The 365 day year was used in the Egyptian Calendar. The star "Sirius" = "Sothis". The 0.25 day out with the helial risings of Sirius (i.e. one day every four tropical years). Therefore over 1460 years there would be (365 x 4) days out. After this period the helial rising and setting of SOTHIS would again coincide with the calendar dates. The civil year was based on the Sothic Cycle: four months of 30 days x 120 days x 3 seasons = 360 plus five intercalary days at the end of the year = 365 days. The civil calendar which was used for government and administration purposes was derived from the LUNAR year (using months), and the agricultural or Nile fluctuations (using seasons). The lunar calendar was used to regulate religious affairs and everyday life.
Seasons of the Nile
| Jun-Sep | INUNDATION | When the Nile overflowed the agricultural land. |
| Oct-Feb | GOING FORTH | The time of planting when the Nile returned to its bed. |
| Mar-May | DEFICIENCY | The time of low water and harvest (drought). |
The months were not named but referred to as, e.g. the first month of the going forth; the first month of the inundation; and the first month of the deficiency.
The above information is most helpful when analysing the environmental circumstances of events at the time of the plagues in Egypt which led up to the Exodus.
There is some controversy about the time of the birth of Abraham (Terah's son); some of the subsequent dates are not so straightforward either. Terah was 70 years of age when Abram was born as recorded in the Authorised Version of the Bible. This would be (1878 AM or 2122 BC plus 70 years = 1948 AM or 2052 BC). It is when we get into the situation of trying to fit Abraham's birthdate into the dates of events as derived by secular history that the controversy begins.
The births of Terah's sons Abram, Nahor and Haran were recorded in Genesis that Terah was 70 years old, so there is some dispute as to the time of the birth of Abram at or around 1948 AM or 2052 BC, or around 2008 AM or 1992 BC as others may concur. It is claimed by some that Abraham was Terah's youngest son, and the scriptural reference given is "And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran" - Genesis 11.26.
Attempts have been made, also, to correlate famines as recorded by secular historians with the famines recorded during the years of both Abram's and Jacob's times. Also, the book of Jasher provides interesting time periods on the movements of Abraham and his descendants through to the Exodus from Egypt. The book of Jasher was not compiled as part of the Christian Holy Bible scriptures, but the Bible refers to the writings of Jasher (Joshua 10.13 and 2 Samuel 1.18). It is interesting to note that after the reference in this study to the various sun cycles above, the reference in Joshua to the book of Jasher is about when "the sun stood still".
Further reference is made to Abram in the "Dates Lo-Ammi" section below.
Other translations of the ancient books also give different time measures. Such books as the Septuagint, Jasher, Enoch, and Jubilees may be counted among these.
"And the child (Isaac) grew and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous to Abraham's sight, because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed."
Old Testament Reference: Genesis 21.8-13 - Isaac is mocked by the Egyptian woman. This act is placed in this chronology in 2048 AM or 1952 BC. This act, too, is confirmed in the ...
New Testament Reference: Acts 7.6: "And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage; and entreat them evil four hundred years." So 1952 BC plus 400 years = 1552 BC
Another timeline cross-reference is the date of the Exodus being 210 years after Jacob/Israel entered Egypt with his family at the time of the great famine. This date is given in the ancient book of Jasher (see reference quoted below), and it too, will be correlated by calculating the biblical chronology during the times of Abram, Isaac and Jacob.
The dates of the births of Aaron and Moses also do not appear clear at first glance at the Bible records. However, as Moses was 80 years of age at the time of approaching Pharaoh at the time of the Exodus, we are given a clue which enables us, after establishing the date of the Exodus, to backtrack 80 years from the Exodus (2448 AM or 1552 BC) to his birth at 2368 AM or 1632 BC).
The following quote is from "The New Bible Dictionary" published by Inter-varsity Press.
"While in Egypt, the Hebrews may have conformed to the solar year of twelve months, each of 30 days plus 5 additional days, i.e. 365 days (Herodotus, 2,4), but if so a change was made after the Exodus. The beginning of months or first month of the year was fixed in the spring (Exodus 12.12; 13.3-4; 23.15; and Deuteronomy 16.1,6). Thereafter the Hebrew year followed the Semitic calendar with a year of twelve lunar months (1 Kings 4.7; 1 Chronicles 27.1-15). It is not certain whether the commencement of the year in spring (Nisan) was for use only in the ritual, since there is some evidence for the year for civil purposes being sometimes reckoned from the autumn month of Tishri.
"The Hebrew calendar year was composed of lunar months, which began when the thin crescent of the new moon was first visible at sunset. The day of the new moon thus beginning what was considered holy. The month was reckoned to consist of 29/30 days, and, since the lunar year was about 11 days less than the solar year, it was periodically necessary to intercalate a thirteenth month in order that new year's day should not fall before the spring of the year (March-April). No precise details are known of the method used by the Hebrews to accommodate the agricultural with the lunar calendar. They may have interposed a second Adar (twelfth month) or second Elul (sixth month) within the lunar cycle of 3, 6, 11, 14, 17, or 19 years. There is some evidence for the Hebrew use of intercalated months after Adar (Numbers 9.11; 2 Chronicles 30.2-3; 1 Kings 12.32-33) though possibly sometimes after Nisan as was done in Mesopotamia. A strictly solar calendar was used in the book of Jubilees (c. 105 BC); cf. 1 Enoch 72-82."
An extra 13th month was added every third year - Ve-Adar called "a month of days"
When the two-tribed Kingdom of Judah returned to the Holy Land circa 530 BC, after their captivity in Babylon, they took with them the luni-solar calendar which was used in Babylon. Today, the Jewish religious calendar is Babylonian. The names of its months are Babylonian.
In the fourth century AD the Hebrew Calendar stabilised to be the official calendar of Israel as well as the liturgical calendar of the Jewish faith. Their days begin at sunset. Most Hebrew years now consist of lunar months, and relevant adjustments are made to keep in phase with the long-term tropical year. Hebrews number their years from what they believe to be the time of creation. According to their calculations, that event occurred 3,760 years before the Christian era.
In this study, an assumption is made that the Jubilee count is 50 years, not 49, and this has resulted in some interesting time-frames which tally with biblical events, the prophetic "seven times" periods, and other interpretations of numerology. The time when Jacob and his family entered Egypt, (even though the law of Jubilee at that time, had not been given to Moses, but assuming that in God's realm this law naturally applied), and the time of the Exodus are examples of this.
For information the following extract is provided from John Fox's book "Today, Tomorrow and the Great Beyond":
"Much confusion exists today concerning the Jubilee law, a superficial reading of Leviticus 25, suggesting that it repeated in a 50-year cycle, whereas historic fact shows that it only embraces a 49-year-cycle, the 'fiftieth year' being also the first year of the new succeeding cycle of a further 49 years."
Comment: The assumption here that "historic fact" is based on the findings of secular historians, who may tend to make the secular findings and interpretations fit the events.
"In the Hebrew calendar of years, subsequent to the entry of the children of Israel into the promised land, God commanded them (Leviticus 25.1-7) that they should rest the land every 'seventh year' and 'not reap' the produce of the ground or vineyard. They were commanded (verse 8 onwards) to 'number seven sabbaths of years ... forty and nine years' and to 'hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto the inhabitants thereof ... and return every man unto his possessions'." i.e. every man was to be freed of his debts.
"The first point to clarify is the difference between the Civil Calendar (September to September) and the Sacred Calendar (March to March). Although the numbering of the months from one to twelve was then reckoned on the latter Sacred Calendar from Passover to Passover (Nisan to Nisan), nevertheless all civil functions such as the Sabbatic Year of rest and also the Jubilee Year were reckoned by the original Civil Calendar (September to September).
"Another point to realise also before proceeding is that in Palestine seed is often sown during October and November, enabling a first harvest to be gathered in between April and June. We thus notice that when the Israelites entered Canaan at Passover time in March (Gilgal - Joshua 5.10) they not only had the remains of the old corn of the Canaanites, but also found the new harvest ripening ready to gather soon after they had settled down, i.e. in May, June and July.
"In Leviticus 25.20-22 God covenanted to command His blessing 'in the sixth year' of cultivation. In that year a DOUBLE-HARVEST was assured, in order to tide over the following seventh of Sabbatic year in which the land had to rest, being neither sown nor reaped.
Two Years of Rest
"In Leviticus 25.20-21 we read: 'And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the SEVENTH year? behold we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase: then will I command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for THREE years. A superficial reading of this and other verses of this chapter have led to the erroneous belief that periodically a Jubilee Year (50th) would fall adjacent to a Sabbatic Year (7th), and that the land must then be rested in BOTH, necessitating a TREBLE HARVEST in that particular sixth (or sometimes fifth) year. Jewish history entirely refutes this idea, showing beyond dispute that the Sabbatic years ran interruptedly in sevens, the seventh seventh (49th) year being followed by a NEW START or Jubilee for everyone at the opening of the 50th year (the first year of the new 49-year cycle) heralded by the blowing of the Jubilee Trumpet on the Day of Atonement (Tishri 10th) at the opening of this new civil year ... "
John Fox continues to explain how three sacred years spread proportionately across two civil years during the sowing and harvesting periods, and as a result, the "three years" or "treble harvest" actually occurs every seven years.
At this point, I prefer to take the Bible at its apparent word of simple explanation and see what unfolds with the chronology. From the year 0 AM or 4000 BC, by having a double harvest every seven years, and a treble harvest every Jubilee period of 50 years (not 49 years), some interesting chronological correlations unfold in the pattern of bible numerology.
Attention is drawn here to the 44th Jubilee occurring 2200 AM, or 1800 BC, when Joseph was born to Jacob and Rachael. Twenty-two is the number of Jacob's Trouble. Forty-four is twice the number of Jacob's Trouble in bible numerology, and the fact that by using the 50-year Jubilee count we arrive at the 44th Jubilee at the birth date of Jacob, we may be seeing a special witness in the inspired Word of God. Let's see what happened in biblical history if take the Jubilee count as 49 years. 44 Jubilees multiplied by 49 years comes to 2156 AM (1844 BC). Jacob was 48 years old and not yet married. To date there is nothing in this chronology for that year. Shem, son of Noah, died two years later in 2158 AM, and history records (Enc. Brit.) that AMENEMHET III began his reign in Egypt in 2158 AM (1842 BC).
To date in this study, I have found at least eleven biblical references which help to place the time of the Exodus in its place in history. A few references in the book of Jasher too, help with our chronological placements.
Old Testament Reference: Exodus 12.40-41: "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.") This date is confirmed in the ...
New Testament Reference: Galations 3.16-17 "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect."
God first spoke to Abra(ha)m and made the covenant referred to above when Abram was 70 years old. This chronology places this time at 2018 AM or 1982 BC. If we add 430 years to this date, we come to 2448 AM or 1552 BC as the time of the Exodus. Now this Exodus date does not agree with the date of most secular historians and chronologists today.
Old Testament Reference: Genesis 21.8-13 - (Refer transcript above) -Isaac is mocked by the Egyptian woman. This act is placed in this chronology in 2048 AM or 1952 BC. This act, too, is confirmed in the ...
New Testament Reference: Acts 7.6: "And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage; and entreat them evil four hundred years." So 1952 BC plus 400 years = 1552 BC
Old Testament Reference: Moses was 80 years old ( Exodus 7.7) when he and his brother Aaron visited Pharaoh to ask him to let Israel go free from Egyptian bondage. The book of Jasher says that Moses and Aaron first visited Pharaoh in Moses' 78th year. The bible also gives the ages of Aaron and Moses when they died in relation to the events of those times, and a backdating method from those times can be made quite easily when trying to establish the time of the Exodus. This way, the dates of birth for Moses and Aaron too, are easily slotted into place in the chronology. The tricky part is who was Pharaoh at the time? ... Another exhaustive subject! Moses aged 80 in 1552 BC; therefore Moses was born about 1632 BC.
The judge who preceded Samuel was Eli. He was 58 years old when he began to judge Israel, and he continued to judge the nation for another 40 years. He was 98 years old when the Philistines stole the Ark of the Covenant. He had such a shock, that he fell off his chair, broke his neck, and died. Now the Ark was stolen for 7 months and 20 years; it was returned during the third year of King Saul's reign. Saul was the first King of Israel. This places Saul's third year on the chronology as 1086 BC. Bible references include 1 Sam. 4.10-11; 1 Sam. 6.1; 1 Samuel 7.2; 1 Samuel 14.18. So this information slots comfortably into the chronology when we look at the times of Eli and Samuel.
The New Testament, in the book of Acts 13.20, it is recorded that after the Exodus, God "gave unto them (the nation of 12-tribed Israel) judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet." Moses led Israel according to God's instruction, read the law to the nation in 1512 BC, and died. Then Joshua became the first judge over Israel. After arrival at the land promised to them, they settled and Joshua read the law to them again (in 1486 BC), two years before he died (1484 BC). So, if the Exodus was in 1552 BC, and we move along through history for another 450 years, we come to 1102 BC for the approximate date of Samuel the Prophet appearing on the world stage. This was when the Philistines again, were troubling Israel. Samuel judged Israel at Mizpeh, and the Philistines were finally subdued until Saul began to reign over Israel as its first King.
Another biblical timeline clue is given in the Old Testament, 1 Kings 6.1: "It came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year (480th) after the children were come out of the land of Egypt ... that he (Solomon) began to build the House of the Lord. 1552 BC plus 480 years brings us to 1072 BC. (NOTE: The year 1072 BC marks the end of the 22nd Antidiluvian Cycle since 4000 BC; number 22 being symbolic of priesthood.) This does NOT agree with this chronology which places Solomon's temple construction beginning about 1007 BC or 1006 BC, and this is where the LO AMMI principle may be considered (see Introduction - Part 3 ).
Book of Jasher Reference: The book of Jasher says that the Exodus took place 210 years after the Israelites entered Egypt. Jacob and his family entered Egypt (according to this chronology) in 2239 AM or 1761 BC. So 1761 BC plus 210 years = 1551 BC.
The study in this section of my chronological works was initially influenced by the writings of Mr. V. A. Proposch, in his publication "Days of Reckoning" Apr-May 1993, Volume 8, No. 2, Issue 46. So throughout these notes the wording for the description of the plagues will include some extracts from his work, which are of course, interpreted from the biblical narrative. I have presented the plague conditions in a time-frame only where they can be confirmed by the seasonal environmental conditions as described in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, as far as present day 20th century seasonal weather conditions exist in Egypt. So there is an assumption that weather conditions in Egypt haven't changed much since about 1550 BC till now. This work differs in that I have reasoned that the ninth plague of darkness, and the tenth plague of death, occur not in March/April but from April through to July.
The annual climate of Egypt consists of five months of summer from May to September, and seven months of winter from October to April, with the rainy season in January and the Khamsin winds can occur during the last two months of winter and the first two months of summer. Because of the large size in the numbers of people who moved out of Egypt at the time of the Exodus, taking all their belongings with them, and the need to camp outdoors, one assumes that they travelled during the better months as far as climate is concerned. So the sensible time to move out would be during the dry summer months, somewhere between May and September.
The present-day Hebrew community celebrates the Passover during the month of Nisan, which begins mid-March on the English calendar. The Hebrew community claims that the month of March or Nisan, is the month of Abib which Moses refers to in the Book of Exodus in the Holy Bible - Abib - the month when the Israel nation made their Exodus from Egypt.
The following summary of the twelve months of the year in Egypt indicates that March is the second-last month of winter. The meaning of the word Abib in Hebrew means "budding" or "sprouting", referring to the new spring growth from an agricultural point of view. It is true that wheat and spelt (edible grass seed) in Egypt both form heads in March. So if the Israelites left Egypt in mid-March or early April, they were leaving at the end of winter, but would have been camping anything up to six weeks of winter weather, and under the threat of the Khamsin Winds which occur between March and June. A better time to leave Egypt would be after the Khamsin winds, say from July onwards.
A comparison of the types of plagues which fell upon Egypt, with the effect on the environment brought about by the monthly weather conditions over a 12-14 month period, seems to indicate that the Israelites left Egypt during the month of July. Now this is not the month of Nisan or Abib, but it is the month of Ab - the eleventh sacred month, and the fifth civil month of the Hebrew calendar. The Egyptians may have worked with a dual sacred/civil calendar system in those days too. When the Israelites were taken captive into Assyria and Babylon around 715 BC and 605 BC and later, they stayed in Babylon until some of them returned to Jerusalem in 521 BC to begin rebuilding their previously destroyed temple. They took with them the Babylonian calendar. I believe that their current traditions are based on a combination of the ancient Egyptian civil/sacred monthly calendar system, in combination with the Babylonian calendar system. The names of the months of the Hebrew calendar system are based upon Babylonian monthly names.
So now let's look at the monthly weather patterns and environmental conditions in Egypt, in relation to the plagues on Egypt at the time of the Exodus of Israel sometime around 1555 to 1550 BC.
| The midsummer solstice occurs on the 23rd June. The River Nile is at its lowest level and the water flow is sluggish. The first new waters arrive from Ethopia and create what is known as "a green water" effect for a week or ten days to the end of June. |
| During July the water level rises from about 18 inches at Cairo to about 10 feet, and begins to overflow the Delta area. |
PLAGUE 1 - Polluted Water Mid August, the water level has risen to about 18 feet, and dark red-brown sediments from the Abyssinian Highlands colour the water. Seven days later - PLAGUE 2 - Frogs Exodus 8.1 - Spawning frogs would develop as hollows near the river banks filled with the first overflows. The infectious organisms of anthrax in the water level would be responsible for the death of the frogs and fish. |
PLAGUE 3 - Lice and biting insects By this time the flood input to the Nile rapidly reduces. Lice, gnats, midges and mosquitoes breed. Then the river level begins to rise slowly. |
By mid-October, the Nile has slowly risen to a peak of about 24 feet. The Greek geographer and historian Herodotus said that the Nile rose for 100 days from the Solstice (i.e. from 23rd June), and the level began to fall from about mid-October, when sowing of barley, wheat and spelt, and of vegetables such as beans, peas, and lentils began first in the higher lands as the waters subsided and progressed downhill on the mudlfats as they cleared. As waters have dropped about six feet, stagnant pools are left in the fields and become a breading ground for biting insects. |
PLAGUE 4 - Flies The flies breed on dying fish and rubbish carried by the flood waters along the Nile. In the year preceding the Exodus the Bible implies that the Nile flow was greater than usual, and that the water became severely polluted. PLAGUE 5 - Anthrax Anthrax in cattle make flies and insects carriers of disease. Cattle die. God gave warning so that sheep and goats could be secured in safe places. Before the winter came on, this would have been done anyway. |
The Nile flows through regions where anthrax is endemic and with the unusual volumes of water spreading over normally dry areas in the upper Sudan, the anthrax organisms infected the water as it flowed North. These factors were sufficient to account for the first six plagues. PLAGUE 6 - Boils Anthrax effects humans with skin anthrax (boils). The first six plagues resulted from conditions belonging to the Nile. |
The final four plagues are different in nature from the first six plagues in that the next three plagues are of exceptional severity in this particular year of crisis; and the tenth plague, the death of the Egyptian firstborn of Egypt, was specifically brought about by the Will of God. PLAGUE 7 - Rain and Hail Storm Exodus 9.13-34 - Rain is rare in Egypt, but in late winter or early spring, moisture-laden northerly winds cross the Delta and bring rain. Thunderstorms occur when the air rises from the heated surface into much colder levels. Water droplets are sometimes carried to great heights, where they freeze. Progressive accretion which occurs when ice particles are repeatedly carried upwards generate quite large hailstones. In intensive storms, enormously long electrostatic charges are built up, discharging between clouds, and between clouds and the ground. The Exodus description of the storm and its effects was very severe. At the end of January flax is in flower. |
Barley approaches harvest time about mid February. The crops would have been ruined before harvest time because of the rain and hail storm which fell during January. If the year of the Exodus was an intercalary year, an extra month would have been inserted into the calendar - the month of Second-Adar (Ve-Adar). |
PLAGUE 8 - Locusts Young's Biblical Concordance gives the meaning of "Abib" as "sprouting" and/or "budding". Wheat and spelt (edible grass seed) both form heads in March. Normally winds now tend easterly, bringing hot dry conditions suitable for ripening grains. Strong east winds may carry swarms of newly hatched locusts from their breeding grounds in the Sinai and Northern Arabia. This particular year was obviously most favourable for the incubation of immense numbers of these pests, and persistent east winds brought them into Egypt in their young and most ravenous phase. |
The enormous swarms of locusts literally ate everything verdant in all Egypt - fruits, grains, plants, vegetables, and green growth just disappeared. PLAGUE 9 - Darkness The Voyager Astronomy computer software lists a solar eclipse visible from Cairo in the northern part of Egypt on 29th April -1550 (1551 BC). This could have contributed to the condition of darkness over the land. But I don't think this eclipse was relevant to this situation, because this chronology places the Exodus around 1552 BC. The software program seems to indicate that there was no other visible eclipse over Egypt during the months of March and April between the years 1558 BC and 1551 BC. Let's see if there was a suitable eclipse during the month of May in the year 1552 BC ... |
There was a visible solar eclipse over Egypt on 9th May -1551 (1552 BC) at 14.30 Universal Time (which is 4.30 p.m. Cairo Local Time). So the effect of this eclipse could have contributed to the environmental conditions of darkness over the land near the time of the Exodus. After Pharaoh agreed to let Israel depart from Egypt, Moses asked God to relieve the damage. God caused the wind to turn back 180 degrees west, and the hot Khamsin winds from the Sahara dispersed the locust swarms. |
The only solar eclipses recorded from the location of Cairo for the month of June between 1558 BC and 1551 BC occurred below the horizon, and therefore were not visible, on 30th June 1554 BC, and 18th June 1553 BC. Pharaoh was so relieved when God diverted the locust swarms and removed darkness from the land, that he (Pharaoh) broke his promise to let the people go. So God allowed the winds to return stronger than ever. Vast clouds of dust from the Sahara desert hid the sun and obscured its light. Lighted lamps were choked. This darkness lasted for three days. The Nile at this time of the year is at its lowest level and the water flow is sluggish. The first new waters arrive from Ethopia and create what is known at the "green water" effect for a week or ten days to the end of June. |
The record of the Passover can be read in the Holy Bible - the book of Exodus, chapter 12. In summary, on the tenth day of the month lambs were taken in hand, and kept till the 14th day of the month and slain. The lintels of the door posts on the homes of the Israelite people were marked with the blood of the lambs so that the "the angel of death" would pass over their homes; the people inside would not be slain while they feasted that night of the 14th day of Ab(ib?). If we are looking to solar eclipses as "signs" to God's people, then there was a solar eclipse visible over Cairo at 3.50 p.m. on the 11th July -1554 (1555 BC). This eclipse from sun/moon contact to separation lasted about 5.5 to 5.75 hours. It was the only solar eclipse visible during a month of July (AB or ABU) over Cairo between the years 1558 BC and 1551 BC. More can be read about this eclipse in the chronology section "2445 AM or 1555 BC"). The question is "Did the Exodus take place during the year 1555 BC, the year 1552 BC, or the year 1551 BC? The Israel people left their homes in Egypt on the 15th day of Ab(ib?) - Numbers 33.6; Exodus 13.4; 23.15; 34.18; Deuteronomy 16.1 Number 5 is the number of Grace. I feel that all the evidence to date points to the fact that Israel were delivered by the Grace of God on that fifth civil month, and the instruction to Moses was that that month was to be sacred to them as a nation, it was to be for them "a memorial" ... "a feast" time ... "an ordinance for ever" (Exodus 12.14). Is there some connection here in Australia, with Rememberance Day - the 11th day of the 11th month, when we remember our war dead and wounded? Our Gregorian Calendar, though has been influenced as far back as the calendar days of the Roman Empire. During July the water level rises from about 18" at Cairo to about 10 feet, and begins to overflow the Delta area. It could be that Redemption of the Israel nation occurred at the "Sea of Reeds" (incorrectly translated in the Bible as the Red Sea) just prior to the rise in water level in the Delta area during July |
| NOTE: According to the Rabbis, the month of Abib commenced at the new moon of March or April, and was constituted the first month of the year in commemoration of the release from Egyptian slavery. From this study, it seems most likely that the sacred month of Ab(ib?) is July, not March or April. Is it possible that just as there was a mis-translation in the Bible for the "Sea of Reeds" that there could have been a mis-translation for the month of "Ab"? |
The people departed from Rameses (northern Egypt) "on the morrow", after the Passover. Exodus 13.4 says it was the month of "Abib". As considered above, this may have been the month of "AB". What follows below is a summary of their camping movements during the next 40 years.
Camp 1
Pitched in SUCCOTH
Camp 2
Pitched in ETHAM (in the edge of The Wilderness
Camp 3
Turned to PHIAHIROTH (before Baal-Zephon and before MIGDOL).
| Enc. Britannica - In the northern, or Mediterranean, region of low relief in Sinai, the weather in summer is dry and intensely hot with a clear sky. |
They camped by the sea between MIGDOL and the sea, over against BAALZEPHON. Pharaoh and his men overtook them by the sea. The sea "parted" and they crossed over dryshod, but Pharaoh and his men were swallowed up in the sea as the path through it closed over again with water. They journed three days in the wilderness of ETHAM. There was no water found in the Wilderness of SHUR where they sojourned another three days.
Camp 4
They pitched in MARAH, but the water was so bitter they couldn't drink it. God made the bitter waters sweet for consumption.
| Enc. Britannica - In the central and southern region covering most of Sinai, the climate differs because of the mountainous nature of the terrain. Nights are cold, even though the summer heat is intense. |
Camp 5
Pitched in ELIM where there were twelve fountains of water and seventy palm trees.
Camp 6
Encamped by the RED SEA (actually a place called the The Sea of Reeds; it is thought that the interpretation "the Red Sea" is not correct).
Camp 7
Encamped in the Wilderness of Sin (between, ELIM and SINAI).
| Enc. Britannica - The summer average maximum temperature around the southern Sinai is about 35 degrees C, while the minimum is about 25 degrees C. Aridity is manifested in Sinai by degraded soil surface, sand-dune expanses, salinization, and dry watercourses (wadis). |
The people complained of hunger. God promised food, and that on the sixth day there would be twice as much bread. Quails arrived in the evenings, and there was "manna" provided on the ground after the dew of the mornings.
The manna had to be eaten the same day, because it did not keep - it decayed and perished the same day.
On the sixth day, which was the 21st day of the 2nd month (say 21st August 1551 BC), the extra portion of food came. God told them to bake it for the next day, the Sabbath - which would have been the 22nd day of the month.
Manna was not provided on the rest day of the Holy Sabbath - this 22nd day of the month. When the food was cooked for the Sabbath, it apparently did not decompose or smell, and the cooking process seemed to preserve the "manna" which was white in colour, and looked like coriander seed. Apparently the baked product tasted like wafers made with honey. The people did not bake on the Sabbath Day - they ate what they cooked the day before.
Camp 8
Encamped in DOPHKAH.
Camp 9
Encamped in ALUSH.
Camp 10
Encamped in REPHIDIM - but there was no water.
Moses was instructed to take his rod and smite the rock for water. He called the place MASSAH and MERIBAH. Amalek fought against Israel in REPHIDIM. Moses built an altar there because the Lord promised He would war with Amalek from generation to generation. The Lord said "I will utterly put out the rememberance of Amalek from under heaven".
Moses' father-in-law (the priest Jethro) arrives at the campsite with Moses' wife Zipporah, and their two sons (Gershom and Eliezer). Because Moses was bearing the whole burden as leader, priest and judge of the people, Jethro told Moses to set up a hierarchical system of judges with men who would be
Camp 11
Pitched in the Wilderness of SINAI - well south in the Sinai desert. Camped before "the mount". The Lord said Israel would be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
On the 17th day of the third month (say September 1551 BC), the Lord descends from Mount Sinai in the sight of the people. The ten commandments, and the laws are given to them. The "glory of the Lord" and the cloud covered Mount Sinai for six days (the 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd days of this third month).
Moses goes into the midst of cloud and into the mount for 40 days and 40 nights to receive instruction for the building, and the function, of the Tabernacle. (NOTE: That to this day, the Hebrew Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated during the month of September.) While Moses is away Aaron and the people build an idol, the molten calf - and an altar to it. Moses returns from the mount with two tablets of stone upon which were carved the laws. He broke the tablets in disgust and anger at what Aaron and the people had done. This act would have taken place about the 1st or 2nd day of the fifth month, say November. This would probably be the approaching the first winter months, which begin in October, and especially with cloud cover appearing over the mount.
| Enc. Britannica - In winter, ice caps cover the prominent mountain peaks, but rainfall is very sparse. In southern Sinai, the maximum winter average is 27 degrees C, and the minimum if 13 degrees C. |
The idolaters are slain. Moses returned to the Lord the next day to make intercession for the people. The people stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount - MOUNT HOREB. The next morning, the 3rd day of the 5th month, Moses went up to Mount Sinai and took two new tablets of stone for the Lord to rewrite the law upon them.
Offerings and gifts are collected, and the building of the Tabernacle begins.
The people don't move camp from Mount Sinai till after the Tabernacle has been constructed. They settled into their campsite for the remaining winter months - November (1551 BC) through to the last month of winter - May 1550 BC. These six winter months in the south of the Sinai are warmer than the winter months at the top end, the northern end of Sinai (near the Mediterranian). This could explain why the Exodus route was taken down through the south of Sinai, rather than travelling by the traditional route further north, where the winter would be much colder and less comfortable for travelling and camping. The weather begins to improve around June, with the arrival of summer, and the
Tabernacle Completed on the 1st day of the first month of Year 2 - say July 1550 BC. From this day of the first (sacred eleventh) month (Ab(ib)?), of the second year, the Israelites only moved camp when the cloud that covered the tent of the congregation, went up and was taken from above it. They camped again when the cloud returned.
In the Mediterranean area around 800 BC, the cry of migrating cranes indicated time for ploughing and sowing. Some people wait for snails to climb up plants, after which time digging in vineyards should cease. Near Taiwan - about March each year - the date depending on the degree of error of their lunar calendar compared with the tropical year, fishermen go out in boats with lighted flares. If "flying fish appear" the fishing season is allowed to commence; if the lunar calendar is too far out of step with the seasons, the flying fish will not rise. Question: Could migrating quail in the Wilderness after the Exodus have been an indication of an eclipse period? In the Sinai desert there are seasonal migrations of birds such as quail, partridge, and grouse. Many birds pass through in their spring and autumn migrations. August-September could possibly see migrating quail in the Sinai. Click HERE to return to 3rd month after the Exodus. |
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