If you were God and you wanted to establish a momentous event, would you leave it to speculation and human interpretation or would you align it with some irrefutable event? I would do the later and I believe that God would too, so therefore we should look for that irrefutable event in establishing the first Month, Nisan, just as there was a cataclysmic event to establish Passover and Shavuot.

That is the key phrase that links Passover to Shavuot. Penteost is the baptised version of Shavuot. God gave specific instructions for Shavuot but Pentecost is another story. Once we decipher this key then the whole package fits together. The second part to linking with Shavuot is this:

So God gave the commandments three days into the third month but it is not called Shavuot here. What evidence is there to claim that it was Shavuot? Lets start by stirring up a hornets nest of questions. I also feel the need to say that my introductory image is not intended to represent Mount Sinai. That scene is described as And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. [17] And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. [18] And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly (Exodus 19:16-18 [KJV]). Perhaps Mount Sinai could be somewhere to the right of the image.

This link takes you to the main article on time.

Questions, Questions

One meaning of Exodus 19:1 is that they came into Sinai on the first day of the third month and the same day is an obscure expression that identifies the beginning of that month, i.e. the 1^st day of the third month. One problem with this explanation is that God was very comfortable with identifying the fourteenth day of the month (Passover) so why the problem with something easy like the first of a month? Is it in fact difficult?

One other interpretation is that the same day refers to the date. They would have left, at the earliest, on the fourteenth because they could not have left before Passover. If it means the same day of the month then an immediate conclusion is that the day on which the commandments were given is just some arbitrary day and is not Shavuot. That deduction would be valid if months are consistently 29½ days because the 14 ^th of the third month would be two months clear (about 59 days, 29+30) of the 14^th of the first month. It could not be 50 days after Passover as would be required to be Pentecost. To that we have to add the three days mentioned in Exodus 19:11.

There is also a theory that they left on the first Saturday and I will ignore that theory for now, but we will soon see that this could not be.

Another interpretation is that it was not the same day of the month (i.e. the 15 ^th ) but it was the same day as in day of the week (Tuesday, Wednesday etc.). Remember that the days had no names as yet and there was no agreed convention to identify them except maybe by number. They had just been given a completely new calendar, and the fact that it turned out to be the same day of the newly established week as when they left, would have seemed prophetic. God appeared to be using what He had just given them. This would mean that they came into Sinai sometime during the third month but on the same day which they left Egypt. So it would be left to us to see which days fit.

We also need to explore the fact that at that time months were determined by Observation. God told them when to begin so did He do anything that would make it unmistakable? Something observable that would nullify dissenting? God's eyes are perfect and He would know exactly when the New Moon appeared but the event was critical and had to be agreed on by all Israel. Suppose Moses identified that first month in his eagerness to start and with perfect eyesight, would it be agreed on by a collective of elders? They might have been less than eager and had poorer eyesight. If they disagreed then there would be confusion about the 10^th and the 14^th of the month and that could adversely affect the lamb. Suppose Moses did unilaterally decide for the first month. That provides an advantage to the argument for Pentecost being the day of the Commandments. Disagreement about the start of the month in the second and third months from involving the elders, could account for the difference. Moses' health and eagerness could produce different results from the remaining elders and a consensus could mean a later day for beginning the month.

At this juncture I want to establish that God identified which day is the first day of the first month in Exodus 12:2.

How did He do it? God had waited 400 or so years to set this up therefore I find it hard to accept that He could not choose a year that meant just what He said. It was the start of everything: the year, the week, the month, the Metonic Cycle and whatever else applies. Notice the bold assumption that I am making: God did not specifically say that it was the beginning of counting the days of the week etc. but I claim that by assumption. The Egyptians had a different week (10 days) and different months, so God was starting everything from scratch. Remember that days had no names so it would be natural to start with day 1 of week 1 of month 1. If this was the beginning of counting everything the Passover would have fallen on a Sabbath, 7+7 days from the beginning. God also specifies the Days of Unleavened Bread, so Israel knew all this before they started out. THEY KNEW THAT THE NEXT DAY AFTER PASSOVER WAS A FEAST DAY too! Their whole purpose for leaving Egypt was that they could celebrate the Feast (Exodus 5:1) so they would not have ignored it. That is important for later.

So did they? Why would they obey the instructions for Passover and ignore those for Unleavened Bread? Did they have to eat unleavened bread on the feast day IN THE WILDERNESS on the 15^th? If not then which feast did God actually mean? Was it the First Day of Unleavened Bread or was it Shavuot? There is no doubt that Unleavened Bread was extremely important to God but did God ever intend that Unleavened Bread would begin anywhere else but in Egypt?

God put it all in context. From v12, this night meant Passover the 14^th; also from v14 this day refers to the same day the 14^th therefore when we see either of these in the passage they are referring to the 14^th. THEN it goes on to talk about the Feast of Unleavened Bread in verse 15. God Explained that they were to eat unleavened bread following the closing evening (the end) of the 14^th and stop by the evening of the 21^st BECAUSE THEY LEFT EGYPT ON THE 14^th (Exodus 12:16-20).

He goes on to make it clear that He is excluding the 14^th (Passover) because He specifies only seven days. The days started on the evening of the fourteenth which forms the beginning of the fifteenth (Days in the Bible begin at  sunset). They had to be set by the close of the 14^th and could not allow any spillover of leaven into the 15^th. Were they in the wilderness on the 15^th?

Let's see. They left on the fourteenth and still did not leave at all until they crossed the Red Sea. How? The leaving on the 14^th is related to being brought out of slavery. Since the 15^th was the First day of Unleavened Bread and a Holy Day it was not normal to be walking long distances, but this was special. In any case they must have begun leaving on the morning of the 14^th  and assembled at Rameses (where they apparently collected Joseph's bones) then they left Rameses on the 15^th (Numbers 33:3) and set out for Succoth to keep God's feast in the wilderness. They actually left the borders of Egypt when they crossed the Red Sea. Now why is this so important?

It is important for the count to Shavuot (the 50 days), NOT to identify when they came into the wilderness of Sinai, because we identify that from the contents of Exodus 19:1. They left on Passover but the count to Shavuot does not start from that day. That count starts from the first omer. The entering of Sinai is not linked to when they left as might be surmised from Exodus 19:1. I believe that they left on Passover based on these scriptures:

I also believe that the same day in Exodus 19:1 is connecting back to the beginning of the sentence i.e. you can leave out when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt and the sentence would still produce the correct meaning. That is to say In the third month, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. So that the same day is referring to the beginning of the third month. It is not an obscure expression at all, just part of a complex sentence with an explanation inserted in the middle.

God instructed Israel to keep a holy convocation on the last day of unleavened bread and it was also a Sabbath of rest. I presume that they did not start to cross the Red sea on the Sabbath but probably started some time before sunset to use the light of day (although it was Full Moon by then) and reached the other side by the morning of the Sabbath, And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea (Exodus 14:27 [KJV]). They had to be able to rest, without fear, on the Sabbath!

They were still in bondage on the 14^th (that is when the transaction to purchase them was made) and their first complete day of freedom was the 15^th so they celebrated from the 15^th. Everything that had to do with breaking bondage had to be done by the evening ending the 14^th so that after sunset when the 15^th (the holy day) began it would be complete for them to celebrate their first day of freedom. They had to leave on the 14^th. That was the plan from the beginning.

Some people claim that when they left Egypt was not on Passover but was when they went out with a high hand that they left, but notice that the going out with a high hand also refers to a time when they were being pursued by Pharaoh.

The going out with a high hand lasted the whole eight days i.e. until the last leaving.

Putting Together a Chronology from the Exodus to Shavuot

Now let us put all this information into clearer perspective and see what pops out. Maybe we can find some answers. Maybe we will even see why they went to Succoth. This exercise will only show possibilities for dates recorded by using calendar months, because months were determined by observation.

A mystery resolved

Whenever I try to link Passover to Shavuout there is a three day problem to resolve. The Jews insist that the Law was given on Shavuot and that means that there must be 50 days from the second day of unleavened bread to Shavuot. I can never get that using the current calendars. It appears that everybody else has had the problem but some just ignore it. Shavuot begins 3 days later than it should according to the mathematics and astronomy known, if we follow the popular reasoning. That problem is sufficiently resolved with an understanding of the New Moon and Vernal Equinox provided we accept accept that God was more precise than Israel.

I propose that God knew that He had to deal with a significant problem of commitment. In the case of Moses it had surfaced in his reluctance to even accept his position. Having gotten past that He now spoke only to Moses and Aaron (Exodus 12:2). The other source of concern was demonstrated by Israel's reaction to the plagues: And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh: [21] And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us (Exodus 5:20-21 [KJV]). Under these conditions He could not expect a smooth start to the beginning of the month considering the varying levels of commitment. There could certainly be disagreement leading to confusion. The solution, I believe, is that God could have stared that month by a solar eclipse on the vernal equinox. After all He was establishing a beginning and the vernal Equinox operates on the Metonic Cycle and so would be a catch-all. The observed start of the third month (or any other month for that matter) could differ from the true New Moon by three days and that is exactly what we see. Why this is so:

• New moons are actually completely black and cannot be seen.
• Solar eclipses occur only on New Moons.
  
• A solar eclipse would identify a new moon that could not otherwise be seen.
• Subsequent months would be less precise but could be established by a verifiable sliver.
• Egyptian months were not lunar months, i.e, they were not based on the moon.
  
• The sliver may only be clearly visible 2-3 days after New Moon.
  
• If the first month started very precisely at the actual New Moon (precisely at the Vernal Equinox) but Israel continued with the clearly visible first sliver, then it accounts for the extra 3 days in the first month.

When I originally tackled the problem of the three days I came up with a theory that the first day did not mean the date but the weekday e.g. Tuesday. I still left it in the explanation as an option but I believe that the real solution is what I have stated above i.e. an issue of precision. God made the first day more precise by using something clearly observable and agreed on by all. For more detail on the Vernal Equinox than is provided here you can have a look at the webpage on the Jewish Calendar. The New Moon is actually completely black and cannot be seen by the human eye. Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, on the subject Dark Moon, @ 10:47, 30 March 2022, says The duration of a dark moon varies between 1.5 and 3.5 days, depending on its ecliptic latitude. . .. What Israel traditionally marked as the New Moon was the first sliver that was agreed on BY THE NATION. Even though the New Moon might be visible to some on the first evening after the day of the Vernal Equinox, that would not have been sufficient to satisfy the entire nation. The nation would have been represented by its elders, some of whom might not have had the clearest eyesight. It was a recipe for confusion. God wanted unity. It had to be irrefutable. God established the first day by an eclipse but for subsequent months the standard for determining the New moon was based on the first clearly visible sliver. That method of observation would shift the beginning of the month past the actual New Moon, causing the first ever month under God's system to be two or three days longer than subsequent months. The calendar set out below accounts for the difference in precision between the eclipse versus the sliver. It makes the first month 32 days instead of 30 (actually 29½) days long. It also assumes that God came (i.e. Shavuot was celebrated) on the third day of the month: And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai (Exodus 19:11 [KJV]). The difference between the first month ever and subsequent months would be pronounced if there was an eclipse at the beginning of Nisan/Abib. That would have started the month and began the new year on the Vernal Equinox. A solar eclipse can only happen at New Moon and this would have been a definitive way for God to mark his new year, since a solar eclipse is seen during the day. For a solar eclipse to take place at the vernal equinox the new moon must come on the equinox date. This is certainly not a frequent occurrence but repeats itself by the Metonic Cycle i.e. every 19 years. If that Nisan was started by an eclipse then it would have been exactly on the Vernal Equinox and would be longer than subsequent months that had to wait on the sliver of moon to begin. You will find that in this calendar Shavuot will not fall on Sivan 6, but it will tend to be that for subsequent years in a standardised calendar. There are people who attempt to establish an eclipse for the 5^th plague and so pursue establishing an eclipse around that time, e.g. there is an article on the website Alien Eyes entitled THE PRECISE CHRONOLOGY OF THE EXODUS, https://www.altriocchi.com/h_eng/pen4/cronologia/exodus_dates.html , last on January 24, 2023. This is obviously intended to establish the existence of aliens but it serves our purpose in this case. Now to our calendar.

Day in the left column is recorded as month.day

A look at alternatives

Now to consider the alternatives let us look at the same information laid out in calendar form but assuming that Israel and God (through Moses) used the same precision all along and there was no eclipse. This is the type of calendar that we would produce any time after the year of the Exodus.

Day in the left column is recorded as month.day

Using the framework

Now that we have some sort of framework we can fill in some of the dates and build a calendar according to our preferences. We have two basic options for the calendar based on our framework. Notice that Exodus 11 begins by explaining that there will be only one more plague making ten in all. The plagues did not occur one day at a time. The plagues lasted more than ten days because the ninth, for example, lasted three days Exodus 10:22.

It is noteworthy that Israel had to wait ten days (Exodus 12:3) before the lamb could be selected and there were ten plagues. This seems to indicate a degree of finality. The tenth plague was Passover. There is another way to look at it. From the time the lamb was selected there were four days to freedom. From the foundation of the world when Christ was selected until the time He was crucified was four thousand years. Remember that Passover is the transaction that begins our freedom but it is not necessarily when we become free because it takes us time to leave our bondage behind. That gives us some prophetic justification.

To use the framework I begin with Exodus 12, which lays out the events of the first Passover and starts with establishing dates. The Children of Israel apparently had no knowledge of God's Holy Days while in Egypt and by the demands of work set on them by Pharaoh they would not have had a rest day. God begins by establishing the first day of His year.

It is vital to understand that at this time Israel had no calendar and the months that they were given by God were actually began with New Moons, making them between 29 and thirty days apart. Hebrew Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh or Rosh kodesh (literally Head of the Month and translated as Beginning of the Month) is the name for the first day of every month in the Hebrew calendar. If you want to look at a more exhaustive examination of the Hebrew word for month try the Bibleinsight website article NEW MOON - Chodesh - Explained!, https://www.bibleinsight.com/newmoon.html. The Hebrew word kodesh means month. The Hebrew word yarach means moon. Exodus 12:2 [KJV] says This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you and in each case month is translated from the word chodesh. Beginning of month is not defined as New Moon in the Hebrew Bible but it has a long unbroken tradition. Remember that Moses also wrote Genesis and used the same kodesh, undoubtedly to have the same meaning as in Exodus where it was the New Moon. Someone would look to see the first sliver of moon in the sky and proclaim that the new month had begun. The Passover occurred in the 14^th of the first month. If this month was the beginning of counting everything it would have been a Sabbath (a multiple of seven). The feast of Unleavened Bread started the next day, the 15^th, and would be a High Day Sabbath. Counting from the first working day (the 16^th of the first month) for 50 days would bring us to the 3^rd day of the 3^rd month if we adjust for precision between Moses and the elders.

Justification for the first calendar

If we use Passover (14^th) as when they left then the 16^th becomes the first omer day and we can get perfect results by adjusting the calendar for the difference in precision (2-3 days) of God versus Israel. God would be precise and know that it was New Moon even when it is completely black. He showed it to Israel by an eclipse. In this scenario we use the day that they left (not the day to start the count) as Passover and the three days for preparation begin on the first day of the third month. The only assumptions necessary are (1) that there was a difference in precision between God and Israel in determining the start of the month and (2) that Exodus 19:1 tells us that they were 3 extra days after they entered Sinai on the 1^st of the 3^rd month.

Justification for the second calendar

For the other calendar we get things to work by making some other assumptions. First off we assume that same day in Exodus 19:1 means same day of the week. Since Passover was the 14^th (a Sabbath day), that assumption would make it a Sabbath day that they reached the wilderness of Sinai (Exodus 19:1). Then we have to make further assumptions about what against the third day means. If it means that we allow three days to pass then we get Shavuot on the 6^th day of the 3^rd month (the 6^th of Sivan) which is option {b}. If we claim that they left on the day that they began to cross the Red Sea (the Friday, the 20^th of the third month) then they enter the Promised Land on a the 6^th day (option {c}) and we can redeem ourselves by choosing that against the third day means any time after the third day. Without these assumptions then the same day means 1^st of the month, which turns out to be the 4^th day of the week (option {a}), and is beyond redemption for 50 days to Shavuot.

Remember that we are looking for one out of seven days to fit all of the criteria when we do not account for differences of precision between God and Israel. Not accounting for precision means that we have to reject the same day as meaning the first of the month, since the first of the third month would be a Wednesday. That ends the count too early for Shavuot, because it would mean a 45 day count from the First Omer day to Shavuot. We would also have to discard the same day of the month, because the earliest would be the 14^th, and that would be too long. Two months add to 59 days to bring us back to the same date, then we have to add 3 days so Shavuot would be 59+3 = 62 days after Passover. That leaves us with the same day of the week as the most useful interpretation of the same day when we make no adjustment for precision between God and Israel.

Making the choice

Before we go on let us examine for a moment the reasonableness of using the phrase the same day in Exodus 19:1 to refer to the same day of the week. It was less than two months since Israel had been given a new calendar and so far they have not gotten used to it. The way of counting time that would be natural is the Egyptian way and they are discarding that. The days have no name so they cannot say Tuesday and they are feeling their way with new weeks and months. The months are actually new moons and that is done by observation and subject to weather. Nothing has a track record. The only consistent thing that they have is a count in a series of seven from the day that God gave them as the first day. With regard to Shavuot the issue is weeks and therefore any method of recording time in a manner that indicates a series of weeks is acceptable until a standard is adopted. Saying that something occurred on the same day indicates a number of weeks and once you know the number of weeks involved it is a very practical frame of reference, because it dispenses with the problem of fluctuating months. So we do have an argument.

In order to account for the 50 days we need to establish when they started as well as when they ended. We have just gone through two proposals for when they ended but for the case for when they started check out the article on when Christ kept Shavuot.  I have used a couple of scriptures higher up in this article which show that it was Passover, but you might want a deeper probe. Now to go on; adjusting for precision gives perfect results. Similar results also derive from the same day of the week approach. Both fit perfectly with starting the count on the first working day after Passover but I believe that the argument for the eclipse is superior to the others.

Resolving the events of the calendar

To add support to that conclusion consider how the other events fit into the case study.  Deuteronomy 16:1 (KJV) says Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night and Numbers 33:3 (KJV) says And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. Putting these two together forces us to resolve some issues relating to when they actually left. The event that brought them out of the clutches of Pharaoh occurred on the Fourteenth, by night, when Pharaoh called for Moses and told him that they were free to go. At that point the bondage ended. It appears that the transaction for leaving occurred on the night of the fourteenth, the day when they left Goshen where they lived. They went to Succoth during the fifteenth after assembling at Rameses, where they probably collected the bones of Joseph (Exodus 13:19), and kept the feast there. Note that taking up the bones of a prime minister is not something that you just walk up and do. They did not cross the border of Egypt until much later, therefore leaving cannot refer to actually leaving the territory of Egypt and this disqualifies going to Succoth since Succoth is in Egypt. They did not leave Egypt by going to Succoth. Furthermore there is only one night event recorded to be observed, and that is the Passover, so the night (. . . out of Egypt by night Numbers 33:3) must refer to the 14^th. Now let us add Exodus 12:40-42.

It is true that there is another night event (the night that they crossed the Red Sea) but that is not commanded to be observed. From the context of Exodus 12 God is here talking about Passover. The first question to ask is how did Moses know that it was even the selfsame day? He was not there when the sojourning of the children of Israel began. He was not there when they came to Egypt, and furthermore the Egyptians had a different calendar. Although the Egyptian calendar recorded months I have found no evidence that they started with new moons. It recorded months as three 10-day weeks and seasons as four months each. The phrase the selfsame day begins to become a challenge. Terah was still in charge of the family when Abram left so Abram went subject to him (Genesis 11:31) but Terah died along the way at the age of 205. God then told Abram to continue to Canaan where his family spent 215 years followed by another 215 in Egypt. This system would not be fully established until 430 years after the sojourning began in Canaan when the institution of the Nation of Israel became a reality. Nothing is recorded of the date in the Bible just the year. This expression by Moses has a track record of not being verifiable by records that are available to us. We cannot be certain that it was not just an expression of some type of emphasis. We cannot provide evidence for the past but God made sure that they agreed on their present. It was in fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham.

From Exodus 12 we now confirm that it is the night (and not a daytime event) that is to be celebrated, and that the night relates to when they left Egypt. This is the night that defines the count but does not begin it. On this night there is a memorable celebration. I could not find any scriptural reference suggesting that the Jews celebrated a separate night to be much observed at the time of the Exodus, which is the context of Exodus 12, although it is specifically highlighted as a perpetual celebration. Everything was lumped into one celebration called Passover. Remember that these are the instructions that Israel is getting BEFORE they are freed so that they will know what to do on that occasion, i.e. on that night. They do not actually lave Egypt until Exodus 14.

For Israel to come out on the morrow (Numbers 33:3) all that is required is that they leave Rameses after Sunset on the fourteenth. It is true that at midnight on the fifteenth they could have left by the light of the pillar of fire but the Bible records no such night event, it just says the morrow meaning the next day. It is our extrapolating that causes that assumption. The only actual night referred to in scripture is Passover. This means that they spent the day of the fourteenth leaving Goshen and the actual Passover took place the night before. It had to be a night event and the only night activity was on the night of the Fourteenth.

One reason why this point is so important is that it focuses on the actual Passover or death angel. That is what  spawned the edict that Pharaoh made allowing them to leave, and not on when the animal was killed or eaten earlier, as what was significant to determine when they left. The animal was not the Passover, the Passover was what was done by the death angel, although everybody appears to equate the two. The animal was one auxiliary feature carried forward in ceremony and used to represent the significance of the actual Passover. There was only one Passover and the other celebrations used one of the symbols to commemorate it. We will get back to this later to show that the defining moment was when Christ stopped praying and declared that He was betrayed. Paul also refers to the night that He was betrayed (1 Corinthians 11:23) not when his actual death occurred. Putting this together with the calendar brings us to the 6^th day of the third month, a Monday, as Shavuot. The calendar insists on the Fourteenth and the scripture (Deuteronomy 16:1) insists that it was at night because the bringing forth occurred at night. Pharaoh could have refused to let them go even after the death angel but it is his edict that is critical to the freedom. God looks at the heart to determine things not the actions alone.

The other events contributed but the edict sealed the deal. God forced Pharaoh's hand by the key event of the night, the Passover. It was His work during that night that brought about their freedom. Because there had to be an event on the night of the Fourteenth the question of when the lamb was killed ceases to become the key issue. Since the fourteenth is crucial (not the thirteenth) the animal had to be killed on the beginning of the fourteenth (so that all of the other events could fit into the night). Bear in mind also that a celebration that uses a symbol and not a reconstruction of the main event (the Passover) need not occur at any specific time of the day.

Of special note is the 15^th day (or any other Sunday) of the 3^rd month. This proves that it is impossible to calculate Shavuot from the Sabbath within Unleavened bread. It is also impossible for Shavuot that year to be a Sunday because there is no way that against the third day could point to the 15^th either from using Passover or the First Day of Unleavened Bread as the day that Israel left Egypt. Whichever day they left Egypt never brings you to a Sunday.

Now back to the 6^th day of the third month. If you count backwards from this day in the unadjusted calendar it brings you to the first working day after Passover (the wave sheath day) even though they did not celebrate the wave sheath yet and had no crops to harvest.

As a matter of interest Jethro came when Moses was camped at Sinai (Exodus 18:5). He probably was asked to bring the children for Shavuot since they were not very far away and came in time to see Moses making arrangements for the feast. Looking back at the hectic 2 months that had passed we can see why the last thing on Moses' mind was to organise these people. He was probably stressed out.

In filling in the main events of the Exodus, I assumed that that they kept the Sabbath and that God gave them an extra week to rest after exceptionally stressful events. Setting up and moving camp with 2 million people living in tents and accompanied by animals to care for was always going to be stressful. That means that they got extra time after crossing the Red Sea and they took that time to sing songs etc. I think that it is also fair to assume that they relocated a day's journey away at a time and that they moved only once in a week to reach the next camp. Look at the examples of the narrative in Exodus 16:1 and Exodus 17:1. In each case they left and reached in the same day. God would have given them a day after they reached to prepare for the Sabbath. They followed the pillar of fire and the cloud. (1) From the Red Sea to Marah (Exodus 15:23). (2) From Marah to Elim (Exodus 15:27). (3) From Elim to Sin (Exodus 16:1). (4) From Sin to Rephidim (Exodus 17:1). The next week would be stressful with the grumbling at Rephidim over water (Exodus 17:1) and the attack of the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8). On top of that they were just getting used to manna. God would give them some extra time to rest after that. During that time Moses is reunited with his family shortly before Shavuot. His father-in-law, Jethro, brought Moses' family and it gave occasion for them to have a chat about administration. Moses tried it and it worked. Jethro left and next we hear of preparations for Shavuot in Exodus 19. The narrative indicates that for (5) they left Rephidim and rested on the Sabbath at the camp site at the foot of Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:2). For that Sabbath message Moses told them that in three days they would meet their God. It would appear that God intended them to travel during the week followed by a rest on the Sabbath, until they reached their destination with one week to spare. The fight with the Amalekites probably changed that plan as they needed to rest after the war and other troubles.

Which Calendar

The Egyptian calendar was not God's calendar; the weeks and months are different but Moses counts from God's calendar indicating that this knowledge was restored to Israel. They now knew when the month, week and year began and ended. Someone told them when to start and the only starting point for everything mentioned is the First of Abib.

Calendars

The Ancient Egyptian calendar had ten days in a week, three weeks in a month, four months in a season, three seasons in a year, and five holy days. The Egyptians were the first people to use the 365-day year. We can see why God would have needed to re-implement the week the month and the year for Israel. It might also be why God chose to give ten plagues. Who knows?

Clocks

There were two types of clocks in Ancient Egypt - a water clock and a sundial. The water clock was a little stand with a pot on the top of the stand and a pot at the bottom of the stand. The pot at the top of the stand had a small hole in the side. This pot was filled with water and the water would flow out through the hole in the top pot down to the bottom pot. The time was determined from the level of the water in the pot.

The sundial was the familiar circle with numbers written around it with a little stick in the middle. When the sticks shadow fell at a certain number, it was that time.

One big advantage of the water clock was that you could use it at night while you couldnt use the sundial. This would explain how they knew when the death angel came.

This next calendar is in response to the question what would happen to the calendar if God had started the counting on a Sabbath? This has already been dealt with and rejected but I will still show the results graphically. First of all it really makes no linguistic sense to start at day seven which is what Sabbath means.

I want to emphasize what the objective of this study is, which is to find a calendar that complies with scripture. Just considering it shows doubt about the Jews. I ask the question do we have the right to change what the Jews practiced? They were here first and we are the changers but do we have the authority? If what the Jews did all these millennia is at least equally valid as what is now practiced then who gave us the right to say that they are wrong? We have seen where the Jews would have come up with Sivan 6 for Shavuot. What gives us the right to accuse them of being completely wrong and come up with some Sunday?

We have had a chance to look at three calendars so far. Why chose one above the other? This third Calendar shows that if we start the count on the Sabbath then Shavuot is a Sunday! We may collect further evidence as the series goes on but at this point there is no reason to believe that God started from the Sabbath day rather than from the first day as He did with the other references. In support of the first day we have, first of all, that it clearly appears to be His intention to establish a point of beginning everything. Both of the lights which were instituted to mark time are now reinitialised but there is no light that specifically marks a week, therefore it would not be necessary to do any initialisation for a week. But there is more evidence that we can look to. Let us read

We see here that Israel complained for food and God arranged to feed them in a cycle excluding the Sabbath (v5). God spoke and Moses and Aaron related what He said to the people. With regard to the Sabbath day they appear to have understood what He meant. There were no questions about when it was.

In verse ten God starts to speak again

God does not speak again until verse 28. From the context we see that the fifteenth (the days they complained) was probably not the Sabbath, neither the day after, because that is when the manna started. Now back to verse one. This is very important. They had stopped at Elim and when they left Elim they came to the wilderness of Sin where they presently were. This means that they were walking on the fourteenth! Now look back at the calendar that starts on the Sabbath. The Fourteenth is a Sabbath. Is God breaking His law while trying to establish it? Is He working on the Sabbath by leading them in the cloud while telling them not to work? Notice also that the manna seems to have continued for several days after it first started before it stopped, because they gathered it every morning.

Now when the Sabbath arrives Moses gives them a warning. Again there were no questions or disputes over when it was. Notice however that nowhere in this passage does God identify the Sabbath for them but they already knew. He never says in x days is the Sabbath. He never needed to. Moses and Israel knew which would be obvious if they were counting in sevens from the first day of the year.

There is an important point about the Sabbath here. They did not have to prepare all the manna for eating on the Friday. They were able to leave some raw for the Sabbath. It is therefore reasonable to assume that limited food preparation was allowed on the Sabbath.

Now God becomes angry because they knew His will concerning the Sabbath and yet disobeyed Him. Moses knew and Israel knew but it is not identified here. What could they have used to establish a reference for the Sabbath? What marked the first day? I say it is  This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you, Exodus 12:2 (KJV).

So understand that the way they marked time in Egypt was not compatible with God's way. Someone had to show them (including Moses) how to keep time God's way. There is no record of this being done and so even if they wanted to start they did not know when the first day was. We saw that if they started on the Sabbath day, for example, then it could lead to a completely different interpretation of how God taught the Sabbath to Israel. It would not be by example.

They kept the Feast

Another point to focus on is found in Exodus 13:20.

Why mention Succoth as a place that they left if they lived in Goshen and assembled in Rameses? Some argue that it was only the rallying point but why not rally in Goshen or Rameses which would be more convenient since they all were already there and then start moving. By going to Succoth we can be sure that they were in some uninhabited area. There is no way that all those people could descend on a town at one time. They had to go to some large uninhabited area or wilderness. If they were in Goshen with only Israelites they could easily stay in the built up area but not in a strange town. It appears that once they started to move they just kept going night and day (Exodus 13:20). Why waste time going to Succoth first? Because they had to keep the Feast! God said that they needed to go into the wilderness to worship Him and they did: Exodus 7:16, . . .The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened. Notice the first place that we see the word Succoth in the Bible.

This is when Jacob escaped Laban and went back to Canaan. After encountering his brother Esau he continued into Egypt and built a house at Succoth. The very name of the place emphasized the transitory nature of their existence. The word means booth. This was a symbol of living in the wilderness.

The next step is found in Exodus 14. After that they would go to the border of Egypt and wait. They would have taken a while to reach there because it was all Israel, old and young, travelling with all their possessions. They would wait until the last day of Unleavened Bread approached. They would start out on the beginning of the sixth day and by the end of it another transaction would have been completed. Pharaoh would have no problem finding them with the pillar of cloud or fire marking the spot. On that sixth day Pharaoh (Satan) would be destroyed and they would move on to enter God's rest (a Sabbath and a High-day) on the Last day of Unleavened Bread. God would make sure that they have enough daylight left to prepare for this High-Day.

These events actually parallel with what we are told in Revelation. For 6,000 years Christians live with the threat of Satan hanging over them even though Christ was crucified from the foundation of the world. Satan does his most threatening work for a short period before he is subdued for 1,000 years. It is of course possible that Pharaoh was destroyed on another day but the sixth day appears more plausible to me.

Let us get back to this question of going into the wilderness to celebrate for a moment. Was Succoth what God meant by wilderness?

Succoth was only the edge of the wilderness. They were not fully there yet. By the time they reached the Red Sea they would actually be in the wilderness.

but by then the Passover feast was ending. Was that the feast that God intended to be kept in the wilderness? I think not. I think that it was Shavuot at Sinai.

They kept the Sabbath

I think that it is reasonable to assume that if God is stopping Israel to rest then He would stop in time to prepare for the Sabbath and start again after the Sabbath. The stop points and start points are therefore close to a weekly Sabbath.

We know that after the Tabernacle was built the Israelites moved in accordance with the cloud

And we know that the cloud existed from the time they were in Egypt.

I expect that in this same way God controlled the movement of the Israelites during the Exodus. If God kept the Sabbath they would have to as well. After they crossed the river and kept the Sabbath the next leg would start from the Red Sea, but in three days there would be problems Exodus 15:22-23.

This short episode reveals some further vital knowledge. It confirms that they had kept God's instructions up to this point because in v26 God implies that this is why He had healed the water and prevented any sickness. But they did not stop at Marah. They went straight to Elim and made camp v27. Why stop at Elim? I propose that it was to keep the Sabbath.

The next incident of note would be the manna so that is where the story continues. They would be no need to mention obscure places where they kept the Sabbath so the story continues here as expected. But something special happens here that confirms that the Sabbath was kept for the whole journey (Exodus 16:1-5). We see here that God was keeping the Sabbath even though the Israelites were oblivious. They continued to act as they chose but when it involved God there was no action on the Sabbath.

God kept the Sabbath and as long as they relied on Him they were forced to keep it as well, and we know that they did rely on Him. They followed the pillar of fire and the cloud. (1) From the red Sea to Marah (Exodus 15:23). (2) From Marah to Elim (Exodus 15:27). (3) From Elim to Sin (Exodus 16:1). (4) From Sin to Rephidim (Exodus 17:1).

The next week would be action-packed with getting used to manna, the grumbling at Rephidim over water (Exodus 17:1) and the attack of the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8). Finally Moses is reunited with his family shortly before Shavuot. They left Rephidim and rested on the Sabbath at the camp site at the foot of Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:2). For that Sabbath message Moses told them that in three days they would meet their God. Preparations had to be made more hurriedly than I believe was originally intended, as they were delayed by the Amalekites.

Conclusion

I believe that we can safely say that we have linked Passover to Shavuot by accounting for the differences in precision between God and Israel. The 50 days to Pentecost have been accounted for as well as a rationale for the various stops.