Many nations around the world have their own calendars, but which one is the earliest? There exists a calendar that predates all nations and even existed before Noah, making it undoubtedly the earliest calendar in the world.
Genesis 7:11, states: “In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.”
The Hebrew calendar was created before Noah, and it is more accurate to call it the Jehovah Calendar.
According to the teachings of Jewish Rabbis, the first day of Ethanim is the sixth day of creation, which is the day Adam was created. This year (2024 AD) is 5784 FC (From Creation).
The Civil Calendar considers Ethanim as the first month. The months that appear in Genesis are counted in numbers, using the Civil Calendar until Exodus. And the LORD spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house” (Exodus 12:1-3)
That month is the seventh month of the Civil Calendar, known as Abib. From that point on, Abib became the first month, which marks the start of the Biblical Calendar. The seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth months of the Civil Calendar then become the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth months of the Biblical Calendar. Dates after Exodus are all calculated using the Biblical Calendar.
The New Year of the Civil Calendar represents creation, marking the beginning of the old creation; the New Year of the Biblical Calendar represents redemption, marking the beginning of the new creation.
Only four of the twelve months in a year have Hebrew names; the other months are denoted by numbers.
Abib: The first month of the Biblical Calendar, referenced in Exodus 13:4, 23:15, 34:18, and Deuteronomy 16:1.
Zif: The second month of the Biblical Calendar, referenced in 1 Kings 6:1 and 6:37.
Ethanim: The seventh month of the Biblical Calendar, referenced in 1 Kings 8:2.
Bul: The eighth month of the Biblical Calendar, referenced in 1 Kings 6:38.
Each month in the Hebrew calendar might contain either 29 or 30 days so there is no set number. Two witnesses in Jerusalem who saw the new moon are used to determine the start of the new month. That day becomes the first day of the month after being approved by the high priest.
Since there is no set number of days in a month, there is likewise no set number of days in a year. The ripeness of the barley determines the first day of the year. "Abib" means "the month of ripening barley." The 14th day of Abib is Passover, and the 15th to the 21st days are the Feast of Unleavened Bread. During these seven days, one day is the Feast of First Fruits, when the priest offers a sheaf of the first fruits of barley as a wave offering. By the end of the twelfth month, if the barley was ripe to be served as the wave offering two weeks later, then the new moon marks the first day of Abib. However, if the barley is not yet ripe at the end of the twelfth month, the new moon will mark the first day of the second twelfth month, resulting in two twelfth months that year, a leap year.
Many royal nobles were taken captive to Babylon after the fall of the southern kingdom of Judah, making it impossible for them to observe the new moon in Jerusalem. They established a fixed number of days for each month and continued to use the names of the twelve months from the Babylonian calendar, as follows:
Chinese English Babylonian Days
1） 尼散月 Nisan Nisanu 30
2） 以珥月 Iyar Ayaru 29
3） 西彎月 Sivan Simanu 30
4） 搭模斯月 Tammuz Du’uzu 29
5） 亞布月 Av/Ab Abu 30
6） 以祿月 Elul Ululu 29
7） 提斯利月 Tishrei Tashritu 30
8） 瑪西班月 Cheshvan Arakhsamna 29/30
9） 基斯流月 Kislev Kislimu 30/29
10）提別月 Tebet/Tebet Tebetu 29
11）細罷特月 Shebat Shabatu 30
12）亞達月 Adar Adaru 29
The regular month of Adar has 29 days, but in a leap year, there are two Adar months. Adar I has 30 days, during which Purim is not celebrated. Adar II has 29 days when Purim is celebrated. Leap years follow a 19-year cycle, with the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, and 19th years being leap years. Thus, there are seven leap years in each 19-year cycle.
In the Bible, the months mentioned by name include Nisan (the first month), Sivan (the third month), Elul (the sixth month), Kislev (the ninth month), Tebet (the tenth month), Shebat (the eleventh month), and Adar (the twelfth month). These months appear in the books of Nehemiah, Esther, Ezra, and Zechariah.
According to the official Jewish calendar, the year 2024 corresponds to 5784. However, this is incorrect. The year in the official Jewish calendar is based on the records in "Seder Olam," a chronological work written around 160 AD by the Jewish rabbi Yose Ben Halafta. This book contains errors and is short by 239/240 years.
In the beginning, the months of the Jewish calendar did not have a fixed number of days. After the new moon, two scouts were sent out each evening in Jerusalem to observe the night sky. The evening the new moon appeared would be designated as the first day of the next month. Additionally, the timing of feasts was coordinated with the harvest of wheat and barley.
During the Roman Empire, the Jews had three major revolts, the last of which was the Bar Kokhbah revolt (between 132-135 AD). After the Romans suppressed this uprising, Emperor Hadrian established a new city in Jerusalem and relocated foreign populations to reside there. Jerusalem became a city of foreigners, and the Jews were driven out, beginning their dispersion throughout the world. Once again, the Jews could not observe the new moon in Jerusalem, so they had to set fixed numbers of days for each month, which has continued to be used as the official Jewish calendar today.
The chronology established in Seder Olam serves as the basis for the number of years in the official Jewish calendar. But there are mistakes:
Error 1: The Persian Empire was established in 538 BC, which is the same night mentioned in Daniel 5 when the handwriting appeared on the wall, leading to the destruction of Babylon by King Darius and the establishment of the Persian Empire. However, Seder Olam states that the Persian Empire was founded in 374 BC, which is 164 years later. Furthermore, there were 13 kings of Persia over a total of 207 years, but Seder Olam only recorded 4 kings for a total of 53 years, leaving a 154-year gap.
Error 2: The authoritative chronicle is the "Annals of the World," authored by Bishop and historian James Ussher, which was first published in Latin in 1650. By comparing the chronology in Seder Olam with that in the Annals of the World, Seder Olam contains notable gaps in the following three historical periods: 1) a 60-year gap between Adam and Abraham; 2）a 5-year gap between Abraham's birth and the Exodus; 3）a 17-year gap between the construction of the First Temple and the Maccabean uprising and the cleansing of the Second Temple.
The Persian Empire's documented history in Seder Olam is short by 154 years. This is most likely a deliberate inaccuracy rather than an accidental one. Why would 154 years be purposefully left out? Denying Jesus' status as the Messiah could be one explanation. The year of Jesus' death corresponds with Daniel 9:26, which predicts that the Anointed One will be cut off after sixty-two-sevens. To deny that Jesus is the Messiah, the historical record was shortened, making the year of Jesus’ crucifixion not correspond with the sixty-two-sevens.
Numerous Jewish rabbis are already aware of the inaccuracies in the number of years in the official Jewish calendar. Michael Rood, a Jewish rabbi and a Messianic believer I know, has used historical, astronomical, and agricultural data to explain the 239/240-year gap. According to the Torah, the seventh day is the Sabbath. Similarly, the seventh "millennium" is the Sabbath millennium, in which Jesus will reign and rule. Many signs of the end times are already occurring. Numerous prophets and spiritual elders believe that we are in the end times, with Jesus' return imminent. This also indicates that the official Jewish calendar's year 5784 is incorrect because there are still at least 216 years until Jesus' return. Thus the year 6024 a more accurate estimate.
The differences between the official Jewish calendar and the restored Jewish calendar by Michael Rood are as follows:
1) The official Jewish calendar uses Tishrei 1 (the first day of the seventh month of the Biblical Calendar) as the New Year. In contrast, the restored Jewish calendar uses Abib 1 (the first day of the first month) as the New Year in accordance with the Lord God's instructions.
2) Following the Babylonian exile, the official Jewish calendar used the Babylonian calendar as a model for naming the months. However, in the restored Jewish calendar, each month is represented by a number in accordance with the Torah's recording method.
3) The official Jewish calendar calculates the new moon based on predetermined numbers of days for each month. The restored Jewish calendar, on the other hand, announces the arrival of the new month only upon sighting the new moon, following the original practice.
Due to these differences, the official Jewish calendar's new moon dates often differ by one or two days from those announced based on actual observations. Here is an example from December 2023 to October 2024:
Jewish Official Calendar Jewish Calendar Based on Actual New Moon Sightings
5784 Tebet 1 begins at sunset on 2023/12/12 new moon appeared at sunset on 2023/12/14: 6023/10/1
5784 Shebat 1 begins at sunset on 2024/01/10 new moon appeared at sunset on 2024/01/12: 6023/11/1
5784 Adar I 1 begins at sunset on 2024/02/09 new moon appeared at sunset on 2024/02/11: 6023/12/1
5784 Adar II 1 begins at sunset on 2024/03/10 new moon appeared at sunset on 2024/03/11: 6023/13/1
5784 Nisan 1 begins at sunset on 2024/04/08 new moon appeared at sunset on 2024/04/09: 6024/1/1
5784 Iyar 1 begins at sunset on 2024/05/08 new moon appeared at sunset on 2024/05/09: 6024/2/1
5784 Sivan 1 begins at sunset on 2024/06/06 new moon appeared at sunset on 2024/06/07: 6024/3/1
5784 Tammuz 1 begins at sunset on2024/07/06 new moon appeared at sunset on 2024/07/07: 6024/4/1
5784 Av 1 begins at sunset on 2024/08/04 new moon appeared at sunset on 2024/08/05: 6024/5/1
5784 Elul 1 begins at sunset on 2024/09/03 new moon appeared at sunset on 2024/09/04: 6024/6/1
5785 Tishrei 1 begins at sunset on 2024/10/02 new moon appeared at sunset on 2024/10/04: 6024/7/1
Official Jewish Calendar Restored Jewish Calendar
Tebet of 5784 29 days 10th month of 6023 29 days
Shebat of 5784 30 days 11th month of 6023 30 days
Adar I of 5784 30 days 12th month of 6023 29 days
Adar II of 5784 29 days 13th month of 6023 29 days
Nisan of 5784 30 days 1st month of 6024 30 days
Iyar of 5784 29 days 2nd month of 6024 29 days
Sivan of 5784 30 days 3rd month of 6024 30 days
Tammuz of 5784 29 days 4th month of 6024 29 days
Av of 5784 30 days 5th month of 6024 30 days
Elul of 5784 29 days 6th month of 6024 30 days
It is evident from the official Jewish calendar that while the majority of the months are accurate, mistakes do happen from time to time. Two of the 10 months listed above have the wrong number of days.
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