How many of you have heard of the course of Abija (Abijah)? Did you know it is one of the only ways to date the birth of Jesus in the Bible? 95% of Americans will celebrate the birth of Christ this year, so I thought some might be interested in the Biblical case for the timing of the birth of Jesus Christ.
Most are familiar with story of the birth of Christ from Luke 2. But it is Luke 1 that provides the means by which the timing of the birth of Jesus can be determined. In Luke 1 we have the story of Zacharias, the priest, and his wife, Elisabeth. Zacharias and Elisabeth were well on in years and without children. As it is told in Luke 1, Zacharias was performing his duty in the temple when the angel appeared and told him they would have a son and to call his name John. Needless to say Zacharias was somewhat incredulous considering their age. As proof of his message the angel told Zacharias he would be unable to speak until the day the message was fulfilled.
The passage goes on to say that Elisabeth conceived after Zacharias’ service ended. Then 6 months later Mary, the mother of Jesus, conceived. Zacharias performed his priestly service during the course of Abijah which fell during the latter part of the 4th month. From this it is a simple matter to determine the general time of the birth of Jesus. The chart below gives the priestly courses in relation to the conception of Elisabeth and Mary.
Luke 1:35-37 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
(Click to enlarge picture)
The birth of Jesus fell during the 7th month of the Biblical calendar which is our September/October. It is during the 7th month that the Biblical holy day of Succoth is celebrated. The term Succoth comes from the Hebrew word “cukkah” which literally means booth or tabernacle. The Jewish people were commanded to dwell in booths during the 8 days of this feast. Succoth is one of the Biblical holydays which all adult males were commanded to observe in Jerusalem. This is likely the reason the only lodgings which Mary and Joseph found were in a stable.
Further confirmation of the evidence of Luke 1 is found in Luke 2. The shepherds were still in the fields keeping watch over their flocks when the angles announced the birth of Christ. This places the birth of Jesus sometime between the spring and fall. It was not common practice in Israel to stay in the fields with the sheep during the winter months.
John 1:14 makes a possible allusion to the birth of Jesus during the feast of Succoth.
John 1:14 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
The “Word” (Jesus) “was made flesh” (conceived) “and dwelt” (skenoo – from the Greek meaning to dwell or fix ones tabernacle.)
Now look at the priestly courses again. Jesus “dwelt” with man at his birth during the 13th and 14th priestly courses. The names of these courses were Huppah (Canopy) and Jeshebeab (dwelling of the father). Pretty neat if you ask me! Now take a look again at my blog post A New Testamen;t Cipher, note especially the missing names and their arrangement in the list. Matthew’s lineage of Jesus was intentional wasn’t it? The 13th Enumeration is the key!
Isaiah 7:14 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Matthew 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
You Might also Appreciate my article:
Hanukkah, Christmas, & the Backstory of the Messiah’s Birth
Authors Note:
Over the years some of you have written in asking about the priestly courses and their order. This article was based upon the assumption that King David organized the courses in the same manner he did the other courses of service. (i.e. the courses each served their complete term in one service.) Some believe that the priestly courses served only 1 week then returned home and then approximately 6 months later came back and served another week. In the following chart I’ve tried to work out such an organization included the feast days when all priests were required to serve. Please note, neither of the charts in this article account for a 13th month or other required intercalations.
– WS
You Might also Appreciate my article:
Hanukkah, Christmas, & the Backstory of the Messiah’s Birth
Colossians 1:19 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
1 Chronicles 24:1-19 Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2 But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children: therefore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the priest’s office. 3 And David distributed them, both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, according to their offices in their service. 4 And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and thus were they divided. Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers. 5 Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for the governors of the sanctuary, and governors of the house of God, were of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar. 6 And Shemaiah the son of Nethaneel the scribe, one of the Levites, wrote them before the king, and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and before the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites: one principal household being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar. 7 Now the first lot came forth to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, 8 The third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, 9 The fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, 10 The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, 11 The ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, 12 The eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, 13 The thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, 14 The fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, 15 The seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Aphses, 16 The nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezekel, 17 The one and twentieth to Jachin, the two and twentieth to Gamul, 18 The three and twentieth to Delaiah, the four and twentieth to Maaziah. 19 These were the orderings of them in their service to come into the house of YHWH, according to their manner, under Aaron their father, as YHWH God of Israel had commanded him.
1 Chronicles 27:1-15 Now the children of Israel after their number, to wit, the chief fathers and captains of thousands and hundreds, and their officers that served the king in any matter of the courses, which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, of every course were twenty and four thousand. 2 Over the first course for the first month was Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. 3 Of the children of Perez was the chief of all the captains of the host for the first month. 4 And over the course of the second month was Dodai an Ahohite, and of his course was Mikloth also the ruler: in his course likewise were twenty and four thousand. 5 The third captain of the host for the third month was Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, a chief priest: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. 6 This is that Benaiah, who was mighty among the thirty, and above the thirty: and in his course was Ammizabad his son. 7 The fourth captain for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. 8 The fifth captain for the fifth month was Shamhuth the Izrahite: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. 9 The sixth captain for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. 10 The seventh captain for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite, of the children of Ephraim: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. 11 The eighth captain for the eighth month was Sibbecai the Hushathite, of the Zarhites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. 12 The ninth captain for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anetothite, of the Benjamites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. 13 The tenth captain for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite, of the Zarhites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. 14 The eleventh captain for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the children of Ephraim: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. 15 The twelfth captain for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
1 Kings 4:7 7 And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision.
Saw this on facebook page and thought I’d aso;I have a terminal illness and would like to know the famiily ‘secret’. I believe in Samuel ( think..my illness makes me forget a lot).
There is a genealogy and one part says (a name, don’t remember) son of Agee.
That is the only mention of the name Agee in any scriptures.
Before I pass I’d like to know more than I do. I hope you still read and answers these? I don’t even know who first found the name as it is there and each generaton is told, but no one knows who or why.
Good Morning Carole,
Sorry to hear about your illness. Here is what I found regarding “son of Agee”.
Regards,
William Struse
2 Samuel 23:11 11 And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines.
0089 ‘Age’ {aw-gay’}
Meaning: Agee = “I shall increase” 1) father of a warrior of David
Origin: of uncertain derivation, compare with 090;; n pr m
Usage: AV – Agee 1; 1
8048 hM’v; Shammah {sham-maw’}
Meaning: Shammah = “astonishment” 1) son of Reuel, grandson of Esau, and a chief of Edom 2) the 3rd son of Jesse and a brother of David 3) son of Agee the Hararite and one of the 30 of David’s mighty warriors 4) the Harodite, one of the 30 of David’s mighty warriors 5) another Hararite, one of the 30 of David’s mighty warriors
Origin: the same as 08047;; n pr m
Usage: AV – Shammah 8; 8
Dear Sir,
In your attempt at dating the annunciation of John the Baptist’s conception, you only focused on the first halve of the total yearly courses. If you have continued your search for Zechariah’s second week of service in the second halve of the year especially 4 BC, we could have discovered that Zechariah served during Chanukah at the beginning of Kislev during 14 to 22 of December.
If Zecharaiah received the visit station early in that week and the conception also happened during same week, then this is the date we should start counting John’s gestation period.
If this date was say December 21, 4 BC, then 6 months from there on June 22, 3 BC would have been Jesus’ conception.
Jesus’ birth would have then be on March 21, 2 BC during Passover period. The exact period Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem to register for Caesar Augustus census.
Jesus the Lamb of God born during Passover and crucified at Passover according to a one year Passover Lamb as described and prescribed in Exodus 12:5
Thank you for your attention,
Hubert Meulens
Hello Mr Meulens
That was a good reply,
The only problem I see is kjv Luke 1:5 says the course of Abia
New International Version
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.
It doesn’t say he finished another course.
Kjv in Luke 1 remember course Abia or Abijah verse 23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. 24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived,
Hi Carole. So sorry to hear of your “terminal disease” I hope that you have not given up on God. The Bible says in 1Peter2v24 “that you WERE healed by Jesus’ stripes” That makes your healing a FINISHED WORK in Jesus name. The only thing that God requires of you is to BELIEVE. I don’t know your situation, but there is a Living God who not only knows your situation, but He knows “the very hairs on your head are numbered” He loves you and cares about you, and is more than able to make you completely whole. May God richly bless you and grant you your healing, in Jesus name. Amen. Ps.”I AM THE LORD THAT HEALETH ALL THY DISEASES”
would the timing of these courses be offset by festival weeks?
Hi Erica,
I don’t believe so. During the festival weeks I believe all priests were present to officiate.
Regards,
William Struse
Hi, Thank you for sharing this. This is really neat. My question is regarding the leap years. What would the priest course be for the thirteenth month of a leap year? Where could one find such information? Thanks again.
Hi Joseph,
Sorry it took so long to reply. I don’t have an answer for you on that. There may be some Talmudic tradition regarding priestly service during the 13th month but I am not aware of any Biblical explanation.
Warm Regards,
William Struse
Thank you. With the current Jewish calendar system, 5BC (Julian) is a leap year where Veadar month follows Adar. Starting from Shevat 1st 5BC to count 280 days (typical pregnancy duration), it arrives exactly on Tishri 15, 4BC. Just thought I should share…
Hi Joseph,
Thank you for that sharing. I never calculated it exactly. One of those loose ends I’ve been meaning to work on but haven’t got around to yet. Pretty exciting information.
Warm Regards,
William Struse
I believe Christ was born on Tishre 15, eve of the Feast of Tabernacles – God dwelling with man.
Also would like to see a calendar addressing the possibility of Christ’s birth year to be 3 BCE. Herod the Great more than likely died in 1 BCE than 4 BCE…check it out.
Shalom William Struse, I’m overwhelmed in a good way at the abundant insights YHWH has revealed to you in your calling. I first became intrigued with the Jubilee cycles when studying the Book of Daniel a little over a year ago followed by a study on Revelation (several times). In the process, though I consider myself a novice on the topic, I found the resources on this very important topic of Jubilees lacking. I just came across your website today and another website that I found very valuable was 360Calendar.com by Dean Coombs.
The 360 Prophetic Calendar is not a calendar to live by but apparently is used abundantly in His Word. This particular calendar inserts intercalary months every 6th cycle… (chart on his website). It is a very precise calendar that works intricately with the Jubilee Cycles of 49 with the 50th being the 1st and last of the next cycle. Of course the Jubilee cycle is the macro view of the micro Omer Count. Dean also takes the biblical mathematics to a new level of not only finding the chiastic structure in text but in numbers (like you have done). He takes it further into fractals on his 1260d.com website.
On his website Dean also mentions a ‘Priestly’ calendar that I know nothing about. Just providing some possibilities that may trigger your interest and research. I did a 360 Prophetic Calendar Introduction on my YT channel – TheLibbyTube – just the other day that brings in the basics from Dean’s website. Also, Larry Wilson’s (now deceased) work was very encouraging to find since it appears he was one of the first biblical pioneers intrigued by the Jubilee cycles and chronology – he takes it to the ‘grand’ level.
Anyway, I’m just excited to find your website!!! I found it while researching Abiyah. It makes me very much aware of the awesomeness of YHWH and His Son Yahusha HaMashiach. Amazing!!! HalleluYAH!
Good evening Libby,
Thank you for your comments and the links to Mr. Cooombs site. I’ve wanted to update my Abiyah article for some time with all the fine comments and thoughts of those who have comments here and by email. It is such a wonderful subject to explore. I hope to find time in the future.
Warm regards,
William
Just a little difference of opinion, but I like the way you think. :) I believe He would have been born during the Feast of Trumpets. His circumcision would have fulfilled the Feast of Atonement. His dwelling with us, the Feast of Tabernacles. Now, have you determined the year? LOL When I first started researching this, there was a general consensus that Herod’s death took place in (April?) 2 B.C. which would have put the birth of Christ prior to this. Now, though, when you go to research, there’s a whole bunch of arguing over when he died.
If Jesus followed with tradition, He wouldn’t have started His ministry until He reached 30. Passover, 32 A.D. seems to be pretty commonly accepted as His death on the cross. His ministry spanned 3 1/2 years, making Him 33 1/2 at the time of His crucifixion. This would have put His birth as (Sept.) 2 B.C….after the commonly accepted death of Herod. That’s where I get lost. :)
Hi Ava,
Thank you for your comments. It’s good to see it from another perspective. In my article on the Messiah Factors I believe I can make a reasonable case for his conception during Hanukah in 5BC and his birth 9 months later during the feast of tabernacles in 4 BC. Though I prefer the feast of tabernacles for His birth your suggestions has its own appeal. Most of the “consensus” for 2 BC comes from the necessity to show the fulfillment of Daniel 9. Based upon my own studies the balance of historical and Biblical evidence points to Yeshua turning 30 in the fall of 27 AD. The gospel accounts only list 3 Passovers so the His ministry may well have been only 2.5 years long. This would place His death and resurrection in 30 AD. I hope to write several articles on this chronology in time for this coming Passover.
In any case I always love to discuss this with fellow believers, agree or disagree :)
Warm Regards,
William Struse
There is strong evidence of a printing error for Josephus in the 1500’s, iirc. The 4 that records the year of Herod’s death was a 1 in all earlier printings. This puts his death at 1 b.c. and not 4 b.c.
Also, as NASA software simulates, this will accurately record similar to Revelation 12:1 alignment, WITH A CONJUNCTION as well that would be seen at first from Persia from whence the Magi viewed the star. This indicates a strong likelihood Jesus was born in 3 B.C.
Therefore, we ought to be looking at the Abijah course for 4 b.c.
I usually don’t read through the comments after reading the story subject. I am please to say I finally have found another person who believes the feast of Trumpets, the circumcision at the Day of Atonement, and Christ dedication to the temple being first born on Sukkot.
I believe the year of Birth is quite different and after many hours of deeper studies I find that year to be 25bce. The maji would have been following the stars and their cycles, On Tishri 1,25bce aka: September 13, 25bce.
This brings Christ to 46 years old at his death, so the Priests did know his age, and would have recorded his birth withing the writings they kept.
Counting backwards from 66 ad (Nero) we find we come to 26ad, as Christ’s year of crucifixion, also the first year of Pilate’s reign. There are many things that fall into this timeline. as well as the 70th week of Daniel being the time of the 2 witnesses John and Christ, each anointed and both prophets, 1260 day ministry, 1335 days being 70 ad. The final judgement on the jew people, Now the 2000 years of the gentiles.
Blessings
3 BCE for the birth of Yeshua…Herod the Great dying in 1 BC based on the complete eclipse of the moon instead of the partial in 4 BC).
April 6, 30 AD, 3pm for Yeshua’s death. Figured using the full moon at Passover calculated with the NASA software and Julian calendar adjustments. That would also have been a Thursday allowing for the three days and three nights in the Tomb and the resurrection early on the first day of the week and Christ fulfilling the wave Sheaf that day ascending to appear before the Father (see the analogy of Joshua and the angel in Zechariah 3 which tells us what happened when Yeshua went to present himself at that time to his Father to be accepted) He also at that time became our High Priest or should I say resumed the position of the priesthood of Melchizedek, because there is evidence that he was in that role before he became man, along with other titles that he had as well like Michael the Archangel which was a title for a position he held.
Totally unrelated, but have you thought much about where Eden might have been? Most think that South Africa is ‘The cradle of civilization”, but I think it is more around Israel. Kind of hard to pinpoint as there was a change in continental mass during the time of Peleg. The one clue is the Dead Sea, which I believe was once a Sea of Life. It still has healing properties and with the River Jordan also known for healing….
One of those questions I like to think about as well. Don’t have any insights myself.
Good evening too you!
William Struse
There were four rivers flowing out of Eden and so you need to look where the Euphrates starts and that will probably be the area of Eden. Specifically the Euphrates is named in the Bible along with the others; but on the map I only see three, and I don’t know what happened to the fourth river? Hope this comment is a little helpful to you.
Thank you for your comments Nicole.
Regards,
William
We must remember the flood.
Nothing would have stayed the same, land slides could have and most likely filled in most rivers and the water would have made new rivers.
Chance of finding the Garden is slim.
I’m curious why you started the courses at Nisan. According to the Babylonian Talmud (cf. Ta`anit 29A), when the first temple fell, 9 Ab fell within Yehoyarib (i.e. Jehoiarib).
Also, you seem to assume each course took up half a month. Josephus (cf. Antiquities of the Jews, book VII, section XIV, number 7) claims they were one week each.
Personally, I would say tracing the courses might be impossible, as scholars do not seem to agree if they slid across the calendar each year, or had features to stabilize them each year.
Nonetheless, the above mentioned information from the Talmud and Josephus does paint an interesting picture. If it is possible for 9 Ab to fall within Yehoyarib, then it is possible for Yehoyarib to fall in early August (e.g. 9 Ab fell on 4 August this year). With Abiyah coming seven weeks after Yehoyarib, this would mean it is possible for Abiyah to fall in late September (e.g. this year, seven weeks after 9 Ab corresponded to 22 September), which would mean that a late December birth for Christ is *possible*.
Good evening Abu,
Sorry for the delay in replying to you.
Starting in 1 Chronicles 23 through 28 we find David organizing the priestly/temple service as well as his own household. In 1 Chron. 24 lots were cast for the priestly service. 24 courses were chosen to service in the Temple. Nothing more is said about the precise nature of their service. Chron. 25 & 26 describes the choosing of the those who gave song and the porters. Nothing specific concerning their service is given here as well. It’s not until Chron. 27 where the captains and officers which serviced king David that we get an idea of how the service was rendered. There is states that each course served in the month according to their number. The first course served in the 1st month for one month. This was service was carried out through all twelve months.
Granted the text does not say how the priestly courses served but it think it reasonable to assume that if 12 courses served for twelve months, each course for one month, (according to their course #) then it would be congruent for 24 courses to each serve two weeks in twelve months. It is pretty clear from the text that David wanted to organize the service so that it would be run efficiently. It would make little logistic sense to have each priestly course serve for only 1 week at a time. So an arrangement would require a loss of continuity in service as well as unnecessary turnover. Frankly it would be an inefficient arrangement to say the least.
I hope that explains my understanding of the chronology and the basis for my conclusions. Someday when I have time I’d like to make a chart showing the arrangement as you have pointed out. It raises an interesting line of research.
Regarding a December birth day it is interesting to note that if Yeshua was born in the 7th month has I have proposed(Sept/Oct) then his conception would have taken place during the month of December, around the Festival of Lights (Hanukkah – Feast of Dedication). It was at such a feast that Yeshua stood up and said:
John 9:5 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
This could also be the part of the basis for some of the early churches traditions concerning the same. That is how I see it anyway. I appreciate your thoughts and the references you provided. Definitely food for thought.
Warm regards,
William
The 24 courses were from Sabbath to Sabbath; they started over after 24 weeks. All of the courses served during all the Feasts.
Luke Chapter 1 describes Elizabeth in her 6th month while it is also in THE 6th month, meaning Zechariah had to have been serving in the 1st month, either during the week of Unleavened Bread, or his course had shifted due to the intercalations of a 13th month along the way .
Mary conceived also IN the 6th month, meaning YHUShA was born in the 3rd month, most likely at Shabuot (Pentecost).
shalom.
Good morning Lisa,
Thank you for your comments. What is your Scriptural reference for the priestly courses serving for 24 weeks then starting over? I would like to better understand the Scriptural basis for your perspective.
Warm regards,
William
The time of service was 7 days.
1Ch 9:25 KJV] 25 And their brethren, [which were] in their villages, [were] to come after seven days from time to time with them.
Service began and ended on the Sabbath, both incoming and outgoing courses served on the Sabbath.
2Ki 11:9 And the captains over the hundreds did according to all [things] that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest.
2Ch 23:8 So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded, and took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that were to go [out] on the sabbath: for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses.
These courses were just an ‘order’ and not tied to a specific week.
When a 13th month was added the rotation continued on, and the week of service shifted. This is evidenced in Luke 1 by Zechariah, in the course of Abiyah/8th in order, serving in the beginning of the 1st month for the time of Elizabeth’s pregnancy to be 6 months along IN the sixth month.
Also, it makes sense there would be a shift or else the same priests would serve double shifts at every Feast when all orders were called to serve.
Good morning Lisa,
Thank you for sharing. You’ve provided some of the best evidence so far that I’ve seen that would indicate the service was seven days. One of these days I’ll get around to comparing the several different possiblities on the service of the courses. Facinating subject for sure.
Regards,
William
Hello William,
Have you read “The Star of Bethlehem: The Star That Astonished the World” by Ernest L. Martin? His book was first published in 1996. It is posted free online:
http://www.askelm.com/star/
Here he used chronological information found in scripture (the twenty-four priestly courses and events connected with the birth of Yeshua in Matthew and Luke) plus Revelation 12, along with historical and astronomical evidence to prove that Yeshuas’ birth occurred exactly on September 11, 3 B.C. between 6:15 pm and 7:49 pm EST on the Gregorian calendar, or the first of Tishri on the Jewish calendar:
The Time of Jesus’ Birth
http://www.askelm.com/star/star006.htm
The Birth of Jesus and the Day of Trumpets
http://www.askelm.com/star/star008.htm
I personally think that Yeshua was conceived during the Festival of Lights or Feast of Dedication (Chanukah) so just for fun I checked the dates of the in the year 4 BC which fell from December 14-21, 4 B.C.
http://www.cgsf.org/dbeattie/calendar/?roman=-3
Then I checked with a pregnancy wheel, using December 14-21 as dates of conception and it gave me a date range of September 6-13 as due dates.
http://www.prokerala.com/health/pregnancy/pregnancy-wheel/
Then looking at the dates for the Feast of Trumpets in the year 3 BC it fell on September 10, 3 BC. Of course it could have been on the 11th depending on the sighting of the moon in Jerusalem that year.
http://www.cgsf.org/dbeattie/calendar/?roman=-2
I thought the pregnancy wheel and Festival dates were interesting and thought I would share.
Blessings to you and yours!
Rebecca,
I agree with you about Yeshua’s conception during the Festival of Lights. Pretty cool i.e. the pregnancy wheel. I never thought to use one. Thank again for sharing. I love this kind of stuff.
John 9:5 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
Warm regards,
William
Good evening William,
Someone shared this web article with me tonight and I thought I would pass it along to you. Scroll down to the paragraphs of “The Birth of Messiah on Yowm Teruw’ah & Conception on Chanukkah” where she talks about the significance of the 271 days and the bible code.
http://doubleportioninheritance.blogspot.com/2011/09/hanukkahover-throw-of-zeus-worship.html
I don’t know much about the bible code, but it is a fascinating article. I hope you enjoy it.
Peace and blessings to you and yours.
Good evening Rebecca,
Thank you for the article. I enjoyed reading it. A few things I disagree with but still found a lot I did agree with. I especially appreciated the reference to Chanukkah and the prophecies of Haggai. Based upon my understanding of Daniel 9 a reasonable case can be made that there were 70 weeks from Haggai’s prophecy (count from this day forward) to Yeshua’s conception around Hanukkah in the winter of 5BC. His birth taking place 9 months later in the fall of 4 BC. Thanks again for the article.
Warm regards,
William
One of the potential problems is also lining up when the CONJUNCTION was visible to the Magi in Persia. That will certainly fiddle with that author’s dates. Indications are it was seen from there first, then later near Jerusalem.
A conjunction explains how it is seen for so long, and not by everybody in that entire hemisphere.
Your chart is wrong. It shows only 2 courses per month when it should be four,
hence you show the 24 courses being completed only once a year rather than twice a year.
Good evening Simone,
Do you have a Biblical reference for that? Based upon my understanding of the Biblical evidence I believe there to be only two.
Warm regards,
William
Wrong timing for Abijah. Served late March 7 BC. John born around Hanukkah. Might be why he’s named John. See Zech 4.7 haftarah Hanukkah–Grace, Grace or John John; Jesus 5/14/06 BC https://books.google.com/books?id=XLqrsEV_zXMC&pg=PA241&lpg=PA241&dq=pachom+25&source=bl&ots=rbLiKgxjUn&sig=c70A-4OeobDZx9h5WbWTxV7Sqyw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAWoVChMIh93EmdqcyQIVwTEmCh01bAwi#v=onepage&q=pachom%2025&f=false
Good morning Lawrence,
What do you see as the Biblical basis for the correct timing?
Warm regards,
William
Another interesting point is that if Jesus was born on the Feast of Tabernacles, John, who was born six months earlier, would have necessarily been born on Passover. The last chapter of Malachi points out that Elijah would come before the appearance of the Messiah. In fact, Jesus stated that John the Baptist was Elijah. From my Jewish mother, I learned that during Passover, at the Seder dinner, Jews have a place setting for Elijah, and they leave the front door slightly ajar so that Elijah could enter. So, Jews do expect Elijah to appear on Passover, and indeed, Elijah, that is, John the Baptist, certainly did appear (was born) on Passover!
Hi Karin,
Thank you for your comments. Fascinating information for sure. I appreciate you taking the time to share.
Warm regards,
William
Looks & reads complicated!
https://enochandhishistory33ad.wordpress.com/2016/01/13/2/
Trust me, it is, but worth the time to look at the citations and context of His way. Who was He quoting when using “Son of Man”? Did He truly mean “3 days and 3 nights” when he used Jonah as the example?
* * *
When Was He Killed!
“The Revealed Priestly Calendar, 33 A.D.” A monograph study of 33 AD
There are major problems with the Roman, Protestant liturgy and Jewish tradition. The remarkable solution of the days chronology is proved by the revealed Enoch calendar. It was 33 A.D., not 31 A.D.!
Is it possible to ignore History and follow the “Traditions of Men”? What of our Father the Almighty and His Appointed Days and Seasons? . . . . . .
Professor Bullinger did a great study on this as well here – http://www.therain.org/appendixes/app179.html – which is in agreement with your study William.
God Bless y’all
Hi John,
Thanks for the comments and the links.
Warm regards,
William
Love this! I have written a similar explanation on my own blog though I didn’t go into the names as you have done. LOVE LOVE! (I just did the name thing with those who restored the gates and the walls in Nehemiah 3). I do have a question that I can’t seem to which I can’t seem to find an answer. What is the lineage of Abijah? Nadab and Abihu died before having children. So Eleazar or Itamar and does it matter in this explanation of when Yeshua was born?
Hi Julie,
Thank you for the comments. Happy to know you found the article interesting. To answer questions I don’t think this would make a difference on the priestly courses because they were chosen by lot from those descendants alive at the time of David’s organization of the temple service. We just don’t have much more information on the particulars of the lineage.
Warm regards,
William
Whew, that sounded pretty convoluted. Sorry!
Not really. I appreciate the comments.
Warm regards,
William
On the birth of Christ: is not conception when life begins? If so, than Jesus was in the world when in His mother’s womb. Festival of Lights – The Light of the World – it makes sense to me.
Hi, I was reading your commentary on Zechariah with the course of Abijah, have been trying to find info for quite some time. Was wondering if you have any documentation in supporting what you had written for when this course took place. I had cpontacted many Jewish Rabbi’s for about 10 years now and none of them could give me any information.
Also an interesting side note, is in 2 Chronicles 29:1 King Hezekiah’s mothers name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah!
Good evening Tim,
My rendering of the courses is based upon 1 Chronicles 24:1-19, 27:1-15, I kings 4:7. As you know the text does not specifically say how the courses are counted but if considered within the context of Kind David’s organizational changes the courses began their service in the 1st month of each year. Some really good arguments can be made for the service only being 1 week twice a year but this would seem to defeat the idea of organizational efficiency. The logistics of priestly service twice a year (plus holy days) would seem less efficient than a 2 week service once a year.
On the plus side of a 2 week rendering of the courses (for me) is the symbolism of 13 & 14 thus placing the birth of the Messiah in 13th or 14th priestly course during the 7th month. Matthew goes to great lengths to show that Yeshua is the 13th & 14th generation in Matthew 1.
In any case it is a wonderfully rich and complex subject which is well worth exploring. I just not willing to be dogmatic about it at this point.
Warm regards,
William
Sir:
Each of the 24 Priestly “shifts” served for one (1) week, so that there would have been four (4) Priestly orders serving in the Temple per month, NOT “two(2)”. The Torah Commanded that each priestly order was to be further divided into six (6) “clans”, so that during each priestly weekr, all six (6) family clans would serve for one day, and then on Shabbat all the six clans would serve together.
Good evening Tirzah,
Thank you for your comments. I understand that traditionally it is believed that priestly courses lasted 1 week but correctly if I am wrong this is not clearly stated in the Scripture. What is your Scriptural basis for your understanding? I always appreciate seeing the subject from another person perspective.
Warm regards,
William
I do not believe at all that the scriptures are written arbitrarily. The course of Abijah is supplied by God in Luke 1 for the specific purpose of calculating the birth of Christ to free us from the traditions of men. I highly doubt that Luke himself even knew entirely why he included the course of Abijah in his gospel. Many times those of us who follow Christ and are moved by his Holy Spirit will prophecy and testify words unbeknownst to us at the time that will alter someone else’ life. Little did we know that we spoke as the oracles of God and as the Holy Spirit moved in us – so that person basically heard from God through us and a prayer was answered and a desire that no one but God and that individual knew anything about. The course of Abijah is not just another piece of scripture. It is not there by coincidence. It is not there as just a “historical” account. It is there for the wise to discern. Peace unto all who live, and move and have there being in Christ Jesus. I agree with the original poster :)
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ant-7.html
Josephus Ant. 7:14:7 “one course should minister to God eight days, from sabbath to sabbath.”
So according to Josephus the priests served 8 days. That means two courses served during Sabbath.
hello…I have believed the same as you that Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles…we just came across a you tube video of Johnathan Cahn sharing that he feels he was born during the Spring…claiming The Talmud and The Dead Sea Scrolls both point to a Match 10th date. I wanted to hear your thoughts on this and why you feel the way you do with prophetic backing of possible. here is the link: https://youtu.be/ptlsXtTf6n0
thank you so much as this will help confusion.
Good evening Dana,
Thank you for your comments and link.
Regarding the video Mr. Cahn makes the argument that Yeshua’s birth could not have taken place during the Feast of Tabernacles because all males were required to be in Jerusalem at the time. Therefor by implicating Joseph could not have been in Bethlehem. Because of this Mr. Cahn states that Yeshua birth took place during Passover.
This statement is problematic because all Jewish males were required to be in Jerusalem for Passover, Shavuot and Sukkoth. (Exodus 23 & 34) His objection applies to his own statement that Yeshua was born on Passover. (3:50-4:15 on the video) Later on Mr. Cahn states that Yeshua was born on the first of Nisan. (9:00-9:30) This is a bit confusing. Most because the first of Nisan is not a Feast of YHWH as outlined by Lev. 23.
Mr. Cahn also states that he believes the key to the understanding priestly courses as found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Talmudic writings which name the priestly course serving when the temple was destroyed.
Unfortunately Mr. Cahn doesn’t provide us with the references for his statements in order for us to verify his calculations. This does not make his statement incorrect but it does require us to assume that these records are true and that his interpretation of them are accurate.
Most important in my opinion, those ancient records of the priestly service require us to believe that King David caused the priestly courses to serve in a different manner than the other services as outlined in 1 Chron. 14:1-19; 27:1-15; & I Kings 4:7.
I Chron. 27:1-15 clearly states that the 1st course of those that served king David in any manner, served during the 1st month. The 2nd course served in the 2nd month. In my opinion we would need clear Biblical evidence to support the case that the priestly courses served in a different manner than the other services King David organized. The service of the priest’s were numbered just like the other services. So it stands to reason that their service would be link to a specific month, not wander through the calendar as required by the Talmudic and other sources.
Absent any clear Biblical evidence, the premise of my article is that the courses served in a similar manner as did the other services as outlined by king David. Each course served their entire course during their allotted time which was connected with a specific month during the calendar year.
Regarding the intercalary 13th month we have no clear instructions. There are several possibilities but they are speculative.
A fascinating subject to explore for sure. I just think we should first base our exploration and any reasonable associated assumptions upon the available Biblical evidence, not other historical documentation.
Regards,
William
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One avenue for thinking when Jesus was born – When was the Roman Census ? – Sept. 1
4 B.C would seem likely.
Good morning, William, and a Happy New Year to you!
My thanks to yourself for this thoughtful post, and also to Lisa H and Abu Khamr, who have drawn our attention on the comments thread to an alternative possibility, namely that the basis of the priestly rota was a weekly schedule rather than a monthly one.
The weekly duty roster of the Palace guards, from one Sabbath to the next, seems on the face of it to make more sense, in practical terms, than splitting up the twelve (or in some years thirteen) lunar months into four short periods of sometimes seven or sometimes eight days, or into two periods of sometimes fourteen and sometimes fifteen days.
We need to bear in mind that first-century Judea was a peasant society. Every priest had his work to do at home when he was not on duty in the Temple. An enforced absence in Jerusalem every few months, away from his fields and his livestock for a week at a time, would mean temporarily neglecting his means of livelihood. The resulting hardship would naturally be more severe at some seasons—for instance, at harvest time—than at others. It would obviously be unfair to penalize one course of priests by making them miss their work at, say, harvest time every year, while the priests of other courses were regularly away from home at less crucial times of year when their families and farms could more easily get by without them for a week at a time.
This unfairness could easily be avoided by sharing out the burden equitably, and basing the Temple duty roster on a 24-week cycle, instead of a six-month cycle, would be a simple way to achieve this aim. Let us take, for example, the calendars for 2018 and 2019. The first Sabbath in 2018 was Saturday, January 6. Let’s say an imaginary priest called Ezra belongs to the course that begins its week of Temple service that day and finishes a week later on Saturday, January 13. In the current two-year period, Ezra will be away from home for a total of five weeks:
January 6-13, 2018
June 23-30, 2018
December 1-8, 2018
May 18-25, 2019
November 2-9, 2019
On this basis, if we want to discover the dates on which the course of Abijah would have been on duty, the Hebrew lunar calendar is of no particular use to us. Our own Julian or Gregorian calendar will serve our purpose equally well. This approach yields the additional benefit that we don’t need to find out which Hebrew calendar years had thirteen lunar months in them and which ones had only twelve.
We will have to start off from a known date. The only one of these that is available to us, as far as I know, is the capture of the Temple by Titus’ Roman legions on the ninth or tenth of Ab in AD 70. See footnote “a” on pp. 448-9 of the Loeb edition of the War (link below). That date was equivalent to August 29 in the Julian calendar, according to Benedict Niese, who published his edition of Josephus’ works in the 1880s, or “around August 30” according to the editors of the Loeb edition.
As Abu Khamr kindly pointed out in this comments thread, the Talmud states that on that day the officiating priestly course was that of Jehoiarib, the first of the twenty-four listed in 1 Chronicles.
I would be willing to do a little hunting on the internet and work back through the calendars, year by year, 24 weeks at a time, from AD 70 as far back as the period around the time of John the Baptist’s birth, say between 10 and 1 BC. However, I don’t want to spend a lot of time doing that if I’d only be duplicating the spadework that someone else has done before, and that is readily accessible either online or in some library somewhere. So let me ask you, William, do you know if this has been done?
Thanks for your help.
Kind regards,
Brian G
https://archive.org/details/josephuswithengl03joseuoft/page/448
Good evening Brian,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It’s been really neat to see different readers add to this subject. I’ve really been challenged since I first wrote this post.
To answer your question I don’t know of anyone who has done exactly what you are proposing. Rick Lanser of Associates for Biblical Research wrote a recent article where he calculated the priestly course using based upon the Josephus reference if I remember correctly. You can read his article here: Thoughts on the Chronology of Christmas Though I don’t agree with his conclusions It is a very interesting read.
I personally would love to see your research when it’s done if you decide to pursue this further. If it helps there is a starting point for the 2nd temple era priestly course that might give you a Biblical fixing point. In Ezra 6 we can ascertain that they restarted their divisions in the Nisan of the 7th year of Darius (Hystaspes) ‘the great’ Artaxerxes. Here is the reference:
Ezra 6:15-19 15 And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. 16 And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy, {the children of the captivity: Chaldee, the sons of the transportation} 17 And offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. 18 And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses. 19 And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.
We can also ascertain a Biblical intercalary month during the 2nd temple era. If you are interested you’ll find the information in my article: Ezekiel’s 13th Month.
Hope this helps. Keep me posted on your research if you don’t mind. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
Regards,
William
Thank you for the link to Rick Lanser’s website! That’s just the kind of research I was hoping to find.
Kind regards,
Brian
I’m doing research on the birth of Jesus and your article is very good. I noticed that you base the time of service for Abijah on Chronicles. I read that the priestly service may have changed before the time of Jesus.
in 70 AD when the temple was destroyed the priests that were serving at that time did not match those of Chronicles. Jehoiarib was serving. This comes from Josephus and the Mishna accounts.
Working backwards from here assuming they kept the same order as Chronicles, you can find when Abijah would have performed service in the Temple when visited by the Angel. I will leave the calculation to you. This has thrown into question all my belief in when He was born. I now lean towards Hanukkah as the time period.
I was born again into Christ Jesus April 2018, so I have a lot to learn. This is awesome. And you all are so considerate and nice to each other despite differences of opinion. The display of humility gives me strength and courage and draws me closer to Christ Jesus. Thank you all for your devotion to Christ and your effort to get the Truth out to all the world. I appreciate you. God Bless you, in Christ Jesus’s name.
Good afternoon David,
Thank you for your encouraging words. May Yahweh richly bless you in your journey of discovery in his wonderful word.
Warm regards in Yeshua,
William
Thank you very much William for this valuable information. I wonder, have you seen the Dead Sea Scrolls complete priestly courses division list? Jonathan Cahn claims a spring birth for Yeshua based on that information? If Yeshua was born in Tabernacles how can that be? So far as the Census is concerned, surely all the males would by law be required to remain in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles? Joseph would have been no exception under Jewish Law. Shouldn’t we be looking for a time, say, just prior to Passover in the Spring when males would be able to travel out of Jerusalem? Mary was in full term about to give birth to the future Messiah. No-one would have exposed her to harsh elements on the back of a donkey for some eight miles into Beit Lechem, surely? Practical issues which I’m sure our beloved Yah made provision for? Shalom
Good evening Margaret,
Thank you for your comments. I’ve watched Mr. Cahn’s video on the spring birth of Yeshua and I have reservations about his understanding of the subject. I’ve not seen the Dead Sea Scrolls priestly courses division list. If you know where that can be found please feel free to post it here or share it with me by email and I’ll post it here. This article has been an ongoing accumulation of information on the subject for me. Some great thoughts and information have been posted by readers like you over the years.
When I first wrote this article I was pretty convinced of a two week service of the priestly course. That made the most sense to me based upon how king David set up the other priestly courses. Based upon the information shared by other readers of this article I’m not as convinced as I once was. I will say though that I still believe Yeshua was born in the fall during the feast of Tabernacles. Some of reasons for this are as follows:
1. Based upon my understanding of Daniel 9 and the Divine word to restore and build Jerusalem a reasonable case can be made for the conception or “coming” of the messiah in the late winter of 5 BC around the Jewish feast of Hanukkah. Nine months later his birth would have taken place during feast of Tabernacles of 4 BC.
2. I believe the very nature of the feast of Tabernacles speaks to the coming of the Messiah – both his first coming (dwellling) with mankind and His return to tabernacle with mankind during His 1000 year reign.
3. Tabernacles is the only Biblical holy day that is 8 days long and case can be made that 8 represents renewal. In other words the Biblical feast schedule (cycle) in a larger multi generational context began with the birth of the Messiah at Tabernacles and those pictures are completed by Yeshua with the same feast at the 2nd coming and subsequent reign of Christ.
4. In my book The Jubilee Code I show how each time Yahweh chose to dwell with mankind it happened during a specific jubilee cycle. These “tabernacling” or temporary dwellings with mankind are (in my opinion) symbolized in the feast of Tabernacles. For more information on why I see it this way please see my free books: Daniel’s 70 Weeks: The Keystone of Bible Prophecy and The Jubilee Code: Prophetic Milestones in Yahweh’s Redemptive Plan. You can download these books for free and most digital retailers or at my site here: Book Download
Regarding Mary’s and Joseph’s travel too or from Jerusalem when she was pregnant, I believe it must be seen within the context of that day and age. Back then an 8 mile trip was not a very big deal. Nor were the men and women of that day as physically sensitive to the elements as we are today in our modern protected world. Some women are blessed with a pregnancy that does not involve complications that require them to restrict there movement or activities. I know it is anecdotal but pregnancy didn’t slow down my wife Winnie much at all. In fact I can remember that she shoveled nearly 6 tons of sand for a children’s playground set a couple of days before our daughter was born and was up and active the day after her birth.
Regarding Joseph’s attendance in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles, the Torah requires them to come up and dwell in the booths. I image there was some leeway as to how these instructions were carried out. There may also have been other instructions or traditions related to this for men whose wives were close to term. I’m clearly speculating here because the torah just does not give us all that much information on the subject. In any case, in my opinion, there is plenty of leeway in the story of Yeshua’s birth to accommodate a late fall birth during the Feast of Tabernacles.
I hope this help clarify my thoughts on the subject. Thanks again for your input and feel free to share any additional thoughts you may have.
Warm regards,
William
Hi,
Thank you for the valuable information on your site.
I see that the priestly courses are interrupted by the feast days when all priests were required to serve.
Other sources (i.e. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priestly_divisions and others) tell me that the courses were consecutive week by week while all of the orders were present during biblical festivals.
What source did you use to support this opinion?
Regards,
Jan
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It appears that after the conception of Elisabeth, the angel Gabriel appears to Mary on the seventh month after the conception of Elisabeth, according to the chart showing the order of priest serving in the temple, each serving for one week. But according to Luke 1:26, the angle Gabriel appeared to Mary in the 6 month after the conception of Mary. Can you explain this?
Hi Stephen,
You are correct. Mary’s conception should have been at the max in the 26th week if we are to keep it in the 6th month (29.53×6=177.18/7=25.31) Also We don’t know when Elisabeth conceived. Certainly, it was after the course of Abijah but how long after we don’t know for sure. Another good question is if the courses were really only one week long, would Elisabeth and Zacharias have gone home for one week and then returned a few days later to serve at Shavuot? Or would they have stayed in Jerusalem? So could Elisabeth conception taken place at the end of the 3rd month?
You are one of the few people who have noticed the discrepancy with the weekly service chart (or at least mentioned it). I’ve been meaning to update this article for some time. Your comments give me new impetuous to fix the chart and flesh this out a bit more.
Warm regards,
William