May All Have a Jubilant and Blessed Biblical New Year.

"Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day." (Psalm 81:3)

May God inspire All to know His Truth and know in certain faith "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16). May All be enlightened to daily seek the Truth and read the Word of God guided by His Holy Spirit, and avoid the deceptions and falsehoods promoted throughout the world today by so many. May All resolve to READ YOUR BIBLE and discern the Truth guided by His Holy Spirit, to "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." (1 Thessalonians 5:21). and "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it" (Deuteronomy 4:2) May ALL strive to Walk with Christ and follow His example on the narrow path that leads to Life (Matthew 7:13-15).

The sliver of the crescent New Moon was observed in Israel on evening of 9 April 2024 just after sunset (read here, here, and here). The sighting of the New Moon coupled with the evaluation of barley maturity (read below) makes the first day of the first month of the Biblical New Year from sunset as observed from Jerusalem, Israel on 9 April to the sunset on 10 April 2024.

The Moon is God’s faithful witness in heaven (Psalm 89:37) and coupled with the Word of God, you can know with certainty the time of God’s appointed Holy Days (Leviticus 23, Numbers 28-29). If your religious institution or faith leader’s declared Holy Days DO NOT match God’s appointed Holy Days, YOU must choose – obedience to God’s Truth or abdication to Man’s deceptions -- Choose wisely.

Below is a calendar that reflects God’s appointed Holy Days (Leviticus 23, Numbers 28-29) based on the confirmed observation of the New Moon within Israel by more than two witnesses and the evaluation of barley maturity in proximity of Jerusalem, Israel. Take it upon yourself to prove and validate these appointed Holy Days yourself, to "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Many desire to know how to determine or validate when the Biblical New Year starts.

The truthful answer to this question is READ YOUR BIBLE!!! If you read and study the Bible with inspired guidance of the Holy Spirit, the answer sought will be revealed (John 14:26). If you, by your own "inspired" independent effort, discovery, and validation, "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." (1 Thessalonians 5:21), then your confidence and faith should be unshakeable.

If you follow the example recorded in the Bible and Walk with Christ, you cannot stray from the narrow path. Ask yourself simple questions and seek the answer -- like: How was the Biblical New Year determined in Jesus's time? You know that Jesus was without sin, and for this to be the Truth means Jesus had to properly observe God's Holy Days as a newborn baby, a child, a teenager, and as an adult. This means that God had to intercede and ensure the religious leaders (Sanhedrin) of Jesus's time properly determined God's Holy Days, and that Jesus's parents, Joseph and Mary, adhered to God's will and were obedient to His precepts, statutes, and laws  - read this post for further insight.

If you discerned the Truth from the Bible, followed the example Jesus set, and know how the Biblical New Year was determined in Jesus's time by the religious leaders (Sanhedrin), then you should have concluded that the ripeness of barley in spring time and the appearance of the crescent new moon, must both be observed in close proximity to Jerusalem to declare the Biblical New Year.

How to Observe the Initial Appearance of the New Moon?

“Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.” (1 Corinthians 3:18)

Become a fool to be wise? Yes, disregard everything you know and the opinions of others. “And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.” (Mark 13:37) WATCH!! Observe the setting of the Sun, the greater light, and the Moon, the lesser light, will appear at its appointed time (Genesis 1:16). It is truly that simple, as God intended it to be in the times of Adam, times of Moses, times of Jesus, as it is today, and into the future. While the appearance of the Crescent New Moon can be observed at any location on Earth at different times, understand the only true perspective is of God and His chosen location, Jerusalem, Israel (Revelation 3:12).

For further insight read this post from last year. What follows immediately below is updated predictive data for this New Year, that might save you independent research time.

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For those that desire more detailed information or predictions of the Moons lunar phases, they abound if you seek them.

For many that have a typical printed wall calendar the four major phases of the Moon (New, First Quarter, Full, & Third Quarter) are usually illustrated. Almost all with a electronic device, have internet access, and access to multiple websites and applications that provide the Moon’s phases in detail.

Textual dates of moon phases and equinoxes/solstices are available at the website of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and is called SKYCAL (Sky Events Calendar) and they provide options to generate a calendar as shown below.

A typical website that provides Moon phase data is timeanddate.com as illustrated in picture below.

While knowing the date and time of the New Moon phases is edifying, the desired information of many is what date and time is the Crescent New Moon potentially visible. This information is also readily available if you seek it.

The astronomical data for “Crescent Moon Visibility” from website Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office Websurf 2.0 provides textual predictive data and they have an additional website called MoonWatch that provides diagrams of global projected visibility and probability of sighting the new crescent moon -- Note: This website has been undergoing maintenance for over a year and is not displayed properly.

Predicted Crescent Moon visibility maps are available on website Moon Sighting UK as shown below.

HilalMap, a Crescent Moon Visibility Map generator is on website alhabib and provides crescent new moon maps as shown below.

The website In-The-Sky.org provides ephemeris data for the Moon in a tabular format showing moonrise, moonset, and predicted moon visibility times for each day. The following table shows ephemeris data for Jerusalem, Israel for April 2024 -- note the dates of April 9 and 10 in the column "Observable (hover mouse)".

The Israeli Society for the View of the New Moon website provides their own diagrams to aide in the sighting of the Crescent New Moon tailored to the Jerusalem, Israel location as shown below. They also solicit report data on actual sightings within the bounds of God’s declared Holy Land, Israel.

The website TorahCalendar.com provides forecast diagrams of “New Moon Day” based on observation from Jerusalem, Israel as shown below.

There are many more websites that provide dates and times for Moon lunar phases and forecasts of the probability of sighting the Crescent New Moon. As with everything, use your own inspired judgement and “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

If you desire even more insight beyond the single snapshots of static data of the Moon’s lunar phases and appearance of the Crescent New Moon, a realistic, real-time simulation (planetarium) of the movement of heavenly bodies spanning past, present, and future times is available in a program called Stellarium. Stellarium is free to download and use and has capabilities and customizations beyond the needs of a novice user.

The picture below is from the program Stellarium with location set to Jerusalem, Israel for date of 9 April 2024 just after sunset at time of 19:04 PM IDT — note the items underlined in RED.

If you follow the guidance above and trust in your own "inspired" abilities to discern the Truth, determining the day of the appearance of the New Moon should be simple, as even a child can do it.

The Maturity of Barley

The evaluation of the maturity of barley at the time of the New Moon is subject to opinions, ideologies, and perspectives of the observers. Most observers provide pictorial evidence to substantiate their positions and assert their righteousness with references from Biblical texts. To determine the facts and the Truth, whether its a picture, Biblical text, or assertion of an opinion/ideology, remember: "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and "not to add" or "dimish" from the Word (Deuteronomy 4:2, Deuteronomy 12:32, Revelation 22:18).

"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." (1 Corinthians 1:10)

This year the barley observations varied significantly, with assertions that the start of the Biblical New Year commenced with the New Moon observed at sunset in Israel on February 11-12, 2024 (read here), others claimed March 11-12, 2024 (read here, here, here), others advocated for April 9-10, 2024 (read here, here, here), a few claimed 9-10 May 2024 (read here), and other factions stated entirely different dates for God’s Holy Days regardless of God’s declared New Year stated in the Bible (read here, here, here). For the few seeking factual knowledge of the maturity of barley, the varied observations and opinions resulted in significant confusion, and choices were made by some on the perceived credibility of the person(s) reporting the maturity of barley.

It should be easily discernable that God’s declared Holy Days (Leviticus 23, Numbers 28-29) are determined from the start of the Biblical New Year (Exodus 12:2, Deuteronomy 16:1) based on the sighting of the New Moon (Psalm 89:37) and barley maturity (Leviticus 2:14), both as observed from close proximity of God’s chosen place Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 16:2, 2 Chronicles 33:4).

The different declarations of the start of the Biblical New Year is NOT related to the ability to determine barley maturity, but can be attributed to personal interpretations and understandings or lack thereof of Biblical texts. One of the principal differences is the WHERE to evaluate barley maturity to declare the Biblical New Year (Exodus 12:2) at the beginning of the New Month (Numbers 28:11); understand the only true perspective is of God and His chosen location, Jerusalem, Israel (Psalm 132:13, 2 Kings 21:4, 2 Chronicles 33:4, Revelation 3:12);  "for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (Isaiah 2:3). During the times of Jesus, barley maturity was determined in proximity of Jerusalem (Menachot 64b:2-4:), in fields grown with domesticated barley by man's labour {"firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field" (Exodus 23:16)}, the gathering and processing of barley for the wave sheaf offering was conducted ceremoniously with the religious leaders from the nearby Temple, and the offering of the barley "sheaf or omer" was performed in the Temple within Jerusalem; Jesus died and was risen in Jerusalem on the day of the wave sheaf offering as the firstfruits to God (1 Corinthians 15:20); do you follow the example of Jesus?

The declaration of barley maturity in the proximity of Jerusalem, due to its topography and climate, ensures barley can be harvested (Joel 3:13, Mark 4:29, Revelation 14:15) in other areas of Israel in compliance with Exodus 23:15 and Deuteronomy 16:16, "shall not appear before the Lord empty" with the understanding that the barley cannot be consumed until after the wave sheaf offering is completed. (Leviticus 23:14). Read this post for further details. Read this again, again, and again and review critically the referenced Biblical texts, remember "not to add" or "dimish" from the Word (Deuteronomy 4:2, Deuteronomy 12:32, Revelation 22:18).

Within the land of Israel, the likely best and most reliable "subject matter experts" on the growth and maturity of barley would be the local farmers, followed by farm/kibbutz agriculture cooperatives, and the Israel Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (website). Discovered that not one of the websites that conduct barley inspections within Israel and report on barley maturity contacted or interviewed any of the local "subject matter experts". I could not fathom this, as it was assumed that barley inspectors would have the courtesy to seek and obtain permission to enter the property of others.

Many of the barley inspection websites state they only determine barley maturity using wild barley and condemn all domestic barley fields as the barley seed is genetically modified, yet no one confirmed with local farmers which barley seed variety was used and when it was sown -- so the use of genetically modified barley in domestic fields is an "assumption" on their part, not a fact. Few are aware that the selection of barley seed variety is usually determined by the market, the purchaser or milling facility, based on its intended end use. Example, if the barley is used for an organic certified purpose, like a niche brewery or bread maker, the seed selection will be of a organic nature and usually not a genetic variety. The farmer usually establishes arrangements for the sale of the barley harvest before it is ever planted and seed selection is determined by the end-purchaser. If the farmer grows barley for silage or livestock fodder, barley seed selection is usually based on cheapest seed cost, and usually not higher priced genetically modified versions enhanced for optimum seed quality and yield quantity.

Search the Bible for the word "barley" (read here); the Bible only states "barley" and does not specify what type, domesticated or wild barley, is recommended. During the times of Jesus, ask yourself was barley maturity and harvests based on domesticated barley grown by local farmers in proximity to Jerusalem or wild barley growth? If you have common sense and honesty, the answer is simple to determine. As to the domestication of barley verses wild barley and its genetic characteristics, read this article and study for further perspective. Lastly, read the clear and plain text of Exodus 23:16, with emphasis on "firstfruits of thy labours" and "which thou hast sown in the field"; sounds more like domesticated barley planted, grown, and harvested by man than wild barley growth.

For those that assert barley is no longer grown in Israel, read this United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report - "estimates that the area planted for barley to be 6,700 hectares". An interesting read on barley harvests is in this 1983 letter by the Israel Ministry of Agriculture - "sown as a rule in November and the harvest starts around the end of April - the beginning of May". A more recent statement on the barley harvest period in Israel can be found here and is depicted below - understand barley grown for silage or livestock fodder is harvested usually 2-3 weeks before seed development/maturity.

Many assert that the maturity of barley can ONLY be determined from fields NOT irrigated by MAN based on the texts of Deuteronomy 11:8-16:

"8 Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it;

9 And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

10 For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs:

11 But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven:

12 A land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.

13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,

14 That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.

15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.

16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;"

Read the above verses again and find where it prohibits irrigation - you'll NOT find it - many have "added to the Word" (Deuteronomy 4:2, Deuteronomy 12:32, Revelation 22:18) their own ideology/opinions. Review the multitude of "rules" in the Jewish oral and written texts about irrigation and you'll discover irrigation was commonplace in times past (understand why Jesus accused the scribes and Pharisees, the author of these texts of being hypocrites (Matthew 23:13)). Read about the very first Passover in the Promised Land in Joshua 5. Understand that the fields around Jericho were irrigated by springs and the flood plain of the Jordan river as rainfall is sparce due to its topography - "for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest," (Joshua 3:15).

The next New Moon is predicted to be visible in Israel on 9 May 2024, just after sunset. You can review predictive data and illustrative charts on multiple websites, some listed below at:

Moon Sighting UK

In-The-Sky.org provides Moon ephemeris data

Israeli Society for the View of the New Moon or the Biblical Calendar Society

TorahCalendar.com

If you desire to use real-time simulated data to observe the predicted New Moon cycle, it is available in a program called Stellarium. Stellarium is free to download and use.