DETERMINING THE PROPER DAY TO START THE NEW MONTH

The following was written by my friend, Max Wells, on April 4th, 2010.
It is posted here in its entirety, unaltered in any way.

DETERMINING THE PROPER DAY TO START THE NEW MONTH

David said to Jonathan in I Samuel 20:5: "Behold, to morrow is the new moon ...". What was David looking at when he said "BEHOLD". Whatever he saw gave him the information that the new moon would be the following day. The moon is hidden from our view for roughly 2-1/2 days (dawn to dusk on day one, all of day two, and up to dusk on day three would be just that time frame). When David said "behold", he was observing something. About the only thing he could have seen that would confirm the "new moon" being the next day would have been the waning crescent moon, visible about dawn. (Actually, there are Talmudic indicators that the observation for the moon was centered around observing the WANING crescent so they could determine when the new moon conjunction would be.)

Please look through the data below to confirm the 2-1/2 day concept.

Per the website at:
http://www.capeweather.com/moon-phase.html

we find the following chart of moon phases. We see that the day prior to conjunction (this would be dawn that day) the waning crescent is barely visible. The day following conjunction (this would be about dusk that day, bordering the second day after conjunction) the waxing moon sliver comes ever so slightly into view.

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«« April 2010 »»
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30
Moon calculations are based on your time zone. Check your computer time to ensure accuracy.

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Then according to the following website:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_phase

the waning moon can be seen just prior to dawn or in the early morning. The waxing moon crescent is seen around dusk.

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Phase	Northern Hemisphere	Southern Hemisphere	Visibility

Waning crescent moon

Left 1-49% visible

Right 1-49% visible

pre-dawn and morning

Waxing crescent moon .

Right 1-49% visible

Left 1-49% visible

afternoon and post-dusk

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Our I Samuel 20 text indicates that there was some special dining arrangements - presumably a celebration to honor the new month at King Saul's table on the day of new moon, and David was expected to be there. We find this in verse 5, and again in verse 18. Per verse 5, the following day (which would start that same day at sundown) would be new moon. King Saul noted David's absence at the feast, but excused it, thinking something had defiled him and rendered him unclean. Then verse 27 specifies the second meal that David did not attend, and says it was the SECOND DAY of the month. The text clearly shows that this was the following day.

Let's analyze this for a moment. David BEHOLDS the waning crescent, designating the LAST day of the month they were in. Thus he observes that the new moon (hidden conjunction state of the moon) will be the following day (which would begin that same evening). That evening began DAY ONE of the new month (even prior to the actual timing of the conjunction), and Saul was celebrating the arrival of the new month. The day in which the new moon conjunction EVENT occurred was day one of the new month. David was absent from the feast, but Saul postponed criticism until the next such meal, one day later, WHICH WAS the SECOND DAY of the month per verse 27. It all fits like a glove.

However, IF the above interpretation is correct, it should match any precedent set forth in God's word. To see if it does, let's return to the first few verses of God's Word. He sets forth a precedent here. "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the FIRST DAY." - Genesis 1:3-5. This was the first step in God's creative process. In verse 3, He brought forth light. In verse 5, He made a statement that has been used throughout time by the Hebrew people to determine the ordering of the 24 hour period we call a "day". He said, and THE EVENING and THE MORNING were the first day. This means that the evening is the first part of the "day", and the morning ends the "day". When we first read these three verses, we tend to think that God brought forth the light, and then called the evening and morning that followed the first day. There is a problem with this though.

For in SIX days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." - Exodus 20:11. It is clear here that the entire creation fell within a six day span. To say the evening and the morning which God called "the FIRST DAY" in verse 5 FOLLOWED the EVENT of bringing forth the light, would be to say that God created outside of (prior to the beginning of) the six days determined for creation. This cannot be! The evening and the morning which God called the FIRST day would have to be the time frame AROUND the EVENT of the creation of light. The evening PRIOR to the EVENT would have to have started the DAY OF the EVENT, which would be the FIRST DAY of creation.

Our God is a God of pattern! If these words (being the very first words of God to mankind), set forth His precedent of time, would it not carry through to the first day of the week, the first day of the month, and the first day of the year? Should the precedent be broken or remain consistent?

The conjunction of the moon is when the life of the previous moon ends (dies), and when the life of the next moon begins (is born). From the instant of conjunction until the next conjunction, the life progresses. The moon waxes (from birth at conjunction to the prime of its life at full moon), then it wanes (the aging process ebbing the light or life of the moon until it dies at the next conjunction). The new conjunction then restarts the cycle, bringing life again.

If the new month is determined by the giving of life to the new moon, is it right to say the new month does not begin for hours after the new life of the moon begins rather than the day that SURROUNDS AND INCLUDES the conjunction EVENT? Do you celebrate your birthday on the first COMPLETE day after you were born or the day that SURROUNDED AND INCLUDED the EVENT of your birth? Did God call the first day of his creation the first FULL day following the creation of light which started creation or the day that SURROUNDED and INCLUDED that EVENT? Should we not continue to follow the precedent He established in the first few lines of the Book He gave us?

I hope this may help to fill any gaps and complete the picture for the timing of the calendar.

Always seeking, and ever learning, Max