In some of our recent posts, we have discussed the calendar and it’s origin. One topic that we have not yet addressed is the topic of the solar calendar – also known as the Enoch calendar. We have recently seen some groups starting to promote the Enoch calendar as the “original” calendar of YHVH. According to this group, the calendars based on the moon dates from after the Babylonian exile. Followers of the Enoch calendar teach that the lunar calendar is something that the nation picked up from the Babylonians. According to them the lunar calendar was never part of the first temple period. This topic also ties in nicely with the recent in depth studies about the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Essenes.
We often read that one of the ways to explain the misconception that Y’Shua was keeping a Pesach meal a day before the rest of the community, is the fact that He was following another calendar. Most often, the calendar referred to is the calendar followed by the Essenes. In our previous article, we have shown that Y’Shua was most likely anti-Essene. He warned His followers about the teachings of the Essenes.
Let us do a more detailed study of the Enoch calendar and the calendar of the Essenes. The more we know about this calendar the better we can decide what the Scriptural calendar is.
The origin of the calendar
There is no record of the Enoch calendar in the Scripture. We can find the most likely origin or proof of this calendar in the books of Enoch and Jubilees. These two books do not make up our current canon of Scripture.
We have lots of texts in the book of Jubilees that quote passages from the Book of Enoch. Thus, we can assume that the book of Enoch was written first. It was then followed by the book of Jubilees and then the writings of the community at Qumran. The books of Enoch and Jubilees are not well known. Let us first get a bit more detail on these two books.
History of the books
These two books do not form part of the canon of Scripture that either Judaism or Christianity recognizes. These books are classified as “Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament.” These books were written late, compared to the canonical books. These books are only accepted by the Ethiopian churches (Orthodox Christian and Jewish.) It is interesting that, although Beta Israel, also known as Ethiopian Jews, see both these books as canonical, they still follow the lunar calendar. Their calendar is a combination of the ancient calendar of Alexandrian Jewry, Book of Jubilees, Book of Enoch, Abu Shaker and the Ge’ez calendar.
At the caves in the Judean desert, archeologists found fragments of the book of Enoch. (1Q23-24, 2Q26, 4Q201-212, 4Q530-33, 6Q8) Most of the fragments found are too small to translate to English. Not all parts of the book of Enoch were present at Qumran. The fragments found were in Aramaic. The Aramaic versions of the book do not tie up nicely with the Ge’ez (Ethiopian) translation. 4Q209, the Astronomical Book, in the Aramaic version is longer than the Ge’ez version. Also, the Aramaic version found at Qumran of the Book of the Gaints, do not exist in the Ge’ez translation. But his book is preserved in the medieval Jewish literature. This indicates to us that the text of this book has not been well preserved. We do not even know which parts were originally included and which parts were added later.
We also have evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls, that the Book of Jubilees was originally written in Hebrew. It was then later translated to Greek. In the caves of the Judean desert, archaeologists found several fragments of this book in Hebrew. They found twelve fragments of the Book of Jubilees. Only some fragments found in cave 4 are large enough to be translated into English. (4Q216 – 4Q220) At Qumran, fragments were also discovered of books that are close to Jubilees but not exactly the same. The researchers have called these “pseudo- Jubilees” (4Q225-227.) We also find reference to the book of Jubilees in the Damascus Document. Here, the book uses the original Hebrew name – “Book of the Divisions of Times into their Jubilees and Weeks” – CD 16.2-4. Based on the Hebrew manuscripts found, it appears as if the Ge’ez (Ethiopian) translations of Jubilees are still fairly accurate.
For both books, the most complete manuscripts only exist in Ge’ez. Ge’ez is the ancient South Semitic language that originated in Eritrea and the northern region of Ethiopia. We have proof that these books were translated from Hebrew/Aramaic to Greek, Greek to Latin and also from Greek to Ge’ez.
Content of the books
Enoch
The book of Enoch consists of multiple parts that were put together as one book by a later editor. The book consists of the following parts:
- Book of Watchers – Chapters 1-36 including fragments of the Book of Noah in chapters 6-11
- Book of the Parables – Chapters 37-71 is also known as the Book of Similitudes
- Book of the Luminaries – Chapters 72-82
- The Dream Visions – Chapters 83-90
- Critical Structure – Chapters 91-104
- God and Messiah to dwell in Man – Chapter 105
- Latin fragment of the book of Noah – Chapters 106-107
- Appendix added later – Chapter 108
The parts of this book were not all written by one author. It also appears that these books are not structured in chronological sequence. The authors of all the sections belong to the Chasids or their successors the Pharisees. The Book of the Luminaries seems to be the oldest, dating from the third century B.C. The Book of Watchers contains parts of the Book of Luminaries, indicating that it was compiled at a later stage. The Book of the Parables appears to be the most recent. It is believed that it was written towards the end of the first century B.C. This part of the book was not found among the scrolls at Qumran. Also, the Book of Luminaries found at Qumran is much longer than the Ethiopic versions.1
The Book of the Luminaries is presented as a revelation from the archangel Uriel (YHVH is my light.) In the book, Enoch translates to his son Methuselah, all that Uriel has shown him about the laws of the cosmos and how this works. The purpose of this work is to show the uniformity of YHVH’s creation. It also shows how the movement of the luminaries and the blowing of the wind confirms this.
According to this model the firmament is like an upside down cup on a saucer. The saucer is the earth and where the cup and saucer meet, there are twelve gates. These gates are where the sun and moon rise during the 12 months of the year. The sun rises in the eastern gate and the sets again in the corresponding western gate. Next to these gates are many windows through which the stars emerge and disappear. This pattern is based upon the solar calendar of 364 days. It is divided into 4 sections, each with 91 days. The months consist of 30 days, except for the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th months. These four months each have an extra day. In the Aramaic fragments found at Qumran (4Q208-9), we also have a tabulation that correlates the movements of the sun and the moon during the annual cycle.
This seems to be the oldest recording we have of the solar calendar.
Jubilees
The Book of Jubilees is a re-telling of Genesis 1 to Exodus 12. It does differ in that this work is also an interpretation of the text. The author sometimes uses the exact same wording. Sometimes he deletes the text and in other cases he adds his interpretation to the text. The re-telling also follows a chronological sequence. This means that the author mixed the texts of different books of the Torah. The author also removed perceived contradictions. This provides us with a `targum´ on the books of Genesis and Exodus.
The author adds his own interpretation of the Scripture in several places. He does this by adding the phrase “For this reason it is written (or ordained) in the heavenly tablets ….” For example, he claims that nakedness is forbidden because YHVH clothed Adam and Eve. He also uses the same method to argue that the solar calendar must be followed to celebrate the feast2:
Jubilees 6:17-18
17 For this reason it is ordained and written on the heavenly tablets, that they should celebrate the feast of weeks in this month once a year, to renew the covenant every year. 18 And this whole festival was celebrated in heaven from the day of creation till the days of Noah—twenty-six jubilees and five weeks of years: and Noah and his sons observed it for seven jubilees and one week of years, till the day of Noah’s death, and from the day of Noah’s death his sons did away with (it) until the days of Abraham, and they eat blood.1
The main purpose of the author is to get the Jews of his time to return to Torah. He is specifically interested in the halakhah, the way these commandments should be lived. To encourage the Jews to keep these commandments, he sometimes adds text to raise the importance of some of the commandments. For example, he states that Noah made a proper sacrifice:
Jubilees 7:3-5
3And he celebrated with joy the day of this feast, and he made a burnt sacrifice unto YHVH, one young ox and one ram, and seven sheep, each a year old, and a kid of the goats, that he might make atonement thereby for himself and his sons. 4 And he prepared the kid first, and placed some of its blood on the flesh that was on the altar which he had made, and all the fat he laid on the altar where he made the burnt sacrifice, and the ox and the ram and the sheep, and he laid all their flesh upon the altar. 5 And he placed all their offerings mingled with oil upon it, and afterwards he sprinkled wine on the fire which he had previously made on the altar, and he placed incense on the altar and caused a sweet savor to ascend acceptable before YHVH his Elohim.1
He also states that Jacob paid tithes of all he had (including his clothes). Jacob also made his son Levi a priest to do the offerings on the 15th of the month.
Jubilees 32:2-4
2 And Jacob rose early in the morning, on the fourteenth of this month, and he gave a tithe of all that came with him, both of men and cattle, both of gold and every vessel and garment, yea, he gave tithes of all. 3 And in those days Rachel became pregnant with her son Benjamin. And Jacob counted his sons from him upwards and Levi fell to the portion of YHVH and his father clothed him in the garments of the priesthood and filled his hands. 4 And on the fifteenth of this month, he brought to the altar fourteen oxen from amongst the cattle, and twenty-eight rams, and forty-nine sheep, and seven lambs, and twenty-one kids of the goats as a burnt-offering on the altar of sacrifice, well pleasing for a sweet savour before YHVH.1
In the last two chapters the author also provides a detailed description of how the Sabbath and the feast of Pesach must be celebrated.
As mentioned before, the author follows a chronological sequence in his retelling. This chronology is based on the solar calendar and uses the jubilees as a major marker of time. The author claims that the calendar that was revealed to Enoch by the angel Uriel, as the true calendar.
Jubilees 4.16–18
16 And in the eleventh jubilee Jared took to himself a wife, and her name was Bâraka, the daughter of Râsûjâl, a daughter of his father’s brother, in the fourth week of this jubilee, *and she bare him a son in the fifth week, in the fourth year of the jubilee, and he called his name Enoch. 17 And he was the first among men that are born on earth who learnt writing and knowledge and wisdom and who wrote down the signs of heaven according to the order of their months in a book, that men might know the seasons of the years according to the order of their separate months. 18 And he was the first to write a testimony, and he testified to the sons of men among the generations of the earth, and recounted the weeks of the jubilees, and made known to them the days of the years, and set in order the months and recounted the Sabbaths of the years as we made (them), known to him. 1
Unlike Enoch, the author of Jubilees becomes specific about the solar calendar being the only calendar. He specifically makes the statement that people will later start following a calendar that is not 364 days. This will cause the people to celebrate the appointed times on the wrong days.
35 For I know and from henceforth will I declare it unto thee, and it is not of my own devising; for the book (lies) written before me, and on the heavenly tablets the division of days is ordained, test they forget the feasts of the covenant and walk according to the feasts of the Gentiles after their error and after their ignorance. 36 For there will be those who will assuredly make observations of the moon—how (it) disturbs the seasons and comes in from year to year ten days too soon. 37 For this reason the years will come upon them when they will disturb (the order), and make an abominable (day) the day of testimony, and an unclean day a feast day, and they will confound all the days, the holy with the unclean, and the unclean day with the holy; for they will go wrong as to the months and sabbaths and feasts and jubilees. 38 For this reason I command and testify to thee that thou mayst testify to them; for after thy death thy children will disturb (them), so that they will not make the year three hundred and sixty-four days only, and for this reason they will go wrong as to the new moons and seasons and sabbaths and festivals, and they will eat all kinds of blood with all kinds of flesh. 1
The book is dated based on the contents of the book and the paleographic dating of the fragments found at Qumran. Researchers currently date the Book of Jubilees to somewhere between 175 and 75 B.C.. The late date of the book is also supported by the fact that the text most closely relates to the text of the Septuagint. Yet, it’s text is different enough to show that it does not rely purely on the Septuagint text.
Why are these books not canonical?
Enoch
In the Book of Jude, we do find a reference that proves the author was familiar with some of the contents of the Book of Enoch. But, the author of Jude does not mention that he is quoting from the Book of Enoch.
Jude 14–15
14 It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, YHVH came with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.â€
Thus to take the fact that the two books contain similar material, further would be inaccurate. It is not sound logic to now imply that the Book of Jude makes the Book of Enoch canonical. If we were to follow this logic, we would also need to make the works of the Greek writers Aratus (Acts 17:28), Menander (1 Cor. 15:33), and Epimenides (Tit. 1:12) canonical. Paul referred to their writings in his epistles.
A big concern with the Book of Enoch is in the way that it presents Enoch. Based on the Scripture of Genesis 5:22-24 we have the interpretation of Enoch ascending to heaven.
Genesis 5:22–24
22 Then Enoch walked with YHVH three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 Enoch walked with YHVH; and he was not, for YHVH took him.
Enoch 1:1–2
1The words of the blessing of Enoch, wherewith he blessed the elect «and» righteous, who will be living in the day of tribulation, when all the wicked «and godless» are to be removed. 2 And he took up his parable and said—Enoch a righteous man, whose eyes were opened by God, saw the vision of the Holy One in the heavens, ‹which› the angels showed me, and from them I heard everything, and from them I understood as I saw, but not for this generation, but for a remote one which is for to come.1
This interpretation has Enoch ascending into heaven, seeing the vision of YHVH and then receiving the wisdom that he has to share with his son. The story of the angle showing Enoch the heavenly beings, is a similar style to the temple being shown the Ezekiel. We also see in Enoch 46:1-3 a description of the “One who had the head of Days” as well as another that is called the “Son of Man.”
Enoch 46:1–3
1 And there I saw One who had a head of days,
And His head was white like wool,
And with Him was another being whose countenance had the appearance of a man,
And his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels.
2 And I asked the angel who went with me and showed me all the hidden things, concerning that Son of Man, who he was, and whence he was, (and) why he went with the Head of Days?
3 And he answered and said unto me:
This is the Son of Man who hath righteousness,
With whom dwelleth righteousness,
And who revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden,
Because the Lord of Spirits hath chosen him,
And whose lot hath the pre-eminence before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness for ever.1
This vision is again very similar to another one we find in Scripture. In the Book of Daniel we find the following:
Daniel 7:13–14
13 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. 14 “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.
In the Book of Daniel we see that the Messiah is called the Son of Man. What makes the Book of Enoch a serious problem, is that later the book describes how Enoch becomes the “Son of Man.”
Enoch 71:14–15
14 And he (i.e. the angel) came to me and greeted me with His voice, and said unto me:
‘This is the Son of Man who is born unto righteousness,
And righteousness abides over him,
And the righteousness of the Head of Days forsakes him not.’
15 And he said unto me:
‘He proclaims unto thee peace in the name of the world to come;
For from hence has proceeded peace since the creation of the world,
And so shall it be unto thee for ever and for ever and ever.1
The author of the Book of Enoch, sees Enoch ascending into heaven on a cloud and then later becoming the Son of Man (Messiah.) For any believer in Y’Shua the Messiah, this must be a reason to discard the Book of Enoch as an inspired writing.
A less serious issue with the book should be how accurate the revelation really is. Today we know that some the truths revealed to Enoch, are actually wrong. Here are some of the known inaccuracies:
- The solar cycle is 364 days. We know that it is 365,25 days. The counter argument to this is that Enoch is describing the solar year before the flood of Noah. This cannot be true as Enoch also describes how the days become shorter and then again longer as the year progresses. This would not be the case in a “pre-Noah calendarâ€.
- Enoch 72:37 states that the sun is 7 times brighter than the moon, but that these two are of equal size. We know that this is not correct. If a man looks at the sun and moon from earth, they may appear to be of the same size. If the Creator was to reveal the truth about the luminaries to Enoch, He surely would have known that the sun is much larger than the moon.
- The Book of Enoch describes two calendars. It has the details of a solar and a lunar calendar. If the solar calendar is the “real calendar”, why describe both?
Book of Jubilees
The first reason to doubt the Book of Jubilees would be it’s strong reliance on the Book of Enoch. As we have discussed in the previous section, there are serious concerns with some of the content of Enoch.
Another reason to doubt the book of Jubilees would be it’s inaccuracy of the chronology. The author takes a strong stance on the importance of the sabbatical and jubilee years, but yet he gets it wrong. For example, Jubilees 4:21 states that Enoch was six years of Jubilees with YHVH,but Gen 5:22 states that Enoch was 300 years with YHVH.
Jubilees 4.21
And he was moreover with the angels of YHVH these six jubilees of years, and they showed him everything which is on earth and in the heavens, the rule of the sun, and he wrote down everything.1
Genesis 5:22
22 Then Enoch walked with YHVH three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters.
This would mean that a Jubilee is 50 years. This is in contradiction with the rest of the Book of Jubilees (Jubilees 23.8). Let us look at another example. We have the following information about Abraham:
Jubilees 11.14–15
14 And in this thirty-ninth jubilee, in the Second week in the first year, Terah took to himself a wife, and her name was ’Ednâ, the daughter of ’Abrâm, the daughter of his father’s sister. 15 And in the seventh year of this week she bare him a son, and he called his name Abram, by the name of the father of his mother; for he had died before his daughter had conceived a son.1
Jubilees 22.1
And it came to pass in the first week in the. forty-fourth jubilee, in the second year, that is, the year in which Abraham died, that Isaac and Ishmael came from the Well of the Oath to celebrate the feast of weeks—that is, the feast of the first fruits of the harvest—to Abraham, their father, and Abraham rejoiced because his two sons had come.1
Jubilees 23.8
And he lived three jubilees and four weeks of years, one hundred and seventy-five years, and completed the days of his life, being old and full of days. 1
According to these verses, Abraham was born in the thirty-ninth jubilee, the seventh year of the second cycle. Abraham died in the forty-fourth jubilee in the second year of the first cycle. But, if we add 3 jubilees to his birth we get to the 42nd jubilee and if we add another 4 cycles we get to the seventh year of the sixth cycle. Thus we have at least one jubilee missing somewhere. The author tries to keep his text aligned with the book of Genesis 25:7. In the process he gets his calculations all wrong.
The Essenes
Many of the scrolls describe for us the calendar of the Essenes. We do not know everything about their calendar, but from their writings we can learn a lot about their practices.
They followed a twelve month calendar in which the year consisted of 364 days. The Temple Scroll (11QTemple) describes this calendar in detail. The editor of the scroll, Yigael Yadin, dated the scroll to around the time of John Hyrcanus. This would date the scroll to around 135 to 104 BC.4
With this calendar, the first day of the year would always be on the fourth day of the week after the spring equinox. The Essenes did this because YHVH created the sun on the fourth day. This, then implies that the first three days of creation was before the start of the first year. So we have three days that do not belong to any year.
The months also have a fixed pattern. There are always twelve months in a year. Each month is 30 days. Every quarter they added an extra day. Thus the sequence is 30; 30; 31. The calendar repeated the sequence 4 times to make a total of twelve months. This then ended up being a 364 day year.
Unless some change was made periodically to the Essene’s 364-day calendar, the time of the observance of the annual feasts would get out of synch with the seasons. The Essenes would end up observing the spring festivals in winter. It would take only a few decades for noticeable calendar slippage to occur because it was “off†by almost 1 1/4 days a year. Some form of intercalation was obviously necessary. But, we have no proof that the Essenes applied any intercalation. We also have no references in the books of Enoch or Jubilees on how to do this.
The scrolls of the community at Qumran also tell us about their annual feasts. They had more agricultural feasts than the feasts recorded in Leviticus 23. These were a harvest Festival of Grapes and another of Olives. Other festivals observed by the Qumran sectarians included the Festival of the Wood Offering, the Feast of the Wine and the Festival of the Priests’ Consecration (ordination). They did not celebrate the feasts of Purim or Chanukah.
The result of this method is that all dates always fall on the same day of the week every year. The sabbath falls on the same date in a given month, year in and year out. And festivals all fall on the same day of the week every year. Passover always falls on Tuesday.
The annual schedule was as follows:
|
Month |
Day |
Feast |
|
1 |
1–8 |
Days of Ordination for Priests |
|
1 |
14 |
Passover |
|
1 |
26 |
Waving of the Omer (first fruits) |
|
3 |
15 |
The Festival of Weeks (Shavu’ot) |
|
5 |
3 |
Festival of New Wine |
|
6 |
22 |
Festival of Oil |
|
6 |
23-29 |
Festival of the Offering of Wood |
|
7 |
1 |
Day of Remembrance (Yom T’Ruah) |
|
7 |
10 |
Day of Atonement (Yom Kippurim) |
|
7 |
15 |
Festival of Booths (Sukkot) |
The calendar regulated not only the schedule for the feasts. It also regulated the time for the various groupings of priests who provided service in the Temple. The community organized the priests into 24 courses (mishmar / mishmarot). Each mishmar conducted Temple service for one week starting on the first day of the week. Each group bore a family or clan name and was assigned a specific weeks. Since 24 groups serving twice equaled only 48 weeks, four groups served three times a year. This made up the complete 52-week year. The scrolls include several tables of the six-year cycle of priestly courses. It also mentions the families who were expected to officiate in the Temple in weekly turns of duty. In every 52-week year, four families had three, rather than two, turns. Thus it took six years to complete the cycle.
Who are the true Zadokites?
Most of us see Second Temple Judaism as a singular unit of belief. Based on the writings of the Apostolic Scriptures, we acknowledge some splintering within the group. We know about the Pharisees, the Sadducees and also the Samaritans. In recent years the Essenes have also started coming into focus. Yet, there was a much larger division within Second Temple Judaism that most of us are unaware of. We need to understand this more fundamental division if we want to contextualize the Enoch calendar.
After the return of the nation from the Babylonian exile, a Zadokite priesthood was established in Jerusalem. They claimed based on Scripture that the sons of Zadok were the priests. Most importantly, Zadok was the priest in the time of king David. It was Zadok who anointed king Solomon. In the book of Chronicles, it is documented that they were the priests until the exile to Babylon. 7
1 Chronicles 6:3–15
3 The children of Amram were Aaron, Moses and Miriam. And the sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 4 Eleazar became the father of Phinehas, and Phinehas became the father of Abishua, 5 and Abishua became the father of Bukki, and Bukki became the father of Uzzi, 6 and Uzzi became the father of Zerahiah, and Zerahiah became the father of Meraioth, 7 Meraioth became the father of Amariah, and Amariah became the father of Ahitub, 8 and Ahitub became the father of Zadok, and Zadok became the father of Ahimaaz, 9 and Ahimaaz became the father of Azariah, and Azariah became the father of Johanan, 10 and Johanan became the father of Azariah (it was he who served as the priest in the house which Solomon built in Jerusalem), 11 and Azariah became the father of Amariah, and Amariah became the father of Ahitub, 12 and Ahitub became the father of Zadok, and Zadok became the father of Shallum, 13 and Shallum became the father of Hilkiah, and Hilkiah became the father of Azariah, 14 and Azariah became the father of Seraiah, and Seraiah became the father of Jehozadak; 15 and Jehozadak went along when YHVH carried Judah and Jerusalem away into exile by Nebuchadnezzar.
1 Kings 1:32–34
32 Then King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.†And they came into the king’s presence. 33 The king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon. 34 “Let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there as king over Israel, and blow the trumpet and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’
Now that the Davidic monarchy no longer existed, they felt the need to lead the nation. Soon the need for a king disappeared as these functions were now taken over by the priesthood. The priesthood held that the Covenant at Sinai is the significant covenant. This covenant enforces the importance of Moses and Aaron. The Hasmonites replaced the Zadokite priesthood during the Maccabean period. They replaced the Zadokites because of their support of the Hellenization of the Jewish nation. The replacement of the Zadokites was in place in the time when Y’Shua went to the Temple.
At the same time there were other sects of Judaism. These included some of the people that never left the land during the exile. There were some smaller groups, all with their own truth. These smaller groups can be grouped together as the Enochic Jews. The Enochic Jews also included some of the Samaritans. We find in the writings of Abu’l Fath a description of an interesting group of Samaritans called the “Sect of Dustan” – also known as Dositheans. This is a group that formed after John Hyrcanus destroyed the Samaritan temple on Mt. Gerizim. This group shows many similarities with the teachings of the Qumran community.
These include:
- Very strict sabbath observance – No feeding or rescuing of animals on the sabbath. (CD 10:14–11:18)
- The concern regarding the purity of their water, both for drinking and for mikvah. (1QS 3:4–5)
- They both followed a solar calendar as laid down by both the Book of Jubilees and 1 Enoch. (1QS 10:1–5; 1QpHab 12:5–9)8
We do know that they cannot be the exact same group. The community at Qumran saw Jerusalem as the place of worship. They also saw the writings of the prophets as canonical. However, we do know that one of the reasons that the sect of Dustan split from the Samaritans was the Judaising tendencies of this sect. The influence of this group on the community at Qumran is very obvious.
The Enochic Jews claimed that their priesthood was before the priesthood of Aaron. Their priesthood came from people like Adam and Enoch. To them the significant covenant is the covenant with Noah after the flood. Their writings did not emphasize the Sinai covenant. They based their covenantal proceeding around what happened with Noah.
For more information on this complex topic, we recommend the works of Gabriele Boccaccini. Specifically his book – Beyond the Essene Hypothesis – covers this topic in detail. This is an area of history and religion that still has so many unanswered questions.
Conclusion
In order for you to be able to accept the Enoch calendar, you also need to change some of the other fundamental parts of your belief system. These fundamental changes would include:
- Changing your definition of what inspired scripture is. You now need to make books like Enoch and Jubilees part of this definition. This would then include the part where Enoch sees himself as the Son of Man.
Accepting these two books then opens the door to some other books to be included. It also puts books like Leviticus in opposition to some of these additional books. (e.g. Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs) - To be a true follower of the authors of these additional books, you would need to de-emphasize the Mosaic covenant. You would then need to place a greater importance of the covenant with Noah. In the books of Enoch and Jubilees, there is a lot more focus on the way of Noah, than what happened with the nation as they were lead out of Egypt. They justified their calendar based on what Noah did.
- Thus we can see that the Enoch calendar carries behind it a fundamental shift in your belief. A small decision, like accepting the Book of Enoch as truth, has a ripple effect. The Book of Enoch leads to to book of Jubilees, which in turn leads to the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs. All this then leads to putting the Enoch literature (including their alternative priesthood) at the same level as the rest of Scripture.
As the final point, we would like to explain why we call this a heresy. We claim to be the followers of Y’Shua the Messiah. If we are His followers and His disciples, it means we must do as He did. In our previous article, we have shown you two proof points about why we believe that Y’Shua was anti-Essene. To take this point a bit further we need to add the following facts:
- Y’Shua never quoted from the books of Enoch or Jubilees.
- Y’Shua went to the feasts in Jerusalem according to the calendar of the Judeans
John 5:1–2
1 After these things there was a feast of the Jews (Judeans), and Y’Shua went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes.
- Y’Shua’s parents took Him to the Temple in Jerusalem to be redeemed.
Luke 2:22–24
22 And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to YHVH 23 (as it is written in the Law of YHVH, “Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to YHVHâ€), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of YHVH, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.â€
- Y’Shua told us that we need to listen to what these people (the scribes and Pharisees) teach. We were not to do as they do, but still listen to them.
Matthew 23:1–3
1 Then Y’Shua spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.
- Y´Shua chose Paul, a Pharisee, to be His apostle to the nations. He did not choose an Essene or a supporter of the Enochic Judaism.
Acts 9:11–17
11 And Y´Shua said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.†13 But Ananias answered, “Master, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.†15 But Y´Shua said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.†17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Master Y´Shua who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.â€Acts 23:6
But perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Council, “Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!â€
These points make it clear that Y’Shua saw the priesthood in Jerusalem as the valid priesthood. He does not tell us to listen to those in the seat of Adam, the seat of Noah or even the seat of Enoch. It is about the priesthood as defined in the Sinai covenant. After the death of Y’Shua, His disciples and Paul kept on going to the Temple in Jerusalem. They continued with the offers in the Temple, including sin offers.
All this implies that if we want to accept the Enoch calendar as the true calendar, we would need to contradict, thus reject, the teachings of Y’Shua. We then need to follow the teachings of a renegade Second Temple Period sect of Judaism. Y’Shua even warned us about the teachings of this sect. I think it is significant that this sect has seized to exist. Why are some so desperate to resurrect this false teaching?
References
- Charles, R. H. (Ed.). (2004). Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
- Nickelsburg, G. W. E. (2005). Jewish literature between the Bible and the Mishnah : a literary and historical introduction (2nd ed.). Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.
- Shanks, H. (Ed.). (2002). BAR 28:06 (Nov/Dec 2002). – Review: Discoveries in the Judaean Desert Vol. XXI, Qumran Cave 4—XVI: Calendrical Texts
- Vanderkam, J. C. (1992). Calendars: Ancient Israelite and Early Jewish. In (D. N. Freedman, Ed.)The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary. New York: Doubleday.
- VanderKam, J. C., & Flint, P. W. (2002). The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Their Significance for Understanding the Bible, Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity (1st ed.). New York: HarperSanFrancisco.
- Cansdale, L. (1997). Qumran and the Essenes: A Re-Evaluation of the Evidence. (M. Hengel & P. Schäfer, Eds.) (Vol. 60). Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck).
- http://www.heavenlyascents.com/2008/07/07/how-many-judaisms/
- Cansdale, Lean. Qumran and the Essenes: A Re-evaluation of the Evidence. 1997. Tubingen : Mohr. ISBN 3-16-146719-1
Comments
26 responses to “The heresy of the Enoch Calendar”
For the sake of not leading people astray, I would ask you to not present studies like this until you have the facts straight, and have read the books themselfs WORD FOR WORD, and look the truth as to why these books were his away and lied about fromt he mouths of the “rabbis” out of their own writtings , mishna and talmud…… what is in this study is not full truth and is not Tov ! Shalom and blessings
Hi Shawn,
Can you please be more specific? Which facts are not straight and what do you believe are the “straight” facts?
It is historical fact that the Talmudic Jews took the books of Enoch and Jubilees out of the canon along with Yashar and many others. These books were in the King James 1611 bible among other translations. Where in your canon does Yah tell us to add a 13th month so that we can follow the false moon calendar? It is just common sense that the sun rules the years and seasons. That Hillel calendar is manmade and when you follow it, you are giving Yah’s authority over to men. Think about it. Sorry but Yeshua and the apostles quoted from the book of Enoch many, many times, also Jubilees and we have Joshua refering to the book of Yashar in our butchered versions of cannon. Moses refers to the Book of Wars. I don’t mean to be argumentative here, but it doesn’t seam like you did all of your history homework. The Essenes (the Zaddokites) were off on their eliminating days from the first of the year and Enoch does not support doing this, however, they were the rightful priests that the Maccabees stole the temple from. History shows that the Zaddokite priests went into the wilderness shortly after the Hasmoneans (Judas Hyrcannus) took the temple and made himself the king/priest which is totally against Yah’s word. John the Baptist was part of this community at Qumran. Yeshua definitely upheld John. If you read Enoch, it does not say to start the year on the 4th day after the real equinox (not the vernal equinox which is pagan) and neither does Jubilees. Truth is truth and what you wrote is obvious – it’s men’s false reasoning used to support your own personal belief system. There are many things that have been hidden from us and we must search them out. Things are not so obvious and the satan has done a great job at confusing everything. Shalom.
Shalom Bonnie,
YHVH does not tell us to add a 13th month. He tells us to start the new year when the barley is Aviv. Please read my previous article on this topic: Is the search for abib barley scriptural?
I agree with you that the Hillel calendar is man made. Refer to this article: Why we do not follow the Jewish calendar
Please do not make the mistake of seeing the Hillel calendar and the lunar calendar as the same thing. They are not!
Can you please give me the scripture references where Y’Shua quotes the book of Enoch?
If the Essenes were the rightful priests, why did Y’Shua not honor them or submit to them? In the current academic world, there is no agreement that the Essenes were the real Zadokites. The Samaritans and the Sadducees also claim this. Why did He argue with the Pharisees and the Sadducees about their practices, but never argued with them about being the usurpers of the priesthood, as you now claim? I am sure that this would have been a more serious topic than arguing with them regarding their ritual of hand washing.
Can you please provide me with the documentary proof that John the Baptist was an Essene? I have heard this theory many times but nobody has ever been able to proof this. Please see this article: Who were the Essenes?
I agree with you that we still have many things hidden from us. But, we must also take note of Y’Shua’s warning:
Do not be misled by this herecy!
You say: YHVH does not tell us to add a 13th month. He tells us to start the new year when the barley is Aviv.
No……. the Scriptures do NOT say to start the new year based on barley. If the new year is started at the right time, the barley will be aviv. But we do not use barley as a method to determine the start of the year. You and many others misunderstand the Scriptures related to that.
Sandra,
Please explain to me how we should determine the start of the year according to your view. I would also like to see your scriptural references for your view.
Looking forward to your response.
Schalk
Exactly! Let’s note that Yeshua could not meant by “many will come in my name” that many wil come in “Jesus’ name” and saying “Jesus is Messiah”, but in His name. His name has never been Jesus, but Yeshua.
Many will truly come and has already came in Yeshua’s name saying “Yeshua is the Messiah” and have misled and are misleading many in this very day.
Pls, don’t understand me wrong. I don’t mean Messianic / Hebrew roots movement, because in general this movement / revival / restoration is from YHVH and I believe it is the “promised Elijah” (Malachi 4) who restores everything before the return of Yeshua and amkes believers in Messiah to remember the Torah.
By those who has come in “Yeshua’s name” saying “Yeshua is the Messiah” and are misleading and destructing many by strange unscriptural calendars, doctrines and behavior and such such I mean certain kind of individual wolves who come in sheep’s clothes (teaching and preaching Yeshua & Torah), but are inwardly ravenous wolves as the Messiah warned us.
Shalom!
“YHVH does not tell us to add a 13th month. He tells us to start the new year when the barley is Aviv.”
Amein! I have seen misleading teaching in this Aviv-month issue / when to start biblical year. There are some who have embraced a Messianic identity and claim to be sincere truth seekers in calendar-issues, but are totally ignorant of the month of Aviv in the TORAH (=YHVH’s Word).
God’s Torah=Truth. Simple math.
If someone who claims to be sincere truth seeker (=seeking answers from Torah) in calendar-issues is totally ignorant of the clear teaching in the YHVH’s Torah regarding the month of Aviv cannot be in the right path in his / her teaching. We should not even listen to that kind of person. He / she is misleading many by unsicriptural teaching on calendar.
I have noticed that some (not everyone) who are misleading others in calendar-issues are also misleading others in other issues too by unscriptural teaching. Unscriptural teaching can be simply identified as such by ignorance in some way or another towards clear and simple truths in YHVH’s Torah / Scriptures / Messianic writings (“New testament”).
the barley search is not scriptural and is purely traditional, and for the person that wrote this blog who twists and speaks blasphemy against Enoch , i challenge you to look into this ,
you will not find in hebrew a single passage that says new moon in the bible or greek . it was inserted in the english texts
from sun to moon how the sages invented Judaism as we know it
Hi Ryan,
We have explained in this post how we think regarding the search for barley. Please have a look at this.
I disagree with you on the question regarding the new moon. We have discussed this in our articles about the sighted moon.
Regards,
Schalk
Shalom. Just getting back to this and I guess I will start with the easiest task which is the reference to calendars. Whether it is Hillel’s, lunar, Gregorian, Julian or any other calendar made by men and it is followed as a personal torah to worship Yah, you are giving Yah’s authority to men. Men made it, men tell you how to keep it and change it at their will if necessary therefore it is not kadosh from Yah. YHWH has a very splendid method of timekeeping where His festivals fall on the same day every year, no adding a 13th month which isn’t biblical, and the years all start at the same time everytime, so do the months and everything is based on 7’s. This should say something. (Wink, wink). I will give you some verses here and maybe you know where they come from but it speaks volumes and is worthy to heed: “32. And command thou the children of Israel that they observe the years according to this reckoning-three hundred and sixty-four days, and (these) will constitute a complete year, and they will not disturb its time from its days and from its feasts; for everything will fall out in them according to their testimony, and they will not leave out any day nor disturb any feasts. 1 33. But if they do neglect and do not observe them according to His commandment, then they will disturb all their seasons, and the years will be dislodged from this (order), [and they will disturb the seasons and the years will be dislodged] 2 and they will neglect their ordinances. 34. And all the children of Israel will forget, and will not find the path of the years, and will forget the new moons, and seasons, and sabbaths, and they will go wrong as to all the order of the years. 3 35. For I know and from henceforth shall I declare it unto thee, and it is not of my own devising; for the book (lieth) written before me, and on the heavenly tables the division of days is ordained, lest they forget the feasts of the covenant and walk according to the feasts of the Gentiles after their error and after their ignorance. 36. For there will be those who will assuredly make observations of the moon–now (it) disturbeth the seasons and cometh in from year to year ten days too soon. 4 37. For this reason the years will come upon them when they will disturb (the order), and make an abominable (day) the day of testimony, and an unclean day a feast day, and they will confound all the days, the holy with the unclean, and the unclean day with the holy; for they will go wrong as to the months and sabbaths and feasts and jubilees. 38. For this reason I command and testify to thee that thou mayest testify to them; for after thy death thy children will disturb (them), so that they will not make the year three hundred and sixty-four days only, and for this reason they will go wrong as to the new moons 1 and seasons and sabbaths and festivals, and they will eat all kinds of blood with all kinds of flesh.”
Do you know where those verses come from? Find out and know that this is Yah’s instructions that He is serious about His times HE has set, not man.
Not only this but there are many more in the Scriptures (Old Testament). You should search these out and enlighten yourself. If you truly believe that those 66 books that “MEN” told us we could have are the entire Word of our Almighty Creator YHWH then this is just fantansy. Open thine eyes! Yah is bringing the truth to light, but you must search it out. But, to call the Book of Enoch a heresy is a heresy. Understand I am not saying this in an accusatory or mean fashion but in love. Time is short. Certain things need to be said.
This book, along with many others, were found at Qumran with the Dead Sea Scrolls. You should study these scrolls and you will learn about the Zaddokites who are the true Levitical Priests. Yochanon the Immerser was one of them but he went to “prepare the way”. These things you need to prove for yourself. Who am I that you should believe what I say… go be the Berean and prove all things!
Blessings to you all!
Hi Bonnie,
I am in the process of putting together a more detailed response for you and the other people that have responded via e-mail.
Quick one to think about regarding the perfection of the solar calendar – why do we need to count the omer if Shavu’ot always falls on the same date and day of the week? What is the use in counting then? (wink, wink!)
The verse you have quoted is from Chapter 6 of the book of Jubilees.
I will deal with the so claimed parallel quotes in the detailed response. Bottom line – all these verses proof is that the Book of Enoch was written during the Roman Empire. It proofs to me that the Book of Enoch and the Apostolic Scriptures were written in the same time interval, thus disproving the claim that it is the original calendar. Please look out of the next article.
I am very concerned about the fact that you seem to think that MAN is in charge. You claim – MAN created the calendars, MAN created the Bible. I personally believe that YHVH is in control of all things and that all things happen according to His plan.
Please do go back and read my article about the Essenses. There is NO proof that John the Baptist was an Essene. It is pure speculation. The people at Quaram also calimed to be preparing the way. Do you have any proof of John being an Essene?
Why did Y’Shua not see the Zadokites as the true priests? Are you saying He was wrong?
Shalom!
Schalk
I think now a days only the son of David know everything about Torah because G-d said i don’t lie to him. The rest will try but… we should focus on his elect than trying to create more confusion.
Yes, and we should not be too fanatical with our views on calendar and we should not forsake fellowship with others if they disagree with our views no matter how much “truth” we would see in our views.
Wolves in sheep’s clothes which I was referring to are very different thing than people of Yah / Yeshua disagreeing with each other. Wolves are continually deceiving and destructing other lives as beasts are after their prey in the nature. Wolves doesn’t care are their teaching and behavior misleading and destructing others.
But wolf or not misleading teachings should not be taken lightly.
“Wolf”, “false prophet” and all such terms should not be used lightly either.
You said that the sun is not seven times brighter, but even the Word of God seems to indicate it seven times brighter in Isaiah 30:26
Hi Rob,
You are actually using another example of simply usingtwo terms to create the connection. If you look at Isaiah 30, you will see that it actually describes what will happen if the nation decides to repent and life according the the word of YHVH.
You can easily see that Isaiah is not stating a fact about the luminaries during his time. He is pronouncing a prophecy about how it will be on the day YHVH binds up the fracture of His people. We all agree that this has not happened yet. Thus, I do not expect the moon to be as bright as the sun tonight. Nor am I expecting the sun to be seven times brighter today than it was yesterday.
This is another example of what I explained in my follow up article about how the Scriptures are quoted completely out of context.
Shalom,
Schalk
hello you still to prove that your gregorian calendar is scriptural,,,THere is no evidence in the bible supporting 365 days in a year..You went through all so amny hoops to discredit the early wrings yet you fail to show in proof or documneted facts of your pagan gregorian calendar
Hi,
We did not make any comment about the Gregorian calender or 365 day cycle. Please reread the article.
Schalk & Elsa
BEFORE YOU WRITE THESE MISLEADING AND DECEPTIVE ARTICLES :
Find and print the facts from your bible that justifies your degradation of the truth. You cannot find a place in your bible to support the gregorian calendar or your yiddish false moon calendar..
Chritsianity Islam and judaism are the landmarks of all corruption of truth.
I dear you to look up the meaning of the equinox and see what it really stands for and when you do you will apologize to our creator for writing lies
Hi,
Could you please point me to the equinox in Scripture?
As I mentioned before, we did not mention the Gregorian calendar. It is obvious to me that either you did not read the article properly, or you simply prefer to ignore the facts that do not fit your preferred calendar.
Exactly which method do you follow, and which Scriptures support that calendar?
Regards,
Schalk & Elsa
You state their calendar would get of track and that in a relatively short time they would be celebrating Passover in winter. I see this impossible if as you stated earlier in your article they start every year four days after the spring equinox.this would automatically realign the year.
Hi Bill,
Thanks, I will clarify this better in the post. I did try to clarify this with the preceding sentence:
If they stick to the rule of the equinox, then all years cannot be 364 days. Every now and again you will have a year with 371 days. Thus, one of the two rules has to give. It means that the Enoch calendar has to intercalate like any other calendar. In no book (Enoch, Jubliees or the Essene writings) is this documented. Thus, it is no this perfect calendar as claimed by many.
Regards,
Schalk
“Y’Shua went to the feasts in Jerusalem according to the calendar of the Judeans”
How about John 7:14?
John 7:14
But when it was now the midst of the feast Y’Shua went up into the temple, and began to teach.
Explanation – Y’shua was in Jerusalem, as per the commandment for the 3 pilgrimge feasts, and He went into the temple on this specific day to teach the people. Proves the point that He was in Jerusalem according to the calender followed by the temple in Jerusalem. This verse also proves the point that Y’Shua had no issue with the temple in Jerusalem, contrary to the doctrine held by the Essenes. Thus, He would not have followed the calender of the Essenes as derived from the book of Enoch.
“Y’Shua told us that we need to listen to what these people (the scribes and Pharisees) teach. We were not to do as they do, but still listen to them.”
The canon we have today was made a 100 years later …
Also Jude clear quotes from Enoch and said it was prophecy by Enoch the 7th from Adam.
Paul was a Pharisee! Do you do what he & other pharisees did (worship YHVH, keep the sabbath & the feasts, etc…)? We are to do what the Word of YHVH tells us to do.
When the canon was made is besides the point. YHVH is in charge of all that happens on earth, including the formulation of the canon and the preservation of His Word. Therefor we believe that the compilation of canon was also within the will of YHVH, otherwise He would have changed it by now! He is in charge, not men!
In the article it is clearly stated, the fact that an author quotes or references a work does not make it inspired Scripture. Paul quoted the Greek philosophers of his time. That does not make their books Scripture.
Do you believe that Enoch was the Messiah? If yes, why do you worry about Jude or what the Pharisees did? If not, then the book of Enoch is wrong and not inspired Scripture.