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Philo’s Sabbath
The following comes from Ralph Marcus’s translation of Philo on Questions and Answers
ON Exodus BOOK 1, page 17 and shows the Sabbaths AND weeks were originally by the Moon. He writes,
“9. (Ex. xii. 6a) Why does He command (them) to keep the sacrifice until the fourteenth
(day of the month)? (Consisting of) two Sabbaths, it has in its nature a (special) honour because in this
time the moon is adorned. For when it has become full on the fourteenth (day), it becomes
full of light in the perception of the people. And again through (another) fourteen (days) it recedes
from its fullness of light to its conjunction, and it wanes as much in comparison with the preceding
"Sabbath" as the second (waxes) in comparison with the first. For this
reason the fourteenth (day) is pre-festive, as though (it were) a road leading to festive
rejoicings, during which it is incumbent upon us to meditate.” There is a lot here to examine to find out how
the people during the time of our Savior understood the weekly Sabbaths.
The above parentheses marks, ( ), are
not mine but are in the translation.
Notice Philo specifically connects the weekly Sabbaths
with the waxing and waning of the moon! He says, “and it
-the moon- wanes as much in comparison with
the preceding "Sabbath" - weekly Sabbath - as the second
-Sabbath - (waxes) in comparison with the first - Sabbath -.”
He
is obviously connecting the weeks and the weekly Sabbath with the moon, same as the Jews admit in the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia.
The traditional solar only Sabbath has absolutely nothing to do with the moon, therefore saturday sabbaths are
false sabbaths. The first and second Sabbath takes place during the moon’s waxing
and in comparison the other two Sabbaths takes place during the waning of the moon. Philo compares the two motions of the moon, the
waxing and waning of the moon, which has 14 days of waxing and 14 days of waning to its conjunction. This which equals 28
days and we know they are approximately 29 and one half days in each month therefore we know the new moon day was not counted
in counting out these waxing and waning weeks. If the new moon had been counted, it would be the 8th and 15th spoken of here,
which are the two Sabbaths spoken of above, i.e. it was truly the 14th day of waxing, after conjunction, BUT IT
WAS ALSO the 8th day of the month/moon.
This explains how that when Philo said " For when it has become full on the fourteenth
(day),” he is referring to the 14th day of its waxing, after the new moon conjunction, which
is really the 15th day of the month/moon. Philo, in so many other places says that the full moon is on the 15th.
He goes on to say that “it becomes full of light in the perception
of the people. And again through (another) fourteen (days) it recedes from its fullness
of light to its conjunction,”
It
is obvious that he is counting from after the new moon day, when the moon begins waxing, because there is only 28 days
describe here and there are 29 and one half days in a month/moon, from conjunction to conjunction. This proves there was a
dark new moon day that began the month which was not counted in these 28 days or when counting out the weeks.
Now to further prove he did not count the new Moon day when counting the 2 fourteen days of the moon's
waxing and waning, besides it being only 28 days, I present Philo's own words where he makes the same count and will show
some of the places where he plainly says the full moon is on the 15th and in turn I will prove that this 14th is actually
the 15th/full moon also, i.e. the 14th day of waxing and the 15th day of the moon/month.
Just like the 15th day of the
moon in the first month is also the first day of the feast and the 14th
day of waxing after conjunction, 3 in one!
On the life of MOSES 11 XLI (224)
(224) "Accordingly, in this month, about
the fourteenth day of the month, when the orb of the moon is usually about to become full,
the public universal feast of the passover is celebrated,"
The Works of Philo, SPECIAL LAWS. 1 (178) "since there are two motions of the moon as it continually runs its double-course-the
motion of waxing until full moon and the motion of waning until its conjunction with the sun; one ram since
there is one principle of reason by which the moon waxes and wanes in equal intervals, both as it increases
and diminishes in illumination; the seven lambs because it receives the perfect shapes in periods of seven days-the
half-moon in the first seven day period "after" its conjunction with
the sun, full moon in the second; and when it makes its return again, the first is to half-moon,
then it ceases at its conjunction with the sun."
NOTICE it says 7 days "AFTER" conjunction with the sun, that would make the 14th day "AFTER"
conjunction a full moon and the 15th day of the month at the same time, when counting the conjunction day/new moon.
SPECIAL LAWS. 1 (189) On the "fifteenth" day,
at "full" moon, the feast which is called “the feast of booths” is celebrated for which the
supplies of the sacrifices are more numerous.”
SPECIAL LAWS II.XI. (41) page 572
“The third is that which comes "after" the conjunction, which happens on the
day of the new moon in each month.”
SPECIAL
LAWS. 11, XXVIII (155) page 582 “And this feast is begun on the fifteenth day of the month, in the
middle of the month, on the day on which the moon is full of light, in consequence of the providence
of God taking care that there shall be no darkness on that day.”
SPECIAL LAWS. 11 chapter 33(210) page 588. “Again, the beginning of this festival is appointed for the fifteenth
day of the month, on account of the reason which has already been mentioned respecting the spring season, also that the world
may be full, not by day only but also by night, of the most beautiful light, the sun and moon on their rising
opposite to one another with uninterrupted light, without any darkness interposing itself between so as to
divide them.”
SPECIAL LAWS, IV
chapter 42
(234) page 639. “Again, are not the periods of the moon,
as she advances and retraces her course, from a crescent to a full circle, and again, from a complete orb
to a crescent, also measured by an equality of distances? For as great and as long as the period and amount of her increase
is, so also is her diminution, in both respects, as to magnitude and duration, as to the number of days and the size of her
orb.”
QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS ON GENESIS, I, page 810 “since it is on the fifteenth day that the moon is rendered full
of light, borrowing its light of the sun at the approach of evening, and restoring it to him again in the morning;
so that during the night of the full moon the darkness is scarcely visible, but it is all light.”
Philo also specifily connects the weeks to the phases of the moon when he
says the full moon at the end of the 2nd week. See THE PRELIMINARY STUDIES XIX (106) page 313.
At any rate you can see Philo calls the
15th the full moon, so why did he say the moon was full on the 14th? Could it be he was refering the 14th day of its waxing
which would actually be the 15th day of the month/moon when counting the new moon or counting the waxing, "after"
the new moon?
Philo gives the definition of "from" the new moon below.
ON
DREAMS, THAT THEY ARE GOD-SENT, BOOK 2, Chapter 39, (257), page 406. “And the expression “from,”
has a double sense. One, that by which the starting point from which it begins is included; the other that
by which it is excluded. For when we say that from morning to evening there are twelve hours, or from the
new moon to the end of the month there are thirty days, we are including in our enumeration both the first
hour and the day of the new moon. And when any one says that such and such a field is three or four furlongs
distant from the city, he clearly means to leave the city itself out of that measurement. (258) So that now,
too, we must consider that the expression, “from the river of Egypt,” is to be understood so as to include that
river; for the writer intends to remove us to a distance from the things of the body which are seen to exist in a constant
flow and course”
Philo says "it receives the perfect shapes in periods of seven days, the half-moon
in the first seven day period "after" its conjunction with the sun, full moon in the second;
Notice the seven days of waxing are counted after the new moon
conjunction day, which would then be the 8th and then the 15th when the new moon is counted. This proves that the 14th day
spoken of by Philo is really the 14th day of waxing but the 15th day of the month when counting the new moon
day, i.e. it is the 14th day of waxen and the 15th day of the moon/month. Philo was not confused but was counting the weeks that are produced by the waxing and waning of the
moon AFTER conjunction with the sun.
Philo also teaches the phases of the moon perfect its own configurations on each Seventh day,
i.e. on each weekly Seventh day, not every seven days. ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION, I IV. (8), page 26. “Again, the periodical changes of the
moon, take place according to the number seven, that star having the greatest sympathy with the
things on earth. And the changes which the moon works in the air, it perfects chiefly in
accordance with its own configurations on “each” seventh day.” Periodical changes (or phases) of the moon, which are 4, happens on the 8th,
15th, 22nd, and 29th. Philo says these periodical changes that the moon works in the air
happens on each 7th day. Each 7th day is referring to each weekly 7th day.
It cannot be referring to an uninterrupted 1 through 7 count because the phases will drift off every month.
The
definition of periodical is,
Webster's 1828 Dictionary [K-Z]
periodicalPERIOD'ICAL, a.1. Performed in a circuit, or in a regular revolution in a certain time, or in a series of successive circuits; as the
periodical motion of the planets round the sun; the periodical motion of the moon round the earth.
Webster's
1828 Dictionary [A-J]
configuration
CONFIGURA'TION, n. L.1. External form, figure, shape; the figure which bounds a body,
and gives it its external appearance, constituting one of the principal differences between bodies.”
At any rate Ralph Marcus translation of PHILO Questions and Answers ON Exodus BOOK 1, page
17 clearly shows the Weeks and Sabbaths were originally connected to the phases of the moon, same as the Universal Jewish
Encyclopedia teaches, see Holy Days and Weeks. More,
go to http://lunarsabbath.info/id3.html Brother Arnold
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