What the Bible says about Tishri 1
(From Forerunner Commentary)
About six months after the ark landed (Genesis 8:4), Noah opened the covering of the ark and found the earth to be dry. This verse says it was the first day of the first month. By the civil calendar that brings us to Tishri 1, the Feast of Trumpets! On that day the inhabitants of the ark were freed from its confinement to start a new life. That, magnified countless times, will occur to the sons of God when we are freed from the confinement of our physical bodies and changed into spirit in the twinkling of an eye!
John W. Ritenbaugh
God's Promises Are Sure!Related Topics: Calendar, Civil | Feast of Trumpets | Spirit Bodies | Tishri 1 | Trumpets, Feast of | Twinkling of an Eye
Ezekiel 40:1 contains a phrase, "the head of the year" (KJV) or "the beginning of the year" (New King James Version [NKJV]), in concert with a date, the tenth day of the month, which Judaism identifies as Tishri, making this the Day of Atonement. (This phrase, Hebrew rosh hashana, is used by Jews today to designate the Feast of Trumpets, the first day of the seventh month.)
In addition, in Exodus 23:16, the Feast of Ingathering (Tabernacles) is said to be "at the end [going out] of the year," and in Exodus 34:22, the same feast is dated "at the year's end," a phrase more literally rendered as "at the turn of the year." Further, II Samuel 11:1 begins with a phrase that designates springtime as "the return of the year" (in the NKJV, this phrase is directly interpreted as "the spring of the year").
Scholars argue that these phrases indicate two calendar years in simultaneous use. Tishri 1, they assert, began what can be called the "civil" or "secular" year, while Abib 1 inaugurated the "sacred," "cultic," or "religious" year. However, each of these indications of a Tishri 1 New Year can be disputed. For instance, the name of the month in Ezekiel 40:1 does not appear in the text, and further, throughout his book, the prophet consistently uses the Babylonian system of reckoning—which had a spring New Year. "Head of the year," then, would indicate the tenth day of the first month, Abib, making Abib 1 the true rosh hashana.
As for the Feast of Tabernacles taking place "at the end of the year," it does—at the end of the agricultural year. The context says nothing about a calendar but a great deal about Israelite agrarian activities throughout a typical annual cycle. Finally, calling springtime "the return of the year" makes sense, as it is indeed the time when the year "returns" to begin anew.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Biblical New YearRelated Topics: Abib | Agricultural Cycles | Beginning of Spring | Feast of Trumpets | Head of the Year | Rosh Hashanah | Secular Year | The Biblical New Year | Tishri | Tishri 1