraisal of the theory is presented, drawing out the main argu-
ments that have been offered in support of and against it. At the outset,
the question of calendrical knowledge of first century Judaea is identified
as the main objection advanced against the Jaubertian theory.
1
Jaubert’s book brought together earlier publications by the same author: “Calendrier
des Jubilés: origines”; “La date de la dernière Cène,” RHR 146 (1954): 140–73; “Le calendrier
des Jubilés et les jours liturgiques de la semaine,” VT 7 (1957): 35–61.
20 chapter one
2. The Jaubertian Theory
2.1. The Ancient Jewish Calendar in the Book of Jubilees
2.1.1. Its Authority
Jaubert begins her enquiry with a close examination of the Book of Jubilees,
for the singular document which allowed the discovery of an ancient Jew-
ish calendar.2 She dates its composition to the last decades of the second
century BCE.3 The book retells the biblical story from Genesis to the theo-
phany on Mount Sinai and the revelation of the Law and the command-
ments to Moses in the book of Exodus.4 It is clear from the Prologue of
Jubilees that the author considered the book to be authoritative to Jews:
These are the words regarding the divisions of the times of the law and
of the testimony, of the events of the years, of the weeks, of their jubi-
lees throughout all the years of eternity as he related (them) to Moses on
Mt. Sinai when he went up to receive the stone tablets—the law and the
commandments—on the Lord’s orders as he had told him that he should
come up to the summit of the mountain.5
The work was quoted authoritatively by the Damascus Document (CD
16:1–5): “As for the exact determination of their times to which Israel turns
a blind eye, behold it is strictly defined in the Book of the Divisions of the
Times into their jubilees and weeks.”6 Further, the Damascus Document
(CD thereafter) sternly stated that all Israel had gone astray, but to the
remnant who had remained faithful to God’s command, God “unfolded
before them his holy sabbaths and his glorious feasts,”7 which should be
2
She states: “L’ouvrage essentiel qui a permis la découverte d’un calendrier juif ancient
est le livre des Jubilés.” Jaubert, date de la cène, 13.
3
Jaubert, date de la cène, 14. Jaubert considers the question of the date of Jubilees in
an appended index, date de la cène, 139041 139–141. More recent studies have suggested
a slightly older and more precise date of composition: J.C. VanderKam, The Book of Jubi-
lees (GAP; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 21, suggests “it seems best to say, in
view of all the evidence, that the author composed Jubilees in the period between 160–150
BCE. One cannot exclude a slightly earlier date, but it was probably not written at a later
time.” See J.C. VanderKam, Textual and Historical Studies in the Book of Jubilees (HSM 14;
Missoula, Montana: Scholars Press, 1977) for an extensive discussion of the dating of the
Book of Jubilees.
4
Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 13; J.C. VanderKam, Jubilees, 11.
5
J.C. VanderKam, trans., The Book of Jubilees (CSCO 511; Lovanii: Peeters, 1989), 1.
6
Cf. G. Vermes, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (London: Penguin Press,
1997).
7
CD 3:13–15.
the date of the last supper 21
kept according to strict observances.8 The Community Rule (1QS), without

explicitly quoting Jubilees, instructed the members of the community not
to “depart from any command of God concerning their times, they shall
be neither early nor late for any of their appointed times.”9 Thus, Jubilees
seemingly enjoyed at least a high regard, and possibly an authoritative
status, among some of the authors behind the Dead Sea Scrolls.10
These explicit or implicit references in some fragments of the Dead Sea
Scrolls, coupled with the discovery in Cave 4 of a calendrical fragment,
prompted Jaubert to assert that the calendar of Jubilees could definitely be
identified with that of the Qumran sect.11 It is apparent that the works cited
above hint at the sacredness of time, as it was perceived by some milieu of
Second Temple Judaism. Jubilees directly links this sacredness of time to
the status of direct divine revelation it claims as its source.12 Having been
revealed by God, the times and their arrangements are viewed as bind-
ing for the whole assembly of Israel. Those who err from the commands
find themselves in disobedience to God. In an example of vaticinium ex
eventu the work declares that affliction will befall Israel because Israel
have followed the ways of the Gentiles ( Jub. 1:9), and will forsake God’s
ordinances and commandments ( Jub. 23:19). On the flip side, the com-
position claims that heavenly secrets were revealed to Enoch, who wrote
them down ( Jub. 4:17–18), and passed them on to Levi, “so that he might
preserve them and renew them for his sons until this day” ( Jub. 45:16).
8
CD VI 18–19.
9
1QS I 15–16.
10
J.C. VanderKam, The Dead Sea Scrolls Today (London: SPCK, 1994), has demonstrated
the authoritative status of Jubilees for the authors of the Qumran manuscripts: fragments
of 15 or 16 copies of the work were found in the caves near Qumran, making Jubilees the
fifth most important work in the Dead Sea Scrolls in terms of numbers of copies recovered.
VanderKam suggests that, as well as a reference to the “division of times,” CD X 7–10 may
also appeal to the authority of Jub. 23:11 as regards the question of the age limit for the
judges. Further, according to the same author, 4Q228 contains language strangely reminis-
cent of Jubilees, as the following shows: “for this is the way it is written in the divisions of
the day.” One also finds in 4Q228 references to “the division of its time.”
11
Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 15. The terminology Qumran sect is purposely used in
this context to reflect the prevailing understanding in the scholarly world at the time of
the publication of Jaubert’s thesis. The calendrical fragment on which Jaubert based her
conclusion was that which was communicated by J.T. Milik, “Le travail d’édition des manu-
scrits du désert de Juda,” in Volume du Congrés Strasbourg 1956 (VTSup 4; Leiden: Brill,
1957), 24–6.
12
On the sacredness of this calendar, see: A. Dupont-Sommer, “Contributions à l’exégèse
du Manuel de Discipline X 1–8,” VT 2 (1952): 229–30; A. Dupont-Sommer, Nouveaux aperçus
sur les manuscrits de la mer Morte (Paris: Maisonneuve, 1953), 145–46. Cf. Jaubert, date de
la cène, 15.
22 chapter one
Jaubert discerns here an important clue for her quest for the origins of the
ancient calendar: Israel’s priestly milieu.
2.1.2. Its Characteristics
Before investigating the origins of this calendar, it is necessary to com-
ment on its characteristics. This calendar is starkly different from the offi-
cial Jewish calendar in use in first century Judaea/Palestine. The official
calendar was reckoned according to lunar observations, and counted 354
days. It divided up the year into twelve months of twenty nine or thirty
days, mostly designated by their Babylonian names. The lunar year being
shorter than the true solar year by roughly 11 and 1/4 days each year, an
additional 30-day month was added as a thirteenth month every two or
three years, or seven times in a nineteen-year cycle, to keep the solar year
in line with the seasons.13 This calendar is not the one advocated by Jubi-
lees. The Jubilees calendar must count 364 days: “And you, command the
children of Israel so that they shall guard the years in this number, three
hundred and sixty four days, and it will be a complete year.”14 It is divided
in four equal time lengths, or seasons, lasting thirteen weeks each, or
ninety-one days ( Jub. 6:29). Each season starts with a day of remembrance
( Jub. 6:23), and the four seasons add up to 13 x 4 = 52 weeks, exactly 364
days. Jaubert sees in it, as well as in the four seasons of exactly thirteen
weeks each, a concern to stress the days of the week, which she interprets
as the prime characteristic of this solar calendar.15 The framework of the
Jubilees calendar ensured that year on year feasts and Holy Days would fall
on the same day of the week.16
The length of each month is set at thirty days ( Jub. 5:27), and the num-
ber of months, which are designated by ordinals throughout, is twelve
13
On the Lunar Calendar in Judaism and intercalation see J.B. Segal, “Intercalation and
the Hebrew Calendar,” VT 7 (1957): 250–307.
14
Jub. 6:32.
15
Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 19. The opposition of Jubilees to the lunar reckoning of
the year is most apparent in Jub. 6:36–37 “There will be people who carefully observe the
moon with lunar observations because it is corrupt (with respect to) the seasons and is
early from year to year by ten days. Therefore years will come about for them when they
will disturb (the year) and make a day of testimony something worthless and a profane
day a festival. Everyone will join together both holy days with the profane and the profane
day with the holy day, for they will err regarding the months, the sabbaths, the festivals,
and the jubilee.”
Such profanation of the holy days revealed by God was no less than an abomination in
the eyes of the author of Jubilees.
16
Jaubert, date de la cène, 19.
( Jub. 25:16). One day must have been added to each of the four seasons to
make up the shortfall to ninety-one days, and to 364 days in the year. Jau-
bert acknowledges that, just like the official calendar, this solar calendar
falls short of the true solar year by 1 and 1/4 days each year. This discrep-
ancy, negligible the first few years of use of the calendar, would become
significant enough after a while to suggest that eventually, without inter-
calation, the Jubilees calendar would not be practicable, as the New Year
would come early by 1 and 1/4 day each year, eventually setting the whole
calendar out of line with the seasons. This clearly is not in keeping with
Jubilees’ claim that Enoch
was the first of mankind who were born on the earth who learned (the art
of) writing, instruction, and wisdom and who wrote down in a book the
signs of the sky in accord with the fixed pattern of their months so that man-
kind would know the seasons of the years according to the fixed patterns of
each of their months. ( Jub. 4:17)17
Thus, there must have been some sort of intercalation practiced, but about
which Jaubert admitted: “nous sommes réduits à des conjectures.”18 As we
shall see below, this point represents in the author’s opinion the main
stumbling block to accepting Jaubert’s thesis on the premise that without
any positive evidence for intercalation in the calendar of Jubilees, its func-
tionality must have been limited. Soon this calendar would prove to be
useless as it would fall out of line with the seasons in a way which would
be beyond redemption in that it would dissociate the liturgical cycle from
its seasonal significance.
2.1.3. Start of the Year in Jubilees

Having highlighted the characteristics of the Jubilees calendar, Jaubert
proceeded to demonstrate that the year in this calendar started on a
Wednesday. First, she noted the centrality and significance of the Fes-
tival of Weeks in this calendar, and considered the question of its date.
The festival was important in Jubilees because it was the occasion for the
renewal of the Covenant:
Cf. 1 En. 72:13, 19.

17
Jaubert, date de la cène, 20 note 1, suggests, “l’année devant toujours commencer

18
le même jour de la semaine, on peut supposer l’intercalation soit de jours blancs, soit
plutôt de semaines entières, peut-être au moment des Sabbats d’années considérés comme
des unités de temps. Ces intercalations devaient être possible entre chacune des quatre
saisons de l’année.” She points out as a possibility the intercalation of five weeks in a solar
cycle of 28 years. On a 28-year-solar cycle, see Jaubert, date de la cène, 142–9.
24 chapter one
For this reason it has been ordained and written on the heavenly tablets
that they should celebrate the festival of weeks during this month—once a
year—to renew the covenant each and every year. ( Jub. 6:17)
Its celebration was fixed “in the third month, in the middle of the month,”
i.e., on the fifteenth day of the month.19 The regulations concerning the
fixing of the date of the Festival of Weeks are given in Lev 23:15–16:
And from the day after the sabbath, from the day on which you bring the
sheaf of the elevation-offering, you shall count off seven weeks; they shall be
complete. You shall count until the day after the seventh sabbath, fifty days;
then you shall present an offering of new grain to the Lord.
The Festival of Weeks is, according to the book of Jubilees, celebrated on
15/III. Following the instructions of Lev 23:15–16 and counting fifty days
backwards from 15/III brings us to 26/I, which must correspond to the day
after the sabbath as it was understood in Jubilees’ world view.20 However,
the key obstacle for commentators so far was that to accept 26/I as the
day after the sabbath, i.e., a Sunday, was paramount to stating that 1/I was
a Wednesday, in other words, that the year in the calendar of Jubilees
started on a Wednesday. This seemed so absurd to commentators that
the Jubilees calendar was relegated to the rank of “fantaisie chimérique.”21
However, Barthélémy decidedly contributed to the argument by providing
the evidence from the Arab writer Al-Biruni on the Magaryas, or “people
of the cave”:22
Abu-Isa Alwarrak speaks in his Kitab al-Makalat of a Jewish sect known
as the Maghariba, who claim that festivals are legal only when the moon
appears full in Palestine in the night of Wednesday which follows the day of
Tuesday, after sunset. This is their New Year’s Day. It is from this day that
the days and the month are reckoned and that the annual cycle of festivals
begins. For God created the two great givers of light on a Wednesday. Like-
wise, they do not allow that the Pasch fall on any day other than Wednes-
day. However, they consider the obligations and rituals prescribed for the
Pasch as necessary only for those who live in the land of Israel. All of this is
opposed to the customs of the majority of the Jews and to the prescriptions
of the Torah.23
19
See Jub 15:1; 16:3. Jub 44:1–8 is the only text which allows deducing the exact date of
the Festival of Weeks. Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 21 note 1.
20
Months I and II both count thirty days. Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 21.
21
22
D. Barthélemy, “Notes en Marges de Publications Récentes sur les Manuscrits de
Qumrân,” RB 59 (1952): 187–218.
23
Cf. Jaubert, The Date of the Last Supper, 24, 149 note 17. For a lengthy treatment of Al-
Biruni see C.E. Sachau, The Chronology of Ancient Nations: An English Version of the Arabic
Thus the year starts on the fourth day of the week because it is on that
day that the course of time started. It becomes apparent that the author
of Jubilees differed significantly in his interpretation of Lev 23:15–16. He
reckoned the morrow after the sabbath to fall on 26/1, a Sunday. It is worth
noting that this Sunday is not the one following Passover, but the Sunday
following the sabbath after the Festival of Unleavened bread, i.e., after the
octave of Passover.24
Following a different methodology Jaubert comes essentially to the
same conclusion. She starts this time from the premise that the views of
the author of Jubilees on sabbath are such (cf. Jub. 50:12) that he would
never allow the Patriarchs to break the sabbath by travelling on that day.
Jaubert records all the dates in Jubilees related to journeys of the Patri-
archs, and inserts them in a reconstructed table of the Jubilees calendar.25
The results are presented in the following table:26
Months: I, Iv, Vii, X Ii, V, Viii, Xi Iii, Vi, Ix, Xii Day
A 1 8 15 22 29 6 13 20 27 4 11 18 25 Wed.
B 2 9 16 23 30 7 14 21 28 5 12 19 26 Thur.
C 3 10 17 24 1 8 15 22 29 6 13 20 27 Fri.
D 4 11 18 25 2 9 16 23 30 7 14 21 28 Sat.
E 5 12 19 26 3 10 17 24 1 8 15 22 29 Sun.
F 6 13 20 27 4 11 18 25 2 9 16 23 30 Mon.
G 7 14 21 28 5 12 19 26 3 10 17 24 31 Tues.
Day D is the only one free of travel. Jaubert deduced from this that it must
have been the sabbath. If this is correct, day A is a Wednesday, and the
year in Jubilees started always on Wednesday. From this, Jaubert was able
to determine the days on which the festivals fell in this calendar:
Passover 15/I Wednesday
festival of Weeks 15/III Sunday
Day of Atonement 10/VII Friday
festival of Tabernacles 15/VII Wednesday
Text of the Athár-Ul-Bákiya of Albîrûnî (London/Witefish, MT: Wm. H. Hallen/Kessinger,

1879/2004), 278.
24
Passover fell on Wednesday 15/I in Jubilees, with the following sabbath being 18/I. See
above for the different interpretations of the expression morrow after the sabbath between
Pharisees and Boethusians/Sadducees.
25
“L’année étant composée de quatre trimestres égaux de 13 semaines chacun, avec
trois mois de trente jours et un jour intercalaire, la disposition des jours de la semaine
dans chaque trimestre est symétrique.” See Jaubert, date de la cène, 26.
26
The days are represented by the letters A to G, A being Wednesday, B Thursday and
so on. The dates recorded in bold are the dates of travelling of Abraham as recorded in
the Book of Jubilees.
26 chapter one
She also observed that each of the twelve months of the year started with
Wednesday, Friday or Sunday:27
Wednesday 1/I 1/IV 1/VII 1/X
Friday 1/II 1/V 1/VIII 1/XI
Sunday 1/III 1/VI 1/IX 1/XII
On the strength of the evidence provided, Jaubert suggested that in the
calendar advocated by Jubilees those days were vested with a liturgical
significance. She pointed out what she interpreted as a direct correla-
tion between those days and the Patriarchs’ travels, thereby suggesting
that these events were cloaked with a liturgical dimension.28 Jaubert then
extended her enquiry to all other dates in Jubilees. She inferred from her
results a consistent preponderance of the liturgical days.29 There was thus
no doubt for Jaubert that the Jubilees calendar recorded events according
to a sacred rhythm, unfolding the history of Israel and investing it with a
liturgical dimension.30
As already alluded to, Jubilees claimed divine revelation as its source
and its calendar was asserted as something from the past.31 It was vital
because on it depended the observance of the festivals and holy days at
the appointed times.32 Jaubert noted that the author of Jubilees recorded
dates by ordinals, echoing the characteristic way of the Priestly documents
of the Hebrew Bible concerning the recording of events and dates. Follow-
ing the same methodology as the one applied to the dates of travels of the
Patriarchs in Jubilees, she entered in the table above the numerical dates
of the Priestly writings of the Hebrew Bible. She considered the priestly
parts of the Hexateuch,33 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Ezekiel.34
Here again she concluded that her analysis revealed the same concern
for the liturgical days, with the first day of the month also given special
27
Each first day of the month had special significance, which was heightened when this
was the first day of the season. Jaubert, date de la cène, 27–8.
28
Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 27–8. The author acknowledges the exception of Jub. 29:5
and 44:8, respectively Tuesday 21/I and Monday 16/III. Yet, the first is the seventh day of
Pasch, and the second is the day after the festival of weeks.
29
Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 28–9.
30
Jaubert, date de la cène, 30: “dans l’état d’esprit qui préside à l’élaboration de ces
récits l’histoire du people saint est tout entière sacralisée. Elle s’est pliée au rythme d’un
déroulement liturgique.”
31
32
Cf. Barthélemy, op. cit., 201–2, already disputed the view that the calendar of Jubilees
was utopian.
33
Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Joshua.
34
Jaubert, date de la cène, 32–40.
significance. On the basis of this, Jaubert concluded that the affinities,

as regards the ordering of time and the recording of dates, between the
Priestly writings of the Hebrew Bible, Jubilees, the Damascus Document
and the Qumran fragments of Cave 4 communicated to her by Milik, were
not so much the result of chance, but rather witnessed to a “continuité de
calendrier.”35 Thus, the same concern for the liturgical days of Wednesday,
Friday and Sunday, identified in the priestly writings of the Hebrew Bible
and in Jubilees, could only mean one thing: “le calendrier Jubilés-Qumrân
est donc essentiellement celui de l’école sacerdotale.”36
With regard to the liturgical days, Jaubert connected their significance
to their location within the unit of the sabbatical week.37 Sunday, first
day of the week and day following the sabbath, was the day to start new
undertakings and/or to set on a new journey; Friday marked the end of
journeys and the assemblies before the sabbath, while the significance of
Wednesday could be related to its central place in the week—Tuesday
evening (start of Wednesday) being equidistant from the end of one sab-
bath and the start of another.38 It was this weekly unit, perhaps together
with the preponderance of the liturgical days, which for Jaubert decidedly
marked the character of the Jubilees Calendar. An ancient calendar, coined
Pentecontad because of its dependence on 50-day sequences, the antiquity
of which has been established, already counted the week as a minor unit.39
Thus, the weekly computation present in the Jubilees calendar could be an
ancient unit of measurement predating the likely date of composition of
the book, and most probably predating the 364-day calendar.
In any case, the preponderance of Wednesday as start of the year was
attested in Rabbinic Judaism. Pirke Rabbi Eliezer and the Babylonian
Talmud both witness to the existence of a 28-year solar cycle starting at
the spring equinox on a Tuesday evening, start of Wednesday.40 Jaubert
also adds to these texts the much later evidence from the Arab historian
Al-Biruni. The evidence thus suggests that there existed, at the latest in

35
36
37
38
Jaubert also suggests that the significance of Wednesday, the fourth day of the week,
may be connected to the mystical aspect of the number 4 in the East. See Jaubert, date
de la cène, 41–2.
39
On the Pentecontad calendar and its characteristics and origins, see H. Lewy and
J. Lewy, “The Origin of the Week and the Oldest West Asiatic Calendar,” HUCA 17 (1942–
43): 1–152c. Cf. Morgenstern, op. cit., 37ff. Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 43 note 1.
40
Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 142–9, Appendix II.
28 chapter one
the second century BCE, a common calendar in Judaism which started

the year on a Wednesday. The calendar in question must have been a
364-day calendar, which alone could ensure a regular start of the year on
a Wednesday.41
2.1.4. History of the 364-day Calendar

As to the history of this calendar, Jaubert made some tentative sugges-
tions. By applying to other biblical compositions the methodology already
applied to the Priestly writings, she identified numerical dates and their
correspondence to days of the week.42 The increasing scarcity of the
numerical nomenclature for recording dates, allied to the increasing use
of the Babylonian computation and the testimony of the book of Sirach,
signalled to Jaubert “une progressive adaptation du système sacerdotal
ancien.”43 This development took place initially under Babylonian influ-
ence in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE. In the 3rd century BCE, the pro-
cess of Hellenization of Palestine continued a process of erosion, whereby
the ancient calendar was being brought into line with that of the ruling
power. Jaubert hypothesized that this evolving calendar would have kept
its liturgical days until the early stages of the 2nd century BCE. It was
then that, according to Dan 7:25, the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epipha-
nes sought to change “the Sacred Seasons and the Law.” This intervention
sparked a strong opposition amongst more conservative Jews, whose dis-
senting voice was recorded in Jubilees. The latter aimed to return to the
calendar which God, according to the author of Jubilees, had revealed to
Moses, and which “the whole of Israel” had abandoned. Conversely, the
pro-Hasmoneans favored a continuous bringing up to date of the calen-
drical practice, eventually resulting in the official lunar calendar used by
the religious leaders and the Temple establishment at the time of Jesus.
Jaubert suggested: “le soulèvement assidéo-maccabéen a pu se faire en
partie autour d’une lutte de calendrier.”44 In any case, the tone of Jubilees
41
Jaubert suggests that a 364 day calendar is attested in 2 Enoch, cf. A. Vaillant, Le Livre
Des Secrets d’Hénoch (Paris, 1952), 13, 17. Jaubert treats this work not as a Christian compo-
sition but as a Jewish source. See Jaubert, date de la cène, 46–7.
42
A few dates appear in 1 & 2 Kings, all falling on a Friday; in the Prophets, apart from
Ezekiel already considered, two numerical dates appear in Zechariah; in the Writings, one
date in Daniel and one date in Judith, all falling on liturgical days. Cf. Jaubert, date de la
cène, 49–50. It is also suggested that the evidence of 1 Maccabees points to the influence
of this calendar on the authors.
43
Jaubert, date de la cène, 50. See also in the same volume Appendix III, 150–59.
44
and CD strongly indicates that the authors of these works considered that
the ancient calendar had been in some respect neglected.
Searching now for external evidence, Jaubert appealed again to Al-
Biruni. She quoted a passage in which Al-Biruni treats of intercalation
and determination of the new moon among the Jews. The passage is here
reproduced:
Avant ce temps-là (= 200 ans après Alexandre) ils (les juifs) avaient l’habitude
d’observer les tequfoth, c’est-à-dire les quarts d’années (solstices ou equi-
noxes). . . et de les comparer avec la conjonction du mois auquel devait se
rapporter la tequfah en question. S’ils trouvaient que la conjonction précé-
dait la tequfah d’environ 30 jours, ils intercalaient un mois en cette année;
par example s’ils trouvaient que la conjonction de Tammuz précédait la
tequfah de Tammuz, c’est-à-dire le solstice d’été, d’environ 30 jours, ils inter-
calaient en cette année un mois de Tammuz, si bien qu’il y avait un premier
Tammuz et un second Tammuz. Ils opéraient de la même manière avec les
autres tequfoth. (Chronology 68)45
The text testifies to the practice of intercalation based on the observa-
tion of the solstices and equinoxes towards the mid-second century BCE
(cf. “200 ans après Alexandre”). It is thus conceivable that in the 364-day
calendar intercalation was effectuated at the time of the tequfah. Yet, the
mention of a 30-day month, not divisible by seven, together with the Bab-
ylonian designation of the month (cf. Tammuz) makes it improbable that
Al-Biruni was referring to the 364-day calendar. Rather, he seems to be
describing a situation where the lunar calendar is still loosely connected
to the 364-day calendar.46
Al-Biruni’s contention “c’est pourquoi on a essayé de construire un
calendrier de façon que 2 jours de repos ne se suivent pas” brings further
light on the evolutionary phase of the ancient calendar.47 To avoid such
occurrences, certain festival days were prohibited from falling on certain
days of the week.48 Thus the liturgical days of the ancient calendar often
became prohibited days for holy feasts in the calendar advocated by those
anxious to protect the sanctity of the sabbath in a lunar computation.
Cited in Jaubert, date de la cène, 51–2.

45
46
47
Al-Biruni, in Sachau, op. cit., 277–8, quoted by Jaubert, Jaubert, date de la cène, 53. For
an exposition on our contemporary Jewish calendar, see Encyclopedia Judaica, “Calendar”,
Vol. III, p. 503.
48
1 Tishri must not fall on the 1st, 4th, or 6th day of the week; Yom Kippur must not
fall on 1st, 3rd or 6th day of the week, nor Pesah on the 2nd, 4th or 6th day of the week.
Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 53.
30 chapter one
Such computation gave precedence to the days of the month over the
days of the week. This fact may be behind the accusation of the book of
Jubilees against those who turn a holy day into a profane occasion and
render the profane holy ( Jub. 6:37). Thus, as well as the differentiation
between the fixed and mobile days, there arose a differentiation between
the days of the week. Yet, not all festivals came to be celebrated on mov-
able days. The festival of Weeks continued to be celebrated on a Sunday,
proof for Jaubert of the stronger longevity of the liturgical days over the
364-day calendar framework.49 The evidence of the Qumran texts shows
that by that time the concern with assigning festivals with days of the
week had not diminished.
At the outset Jaubert suggested that there probably existed in Judaism
a hybrid calendar which brought together lunar phases and festivals on
fixed days of the week.50 Alongside this calendar existed a calendar based
on a lunar computation, as attested by rabbinic Judaism. Jaubert argued
that the Jubilees-Qumran calendar existed only in its liturgical form at the
time of Jesus. It was the early Christian liturgy which was to ensure the
posterity of some aspects of this ancient calendar.
2.2. The Sources of Christian Liturgy

Jaubert’s investigation of some early Christian writings highlighted the
same concern for the liturgical days. On the subject of fasting, Didache
states:
Your fast must not take place at the same time as those of the hypocrites.
They fast on Monday and Thursday; you are to fast on Wednesday and
Friday.51
Jaubert noted that the early Christian liturgical practice showed an oppo-
sition to the days of the week observed by the hypocrites (=Pharisees) for
their fasts. Wednesday and Friday were to be the Christians’ days of fast.52
49
50
Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 150–9, Appendix III: “un calendrier mitigé qui s’était
adapté aux phases lunaires mais qui avait conservé pour les fêtes liturgiques les mêmes
jours de la semaine.”
51
Did. 8:1. The translation is from K. Niederwimmer, The Didache: A Commentary (Min-
neapolis: Fortress, 1998).
52
Cf. Did. 8:1; Didascalia; Canons of the Apostles; the 127 Canons of the Apostles, PG8
(Paris: Graffin-Nau) 685–86; Cf. Tertulian, Jejun. 2 & 14; Clement of Alexandria, Strom.7:12
(Griechische Christliche Schriftsteller 17, ed. Stählin, Liepzig) 54, vol. III. See Jaubert, date
de la cène, 61.
They were also days of Eucharistic assemblies, originating from the Apos-
tles themselves.53 Very early in the tradition these days were connected
to the Passion of Jesus, nowhere more explicitly than in chapter XXI of
the Didascalia Apostolorum.54 To these days was to be added Sunday,
“the day of the Lord” (Rev 1:10), the day of Christian assembly (Acts 20:7).
Jaubert thus contended: “il est difficile de ne pas voir là une continuité
liturgique.”55
These days of commemoration were predisposed to be taken over from
an ancient liturgy and to be reinterpreted in the light of the formative
event of early Christianity: the Passion, death and resurrection of Christ.
Other Christian works testified to the continuity of liturgical practice from
a strand of Judaism which had retained the liturgical days, and the emerg-
ing Christian liturgy.56 As well as a marked preference for the liturgical
days of the week, other indications pointed in the direction of a transition
from the Old Priestly ritual to the Christian liturgy. Pentecost, the Jewish
festival of Weeks, remained, in Christian liturgy, fixed to a Sunday.57 The
same was true of Easter. These advocated for the Christian liturgy’s prefer-
ence for fixed days of the week (Wednesday, Friday, Sunday), a character-
istic of the Jubilees calendar. Such adherence to the fixed days of the week
and to the liturgical days suggests that the Christian calendar was some-
what opposed to the official Jewish calendar. This, in turn, implied that
Christianity arose from a Jewish milieu, which favored the liturgical days
of the week over and against the days of the month. “C’est donc que dans
ce milieu juif d’où sort le christianisme primitive, était prépondérante la
pratique du calendrier ancien.”58
For Jaubert, the calendrical opposition to Jewish liturgical practices con-
firmed the polemical tone of the Gospels against the Jewish authorities.59
Further, the evidence suggested that the Old Priestly calendar was
Cf. Epiphanius, De Fide 22; Did. Addai 2:2–4. Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 61.
53
54
Cf. Didascalia of Addai; Epiphanius; Book of Adam and Eve; Apostolic Constitutions
7.23. See Jaubert, date de la cène, 61.
55
56
See Jaubert, date de la cène, 62 ff., where Jaubert treats the Book of Adam and Eve;
the Armenian Synaxary of Ter Israel; the Armenian Book of Childhood; Hippolytus’ Com-
mentarium in Danielem.
57
Although it is now calculated from the day after the sabbath within the Easter octave,
and not from the day following the sabbath after the festival of unleavened bread as was
the case for the followers of the calendar of the book of Jubilees.
58
59
It is here important to keep sight of the context of Jaubert’s suggestion, when scholar-
ship on the Dead Sea Scrolls was still at an embryonic stage.
32 chapter one
observed by the Essenes. Those two points may hint at some sort of affin-
ity between the Jesus circle and the essene circles. Disagreement within
Judaism between followers of the pro-Jubilees calendar and those in favor
of the official lunar calculation must have been very significant. Yet, as
acknowledged by Jaubert, there is no extant evidence of a mitigated calen-
dar in use in Judaism at the time of Jesus, even if some elements may give
us clues as to its existence.60 Likewise, there is no explicit (or implicit) ref-
erence in the Gospels to a 364-day calendar being followed at this time.61
While only the Qumran documents and the book of Jubilees witness to an
orthodox form of this calendar, they may represent wider circles in first
century Palestinian Judaism.62 What matters is the fundamental continuity
60
E.g. the calculation of Pentecost from within the Easter octave; the date of Easter
depending upon the phases of the moon.
61
However, as argued by É. Nodet and J. Taylor, The Origins of Christianity: An Explora-
tion (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1998), and in the more recent, updated French version
É. Nodet and J. Taylor, Essai sur les origines du christianisme: Une secte éclatée (Paris: Édi-
tions du Cerf, 2002), some texts of the New Testament may conserve in disguise some
traces of this calendar. Nodet proposes three examples. The first comes from Luke 6:1. On
p. 19 of the 2002 French edition, Nodet argues that the textual precision δευτεροπρώτῳ—
“second-first”—sabbath, found in the Occidental Text and absent from the Alexandrian
Text, is a reference to the first sabbath of the second Pentecontad, i.e., the first sabbath to
follow the festival of Weeks. At that time the firstfruits are ripe, and possibly not harvested
yet. Nodet, Nodet and Taylor, Origines, 20 note 3, suggests that there are further references
to the Jubilees calendar in Luke 6:5 and in Luke 22:9. The most compelling case advanced
by Nodet, Origines, 44–50, is perhaps that of the incident at Troas (Acts 20:6–12). On page
49, Nodet shows that the Passover preceding the incident at Troas most probably occurred
on a Tuesday evening. According to the text, Paul arrived seven days previously, after five
days journey started at the end of the festival of Unleavened Bread. If one counts back one
falls on Tuesday 14 Nisan. A Tuesday evening Passover would occur roughly once every
seven or eight years in the lunisolar calendar. However, Nodet rightly points out that in the
Jubilees calendar such occurrence is annual. On page 49 Nodet concludes: “la lourdeur et
la précision des durées données . . . invitent à prendre au sérieux l’hypothèse que le calen-
drier initial des apôtres soit celui des Jubilés, subsistant à l’état de traces.” Further, Nodet
may be right in arguing that the textual emendation from υπολαμπαδες (Occidental Text)
to λαμπάδες (Alexandrian Text) is the result of a contextualisation, and suggests Rome as
a good backdrop for the presence of lampes in the room, whereas lucarnes fit better the
original setting (and the story—the young man falls from a window). On the Alexandrian
Text and the Occidental Text of the Acts of the Apostles, see P. Tavardon, Le Texte Alexan-
drin et le Texte Occidental des Actes des Apôtres: Doublets et variantes de structures (CahRB
37; Paris: Gabalda, 1997); idem Sens et enjeux d’un conflit textuel: Le Texte Occidental et le
Texte Alexandrin des Actes des Apôtres (CahRB 44; Paris: Gabalda, 1999).
62
On a probable estimation of the importance of essenism in Judaea at the time of
Jesus: B.J. Capper, “The New Covenant in Southern Palestine at the Arrest of Jesus,” in The
Dead Sea Scrolls as Background to Postbiblical Judaism and Early Christianity. Papers from
an International Conference at St. Andrews in 2001 (ed. J.R. Davila; STDJ 46; Leiden: Brill,
2003), 90–116. Other works from the same author also contribute to painting a probable
picture of the extent of the New Covenant in Palestine in the first century BCE: B.J. Cap-
per, “ ‘ ‘With the Oldest Monks.’ Light from Essene History on the Career of the Beloved
between a fixed-day Jewish calendar and the Christian calendar.63 Thus, if

the Apostles kept the liturgical days of the Ancient Priestly calendar, it is
probable that they did not diverge from this practice for the celebration
of the last Passover of Jesus, and therefore must have celebrated the Pass-
over with Jesus the year of his death on a Wednesday, or more precisely
on the Tuesday evening, start of the Wednesday.
2.2.1. A Patristic Tradition
2.2.1.1. The Evidence for a Tuesday Evening Arrest

The Didascalia is the main textual source for a tradition placing the Last
Supper on a Wednesday, starting, and therefore taking place on a Tuesday
evening.64 The Didascalia contains moral exhortation and church legisla-
tion attributed to the Apostles.65 Its composition is commonly thought to
date from the 3rd century CE.66 Chapter XXI of the Didascalia deals with,
and elaborates upon, the law governing the practice of fasting. It con-
tains several, conflicting chronologies of the Passion of Christ. Of particu-
lar interest to Jaubert’s argument is the passage which depicts a Passion
starting on Tuesday evening with the Last Supper, with the arrest of Jesus
following in the night between Tuesday and Wednesday. The crucifixion
takes place, as one would expect, on the Friday.
2.2.1.2. Didascalia XXI
Scholars have acknowledged the rather eclectic content of the composition.67
Yet, three passages consider the chronology of the Passion of Christ. First,
Disciple?’,” JTS 49 (1998): 1–55; “The Church as the New Covenant of Effective Economics:
The Social Origins of Mutually Supportive Christian Community,” IJSCC 2 (2002): 83–102.
63
Jaubert, date de la cène, 74–5 “la continuité fondamentale entre le calendrier juif à
jours fixes et le calendrier chrétien.”
64
On the texts of the Didascalia see: P.A. de Lagarde, Didascalia Apostolorum Syriace
(Leipzig, 1854); M.D. Gibson, The Didascalia Apostolorum in Syriace Edited from a Mesopota-
mian Manuscript (Cambridge: MacMillan, 1903). Translations with commentaries: Achelis-
Flemming, Texte und Untersuchungen XXV (Leipzig, 1904); F.X. Funk, ed., Didascalia et
Constitutiones Apostolorum (Paderborn, 1905); F. Nau, La Didascalie (Paris, 1912, 2nd ed.);
R.H Connolly, Didascalia Apostolorum. The Syriac Version Translated and Accompanied by
the Verona Latin Fragments, with an Introduction and Notes (Oxford: Clarendon, 1929).
65
As do the Didache, the Octateuch of Clement, the Canon of Hippolytus.
66
Cf. Nau, p. 21; Connolly, p. 40; P. Galtier, “La date de la Didascalie des apôtres,” RHE
XLII (1947): 348, where he suggests the 2nd century CE: “l’atmosphère générale dans
laquelle semble se mouvoir la communauté . . . ressemble plus à celle du second siècle qu’à
celle de la fin du troisième.” Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 79–80.
67
E.g. Connolly, who stated: “[there is] much confusion of thought and treatment in
this chapter.” Cited by Jaubert, date de la cène, 84. For instance, the requirement to follow
34 chapter one
14.9–12 appears to justify the three days spent in the womb of the earth.
Thus the exegesis of the Friday darkness. Hence, argues Jaubert, the three
days in prison have no link to this exegesis and cannot have been invented
for that purpose. Further, it is doubtful that they were invented to justify
the Wednesday fast. Second, in 14.18–21, the Wednesday fast is linked to
the commemoration of the arrest of Jesus on Wednesday. Third, 17 pres-
ents a new perspective of Passion Week, in which the Last Supper is no
more attributed to Tuesday evening. Rather, the author now endeavors
to explain things which may otherwise remain unintelligible to his con-
temporary reader. This may suggest that he is working with a chronology
imposed on him by an earlier tradition, which he may not fully under-
stand anymore. Jaubert argues that the first two passages, treating differ-
ent aspects of the same theme, are the earlier tradition, and precede the
composition of the Didascalia.68 Jaubert advocates that this tradition of a
Last Supper on the Tuesday evening is corroborated by external evidence.
In his De Fide 22, Epiphanius agrees with the Didascalia on the date of the
arrest of Jesus.69
Le mercredi et le vendredi se passent dans le jeûne jusqu’à la neuvième
heure parce que, alors que le mer credi commençait, le Seigneur a été arrêté
et le vendredi a été crucifié.70
In the same work, Epiphanius demonstrates that he is familiar with a
tradition which places the Last Supper on Thursday evening.71 Yet, he
strongly opposes this tradition, in favour of a tradition known to him and
which indicates that Jesus broke bread with his disciples from prison on
Thursday “towards the ninth hour.”72 Epiphanius’ lack of critical apparatus
notwithstanding, he forcefully asserts a tradition emanating from his Pal-
estinian origins and which, seemingly, he no longer fully grasps.
the fourteenth day of the Pasch, whenever it falls (20, 9) is contradictory with the principle
of fasting from Monday to Saturday, which supposes a resurrection on the Sunday.
68
Jaubert, date de la cène, 87 “la tradition de la Cène au mardi soir est donc antérieure
à la composition de la Didascalie”.
69
K. Holl, “Ein Bruchstück aus einem bisher unbekannten Brief des Epiphanius,” in
Gesemmelte Aufsätze zur Kirchengeschichte Vol II (Tübingen: Mohr (Siebeck), 1927), 212,
argued convincingly that Epiphanius had read the Didascalia. See Jaubert, date de la cène,
87–88. The extract is cited from p. 88.
70
Cf. Griechische Christliche Schriftsteller 37 (ed. Holl) 522.
71
Ibid., p. 523.
72
Cf. Frag., (Holl) 206, 217–20.
The tradition of the arrest of Jesus during the night from Tuesday to
Wednesday is also found in Victorinus, bishop of Petau.73 In the treatise
De Fabrica Mundi, in a section which treats of the days of creation, Vic-
torinus writes:
L’homme Jésus Christ, auteur des choses que nous avons mentionnées plus
haut, a été arrêté par les impies le quatrième jour. C’est pourquoi nous fai-
sons du quatrième jour un jour de jeûne, à cause de son emprisonnement,
à cause de la majesté de ses oeuvres, et afin que le cours des saisons amène
la santé aux hommes, l’abondance des moissons, et le calme des intem-
péries.74
Victorinus does not appear to depend on the Didascalia for his account.
There existed, therefore, a tradition, common to Victorinus and the Didas-
calia, which held that the arrest took place on the fourth day of the week,
Wednesday, during the night. This tradition must antedate both works,
and must have existed in the course of the second century CE.75 Further
indication of the tradition is found in the Book of Adam and Eve:
Let us do this three times a week, throughout our life, on Wednesday, Friday
and Sunday. Then the word of God said to Adam: Adam, you have deter-
mined in advance the days when suffering will come upon me when I shall
have become flesh; for those days are Wednesday and Friday.76
The mention of suffering on Wednesday can only make sense in the
context of a Wednesday start of the Passion of Jesus. There is no literary
dependence on either the Didascalia or Victorinus. One must therefore go
back to a Jewish-Christian milieu, probably of the second century, to find
the origins of a tradition common to the sources considered above.
How early was this tradition? Before any knowledge of the fixed day
calendar, it was assumed that the Wednesday arrest had been supple-
mented to justify the observance of the Wednesday fast.77 Yet, textual
criticism suggests that a common milieu must go back to an environment
Jewish in origins. As seen above, there was a group which influenced early
Christian liturgy, and who celebrated Passover on Tuesday evening, start
Cf. Holl, pp. 212–13. Victorinus is believed to have died in 304 CE.
73
J. Haussleiter, ed., Tractatus de Fabrica Mundi (CSEL 49; Vienna, 1916), 4.
74
75
76
English translation: S.C. Malan, The Book of Adam and Eve. A Book of the Early Eastern
Church. (from the Ethiopic; London: Williams, 1882), 82–3. Cf. Jaubert, The Date of the Last
Supper, 79, 161 notes 24 and 25.
77
36 chapter one
of the fourth day of the week. The tradition could possibly have found its
origins in this milieu.
2.2.1.3. The Evidence for a Thursday Evening Arrest

Approaching the problem from another angle, Jaubert asks whether
there ever existed a tradition which defended the position of a Thursday
evening meal in early Christianity, and if yes, when did it arise in plac-
ing the Last Supper on Thursday evening? The key evidence is found in
1 Corinthians:
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord
Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he
had given thanks he broke it and said: ‘This is my body that is for you. Do
this in remembrance of me. (1 Cor 11:23–24)
This took place on the night before he was betrayed, and not on the night
before his death. What lurks in the background is Jesus’ arrest, not his
death. It is this formula that the earliest liturgy kept.78 Tradition of a com-
memoration of Holy Thursday, argues Jaubert, is not attested before the
second half of the 4th century CE.79
Allusions to a Thursday evening meal appear earlier among ecclesiasti-
cal writers and, significantly according to Jaubert, in the midst of an exe-
getical debate. In his argumentation in Adversus Haereses against those
who held that Jesus died in the twelfth month, Irenaeus of Lyons stated
that Jesus ate the Passover and suffered on the following day:80
Then, when he had raised Lazarus from the dead, and plots were formed
against him by the Pharisees, He withdrew to a city called Ephraim; and
from that place, as it is written “he came to Bethany six days before the Pass-
over,” (John 11:54; 12:1) and going up from Bethany to Jerusalem, he there ate
the Passover and suffered on the day following. (Adv. Haer. II 22, 23)
Apollinaris, bishop of Hierapolis (ca. 165 CE), addressed a polemic about
Easter. Apparently, some people held that:
78
Cf. Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus: “Ton fils. . .qui, alors qu’il était livré à une Pas-
sion volontaire . . . ” (Ed. Dix) 8; Testament of Our Lord Jesus Christ: “Alors qu’il était livré à
une Passion volontaire” (Ed. Rahmani, Mayence, 1899) 41; Apostolic Constitutions 8.12: “La
nuit où il fut livré.” Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 94.
79
The third council of Carthage (AD 397) regulates the eucharistic fast, “excepté au seul
jour anniversaire où est célébrée la Cène du Seigneur,” chap. 29, ed. Mansi, Concil. Ampl.
Collection., vol. III, col. 885. See Jaubert, date de la cène, 94 note 3.
80
Haer. II:22,23 (ed. Harvey, Vol. I) 329.
Le 14, le Seigneur a mangé l’agneau avec ses disciples et que lui-même a

souffert le grand jour des Azimes; ils prétendent que Matthieu dit comme ils
pensent. Mais leur opinion est contraire à la loi et introduit une contradic-
tion dans les Évangiles.81
Apollinaris argued against opponents who held that Jesus celebrated his
Last Supper the day before his death. He rejected this position on the
premise that Jesus could not have died on the festival of Passover. He did
not indicate, however, the exegesis he followed. Another witness, Clement
of Alexandria, held that the date of the Last Supper was dependent on the
day Jesus died, 14 Nisan.82 His position has been shown to depend on a
work by Melito of Sardis, i.e., from the same period as Apollinaris. Thus, it
is around the date 165 CE that the first exegetical difficulties on the Passion
Narratives appear, and with them the position that the Last Supper may
have taken place on the day before Jesus died. For Jaubert, these difficulties
are the result of exegetical deductions, not of liturgical tradition.83
As for the liturgy, it knew only the tradition of the Wednesday. The
original Wednesday fast was preserved in memory of the day when the
bridegroom was taken away: Didascalia “Des jours viendront où l’époux
leur sera enlevé, et alors en ces jours là ils jeûneront.”84 As the memory of
the three-day chronology was disappearing, it became necessary to inter-
pret the liturgical tradition. Peter of Alexandria, who died around 311 CE,
assigned the Wednesday fast to the Jewish authorities’ plot against Jesus,
and the Friday fast to Jesus’ suffering.85 The Apostolic Constitutions 5.15
relates the Wednesday fast to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, and the Fri-
day fast to the Passion.86 As for the Didascalia of Addai (2, 3), it held that
Jesus gave special revelations about his suffering on the Wednesday.
The investigation of Patristic writings confirmed to Jaubert the con-
clusions she had reached from the study of the ancient calendar. First,
Wednesday was the sole possible day for the Passover meal. Second, the
evidence from the earliest Christian tradition, which itself emanated
from a Jewish-Christian perspective, pointed to the same results. As to
the tradition of a Thursday evening meal, it appeared only late in the
Cf. Chron. pas. P.G. 92, 80. (ed. Dindorf, I) 13–14. Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 96–7.
81
82
Cf. G.C.F. 17 (ed. Stählin, Vol. III) 216. Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 97.
83
84
This is also the interpretation of Epiphanius and Victorinus of Petau. Cf. Jaubert, date
de la cène, 99–100.
85
Ep. can., 15 (P.G. 18, 508b); Jaubert, date de la cène, 100.
86
“Il nous a ordonné de jeûner le mercredi et le vendredi, le premier jour à cause de la
trahison, le second à cause de la Passion,” quoted by Jaubert, date de la cène, 101.
38 chapter one
t radition, as a result of exegetical enquiries. The tradition of the Wednes-

day meal was the oldest and most reliable. faced with this evidence, Jau-
bert asked: “les récits évangéliques seraient-ils en contradiction avec la
tradition liturgique?”87
2.3. The Gospels
2.3.1. Solution of the conflict between John and Synoptic Gospels

As noted by Jaubert, the issue of the discrepancies in the Gospels’ accounts
of Jesus’ passion has generated much literature and many hypotheses.88
We have noted above an outline of the problem, and visited some of
the main attempts at suggested reconciliation. Jaubert believed that the
Gospel accounts did not contradict one another. She suggested, rather,
that the Didascalia’s three-day chronology reconciled the discrepan-
cies between the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John. Thus, Jesus
celebrated Passover with his disciples on Tuesday evening, the start of
Passover in the Old Priestly calendar. He was arrested during the night
from Tuesday to Wednesday, and was crucified on Friday, Nisan 14 of the
official calendar. The Passover of the Old Priestly calendar and that of
the official calendar fell three days apart that year, a possibility if one con-
siders the existence of a mitigated calendar among Jewish circles which
gave rise to Christianity. The fact that the Synoptic Gospels present a Last
Supper with Passover characteristics is a (possible) indication that they
preserve a primitive tradition which can only refer to the Passover of the
Old Priestly calendar. In Mark 14:12 the gloss when the Passover lamb is
sacrificed seems to indicate that the first day of unleavened bread was
the day in the evening of which the festival started, hence Nisan 14, and
not Nisan 13.89
The Gospel of John, on the other hand, was interested in the official
calendar.90 This may have been because of its interest in a Hellenistic
87
88
Jaubert mentions the following works for reference: Strack and Billerbeck, op. cit.,
812–53; M.-J. Lagrange, Evangile Selon Saint Marc (Paris: Gabalda, 1942), 354–63; G. Ogg,
Chronology of the Public Ministry of Jesus (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1940),
205–42. For further discussions see: P.J. Heawood, “The Time of the Last Supper,” JQR XLII
(1951–52): 37–44; Torrey, op. cit., 237–50; S. Zeitlin, “The Last Supper as an Ordinary Meal
in the Fourth Gospel,” JQR XLII (1951–52b): 251–60.
89
See Jaubert, date de la cène, 108 notes 1 and 2 for the difficulties associated with this
verse at the time.
90
There are many references to the festivals of Judaism in John’s Gospel: 2: 13 ff. “The
Passover of the Jews was near . . .”; 2: 23 “during the Passover festival . . .”; 6: 4 ff. “the Passover,
audience, who would have celebrated Passover on 15 Nisan.91 This may

also have been because of its primary theological preoccupation, i.e., that
worship in spirit and truth replaced the rites and celebration of what he
viewed as legalistic Judaism (cf. John 2:6–10; 4:11–14). For the author of the
Fourth Gospel, Jesus was the Passover Lamb which surpassed all Temple
sacrifices. In any case, dates are given in the Fourth Gospel according to
the official calendar.92 Thus, it is “Now before the feast of the Passover”
that the meal and the washing of the feet take place ( John 13:1), while it
was “the day of preparation of the Passover”, i.e., the eve of Passover, on
which Pilate’s judgment was rendered (19:14). Thus, the Synoptic Gospels
and the Gospel of John do not allude to the same Passover. The Synop-
tic Gospels follow a liturgical tradition in line with Palestinian catechesis
which is not interested in celebrating Passover according to the official
reckoning. The Fourth Gospel mentions Passover only according to the
official calendar.
In this light, Jaubert solved the difficulty associated with the anoint-
ing at Bethany, and did so without appealing to a transfer on the part of
Mark/Matthew of the anointing within the Passion. Thus for Jaubert the
following chronology emerged:
Saturday evening: anointing at Bethany ( John 12:1–8; Matt 26:6–13;
Mark 14:3–9)
“the following day” ( John 12:12), Sunday, solemn entry in Jerusalem
(Matt 21:1–9; Mark 11:1–10; Luke 19:28–38). Jesus
returns to spend the night at Bethany (Mark 11:11;
Matt 21:17).
“the following day” (Mark 11:12), Monday, Jesus leaves Bethany and
curses the fig tree.
the festival of the Jews, was near. . .”; 7: 2 ff. “Now the Jewish festival of Booths was near. . .”;
7: 37 ff. “Now on the last day of the festival, the great day. . .”
91
See Al-Biruni’s remark that the Magaryas’ observances were only binding for those
who lived in Israel: “Likewise they do not allow the passover except on a Wednesday, nor
do they impose its rules and customs upon anyone except those who live in the land of
the Israelites.” For quote and bibliographical references, see J. Fossum, “The Magharians:
A Pre-Christian Jewish Sect and Its Significance for the Study of Gnosticism and Christian-
ity,” Hen 9 (1987): 304.
92
Yet, as pointed out by Weber, Bulletin ecclésiastique du Diocèse de Strasbourg
(1955) 542, the author of the Fourth Gospel shows a good deal of sensitivity towards
the days of the week, e.g., the sequence in Jn 1:29–2:1. Commentators have long sug-
gested that the wedding at Cana must have taken place on a Wednesday. Cf. Strack and
Billerbeck, op. cit., 398; R. Bultmann, Das Evangelium der Johannes (Göttingen: Vanden-
hoeck & Ruprecht, 1952), 79 note 3. See Jaubert, date de la cène, 110, for a suggestion of a
reading of the time indications in the Cana pericope which may highlight the liturgical
days.
40 chapter one
“the following morning” (Mark 11:20), Tuesday, the disciples notice the fig
tree dried up, they ask where to prepare for the
Passover (Mark 14:12 + //).
“in the evening” Jesus sits down at table with his disciples
(Mark 14:17 + //).
2.3.2. The Events of the Passion in a Three-day Chronology
2.3.2.1. The Synoptic Accounts

There is no explicit indication in the Gospels that Jesus’ Passion lasted
three days. For Jaubert, the key issue with the arrest followed by cruci-
fixion on the next day resides with the sheer number of events which
are supposed to have taken place during a rather short time lapse.93 In
the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus is led before the High Priest (Mark 14:53, 54),
witnesses are sought but not found (Mark 14:55), the first testimonies are
contradictory (Mark 14:56); “later” (Matt 26:60) witnesses accuse Jesus of
wanting to destroy the Temple (Mark 14:56–58; Matt 26:60–61); then the
High Priest delivers his verdict: death. The impression so far is not of a
hasty judgment, but rather of a plenary session of the Sanhedrin in due
form.94 Then mocking takes place, followed by a second session of the San-
hedrin “early in the morning” (Mark 15:1), after which Jesus is taken to
Pilate. There Jesus is questioned several times (Mark 15:2–5; Matt 27:11–14).
He is then sent before Herod (Luke 23:6–12—possibly a legendary event
according to Jaubert). He appears before Pilate a second time, this time
with the Priests and the leaders of the people (Luke 23:13; cf. Matt 27:17).
[Judas is overtaken by remorse and visits the Priests (Matt 27:3)]. The sen-
tence is not passed immediately, but after an exchange with the crowd
and the release of Barrabas (Matt 27:15–26; Mark 15:6–15; Luke 23:13–28).95
After all these, Jesus is scourged and sent to be crucified at the third hour.96
93
Jaubert, date de la cène, 116 “Si Jésus a été arrêté la veille du crucifiement, comment
tant d’événements ont-ils pu trouver place dans le lapse de temps qui s’écoule entre
l’arrestation et la mise en croix?”
94
The Sanhedrin was composed of 71 members (Sanh. 1:6), however, in case of capital
punishment, only 23 members were required (Sanh. 4:1).
95
Jaubert, date de la cène, 118, suggests the Priests must have needed a full day to
manipulate public opinion.
96
Mark’s reckoning is the one adopted by liturgical tradition. Cf. Apostolic Tradition
(Dix ed.) 62–63. Cf. Canons of Hippolytus (ibid.) and the Testament of Our Lord Jesus Christ
(Rahmani ed.) 144–45. Yet, it is likely that this reckoning is the most ancient and viable.
The Apostolic Constitutions (5.14; 8.34) have inserted a more logical time reckoning of: sen-
tence at third hour, execution at sixth hour. But this may be to allow more time for the
events to take place in a context where the three-day chronology is disappearing. It is
Admittedly argues Jaubert, it is difficult to imagine so many events tak-

ing place in such a short lapse of time.97 The appeal to the Gospel of John
complicates the matter even further, as one must also account for the
short stay at Annas’ house, and the questioning before the High Priest
(John 18:13–24).
2.3.2.2. How do the events reported by the evangelists fit together?

There is a contradiction between Mark/Matthew on the one hand and
Luke on the other hand concerning the time of the trial. All Gospels agree
that the three-fold denial of Peter took place during the night following
the arrest of Jesus. However, Mark/Matthew place the trial before the High
Priest within the Peter pericope, i.e., at night (Mark 14:54–72; Matt 26:58–
75). Luke, on the other hand, records the trial during the day (Luke 22:66),
while John implies that the questioning before the High Priest Annas
occurred during the night. This tradition is somewhat echoed by at least
one of the Didascalia’s chronology of the passion, which declares that it
was during the day on Wednesday that Jesus was held at the house of
Caiaphas, while the elders kept counsel about him. The questioning before
the High Priest at night is different from the trial, and there is no reason to
ascribe it to Caiaphas. Interestingly, Tatian’s Diatessaron likewise avoids
the presentation of a night time trial, placing the last two of Peter’s denials
after the interrogation before Annas and before Jesus’ transfer Caiaphas,
while the High Priests and scribes gathered only after that.98 The Didasca-
lia further dates the first appearance before Pilate on the Thursday. This
solves the problem of the second hearing before the Sanhedrin “early in
the morning” in Mark/Matthew. The first session took place on Wednes-
day during the day, while the second took place on Thursday morning.99
interesting to note that Epiphanius, who defends the three-day chronology, defends the
third hour according to Mark and according to John. He claims that some copies of John
have been altered, so that the third hour has now become the sixth hour, a fact known to
Clement, Origen, Eusebius Pamphilius. This is corroborated by Eusebius of Caesarea (P.G.
22) 1009; (P.O. 14) 270–2, and by a fragment of the Chronicon Pascale (ed. Dindorf, I, Bonn,
1892) 10–11. Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 119–20.
97
Jaubert, date de la cène, 118: “Il faut reconnaître qu’une telle compression des faits
n’est guère satisfaisante pour l’esprit.”
98
Arabic text, French trans. (ed. Marmardji, Beyreuth, 1935). See P. Benoit, “Jésus devant
le Sanhédrin,” Ang XX (1943): 158–60, for an example of a modern interpretation following
those lines. Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 121–22.
99
The Mark/Matthew tradition places the hearing in the context of Peter’s denial,
i.e., at night. Further, it mentions only one High Priest: Caiaphas. The loss of perspective
resulted in the portrayal of only one trial, together with the hearing before the High Priest,
in the context of Peter’s denial. Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 121.
42 chapter one
According to Jaubert, a text from the Mishnah tractate Sanhedrin may

bring additional support to the argument that two sessions of Sanhedrin
were needed in the context of Jesus’ trial.100 The text is explicit enough:
In non-capital cases the trial takes place during the day, and the verdict may
be delivered during the night. In capital cases the trial takes place during the
day, and the verdict must also be delivered during the day. In non-capital
cases the verdict of acquittal or condemnation may be delivered the same
day; in capital cases a verdict of acquittal may be delivered the same day,
but a verdict of condemnation may not be delivered until the following day.
For this reason, no trials may be held on the eve of a sabbath or on the eve
of a festival.101 (m. Sanh 4:1)
Thus, it would appear that the Jewish authorities tried Jesus according
requirements of the Jewish Law not entirely different from those recorded
in the Mishnah some one and a half century later, bringing the accusation
of blasphemy against him.102 The regulation of the Mishnah seems to favor
the Didascalia’s three-day chronology. According to this regulation, Jesus
could not have been arrested on the night before a sabbath or a festival.
This rules out an arrest on the Thursday/Friday night, which belongs to
Friday, the day of preparation. Conversely, an arrest on the night from
Tuesday to Wednesday gave hope of a resolution before the festival.103
Jaubert suggested the following chronology to Jesus’ Passion:
Night from Tuesday to Wednesday: Jesus arrested and taken to the High
Priest (Mark 14:53; Luke 22:54) Annas (John 18:13), who questioned him
(John 18:19–23). He was then taken to Caiaphas (John 18:24).
Wednesday, during the day: Jesus was tried in a plenary session of the
Sanhedrin (Mark 14: 55–64 and //), then mocked (Matt 26: 68 and //; Luke
22: 63–65).
Thursday morning: The guilty verdict and the sentence of capital punish-
ment were delivered during a second session before the Sanhedrin, accord-
ing to the Jewish Law (Matt 27:1; Mark 15:1). Jesus was then taken to Pilate
(Matt 27:2; Mark 15:1; Luke 23:1; John 18:28).
100
Jaubert, date de la cène, 123, takes the view that the Mishnah reflects ancient Jewish
legislation.
101
J. Neusner, The Mishnah: A New Translation (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988),
589–90.
102
No early Christian texts accused the Jewish authorities of illegal proceedings in the
matter of Jesus’ trial. Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 124.
103
The three-day chronology thus resolves the contradiction in Mark/Matthew where it
is said that the priests and scribes decided to arrest Jesus not during the festival, and appar-
ently proceeded to arrest him on the eve of passover! Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 125.
Thursday during the day: Jesus appears for the first time before Pilate and
is then sent to Herod (Luke 23:6–12). Jesus is sent back to Pilate and spends
the night in prison.
Friday morning: Second hearing before Pilate (Luke 23:13). Jesus condemned
and crucified at the third hour.
This chronology “montre la cohérence implicite des récits évangel-
iques . . . elle résout ainsi beaucoup d’objections soulevées contre
l’historicité du récit.”104 For Jaubert the double trial of Jesus gave back
to the Jewish trial a legal aspect “auquel les critiques avaient renoncés.”105
The Jewish authorities needed also an official trial and condemnation
by the Roman authorities in order to discredit Jesus among his Gentile
sympathizers.106
2.3.2.3. How could the memory of a three-day Passion have been lost in

the Gospel narratives?
Early Palestinian catechesis was interested in reporting the significance
of the events, rather than their exact chronological order. In the midst of
historical turmoil, e.g. persecution under Nero (64 CE), proclamation of
the kerygma became paramount for early Christians. In this perspective,
what appeared to be duplicated material was compressed, perhaps to sim-
plify catechesis. Thus, the two hearings before the High Priest could be
shortened into one, as could the two sessions before the Sanhedrin. When
catechesis passed onto the Gentile world, the Last Supper was associated
with the Passover of the Diaspora Jews, i.e., 15 Nisan according to the offi-
cial lunar calendar. Allowing for a level of fluidity of the tradition over a
period of time, the true circumstances in which the trial took place were
forgotten.
2.4. Jaubert’s Conclusions
The Gospels confirm the ancient liturgical analogy. The three-day chronol-
ogy, the most ancient attested to in the tradition, resolves the discrepan-
cies between the Gospel of John and the Synoptic Gospels on the subject
of Jesus’ Passion and death.
Further, the thesis brings light to some aspects of early Christian faith
and community. Jesus celebrated Passover following a sacred calendar
104
105
106
See Jaubert, date de la cène, 128–9 for a discussion.
44 chapter one
which regulated the liturgical life of some of the Children of Israel. All the
memories of the priestly tradition were encompassed in the Last Supper.
It replaced all the sacrificial meals of the ancient law.
By dying on Friday, eve of the official Passover, Jesus substituted him-
self for the lamb sacrificed in the Temple. He thus brought together the
double heritage of Israel and fulfilled it. On Wednesday, commemoration
of the essene Passover, Jesus was handed over, and he died on Friday, at
the time when the lambs for the official Passover were being slaughtered.
Together with Sunday, day of the resurrection, these days were God’s signs
for the first Christian Community.
3. The Critics’ Appraisal of the Jaubertian Theory
Jaubert’s theory, somewhat novel when first published, has been outlined
above for convenience. Its publication in 1957 (translated in English in
1965) was followed by a wide range of responses from scholars, ranging
from the most enthusiastic to the highly skeptical. This scrutiny contin-
ues to the time of writing these pages, as indicated by the treatment the
theory received in two notable books published in 2011.107 What follows
visits what are for the present writer the main points raised by scholar-
ship as regards the calendar of Jubilees and its characteristics, the Patristic
evidence of a three-day chronology of Passion Week, and Jaubert’s appli-
cation of it to the Gospel accounts. The areas where further enquiry is
needed are highlighted.
3.1. The Calendar of Jubilees
3.1.1. Its Structure
This aspect of the thesis has, almost unanimously, been accepted by
critics. R.T. Beckwith summed up the consensus well by stating: “she
has proved, to the satisfaction of most scholars, that the solar calendar
expounded in 1 Enoch and the book of Jubilees, and actually practiced at
Qumran, assigned exactly fifty two weeks (364 days) to the year, and that
its new year’s day was a Wednesday.”108 J. Morgenstern rightly pointed out
Benedict XVI, op. cit.; Humphreys, op. cit.

107
Cf. Beckwith, “Cautionary Notes,” 200. In a recent publication Beckwith states: “All
108
students of the Jewish calendar owe a great debt to the late Annie Jaubert. It was she who
demonstrated that the 364-day year, consisting of an exact number of complete weeks, is
Jaubert’s apparent lack of concern for the conclusions of biblical science

regarding the ages and cultural backgrounds of the different literary strata
of the Hexateuch.109 He also emphasized that there was probably more
than one calendar in ancient Israel, and that the calendar of Jubilees was
a “direct outgrowth of the ancient Pentecontad calendar.”110 Morgenstern
proposed his own reconstruction of the calendar, and concluded that his
results showed near-perfect agreement with those proposed by Jaubert,
with the proviso that in his reconstruction the year started on a Tues-
day rather than Wednesday.111 Jaubert successfully refuted this challenge
by reasserting, to the satisfaction of other scholars, that the start of the
year in the Jubilees’s calendar could only have taken place on Wednesday.112
The evidence points thus to a consensus on the characteristics of the cal-
endar of Jubilees. It counted 364 days and was divided in twelve months
and in four time-periods of exactly thirteen weeks each.113 It started on
Wednesday and ensured that holy days and festivals fell every year on
the same day.114
not only championed but exemplified by the Book of Jubilees . . . her [Jaubert’s] basic thesis
that the Book of Jubilees begins each year of history on Wednesday (understood as the day
of the creation of the heavenly luminaries, in accordance with Gen 1:14–19) stands fast.”
See R.T. Beckwith, Calendar, Chronology and Worship: Studies in Ancient Judaism and Early
Christianity (AJEC 61; Leiden: Brill, 2005), 54. Endorsement of this part of Jaubert’s theory
came also from no lesser scholarly authorities than J.M. Baumgarten, “Some Problems of
the Jubilees Calendar in Current Research,” VT 32 (1982): 487; and S. Talmon, “The Cal-
endar of the Covenanters from the Judaean Desert,” in The World of Qumran from Within
(Jerusalem: Magnes, 1989), 147–85.
109
Cf. Morgenstern, op. cit., 34.
110
Morgenstern, op. cit., 34, 55.
111
Morgenstern, op. cit., 59.
112
See the discussion in Jaubert, “Calendrier des Jubilés: jours liturgiques,” 35–44. Also
Talmon, “The Calendar of the Covenanters from the Judaean Desert,” 162. Thus, Ogg’s
objection based on the confusion regarding the start of the year in Jubilees is inconclusive.
Cf. G. Ogg, “Review of Melle Jaubert: La Date de la Cène,” NovT 3 (1959): 150. Other scholars
who have since endorsed Jaubert’s reconstruction of the Jubilees’s calendar include Baum-
garten, “Some Problems”; and J.C. VanderKam, “The Origin, Character and Early History
of the 364-Day Solar Calendar: A Reassessment of Jaubert’s Hypotheses,” CBQ 41 (1979):
390–411.
113
E. Kutsch, “Der Kalendar des Jubiläenbuches und das Alte und das Neue Testament,”
VT 11 (1961): 39–47, has argued that the dates of the Flood story in Jubilees follow the
scheme of a lunar year (354 days) plus 11 days, thus expounding a calendar of 365 days.
But this is clearly a misreading, as Jubilees is explicit as to the length of the year, and the
author clearly means 364 days in the story. Cf. J.C. VanderKam, “Reassessment,” 397.
114
J.T. Rook, “A Twenty-eight-day Month Tradition in the Book of Jubilees,” VT 31 (1981):
83–87, resurrects Epstein’s theory in the light of what he claims to be new evidence con-
cerning the story of creation of Adam and Eve. He argues that the evidence of Jubilees
can only fit a 28-day month, especially in Jub. 3:1–17. Rook, however, does not consider
seriously enough the explicit statements in Jubilees expounding the structure of the year.
46 chapter one
3.1.2. Jaubert’s Methodology
The methodology employed has attracted much criticism. It will be
recalled that Jaubert tabulated the dates of travel of the Patriarchs
recorded in Jubilees in her calendrical table, and deduced that the only
day that remained constantly free of travel must have been the sabbath.
Applying the same methodology to the dates of the Hexateuch, she high-
lighted the same concern for the days of the week and inferred that the
Priestly school knew this calendar.115 It is Baumgarten who mounted the
strongest challenge to this aspect of the thesis.116 He pointed out that sab-
bath regulations were only given to Jacob ( Jub. 2:20–23), and could not,
therefore, have applied to the Patriarchs beforehand. Yet, it is clear from
Jub. 2:17–18 that for the author the sabbath was observed in heaven from
the first week of creation. In this perspective, it is understandable that the
author would not have made any of the Patriarchs travel on the sabbath.117
Baumgarten also questioned some of the interpretations of the passages
in the priestly writings from which Jaubert inferred that the Hexateuch
presupposed a 364-day calendar.118 Although he may be right in some of
his readings, this does not warrant a rejection of Jaubert’s position.
Testuz argued that the method used to determine the start of the year
from the date of the festival of Weeks, which is known in Jubilees as fes-
tival of the Oath, is unreliable because either the author did not know
Lev 23:15, or else ignored it on purpose.119 He also argued that the begin-
ning of the year in Jubilees was a Sunday, because the rule concerning
the slaughter of the Passover sacrifice between the evenings at the start
of I/15 was to protect the sabbath of I/14. To these, one must object that,
For responses to Rook, see J.C. VanderKam, “A Twenty-Eight-Day Month Tradition in the
Book of Jubilees?” VT 32 (1982): 504–6; Baumgarten, “Some Problems”.
115
Kutsch, “Der Kalendar des Jubiläenbuches”, has questioned Jaubert’s conclusions
regarding the dates of the Hexateuch and their transliteration in the Jubilees calendar table.
For replies to his objections, see H. Cazelles, “Sur les origines du calendrier des Jubilés,”
Bib 43 (1962): 202–12; E. Vogt, “Note sur le calendrier du déluge,” Bib 43 (1962): 212–16. Cf.
Ruckstuhl, op. cit., 86.
116
Cf. J.M. Baumgarten, “The Calendar of the Book of Jubilees and the Bible,” Tarbiz 32
(1962): 317–28.
117
Cf. J.C. VanderKam, “Reassessment,” 393. Baumgarten holds that Abraham’s jour-
ney in Jub. 18 necessarily involved the sabbath. VanderKam rejects the assertion that the
patriarch travelled on that day, and suggests that the journey there took place on I/15,
16, 17; I/18 was the sabbath, and the journey back took place on I/19, 20, 21. For a reply to
VanderKam’s criticism, see Baumgarten, “Some Problems,” 486.
118
Especially Gn 8:4 the date VII/17; Exod 16:1; Num 10:11–12a, 13; Josh 4:19. Cf. J.C.
VanderKam, “Reassessment,” 394.
119
M. Testuz, Les idées religieuses du livre des Jubilés (Paris: Minard, 1960), 147–9, 159–61.
a) it is unthinkable the author of Jubilees would not have complied with

the Leviticus rule if he was aware of the rule; b) although the festival is
known as festival of the Oath in Jubilees, it is clear that the author intends
an identification with the festival of Weeks ( Jub. 6:17–22); c) the author is
explicit as to the meaning of “between the evenings” ( Jub. 49:10).120
It must be considered that the Essenes, repositories of the Jubilees cal-
endar, engineered the calendar by noticing that by making the year start
on Wednesday, festival days would never fall on the sabbath. Thus, the
author of 1 Enoch shaped his calendar around the biblical events, and “the
author of Jubilees reversed this process and shaped the events of his book
around the revealed calendar.”121 This position fails to consider seriously,
however, the importance of the sabbath and of the sabbatical week. This
particular time unit is shown to have been part of the Pentecontad calen-
dar, and may be older.122 Israel was used to the 364-day calendar as a time
reckoning device which ensured that festival days and sabbaths never
clashed. Above all, although this calendar may not have been the only
one in ancient Israel, the Priestly writings do show an implicit knowledge
of it, as shown by Jaubert. The Jubilees calendar is unlikely to have been
made up sometime in the second century BCE. Rather, all evidence points
to its antiquity.
We have noted above some of the reservations raised by scholars
regarding the methodology employed. Some of these reservations still
stand today, especially concerning the interpretation of some of the dates
collected by Jaubert in the Priestly writings. Yet, the sum of these objec-
tions does not form a compelling argument against Jaubert’s assertion
that the 364-day calendar was already known to the Priestly writers.
3.1.3. History of the Calendar and the Liturgical Days

Jaubert confidently stated that the calendar of Jubilees and 1 Enoch, evi-
denced in the Qumran documents (available to her at the time), and iden-
tified in the backdrop of the Priestly writings of the Hebrew bible, was
one and the same calendar.123 The calendar had undergone some kind of
120
Cf. Ruckstuhl, op. cit., 76–9.
R.T. Beckwith, Calendar and Chronology, Jewish and Christian: Biblical, Intertestamen-
121
tal and Patristic Studies (AJEC 33; Leiden: Brill, 1996), 104.
122
Cf. Morgenstern, op. cit.
123
It is now clear that this position was somewhat off the mark. J.J. Obermann, “Calen-
daric Elements in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” JBL XXV (1956): 285–97, doubted that the Qum-
ran calendar could possibly be identified with that of Jubilees. See also J.T. Milik, Dix ans
de découvertes dans le désert de Juda (Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1957), 70 ff. More recently,
48 chapter one
evolution: the 364-day framework became lost, while the liturgical days
retained their appeal and importance. Baumgarten has raised one strong
objection concerning the liturgical days. He rightly pointed out that Jubi-
lees nowhere refers to the days of the week, but only dates events accord-
ing to the day of the month.124 Thus, there appears to be little support for
Jaubert’s assertion that the calendar of Jubilees was designed to valorize
the liturgical days. Nevertheless, the extensive evidence put forward by
Jaubert herself remains.125 Granted that Jubilees does not explicitly men-
tion the days of the week, the fact is that in the vast majority, festival days,
first days of the months and significant events fall on Wednesdays, Fridays
or Sundays, and by far outweigh the occurrences of such events on any of
the other days. This is also true for a good deal of the numerical dates of
the Hexateuch. The purpose of Jubilees may not have been to focus on the
liturgical days, but it is evident that it implicitly highlighted them.126
As to the history of the calendar, Jaubert proposes that it antedated the
book of Ezekiel. Thus it must have existed at the time of the exile, pos-
sibly before. It evolved through the following centuries under the influ-
ence of foreign rule. The Maccabean revolt marked a crux in the history
of this calendar and provided the departure from the liturgical days in the
official calendar. VanderKam contributed to the argument and suggested
that the gĕzērȏt (decrees) of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Seleucid ruler at
the time of the revolt, imposed a change of cultic calendar in the Temple,
U. Glessmer has echoed the differences between Jubilees and 1 Enoch, and has suggested
a new designation for the calendar: the 364 Day Tradition Calendar, as opposed to solar
calendar, as the calendar is clearly not aligned with the true solar year. See U. Glessmer,
“The Otot-Texts (4Q319) and the Problem of Intercalation in the Context of the 364-Day
Calendar,” in Qumranstudien: Vorträge und Beiträge der Teilnehmer des Qumranseminars
auf dem internationalen Treffen der Society of Biblical Literature, Münster, 25–26 Juli 1993
(eds H.J. Fabry, A. Lange, and H. Lichtenberger; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht,
1996), 143–5. Also U. Glessmer, “Calendars in the Qumran Scrolls,” in The Dead Sea Scrolls
After Fifty Years: A Comprehensive Assessment (eds P.W. Flint and J.C. VanderKam; Leiden:
Brill, 1999), 213–78; and U. Glessmer, “Investigation of the Otot-Text (4Q319) and Questions
About Methodology,” in Methods of Investigation of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Khirbet
Qumran Site, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 722 (eds M. Wise, et al.; New
York: New York Academy of Sciences, 1994), 429–40. J. VanderKam has evidenced the lack
of homogeneity between the calendrical texts of the Qumran library. Cf. J.C. VanderKam,
Calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Measuring Time (London: Routledge, 1998).
124
Baumgarten, “The Calendar of the Book of Jubilees and the Bible,” 319–20.
125
126
In this regard we find VanderKam’s assertion, that there are no warrants in Jubilees to
accept Jaubert’s thesis regarding the liturgical days, slightly misleading. It might be helpful
to qualify the statement and suggest that nothing explicitly warrants Jaubert’s position. Cf.
J.C. VanderKam, “Reassessment,” 401.
where traditional sacrifices and the keeping of festivals were prohibited,

resulting in the desecration of the Holy of Holies in 167 BCE.127 This, argues
VanderKam, provided the terminus ad quem of the calendar in terms of its
official status as a liturgical calendar of the Temple. Such a backdrop best
accounts for the polemic tone of the Qumran documents, for the sudden
polemic on calendrical issues, and for the lack of evidence in the pre-
Maccabean era demonstrating the use of a lunar calendar to determine
the festivals.128 The exact history of this particular calendar in the official
circles is relevant to the purpose of this enquiry, and much will be gained
from an understanding of its milieu up to the first century CE. Its contin-
ued use beyond the Maccabean revolt, and probably well inside the first
century CE, begs the question of its practicability. To this we now turn.
3.1.4. The Question of Intercalation in the 364-day Calendar

The efforts of the authors of 1Enoch and Jubilees suggested to Barthélémy
that the calendar they expounded was all but utopia.129 We noted earlier
that Jaubert admitted that the question of intercalation was vexed by the
lack of extant textual evidence.130 The discrepancy between the true solar
year and the 364-day year is such that the latter would soon fall in arrears
without proper intercalation, i.e., the New Year would come every year
more than one day ahead, resulting after a number of years in a total
disconnect between the 364-Day calendar and the cycle of the seasons.
For this reason, many scholars hold that the 364-Day year could not have
been more than an idealized scheme.131 Yet, the fact that the Dead Sea
Scrolls evidence its use over a period of more than two centuries strongly
127
Cf. Dan 8:1–14; 9:27; 11:31; 12:11; 1 Macc 1:41–61; 2:15–26; 2 Macc 6:1–11. Cf. J.C. VanderKam,
“Reassessment”.
128
J.C. VanderKam, “2 Maccabees 6, 7a and Calendrical Change in Jerusalem,” JSJ 12
(1981): 52–74. This conclusion has been challenged by P. R. Davies, who shows that the
364-days calendar was not in use anymore in the circles that wrote the book of Esther, and
prefers Jaubert’s solution of an amended calendar by the time of the second century BCE.
Cf. P.R. Davies, “Calendrical Change and Qumran Origins: An Assessment of VanderKam’s
Theory,” CBQ 45 (1983): 80–9.
129
Barthélemy, op. cit.
130
Jaubert, date de la cène. Segal rejected the assertion that the calendar of the Israelites
was based on computation before the exile, and stated “it is for this reason that the calen-
dar of Jubilees, composed probably in the second century BC, cannot have been ancient.”
Cf. J.B. Segal, “Intercalation,” 251.
131
Morgenstern, op. cit; J.B. Segal, “Intercalation,” 251. J.T. Milik, The Books of Enoch:
Aramaic Fragments of Qumrân Cave 4 (Oxford: Clarendon, 1976), 8, states: “in the Persian
period this calendar was of a chiefly theoretical nature . . . it was only the Essenes who
introduced it effectively in their liturgical life.”
50 chapter one
s uggests that intercalation must have taken place. Several schemes of

intercalation, which would have brought the 364-day calendar in line
with the true solar year, have been suggested, but without evidence they
remain entirely conjectural.132
Admittedly, the lack of evidence weakens Jaubert’s thesis considerably
as without intercalation, by 124 BCE the 364-day calendar would have
been at least a month off the true solar year. By the time of Jesus, the
discrepancy would have been of at least half a year, enough to rule out
completely the possibility of a 364-day calendar Passover falling on the
same week as the official Passover.133 The difficulty is enhanced by the
fact that the exact date of introduction and start of operation of this cal-
endar remains unknown. Likewise, the exact nature of the computation
of the lunar/official calendar is still to be determined. The task, therefore,
of determining with certainty the occurrences of the sacerdotal Passover
and the official Passover falling in the same week appears very difficult to
resolve.134 Nevertheless, the absence of textual evidence cannot of itself
justify the assertion that intercalation did not take place in the 364-day
year calendar.
3.2. Patristic Evidence: A Three-day Chronology of Jesus’ Passion
3.2.1. The Didascalia Apostolorum

The critical response has, on the whole, been less than favorable concern-
ing Patristic sources put forward by Jaubert evidencing a tradition based
on a three-day chronology of Jesus’ Passion.135 The main pillar support-
ing the thesis is chapter 21 of the Didascalia Apostolorum. Jaubert’s critics
132
Cf. Jaubert, date de la cène, 142–59; E.R. Leach, “A Possible Method of Intercalation for
the Calendar of the Book of Jubilees,” VT 7 (1957): 392–7; Testuz, op. cit., 127–8; E. Kutsch,
“Die Solstitien in Kalender des Jubiläenbuches und in äth. Henoch 72,” VT 12 (1962): 205–07;
Kutsch, “Die Solstitien”; Ruckstuhl, op. cit., 91–6; A.R.C. Leaney, The Rule of Qumran and Its
Meaning (NTL; London: SCM, 1966), 85. R.T. Beckwith, “The Modern Attempt to Reconcile
the Qumran Calendar with the True Solar Year,” Revue de Qumrân 7 (1969–71a): 379–96.
The latter offers some objections to the above scholars, and argues that there was neither
a hypothetical nor a practical need for intercalation, as the Essenes did not partake in the
sacrifices of the Temple. Cf. R.T. Beckwith, “The Qumran Calendar and the Sacrifices of the
Essenes,” RevQ 7 (1969–71b): 587–91. Further bibliographical references on the question of
intercalation of the 364-day calendar are given below, chapter 4 note 63.
133
Cf. Beckwith, “Modern Attempt,” 396.
134
Cf. Ogg, “Review of Jaubert,” 150; Beckwith, Calendar and Chronology, 292.
135
E. Ruckstuhl is a noticeable exception. In his Chronology, 56–72, he devotes a full
chapter to the witnesses to the three-day chronology, and investigates the decline of the
tradition. He largely agrees with Jaubert’s thesis.
argue that this passage is a secondary development out of the fasting prac-
tice of the church.136 Connolly sums up the main purpose of the author of
the Didascalia thus:
To show the reason why the fast before Easter should extend over the whole
six days, from Monday to Saturday. To the end he adopts, and probably
invents, a strange chronology of Holy Week for which there is no shadow of
authority in the Gospels.137
The view commonly held is that early Christians started to fast on Wednes-
days and Fridays as a reaction to the practice of the hypocrites, who fasted
on Mondays and Thursdays (Didache 8:1). Only in the second or third cen-
tury did the meaning given to this fast—Wednesday for the sin of the
Jews in arresting Jesus, Friday for the crucifixion—become the basis for a
“fanciful” chronology of Passion week.138
3.2.2. Epiphanius
The testimony of the Bishop of Salamis is rejected by critics on the prem-
ise that it was largely dependent on the Didascalia,139 and on the strong
suspicion on the part of experts concerning Epiphanius’ critical abilities.140
The fact remains that Epiphanius’ forcefulness in objecting the view, held
by some of his contemporaries, that Jesus was arrested on Thursday night,
is a possible indication that this view was perceived to be wrong.141 In any
case, one may argue that had Epiphanius been a proponent of the Thurs-
day evening tradition, he may well have been dependent on the Didasca-
lia for this tradition too.
3.2.3. Victorinus of Petau
The main objection to Victorinus’ witness is not his lack of independence
from the Didascalia,142 but the assertion that a tradition, which is common
136
Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, 25. This argument was first developed by Holl, op. cit.
137
Cf. Connolly, op. cit. Cited by M. Black, “The Arrest and Trial of Jesus and the Date
of the Last Supper,” in New Testament Essays (ed. A.J.B. Higgins; Manchester: Manchester
University Press, 1959), 28.
138
139
Ogg, “Review of Jaubert,” 153; Black, op. cit., 29.
140
Ogg, “Review of Jaubert,” 153. This point is acknowledged by Jaubert, Jaubert, date
de la cène, 89.
141
Holl, op. cit., 206; Ruckstuhl, op. cit., 68.
142
M. Black is not positively confident that Victorinus’ De Fabrica Mundi was entirely
independent of the Didascalia. He points to the phrase “c’est pourquoi nous faisons du
quatrième jour un jour de jeûne” as a likely dependence of the Didascalia. Cf. Black,
op. cit., 29.
52 chapter one
to both Victorinus and the Didascalia, must necessarily be older than the
two works which testify to the tradition. Jerome states that Victorinus
used the work of Origen, and it is likely that he also used the Didascalia.143
3.2.4. Things as they Stand

Most of Jaubert’s critics were content to base their assessment of Jaubert
on the independent appraisals of the Didascalia by Holl and Connolly.
For them, the Didascalia’s three-day chronology bore no resemblance to
the Gospels, but rather was the result of an over-enthusiastic elaboration
designed to offer a theological justification for the days of fast during Holy
Week. As a plausible historical tradition it had little to stand on.144 Against
Jaubert, Ogg rejected the contention that the tradition which portrayed
the three-day chronology could go back to a period of time very close
to the events, and could be independent and flowing from the liturgical
tradition of the primitive church.145
Clearly, to reject the tradition on the grounds that it did not reflect
the Gospel accounts, as Connolly did, was simply to ignore the possibil-
ity that a very early tradition—or traditions—might have existed, which
though it/they shaped the liturgical life of the early church because of its/
their plausible connections to the historical memory of the events, had
little influence on the later compositions of the Gospel accounts.146 The
key question revolves around the antiquity of this or these traditions, not
on the reliability of the character of its witnesses, or the sources they used.
If it can be shown that there exists a Wednesday-arrest tradition predat-
ing the Thursday-arrest tradition, then the antiquity of this tradition will
be asserted. Subsequent witnesses who refer to this tradition will there-
fore not be considered with skepticism, but as reliable witnesses of this
ancient tradition.
In this respect Jaubert’s contribution in a number of subsequent pub-
lications designed to further the case for the three-day chronology in the
Patristic traditions must be taken into account.147 Sadly, this evidence has
143
Ogg, “Review of Jaubert,” 154.
144
Black, op. cit., 29; C.S. Mann, “The Chronology of the Passion and the Qumran Calen-
dar,” CQR 160 (1959): 452; O’Flynn, op. cit., 62; X. Léon-Dufour, “La date de la Cène,” RSR 3
(1960): 491; Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, 25; Marshall, Last Supper and Lord’s Supper, 73.
145
Ogg, “Review of Jaubert.”
146
This is a key aspect of the discussion, which will require further enquiry at a later
stage.
147
A.M. Jaubert, “Une discussion Patristique sur la chronologie de la passion,” RSR 54
(1966): 407–10; “Une lecture du lavement des pieds au mardi / mercredi saint,” Mus 79
largely been ignored by critics, and subsequent assessments of Jaubert’s

thesis have failed to consider seriously the weight of the large body of
evidence she assembled.
3.3. Jaubert’s Application of the Three-day Chronology to the Gospel

Accounts
Undoubtedly, it is this aspect of the thesis which has most attracted the
attention of scholars. The possibility of applying to the reconciliation of
the Passion Narratives the existence of two different calendars not based
on differences of lunar observations but differing in their manner of com-
putation, had on the whole eluded scholars. A few solutions had been
suggested based on the differences in determining the start of the month
of Nisan the year Jesus died. These, as argued above, are weakened by
the lack of evidence available. It is then understandable that the novelty
suggested by Jaubert should generate as much interest as it did. In what
follows we consider the positive and negative responses.
3.3.1. Positive Responses to Jaubert’s Thesis

Those scholars who support Jaubert’s position have most readily wel-
comed the extra time allowed by the three-day chronology for the unfold-
ing of the events.148 For these scholars, those who maintain that all the
events recorded in the Gospels could well fit the picture painted by the
Gospel accounts of a Thursday evening last supper, followed by a Friday
crucifixion, must address the challenge forcefully. Conversely, as argued
by Jaubert, it is likely that the arrest, the interrogation before the high
priest, the trial (assuming for a moment there really was only one ses-
sion of the Sanhedrin), the transfer to and questioning before Pilate, the
appearance before Herod and the return before the Roman Consul, the
public trial, then all the preparation for the crucifixion and the execution
itself, took far longer than the texts suggest.149 To suggest otherwise is to
(1966): 257–86; “Le mercredi où Jésus fut livré,” NTS 14 (1967–68): 145–64; “Le mercredi de
Nouvel An chez les Yezidis,” Bib 49 (1968): 244–48.
148
For Jaubert’s suggested chronology, see date de la cène, 125–33.
149
Scholars who point to this aspect of the thesis are E. Vogt, “Une lumière nouvelle
sur la semaine de la Passion,” Christus XI (1956): 408–13; F.F. Bruce, “Review of ‘La Date de
la Cène’,” JSS 2 (1958): 219–21; O’Flynn, op. cit.; N. Walker, “Jaubert’s Solution to the Holy
Week Problem,” ExpTim 72 (1959–60): 93–94; Mann, op. cit.; Ruckstuhl, op. cit., 35–55;
R.E. Brown, New Testament Essays (New York: Image Books, 1968), 212–14, with some
strong objections; E.E. Ellis, The Gospel of Luke (2nd ed.; London: Marshall, Morgan and
Scott, 1974), 250; Barrett, op. cit., 550–1, with some reservations.
54 chapter one
allow for a readiness of all the characters involved to play their parts in a
synchronized fashion that perhaps befits better a twenty first century dra-
matized screenplay than a first century succession of events which claim
at their root a historical dimension.
Jaubert’s suggestion that the account in Mark appears to have under-
gone some kind of compression has been echoed by some form critics,
who point to the evidence of ‘telescoping’ of events in the Gospels.150 Such
‘telescoping’, it is alleged, is founded on the principle of ‘contemporary
historiography’, which focuses on the dramatic portrayal of the event,
Jesus’ Passion in this case, rather than on an orderly recollection of the
exact sequence of events.151 Thus, the short chronology is the result of com-
pressing and reduction of events for a rhetorical purpose, rather than a
true reflection of the actual sequence. Its aim is catechesis, not historical
recording.152 A close examination of the Gospel accounts, independent of
any calendrical issues, appears to confirm Jaubert’s conclusions. The texts
themselves do suggest a long chronology.153
More importantly, the three-day chronology allows for the regula-
tions of the Mishnah tractate concerning trials in capital cases to be met
(m. Sanh. 4:1).154 As already alluded to, this legislation insists that in cases
150
M. Black, “Arrest and Trial”, extends T.W. Manson’s thesis of ‘telescoping’ in Mark’s
account of Holy Week, and identifies traces of compression in the Synoptics’ Passion Nar-
rative. E. Trocmé, The Formation of the Gospel According to Mark (trans. SPCK; London:
SPCK, 1975), 234 note 2, supports the view that the way the Passion story was collated in
Mark is an indicator consistent with the proposition of a Tuesday evening Last Supper.
See also Ellis, op. cit., 250.
151
Cf. Black, op. cit., 25. In this perspective, the portrayal of a nocturnal trial of Jesus
heightens significantly the whole dynamic surrounding the denial of Peter.
152
For an opposite view, see P. Benoit, “Le procés de Jésus,” ExeTh 1 (1961a): 260, who
rejects the ‘blocage des pespectives’ and the ‘lois de compréssion et réduction des ana-
logues’ argued by Jaubert. See below.
153
Cf. Vogt, “Lumière nouvelle”; N. Walker, “Pauses in the Passion Story and Their Sig-
nificance for Chronology,” NovT 6 (1963a): 16–19; Ruckstuhl, op. cit., 35–55.
154
Vogt, “Lumière nouvelle,” 418–9, sees in the three-day chronology a solution to
the ‘casse-tête’ concerning the deliberations of the Sanhedrin. See also Mann, op. cit.,
452; N. Walker, “Yet Another Look at the Passion Chronology,” NovT 6 (1963b): 286–89,
argues against J. Blinzler, “Das Synedrium von Jerusalem und die Strafprozessordnung der
Mishna,” ZNW 52 (1961): 54–65, that in Roman Herodian times, the Sadducees had to
follow the more influential Pharisees in judicial matters; Ruckstuhl, op. cit., 41–5; Brown,
New Testament Essays, 212, with the reservation that no evidence exists to suggest that the
mishnaic legislation in this matter was enforced at Jesus’ time; Ellis, op. cit., 250. In “Les
séances du Sanhédrin et les récits de la passion,” RHR 166 (1964): 143–69, and “Les séances
du Sanhédrin et les récits de la passion,” RHR 167 (1965): 1–33, Jaubert revisited the ques-
tion of the trial of Jesus and augmented the case for the importance of the Mishnaic regu-
lation in the case of Jesus’ trial. She concludes that a legal Jewish trial is simply impossible
of capital punishment, a trial cannot be held on the eve of a festival, and

therefore could neither be held on Nisan 14 nor on Nisan 15. Further, delib-
erations and verdict cannot occur on the same day. The verdict must be
delivered, and the sentence carried out, on the day following the day of the
trial. It must be stressed again at this point that Christian authors never
accused the Jewish authorities of illegal judicial proceedings in Jesus’ trial.155
If the Mishnah regulation was in effect, the delivery of the verdict could
take place only on Thursday morning, and the first session of the Sanhe-
drin on Wednesday morning. In any case, traces of a tradition of an earlier
supper and subsequent arrest have been found in John 13:1 Πρὸ δὲ τῆς
ἑορτῆ τοῦ πάσχα.156 Further, in John 18:28, Jesus is taken to Pilate at dawn,
and therefore the early morning session could not have taken place at the
same time. This alone points to an at-least-two-day chronology in John.157
The long chronology dispenses with the difficulties raised by the Thurs-
day evening supper that, a) the Fourth Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
cannot all be correct a priori; b) all the events can hardly fit in one night;
and c) it is highly improbable that all participants, from the Priests to
Pilate, the soldiers and the mob, all acted in a well orchestrated and syn-
chronized manner.158 In any case, it is almost incomprehensible that the
Tuesday night tradition could have grown out of the Gospel accounts.159
The opposite development, however, makes sense in the light of the prin-
ciple of telescoping of contemporary historiography. An original Tuesday
evening supper, a Passover, was shifted to the night before Jesus’ death.
The Tuesday evening tradition would appear to be more antique than the
Thursday evening tradition.160
Lastly, scholars have credited Jaubert for strengthening the case for
calendrical confusion at the time of Jesus.161 Vogt proposed reconstruction
in the short chronology, while to surrender entirely the historicity of the Sanhedrin legal
trial is equally impossible.
155
Vogt, “Lumière nouvelle,” 418–9. See also P. Winter, G. Vermes, and T.A. Burkill, eds,
On the Trial of Jesus (SJ 1; Berlin: De Gruyter, 1961).
156
Black, op. cit., 26ff.
157
Ruckstuhl, op. cit., 50–1.
158
N. Walker, “Concerning the Jaubertian Chronology of the Passion,” NovT 3 (1959):
317–20.
159
A. Gilmore, “The Date and Significance of the Last Supper,” SJT 3 (1961): esp. 266.
160
A. Jaubert has shown the antiquity of the Tuesday tradition in subsequent publica-
tions. Cf. “Lavement Des Pieds”; “Discussion Patristique”; Jaubert, “Le mercredi où Jésus
fut livré”.
161
O’Flynn, op. cit., 62; L. Morris, The Gospel According to John (London: Marshall, Mor-
gan and Scott, 1971), 784. J. Nolland, Luke (WBC 35a; Dallas, Texas: Word Books, 1993), 1024,
regards Jaubert’s thesis as the best-defended calendrical solution ‘by far’.
56 chapter one
of the calendar.162 He concluded that, allowing for a computation of the

official Lunar Calendar on a three year cycle with a one day plus remain-
der, the adjustment would bring the official celebration of Passover during
the same week as the “sectarian” Passover, a day later than the “sectarian”
Tuesday evening celebration in the first year, i.e., Wednesday evening; two
days in the fourth year, i.e., Thursday evening; and three days in the sev-
enth year, i.e., Friday evening. The data of the Gospel would thus reflect
the calendar of the seventh year, and would strongly support Jaubert’s
thesis.163 In this perspective on the social and religious background to the
events surrounding Jesus’ ministry and death and resurrection, the exis-
tence of a group of more orthodox Jews who followed an alternative cal-
endar and celebrated Passover earlier could make “a deviation from the
official timetable by Jesus somewhat more probable.”164 Several scholars
are in favor, rightly we think, of pursuing the avenue of two conflicting
calendars to explain the discrepancies.165
3.3.2. Objections to Jaubert’s Thesis

Not all scholars accepted in full, or in part, the new chronology. Jaubert’s
premise that the Gospel accounts reflected a “blocages des perspectives”
and, therefore, had been under the influence of a law of “compréssion et
réduction des analogues” was disputed, among others, by Benoit.166 The
latter pointed out that chronology mattered for early catechesis, and for
this reason preferred to see in the Gospels an objective memory. For him,
the only problem with the Synoptic Gospels’ tradition is that it gave the
Last Supper a Passover dimension that it never really had because of its
anticipatory character.167 But to speak of “gauchissement” is, to say the
162
E. Vogt, “Antiquum kalendarium sacerdotale,” Bib 36 (1955): 403 ff.
163
Mann, op. cit., 447.
164
Although Marshall, Last Supper and Lord’s Supper, 74, does not pursue this line, but
favours the approach taken by those scholars who consider the Johannine chronology to
be right. See also Marshall, Luke, 790.
165
C.H. Dodd, Historical Tradition of the Fourth Gospel (Cambridge: Cambridge Univer-
sity Press, 1963), 111 note 2, with a preference for the Billerbeck approach; Morris, op. cit.,
785; Ellis, op. cit., 249–50; Nolland, op. cit., 1024–5; Nodet and Taylor, Origins of Christianity,
88; B. Witherington III, The Gospel of Mark. A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids,
MI: Eerdmans, 2001), 371.
166
Benoit, “Le procés de Jésus”. Idem: “Jésus devant le Sanhédrin,” ExeTh 1 (1961b): 290–
311; “Le procés de Jésus selon J. Blinzler et P. Demann,” ExeTh 1 (1961c): 312–14; Passion et
résurrection du Seigneur (Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1966).
167
Benoit, “Le procés de Jésus,” 260: “le seule gauchissement de la tradition synoptique
aura été de donner un charactère pleinement pascal à ce qui n’a pu être en réalité qu’une
évocation anticipée de la Pâque du lendemain.” A more recent, and admittedly more
least, an understatement. It is hard to believe that Jewish eyewitnesses

could have made such a mistake as to confuse the eve of Passover with
the festival itself.168 In the tradition, the memory of the meal as a Passover
elaborate, formulation of the view that the Passover characteristics of Jesus’ last supper in
the Synoptic Gospels accounts are the result of later additions, and therefore that Jesus’
last supper was not a Jewish Passover meal, is articulated by Meier, op. cit., 395 ff, and
endorsed in part by Pope Benedict XVI, in his Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week, 111 ff. Whereas
Meier argues in favour of later additions in the markan passion narrative by the author or
by a redactor [Meier assumes Markan Priority], Pope Benedict, following a hermeneutic of
faith and history, proposes that Jesus celebrated his Passover with the disciple, as a fulfill-
ment of the old Jewish Passover. For the Pope, this was not the traditional Jewish Passover
but Jesus’ Passover. The Pope writes: “We have to ask, though, what Jesus’ Last Supper
actually was. And how did it acquire its undoubtedly early attribution of Passover charac-
ter? The answer given by Meier is astonishingly simple and in many respects convincing:
Jesus knew that he was about to die. He knew that he would not be able to eat the Passover
again. Fully aware of this, he invited his disciples to a Last Supper of a very special kind,
one that followed no specific Jewish ritual but, rather, constituted his farewell; during the
meal he gave them something new: he gave them himself as the true Lamb and thereby
instituted his Passover.” On the premise that Luke 22:15–16 is an indication that Jesus did
not eat the Jewish Passover with his disciples, the Pope continues: “One thing emerges
clearly from the entire tradition: essentially, this farewell meal was not the old Passover,
but the new one, which Jesus accomplished in this context. Even though the meal that
Jesus shared with the Twelve was not a Passover meal according to the ritual prescriptions
of Judaism, nevertheless, in retrospect, the inner connection of the whole event with Jesus’
death and Resurrection stood out clearly. It was Jesus’ Passover. And in this sense he both
did and did not celebrate the Passover: the old rituals could not be carried out—when
their time came, Jesus had already died. But he had given himself, and thus he had truly
celebrated the Passover with them. The old was not abolished; it was simply brought to
its full meaning.” See Benedict XVI, op. cit., 111 ff. If this is so, it is surprising to find that an
important and noteworthy early adept of the Johannine chronology in the tradition such
as Irenaeus of Lyons fails to acknowledge the proposed distinction between the Jewish
Passover and the last Passover celebrated by Jesus. The disciple of Polycarp, who himself
was a disciple of the fourth evangelist, observes in a passage that follows immediately
after a passage already quoted above and concerned with the refutation of those who held
that Jesus died in the twelfth month, that Jesus came three times to Jerusalem during his
public ministry to celebrate the Passover: “. . . going up from Bethany to Jerusalem, he there
ate the Passover, and suffered on the day following. Now, that these three occasions of
the Passover are not included within one year, every person whatever must acknowledge.
And that the special month in which the Passover was celebrated, and in which also the
Lord suffered, was not the twelfth, but the first, those men who boast that they know all
things, if they know not this, may learn it from Moses” (Haer. II 22, 23). There appears to
be no question for Irenaeus, in his adoption of the Johannine chronology, that the third
Passover Jesus ate in Jerusalem during his public ministry was, just like the first and the
second, the Passover of Moses (the institution of which is recounted in Exod 12), and not
an anticipated Passover or a fulfillment of the Passover before the Jewish Passover.
168
Cf. A.M. Jaubert, “Jésus et le calendrier de Qumrân,” NTS 7 (1961–62): 29, where she
states: “On ne peut admettre que des témoins occulaires Juifs aient confondu la veille de
la Pâque avec la Pâque elle-même. . .la nuit de la Pâque dans sa solennité même n’est pas
une nuit interchangeable.”
58 chapter one
celebration was such that it could not be changed, even in the context of
a catechesis to the Gentiles.169
Benoit’s failure, and with him that of all the scholars who accept the
Gospel chronology of Jesus’ Passion prima facie, is not to allow for any
development of the different traditions. Such developments did occur, as
is witnessed, for example, in Epiphanius’ resistance against the alteration
concerning the hour of the crucifixion in John’s Gospel from the third to
the sixth hour.170 Leaving aside momentarily the question of the original
language in which the Gospel of John was written, it is unwise, in the
view of the example above, to assume uncritically that the Gospel Passion
Narratives record the objective, original tradition with regard to the chro-
nology of the events. The short chronology raises many difficulties, not
least that of the quasi-impossibility to fit all the events in a mere twelve
hours. Further, the traces of “telescoping” identified in the Synoptic Gos-
pels cannot be discarded lightly. Although the last week of Jesus’ ministry,
as portrayed in Mark, appears to have lasted just that, it is highly probable
that the evangelist has compressed events which in reality may well have
occurred over a period of several months.171 Confirmation of this can be
deduced from John’s Gospel, which implies a two-year + chronology for
Jesus’ ministry, while the Synoptic Gospels may simply portray a one year
ministry of Jesus.
It is of no surprise, therefore, to note that the first main objection raised
against the long chronology is its apparent questioning of the Gospel
accounts: the texts are unambiguous in suggesting that the supper and
arrest took place the night before Jesus was executed.172 But this position
obviously depends on the assumption that the Gospels are faithful to the
169
Jaubert, “Jésus et le calendrier de Qumrân,” 29.
170
Cf. Ruckstuhl, op. cit., 46–8. For further discussion on the hour of the crucifixion,
see: Torrey, op. cit., 248–9, where the author, assuming an Aramaic writing of the Gospel,
suggests that the alteration from 3 to 6 is due to a confusion between the letter gimel, sign
for the numeral 3, and the letter waw, sign for the numeral 6. N. Walker, “The Dating of
the Last Supper,” JQR 47 (1957): 293–95, proposes against Torrey that John of Ephesus is
using an Asiatic reckoning of twelve hours from midnight to mid-day, the 6th hour being
the time of condemnation, and the 9th hour the time of crucifixion. This proposition, how-
ever, fails to account for the discrepancies between the different Johannine manuscripts
as testified by Epiphanius.
171
See above. On the formation of the Gospel of Mark, see Trocmé, op. cit.
172
Cf. Benoit, “Le procés de Jésus,” 260; Morris, op. cit., 783–4; W.L. Lane, The Gospel
According to Mark (The New London Commentary on the New Testament; London: Mar-
shall, Morgan and Scott, 1974), 498–9 note 33; France, “Chronologie,” 12; Beckwith, Calendar
and Chronology, 296; Brown, Death of the Messiah, 1366; D.L. Bock, Luke 9:51—24:53 (Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1996), 1957–8; Nodet and Taylor, Origins of Christianity, 215.
original chronology, a conclusion that cannot be substantiated beyond

doubt, as we have seen, by the internal evidence and by the testimony
of some of the Fathers. It is also argued that the short chronology allows
enough time for the events of Jesus’ Passion to take place.173 Those who
take this position underestimate the basic discrepancies between the Gos-
pel accounts regarding the events that took place between the Last Sup-
per and the crucifixion of Jesus. These scholars have to cram into a short
period of time all the events, and somehow hope for the best. Alterna-
tively, they must favor one account at the expense of the other(s), too high
a price to pay, whether one follows a hermeneutic of faith, or a herme-
neutic of suspicion. From a historical perspective, how can one be abso-
lutely certain that those events, recorded by the discarded account(s), and
which are not mentioned in the (arbitrarily) favored one, are pure fiction
and did not take place? It may be wiser to assume that the sum of all the
events recorded in the different Passion Narratives is somewhat closer to
the original picture.174
Nevertheless, there are difficulties with some aspects of Jaubert’s chro-
nology. First, her dating of the anointing at Bethany is dubious, and has
rightly been rejected by scholars.175 The time indication in Mark 14: 1–2
“After two days” does not refer to the anointing itself, but to the plot of
the Jewish authorities against Jesus.176 Further, while the anointing in
John precedes Palm Sunday, it comes after it in the Synoptic tradition.177
It seems, therefore, that this passage is preferably viewed as an insert in
this context, a point subsequently accepted by Jaubert.178 Second, there is
the question of the dream of Pilate’s wife. This recollection could possi-
bly have been borrowed from popular tradition.179 Although this tradition
173
Benoit, “Le procés de Jésus,” 260; Brown, New Testament Essays, 215; Barrett, op. cit.,
50–1. O’ Brien, op. cit., 122, argues that, in the light of the regulations governing the clo-
sure of the city gates, “Jesus could not leave the city, for Temple or city gate, only access
points to or from the city, was unavailable to them on Tuesday night in their chronological
reconstruction of a paschal meal.” O’Brien suggests that his own thesis allows an extra four
hours to the non-Lukan narrative.
174
Already Walker, “Pauses in the Passion,” 16; Walker, “Yet Another Look,” 288.
175
Benoit, “Le procés de Jésus,” 259; Brown, New Testament Essays, 215; idem Brown,
Death of the Messiah, 1366.
176
Benoit, “Le procés de Jésus,” 259.
177
Brown, New Testament Essays, 216. Although, if the anointing is setting Jesus apart as
messiah, as suggested by Capper, “Church as New Covenant”, John’s sequence is better.
178
Cf. Jaubert, “Le mercredi où Jésus fut livré,” 155 note 2. Jaubert suggests that the “two
days” have a liturgical meaning connected to the arrest, and recalling “Jesus handed over.”
See “Le mercredi où Jésus fut livré,” 159.
179
60 chapter one
may well have historical basis, it is difficult to use the event to support the
long chronology, even if it makes sense in this context. In any case, this
item is not totally incompatible with the short chronology, as Pilate may
well have known about Jesus before Friday morning.180
The trial of Jesus raises a number of questions for scholars.181 Chiefly
among these is the lack of evidence to suggest that the Mishnaic code
concerning trials was in effect during Jesus’ time.182 However, a lack of
evidence cannot be used as conclusive proof against a hypothesis, espe-
cially if this hypothesis renders the accounts more intelligible. A discus-
sion in the light of more recent scholarship in this field is in order. We
noted above the argument of the internal evidence not supporting the
long chronology, and a possible response to this argument. Here again, it
will be necessary to study the Gospel accounts closely to assert whether
they rule out any indication of a long chronology.
Scholars advance two further objections. First, there is the lack of evi-
dence (internal or otherwise) that Jesus followed, in the course of his min-
istry, an essene calendar. This argument is two-dimensional. On the one
hand it is pointed out that the links between Jesus and the Essenes were
very few.183 On the other hand, there appears to be no evidence that Jesus
followed the old “solar” calendar for Passover or any other festivals.184 The
combination of these would negate the hypothesis that Jesus followed a
different calendar. However, as we have pointed out, the lack of evidence,
180
John 18: 12 is consonant with this view. Cf. Brown, New Testament Essays, 215–6.
181
It is beyond the scope of this section to list all the questions linked to the trial of
Jesus. On the question of Jesus’ trial, see S.G.F. Brandon, “The Trial Of Jesus: The Enigma
of the First Good Friday,” HT 16 (1966): 251–59; H.H. Cohn, The Trial and Death of Jesus
(London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1972); Winter, Vermes, and Burkill, op. cit.
182
Ogg, “Review of Jaubert,” 158; Brown, New Testament Essays, 215. For discussions on
the trial of Jesus, see: J. Blinzler, Der Prozess Jesu (3rd ed.; Regensburg, 1960), 95–115; Benoit,
“Le procés de Jésus”; Benoit, “Sanhédrin”; Benoit, “Le procés de Jésus selon J. Blinzler et
P. Demann”; Winter, Vermes, and Burkill, op. cit.; Dodd, op. cit., 88–96, on the antiquity of
the tradition of Jesus’ appearance before Annas as being independent from the Synoptic
traditions; “Séances Du Sanhédrin II”; Cohn, op. cit.
183
Mann, op. cit., 451; Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, 24–5; Hoehner, “Chronological
Aspects,” 254; Marshall, Last Supper and Lord’s Supper, 73; Beckwith, Calendar and Chro-
nology, 291.
184
O’Flynn, op. cit., 62–3; Léon-Dufour, op. cit., 494; Benoit, “Le procés de Jésus,” 261;
Brown, New Testament Essays, 216; idem, Brown, Death of the Messiah, 1368; Hoehner,
“Chronological Aspects,” 254; Lane, op. cit., 498–9 note 33; Barrett, op. cit., 50–1; France,
“Chronologie,” 13; J.A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke (AB 28; New York: Double-
day, 1985a), 1381; Carson, John, 457; B.D. Smith, op. cit., 30; Bock, op. cit., 1957–8. More
recently, Benedict XVI, op. cit., 111, who states “Jesus is unlikely to have used a calendar
associated principally with Qumran.”
though it may weaken a hypothesis, does not render it redundant with-

out a negative demonstration. Certain hints of an essene link to Jesus
have emerged in recent scholarship.185 Second, there is the question of
the essene Passover coinciding with the official festival. Beckwith argues
that without proof of intercalation of the 364-day calendar, such occur-
rence is purely an assumption.186 Other scholars point to the scarcity of
the two celebrations falling on the same week.187 In any case, there are no
(explicit) references to an essene Passover in the Gospels.188
To the above must be added the question whether Jesus would have
had a lamb for the ritual if he celebrated the festival at a non-official date.
It is argued that his followers could simply not have had at their disposal
a ritually sacrificed lamb for the simple reason that the Temple authori-
ties would not have allowed any such practice at any other time than the
official date.189 Carmignac, in an erudite article, has outlined how it could
have been possible for Jesus and his disciples to obtain a ritually sacrificed
lamb acceptable for the celebration of Passover.190 An alternative would be
to posit a Passover rite independent from the Temple, which may or may
not contain the slaughter of the Passover lamb.191 There existed after all at
Jesus’ time a Passover rite without Passover sacrifice, e.g. for those away
185
See for example Capper, “ ‘With the Oldest Monks..’ ”; B. Pixner, “An Essene Quar-
ter on Mount Zion?” in Studia Hierosolymitana in onore di P. Bellarmino Bagatti (Studi
Archelogici, Studium Biblicanum Franciscanum, Collectio Major 22; Jerusalem: Franciscan
Printing Press, 1976), 245–84; “Das Essenerquartier in Jerusalem und dessen Einfluss auf
die Urkirche,” Das Heilige Land 113 (1981): 3–14; B. Pixner, “The History of the ‘Essene Gate’
Area,” ZDPV 105 (1989): 96–104; B. Pixner, Wege des Messias und Stätten der Urkirche (ed.
R. Riesner; Giessen / Basel: Brunnen, 1994); With Jesus in Jerusalem: His First and Last Days
in Judaea (Rosh Pinna: Corazin, 1996); B. Pixner, “Nazoreans on Mount Zion (Jerusalem),”
in Le Judéo-christianisme dans tous ses états. Actes du Colloque de Jérusalem, 6–10 Juillet
1998 (ed. S.C. Mimouni; LD; Paris: Cerf, 2001), 289–316; R. Riesner, “Das Jerusalemer Essen-
erquartier und die Urgemeinde,” in Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt 26.2 (eds
H. Temporini and W. Haase; Berlin: De Gruyter, 1995), 1175–1222.
186
Cf. Beckwith, Calendar and Chronology, 292.
187
E.g. J. Milik suggests that an essene Passover preceding a sabbath Passover would
occur only once every thirty years. Cf. Mann, op. cit., 453.
188
Cf. R. Schnackenburg, The Gospel According to St. John, Vol. 1–3 (London: Burns and
Oates, 1982), 35, vol. 1.
189
Cf. Ogg, “Review of Jaubert,” 156; Morris, op. cit., 785; Lane, op. cit., 498–9 note 33;
Marshall, Last Supper and Lord’s Supper, 73; Carson, John, 457; Brown, Death of the Messiah,
1368; Bock, op. cit., 1957–8.
190
Cf. J. Carmignac, “Comment Jésus et ses contemporains pouvaient-ils célébrer la
Pâque à une date non-officielle?” RevQ 5 (1964–66): 59–79. In the case of a sacrifice of
well being (Lev 3:1–17), a sacrifice of first-born (Exod 13:2, 12–13), and a sacrifice of second
tithe (Lev 27:30–33), the ritual regulations which applied to the Passover sacrifice could
be met.
191
Cf. Jaubert, “Jésus et le calendrier de Qumrân,” 22 ff.
62 chapter one
from Jerusalem, although it is unlikely that this was the one followed by
Jesus and his followers, as these were in Jerusalem. Philo may bring some
light on the argument. He describes the whole nation as taking on the
nature of a Priest at the time of Passover, each one performing its own
sacrifices.192
It may be conceivable that there existed at the time of Jesus some cir-
cumstances in which he and his followers could have celebrated Passover
without a Passover lamb, or in which his followers could have attained
a ritually sacrificed lamb from the Temple at a different date from the
official one, or in which Jesus and his followers did not depend on the
Temple to obtain a Passover victim, but sacrificed their own. Whichever
of these may be the most likely, the argument that suggests that Jesus
could not have celebrated Passover at any other time than the official date
is not as strong as scholars have suggested. Jaubert has demonstrated that
the Jubilees calendar fixed Passover on a Wednesday (starting Tuesday
evening). It remains to assert the part this calendar played in the overall
context of Jesus’ first century Palestine. As acknowledged by Jaubert, igno-
rance of calendrical practices in Palestinian Judaism in the first century
CE remains perhaps the greatest stumbling block to considering the long
chronology of the passion of Jesus.193
4. Conclusions
Jaubert’s suggestion that the discrepancies contained in the Passion narra-

tives could be explained by the fact that Jesus shared his last meal with his
disciples on the occasion of the Passover according to the essene 364-day
calendar has generated much comments, endorsements and rejections.
Some fifty years on, aspects of her thesis remain significant, and Jaubert
certainly made an extraordinary contribution to the scholarly world of
Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity.194
192
Cf. Philo, De Vita Mosis 2. 224.
193
Jaubert, “Le mercredi où Jésus fut livré,” 164: “Si certains hésitent encore, c’est à cause
de notre ignorance des conditions de calendrier en Palestine au temps de Jésus.”
194
See, for instance, Lourié, Petit, and Orlov, op. cit, with contributions by B. Lourié,
“Annie Jaubert et les études de l’Orient Chrétien;” idem “Les quatres jours ‘de l’intervalle’:
une modification néotestamentaire et chrétienne du calendrier de 364 jours;” F. I. Ander-
sen, “The Sun in 2 Enoch;” R. Bauckham, “The Honorarium of Adam and the Chronology
of the Passion;” R.T. Beckwith, “The Significance of the 364-day calendar for the Old Tes-
tament Canon;” G. Dorival, “Un seul ou deux jeunes hommes riches?”; M. van Esbroeck,
“L’année régulière de 364 jours dans la contreverse au sujet de Chalcédoine;” A. Orlov,
However, the above overview of the Jaubertian theory, and the appraisal
of the responses it generated from critics, allows one to draw a prelimi-
nary conclusion: the 364-day calendar expounded in the book of Jubilees
started the year on a Wednesday and allowed festival days to fall every
year on the same day of the week. No serious scholar now contests the
findings of Annie Jaubert in this field, and no serious scholar now doubts
that there was, in Second Temple Judaism, a 364-day year tradition within
which Passover was celebrated on a Tuesday evening.195
The overview implies an immediate second conclusion, however, that
is: unless it can be evidenced that the 364-day calendar was kept in line
with the true solar year and with the seasons, by means of intercalation
or otherwise, any tentative suggestion that it was followed in first century
Palestine, let alone that it approximately coincided with the official calen-
dar in use at the time of Jesus to the extent that in the year of his death
the official Passover fell three days after the Jubilees Passover, will remain
in the realm of hypothesis. This was the crux of the matter for most of
the objectors to Jaubert’s thesis, and a point the author acknowledged, as
pointed out in the introduction to the present chapter.
Therefore, it is with this particular issue that the present study is con-
cerned. The second part of the thesis investigates the cycle of festivals
and the seasons in the main sources of Second Temple Judaism, paying
particular attention to those sources which depict the festival of Passover
in various calendrical reckonings. Other festivals are also considered. This
enquiry begins with the cycle of festivals in the Hebrew Bible.
“Vested with Adam’s Glory: Moses as the Luminous Counterpart of Adam in the Dead
Sea Scrolls and in the Macarian Homilies;” W.D. Ray, “The Use of Evidence from Patristic
and Liturgical Sources in Annie Jaubert’s The Date of the Last Supper;” J.C. VanderKam,
“Jaubert’s Solution to the Passion Chronology.”
195
See for instance the short description of the calendar in Benedict XVI, op. cit., 109–10.
Part II
Festivals and the Seasons in the Sources

CHAPTER two
The Cycle of festivals and the seasons in the

Hebrew Bible
1. Introduction
In Part I it was argued that only a strong indication that cultic calendars
in Second Temple Judaism—either according to the lunisolar reckoning
or following the 364-day tradition—were aligned with the agricultural
cycle could positively support Jaubert’s contention that Jesus celebrated
his last Passover with his disciples on a Tuesday evening, following the
364-day cultic calendar evidenced at Qumran and related literature. Our
investigation, therefore, will start with key documents of the period: the
Hebrew Scriptures (chapter 2), the book of Jubilees (chapter 3), relevant
documents from the Qumran caves (chapter 4), and other documents
spanning the millennium or so from the erection of the First Temple to
the destruction of the Second Temple ca. 70 CE (chapter 5).
The present chapter is concerned with Hebrew Scriptures, in which the
cycle of festivals is presented in several places.1 Some passages of Scrip-
tures provide theological reasons for the celebration of festivals. Usually
these are based on the commemoration of arguably the defining historical
moments of biblical Israel: the Exodus from Egypt and the subsequent giv-
ing of the Torah and wilderness wanderings. More specifically, these are
remembered on the occasions of the festivals of Pesah/Passover, Shavu‘ot/
Weeks, and Sukkot/Tabernacles.2 Those passages of Scriptures also often
1
Exodus (12; 13; 23; 34); Leviticus (23); Numbers (9; 28; 29; 33); Deuteronomy (16; 31).
Calendrical references also appear in Ezekiel (45), while the Chronicler relates the occa-
sions of kings Hezekiah and Josiah and their celebrations of the Passover (2 Chr 30; 35).
2
Additional festivals and days of fast were later added to the Jewish festal calendar,
also in connection with historical events. The festival of Hanukkah, a prominent festival
for some contemporary Jews, commemorates the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple
in 164 BCE by Judas Maccabaeus and his followers three years after the desacration of the
sacred place by Antiochus IV Epiphanes occurred, an event not recorded in the Hebrew
Bible. The festival of Purim recalls the intervention of Queen Esther and the foiling of
Haman’s plot to eliminate the Jews. This festival is not recorded either in the written
Torah, and the event, rather than a commanded festival, is all that the Book of Esther
tells of. There are other holy days which punctuate the calendar: sequentially these are
(1) Rosh Hashanah on 1 Tishri, (2) Yom Kippur on 10 Tishri, (3) Hoshanah Rabbah, Shemini
68 chapter two
locate the festivals within the agricultural seasons. Scholars have for
a long time suspected a dependence of the biblical festivals on more
ancient agricultural festivals.3 The sabbath, the seventh day, is the first
mentioned in the list of the “appointed festivals of the Lord.”4 This must
be kept at the forefront of our investigation as it will appear as a lietmotiv
throughout the sources.5 Each of the sources gives to the sabbath a special
Atzeret on 21 and 22 Tishri, (4) Simhat Torah on 23 Tishri, (5) Hanukkah on 24 Kislev to
1 Tevet, (6) Fast of 10 Tevet, (7) Tu B’Shevat on 15 Shevat, (8) Fast of Esther on 13 Adar,
(9) festival of Purim on 14 Adar, (10) Shushan Purim on 15 Adar, (11) Lag B’Omer on
18 Iyar, (12) Fast of 17 Tammuz, (13) Ninth of Av. See, for an initial introduction on the
Jewish calendar, E. Zuesse, “Calendar of Judaism,” in Encyclopaeadia Judaica, Vol I: A-I (eds
J. Neusner, A.J. Avery-Peck, and W.S. Green; New York: Continuum, 1999), 35–50. This par-
ticular treatment departs from most other general presentations in that it considers the
festal calendar as a whole, as opposed to each fast or festival individually, arguing that
“each festival, its timing and meaning determined by the specific religion and world view,
plays a particular role in the annual experience of the worshiper” (p. 33).
3
“Festivals,” in Encyclopaedia Judaica Vol 6 (Encyclopaedia Judaica Jerusalem; Jerusa-
lem: Keter Publishing House Ltd, 1971), 1237–46. Various attempts were made to trace the
roots of the festival of Purim amid Babylonian festivals. See the discussion in C.A. Moore,
Esther: Introduction, Translation and Notes (AB 7B; New York: Doubleday, 1971), xxi–xxv.
Based on a dating of Hebrew Esther ca. 400–300 BCE, “both the story of Esther and the fes-
tival of Purim can likewise be traced to within a few generations of the events upon which
they are purportedly based”, as recently argued by J.E. Burns, “The Special Purim and the
Reception of the Book of Esther in the Hellenistic and Early Roman Eras,” JSJ 37 (2006): 5.
For a discussion of the dating of Hebrew Esther, see Burns, op. cit., 5 note 9.
4
Lev 23:2–3.
5
The constraints of the present undertaking do not allow for a thorough investiga-
tion of the sabbath. Scholars readily comment on the difficulty posed by the question of
the origins of the sabbath, especially in its pre-exilic state. See, for instance, B.S. Childs,
Exodus (London: SCM, 1974), 412–7 and bibliography. M. Albani, Astronomie und Schöp-
fungsglaube: Untersuchungen zum astronomischen Henochbuch (WMANT 68; Neukirchen-
Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1994), 278–9, reviews the arguments concerning the origins
of the sabbath. He locates its emergence as a sign between Yahweh and the people of
Israel at the time of the Exile (cf. Ez 20:12). In pre-exilic times the sabbath was most likely
associated with a specific stage of the lunar cycle. J. Meinhold, “Die Entstehung des Sab-
bat,” ZAW 29 (1909): 81–112, argued that it was celebrated at the time of the full moon.
T. Veijola, “Die Propheten und das Alter des Sabbatgebots,” in Prophet und Prophetenbuchs:
FS für O. Kaiser zum 65. Geburtstag (eds V. Fritz, et al.; BZAW 185; Berlin: De Gruyter, 1989),
246ff, accepts Meinhold’s theory. From the same author, see also T. Veijola, “The History
of Passover in the Light of Deuteronomy 16,1–8,” ZABR 2 (1996): 53–75. For an interpreta-
tion of the sabbath as a weekly event dissociated from the lunar phases before the exilic
period, see J. Hehn, Siebenzahl und Sabbat bei den Babyloniern und im AT (Leipzig: Hin-
richsche Buchhandlung, 1907). Albani, Astronomie, 279, dismisses Hehn’s theory on the
grounds that it requires a calendrical technical knowledge that simply was not available in
pre-exilic Israel but could only be accessed once the Israelites were in contact with Baby-
lonian astronomy. See also M. Albani, “Zur Rekonstruktion eines verdrängten Konzepts:
Der 364-Tage-Kalender in der gegenwärtigen Forschung,” in Studien zum Jubiläenbuch (eds
M. Albani, J. Frey, and A. Lange; TSAJ 65; Tübingen: Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1997), 79–126.
Also, U. Glessmer, “Explizite Aussagen über kalendarische Konflikte im Jubiläenbuch:
the cycle of festivals and the seasons in the hebrew bible 69
significance, of which only the interpretation varies. This is perhaps the

first major clue available to scholars of a calendrical framework based on
the number seven.6
The task of presenting a succinct picture of the cycle of festivals and
festivals in the Hebrew scriptures is not an easy one.7 It is complicated
by the fact that the sources do not present a uniform picture as to the
duration of particular festivals, their exact dating in the year, the reasons
Jub 6,22–32.33–38,” in Studien zum Jubiläenbuch (eds M. Albani, J. Frey, and A. Lange;

TSAJ 65; Tübingen: Mohr (Siebeck), 1997), 127–64. For a brief discussion of the meaning
of ‫ חדש‬and ‫ שבת‬before the Exile, see U. Glessmer and K. Koch, “Neumonds-Neujahr
oder Vollmonds-Neujahr? Zu spätisraelitischen Kalender—Theologien,” in Antikes Juden-
tum und frühes Christentum: Festschrift für Hartmut Stegemann zum 65. Geburtstag (eds
B. Kollmann, W. Reinbold, and A. Steudel; BZNW 97; Berlin: De Gruyter, 1999), 125–6. They
locate the change in meaning (and practice) not during the Exile and Babylonian influ-
ence, but rather to Josiah’s reform, which took place sometime in the later part of the
seventh century BCE. A recent treatment of the origins of the Sabbath in French can be
found in M. Bauks, “Le shabbat: un temple dans le temps,” ETR 77 (2002): 473–90. For a
more skeptical approach as to what assertions of sabbath practice can be deduced from
the Hebrew Scriptures, see H.A. McKay, Sabbath and Synagogue: The Question of Sabbath
Worship in Ancient Judaism (RGRW 122; Leiden: Brill, 1994).
6
S. Stern, Time and Process in Ancient Judaism (Oxford: The Littmann Library of Jewish
Civilization, 2003), 64, identifies in the seven-day cycle a re-enactment of the creation of
the world. He states: “the only cycle in the Jewish calendar that is not based on natural
phenomena is that of the sabbath or the seven day week. At first sight, the seven day
week is completely abstract and arbitrary, and could thus be interpreted as representative
of the cyclical of time . . . However, the arbitrary nature of the seven-day cycle does not
relate it, ipso facto, to an abstract concept of ‘pure time’. The week is primarily a socially
(or religiously) sanctioned cycle of human activity, defined by the cyclical recurrence of
the sabbath . . . it is evident already from Genesis 1 that the observance of a sequence of
seven days culminating with the sabbath represents a cyclical re-enactment of the creation
of the world.”
7
Much ink has been poured on the subject of calendrical issues in the Bible and
related fields, reflecting the constant state of flux this particular field has been subjected
to, from the discovery of the Geniza texts to the more recent parallels that have been
drawn between Jewish texts and Babylonian Cuneiform texts. It is not possible to include
here a comprehensive list. The reader may find the following starting bibliography on
this subject helpful: S. Zeitlin, “Notes relatives au calendrier juif,” REJ 89 (1930): 349–54;
Lewy and Lewy, op. cit; S. Talmon, “Yom Hakkippurim in the Habakkuk Scroll,” Bib 32
(1951): 549–63; Jaubert, “Calendrier des Jubilés: origines”; Jaubert, “Calendrier des Jubilés:
jours liturgiques”; J.B. Segal, “Intercalation”; van Goudoever, op. cit; B.Z. Wacholder, “The
Calendar of Sabbatical Cycles During the Second Temple and the Early Rabbinic Period,”
HUCA 44 (1973): 153–96; S. Talmon, King, Cult and Calendar in Ancient Israel (Jerusalem:
Magnes, 1986); M.E. Cohen, The Cultic Calendars of the Ancient Near East (Betsheda: CDL,
1993); J.C. VanderKam, Calendars in the DSS; S. Stern, Calendar and Community. A History
of the Jewish Calendar Second Century BCE—Tenth Century CE (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2001); M. Chyutin, The Role of the Solar and Lunar Calendars in the Redaction of the
Psalms (Studies in the Bible and Early Christianity 54; Lewiston, NY: Mellen, 2002); J. Ben-
Dov and W. Horowitz, “The Babylonian Lunar Three in Calendrical Scrolls from Qumran,”
ZA 95 (2005): 104–20.
70 chapter two
for which they are celebrated or even the manner in which they must be
observed. The actual duration of the calendar is nowhere explicitly stated
in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible.8 The same can be said of the
Septuagint version. This of course does not mean that this was always
the case. Scholars have become more and more attuned to the organic
character of the biblical (and non-biblical for that matter) text.9 Techni-
cal aspects of the calendar(s) have been discussed and differing day reck-
onings, month reckonings, dates for celebrations, and so on, have been
identified, or rather evidenced, in different Jewish sources of the Second
Temple period.10 The same can be said of the duration of the month, or
8
R. Elior, “Ancient Jewish Calendars: A Response,” Aleph 5 (2005): 293–302.
9
See for instance the recent work by Ulrich. Cf. E. Ulrich, “The Dead Sea Scrolls and
the Biblical Text,” in The Dead Sea Scrolls After Fifty Years: A Comprehensive Assessment.
Vol. 1 (eds Peter W. Flint and James C. VanderKam; Leiden: Brill, 1998), 79–100. Recently
Burns, Burns, op. cit., 6 note 13, stated: “the notion of a fixed Jewish scriptural canon can
be reliably traced to the age of the Maccabees, when we find testimony to a collection of
writings stored in the Temple (2 Macc 2:13–14).” For further discussion on the question
of the Hebrew canon, see A. van der Kooij, “The Canonization of Ancient Books Kept in
the Temple in Jerusalem,” in Canonization and Decanonization. Papers Presented to the
International Conference of the Leiden Institute for the Study of Religions (LISOR), Held at
Leiden 9–10 January 1997 (eds A. van der Kooij and K. van der Toorn; SHR 82; Leiden: Brill,
1998), 17–40; A. van der Kooij, “Canonization of Ancient Hebrew Books and Hasmonean
Politics,” in The Biblical Canons (eds J.M. Auwers and H.J. de Jonge; Leuven: University
Press, 2003), 27–38.
10
The debate is not new and is perhaps far from being resolved. Key studies in this field
are R.A. Parker, The Calendars of Ancient Egypt (SAOC 26; Chicago: The Oriental Institute
of the University of Chicago, 1950); J.W. McKay, “The Date of Passover and Its Significance,”
ZAW 84 (1972); J.A. Wagenaar, “Passover and the First Day of the Festival of Unleavened
Bread in the Priestly Festival Calendar,” VT 54 (2004): 250–68; J.C. VanderKam, op. cit;
R.T. Beckwith, “The Essene Calendar and the Moon: A Reconsideration,” RevQ 15 (1992):
457–66; Glessmer and Koch, op. cit; Bauks, op. cit; B.Z. Wacholder and B.D. Weisberg,
“Visibility of the New Moon in Cuneiform and Rabbinic Sources,” HUCA 42 (1971): 227–42;
K. van der Toorn, Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel. Continuity and Change in
the Forms of Religious Life (SHCANE 7; Leiden: Brill, 1996); W.W. Hallo, “New Moons and
Sabbaths,” HUCA 43 (1977): 1–13; E. Auerbach, “Die Feste im alten Israel,” VT 8 (1958). The
debate on the beginning of the day at sunrise or at sunset has been equally rich: P.J. Hae-
wood, “The Beginning of the Jewish Day,” JQR 36 (1945–46): 393–401; Zeitlin, “Beginning
of the Jewish Day”; R. de Vaux, Les Institutions de L’Ancien Testament I–II (Paris, 1958–60);
J.M. Baumgarten, “The Beginning of the Day in the Calendar of Jubilees,” JBL 77 (1958):
355–60; H.R. Stroes, “Does the Day Begin in the Evening or Morning? Some Biblical Obser-
vations,” VT 16 (1966): 460–75; Beckwith, “The Day in Biblical Thought”; S. Talmon, “The
Reckoning of the Day in the Biblical and the Early Post-Biblical Periods: From Morning or
From Evening?” in The Bible in the Light of Its Interpreters. Sarah Kamin Memorial Volume
(ed. S. Japhet; Jerusalem: Magnes, 1994), 73–108; J.C. VanderKam, Calendars in the DSS;
S. Talmon, “Calendars and Mishmarot,” in EDSS (eds L.H. Schiffman and J.C. VanderKam;
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 108–17; J. Milgrom, Leviticus 23–27: A New Transla-
tion with Introduction and Commentary (AB 3b; New York: Doubleday, 2001). A most recent
example of scholarly debate on calendrical issues pertaining to the Second Temple period
indeed the time when the month was reckoned to start. No one uni-
fied picture of a single Jewish calendar is presented across the spectrum
of the sources from the Second Temple period. That is one point upon
which most scholars agree. From this perspective it is perhaps prefer-
able, although inevitably more cumbersome, to present the sources and
draw some tentative conclusions as to the festival calendars presented in
Hebrew Scriptures.
2. The Pentateuch
Many passages in the various books constituting the Pentateuch expound

to some extent the fasts and festivals of biblical Israel. The most complete
presentation of the cycle of festivals is offered from a Priestly perspective
in Lev 23.11 It is perhaps not the oldest list available, but it is the most com-
plete list of biblical festivals, and for this reason will here be followed.12
is found in Aleph, Historical Studies in Science and Judaism 5 (2005), where S. Stern (pp.
287–92) reviews unfavorably R. Elior’s The Three Temples. On the Emergence of Jewish Mys-
ticism (Oxford: Littmann Library of Jewish Civilization, 2003), and where Elior offers a
response to Stern’s comments.
11
It is here acknowledged that several sources, emanating from different schools, are
present in the Pentateuch alone. These are commonly known as J (Yahwist—using the
Tetragrammaton), E (Elohist—using the name Elohim), P (Priestly Code), and D ([part of ]
the book of Deuteronomy). The H source (Holiness Code) is also posited by some scholars,
and is generally thought to be a part of P. Chapter 23 of Leviticus, which is here followed,
belongs to this Holiness Code. For a recent inquiry into the composition of Lev 23, see
I. Knohl, The Sanctuary of Silence: The Priestly Torah and the Holiness School (Minneapolis:
Fortress, 1995), 9–14 and 46–55, for whom, on page 14, “the examination of the structure of
Leviticus 23 shows the priority of PT [Priestly Torah] over HS [Holiness School].”
There is no space to consider the scholarly discussions on issues pertaining to the various
source theories. Recent contributions on the subject can be found in J. Milgrom, “Priestly
(P) Source,” in ABD, Vol. 5 (ed. D.N. Freedman; New York: Doubleday, 1992), 453–61; Knohl,
op. cit, especially the introduction for a clear summary; J. Blenkinsopp, “An Assessment
of the Alleged Pre-Exilic Date of the Priestly Material of the Pentateuch,” ZAW 108 (1996):
495–518; J. Milgrom, “The Antiquity of the Priestly Source: A Reply to Joseph Blenkinsopp,”
ZAW 111 (1999): 10–22.
In his recent book, J. Klawans, Purity, Sacrifice, and the Temple: Symbolism and Super-
sessionism in Ancient Judaism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), esp. 50–1, dismisses
as “evolutionists” the hypotheses put forward by Milgrom and by Knohl that seek to date
P and H in a sequential manner.
For our purpose it is enough to accept a terminus ad quem of ca. 500 BCE for the dating
of H (and P). The point is that during the Second Temple Period the Pentateuchal sources
considered here were mostly already set.
12
For a brief discussion of the other lists of biblical festivals in the Pentateuch, see
J.A. Wagenaar, “Post-Exilic Calendar Innovations. The First Month of the Year and the Date
of Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread,” ZAW 115 (2003): esp. 3–8. Knohl argues
72 chapter two
2.1. The Festival of Passover

[I]n the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, there
shall be a Passover-offering to the Lord. (Lev 23:5)
Whereas in other passages the command to celebrate the festival of Pass-
over is associated with the memory of the liberation from slavery in Egypt
(e.g. Exod 12:1, 11, 27; Num 9:1–3; Deut 16:1), no theological reason for the
festival of Passover is given in Lev 23:5.13 Rather, the text states that the
festival shall be celebrated “in the first month, on the fourteenth day of
the month, at twilight . . .” (Lev 23:5).14 This is corroborated by the records
of King Josiah’s Passover (2 Chr 35:1); and it is also on this date that Ezekiel
reckons the Passover to be kept (45:21). Furthermore, an indirect refer-
ence to the fourteenth of the first month is also understood in the law
concerning the second Passover, which is to be kept “in the second month
on the fourteenth day, at twilight . . .” (Num 9:11).15
In the Pentateuch the date of Passover is also indicated by reference
to the month of Abib—‫אביב‬. In Deut 16:1 the command is to “observe
that the Priestly source, that is PT (Priestly Torah) and HS (Holiness School) combined,
“is the result of literary activity spanning the course of several centuries,” from before the
destruction of the First Temple (Cf. Kaufmann), to the period of the Exile and return. See
Knohl, op. cit., 200–1 and notes. This places the material from Leviticus 23 at the very latest
in the sixth to fifth centuries BCE.
13
For a thorough treatment of the festival of passover and its developments up to the
first century CE, see J.B. Segal, Hebrew Passover; J. Halbe, “Passa-Massot im deuterono-
mischen Festkalender. Komposition, Entstehung und Programm von Dtn 16:1–8,” ZAW 87
(1975): 147–68; B.M. Bokser, The Origins of the Seder, the Passover Rite, and Early Rabbinic
Judaism (Berkley, CA: University of California, 1984); R. Albertz, A History of the Israel-
ite Religion in the Old Testament Period (Translated by J. Bowden; London: SCM, 1994);
S. Bar-On, “Zur literarkritischen Analyse von Ex. 12,21–27,” ZAW 107 (1995): 18–30; Veijola,
“Passover”; J.C. Gertz, “Die Passa-Massot-Ordnung im deuteronomischen Festkalender,” in
Das Deuteronomium und seine Querbeziehungen (ed. T. Veijola; SFEG 62; Göttingen, 1996),
56–80; Wagenaar, “Post-Exilic Calendar Innovations”; T. Prosic, The Development and
Symbolism of Passover Until 70 CE (JSOTSup 414; London: T. & T. Clark, 2004); Wagenaar,
“Passover”.
14
This dating of the festival of Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month is also
recorded in Num 9:5 “they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of
the month, at twilight”; Num 28:16 “On the fourteenth day of the first month there shall
be a Passover-offering to the Lord.” The dating in Num 33:3 implicitly indicates a dating of
Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month: “They set out from Rameses in the first
month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the Israelites
went out boldly . . .”
15
It is in the second month that King Hezekiah invited the whole of Israel and Judah
to keep the Passover (2 Chr 30:2), “they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth
day of the second month” (2 Chr 30:15).
the month of Abib by keeping the Passover of the Lord”—‫ׇשׁמוֹר ֶאת־ח ֶׁדׁש‬
‫ית ֶּפ ַסח ַליהוָ ה‬
ָ ‫(— ָה ָא ִביב וְ ָע ִׂש‬cf. Exod 13:4). The day in Abib is identified
only through the reference to the “time of day when you departed from
Egypt” (Deut 16:6). There is no doubt for the author, however, that this
month is the beginning of the year: “This month shall mark for you the
beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you” (Exod
12:2). This festival is to be celebrated on the fourteenth day of the month
(Exod 12:6).
Most scholars accept that the reference to ‫( ח ֶֹדׁש ָה ָא ִביב‬Exod 23:15;
34:18), is to a Canaanite month-name, and an indication of the antiquity
of the tradition here used.16 The technical term ‫ ָא ִביב‬is interpreted as
“month of the green ears,”17 “ears of corn,”18 “milky ears of grain,”19 or as a
reference to barley already ripe but soft.20 The above identification of Abib
with an ancient Canaanite month has been challenged recently. Wage-
naar argues that “the word ‫ ָא ִביב‬is in the Old Testament always used in the
sense of “ear” referring to “uncut or freshly cut, unprocessed cereal, specifi-
cally barley (DCH s.v. ‫ ; ָא ִביב‬HAL s.v. ‫) ָא ִביב‬.”21 If this is correct, the season
of ears would be a better translation of the expression ‫ח ֶֹדשׁ ָה ָא ִביב‬. From
the premise that Abib is not a month but a season Wagenaar argues that the
festival calendars found in Exod 23:14–19; 34:18–26 and Deut 16:1–17 link the
three festivals (Unleavened Bread, Weeks and Tabernacles) to the agricul-
tural season in the same way.22 We will have leisure to return to this.
Additionally, one of the commands for the preparation of the festival
is to sacrifice a “lamb without blemish, a year old male” (Exod 12:5).23 The
16
Cf. for instance G. von Rad, Deuteronomy (OTL; London: SCM, 1964 trans. 1966), 111.
Scholars often point out that ‫ אביב‬does not occur in extra biblical sources. It is possible
that the term ‫ אביב‬survived the period of adoption of the Babylonian calendar and the
switch to the use of Babylonian months names, as suggested by L.-J. Bord, “L’adoption du
calendrier babylonien au moment de l’Exil,” in Le Temps et les temps: dans les littératures
juives et chrétiennes au tournant de notre ère (eds Christian Grappe and Jean-Claude Inge-
laere; JSJSup 112; Leiden: Brill, 2006), 26.
17
von Rad, op. cit., 111.
18
R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, I, II (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1965), 183.
19
L.H. Ginsberg, Israelian Heritage (New York: KTAV Publishing House, 1982), 60.
20
Prosic, op. cit. In a recent article L.-J. Bord notes that “il n’y a aucune autre attesta-
tion, en dehors de la Bible, d’un mois portant le nom d’abib, et il se pourrait fort bien que
ce ‫ חדשׁ האביב‬soit en fait l’appellation de la célébration des épis . . . soit une fête de la
moisson.” See Bord, op. cit., 26.
21
Wagenaar, “Post-Exilic Calendar Innovations,” 10.
22
Wagenaar, “Post-Exilic Calendar Innovations,” 11.
23
In Deut 16:2 the Passover sacrifice may be taken “from the flock and the herd,” while
in Ezekiel 45:22 it is a young bull.
74 chapter two
latter indication may connect the celebration of the festival to the lamb-
ing period, which traditionally takes place early in Spring, although not
too much weight must be accorded to this argument. In any case, the
dating in the Pentateuch of the Passover to the “month of Abib” suggests
a strong connection between the festival, its celebration, and the season
of the agricultural cycle during which it occurs.24
2.2. The Festival of Unleavened Bread

[A]nd on the fifteenth day of the same month is the festival of Unleav-
ened Bread to the Lord, and for seven days you will eat unleavened bread.
(Lev 23:6)
Similarly, the festival of Unleavened Bread takes place in the first month.
It starts the day after Passover according to Leviticus, and lasts seven
days.25 It is the occasion for remembrance of the start of the exodus (Exod
12:14–20).26 Its close connection to the day “after the sabbath, the day on
which you bring the sheaf of the elevation offering” (Lev 23:15), also sug-
gests that the festival of Unleavened Bread was also strongly related to the
24
Wagenaar, “Passover”; “Post-Exilic Calendar Innovations”.
25
Not all sources date this festival separately from Passover. In J.B. Segal, Hebrew Pass-
over, 55–77, Segal considers the textual sources for what he terms the “post-exodus Pesaḥ”
(55–60), and the “post-exodus Passover week (Maṣṣoth Festival)” (60–65). He observes:
“two documents, however, integrate the Pesaḥ and the Maṣṣoth week closely in date. One,
in the Exodus narrative, gives the latter the date and time of the Pesaḥ, the other, Deut 16,
treats the Pesaḥ as the opening ceremony of the Maṣṣoth week” (61). There is no scope
in the confines of the present study to review all the issues surrounding the origins and
developments of the festivals of Passover and Unleavened Bread. Many scholars have done
much very good work on the subject. For a start, the author just mentioned offers a good
survey of scholarship in the chapter titled “Modern Theories on the Origins and Early
Development of the passover,” J.B. Segal, Hebrew Passover, 78–133, and ventures to sug-
gest (114–54) that the festival marked the occasion for a new year festival, “the festival of
the people” (154). The scholars mentioned in note 18 above have also contributed to the
discussion.
26
For some interesting remarks on the relationship between passover and unleavened
bread, see Bar-On, op. cit. Notably, Bar-On suggests (p. 26) that Exod 12:18 presupposes
a switch of day reckoning: “Andererseits suggeriert der redaktionelle Anschluß von V.14
an die Passa-Gesetze (welchen in der Jetztgestalt des Textes ihr ursprünglicher Abschluß
fehlt!) und der auf Bekanntes zurückweisende Demonstrativ ‫ והיה היום הזה‬eine Konti-
nuität, in welcher die Mazzot als Erinnerungszeichen des Passa-Rituals der Auszugsnacht
erscheinen. Diese von der Redaktion angedeutete Gleichsetzung des Passa-Tages mit dem
Auszugstag wird in V.18f. durch einen kalendarischen Kunstgriff ausdrücklich vollzogen:
‫בראשן בארבעה עשר יום לחדש בערב תאכלו מצת עד יום האחד ועשרים לחדש‬
. . . ‫ שבעת ימים‬.‫בערב‬
Da sich der Datumswechsel des neuen Tages hier bereits an seinem vorangehenden Abend
vollzieht, fällt die Zeit des Passa-Rituals auf den ersten tag des Mazzot-Fests” (26).
agricultural season. This day is designated in Deuteronomy as “the time

the sickle is first put to the standing grain” (Deut 16:9).
2.3. Festival of the Raising of the Sheaf

You shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest . . . on
the day after the sabbath the priest shall raise it. (Lev 23:10–11)
This is the first festival directly connected to the cycle of agriculture.
As such it is the first of the two biblical first fruits festivals.27 There is
no date explicitly given for the festival, only the time indicator ‫ִמ ָּמ ֳח ַרת‬
‫“— ַה ַּׁש ַּבת‬on the day after the sabbath.” The immediate context in which
the passage is situated, between the legislation regulating the festivals
of Passover and Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:4–8) immediately prior to it,
and the command to count seven weeks from “the day after the sabbathˮ
(Lev 23:15), until the day after the seventh sabbath, the day when “you
shall present an offering of new grain to the Lordˮ, indicates that the
festival took place in the first month. There is evidence from 2 Sam 21:9
that on this instance at least this first grain festival coincided with the
barley harvest, and was the occasion for the offering of first fruit.28 As will
become evident, different strands of Judaism interpreted the expression
morrow after the sabbath differently, and disagreed on the date the Sheaf
should be raised. Consequently, these groups also celebrated the festival
of Shavu‘ot on different dates. The vagueness of the dating of the Sheaf
offering in the Priestly code, and in the entire Pentateuch, was the root for
strong and deep calendrical disputes attested by later non-biblical sources
such as Jubilees, and which caused deep schisms in Judaism.29
2.4. The Festival of Weeks

And from the day after the sabbath, from the day on which you bring the
sheaf of the elevation offering, you shall count off seven weeks . . . then you
shall present an offering of new grain to the Lord. (Lev 23:15–16)
This very day marks the time from which seven complete weeks must be
counted, after which the festival of Weeks (Shavu‘ot) is celebrated. This
27
R.T. Beckwith, “The Temple Scroll and Its Calendar: Their Character and Purpose,”
RevQ 18 (1997): 16.
28
Biblical evidence comes from 2 Sam 21:9 “They were put to death in the first days of
harvest, at the beginning of the barley harvest”. Cf. Beckwith, “Temple Scroll,” 16.
29
Echoes of such Second Temple disputes were kept in the Mishnah.
76 chapter two
festival is the occasion for remembrance that “you were a slave in Egypt”
(Deut 16:12), by an offering of new grain to the Lord (Lev 23:16), the “first
fruits of the wheat harvest” (Exod 34:22b). The reference to the first fruit
of the grain harvest suggests a direct correlation between the festival of
weeks and the agricultural season. This is the second first fruits festival
in the bible.30
2.5. The Festival of Tabernacles

On the fifteenth day of this seventh month, and lasting seven days, there
shall be the festival of booths to the Lord. (Lev 23:34)
Like the festivals of Passover, Unleavened Bread and Weeks, the festival of
Tabernacles is cloaked with historical memory of the exodus from Egypt.
The fifteenth day of the seventh month is to be the occasion when the
“citizens of Israel shall live in booths, so that your generations may know
that I made the people of Israel live in booths when I brought them out
of the land of Egypt” (Lev 23: 42–3). And, as is the case for the above
mentioned festivals, the festival of Tabernacles is also connected to the
agricultural year (Lev 23:39–40):
The fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the
produce of the land, you shall keep the festival of the Lord . . . on the first day
you shall take the fruit of majestic trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of
leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord
your God for seven days.
Elsewhere in the Pentateuch the festival’s first day marks the “festival of
ingathering at the turn of the year” (Exod 34:22c), “when you have gath-
ered the produce from your threshing floor and your wine-press” (Deut
16:13b). The reference to the produce of the wine-press is self-explanatory
and need not be explained further. The reference to the “produce of your
threshing floor” is, however, not explicit. It is doubtful whether it relates
to any of the four kinds mentioned in Lev 23:39–40.31 These are fruits from
the trees, and would not have necessitated any treatment on the thresh-
ing floor. Rather, references to first fruits in the Pentateuch are linked to
Beckwith, “Temple Scroll,” 16.

30
“On the first day you shall take the fruit of majestic trees, branches of palm trees,
31
boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your
God.”
corn, oil and wine.32 Of those, the last two were hand-picked and then
pressed in order to retrieve the oil and the grape juice necessary to make
the wine. The corn, however, needed to be beaten in order to separate the
grain from the ear, and this was most likely done on the threshing floor.
All these indicate a very close connection between the cycle of festivals
and the rhythm of nature through the agricultural year. There is no doubt
that the different authors agreed that the festival of Tabernacles was con-
nected to the agricultural time of the year when the first fruit of wine was
gathered.
2.6. Other Festivals in the Pentateuch

As already observed, the most complete and detailed festal calendars
appear in Lev 23 and in Num 28–9.33 In addition to those treated above,
Lev 23 adds a “day of complete rest, a holy convocation commemorated
with trumpet blasts” on the first day of the seventh month (Lev 23:24). The
tenth day of the seventh month is the Day of Atonement, a holy convoca-
tion on the occasion of which work is prohibited (Lev 23:27ff.). The addi-
tion “on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening”
(v. 32b) is probably a later scribal addition, reflecting a change of day reck-
oning from sunrise-to-sunrise to sunset-to-sunset. The second Passover,
not mentioned above, only appears in Numbers (Chapter 9:1–14).34
2.7. Festivals and the Seasons in the Pentateuch: Summary

The Pentateuch, and more specifically the Priestly material contained in
Leviticus 23, gives key indications as to the dating of the festivals, as it
was legislated for as early as, or as late as, the sixth to fifth centuries BCE.
32
Beckwith, “Temple Scroll,” 16, observes that corn, oil and wine are mentioned together
in relation to first fruits in Deut 7:13; 11:14; 12:17; 14:23; 28:51. They are assigned to the priests
in Num 18:12; Deut 18:4 and 2 Chr 31:5, in the context of the tithe. See also 2 Chr 2:15; 32:28;
Neh 5:11; 10:39; 13:5, 12; Jer 31:12; Hos 2:8; Joel 2:19, 24.
33
J.C. VanderKam, “Festivals,” in EDSS, Vol. 1 (eds L.H. Schiffman and J.C. VanderKam;
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 290.
34
According to Knohl, op. cit., 21, both the reference to the equality between the Israel-
ite and the stranger (Num 9:14), and the concept of “bearing one’s sin” (Num 9:13)—ֺ ‫ֶח ְטאו‬
‫—יִ ָּׂשא ָה ִאיׁש ַההּוא‬are indications that the law concerning the second Passover finds its
origin in HS (Holiness School). It will be argued in Chapter 3 below that the author of Jubi-
lees modelled its account of the Passover ( Jub. 49) on Num 9:1–14. However, in the Jubilees’
passage the author voluntarily deleted any reference to the second Passover, ignoring the
reference to strangers, while retaining the notion of “bearing one’s sin” (cf. Jub. 49:9 “That
man will bear responsibility for his own sin”).
78 chapter two
The connection between the festivals and the exodus from Egypt in the
text has been exemplified. Indeed, it is most probably the case that this
yearly recurring cycle of festivals, with its commemoration of God’s action
in history on behalf of his people Israel, serves the purpose of constantly
renewing the covenantal aspect of the relationship between God and his
people. Thus the boundaries between sacred and profane are once again
reaffirmed, and God’s people repositioned within these boundaries.35 The
role of the festival calendar is significant, and the connections that exist
between the cycle of festivals and the seasons were outlined. At key peri-
ods in the year the first fruits of the land are offered to the Creator. In the
first month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the festival of Unleav-
ened Bread, the first fruits of the barley harvest are offered. Seven weeks
later, counting from the morrow after the sabbath (Lev 23:15), the festival
of Weeks is the occasion for the offering of the first fruits of the wheat
harvest. Lastly, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the festival of
Tabernacles takes place, at the time “when you have gathered the produce
from your threshing floor and your wine-press” (Deut 16:13b). This cycle of
first fruit offering is essential to the actualization of time and space every
year through the festival cycle. Indeed, the agricultural cycle and the cycle
of festivals are intrinsically connected.
3. Festivals and the Seasons in Other Writings of the Hebrew Bible
Particularly relevant to the present thesis are passages from Ezek 45; 1 Kgs
12; 2 Chr 30–31; and some short passages from Ezra-Nehemiah.
3.1. Ezekiel 45
In the book of the prophet Ezekiel the cycle of festivals is presented in
45:18–25. Passover is dated, as in the festival calendars of the Pentateuch,
to the fourteenth day of the first month (Ezek 45:21). It differs from other
sources in that it describes the festival as “a feast of seven days,” during
which unleavened bread must be eaten. One other festival is mentioned,
although not named. It is to take place on the fifteenth day of the seventh
month (45:25).
35
On the significance of this, see M. Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of
Religion (Translated by W.R. Trask; New York: Harcourt, 1959), 68–113.
3.2. 1 Kings 12—King Jeroboam’s Calendar innovation in Israel

Related in this chapter are the events that led to the division of the mon-
archy in northern Israel, sometime in the tenth century BCE. Throughout
history, for many kingdoms and ruling regimes, unpopularity stemmed
from an excessive burden of taxation placed upon their subjects by the
ruling class. It is no exception in the instance under consideration. Rep-
resentatives of the northern tribes of Israel asked King Rehoboam, son of
King Solomon, in exchange for their service, to “lighten . . . this heavy yoke
that he [Solomon] placed on us” (1 Kgs 12:4). The young King disregarded
the advice his father’s elders gave him and, in an attempt to assert further
his own authority, followed the advice of his friends, who had proposed to
“discipline them [the people] with scorpions” (1 Kgs 12:6–12). The people’s
reaction was swift: they stoned Rehoboam’s taskmaster, Adoram, to death
(1 Kgs 12:18). The northern tribes’ rebellion became a full blown seces-
sion when they “made [Jeroboam] king over all Israel” (1 Kgs 12:20). The
new Israelite regime moved swiftly to reinstate Shechem as its capital city,
partly to counteract Jerusalem’s centralized administration, and partly to
reinstate northern Israelite customs and practices that had been outlawed
by the centralization.36 The secession became complete when King Jero-
boam abolished the requirements to sacrifice in the Jerusalem Temple
(1 Kgs 12:26–27), built two golden calves and placed them in the sanctuar-
ies at Bethel and Dan (1 Kgs 12:28–29).
Thus King Jeroboam reverted what King David had outlawed by estab-
lishing centralized worship in Jerusalem, namely the right to sacrifice in
various holy places. The newly established Northern Kingdom now had its
own political power house and its own, reestablished, centers for worship.
It only needed to reestablish its own priestly class and its own, distinc-
tive cultic calendar. King Jeroboam addressed the former by appointing
“his own priests for the high places” (1 Kgs 12:31; 13:33; cf. 2 Chr 11:15).37
As to the calendar, the first book of Kings tells us that he “appointed a
festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the festival that was
in Judah . . . in the month that he alone had prescribed” (12:32, 33).38
36
S. Talmon, “Divergences in Calendar Reckoning in Ephraim and Judah,” VT 8 (1958):
42, 57. Also Z. Zevit, The Religions of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of Parallactic Approaches
(London: Continuum, 2001), 449.
37
For a discussion of the motivation behind Jeroboam’s action, and an identification of
the priestly clan favoured by Jeroboam, see B. Halpern, “Levitic Participation in the Reform
Cult of Jeroboam I,” JBL 95 (1976): 31–42, with bibliographical notes.
38
A recent discussion on the specific issue of the calendar in 1 Kgs 12, see Zevit,
op. cit., esp. 449–51.
80 chapter two
When reading this passage one must be aware of the Judaean spin
adopted by the writer/editor. Jeroboam’s action in setting a golden calf in
Bethel and the other in Dan for the people to worship as the “gods who
brought you up out of the land of Egypt,” is declared sinful (1 Kgs 12:30).
The same is decreed of Jeroboam’s action to appoint priests to himself
(1 Kgs 12:13; 13:34). It is not clear, however, whether this condemnation
extends to Jeroboam’s tampering with the cultic calendar and devising a
festival to himself on the fifteenth day of the eighth month. In this regard
Shemaryahu Talmon correctly remarked that:
[I]t must be stressed . . . that dissenters, political and religious alike, will as a
rule not proclaim themselves innovators. They will, on the contrary, always
try to appear as champions of time-honoured ideas and institutions that,
according to their contentions, have been desecrated by the leaders of the
community from which they strive to detach themselves. Jeroboam is no
exception to the rule.39
What the writer/editor of the book of Kings (Dtr) presented as an unwel-
come innovation on the part of Jeroboam I, King of Israel, is perhaps bet-
ter understood as a return to a long established cultic practice in northern
Israel. The postponement of the festival of Tabernacles by one month in
the north may have represented a realignment of the cultic cycle with the
seasons in the Northern Kingdom, alignment that had been broken when
the cult was unified and centralized in Jerusalem under the impetus of
David and Solomon. As suggested by Talmon, the possible explanation for
Jeroboam’s action is the existence of two calendars, one in the Northern
Kingdom, and one in Judah, both remnants of the times when festivals
were not celebrated at the same times across Palestine, reflecting the cli-
matic diversity between the northern part of the kingdom and Judaea in
the south.40 This would explain the month difference between the north
and the south for the festival. It does not mean necessarily that Jero-
boam’s action marked a departure from the Torah legislation, at least with
39
Talmon, “Divergences,” 50.
40
Talmon, “Divergences,” 56–7. See especially note 2 page 56, where Talmon gives data
which indicate that some varieties of grapes ripen in the North approximately a month
later than they do in the Shephelah region (in Judaea). This difference is also characteris-
tic of the olive harvest. See also S. Talmon, “What’s in a Calendar? Calendar Conformity,
Calendar Controversy and Calendar Reform in Ancient and Medieval Judaism,” in Seeking
Out the Wisdom of the Ancients: Essays Offered to Honor Michael V. Fox on the Occasion of
His Sixty-Fifth Birthday (eds R.L. Troxel, K.G. Friedel, and D.R. Magary; Winona Lake, IN:
Eisenbrauns, 2005), 451–60, for the most recent treatment of the passage by Talmon with,
however, no significant addition to his earlier treatment.
regards to the cultic calendar. It is perhaps more likely that the “eighth
month” was in fact the seventh month for Jeroboam, i.e., in the north,
and the eighth for the writer, i.e., in the south. The two calendars were
so closely attached to the seasons that the month difference for harvests
was reflected in the year reckoning, the south starting its year roughly one
month before the north. The writer (Dtr) used his own calendar reckoning
to cast aspersion on Jeroboam. This hypothesis seems to be supported by
the fact that the completion of Solomon’s Temple is given two conflicting
dates: 1 Kgs 6:38 states “in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month,
the house was finished in all its parts.” while 1 Kgs 8:2 suggests that the
dedication of the Temple took place “at the festival in the month Ethanim,
which is the seventh month.”41 The festival in the seventh month is the
41
Talmon, “Divergences,” 57. Also, Zevit, op. cit., 450. Zevit’s hypothesis is that “when
the summer months of Tammuz and Ab . . . appeared to be too early vis-à-vis the observ-
able weather pattern and the maturity of developing fruit, Jeroboam, or any other empow-
ered northerner, could decree the intercalation of an extra month . . . most likely this is
what Jeroboam did.” What Zevit suggests happened is not very convincing, and appears to
be in contradiction with a possible reality. First, the hypothesis that the agricultural cycle
in the northern part of the former kingdom ran approximately one month behind that of
Judea must be taken seriously. To suggest that Jeroboam intercalated in the circumstances
described by Zevit is to suggest that Jeroboam aligned the calendar in the north to that of
the south. This is not quite consonant with the postulated desire to “restore cultic prac-
tices in the north to what they had been prior to the establishment of Jerusalem as the
major center of the united monarchy” (449). Further, Zevit assumes that the calendrical
reckoning is indeed lunar and necessitated regular intercalation. There is no clear indica-
tion that this was the case at the pre-exilic time Zevit postulates for the composition of the
present passage. Cf. Zevit, op. cit., 441, where Zevit follows F.M. Cross’s hypothesis of “Dtr1
a pre-exilic historian whose work concluded at 2 Kgs 23:25 and Dtr2 an exilic historian-
editor who added material about the fall of Judah after the death of Josiah and who glossed
earlier material in the book in order to make it relevant to the people for whom he wrote.”
Zevit continues: “there is no evidence in the Deuteronomistic history pointing to a post-
exilic, i.e., Persian, milieu . . .” This last statement contradicts Zevit’s premise that Jeroboam
intercalated a (lunar) month. Adoption by Israel of a lunar reckoning of the year is more
likely to be a post-exilic innovation in Israel. Cf. for instance the short discussion in Stern,
Calendar and Community, 2, who rightly indicates that “the calendar of Israel in the pre-
exilic period remains, among scholars, an extremely controversial issue,” illustrating the
point with the possible inference from the Flood narratives (Gen 7–8) that the biblical year
was lunar, and exceptionally solar on this occasion, and finding possible support for a solar
biblical reckoning in Num 10:11, with a specific lunar reckoning on this occasion. Stern’s
suggestion that Jeroboam’s action may point to a lunar reckoning in biblical times must
be rejected on the basis of the arguments leveled above against Zevit. In contrast to Stern,
who references Beckwith, Calendar and Chronology, 101–4, as an example of a scholar who
refuted Jaubert’s hypothesis that the biblical calendar was solar, we may quote the very
same scholar who recently endorsed Annie Jaubert’s theory on the biblical origins of the
364-day calendar of the Book of Jubilees. Although this is not quite a volt-face on the part
of the author, it does highlight a key question: how could a solar calendar of 364 days, with
no dated events on the sabbath day, have been derived from a lunar calendar, which by
82 chapter two
festival of Tabernacles. Clearly the same event is given two dates which,
interestingly, differ by one month, and possibly reflect the differing calen-
dars in Israel and in Judah.
3.3. 2 Chronicles 30 & 31—King Hezekiah’s Reform in Judah

The events recorded in 1 Kgs 12 and considered above bear directly
on the events surrounding King Hezekiah’s Passover in Jerusalem towards
the end of the eighth century BCE (2 Chr 30). The Chronicler recounts
how “Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah . . . that they should
come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the
Lord the God of Israel” (v.1), which was to take place ‫“—בַּ ח ֶׁדׁש ַה ֵּׁשנִ י‬in
the second month” (v.2).42 It is not entirely clear why this celebration of
Passover should have taken place “in the second month.” The text gives a
double explanation: a) “the priests had not sanctified themselves in suffi-
cient number,” and b) “nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem” (v.3).43
Moreover, there is another difficulty in that the festival of Unleavened
Bread also was delayed by a month, a move clearly not sanctioned by the
Torah.44
definition would have had no regard for the sabbath? Beckwith’s dating to the mid-third
century BCE for the origins of a 364-day calendar has been convincingly refuted. See the
chapter on the antiquity of this calendar. Without such late dating, one is faced with the
only option that the 364-day year was actually older than first accepted by many scholars.
Therefore, Jaubert’s initial hypothesis of an Old Priestly Calendar—“calendrier sacerdotal
ancien”—governing biblical Israel remains the more likely position. Beckwith’s arguments,
derived from his discussion of the earliest Hebrew canon as comprising those books that
date events as opposed to the books which name famous people, indirectly support the
present position. See R.T. Beckwith, “The Significance of the 364-Day Calendar for the Old
Testament Canon,” in L’Église des deux Alliances: Mémorial Annie Jaubert (1912–1980) (eds
B. Lourié, M. Petit, and A. Orlov; OJC 1; Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2008), 69–81.
42
As shown by J. Milgrom, “Hezekiah’s Sacrifices at the Dedication Services of the Puri-
fied Temple (2 Chronicles 29:21–26),” in Biblical and Related Studies Presented to Samuel
Iwry (eds A. Kort and S. Morschauser; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1985), 159–61, the
inclusion of “all Israel” in the passover celebration, and beforehand in the purification
rituals (2 Chr 29:21–6) is explained by the huge increase in size of the population of Jeru-
salem in the wake of the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 721 BCE. This, argues Milgrom
(161 n. 12), is supported by the archeological evidence. See also M. Broshi, “The Expansion
of Jerusalem in the Reigns of Hezekiah and Manasseh,” IEJ 24 (1974): 21–26.
43
J. Milgrom, Numbers ‫( במדבר‬The JPS Torah Commentary; Philadelphia: The Jewish
Publication Society, 1990), 372, argues that the two reasons invoked for the postponement
correspond exactly to those allowed by the law of the second passover (Num 9:10), and
suggests that the passage in Num 9 formed the basis for the actions of King Hezekiah.
44
As pointed out by Milgrom, “Hezekiah’s Sacrifices,” 161 note 10; idem Numbers ‫במדבר‬,
372.
Several explanations have been given for this. The first comes from the
Rabbis, the Babylonian Talmud records their disapproval of Hezekiah’s
calendrical action:
Our Rabbis taught: six things King Hezekiah did; in three they [the Sages]
agreed with him, and in three they did not agree with him . . . and he inter-
calated [the month of ] Nisan in Nisan, and they did not agree with him.
(b. Pesaḥ 56a)45
This explanation has been echoed in modern scholarship. Segal’s position
in this regard is illustrative:
Have we any explicit mention of intercalation in the Bible? There is a plau-
sible reference to intercalation in the description of Hezekiah’s celebration
of the Passover in the second instead of the first month in 2 Chr. 30. So
pious a king, it may be asserted, would not have been the first to differ the
Passover for one month. The deferment was due, then, to the insertion in
that year of an intercalary month, and this postponement by Hezekiah was
later adduced as ‘historical’ evidence for the Passover ‘cleanness’ regulations
of Num. ix.46
Although the reference to an intercalation is plausible, the unfolding of
the events in 2 Chr 30 and 31 points in another direction. It is highly pos-
sible that Hezekiah’s actions were motivated by the leurre of a return to
centralized worship in Jerusalem. The Northern Kingdom’s recent demise
at the hands of the Assyrians probably resulted in a huge flux of refugees
from the north coming towards Jerusalem. Most certainly the Priestly
class who could escape deportation by the Assyrians sought refuge with
their counterparts in Jerusalem. In this context it is possible that the book
of Deuteronomy found its way to the Jerusalem Temple, and its particu-
lar stance on the centralization of worship presented Hezekiah with the
opportunity to attempt a unification of calendrical practices between
45
B.A. Freedman, Pesahim (London: The Soncino Press, 1938), 277–8. See also J. Neusner,
The Talmud of Babylonia. An American Translation. Volume IV.C: Pesahim Chapters 4–6 (BJS
283; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1993), 32. See also b. Sanh. 12a: “It once happened that Hezekiah
king of Judah declared a leap year because of uncleanness, and then prayed for mercy, for
it is written, for the multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar
and Zebulun had not cleansed themselves, [12b] yet did they eat the Passover otherwise than
it is written, for Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying: May the Lord in his goodness pardon
everyone. R. Simeon said: if the intercalation was actually on the ground of uncleanness,
it holds good. Why then did Hezekiah implore divine mercy?—Because only an Adar can
be intercalated and he intercalated a Nisan in Nisan. R. Simeon b. Judah said on behalf of
R. Simeon, that it was because he had persuaded Israel to celebrate a second passover,” in
J. Shachter and B.A. Freedman, Sanhedrin Vol. I (London: The Soncino Press, 1935).
46
J.B. Segal, “Intercalation,” 257.
84 chapter two
the north and the south.47 Hezekiah delayed the Passover in the south
by a month, (possibly) invoking the laws of the second Passover (Num
9:11),48 and celebrated the Passover in the second month according to the
calendrical reckoning in place in Judah. This second month corresponded
to the first month in the calendrical reckoning of the former Northern
Kingdom. The Passover on this occasion was therefore celebrated at the
correct time according to Israel’s reckoning, on the fourteenth of the first
month; this was in the second month in the Judaean reckoning.
The narrative states also that “many people came together in Jerusalem
to keep the festival of unleavened bread in the second month” (v.13). The
date of the start of the festival is not given, only its length is indicated:
seven days (v.21), during which they ate “the food of the festival” (v.22).
That Passover and Unleavened Bread are understood in 2 Chronicles to
coincide is perhaps indicated in the narrative by the insertion (v.15) of the
indication that the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day
of the month. It is the slaughter of the Passover sacrifice which is dated
to the fourteenth of the (second) month, while it is indicated that the
assembly “kept the festival of Unleavened Bread with great gladness for
seven days” (v.21).
It is difficult to conceive that a great assembly would have gathered in
Jerusalem on two occasions that month, especially if the assembly also
included the Israelites from the former Northern Kingdom. The assembly
is mentioned in connection with the festival of Unleavened Bread (v.13
“many people”), and in connection with the slaughter of the Passover
lamb (v.17) and the Passover meal (v.18). In the light of this, it is reason-
able to infer that the festivals of Passover and Unleavened Bread took
place at the same time, starting on the fourteenth of the month.49 It is also
reasonable to infer that the singling out of the fourteenth of the month as
the date for the Passover sacrifice may point out that the Passover meal
took place on the following day, the fifteenth day of the month, in the
47
Milgrom, “Hezekiah’s Sacrifices,” 160. See also J. Milgrom, “Profane Slaughter and a
Formulaic Key to the Composition of Deuteronomy,” HUCA 47 (1976), and J.M. Myers, II
Chronicles: Introduction, Translation and Notes (AB 13; New York: Doubleday, 1965), 177.
48
Alternatively this specific explanation was inserted by the Chronicler as a theological
justification for Hezekiah’s actions.
49
The Passover and Unleavened Bread are mentioned also in the narrative concerning
King Josiah. Josiah’s Passover was celebrated on the fourteenth day of the first month, the
date when the Passover sacrifice was slaughtered (2 Chr 35:1). This was also the occasion
for the observance of the festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days (2 Chr 35:17).
evening, at the start of the day. The day reckoning would therefore be the
sunset to sunset reckoning.
Importantly, there is, in the narrative concerning King Hezekiah, no
explicit mention of the other two pilgrim festivals of Weeks and Taber-
nacles. There is, however, an indirect reference to them in chapter 31,
where the Chronicler expounds the contributions that King Hezekiah
gave, from his own possessions for the Temple’s daily sacrifices, sabbaths,
new moons/start of the months, and appointed festivals, ‫תֹורת‬ ַ ְּ‫ַּכ ָּכתּוב ב‬
‫“—יְ הוָ ה‬as it is written in the law of the Lord” (31:3). Presumably, these
included contributions for the festival of Weeks in the third month (Exod
34; Num 28; Deut 16:9–11, 16; cf. 2 Chr 8:13) and for the festival of Taber-
nacles in the seventh month (Lev 23:34; Deut 16:13, 16; cf. 2 Chr 8:13). It was
seen elsewhere that the occurrence of the festival of Weeks in the third
month is due to the counting of seven weeks from the “morrow after the
sabbath” (Lev 23:15). In the present context, however, the Chronicler is
adamant that Passover and unleavened bread have taken place in the sec-
ond month according to the Judaean reckoning. Therefore, the counting
of the seven weeks should have started from “the day after the sabbath,”
sometime in the second half of the second month, resulting, presumably,
in a date sometime in the first half of the fourth month for the festival of
Weeks in Judaea.50 Whatever the case may be, the text does not mention
by name the festivals of Weeks and Tabernacles.
Whether the festival of Weeks was celebrated in the fourth month
(Judaean reckoning) that year is difficult to assert. If it was, it created a
problem for the Chronicler as this would have been against the Torah
legislation, a state of affairs simply not considered by the Chronicler (cf.
2 Chr 31:3). In the Torah, the counting of the seven weeks from the mor-
row after the sabbath in the first month is simply not affected by the law
of the second Passover. Yet, as pointed out above, in this particular case
it is not just the Passover that was delayed by a month, but the seven
days of Unleavened Bread also. Therefore, the presentation of the Sheaf,
an integral part of Unleavened Bread, did not take place in the (Judaean)
first month but was delayed by a month. By knock-on effect, the festival
50
If the count started from the sixteenth day of the second month, reflecting the later
rabbinic custom, the festival of Shavu‘ot took place on the sixth day of the fourth month.
If the count started on the “morrow after the sabbath” following the festival of Unleavened
Bread, as was the custom among the followers of the Jubilees calendar, the festival of
Shavu‘ot would have been celebrated on the twelfth day of the fourth month, a Sunday.
86 chapter two
of Weeks was also postponed and must have occurred in the (Judaean)
fourth month.
The key to the problem is to be retrieved from the narrative of 2 Chr
31:4–7:
4
[King Hezekiah] commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give
the portion due to the priests and the Levites, so that they might devote
themselves to the Law of the Lord. 5As soon as the word spread, the people
of Israel gave in abundance the first fruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and
of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of
everything. 6The people of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah
also brought in the tithe of cattle and sheep, and the tithe of the dedicated
things that had been consecrated to the Lord their God, and laid them in
heaps. 7In the third month they began to pile up the heaps, and finished
them in the seventh month.
This passage is illuminating on several counts. First, in the context of King
Hezekiah’s command to the people concerning the tithe of the produce of
the land, the Chronicler indicates that “in the third month they began to
pile up the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month” (2 Chr 31:7).
This tithe, we are told, was brought to the Temple (2 Chr 31:10). The com-
mand in the Pentateuch concerning the pilgrim festivals is that the Israel-
ites “shall not come before the Lord empty-handed” (Deut 16:16). Second, it
is likely that the mention of the cycle of tithing starting in the third month
and ending in the seventh month suggests, or reflects, an agricultural cycle
of harvest. But which agricultural cycle has the Chronicler got in mind?
Verse 5 indicates that the people of Israel—‫— ְבנֵ י־יִ שְׂ ָר ֵאל‬responded to
Hezekiah’s command by giving “in abundance the first-fruits of grain,
wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in
abundance the tithe of everything” (2 Chr 31:5).51 Note that there is no
time indicator here. Verse 6 goes on to stipulate that the people of Israel
and Judah—‫הּודה‬ ָ ֽ‫“— ְבנֵ י יִ ְש ָר ֵאל וִ י‬who lived in the cities of Judah” also
brought the tithe and dedicated things. Verse 7, it is here argued, indicates
that the latter did so “in the third month . . . and in the seventh month”.
The Hebrew text reads: ‫ּובח ֶֺדׁש‬ ַ ‫בַּ ח ֶֺדׁש ַה ְּש ִל ִׁש ֵה ֵחּלּו ָה ֲע ֵרמֹות ְליִ ּסֹוד‬
‫יעי ִּכּלּו‬
ִ ‫ ַהשִּׁ ִב‬. The verb ‫החּלּו‬ ֵ —“they began”—in the Perfect third mas-
culine plural form, most probably refers to ‫יהּודה ַהּיו ְֺׁש ִבים‬ ָ ‫ּובנֵ י יִ שְׂ ָר ֵאל ִ ֽו‬
ְ
‫הּודה‬ָ ְ‫“— ְּב ָע ֵרי י‬the people of Israel and Judah, the ones living in the cities
51
As pointed out by Milgrom, “Hezekiah’s Sacrifices,” 159, 2 Chr 29:24 indicates that
King Hezekiah desired the whole of Israel, and not Judah only, to become the beneficiary
of the sin offering.
of Judah” (verse 6),52 and not to the ‫ ְבנֵ י־יִ ְש ָֺר ֵאל‬of verse 5. This means
that the time indicators in verse 7, ‫יעי‬ ִ ‫ ּובח ֶֹדׁש ַהשִּׁ ִב‬
ַ . . . ‫“—בַּ ח ֶֹדׁש ַהשְּׁ ִלשִׁ י‬in
the third month . . . and in the seventh month”—apply to the ‫ּובנֵ י יִ ְש ָֹר ֵאל‬ ְ
‫הּודה‬
ָ ְ‫הּודה ַהּיֹושְׁ ִבים בְּ ָע ֵרי י‬
ָ ֽ‫“—וִ י‬the people of Israel and Judah, the ones
living in the cities of Judah”, and not to the ‫“— ְבנֵ י־יִ ְש ָֺר ֵאל‬people of Israel”,
presumably from the former Northern Kingdom. The distinction made by
the Chronicler between, on the one hand, ‫( ְבנֵ י־יִ ְש ָֺר ֵאל‬verse 5), and ‫ּובנֵ י‬ ְ
‫הּודה‬
ָ ְ‫הּודה ַהּיֹושְׁ ִבים בְּ ָע ֵרי י‬
ָ ֽ‫ יִ ְש ָֹר ֵאל וִ י‬on the other hand, together with the
time indicators applied to the latter, are significant.
This is the key to solve the calendrical problem posed by the passage
and suggested by the absence of any connection between the third and
seventh months, and the festivals of Weeks and Tabernacles when a con-
nection would be expected. The third and seventh months of 2 Chr 31:7
are those of the Judaean reckoning, not of the Israelite reckoning. The
Chronicler referred to the times of tithing as opposed to the festivals per
se probably because the celebration of the Passover in the second month
(Judaean reckoning) had introduced a disconnection between the cultic
cycle and the agricultural cycle in Judah. Logically, with the Passover and
Unleavened Bread in the second month, the festival of Weeks would have
been delayed by a month and would have occurred in the fourth (Judaean)
month. Nowhere in the Torah is a festival of Weeks in the fourth month
validated. Rather, the festival of Weeks is also called in the Torah the festi-
val of “the first fruits of the wheat harvest” (Exod 34:22), while the festival
of Tabernacles is called “the feast of ingathering at the year’s end” (Exod
34:22). Both festivals take place, respectively, in the third and in the sev-
enth months, times of harvest-gathering for the produce of the land.
It is suggested therefore that “the people of Israel and Judah who lived
in the cities of Judah” brought their tithe of the first fruits of the land to
the Temple (2 Chr 31:10) in the third and seventh month (Judaean reck-
oning). These months were traditionally connected with the cultic/agri-
cultural cycle, but on this particular occasion had become disconnected
from the (new, Israelite) cultic calendar. This is probably the reason why
the text refers to the third and the seventh months as times of tithing
instead of referring to those traditionally religious times in terms of their
cultic festivals. For the people of Israel, however, the festivals and offer-
ings of tithes and dedicated things presumably took place on the occasion
of their festival of Weeks in the third month, and in the seventh month,
My translation.
52
88 chapter two
on the occasion of their festival of Tabernacles, which were the occasions

for harvests of the fruit of the land, according to the Israelite calendar.
By describing the practice of tithe offering for the “people of Israel and
Judah who lived in the cities of Judah” in terms of “the third month . . . and
the seventh month,” and not in terms of the festivals traditionally asso-
ciated with these agricultural times, i.e., Weeks and Tabernacles, the
Chronicler indicated that there occurred a dislocation in Judah between
the (Judaean) agricultural calendar and the (Judaean) cultic calendar. It is
because of this disconnection, introduced that year by the celebration of
the Passover and unleavened bread in the second month, that the Chroni-
cler referred to the third and seventh month as the times when “they began
to pile up the heaps, and finished them.” It is likely that subsequently the
second Passover became associated with a potential calendrical difficulty,
notably a potential dissociation of the cycle of festivals from the agricul-
tural cycle of first fruits offerings in the third and seventh months.
3.4. Ezra-Nehemiah
This work, probably written in Palestine, is a historical witness of various
levels of reliability. It contains material which deals with events surround-
ing the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem (ca. 515 BCE), the return
of Ezra (ca. 458 or 398 BCE), and the period when Nehemiah governed
in Jerusalem (ca. 445–433 BCE). It is often dated, in its final form, to the
fourth century BCE. It recounts the events in Jerusalem surrounding the
returns from the Babylonian exile under the leadership of Ezra and Nehe-
miah.53 There is in Ezra 6:19 the report that “on the fourteenth day of the
first month the returned exiles kept the Passover,” and “with joy they cel-
ebrated the festival of unleavened bread seven days” (v.22). Here again
the Passover is dated in the first month, while the festival of Unleavened
Bread is stated as lasting seven days.54 Further, there are allusions to the
53
The exact dating of the compilation has been the subject of much debate in scholarly
circles. See R.W. Klein, “Ezra-Nehemiah, Books Of,” in ABD, Vol. 2 (ed. D.N. Freedman; New
York: Doubleday, 1992), 731–42 for a brief discussion of the date of composition of the
work. Scholarly opinions vary from a few years after the events to sometime around 300
BCE. A more recent treatment can be found in J.C. VanderKam, From Joshua to Caiaphas:
High Priests After the Exile (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2004), 1–42, where the author revisits the
question of the dating, provides a helpful discussion of the sources, and gives important
pointers in the footnotes.
54
There is a parallel statement in the Apocrypha. In the LXX version, in the book known
as 1 Esdras, the same event is recounted. In this context also, the Passover is dated to the
fourteenth day of the first month (1 Esdras 7:10), and they kept the festival of unleavened
lending of “grain, wine and oil” (5:11), and to the tithe of grain, wine and
oil (10:39), to be given by the people of Israel to the priests and Levites.
Although no dates are indicated for these, it is reasonable to suggest that
these took place on the same occasions as those recorded in 2 Chr 31:7,
i.e., “from the third to the seventh month.” Lastly, the indication that the
wood offering must take place at “appointed times, year by year” (10:34),
is a development on the regulation concerning the fire on the altar, which
was to be kept perpetually (cf. Lev 6:12–13).55 This will take on a more
formal character in the cultic calendar of the people behind the Dead Sea
Scrolls.56
4. The Cycle of Festivals in the Hebrew Scriptures:

Summary and Conclusion
The correlation between the cycle of festivals and the agricultural cycle
in the Pentateuch was pointed out above. The Priestly exposition of the
cycle in Lev 23 leaves no room for doubts: Passover (implicitly), and the
Sheaf Offering, the festival of Weeks, and the festival of Tabernacles each
were anchored in the agricultural cycle. This correlation is also born out
in the historical books considered, where the festivals were in conformity
with the Mosaic Law. There are indications through the documents that
traditions were changing and adapting. For instance, whereas Passover
and Unleavened Bread were two different festivals, they tended to fuse
into one (cf. Ezek 45; Ezra 6). It also becomes evident that different calen-
drical practices were followed, most likely reflecting varying climates. The
agricultural cycles in Israel and in Judah were probably off by a month.
It is still along those lines that the most probable background to Jero-
boam’s so-called calendrical innovation in the tenth century BCE may
be located. Jeroboam reverted to a calendar in the Northern Kingdom,
which was in line with the seasons in the north. His action drew criticism
from the Chronicler, who interpreted Jeroboam’s self-appointed calendar
from the standpoint of the ephemeris in place in Judah. The same can be
said of King Hezekiah’s attempt at synchronizing the cycles of festivals
in Israel and in Judah. To this effect, his postponement of the festivals of
bread for seven days (v.14). Cf. W.R. Goodman, “1 Esdras, Book Of,” in ABD, Vol. 2 (ed.
D.N. Freedman; New York: Doubleday, 1992), 609–11.
55
56
See Chapter 4.
90 chapter two
Passover and Unleavened Bread to the second month, although explained

on account of the ritual uncleanness of “all Israel,” was probably originally
motivated by another reason. This second month in the Southern King-
dom was likely to have corresponded to the first month in the Northern
Kingdom. From the Chronicler’s Judaean perspective, this celebration in
the second month could not affect the times in the third and seventh
months, times when tithes and first fruits were brought to the Temple.
This is the reason why those times, usually associated with the festivals of
Weeks and Tabernacles, were in this particular instance disconnected from
those festivals. On this occasion, the third and seventh months (Judaean
reckoning) were indeed the occasion for the gathering of first fruits and
offering of tithes. But because the Passover (and Unleavened Bread) was
delayed to the second (Judaean) month, in effect the first month in Israel’s
reckoning, the third and seventh months (Judaean reckoning), lost their
connection with the cultic cycle.
The overall picture which rises from the Hebrew Scriptures is, there-
fore, rather composite, and foreshadows the calendrical polemics that
took place in the subsequent periods of the Second Temple. The key to
understand these is to accept the principle that festivals had to occur
according to biblical law, and in accord with the seasons. It is precisely
what took place.
CHAPTER three
The Cycle of Festivals and the Seasons in the

Book of Jubilees
1. Introduction
Jaubert’s contribution to the scholarly understanding of the Book of Jubi-

lees, and more specifically her identification and exposition of the cultic
calendar therein, has been outlined above. Her input rightly remains cen-
tral to the discussion of calendrical—and by extension cultic—issues in
second temple Judaism. The position of the mid-second century BCE Book
of Jubilees on the significance of the cycle of time is explicitly stated in its
Prologue:1
of the testimony, of the events of the years, of the weeks of their jubi-
come up to the summit of the mountain.2
This is the “testimony for annual observance.” The cycle of festivals,
together with the law and commandments, has been, it is claimed, divinely
revealed.3 As such, it is believed to govern the cycle of time and must be
adhered to. Generally speaking, the cycle of festivals in the Book of Jubilees
is identical to the cycle of festivals found in the Pentateuch, although it
counts additional festivals.
The methodology used in the preceding chapter will also be applied in
the present case, each festival being considered in turn. Within this frame-
work, close scrutiny will be given to two particular matters of legislation.
The first is the absence of legislation concerning the second Passover. It
1
J.C. VanderKam, op. cit.; “The Temple Scroll and the Book of Jubilees,” in Temple Scroll
Studies, Papers Presented at a Symposium on the Temple Scroll, Manchester, December 1987
(ed. G. Brooke; JSPSup 7; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1989), 211–36; Jubilees.
2
All quotes from the Book of Jubilees are from the translation by J.C. VanderKam,
op. cit. For the critical Ethiopic text, see J.C. VanderKam, ed., The Book of Jubilees. A Critical
Text (CSCO 510; Lovanii: Peeters, 1989).
3
For “the law and commandments” see Exod 24:12 ‫ּתֹורה וְ ַה ִּמ ְצוָ ת‬
ָ ‫וְ ַה‬.
92 chapter three
will be argued that, in his reworking/re-writing of Num 9:1–14, the author

of the Book of Jubilees purposefully omitted and the retelling of the inci-
dent which form the background to the mosaic institution of the second
Passover (Num 9:6–8), and the legislation about the second Passover
itself (Num 9:9–12). The second matter of legislation is concerned with
an important aspect of cultic praxis: the offering of first fruits and second
tithes. This particular legislation both assumes and requires that the cul-
tic calendar be closely attached to the agricultural cycle. At the outset,
it is argued that the absence of a second Passover law on the one hand,
and the existence of a precise legislation concerning the consumption of
first fruits on the other hand, are together very strong indications that the
author of the Book of Jubilees expounded in his narrative a cultic calendar
that he understood to be attached to the agricultural cycle. Put in negative
terms, the author simply could not fathom a cultic calendar that could
possibly be dissociated from the agricultural cycle.
2. The Festival of Passover in Jubilees
There are two main passages in the Book of Jubilees that expound the fes-
tival of Passover: Jub. 18:18, and Jub. 49. In the latter passage the reader
learns the legislation governing the Passover preparation and celebration.
The Passover is to be sacrificed “on the fourteenth of the first month,” and
is to be eaten “at night on the evening of the fifteenth from the time of
sunset” ( Jub. 49:1).4 As in the Pentateuch, Passover in this passage com-
memorates the night of liberation from bondage in Egypt, the night when
“all the forces of Mastema were sent to kill every first born in the land
of Egypt” ( Jub. 49:2).5 In Jub. 18 the occasion for the festival is somewhat
different. It is celebrated in the context of Abraham’s return from Mount
Zion to Beersheba, and seems to follow immediately after Isaac’s Aqedah
4
The day reckoning here seems to be from sunset-to-sunset. But see 49:10 “The Israel-
ites are to come and celebrate the passover on its specific day—on the fourteenth of the
first month—between the evenings, from the third part of the day until the third part of
the night. For two parts of the day have been given for light and its third part for the eve-
ning.” The reference, first, to the day part, and second, to the night part of the fourteenth of
the first month seems to contradict the dating of the festival presented at the beginning of
Jub. 49. The day reckoning seems now to be from sunrise to sunrise. For a treatment of an
sunset-to-sunset reckoning of the day in the Book of Jubilees, see J.M. Baumgarten, Studies
in Qumran Law (SJLA 24; Leiden: Brill, 1977), 124 ff.
5
Mastema stands here for Satan. Cf. J.C. VanderKam, “Passover,” in EDSS, Vol. 2 (eds
L.H. Schiffman and J.C. VanderKam; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 637–8.
the cycle of festivals and the seasons in the book of jubilees 93
and God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants would be like stars
(18:15). The festival is here neither named nor dated. The only indication
is that Abraham “used to celebrate this festival joyfully for seven days dur-
ing all the years” ( Jub. 18:18). The festival is most likely that of Unleavened
Bread because in Jub. 17:15 the events leading up to Isaac’s Aqedah are
dated to “the first month—on the twelfth of this month.” The travel from
Beersheba back to Beersheba started “in the morning,” i.e., the thirteenth
of the first month, and took six days, with the Aqedah taking place on the
third day, i.e., the fifteenth of the first month.6
There is no provision in the Book of Jubilees for a second Passover. This
may not be surprising on first consideration, as Jubilees only concerns
itself with the biblical narrative from Genesis 1 to Exodus 12.7 As this nar-
rative does not include the second Passover, the author simply ignored it.
This is a plausible explanation. Yet, there are plenty of instances when the
author of the Book of Jubilees supplements the Genesis-Exodus account.
For example, there is no systematic treatment of the cycle of festivals in
this portion of the biblical text, and one must read on to Num 28 and 29,
Lev 23 and Deut 16 in order to have an indication of how this cycle is to be
articulated. The legislation concerning the second Passover only appears
in Num 9. In the Book of Jubilees, however, the cycle of festival is sewn into
the narrative of the Patriarchs, especially in the context of their religious
activities.8 So it is that Noah (6:17, 20–21) and Abraham (15:1) celebrated
in the third month the festival of Weeks, associated with the Covenant.
Abraham was the first to keep the festival of Tabernacles in the seventh
month (16:21). The Aqedah of Isaac took place in the first month, on the
fifteenth, and coincided with a seven-day festival observed by Abraham
(18:18), most likely, as argued above, that of Unleavened Bread. His son
Isaac also observed the festival of Tabernacles, on the fifteenth of the
6
See Jaubert’s reconstruction of the Patriarchs’ journeys, date de la cène, 25. There
appears to be a difficulty with Jaubert’s reconstruction and the dating of the festival on
the fifteenth. The festival is admittedly that of Unleavened Bread, and the problem here is
whether the festival started on the twelfth and lasted until the eighteenth, or whether it
reflected common practice and started on the fifteenth of the first month and lasted seven
days. The difficulty will be more or less accentuated whether one posits a sunset-to-sunset
or a sunrise-to-sunrise day reckoning. This difficulty will here be left open.
7
J.C. VanderKam, op. cit., v.
8
Halpern-Amaru, “Joy as Piety in the ‘Book of Jubilees’,” JJS 56 (2005): 187, rightly argues
that the author of the Book of Jubilees carefully selected the “contexts where there is either
a reference to altar building or to sacrifice” to expand on the festivals as observed by the
Patriarchs (cf. Gen 8:20–22/Jub. 6:17–18; Gen 15:9–11/Jub. 14:20; Gen 21:33/Jub. 16:20ff.; Gen
22:13/Jub. 18:18–19; Gen 31:54/Jub. 29:7–8; Gen 35:7/Jub. 32:7; Gen 46:1/Jub. 44:4).
94 chapter three
s eventh month (32:4). The first day of the first month was the day on
which Noah made “atonement through it for himself and for his sons”
(7:3), while Moses was given the ordinances for the festival of Passover/
Unleavened Bread (Jub. 49). Of the entire festival calendar only the Rais-
ing of the Sheaf does not receive this particular treatment by the author
of the Book of Jubilees.9
The Book of Jubilees supplemented the Genesis—Exod 12 narrative in
that it added to its content the festivals of the calendar. In this regard one
may note that the author of the Book of Jubilees time and again indicates
that festivals were celebrated “joyfully.”10 The Genesis—Exod 12 narrative
all but stresses the joyful aspect of the festivals, and this is another addi-
tion of the author of the Book of Jubilees in his reworking of the biblical
narrative.11 This joyful aspect does appear in other places in the narrative
of the Pentateuch however,12 and is also a strong component of the Ezra-
Nehemiah material and of Chronicles.13 Yet, joy is nowhere explicitly con-
nected with the Passover in the Pentateuch narrative. There is only an
indirect connection in Num 10:10, where ‫ּוביֹום ִש ְֹמ ַח ְת ֶכם‬ְ —“and on the day
of your (plural) joy”—is associated with ‫יכם‬ ֶ ‫ּוב ָראשֵׁ י ָח ֵד ֵׁש‬
ְ ‫יכם‬
ֶ ‫מֹוע ֵד‬
ֲ ‫ּוב‬ְ —
“and on your fixed festivals and the beginnings of your months.”14 There is
9
As was shown by Barthélemy, op. cit, and by Jaubert, date de la cène, 21–4.
10
In Jub. 18:18 Abraham observed the festival (of Passover) joyfully for seven days;
Moses was commanded to give the Israelites the statutes concerning these “seven joyful
days” (49:22; cf. the first day of the festival as “the beginning of joy” in 49:2); the festival of
Tabernacles is the setting for much rejoicing for Abraham ( Jub. 16) and for Jacob at Bethel
( Jub. 32); the festival of Weeks is also the setting for “a joyful feast” for Isaac and Ishmael
not long before the death of their father Abraham ( Jub. 22:4). It has been shown recently
that the joy motif—‫—שמחה‬is used extensively by the author of the Book of Jubilees to
stress the piety of the Patriarchs, an interesting point when one considers that joy does
not appear as a motif, or a requirement, in the biblical narrative covered by the author of
the Book of Jubilees.
11
See Halpern-Amaru, op. cit., esp. 186, esp. 186, for the joy motif in Genesis—Exodus 12.
12
Halpern-Amaru, op. cit., 186. The author notes that the motif of joy appears quite
significantly in Deuteronomy in the command to “rejoice before the Lord.” This motif is
also connected to tithing, and votive and free-will offerings (Deut 12:7, 12); to firstfruits
offerings (Deut 26:11); and to specific festivals that are connected with the fruits of the land
(cf. Lev 23:40; Deut 16:11, 14, 15).
13
Halpern-Amaru, op. cit., 186. See especially Ezra 6:19–22; Neh 8:9–12, 17; 12:43. In
Chronicles the joy motif is especially developed: 1 Chr 12:40–41; 29:21–22; 2 Chr 7:9–10;
15:11–15; 30:21–26). See also S. Japhet, The Ideology of the Book of Chronicles and Its Place
in Biblical Thought (Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 1989), 253–4, referenced by Halpern-Amaru,
op. cit., 186 notes 7 and 8.
14
Halpern-Amaru, op. cit., 188, renders ‫יכם‬ ֶ ֵׁ‫ּוב ָראשֵׁ י ָח ְדש‬
ְ as “new moon days.” The
translation “beginning of your months” is here preferred in acknowledgement that there
were probably several ways to reckon the beginning of the month, only one of those
related to the “new moon.” The LXX is very close to the Hebrew text and translates: ‘καὶ ἐν
ταῖς ἡμέραις τῆς εὐϕροσύνης ὑμῶν καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἑορταῖς ὑμῶν καὶ ἐν ταῖς νουμηνίαις’.
no doubt that the author of the Book of Jubilees counted Passover among
those, and prescribed joy on its celebration, a prescription that fulfills the
command given in Num 10:10 concerning fixed festivals.15 In fact, as will be
shown below, it is highly probable that the author of the Book of Jubilees
knew and engaged with Num 9:1–14 when he expounded the command-
ment to “Remember . . . the Passover” in 49:1–10.
First, the Jubilees passage under consideration is almost identical to
Num 9:1–14 in both structure and content, as the following table illus-
trates. Both texts begin with the command to keep/remember the Pass-
over (Num 9:1–3 // Jub. 49:1). This is followed by a brief summary of the
events which took place in Egypt (Num 9:4–5 // Jub. 49:2–6).16 The bibli-
cal passage then introduces what is possibly a particular incident which
probably found its way into the larger Law code and became the basis for
the addition of the second Passover to the cultic calendar (Num 9:6–8).17
Jubilees however is resoundingly silent as to the second Passover, and
ignores—purposefully I would argue—the incident recorded in Numbers
involving the unclean people and the institution of the second Passover.
Rather, and very tellingly, the author of the Book of Jubilees expounds at
this particular place the reason why the Passover should be remembered
once a year, every year:
[T]hen you will not change a day from the day or from month to month.
For it is an eternal statute and it is engraved on the heavenly tablets regard-
ing the Israelites that they are to celebrate it each and every year on its
day, once a year, throughout their entire history. There is no temporal limit
because it is ordained forever. (49:7–8)
Numbers proceeds to explain, in the context of this second Passover, how
the Passover should be kept (Num 9:9–12). Jubilees, again ignoring material
which treats of the second Passover, defers until the end of the passage the
exposition of the statutes governing the Passover (49:12–14, with another
emphasis on the date in the first month). This is an editorial change on the
part of the author of the Book of Jubilees, who wanted to avoid any mention
of the second Passover, thus displaying his prejudice towards the festival.
15
Cf. Jub. 49:2 “ . . . it was the beginning of the festival and the beginning of joy.”
16
It would appear that the author of Num 9:4–5 is content with giving a very brief
summary of Exodus 12, echoing Ex 12:28. The much longer treatment in Jub. 49:2–6 is to
be explained by the particular stance the author is taking to explain the origins of the
Passover.
17
Milgrom, Numbers ‫במדבר‬, 68. The introduction of this incident by the verb ‫וַ יְ ִהי‬,
a common practice to introduce a somewhat independent pericope in the Biblical text,
supports the proposition.
96 chapter three
Numbers 9:1–14 Jubilees 49:1–14

vv. 1–3 [ordinance to keep the Pass- v. 1 [ordinance to keep the Passover,
over, with indication of the date] with indication of the date]
1
The Lord spoke to Moses in the wil- 1
Remember the commandments
derness of Sinai, in the first month of which the Lord gave you regarding the
the second year after they had come Passover so that you may celebrate
out of the land of Egypt, saying: 2let it at its time on the fourteenth of the
the Israelites keep the Passover at its first month, that you may sacrifice it
appointed time. 3On the fourteenth before evening, and so that they may
day of this month, at twilight, you eat it at night on the evening of the
shall keep it at its appointed time; fifteenth from the time of sunset.
according to all its statutes and all its
regulations you shall keep it.
vv. 4–5 [brief summary of the first vv. 2–6 [Jubilees’ own summary of
Passover (Num. 9:5b // Ex. 12:28)] the first Passover.]
4
So Moses told the Israelites that they 2
For on this night—it was the begin-
should keep the Passover. 5They kept ning of the festival and the beginning
the Passover in the first month, on the of joy—you were eating the Passover
fourteenth day of the month, at twi- in Egypt when all the forces of Mas-
light, in the wilderness of Sinai. Just as tema were sent to kill every first-born
the Lord had commanded Moses, so in the land of Egypt—from the pha-
the Israelites did. raoh’s first-born to the first-born of
the captive slave-girl at the millstone
and to the cattle as well. 3This is that
which the Lord gave them: into each
house on whose door they saw the
blood of a year-old lamb, they were
not to enter that house to kill but
were to pass over (it) in order to save
all who were in the house because
the sign of the blood was on its door.
4
The Lord’s forces did everything that
the Lord ordered them. They passed
over all the Israelites. The plague did
not come on them to destroy any of
them—from cattle to mankind to
dogs. 5The plague on Egypt was very
great. There was no house in Egypt
in which there was no corpse, crying,
and mourning. 6All Israel was eating
paschal meat, drinking the wine, and
glorifying, blessing, and praising the
Lord God of their fathers. They were
ready to leave the Egyptian yoke and
evil slavery.
Table (cont.)
vv. 6–8 [the incident of the unclean vv. 7–8 [command to observe Pass-
people] over once a year, on its day]
6
Now there were certain people who 7
Now you remember this day through-
were unclean through touching a out all your lifetime. Celebrate it
corpse, so that they could not keep from year to year throughout all your
the Passover on that day. They came lifetime, once a year on its day in
before Moses and Aaron on that day, accord with all of its law. Then you
7
and said to him, ‘Although we are will not change a day from the day
unclean through touching a corpse, or from month to month. 8For it is an
why must we be kept from presenting eternal statute and it is engraved on
the Lord’s offering at its appointed the heavenly tablets regarding the
time among the Israelites?’ 8Moses Israelites that they are to celebrate it
spoke to them, ‘Wait, so that I may each and every year on its day, once a
hear what the Lord will command year, throughout their entire history.
concerning you.’ There is no temporal limit because it
is ordained forever.
vv. 9–12 [institution of the second

Passover; how the Passover is to be
kept]
9
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
10
Speak to the Israelites, saying: any-
one of you or your descendants who
is unclean through touching a corpse,
or is away on a journey shall still keep
the Passover to the Lord. 11In the sec-
ond month, on the fourteenth day, at
twilight, they shall keep it; they shall
eat it with unleavened bread and bit-
ter herbs. 12They shall leave none of
it until morning, nor break a bone of
it; according to all the statute for the
Passover they shall keep it.
v. 13 [cases generating penalty] v. 9 [cases generating penalty]

But anyone who is clean and is not
13 9
The man who is pure but does not
on a journey, and yet refrains from come to celebrate it on its prescribed
keeping the Passover, shall be cut off day—to bring a sacrifice that is pleas-
from the people for not presenting ing before the Lord and to eat and
the Lord’s offering at its appointed drink before the Lord on the day of
time; such a one shall bear the conse- his festival—that man who is pure
quences for the sin. and nearby is to be uprooted because
he did not bring the Lord’s sacrifice at
its time. That man will bear responsi-
bility for his own sin.
98 chapter three
Table (cont.)
v. 14 [one Passover statute for both vv. 10–11 [the statute is for the Isra-
the alien and the native] elites only—explanation of ‘between
14
Any alien residing among you who the evenings’]
wishes to keep the Passover to the 10
The Israelites are to come and cel-
Lord shall do so according to the ebrate the Passover on its specific
statute of the Passover and according day—on the fourteenth of the first
to its regulation; you shall have one month—between the evenings, from
statute for both the resident alien and the third part of the day until the
the native. third part of the night. For two parts
of the day have been given for light
and its third part for the evening.
11
This is what the Lord commanded
you—to celebrate it between the
evenings.
vv. 12–14 [How—and when—the
Passover is to be kept]
12
It is not to be sacrificed at any hour
of the daylight but in the hour of the
boundary of the evening. They will
eat it during the evening hour(s) until
the third part of the night. Any of its
meat that is left over from the third
part of the night and beyond is to
be burnt. 13They are not to boil it in
water nor eat it raw but roasted on a
fire, cooked with care on a fire—the
head with its internal parts and feet.
They are to roast it on a fire. There
will be no breaking of any bone in it
because no bone of the Israelites will
be broken.
14
Therefore the Lord ordered the Isra-
elites to celebrate the Passover on
its specific day. No bone of it is to be
broken because it is a festal day and
a day which has been commanded.
From it there is to be no passing over a
day from the day or a month from the
month because it is to be celebrated on
18 its festal day.18
18
J.C. VanderKam, op. cit., 315–20.
The very close correspondence between Num 9:13 and Jub. 49:9, as illus-
trated in the table above, suggests that the author of the Book of Jubilees
picks up with the text of Numbers when he finds himself again in agree-
ment with it. Finally, by remaining silent about those “away on a journey”
(Num 9:10) and the “alien residing among you” (Num 9:14), a redactional
development probably introduced at a later stage of the compilation of
the priestly traditions and which probably reflected a fifth century BCE
Sitz im Leben,19 the author of the Book of Jubilees (cf. 49:10 “The Israel-
ites . . .”) brings one last correction to the text of Numbers (9:14 “one statute
only for both the resident alien and the native”), something which is to
be expected once the particularist character of the work, and the not-so-
distant upheavals of the Maccabean revolt (167–164 BCE) are taken into
account: only those people who are near and pure are envisaged. The situ-
ation of one who is far from the land is not considered. Once again, there
would be no need to see anything peculiar with this, had the author of
the Book of Jubilees not inserted at this particular point the very specific
command that the Passover be kept “once a year . . . on its day,” so as not
to be delayed by a day or a month ( Jub. 49:7).
From this perspective, the Book of Jubilees’ silence as to the second Pass-
over is more significant than usually acknowledged. It may be motivated
by something far more significant than a simple desire to limit oneself to
the material treated in Genesis—Exod 12. It was argued above that there
is agreement between Numbers and the Book of Jubilees concerning the
joyful aspects of the festivals, a command that is absent from Genesis—
Exod 12. One would expect this requirement, legislated for in Num 10, to
be extended to the second Passover in the Book of Jubilees. Let us recall
once more that the second Passover legislation is particular to the book of
Numbers. Rather, the command in the Book of Jubilees concerning Passover
is clear: it should be observed once a year, on its day, and by doing so “you
will not change a day from the day or from month to month” ( Jub. 49:7).
It is difficult, from this perspective, not to see in this express command,
if not a correction of the law concerning the Passover as it appears in
19
As suggested by P. Grelot, “La dernière étape de la rédaction sacerdotale,” VT 6 (1956):
174–89. Grelot dates this priestly development to after 419 BCE on the basis that the priestly
legislation concerning purity is at a more developed stage than that which is found in the
Elephantine papyri. Cf. P. Grelot, “Études sur le papyrus pascal d’Éléphantine,” VT 4 (1954):
348–84; P. Grelot, “Études sur le papyrus pascal d’Éléphantine,” VT 5 (1955): 252–3. See also
J. de Vaulx, Les Nombres (SB; Paris: Gabalda, 1972), 124–6, who follows Grelot’s suggestion.
It seems to the present writer that this is the most plausible way to account for the inser-
tion in Numbers of the legislation concerning the second Passover.
100 chapter three
Num 9, at least a declaration of intent that the content of this particular

legislation does not apply to the audience of the Book of Jubilees.
There may be several possible explanations for this:
a) The author’s audience is somewhat different from that of the book
of Numbers, Jubilees addressing the Israelites, whereas Numbers con-
tains ordinances concerning the aliens within their (the Israelites’) ranks
(Num 9:14). Clearly, the Sitz im Leben of the two works is quite different.
Num 9 probably belongs to the Priestly Source and is better dated at the
latest to the early post-exilic period.20 Its reference to aliens in the land,
and to people away on a journey—presumably far enough from Jerusalem
that they were prevented from making the pilgrimage to the Holy City
for the Passover—suggests a universalist perspective that fits well with
the background of a Persian empire rather tolerant of religious diversity.
The Book of Jubilees, however, was composed some two and a half centu-
ries later, possibly between 161 and 152 BCE.21 The political landscape in
Judaea had undergone some profound changes in the intervening period.
The Seleucid overlords were rather partisan in their endorsement—or
rejection—of particular religious groups. In any case, the events that sur-
rounded the desecration of the Jerusalem Temple in 167 BCE, the ensuing
struggle under Judas Maccabaeus and the rededication of the Temple in
164 BCE were very much in the memory of the community. From this
perspective the absence of any reference to aliens in the land suggest a
20
Although there are some arguments to date the Priestly material to the pre-exilic
period. For discussions on the subject see Milgrom, “P” and bibliography. On page 459
Milgrom argues that P “is a product of the pre-exilic age,” and dates it to ca. 750 BCE. An
assessment of the pre-exilic dating of P is presented by Blenkinsopp, op. cit. A recent dis-
cussion of the dating of the Priestly material appears in Klawans, Purity, Sacrifice, Temple,
who rejects the theories of Milgrom, Leviticus 23–27, and Israel Knohl, Sanctuary of Silence.
In Klawans’ understanding, “the central problem with most efforts of assigning dates to the
priestly traditions is that they are evolutionist,” and “they are posited on unsubstantiated
assumptions about how things change over time.” Cf. Purity, Sacrifice, Temple, 50–1. Rather,
Klawans prefers the argument stressed by Blenkinsopp and followed by such scholars as
R. Rendtorff, “Is It Possible to Read Leviticus as a Separate Book?” in Reading Leviticus:
A Conversation with Mary Douglas (ed. J.F.A. Sawyer; JSOTSup 227; Sheffield: Sheffield
Academic Press, 1996), 22–35 and M. Douglas, Leviticus as Literature (Oxford: Oxford Uni-
versity Press, 1999), that the Priestly material should be interpreted as an integral part
of the Pentateuch. Again, although the remark remains valid, it is not particularly helpful
in the present case, where the author of the Book of Jubilees clearly offers his own evolution-
ist (or conservative?) spin on the Priestly material, and in this respect, questions related to
socio-political developments over time do have a significant impact.
21
J.C. VanderKam, Jubilees, 214–85.
particularist perspective. Further, the absence of any reference to a jour-

ney far away may suggest the audience’s close vicinity to Jerusalem.
b) While all festivals in the Book of Jubilees fall on one of either Wednes-
day, Friday or Sunday, the second Passover, if celebrated according to the
Numbers 9 legislation, would fall on a Thursday, something which per-
haps was not acceptable to the author (cf. “on its day,” i.e., day of the
week).22 This would explain perhaps the rather laboured point in Jub. 49
that the Passover be observed “on its day . . . once a year.” If this is correct,
the argument can be advanced that one of the main reasons for the author
of the Book of Jubilees’ evacuation of the second Passover is the fact that
this particular festival would not fall on either a Wednesday, a Friday, or
a Sunday. If this is correct, the author’s rewriting of Num. 9 would repre-
sent a solid argument in favor of Jaubert’s hypothesis concerning the three
Liturgical days (Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) and their significance in the
calendar of the Book of Jubilees.
c) It may be the case that the question of ritual purity, which clearly
is the motivation in Num 9 for the introduction of the second Passover
legislation, did not apply in the eyes of the author of Jubilees.23 This would
explain the absence of the second Passover. In Num 9 it is the incident
involving contact with dead bodies which is the catalyst for the introduc-
tion of the second Passover. The seriousness of defilement occasioned by
such impurity is expounded in Num 19, which also stipulates the legis-
lation for purification which must be followed by those who have been
defiled through contact with a dead body. The defilement was considered
unavoidable, and a purification ritual was provided for it. It is perhaps in
22
See, however, the article by Baumgarten, “Some Problems”, who correctly pointed
out that the text does not mention the day of the week but rather the date of the month.
While this observation remains valid, it may be overstating the case to infer from it that
the author of the Book of Jubilees was not aware of the days of the week upon which the
festivals fell, nor that this mattered to him. At the outset this is an argument from silence.
Also from the same author, Qumran Law, especially the chapter on “The Calendar of the
Book of Jubilees and the Bible”, 101–14. It is important to note that undeniably the second
Passover was included in the rosters of festivals discovered at Qumran, as first indicated
by Milik, Dix Ans. This is surprising if one considers that it has now been established that
those documents follow the 364 day calendar of Jubilees. It will be shown below in the
chapter on the Dead Sea Scrolls, however, that the Temple Scroll, arguably a foundational
document of the Qumran Community, also ignores the second Passover.
23
On the question of purity in the Book of Jubilees, see the recent debate between
L. Ravid, “Purity and Impurity in the Book of Jubilees,” JSP 13 (2002): 61–86, and
J.C. VanderKam, “Viewed from Another Angle: Purity and Impurity in the Book of Jubi-
lees,” JSP 13 (2002): 209–15. For a recent treatment of the question of moral purity and
ritual purity, see Klawans, Purity, Sacrifice, Temple.
102 chapter three
the reference to the “holy seed” of Israel, a reference already found in the
particularist perspective of Ezra-Nehemiah following some of the returns
from Babylon, that one can best identify a paradigm shift in the self-
perception of the community’s sense of identity, and its understanding of
the notion of purity. Whereas in Numbers the legislation concerning ritual
defilement for the case at hand was clearly expounded, suggesting that the
community considered such defilement unavoidable, and ensuing ritual
cleansing a necessity, the author of the Book of Jubilees, however, did not
concern himself with such legislation. The book describes Isaac and Jacob
having physical contact with Abraham’s dead body ( Jub. 23:2–7). Whereas
Jacob’s contact with his grandfather’s corpse was passive and took place
while he was asleep on his grandfather’s bosom (23:2), Isaac’s contact with
the dead body was the result of a deliberate action (23:5). The absence in
the narrative of any indication that both Isaac and Jacob subsequently
underwent—or even needed to undergo—any kind of ritual purification
is a strong indication that the author of the Book of Jubilees did not con-
sider the legislation expounded in Num 19 applicable.24 As already pointed
out, the author of the Book of Jubilees disregards the passage concerning
the second Passover in his reworking of Num 9. He is adamant that there
should be only one Passover celebration, at the right time of year, and
does not consider even the possibility of a delayed Passover.
The insertion of the calendrical remark at this particular place instead
of the second Passover legislation suggests that the author somehow
might also have linked observance of the second Passover with calendri-
cal difficulties. In other words, to celebrate the Passover at the wrong time
would be a violation of the divine law which is engraved upon the heav-
enly tablets.25 It is difficult to extrapolate with certainty on the reason(s)
which might have motivated this move.
24
This is the thesis put forward by Ravid, “Purity and Impurity in the Book of Jubilees”.
The author goes further and claims that the author of the Book of Jubilees portrayed Abra-
ham as deliberately defiling his grandson (23:1). Ravid interprets this verse as a deliberate
attempt by the author of the Book of Jubilees to reject the Temple priesthood. By show-
ing that the Patriarchs were not governed by the laws of ritual purity—the ritual for the
Day of Atonement seems greatly downgraded in Jubilees, i.e., only one he-goat required;
not performed by a priest—the author effectively removes any connection between the
Temple priesthood, especially that which was in favour of the lunisolar calendar, and their
claim to the High Priesthood. In other words, Ravid argues that the Book of Jubilees was
written as a polemic against those high priests who were in favour of a lunisolar calendar
in the Temple.
25
This command to bring a “sacrifice that is pleasing before the Lord” is perhaps to
be linked with the command to bring a one year old lamb, but the text is not specific. In
The suggestion above that the second Passover would introduce a

calendrical anomaly is a valid proposition, which, to the present writer’s
knowledge, has not been noted in scholarship so far. On no less than
nine occasions in the passage under consideration does the author stress
explicitly that the Passover is to be kept “on its day . . . once a year . . . on
its festal day” (vv. 1, 7, 8, 9[x3], 10, 14[x2]). The whole passage is articulated
around the statement in verse 7:
then you will not change a day from the day or from month to month.
The statement is repeated quasi verbatim in verse 14:
. . . there is to be no passing over a day from the day or a month from the
month because it is to be celebrated on its festal day.
When considering the Book of Jubilees’ position on the religious calendar,
any delaying of any festival is simply out of the question ( Jub. 6:32–33):
Now you command the Israelites to keep the years in this number—364
days. Then the year will be complete and it will not disturb its time from its
days or from its festivals because everything will happen in harmony with
their testimony. They will neither omit a day nor disturb a festival. If they
transgress and do not celebrate them in accord with this command, then
all of them will disturb their times. The years will be moved from this; they
will disturb the times and the years will be moved. They will transgress their
prescribed pattern.
It is conceivable that the second Passover would delay the cycle of festi-
vals by a month, resulting in the subsequent festivals being celebrated at
the wrong time and being disconnected from the agricultural cycle. Thus,
in the case of a general second Passover, the Raising of the Sheaf would
also be delayed by a month, and likewise the festival of Weeks, and so on.
The incident recorded in the previous chapter concerning the Passover
of King Hezekiah in the second month (2 Chr 30), and the subsequent
dissociation in the narrative between the festivals of Weeks and Taber-
nacles on the one hand, and the third and seventh months on the other
hand, both associated with times of tithing (2 Chr 31),26 may represent a
any case, we have here the memory of an offering being given to the Lord, perhaps the
memory of an ancient festival celebrated by transient shepherds. For recent treatments of
the origins of Passover, see Prosic, op. cit; Wagenaar, “Passover”.
26
This is exactly the point why the festivals of Weeks and Tabernacles are not men-
tioned in the narrative: they are alluded to under the references to the third and the sev-
enth months. See above for a consideration of 2 Chr 30–31.
104 chapter three
precedent in which a general second Passover actually introduced a dis-

connection between the cultic cycle and the agricultural cycle. It is this
precedent, perhaps, which led to the second Passover being associated
with calendrical issues in some quarters of Second Temple Judaism.27 Fur-
ther, it is clear from the Book of Jubilees that the festival of Weeks held
a significant place among the festivals as the festival of the renewal of
the Covenant with Noah ( Jub. 6:17). It is also on this occasion that Moses
was convened to the mountain to receive the law ( Jub. 1:1). One can only
imagine how a possible delay of this particular festival occasioned by a
delayed Passover—or a second Passover, to be precise—would have been
accepted by a community for which appointed times had been revealed.
It is plausible that the second Passover was a remnant of a calendri-
cal difficulty at some stage in antiquity associated with the cycle of sea-
sons. At a time before the well-attested use of the lunisolar calendar and
its cycle of intercalation, it may be the case that the lunar cycle brought
about the Passover too early, and that, because of its association with the
cycle of nature (lambing season, first fruit offerings on the morrow after
the sabbath, etc.), it was celebrated a second time, or rather postponed
to a month later to allow for a realignment of the festival with the sea-
son.28 Admittedly, the remnants at our disposal are interpreted through
the Chronicler’s lense. The latter invoked ritual impurity as the reason for
the second Passover (2 Chr 30:2), a move that betrayed a late theological
development of the tradition. In Jubilees the theological development was
taken a significant step further, following two important premises. First,
the notion of holy time in terms of a cycle is clearly defined:
of the testimony, of the events of the years, of the weeks of their jubi-
27
It will be observed in the chapter dealing with the Qumran documents that the sec-
ond Passover was recorded in some calendrical documents that were based on calcula-
tions, whereas a foundational document such as the Temple Scroll, interested in legislation
concerning tithing and firstfruit offerings, that is, legislation which required the cycle of
festivals to remain aligned to the agricultural season, leaves the second Passover out. In
this discussion it will be shown that Yadin’s suggestion that the second Passover must have
been mentioned in a now missing part of the text is erroneous.
28
It was the practice much later in Rabbinic Judaism to insert a thirteenth month if it
was considered that the forthcoming festival of Passover was too early in comparison to
the readiness of the crops and the lambs.

come up to the summit of the mountain. ( Jub. Prologue)29
It represents the framework along which the entire book is articulated.
Further, the author is clear that the 364 day calendar alone must be fol-
lowed. The text itself informs us as to the significance of this:
Now you command the Israelites to keep the years in this number—364
days. Then the year will be complete and it will not disturb its time from its
days or from its festivals because everything will happen in harmony with
their testimony. They will neither omit a day nor disturb a festival. If they
transgress and do not celebrate them in accord with this command, then all
of them will disturb their times. ( Jub. 6:32–33a)30
Further, the strand of second century BCE Judaism epitomized by the
Book of Jubilees understands itself to be the “holy seed of Israel/Jacob.”31
This is reminiscent of the self-definition used in Ezra 9:2—‫—זֶ ַרע ַהקּ ֶֹדשׁ‬
some two centuries earlier, when Ezra lamented the “abominations”—
‫תֹּועבֹות‬
ֲ —of the people of the land (9:1), and the “pollutions of the peoples
of the land, with their abominations”—‫יהם‬ ֶ ‫תֹועב ֵֹת‬
ֲ ‫— ְבּנִ ַדּת ַע ֵמּי ָה ֲא ָרצֹות ְבּ‬
for rendering the land “unclean”—‫נִ ָדּה‬. Such terminology denotes moral
rather than ritual impurity.32 It is through intermarriage that the holy seed
became polluted. The lack of concern displayed by the Book of Jubilees
for purification rituals is probably best understood from the perspective
of a higher theological self-understanding than that which motivated the
self-definition in Ezra 9. In any case, it is the opinion of the present writer
that the particular stance displayed by the author of the Book of Jubilees
regarding the cycle of festivals, especially the insistence that the Passover
be celebrated once a year, on its day, and not delayed from month to
29
J.C. VanderKam, op. cit., 42.
30
31
Jub. 16:17 “But one of Isaac’s sons would become a holy progeny and would not be
numbered among the nations.” See also 16:26 “He [Abraham] blessed his Creator who had
created him in his generation because he had created him for his pleasure, for he knew
and ascertained that from him there would come a righteous plant for the history of eter-
nity and (that) from him there would be holy descendants so that they should be like the
one who had made everything.” Also, Jub. 22:27; 25:12, 18.
32
As shown by J. Klawans, “Idolatry, Incest, and Impurity: Moral Defilement in Ancient
Judaism,” JSJ 29 (1998): 391–415. The article, reprinted with minor additions in “Impurity
and Sin in Ancient Judaism,” Ph.D diss. (Columbia: Columbia University, 1997), 43–60,
engages the distinction between moral and ritual purity, and its significance for under-
standing the organic nature of the notion of sin in Second Temple Judaism. See also the
more recent discussion concerning moral and ritual purity in the Hebrew Bible in Kla-
wans, Purity, Sacrifice, Temple, 49–73.
106 chapter three
month, belongs to the already significant corpus of textual passages that

betray a calendrical polemic in Second Temple textual sources.33
3. The Festival of Unleavened Bread in Jubilees
The consumption of unleavened bread is briefly stated in the context of

the festival of Passover. The command is
Now you, Moses, order the Israelites to keep the statute of the Passover as
it was commanded to you so that you may tell them its year each year, the
time of the days, and the festival of unleavened bread so that they may eat
unleavened bread for seven days to celebrate its festival, to bring its sacrifice
before the Lord on the altar of your God each day during those seven joyful
days. ( Jub. 49:22)
The festival of Passover marks the occasion for the festival of Unleavened
Bread. In this passage the festival of Unleavened Bread is not given a spe-
cific date, in contradistinction to other sources, where the festival is given
a date distinct from that of Passover. Nowhere does the author of the Book
of Jubilees distinguish between Passover and Unleavened Bread as two dis-
tinct festivals. Rather, the festival of Passover is to last seven days, during
which unleavened bread is eaten each day (49:22). It is fair to infer that,
by the time the Book of Jubilees was composed, Unleavened Bread and
Passover had become one festival. This was the case, at the very least, for
the proponents of the Book of Jubilees’ brand of Judaism and their follow-
ers. It will be seen that the Calendrical Scrolls recording the festival dates
present a different position, as they do record Passover and Unleavened
Bread on different dates.34 This is probably due to a different way of reck-
oning the start of the day.35
33
The issue of purity and impurity in the Book of Jubilees is significant in this discussion.
Liora Ravid recently argued that the author of the Book of Jubilees “intended to write a
polemical work against the temple priesthood [and] he . . . elected to demonstrate that the
Patriarchs, who were also priests, did not avoid the most serious category of impurity—
contact with a dead body . . .” Cf. Ravid, “Purity and Impurity in the Book of Jubilees,” 85–6.
In “Viewed from Another Angle: Purity and Impurity in the Book of Jubilees”, VanderKam
questions Ravid’s assertion that the author of the Book of Jubilees was motivated by an
anti-temple priesthood stance.
34
See Chapter 4.
35
This argument will be developed in Chapter 7.
4. The Festival of Weeks in Jubilees36
The command to observe the festival of Weeks (Shavu‘ot) is given in Jub.

6:20, embedded in the narrative of the covenant with Noah: “one day in
the year, during this month, they are to celebrate the festival.” The month
in question is the third month (cf. Jub. 6:1). A more precise dating occurs
in Jub. 15:1, “in the third month, in the middle of the month, Abram cel-
ebrated the festival of the first fruits of the wheat harvest.” This middle of
the month was positively identified by Jaubert as the fifteenth of the third
month.37 The festival is given two names: “the festival of Weeks and it is
the festival of First fruits” ( Jub. 6:21; cf. 16:13). The mention of first fruits
suggests that the festival was also intrinsically linked to the agricultural
cycle, and is an indication that the author of the book understood it this
way. After all, the author presents Abraham making an offering of first
fruits. Israel/Jacob is said to have observed the festival of the first fruits
of the land from old wheat “because in all the land of Canaan there was
not even a handful of seed in the land since the famine affected all the
animals, the cattle, the birds, and mankind as well” (44:4).
36
B. Ego, “Heilige Zeit—heiliger Raum—heiliger Mensch. Beobachtungen zur Struktur
der Gesetzesbegründung in der Schöpfungs—und Paradiesgeschichte des Jubiläenbuchs,”
in Studies in the Book of Jubilees (eds M. Albani, J. Frey, and A. Lange; TSAJ 65; Tübingen:
Mohr (Siebeck), 1997), 207–20; W. Eiss, “Das Wochenfest im Jubiläenbuch und im antiken
Judentum,” in Studies in the Book of Jubilees (eds M. Albani, J. Frey, and A. Lange; TSAJ 65;
Tübingen: Mohr (Siebeck), 1997), 165–78.
37
See Jaubert, “Calendrier des Jubilés: origines”; and before Jaubert, Barthélemy,
op. cit., 200, who stated: “on sait en effet que la fête des Semaines devait, selon les Jubilés,
être célébrée le 15 Siwan [cf. Jub. 15,1 and 44:4–5]. Si l’on admet des mois de 30 jours, cela
placerait l’offrande de la gerbe le 26 Nisan, c’est-à-dire le lendemain du sabbat qui suit la
semaine des Azymes.” Their identification of the dating of the festival of Weeks in the
calendar of the Book of Jubilees to the fifteenth of the third month has been accepted by
most scholars. In a recent treatment of this calendar, L. Ravid, “The Book of Jubilees and
Its Calendar—A Reexamination,” DSD 10 (2003): 371–94, also dates the festival of Shavu‘ot/
First-fruits to the fifteenth of the third month. However, this date is retrievable once one
considers that the flood chronology in Jub. 5:27, which indicates that five months num-
bered one hundred and fifty days. The year is, therefore, one made up of twelve months
of thirty days each, which allows one to determine the date of the festival “in the middle
of the third month” as the fifteenth of the month (see esp. 389). For discussions on the
chronology of the flood, see F.H. Cryer, “The 360-Day Calendar Year and Early Judaic Sec-
tarianism,” Scandinavian Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 1 (1987): 116–22; T. Lim,
“The Chronology of the Flood Story in a Qumran Text (4Q252),” JJS 43 (1992): 288–98;
S. Najm and P. Guillaume, “Jubilee Calendar Rescued from the Flood Narrative,” JHS 5
(2004); S. Shariv, “The Polytheistic Origins of the Biblical Flood Narrative,” VT 54 (2004):
527–48.
108 chapter three
If one considers the express command that Passover should be observed

once a year in the first month, the mention of Abraham’s offering of first
grain is a powerful argument suggesting that the cycle of festivals was
indeed attached to the agricultural cycle, just as was the case in the bibli-
cal calendar. Indeed, it is perhaps for this very reason that the author of
the Book of Jubilees omitted the second Passover, as its celebration in the
second month, on the fourteenth of the month, would have dissociated it,
and the subsequent festivals, from the agricultural season.38
5. The Raising of the Sheaf in Jubilees
The date for this festival is not given explicitly in the composition. It can,
however, be identified from the argument above concerning the date
of the festival of Weeks.39 The biblical legislation indicates that this day
marks the “day after the sabbath, the day on which you bring the sheaf of
the elevation offering, you shall count off seven weeks . . .” (Lev 23:15–16).
The festival of Weeks being dated to the fifteenth day of the third month,
counting back fifty days gives a date of the twenty-sixth day of the first
month for the Raising of the Sheaf, a Sunday.
6. The Festival of Tabernacles in Jubilees40
In the Jubilees fashion, the festival is connected with one of the Patriarchs.
According to the author it is Abraham who is the first to have observed
the festival on earth (16:21). It was for him a festival of rejoicing which
lasted seven days, an occasion to be “happy with his whole heart and all
his being” (v. 25, cf. 27, 29). The author connects Abraham and Sarah’s joy
to the revelation concerning the sons of their son, the promise that they
“would become nations” (16:17).41 In this narrative, the festival is located
only in the seventh month, with no indication about the day on which the
festival must be observed.
38
It makes sense, from this perspective, that 4Q329a, which deals with the occurrence
of the Passover sacrifice, does not record the second Passover in the second month. On the
second Passover at Qumran, see Chapter 4.
39
As demonstrated by Jaubert, date de la cène.
40
J.C. VanderKam, Calendars in the DSS.
41
The joy of the festival is stressed greatly ( Jub. 16: 19, 20, 25, 27, 29, 31). Cf. J.C. VanderKam,
“Sukkot,” in EDSS, Vol. 2 (eds L.H. Schiffman and J.C. VanderKam; Oxford: Oxford Univer-
sity Press, 2000), 903–5.
It is in the narrative about Jacob’s tithe and sacrifice at Bethel ( Jub. 32;
cf. Gen 28) that one learns the exact time when the festival occurred: “On
the first of the seventh month he went up to Bethel” (31:3). After this
Jacob visited his father Isaac. It is during this stay that Isaac recovered his
sight and blessed Levi and Judah. On the fourteenth of that month (the
seventh month, cf. 31:3), Jacob offered a tithe of all he owned (32:2); and
“on the fifteenth of this month” (32:4) Jacob made an offering of several
kinds of animals, a tithe he had vowed to offer with the fruit offerings
and the libations (32:5). The joyful celebration lasted seven days, during
which “he was eating happily there—he, all his sons, and his men—for
the seven days” (32:7). It is in this context that the law of the second tithe
is “ordained as a law on the heavenly tablets to tithe a second time, to eat
it before the Lord—year by year—in the place which has been chosen (as
the site) where his name will reside” (32:10). It is also in this context that
the command is given concerning the first fruits: they should be eaten
before the new season.
For the seed is to be eaten in its year until the time for harvesting the seed
12
of the year; the wine (will be drunk) until the time for wine; and the olive
(will be used) until the proper time of its season. 13Any of it that is left over
and grows old is to be (considered) contaminated; it is to be burned up
because it has become impure.
Here again the author demonstrates his clearly dualistic understanding
of the world. The demarcation between sacred and profane is asserted
every year through the agricultural cycle. Every year the new grain heralds
purity, while the old becomes impure. This suggests that in the under-
standing of the author the sanctification of the land was not merely asso-
ciated with the agricultural cycle, rather it depended entirely upon it. The
author’s world was kept holy on account of the seasonal cycle, delivering
its fruits for the sustenance of the inhabitants. The command to “eat it
at the same time in the sanctuary; they are not to let it grow old” (32:14)
was given as a protection for the community for which the book was first
written. This command had to be observed year after year; its decree was
inscribed in the heavenly tablets, and had “no temporal limits forever”
(32:10). Thus the agricultural aspect of the seventh month was acknowl-
edged by the author. From this perspective, the Book of Jubilees’ dating of
Noah’s first harvest of the fruit of the vine on the seventh month takes on
added significance (7:1–2a):
During the seventh week, in the first year, in this Jubilee Noah planted a
1
vine at the mountain (whose name was Lubar, one of the mountains of
110 chapter three
rarat) on which the ark had come to rest. It produced fruit in the fourth
A
year. He guarded its fruit and picked it that year during the seventh month.
2
He made wine from it, put it in a container, and kept it until the fifth year—
until the first day at the beginning of the first month.42
It also is significant, in the view of the present writer, that the law regarding
the second tithe in was introduced in the context of the seventh month.
In the Biblical narrative concerning King Hezekiah (2 Chr 30–31), the third
and the seventh months were identified as the times for tithe offerings:
“in the third month they began to pile up the heaps, and finished them in
the seventh month” (2 Chr 31:7).43 The legislation in the Pentateuch con-
cerning the tithe did not state explicitly when the tithe had to be given.44
There are some indications, however, that the tithe was to be brought, as
one might expect, at times of agricultural significance. The Israelites were
not to “delay to make offerings from the fullness of your harvest and from
the outflow of your presses” (Exod 22:29).
42
J.C. VanderKam, op. cit. J.C. Reeves, “The Feast of the First Fruits of Wine and the
Ancient Canaanite Calendar,” VT 42 (1992): 350–61, has noted that this marked, for the
author of the Book of Jubilees, “the initial appearance of this substance in sacred history,
and hence the actions which Noah performs in connection with this novel occupation
assume paradigmatic importance for future generations” (p. 354). The same author draws
attention to the discrepancies concerning the dating of the festival of wine in the Book of
Jubilees and in 11QTemple. In the former it is celebrated on the first day of the first month
of the year (7:2), whereas in 11QTemple it is to take place on the third day of the fifth
month. Reeves suggests that a consideration of five ritual Tablets from Ugarit brings light
on the issue. More specifically, KTU 1.41 states: 1. b yrḫ. riš yn. b ym. ḥdṯ 2. šmtr. uṯkl. l il.
šlmm = 1. In the month “First of the Wine” on the day of the new moon 2. Cut (or present)
a grape-cluster for El as a šlmm-offering. See Reeves, op. cit., 357–8, and bibliographical
references.
43
See Chapter 2.
44
According to D (Deuteronomist source), “the tithe of your grain, your wine and your
oil, as well as the firstlings of your herd and flock” were to be consumed “in the presence
of the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose as a dwelling for his name” (Deut
14:22–3). Following Josiah’s reform and centralization of worship, this is likely to have been
in Jerusalem. The indication that “Every third year you shall bring out the full tithe of
your produce for that year, and store it within your towns” for “the Levites . . . the resident
aliens, the orphans and the widows in your towns” (Deut 14:28–9 and 26:12) betrays the
social perspective of the Deuteronomist. It also suggests that the tithe of the first and
second year was consumed in Jerusalem. For P (Priestly source), however, the tithe, from
the seeds of the land, the fruits of the trees, and every tenth animal of the herds and flocks
(Lev 27:30–33), is to be given every year, and not just the third year, to the Levites (cf.
Num 18:21). It is to be eaten “in any place” (Num 18:31). From this tithe, the Levites are to
“set apart an offering to the Lord from all the tithes that [you] receive from the Israelites;
and from them you shall give the Lord’s offering to the priest Aaron” (Num 18:28). For a
short article treating of the main passages in the Old Testament dealing with the tithe,
see J.C. Wilson, “Tithe,” in ABD, Vol. 6 (ed. D.N. Freedman; New York: Doubleday, 1992),
578–80.
The above perhaps must be understood in the sense that the produce
of the land had to be offered at its proper season on two accounts. First,
economically the bulk of the harvest had to be released at the most
adequate time so that the community, and those associated to it, could
renew its livelihood. Second, orthopraxy would ensure that the commu-
nity remained in a state of purity. Failure to observe this command would
be a sin and would jeopardise divine clemency upon the community. The
community would, just like the seed, become impure and contaminated.
The author of the Book of Jubilees, admittedly, does not explicitly state
what the consequences of the sin might be. There is, however, a Jew-
ish composition contemporaneous with the Book of Jubilees which links
sin to the cycle of the season in a particular way. In the Book of Enoch
one reads:
In the days of the sinners the years will grow shorter, their seed will be late
on their land and in their fields. Everything on the earth will change and will
not appear at their times . . . at those times the fruit of the earth will be late
and will not grow at its (normal) time.45 (1 En 80:2–6)
The end result is destruction for all (cf. 80:8). The passage has an escha-
tological feel to it and somewhat stands out in the Book of Luminaries.46
There emanates from this passage, however, a sense of experienced real-
ity. What the author/editor is describing is a discrepancy between the
calendar, and its expected seasonal periods on the one hand, and an expe-
rienced reality on the other.47 The starting point is different in both: in
the 1 Enoch passage it is a wrong calendrical practice that is condemned.
A similar condemnation occurs in Jub. 6. What the command concerning
the tithe and second tithe reveals, however, is that the 364-day calendar,
advocated by the author, was crucially reckoned by the same author to be
attached to the seasons. This is significant.
The Deuteronomist indicated that “every third year you shall bring out
the full tithe of your produce for that year” (Deut 14:28). Presumably, the
Deuteronomist envisaged the end of the year, so that grain, wine and oil
could be included (cf. Deut 14:22–3).48 In the Priestly code, the tithe was
to be “reckoned to the Levites as produce of the threshing floor, and as
45
G.W.E. Nickelsburg and J.C. VanderKam, 1 Enoch: A New Translation (Minneapolis:
Fortress, 2004).
46
Nickelsburg and VanderKam, op. cit., 7.
47
This is also Beckwith’s understanding. Cf. Beckwith, “Modern Attempt,” 392–3.
48
The KJV version translates: “At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the
tithe of thine increase the same year, and shall lay it up within thy gates” (Deut 14:28).
112 chapter three
produce of the wine press” (Num 18:30). This particular event was dated
precisely in the priestly calendar of festivals to the “fifteenth day of the
seventh month” (Lev 23:39). The evidence gathered here would suggest
that, for the Deuteronomist, the Priestly source, and the Chronicler, the
end of the agricultural year coincided with the period of gathering of the
fruit from the wine press, the seventh month. Significantly, the narrative
in Jub. 7, according to which Noah was the first to gather the first fruit of
the vine, dates this event to the seventh month, the very month which the
author suggests was to mark the time of the tithe.
7. Summary: Festivals in Jubilees
As indicated in its Prologue, the Book of Jubilees expounds “the times of

the law and of the testimony, of the events of the years, of the weeks of
their Jubilees . . .” This it does by weaving the different festivals into the
narrative of the Patriarchs’ lives, and in this it departs from the Genesis-
Exod 12 narrative. The Jubilees’ cultic cycle contains the same festivals as
that expounded in the Pentateuch, bar the second Passover. The festi-
val of Passover and Unleavened Bread is dated to the first month, on the
fourteenth (sacrifice) and fifteenth (eating), and is characterized by the
consumption of unleavened bread for seven days (49:22). The festival of
Weeks is dated to “the middle of the third month” (15:1), a date which
has been positively identified with the fifteenth of the third month. From
this date, one is able to determine the date of the Sheaf offering. This
takes place on the 26th day of the first month, a clear indication that the
author/editor of the book interpreted “the morrow after the sabbath” (Lev
23:15) as the day following the first Sabbath taking place after the seven
days of the festival of Passover/Unleavened Bread. Finally, the festival of
Tabernacles, observed by Abraham ( Jub. 16:21) and Jacob ( Jub. 32) takes
place in the seventh month, on the fifteenth day.
Whereas the biblical texts are somewhat silent concerning the length
in days of the cultic calendar, the Book of Jubilees vehemently argues
for a 364-day year: “Now you command the Israelites to keep the years
in this number—364 days” (6:32). As pointed out by Jaubert some fifty
years ago, the sabbatical framework of the calendar ensures that festi-
vals fall on the same day of the week, every year.49 It is also very clear
49
Jaubert, “Calendrier des Jubilés: jours liturgiques”.
in our understanding, that the author of the Book of Jubilees understood

the cycle of festivals to be in line with the seasons. First, the festival of
Weeks is called “the feast of the first fruits” (16:13) and is the occasion
on which “Abram made a feast of the first fruits of the harvest of grain”
(15:1). Second, the festival of Tabernacles marks the occasion for two very
significant laws: the first is the law which stipulates that seed, wine and
olives must be eaten or used before the time of their harvest. This is criti-
cal for the author because failure to do so will result in contamination of
the elements, and thus render them unfit for consumption (cf. 32:12–13).
The second is the law of the second tithe, which, in effect, is governed
by the former. It takes place in the context of the seventh month, which
is traditionally associated with agricultural activity.
The absence of the second Passover from the cycle of festivals in the
Book of Jubilees was no accident. If the arguments developed in the pres-
ent chapter concerning the textual dependence of Jub. 49:1–14 upon Num
9:1–14 are correct it would appear that the author clearly modelled its
account of the Passover on Num 9, the only passage in the Pentateuch to
make any reference to the second Passover. It was shown that, where the
passage in Numbers expounds the law of the second Passover on grounds
of purity (Num 9:9–12), Jubilees remains silent. Where Numbers relates
the incident of the unclean people that resulted in the observation of the
Passover in the second month (Num 9:6–8), Jubilees insists that the Pass-
over should be observed once a year, on its day, so that “you will not
change a day from the day or from month to month” ( Jub. 49:7–8). This is
so important for the author of the Book of Jubilees that he appeals to the
binding character of the statute: “it is an eternal statute and it is engraved
on the heavenly tablets . . . they are to celebrate it each and every year
on its day, once a year . . . it is ordained for ever” ( Jub. 49:8). The author
rewrote the Numbers account of the Passover, evacuating the references
to the incident that lead to the institution of the second Passover, and
in its place inserting its own legal ruling concerning the Passover. It is
very difficult not to see some calendrically motivated concerns behind
the action of the author. Indeed the textual evidence is so clear that there
is no other interpretation that fits so well the overall world view of the
Book of Jubilees.
The previous chapter was introduced with Jaubert’s remark: “la ques-
tion cruciale est évidemment de savoir si ce calendrier est vécu ou fictif.”
Was this calendar utopian or practical? The explicit references linking the
festivals of Weeks and Tabernacles to the agricultural cycle, together with
the legal pronouncement governing the second tithe at a specific time
114 chapter three
of the year, militate for the view that the author of the Book of Jubilees
considered its calendar to be anything but utopian. The law of the second
tithe was to be observed “year by year” (32:11). Clearly this would have
been impossible if the 364-day year had not been kept in line with the
true solar year of 365.25 days. The same can be said of every single festival
that required an offering of first fruits. It is possible, of course, that the 364-
day calendar was adhered to for a while, until such time as its followers
could no longer sustain it with the seasons. In the face of an un-bridgeable
difference with the agricultural cycle, they had to abandon the practical
aspect of the 364-day year. This argument holds that the proponents of
the 364-day year—in its Jubilees tradition—then used the calendar for
purely theoretical purposes.50 This argument, however, flies in the face
of the textual evidence available from the Qumran library, which spans
some 200 years, and kept the association between the cultic calendar and
the agricultural cycle, as will be shown in the following section.
50
This is Beckwith’s position, “Modern Attempt”. Beckwith argued that the 364-day cal-
endar saw the light of day in a proto-essene milieu sometime around 251 BCE, and that
by 200 BCE it had become obvious (cf. 1 En 80:2–6) that the calendar could simply not be
kept in line with the seasons. See “The Earliest Enoch Literature and Its Calendar: Marks
of Their Origin, Date and Motivation,” RevQ 10 (1979–81a): 365–403, reprinted in Calendar,
Chronology and Worship, 16–53.
CHAPTER four
The Cycle of Festivals in the Dead Sea Scrolls
1. Introduction1
When preparing her book La Date de la Cène, Jaubert had only limited
access to the now important body of literature discovered by the Dead
Sea in the Qumran vicinity. She depended upon J.T. Milik’s early contri-
butions on the subject of cultic calendars for her assertion that “la décou-
verte toute récente d’un calendrier liturgique fragmentaire dans le lot de
la grotte 4Q identifie définitivement le calendrier des Jubilés à celui de la
secte.”2 As is now well established, the body of literature from Qumran
has yielded several documents, which deal in some part with the cycle
of festivals.3 This cycle is based on the 364-day-year of Jubilees.4 11QPsa
(David’s Compositions) Col. xxvii mentions that David was responsible
for the composition of a certain number of songs:
‫ לו רוח נבונה ואורה ויכתוב תהלים‬.4
‫ שלושת אלפים ושש מאות ושיר לשורר לפני המזבח על עולת‬.5
‫ התמיד לכול יום ויום לכול ימי השנה ארבעה וששים ושלוש‬.6
‫ מאות ולקורבן השבתות שנים וחמשים שיר ולקורבן ראשי‬.7
5
‫ החודשים ולכול ימי המועדות ולים הכפורים שלושים שיר‬.8
1
For a good introduction on the topic, see J.C. VanderKam, “Festivals”. From the same
author, the following can also be consulted: “Passover”; “Shavu‘Ot,” in EDSS, Vol. 2 (eds
L.H. Schiffman and J.C. VanderKam; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 871–2; “Sukkot”.
2
Jaubert, date de la cène, 15, and note 1 on the same page. Milik’s contribution was from
the Strasbourg congress, published later in Milik, “Le travail d’édition des manuscrits du
désert de Juda”.
3
S. Talmon, U. Glessmer, and J. Ben-Dov, eds, Qumran Cave 4 XVI Calendrical Texts
(DJD XXI; Oxford: Clarendon, 2001). On the Temple Scroll, see especially Y. Yadin, The
Temple Scroll, Vol. 1. Introduction (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, the Institute
of Archeology of the Hebrew University, the Shrine of the Book, 1983 revised edition);
Y. Yadin, The Temple Scroll, Vol. 2. Text and Commentary (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration
Society, 1983 revised edition). A recent study of the calendar of the Temple Scroll can be
found in Beckwith, “Temple Scroll”.
4
All the Scrolls that deal with calendrical issues, or that expound the cycle of festivals,
accept as their base calendar the 364-day calendar. They stand, therefore, in the 364-day
year tradition that is already present (in some form) in 1 En 72–82 and in the Book of
Jubilees. These documents include: a) 4Q317—4Q330, 4Q335—4Q337, 6Q317 (Calendrical
Documents); 4Q394, CD, 1QpHab, 11QPsa, 4Q400–407, 11Q17, and 11Q19/20 (Foundation
Documents); 4Q319, 4Q252 (other Documents). Cf. Talmon, “What’s in a Calendar?” 460.
5
D.W. Parry and E. Tov, eds, Poetic and Liturgical Texts (DSSR 5; Leiden: Brill, 2005), 196.
116 chapter four
4. him a brilliant and discerning spirit, so that he wrote: psalms,

5. 3,600; songs to sing before the altar accompanying the daily
6. perpetual burnt-offering, for all the days of the year: 364;6
7. for the sabbath offerings, 52 so7ngs; and for the offerings of the start of
the month,8
8. all the festival days and the Day of Atonement, 30 songs.9
6
Some scholars have argued that the liturgy at Qumran followed the rythm (four quar-
ters) of the calendar, repeating itself every quarter (or every 13 weeks). So, it is argued, the
songs for the first 13 sabbaths of the year, which have partly survived in 4Q400—4Q407,
were probably duplicated in the subsequent three quarters of the year. See, for instance,
B. Nitzan, “The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Jewish Liturgy,” in The Dead Sea Scrolls as Back-
ground to Postbiblical Judaism and Early Christianity. Papers from an International Confer-
ence at St. Andrews in 2001 (ed. J.R. Davila; STDJ 46; Leiden: Brill, 2003), 206, who states:
“the dates of the four seasons of the year are parallel, these songs may have been repeated
on the equivalent sabbaths of each of the four seasons’. Nitzan follows J. Maier, “shîrê Ôlat
hash-Shabbat. Some Observations on their Calendrical Implications and on their Style,” in
The Madrid Qumran Congress: Proceedings of the International Congress on the Dead Sea
Scrolls. Madrid 18–21 March 1991. Vol. 2 (eds J. Trebolle Barrera and L. Vegas Montaner; STDJ
11.1–2; Leiden: Brill, 1992), 543–60. Surprisingly, Nitzan, “DSS and Liturgy,” 216, goes on to
say, when comparing the Qumran liturgy with that of the rabbinical sabbath liturgy: “[the
rabbinical sabbath liturgy] used the same liturgy for all the sabbaths of the year, whereas
the Daily Prayers and the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice from Qumran indicate a different
text for each sabbath, according to the 364-day calendar held by the community.” G.W.
Lorein and E. van Staalduin-Sulman, “A Song of David for Each Day. The Provenance of
the Songs of David,” RevQ 22 (2005): 58–9, slightly overstep the mark when they confi-
dently state: “There is no need for the existence of exactly 364 Psalms; after all the Tales
of the Arabian Nights do not amount to 1001 and the Qumran community worked with
cycles—namely in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice . . . in order to limit the total number.”
Although it remains a possibility, the point has not been proven. The Syriac letter from 800
CE does indeed mention two hundred psalms from David, probably referring to the haul
of manuscripts discovered at Qumran ca. 798 CE, which the letter mentions. Can we infer
anything more from this? After all, no one today would venture to claim that the totality
of the find from the caves at the Qumran site since 1947 represents the exact totality of the
manuscripts that ever were there, and that no other manuscripts will ever be found. There
is no way such a claim can be substantiated. In fact, there is no need either to doubt the
claim that 11QPsa makes: “songs to sing before the altar accompanying the daily perpetual
burnt-offering, for all the days of the year: 364.” Likewise with the 52 songs of the sabbath
offerings. For discussions on the liturgical system at Qumran, see the bibliographical ref-
erences in Nitzan, op. cit., 197 note 9. The Syriac letter referring to the documents from
Qumran is treated in detail by O. Braun, “Ein Brief des Katholikos Timotheos I. über bib-
lische Studien des 9. Jarhunderts,” OrChr 1 (1901): 299–313, as indicated by Lorein and van
Staalduin-Sulman, op. cit., 58, note 160.
7
Lorein and van Staalduin-Sulman, op. cit., 58–9.
8
My translation in italics. Parry and Tov, op. cit., 197 has “New Moon offerings.” In
the framework of a 364-day calendar ‫—ראשי החודשים‬is better translated as “start of
the month” to reflect the dissociation between the monthly reckoning and the lunations,
which traditionally regulate the lunisolar calendar.
9
Parry and Tov, op. cit., 197. S. Talmon, S. Talmon, “A Calendrical Document from
Qumran Cave IV (Mišmarot D, 4Q325),” in Solving Riddles and Untying Knots: Biblical,
Epigraphic and Semitic Studies in Honor of Jonas C. Greenfield (ed. Z. Zevit, S. Gitin, and
M. Sokoloff; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbraums, 1995), 344 note 44, suggests that “the itemized
the cycle of festivals in the dead sea scrolls 117
Following the methodology used in the previous two chapters, the fes-
tivals, as expounded in the Temple Scroll and in the Calendrical Docu-
ments, are considered in turn.10 The most complete treatment of this
cycle is found in Temple Scrolla (11Q19).11 The Calendrical Documents also
contribute some information about the festivals, especially the dates on
which they were celebrated in the framework of the 364-day calendar.12 It
will be pointed out that the Dead Sea Scrolls’ festal calendars included the
biblical festivals, which above have been shown to have been connected,
either explicitly or implicitly, with the agricultural cycle.13 In addition, the
Dead Sea Scrolls also observed key first fruits festivals which, perhaps sur-
prisingly, were not included in the biblical festival calendars. From this it
will be deduced that the cycle of festivals, within its 364-day framework,
was punctuated by the agricultural cycle, just as was the case for the bibli-
cal cycle of festivals.
2. The Festivals of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Second Passover
As already pointed out, the festivals at Qumran were articulated in a 364-

day year. There is little doubt that this 364-day year stands in the same
tradition as the 364-day year expounded in the Book of Jubilees. Yet, if the
calendrical framework is similar, there were marked differences between
the calendar in the Book of Jubilees and the calendar evidenced in the
Qumran (mainly Cave 4) manuscripts mainly interested with calendrical
issues. The festivals of Passover, Unleavened Bread and second Passover
are illustrative of these differences.
roster of ‘David’s Compositions’ (J.A. Sanders, The Psalms Scroll of Qumran Cave 11 [DJD4;
Leiden, 1965] 48, 91–93 [11QPsa XVI]) in an indirect way comes closest to a comprehensive
presentation of the 364-day calendar.”
10
Other documents such as 4QMMT, 4Q400–407 (Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice), and
4Q252, on the chronology of the Flood, although dealing to some extent with the calendar,
will be treated as part of a later project.
11
On the Temple Scroll, see primarily the two-volume study by Yadin, mentioned above.
Studies focussing on the Temple Scroll calendar were published by: J.M. Baumgarten, “The
Calendar of the Book of Jubilees and the Temple Scroll,” VT 37 (1987): 71–8; Beckwith,
“Temple Scroll”.
12
The Calendrical Scrolls were published in the official edition, by: Talmon, Glessmer,
and Ben-Dov, op. cit.
13
The festivals of Hanukkah and Purim are neither mentioned nor observed in the
scrolls.
118 chapter four
2.1. The Passover
The date of the festival of Passover is explicitly mentioned in 11Q19 col.
xvii 6–9:
]‫[בארב]ע ̇ה עשר בחודש הראישון [בין הערבים‬ ̇ ̇‫ [ועש]ו‬.6
14
])?(‫ [פסח ליהוה] וזבחו לפני מנחת הערב וזבחו[ במועדו‬.7
‫ ̇מ ̇בן̇ ̇עשרי[ם] ̇שנה ומעלה יעשו אותו ואכלוהו ̇ב ̇לי̇ ̇ל ̇ה‬.8
̇‫לאוהלו‬
̇ ‫חצרות [ה]קודש והשכימו והלכו איש‬
̇ ‫ ̇ב‬.9
6. [and let] them [keep] on [the four]teenth of the first month, [in the
evening,]
7. [the Lord’s Passover;] and they shall sacrifice ‫ וזבחו‬before the evening
sacrifice. And they shall sacrifice [(it) at its appointed time(?)]
8. from twent[y] years old(?) and upwards and they shall keep it; and let
them eat it at night
9. in the courts of [the] ho[l]y (place). And they shall rise early, and every
man shall go to its tent [. . .15
Like the biblical text, the Calendrical Documents date the Passover to the
fourteenth of the first month. It, however, adds that the festival falls on
the same third day of the week every year. This is identifiable through its
occurrence on the third day of a specific priestly service, a Tuesday, as the
following extract from 4Q326 illustrates:
16
]‫\ בו‬////<‫\ בו הפסח יום שלישי ב‬///<‫ בו ̇ש ̇ב[ת ב‬/<‫ בא‬.2
2. on the eleventh in it Sabba[th, on the 14th in it the Passah on the third
day (of the week)]
The festival of Passover may have enjoyed a particular status at Qumran
as it is the only festival of the cycle to have an extant document (4Q329a)
14
Qimron, The Temple Scroll: A Critical Edition with Extensive Reconstructions (Beer
Sheva—Jerusalem: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Press and Israel Exploration Soci-
ety, 1996), 27, suggests the following reconstruction for line 7: ‫[פסח ליהוה] וזבחו לפני‬
]‫מנחת הערב יזבחו[הו כול זכר‬
15
Yadin, Temple Scroll 2, 73–4.
16
Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 134. For a complete explanation of the tex-
tual basis for the slashes, see Comments to L. 2 in Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit.,
137, together with notes 11 to 15 for bibliographical details. The practice reflects that also
found in “inscriptions and weights of the First Temple period, the Elephantine Papyri, and
some ostraca of unknown provenance.” The siglum is here amended to the use of “/” to
indicate the number of units, and “>” to indicate the number of tens, so that /// = 3, and
>> = 20, and ///>> = 23. The technique of indicating units by a combination of slashes, with
a reversed last slash in some of the combinations, was also found at Masada. That which
is rendered > here appears in the extant text as a hook for ten, and two superimposed
hooks, or a double hook, for twenty. In such documents as 4Q318 and 4Q326 the numeral
30 is indicated by a double hook (20) followed by a single hook (10), whereas there does
not seem to be a strict order rule in 4Q320.
entirely dedicated to itself, and recording its occurrence in a specific

priestly week of service, year after year in the six-year cycle. This passage
illustrates the point:
‫ [השנה הרשונה מעדיה] ̊ב[שלשה ב]שבת‬.1
‫ [מעזיה הפסח השני]ת ̊מ[עד]יה [בש]לשה‬.2
‫מע ̊דיה ̊ב ̊שֹלשה‬
̊ ‫ [בשערים הפסח השלשי]ת‬.3
‫מעדיה‬ ̊ ‫הפס]ח ברבעית‬
̊ ‫ [באביה‬.4
‫החמשית מעדיה‬ ̊ ‫ [בשלשה ביקים הף]סח‬.5
and written vertically in the left margin:
]. . .‫ בשלשה באם[ר הפסח הששית מעדיה‬.6
17
1. [The first year, its festivals, ]o[n the third (day) in (the service)] week
2. [of Ma‘aziah (falls) the Passah; the seco]nd (year), its fest[iva]ls, [on the
th]ird (day)
3. [in (the service week of) Se‘orim (falls) the Passah; the thi]rd (year), its
festivals, on the third (day)
4. [in (the service week of) Abiah (falls) the Pass]ah; in the fourth (year),
its festivals,
5. [on the third (day) in (the service week of) Jaqim (falls) the Pas]sah; the
fifth (year), its festivals
6. on the third (day) in (the service week of) Imm[er (falls) the Passah; the
sixth (year), its festivals18
2.2. The Festival of Unleavened Bread

The festival of Unleavened Bread, on the other hand, is, in comparison to
the Passover, recorded far less often in the extant manuscripts. Its date is
given in 11Q19 col. xvii 10–11:
]‫ ובחמשה עשר לחודש הזה מקרא ̇קו̇ [דש‬.10
‫ימים‬
̇ ‫לאכת עבודה לוא תעשו בו חג מצות שבעת‬
̇ ‫ ̇כו̇ ̇ל ̇מ‬.11
Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 149.

17
As indicated by Talmon, it is the recurrence of ‫“—[בש]לשה‬the third day”—in lines

18
2, 3 and 6 that allows the identification of the festival as Passover. It is intriguing that
this document does not compute the second Passover in the Mišmarot service schedule,
especially if one considers that the second Passover is duly recorded in 4Q319 [frg. 12 and
frg. 13, cf. Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 225–6]; 4Q320 [frg. 4 iii 4 (1st year)
and 14 (2nd year); frg. 4 iv 9 (3rd year); frg. 4 v 3 (4th year) and 12 (5th year); frg. 4 vi
8 (6th year), cf. Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 54–9]; 4Q321 [col. iv (frg. 4) 9
(first year); col. v (frg. 4) 4–5 (2nd year) and 9 (3rd year); col. vi (frg. 4, 5) 4 (4th year), 7–8
(5th year); and finally in col. vii (frg. 5) 2 (6th year), cf. Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov,
op. cit., 74–9]. Rather, 4Q329a seems to be closer to 4Q325 and 4Q326, in which the second
Passover is conspicuous by its absence. For 4Q325 and 4Q326, see Talmon, Glessmer, and
Ben-Dov, op. cit., 123–38.
120 chapter four
10. And on the fifteenth of this month (there shall be) a ho[ly]

convocation;
11. You shall do no laborious work on it; a feast of Unleavened Bread, seven
days19
In the Calendrical Documents it is extant only in 4Q326 l. 3, where it is
also dated to the fifteenth of the month, the day following Passover:
]‫\ בו‬////<‫\ בו הפסח יום שלישי ב‬///<‫ בו ̇ש ̇ב[ת ב‬/<‫ בא‬.2
20
]‫ בו‬/////<<‫\ בו שבת ב‬///////<‫רביע[י ב‬
֯ ‫חג המצות יום‬̇ .3
2. on the eleventh in it Sabba[th, on the 14th in it Passah on the third day
(of the week), on the 15th in it]
3. the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the four[th day (of the week), on the
18th in it sabbath, on the 25th in it]21
There is no ambiguity in the mind of the authors behind 4Q326 that
the festival of Unleavened Bread was to be dated to the fourth day
of the week, the day following the day upon which Passover was to be cel-
ebrated. In this respect, the festival of Unleavened Bread at Qumran was
clearly distinguished from the festival of Passover, a position that differs
from the one adopted by the author of the Book of Jubilees, for whom the
Unleavened Bread celebration was wholly incorporated with Passover, a
seven day festival. This discrepancy in dating may be explained in part by
different practices of day reckoning. According to Jub. 49:1 the Passover is
sacrificed on the fourteenth, and eaten in the evening on the fifteenth.
It is doubtful whether the followers of the Book of Jubilees would have
waited twenty four hours after the sacrifice of the Passover before eat-
ing it. After all, the Passover was to be eaten in haste, in remembrance
of the events recorded in Exod 12–13. The only inference possible is that
in the Book of Jubilees the sacrifice took place on the fourteenth “between
the evenings,” or just before sunset, while its eating took place at night-
time, as the fifteenth day started. Several scholars have argued, correctly
in the opinion of the present writer, that the day reckoning at Qumran
was from sunrise to sunrise. This is confirmed by the manner of dating
X and dwq, the lunar phenomena recorded in 4Q320, 4Q321 and 4Q321a.22
It follows that the third day and the fourth day of the third week in the
first month at Qumran were dated differently, from morning to evening.
19
Yadin, Temple Scroll 2, 74.
20
21
Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 135–6.
22
See Chapter 6 for a suggestion of the meaning of X and dwq.
This suggests a clear distinction between Passover, sacrificed and eaten

on the fourteenth, and the festival of Unleavened Bread, starting on the
fifteenth.
2.3. The Second Passover

The second Passover—‫—פסח שני‬is mentioned in 4Q321. In an extant
part of Frg. 4 Col. V. 5 one reads:
‫בועים‬
̇ ‫הש‬
̊ ‫חג‬
̇ ‫בא]ל[ישיב] ו̇ ̇ב ̊חו̇ [פה] ̊בוא‬
̇ ‫ ̇בו̇ ̇א הפסח השני ̇ה[שלישי‬.5
‫[ת]חי̇ ̇ה‬
̊ ‫החמישי ̇ב ̊פ‬
̊ ‫[בב]ל ̊ג ̇א‬
̇ ‫[ה]ר ̊בי̇ עי‬
̊
5. in it (falls) the Second Passover. The (first day of the) [third (month falls)
in (the week of) E]l[iashib]; and in (the week of) Ḥu[ppah] in it (falls)
the festival of Weeks. [The] (first day of the) fourth (month falls) [in (the
week of) Bi]lgah. The (first day of the) fifth (month falls) in (the week
of) Pe[ta]ḥia.23
The second Passover is mentioned after the Raising of the Sheaf (v. 4)
and before the festival of Weeks. This is to be expected, as the festival
would take place on the fourteenth day of the second month, intervening
between the Sheaf offering and the festival of Weeks. One would expect
this chronological order to be duplicated in the Temple Scroll. From this
perspective it is perhaps significant that ‫ פסח שני‬is not mentioned in the
preserved text of 11Q19 col. xviii 10–14. The text goes:
‫ [אחת] ביום הניפת העומר וספרתה‬.10
‫ [לכמה] ̇ש ̇ב ̇ע ̇ש ̇ב ̇תות תמימות מיום ̇הביאכמה את העומר‬.11
‫ [התנופה תס]פורו עד ממוחרת השבת השביעית תספורו‬.12
‫ [חמשים] יום והביאותמה מנחה חדשה ליהוה ממושבותיכמה‬.13
24
‫סו]ל[ת] חמץ חדש בכורים ליהוה לחם חטים שתים‬ ̇ ‫ [לחם‬.14
10. on the day of the waving of the Sheaf. And you shall count
11. seven(?) full sabbaths from the day that you brought the sheaf
12. [of the wave offering; you shall c]ount to the morrow after the seventh
sabbath, counting
23
Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 75–6. See also 4Q321 Frg. 4 col. iv 9; Frg. 4
col. v 9; Frg. 4,5 col. vi 3–4, 7–8; Frg. 5 col. vii 2, Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit.,
74–9.
24
Yadin, Temple Scroll 2, 78–9. Qimron, op. cit., 28, proposes some slightly different
reconstructions. Line 10: starts ‫[בשנ]ה ביום‬
̇ instead of Yadin’s ‫ ;[אחת] ביום‬Line 11: ]‫[לכם‬
‫ ̇ש ̇ב ̇ע‬instead of Yadin’s ‫ ;[לכמה] ̇ש ̇ב ̇ע‬Line 12: ‫ ̇ה ̇תנ̇ ו̇ ̇פ ̇ה ̇ת ̇ספורו‬instead of Yadin’s ‫[התנופה‬
‫ ;תס]פורו‬Line 14: ‫[חלות] ̇ל ̇חם חמץ‬, to reflect Lev 7:13, in place of Yadin’s ]‫סו]ל[ת‬ ̇ ‫[לחם‬
‫חמץ‬.
122 chapter four
13. [fifty] days; and you shall bring a new cereal offering to the Lord from
your dwellings,
14. [a bread of fine] f[lour,] new leavened, first fruits to the Lord, bread of
wheat; twel[ve(?)]25
Admittedly the early lines of Col. xviii are damaged. This brought Yadin
to conjecture that “it seems likely that the missing part at the top of the
column contained a short comment about ‘second Passover’ (‫)פסח שני‬.”26
This is a natural inference when faced with such extensive lacunae in the
early lines. One, however, should note that if this were the case this would
mark a departure from the way the authors of the Scrolls favored a chron-
ological order whenever treating of the festivals, as the present document
and the Calendrical Documents testify.27 There is no mention of ‫פסח שני‬
between the two festivals, nor is there any indication from the extant
text that the second Passover was mentioned at the start of Col. xviii.28
25
26
Yadin, Temple Scroll 2, 76. Also Yadin, Temple Scroll 1, 99. Interestingly Qimron, op.
cit., 28, does not offer any additional reconstruction that would substantiate Yadin’s sug-
gestion. J. Maier, The Temple Scroll (translated by R.T. White; JSOTSup 34; Sheffield: JSOT
Press, 1985), 25, 79–80, does not address the issue of the missing second Passover. M.O.
Wise, A Critical Study of the Temple Scroll from Qumran Cave 11 (SAOC 49; Chicago: The
Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 1990), 216, in his Appendix on the Com-
positional Analysis of the Temple Scroll, simply indicates concerning col. 18 that lines 1
and 3 are “too fragmentary,” while the remainder of the col. parallels passages from Num
28–29 and Lev. 16, 23. Wise offers no explanation for the absence of the second Passover,
although he does dispute Yadin’s suggestion that “all the missing festivals were once there”
[in the lacunae of col. 43]. Cf. A Critical Study of the Temple Scroll from Qumran Cave 11, 131.
D.D. Swanson, The Temple Scroll and the Bible. The Methodology of 11QT (STDJ XIV; Leiden:
Brill, 1995), 18–31, draws attention to the literary sources of this passage: Lev. 23:10–15 as the
primary text, and Num 28:26–30 as secondary text. It is interesting to see from Swanson’s
results that Numbers 15 forms the basis for what the author terms the “supplementary”
text, the role of which is to provide key terms that are significant to understand the pas-
sage. Swanson does not mention the second passover at all. It is the indication that Num-
bers 15 plays a key role in the understanding of the passage at hand that is relevant here.
The author had access to the text of Numbers and must have known Numbers’ regulation
concerning its observance. Yet, as we have seen above, it is conspicuously absent from
the text.
27
So it is that the author of 11Q19 treats the festivals of the first month, starting in l. 9
with “the first day of the month”—‫ ;ובאחד לחודש‬followed by the treatment of the Day
of Ordination (col. xv 3—col. xvii), and the Eighth Day (col. xvii 1–5); the Passover (col.
xvii 6–9) and the festival of Unleavened Bread (col. xvii 10–16). col. xviii mentions two
festivals: “on the day of the waving of the sheaf—‫( ביום הניפת העומר‬line 10), followed
by “a new cereal offering” (line 13). The latter, fifty days after the Sheaf offering, can only
be the Pentecost, here named not after its connection with Israel’s Exodus from Egypt, but
rather in connection with the agricultural cycle which it follows.
28
When mentioned in the Calendrical Scrolls the second Passover is recorded chrono-
logically: 4Q320, a roster of the festivals in the sexennial cycle, records the second Passover
in the following fragments: Frg. 4 col. iii 4 (first year—partly reconstructed); Frg. 4 col. iv
One must consider the possibility that the lacunae was voluntary, and
that the authors of the Scrolls, adopting partly the Book of Jubilees’ stance
against the second Passover, simply left it out when expounding the cycle
of festivals in its agricultural context. On the other hand, they included
it when drawing a roster of the occurrences of festivals in the sexennial
cycle.29 Thus it would appear that the authors of the Scrolls acknowledged
the potential problem the second Passover could introduce in the cultic
calendar and its intrinsic connection to the agricultural year. This prob-
lematic aspect possibly dated back to the aborted attempts at synchroniz-
ing the calendars of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. By leaving the
second Passover out they ensured that, from their Judaean perspective,
there would be no dichotomy between agricultural cycle and festivals.30 It
9 (second year—partly reconstructed but certain because of the extant “passover” in line
7); Frg. 4 col. v 3 (fourth year—extant); Frg. 4 col. v 12 (extant—fifth year); Frg. 4 col. vi 8
(sixth year—partly reconstructed but certain because of the extant “passover” in line 6).
See Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 44–49. The second Passover is also recorded
in 4Q321, a roster of festivals and first days of the months in the sexennial cycle: Frg. 4 col.
v 5 (second year—extant); Frg. 4 col. v 9 (third year—partly reconstructed but certain).
See Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 75–6. Lastly, the second Passover is recorded
also in 4Q319, a roster of festivals in the sexennial cycle: Frg. 13 line 1 (fifth year—partly
reconstructed); Frg. 13 line 4 (sixth year—partly reconstructed). See Talmon, Glessmer,
and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 225–6. Oddly, 4Q329a, a roster of the festival of Passover and its
occurrence on the third day in such and such priestly service through the course of the
sexennial cycle does not record the second Passover. See Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov,
op. cit., 147–50. P.R. Callaway, “The 364–Day Calendar Traditions at Qumran,” in Mogilany
1989. Papers on the Dead Sea Scrolls Offered in Memory of Jean Carmignac. Part I: General
Research on the Dead Sea Scrolls—Qumran and the New Testament—The Present State of
Qumranology. (ed. Z.J. Kapera; Kraków: Enigma, 1993), 28, had already expressed doubts
concerning the presence of the second Passover in the Temple Scroll when he remarked:
“whereas one mishmarot fragment refers to the second Passover, it remains uncertain
whether the Temple Scroll does, as Yadin surmised.”
29
As observed by Milik, Dix Ans, 72, “avant la Fête des Semaines on célébrait encore la
seconde Pâque (jeudi, le soir du 14 du 2e mois), qui dans la Bible n’était prévue que pour
des cas particuliers.”
30
See in Chapter 2 above the section on 2 Chr 30–31 and King Hezekiah’s Passover in
the second month. The second month from a Judaean standpoint probably coincided with
the first month in the Northern Kingdom. In other words, Hezekiah’s attempt at synchro-
nising the two cultic calendars meant that the festivals in the Southern (Judaean) calendar
had to be postponed by a full month so that they would coincide with those of the north-
ern calendar and its agricultural cycle, a concession necessary in order to attract those
Jews from the Northern Kingdom. This resulted in Jerusalem in tithes and second tithes
being heaped up at a time which, although in the third and seventh months, was somehow
disconnected from the festivals of Weeks and of Tabernacles. Talmon, “What’s in a Calen-
dar?”, rehearses the arguments he already suggested long ago, cf. Talmon, “Divergences,”
53–8, and correctly suggests that two calendars following the same festivals were in place,
one in the north and one in the south, with a discrepancy of a month, reflecting the differ-
ent agricultural conditions between north and south. Talmon does not comment, however,
124 chapter four
was outlined above that the legislation concerning Passover is very strict
in the Book of Jubilees: it is to be celebrated once a year, not delaying its
day nor its month. 11Q19 would appear to fit this position with, perhaps, a
somewhat less polemical standpoint. Support for this view may be drawn
from 4Q329a, which, although it records solely the Passover occurrences
on the third day of the week of such and such priestly cycle through the
sexennial cycle, oddly does not record the second Passover.
3. The Raising of the Sheaf
This is termed the Waving of the Sheaf—‫ עומר‬/‫ הניפת העומר‬/‫הנף‬

‫התנופה‬. 4Q320 frg. 4 iii, which deals with the festivals in the first and the
second year of the sexennial cycle, states:
‫ השנה הרישונה מועדיה‬.1
‫הפסח‬
̇ ‫בשבת בני מעוזיה‬ ̇ ///‫ ב‬.2
]‫ [ב]י̊ ̇ד ̊ע[יה] הנף ה[עמר‬/‫ ̊ב‬.3
. . .
31
]‫ [ב־] במי̇ [מ]ן̊ הנף ̇ה[עמר‬.13
1. the first year its festivals
2. on the 3rd (day) in the week of the sons of Ma‘oziah (falls) the Passah
3. on the first (day) [in ] Jeda[‘iah] (falls) the Waving of the[ Omer]
. . .
13. [on the first (day)] in Mija[mi]n (falls) the Waving of the[ Omer]32
The relatively well-preserved state of line 2 ‫בשבת בני מעוזיה‬ ̇ ///‫ ב‬.2
‫הפסח‬
̇ 33
—indicating the day in the priestly service of Jeda‘iah in the first
month of the first year, upon which the festival was celebrated, allows
one to deduce its exact date.34 It took place on the twenty-sixth day of
the first month, a Sunday, just as it did in the 364-day calendar of the
Book of Jubilees.35 There is agreement between the Book of Jubilees and the
Qumran documents as to the date of the festival. The dating of the Sheaf
on the absence of the festivals of Weeks and Tabernacles, nor does he perceive any veiled
reference to them in the mention of the tithes in the third and seventh months.
31
32
DJD XXI Calendrical Texts, 55.
33
The Hebrew text is taken from Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 54.
34
J.C. VanderKam, “Festivals”. See also 4Q320 frg. 4 iv 8 (in the 3rd year); 4 v 2 (in the
4th year), 11 (in the 5th year); 4 vi 7 (in 6th year). Cf. Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov,
op. cit., 56–60. Also in 4Q321 col. iv (frg. 4) 9 (the first year, “in the week of Jeda‘iah”—no
day is indicated); col. v (frg. 4) 4 (2nd year), 9 (3rd year); col. vi (frg. 4, 5) 3 (year 4), 7 (year
5); and col. vii (frg. 5) 2 (year 6). Cf. Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 74–9.
35
Offering to the twenty sixth of the first month indicates that the authors
of the Dead Sea Scrolls interpreted Lev 23:15 just as the author of the Book
of Jubilees did. In their view the morrow after the sabbath was the day fol-
lowing the sabbath, which occurred immediately after, and not during,
the seven-day long festival of unleavened bread.36
The festival is also called the festival of First Grain in 4Q325 frg. 1 3. That
this should be the first grain of Barley seems evident and is confirmed by
the specification in 11Q19 Col. xliii 6 that the grain discussed in this pas-
sage is that of wheat.
‫ ̇מחג הבכורים לדגן החטים יהיו אוכלים את הדגן‬.6
37
6. from the feast of the first fruits of the grain of wheat they shall eat the
grain.38
The author of the Temple Scroll must have felt it was necessary to specify
that this was the first fruit of the grain of wheat as opposed to the first
fruit of the first grain, i.e., barley. Evidently, this is a strong indication
that the authors of the documents, just like any other Jewish group of
the second Temple period, understood the cultic year to be punctuated
by the agricultural cycle. In 4Q325 frg. 1 3, the document considered here,
the festival is dated to the twenty sixth of the first month, on the day after
the sabbath:
‫ה]ש[ני‬
39
̊ ‫[מוע]ד שעורים בעשרים וששה בו אחר שבת רוש החודש‬
̊ .3
3. [the festiv]al of (First) Grain (falls) on the twenty-six[th] in it after the
sabbath; the beginning of the second mon[th40
With regard to the above, the dating of the morrow after the sabbath to the
twenty-sixth day of the first month, and not to the sixteenth day, as was
the rabbinic custom, ensured the occurrence of the festival of Weeks/Pen-
tecost on a Sunday. It also ensured that the subsequent festivals of first
fruits, following a pentecontad sequence after the festival of Weeks, would
take place occasionally before, but more often after their occurrence in the
Jewish cycle of festivals according to the lunar calendar.41 Consequently,
36
J.C. VanderKam, “Festivals”.
37
38
39
40
Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 127. See also 4Q326 4: “Sabbath, on the 26th
in it the Feast of (the First) G[rain after the Sabbath; the first month.” Cf. Talmon, Gless-
mer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 136.
41
M.A. Daise, “ ‘The Days of Sukkot of the Month of Kislev’: The Festival of Dedica-
tion and the Delay of Feasts in 1QS 1:13–15,” in Enoch and Qumran Origins: New Light on a
126 chapter four
the first fruit festivals were less likely, in the 364-day-year, to be subjected
to the difficulties associated with the (very) occasional adverse weather
conditions which would have affected the readiness of crops in Judaea.42
The silence of the sources from the Dead Sea as regards the possibility of
a dichotomy between the festival cycle and the agricultural cycle can be
interpreted to mean that the calendar was not made to be in line with the
seasons.43 Equally, it can be interpreted to suggest that what appears to be
a difficulty to the mind of today’s interpreter was not considered as such
by the ancient author. Many scholars have argued that the witness of the
Dead Sea Scrolls, copied over a period of well beyond two hundred years,
demonstrates that the 364-day calendar and its festival cycle attached to
the seasons, remained in use, most probably to the satisfaction of its fol-
lowers. In any case, its exposition in such diverse documents (calendrical,
foundational, legal, liturgical, etc.) certainly militates for a calendar that
was more than just theoretical. Suffice to reiterate at this stage that the
silence of the sources under consideration as regards the method used to
keep the cultic year in line with the agricultural season cannot be inter-
preted conclusively to mean that there was no such method in use.
4. The Festival of Weeks
The festival of Weeks—‫ עים‬/‫—חג השבועות‬also called the festival of

First Wheat—‫ דגן החטים‬/‫מועד ביכורי החטים‬. The legislation to fix its
date is expressed thus in 11Q19 Col. xviii:
F orgotten Connection (ed. G. Boccaccini; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005), 119–28, esp
120–22, seems to suggest that the festivals following that of the Sheaf offering in the luni-
solar calendar would fall before—“precede”—their appointed time. This is not strictly cor-
rect. First, while he assumes the calendar was kept in line with the seasons, the author does
not consider how this was done. Although the assumption may be correct, without proper
argumentation this remains an assumption. Second, the intercalation of the 354-day cal-
endar itself would have caused, possibly as often as every two or three years, its festivals
to fall after their appointed times, while in the vast majority of the remaining instances
they would have fallen before. Daise’s suggestion that 2 Macc 9:10 is a reference to the fes-
tival of Tabernacles taking place in Kislev that year, some two months after its appointed
time (126) is too speculative. It is perhaps more likely that the author of 1QS 1:13–15 had a
particular calendrical practice rather than a singular event in mind when he commanded
“all those who devote themselves freely to His truth” to be “neither early nor late for any
of their appointed times.” The translation used here is from Vermes, op. cit., 99.
42
There would have been differences between Galilee in the north and Judaea in the
south. Cf. Talmon, “Divergences,” 56 note 2.
43
It was and remains the main stumbling block for many scholars.
‫ [אחת] ביום הניפת העומר וספרתה‬.10

‫ [לכמה] ̇ש ̇ב ̇ע ̇ש ̇ב ̇תות תמימות מיום ̇הביאכמה את העומר‬.11
‫ [התנופה תס]פורו עד ממוחרת השבת השביעית תספורו‬.12
44
‫ [חמשים] יום והביאותמה מנחה חדשה ליהוה ממושבותיכמה‬.13
10. on the day of waving the sheaf. And you shall count
11. [for yourselves] seven full sabbaths from the day that you brought the
sheaf
12. [of the wave offering, you shall c]ount to the morrow after the seventh
sabbath, counting
13. [fifty] days; and you shall bring a new cereal offering to the Lord from
your dwellings,45
As illustrated above, the Waving of the Sheaf takes place on I/26. Conse-
quently, the festival of Weeks occurs on III/15, as in the calendar of the
Book of Jubilees. The above passage goes on:
‫סו]ל[ת] חמץ חדש בכורים ליהוה לחם חטים שתים‬ ̇ ‫ [לחם‬.14
‫]החלה האחת‬ ̇ ‫ [עשרה(?) חלות שני ]עשרונים סולת תה[יה‬.15
46
‫ה]מ ̇ט[ו]ת לשבטי ישראל ויקריבו‬
̇ ‫ [והביאומה ראושי‬.16
14. [cakes of] new leavened bread, first-fruits for yhwh: wheaten bread,
two
15. [cakes of bread,] each cake will b[e] of [two] tenths of finest flour.
16. [The heads of the] clans of the tribes of Israel [will bring them] and
offer47
The mention in the immediate context of “new bread from freshly ripened
ears” dispels any doubt that the specific ritual offering is connected to
an agricultural event, which takes place in the third month of the 364-
day calendar in use at Qumran. This is the same calendar expounded in
the Book of Jubilees and originally presented in the Astronomical Book of
Enoch.
In the Qumran Scrolls, the festival is dated to the first day of the week
of the priestly course on which it falls. 4Q320 frg. 4 iii 5, rehearsing the
festivals in the first year of the sexennial cycle, states:
48
‫ בישוע חג השבועים‬/‫ ב‬.5
5. on the 1st (day) in Jeshu‘a (falls) the festival of Weeks49
44
45
46
47
48
49
128 chapter four
In fact, the Calendrical Documents always attach the first day of the festi-
val of Weeks to the first day of the week in a given priestly rotation.50 This
is due to the occurrence of the festival fifty days after the festival of the
Sheaf waving, which itself took place on a Sunday. The Sabbatical charac-
ter of the 364-day calendar ensures that the festivals remained attached
to the same day of the week, year after year.
5. The Festival of Tabernacles
Also called the festival of Booths—‫חג הסכות‬. 11Q19 Col. xxvii deals with
what appears to be the legislation for the Day of Atonement, the festival
just prior to the festival of Tabernacles. Line 10 records the date of what
would be the festival of Tabernacles:
‫] ובחמשה עשר יום לחודש הזה‬. . .[ .10
10. [. . .] on the fifteenth day of the month51
11Q19 Col. xxviii–xxix give the law concerning the sacrifices of the seven-
day festival. There is no explicit connection to the agricultural cycle here.
Rather, the festival is attached to the story of the exodus from Egypt.52
The occurrence of this festival in such and such week of priestly service,
in such and such year of the sexennial cycle, is recorded in Calendrical
scrolls 4Q320 and 4Q321.53
50
Cf. also 4Q320 frg. 4 iv 1 (1st day in Ḥuppah—second year), 9 (1st day in Ḥezir—third
year); frg. 4 v 4 (1st day in Jakin—4th year), 13 (1st day in Joiarib—fifth year); frg. 4 vi 9 (1st
day in Malkiah—sixth year). In Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 54–9. The dating
of the festival of Weeks on the first day of a specific priestly rotation is also recorded in
4Q319 frg. 12 2 (1st of Jeshu‘a); frg. 13 1 (1st of Joiarib—fifth year), 4–5 (1st of Malkiah—sixth
year). Cf. Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 225–6. This is true also in 4Q321, espe-
cially in the later part of the scroll, which records the occurrence of the biblical festivals in
the weekly priestly service on duty. See especially col. v (frg. 4) 1 (in Jeshu‘a—first year), 5
(in Ḥuppah—second year). Column v breaks off just before the mention of the festival of
Weeks in the third year. See Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 75–6.
51
52
Cf. Reworked Pentateuch (4QRPc)/ 4Q365 frg. 23 1–2: “You shall live [in hu]ts for seven
days; all who are natives of Israel shall stay in huts, so th[at your] gen[erations may know]
2
how I made your fathers live [in hu]ts when I took them out of the Land of Egypt. I am
YHWH your God!”, in F. García Martínez and E.J.C. Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls. Study
Edition. Volume 2, 4Q274–11Q31 (Leiden: Brill, 1998), Heb 720, 722, trans. 721, 723. Compare
Lev 23:42–3 “You shall live in booths for seven days; all that are citizens in Israel shall live
in booths, so that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in
booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”
53
4Q320 frg. 4 iii 9 (in the first year); iv 4 (second year); v 7 (fourth year); and vi 2 (fifth
year), in Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 54–9. 4Q321 frg. 4 col. v 2 (first year);
6. Additional First-fruit Festivals in the Dead Sea Scrolls
The first two first fruits festivals were those of barley, on the occasion
of the Raising of the Sheaf, and of the grain of wheat, on the occasion of
the festival of Weeks.54 Additional first fruit festivals were celebrated at
Qumran: the first fruit of New Wine, the first fruit of New Oil, and the
Wood Offering.
6.1. The Festival of New Wine—‫ התירוש‬/‫מועד היין‬

The legislation for this festival is recorded in 11Q19 Col. xix 11–16:
]‫[וספר]ת ̇מ ̇ה ̇לכמה מיום הביאכמה את המנחה חדש ליהו̇ [ה‬̇ .11
‫ [את] ̇ל ̇חם ̇הבכורים שבעה שבועות שבע שבתות תמימות‬.12
‫ [תהיינה ע]ד ממוחרת השבת השביעית תספורו חמשים יום‬.13
‫ ו[הביאות]מה יין חדש לנסך ארבעה הינים מכול מטות ישראל‬.14
‫לישית ̇ההין̇ על המטה ויקריבו ̇ע ̇ל היין {הזה} ביום הזה‬
̇ ‫ ̇ש‬.15
55
‫שנים עשר אילים כול ראשי אלפי ישראל‬ ̇ ‫ ליהוה‬.16
11. [And] you shall [count] from the day that you brought the new cereal
offering to the Lo[rd,]
12. [th]e bread of new fruits, seven weeks; seven full sabbaths
13. [there shall be un]til you count fifty days to the morrow of the seventh
sabbath.
14. And you sh[all bring] new wine for drink offering: four hins, from all the
tribes of Israel,
15. a th*ird* of a hin for each tribe; and they shall offer with the {this} wine
that day
16. *to the Lord twel*ve r[a]ms, all the heads of the clans of Israel56
Thus, the festival of New Wine took place on the day after the (seventh)
sabbath, a Sunday. In the 364-day calendar this took place on the 3rd
col. vi (frg. 4, 5) 2 (third year); and col. vii (frg. 5) 4 (sixth year), in Talmon, Glessmer, and
Ben-Dov, op. cit., 75–9.
54
Yadin, Temple Scroll 1, 102–3. Yadin provides a passage from Sa‘adiah Gaon, who
quotes Judah the Alexandrian: ‫“—כמא כאן בין בכורי השעורים ובכורי חטים נ̇ יומא‬as
there are fifty days between the firstfruits of barley and the firstfuits of wheat.” Yadin,
Temple Scroll 1, 102.
55
Yadin, Temple Scroll 2, 83–4. In a note to line 16 Yadin commented: “]‫שנים עשר א[י‬
‫לים‬: the scribe first wrote ‫אלים‬, and suspended the yod afterwards.” Qimron, Qimron, op.
cit., 29, indicates that 11QTb 6 has ‫אילים‬. Changes introduced by Qimron to the reconstruc-
tion of the text remain minimal: line 11: ‫[ו]ס ̇פ ̇ר ̇ת ̇מ ̇ה ̇לכמה‬
̇ ; line 12: ‫ ̇ל ̇ח ̇ם ̇הבכורים שבעה‬,
with the textual note that 11QTb 6 has ‫ שבע ̇ה‬for ‫ ;שבעה‬lines 13–14: the 11QTb 6 recension
places the word ‫[ר]בתמה‬ ̇ ‫ו[ה]ק‬
̇ straight after ‫חמשים‬, partly in the margin, and the miss-
ing ‫ יום‬was possibly “extant in the lacuna above ‫[ר]בתמה‬ ̇ ‫ו[ה]ק‬
̇ .”
56
130 chapter four
(day) of the fifth month.57 11Q19 Col. xxi elaborates on the commands for
the festival of New Wine. The text indicates that on this occasion, the
priests, the Levites, and the people “shall go to drink new wine”:
‫פר[י] ב[ו]סר מן‬ ̇ ‫יאכ]ל[ו] כול ענ̇ ̇ב‬
̇ ‫חדש [ולוא‬
̇ ‫ ̇יחלו לשתות יין‬.7
̇‫הגפנים ̇ כי‬
58
‫יכפ ̇רו על ̇התירוש וישמחו בני ישראל לף[ני] י̇ ̇הוה‬
̇ ‫ [ביו] ̇̇ם הזה‬.8
7. *shall go to drink a new wine (‫)יין‬,* [and they shall not ea]t any s[o]u[r]
grapes from the vines, *for*
8. [on] *this* [da]*y they shall atone (‫ )יכפרו‬on the* wine (‫)תירוש‬. And the
children of Israel shall rejoice bef[ore] the Lord,59
Yadin posited that this portion of the text was influenced by the laws con-
cerning the Nazarites, contained in Num 6:3–4.60 The biblical text reads:
They shall separate themselves from wine and strong drink (‫ִמיַּ יִ ן וְ ֵשׁ ָכר‬
3
‫ ;)יַ זִּ יר‬they shall drink no wine vinegar or other vinegar, they shall not drink
any grape juice or eat grapes, fresh or dried. 4All their days as nazirites they
shall eat nothing that is produced by the grape vine, not even the seeds or
the skin.
Although logical, Yadin’s proposal is problematic. First, 11Q19 xxi 7 says
“shall begin to drink new wine”—‫יחלו לשתות יין הדש‬. There is no ques-
tion of drinking wine, new or otherwise, in Numbers 6. Rather, “they shall
separate themselves from wine and strong drink”—‫ ִמיַּ יִ ן וְ ֵשׁ ָכר יַ זִּ יר‬. Second,
although the prohibition to eat in the respective passages is concerned
with the fruit of the vine, it does not apply to the same stage of develop-
ment of the grapes. In 11Q19 xxi 7 it applies to the unripe grapes—‫ענב פרי‬
‫בוסר‬. The root ‫ בסר‬is used in the biblical text of unripe or sour grapes,
i.e., not yet ready for consumption (cf. Is 18:5; Job 15:33). In Num 6:3 the
prohibition to eat is applied to fresh and dried grapes—‫)ענָ ִבים ַל ִחים‬ ֲ ַ‫(ו‬
‫אכל‬ֵ ֹ ‫יב ִשׁים לֹא י‬
ֵ ִ‫—ו‬fruits that are now ready to be eaten. Third, the pro-
hibition to eat in 11Q19 xxi 7 is applicable “on that day”—‫—ביום‬whereas
in Numbers it applies to “all the days”—‫( כֹּל יְ ֵמי‬plural construct form).
In sum, the passage in 11Q19 col. xxi is concerned with a specific day on
57
Callaway, op. cit., 27–8; Reeves, op. cit., 350–1.
58
Yadin, Temple Scroll 2, 94, 336–8.
59
Yadin, Temple Scroll 2, 94, 337–9. Vermes, op. cit., 196, renders the text: “They [shall
not e]a[t] any un[ri]pe grapes from the vines, for [on] this [da]y they shall expiate for the
tirosh.”
60
which grapes that are ready must be consumed, and the use of unripe
grapes is prohibited for the occasion.
It has been suggested to reconstruct line 7 as follows:
]‫ [יחלו לשתות יין חדש] ולאכול ענבים ובוסר מן הגפנים [כי‬.7
61
. . .‫ [ביום הזה יכפרו על ה]תירוש‬.8
7. [shall begin to drink new wine] and to eat grapes and the unripe fruit
from the vines, [because]
8. [on this day they shall atone for the] new wine...62
However, the omission of the negative before “unripe grapes” introduces
a difficulty. For the text to make sense without the negative, one must
envisage that the calendar followed in the Temple Scroll was based on
what M. Albani, in an informed discussion on the question of intercala-
tion of the 364-day year, called a Wandeljahr,63 i.e., a 364-day year not
kept in line with the agricultural cycle. This (hypothetical) year slowly
moved back through the seasons, falling in arrears of the cycle of seasons
by roughly 1.25 days per year. After a while it is evident that in this kind of
wandering calendar year the various festivals would not have been aligned
with the seasons anymore, eventually to come back—for a short time—to
alignment, and so on. Within such framework it is true that the particular
indication, that “they shall begin to eat the grapes and the unripe fruits
from the vine” would apply most of the time as, apart from the few years
61
F. García Martínez and E.J.C. Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls. Study Edition. Volume
2, 4Q274–11Q31 (Leiden: Brill, 2000), 1243.
62
García Martínez and Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls Vol. 2, 1243.
63
Albani defines the Wandlejahrmodell as opposed to the Theoriemodell and the
Interkalationsmodell. The Wandlejahrmodell is based on the thesis by H. Stegemann, Die
Essener, Qumran, Johannes der Täufer und Jesus: Ein Sachbuch (Freiburg: Verlag Herder,
1993). The most recent scholarly approach of what Albani terms the Theoriemodell is that
of B.Z. Wacholder and S. Wacholder, “Patterns of Biblical Dates and Qumran Calendar: The
Fallacy of Jaubert’s Hypothesis,” HUCA 66 (1995): esp. 29, where the authors state: “Inter-
calation of the sectarian calendar is a modern invention. For example, 4Q320, Mishmarot
A, synchronies the lunisolar reckoning without any awareness of intercalation . . . Neither
Milik nor anyone else has devised an intercalation scheme satisfying the demands of the
Qumranic community. An analysis of the recently released Mishmarot texts demonstrates
this premise”; cf. Albani, “Zur Rekonstruktion eines verdrängten Konzepts: Der 364-Tage-
Kalender in der gegenwärtigen Forschung,” 105 note 90. Albani’s Interkalationsmodell has
been championed by U. Glessmer in several publications from 1991: “Der 364-Tage-Kalen-
der und die Sabbatstruktur seiner Schaltungen in iher Bedeutung für den Kult,” in Ernten,
was man sät: Festschrift Klaus Koch zu seinem 65. Geburstag (eds D.R. Daniels, U. Glessmer,
and M. Rösel; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1991), 379–98; and more recently
Glessmer, “4Q319 and Intercalations”. Further bibliographical references on the question
of intercalation of the 364-day year are given above, chapter 1 note 132.
132 chapter four
within which the third day of the fifth month would coincide roughly with
the grape harvest, the cultic year and the agricultural cycle would not be
synchronized, and more often than not there would be no ripe grapes on
the vines at the time of the festival. Consequently there would be a few
instances when “that day” would occur only once all grapes and fruits of
the vine were ripe, creating a somewhat unusual situation: on the day of
the festival of New Wine the adherents to the Temple Scroll’s regulation
would be unable to consume unripe fruit of the vine because the fruit
would be ripe! Clearly this does not make sense, and the textual recon-
struction that omits the negative must now be abandoned. This interpre-
tation does not quite tally with the viewpoint that festivals were divinely
ordained and inscribed in the Heavenly Tablets.64
Rather, the reconstruction that posits the prohibition of consuming
unripe fruit of the vine on the occasion of the offering of the first fruits
of the wine makes more sense. Reconstructed thus the text suggests a
clear correlation between the festival and the actual agricultural season.
This is clear in the understanding of the author of 11Q19, who stipulates
in the legislation regulating the consumption of first fruits (col. xliii 3–11)
that:
]‫ [ ]ובימי הבכורים לדגן לת[ירוש וליצהר‬.3
]‫ [ובמועד קורבן ה]עצים באלה הימים יאכל ולוא יני̇ [חו‬.4
‫ ממנו שנה לשנה אחרת כי ככה יהיו אוכלים אותו‬.5
‫ ̇מחג הבכורים לדגן החטים יהיו אוכלים את הדגן‬.6
‫ עד השנה השנית עד יום חג הבכורים והיין מיום‬.7
‫ מועד התירוש עד השנה השנית עד יום מועד‬.8
‫ התירוש והיצהר מיום מועדו עד השנה השנית‬.9
‫ למועד יום הקרב שמן חדש עלהמזבח וכול אשר‬.10
‫ נותר ממועדיהמה יקדש באש ישרף לוא יאכל עוד‬.11
65
‫ כי קדש‬.12
64
Cf. In the Book of Jubilees the title of the work; also Jub. 49 concerning the Passover
and the Unleavened Bread; Jub. 6: 20–22 concerning the festival of Weeks; Jub. 32:10 con-
cerning the festival of Tabernacles. Not all festivals, however, enjoy the same privilege, or
status. The festival of the Sheaf offering, or waving of the Omer, implicitly dated to I/26 in
the Book of Jubilees, does not appear to be “engraved on the Heavenly Tablets.” The same
can be said of the second Passover, which is altogether absent from the Book of Jubilees.
Yet, concerning the Raising of the Sheaf, the festival was clearly celebrated. Its omission
from the Heavenly Tablets may have been motivated by an acknowledgement that Lev
23:15 ‫“ ִמ ָמּ ֳח ַר ַה ַשּׁ ַבּת‬the morrow after the sabbath” could be, as in fact it was by different
groups in second Temple Judaism, interpreted in different ways.
65
Yadin, Temple Scroll 2, 182–3, 377.

3. [ ] and on the days of the first fruits of the grain, of the wi[ne and of
oil]

4. [and at the feast of the] wood [offering.] On these days it shall be eaten;
and let [them] not leave

5. of it from one year to another year. For thus they shall eat it:

6. from the feast of the first fruits of the grain of wheat they shall eat the
grain

7. up the following year, until the feast of the first fruits; and the wine, from
the day

8. of the feast of the wine, until the day of the feast

9. of the wine of the following year; and the oil, from the day of its feast to
the following year,
10. until the feast, the day of offering of new oil [o]n [the] altar. And all that
11. remains of their feasts shall be consecrated and burnt; it shall never
again be eaten,
12. for it is holy.66
This passage is strongly reminiscent of the passage from the Book of Jubi-
lees alluded to above and which deals with the law of tithing.67 The tex-
tual dependence is perhaps too strong to be ignored, and it is most likely
that the passage from the Book of Jubilees is the source behind the Temple
Scroll passage.68
The New Wine festival is, perhaps surprisingly, conspicuously absent
from the Calendrical Documents from Qumran.69 It is mentioned only in
4Q394 1–2 col. iii 1–16:
‫[ש]ב[ת] בע[שתי עשר] בו שבת בשםונה עשר בו שבת בעשרים‬
‫ש]ב[ת‬
̊ ‫בחם ̊ש[י‬
̇ ‫וחםשה בו שבת בשנים‬
70
]‫בשלושה בו מועד היין אחר השבת‬
66
67
See Jub. 32:12–13. For the author of the Book of Jubilees, the newly acquired state of
impurity, which befell the old firstfruit once the new festival had taken place, required the
burning of all leftovers (cf. 32:14). For the author of the Temple Scroll, the burning of the
leftovers was considered a stage of sanctification, and not the result of a state of impu-
rity. It is this newly acquired state of holiness—and not impurity—which precluded the
old firstfruits from being eaten after the festival of the new firstfruits. Cf. 11Q19 xliii 11–12.
This is indicative of the growing halakhic interpretation and perhaps is significant and
representative of a less polemical stance adopted in the Temple Scroll as to the lunisolar
calendar. It fits well with the testimony of the Qumran calendrical scrolls, which do record
lunar phases within the triennial and sexennial cycles, and is a marked contrast with the
position in Jubilees 6, where the moon is explicitly condemned.
68
A position already articulated by Wise, A Critical Study of the Temple Scroll from Qum-
ran Cave 11.
69
As indicated by VanderKam: “the wine festival is never mentioned in the preserved
sections of the calendrical texts” (emphasis mine). Cf. J.C. VanderKam, “Festivals”.
70
134 chapter four
iii. [Sa]bba[th, on the ele[venth] in it sabbath, on the eighteenth in it sab-

bath, on the twenty-fifth in it sabbath. On the second in the fif[th (month)
Sa]bba[th, on the third in it the festival of the (New) Wine (on the day) after
the sabbath].71
6.2. The Festival of New Oil—‫ היצהר‬/‫מועד השמנ‬

In addition to the legislation for the festival of Wine, the law regulating
the festival of New Oil is recorded in 11Q19 col. xxi 12–16:
‫מיום הזה שבעה שבעות שבע פעמים תשעה‬ ̇ ‫ ו̇ ̇ס ̇פר[תם]ה [לכם]ה‬.12
‫ וארבעי̇ ם יום ̇ש ̇ב ̇ע שבתות תמימות תהיינה עד ממוחרת השבת‬
̇ .13
‫שמן חדש ממשבות‬
̇ ‫השביעית תספורו חמשים יום והקרבתמה‬ ̇ .14
‫יש]ראל מחצית ההין אחד מן המטה שמן חדש כתית‬̇ ‫[מ]טות ̇ב[ני‬
̇ .15
72
‫ [ ]יצהר על מזבח העולה בכורים לפני יהוה‬.16
12. And [you sha]ll from that day on seven weeks seven times, nine
13. and forty days, seven full sabbaths there shall be, until the morrow of
the seventh
14. sabbath you shall count fifty days. Then you shall offer new oil from the
dwellings
15. of the [tr]ibes of the peo[ple of Is]rael, half a hin from each tribe, new
beaten oil
16. [ ] oil on the altar of the burnt offering, first fruits before the Lord.73
The festival took place on the twenty second day of the sixth month, a
Sunday, and was subject to the same legislation concerning the consump-
tion of first fruits as the festival of New Wine.74 The festival seems to be
referred to in 4Q394 1–2 col. v:
]‫אח[ר הש]בת ̊א ̊ח[ריו‬
̇ ‫[ואח]ד בו שבת בעשרים ושנים בו מועד השמן‬
̊
]‫קרב[ן העצים בעשרים ושמונה בו שבת‬
̇
first] in it sabbath, on the twenty-second in it the festival of the (New)
Oil, (on the day) aft[er the Sa]bbath, aft[er it the Wood] Offeri[ng, on the
twenty-eight in it sabbath.]75
71
Admittedly, this translation relies on a reconstruction of the fragment, as the brackets
indicate. The preserved reference to the New Oil festival in the same fragment, col. v line 7:
“on the twenty-second in it the festival of the (New) Oil, (on the day) aft[er the Sa]bbath,
aft[er it the Wood] Offeri[ng, on the twenty-eight in it Sabbath],” strongly suggests that
Talmon’s reconstruction of the text is correct. Cf. Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit.,
162–3, for the Hebrew text and translation, and specifically p. 164 for Talmon’s comments
on the reconstruction suggested.
72
Yadin, Temple Scroll 2, 95–6, 338–9.
73
74
J.C. VanderKam, “Festivals,” 191.
75
Cf. Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 163. J.C. VanderKam, “Festivals,” 292, points
out that the word used for oil—‫—השמן‬attested in Hebrew Scriptures—here is different
6.3. The Festival of the Wood Offering—‫(מועד) קרבן העצים‬

This festival is not recorded in the biblical books, although there is in
Nehemiah a reference to “appointed times” every year concerning the
wood offering at the altar.76 In the Dead Sea Scrolls, however, the fur-
nishing of wood to the temple, for the purpose of the sacrificial cult, was
regulated and equally shared among the twelve tribes. This seems to have
taken place once a year, over a period of six days. There are indications
from the Dead Sea Scrolls that this was the occasion for a festival. 11Q19
col. xliii 4 contains the word ‫“—עצים‬wood” in the extant text. This allows
the following reconstruction:
]‫ ול[יצהר ובימי ה]עצים באלה הימים יאכל ולוא יני[חו‬.4
4. and of [oil on the days of the] wood. It shall be eaten on these days and
they shall not leave [over]77
11Q20 col. vi (Frgs. 10 II, 12) suggests that the festival of wood took place
after the festival of the New Oil, and lasted over six days:
11 [And after the festival of the virgin oil, they shall bring,]
12 [the twelve tribes of the Israelites, the woo]d to the alta[r as an offering.
And they shall offer: on the first day]
13 the tribes [of Levi] and Judah; and on [the second day Benjamin and the
sons of Joseph, and on the third day Reuben and Simeon;]
14 and on the fourth day Issachar [and Ze]bulun; and [on the fifth day Gad
and Asher; and on the sixth day Dan]
15 and Naphtali. Blank [And they shall offer on the festival]
16 of the wood a burnt-offering for yh[wh he-]78
The reconstruction of 4Q325 frg 2 6–7 would suggest that the festival
started on the 23rd day of the sixth month:
from the one used in 11Q19 col. xliii 3, 9–10,—‫—היצהר‬not attested in Hebrew Scriptures—
but still considers both documents to refer to the same festival of Oil. VanderKam consid-
ers the passage at hand under the siglum Calendrical Document Eb4Q327 1. ii.4–7. This
position is not shared by the editors of DJD xxi, who reject the ascription of the document
to the Mišmarot texts, but accept the original registration of the document as a separate
document (4Q327). See Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 157.
76
77
García Martínez and Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls Vol. 2, hebrew 1260, trans. 1261.
See also: Yadin, Temple Scroll 2, 182.
78
García Martínez and Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls Vol. 2, Heb 1296, trans. 1297.
Temple Scrolla/ 11Q19 col. xi 11–12 probably described those festivals: 11 [. . . and on the feast
of] the first-fruits for the offering of wheat 12 [. . .] and on the festival of new oil and on the
six days’. The “six days” most probably refer to the festival of wood-offering.
136 chapter four
‫ [בו שבת גמול בעשרים ואחד בו שבת דליה בעשרים ו]שנים‬.6

‫ [בו מועד השמן אחד שבת על דליה אחריו מועד (?) קרבן הע]צים‬.7
79
6. [in it sabbath Gamul. On the twenty-first in it sabbath Delaiah. On the

twenty]- second
7. [in it the Feast of the (First) Oil after the sabbath (on which) entered
Delaiah. After it the (Feast[?] of the) W]ood-Offering.80
Further, the occurrence on the first day of the seventh month of the next
festival suggests that the wood festival took place between the twenty third
and the twenty ninth of the sixth month. It would appear that the twenty
eighth, a sabbath in the sixth month, was left out of the celebration.81
7. Festivals and the Seasons in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Summary
A review of the sources discovered in the vicinity of Qumran, by the Dead

Sea, shows that the cycle of festivals followed therein, based on a 364-day
calendar of 1 Enoch and of the Book of Jubilees’ tradition, was intrinsically
connected to the cycle of seasons. The dates ascribed to the festivals are
the same as those exemplified in the Book of Jubilees. However, the day
reckoning seems to be different, and seems to operate from morning to
evening, as the clear dating of Passover (killing and eating) to the four-
teenth day of the first month, and that of Unleavened Bread to the fif-
teenth, suggest.
There were three additional festivals celebrated at Qumran: the festival
of New Wine, that of New Oil, and the festival of Wood.82 Their connec-
tion to the seasons is demonstrated by the laws governing the tithe of
the first fruits, expounded in 11Q19 xliii 3–11. This passage is a quasi ver-
batim reproduction of the law governing the seed, the wine and the olive
79
80
81
Cf. Yadin, Temple Scroll 1, 123, for this suggestion. See further J.C. VanderKam, “Fes-
tivals,” 292. 4Q394 1–2, a similar document to 4Q325 in that it records the sabbaths, the
epagomenal days and festival days, presumably in each month, would have recorded that
the twenty eighth of the sixth month was a sabbath. Following Yadin, Talmon, in Talmon,
Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 166, suggests that the festival would have been interrupted
for the sabbath, and would have resumed on the twenty ninth day. Talmon, in Talmon,
Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 166 note 25, points out that a similar practice of exclud-
ing the sabbath from a seven day celebration is recorded in the Karaite halakha on the
consecration of the Tabernacle (Lev 8). On this, see in particular Y. Erder, “The First Date
in Megillath Ta‘Anit in Light of the Karaite Commentary on the Tabernacle Dedication,”
JQR 82 (1992): 263–83.
82
Yadin refers to these as additional festivals of weeks. Cf. Yadin, Temple Scroll 1, 108.
in Jub. 32:12–13. There is, moreover, no indication that these laws were
not adhered to. They dealt with a very important aspect of the life of the
community, ensuring its economic survival as well as its spiritual renewal,
thus displaying the kind of emphasis found in the Priestly sources. Just as
the festival of Weeks was the occasion for the renewal of the covenant
with God, so the occasions for the offering and tithes of first fruits were
the occasions for releasing the produce of the land for the coming year, in
other words, until the next crop was available. These were serious practi-
cal matters, as important and relevant to the community as the celebra-
tion of the festivals at the right time of the year was (cf. Jub. 6:32ff; Jubilees
Prologue). What was at stake was the preservation of the land’s holiness
and the protection of the “holy seed” of Israel. There is no doubt that the
above presupposes a real connection between the cycle of festivals and
the agricultural cycle, and there is a high degree of possibility that these
laws were actually observed at the time the 364-day year was in effect.
Last, we may recall the possible connection between the Temple Scroll
and the Book of Jubilees with regard to the omission of the second Pass-
over. It was argued above that the second Passover was probably not men-
tioned in the Temple Scroll, a document which, among other things, is
primarily interested in the real connection between the cycle of festivals
and the seasons. Biblical sources testify to incidents involving the second
Passover, which, it was argued above, were probably the reason for calen-
drical disputes. It may be the case that, in Judah, King Hezekiah’s Pass-
over was remembered as an occasion which introduced a disconnection
between calendar and agricultural cycle. By keeping the second Passover
from those documents that legislated for the agriculturally linked festi-
vals, first fruit offerings and tithes, the covenanters merely avoided any
potentially serious problem. This did not, of course, preclude them from
recording it within their rosters of festivals expounded in their triennial
and sexennial cycles. The purpose of those documents was not to legislate
for the offerings and observances within the cultic cycle, but was simply
to record the date of the festival. This is an additional indication that the
364-day calendar observed by the covenanters was attached to the agri-
cultural cycle.
CHAPTER five
The Cycle of Festivals in other relevant

Jewish Sources
1. Introduction
The previous three chapters explored respectively the cycle of festivals

in the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Jubilees, and in some of the Dead Sea
Scrolls. There are a number of additional sources from other relevant peri-
ods, which shed some light on this particular issue. The present chapter
focuses on some of those sources and considers in turn the Gezer calendar
(First Temple), the Elephantine Papyri, the writings of Flavius Josephus,1
the works of Philo Judaeus (Second Temple),2 and the Bar Kokhba Letters
(second century CE).3 It will be shown that in all these sources, which
admittedly witness to different strands of Judaism spanning a millennium,
the cycle of festivals remained strongly anchored to the agricultural cycle.4
This point contributes to one of the key argument with which the present
thesis is concerned, i.e., that the cultic calendar, whether following the
364-day year tradition or the lunisolar tradition, remained attached to the
agricultural cycle.
2. The Gezer Calendar
This calendar is preserved on a tenth century BCE stone tablet, and thus
pre-dates the Second Temple period by some four centuries. It is named
1
W. Whiston, trans., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged (Peabody, Mas-
sachusetts: Hendrickson, 1987).
2
C.D. Yonge, trans., The Works of Philo. Complete and Unabridged (Peabody, Massachu-
setts: Hendrickson, 1995).
3
On the Bar Kokhba letters, see especially M.O. Wise, “Bar Kokhba Letters,” in ABD,
Vol. 1 (ed. D.N. Freedman; New York: Doubleday, 1992), 601–6, with the bibliography.
4
It will not be possible in the scope of this study to cover every single reference to the
festivals found in these documents. However, those deemed relevant to the discussion at
hand will be considered.
140 chapter five
after the place where it was discovered.5 The original is here reproduced
from Albright’s article:6
1. yrḥw’sp / yrḥw z yarḥêw ’asîp / yarḥêw ze-
2. r‘ / yrḥw lqš ra‘ / yarḥêw l-q-š
3. yrḥ ‘ṣd pšt yarḥô ‘-ṣ-d pištá
4. yrḥ qṣr ś‘rm yarḥô qeṣîr śe‘orîm
5. yrḥ qṣr wgl yarḥô qaṣîr wa-gîl
6. yrḥw zmr yarḥêw zamîr
7. yrḥ qṣ yarḥô qêṣ
As the following translation illustrates, it expounds the farming season in
its chronological/seasonal order:7
His two months are (olive) harvest; his two months are
grain-planting; his two months are late planting;
His month is hoeing up of flax,8
his month is barley harvest,
his month is harvest and festivity;
his two months are vine-tending;9
his month is summer-fruit.
5
The stone tablet has been dated to ca. 925 BCE by Albright, J.B. Pritchard, Ancient
Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (3d ed.; Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1969); cf. J.C. VanderKam, “Calendars, Ancient Israelite and Early Jewish,” in ABD,
Vol. 1 (ed. D.N. Freedman; New York: Doubleday, 1992), 814–20. Talmon, S. Talmon, “The
Gezer Calendar and the Seasonal Cycle of Ancient Canaan,” JAOS 83 (1963): 177, dates it
to the 10th century, first because of its similarities “with a Phoenician inscription from
Byblus” (cf. 177, note 2, for bibliographical details) on paleographical and orthographical
grounds; second, on “archeological and historical considerations,” which indicate that “in
all probability the writing of this document did not precede the rebuilding of Gezer as an
Israelite fortress by Solomon in the latter part of his reign (1 Kgs 9:15, 17), and it cannot be
dated later than the destruction of that city by Pharaoh Shishak in the fifth year of Reho-
boam’s reign (1 Kgs 14:25–26; and esp. 2 Chr 12:2–3), ca. 918 BC” (177, note 3). A. Lemaire,
“Zamir dans la tablette de Gezer et le Cantique des Cantiques,” VT 25 (1975): 20 note 4, is
also in favour of a 950–918 BCE bracket on the grounds that the paleographical evidence
pertains more to the second part of the 10th century BCE.
6
W.F. Albright, “The Gezer Calendar,” BASOR 92 (1943): 22–3.
7
Albright’s translation, Albright, op. cit., 22–3.
8
Talmon, “The Gezer Calendar,” 177, rejects Albright’s translation of ‫ירח עצד פשת‬
as “the season of flax hoeing” and prefers the translation “the season of green-fodder [or
‘grass’] cropping” (cf. 186).
9
For a good treatment of the preferred meaning of yrḥw zmr, see Lemaire, op. cit. As
noted by Lemaire (p. 15), the main difficulty lies with the final letter waw in yrḥw, and
with the exact meaning of the root zmr, which only occurs here and in the Song of Songs
2:12. Lemaire interprets the final ‫ ו‬as “une forme archaïque de l’état construit du duel,” and
translates yrḥw “les deux mois de,” “the two months of.” As to zmr, Lemaire makes the valid
point that from a philological point of view both meanings of “pruning” and “wine harvest”
are possibilities; only the location in the sequence of the tablet, and a consideration of the
geographical location, allow the identification of zmr as “wine harvest.” For a discussion
of the style of Hebrew used in the Gezer calendar, see I. Young, “The Style of the Gezer
the cycle of festivals in other relevant jewish sources 141
It is difficult to discern the exact status and purpose of this calendar.10 What
seems to be clear, however, is that this stone tablet describes a twelve-
month sequence of the agricultural cycle, starting in the autumn—“olive
harvest”—and ending in the summer—“summer-fruit.” This suggests that
sometime in the tenth century BCE—and possibly earlier—the rhythm of
the agricultural cycle in Canaan was identified as significant enough to be
recorded on a stone tablet.11
3. The Elephantine Papyri12
Some documents composed in Aramaic and dated from the fifth century
BCE were discovered in the 19th–20th centuries CE. They originate from
Elephantine, an island on the Nile river, off the town of Aswan—ancient
Syene—in Egypt.13 Of key historical importance is a group of ten letters
Calendar and Some ‘Archaic Biblical Hebrew’ Passages,” VT 42 (1992): 362–75, and the bib-
liographical references therein.
10
With J.C. VanderKam, “Calendars, Ancient Israelite and Early Jewish”. Several possi-
bilities have been proposed: Talmon, “The Gezer Calendar,” 177, suggests that it may have
been “drawn up for the purpose of tax collection on behalf of the royal administration.”
Albright suggests that it was a “kind of mnemonic ditty for children,” while Wirgin (Eretz
Israel 6, 1960, 9–12) sees in it a cultic formula for the protection of the seasons. Cf. Cohen,
op. cit.
11
Whether it can be inferred from this evidence that the calendrical year started in the
autumn is a different matter, and cannot be treated here. Cf. J.C. VanderKam, “Calendars,
Ancient Israelite and Early Jewish”, who follows Clines, D.J.A. Clines, “The Evidence for an
Autumnal New Year in Pre-Exilic Israel Reconsidered,” in On the Way to the Postmodern:
Old Testament Essays 1967–1998, vol. Volume 1 (JSOTSup 292; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic
Press, 1998), 365–88. For a recent identification of the Gezer calendar as representative of
a calendar which starts at the time of the Autumn equinox, see Wagenaar, “Post-Exilic
Calendar Innovations,” 14.
12
J.C. VanderKam, “Sukkot”. B. Porten, “The Calendar of Aramaic Texts from Achae-
menid and Ptolemaic Egypt,” in Irano-Judaica II (eds S. Shaked and A. Netzer; Jerusalem:
Ben-Zvi Institute, 1990), 13–32. See also from the same author: B. Porten, “Elephantine
Papyri,” in ABD, Vol. 2 (ed. D.N. Freedman; New York: Doubleday, 1992), 445–55; B. Porten,
The Elephantine Papyri in English: Three Millennia of Cross-Cultural Continuity and Changes
(SNEAC 22; Leiden: Brill, 1996).
13
For a good description of and summary on the Elephantine Papyri, see Porten,
“Elephantine Papyri”; “Elephantine Texts,” in EDSS, Vol. 1 (eds L.H. Schiffman and
J.C. VanderKam; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 241–6. Over the last century these
documents have captured the interest of scholars, particularly because of their historical
relevance. The discussion by Talmon, “Divergences,” 71–3, is interesting in that it discusses
the importance of these documents as extra-biblical witnesses of Jewish calendrical reck-
oning in the fifth century BCE. Particularly, scholars have focussed on the double-datings
recorded in the documents, using Persian and Egyptian reckonings, to ascertain the char-
acter of the Jewish calendar at the time. Cf. S.H. Horn and L.H. Wood, “The Fifth-Century
Jewish Calendar of Elephantine,” JNES 13 (1954): 1–20, and its useful summary of previ-
ous scholarly research on the subject. Sacha Stern, S. Stern, “The Babylonian Calendar
142 chapter five
which belong to the communal archive of Jedaniah b. Gemariah, a char-

acter believed to have been the leader, and perhaps the chief priest, of the
community there.14 The letter of interest to us, TAD A4.1, was written ca.
419–18 BCE.15 It records instructions concerning the date of Passover given
by a certain Hananiah to Jedaniah b. Gemariah:
3
[. . .] . . . Now, you, must count four[teen 4days of Nisan and on the 14th
at twilight the Passover ob]serve . . . and from day 15 until day 21 of [Nisan
the festival 5of Unleavened Bread observe. Seven days unleavened bread eat.
Now], be pure and take heed. Work [do] n[ot do] 6[on day 15 and on day 21
of Nisan. Any fermented drink] do not drink.16 And anything of leaven do
not [eat 7 and do not let it be seen in your houses from day 14 of Nisan at]
sunset until day 21 of Nisa[n at sun8set. And any leaven which you have in
your houses b]ring into your chambers and seal (them) up during [these]
days. 9[. . .] . . .17
at Elephantine,” ZPE 130 (2000): 159–71, reconsiders the meaning and significance of the
double-dating found in the Elephantine Papyri. Stern concludes that the calendar used
at Elephantine, beside the civil Egyptian calendar, “was undoubtedly Babylonian” (171).
However, because of its geographical location it could only “estimate” matters such as
the beginnings of the Babylonian months or the occasional intercalation of a thirteenth
month. These estimations explain why many of the double dates in the Elephantine doc-
uments diverge from what would have been expected to be the true Babylonian dates.
The Passover Papyrus identified Passover to take place between the 15th and 21st of the
Babylonian month of Nisan. In Lev 23:5–8 Passover is dated to the “first month” 15 to 21.
Thus at Elephantine Nisan was taken to be the first month of the year (170). This is sig-
nificant because, whereas in the Bible the festivals seem to follow the agricultural season
(cf. Exod 23:15–16, 34:18–22), the adoption of the Babylonian Nisan as the first month of
the year would have introduced a discrepancy with the agricultural season. First Nisan
would mostly fall after the equinox, which means that Passover and unleavened bread
would always fall 2 to 6 weeks after the equinox, later than the biblical ‫ ָא ִביב‬. This, for
Stern, is the indication that the introduction of the Babylonian reckoning brought a slow
disengagement of the festivals from the agricultural season (170–1).
14
Here the sigla from B. Porten and A. Yardeni, Textbook of Aramaic Documents from
Ancient Egypt, Newly Copied, Edited, and Translated Into Hebrew and English, 3 Vols. (Jeru-
salem: The Hebrew University, 1986–99), where the ten letters are recorded as TAD A4.1–
10, are followed.
15
Porten, “Elephantine Papyri”.
16
This prohibition is probably aimed at Egyptian beer, and not at wine. See Grelot,
“Études sur le papyrus pascal d’Éléphantine,” 362.
17
Porten, Elephantine Papyri in English, 125–6, 125–6. Pierre Grelot has also suggested
a reconstruction and a translation of the letter, first based on the hypothesis that the let-
ter had been folded in two, and therefore was missing only a small portion of text on the
left. See Grelot, “Études sur le papyrus pascal d’Éléphantine,” 375. The author changed his
position, following the suggestion by E.G. Kraeling, The Brooklyn Museum Aramaic Papyri
(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953), that “from a comparison with epistolary papyri
it seems certain that 10 cm. or about one third of the papyrus or 23 letter spaces in each
line is broken off.” Thus Grelot proposed a new reconstruction of the aramaic text in
P. Grelot, “Le papyrus pascal d’Éléphantine: essai de restoration,” VT 17 (1967b): 201–7. Grelot,
Admittedly, the date “fourteenth . . . of Nisan” in the original fragment has

to be reconstructed.18 In any case, the mention of days 15 to 21, together
with the command not to eat anything leavened, strongly suggests that
the festival(s) mentioned are Passover and Unleavened Bread.19 It is inter-
esting to note here that, if the textual reconstruction is correct, the festival
of Unleavened Bread is distinguished from the Passover, and is given a
specific date which is distinct from that attributed to Passover. This points
to the suggestion that, at some stages in the fifth century BCE, in some
quarters of Judaism, Passover and Unleavened Bread were considered
two distinct festivals, a position that is also found some centuries later in
some documents from Qumran.20 Further, the mention in the extant text
of the number 15 (and not 14), in connection with day 21 and the eating
of unleavened food, suggests that the day reckoning referred to is from
sunset to sunset.
In addition to the above there is an inscription found on an ostracon
and dated to the fifth century BCE, so contemporary to the Elephantine
however, reverted to his initial conclusions in the light of newly published fifth century
BCE aramaic documents from Hermopolis, and which represented evidence that in the
fifth century BCE some personal letters were folded in two. For Grelot, “cela montre que
l’hypothèse d’une seule pliure au milieu n’est pas chimérique.” See P. Grelot, “Le papyrus
pascal d’Éléphantine et les lettres d’Hermopolis,” VT 17 (1967c): 483. Grelot published a
translation of the Passover letter in P. Grelot, Les documents Araméens d’Égypte (LAPO;
Paris: Cerf, 1972). See also P. Grelot, “Sur le ‘papyrus pascal’ d’Elephantine,” in Mélanges
Bibliques et Orientaux en l’Honneur de H. Cazelles (eds A Caquot and M. Delcor; 1981), 163–
72. In Appendix III of B. Porten, Archives from Elephantine: The Life of an Ancient Jewish
Military Colony (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968), Porten suggests the follow-
ing reconstruction of the Aramaic text:
‫ [אל אח]י‬.1
]‫ [יד]ניה וכנותה ח[ילא ‘]הודיא אחוכם חנן[יה] שלם אחי אלהיא [ישאלו‬.2
‫ דריוהוש מלכא מן מלכא שליח על ארש[ם בר‬5 ‫ וכעת שנתא זא‬.3
‫ ביתא לאמר רחיקין הוו מן חילא יהוד]יא כעת אנתם כן מנו ארב[עת עשר‬.4
‫ ל[ניסן‬21 ‫ עד יום‬15 ‫ לנימן ופסחא עב]דו ומן יום‬1 ‫ יומן מן יום‬.5
‫ אנתם] דבין הוו ואזדהרו עבידה א[ל תעבדו‬. . . ‫ חגא זי פטיריא עבדו‬.6
‫ ואף שכר א]ל תשתו וכל מנדעם זי חמיר א[ל תאכלו‬21 ‫ וביום‬15 ‫ ביום‬.7
‫ לניס[ן במערב‬21 ‫ לנימן ב]מערב שמשא עד יום‬14 ‫ פטירן אכלו מן יום‬.8
‫ שמשא וכל חמיר זי איתי לכם ה]נעלו בתוניכם וחתמן בין יומי[א אלה‬.9
‫ מן טעם אלה שמיא ומן טעם דריוהוש מל]כא‬.10
‫ [אל] אחי ידניה וכנותה חילא יהודיא אחוכם חנניה‬.11
18
For the reconstruction of the day numeral, see the relevant section in J.C. VanderKam,
Calendars in the DSS. For the reconstruction of Nisan as the month name in line 5, see
Talmon, “Divergences,” 71. See previous note for the Aramaic text.
19
J.C. VanderKam, Calendars in the DSS, 16. For a differing opinion, see G. Widengren,
“The Persian Period,” in Israelite and Judean History (eds J.H. Hayes and J.M. Miller; 1990),
533, who states: “contrary to what has been assumed, however, the Passover was probably
not mentioned in the letter.” Cf. Glessmer and Koch, op. cit.
20
On this see above the section on Cycle of Festivals at Qumran.
144 chapter five
Papyri. It reads: ‫שלח לי אמת תעבדן פסחא‬, “Send me (note) at what

time you will keep Passover.”21 This evidence would suggest that there
was, around the fifth century BCE, and at least in the Elephantine quarter
of the Diaspora, some kind of looseness or confusion concerning the date
for the festival of Passover.22 The evidence from the ostracon would sug-
gest that, for the inquirer the date of Passover was not fixed in its month.
Grelot interpreted this situation as reflecting “l’ancienne legislation, qui
précisait seulement le mois de la fête.”23 Alternatively, the difficulty associ-
ated with the determination of the start of the months, accentuated by a
Sitz im Leben where several differing calendars were practiced, may well
be the motivation behind this directive. Whichever this may be, the allu-
sion to the directive from Darius II to the Satrap of Egypt gives an official
status to the document, which may fit the situation where the date of the
festival had to be adjusted in order to comply to the now legal practice.24
4. Festivals in Josephus
The nature of the present undertaking dictates that the treatment of the
work by Josephus be limited to some of the references to the festivals of
Passover, Weeks and Tabernacles.25
21
Cf. Talmon, “Divergences,” 73. The translation is from E.L. Sukenik and J. Kutscher,
“Kedem,” in Studies in Jewish Archeology, Vol. I (Jerusalem: Azriel Press, 1942), 53–6, who
dated the inscription to ca. 500 BC. Cf. Talmon, “Divergences,” 73. Grelot, Grelot, Les docu-
ments Araméens d’Égypte, 94 note 57, suggests 440–430 BCE.
22
Talmon argues that the Passover letter was particular to the situation known at Ele-
phantine, a Jewish garrison where many Jews originated from Israel, and as such had kept
the Ephraimite calendrical practice evidenced by the calendrical ‘innovation’ introduced
by Jeroboam sometime in the tenth century (cf. Talmon, “Divergences,” 71–3).
23
Grelot, Les documents Araméens d’Égypte, 95 note 57. Cf. Glessmer and Koch, op. cit.,
130 note 61, esp. p. 130 note 61.
24
See Porten, “Elephantine Papyri”, for a reference to this now lost official directive.
25
A possible post-70 date of composition or redaction is irrelevant to the present argu-
ment, as Josephus presents traditions, not innovations. On Josephus and his work the reader
is referred to the extensive work of Louis H. Feldman. The following may serve as a start-
ing point: L.H. Feldman, Josephus and Modern Scholarship (1937–1980) (Berlin: de Gruyter,
1984); L.H. Feldman, Judaean Antiquities 1–4 (ed. S. Mason; vol. Volume 3 of Flavius Josephus.
Translation and Commentary; Leiden: Brill, 2000), with bibliography on pages xxxv–xxxvi.
See also: C. Begg, Judaean Antiquities 5–7 (ed. S. Mason; vol. 4 of Flavius Josephus. Transla-
tion and Commentary; Leiden: Brill, 2000); C. Begg and P. Spilsbury, Judaean Antiquities
8–10 (ed. S. Mason; vol. 5 of Flavius Josephus. Translation and Commentary; Leiden: Brill,
2000). See also Etienne Nodet: Flavius Josèphe, Les Antiquités Juives, vol. Vol. I: Livres I à
III Texte (É. Nodet; Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1990); Les Antiquités Juives, vol. Vol. II: Livres I
à III. Traduction et notes (É. Nodet; Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1990); Les Antiquités Juives, vol.
Vol. II: Livres IV et V. Texte, Traduction et notes (É. Nodet; Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1995);
4.1. The Festivals of Passover and Unleavened Bread

In the section in Antiquities of the Jews dealing with the festivals, Josephus
confirms, as one would expect, that the Passover is to be celebrated on
14 Nisan:
Τῷ δὲ μηνὶ τῷ Ξανθικῷ ὃς Νισὰν παρ’ ἡμῖν καλεῖται καὶ τοῦ ἔτους ἐστὶν ἀρχή,
τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτῃ κατὰ σελήνην ἐν κριῷ τοῦ ἡλίου καθεστῶτος, τούτῳ γὰρ τῷ
μηνὶ τῆς ὑπ’ Αἰγυπτίους δουλεὶας ἠλευθερώθημεν, καὶ τὴν θυσίαν, ἣν τότ’ ἐξιόντας
ἀπ’ Αἰγύπτου θῦσαι προεῖπον ἡμᾶς πάσχα λεγομένην, δι’ ἔτους ἑκάστου θύειν
ἐνόμισεν.26 (Ant. 3.248)
In the month of Xanthicus, which is with us called Nisan and begins the
year, on the fourteenth day by lunar reckoning, the sun being then in Aries,
our lawgiver, seeing that in this month we were delivered from bondage to
the Egyptians, ordained that we should year by year offer the same sacrifice
which, as I have already said, we offered then on departure from Egypt—the
sacrifice called Pascha.27
Xanthicus is the Macedonian name of the first month in the Macedonian
calendar.28 By stipulating that Nisan was the first month “with us” Jose-
phus indicated that he was following the calendar which is described as
“for kings and for festivals” in the admittedly later Mishnah (Rosh Hasha-
nah 1:1), and not the calendar for “the reckoning of the years.”29 In the
same passage Josephus also dates the festival of Unleavened Bread: “on
the fifteenth the Passover is followed up by the festival of Unleavened
Bread, lasting seven days.”30 Whereas in this section it would appear that
the two festivals are treated somewhat distinctively, Josephus, in several
other places, equates the festival of Unleavened Bread with that of Pass-
over, as the following passage demonstrates:
ὁ μὲν οὖν *Αρέτας ἑξῆς βαλόμενος στρατόπεδα τῶν *Αράβων καὶ τῶν *Ιουδαίων
ἰσχυρῶς ἐνέκειτο τῇ πολιορκίᾳ. τούτων δὲ γινομένων κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τῆς τῶν
Les Antiquités Juives, vol. Vol. III: Livres VI et VII. Texte, Traduction et notes (É. Nodet;
Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 2001); Les Antiquités Juives, vol. Vol. IV: Livres VIII et IX. Texte,
Traduction et notes (É. Nodet; Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 2005).
26
H.S.J. Thackeray, Jewish Antiquities, Books I-IV, in Josephus IV (LCL; London: Heine-
mann, 1930, reprinted 1961).
27
Ant. 3.248 Thackeray, op. cit., 437, esp. 437. See also Ant. 11.110 Jewish War V 99.
28
L.H. Feldman, Judaean Antiquities 1–4, 302 note 706, esp. 302 note 706.
29
Nodet’s indication that ‘FJ suit de fait l’année civile, et non l’année liturgique’ is con-
fusing. The Mishnah states clearly that Nisan is the start of the year ‘for festivals’. Cf. Fla-
vius Josèphe, Les Antiquités Juives, 176 note 6.
30
Ant. 3.249 πέμπτῃ δὲ καὶ δεκάτῃ διαδέχεται τὴν πάσχα ἡ τῶν ἀζύμων ἑορτὴ ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας
οὖσα. See Thackeray, op. cit., 436, 436.
146 chapter five
ἀζύμων ἑορτῆς, ἣ φάσκα λέγομεν, οἱ δοκιμώτατοι τῶν *Ιουδαίων ἐκλιπόντες τὴν

χώραν εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἔφυγον.31 (Ant. 14.21)
And so Aretas placed the camps of the Arabs and Jews next to one another,
and pressed the siege vigorously. But as this action took place at the time of
observing the festival of Unleavened Bread, which we call Phaska, the Jews
of best repute left the country and fled to Egypt.32
It also occurs that Josephus calls the eight day festival “the feast of unleav-
ened bread,” and makes no mention of the Passover:
ὅθεν εἰς μνήμην τῆς τότε ἐνδείας ἑορτὴν ἄγομεν ἐφ’ ἡμέρας ὀκτὼ τὴν τῶν ἀζύμων
λεγομένην.33 (Ant. 3.17)
Whence it is that, in memory of that time of scarcity, we keep for eight days
a feast called the feast of Unleavened Bread.34
Confirmation that the denomination “feast of unleavened bread” had, by
the time of Josephus, come to signify Passover and Unleavened Bread
is perhaps found in Josephus’ account of King Hezekiah’s Passover. The
Chronicler states that “Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah . . . that
they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the Pass-
over to the Lord the God of Israel . . . for they had not kept it in great num-
bers as prescribed.”35 Josephus sums up the passage: “Then the king sent
messengers throughout his realm, summoning the people to Jerusalem
to celebrate the festival of Unleavened Bread (Azyma), which had for a
long time been allowed to lapse through the lawless actions of the kings
previously mentioned.”36 The festival that is specifically called Passover by
the Chronicler, and in the context of which the seven days of unleavened
bread are celebrated, has become the festival of Unleavened Bread, with
no specific mention of Passover.
The partaking of the first fruits of the earth takes place, according to
Josephus, “on the second day of unleavened bread, which is the sixteenth
31
R. Marcus, Jewish Antiquities, Books XII–XIV, in Josephus VII (LCL; London: Heine-
mann, 1943, reprinted 1961).
32
Marcus, op. cit., 459, p. 459. See also Ant. 17.213; 18.29; J.W. 2.10.
33
Thackeray, op. cit., 302, 304, 302 and 304.
34
Thackeray, op. cit., 303 and 305. See also the bibliographical reference in L.H. Feld-
man, Judaean Antiquities 1–4, 303 note 715, 303, note 715, for the argument that Josephus
writes from a Diaspora perspective. Compare Nodet, Flavius Josèphe, Les Antiquités Juives,
124 note 9, for whom Josephus “suit la trad[ition] rab[inique] (cf. BPesahim 5a), qui a
étendu la période des azymes au jour de la Pâque (14 Nisan).”
35
2 Chr 30:1, 5.
36
Ant. 9.263.
day of the month . . . for before that day they do not touch them.”37 Here,
one or two remarks are in order. First, the same supposition that is implic-
itly expressed in Jub. 32:12–13 is also implicitly found in Josephus: the first
fruit festival marks the time when new fruit may be consumed, and the
time when the old fruit ceases to be consumed. Second, and unlike the
practice in the Book of Jubilees, the “day after the sabbath” (Lev 23:15) falls
on the sixteenth of the first month. In this regard, Josephus follows what
will later be acknowledged as the rabbinic practice. In any case, it is sig-
nificant that Josephus states in a matter of fact: “and after this it is that
they may publicly or privately reap their harvest.”38 There is no doubt for
Josephus that the harvest takes place after this partaking of the first fruits
of the earth. Josephus’ silence as to a possible disconnection between the
festival date in the first month and the actual readiness of the harvest may
militate in this direction.39

On the fiftieth day after the aforementioned elevation offering, “they bring
to God a loaf, made of wheat flour.”40 The dating of the festival of Pente-
cost is the same as found in the Biblical legislation. Taking place on the
fiftieth day after the sixteenth day of Nisan means that the festival takes
place on the seventh of the third month. The mention of a loaf made of
wheat flour suggests that the wheat harvest has taken place.
4.3. The Festival of Tabernacles

The festival is dated to “the fifteenth day of the (seventh) month, when
the season of the year is changing for winter.”41 The dating is the same as
that found in the biblical books, the Book of Jubilees, and the Calendrical
Documents from Qumran. The specification “when the season of the year
is changing for winter” is, however, peculiar to Josephus. It is possible that
37
Ant. 3.250.
38
Ant. 3.251.
39
The episode recorded in Ant. 18.90, where Vitellius is said to have responded to the
magnificent reception accorded him by releasing the inhabitants from the taxes upon the
fruits bought and sold at the time of the festival which is called Passover, may also witness
to the actual connection between the festal calendar and the agricultural season.
40
Ant. 3.252.
41
Ant. 3.244. Josephus is here in agreement with Philo’s Spec. 2:204. Cf. L.H. Feldman,
Judaean Antiquities 1–4, 300 note 688; Nodet, Flavius Josèphe, Les Antiquités Juives, 175
note 8.
148 chapter five
Josephus makes here a reference to the autumnal equinox. This would be

slightly peculiar considering that, due to the addition of an extra month
seven times in a nineteen year cycle, the start of the festival of tabernacles
would most likely not have coincided with the occurrence of the autum-
nal equinox. It is debatable whether Josephus would have attached to a
specific day of the month an event that he would have considered to take
place anytime in the seventh month.
4.4. Festivals and Seasons in Josephus: Summary

All the festivals are given the same dates as in the sources previously sur-
veyed. Passover and Unleavened Bread are treated by Josephus either as
two distinct yet linked festivals, or as a single festival which can be called
either Passover or Unleavened Bread. The Raising of the Sheaf takes place
on Nisan 16, and marks the day from which the new first fruit can be eaten
and the harvest completed. This, together with the occurrence of the fes-
tivals of Weeks and Tabernacles at significant times of the agricultural
cycle, demonstrates that the cycles of seasons and of festivals are linked.
In addition to other sources considered so far, there may be a reference
to the autumn equinox in Josephus.
5. Festivals in Philo42
Philo of Alexandria, who lived in Egypt at the turn of the eras, ca. 20 BCE
to ca. 50 CE, treats the Jewish festivals in his De Specialibus Legibus II.43
5.1. The Festivals of Passover and Unleavened Bread

As has been the case for all sources consulted so far, the festival of Pass-
over, Philo’s fourth festival, is dated to the fourteenth of the first month,
42
On the work by Philo, see as a starting place the following: S. Belkin, Philo and the
Oral Law: The Philonic Interpretation of the Oral Law in Relation to the Palestinian Halakah
(HSS II; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1940); H.A. Wolfson, Philo, Foun-
dations of Religious Philosophy in Judaism, Christianity and Islam (New Haven: Harvard
University Press, 1947); V. Nikiprowetzky, Le Commentaire de l’Écriture chez Philon d’ Alex-
andrie (Leiden: Brill, 1977).
43
More specifically on Spec. 2, see the contributions by: Belkin, op. cit; R.D. Hecht, “Pre-
liminary Issues in the Analysis of Philo’s De Spec. Leg.” (TU 80; Berlin: Akademie Verlag,
1962); S. Daniel, De Specialibus Legibus I et II (vol. 24 of Les Oeuvres de Philon d’Alexandrie;
R. Arnaldez, J. Pouilloux, and C. Mondésert; Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1975), with a brief
introduction.
and is connected to the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt.44 There is
no connection here between the festival and an agricultural season. Such
a connection, however, comes with Philo’s exposition of what he terms
the “fifth festival,” the festival of Unleavened Bread, “another festival com-
bined with the festival of Passover.”45 In this respect, it is interesting that
Philo uses neither the Babylonian names nor the Egyptian months names.
Rather, Philo uses numerals. His indication that the festival takes place in
the seventh month “in number and order,” but which “in importance it is
first, and therefore is described as first in the sacred books,”46 shows that
for Philo the sacred Jewish calendar is at odds with the secular lunar cal-
endar starting in the autumn, probably close to the Babylonian calendar
in use at the time of Philo.47 This fifth festival is on account of the Exodus.
It is also “universal, following the lead of nature, and in agreement with the
general cosmic order.”48 In this respect, Philo clearly alludes to ancient
practice linked with the vernal festival and the cycle of nature:
λέγεται δὲ κἀκεῖνο τοῖς ἐξηγηταῖς τῶν ἱερῶν γραμμάτων, ὅτι ἡ μέν ἄζυμος τροφὴ
δώρημα φύσεώς ἐστιν, ἡ δ**’ ἐζυμωμένη τέχνης ἔργον· ἐπιτηδεύσει γὰρ ἄνθρωποι
τὰ ἡδέα τοῖς ἀναγκαίοις ἀναμιγνύναι σπεύδοντες τὸ αὐστηρὸν τῇ φύσει προσηνὲς
τέχνῃ κατεσκεύασαν. ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐστιν ἡ ἐαρινὴ ἑορτή, καθάπερ ἐδίδαξα, τῆς τοῦ
κόσμου γενέσεως ὑπόμνημα, τοὺς δὲ παλαιτάτους γηγενεῖς τε καὶ ἐκ γηγενῶν
ἀναγκαῖον ἦν χρήσασθαι ταῖς τοῦ κόσμου δωρεαῖς ἀδιαστρόφοις, μήπω τῆς ἡδονῆς
παρευημεπούσης, οἰκειοτάτην τροφὴν ἐνομοθέτησε τῷ καιρῷ, βουλόμενος ἀνὰ
πᾶν ἔτος τὰ τῆς σεμνῆς καὶ αὐστηρᾶς διαίτης ἐμπυρεύματα ζωπυρεῖν καὶ ἅμα τὸν
ἀρχαῖον βίον τῆς ὀλιγοδεΐας καὶ εὐτελείας θαυμάσαι τε καὶ τιμῆσαι πανηγύρεως
ἐκεχειρίᾳ καὶ τὸν ἡμῶν καθ’ ὅσον οἷόν τε ἦν ἐξομοιῶσαι τῷ παλαιῷ. τὰ λεχθέντα
πιστοῦται μάλιστα ἡ τῶν ἰσαρίθμων ταῖς φυλαῖς ἐπὶ τῆς ἱερᾶς τραπέζης ἄρτων
δώδεκα πρόθεσις.49 (Spec. 2:159–161)
44
Spec. 2:149. See also De Vita Mosis II 224, 228.
45
Spec. 2:150. Philo’s ten festivals are: 1) every day life (42); 2) the sacred seventh day
(56) ; 3) the new moon (140); 4) Passover (145); 5) Unleavened Bread (150); 6) the Sheaf
Offering (162); 7) Pentecost (176); 8) the festival of the sacred moon (188); 9) the Fast (193);
10) Tabernacles (204). Cf. Spec. 2. What Philo terms the fifth festival in his introduction is
later developed as the sixth festival, and the sixth festival in the introduction becomes the
fifth festival in the body of the text. The references recorded here are those of the body of
the text, in F.H. Colson, Philo X (LCL; London: William Heinemann LTD, 1962). See also
Daniel, op. cit., esp. xxvii–xlii for a brief introduction to Philo’s treatment of the festivals.
46
See Spec. 2:150: ἕβδομος ὢ ὁ μὴν οὗτος ἀριθμῷ τε καὶ τάξει κατὰ τὸν ἡλιακὸν κύκλον
δυνάμει πρῶτός ἐστι, διὸ καὶ πρῶτος ἐν ταῖς ἱεραῖς βίβλοις ἀναγέγραπται. Colson, Philo X.
47
Spec. 2:150–1. That the monthly reckoning envisaged here is lunar is made clear
through Philo’s exposition of the ‘third festival’, where he indicates the reasons for reck-
oning the month in such manner. Cf. Spec. 2:140–4.
48
Spec. 2:150. Colson, Philo X, 399, 399. My emphasis.
49
Colson, Philo X, 404.
150 chapter five
Another suggestion made by the interpreters of the holy scriptures is that

food, when unleavened, is a gift of nature, when leavened is a work of art.
For men in their eagerness to temper the barely necessary with the pleas-
ant, have learned through practice to soften by art what nature has made
hard. Since, then, the spring-time feast, as I have laid down, is a reminder
of the creation of the world, and its earliest inhabitants, children of earth
in the first or second generation, must have used the gifts of the universe in
their un-perverted state before pleasure had got the mastery, he ordained
for use on this occasion the food most fully in accordance with the season.
He wished every year to rekindle the embers of the serious and ascetic mode
of faring, and to employ the leisure of a festal assembly to confer admira-
tion and honour on the old-time life of frugality and economy, and as far as
possible to assimilate our present-day life to that of the distant past. These
statements are especially guaranteed by the exposure of the twelve loaves
corresponding in number to the tribes, on the holy table.50
The festival is dated to the fifteenth of the month.51 This, in Philo’s ephem-
eris, coincides with the spring equinox.52
5.2. The Raising of the Sheaf

‘Εορτὴ δέ ἐτιν ἐν ἑορτῇ ἡ μετὰ τὴν πρώτην εὐθὺς ἡμέραν, ἥτις ἀπὸ τοῦ
συμβεβηκότος ὀνομάζεται δράγμα· τοῦτο γὰρ ἀπαρχὴ προσάγεται τῷ βωμῷ καὶ
τῆς χώρας, ἣν ἔλαχε τὸ ἔθνος οἰκεῖν, καὶ τῆς συμπάσης γῆς, ὡς εἶναι τὴν ἀπαρχὴν
καὶ τοῦ ἔθνους ἰδίαν καὶ ὑπὲρ ἅπαντος ἀνθρώπων γένους κοινήν.53 (Spec. 2:162)
But within the feast there is also another feast following directly after the
first day. This is called the “Sheaf,” a name given to it from the ceremony
which consists in bringing to the altar a sheaf as a first-fruit, both of the land
which has been given to the nation to dwell in and of the whole earth, so
that it serves that purpose both to the nation in particular and for the whole
human race in general.54
The connection of the festival to the agricultural cycle is here again made
explicit. The day of the festival of Sheaf is the sixteenth of the first month.
In this respect, the dating of the festival agrees with the rabbinic interpre-
tation of on the “morrow after the sabbath” (Lev 23:15).
50
Spec. 2:159–161, Colson, Philo X, 405. Cf. Lev 24:5 ff.
51
Spec. 2:155.
52
Cf. Spec. 1:182.
53
Colson, Philo X, 404, 406.
54
Colson, Philo X, 405, 407.

The reckoning of the festival of Weeks, for which Philo uses the Greek
terminology “Pentecost,” agrees with the rabbinic reckoning in that the
fifty days are reckoned from the sixteenth of the first month, the day of
the Raising of the Sheaf.55 Philo clearly expounds the connection between
Pentecost and the agricultural cycle:
Πρόσρησιν δ’ ἔλαχεν ἡ κατὰ τὸν πεντηκοστὸν ἀριθμὸν ἐνισταμένη ἑορτὴ
πρωτογεννημάτων, ἐν ᾗ δύο ἐζυμωμένους ἄρτους ἐκ πυροῦ γεγονότας ἔθος
προσφέρειν ἀπαρχὴν σίτου, τῆς ἀρίστης τροφῆς. ὠνομάσθη δὲ πρωτογεννημάτων
ἢ διότι, πρὶν εἰς τὴν ἀνθρώπων χρῆσιν ἐλθεῖν τὸν ἐπέτειον καρπόν, τοῦ νέου σίτου
τὸ πρῶτον γέννημα καὶ ὁ πρῶτος παραφανεὶς καρπὸς ἀπαρχὴ προσάγεται.56
(Spec. 2:179)
The feast which is held when the number 50 is reached has acquired the
title of “first-products”. On it it is the custom to bring two leavened loaves
of wheaten bread for a sample offering of that kind of bread as the best form
of food. One explanation of the name “feast of first-products,” is that the first
produce of the young wheat and the earliest fruit to appear is brought as a
sample offering before the year’s harvest comes to be used by men.57
5.4. The Festival of Tabernacles and “the Basket”58

The festival of Tabernacles “recurs at the autumn equinox.”59 It is dated
to the fifteenth day of the month “for the same reason as was given when
we were speaking of the season of spring,” that is the equinox.60 And as is
the case for the start of the feast of Unleavened Bread in the first month,
the festival in the seventh month is to coincide with the full moon.61 Philo
55
See also De Decalogo 160.
56
57
Colson, Philo X, 419. Cf. Decal. 160.
58
For the latter, see Spec. 2:215. Philo describes this celebration as “not a feast, but a
general ceremony of a festal character.” See Colson, Philo X, 440–1.
59
Spec. 2:204. Cf. Spec. 1:189, where it is indicated that the fifteenth day of this month
is the full moon.
60
Spec. 2:210. Colson, Philo X, 438, suggests that the season of spring be understood
on account of the presence of ὧρας in the text. However, the description of ἐκείνην τὴν
ἡμέραν = “that day” as the day when “the sun and moon rise in succession to each other
with no interval between their shining” may better fit the description of the actual time
of the equinox.
61
Spec. 2:210. Cf. Spec. 2:155 for the festival of Unleavened Bread, on the fifteenth of the
month, at the time of full moon.
152 chapter five
connects the festival to the agricultural cycle by attaching to it the fol-

lowing reason:
καὶ τὸ προσήκειν μετὰ τὴν ἁπάντων καρπῶν τελείωσιν εὐχαριστεῖν τῷ τελεσφόρῳ θεῷ
καὶ πάντων τῶν ἀγαθῶν αἰτίῳ. τὸ γὰρ μετόπωρον, ὡς καὶ αὐτὸ δἠπου δηλοῖ τοὔνομα,
καιρὸς ὁ μετὰ τὴν ὀπώραν ἐστὶν ἤδη συγκεκομισμένην. . .62 (Spec. 2:204–5)
The second moral is, that after all the fruits are made perfect, it is our duty
to thank God who brought them to perfection and is the source of all good
things. For autumn, or after fruitage, is, as also the name clearly implies, the
season after the ripe fruit has been gathered in, when the sown crops and
the fruit-trees have paid their annual toll and bounden tribute . . .63
It is clear, from the reason Philo gives of the necessity to inhabit tents
during the festival, that he understands the festival as taking place once
the harvest has occurred:
καὶ μὴν ἐν σκηναῖς προστέτακται διαιτᾶσθαι τὸν χρόνον τῆς ἑορτῆς, ἤτοι διὰ τὸ
μηκέτι εἶναι χρείαν ἐν ὑπαίθρῳ διάγειν τὰ περί γεωργίαν ἐκπονοῦντας, οὐδενὸς μὲν
ὑπολειφθέντος ἔξω, πάντων δὲ καρπῶν ἐναποκειμένων σιροῖς καὶ τοιουτοτρόποις
χωρίοις διὰ τὰς εἰωθυίας βλάβας παρακολουθεῖν ἔκ τε φλογώσεως ἡλιακῆς καὶ
φορᾶς ὑετῶν.64 (Spec. 2:206)
Further, the people are commended, during the time of the feast, to dwell
in tents. The reason for this may be that the labour of the husbandmen
no longer requires that they should live in the open air, as nothing is now
left unprotected but all the fruits are stored up in silos or similar places
to escape the damage which often ensues through the blazing sunshine or
storms of rain.65
Lastly Philo describes what is “not a feast, but is a general ceremony of a
festal character called the basket.”66 It is sufficient for our purpose to point
out the existence of this festal ceremony.
5.5. The Number Seven and the Cycle of Festivals in Philo

In the light of what has been outlined above it is significant to note that
Philo starts and ends his treatment of the cultic calendar in Spec. Leg. II by
62
63
64
65
66
Spec. 2:215. See Deut 26:1–11 for the origins of this festival. The “basket” was not
attached to a specific date, but rather wandered through the month, depending on the
meteorological conditions and the readiness of the fruits from the trees. Cf. Spec. 2:216;
220–221.
a eulogy of the number seven. He introduces the actual cycle of festivals

by stating:
ὅσα γὰρ τῶν ἐν αἰσθητοῖς ἄριστα, δι’ ὧν αἱ ἐτήσιοι ὧραι καὶ τῶν καιρῶν αἱ περίοδοι
τεταγμένως ἀποτελοῦνται, μετέσχηκεν ἑβδομάδος . . .67 (Spec. 2:57)
For seven is a factor common to all the phenomena which stand highest in
the world of sensible things and serve to consummate in due order transi-
tions of the year and recurring seasons . . .68
And to reinforce the point Philo closes his exposition of the festivals by
stating:
Ταῦτα ἐπὶ πλέον ἐμήκυνα διὰ τὴν ἱερὰν ἑβδόμην ἐπιδείξασθαι βουλόμενος, ὅτι
πάσας τὰς ἐτησίους ἑορτὰς συμβέβηκεν ὡς ἂν ἀπογόνους ἑβδομάδος εἶναι μητρὸς
λόγον ἐχούσης . . .69 (Spec. 2:214)
All this long exposition is due to my regard for the sacred seventh day, and
my wish to shew that all the yearly feasts prove to be as it were the children
of that number which stands as a mother.70
In Philo’s understanding, the cultic year is constructed on a sabbatical
framework, not unlike that evidenced by the 364-day-year traditions of
the Book of Jubilees and the Qumran calendrical documents and other
scrolls. It is true that nowhere, to the knowledge of the present writer,
does Philo indicate the length of the cultic year he has in mind, and it
would probably be overstepping the mark to state categorically that Philo
had any knowledge of the 364-day year calendrical traditions. The fact
that Philo, in the fashion of the rabbinical calendar, dates the “morrow
after the sabbath” (Lev 23:15) to the day following immediately after the
first day of the festival of Unleavened Bread would militate for a lunisolar
calendar. There are, however, some clues that what Philo has in mind is
not a straightforward lunisolar calendar but a calendar that displays some
strong similarities with the 364-day calendar known in some circles of
Second Temple Judaism.
67
68
69
70
Colson, Philo X, 441. See also Philo’s justification for the command given to the Isra-
elites to keep the seventh year “fallow and untilled,” which was: “that they may honour
the number seven, or each period of days, and months, and years; for every seventh day
is sacred . . . and the seventh month in every year has the greatest of the festivals allotted
to it, so that very naturally the seventh year also has a share of the veneration paid to this
number” (Spec. 2:210).
154 chapter five
First, Philo certainly gives a strong calendrical significance to the sun.

In his exposition of the High Priestly garments (Spec. 1.84 ff.) Philo elab-
orates on the appearance of the λογεῖον = “reason-seat” (Spec. 1.88 ff.).
Upon this “reason-seat” are two pieces of woven work, called “Clear Shew-
ing” and “Truth.” On the former are represented the heavenly bodies,
which are responsible for the computation of time. It is they who “have
shewn us nights and days and months and years and time in general.”71
The moon Philo calls “the handmaid and successor of the sun,”72 suggest-
ing that the sun plays the primary role in matters calendrical.
Second, in his De Vita Contemplativa Philo shows his strong admiration
for the Therapeutae.73 The members of this religious group, which Philo
most probably knew first hand,74 followed a cultic calendar somewhat simi-
lar to the one followed at Qumran: like at Qumran they most probably
followed a sunrise-to-sunrise day reckoning, praying twice a day, the first
time “when the sun is rising . . .” ὴλιου ἀνίσχοντος.75 Like at Qumran, they
held the seventh day in great honour, looking upon it as “sacred and festal
in the highest degree.”76 Like at Qumran, they held their sacred assemblies
at the end of seven weeks, demonstrating that they, like the Essenes, fol-
lowed some kind of Pentecontad calendar.77 These points already suggest
71
Spec. 1:90. Cf. De Opificio Mundi 58–62; De Abrahamo 158, 159. In the Loeb edition
vol. VII p. 151, F.H. Colson suggests “all of them deriving originally from Plato, Timaeus
47.” M. Barker has recently argued in favour of an Israelite typology as the origin of Plato’s
Timaeus. Cf. M. Barker, The Great High Priest. The Temple Roots of Christian Liturgy (Lon-
don: T & T Clark, 2003), 262–93.
72
Cf. Spec. 1:16 . . . σελήνην δ’ ὑπηρέτιν και διάδοχον ὴλίου νύκτωρ . . . ‘the moon as hand-
maid and successor to the sun taking over at night.’ Colson, Philo X, 108–9. It is interest-
ing to note here that in Spec. 1:19 Philo states regarding the sun and moon and the stars
that they are not gods but rather ‘have received the rank of subordinate rulers, naturally
liable to correction, though in virtue of their excellence never destined to undergo it’ (italics
mine). It is possible that by the term ‘correction’ Philo is hinting at a practice of ad hoc
intercalation.
73
F.H. Colson, Philo IX (LCL; London: Heinemann, 1941, reprinted 1967).
74
This is the position most often accepted by scholars. See P. Richardson, Building Jew-
ish in the Roman East (JSJSup 92; Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2004), who accepts
the information recorded in Philo’s De Vita Contemplativa on the Therapeutae as reflecting
reality. See also J. Taylor, Jewish Women Philosophers of First-Century Alexandria: Philo’s
“Therapeutae” Reconsidered (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), esp. 341–6, who dis-
misses the ‘utopian’ charge.
75
Cf. Contempl. 27, Colson, Philo IX, 126–7.
76
Contempl. 36, Colson, Philo IX, 132–3.
77
Cf. Contempl. 65. G. Vermes, in his Excursus on The Therapeutae, E. Schürer, The His-
tory of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ, Vol. 1–3 (eds Vermes, G., Millar, F.; Edin-
burgh: T. & T. Clark, 1973), Vol II, 591–7, argues that “the hypothesis that the Therapeutae
were members of an Egyptian branch of the Palestinian Essene movement deserves serious
that the cultic calendar which Philo has in mind was based on a solar reck-
oning. Philo dates the first month of the (cultic) year to the beginning of
the spring equinox.78 Further, Philo indicates that, just as twelve loaves are
set on the table before the altar in the Temple every seventh day, so the
year counts twelve months.79 The association of the festivals of Unleavened
bread and Tabernacles with the equinoxes reinforces the point. Finally,
Philo nowhere refers to a thirteenth month added at regular intervals in
order to keep the calendrical year synchronized with the solar year.
5.6. Festivals and Seasons in Philo: Summary

First, Philo expounds a cultic calendar which celebrates the major festivals
of the Jewish cultic year according to the lunisolar calendar. So Passover
on the fourteenth of the first month, Unleavened Bread on the fifteenth
of the same month, immediately followed by the Raising of the Sheaf (day
sixteen). Fifty days later falls Pentecost. Tabernacles takes place on the
fifteenth of the seventh month (following the cultic year). Second, the
evidence reviewed demonstrates that each major festival is attached to
the agricultural cycle. Both these characteristics are shared by the Jewish
cultic year governed by the moon. Third, Philo’s cultic calendar, however,
consideration.” Vermes views the common adoption of a Pentecontad calendar as the most
important element supporting the identification of the Therapeutae with the Essenes.
78
Cf. Mos. 2:222: τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς ἐαρινῆς ἰσημερίας. See F.H. Colson, Philo VI (LCL; London:
Heinemann, 1935, reprinted 1966). In Spec. 2:150–1 Philo expounds the reason for calling
the month of the spring equinox “the first month.” In this respect it is worth noting that
Philo’s natural theology, or exposition of the beginnings, is based on the accounts of cre-
ation. The cycle of nature is, for Philo, a recurring portrayal in “a kind of likeness . . . of that
first epoch in which this world was created;” it is “an image of the primal origin reproduced
from it like the imprint from an archetypal seal.” Cf. Spec. 2:152, Colson, Philo VI, 309, 309.
In other words, Philo sees the recurring of the cycle of nature as the reenactment of the
creation. In the Genesis accounts of the creation, days 1 and 4 reflect each other as days
of the creation of light and the heavenly bodies which regulate it; days 2 and 5 pertain to
the earth and the filling of it with plants. It is by appealing to the events of days 1, 2, 4
and 5 of creation that Philo argues the month of the spring equinox is the first in rank.
Tabernacles is dated to the autumn equinox—τὸν μετοπωρινῆς ἰσημερίας Cf. Spec. 2:204,
79
Cf. Spec. 1:171–2 “But on each seventh day loaves are exposed on the holy table equal
in number to the months of the year in two layers of six each, each layer corresponding
to the equinoxes. For there are two equinoxes in each year, in spring and autumn, with
intervals the sum of which is six months.” See F.H. Colson, Philo VII (LCL; London: Heine-
mann, 1937, reprinted 1958). Philo can hardly mean that each equinox lasts six months. It
is more likely that each interval from one equinox to the next is six months, as the text
clearly says. This would indicate perhaps that Philo understood the equinox to correspond
to a specific day.
156 chapter five
displays a strong inclination towards the sun: it anchors the festivals of

Passover/Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles respectively to the spring
and autumn equinoxes. Fourth, Philo insists that “seven” as a perfect
number governs the seasons. This is more akin to the 364-day calendar
and its sabbatical structure (52 weeks of seven days = 364 days exactly;
four terms of 13 weeks each = 4 x 91 days = 364 days) than to the lunisolar
354 day year. In any case, the cultic year expounded in Philo’s treatment
of the Therapeutae is reminiscent of the 364-day year. Last, Philo’s year
counts twelve months. Nowhere does Philo refer to an extra (thirteenth)
month added to the year. As surprising as this may be, this would elimi-
nate the regular lunisolar year from the reckoning.
6. The Bar Kokhba Letters
In the early 1960s archaeologists recovered several collections of docu-

ments in the Wadi Ḫabra (Naḥal Ḥever). Among these was a group of
fifteen letters, some of which were probably authored by Bar Kokhba, the
leader of the second Jewish revolt against the Romans (132–35 CE).80 Of
these, two letters are of interest to us. The first letter, Ḥev 3, was written
in Greek, possibly by Bar Kokhba himself.81 The letter reads:
Soumaios to Jonathan son of Baianos and to Masabala, greetings: I already
sent Agrippa to you. Make haste to send me . . . and citrons. And he [Agrippa]
will transport these things back to the headquarters of the Jews. And be sure
you do so! It was written in Greek because no one was found [was able?] to
write it in Hebrew. Dismiss him very speedily in view of the festival. And be
sure you do so! Soumaios. Farewell.82
The second letter, Ḥev 15, was composed in Aramaic, most probably again
by Bar Kokhba himself:83
80
On the Bar Kokhba revolt, named after its leader to differentiate it from the first
Jewish revolt, see B. Isaac and A. Oppenheimer, “Bar Kokhba Revolt,” in ABD Vol. 1 (ed.
D.N. Freedman; New York: Doubleday, 1992), 598–601. Also, A. Oppenheimer, “Bar Kokhba,
Shim‘On,” in Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Vol. 1 (eds L.H. Schiffman and J.C.
VanderKam; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 78–80.
81
For the arguments of Soumaios’ identity as Simon b. Kokhba, see Wise, “Bar Kokhba
Letters”.
82
The translation is from Wise, “Bar Kokhba Letters”.
83
Wise, “Bar Kokhba Letters”.
‫ שמעון ליהודה בר מנשה לקרית ערביה שלחת לך תרי חמרין די‬.1

‫תשלח‬
‫ עמהן תר גכרין לות יהונתן בר בעין ולות מסבלה די יעמרן‬.2
‫ וישלחן למחניה לותך ללבין וצתרגיל ואת שלח אחרנין מלותך‬.3
‫ וימטון לך הדסין וערבין ותקן יתהן ושלח יתהן למחניה בדיל‬.4
84
‫ די אכ*לס*ה סגי הוא שלם‬.5
1
Shime‘on to Yehudah son of Menashe, to Qiriyat ‘rbyh. I have sent you two
donkeys (in order) that you send 2with them two men of Yehonathan son of
Ba‘yan and to Masabalah, that they load up 3and send to the camp, to you,
Lulabs (=palm branches) and Ethrogs (=citrons). And you (should) send oth-
ers from you(r place) 4and (let) them bring you myrtle (branche)s and wil-
lows, and prepare them, and send them to the camp, because 5its population
is large. Be well!85
The references in both letters to “citrons,” in Ḥev 3 to “the festival,” and
in Ḥev 15 to “myrtles and willows,” suggest that the festival of Tabernacles
was about to be celebrated, and some orders were being dispatched for
its preparation. The commander of the forces was, it would seem, eager
that enough branches and fruits be brought back for the numerous forces
(cf. Ḥev 15). One would assume that the festival was taking place at a
season when those fruits and branches needed for its observance were
available and ready. There is no indication in the letters that allows one
to state with confidence their date of composition, although 134 CE is a
strong possibility.86 Likewise, there is silence as to the exact calendrical
reckoning followed, although it is very likely to be the rabbinic lunisolar
calendar. In any case, these documents indicate that at the time of the
second Jewish revolt, some 62–5 years after the destruction of the Temple
84
A. Yardeni, Textbook of Aramaic, Hebrew and Nabataean Documentary Texts from the
Judaean Desert and Related Material, A: The Documents. (Jerusalem: The Hebrew University,
2000a). Yardeni classifies the document as “Naḥal Ḥever 57: Letter (132–135) (Aramaic).”
See A. Yardeni, Textbook of Aramaic, Hebrew and Nabataean Documentary Texts from the
Judaean Desert and Related Material, B: Translation-Paleography-Concordance. (Jerusalem:
The Hebrew University, 2000b), with translation of the document on p. 68.
85
Yardeni, Textbook of Documentary Texts, 68. Wise, “Bar Kokhba Letters,” 604, pro-
poses the following translation: “Shimon to Yehudah bar Manasseh, at Qiryat Arabayah. I
have sent to you two donkeys that you should send with them two men to Yehonatan bar
Bayan and Masabala. They are to load them with branches and citrons and send them to
the camp, to you. As for you, send other men to bring to you myrtles and willows. Prepare
them and send them to the camp, i.e., Shimon, because the men comprising the forces are
numerous. Be well.” See also Oppenheimer, op. cit.
86
See the lengthy discussion in Wise, “Bar Kokhba Letters,” 604ff, 604ff.
158 chapter five
in Jerusalem, the correlation between the festival and the agricultural

cycle was very much alive.87
7. Conclusions
The Gezer stone tablet seems to expound a twelve-month sequence of

the agricultural cycle, from “olive harvest” to “summer fruit.” The Passover
letter of the Elephantine papyri, and several other inscriptions on ostraca,
demonstrate that there was, at some stage in the fifth century BCE in the
Elephantine quarter, some debate as to the exact moment the festival
should be celebrated. The evidence suggests that, at the time and in that
place, the festival was not yet celebrated on a fixed date in the first month.
Likewise, it may suggest that there was some confusion in determining
the date of the festival, due to the implementation of a new calendar. In
any case, there is no indication that the festival was considered detached
from the cycle of festivals.
The evidence from Josephus also confirms the hypothesis. Festival dates
are the same, and are articulated according to the lunisolar calendar. The links
with the agricultural cycle are very much present: the Raising of the Sheaf
marks the day on which the new first fruits can be eaten; as expected, the
festivals of Weeks and Tabernacles take place at significant times of
the agricultural year. One finds in Josephus the additional reference
to the autumnal equinox.
The evidence from Philo holds no surprises either: the festivals occur
just as they have always been supposed to. However, some new elements
are introduced. Of note is the major role given to the sun in the cycle
of festivals as the festivals of Passover and Tabernacles are anchored to
the spring and autumn equinoxes respectively. The moon is called the
“handmaid and successor of the sun” (Spec. 1.16). The evidence surveyed
here suggests that Philo knew, directly or indirectly, of a twelve-month
year starting at the spring equinox, which remained attached to the agri-
cultural cycle. It also suggests, however, that he was accustomed to the
more conventional lunisolar year, as his dating of the “morrow after the
sabbath” to Nisan 16 suggests. It is puzzling that there is no mention of
87
It is difficult to ascertain whether by that time the pilgrim festivals of Passover, Pente-
cost and Tabernacles were still to be celebrated in Jerusalem. It is also difficult to ascertain
when and to what extent Simon Bar Kokhba had control of the city. Cf. Wise, “Bar Kokhba
Letters”.
a thirteenth month anywhere. One is left wondering how (not whether)

the connection between cultic cycle and agricultural year was kept. More
studies should be done to identify precisely what was the connection
between the true solar year and the lunisolar year in Philo’s calendrical
scheme. It is clear from the above that it is not simply the rabbinic luni-
solar cycle. Lastly, the references to “citron” in the Bar Kokhba letters sug-
gests that the festival of tabernacles was still attached to the agricultural
cycle in the second century CE.
The additional sources consulted in the present chapter, all dating from
the First or Second Temple periods, confirm the trend identified so far:
they, too, only envisaged a cycle of festivals anchored to the seasons.
Part III
Some Specific Calendrical Issues in Second Temple Judaism

CHAPTER six
Calendrical Issues in the Book of Luminaries

(1 Enoch 72–82)
1. Introduction
In the following particular attention is paid to the Book of Luminaries of

Enoch.1 The first part reviews the main arguments related to the dating
of the Book of Luminaries, especially in the light of Milik’s hypothesis. As
with many past investigations on this particular question, it is argued that
Milik’s dating of late third to early second century BCE remains the best
option. The second part briefly considers the antiquity of the 364-day
year. The third part focuses on the particular issue of lunar reckoning in
the Book of Luminaries. In this regard this chapter is somewhat less con-
cerned with past scholarship (although this will be amply consulted) but
rather focuses on parts of 1 En 73 and 1 En 74. It is contended that not one,
but two lunar reckonings can be identified in the Book of Luminaries. It
is further asserted that these competing lunar reckonings may possibly
have been investigated against the background of the 364-day calendar,
in order to identify that particular lunar reckoning which caused the tri-
ennial lunar cycle to “add up to one thousand thirty days, so that it falls
behind by sixty-two days in three years” (1 En 74:14).2
1
Following VanderKam in the Keynote address given at the First Graduate Enoch Semi-
nar, held at the University of Michigan in 2006, I make the distinction between an Aramaic
Astronomical Book, extant fragments of which may be preserved in 4Q208 to 4Q211, and an
Ethiopic Book of Luminaries, for which there are to date some fifty extant mss or so, classi-
fied, following Flemming and Charles, between the α family (manuscripts dated between
fourteenth and seventeenth centuries), and the β family (manuscripts dated eighteenth
century and later).
2
In this chapter the following translations are consulted: M. Knibb, The Ethiopic Book of
Enoch: A New Edition in the Light of the Aramaic Dead Sea Fragments. Vol. 2 (2 Vols.; Oxford:
Clarendon, 1978); O. Neugebauer, “The ‘Astronomical’ Chapters of the Ethiopic Book of
Enoch (72–82),” in The Book of Enoch or 1 Enoch (M. Black; Leiden: Brill, 1985), 386–419;
E. Isaac, “1 (Ethiopic Apocalypse of) Enoch,” in OTP (ed. J.H. Charlesworth; London: Dar-
ton, Longman and Todd, 1985), 5–89; and the more recent translation by Nickelsburg and
VanderKam, op. cit.
164 chapter six
2. Discussion of the Dating of the Book of Luminaries
It is a common assertion that the body of data at our disposal witnessing

to the Second Temple period is rather scant, even more so for the early
centuries of that era.3 One piece of evidence, however, which in some
of its parts does shed light on this period is the composition commonly
referred to as 1 Enoch.4 The work is known to us in its entirety through its
Ethiopic (Ge‘ez) version.5 Until the discovery of the Scrolls in the Judaean
desert, a scholarly consensus dated the different compositions of the work
from the early pre-Maccabean era to the late pre-Christian period.6 Fol-
lowing the publication of Milik’s masterly contribution using the Dead
Sea Scrolls, knowledge and understanding of this work has been signifi-
cantly enhanced.7 Milik suggested a new categorization of the entire work
along the following lines: 1. the Book of Watchers (ch. 1–36); 2. the Book of
Similitudes (ch. 37–71); 3. the Astronomical Book (ch. 72–82); 4. the Book
of Dream Visions (ch. 83–90); and 5. the Book of the Epistle of Enoch (ch.
91–107).
3
For a useful survey, see M.E. Stone, “Apocalyptic Literature,” in Jewish Writings of the
Second Temple Period (ed. M.E. Stone; CRINT 2.2; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984), 396–406, as
well as the other chapters in the book.
4
See, for instance, M. Barker’s work on alternative orthodoxy in First and Second
Temple Judaism in The Older Testament: The Survival of Themes from the Ancient Royal
Cult in Sectarian Judaism and Early Christianity (Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, 2005). From
the same author: The Gate of Heaven: The History and Symbol of the Temple in Jerusalem
(Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, 1991, reprint 2008); The Great Angel. A Study of Israel’s Second
God (London: SPCK, 1992); The Risen Lord: The Jesus of History and the Christ of Faith (Edin-
burgh: Trinity Press, 1997); The Revelation of Jesus Christ: Which God Gave to Him to Show
to His Servants What Must Soon Take Place (Rev 1:1) (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 2000). Her
more recent The Great High Priest brings to innovative conclusions more than a decade
of research in this area.
5
There are at least forty extant manuscripts of Ethiopic Enoch. For a suggestion of
the main Ethiopic manuscripts, see Isaac, op. cit., 6, with notes. Fragments of the work in
Greek and Latin are also extant, as are some Aramaic fragments found among the Dead
Sea Scrolls.
6
1. Apocalypse of Weeks (91:12–17; 93:1–10) = early pre-Maccabean; 2. Fragments of Eno-
chic Visions (12–16) = early pre-Maccabean; 3. Fragments of the Book of Noah (6–11; 106ff
cf. 54:7–55:2; 60; 65–69:25) = late pre-Maccabean; 4. Independent Fragment (105) = pre-
Maccabean; 5. Dream Visions (83–90) = ca. 165–161 BCE; 6. Book of Luminaries (72–82) = ca. 110
BCE; 7. Similitudes (37–71) = ca. 105–64 BCE; 8. Later Additions to Dream Visions (91:1–11, 18,
19; 92; 94–104) = ca. 105–104 BCE; 9. Introductory Chapters (1–5) = late pre-Christian period.
See Isaac, op. cit., 7; R.H. Charles, The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament
in English. Vol. II Pseudepigrapha (Oxford: Clarendon, 1913), 170 ff.
7
Milik, Books of Enoch.
calendrical issues in the book of luminaries (1 enoch 72–82) 165
2.1. Milik’s Hypothesis
An important aspect of Milik’s contribution was the publication of part
of the Enochic fragments found at the Khirbet Qumran site. Significantly,
among those fragments were four copies which Milik identified as parts
of the Book of Luminaries.8 These were dated on paleographical grounds to
the later part of the third century BCE (for the oldest fragment 4QEnastra),
to the early part of the first century CE (4QEnastrd), thus suggesting that
the Book of Luminaries was copied as early as ca. 200 BCE, and that this
would represent the latest possible date of its composition. The work, or
parts of it, seemed to have enjoyed a period of interest at Qumran of over
two centuries.9 Furthermore, Milik indicated that, in his opinion, these
fragments demonstrated the existence of the Book of Luminaries in a ver-
sion significantly longer than the Ethiopic version, and seemed to have
been copied on an individual scroll, suggesting that the Book of Luminaries
must have been considered a distinct document at the time.
Milik did not confine himself to the paleographical evidence, and pro-
ceeded to propose that an astronomical work, under the name Enoch,
may have been in circulation as early as the fifth century BCE. This he
deduced from the age of Enoch recorded in Gen 5:23 “Thus all the days
of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.” There was no doubt in
Milik’s understanding that the age of the Patriarch had been “corrected
from 364 to 365 years in Gen 5:23.”10 This amendment by the priestly
redactor pointed to a specific concern of the period: “to find a more con-
crete reference to the year of 365 days, employed widely in Persian and
Hellenistic times.”11 For Milik, therefore, the 364-day calendar was known
as early as the fifth century BCE, in
astronomical works circulating under the name of Enoch. It is highly likely
indeed, that the whole chronology of the Bible, in particular that of the
Mosaic Pentateuch, was elaborated by priestly redactors of the Persian era,
taking as their point of departure the calendar with fixed days and festivals
composed of 364 days.12
8
These are 4QEnastra, b, c and d.
9
Other fragments pertaining to the Enochic literature were also recovered, among
which 4QEna, identified as a part of the Book of Watchers, and dated to as early as the
third century BCE. See Milik, Books of Enoch.
10
Milik, Books of Enoch, 8.
11
12
Milik, Books of Enoch, 8. As indicated in his note 1, Milik here follows Jaubert, “Calen-
drier des Jubilés: origines”; Jaubert, date de la cène, 13–75; and van Goudoever, op. cit.
166 chapter six
As well as this calendrical reference ‘hidden’ behind Enoch’s age, Milik

also referred to the ‘obvious allusion’ to the Book of Luminaries found
in the writings of the Jewish historian Eupolemus who, by 158 BCE, had
completed his History of the Jews.13 For Milik it was unmistakable that the
extract from Eupolemus, quoted by Eusebius of Caesarea, ‘gives us a con-
cise summary of the Book of Luminaries’.14 Due to the Samaritan character
of Eupolemus’ narrative, Milik ventured to suggest that it was possible
to detect an anonymous Samaritan tradition at the origin of the writing.15
This, together with what Milik understood to be in Gen 5:23 a reference
to an astronomical work circulating under the name Enoch, compelled
Milik to re-interpret the identity of the priestly milieu which gave birth to
the Book of Luminaries, its 364-day calendar and its application to biblical
chronology: the priestly authors were probably from a Samaritan back-
ground, possibly originating from Shechem.16
Before assessing Milik’s hypothesis, one may venture to propose that
the evidence for the existence of the Book of Luminaries, or an astronomi-
cal work in Aramaic, connected to Enoch at such an early date, be it in the
third century BCE or, as Milik suggested, as early as the fifth century BCE,
is highly significant for the present thesis. It is one piece of evidence, not
available to Jaubert, which allows us a quite specific anchor point in terms
of calendrical matters in Jewish Palestinian milieu pertaining to that era
from which a limited amount of data is available. As alluded to above,
until the discovery—and dating—of the Qumran fragments known to
be related directly or indirectly to the Book of Luminaries, the commonly
accepted dating of the Book of Luminaries was 110 BCE. Milik’s dating of
ca. 200 BCE is important in that it pushes back in time the claims one
can make as to the information it contains and the light it sheds on the
socio-religious context and milieu from which these writings emanated.
In this manner it contributes greatly to the reconstruction of Judaism in
the third century BCE.17
13
14
15
16
Milik, Books of Enoch, 9–10.
17
M.E. Stone, “The Book of Enoch and Judaism in the Third Century B.C.E,” CBQ 40
(1978): 479–92. The author argues that these writings represent the oldest extra-biblical
Jewish religious literature at our disposal. This is echoed by VanderKam, J.C. VanderKam,
Enoch and the Growth of an Apocalyptic Tradition (CBQMS 16; Washington DC: Catholic
Biblical Association of America, 1984), 90, who states, with regards to the 364-day calen-
dar in Judaism, “the AB furnishes the earliest unequivocal reference in Jewish literature
to a solar calendar of 364 days, and attributes its promulgation to Enoch, the original
2.2. Assessment of Milik’s Hypothesis

So, what of Milik’s suggested dating to at least as early as the third century
BCE? It is fair to say that most scholars have accepted Milik’s dating of
4QEnastra to the late third century BCE, and accept the view that there
was in circulation in Palestine, at the latest around 200 BCE, an astro-
nomical work under the name Enoch. As argued by M.E. Stone, such dat-
ing must be accepted on paleographical grounds.18 The recent edition and
publication of 4QEnastra and 4QEnastrb (respectively 4Q208 and 4Q209)
confirms these dating on the grounds of radiocarbon dating.19
The relationship between 4QEnastra, 4QEnastrb, an hypothetical Ara-
maic synchronistic calendar, and the existing Ethiopic version is not so
simple to establish. Perhaps it is useful, with VanderKam, to posit an origi-
nal Enochic astronomical work on the one hand, and the Aramaic Astro-
nomical Book and the Book of Luminaries (1 En 72–82) on the other hand,
the latter two being the only surviving witnesses of the earlier Enochic
Astronomical work.20 The difficulty comes chiefly from the lack of textual
astronomer.” A valuable survey of the different attempts at reconstructing the socio-

religious make-up of Palestinian Judaism of the Second Temple period can be found in
Stone’s article mentioned above. See also P. Sacchi, “History of the Earliest Enochic Texts,”
in Enoch and Qumran Origins: New Light on a Forgotten Connection (ed. G. Boccaccini;
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005), 401–7.
18
Stone, “The Book of Enoch and Judaism in the Third Century B.C.E”. See also: J.C.
Greenfield and M.E. Stone, “The Books of Enoch and the Traditions of Enoch,” Numen 26
(1979): 89–103, esp. 92–95; Beckwith, “Earliest Enoch Literature”; J.C. VanderKam, “The
364-day Calendar in the Enochic Literature” (SBLSPS 22; Chico, California: Scholars
Press, 1983), 157–8; idem J.C. VanderKam, Enoch and Apocalyptic Tradition, 87–8; idem J.C.
VanderKam, “Some Major Issues in the Contemporary Study of 1 Enoch: Reflections on J.T.
Milik’s The Books of Enoch: Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4,” in From Revelation
to Canon. Studies in Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Literature (JSJSup 62; Leiden: Brill,
2000), 362–5. G. Boccaccini, “The Solar Calendars of Daniel and Enoch,” in The Book of
Daniel: Composition and Reception (eds J.J. Collins and P.W. Flint; VTSup 83; Leiden: Brill,
2001), 311–28 implicitly accepts a late third century BCE date.
19
E.J.C. Tigchelaar and F. García Martínez, “4QAstronomical Enocha–b,” in Volume XXVI:
Cryptic Texts and Miscellanea, Part 1, in Qumran Cave 4 Miscellaneous Texts from Qum-
ran XXVI: Cryptic Texts and Miscellanea (eds S.J. Pfann and P. Alexander; DJD 36; Oxford:
Clarendon, 2000), 106. They indicate that radiocarbon tests suggest “a ninety five per cent
probability of a date between 186–92 BCE,” which they regard as consistent with Milik’s
dating. On radiocarbon dating, see A.J.T. Jull, et al., “Radiocarbon Dating of Scrolls and
Linen Fragments from the Judaean Desert,” Atiqot 28 (1996): 85–91.
20
J.C. VanderKam, “The Aramaic Astronomical Book and the Ethiopic Book of the
Luminaries,” Keynote address delivered at the First Graduate Enoch Seminar (Ann Arbor,
MI, 2006), 1. I am thankful to Professor VanderKam for allowing access to the text of the
address.
168 chapter six
overlaps between the Aramaic fragments and the Ethiopic version.21 In his
attempt to make sense of the evidence, VanderKam suggested that Milik,
by adducing the evidence of Eth. Ms. 64, of the Bibliothèque Nationale
in Paris, “was on the track of the correct solution but did not follow it
through.”22 The Aramaic fragments of 4QEnastra and 4QEnastrb contained
a synchronistic calendar, while some fragments of 4QEnastrb in addi-
tion included other material treated in 1 En 72–82.23 Further, the Ethiopic
material displayed a shorter, less detailed exposition of the synchronis-
tic calendar.24 A similar dichotomy was noticeable between Eth. Ms 64
and the Ethiopic Ms of the Book of Luminaries, the former containing a
fuller account of the movements of the moon.25 This led VanderKam to
conclude:
This last fact suggests the possibility that at some point in its transmission
history some tabular data were separated from the other sections of the
Enochic astronomical work, which was left with only a condensed ver-
sion of the technical lists. Perhaps this opens up a new way of viewing the
history of the text from Aramaic to Ethiopic: long, technical lists or tables
were removed from the ancient text and stored in collections of such data
as we find in Eth. Ms. 64. This rendered the process of copying the literary
text much easier, while the full range of data was still accessible in other
mss., should one need to consult them as some did. We could then regard
the Book of the Luminaries as a faithful but purposely abbreviated version
of the Astronomical Book. It retains essential features of the special Enochic
system without the more painful lists that once made the text so very much
longer.26
VanderKam’s conclusions were somewhat similar to that reached by Milik:
the Book of Luminaries was a short version of the (Aramaic) Astronomical
Book.27
Milik’s fifth century BCE proposed dating, however, has met strong
and well-founded criticism. The main difficulty is the lack of evidence
21
VanderKam puts it this way: “My own comparative study of the texts, both for the
translation Nickelsburg and I produced and for the commentary, has impressed me more
strongly than ever before with how different the two versions really are.” He adduces
examples to illustrate the point. See J.C. VanderKam, “Aramaic AB and Ethiopic BL,” 3–6.
22
J.C. VanderKam, “Aramaic AB and Ethiopic BL,” 16.
23
J.C. VanderKam, “Aramaic AB and Ethiopic BL,” 20–1.
24
25
26
J.C. VanderKam, “Aramaic AB and Ethiopic BL,” 21. Reproduced with permission.
27
Milik, Milik, Books of Enoch, 19, stated: “It can be seen now that the Egyptian Jews
responsible for the translation from the Aramaic were at pains to shorten the voluminous,
prolix, and terribly monotonous original.”
offered by the author to support the view that the amendment of the age
of Enoch from 364 to 365 years in Gen 5:23 betrays a marked concern for
reflecting contemporaneous astronomical knowledge common in Meso-
potamia and Greece. There is, after all, no indication of Enoch’s age in
the Book of Luminaries. Even if it were so, and one may accept this pos-
sibility, there is simply nothing in Gen 5:23 that refers to an astronomical
work circulating under the name Enoch. As pointed out by Greenfield
and Stone, the amendment may reflect calendrical knowledge, but this is
not sufficient to suggest that an astronomical work linked to Enoch was
already in existence and in circulation in the fifth century BCE.28 If it was
so, it is suspicious that the very reason which generated the proposed
amendment in Gen 5:23 from 364 to 365 did not also preclude the Essenes
from adopting the 364-day calendar in their liturgical life.29 After all, Milik
himself suggested that the Essenes applied the 364-day calendar structure
to their liturgical life.
So, it is reasonable to suggest that, based on the evidence put forward,
Milik may have overstated the case in asserting that the Book of Luminar-
ies was in existence in the fifth century BCE. This is not to say, however,
that the work, or parts of the work, did not for certain exist at that stage.
Rather, it is only to state that Milik did not offer enough evidence to sup-
port his claim. One may conclude, therefore, that the only undisputed
evidence for the dating of the Book of Luminaries is the paleographical
dating of 4QEnastra, which Milik suggested to point to the late third or
early second century BCE, a dating corroborated by carbon testing.30
There are arguments to support the view that there was in existence
quite early on an Aramaic astronomical book, that contained material that
later found its way into the Book of Luminaries.31 The first of these is the
28
Greenfield and Stone, op. cit. Also, J.C. VanderKam, Enoch and Apocalyptic Tradi-
tion, 83.
29
Greenfield and Stone, op. cit., 92–5.
30
Milik, Books of Enoch, 273. There is no scholarly consensus as regards the evidence
concerning the reference to the Aramaic astronomical work or the Book of Luminaries
by the Jewish Historian Eupolemus. Greenfield and Stone, op. cit., 94, argue against the
validity of this evidence. J.C. VanderKam, Enoch and Apocalyptic Tradition, 83–7, accepts
the evidence from Eupolemus to support a late third century BCE dating of the BL. For
more information on Eupolemus, see B.Z. Wacholder, “‘Pseudo-Eupolemus’ Two Greek
Fragments on the Life of Abraham,” in Essays on Jewish Chronology and Jewish Chronogra-
phy (New York: KTAV, 1976), 77–79. On carbon dating, see note 17 above.
31
A possibility also envisaged by J.C. VanderKam, Enoch and Apocalyptic Tradition, 84,
88, who states on page 88: “though Milik’s case for a date prior to Gen 5 in its final form is
thoroughly unconvincing, the AB may be considerably older than B.C. 200.”
170 chapter six
carbon dating itself of the Aramaic documents, and the reference to such
work found in Eupolomus. In addition, as pointed out by VanderKam,
there is the issue of the differences in terms of text and content between
the Aramaic fragments and the Book of Luminaries itself, in the portions
that are usually accepted as parallels.32 A third argument is derived from
the references that link the origins of calendrical knowledge to Enoch, as
found in Jubilees.33 The text states that Enoch
was the first of mankind who were born on the earth who learned (the art
of) writing, instruction, and wisdom and who wrote down in a book the
signs in accord with the fixed pattern of their months so that mankind
would know the seasons of the years according to the fixed pattern of each
of their months.34 ( Jub. 4:17)
The authoritative status that the Book of Jubilees claims for itself in its title
has already been pointed out:
of the testimony, of the events of the year, of the weeks of their jubilees
throughout all the years of eternity as he related (them) to Moses on Mt.
Sinai when he went up to receive the stone tablets—on the Lord’s orders as
he had told him that he should come up to the summit of the mountain.35
( Jub. Prologue)
The Book of Jubilees is, for its author(s), to be ranked on the same authori-
tative level as the books of Moses, the written Torah. It is, for the author,
divinely revealed. The title in itself is explicit: the main concern is right
praxis in calendrical matters with regard to the observance of the law. This
means, of course, observance of the law and its festivals at the appointed
times. This is made clear in Jub. 4:17, where the astronomical part of the
book of Enoch, which Milik indicated to be probably the oldest part of
1 Enoch and a book in its own right, is mentioned and referred to as the
yardstick regulating the year. There is no doubt that the Aramaic Astro-
nomical work enjoyed an authoritative status, here again due to its per-
ceived revelatory status. All this becomes significant for a probable dating
of the Aramaic Astronomical work when one considers the testimony of
the Damascus Rule, as indicated by Talmon. This work, probably written
32
J.C. VanderKam, Enoch and Apocalyptic Tradition, 84, 88.
33
Talmon, “Calendars and Mishmarot,” 114.
34
35
ca. 150 BCE, ascribes an authoritative status to the Book of Jubilees in

calendrical matters:
(For God made) a Covenant with you and all Israel; therefore a man shall
bind himself by oath to return to the law of Moses, for in it all things are
strictly defined. As for the exact determination of their times to which Israel
turns a blind eye, behold it is strictly defined in the book of the divisions of
the times into their jubilees and weeks.36 (CD 16:1–4)
Talmon suggests that three generations were needed for the Book of Jubi-
lees to attain an authoritative status.37 One may assume, for the sake of
the argument, that a generation covered a twenty year period. This would
place a possible writing of the Book of Jubilees somewhere around the
second half of the third century BCE. One now needs to ascribe at least
three generations for the Aramaic astronomical work to reach its status of
authority that it comes to enjoy by the time of the composition of the Book
of Jubilees. This brings one possibly to the first half of the third century
BCE, and quite possibly earlier. In fact, Talmon claims “the composition
of the Astronomical Book cannot be dated later than the second half of the
fourth century BCE.”38 If one now brings into the equation the similari-
ties between the Aramaic astronomical work, the Book of Luminaries, and
Babylonian Compendiums or Cuneiform texts, which have been shown
to date as far back as the 7th–6th centuries BCE, an early third century
BCE dating, although admittedly speculative, seems conservative.39 At the
outset, here one is in the realm of speculations.
So, although Milik did not offer satisfactory evidence for his assertion
that what he understood to be the Astronomical Book circulated under
the name Enoch in the fifth century BCE, his suspicion of it being so may
be correct. Beckwith, accepting a terminus ad quem of 200 BCE for the
redaction of the Astronomical Book, endeavors to suggest a more precise
36
Vermes, op. cit., 137.
37
38
Ibid.
39
W. Horowitz, “The 360 and 364 Day Year in Ancient Mesopotamia,” JANES 24
(1996): 35–44, has demonstrated the existence of a 364-day calendar in cuneiform texts
dating back to the seventh century BCE. The author argues elsewhere, “Two New Ziqpu-
Star Texts and Stellar Circles,” JCS 46 (1994): 88–99, that Mul.Apin II ii 11–17 and the Ziqpu-
Star text Ao 6478//K.9794 show knowledge of 364-day year in Mesopotamia. The claim was
disputed by J. Koch, “Ao 6478, MUL.APIN und das 364 Tage-Jahr,” NABU 111 (1996): 97–99,
to which Horowitz responded in “The 364 Day Year in Mesopotamia, Again,” NABU 49
(1998): 49–51. For a transliteration and translation of Mul.Apin II ii 11–17, consult H. Hun-
ger and D. Pingree, Mul.Apin An Astronomical Compendium in Cuneiform (AfOB 24; Horn:
Berger, 1989), 94–5.
172 chapter six
dating.40 For him, the terminus ante quem must find its Sitz im Leben in
the Greek conquest of Palestine in 331 BCE. He suggests that the Essenes
became a distinct party in the sociological make up of Palestinian Judaism
in the aftermath of the assassination of the conservative High Priest Onias
III, “an Essene-sympathiser,” by the Hellenizing Menelaus in 171 BCE.41
The time of the start of the pre-Essene movement is given in the Book of
Dreams as twelve year-weeks before the rise of Judas Maccabaeus. This
suggests the year 251 BCE.42 So, argues Beckwith, the 364-day calendar was
devised and came into use some time between 251 and 200 BCE. By the
time 1 En 80:2–8 was written (ca. 200 BCE), its authors were already aware
that the calendar did not follow the true solar year, and had already for-
mulated a theological justification for the occurrence of the discrepancies
between the calendar and the seasons.43 These they blamed on the “sins
of men.” Naturally, with a difference of 1.25 days per year between the true
solar year and the 364-day year, a significant lapse of time was necessary
for the discrepancies to be observable regularly. Beckwith calculated that
in forty eight years the 364-day year would have fallen two months behind
the true solar cycle. On this basis he posited the institution of the 364-day
calendar by the “proto-essene” milieu between 251 and 248 BCE.44 They
soon enough realised the un-workability of the calendar, and formulated
a theological justification to explain the discrepancies.45
In the light of the arguments suggested by Talmon, and summarized
above, it seems difficult to accept Beckwith’s position and argumentation.46
Even if essenism became a distinct movement in Palestinian Judaism in
the wake of Onias III’s assassination in 171 BCE, a position which is not
disputed here, it is difficult to account for the Aramaic astronomical work
to have gained an authoritative status as late as the mid third century
BCE. A mere four generations might probably not be enough to ensure
an authoritative status to the Aramaic astronomical work, or the Book of
Luminaries in its original form, as that enjoyed by the written Torah. It
40
Beckwith, “Earliest Enoch Literature,” 372.
41
Beckwith, “Earliest Enoch Literature,” 367 note 3. Beckwith had developed this theory
in R.T. Beckwith, “The Significance of the Calendar for Interpreting Essene Chronology and
Eschatology,” RevQ 10 (1979–81b): 167–202, especially 180 ff.
42
Beckwith, “Calendar and Essene Chronology,” 182–4.
43
Beckwith, “Earliest Enoch Literature,” 372.
44
Beckwith uses the term “proto-Essene” to designate “pre-Essene” origins of the Eno-
chic writings. Cf. Beckwith, “Earliest Enoch Literature,” 365.
45
The term ‘theological’ is here used in inverted comas to acknowledge its anachronis-
tic character when used in the context of Second Temple Judaism.
46
renders the process of the rising of Essenism within Palestinian Judaism

far too systematic, and does not allow for a period of crystallization of the
ideals embraced by its members over a significant period of time, espe-
cially that of ‘renewed covenant’.47 Rather, such ideals are likely to have
evolved over a significant period of time, as the community explored, then
formulated theological explanations for the trauma it endured through its
Babylonian exile.48 As a result, any suggestion that the 364-day calendar
was a product of Essenism as late as the mid-third century BCE must be
abandoned. It is quite possible in fact, as will be explored below, that the
theological explanation offered in 1 En 80 for the disruption of the seasons
could be attributed, not to the un-workability of the 364-day calendar, but
rather to the differing ways of computing the lunar years into the triennial
solar cycle, which, the present author claims, can be identified in some
otherwise difficult verses of the Book of Luminaries.
2.3 Summary
The above section revisited the hypothesis first formulated by J.T. Milik
concerning the dating of what he termed the Astronomical Book. In this
process the recent distinction between a third century BCE Aramaic
astronomical work and the Ethiopic Book of Luminaries, both witnesses
47
For a proposition about a development of the ‘community of the renewed covenant’,
see S. Talmon, “The Community of the Renewed Covenant: Between Judaism and Christi-
anity,” in The Community of the Renewed Covenant: The Notre Dame Symposium on the Dead
Sea Scrolls (eds E. Ulrich and J.C. VanderKam; Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame
Press, 1994), 3–24, especially 22, where Talmon states: “the ‘community of the renewed
covenant’ should be viewed as the third—or second—century crystallization of a major
socio-religious movement which arose in early post-exilic Judaism. The movement was
prophetically inspired and inclined to apocalypticism. It perpetuated a spiritual trend
whose origins can be traced to the prophets of the First Temple period—foremost Isaiah,
Jeremiah and Ezekiel—and to the post-exilic prophets Haggai and Zechariah. The devel-
opment of the movement runs parallel to that of the competing rationalist stream which
first surfaces in the book of Ezra, and especially in the book of Nehemiah, and will ulti-
mately crystallize in rabbinic or normative Judaism.” See also from the same author: “The
‘Essential Community of the Renewed Covenant’: How Should Qumran Studies Proceed?”
in Geschichte-Tradition-Reflexion: Festschrift für Martin Hengel zum 70. Geburtstag (ed. H.
Cancik, H. Lichtenberger, and P. Schäfer; Tübingen: Mohr (Siebeck), 1996), 323–53; “‘The
Dead Sea Scrolls’ or the ‘Community of the Renewed Covenant’?” in The Echoes of Many
Texts: Reflections on Jewish and Christian Traditions. Essays in Honor of Lou H. Silberman.
(eds W.G. Dever and J.E. Wright; BJS 313; Atlanta, Ga: Scholars Press, 1997), 115–45.
48
Stegemann also considers the roots of Essenism to rise from the immediate aftermath
of the return from exile. See “The Qumran Essenes—Local Members of the Main Jewish
Union in Late Second Temple Times,” in The Madrid Qumran Congress. Proceedings of
the International Congress on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Madrid 18–21 March 1991. Vol. 1 (eds
J. Trebolle Barrera and L. Vegas Montaner; Leiden: Brill, 1992), 83–166.
174 chapter six
to an older Enoch composition, recently formulated by VanderKam, was

found helpful and adopted, although semantically it seems to complicate
the arguments slightly, introducing some level of confusion between ter-
minologies past and present. At the outset, Milik’s initial dating of the
Aramaic material to the third century BCE, together with the references
to calendrical and astronomical knowledge attributed to Enoch and found
in later compositions such as Jub. 4:17 and CD 16:1–4, would support the
possibility that an Enochic tradition dealing with astronomical knowledge
may be even older than the third century BCE. Milik’s suggestion of a pos-
sible fifth century BCE setting, however, cannot be substantiated directly
at this stage. Likewise, Beckwith’s arguments that the 364-day year was
an Essene construct sometime in the second century is not supported by
the evidence: the 364-day year was known elsewhere, in a milieu that was
known to have had contacts with Judaea earlier in its history.
3. Antiquity of the 364-day Year
The above argumentation concerning the dating of the Aramaic astro-

nomical work that witnessed to an earlier Enochic composition is relevant
to the question of the antiquity of the 364-day calendar which, according
to the evidence available, is perhaps less than ever open to debate. As
already noted, Jaubert had suggested that it was the “old priestly” calendar
that regulated worship in the Temple before the exile.49 Jewish sources of
the third, second and first centuries BCE clearly denote a knowledge (and
adherence to) a 364-day calendar, but such a calendar-year was known
long before that. The present section briefly sets out some evidence for an
Egyptian origin of the year, as well as some sources that clearly indicate
knowledge of this year in 6th century BCE Babylonia.
3.1. An Egyptian Connection?

A recent study by M. Chyutin on the subject tends to concur with Jau-
bert’s thesis.50 The merit of Chyutin’s work is that it attempts to trace the
364-day calendar back into the period of Egyptian influence in Canaan
and Palestine as early as the end of the second millennium BCE. There
49
50
It is quite remarkable that Jaubert’s work on the 364-day calendar is nowhere men-
tioned in Chyutin’s recent study, in the first part of his work. Cf. Chyutin, op. cit.
is some strong historical and archaeological evidence for a significant

Egyptian influence at that time in Palestine.51 This is shown by the pres-
ence of Egyptian administration,52 whose influence continued for a signifi-
cant amount of time.53 Egyptian cultural orientation is also likely to have
played a key role.54 Egypt was oriented towards worship of the sun. A sun
ritual existed in Canaan before the Israelite conquest.55 Israel and Judah
had a definite orientation in belief towards the sun.56 Further, the Egyp-
tian solar calendar was more suited to the Israelite agricultural festivals,
at least before the exile, because it followed the seasons closely. In fact,
the calendar employed in Judah during the First Temple period strangely
resembled the Egyptian solar calendar: the day started at sunrise, the year
started in the summer; months were sequentially named by numbers (a
characteristic of a solar calendar in which festivals fall on the same day
every year). Even the number of days in the month was similar.57 Its main
difference was that it was adapted to the seven-day week structure by
reducing it from 365 to 364 days, presumably by King Solomon. Lastly,
the various hints from several documents illustrating a war of calendars
in Second Temple Judaism testify to the existence of a solar calendar dur-
ing the First Temple period in Judah, which clashed with the introduction
of a competing calendar based on the moon when the shift of balance
took place from Egypt to Mesopotamia in the course of the first millen-
nium BCE.58 Jaubert had suggested that the 364-day calendar had evolved
51
Y. Yadin, “The Earliest Records of Egypt’s Military Penetration Into Asia,” IEJ 5
(1955): 1–16; A. Ben-Tur, “On the Character of the Egyptian Presence in Eretz-Israel in the
Early Bronze Period,” ErIsr 20 (1989): 31–6; M.J. Weinstein, “The Egyptian Empire in Pal-
estine: A Reassessment,” BASOR 241 (1981): 1–28; Y.M. Grintz, From the Ancient Egyptian
Literature (Jerusalem: Bialik Institute, 1975); S. Ahituv, Canaanite Toponyms in Ancient
Egyptian Documents (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1984).
52
N. Ne’eman, “Society and Culture in the Late Bronze Period,” in The Ancient Periods
(ed. Y. Efal; vol. 1 of The History of Eretz-Israel; 1982); G. Barkey, “An Egyptian Temple in
the Late Bronze Period in Jerusalem,” ErIsr 21 (1991): 94–106 for the presence of an Egyptian
Temple in Jerusalem in 13th century BCE.
53
E. Oren, “The Architecture of Egyptian ‘Governors’ Houses’ from the New Kingdom
Period in Eretz-Israel,” ErIsr 18 (1985): 195–7.
54
Chyutin, op. cit., 151–3.
55
Ibid., 151–3.
56
S. Morton, “Helios in Palestine,” ErIsr 16 (1982): 199–214; S.M. Smith, “The Near Eastern
Background of Solar Language for Yahweh,” JBL 109 (1990): 29–39; Morgenstern, op. cit.
57
Chyutin, op. cit., 153–7.
58
Chyutin, op. cit., 157–9. The struggle is visible, even palpable in compositions such
as the Book of Jubilees, 1 Enoch, 2 Enoch, and the various Qumran documents which con-
tain calendrical indications. Chyutin noted that supporters of the lunar calendar never
appealed to the authorship of Moses (or any other key biblical figure) to attempt to vest
the lunisolar calendar with distinguished authorship and authoritative status. The different
176 chapter six
somehow under Hellenistic influence during the Second Temple period.

According to Chyutin it would now appear that the 364-day calendar tra-
dition had long been established in Palestine by the Second Temple era,
to the extent that different strands of the 364-year existed.59
3.2. A Babylonian Connection

Traces of a 364-day year have also been identified in texts from Mesopo-
tamia.60 In Mul-Apin II ii 11–12, a composition arranged ca. 686 BCE,61 one
reads the following note:
11. To . . . the day of disappearance of the Moon for 12 months, you proclaim
an intercalary month in three years (variant: the third year);
12. 10 additional days in 12 months is the amount for one year.62
Twelve months and ten days is the amount for a year, i.e., 364 days. This
is not dissimilar to some of the claims found in the Book of Luminaries,
where one reads in 1 En 74:10 that the year, when it is complete, counts
versions of the Flood story, with their different calendrical indications, may represent
attempts by various groups to justify their calendrical preferences. Cf. Chyutin, op. cit., 158.
On the Flood narrative and the calendar, see Lim, op. cit; B.K. Gardner, The Genesis Calen-
dar: The Synchronistic Tradition in Gn 1–11 (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2001);
Najm and Guillaume, op. cit; Shariv, op. cit; D.W. Young, “The Sexagesimal Basis for the
Total Years of the Antediluvian and Postdiluvian Epochs,” ZAW 116 (2004): 502–27.
59
Glessmer, “4Q319 and Intercalations”, stressed the necessity to speak of 364-day solar
tradition to reflect the variety of calendars. Callaway, op. cit, had already argued against
those scholars who considered the calendars of 1 En 72–82, that of the Book of Jubilees and
that of the Temple Scroll to stand in a direct line of continuity. Rather, for Callaway, it is
important to “specify whether we are referring to the Jubilees/ShirShabb tradition or the 1
Enoch tradition or the 11QTemple/4QMishmarot traditions when talking about the calen-
dar.” Chyutin, op. cit., 91–3, identifies no less than five solar calendars: 1: “solar calendar A,”
of the Sadducees (1 Enoch, Qumran Scrolls), (90 + 1) × 4 = 364; 2: “solar calendar B,” of the
Boethusians ( Jubilees), 91 × 4 = 364; 3: “solar calendar C,” of the Essenes, 90 × 4 + 4 = 364; 4:
“solar calendar D,” (2 [Slavonic] Enoch), 90 × 4 + 5 = 365 and 91 × 4 + 1 = 365; 5) “solar
calendar E,” an archaic 360-day calendar (Flood story, Esther, 4Q318).
60
A treatment of this particular issue can be found in J. Ben-Dov and W. Horowitz,
“The 364-day Year in Mesopotamia and Qumran,” Meghillot 1 (2003): 3–24, in Hebrew. In
the first part the authors review the evidence from Babylonia, especially AO 6478, and BM
36712 and its 364.5 days between the risings of Sirius. In the second part they review the
Jewish sources that display a knowledge (and adherence to) a 364-day year (in 1 Enoch, the
Book of Jubilees, and in the Qumran Scrolls). See also J. Ben-Dov, Head of All Years: Astron-
omy and Calendars at Qumran in Their Ancient Context (STDJ 78; Leiden: Brill, 2008).
61
Hunger and Pingree, Mul.Apin, 10.
62
Hunger and Pingree, Mul.Apin, 94. Also, Horowitz, “The 360 and 364 Day Year in
Ancient Mesopotamia,” 40–1.
364 days.63 Further, AO 6478, a copy found in Uruk of a Ziqpu-Star text

originating from Assurbanipal’s library, also indicates that this year was
known and computed in Babylon as early as the sixth century BCE.64 It
presents 26 sectors of 26 Ziqpu stars over 364 stellar degrees. Now, the
short passage from Mul-Apin presented above suggests that a “stellar” year
counts 364 degrees.65 The following passage from Mul-Apin (I iii) actually
equates one day of the year with one stellar degree:
49. The stars enter into the night in the morning 1 UŠ each day.
50. The stars come out into the day in the evening 1 UŠ each day.66
3.3. Summary
The Egyptian connection, investigated by Chyutin, is interesting but per-
haps inconclusive. There is no smoking gun as such, or no textual evi-
dence to support the claim that the 364-day year came to Canaan via
Egypt sometime around the turn of the second to the first millennium
BCE. Likewise, the lack of evidence cannot be taken as conclusive either,
and the onus remains on those scholars who deny an Egyptian influence
on calendrical matters in Canaan at the turn of the millennium to prove
the point. The Babylonian trail, however, has shown more promise. Tex-
tual evidence above (Mul-Apin II ii 11–12) indicates that the 364 day year
tradition was known in Babylon as early as the seventh to sixth century
BCE, and perhaps earlier. It is not entirely clear how the and when Babylo-
nian astronomical knowledge might have travelled to Judeah, or how—or
why—once in Judeah it grew as an attractive time reckoning device to
some Jews.67
63
On 1 En 74:10, see below. For a fuller consideration of the relationship between the
Astronomical Book and the Mesopotamian Compendium Mul-Apin, see chapter 3 of J. Ben-
Dov, “Astronomy and Calendars at Qumran—Sources and Trends,” (English summary of
Ph.D. Dissertation) (Jerusalem: Hebrew University, 2005).
64
Horowitz, “Two New Ziqpu-Star Texts and Stellar Circles,” 94–6. The text is a copy of
K. 9794, copied ca. 200 BCE in Uruk. As argued by H. Hunger and D. Pingree, Astral Sci-
ences in Mesopotamia (HO 44; Leiden: Brill, 1999), 84, “The existence of a copy of the origi-
nal of Assurbanipal’s library, K 9794, guarantees that the original was already written in
the seventh century BC.” For a bibliography on K. 9794//AO6478, see Horowitz, “Two New
Ziqpu-Star Texts and Stellar Circles,” 93 note 10. For an opposite view to that of Horowitz,
see Koch, op. cit. See the reply by Horowitz, “The 364 Day Year in Mesopotamia, Again”.
65
Horowitz, “Two New Ziqpu-Star Texts and Stellar Circles,” 94.
66
Hunger and Pingree, Mul.Apin, 57. See also BM 38360+ ii’ 25–28, Horowitz, “Two New
Ziqpu-Star Texts and Stellar Circles,” 94, and note 13 on the same page.
67
Ben-Dov considers this particular aspect of the question in the sixth chapter of Head
of All Years. An interesting theory is developed by R. Feldman, “The 364-day ‘Qumran’
178 chapter six
4. Identification of Differing Lunar Reckonings

in the Book of Luminaries
A third century BCE dating of an Astronomical work composed in Ara-

maic, and parts of which have survived in the Ethiopic Book of Luminaries
remains the best solution, just as Milik had argued.68 There is much to
commend in Drawnel’s classification of the Aramaic Astronomical Book
as a didactic composition emanating from a Levitical (so priestly) school,
just like the Aramaic Levi Document and the Visions of Amram (4Q543–
549).69 The Aramaic Astronomical Book would have been used in the train-
ing of priests in matters calendrical, demonstrating by the same token
how Babylonian astronomical knowledge could be applied in a Jewish
monotheistic setting.
The chain of transmission from the Aramaic to the Ethiopic recensions
is notoriously difficult to ascertain, whether one postulates an Aramaic—
Greek—Ehiopic linear transmission, as does Nickelsburg in his Herme-
neia commentary, or a more nuanced approach, in which the connections
between the Aramaic original, a Greek translation, and an Ethiopic extant
version are not as clearly discernible. Be that as it may, it is a common
assertion among scholars that parts of the former have survived in the
latter, albeit in an abridged form. The many (textual) variants between
manuscripts of the α family and of the β family indicate how difficult the
task of establishing the connection between the Aramaic Astronomical
Book and the Ethiopic Book of Luminaries really is.
There is no space in the scope of this study to give a systematic com-
mentary on the Book of Luminaries.70 Rather, the present section pro-
poses to investigate some peculiarities identified in chapters 73 and 74 of
Calendar and the Biblical Seventh-Day Sabbath: A Hypothesis Suggesting Their Simultane-
ous Institutionalization by Nehemiah,” Hen XXXI (2009): 342–65.
68
See above. The distinction suggested by VanderKam, J.C. VanderKam, “Aramaic AB
and Ethiopic BL,” 1, between an Aramaic Astronomical work and the (Ethiopic) Book of
Luminaries is here adopted. For a summary of the contents of the Book of Luminaries, see
Neugebauer, “‘Astronomical’ Chapters,” 388–9. Translations worth consulting are, together
with those mentioned in note 1 above, those of A. Dillmann, Das Buch Henoch übersetzt
und erklärt (Leipzig: Vogel, 1853); Charles, op. cit; Milik, Books of Enoch; and S. Uhlig, Das
äthiopische Henochbuch (JSHRZ 5/6; Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 1984).
69
H. Drawnel, “The Literary Form and Didactic Content of the Admonitions (Testa-
ment) of Qahat,” in From 4QMMT to Resurrection: Mélanges qumraniens en hommage à
Émile Puech (F. García Martínez; STDJ 61; Leiden: Brill, 2006), 55–73.
70
The reader is referred to existing and forthcoming works, some of which are refer-
enced throughout the section.
1 Enoch, and the two manuscripts of the α family, of particular interest to

the argument are the fifteenth century CE Tana9 and the fifteenth to six-
teenth century CE EMML 2080.71 It will be argued that chapters 73 and 74
of 1 Enoch, in these recensions, contain key information which allow the
identification of differing lunar reckonings in the Book of Luminaries.
4.1. 1 En 73 and Lunar Reckoning

Chapter 73 of the Ethiopic Book of Luminaries expounds the illumination
of the moon in parts, while chapter 74 is concerned with its movement.72
The moon is presented in 73:1 as the minor luminary. In this chapter the
beginning of the month is marked by the coming into existence of the
moon on the thirtieth day (v.4), suggesting, according to standard Babylo-
nian astronomical terminology, that the preceding lunar month was hol-
low.73 The month mentioned could also be the solar month of thirty days,
without changing the meaning of the verse. Such interpretation could be
conceived on the basis that the sun is clearly seen as the greater in rank
among the luminaries (72:1,36). The month, which is talked of as starting
with the appearance of the moon on the thirtieth day (of the moon or of
the sun), is a lunar month. What is described of the surface of the moon in
light—or of period of lunar visibility—one seventh of its half part, seems
to be the appearance of the first crescent on the following day (v.6–7).
This is confirmed in the later part of v.7 where the moon is said to become
dark on the first day of the lunar month “in respect to its thirteen parts
that night.” In this particular chapter the lunar reckoning clearly starts
with the appearance of the first crescent. This is an important observa-
tion, as will become evident below.
See below for details.

71
72
P. Sacchi, “The Two Calendars of the Book of Astronomy,” in Jewish Apocalyptic and
Its History, in Jewish Apocalyptic and Its History (P. Sacchi; JSPSup 20; Sheffield: Sheffield
Academic Press, 1996), 130, suggests that chapter 74 is a duplication of chapter 73. In a
significant contribution, H. Drawnel, “Moon Computation in the Aramaic Astronomical
Book,” RevQ 23 (2007): 3–41, argues that the Aramaic Astronomical Book recorded not
the illuminated surface of the moon, but rather plotted the periods of lunar visibility in
the sky.
73
Neugebauer, “‘Astronomical’ Chapters,” 396 In his Doctoral Dissertation “Astronomy
and Calendars at Qumran—Sources and Trends”, J. Ben-Dov argues that the thirtieth day
mentioned in 73:1 belongs to the preceding lunar month, a practice attested in Cuneiform
texts from Babylonia. I am grateful to Jonathan Ben-Dov for providing me with a copy of
his Doctoral Dissertation in Hebrew as well as a summary in English.
180 chapter six
4.2. 1 En 74 and Lunar Reckoning

Chapter 74 of the Ethiopic Book of Luminaries gives a description of the
movements of the sun and the moon from gate to gate, “based on a simple
arithmetical scheme that is well known from computus treatises.”74 The
chapter, however, also contains key elements which, it is argued, repre-
sent remnants of older traditions reckoning the lunar month differently.
4.2.1. 1 En 74:3—an Alternative Lunar Reckoning

Neugebauer proposed the following translation for the verse:
And in steps (of fractions) of sevenths (lit. single seventh parts) the full
moon is completed in the east and in steps (of fractions) of sevenths com-
plete darkness is reached in the west.75
Although Neugebauer does not indicate which particular manuscript(s)
he follows, his translation clearly suggests a sequential observation of
waxing and waning of the moon, which is consistent with the material
presented in 1 En 73, a state of affairs which should be expected in the light
of the preceding chapter where the lunar month starts with the sighting
of the first crescent.76 The situation is reversed if one follows the transla-
tions of either Isaac or Knibb. Following a different manuscript, Isaac’s
translation suggests:
[T]he moon wanes in fifteen steps during a period of fifteen days, and waxes
in fourteen steps in the east and the west respectively.77
Knibb translates:
[I]n seventh parts it makes all its darkness full, and in seventh parts it makes
all its light full, either in the east or in the west.78
In the most recent translation to date, Nickelsburg/VanderKam suggest:
(In) one-seventh parts it completest all its light in the east and in the west.79
74
Neugebauer, “ ‘Astronomical’ Chapters,” 399.
75
Ibid., 398.
76
Isaac suspects Neugebauer’s translation reflects ms. EMML 80, an α family represen-
tative. See Isaac, op. cit.
77
Isaac, op. cit., 53.
78
Knibb, op. cit., 173.
79
Nickelsburg and VanderKam, op. cit., 102. The authors indicate in note ‘t’ that “some
mss add all its darkness and in one-seventh part completes”.
Both the Isaac and the Knibb translations mention the waning of the
moon first. Isaac follows manuscript A, and indicates in his notes the
alternative reading of manuscript C, which agrees with Neugebauer’s
translation.80 Clearly, the Isaac/Knibb line of translation marks a contrast
with the preceding chapters as regards the mode of observation of the
lunar month from its start to its end in a sequential manner. Following
chapter 73, one would assume an observation based on a cycle of: first
crescent, waxing of the moon until full moon, then waning of the moon
until new moon. Rather, in both Isaac and Knibb, one is left with the
impression that the observation started at full moon (and not new moon),
thus observing first, for fifteen days, the waning of the moon until its total
darkness (new moon). The second part of the observation concerned itself
with the waxing of the moon “in fourteen steps,” presumably and logically
from the sighting of the first crescent until its waxing culminates in the
full moon. This description is inconsistent with the preceding chapter,
where the lunar month unmistakably starts with the new moon.
Admittedly, there are a number of variant sources upon which the
translators based their work, as recognized by Neugebauer himself:
It seemed tempting to utilise in this commentary to the astronomical chap-
ters of the book of Enoch the numerous parallels and variants found in the
Ethiopic ‘computus’ treatises. Since, however, practically all of these texts
are unpublished and since only a detailed study could bring order and rela-
tive completeness to this huge mass of material, I have usually abstained
from referring to such ‘secondary’ sources, though they may well contain
information more reliable than the Book of Enoch in its present condition.
I made good use, however, of the possibility of discussing my interpretations
of the text with Professor Ephraim Isaac at the Institute for Advanced Study
in Princeton.81
This statement suggests that, indeed, there are a great many possible
translations, as there are a great many variants which could well be more
reliable. It is, of course, way beyond the scope of the present study to
embark upon such a task as that suggested here by Neugebauer. This must
be left to others. However, a few points can be made at this stage. The first
is that, despite the best efforts of the translators, translations necessarily
80
“A” and “C” are Isaac’s designation, “A” standing for Kebrān 9/II, a fifteenth century
manuscript, and “C” standing for EMML 2080, a fifteenth (possibly fourteenth) century
manuscript. Cf. Isaac, op. cit., 6, and notes. Isaac considers A to be “superior to B and C,
often giving shorter and more difficult readings.” Cf. Isaac, op. cit., 11.
81
Neugebauer, “‘Astronomical’ Chapters,” 389.
182 chapter six
limit the possible meaning of a text in comparison to what the sum of the
sources might have implied. Second, in a treatise like the Book of Luminar-
ies, the editorial choice of the translator can potentially alter the overall
meaning and content of the work. This is evident from the discrepancy
of translation of 1 En 74 exemplified above. Third, this somehow distorted
picture will necessarily colour with a bias any reconstruction of the socio-
religious context of the milieu in which a work emerged, in this instance
that of late third century BCE Palestinian Judaism. Fourth, this distorted
picture will also influence any investigation that will rely in part upon the
source in its translated form, or, for that matter, in the original language.
Back to 1 En 74:3. The Neugebauer translation makes good sense as
it fits perfectly with the description of chapter 73. The Isaac/Knibb line
highlights the awkwardness of two differing manners of describing obser-
vations. Here, the curiosity of the textual critic is awakened. Following
an important criterion of textual criticism, when faced with two conflict-
ing versions of the same narrative, the most awkward passage may be
believed to be more ancient in the tradition. This is the reason why Isaac
believes ms. ‘A’ to be more important than mss. ‘B’ or ‘C’. Conversely, the
passage which makes the text more intelligible may be suspected of hav-
ing undergone some amendments at the hands of the redactors, what we
may call scribal editorial correction. It is possible that in the present case,
one is not only faced with simply an either/or translation of 1 En 74:3.
In other words, to suggest that the awkwardness of the passage is sim-
ply due to a literary device is perhaps akin to dismissing too prematurely
some possible avenues of investigation that might otherwise bring light
to the meaning of the text.82 The editorial differences in the manuscripts
may well be a clue suggesting that a process of harmonization took place,
possibly in order to make both chapters fit well together. It is of course
regrettable that there are to date no extant passages of these chapters in
the Aramaic fragments, although it is possible that this particular verse
formed part of a summary statement, as suggested by Milik.83
82
J. Ben-Dov, in a personal communication, indicated that in his opinion the sequence
waxing-waning of the moon in 1 En 74:3 is no more than a literary device. Ben-Dov has
since formulated his opinion in his Doctoral dissertation, where he refers to our exchanges.
See Ben-Dov, “Astronomy and Calendars at Qumran—Sources and Trends,” 78 note 3. See
also VanderKam’s commentary on 1 En 74:4, to be published, where VanderKam seems to
accept Ben-Dov’s position. I am grateful to Professor VanderKam for generously allowing
me to consult his manuscript before publication.
83
Milik, Books of Enoch, 274–5.
Yet, the possibility remains that originally there were two traditions,
or rather two differing manners of reckoning the lunar month, which are
reflected in these not just differing but opposite expositions of observa-
tion of the lunar cycle. One way of reckoning started the lunar month at
the first sighting of the first crescent, and described the changes in the
appearance of the moon in a sequential manner, from waxing to wan-
ing, from first crescent to full moon to new moon. This is exemplified
in the Neugebauer translation. The other way of reckoning describes the
appearance of the moon also in a sequential way, this time from wan-
ing to waxing, from full moon to first crescent to full moon, as visible
from Isaac’s use of manuscript C. Could this be the indication that the
Book of Luminaries bears witness to various ways of reckoning the lunar
month, one starting the month at the first crescent (cf. chapter 73), the
other starting the month on the day of the full moon (chapter 74)? It is
the present author’s suspicion that it does. The editorial differences in the
manuscripts may well be a clue suggesting that a process of harmoniza-
tion took place, possibly in order to make both chapters fit well together.
1 En 74:3 could be envisaged as conserving the memory of a forgotten
tradition, originally present in astronomical works (circulating under the
name Enoch?), which is somehow surviving in the apparent awkwardness
of the sequence of chapters 73 and 74 extant in different manuscripts. It
is of course regrettable that there are to date no extant fragments of this
passage in the Aramaic fragments, although it is possible, as argued by
Milik, that this particular verse formed part of a summary statement. Yet
the possibility remains that the variants in the Ethiopic Tana9—which is
Isaac’s ms. A—may point in the direction of two differing ways of reck-
oning the lunar month. The first, presented in 1 En 73, adopting a first
crescent reckoning (commonly called new moon reckoning); the second,
preserved in 1 En 74, expounding a full moon reckoning.
If the argument is correct, an assumption that might seem unsurmount-
able to some, Tana9 74:3 could be envisaged as conserving the memory of
a forgotten tradition, originally present in astronomical works ascribed
to Enoch, which somehow survived in the apparent awkwardness of the
sequence of chapters 73 and 74 extant in various Ethiopic manuscripts.
4.2.2. New Solutions to Old Riddles—the Evidence of 1 En 74
4.2.2.1. 1 En 74:10
The second part of chapter 74 is rather puzzling at first. It displays both
solar years of 360 days and 364 days. This is most evident in 74:10, where
184 chapter six
the first part of the verse states: “if five years are combined, the sun gains
thirty extra days.” Thirty extra days in five years amount to six days a year.
The lunar year counting 354 days, the solar year which is referred to here
is the 360 day year. The last part of the verse, on the other hand, explicitly
states: “and when it is completed, it turns out to be 364 days.” Here the
solar reckoning is clearly the 364 day year. The first and last part of the
verse are linked by an obscure statement: “consequently, one of those five
years gains.”84 This, we are told, is the cause of the completed year count-
ing 364 days. The meaning of this statement is unclear. Is one to under-
stand that one of the five years gains, so that the ideal year can be said to
count 364 days? In this case, one year will have to count 380 days, so that
360 × 4 + 380 = 1440 + 380 = 1820 = 5 × 364. The twenty days added to the
fifth year (whichever one this may be in the sequence) are not arbitrary.
They correspond to the numerical value which must be added to the fifth
year so that the ideal year can count 364 days. In other terms, it is the sum
of the necessary epagomenal days for each of the five years. Those days
fall four times a year on months III, VI, IX and XII in 1 En 72. But whether
they are reckoned thus in 1 En 74 is not clear. The very least that can be
said is that 1 En 74 suggests an insertion of twenty days every five years so
that the ideal year can count 364 days when each year is completed, that
is once the epagomenal days are added, presumably because they were
not reckoned as part of the year. Thus, the year counted 360 days, and the
completed year counted 364 days. The difference between the lunar year
and the 360-day year in five years is said to amount to thirty days ([360
– 354] × 5) and consequently one year in five must gain thirty days. But
if one considers the completed year of 364 days, the same discrepancy of
thirty days only arises after three years, so that every three years thirty
days, or a month, were inserted to align the lunar year to the solar year.85
This seems to be the best way to interpret 1 En 74:10.
The gain spoken of in 74:10 cannot be the same as the gain mentioned
in the following verse. In verse 11 we are told that the gain of the sun over
the moon is six days every year, and amounts to thirty days in five years.
The solar year is, again, the 360 day year. Verse 12, it is here argued, refers
to the year that “gains” mentioned in verse 10. Its added days “bring about
all the years punctiliously, so that they neither gain upon nor fall behind
84
85
For a treatment of the intercalation process in the BL, see Albani, Astronomie, 9–17.
Idem: Albani, “Zur Rekonstruktion eines verdrängten Konzepts: Der 364-Tage-Kalender in
der gegenwärtigen Forschung”.
their fixed positions for a single day, but they convert the year with punc-
tilious justice into 364 days.” This would suggest that the four epagomenal
days are not yet inserted in the computing of the year. Yet, the following
verse ensues to state the number of days in three, five and eight 364-day
years, respectively 1092, 1820 and 2912. Following this, a specific year in
which twenty days were inserted in a five year period must be ruled out.
Rather, the better interpretation is to see that the year is measured in
terms of 364 days, whatever the year is. At the outset, there appears to be
little purpose to this passage.86
4.2.2.2. 1 En 74:14
It is the present author’s contention that a consideration of 1 En 74:14 in
ms. Tana9—Isaac’s ms. A—will bring further light upon the issue of the
monthly lunar reckoning in the Book of Luminaries.
4.2.2.2.1. The Textual Evidence
1 En 74:10–16 is a passage notoriously difficult to translate due to the many
variants existing in the two families of manuscripts (α and β). Isaac’s trans-
lation of Tana9 74:13–15 reads:
In three (years) there are 1092 days and in five years 1820 days, so that in
eight years there are 2912 days. 14 For the moon singly in three (years) its
days add up to 1030 days, so that it falls behind by 62 days in three years.
15
In five years (they add up to) 1770 days, so that it falls behind by 50 days
in five years.
Neugebauer dismissed the passage as a later scribal amendment.
VanderKam offers the following translation:
In three years there are 1,092 days; in five years there are 1,820 days, with the
result that in eight years there are 2,912. 14 For the moon alone, the days in
three years come to 1,062; in five years it is fifty days fewer. 15 In five years
there are 1,770 days, with the result that in eight years the moon has 2,832
days.87
As noted by VanderKam, there is a series of textual difficulties with the
sources concerning verses 14–16.88 The verses clearly reflect the pattern
86
So Isaac, op. cit., 54, note u; Neugebauer, “‘Astronomical’ Chapters,” 400–1.
Nickelsburg and VanderKam, op. cit., 102–3.
87
88
Once again I am indebted to Professor VanderKam for generously allowing me access
to his manuscript. Reproduced with permission. The primary sources used here are those
treated by the author in 1 Enoch 2, forthcoming (with George Nickelsburg, in the Hermenia
series), in the section dealing with 1 Enoch 74.
186 chapter six
established in verse 13, where the number of days in three, five and eight
364-day years are given, namely: (a) three years = 1,092 days, (b) five years =
1,820 days, and (c) eight years = 2,912 days. As VanderKam indicates, “the
pattern underlying vv.14–16 and almost fully preserved in them consists
of these three units, each of which is divided into two parts to allow com-
parison with the solar totals [and] the elements should read”:
(a) for three years there are 1062 days
(a1) and for three years 30 days are lacking
(b) for five years there are 1770 days
(b1) and for five years 50 days are lacking
(c) so for eight years there are 2832 days
(c1) because 80 days are lacking for eight years.89
Whereas the above is what the text “should read,” a representative sample
of textual evidence gives a somewhat different picture. VanderKam con-
siders mss. g and T9 (= Tana9) as representatives of the α family, and ms.
p as a witness of the β group.90
expected text (a):

for three years there are 1062 days
actual text (a) in mss:
ms. g: la-3-ām mawā el 10-100 wa-30 mawā el (= 1030 days)
ms. p: la-3-ām 10-100-60-wa-2-mawā el (= 1062 days)
ms. T9: la 3 āma mawā el 10-100 wa-30-mawā el (= 1030 days)
89
VanderKam, 1 Enoch 2 forthcoming (with Georges Nickelsburg, in the Hermenia
series). Reproduced with permission.
90
The α and β classification of the manuscripts was suggested by J. Flemming, Das Buch
Henoch: Äthiopischer Text (TU xxii I; Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1902). See Milik, Books of Enoch, 83.
Ms. g, also classified as “B.M. Orient. 485. Jubilees, Enoch” in Milik, Books of Enoch, 84, is
commonly dated to the sixteenth century. Ms. p, also classified as “Rylands Libr. Enoch
and other books,” Milik, Books of Enoch, 84 is dated to the seventeenth century. Ms. T9
was first introduced in the discussion by Knibb, op. cit., 23, who classified it as Tana9, and
described it as “Lake Tana MS. 9 (Hammerschmidt’s Catalogue, no. 9). 15th cent. Enoch
(foll. 71r–124v) and other biblical writings.” Isaac, op. cit., 6, classified it as Ms. A, “Kebrān
9/II (Hammerschmidt—Tānāsee 9/II),” and based the bulk of his translation on this par-
ticular ms. G.W.E. Nickelsburg and K. Baltzer, eds, 1 Enoch 1: A Commentary on the Book of
1 Enoch, Chapters 1–36; 81–108 (Hermeneia; Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2001), 16, fol-
lowing Uhlig, op. cit, suggested the following reconstruction of the history of the text: T9,
with its variants from other alpha-mss, was probably an earlier version dating perhaps to
the end of the 13th century; the bulk of the α group was then developed in the course of the
following three centuries, from the 14th to the 16th century. All subsequent manuscripts
formed the β group.
As VanderKam’s puts it, “impressive members of the older ms. tradition

read a surprising 1,030.”
expected text (a1) in mss:

ms. g: [no text suggested in VanderKam’s argumentation]
ms. p: [no text suggested in VanderKam’s argumentation]
ms. T9: wa-la 3 am yaxāṣeṣ mawā el 60-wa-2
according to VanderKam the reading (a1) in T9 is consistent with element
(a) in the same ms., but “in view of the readings for elements (b), (b1),
(c) and (c1) in T9 in the next lines, the numbers in T9 here are patently
wrong.” VanderKam proceeds to give a text-critical explanation based on
an hypothetical original text:
la-3 ām10-100 wa-60-wa-2-mawā el wa-la-3-ām yaxaṣṣes 30 mawā el
VanderKam explains:
a copyist’s eye may have jumped from one number (60-wa-2) followed by
mawā el to the next number (30) followed by mawā el and omitted the inter-
vening words. The result is the reading in g above and in T9 for element
(a).91
So it is this particular reading which would be responsible for the indica-
tion in (a1) of T9 that the moon falls behind the sun by sixty two days in
three years. VanderKam’s solution is appealing from a text-critical per-
spective. Yet, it is the presence of the “1030 days” also in ms. g which may
point in the direction of another explanation.
4.2.2.2.2. A new interpretation
Once again, Isaac’s translation following ms. A (Tana9) renders:
13
In three (years) there are one thousand ninety-two days and in five years
one thousand eight hundred and twenty days, so that in eight years there
are two thousand nine hundred and twelve days. 14 For the moon singly in
three (years) its days add up to one thousand thirty days, so that it falls
behind by sixty two days in three years. 15 In five years (they add up to) one
thousand seven hundred and seventy days, so that it falls behind by fifty
days in five years.92
91
VanderKam, 1 Enoch 2 forthcoming (with George Nickelsburg, in the Hermenia series),
with permission from the author.
92
Isaac, op. cit., 54. In the notes Isaac indicates that manuscript B reads ‘one thou-
sand and sixty days’, while C reads ‘one thousand and sixty two days’, instead of A’s ‘one
thousand and thirty days’. Knibb, op. cit., 174, translated: “13In three years (there are) one
188 chapter six
Clearly, three 354-day lunar years add up to 1,062 days, the number
indicated by the vast majority of β mss and some α mss. It is the read-
ing preferred by most translators very probably because it is the reading
that aligns with what the difference between three lunar years and three
364-day years should amount to. Yet, it is ms. Tana9 which is the most
illuminating. It states:
For the moon (singly) in three years its days add up to 1030, so that it falls
behind by 62 days in three years.
How is this possible? How can the triennial lunar cycle be said to last one
thousand and thirty days and to fall sixty two days behind the sun? The
solar year considered here is obviously the 364-day year (3 × 364 = 1092 =
1030 + 62).93 It was suggested above that, from the description of, first the
waning of the moon and second its waxing, 1 En 74 may presuppose a
lunar month which starts with the full moon. Let us assume that the start
of the lunar year in 1 En 73 coincides with the start of the solar year, a
possibility if the first lunar month is hollow. Thus, the first day of the first
month in the first year starts with the new moon in the lunar month. Let
us now transpose this in the other lunar reckoning, which we suspect in
chapter 74 of starting the lunar month with the full moon. In this reckon-
ing, the lunar year is already started by the time the new moon appears,
marking the start of the new moon cycle which coincides with the start
thousand and ninety-two days, and in five years one thousand eight hundred and twenty
days, so that in eight years there are two thousand nine hundred and twelve days. 14For
the moon alone the days in three years come to one thousand and sixty two days, and in
five years it is fifty days behind . . .” Neugebauer, “‘Astronomical’ Chapters”, paraphrased vv.
14–16 as: “Three lunar years are 1062 days long, thus 30 days shorter than three solar years.
Similarly for five and eight years.” Lastly, Nickelsburg and VanderKam, op. cit., 102–3, sug-
gest: “13In three years there are 1,092 days; in five years there are 1,820 days, with the result
that in eight years there are 2,912 days. 14For the moon alone, the days in three years come
to 1,062; in five years it is fifty days fewer.u 15In five years there are 1,770 days, with the result
that in eight years the moon has 2,832 days.” They point out in note u that “many mss add
because to its sum sixty two days are added.”
93
As demonstrated by Sacchi, the Book of Luminaries expounds two solar years: the
first counting 360 days, the second totalling 364 days. Sacchi argues that the calendrical
polemic in the Book of Luminaries concerns the counting of the four epagomenal days in
the reckoning of the year. For Sacchi, the author of the Astronomical Book stresses that
these are indeed part of the solar year, which therefore must count 364 days; cf. Sacchi,
“Jewish Apocalyptic”. Boccaccini has refined the research in this domain and argued in
favor of the presence of two sabbatical calendars, a 360 + 4 day calendar, and a 364 day
calendar. Boccaccini suggests that the original priestly calendar of Israel was the 360 + 4
day Zadokite calendar. Boccaccini traces this calendar in the biblical book of Daniel. He
further suggests that the Enochic group pioneered the 364 day calendar, which was there-
after championed by the Essenes Cf. Boccaccini, op. cit.
of the solar year. If our first new moon month counts twenty nine days, a
possible inference from 1 En 73, it follows that the preceding lunar month
counts thirty days, with the full moon appearing on day fourteen of that
month, i.e., sixteen days before the start of the new moon month which
coincides with the start of the solar month. By implication, the start of
the full moon reckoning takes place sixteen days before the start of the
new moon month. Starting sixteen days early, it follows that this full moon
start year, and by implication its triennial cycle, will terminate sixteen
days before the end of the lunar year and triennial cycle which started
on the new moon. Of course, both (intercalated) triennial cycles are of a
similar length, i.e., 3 × 354 days + 30 days = 1092 days. If measured against
the background of the 364-day year however, these lunar triennial cycles
come in direct competition.
The key question is: which is the proper lunar reckoning that will allow
proper synchronization with the 364-day year? Perhaps, put another
way, what is the wrong lunar cycle, which will not synchronise with the
364-day-year cycle? In the example treated here, in terms of new moon
lunar year, the lunar reckoning starting on full moon is now running, or so
some were led to believe, 16 + 16 = 32 days behind. Of course in real terms
the loss was of sixteen days only. The duplication of the sixteen day loss
once again betrays the polemical tone of the text. The position taken was
perhaps that to these thirty two days were added the ten days by which
the moon falls behind the sun every year, thirty days over a triennial cycle,
giving a total of sixty two days. This sounds simple enough.
But what of the three lunar years said to count 1030 days? Clearly, it
cannot be question of the length of three lunar years. This would be 354 ×
3 = 1062 days, just as most β mss. read. Rather, I suggest that this triennial
lunar cycle is here measured in terms of the alternative lunar reckoning,
that of the new moon start, against which it is compared. In other words,
the triennial lunar cycle starting on full moon added up—as perceived
through the lense of a proponent of the triennial/new moon reckoning—
to one thousand and thirty days of the triennial lunar cycle starting with
new moon and which coincides with the start of the solar triennial cycle.
Or, the full moon year runs along the new moon/solar synchronized year
for one thousand and thirty days (which, as we will see below, is not quite
correct).
The argument can be laid out thus: leaving aside the number of days by
which the lunar year falls behind the sun in one year, ten days (thirty days
in three years) the text at hand suggests that the lunar triennial cycle under
scrutiny by the author (our posited full moon start) falls short of the base
190 chapter six
lunar year (posited new moon start) by 1,062 – 1,030 = 32 days. These thirty
two days, it seems, are none other than the accumulation of the two first
halves, i.e., the period of time from full moon to new moon, of the first
month of the lunar year. The full moon reckoning having started sixteen
days before the start of both the new moon reckoning and the solar year,
these sixteen days are not reckoned in either the new moon reckoning nor
the solar year, but stand outside of both. The discrepancy, it was thought,
was also duplicated at the end of the lunar triennial cycle but only for the
lunar reckoning, i.e., at the end of three years, the full moon reckoning
stopped sixteen days before the appearance of the new moon.
If we transpose this in terms of the solar year, our first lunar (full moon)
year runs along the first solar year for 354 – 16 days = 338 days, and ends
on solar year 1 day 338; the second lunar year is complete within the solar
cycle and runs from solar year 1 day 339 to solar year 2 day 328, i.e., 354
days; the third and last lunar year is complete within the solar cycle, it
starts on solar year 2 day 329 and ends on solar year 3 day 318, i.e., 354
days, and forty six days before the end of solar year 3, or sixteen days
before the end of the proper triennial lunar cycle (new moon). The care-
ful reader will have noticed that the figures do not add up. The table in
Excursus 2 illustrates that in real terms the discrepancy amounted to forty
six days only, not sixty two.
This point is important. It underlines a polemical aspect in the back-
ground of the verse. It is here suggested that, in an attempt to discredit
fully this wrong lunar reckoning, the adherents of the proper lunar reckon-
ing, who knew that the wrong reckoning started sixteen days before, and
likewise ended sixteen days earlier than the proper reckoning, mounted a
case against their principal target by claiming that it fell behind the sun
by sixty two days every three years, and that its length, therefore, was one
thousand and thirty days. These figures they arrived at not by actually
observing the difference in real terms between the two lunar reckonings,
but rather by duplicating the sixteen-day discrepancy.
Clear textual evidence to support the hypothesis of a polemically moti-
vated move in the background of 1 En 74:14 in its Tana9 and ‘g’ mss is
lacking, and as such weakens the case. However, if located against the
background of a work which argues in favour of a 364-day year, and
which claims that the moon plays a part in this scheme, the hypothesis
becomes a plausibility. Amidst a body of literature that contained strong
polemics surrounding calendrical matters in Second Temple Judaism, the
particular argument advanced here is by no means out of place. In this
particular version, which still depended on older traditions that were pos-
sibly part of the Aramaic astronomical work, it was argued that the wrong
reckoning caused the proper cycle to end sixteen days early, and to fall
behind the sun by 16 + 30 = 46 days in three years. Further, the same wrong
reckoning, starting sixteen days before the proper cycle (lunar and solar),
days that could not be counted from the perspective of the adherents to
the proper cycle, caused a further loss of sixteen days. This pseudo-cycle
was understood to loose thirty-two days against the sun (and the proper
lunar cycle) over three years and with intercalation. Without intercalation
of a 37th lunation the discrepancy increased by a further 30 days, so a total
of 16 + 16 + 30 = 62 days over three years. Hence the claim that the three
lunar years were one thousand and thirty days long, and fell behind the
sun by sixty two days.
4.2.2.3. Testing the Hypothesis and Preliminary Summary

So far we have posited a full moon reckoning starting before the new
moon reckoning. What would be the case if the alternative lunar reckon-
ing was to be started after the new moon? In this case, the alternative
reckoning would start fourteen days later. It would also end fourteen days
later, thus accruing a discrepancy of fourteen days (its opponents might
have argued twenty eight days). That this should be so is simply due to
the fact that the moon reaches its phase of fullness fourteen days after
the first crescent becomes visible in the night.94 In terms of the base (new
94
There are two ways of considering the lunar month. The first is measured in the time
it takes the moon to orbit the earth, i.e. 27.3216 days. So, every 27.3216 days the moon can
be observed against an identical stellar background. This lunar month is called “sideral.”
and does not take into account the sun and the phases of the moon. Yet, because of the
rotation of the earth around the sun, the moon must actually travel more than its full orbit
around the earth in order to complete a full cycle of its phases. Thus, a full lunation, or
synodic month, takes 29.53059 days. This means that any given lunar phase in the cycle
will re-occur every 29.53059 days. So, from one full moon to the next: 29.53059 days; from
one new moon to the next: 29.53059 days and so on. During this cycle the moon will be
visible from earth in the sky, i.e. from first crescent to last crescent, for 28 days; the period
of lunar conjunction, the time when the moon is totally hidden by the earth’s shadow, will
last roughly 1.5 days. Hence, in the course of twelve lunations or 354 days, lunar months
will be reckoned alternatively to last twenty nine days or thirty days, so that a lunar year
counts (6 × 29) + (6 × 30) = 354 days. The sequence of lunar visibility lasting regularly
twenty eight days, it follows that it is the time of lunar conjunction which is reckoned to
oscillate from one month to the other. On the lunar months and the phases of the moon,
see W.J. Kaufmann, Universe (New York: Freeman, 1985), 37–40; H.A.G. Lewis, The Times
Atlas of the Moon (London: Times Newspaper Limited, 1969), ix–xi; P. Moore, Stars and
Planets (London: Chancellor Press, 1992), 34f.
192 chapter six
moon) lunar year, this reckoning would be said to last 1062 – 14 = 1,048
days. In terms of solar triennial cycle, this alternative reckoning would run
in its first year from solar year 1 day 14 to solar year 2 day 4; in its second
year it would run from solar year 2 day 5 to solar year 2 day 358; its third
year would run from solar year 2 day 359 to solar year 3 day 348. In this
scheme, the full moon reckoning would count one thousand and thirty
four days of the new moon reckoning, and would fall behind the sun by
only sixteen days over three years. However, this reckoning is not conso-
nant to any of the extant literary evidence in the Book of Luminaries. The
primary sources thus only support a full moon reckoning which started
before the new moon base reckoning.
In summary, in the case of a lunar reckoning starting the month and
the year with a full moon, a triennial lunar cycle will start sixteen days
before the new moon and the start of the solar month. It will come to
completion sixteen days before the end of the new moon triennial cycle,
and forty six days before the end of the triennial solar cycle of 364-day
years. From a polemical perspective this triennial lunar cycle can be said
to last one thousand and thirty days because it could be argued that
a) its first sixteen days were not part of the triennial lunar cycle starting
on new moon, and therefore it caused the first year of the lunar cycle to
lose sixteen days, and b) it came to an end sixteen days before the new
moon reckoning curtailed, thus shortening the last year of the cycle by
sixteen days, so that the triennial pseudo cycle counted 338 + 354 + 338 =
1,030 days. From this point the target cycle, caused by the wrong lunar
reckoning, could be denounced for falling behind the solar triennial cycle
by sixty two days. In this light, the assertion made above that the Book of
Luminaries expounds not only one but two different ways of reckoning
the lunar month, either from full moon to full moon, or from new moon
to new moon, is strengthened.
4.2.3. External Evidence Concerning the Role of the Moon
4.2.3.1. The Book of Parables

The wider Enochic literature contains a few references to the role of the
movements of the luminaries. In the Book of Parables (1 En 37–71), which
Nickelsburg in his Hermeneia commentary on 1 Enoch dated to the late
first century BCE, one comes across interesting passages that mention
curses and blessings in connection with the law of the luminaries (sun
and moon). First, 1 En 41:8 reads:
Surely the many changes of the sun have (both) a blessing and a curse, and
the course of the moon’s path is light to the righteous (on the one hand) and
darkness to the sinners (on the other hand).95
This verse must be read in the context of 1 En 41:5, which Ben-Dov
translates:96
[K]eep faith with one another according to the oath that they have sworn.
In this verse both luminaries seem to be bound by an oath sworn to one
another (echoed in 1 En 43:2 “they keep their faith with one another”). The
blessing and curse motif attached to the luminaries reappears twice in
1 En 59, where verses 1 and 3 in Ben-Dov’s translation read:
In those days my eyes saw the secrets of the lightnings and the luminaries
and their laws; they flash for a blessing and for a curse, as the Lord of Spirits
wills. (59:1)
[A]ll the secrets of the luminaries and the lightnings were shown to me, and
they flash for blessing and for satisfaction. (59:3)
The mention of the luminaries’ paths as light for the righteous and dark-
ness for the sinners is not entirely incompatible with the hypothesis of the
infancy in the Ethiopic Book of Luminaries of a calendrical polemic center-
ing round the use of the proper lunar reckoning as a synchronizing tool
for the 364DY. Some commentators doubt whether one can posit a direct
connection between the cosmology expounded in the Book of Parables
and that presented in the Book of Luminaries.97 Ben-Dov goes as far as sug-
gesting that the bond between the Luminaries in the Book of Parables is
to be understood in the same vein as the formula found in the cosmologi-
cal hymn of 1QS col. X 3–4—“as well as their [the lights] turning points
with their bound/faith to each other”—with the difference that the Book
of Parables develops further the notion found in 1QS and turns it, if we
accept Ben-Dov’s argument, into an explicit oath between sun and moon.98

95
96
J. Ben-Dov, “Exegetical Notes on Cosmology in the Parables of Enoch,” in Enoch and
the Messiah Son of Man. Revisiting the Book of Parables (ed. G. Boccaccini; Grand Rap-
ids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007), 148, for the translation, with comments in note 20 on the same
page.
97
See in particular the arguments put forward by J.C. VanderKam, “The Book of Para-
bles Within the Enoch Tradition,” in Enoch and the Messiah Son of Man: Revisiting the Book
of Parables (ed. G. Boccaccini; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007), 81–99.
98
Ben-Dov, “Exegetical Notes on Cosmology in the Parables of Enoch,” 148–9.
194 chapter six
For Ben-Dov, 1QS and the cosmology of the Book of Parables belong to the
same tradition.
This fits our interpretation above rather well—notwithstanding the cau-
tionary warning against drawing direct connections between the cosmo-
logical elements of the Book of Parables and the Book of Luminaries: those
who follow the wrong reckoning (based on the lunar path) are “sinners,”
and the moon itself leads them astray. The righteous follow the proper
lunar reckoning (based on the lunar path), and the very same moon is
blessings for them. Admittedly, the presentation of a formal relation-
ship between the sun and the moon in terms of explicit oath in the Book
of Parables—as well as the connection with the sinners—is somewhat
remote from the looser presentation one might glean from the meager
extant fragments associated with an original Aramaic Astronomical Book,
as illustrated by 4Q208 (4QEnastra) and 4Q209 (4QEnastrb). To these we
now turn.
4.2.3.2. The Book of Jubilees

It is in this mid-second century BCE composition that one finds arguably
the strongest extant anti-lunar statement of the entire second Temple lit-
erature corpus. From the perspective of its author, an exclusivist propo-
nent of (one form of) the 364DY, the moon simply cannot play any role
in calendrical matters:
There will be people who carefully observe the moon with lunar observa-
tions because it is corrupt (with respect to) the seasons and is early from
year to year by ten days. Therefore years will come about for them when
they will disturb (the year) and make a day of testimony something worth-
less and a profane day a festival. ( Jub. 6:36–37)99
The reason is simple: “the divisions of times are ordained on the heavenly
tablets” (6:35). The sole culprit in the eyes of the author of the Book of
Jubilees seems to be the moon and its calendar year of 354 days. There is
no question from the author’s perspective that the lunar reckoning might
be integrated with the 364DY; both have to be kept separate, and the year
“must be kept in this number—364 days.”100
4.2.3.3. The Biblical Book of Sirach

The book of Sirach, which most likely dates from the earlier part of the
second century BCE, offers a somewhat different perspective within

99

100
second Temple Judaism on the role of the lesser light. In chapter 43 the
author gives a hint as to the role played by the moon—for the Jewish
community/school from which the composition emanated—as a regula-
tor of the cycle of festivals:
It is the moon that marks the changing seasons, governing the times, their
everlasting sign. From the moon comes the sign for festal days, a light that
wanes when it completes its course. (Sir 43:6–7)
No two texts could better illustrate opposite positions and understandings
on the subject of the role of the moon in matters calendrical in second
Temple Judaism. Perhaps the position expounded in Sirach developed
partly as a reaction to earlier polemics involving the determination of the
correct lunar reckoning—from the perspective of the community/school
behind the text—to be used in regulating the determination of the cycle
of festivals. It is to be noted that there is no polemical tone in the Sirach
position against any sort of year reckoning; simply a positive endorsement
of the moon as governing the times and marking the seasons. The last
clause in verse 7 strongly suggests a lunar reckoning that follows the wax-
ing, then the waning phases of the moon. The passage does not indicate
when the lunar month starts; it simply states that the light “wanes when
it completes its course.”
4.2.3.4. 4QEnastrb (4Q209)
Going back even further in the traditions we now consider the admit-
tedly fragmentary 4Q209. This evidence from the few surviving Aramaic
witnesses to the third century BCE (hypothetical) Aramaic Astronomical
work, especially fragments 25 and 26 of 4QEnastrb, is of particular inter-
est to this discussion. It is perhaps significant that references to “an other
computation” are contained in 4QEnastrb (4Q209).101 Frg. 25 reads:102
]. . .[‫]שניא ל‬. . .[ .1
]. . .[ . . . ]. . .[ .2
101
Most significantly Frg. 25 (olim frg. 12; Mus. Inv. 856; PAM 41.370, 42.236, 43.209). Also
Frg. 26 (olim frg. 13; Mus. Inv. 856; PAM 41.370, 42.236, 43.209), especially line 6–7: 6 “]her
[light] only. And now I am showing to you, my son vacat [ 7 ]a calculation he sho[w]ed
[me;” and Frg. 27 (Mus. Inv. 856; PAM 40.581, 43.209), especially line 3: “calculation of the
end of.” See Tigchelaar and García Martínez, op. cit., 102–4. Admittedly, the exact mean-
ing of the term “calculations” in this context cannot be ascertained, as pointed out by
VanderKam in a private communication.
102
F. García Martínez and E.J.C. Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls. Study Edition. Volume 1,
1Q1–4Q273 (Leiden: Brill, 1997), Heb 436, trans. 437. Also in Tigchelaar and García Martínez,
op. cit., 162.
196 chapter six
]. . .[ ‫ ח]שבון אחרן אחזית לח די אזל‬. . .[ .3

]. . .[‫]חדשין ע‬. . .[‫] ל‬. . .[ .4
1. ] years [
2. ] vacat [
3. ] I was shown another [cal]culation for it, that it goes [
4. ] [ ] new moons [. . .]
The expression ‫“ השבון‬calculation/computation” together with ‫—אחרן‬
“another”—if we accept Milik’s reconstruction, also appears in 4QEnastrb
(4Q209) Frg. 26, lines 6–7:103
]. . .[ ‫ [נהור]ה בלחודהי וכען מחוה אנה לך ברי‬.6
]. . .[ ‫]חשבון אחרן‬. . .[ .7
6. ] her [light] only. And now I am showing you, my son vacat [
7. [. . .] a calculation he sho[w]ed [me
The reference in line 3 of the same document indicates that it is most
likely the moon which is the subject of the passage:
]. . .[ ‫ שבעין חמש ועשרין וי]ומין תרין ומחסר מן דבר שמשא‬. . .[ .3
3. [. . . twenty five weeks and] two [d]ays. And it falls short from the move
of the sun [. . .]
Whereas Milik had identified this particular fragment with 1 En 78:10, the
editors of DJD xxxvi proposed to identify the passage with 1 En 74:1 on
the basis of a more adequate correspondence with the Aramaic.104 Fol-
lowing this suggestion, the mention of ‘another computation/calculation’
would fit with what was suspected above concerning chapter 74 and its
presentation of another lunar reckoning. Further, the mention of “new
moons” in line 4 of frg. 25 could be significant. It could be hypothesized
that the ‘other calculation for it’ would this time take into account lunar
months contrasted to new moon months, an alternative to the other
reckoning starting the lunar month on new moon. The interpretation of
1 En 74:10 in its ms. Tana9 variant would also be intelligible, that this spe-
cific triennial lunar reckoning would be measured in terms of its dura-
tion within the preferred new moon start lunar reckoning (1,030 days). At
the outset, although one cannot claim absolute certainty, the possibility
103
Tigchelaar and García Martínez, op. cit., 162. The term for “computation”/“calculation”
also appears in Frg. 28 (Mus. Inv. 856; PAM 40.581, 43.209), especially line 3, where it is
translated “calculation”: “calculation of the end of.”
104
Tigchelaar and García Martínez, op. cit., 162.
that 4QEnastrb/4Q209 Frgs 25, 26 and perhaps 28, preserve references to

different manners of reckoning the lunar cycle must be entertained and
cannot be ruled out. This could be significant when considering still
debated aspects of the Qumran calendars.105
4.2.3.5. Alternative Lunar Reckonings in Other Sources

4.2.3.5.1. The New (invisible) Moon
There is some evidence to suggest that in the mid 4th century BCE the
Egyptian lunar calendar was reckoned to start the month on the day of
the disappearance of the last crescent.106 This observable lunar phase
occurs roughly during the first part of the day, and fitted well with a day
reckoning starting at dawn. For a day reckoning starting at dusk, how-
ever, the disappearance of the last crescent during the daytime might
have marked the last day of the month, or the eve of the first night of the
following month. Such month would then have started with the first night
of lunar astronomical conjunction. Thus, observation of the last crescent
would mark the last day of the lunar month and the eve of the first day of
the new lunar month. Such reckoning, however, would be at loggerheads
with the lunar reckoning in 1 En 73, where the lunar month starts with the
sighting of the first crescent.
4.2.3.5.2. The Full Moon
There may be evidence supporting the hypothesis of a lunar reckoning
starting the month at full moon.107 Some argue that the Gezer calendar,
an archaic calendar in use in Canaan around the First Temple period,108
started the month at full moon.109 To this must be added the testimony of
the Arab writer Al-Biruni on the Magharians, or “people of the cave”:
See Chapter 7.
105
106
Parker, op. cit.
107
Cf. K. Sethe, “Die Zeitrechnung der alten Aegypter im Verhältnis zu den anderen
Völker,” in Nachrichten von der koenigl. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Gottingen Phil.
Hist. Klasse (1919), 289. Cf. Parker, op. cit., 70 note 3, for the pagination differences between
1919 and 1920 volumes.
108
See above chapter 5, note 5 on the Gezer calendar. Additionally, Chyutin, Role of
Solar and Lunar Calendars, 23, suggests that this calendar was based on the archaic calen-
dar in use in Canaan before David’s reign. See also Cohen, op. cit., 383–4, for the Albright
translation of the plates, and a short discussion of the Gezer Calendar.
109
According to Chyutin, this calendar testifies to the existence of a very old way of
reckoning the start of the month at full moon. The two passages suggested by Chyutin are
interesting for our purpose. The first describes the cycle in terms of waxing and waning:
“On the waxing and the waning, month after month, forever” (KAI 12:43); conversely, the
second mentions the waning first: “The waning of the month of Ethanim with the waxing
198 chapter six
’Abu ‘Isa al-Warraq reports in his Kitāb al-Maqālāt on a kind of Jews called
the Maġariba, who allege that feasts are not legal save when the moon rises
full on the night of Wednesday, i.e., the night following Tuesday’s sunset,
and that it would have to be in the land of the Israelites. This is the begin-
ning of the new year for them. From this the days and months are counted,
and according to it, the cycle of feasts begins. Their reason for this is that
God the Exalted One created the two major luminaries on Wednesday.110
To this testimony must be added that of Ya‘qūb al-Qirqisānī who, in Chap-
ter 7 of Part I of his Kitāb al-Anwār wa’l Marāqib, states:
The Magharians fixed the beginning of the months by the appearance of the
full moon. They adduce certain reasons in support of this; we shall mention
them when we come to the discourse on the beginning of the months and
their indications . . .111
His promise is fulfilled in Part vii, chapters 5–6, where Qirqisānī adds:
They think that God—may His praise be great—created all things perfect
and complete in the first moments of creation . . . He created the body of
each of the two luminaries, i.e., the sun and the moon, along with all the
stars, according to the utmost degree of their possible perfection. As proof
that the moon was created perfect and complete they offer the text, “As the
moon remains forever . . .” [Ps 89:38]. And, thus, as the world was created
perfect and whole, the moon was also created perfect at the moment when
it was created. Furthermore, they say that the Bible calls the two luminaries
of the month of Ethanim” (KAZ, A37:1–2). Cf. Chyutin, op. cit., 24. Chyutin reckons the first
part of the second passage to refer to the second part of the month, while the second part
of the passage points to the first part of the month, the waxing from first crescent to full
moon. Thus, both passages can be interpreted as synonymous and describing the rhythm
of the cosmos. While this interpretation is plausible, the second passage can simply be
interpreted as the description of the month of Ethanim, from full moon to full moon. In
favour of such interpretation is the fact that the custom in Canaan appears to have been
to reckon the month from the full moon, an element recognised by Chyutin (2002, 25).
If this is correct, we would have in these texts two differing ways of reckoning the lunar
months as early as the 10th century BCE in Canaan. The two traditions identified in 1 Enoch
73–74 would then display a strange similarity to those present in Canaan several centuries
earlier, an argument which favours an early rather than late date for the composition of
the Book of Luminaries.
110
Cf. Fossum, op. cit., 304. This evidence had already been drawn to bear on the debate
surrounding the Qumran calendar(s) by Jaubert, date de la cène. See also the comments of
Beckwith, “Reconsideration,” 464 ff., where Beckwith suggests that the association of full
moon with a Wednesday New Year might just betray on the part of Al-Biruni a misunder-
standing of the sources he was considering. These are now lost to us. Beckwith suggests
that in the second year in the synchronistic calendar, the Tishri New Year would have
been on 16th of the lunar month, close enough to the full moon to allow the Magharians
to reckon that year to start on Wednesday full moon.
111
Talmon, “The Gezer Calendar,” 177; Cohen, op. cit., 383–4.
at the time of their creation “the large ones” [cf. Gen 1:16]. This [they say]
took place on Wednesday, and there is no doubt [in their minds] that this
was the first day of the month and that they [i.e., the sun and the moon]
were created at the limit of their size, since He calls them the two large ones.
When the moon is full, it is the largest and greatest, and thus we know that
when it is full, that day is the first day of the month.112
Links between the people behind the Dead Sea Scrolls and the sect of
the Magharians have been suggested.113 It is possible that the Magharians
and the Qumranites appeared on the scene in Judaea around the same
time, just like it is possible that these two groups belong to two differ-
ent periods. Be that as it may, the fact that the calendar followed by the
Magharians should start on Wednesday, the fourth day of creation, and
should indicate that Passover was celebrated only on a Wednesday—two
particular characteristics shared with the 364-day year calendar of the
Dead Sea Scrolls—would suggest some strong similarities between their
calendar and that followed by the Essenes and expounded in the calen-
drical and mišmarot documents found in the vicinity of the Dead Sea.
The location near Jericho of the cave where the Magharian writings were
found renders the association even more plausible.114
4.2.3.6. Testing the Hypothesis Once Again

To count the length of one triennial cycle in terms of its duration within a
competing cycle seems rather odd to the modern mind, but makes sense
from the perspective of the ancients, for whom the correct reckoning of
time was no trivial matter. Before we explore possible explanations for
this apparent oddity, it is necessary to enquire whether conclusions drawn
so far would be identical if the base lunar reckoning was that starting the
month and the year on full moon, and the alternative one the new moon
reckoning. We appealed above to the support of 4QEnastrb / 4Q209 frg.
25, in which “new moons” follow the indication of “an other [cal]culation
for it.” Admittedly, the other hypothesis must also be considered, i.e., that
the lunar reckoning starting on new moon is an alternative to that starting
its reckoning on full moon. Due to the lack of indications in the fragment,
112
Cf. Fossum, op. cit., 307. For further references to Magharian writings, see Fossum,
op. cit., 308–12, who also quotes the evidence from: a) Abu’l Fath Muhammad ben ‘Abd
al-Karīm ash-Shahrastānī, in his Kitāb al-Milal wa’l Nihal, and b) Judah Hadassi, in his
Eshkōl ha-Kōfer, although neither appears to mention anything on calendrical issues.
113
Jaubert, date de la cène.; Fossum, op. cit.
114
For an informed treatment of the Magharians and the similarities between their doc-
trines and that of the Essenes, see Fossum, op. cit., 303–44.
200 chapter six
it may be useful to consider whether our demonstration would work as

well if this time we consider the triennial lunar cycle commencing on full
moon to coincide with the start of the triennial solar cycle. The question
would then become what would be the alternative cycle that would start
sixteen days before the start of the full moon/solar triennial cycles, would
last one thousand and thirty days of the full moon triennial cycle, and would
fall behind the sun, i.e., 364-day year, by sixty two days over three years?
To answer this question adequately it is necessary to qualify what is
meant by new moon. Whereas in the above argumentation we assumed
the understanding of 1 Enoch 73, and equated the first sighting of the moon
to ‘new moon’, a more specific definition is now required. As already men-
tioned, a cycle of the phases of the moon lasts 29.5 days roughly, which
over twelve lunations amounts to 354 days, or six 29-day months and six
30-day months. In the case considered above, the lunar phenomenon tak-
ing place sixteen days before the ‘new moon’ could be either the full moon
(in the case of a full month preceding the first crescent’s sighting), or the
lunar phase immediately preceding the full moon (in the case of a hollow
month preceding the first crescent’s sighting). Now, in the case at hand,
the lunar phenomenon taking place sixteen days before the full moon will
be, in the case of a hollow month, the last visible lunar phase of the lunar
cycle, also known as last crescent or ‘old moon’. In the case of a full month
it will be the first night of the moon’s conjunction, i.e., the astronomical
new moon.
Which is to be the preferred hypothesis? Here again we must refer to
1 En 73 and the indication that ‘on the thirtieth day (of the first solar month)’
the appearance of the first crescent marks the start of the month, suggest-
ing that the preceding month, the first month which coincided with the
start of the solar year, lasted twenty nine days, and was itself preceded by
a thirty day month. Thus, literary evidence points to the latter possibility,
i.e., the first night of lunar conjunction, or astronomical new moon.
The results yielded so far in our enquiry are: a) if the month of refer-
ence is the one which starts with the sighting of the moon’s first crescent,
sixteen days before the first crescent the lunar phenomenon observed will
be the lunar phase prior to the full moon in the case of a hollow month
preceding, and the full moon phase in the case of a full month preced-
ing; b) if the month of reference is the full moon reckoning, sixteen days
before the full moon will be, in the case of a hollow month preceding, the
last phase of the moon, or last crescent; and in the case of a full month
preceding, the first night of lunar conjunction, or astronomical new moon.
So, if the reference lunar month is the new moon month, the alternative
lunar reckoning is one which should reckon the start of the month either
on the lunar phase prior to the full moon, or one which would start the
month with the actual full moon. Likewise, if the reference lunar month
is the one which starts on full moon, the alternative lunar reckoning can
either start the month sometime around the last crescent, or sometime
around the astronomical conjunction of the moon, or new moon. Admit-
tedly, if we follow the indications given in 1 En 73 regarding the start of
the lunar month, i.e., “on the thirtieth day (of the first solar month)” the
sighting of the first crescent marks the start of the lunar month and coin-
cides with the second lunar month. In the cycle this month is full, and
the preceding lunar month, the first month, is hollow. In the light of this,
of the four possibilities suggested above, two become strong contenders:
first, the full moon, taking place sixteen days before the first sighting of
the moon, would mark the start of the alternative lunar reckoning if the
lunar month of reference is the new moon month (first crescent); second,
the first night of lunar conjunction, here also taking place sixteen days
before the full moon, would belong to the first day of the alternative lunar
month in the case of a full moon month of reference. In both cases, the
alternative lunar reckoning could be declared to last one thousand and
thirty days of the triennial lunar reckoning of reference and of the trien-
nial solar cycle, and could be said to lose sixty two days on the sun.
5. Summary and Conclusions
From the above investigation several points can be drawn:

First, Milik’s dating of an Aramaic astronomical work to the third cen-
tury BCE at the latest remains the preferred solution. It is necessary how-
ever, in order to account for the differences in form and content between
the surviving Aramaic fragments of Enoch (4QEnastra–b / 4Q208–209) and
1 En 72–82 to posit the existence of both an Aramaic astronomical work
and the Book of Luminaries, as recently argued by VanderKam.
Second, the 364-day year, expounded and adhered to in some Jew-
ish sources spanning from the third century BCE to the end of the first
century BCE, was also known in earlier times in settings neighbouring
Judaea. The Egyptian connection, although noted, can neither be asserted
nor discarded at this stage of our knowledge. The Babylonian connection
has been more fruitful in illustrating the knowledge of the 364-day astral
year in astronomical compendiums such as Mul-Apin and the Ziqpu-star
text AO 6478. In these quarters of the ancient Near East the year was
202 chapter six
also measured in 364-days. In the light of these two points it is becoming

increasingly difficult to posit a 364-day calendar as a construct of a Jewish
group sometime in the third century BCE.
Third, a consideration of some difficult passages found in noteworthy
textual witnesses of the tradition has opened up some interesting pos-
sibilities:
a) the peculiar assertion that three lunar years count 1,030 days, attested
by two important witnesses of the α family of Ethiopic manuscripts, can
be explained without having to appeal to a scribal error—although it is
granted that the later may have occurred. Given what is known of the
importance, and impact, of calendrical disputes in Second Temple Juda-
ism, the present solution makes good sense of the evidence and may have
something to contribute.
b) Tana9’s assertion that three lunar years fell behind the triennial solar
cycle by 62 days may be seen in the same light. It was suggested that
both claims were founded on the desire to discredit a particular lunar
reckoning in favour of a preferred, proper one, that allowed correct syn-
chronization between the 364-day year triennial cycle and its lunisolar
counterpart. Perhaps, the evidence from 4Q209 frg. 25 represents an allu-
sion to such “other calculations” involving the moon.
c) 1 En 74:14 may represent a vestige of a forgotten tradition which, in
the third century BCE, may have kept the memory of a polemic that cen-
tered around the identification of that lunar reckoning that would allow
proper synchronization with the 364DY. The exaggerated claim that “in
three years the moon falls behind the sun by 62 days,” and that “three
lunar years count 1,030 days,” certainly point in the direction of a polemic
that had come to be detached from reality. It must be conceded that those
who understood the basis of the polemic also understood its falsity (the
exaggerated 62 days). Simply as a tool of argument the proposed polemi-
cal aspect would appear implausible. It is, however, the support drawn
from external evidence that prevents a hasty dismissal of the present
argumentation.
Fourth, external evidence has been adduced, which is altogether com-
patible with the hypothesis investigated:
a) 4QEnastrb (4Q209) makes references to “other calculations” concern-
ing or involving the moon, although admittedly one can only speculate as
to what those “other calculations” were.
b) Alternative new moon and full moon lunar reckonings were evi-
denced from other sources. In fourth century BCE Egypt there existed the
custom of starting the month with the day on which the disappearance
of the last crescent was witnessed. The tenth century BCE Gezer calendar
may represent an old witness to a full moon start of the month. Close
to twenty centuries later, the Arab historians Al-Biruni and Al-Qirqisani
reported on the custom of a group of people who reckoned the month—
and the year—from the night of the full moon.
Fifth, it is difficult at this stage to be too categoric and suggest which is
to be considered the lunar month of reference, and which is to be consid-
ered the alternative lunar reckoning from the evidence consulted so far.
The textual evidence is simply too vague to settle the question unequivo-
cally. What is clear is that chapter 73 of the Book of Luminaries suggests
a lunar month of reference starting with the first sighting of the moon,
while chapter 74 contains, it is argued, difficult verses that allude to the
existence of at least one alternative lunar reckoning. In this respect it will
be interesting to note that there also existed in the Qumran Calendrical
Scrolls a lunar reckoning which departed from the customary ‘first-crescent
sighting’ as a marker for the beginning of the lunar month. Rather, the
evidence, as visited in the next chapter, suggests that the lunar month
was reckoned to have started with the disappearance of the last crescent
in the day time sky.
CHAPTER seven
The Calendrical Documents from Qumran
1. Introduction
The previous chapter investigated aspects of the Ethiopic Book of Lumi-

naries that have remained unexplained so far in scholarship. The hypoth-
esis was formulated that chapter 74 of the Ethiopic Book of Luminaries
contains remnants of a tradition which, at some stage in the development
of the work, sought to synchronize the proper lunar year with the 364-day
year over a triennial cycle. This tradition was equally concerned with
identifying the other lunar reckoning that caused the triennial lunar cycle
to fall behind the sun by sixty-two days, and was singled out for lasting
one thousand and thirty days. External evidence, supporting the hypoth-
esis, was adduced. The textual evidence in the Ethiopic Book of Luminar-
ies itself, however, did not allow for a certain identification. There are,
nevertheless, other calendrical documents closely related to the Ethiopic
Book of Luminaries [Ethiopic BL], and to an earlier Aramaic astronomi-
cal work [Aramaic AB] which may bring some light on the issue. More
particularly, it is possible that the hypothesis offered here of two lunar
reckonings existing in the Ethiopic BL will further advance understanding
of some particular aspects of these calendrical documents. To these we
now turn.
2. The Meaning of X and dwq in 4Q320, 4Q321 and 4Q321a
Among the Scrolls and numerous fragments recovered in the wake of the
first find in a cave of the Khirbet Qumran site in 1947, a significant number
exhibit a strong interest in calendrical matters. Most of those documents
are, indeed, classified as Calendrical Documents and Mišmarot Docu-
ments, the former expounding a series of feasts, festivals, and/or sabbaths,
and the latter indicating the occurrence of those feasts, festivals and/or
sabbaths within the roster of priestly service in the (Jerusalem) Temple.
Most demonstrate the use of an underlying calendrical system based on
a 364-day year [364DY] pertaining to the same 364-day year tradition
206 chapter seven
[364DYT] already present in the Aramaic AB and the Book of Jubilees.1 The
significance of calendrical matters in the Dead Sea Scrolls was hinted at
very early on by S. Talmon in a seminal article on pesher Habakkuk from
Qumran cave 1 (1QpHab).2 More than a half century later the significance
of these documents, together with the relative extent to which they testify
to the importance that calendrical polemics played in the internal strifes
of second Temple Judaism, is better appreciated by scholars of the period.3
It is perhaps within this discussion that the oddity identified above of
comparing two lunar reckonings against the background of the 364-day
year must be placed and viewed.
Here is not the place to engage in yet another classification of the dif-
ferent cycles of time expounded in these documents.4 For our purpose it is
enough to present briefly the underlying structure of the 364DY calendar.
It comprises twelve months, eight of which each lasted thirty days, while
the other four counted thirty-one days each. The year is divided in four
quarters of 30 + 30 + 31 = 91 days; thirteen weeks exactly. The sabbati-
cal framework of the year—fifty-two weeks with no remainder—ensured
that any would fall on the same day of the week year on year. Thus those
festival days that were fixed according to their date were attached to the
same day of the week, year on year. Likewise, those particular days which
had heightened significance (e.g. sabbath) recurred year on year on the
same dates in their particular month.
1
For a thorough introduction to the calendrical and Mišmarot scrolls from Qumran,
see Glessmer, “Calendars in Scrolls”; J.C. VanderKam, Calendars in the DSS. The calendrical
texts have now been edited in their entirety; cf. Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit.
2
See Talmon, “Yom Hakkippurim”, where the author takes issue with A. Dupont-
Sommer’s interpretation of the Scroll and identification of the Teacher of Righteousness.
Talmon draws attention to the underlying, yet significant, difference of calendrical sys-
tems upon which festival days were celebrated by opposing factions. For a recent proposal
on the identity of the Teacher of Righteousness, see M.O. Wise, “Dating the Teacher of
Righteousness and the Floruit of His Movement,” JBL 122 (2003): 53–87. Dupont-Sommer’s
theory can be found in A. Dupont-Sommer, “Le Commentaire d’Habaccuc découvert près
de la mer morte: traductions et notes,” RHR 137 (1950): 159, 169–70.
3
On these calendrical differences, see particularly Talmon, “Divergences”; S. Talmon,
“The Calendar Reckoning from the Sect of the Judaean Desert,” in Aspects of the Dead Sea
Scrolls (eds C. Rabin and Y. Yadin; ScrHier 4; Jerusalem: Magnes, 1958), 162–99; S. Talmon,
“Calendar Controversy in Ancient Judaism: The Case of the ‘Community of the Renewed
Covenant’,” in The Provo International Conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls (eds D.W. Parry
and E. Ulrich; STDJ 30; Leiden: Brill, 1999), 379–95; Callaway, op. cit., 27–9; Chyutin,
op. cit., 1–159.
4
For these, see particularly J.C. VanderKam, Calendars in the DSS; Glessmer, “Calendars
in Scrolls”; M.G. Abegg, “The Calendar at Qumran,” in Judaism in Late Antiquity, Part 5,
Vol. 1 (Leiden: Brill, 2001), 145–71; J. Ben-Dov and S. Saulnier, “Qumran Calendars: A Survey
of Scholarship 1980–2007,” CBR 7 (2008): 131–79.
the calendrical documents from qumran 207
As indicated by the prologue of the Book of Jubilees, the calendar is

believed to have been revealed by God to Moses and is, therefore, vested
with divine authority. The creation of the heavenly bodies sun and moon
“to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the
darkness” (Gen 1:18) on the fourth day of the week, a Wednesday in the
364DY, marks the beginning of time reckoning and the start of the 364DY
calendar. Likewise, festival days fall on the same day of the week each
year. Therefore it would appear that, whether incidentally or by design,5
the liturgical pattern governed by the 364DYT was attached to specific
days of the week, allowing on the one hand the festivals to fall every year
on the same day of the week, and on the other hand keeping festivals
from coinciding with the sabbath.6 The seven-day week is most certainly
a purely Jewish characteristic, as it is, to the present writer’s knowledge,
5
Beckwith argued that the Essene calendar was a construct. Cf. Beckwith, “Earliest
Enoch Literature,” 379–81.
6
Barthélémy and Jaubert were the first scholars to identify this characteristic of the
364DY calendar. Cf. Barthélemy, op. cit.; Jaubert, “Calendrier des Jubilés: jours liturgiques”.
Jaubert’s hypothesis of the liturgical significance of Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays has
attracted mixed responses from scholars. For a recent reaction to Jaubert’s thesis, see
Wacholder and Wacholder, op. cit. Abegg, “Calendar”, engaged with Wacholder’s treat-
ment of Jaubert’s hypothesis and suggested (147 note 7) that Wacholder’s figures (22–23)
“reveal that whereas it is possible for 43% of numbers 1–31 to fall on a Sabbath in the 364
day calendar, only 18% of the dated events occur on these dates,” thus still indicating a
phenomenon of avoidance of the Sabbath. More recently Beckwith, “Significance of the
364-Day Calendar”, also published in Beckwith, Calendar, Chronology and Worship, 54–66,
has compiled a list of references from the biblical books that contain dates. Beckwith
states (p. 70–71): “Though the immediate source of the Jubilees calendar is evidently the
Astronomical Book of Enoch (1 Enoch 72–82, in its longer, aramaic form), Mlle Jaubert very
reasonably infers that its [the 364-day year] ultimate origin is the Old Testament. How-
ever, the year of 364-day does not lie upon the surface of the Old Testament, like the lunar
year of about 354 days or the rough solar year of 360 days, and it is against these popular
counts that 1 Enoch and Jubilees have to argue in favour of their own, more sophisticated
reckoning (1 En 75:1–2; 82:4–6; Jub. 6:36–38). The way that they derive it from the Old
Testament is in the same way that the book of Jubilees applies it, that is, by making sure
that the scriptures, like Jubilees, avoid activities on the sabbath day. A day of the week is
assigned to all the dated events of the Old Testament, in accordance with the fixed year
of 364 days or fifty two complete weeks, and the question is then asked, which day of the
week is it on which nothing happens? For, in the mind of the divine, author of the scrip-
tures, that day must be the Sabbath.” Whether one agrees with Beckwith about the process
of intermingling the 364 day year in the Old Testament, the results (p. 72–80) are eloquent:
dates are recorded in Genesis (6), Exodus (9), Leviticus (15), Numbers (17), Deuteronomy
(1), Joshua (2), 1 Samuel (6), 1 Kings (3), 2 Kings (5), Jeremiah (5), Ezekiel (21), Isaiah (2),
Hosea (1), Amos (1), Haggai (6), Zechariah (2), Ruth (1), Psalms (1), Daniel (1), Esther (11),
Ezra (9), Nehemiah (6), 1 Chronicles (1), 2 Chronicles (8). Events taking place on these
dates occur on the following days of the week: 34 on Sundays (+5 possibles), 0 on Mondays
(+2 possibles), 18 on Tuesdays (+6 possibles), 48 on Wednesdays (+18 possibles), 10 on
Thursdays (+8 possibles), 39 on Fridays (+7 possibles), and 0 on Sabbaths (+3 possibles).
208 chapter seven
not found in any documents, calendrical or other, of neighbouring people

in the First or Second Temple periods.7
2.1. X and dwq/duqah in Recent Scholarship

The question of the meaning of X and dwq has been thoroughly discussed
in recent scholarship, and several possible hypotheses have been put
forward, most supported by strong textual evidence. A brief history of
scholarship in this field will help clarify the issues. It was J.T. Milik who
first ventured to suggest, based on his interpretation of 4Q320 1 i 1–5, an
identification of dwq with the day on which the new moon (first crescent)
was observed:8
‫המזרח‬
̇ ‫[ ] ̇להראותה מן‬º .1
‫חצית השמים ביסוד‬ ̇ ‫ ̇] ̊ל[א]י̊ ̇ר ̇ה[ב] ̇מ‬.2
‫\ בשבת‬///‫ [הבריא] ̇ה מערב ̇עד בוקר ב‬.3
‫ [ג] ̊מו̇ ̇ל לחודש הרישון בשנה‬.4
9
‫ [הרישו]נ̊ ̊ה‬.5
1. [ ]to its being seen (or: appearance) from the east
2. ]to[ sh]ine[ in ]the middle of the heavens at the foundation of
3. [Creatio]n from evening until morning on the 4th (day) of the week (of
service)
4. [of Ga]mul in the first month in [the fir]st (solar)
5. year vacat10
Milik concluded that the X-date taking place at the beginning of the month
was the full moon, which shone in the heaven “from evening till morning.”
Several scholars followed suit and identified the X-date, which occurs six-
teen or seventeen days before dwq and follows it by thirteen days,11 with
And of the six days upon which these events fall, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday are the
most conspicuous ones, with 121 out of 149 (some 81%).
7
Chyutin, op. cit., 64ff.
8
Cf. J.T. Milik, Ten Years of Discovery in the Desert of Judaea (translated by John
Strugnell; Studies in Biblical Theology 26; London: SCM, 1959), 152 note 5.
9
10
11
For a tabulation of the intervals between the X and dwq dates over the duration of the
triennial cycle, see Appendix 4, Table 1: X and duqa/oh Occurrences, in Talmon, Glessmer,
and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 30–2. As is illustrated by Column E, time intervals from any given
X-date to the immediately subsequent dwq-date alternate between 16 and 17 days, start-
ing with a 16 day interval in the first month of the triennial cycle. Conversely, the interval
from any dwq-date to the following X-date remains fixed at 13 days throughout the cycle.
Column F brings out the regular pattern of alternating 29 and 30 day time intervals from
one X-date to the next, the first of these intervals consisting of 29 days. Although not
explicitly named, it would seem that the X-date took precedence over the dwq-date in
the full moon. The natural conclusion for these scholars was that the lunar
month in this text was reckoned to start with the full moon, just as 4Q320
1 i 1–4 seems to imply, and just as the Genesis story of the creation of the
heavenly luminaries on the fourth day of Creation suggests:12
God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the
lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. God set them in the dome of the
sky to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and
to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And
there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. (Gen 1:16ff )
Further evidence was drawn from the interpretation of 4Q317 Phases of the
Moon and 4Q503 Daily Prayers,13 Mišmarot A 2 I 3–5 and 4QSe 1 V 10–11.14
For these scholars, X marked the date of the full moon, and dwq, occurring
the documents in which it was recorded. This suggestion is borne out by the fact that the
X-date is constantly recorded first, even when the documents treat a particular month in
which the dwq-date occurs first chronologically. This is the case for the months when a
second X-date is recorded, which falls chronologically after the dwq-date but is recorded
before the it, as in the first month of the first year of the sexennial cycle (cf. 4Q320 frg. 1
Col. i 4–6 partially restored; 4Q321a Col. I 1–3 restored), and in the first month of the fourth
year of the cycle (cf. 4Q321 Col. III 7 partially restored). This is also the case for the months
which record two dwq-dates, the first of which falls chronologically before the X-date of
the month but is recorded after the X-date, as is the case in the ninth month of the second
year of the cycle (4Q321 Col. II 5), and in the ninth month of the cycle’s fifth year (4Q321a
Col. V 3–4 partially restored).
12
Milik, Ten Years of Discovery, 152 note 6; J.C. VanderKam, “Calendrical Texts and the
Origins of the Dead Sea Scroll Community,” in Methods of Investigation of the Dead Sea
Scrolls and the Khirbet Qumran Site (eds M. Wise, et al.; Annals of the New York Acad-
emy of Sciences 722; New York: New York Academy of Sciences, 1994), 380–1; M.G. Abegg,
“Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is: A Reexamination of 4Q503 in Light of 4Q317,”
in The Provo International Conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Technological Innovations,
New Texts, and Reformulated Issues (eds D.W. Parry and E. Ulrich; STDJ 30; Leiden: Brill,
1999), 396–406; Abegg, “Calendar,” 148–9; V. Gillet-Didier, “Calendrier lunaire, calendrier
solaire et gardes sacerdotales: recherches sur 4Q321,” RevQ 20 (2001–02): 182, who states:
“Pour notre part, nous nous rangeons du côté des analyses qui voient dans le pointage
d’un jour X celui d’un jour qui se situe très certainement au moment de la pleine lune,
et dans le pointage d’un jour ‫ דוקה‬celui d’un jour qui se situe au moment de la nou-
velle lune.” Gillet-Didier’s interpretation of the data is in line with that of the scholars
who previously followed Milik’s identification of X as the full moon. As will be demon-
strated below, this explanation is based on a misinterpretation of the double-dating of the
(second) X-date in the first month of the first year of the triennial cycle. Gillet-Didier’s
initial interest in calendrical questions and the significance of time in second temple
Judaism was first expounded in her V. Gillet-Didier, “Temps de Dieu, temps des hom-
mes: Généalogies, calendriers et tradition dans le judaïsme de l’époque hellénistique
et romaine,” Thèse de Doctorat (Paris: École Pratique des Hautes Études- Section des
Sciences Religieuses, 1997).
13
Abegg, “Does Anyone Really Know?” 403 ff.
14
J.C. VanderKam, “Calendrical Texts and Origins,” 381.
210 chapter seven
thirteen days prior to X and sixteen or seventeen days after X, indicated

the appearance of the first lunar crescent at the start of the month.
Yet, this hypothesis has by no means generated any scholarly consen-
sus. The primary reason for the disagreement revolves around the mean-
ing of term dwq. Milik had suggested that ‫ דוקה‬should be connected to
the root, ‫“ דוק‬examine, observe.”15 Conversely, Talmon and Knohl con-
nected ‫ דוק‬to the Hebrew root ‫דקק‬, “to be thin,” the indication for them
that the term should be connected to the point during the lunar phases
when the moon begins to wane.16 They identified dwq as “the designation
of the day in the middle of the lunar month that is preceded by the night
in which the full moon begins to wane, and X as the day at the end of
the lunar month that follows upon the night in which the moon is in full
darkness.”17 Because of opposite presuppositions Milik and Talmon/Knohl
arrived at opposite conclusions regarding the identification of dwq. Milik
presupposed the implied lunar month to start with the full moon, and
therefore suggested that it was the new crescent that was being observed
and recorded with the indication dwq.18 Talmon/Knohl presupposed that
the lunar month was reckoned from the sighting of the first crescent, and
therefore identified dwq as the day following the first night of waning of
the moon. Wise was the one who undertook to examine further the pos-
sible etymology of dwq. He concluded that the term was more likely to
mean “(astronomical) observation,” and on this basis acknowledged the
possibility that the term referred to the observation of the new crescent
15
Milik, Ten Years of Discovery, 152 note 6.
16
S. Talmon and I. Knohl, “A Calendrical Scroll from a Qumran Cave: Mišmarot Ba,
4Q321,” in Pomegranates and Golden Bells: Studies in Biblical, Jewish, and Near Eastern
Ritual, Law, and Literature in Honor of Jacob Milgrom (eds D.P. Wright, D.N. Freedman, and
A. Hurvitz; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1995), 298.
17
Ibid., 297.
18
As indicated by M.O. Wise, “Second Thoughts on Duqah and the Qumran Synchro-
nistic Calendars,” in Pursuing the Text. Festschrift B.Z. Wacholder (eds J.C. Reeves and
J. Kampen; JSOTSup 184; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994), 100 note 7, the follow-
ing scholars accepted Milik’s interpretation and identification of dwq in the context of
a lunar month starting at the full moon: M. Albani, “Die lunaren Zyklen im 364-Tage-
Festkalender von 4QMischmerot/4QSe,” Mitteilungen und Beiträge. Forschungsstelle
Judentum 4 (1992): 24; U. Glessmer, “Antike und moderne Auslegungen des Sintflutberich-
tes Gen 6–8 und der Qumran-Pesher 4Q252,” Theologische Fakultät Leipzig Forschungss-
telle Judentum Mitteilungen und Beiträge 6 (1993): 46; J.C. VanderKam, “Calendrical Texts
and Origins,” 381 ff.; B.Z. Wacholder and M.G. Abegg, eds, A Preliminary Edition of the
Unpublished Dead Sea Scrolls: The Hebrew and Aramaic Texts from Cave Four (Washington,
D. C.: Biblical Archeological Society, 1991), 60, 104. To the above we must adduce F. García
Martínez, The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated (Leiden: Brill, 1994), who also infers from the
calendrical documents that the month started with the full moon.
(Milik, Wacholder), but rejected Talmon and Knohl’s proposition to con-

nect the term to the observation of something invisible during daytime at
the time of the full moon.19
Interestingly, Wise suggested that dwq marked the (astronomical) obser-
vation of the full moon. This conclusion he drew from a consideration of
works which expound the movement of the moon such as 4QEnastra–d,
4Q503 Daily Prayers, and 4Q317 Phases of the Moon which, Wise argued,
all demonstrate that the lunar month starts at the time of the new moon
and not the full moon.20 Thus, for Wise, to hold that the month started
at the time of the full moon was simply to assert that “the Qumran texts
evidence two fundamentally different lunar systems. That position seems
unlikely prima facie.”21 Yet, this is exactly what Wise went on to suggest:
the month at Qumran started at the time of the conjunction of the moon,
i.e. the first night of full darkness. This practice represented a departure
19
M.O. Wise, “Observations on New Calendrical Texts from Qumran,” in Thunder in
Gemini and Other Essays on the History, Language and Literature of Second Temple Pales-
tine (M.O. Wise; JSPSup 15; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994), 225–8. See also the
more recent summary of the discussion concerning the etymology of ‫ דוק‬in Gillet-Didier,
“Calendrier lunaire, calendrier solaire,” 179–82.
20
For a treatment of 4Q317 and its possible contribution to the understanding of dwq,
see Wise, “Second Thoughts,” 111–20. While Wise concludes that 4Q317 allows the iden-
tification of dwq with the full moon, Abegg, Abegg, “Does Anyone Really Know?” 403 ff,
arrives at the exact opposite conclusion, i.e., 4Q317 demonstrates that in the Qumran
world-view the moon had been created full and marked the beginning of the month. Such
discrepancy in conclusion is due to the several emendations present in the text itself,
which render difficult the recovery of the original meaning and the identification of scribal
mistakes. In the light of these disagreements it is difficult to assert how much significance
should be given to 4Q317 until a more thorough examination of the text is carried out. In
a recent publication, J.-C. Dubs, “4Q317 et le rôle de l’observation de la pleine lune pour la
détermination du temps à Qoumrân,” in Le Temps et les temps: dans les littératures juives et
chrétiennes au tournant de notre ère (eds C. Grappe and J.-C. Ingelaere; JSJSup 112; Leiden:
Brill, 2006), 37–54, argues (on p. 47) that “4Q317 appartient à la nécessaire série d’études
préalables qui ont contribuées à la mise sur pied de ce calendrier sacerdotal ‘parfait’, donc
à un stade préparatoire.” J. Ben-Dov, “The Initial Stages of Lunar Theory at Qumran,” JJS 54
(2003): 125–38, had already argued that 4Q317 represented an earlier stage of development
in the astronomical knowledge displayed by the Qumran Calendrical Scrolls. In his treat-
ment of 4Q503, F. Schmidt, “Le calendrier liturgique des Prières quotidiennes (4Q503),” in
Le Temps et les temps: dans les littératures juives et chrétiennes au tournant de notre ère
(eds C. Grappe and J.-C. Ingelaere; JSJSup 112; Leiden: Brill, 2006), 55–88, argues on page 67
that the month displayed in the extant portion of 4Q503 is “un mois de trente jours, qui
est tout à la fois lunaire et solaire.” Schmidt identifies this month as “un mois de trente
jours, dont le premier jours est un mercredi, et dont les sabbats sont fixés aux 4è, 11è, 18è et
25è jours . . . le premier mois d’une année solaire de 364 jours . . . combinés avec le premier
mois d’une année lunaire . . . le premier mois de la première année d’un cycle triennal . . .”
(p. 73).
21
Wise, “Observations,” 229.
212 chapter seven
from the biblical practice of starting the month at the time of the sight-
ing of the first crescent but fitted well with Jubilees’ assertion that the
people of Israel would “forget the new moons” (6:34).22 Following Wise’s
contribution, Talmon amended his own position: dwq was now the night
following the night when the moon is full, or, to put it in other words, the
night when the moon begins to wane.23 That it was the practice in Ancient
Egypt to start the month on the day the last crescent disappeared in the
(daytime) sky, so that the night which belonged to this first day of the
month was a night of complete darkness, or of moon conjunction with
the sun, may not be unrelated to the manner in which month reckoning
may have evolved, or perhaps, originated.24
Wise provided some interesting points of reference as to whether the
Qumran triennial cycle could in fact have been observed in practice.25 Fol-
lowing not the Julian calendar but the 364-day calendar, Wise noticed
that, provided one started from the right lunar phenomenon taking place
on Nisan 1, i.e., either the sighting of the first crescent, or the full moon,
or the conjunction of the moon, the same phenomenon would re-occur
at or roundabout the same date every three years. Such a pattern would
hold over a time span of ca. thirty years, after which the actual phenom-
enon would start to move too far away from the date on which it would
be expected to occur. From this Wise deduced that such a time span,
thirty years, was enough to produce the synchronistic tables. Only with
intercalation could the pattern be continued on a longer time span.26 Of
22
Wise, “Observations,” 230–1.
23
24
Cf. Wise, “Second Thoughts,” 101. On the start of the month in the Egyptian calendar,
see Parker, op. cit. In his discussion about the start of the lunar month in Ancient Egypt,
the author draws the conclusion, based on tables setting out the date of the start of the
month, the date of lunar conjunction, the morning of invisibility and the evening of vis-
ibility, that calculations show that around the mid fourth century BC the underlying basis
for determining the start of the lunar month was the transition of the last crescent from
visibility to invisibility (during the day time). Parker adduces the evidence of the compo-
sition “The knowledge of the movements of the two lights,” of the Edfu library, probably
composed at a time coinciding with the start of the first period of the Hellenistic age
(p. 17 note 56, with a reference to O. Neugebauer, “Egyptian Planetary Texts”, Transactions
of the American Philosophical Society xxxii part II [new series, Jan 1942]). Parker concludes
(p. 23): “The Egyptian lunar month, therefore, did begin on that morning when the old
crescent could no longer be seen.”
25
Wise, “Second Thoughts,” 104–11.
26
The question of intercalation of the 364-day calendar remains an unresolved issue
for want of a “smoking gun.” Despite the highly significant nature of the issue, there is
no space in the scope of this particular study to speculate on how intercalation of the
364-day calendar was implemented. Such treatment will have to wait for a comprehensive
assessment at a future date. It is enough at this stage to point out that, following our
immediate interest is that the triennial cycles, and therefore the sexennial
cycles, were consonant with actual lunar observations in the framework
of the 364-day year. Thus, every three years the same lunar phenomenon
would be observed on or very near Nisan 1. The pattern would hold pro-
vided the reckoning started in a year when the desired lunar phenomenon
was observed on Nisan 1. It would be fair to say that, in such a specific
year, any alternative lunar reckoning, which we identified in the Ethiopic
BL, would start sixteen days early. It would also be fair to say that, over
the length of a triennial cycle, this alternative lunar reckoning could be
argued to lose sixty two days on the sun, and to last one thousand and
thirty days of the original lunar reckoning, just as the Ethiopic BL affirms
in chapter 74, according to the reading found in ms Tana9. This gives a
further clue as to the actual meaning and role of X and dwq.
The term dwq is a “hapax legomenon” in Qumran writings.27 As already
noted, scholars have pointed to the possible etymology of the term, and
have connected it to ‫“ = דקק‬small,”, or to ‫“ = דוק‬to look at something
carefully.”28 Yet, no entirely satisfactory explanation has been proposed
for the meaning and role of dwq. The closest one comes to any form of
certainty regarding X and dwq is that these record dates of actual observa-
tions of lunar phenomena. Wise’s demonstration referred to above goes
some way to ascertaining the actuality of these phenomena within the
framework of the 364-day year.29 It will be argued below that the textual
evidence points to observations of day-time phenomena, which is the best
alternative to account for the recording of an undated X at the start of the
synchronistic calendar. As to the X phenomenon, occurring sequentially
on days 29 of the first month, day 30 of the second month, day 29 of the
third month, and so on, it will be noted that it singles out the last day of
the lunar months, and more specifically the day-time part of the day. As
such, it will occur during the day time part of day 1, in the first month,
in years one and four of the sexennial cycle (364DYT).30 At the start of
investigation of the cycle of festivals in chapters 2, 3 and 4 above, intercalation of the 364-
day calendar is likely to have been practised, and this despite the lack of explicit literary
evidence so far. For bibliographical references on the issue of intercalation of the 364-day
year, see above, chapter 1 note 132, and chapter 4 note 63.
27
Talmon and Knohl, op. cit., 297.
28
Wise, “Observations,” 225–6. Also Gillet-Didier, “Calendrier lunaire, calendrier
solaire,” 179–82.
29
Wise, “Second Thoughts”.
30
For the tabulation of the intervals from one X-date to the next over a triennial
cycle, see col. F in Ben-Dov’s Appendix 4, Table 1, in Talmon, Glessmer, and Ben-Dov,
op. cit., 30–2.
214 chapter seven
years one and four, this particular day is also the last day of a full lunar
month, the thirty-seventh lunation that is inserted at the end of the trien-
nial lunar cycle to keep it in line with the triennial 364DY cycle (in the
Qumran synchronistic calendrical tables).
2.2. Identity of X and dwq, a New Proposal

As this concise review of scholarship on the question shows, the identity
of X and dwq remains a current point of debate. A fresh look at the textual
evidence, both internal and external, will advance the discussion further.
2.2.1. Internal Textual Evidence

Amongst the calendrical documents discovered on the Qumran site are
some documents which record specific dates in terms of their date in the
lunar month, their equivalent date in the 364DYT, and their occurrence
on such and such day of the week in the roster of priestly courses. The
following passage from 4Q321a Col. I (Frg. 1) illustrates the scheme:
] [ .1
]‫ [השנה הראשונה בארבעה בגמול באחד בראשון בחמשה‬.2
31
]‫ [בידעיה בשלושים בוא השנית ודוקו בששה במעוזיה בשבעה עשר בוא‬.3
1. [ ]
2. [The first year: On the fourth (day) in (the week of ) Gamul (which falls)
on the first (day) of the first (month). On the fifth (day)]
3. [in (the week of ) Jedai‘ah (which falls) on the thirtieth in it (the first
month) the second (occurrence of X); and duqo (is) on the sixth (day) in
(the week of ) Ma‘oziah, (which falls) on the seventeenth in it].32
Admittedly, the text is reconstructed by the editors of DJD xxi. But 4Q320
1 I 3–4 and, to a lesser extent, 4Q320 3 I 9–12, allow for the reconstruction.
So if the reconstruction proposed by the editors is correct, both sets of
dates are present in the passage above. The first is recorded, yet remains
unnamed in the text, and has been termed X in scholarly research; the
second set of dates is explicitly termed dwq in the text.33 Both sets are
specifically recorded together in 4Q321 Col. I:1–IV:8. In these fragments
they occur according to the following pattern: dwq follows X by sixteen
or seventeen days, while X always takes place thirteen days after dwq.
To put it another way, dwq is attached to the sixteenth day of a twenty
31
32
33
Talmon and Knohl, op. cit., 292.
nine-day Qumran lunar month, and to the seventeenth day of a thirty-day

Qumran lunar month.34 The X-dates alone occur in 4Q320 (frg. 1–2), and
fall sequentially on the 29th or the 30th day of the lunar month, starting
with the twenty ninth in the first lunar month, the thirtieth in the second
lunar month, and so on, as illustrated by the following extract taken from
4Q320 1 i:
‫<< ב̇<<̇ < בו‬/// /// ///‫\\ בידע]י̊ ̊ה ל‬///‫ ב‬.6
‫ [שבת ה]קוץ ל<< < ב<< < בשני‬.7
35
‫<< בשלשי‬/// /// ///‫<< ב‬///
̇ /// ///‫ באלי]שיב ל‬/‫ [ב‬.8
6. [on the 5th (day) in Jeda]‘iah at (or: coinciding with) the 29th (day of the
lunar month), on the 30th in it (the first solar month)
7. [Sabbath in Ha]qqoṣ at the 30th on the 30th in the second (solar
month)
8. [on the first (day) in Elia]shib at the 29th on the 29th in the third (solar
month)36
As observed by a number of specialists, 4Q320 (Frg. 1–2) appear to be a
register of the last day of the Qumran lunar months and their equivalent
date in the 364DY calendar.37
Admittedly, the two extracts above describe the beginning of time at
the moment of creation on the fourth day of Gamul, as is explicitly indi-
cated in 4Q320 1 i 3–4. That the fourth day in Gamul marks the beginning
of time is confirmed in 4Q320 3 i 9–12:
‫ שני הקדש‬º] .9
‫ ה] ̇בריאה קדש‬.10
‫]\\ ̇בשבת‬//
̇ ̇ ‫ ב‬.11
38
‫ גמו] ̊ל ̊ר[ו]ש כל השנים‬.12
9. ] the year of holiness
10. the ]Creation holy
11. on the 4]th (day) in the week
12. of Gamu]l, he[a]d of all the years39
34
Wise, “Second Thoughts,” 100. The indication “Qumran” is added before “lunar month”
to clarify that the particular lunar month followed was that adhered to at Qumran.
35
36
37
Wise, “Observations,” 222–3; J.C. VanderKam, Calendars in the DSS, 80; Talmon, Gless-
mer, and Ben-Dov, op. cit., 33–4.
38
39
216 chapter seven
2.2.1.1. The X Date
Both 4Q320 1 i 6 and 4Q321a Col. I 2–3 in their reconstructed text indicate
that the first recorded X date falls “on the fifth (day) in (the week of )
Jeda‘iah.”
4Q320 1 i 6:
[on the 5th day in Jeda]’iah at (or: coinciding with) the 29th (day of the
lunar month), on the 30th in it (the first solar month)
4Q321a Col. I
[in (the week of) Jeda’iah (which falls) on the thirtieth in it (the first month)
the second (occurrence of X); and duqo (is) on the sixth (day) in (the week
of ) Ma‘oziah, (which falls) on the seventeenth in it]
Further, if the reconstruction of the text by the editors is correct and
accepted, it can be inferred from 4Q321a Col. I 3 that X occurs on the
thirtieth day in the first 364DY month. 4Q320 1 i 6 is more precise in its
extant form and indicates that the thirtieth day of the first month in the
364DY is actually the twenty ninth day of the first Qumran lunar month.
This suggests that X, in the first month of the first year, follows the pat-
tern Qumran lunar month date Y = 364DY date—1. This equation holds
true only for the first month in years 1 and 4. The evidence suggests that
the day in the 364DY and the day in the Qumran lunar calendar do not
coincide exactly, the lunar reckoning starting only once the day in the
364DY reckoning reached evening. This hypothesis is consonant with Gen
1:18 where it is specified that the sun (mentioned first) rules the day, while
the moon (mentioned second) rules the night.
It has been suggested that day one in month 1 of the 364DY in the first
year of creation is not day 1 of the first lunar month, but rather corresponds
to an hypothetical day 0 in the lunar month.40 This analysis, however, is
not strictly correct, as will be expounded below. Before doing so, however,
it is necessary to rehearse the particular arguments concerning the issue
of day reckoning in the 364DYT. There is solid evidence to suggest that in
some traditions of the 364DY calendar the day was reckoned to start at
sunrise. Such day reckoning may already be present in the Book of Jubilees
and its exposition of the law governing the Sabbath day in chapter 50,
especially verses 6 and 7, and 9, as argued by Talmon.41 This position was
discounted principally by Baumgarten based on the textual evidence of
Jub 49:1 and its exposition of the statutes concerning the Passover:

40
“Calendar Reckoning,” 187.
41
[T]hat you may celebrate it at its time on the fourteenth of the first month,
that you may sacrifice it before evening, and so that they may eat it at night
on the evening of the fifteenth from the time of sunset.42
Admittedly the issue cannot be settled by sole recourse to the textual evi-
dence of the Book of Jubilees. Attempting to do just that would perhaps not
do justice to the complexity of the process of composition of the Book of
Jubilees, a complexity brought into focus by the literary-critical approach
applied by Michael Segal to the text of the Book of Jubilees.43 Such under-
taking would also oversimplify the 364DYT to a single, homogeneous tradi-
tion, of which the Book of Jubilees would be a worthy representative. This,
however, has been shown to be simply wrong, as indicated by the compo-
sition’s solitary polemical stance against the moon ( Jub. 6:32–38). In fact,
it is the oddity within the 364DYT of this explicitly polemical stance that
singles out the Book of Jubilees as uncharacteristic of the 364DYT.44
A sunrise reckoning of the day has also been posited in other Qumran
documents pertaining to the 364DYT. Talmon argued that the intentional
reordering in 1QS col. X 10 of the benedictions of Deut 6:7, so that ‫= יום‬
“day” is now followed by ‫“ = ולילה‬and night,” is a strong indicator of the
particular day reckoning observed by those Talmon came to define as
the covenanters.45 Following this line of argument, Talmon interpreted the
time indicator in CD 10 14–15 “on the sixth day from the time when the orb
of the sun is distant from the gate by its own diameter” as an additional
gloss by a ninth century copyist to the paraphrase of the command to
observe the seventh day as a sabbath to the Lord (cf. Deut 5:13), which
originally contained no reference to rest on any part of the sixth day.46
42
The citation is from J.C. VanderKam, op. cit., 315. Baumgarten adduces also the pas-
sage from Jubilees 21:10, indicating the timing by which the sacrificial victim offered as a
peace offering (cf. Jub 21:7) is to be consumed: “but the sun is not to set on it on the next
day until it is eaten. It is not to be left over for the third day because it is not acceptable
to him.” See Baumgarten, “Beginning of the Day”.
43
M. Segal, The Book of Jubilees. Rewritten Bible, Redaction, Ideology and Theology (JSJ-
Sup 117; Leiden: Brill, 2007).
44
J. Ben-Dov, “Tradition and Innovation in the Calendar of Jubilees,” in Enoch and the
Mosaic Torah: The Evidence of Jubilees (ed. G. Boccaccini; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans,
2009), 276–93.
45
Talmon, “Calendar Reckoning,” 189.
46
Talmon, “Calendar Reckoning,” 192. See also the more recent treatments by the
same author, with additional arguments, in S. Talmon, “Sabbath Observance According
to the Damascus Fragments: Evening to Evening or Morning to Morning?” Meghillot 1
(2003): 71–93; S. Talmon, “Reckoning the Sabbath in the First and in the Early Second
Temple Period: From the Evening or From the Morning?” in Sabbath: Idea, History, Reality
(ed. G.J. Blidstein; Beer-Sheva: Ben Gurion University Press, 2005), 9–32.
218 chapter seven
Of further interest is the recording in 4Q329a of the occurrence of Pass-

over on the third day during the week of service of such and such priestly
family. What is telling here is the absence of any reference to the festi-
val of Unleavened Bread, which incidentally is dated to the 15th of the
month, the day after Passover, in 4Q326.47 4QMorning and Evening Prayer
(4Q408) Frgs 1+1b:8–10 may support the position of a sunrise to sunrise
day reckoning:48
]. . .[‫ אשר ברתה את הבקר אות להופיע ממשלת אור לגבול יומם בר‬.8
‫]כי‬. . .[‫ לעבדתם לברך את שם קדשך בראתם כי טוב האור וב‬.9
]. . .[‫בכול‬
]. . . ‫ אשר בר[ת]ה את הערב אות להופיע ממשלת[ חושך‬. . . ]. . .[ .10
]. . .[‫]ל‬.[ ‫] מעמל לברך [את שם קדשך ב]ראתם[ כ]י[ הכוכ]בים‬. . .[ .11
8. as you created the morning as a sign of the appearance of the dominion
of light for the area of day at [. . .]
9. for their work, to bless your holy name when they see that the light is
good and [. . .] in all [. . .]
10. [. . .] . . . as [you] created the evening as a sign of the appearance of the
dominion of [darkness . . .]
11. [. . .] from work, to bless [your holy name when] they see [th]at [the
star]rs [. . .]49
Any attempt at synchronizing the 364DY together with the lunisolar reck-
oning has to consider the possibility that the first day of the first year in
the 364DY reckoning may have started at sunrise, with the appearance of
the sun in the morning sky. That day 1 in the lunisolar reckoning started
with the appearance of the smaller light in the evening sky is hardly ever
questioned. In other words, in a synchronized triennial cycle the first luni-
solar day would start in the evening of the first 364DY day—if, of course,
47
See chapter 4 for a treatment of the cycle of Festivals in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
48
On 4Q408, see A. Steudel, “4Q408: A Liturgy on Morning and Evening Prayer—
Preliminary Edition,” RevQ 16 (1994): 313–34; J.M. Baumgarten, “Some Notes on 4Q408,”
RevQ 18 (1997): 143–4. The official edition in the DJD series published the text, again trans-
lated by Steudel, under the siglum 4QApocryphon of Mosesc? Cf. S. Pfann and P. Alexander,
eds, Cryptic Texts and Miscellanea, Part 1, in Qumran Cave 4.XXV: Cryptic Texts Miscella-
neous Texts from Qumran (DJD XXXVI; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 298–315.
On the issue of day reckoning in biblical thought and in Second Temple Judaism, see also:
Haewood, op. cit; Zeitlin, “Beginning of the Jewish Day”; Baumgarten, “Beginning of the
Day”; Stroes, op. cit.; Beckwith, “The Day in Biblical Thought”; J.M. Baumgarten, “4Q503
(Daily Prayers) and the Lunar Calendar,” RevQ 12 (1986): 399–407; N.L. Collins, “The Start
of the Pre-Exilic Calendar Day of David and the Amalekites: Notes on 1 Samuel XXX 17,”
VT 41 (1991): 203–8; Talmon, “Reckoning of the Day”; J.C. VanderKam, Calendars in the DSS,
chapter 1.
49
García Martínez and Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls Vol. 2, 838–9.
the lunar month considered is the traditional Jewish month starting with
the sighting of the first crescent in the evening sky. This hypothesis is
consonant with Gen 1:18, where it is specified that the sun (mentioned
first), which rules the day, and the moon (mentioned second), which rules
the night, were created on the same day, the fourth day of creation. So
the evening of the first 364DY day marks the onset of the first luniso-
lar day. The day-time part of the first lunisolar day coincides with the
day-time part of the second 364DY day. More importantly, the night-time
in both reckonings pertains to the same day in each reckoning, i.e., the
first night time pertains to day 1, whether in the 364DY or in the Qumran
lunar calendar. As a result, an observable phenomenon which belonged
to the day-time part of the day in the first month of the Qumran lunar
calendar would engender a situation in which its dating Y would have a
corresponding dating in the 364DY of Y+1 in the first month of the first
year of the triennial cycle.
The situation just described corresponds very well with the data
recorded in 4Q320. The equivalent of the Qumran lunar date Y is Y+1 in
the 364DY. If the hypothesis here proposed is correct, the double dating of
X, according to the pattern 364DY date = Qumran lunar calendar date + 1
in the first month, is an indication that X referred to a day-time observable
phenomenon, or possibly even a time span measurement. This is a logical
explanation which accounts for the double dating of X according to the
pattern exemplified by the text.
On the strength of 4Q320 1 I 3–6 the editors of DJD xxi suggest that
4Q321a I 3 further identifies this X phenomenon, taking place on the thirti-
eth day of the first 364DY month (the twenty ninth lunisolar day), as being
‫“—השנית‬the second (occurrence of X).” Note that there is no indication
of the Qumran lunar dating here. This raises the question: if there is a pre-
ceding X in the first 364DY month, why is it not recorded in the text? The
answer lies implicit in the text. The X date is each time given in Qumran
lunar terms first, followed by its equivalent in the 364DY reckoning. We
identified above a ‘decallage’ between the 364DY and the Qumran lunar
dating of X within the first month of the triennial cycle. This is due to the
fact that X pertains to a day-time lunar observation. From this it follows
that the only time span in the first 364DY month not belonging also to the
first Qumran lunar month must be the location of this first (undated) X.
The only day-time part of a 364DY day with no equivalent in the Qumran
lunar reckoning in the first month of the first year of the triennial cycle is
none other than the day-time part of the first day of the first month. This
first X day-time lunar phenomenon remains undated in lunisolar terms
220 chapter seven
because, strictly speaking, it occurs at a moment when the Qumran lunar

reckoning has not started yet.
The textual evidence offers a second clue. The regular intervals of time
occurring between X and dwq are 16 to 17 days. As already mentioned, dwq
falls sixteen or seventeen days after X, and is followed by X thirteen days
later. The intervals from one X to the next then oscillate between twenty
nine and thirty days. Counting twenty nine days back from the first dated
X (twenty ninth Qumran lunar day, thirtieth day of the first month in the
364DY reckoning) one falls on Talmon’s hypothetical lunar day 0, the day-
time of which corresponds to the day-time part of day one in the 364DY
calendar. If one, however, were to count thirty days back, then one would
fall altogether outside of the first 364DY month, or, to put it another way,
on the last day of the twelfth month of an hypothetical previous 364DY
month. In this particular case, however, there would be no need to specify
in the text that the 29th of the first Qumran lunar month, which is the
30th of the first 364DY month, marks the second occurrence of X. The
very indication in the text that this particular X is the second in this first
month indicates that this X must pertain to this first (364DY) month.
To sum up our findings on the X date: the indication that the first
recorded X date is actually the second occurrence of X in the first month
of the first year of the triennial cycle points to the conclusion that the
first X occurred during the day-time part of the first day of the first 364DY
month. It was not recorded because, as a lunar phenomenon, its particu-
lar ephemeris had not yet started. It is the difference of day reckoning
between the 364DY and the Qumran lunar ephemeris which explains the
indication of the existence of a first X phenomenon in the first 364DY
month, undated in lunar terms because it falls before the actual start of
the first Qumran lunar month. The present writer suggests that this day
is not a hypothetical lunar day 0, but the day-time part of the last day of
an hypothetical previous Qumran lunar month, which coincides with the
day-time part of day one in the first 364DY month. Talmon’s assertion,
in his argumentation against those scholars who, in the wake of Milik’s
interpretation of 4Q320, defend the “moon created full” position, that they
failed to notice that the moon was created 13/14th part, and not full, is
unwarranted. It does not follow that, if one posits the moon created full,
one must conclude that the lunisolar month was reckoned to start the
day after the full moon.50 Rather, the moon may well have been created
As Talmon does, DJD XXI Calendrical Texts, 34.

50
full, and logically would have started to regulate its time from its appear-
ance in the night sky at the end of the day-time part of day one in the
364DY calendar. Thereafter, there would always be a one day discrepancy
between 364DY dates and lunisolar dates of X in the first month of the
first year of the triennial cycle, the lunisolar date running one day behind
the 364DY date in that particular month.
Further, X, as indicated by its occurrence on the 29th day of the Qumran
lunar month—the 30th day of the 364DY month—clearly marks the end
of the lunar month, as well as the onset of the following lunar month. As
a daytime visible lunar phenomenon marking the end of the lunar month,
X must therefore be the last visible lunar crescent, which disappears in
the day-time sky. In other words, X belongs to the day-time part of the
last day of lunar visibility. To repeat, it is the difference of day reckoning
between the 364DY (from sunrise) and the Qumran lunar calendar (from
sunset) which explains the indication of the existence of a first X phenom-
enon in the first 364DY month, undated in the lunar reckoning because
if falls before the actual start of this first Qumran lunar month. Yet, this
first X is indicated implicitly, I suggest, because it is this very observa-
tion that governed the synchronization of the two calendars at Qumran,
synchronization that is illustrated by the mišmarot documents. It is the X
phenomenon in the day-time sky which marked the start of the triennial
and sexennial cycles.
2.2.1.2. The dwq date

While X is dated in both lunisolar and 364DY reckonings, dwq is given
only one date, seemingly according to the 364DY in the extant texts. If the
reconstructed text suggested by the editors of DJD xxi is accepted, 4Q321a
i 2–3 illustrates the scheme:
] [ .1
]‫ [השנה הראשונה בארבעה בגמול באחד בראשון בחמשה‬.2
‫ [בידעיה בשלושים בוא השנית ודוקו בששה במעוזיה בשבעה עשר‬.3
51
]‫בוא‬
1. [ ]
2. [The first year: On the fourth (day) in (the week of ) Gamul (which falls)
on the first (day) of the first (month). On the fifth (day)]
51
222 chapter seven
3. [in (the week of) Jeda‘iah (which falls) on the thirtieth in it (the first
month) the second (occurrence of X); and duqo (is) on the sixth (day) in
(the week of ) Ma‘oziah, (which falls) on the seventeenth in it].52
It is significant that the dwq date only appears in its 364DY dating. As
was established above for the dating of X, the key concerning dwq is also
contained in the first month in the first year. No extant document gives an
equivalent dating of dwq in Qumran lunar terms. Nevertheless, this lacuna
from the text may simply be explained in the following way: the dwq date
registers the observation of a night-time lunar phenomenon. We identi-
fied above that the one day discrepancy in the first month of the first
year between the 364DY and lunisolar dating of X is most probably due
to the occurrence of X during the day-time part of the day. This was due
to the difference of reckoning the day in the solar and lunar ephemeris.
Because of this, the day-time part of the day belonged to two different
days in the 364DY reckoning or the Qumran lunar reckoning. A night-time
phenomenon, however, had the same dating, whether in the 364DY or the
Qumran lunar reckonings in the first month of the first year. The present
writer suggests therefore that dwq registers the observation of a night-
time phenomenon. This much had been suspected by scholars, although
I am not aware of any attempt at advancing the present argument. The
identity of this phenomenon is non-other than the lunar phase occurring
16 or 17 days after the disappearance of the last crescent in the day-time
sky, i.e., a lunar phenomenon observable at night around the time of the
full moon.
There is one more perplexing fact. The argument that the night-time
parts of any given day in both ephemeris belong to the same numbered
day in each ephemeris works for the first month. This agreement should
break down once dwq is tracked in subsequent months. However the
extant textual sources indicate quite the opposite: i.e., dwq is dated in
364DY terms only in all subsequent months. That the scribes did not see
the need to record dwq in its Qumran lunar date may be a veiled indi-
cation that dwq played no significant role in the synchronization of the
364DY calendar and the Qumran lunar calendar. This particular role was
played by the tracking of the X date.53 This is another indication that the
52
53
Ben-Dov comes to a similar conclusion regarding the significance of the X date
over the dwq date. Arguing against Gillet-Didier’s hypothesis that X, as an indicator of
the full moon, was enrobed with positive religious significance, Ben-Dov suggests, rather,
that the “preference for observations of the last visibility in 4Q320 and 4Q321 thus reflects
calendrical practice at Qumran, although based on a 364DY Jubilees-like

calendar, marked a significant departure from the anti-lunar bias of the
364DY Jubilees tradition.
2.2.2. External Evidence
J. Ben-Dov and W. Horowitz have provided additional evidence from
Babylonian sources, which, they argue, partly allow confirmation of the
identification of X and of dwq.54 In a text describing lunar months (Tablet
BM 32327) they identify three phenomena that have been described in
other publications as the “Lunar Three.” Two of these record dates and
time spans after the full moon.55 The “Lunar Three” are:
a) the name of the month followed by the number 1 or 30, 1 meaning that
the preceding month counted thirty days, 30 indicating that the previ-
ous month was hollow (twenty nine days);
b) a phenomenon called na, indicating the day on which the moon set for
the first time after sunrise, a date that came after the full phase of the
moon;
c) a phenomenon called KUR, which recorded the last visibility of the
moon and its setting in the day-time sky at the end of the lunar month.
Ben-Dov and Horowitz observed that in BM 32327 KUR occurred thir-
teen or fourteen days after na, while na was visible sixteen or seven-
teen days after KUR.
scientific interests rather than religious principles,” and points to the evidence of the
Diviner’s Manual—esp. lines 58–61—as an indication of the “‘the day of the disappear-
ance of the moon’ as the first astronomical phenomenon to be thoroughly observed.” See
Ben-Dov, Head of All Years, 243, with bibliographical reference in note 104. Gillet-Didier’s
argument is developed in “Calendrier lunaire, calendrier solaire”.
54
I am grateful to Jonathan Ben-Dov for providing me with a copy of the paper he pre-
sented at the Xth IOQS in Groningen (2004), which has now been published as Ben-Dov
and Horowitz, “The Babylonian Lunar Three”.
55
The “Babylonian Lunar Three” were first described by A. Sachs, A. Sachs, “A Classifica-
tion of the Babylonian Astronomical Tablets of the Seleucid Period,” JCS 2 (1948): 271–90.
The text under consideration, as pointed out by H. Hunger, Astronomical Diaries and
Related Texts from Babylonia Vol. 5: Lunar and Planetary Texts (Österreichische Akademie
der Wissenschaften: Philosophisch-Historische Klasse Denkschriften, 299. Band; Vienna:
Verlag, 2001), 100, was first described by A. Sachs, “Sirius Dates in Babylonian Astronomical
Texts of the Seleucid Period,” JCS 6 (1952): 110–2, and “contains the lengths of the months,
the calendar date of the day (after the full moon) when the moon set for the first time
after sunrise, and the calendar date of the last visibility of the moon towards the end of
the month, for the years SE 62–93.”
224 chapter seven
Ben-Dov and Horowitz compared these data with that found about the
X and dwq dates in 4Q320, 4Q321 and 4Q321a, and concluded that the
“Lunar Three” were direct equivalents to the data in the Qumran docu-
ments. First, the pattern for naming the month and indicating the number
of days in the previous month in the Babylonian text was also present
in the Qumran texts. Second, the intervals between na and KUR in the
Babylonian text were similar to those measured between X and dwq in
the Qumran material. Third, na and KUR and X and dwq were “standard
attributes of the lunar month in their respective traditions,” each consis-
tently presented with an indication of the number of days in the previous
month.
On this basis Ben-Dov and Horowitz proposed to identify dwq with the
Babylonian na, and X with the Babylonian KUR, and suggested that in
the Qumran documents the X date marked the time from moon rise to
sunrise (so a night-time occurrence) when the moon was last visible after
sunrise (during the day) towards the end of the lunar month. As for dwq,
it marked the day on which the moon set first in the sky after sunrise.56
Ben-Dov and Horowitz’s identification of X as the day upon which the
moon sets for the last time after sunrise at the end of the lunar month,
i.e., immediately before the lunar conjunction, agrees partially with the
interpretation given above and drawn from the textual evidence concern-
ing the double-dating of X. The problem with partial agreement is that
it often comes with partial disagreement. In the case at hand the partial
disagreement is quite significant and resides in that Ben-Dov and Horow-
itz consider X to be a night-time measurement, and not a daytime period
as I have argued. For them, “KUR occurs at the end of the lunar cycle
and marks the time from moon rise to sunrise when the moon is last vis-
ible around sunrise towards the end of the last lunar month.”57 In favor
of their interpretation is the fact that none of the Lunar Six pay attention
to the day-time part of the day when the last crescent disappeared in the
sky. This may not be surprising as the lunar month was not reckoned in
Babylon to start at that time but at the time of the appearance of the
new crescent in the evening sky, which the Babylonians did record—as
56
Ben-Dov and Horowitz, “The Babylonian Lunar Three”.
57
Ben-Dov and Horowitz, “The Babylonian Lunar Three,” 113 See also Ben-Dov, Head of
All Years, 236–9, where the author discusses the correlation between NA and KUR and the
Qumran data dwq and X. For Ben-Dov, X = KUR = last morning visibility of the moon at the
end of the lunation; dwq = NA = first moonset after sunrise, on the day following the full
moon (see p. 237). Ben-Dov does not clarify whether the “last morning visibility” pertains
to the night-time, the daytime, or two both.
part of the Lunar Six—as NAn = the time between sunset and the setting
of the moon, when it has become visible for the first time after conjunc-
tion.58 From the Qumran perspective it is perhaps strange to single out
a phenomenon which supposedly indicated the end of the lunar month
and the start of the following lunar month a few hours before the change
over from one month to the next actually took place. More importantly,
if the hypothesis of a varying day reckoning between the 364DY and the
Qumran lunar year is correct, the dating of X if X was equivalent to the
Babylonian KUR would be the same in both calendars in the first month
of the year.
As for dwq, it was recorded in the text with a single-dating custom. It
was suggested above that this single dating points to a night-time phe-
nomenon. From this perspective, Ben-Dov and Horowitz’s identification
of dwq with na, a day-time measurement in Babylonian sources, is also
problematic. If the hypothesis drawn from the textual evidence that the
single dating of dwq indicates a night-time phenomenon or measurement,
then dwq cannot be identified with the Babylonian na. The latter marked
the measuring of a day-time interval “between sunrise and moon set, when
the moon set for the first time after sunrise” in Babylonian Diaries, i.e., a
daytime occurrence.59 There were, however, two other intervals of time
measured during the night around the full moon in Babylonian Diaries.
The first, ŠÚ, measured the interval of time from moon set to sunrise.60 The
second, GE6, “a usual logogram for night” in Babylonian Diaries, measured
the interval between sunset and moon rise.61 Both were night-time mea-
surements and might qualify as equivalent to dwq. To ascertain beyond
doubt which of ŠÚ and GE6 corresponded to dwq at Qumran is beyond
the scope of the present undertaking. Both were night-time measure-
ments around the full moon phase, and in some way both could qualify
as dwq, an observed (measured?) night-time phenomenon. Whereas more
research is needed to ascertain the exact identity of dwq, that of X seems
now to be secure.
58
For a definition of the “Lunar Six,” see H. Hunger, “Non-Mathematical Astronomical
Texts and Their Relationships,” in Ancient Astronomy and Celestial Divination (ed. N.M.
Swerdlow; Cambridge, Mass: MIT, 1999), 77–96, esp. 78, and Sachs, “A Classification of the
Babylonian Astronomical Tablets of the Seleucid Period”, esp. 273 and 275.
59
A. Sachs, Diaries from 652 B.C. to 262 B.C. Texts (ed. H. Hunger; vol. I of Astronomical
Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia; Philosophisch-Historische Klasse Denkschriften,
195. Band; Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1988), 48.
60
Sachs, Diaries from 652 B.C. to 262 B.C. Texts, 21.
61
Sachs, Diaries from 652 B.C. to 262 B.C. Texts, 20.
226 chapter seven
2.3. Summary
If the arguments presented here are correct, then our enquiry of the X
and dwq dates recorded in some calendrical documents from Qumran
has shown that the X date recorded the lunar phenomenon which took
place in the day-time sky and marked the end of the lunar month, as first
suggested by Wise. This also heralded the start of the next lunar month.
It was the last time the moon set after sunrise during any one lunation.
Contrary to the claim made by Ben-Dov and Horowitz, as a day-time phe-
nomenon or measurement X cannot correspond to the Babylonian KUR,
which measured a night-time phenomenon.
Likewise, the dwq date at Qumran marked a night-time phenomenon,
thirteen or fourteen days before the X phenomenon, and must have been
the observation of either a lunar phenomenon (full moon phase), or the
measurement of an interval of time during the night involving a particu-
lar lunar phenomenon. It may have corresponded to one of two possible
dates recorded in Babylonian Diaries, both of which measured time inter-
vals during the night: either ŠÚ, which measured the interval of time from
moon set to sunrise; or GE6, which measured the interval between sunset
and moon rise.
3. The Ethiopic Book of Luminaries Once Again
In the previous chapter, verse 14 of 1 Enoch 74 was identified as a variant

reading which, in its tradition, may suggest that a given lunar triennial
cycle was understood to last one thousand and thirty days and to lose
sixty two days over the solar (364-day) year in the course of the cycle.
It was suggested that this lunar triennial cycle was measured in terms
of another lunar reckoning which started at the same time as the solar
triennial cycle. Several possibilities were suggested to explain such data:
(1) If the base lunar year was the full moon start, the alternative year,
singled out for lasting one thousand and thirty days of the triennial cycle,
started sixteen days before full moon, and was marked by the last crescent
as a day-time phenomenon. (2) If the base lunar year started with the
sighting of the first crescent, the alternative lunar year, causing the three
year cycle to count one thousand and thirty days over the solar trien-
nial cycle, started sixteen days earlier with the full moon. (3) If the base
lunar year started with the first night of lunar conjunction, the alterna-
tive year started sixteen days earlier with a lunar phase occurring two
days before the full moon. Admittedly, option (3) would prove difficult to
follow as the observation of the lunar phase preceding the full moon may
not be easily determined with precision. Moreover, this lunar reckoning
is nowhere attested to in any ancient sources (to the knowledge of the
present writer). Option (2) is plausible because it would equate the base
lunar year of 1 En 74 with that expounded in 1 En 73. However, it fails to
account for the alternative description of the moon cycle, from waning to
waxing, which marks the distinctiveness of chapter 74 in the translation
followed here.
Option (1) offers the best solution to account for the anomaly identified
in 1 En 74, where the base year is reckoned to start with the full moon and
follows a waning-waxing lunar cycle. In addition, such reckoning indi-
cates that the alternative lunar reckoning, starting sixteen days early and
singled out for lasting only one thousand and thirty days over the solar
triennial cycle, and for losing sixty two days over the sun, starts with the
day marked by the disappearance of the last crescent, and the first night
of lunar conjunction, or first night of full darkness.
The alternative lunar year posited in option (1), starting with the first
night of lunar conjunction, is identical with the one which regulates the
Qumran calendar: X records a day-time observation, which has been
identified as the last crescent just before the first night of lunar conjunc-
tion; dwq, a night-time observation, takes place sixteen or seventeen days
after X, and has been identified as the full moon. What 1 En 74 may be
understood to suggest is that if the full moon reckoning (start of the lunar
month with the full moon) of the lunar year is abandoned in favor of the
lunar cycle starting the month on the day of the X-date, then the lunar
triennial cycle will only coincide with the solar one for one thousand and
thirty days, and it would lose sixty-two days over the triennial cycle. This,
at least, seen or perceived from the viewpoint of the opponents to the
X-date reckoning of the lunar cycle.
4. 1 En 80:2–8—a New Interpretation
It is from this particular perspective that the passage in 1 En 80:2–8 is

probably best understood. Verse 2 reads:
And in the days of the sinners the year shall be shortened
(i.e., cut short in number, though extended in length),
And their seed shall be tardy on their lands and fields
228 chapter seven
And all things on the earth shall alter,

And shall not appear in their time;
And the rain shall be kept back,
And the heaven shall withhold it.62
It may be recalled that 1 En 48, considered above, also draws a connec-
tion between the luminaries, blessings and curses, and the sinners. For
the author of the passage under consideration it would seem that use of
the wrong lunar cycle, which only “the sinners” would follow, would cause
the year to shorten, so that the triennial cycle would count, so it was
argued, one thousand and thirty days as opposed to the expected one
thousand and ninety two days of the triennial solar cycle. As pointed out
above, the discrepancy in real terms was of forty six days over three years.
The duration of a single triennial cycle, governed by the wrong lunar reck-
oning, was enough for the natural phenomena described in 1 En 80:2–6
to be noticeable: the fruits of the land came later, and “all things on the
earth . . . alter . . . do not appear in their time” (v.2).
In addition, the alternative, wrong lunar reckoning caused the epago-
menal days to fall in the wrong gate. Ethiopic astronomy presented in
1 Enoch clearly portrayed the movements of the moon and the sun through
gates of heaven.63 To start the solar year at the wrong time, i.e., coinciding
with the wrong lunar reckoning, would cause the epagomenal days to fall
at the wrong time and to appear in the wrong gates. From this perspec-
tive, the passage in 1 En 82:5–6 becomes more intelligible. R.H. Charles
translated the passage:
Owing to them men shall be at fault and not reckon them in the whole reck-
oning of the year: yea, men shall be at fault, and not recognize them accu-
rately. For they belong to the reckoning of the year and are truly recorded
(thereon) for ever, one in the first portal and one in the third, and one in
the fourth and one in the sixth, and the year is completed in three hundred
and sixty four days.64
62
Beckwith, Calendar and Chronology, 109. Nickelsburg/VanderKam, Nickelsburg and
VanderKam, op. cit., 110, translate: “In the days of the sinners the year will grow shorter,
their seed will be late on their land and in their fields. Everything on the earth will change
and will not appear at their times, the rain will be withheld, and the sky will stand still,”
indicating that “some mss read a causative form of the verb.”
63
O. Neugebauer, “Notes on Ethiopic Astronomy,” Or 33 (1964): esp. 51–61. A cursory
glance at Table I p. 53, shows that to accuse a discrepancy of 16 days in the start of the solar
year, a discrepancy which would take place if one followed the wrong lunar reckoning, will
cause the calculations to fall in the wrong gates.
64
The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament in English. Vol. II Pseude-
pigrapha (Oxford: Clarendon, 1913), 247.
Isaac translates:
On this account there are people that err; they count them (the four?) in the
computation of the year:q for the people make error and do not recognize
them accurately; for they belong to the reckoning of the year.65
Nickelsburg/VanderKam propose:
People err regarding them and do not calculate them in the numbering of
the entire world because they err regarding them and people do not under-
stand them precisely.66
It has been suggested that this passage shows that at some stage the
awareness arose that the year was running behind the sun, so that the
different harvests came late and did not come at their appointed time.67 It
is here argued, rather, that 1 En 80:2–8 is in keeping with chapter 74 of the
same work. It denounces the seasons coming late because of the sins of
men, and not because the 364DY is slowly moving out of synchronization
with the true solar year. Chapter 74 gives us a clue as to the nature of the
sin of men: it was seen, from the perspective of the writer, as following the
full moon start of the year. This caused the proper lunar reckoning to fall
behind the sun by thirty two days over three years, sixty two days once
the necessary extra lunation had been added, although the year might
have seemed longer (cf. ‘cut short in number yet extended in length’). Of
course, such discrepancy was quickly noticeable. A full sexennial cycle
would have made it plain to anyone. Moreover, it could not be rectified by
any extra intercalation possibly used to eventually bring the one thousand
and ninety two day triennial cycle, and stopped the 364-day year, advo-
cated by Enoch,68 from keeping in line with the true solar year.
65
“1 Enoch,” 60 ‘q’ indicates mss B and C: ‘they do not count them in the reckoning of
the whole world’.
66
Nickelsburg and VanderKam, op. cit., 113.
67
Beckwith, Calendar and Chronology, 108–10.
68
See Albani, Astronomie, 278–84, esp. 280–1, where the author suggests that in the
AB the weekly lunar run is also synchronised with the solar run through synchronization
with the number 364. Thus, Jewish priestly scholars were preoccupied with Babylonian
astronomy in order to secure the stability of the festival calendar (280 note 32).
230 chapter seven
5. Conclusions
In this chapter it was argued that the identification of a polemic concern-

ing the lunar reckoning, identified in the preceding chapter, contributed
to the debate over the identification of the X and dwq dates recorded in
4Q320, 4Q321 and 4Q321a. Based on a close consideration of the textual
evidence, it was suggested that the X date recorded in these documents
marked the occurrence of a day-time phenomenon, the disappearance of
the last lunar crescent in the sky after sunrise on the last day of lunar vis-
ibility in the lunation. This was inferred from the double dating of X in
the first month of the first year, following a pattern of lunar date = 364DY
date minus 1. This marked the last day of the lunar month and the eve
of the first day of the following lunar month (starting at sunset). It was
shown that this day-time phenomenon belonged to the first day of the
first solar month in the first year of the triennial cycle. As such, X cannot
have indicated the observation of the full moon.
The textual evidence also allowed the inference that dwq, because of its
single 364DY/lunar dating in the first month of the first year, must have
been a phenomenon (or a time period) which occurred in the part of the
day commonly shared by both the lunar and the 364DY day reckonings,
i.e., night-time. As such dwq was, as the texts suggest, probably the obser-
vation of a night-time phenomenon (or a time period) which took place
sixteen or seventeen days after the disappearance of the last crescent,
a time within the lunar phase which would coincide with the expected
full moon.
In recent scholarship, the close correspondence between Qumran and
Babylonian astronomy allowed the formulation of the hypothesis that the
X date could be identified with the Babylonian KUR, recorded in Astro-
nomical Diaries. This hypothesis has been here shown to be partially
problematic. Although the identification of X with a Babylonian recorded
phenomenon (or time period) associated with the moon is correct, its par-
ticular identification with the Babylonian KUR is perhaps no correct. The
second part of this hypothesis, which identifies dwq with the Babylonian
na, has also been called into question. Rather, it is here suggested that
the Qumranic dwq date, as marking a night-time phenomenon, may have
corresponded to one of two possible dates recorded in Babylonian Dia-
ries, both of which measured time intervals during the night: either ŠÚ or
GE6. More research in this promising area is needed, however, to establish
the point.
Last, in the light of the interpretation of 1 En 74:14 suggested in the pre-

ceding chapter, a new interpretation of the material found in 1 En 80:2–8
has been advanced. This particular passage has traditionally been associ-
ated with the argument that the 364DY could not have been observed
in practice. This, it was claimed, was the evidence that disproved Annie
Jaubert’s theory of two Passover celebrations following different calendars
during the week of the passion. However, on the contrary, the arguments
presented here show that the note in 1 En 80:2–8, concerning the “days of
the sinners” and the shortening of the year, alludes not to the 364DY, but
rather to a lunar reckoning which caused the lunar triennial cycle to “fall
behind the sun by sixty-two days in three years.” The interpretation pro-
posed here, if accepted, also contributes to the removal of the “calendrical
objection” set against Jaubert’s thesis.
Future avenues of investigation may consider in greater depth the Bab-
ylonian background to many traditions that are present in the documents
from the Dead Sea. It is likely that such investigations will uncover more
forgotten connections between these documents and the antique back-
grounds of their traditions.
CHAPTER eight
CONCLUSIONS
At the outset, as a study of various calendrical issues of second Temple

Judaism, the present undertaking constitutes a preliminary study to the
investigation of the occasion of Jesus’ last meal with his disciples. More
particularly, it lays the foundations for a future thorough investigation of
the evidence adduced by Annie Jaubert regarding the case she put for-
ward as a solution to the discrepancies evidenced in the Passion Nar-
ratives of the Gospels. The above study contributes to the discussion in
several different areas, as summarized below. First, it demonstrates that
the calendar objection originally leveled against Jaubert, and identified
in the introduction to this study as the main stumbling block for her the-
ory concerning the date of the last supper, was simply over estimated.
A review of key textual sources of the First and Second Temple periods
concerned with the exposition of the cycle of festivals demonstrates that
all textual sources—and by extension the communities/schools behind
those sources—considered inter alia the cultic cycle they followed to be
attached to the seasons and to the agricultural cycle. This simple point
cannot be emphasized enough.
Second and significantly, the above study identifies important, previ-
ously undefined aspects of calendrical variations in the Second Temple
period. As such it contributes to the ongoing development of knowledge
in the fields of Enochic literature, Dead Sea Scroll studies, Hebrew Bible,
New Testament and related fields. In the final analysis, this study dem-
onstrates that the Jaubertian hypothesis, which postulates that the dis-
crepancies recorded in the Passion narratives of the four Gospels can be
interpreted against the Sitz im Leben of first century Palestinian Judaism,
itself deeply rooted in the traditions emanating from the later centuries of
the Second Temple period, has much to contribute to contemporary New
Testament scholarship.
1. The Calendar Objection Leveled Against the Jaubertian Theory
Among the key arguments leveled at Jaubert and reviewed in Chapter 1,

the calendar objection has been shown to present the greater challenge. It
234 chapter eight
argued that there was simply no evidence to support Jaubert’s claim that
the 364-day year calendar of Jubilees was followed in first century Pal-
estine, and rejected the hypothetical connections between Passion week
and the 364-day calendar as “fanciful” and with no relation to reality.1
The above provides a solid refutation of this position by systematically
pointing out the connections between the cultic cycles expounded in the
sources and the agricultural year.
1.1. The Calendar and the Seasons

Very soon after the publication of Jaubert’s La Date de la Cène, and coin-
ciding with a focused scholarly attention towards the new data concern-
ing what Jaubert coined “the old sacerdotal calendar,” scholars rightly
pointed out that the 364DY, with its rough 1.5 day discrepancy with the
true solar year, could not be kept in line with the seasons, and, therefore,
must have drifted slowly back through the seasons. In the absence of any
textual evidence showing how this calendar was kept in line with the sea-
sons, scholars such as Beckwith suggested that the calendar must have
been a construct of the Essene group sometime in the mid-third century
BCE. By the year 200 BCE or there about the group finally realized, so
the argument went, that their innovation could not be kept in line with the
seasons. As a result they were forced to abandon this ideal calendar. The
latter only found some form of redemption as an tool used to compute
cultic rosters that had little to do with reality and ritual praxis in the later
parts of the Second Temple period. This was, and remained for a signifi-
cant length of time, a valid argument and perhaps the most serious chal-
lenge to Jaubert’s theory.
The present undertaking, however, identifies and challenges the
assumptions which underline this position, namely, that there was a dis-
connection in practice between what the sources claimed about their cul-
tic cycle, and what their followers actually adhered to.
1.1.1. The Festivals in the Sources

It was argued and demonstrated that all the sources reviewed, whether
proponents of a lunisolar calendar or of a 364-day year tradition, consid-
ered the connection between the cultic cycle and the seasons to be an
intrinsic reality in their exposition of the cycle of festivals. The festivals
1
conclusions 235
of the Raising of the Sheaf, Weeks, and Tabernacles, all known to have
strong connections with the agricultural cycle, were to be celebrated,
according to the sources, at roughly the same times of the year. Further,
the festival(s) of Passover and Unleavened Bread, with their implicit con-
nection to the “morrow after the Sabbath” (Lev 23:15), were also closely
dependent upon the agricultural cycle. It was argued and demonstrated
above that, surprisingly, sources such as Jubilees, the Temple Scroll, and the
Calendrical Documents, all proponents of the 364DY tradition, and theo-
retically more prone to move away from the agricultural year, provided
more expansive legislations concerning the agriculturally-connected fes-
tivals, in some cases adding first fruits festivals and agricultural festivals of
their own. Jubilees expanded the Genesis-Exod 12 story line by weaving in
its narratives presenting the lives of the Patriarchs the statutes concerning
the festivals. The Temple Scroll legislated for additional first fruits festivals
(New Wine and New Oil). The Calendrical Documents incorporated these
additional first fruits festivals in their rosters. Such picture runs counter to
the assumption that these documents expounded a theoretical calendar
not connected to the cycle of seasons. It rather strongly suggests that pro-
ponents of the 364-day calendar were concerned with keeping the cultic
year and the agricultural cycle well in tune. It is interesting to note that to
the knowledge of the present writer no textual evidence has been found
to suggest that, at some stage in the copying process of the sources, which
admittedly carried on well over a century, attempts were made to indicate
a change of status of the legislations related to the observance of a cultic
cycle dependent upon its connection with the agricultural year.
1.1.2. First Fruits in Jubilees and at Qumran

Both Jubilees (32:10) and the Temple Scroll (11Q19 xliii 3–11) give strict and
precise instructions concerning the offering of first fruits and tithes. Both
sources stipulate that first fruits could only be offered, and consumed,
until the time of their corresponding new festival the following year had
arrived. Consumption of the old fruit after the new first fruit festival was
prohibited and considered a serious offense. Such legislation becomes dif-
ficult to understand in the context of a cultic year which would be dis-
sociated from the agricultural cycle. In such context one would perhaps
suspect to find greater attempts at spiritualizing a cycle of sacred time.
Rather, the presence of such agriculturally minded legislations in docu-
ments that were copied well over two centuries strongly suggests that
both documents, and the communities that adhered to the legislations
and commands therein, considered their cultic cycles to follow the cycle
236 chapter eight
of the seasons. No other interpretation can quite so satisfactorily make

sense of the textual evidence related to the legislations governing tithing
and first fruit offerings. They presupposed a cultic cycle attached to the
agricultural cycle, and they legislated for just that.
1.2. The Second Passover in the Sources

The present thesis also contributes original arguments demonstrating the
negative impact the (general) second Passover was believed to play on
calendrical practices by the author of Jubilees, and, to a lesser extent, at
Qumran. The biblical accounts record that King Jeroboam, on his coming
to power in the tenth century BCE, introduced a calendrical innovation
and “appointed a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like
the festival that was in Judah” (1 Kgs 12:32). By so doing it is possible that
Jeroboam reverted to a (pre-monarchic?) calendar, previously followed
in the Northern Kingdom (1 Kgs 12). The narrative remains best under-
stood against the background of a single-month discrepancy between the
Northern Kingdom and Judah in matters calendrical. The innovation in
the eighth (Judaean) month was, in the Northern reckoning, the seventh
month, traditional time for the festival of Tabernacles.
The episode related in 2 Chr 30, concerning the postponement to the
second month “for all Israel” of the Passover and the unleavened bread
during the reign of King Hezekiah, can be best interpreted in this light.
King Hezekiah, so the text argues, postponed the Passover and Unleav-
ened Bread to the second (Judaean) month, the first month according to
the former Northern calendrical reckoning, and traditional time for the
celebration of Passover / Unleavened Bread. However, this postponement
introduced in Judah a disconnection between the cultic calendar and the
agricultural year. This is the reason which motivated the Chronicler to
refer to “the third and seventh months” (2 Chr 31:7), and not to the festi-
vals of Weeks and Tabernacles, as the times for tithing. The postponement
of Passover together with Unleavened Bread occasioned the postpone-
ment of the Raising of the Sheaf on the “day after the Sabbath,” and of
the festival of Weeks fifty days later. If only a second Passover had been
celebrated then the argument would not stand, as the “day after the sab-
bath” would have been celebrated after the first Passover celebration, and
the count of fifty days to the festival of Weeks would have started after the
first Passover. However, in this instance both Passover and Unleavened
Bread were celebrated in the second month. If such was the case there
conclusions 237
must have been some kind of adjustment necessary, as the fifty-day-count

to the festival of Weeks was also delayed to the second month. The dis-
tinction is important and must not be overlooked.
It is further argued that the author of Jubilees purposefully left the sec-
ond Passover out in its rewriting of Num 9, incidentally the only Torah
legislation which mentions the second Passover. In its place, the author
of Jubilees inserted a calendrical warning to celebrate the Passover “once a
year, on its day,” and “not to delay by a month” ( Jub. 49:7, 8, 9, 10, 14). By
acting thus, the author probably displayed his own bias against a festival
that was known from biblical times potentially to introduce a disconnec-
tion between the cultic cycle and the agricultural year. Considering the
position expounded by the author of Jubilees on the utmost necessity to
celebrate the appointed festivals at the right time in his favored 364DY
calendar, it is easy to see why the author kept silent about a second Pass-
over, and instead insisted upon the celebration of the festival of Passover
“once a year . . . on its day.”
The hypothesis is strengthened by the identification of the voluntary
omission of the second Passover by the author of the Temple Scroll, another
document known to follow the 364DY, and which expounds the law gov-
erning the cycle of festivals. That the second Passover is recorded in a
few Calendrical Documents from Qumran does not constitute a signifi-
cant challenge to the interpretation offered therein as, unlike the Temple
Scroll, the latter documents were arguably concerned with recording the
occurrence of all festivals within the roster of priestly service and paid no
attention to the legislation governing tithing and first fruit offerings. From
this perspective, there was little point in leaving the second Passover out,
as it simply could not effect the synchronization between the cultic cycle
and the agricultural cycle. This may also explain why the Calendrical Doc-
uments record two separate dates for Passover and Unleavened Bread, as
if there were two festivals, whereas the book of Jubilees clearly considers
Passover / Unleavened Bread as one festival.
It is to my knowledge the first time the hypothesis of a voluntary omis-
sions of the second Passover on the part of the authors of Jubilees and
Temple Scroll is put forward. If the hypothesis is correct, the omission
from key documents concerned with the cycle of festivals and the laws
governing tithing and first fruit offerings of a festival potentially trouble-
some for proper praxis is a strong indication that the proponents of the
364DY calendar indeed considered their calendar to be in proper sync
with the cycle of seasons. The motivation for banishing this festival was
238 chapter eight
probably rooted in the precedent reported in the biblical account of Heze-

kiah’s postponement of the Passover and Unleavened Bread to the second
month, and the resulting disconnection between the cultic cycle and the
agricultural year this engendered, as suggested by the text.
2. Specific Calendrical Issues in Second Temple Judaism
In the third part are identified some previously unnoticed aspects of the
calendrical practices expounded in the Book of Luminaries, notably the
existence at some stage in the tradition(s) of conflicting lunar reckon-
ings. These were identified possibly in the midst of a calendrical polemic
that centered around the use of the proper lunar reckoning to govern the
364DY. Admittedly these stand within the 364DY that accepts the role of
the moon in matters calendrical, as expounded by the Book of Sirach, and
as illustrated by those documents from the Dead Sea Scrolls corpus that
synchronize the 364DY with lunar observation—be they observations of
lunar phenomena or recording of periods of lunar visibility. In addition,
this third part of our enquiry contributes original arguments that further
advance the contemporary discussion concerning the identification and
interpretation of the X and dwq dates in 4Q320, 4Q321 and 4Q321a.
2.1. Antiquity of the 364-day Year Calendar

With regards to the 364-day calendar of the Book of Jubilees, Jaubert can
be credited with identifying its sabbatical structure, as well as its New
Year start on the fourth day of the week. These findings have been largely
corroborated by the discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the vicinity
of Qumran. There is no consensus to date, however, on the question of
the antiquity of the 364-day calendar. Jaubert suggested that it antedated
the book of Ezekiel and, therefore, may well have antedated the exile in
Babylon. This claim must remain hypothetical for the time being. Just
as Milik’s claim that the Astronomical work circulating under the name
Enoch could probably be dated to the fifth or sixth century BCE. The evi-
dence reviewed here indicates that the 364DY tradition is accounted for in
second Temple sources from the late third century BCE to the first century
CE. Outside of Judaea, the 364DY tradition was already known in Babylon
as early as the seventh to sixth centuries BCE (Mul-Apin; Ziqpu Stars).
There is little else that can be ascertained in light of the present state of
knowledge which would not move into the hypothetical realm.
conclusions 239
2.2. Identification of a Forgotten Connection: Lunar Reckonings in the

Book of Luminaries
A serious consideration of difficult readings contained in some of the
oldest manuscripts of the Ethiopic Book of Luminaries opened up some
interesting and new possibilities. More specifically, it was argued that the
existence in some mss of the α family of a textual tradition that stated that
three lunar years counted 1030 days, and fell behind the sun by sixty-two
days, was the indication that there were probably differing traditions of
reckoning the lunar cycle, which sought synchronization with the 364-day
year. It was further suggested that the oddity of the numbers could be
explained if one posited a polemical aspect behind the textual tradition.
This polemical background, suggested as the Sitz im Leben of the practice
of synchronization of the 364-day tradition with competing lunar reck-
onings, was further supported by the evidence of 4Q209 Frgs 25, 26 and
27. Additionally, support was also drawn from external evidence, notably
the Egyptian practice of reckoning the start of the month from the time
of the disappearance of the last lunar crescent in the sky. The identifica-
tion in the Calendrical Documents of a lunar reckoning, which matches
one of the lunar reckonings identified in the Ethiopic Book of Luminaries,
strengthens the interpretation offered.
At this stage of our knowledge, and owing to the lack of explicit textual
evidence so far to confirm the hypothesis suggested, the concession must
be made that the appeal to a scribal error to explain the difficult verse
in 1 En 74:14, as VanderKam does, cannot be totally dismissed and offers
an elegant solution to the problem. The potential weakness of the scribal
error solution, however, is its tendency to be rather oblivious to external
evidence. In the case at hand it overlooks the continuous link identified
between one of the two lunar reckonings expounded in the Ethiopic Book
of Luminaries, and the lunar month at Qumran as identified from the X
and dwq dates. This particular lunar reckoning is found nowhere else in
Jewish sources of the period under investigation.
2.3. Contribution to the Identification and Interpretation of the X and dwq

dates in 4Q320, 4Q321 and 4Q321a
Another possibly significant contribution is the positive identification,
based on a close reading of the textual evidence available, of the X date
with a day time phenomenon, and the dwq date as a night-time phenom-
enon. It was argued that the double dating (lunar/solar) of X in the first
240 chapter eight
month of the first year of the triennial cycle could only mark the time of
the day when the solar and the lunar dating would differ by one unit, i.e.,
the day-time part. Likewise, the single-dated dwq in the first month of the
first year could only mark the occurrence of a phenomenon which took
place at a time when both lunar and solar reckonings shared the same
date, i.e., the night-time. This new argument supports the identification
of X as marking the time of the disappearance of the last crescent in the
day time sky at the end of the lunar month, just before lunar conjunction.
It also militates for the identification of dwq with the observation of a
lunar phenomenon around the time of the full moon. The present argu-
ment provides some support to Ben-Dov’s recent proposal to identify the
Qumranic X date with the Babylonian KUR date.2 However, it presents
a serious challenge to his suggested identification of dwq, a night-time
phenomenon, with the Babylonian na.
Last, the identification in the calendrical documents 4Q320, 4Q321 and
4Q321a of a lunar reckoning starting the month with the last disappear-
ance of the lunar crescent in the sky before lunar conjunction, lends sup-
port to the proposition that there are two alternative lunar reckonings
in the Book of Luminaries, one of which matches the lunar reckoning in
use in the Qumran Calendrical scrolls. Once again, this particular lunar
reckoning differs from that which is identified in any other Jewish sources
of the period. A direct connection between the two sources cannot be
entirely ruled out.
3. Back to the Date of the Last Supper
Having started this investigation from Jaubert’s premise that the difficul-
ties surrounding the discrepancies contained in the Passion Narratives
of the four Gospels could be positively explained by the consideration
that there were different, competing year reckonings in use in first cen-
tury Judaea, it is now fitting to consider the ways in which parts Two and
Three of the present thesis contribute to the question. In other words,
how do the investigation of the relation between the cultic cycles and
the agricultural cycles in the sources on the one hand, and the specific
Second Temple calendrical issues identified and interpreted on the other
and, contribute to the thesis defended here?
2
Ben-Dov and Horowitz, “The Babylonian Lunar Three”. See also Ben-Dov’s Doctoral
Dissertation: “Astronomy and Calendars at Qumran—Sources and Trends”.
conclusions 241
In relation to the issues surrounding the question of the date of the last
supper the present enquiry seeks to demonstrate that: 1) a consideration
of second Temple cultic cycles as expounded in the extant textual sources
shows that all sources indicate inter alia that they considered their cultic
cycles to be synchronized with the seasons; 2) a consideration of specific
second Temple Judaism calendrical issues reinforces, by way of additional
evidence, the hypothesis that there were, indeed, competing calendars fol-
lowed by different strands of Judaism in Palestine in the centuries leading
up to the first century CE. Both lines of enquiry, from the perspectives
considered therein and within the limits of the textual evidence available,
contribute to develop further our knowledge of the calendrical issues that
are likely to have formed the backdrop to first century Palestine and to the
events centering on the last few days of Jesus’ earthly life. At the outset,
the above findings clear the path for a thorough re-appraisal of the ques-
tion surrounding the discrepancies recorded in the Gospels concerning
the date and nature of Jesus’ last supper with his disciples.
3.1. Calendrical Variations in Second Temple Judaism and the Date of the

Last Supper
The present undertaking does not directly engage with the question sur-
rounding the date of the Last supper in the New Testament. Rather, it
identifies the key objection leveled against the theory, and sets out to
answer this objection. The reprobation of what has arguably been, from
a historical-critical perspective, the main objection leveled at the Jauber-
tian theory, does not constitute a positive endorsement of the original
hypothesis. It only represents a positive step in removing a key objection
to the original hypothesis. The lack of space in the present undertaking,
largely due to the breadth and depth of the material covered, and the
technical aspect of some of the arguments offered therein, represent the
principle reasons for limiting this undertaking to a preliminary investiga-
tion. Admittedly the issues surrounding the date of the Last Supper are
numerous and could not be adequately treated within the constraints of
this book.
The present work does assert, however, that textual evidence from
the last centuries of the second Temple period supports further the
conclusion reached by others before: calendrical issues were at the epi-
center of Judaism for very obvious reasons.3 Mircea Eliade once wrote:
See for instance the important work in this field by no lesser authority on the subject
3
than Shemaryahu Talmon.

242 chapter eight
“the periodic re-actualization of the creative acts performed by the

divine beings in illo tempore constitutes the sacred calendar, the series
of festivals.”4 It is this very cultic cycle, this “succession of eternities,”5 as
it is expressed in Judaism, that gives us a clue as to the extent to which
calendrical issues really mattered. That which was at stake for the various
groups within Judaism was the re-actualization of their sacred world at the
appointed times. Biblical festivals fell on appointed times. Numbers (9:13)
stated that the one who did not keep the Passover at its appointed time
should “bear the consequences for the sin.” The Book of Jubilees (6:37–38)
explicitly warned against making a profane day holy and a holy day pro-
fane. Those who did so would, according to Jubilees, “eat all the blood with
all (kinds of) meat” (49:38c), a practice strictly forbidden (Lev 19:26), and
associated with serious wrong-doing in the eyes of God: “Abstain from it
[eating blood], that you and your children after you may prosper for doing
what is right in the sight of the Lord” (Deut 12:23–25).6 Likewise, the book
of Enoch linked calendrical (cultic?) and seasonal disconnection with the
“days of the sinners” (1 En 80:2).
This limited sample of extracts is indicative of a perceived concern
in second Temple Judaisms with the observation of God’s festivals at
the proper time—the appointed times. It also illustrates the connection
drawn by the authors between sin and calendrical anomalies. The over-
arching issue is to do with the perceived sustenance of the temporal by
the divine. It is also to do with the threat that disturbances to the divinely
appointed order represents to the community, or to the “religious man”
to use Eliade’s terminology.7 From this perspective it must come as no
surprise that texts from the period and locale under investigation, which
seek to expound the movements of the sun and the moon, contain indi-
cations of—at the very least—“discussion and disagreements,” and at
best, full blown controversies, concerning the correct computing system
to adopt. How the sun and moon were reckoned to command the years
was debated, even within traditions following the same year length, as
the differing positions between the Ethiopic Book of Luminaries, the Book
4
Eliade, op. cit., 85.
5
As described by Hubert and Mauss, cited by Eliade, op. cit., 88.
6
Cf. Lev 3:17. Interestingly the command not to eat “flesh with its lifeblood still in it” is
the only negative ordinance formulated in the narrative describing the covenant between
God and Noah (Gen 9:1–7, esp. 4). See also Deut 12:16.
7
Eliade, op. cit., 68–113.
conclusions 243
of Jubilees, and the Calendrical Documents from Qumran illustrate.8 Such

discussion is relevant and pertinent to the present inquiry, and fitting as
a preliminary investigation to the problem of the date of the Last Supper.
No one would seriously dispute the centrality of the calendrical issue to
the Quartodeciman controversy. Such controversies were rooted in the
old traditions inherited from Judaism, and as such are connected directly
to second Temple calendrical issues.
3.2. The Cycle of Festivals and the Date of the Last Supper

The background identified above also allows one to appreciate better the
ramifications of calendrical disputes centering around the cultic cycle
in second Temple Judaism. Sacred time is that time which allows one
to re-experiment, re-enact the intervention of the divine in history, thus
renewing and sustaining profane time.9 In Judaism this is nowhere bet-
ter expressed than at the time of Passover, when the community recalled
contemporaneously God’s saving intervention in history.
If calendrical controversies were an issue for the different strands of
Judaism in first century Palestine (and before), and the evidence here
considered suggest that they were, then this issue impacts directly upon
the interpretation of the events recorded in the Gospel passion narratives,
regardless of how much or how little these narratives explicitly reveal
on the issue. As indicated in the Introduction, the various theories put
forward to account for the Gospel discrepancies contain difficulties. The
chronology of the Synoptic tradition is flawed if one takes seriously the
indication in John 18:28 that the Jews had not yet eaten the Passover for
fear of defilement. The chronology of the fourth Gospel is probably cor-
rect in indicating that Jesus died at the time of the slaughtering of the
Passover lambs in the Temple, as supported by external evidence
(b. Sanh. 43a, 67a). Yet, the compelling case presented by the Synoptic
tradition, as argued by J. Jeremias, that the Last Supper was indeed a Pass-
over meal represents a strong and valid argument, which prevents one
from dismissing the Synoptic tradition too hastily. Hence the second alter-
native, Jaubert’s theory, that there was probably in the background to the
actual events two differing calendars has much to commend itself. Each
calendrical tradition displays characteristics that can explain satisfactorily
some key aspects of the passion narratives. The 364DY tradition, with its
Jub. 6:32–38 denies that the moon plays any role in the reckoning of the year.
8
Eliade, op. cit., 89.

9
244 chapter eight
Passover celebrated on a Tuesday every year, would allow for the presence
of the Passover elements to the meal. It would also allow precious addi-
tional time for the otherwise very tight chronology of events defended by
the proponents to the Thursday arrest-Friday execution of Jesus.
The official, lunisolar tradition, which is kept in the fourth Gospel, allows
the conclusion that Passover was celebrated, according to this calendar,
that very year on a Friday evening at the start of the Sabbath. The main
difficulty with the 364DY tradition was to assert whether it was aligned
with the lunisolar calendar the year Jesus died, so much that its Passover
celebration fell on the Tuesday of passion week. Whereas this particular
issue still remains to be considered further, the present enquiry demon-
strates that, based on the textual evidence available about the 364DY tra-
dition, there is no real ground to posit a year dissociated from the cycle of
seasons. In other words, on the balance of probability, the 364DY was, that
particular year like in any other year, aligned with the cycle of seasons.
Therefore, its own celebration of Passover took place on a Tuesday, not far
removed from the celebration of Passover in the official calendar.
3.3. On the Question of Intercalation of the 364-day Year

It has not been possible here to consider in depth the question of inter-
calation of the 364DY tradition. This means that the calendar objection
identified as the main objection leveled at Jaubert can only positively be
dealt with as far as the extant primary sources are concerned. No smok-
ing gun that would tell scholars how exactly the proponents of the 364DY
kept their calendar aligned with the seasons has been identified. As a
result the affirmation that intercalation of the 364DY observed in Judaea
sometime from the third century BCE to the first century CE must have
taken place is to remain theoretical still. Of course, the argument against
the practicability of the 364-day calendar, based on the absence of any
such smoking gun, remains itself primarily an argument from silence that
flies in the face of the considerable textual evidence considered here with
regard to the festivals and their observations.
Since the important discussions on the subject articulated by Glessmer
and by Albani, scholars have added several pieces to the puzzle. There
is first the stone roundel, found in Qumran locus 45.10 The instrument
has been interpreted as an astronomical measuring device, allowing the
10
M. Albani and U. Glessmer, “Un instrument de mesures astronomiques à Qumrân,”
Revue biblique 104 (1997): 88–115.
conclusions 245
determination of the four cardinal points, as a sundial, and as an odome-

ter.11 It is possible that the question of the exact nature and purpose of the
roundel will contribute further to the discussion surrounding the issue of
intercalation of the 364DY. Such discussion must be delayed until a later
date. Second, important connections have been highlighted between the
364DY tradition found in most of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Mesopotamian
astronomy.12 It is likely that further efforts in this promising direction
will bring more light to the subject. Third, scholars have also found
connections between the 364DY tradition from Jubilees and specific
aspects of liturgical practices followed in the early Jerusalem church and
in some strands of early Christianity.13 This will also contribute to the
research effort.
4. Areas for Further Enquiries
First, it convincingly deals with the calendar objection leveled against the
Jaubertian theory by demonstrating that the sources which followed a
364-day year were very likely to have followed a calendar they professed
was attached to the seasons. Thus, by removing the main objection to
Jaubert’s theory, the present work paves the way for the systematic re-
appraisal of further aspects of Jaubert’s theory at a later stage. Of par-
ticular importance will be a thorough investigation of the treatment of
11
Albani and Glessmer, op. cit., 106–14; G.M. Hollenback, “The Qumran Roundel: An
Equatorial Sundial?” Dead Sead Discoveries 7 (2000): 123–9, argued that the object could
help the determination of constant solar hours, resulting in varying number of hours in
day and night according to the seasons. B. Thiering, “The Qumran Sundial as an Odom-
eter Using Fixed Lengths Hours,” Dead Sea Discoveries 9, no. 3 (2002): 347–63, suggested
that the device was probably used as a portable odometer, which allowed one to measure
distances walked in terms of time. As recently as 2004 the discussion on the exact nature
of the device was still developing. Cf. G.M. Hollenback, “More on the Qumran Roundel as
an Equatorial Sundial,” Dead Sea Discoveries 11 (2004): 289–92.
12
Ben-Dov and Horowitz, “The 364-Day Year in Mesopotamia and Qumran”; Ben-Dov
and Horowitz, “The Babylonian Lunar Three”; Ben-Dov, “Astronomy and Calendars at
Qumran—Sources and Trends” See also the discussion above on the identification of X
and dwq.
13
B. Lourié, “Les quatre jours ‘de l’intervalle’: une modification néotestamentaire et
chrétienne du calendrier de 364 jours,” in L’Église des deux Alliances: Mémorial Annie Jau-
bert (1912–1980) (eds B. Lourié, M. Petit, and A. Orlov; OJC 1; Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press,
2008), 103–33; M. van Esbroeck, “L’année réguliere de 364 jours dans la controverse au sujet
de Chalcédoine,” in L’Église des deux Alliances: Mémorial Annie Jaubert (1912–1980) (eds
B. Lourié, M. Petit, and A. Orlov; Orientalia Judaica Christiana 1; Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias
Press, 2008), 97–102; W.D. Ray, “August 15 and the Development of the Jerusalem Calen-
dar,” Ph.D diss. (University of Notre Dame, 2000).
246 chapter eight
the subject of Passover among Christian writers in the first five centu-
ries of the present era. Jaubert had already gathered a substantial body of
Patristic literature, which must be reconsidered at greater depth than was
affordable in the present undertaking.
Second, some new, so far undefined, characteristics pertaining to par-
ticular traditions in the 364DY tradition are identified, such as the avoid-
ance of the second Passover. Such avoidance was identified in Jub. 49. In
addition, one may note that those documents from the Dead Sea Scrolls
corpus which do list the purely agricultural feasts of New Oil and New
Wine (such as 4Q325; 11QTa) do remain silent about a second Passover,
whereas those documents which do not list those purely agricultural feasts
do mention the second Passover. So much so that one may venture the
following hypothesis: in documents concerned with the practicability of
the 364DY, the second Passover is omitted because of its potentially dis-
rupting impact upon the synchronization of the cycle of festivals with the
cycle of seasons. If the hypothesis, which no doubt will require further
refinement, is correct, it will increase our understanding of this calendar,
and encourage anew further investigations. If it is becoming increasingly
difficult to doubt the practicability of the 364-day year, scholars are still
at a loss to explain how the calendar was kept in line with the seasons.
Avoidance of the second Passover may be a clue in the right direction.
More studies on this particular issue are called for.
Third, the thesis proposes fresh interpretations of difficult readings of
the Book of Luminaries. If accepted, these will also generate a renewed
interest in the field by opening new possibilities. In particular, the inter-
connection between Jewish astronomy and astronomical works from
neighbouring civilizations may generate further fertile grounds.
Fourth: the thesis provides new arguments in favor of the identifica-
tion of the X and dwq dates recorded in 4Q320, 4Q321, and 4Q321a, thus
also partly confirming a recent scholarly hypothesis linking the dates with
lunar observations in Babylonia. From this perspective, a fresh investiga-
tion of the proposal of Jerome Murphy O’Connor that influential for the
rise of the Essene movement was a Persian influenced sector of Judaism,
based on late returning groups from the exile in Babylon, would likely be
beneficial.14
14
J. Murphy O’Connor, “Demetrius I and the Teacher of Righteousness,” Revue bib-
lique 83 (1976): 400–420; J. Murphy O’Connor, “The Essenes in Palestine,” Biblical Arche-
ologist 40 (1977): 100–124.
APPENDIX
THE 364-DAY YEAR, THE LUNAR CYCLE, AND THE TRIENNIAL CYCLE
1. The 364-DY Triennial Cycle
This annual cycle is very straight forward: each year counts 364 days,
amounting to a total of 1,092 days per triennial cycle. The length of this
cycle is indicated indirectly in 1 En 74:14 through a reference to the length
of a triennial lunar cycle counting 3 × 354 days = 1,062 days, to which 30
days are to be added in order to keep the cycle synchronized with the 364
DY triennial cycle of 1,092 days.
In the calendrical scrolls from Qumran cave 4 this 364-DY triennial cycle
is integrated with the rotation of weekly temple service of the twenty-four
priestly families known from the biblical book of 1 Chr 24. This is evi-
denced in particular by the Mišmarot documents, so called because they
record the occurrences of cultic dates (sabbaths, festivals, first day of the
year, of the month, and of the year quarters) during the week of temple
service of such or such priestly family during any given year of the sexen-
nial cycle. This integration of the two cycles allows for an equal allocation
of temple weekly service between the twenty-four priestly families over
a duration of six years. In other words, during each sexennial cycle each
priestly family served in the temple for a combined thirteen weeks.
2. The Lunar Triennial Cycle
The lunar year accrues to 354 days, divided into twelve months, six months
of 29 days, six months of 30 days, in an alternating sequence, starting with
a 29 day month, as suggested by 1 En 73:4. The verse reads: “In this way
it rises with its beginning towards the east, it emerges on the thirtieth
day, and on that day it is visible. It becomes for you the beginning of
the month on the thirtieth day with the sun in the gate where the sun
emerges.” This verse may well describe the last lunar phase before lunar
conjunction: the moon rises during the night and is visible in the sky at
day break, the thirtieth day of the month, and remains visible for a good
period of the day.
248 appendix
The indication “on that day it is visible” would not make sense if the
moon was visible in the daytime sky only for a short period of time, as is
the case in the early stages of the lunar phases (first crescent and subse-
quent days). Daytime lunar visibility is minimal around the time of the full
moon, while following the full moon phase the daytime period of lunar
visibility increases every day until the last day of the lunar phase. On the
last day of the lunar phase the moon disappears in the daytime sky, enter-
ing its period of linear alignment with the earth and the sun, standing
between the two. This period is typically referred to as lunar conjunction.
The moon becomes visible again from the earth about a day and a half
later, when the first crescent indicating the start of the next lunar phase
is observable in the evening sky (before night).
The identification of the beginning of the month in 1 En 73:4 as “the
thirtieth day with the sun in the gate where the sun emerges” suggests
that the day of disappearance of the last lunar crescent in the daytime sky
marks the end of the lunar month. This in turn indicates that the lunar
month starts, according to 1 En 73:4, at the point when the last lunar phase
ends and the moon enters its period of conjunction. This thirtieth day of
the sun becomes the first day of the subsequent lunar month.
Whether starting with the full moon, the sighting of the first crescent,
or the disappearance of the last crescent, or indeed with any given lunar
phase, the triennial lunar cycle adds up to 3 × 354 days = 1,062 days.
Knowledge of this triennial cycle is explicitly indicated in 1 En 74:14 “For
the moon alone, the days in three years come to 1,062.” It is implicit in the
calendrical scrolls from Qumran which synchronize the lunar cycle with
the base 364-DY (e.g. 4Q320, 4Q321 and 4Q321a).
3. The 364-DY Triennial Cycle and Lunar Synchronization
As suggested by the content of the Astronomical Book on the one hand,

and by the Mišmarot document from Qumran cave 4 on the other hand,
attempts were made at synchronizing the 364 day year with the lunar year.
If the arguments developed in chapter 7 above are correct, the computing
of the X and dwq dates in 4Q320, 4Q321 and 4Q321a suggest that the 364
day year triennial cycle was synchronized at Qumran with a (astronomi-
cal) new moon start lunar reckoning, i.e. with a lunar month reckoned to
start at the time of disappearance of the last lunar phase in the daytime
sky. This, however, is unlikely to have been at any given point during the
second temple period a unified practice.
the 364-day year, the lunar cycle, and the triennial cycle 249
The somewhat cryptic material preserved in ms Tana9 of the Astro-

nomical Book—especially chapter 74—becomes more intelligible once
one posits a synchronization of the 364-DY together with the lunar year.
For a group synchronizing the 364-DY together with a full moon start lunar
reckoning, the new moon start lunar reckoning would appear to behave
oddly when measured against the 364-DY / full moon triennial cycle.
From a certain perspective it can be said to start 16 days before the actual
start of the synchronized 364-DY/full moon triennial cycle, and to end 16
days before the actual completion of the triennial full moon cycle. The
arguments are developed in chapter 6 above.
Synchronized 364-DY/full moon lunar reckoning:

364 days 364 days 364 days = 1,092 days
[____________________][___________________][___________________]
354 days 354 days 354 days 30 days = 1,092 days
[___________________][_________________][_________________][___]
New moon lunar reckoning measured against the competing 364-DY/full moon:
(-16d.) 354d. 354d. 354d. -16d. -30d. = 1,030 days
[_][_______________][__________________][__________________][_][___]
1092 days - 1030 days = 62 days (16 + 16 + 30)
From the perspective of an adherent of the 364-DY/full moon lunar reck-

oning, when measured against the “correct” 364-DY/lunar synchronization
(full moon lunar reckoning), the triennial (astronomical) new moon lunar
reckoning may be dismissed as lasting “only” 1,030 days, and as “falling”
62 days behind the sun, just as is recorded in 1 En 74:14 in ms. Tana9 “for
the moon singly in three (years) its days add up to one thousand thirty
days, so that it falls behind by sixty two days in three years.” The sixty two
day discrepancy was derived from the fact that, a) the first 16 days of the
364-DY/new moon reckoning stood outside of the correct 364-DY/full
moon reckoning and therefore could not be counted from the perspec-
tive of the latter; b) the 364-DY/new moon reckoning ended 16 days earlier
than the correct 364-DY/full moon reckoning; and c) the lunar triennial
cycle—in whatever reckoning—fell 30 days behind the 364-DY triennial
cycle. The assertion in ms. Tana9 becomes intelligible: 16+16+30 = 62, the
amount of days by which the triennial lunar reckoning is singled for fall-
ing out of synchronization with the 364-DY triennial cycle.
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Index of Subjects
Al-Biruni, 24, 27, 29, 39, 197–8, 203 Autumn, 148, 158
Al-Qirqisānī, 198, 203 Spring, 155, 158
Aqedah of Isaac, 92–93 Essenes, 31, 47, 60, 154, 155n77, 169, 172,
Antiochus IV Epiphanes, 48 174, 234
Astronomy Eupolomus, 166, 170
Babylonian, 68n5, 179
First-fruit, 77n32, 78, 86
Bar Kohba letters, 156–158 In Josephus’ works, 146–147
in Jubilees, 92, 107, 109, 125, 235
Calendar in Dead Sea Scrolls, 104n27, 117, 129–139,
364-day year, 165, 172, 173, 174 235
364-day year (Dead Sea Scrolls), 117, 126, of New Oil, 134
127, 128, 129, 137, 205 of New Wine, 129–134
364-day year ( Jubilees), 23, 25–27, 32, of Wood Offering, 135–139
44ff, 62, 81n41, 101n22, 105, 111, 112, 124,
136, 234ff Hezekiah, king, 4, 67n1, 72n15, 82–86, 89,
364-day year (1 Enoch), 136, 166 103, 110, 123, 137, 146, 236, 238
365 day, 45 Holy Seed, 102, 105, 137
Egyptian solar, 175
Gezer, 139–141, 197–198, 203 Intercalation, 23, 29, 49, 50, 62, 83, 104,
Lunar, 14, 29, 43, 49–50, 56, 125, 194 126n41, 131, 142n13, 154n72, 184n85, 191,
Lunisolar, 14, 32, 102n24, 104, 116n8, 212n26, 244–245
133n67, 153, 157, 158, 218
Pentecontad, 27, 45, 47, 125, 154, 155n77 Jeroboam, king, 79–81, 89, 144n22, 236
Qumran lunar, 216, 219, 221, 222 Josiah, king, 67, 69, 72, 81n41, 84n49,
Solar, 14, 22–23, 44, 60 110n44
Calendrical Documents Joy, 94–95, 108
dwq date, 120, 205–213, 221ff, 238, 239 Judas Maccabaeus, 172
Mišmarot, 205
X date, 120, 205, 213–215, 216–221, 238, 239 Luminaries, book of, 164–173, 178ff
Covenant Aramaic astronomical book, 167–173, 178
Renewed covenant, 173
With Noah, 93, 104, 107, 242n6 Maccabean revolt, 48, 49, 99
Magharyans, 24, 39, 197–199
Day Menelaus, 172
Epagomenal days, 184–185, 228 Month, reckoning of, 70, 81n41
Morrow after the Sabbath, 24–25, 74, Lunar, 163, 178–9, 191n94
125, 147, 150, 235 Full moon start, 181, 183, 188, 189, 190
Of Atonement, 25 Last crescent start, 197, 200, 201, 203
Day, reckoning of New moon start (astronomical), 197ff
Sunrise to sunrise, 70n10, 77, 92n4, 120, New moon start (first crescent), 179,
136, 154, 175, 217 180, 181, 183, 188, 189, 211
Sunset to sunset, 70n10, 77, 85, 92n4, Qumran lunar, 215, 216, 219, 220, 221
120, 143 Moon
Babylonian Lunar Six, 224, 225
Elephantine papyri Babylonian Lunar Three, 223, 224
Passover letter, 142n13, 144n22 Waxing and waning, 180–181, 182n82,
Equinox 183, 188, 195, 197–198n109, 227
270 index of subjects
Naḥal Ḥever, 156 Tabernacles, festival of, 25, 82, 85, 87, 88,
New Year 103
Festival of, 23, 24 As first-fruit, 76, 78
In Dead Sea Scrolls, 128
Onias III, High Priest, 172 In Jubilees, 93, 108–112
In Philo’s works, 151–152
Passover, festival of, 88 In the Pentateuch, 76–77
As New Year festival, 74n25 Teacher of Righteousness, 206n1
In Dead Sea Scrolls, 118–119 Therapeutae, 154, 155n77, 156
In Elephantine papyri, 143–144 Time cycles
In Josephus’ works, 145–147 Metonic cycle, 148
In Jubilees, 92–106 Lunar cycle, 22, 45, 247–248
In Philo’s works, 148–150 Six-year cycle, 123, 133n67, 213
In the Pentateuch, 72–74 Solar year, 22, 234
King Hezekiah’s in the second month, Three-year cycle, 133n67, 163, 188,
82–85, 87, 103, 123n30, 137 189, 191, 205, 212, 213, 219, 220, 226,
Month of abib, 72–74 247–248
Passover, Second, 84, 85, 88, 236 Twenty-eight-year cycle, 23, 27
Absence of in Jubilees, 77n34, 91, 93, Tithe, 86–88, 90, 109, 111, 133, 136, 235–236
95–105, 137, 237 Of grain, wine and oil, 89
In Dead Sea Scrolls, 104n27, 108n38, Second tithe, 61n190, 92, 109, 110, 111, 113,
122n28 114, 123n30
In the Dead Sea Scrolls, 119n18, 121–124, Wood offering, 89
137 Trial
In the Pentateuch, 77 Of Jesus, 54, 60
Passover lamb
Slaughter of, 84 Unleavened Bread, festival of, 84, 85, 88
Pentateuch, 71–78 In the Dead Sea Scrolls, 119–121
Sources of, 71n11, 100, 110n44 In Elephantine papyri, 143
Pharisees, 9, 10, 12, 13n57, 14, 25n24, 30, In Josephus’ works, 145–147
54n154 In Jubilees, 93–94, 106–108, 120
Purim, festival of, 67–68n2–3 In the Pentateuch, 74–75
Special Purim, 68n3 In Philo’s works, 149–150
the Day after the Sabbath, 74, 78, 85
Raising of the Sheaf, festival of
In the Dead Sea Scrolls, 124–126 Weeks, festival of, 85, 87, 88, 103
In Jubilees, 103, 108 As first fruit, 76, 78
In the Pentateuch, 75 As renewal of the covenant, 137
Interpretation of its date, 75, 103, 235 In Josephus’ works, 147
Reason-seat, 154 In Jubilees, 93, 104, 107–108
In Philo’s works, 151
Sabbath In the Dead Sea Scrolls, 126–128
appointed festival, 68 In the Pentateuch, 75–76
associated with lunar phases, 68n5
dissociated from lunar phases, 68n5 Year
origins of, 68–69n5 Start of, 23, 73, 175
seven day cycle, 69n6 354-day year, 184
sign, 68n5 360-day year, 176, 183, 184
Sadducees, 10–12, 13n57, 14, 25n24, 54n154, 364-day year, 115, 131, 153, 163, 172,
176n59 174–177, 183, 184, 207, 247–248
Sanhedrin, 40–43, 53, 54n154, 55 364-day year tradition, 115n4, 153, 176n59
Seleucids, 100 365-day year, 165
INDEX OF MODERN AUTHORS
Abegg, M.G., 206n4, 207n6, 209n12, 211n20 Chyutin, M., 174–176, 197n109
Albani, M., 68n5, 131, 184n85, 229n68, 244 Cohn, H.H., 60n181
Albertz, R., 72n13 Colson, F.H., 154n71
Albright, W.F., 140, 141n10 Connolly, R.H., 51
Bar-On, S., 72n13, 74n26 Daise, M.A., 125–6n41

Barker, M., 154n71, 164n4 Dalman, G., 7
Barthélémy, D., 24, 26, 49, 94n9, 107n37, Daniel, S., 148n43, 149n45
207n6 Davies, P.R., 49
Barrett, C.K., 53, 60 de Vaux, R., 73n18
Bauks, M., 69n5 Demann, P., 56, 60
Baumgarten, J.M., 45n108, 46, 48, 92n4, Dodd, C.H., 56, 60n182
101n22, 216, 217n42 Douglas, M., 100n20
Beckwith, R.T., 6, 13n58, 44–45, 47, 50, Drawnel, H., 178, 179n72
58, 60, 75n27–28, 76n30, 82n41, 111n47, Dubs, J.-C., 211n20
113n50, 171–172, 198n110, 207n6, 234 Dupont-Sommer, A., 206n2
Begg, C., 144n25
Belkin, S., 148n42 Eliade, M., 78n35, 241
Ben-Dov, J., 118n16, 176n60, 177n63, 182n82, Ellis, E.E., 53–54, 56
193, 206n4, 211n20, 222n53, 223–224, 240 Elior, R., 70n8
Benedict XVI, Pope, 9, 44n107, 57n167,
60n184, 63n195 Feldman, L.H., 144n25, 146n34, 147n41
Benoit, P., 41n98, 54, 56, 58, 59, 60n182 Feldman, R., 177n67
Billerbeck, P., 4, 11–12, 38–39 France, R.T., 4–6, 58, 60
Black, M., 51–52, 54–55 Fitzmyer, J.A., 60
Blenkinsopp, J., 71n11, 100n20 Fossum, J., 39, 198n110
Blinzler, J., 54, 56, 60n182 Freedman, B.A., 83n45
Boccaccini, G., 167n18, 188n93
Bock, D., 58, 60 García Martínez, F., 128n52, 167n19,
Bokser, B.M., 72n13 196n103–104, 210n18
Bord, L.-J., 73n16,20 Gertz, J.C., 72n13
Brandon, S.G.F., 60n181 Gillet-Didier, V., 209n12, 211n19, 222n53
Braun, O., 116n6 Gilmore, A., 55
Broshi, M., 82n42 Ginsberg, L.H., 73n19
Brown, R.E., 5n17, 7–8, 13, 53–54, 58–60 Glessmer, U., 48, 68–69n5, 118n16, 131n63,
Bruce, F.F., 53 176n59, 206n1, 244
Bultmann, R., 39 Greenfield, J.C., 169
Burns, J.E., 68n3, 70n9 Grelot, P., 99n19, 142n16–17, 144n21
Callaway, P.R., 123n28, 130n57, 176n59 Halbe, J., 72n13

Capper, J.B., 32, 61n185 Halpern, B., 79n37
Carmignac, J., 61n190 Halpern-Amaru, B., 93n8, 94n11–14,
Carson, D.A., 6n25 Heawood, P.J., 38
Casey, M., 12n51 Hecht, R.D., 148n43
Cazelles, H., 46 Hehn, J., 68n5
Charles, R.H., 164n6, 228 Hoehner, H.W., 11, 13–14, 60
Childs, B.S., 68n5 Holl, K., 51
Chwolson, D., 10 Hollenback, G.M., 245n11
272 index of modern authors
Horn, S.H., 141n13 Morgenstern, J., 27, 44–45, 47, 49

Horowitz, W., 171n39, 176n60, 177n64–65, Morris, L., 55, 56
223–224 Morton, S., 175n56
Humphreys, C.J., 6, 44 Murphy O’Connor, J., 246
Hunger, H., 171n39, 176n61–62, 177n64, Myers, J.M., 84n47
223n55, 225n58
Ne’eman, N., 175n52
Instone-Brewer, D., 12n51 Neugebauer, O., 163n2, 180, 181, 182, 183,
Isaac, E., 163n2, 164n5–6, 180, 181, 182, 183, 185, 188n92
185, 187, 229 Neusner, J., 42, 83n45
Nickelsburg, G.W.E., 163n2, 178, 186n90,
Jaubert, A., 3, 14–15, 19–61, 62n193, 188n92, 192, 228n62, 229
81–82n41, 92, 93n6, 107n37, 115, 165n12, Niederwimmer, K., 30n51
166, 174, 198n110, 207n6, 231, 234ff Nitzan, B., 116n6
Jeremias, J., 1–2, 4, 11n40, 12, 51–52, 60, 243 Nodet, É., 22, 32n61, 144n25, 145n29, 146n34
Nolland, J., 55, 56
Kaufmann, W.J., 191n94
Klawans, J., 71n11, 100n20, 105n32 O’Brien, K., 4, 59n173
Klein, R.W., 88n53 O’Flynn, J.A., 11, 52, 53, 55, 60
Knibb, M., 163n2, 180, 181, 182, 186n90, Obermann, J.J., 45n123
187n92 Ogg, G., 45, 50–52, 60
Knohl, I., 71–72n11–12, 77n34, 100n20, 210, Oppenheimer, A., 156n80
211, Oren, E., 175n53
Koch, J., 171n39, 177n64 Orlov, A., 15n65, 62n194
Koch, K., 68n5
Kutsch, E., 45–46, 50 Parker, A., 70n10, 197n106, 212n24
Kutscher, J., 144n21 Parry, D.W., 116n8–9
Petit, M., 15n65, 62n194
Lagrange, M.-J., 11n39 Pickl, J., 13
Leach, E.R., 50 Pingree, D., 171n39, 176n61–62, 177n64
Leany, A.R.C., 50 Pixner, B., 61n185
Lemaire, A., 140n5, 140n9 Porten, B., 141n12–13
Léon-Dufour, X., 52, 60 Prat, F., 14
Lewis, H.A.G., 191n94 Prosic, T., 72n13; 73n20
Lewy, H., 27
Lewy, J., 27 Qimron, E., 118n14, 121n24, 122n26, 129n55
Lichtenstein, J., 11
Lorein, G.W., 116n6–7 Ravid, L., 101n23, 102n24, 106n33, 107n37
Lourié, B., 15n65, 62n194 Reeves, J.C., 110n42, 130n57
Rendtorf, R., 100n20
Maier, J., 122n26 Richardson, P., 154n74
Mann, C.S., 52–54, 56, 60 Riesner, R., 61n185
Manson, T.W., 54n150 Rook, J.T., 45n114
Marshall, I.H., 14n60, 52, 56, 60 Ruckstuhl, E., 47, 50, 53–55, 58
McKay, H.A., 69n5
McKay, J.W., 70n10 Sacchi, P., 167n17, 179n72, 188n93
Meier, J.P., 5n17, 8, 9, 57n167 Sachau, C.E., 24, 29
Meinold, J., 68n5 Sachs, A., 223n55, 225n58–61
Milgrom, J., 71n11, 82n42, 84n47, 86n51, Saulnier, S., 206n4
95n17, 100n20 Schmidt, F., 211n20
Milik, J.T., 21n11, 27, 47n123, 49n131, 61n187, Schneemelcher, W., 6n20
101n22, 115, 123n29, 163–173, 182, 186n90, Schürer, E., 154n77
196, 201, 208, 209, 210, 220, 238 Segal, J.B., 22, 49, 72n13, 74n25, 83
Moore, C.A., 68n3 Segal, M., 217
Moore, P., 191n94 Smith, B.D., 4–5, 60
index of modern authors 273
Spilsbury, P., 144n25 VanderKam, J.C., 20n3, 21n10, 45–46,

Stegemann, H., 131n63, 173n48 48–49, 77n33, 88n53, 91n1–2, 92n5, 93n7,
Stern, S., 69n6, 81n41, 141–142n13 101n23, 106n33, 133n69, 134n75, 163n1–2,
Stone, M.E., 164n3, 166n17, 167n18, 169 166n17, 167n20, 168, 169n30–31, 170n32,
Strack, H.L., 11 174, 178n68, 180, 182n82, 185, 186, 187,
Sukenik, E. L., 144n21 188n92, 193n97, 209n12, 228n62, 229, 239
Swanson, D.D., 122n26 Veijola, T., 68n5; 72n13
Vermes, G., 20, 126n41, 130n59, 154n77
Talmon, S., 45, 79n36, 80, 115n4, 116n9, Vogt, E., 46, 52, 54–55
118n16, 119n18, 123n30, 126n42, 134n71, Von Rad, G., 73n16–17
136n81, 140n5, 140n8, 141n10, 141n13,
144n22, 171, 172, 173n47, 206, 210, 211, 212, Wacholder, B.Z., 131n63, 207n6
216, 217, 220 Wacholder, S., 131n63, 207n6
Tavardon, P., 32 Wagenaar, J.A., 70n10, 72n13, 73, 141n11
Taylor, Ju., 32n61, Walker, N., 53–55, 58–59
Taylor, Jo., 154n74 Widengren, G., 143n19
Testuz, M., 46, 50 Wise, M.O., 122n26, 133n68, 156n81–83,
Thiering, B., 245n11 157n86, 158n87, 206n2, 210–211, 212, 213
Tigchelaar, E.J.C., 128n52, 167n19, Witherington III, B., 56
196n103–104 Wood, L.H., 141n13
Torrey, C.C., 4, 38, 58
Tov, E., 116n8–9 Yadin, Y., 115n3, 122, 129n54–5, 130, 136n82,
Trocmé, É., 54, 58 175n51
Yardeni, A., 142n14, 157n84–85
Uhlig, S., 186n90 Young, I., 140n9
Vaillant, R., 28 Zeitlin, S., 13n56, 38

van der Kooij, A., 70n9 Zevit, Z., 79n38, 81n41
van Goudoever, J., 11n47 Zuesse, E., 67–68n2
van Staalduin-Sulman, E., 116n6–7
Index of Scriptures and Other Ancient Writings
Old Testament
Genesis 23:32 77
1:16ff 209 23:34 76, 85
1:18 207, 216, 219 23:39 112
5:23 165, 166, 169 23:39–40 76
8:4 46 23:42–43 76, 128
27:30–33 110
Exodus
12:1 72 Numbers
12:2 73 6:3–4 130
12:5 73 9:1–3 72, 95
12:6 9, 73 9:1–14 77, 92, 95
12:10 11 9:3 10
12:11 72 9:4–5 95
12:14–20 74 9:5 10, 72
12:18 74 9:6–8 92, 95, 113
12:27 72 9:9–12 92, 95, 113
12:28 95 9:10 82, 99
13:4 73 9:11 10, 72, 84
16:1 46 9:13 77, 99, 242
20:8–11 10 9:14 77, 99
22:29 110 10:10 94, 95
23:14–19 73 10:11 81
23:15 73 10:11–12a 46
23:15–16 142 10:13 46
24:12 91 18:21 110
34:18 73 18:28 110
34:18–22 142 18:30 112
34:18–26 73 18:31 110
34:22 76, 87 28:16 72
33:3 72
Leviticus
6:12–13 89 Deuteronomy
19:26 242 5:1–15 10
23:2–3 68 5:13 217
23:4–8 75 6:7 217
23:5 10, 72 12:7 94
23:5–8 142 12:12 94
23:6 74 12:23–25 242
23:10–11 75 14:22–23 110, 111
23:15 9, 11, 46, 74, 14:28–29 110, 111
75, 78, 85, 112, 16:1 72
125, 147, 150 16:1–17 3
23:15–16 24–25, 75, 108 16:2 4
23:16 76 16:6 73
23:24 77 16:9 75
23:27ff 77 16:9–11 85
index of scriptures and other ancient writings 275
16:11 94 30:21 84
16:12 76 30:21–26 94
16:13 76, 78, 85 30:22 84
16:14 94 31:3 85
16:15 94 31:4–7 86
16:16 85, 86 31:5 86
26:1–11 152 31:6 86
26:11 94 31:7 86, 87, 89,
26:12 110 110, 236
31:10 86, 87
Joshua 35:1 72, 84
4:19 46 35:7 4
35:17 84
2 Samuel
21:9 75 Ezra
5:11 89
1 Kings 6:19 88
6:38 81 6:19–22 94
8:2 81 6:22 88
9:15, 17 140 9:1 105
12:4 79 9:2 105
12:6–12 79 10:34 89
12:18 79 10:39 89
12:20 79
12:26–27 79 Nehemiah
12:28–29 79 8:9–12 94
12:30 80 8:17 94
12:31 79 12:43 94
12:32 79, 236
12:33 79 Ezekiel
13:33 79 20:12 68
14:25–26 140 45:21 78
45:22 73
2 Kings 45:25 72
23:25 81
Daniel
1 Chronicles 7:25 28
12:40–41 94 8:1–14 49
29:21–22 94 9:27 49
11:31 49
2 Chronicles 12:11 49
7:9–10 94
8:13 85 Sirach
11:15 79 43:6–7 195
12:2–3 140
15:11–15 94 1 Maccabees
29:3 4 1:41–61 49
29:21–26 82 2:15–26 49
29:24 86
30:2 72, 104 2 Maccabees
30:13 84 6:1–11 49
30:15 72 9:10 126
30:21–22 4
276 index of scriptures and other ancient writings
New Testament
Matthew 22:15 2
21:1–9 39 22:15–16 8, 57
21:17 39 22:54 42
26:6–13 39 22:63–65 42
26:58–75 41 22:66 41
26:60 40 23:1 42
26:60–61 40 23:6–12 41, 43
26:68 42 23:13 43
27:1 42 23:13–28 41
27:2 42 23:54 1
27:3 40, 41
27:11–14 40 John
27:15–26 40 1:29 7
27:62 1 1:36 7
2:6–10 38
Mark 2:13 38
1:32 2 2:23 38
1:35 2 4:11–14 38
4:35 2 6:4 38
11:1–10 39 7:2 38
11:11 39 7:37 38
11:12 39 12:1–8 39
11:20 40 12:12 39
13:24 2 13:1 8, 38
14:1 8 18:12 60
14:1–2 59 18:13 42
14:3–9 38 18:13–24 41
14:12 2, 6, 40 18:19–23 42
14:12–16 2, 8 18:24 42
14:17 2, 40 18:28 2, 3, 4, 10, 14,
14:30 2 42, 55, 243
14:43 2 19:14 5, 7, 38
14:53 40, 42 19:31 1, 4
14:54 40 19:42 1
14:55 40
14:56 40 Acts
14:56–58 40 20:6–12 32
15:1 40, 42 20:7 31
15:2–5 40
15:42 1, 2 1 Corinthians
16:2 2 11:23–24 35
16:6–15 40
1 John
Luke 1:7 7
6:1 32 2:2 7
6:5 32
19:28–38 39 Revelation
22:9 32 1:10 31
Jewish Pseudepigrapha
1 Enoch 6:32–38 217

41:5 193 6:34 212
41:8 192 6:35 194
43:2 193 6:36–37 22, 194
59:1 193 6:37 30
59:3 193 6:37–38 242
72:1 179 7:1–2 109–110
72:13 23 7:3 94
72:19 23 15:1 24, 93, 107,
72:36 179 112, 113
73:1 179 16:3 24
73:4 179, 247, 248 16:13 107, 113
73:6–7 179 16:17 105, 108
73:7 179 16:21 93, 108, 112
74:1 196 16:26 105
74:3 180– 17:15 93
74:10 176, 183–185 18:15 93
74:10–16 185 18:18 92, 93, 94
74:14 163, 185ff, 231, 21:7 217
239, 247, 248, 21:10 217
249 23:1 102
78:10 196 23:2 102
80:2 242 23:2–7 102
80:2–6 111, 228 23:5 102
80:2–8 172, 227–229, 23:11 21
231 23:19 21
80:8 111 25:16 23
82:5–6 228 29:5 26
Tana9 179, 183 31:3 109
74:3 183 32:2 109
74:10 196 32:4 94, 109
74:13–15 185, 188 32:5 109
74:14 202 32:7 109
EMML 2080 179, 180 32:10 109, 132, 235
32:12–13 113, 133, 137,
Jubilees 147
Prol. 104–105, 112 32:14 109
1:1 104 44:1–8 24
1:9 21 44:4 107
2:17–18 46 44:8 26
2:20–23 46 45:16 21
3:1–7 45 49:1 92, 95, 103,
4:17 23, 170, 174 216
4:17–18 21 49:1–10 95, 113
5:27 22 49:2 92
6:1 107 49:2–6 95
6:17 24, 93, 104 49:7 99, 103, 237
6:17–22 47 49:7–8 95, 113
6:20–21 93, 107 49:8 237
6:20–22 132 49:9 77, 99, 103,
6:23 22 237
6:29 22 49:10 11, 47, 92, 99,
6:32 22, 112 103, 237
6:32–33 103, 105 49:12–14 95
49:14 103, 237 50:7 216

49:22 106, 112 50:9 216
49:38 242 50:12 25
50:6 216
Cuneiform Texts
Mul.Apin BM 32327 223

I iii 49–50 177
II ii 11–12 176, 177 BM 36712 176
II ii 11–17 171
K 9794 177
AO 6478 176, 177, 202
Scrolls from the Judean Desert
1QS Rule of the Community Frg. 4 col. iv 9 123n28,

Col. I 13–15 126 128n50
Col. X 3–4 193 Frg. 4 col. v 2, 11 124n34
Col. X 10 217 Frg. 4 col. v 3, 12 123n28
Frg. 4 col. v 4, 13 128n50
4QSe Frg. 4 col. v 7 128n53
Frg. 1 col. V 10–11 209 Frg. 4 col. vi 2 128n53
Frg. 4 col. vi 7 124n34
4Q 209 (4QEnastrb) Frg. 4 col. vi 8 123n28
Frg. 25 l. 1–4 196 Frg. 4 col. vi 9 128n50
Frg. 26 l. 3 196
Frg. 26 l. 6–7 196 4Q321
Frg. 2 col. ii 5 209n11
4Q317 Phases of the Moon 209 Frg. 3 col. iii 7 209n11
Frg. 4 col. iv 9 124n34
4Q319Otot Frg. 4 col. v 1, 5 128n50
Frg. 12 l. 2 128n50 Frg. 4 col. v 2 128n53
Frg. 13 l. 1, 4 123n28, Frg. 4 col. v 4, 9 124n34
128n50 Frg. 4 col. v 5 121, 123n28
Frg. 4 col. v 9 123n28
4Q320 Frg. 4,5 col. vi 2 129n53
Frg. 1 col. i 1–4 209 Frg. 4,5 col. vi 3, 7 124n34
Frg. 1 col. i 1–5 208 Frg. 4,5 col. vii 2 124n34
Frg. 1 col. i 3–4 214, 215 Frg. 5 col. vii 4 129n53
Frg. 1 col. 1 3–6 219
Frg. 1 col. i 4–6 209 4Q321a
Frg. 1 col. i 6 216 Frg. 1 col. i 1–3 209n11, 214
Frg. 1 col. i 6–8 215 Frg. 1 col. i 2–3 216, 221
Frg. 3 col. i 9–12 214, 215 Frg. 1 col. i 3 216, 219
Frg. 4 col. iii 1–3 124 Frg. 1 col. v 3–4 209n11
Frg. 4 col. iii 4 122n28
Frg. 4 col. iii 5 127 4Q325
Frg. 4 col. iii 9 128n53 Frg. 1 3 125
Frg. 4 col. iii 13 124 Frg. 2 6–7 135
Frg. 4 col. iv 1 128n50
Frg. 4 col. iv 4 128n53 4Q326
Frg. 4 col. iv 8 124n34 l. 2 118
l. 3 120 Col. xviii 9 122n27

l. 4 125n40 Col. xviii 10 122n27
Col. xviii 10–13 127
4Q329a Col. xviii 10–14 121
l. 1–6 118–119 Col. xviii 14–16 127
Col. xviii 13 122n27
4Q394 1–2 Col. xix 11–16 129
Col. v 134 Col. xxi 7–8 130
Col. xxi 12–16 134
4Q365 Reworked Pentateuch (4QRPc) Col. xxvii 10 128
Frg. 23 l. 1–2 128n52 Col. xliii 3, 9–10 135n75
Col. xliii 3–11 132, 136, 235
4Q408 Morning and Evening Prayer Col. xliii 4 135
Frgs. 1+1b:8–10 218 Col. xliii 6 125
Col. xliii 11–12 133
4Q503 Daily Prayers 209
11Q20 Temple Scroll
11QPsaDavid’s Composition Col. vi 11–16 135
Col. viii 4–8 115
Damascus Document
11Q19 Temple Scroll 3:13–15 20
Col. xi 11–12 135n78 10:14–16 217
Col. xvii 6–9 118, 122n27 16:1–4 171, 174
Col. xvii 10–11 119 16:1–5 20
Col. xvii 10–16 122n27
Early Christian Literature
Apollinaris of Hierapolis Didascalia of Addai

Chronicon Pascale 37, 41 2:2–4 31
2:3 37
Apostolic Constitutions
5.14 40 Epiphanius
5.15 37 De Fide
7.23 31 22 31, 34
8.12 36
8.34 40 Hippolytus
Canons 33, 40
Book of Adam and Eve 31, 35
Irenaeus of Lyons
Clement of Alexandria Adversus haereses
Stromata II 22 36, 57
7.12 30 II 23 36, 57
Didache 33 Tertulian
8:1 30, 51 De jejunio adversus psychicos
2 30
Didascalia Apostolorum 30, 31, 33–34, 14 30
35, 37, 38, 41,
42, 50–51, 52 Testament of our
XXI 31 Lord Jesus Christ 40
14.9–12 34
14.18–21 34 Victorinus of Petau
17 34 De Fabrica Mundi 35
Other Ancient Greek and Roman Literature
Plato De Vita Mosis

Timaeus 2.222 155
47 154 2.224 62, 149
2.228 149
Josephus
Jewish Antiquities De Specialibus Legibus
2.317 12 1.16 154, 158
3.17 146 1.19 154
3.244 147 1.84 154
3.248 145 1.88 154
3.249 12, 145 1.90 154
3.250 147 1.171–172 155
3.251 147 1.182 150
3.252 147 1.189 151
9.263 146 2.57 153
11.110 145 2.140–144 149
14.21 146 2.145 11
17.213 146 2.149 149
18.4 14 2.150 149
18.29 146 2.150–151 149, 155
18.90 147 2.152 155
2.155 150, 151
Jewish Wars 2.159–161 149, 150
2.10 146 2.162 150
2.179 151
Philo 2.204 147, 151, 155
De Abrahamo 2.204–205 152
158, 159 154 2.206 152
2.210 151, 153
De Vita Contemplativa 2.214 153
27, 36, 65 154 2.215 151, 152
2.216 152
De Decalogo 2.220–221 152
160 151
Rabbinic and Other Jewish Literature
Bar Kohba letters Mishnah

Ḥev 3 156, 157 m. Pesah
Ḥev 15 156, 157 1:1–5 13
3:6 13
Babylonian Talmud 5:4 13
b. Berakoth
2a 1 m. Rosh Hashana
1:1 145
b. Pesahim
56a 83 m. Hagigah
11:4 12
b. Yoma
19b 14 m. Sanhedrin
1:6 40
b. Sanhedrin 4:1 40, 42, 54
12a 83
43a 6, 243 m. Menahot
67a 6, 243 10:3 12

Calendrical Variations in Second Temple Judaism

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Calendrical Variations

in Second Temple Judaism

Journal for the Study

Benjamin G. Wright, III

Florentino García Martínez

The titles published in this series are listed at brill.nl/jsjs

New Perspectives on the ‘Date of the Last Supper’ Debate

Copyright 2012 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

I. The Date of the Last Supper: Annie Jaubert’s Theory

II. The Cycle of Festivals and the Seasons in the Hebrew Bible ...... 67

III. The Cycle of Festivals and the Seasons in the Book of Jubilees . 91

IV. The Cycle of Festivals in the Dead Sea Scrolls ............................... 115

3. The Raising of the Sheaf ................................................................... 124

V. The Cycle of Festivals in Other Relevant Jewish Sources ............ 139

VI. Calendrical Issues in the Book of Luminaries (1 Enoch 72–82) ....... 163

3. Antiquity of the 364-day Year ...................................................... 174

VII. The Calendrical Documents from Qumran .................................. 205

Appendix: The 364-Day Year, the Lunar Cycle, and the

And so I wish also to express my profound gratitude to Professor James

364DCT 364-day Calendar Tradition

EvQ Evangelical Quarterly

NovT Novum Testamentum

ZA Ziestchrift für Assyriologie

Scope and Limits of the Present Enquiry

1. Discrepancies in the Gospels’ Passion Narratives

2. Classical Attempts for Reconciling the Gospel Accounts

2.1. The Chronology of the Synoptic Gospels is Correct

misunderstood “owing to an unfamiliarity with the use of Festival termi-

2.2. The Chronology of the Fourth Gospel is Correct

B.D. Smith, op. cit., 29–30.

of John as being “clearly motivated by the desire to harmonize.”19 For

raised by Jeremias form a formidable objection to this position. Lastly, one

interpretation between Pharisees and adepts of the 364–day-year tradi-

2.3. Both the Synoptic and the Johannine Chronologies are Correct

2.3.1. Passover Celebrated on Consecutive Days

J. Pickl approached the problem from a slightly different angle.53 On

J. Pickl, Messiaskönig Jesus (München, 1935), 247 ff.

2.3.2. Passover Celebrated According to Two Different Calendars

came to be known, and acknowledged amongst scholars, as the Jubilees

3. Enquiries Undertaken in the Present Study

The Jaubertian Theory

The Date of the Last Supper: Annie Jaubert’s

In 1957, in a book titled La date de la Cène, Annie Jaubert suggested a

2. The Jaubertian Theory

2.1. The Ancient Jewish Calendar in the Book of Jubilees

kept according to strict observances.8 The Community Rule (1QS), without

2.1.3. Start of the Year in Jubilees

Cf. 1 En. 72:13, 19.

Jaubert, date de la cène, 20 note 1, suggests, “l’année devant toujours commencer

Text of the Athár-Ul-Bákiya of Albîrûnî (London/Witefish, MT: Wm. H. Hallen/Kessinger,

significance. On the basis of this, Jaubert concluded that the affinities,

Jaubert, date de la cène, 40.

the second century BCE, a common calendar in Judaism which started

2.1.4. History of the 364-day Calendar

Cited in Jaubert, date de la cène, 51–2.

2.2. The Sources of Christian Liturgy

between a fixed-day Jewish calendar and the Christian calendar.63 Thus, if

2.2.1. A Patristic Tradition

2.2.1.1. The Evidence for a Tuesday Evening Arrest

I. The Date of the Last Supper: Annie Jaubert’s Theory

V. The Cycle of Festivals in Other Relevant Jewish Sources ............ 139

t radition, as a result of exegetical enquiries. The tradition of the Wednes-

s uggests that intercalation must have taken place. Several schemes of

Passover and Unleavened Bread to the second month, although explained