Zadok Watchmen Recommended Reading: Selected Articles

Philo and the Lunar Sabbath:

Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH)
Page 3
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        This proves the New Moon
was not included when counting out the weeks. In a similar fashion, YEHOVAH God did not count it in Exodus the 16th chapter when He made the Sabbath known to Moses. If the New Moon was ever included when counting out the weeks in Scripture, the weekly Sabbaths would fall on the 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th etc. Yet, you cannot find these days mentioned anywhere in Scripture because these days are ALWAYS PREPARATION DAYS FOR THE WEEKLY SABBATH. When Philo spoke of the 10th or 15th day of the month, he was including the New Moon day in his count, but it is an absolute fact that when he counted out the week, he DID NOT include the New Moon -- which in itself proves lunar weeks. Remember, Philo is just stating HOW things were done in his day.
        Getting back to the main thrust of this article, we must remember that the works of Philo are very significant in that he walked the earth before, at the same time, and twenty years after the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah. He was one of the most influential men of that time, living as a Judean in Alexandria, Egypt, and read from the Septuagint Bible. The Septuagint was quoted often by our Yeshua and his apostles.
        With this in mind, did Philo ever mention that the weekly Sabbath could be found by counting from the New Moon?
        The answer is YES. Philo’s writings about such things as the Priesthood, festivals etc. are in complete harmony with the Bible as we read it today. At one point in his writings he did make mention that some states or provinces were keeping only one Sabbath per month counting from the New Moon, whereas we know all four should be observed. Here is Philo on this issue:

THE DECALOGUE, XX (96) It says,


                “The fourth commandment has reference to the sacred seventh day that it may
                be passed in a sacred and holy manner. Some states keep the holy festival [the
                Sabbath] only once in the moon, COUNTING FROM THE NEW MOON, as a
                day sacred to God; but the nation of the Jews KEEP EVERY SEVENTH DAY
                REGULARLY, after each interval of six days”.


        Notice carefully what Philo wrote above. First, one must realize that Philo understood that the New Moon was a festival ALL BY ITSELF and was not one of the six ordinary working days (
Ezekiel 46:1-3). The gate of the inner court was to be shut on the six working days and opened on the Sabbath and New Moon. Philo here says that some provinces were observing the holy Sabbath day festival only once in the month. Notice how he centers in on ONLY ONCE in the month. He also mentions that they were keeping it by COUNTING FROM THE NEW MOON and recognizing it as a day sacred to YEHOVAH. Now, if counting from the New Moon to find the weekly Sabbath is erroneous, how did these states keep the holy festival once a month? Think about this. Philo DID NOT say they kept A Sabbath or THEIR Sabbath or a BOGUS Sabbath, but rather he said they kept the holy festival sacred to YEHOVAH! This has to mean that the proper way to find the holy festival of the Sabbath is TO COUNT FROM THE NEW MOON!
        Philo continues by saying that the Judean nation kept every seventh day holy after each interval of six days. This poses no problem at all to lunar sabbatarians as we too do what Philo did. Philo has already given us the proof that counting from the New Moon was the proper way to find the holy festival of the weekly Sabbath. Therefore, when he says the Judeans kept every seventh day holy, he is speaking of every seventh day after each interval of six working days periods from New Moon to New Moon. This is the only logical way to understand this particular passage in Philo.
        If Saturday keepers were to say that “some churches keep the holy Sabbath only once a month counting on today’s calendar, but we keep every seventh day after six workdays,” possible way to construe what they’re saying is that their (and “some churches”) holy Sabbath day was found by counting on the same calendar -- today’s Gregorian calendar.
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Gael Bataman
Originally Entered:        17 February 2008
Latest Update:               17 February 2008


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