Does the Jewish Encyclopedia Prove the Lunar Sabbath?
Does the Jewish Encyclopedia Prove the Lunar Sabbath?
By
James Scott Trimm
Lunar Sabbatarians have taken delight in quoting passages from two Jewish Encyclopedias which seem to support the Lunar Sabbath teaching. The problem is that the Lunar Sabbatarians do not seem to understand that these Encyclopedias are expressing nothing more than a nineteenth century liberal speculation, which even most liberal scholars repudiate and which is decidedly not "Jewish".
One of these Encyclopedias is the "Universal Jewish Encyclopedia" which says:
The New Moon is still, and the Sabbath originally was, dependent upon the lunar cycle . . . Originally, the New Moon was celebrated in the same way as the Sabbath; gradually it became less important while the Sabbath became more and more a day of religion and humanity, of religious meditation and instruction, of peace and delight of the soul. (Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, "Holidays," p. 410.)
With the development of the importance of the Sabbath as a day of consecration and the emphasis laid upon the significant number seven, the week became more and more divorced from its lunar connection . . . . (Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol. X, "Week," p. 482.)
The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia was edited by Isaac Landman who was an extremely liberal advocate of Reformed Judaism. Landman became Rabbi of Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn, which broke off from mainline Reformed Judaism into an even more liberal direction. Landmen was also a noted leader leader in the liberal Jewish–Christian ecumenism movement.
Landman’s Universal Jewish Encyclopedia borrowed heavily from an earlier work the "Jewish Encyclopedia" which the Lunar Sabbatarians are also in the habit in quoting:
It [the Sabbath] was probably originally connected in some manner with the cult of the moon, as indeed is suggested by the frequent mention of Sabbath and New-Moon festivals in the same sentence (Isa. i. 13; Amos viii. 5; H Kings iv. 23) . . . The Sabbath depending, in Israel's nomadic period, upon the observation of the phases of the moon, it could not, according to this view, be a fixed day . . . . (www.jewishencyclopedia.com, "Sabbath.")
The week of seven days was connected with the lunar month, of which it is, approximately, a fourth. The quadripartite division of the month was evidently in use among the Hebrews and other ancient peoples; but it is not clear whether it originated among the former. It is unnecessary to assume, however, that it was derived from the Babylonians, for it is equally possible that observations of the four phases of the moon led the Hebrew nomads spontaneously and independently to devise the system of dividing the interval between the successive new moons into four groups of seven days each. There is ground, on the other hand, for the assumption that both among the Babylonians and among the Hebrews the first day of the first week of the month was always reckoned as coincident with the first day of the month." (www.jewishencyclopedia.com, "Week.")
It should be noted that the early 20th Century "Universal Jewish Encyclopedia" is only parroting the earlier “Jewish Encyclopedia” which was published between 1901 and 1906 and based on 19th Century scholarship. What we have here is not two witnesses, but a single witness repeated twice.
So what is the origin of the “Jewish Encyclopedia”?
The Encyclopedia was the culmination of the liberal Reformed Jewish movement known as: Wissenschaft des Judentums ("Jewish studies") which flourished in 19th-century Germany. Although the Encyclopedia was published in English, it sources were virtually all German. The scholarly authorities cited in the Encyclopedia—besides the classical and medieval exegetes—are almost uniformly Wissenschaft figures, such as Leopold Zunz, Moritz Steinschneider, Solomon Schechter, Wilhelm Bacher, J.L. Rapoport, David Zvi Hoffman, Heinrich Graetz, etc.
Some of most prominent proponents of this movements, such as Steinschneider, were vocal opponents of all religion.
And of Leopold Zunz it has been said:
Zunz felt obliged to assume that Judaism had come to an end, and that it was the task of Wissenschaft des Judentums to provide a judicious accounting of the varied and rich contributions which Judaism had made to civilization. In a similar spirit, Steinschneider is said to have once quipped that Wissenschaft des Judentums seeks to ensure that Judaism will receive a proper burial, in which scholarship amounts to an extended obituary properly eulogizing the deceased.
(Mendes-Flohr, Paul (1998), "Jewish scholarship as a vocation", in Alfred L. Ivry, Elliot R. Wolfson & Allan Arkush, Perspectives on Jewish Thought and Mysticism: Proceedings of the International Conference held by The Institute of Jewish Studies, University College London, 1994, in Celebration of its Fortieth Anniversary, Australia: Harwood Academic Publishers.)
One need only look at the article on the Book of Daniel to see that the Jewish Encyclopedia reflects extreme liberal scholarship, and does not even maintain the divine revelation of the Scriptures.
Now that we know who the sources of these Encyclopedias are, let us examine what the initial source, the Jewish Encyclopedia is actually saying:
The week of seven days was connected with the lunar month, of which it is, approximately, a fourth. The quadripartite division of the month was evidently in use among the Hebrews and other ancient peoples; but it is not clear whether it originated among the former. It is unnecessary to assume, however, that it was derived from the Babylonians, for it is equally possible that observations of the four phases of the moon led the Hebrew nomads spontaneously and independently to devise the system of dividing the interval between the successive new moons into four groups of seven days each. There is ground, on the other hand, for the assumption that both among the Babylonians and among the Hebrews the first day of the first week of the month was always reckoned as coincident with the first day of the month." (www.jewishencyclopedia.com, "Week.")
This statement is highly speculative. Remember, many of the authors of the Jewish Encyclopedia were opposed to religion in general, and others believed Judaism was dead, and simply needed to be eulogized (and therefore had no divine origin). The entry above speculates that there was no divine origin to the continuous repeating week, but that it evolved after either Babylonians or Hebrew nomads invented a fourfold division of the month. The article also says that its speculations that at some point in the past “the first day of the first week of the month was always reckoned as coincident with the first day of the month” is their “assumption”.
In fact the Ancient Babylonians did have a system which counted from the new moon, they celebrated the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th as "holy-days", also called "evil days" (meaning "unsuitable" for prohibited activities). On these days officials were prohibited from various activities and common men were forbidden to "make a wish", and at least the 28th was known as a "rest-day".
(The modern Lunar Sabbath theory teaches that one begins counting the day after each new moon such that the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th days are Sabbaths.)
The liberal Jewish Encyclopedia article is assuming that the Jewish seven day week did not originate from Elohim, but is more closely related to the Babylonian week, either adopted from the Babylonians, or independently contrived by Hebrew nomads.
Even the Jewish Encyclopedia does not speculate that this “assumed” week-month system was kept by Jews of the majority of Biblical times, but only by “Hebrew nomads”. They certainly do not make a claim that this system was kept in the Second Temple Era, or even of the Mosaic period.
Also the speculation presented is that the first day of the month coincided with the first day of the week, which is not the case with the modern “Lunar Sabbath” invention.
The next Jewish Encyclopedia article further speculates:
It [the Sabbath] was probably originally connected in some manner with the cult of the moon, as indeed is suggested by the frequent mention of Sabbath and New-Moon festivals in the same sentence (Isa. i. 13; Amos viii. 5; H Kings iv. 23) . . . The Sabbath depending, in Israel's nomadic period, upon the observation of the phases of the moon, it could not, according to this view, be a fixed day . . . . (www.jewishencyclopedia.com, "Sabbath.")
Now lets look at this entire paragraph to get the true context:
The origin of the Sabbath, as well as the true meaning of the name, is uncertain. The earliest Biblical passages which mention it (Ex. xx. 10, xxxiv. 21; Deut. v. 14; Amos viii. 5) presuppose its previous existence, and analysis of all the references to it in the canon makes it plain that its observance was neither general nor altogether spontaneous in either pre-exilic or post-exilic Israel. It was probably originally connected in some manner with the cult of the moon, as indeed is suggested by the frequent mention of Sabbath and New-Moon festivals in the same sentence (Isa. i. 13; Amos viii. 5; H Kings iv. 23). The old Semites worshiped the moon and the stars (Hommel, "Der Gestirndienst der Alten Araber"). Nomads and shepherds, they regarded the night as benevolent, the day with its withering heat as malevolent. In this way the moon ("Sinai" = "moon ["sin"] mountain") became central in their pantheon. The moon, however, has four phases in approximately 28 days, and it seemingly comes to a standstill every seven days. Days on which the deity rested were considered taboo, or ill-omened. New work could not be begun, nor unfinished work continued, on such days. The original meaning of "Shabbat" conveys this idea (the derivation from "sheba'" is entirely untenable). If, as was done by Prof. Sayce (in his Hibbert Lectures) and by Jastrow (in "American Journal of Theology," April, 1898), it can be identified in the form "shabbaton" with the "Shabattum" of the Assyrian list of foreign words, which is defined as "um nuḥ libbi" = "day of propitiation" (Jensen, in "Sabbath-School Times," 1892), it is a synonym for "'Aẓeret" and means a day on which one's actions are restricted, because the deity has to be propitiated. If, with Toy (in "Jour. Bib. Lit." xviii. 194), it is assumed that the signification is "rest," or "season of rest" (from the verb "to rest," "to cease [from labor]"; though "divider" and "division of time" are likewise said to have been the original significations; comp. also Barth, "Nominalbildungen," and Lagarde, "Nominalbildung"), the day is so designated because, being taboo, it demands abstinence from work and other occupations. The Sabbath depending, in Israel's nomadic period, upon the observation of the phases of the moon, it could not, according to this view, be a fixed day. When the Israelites settled in the land and became farmers, their new life would have made it desirable that the Sabbath should come at regular intervals, and the desired change would have been made all the more easily as they had abandoned the lunar religion.
When we see the entire paragraph several key phrases appear. The article says that the “origin of the Sabbath… is uncertain” making its further exploration of the subject mere speculation. The speculation given is that the Biblical Sabbath originated not from Elohim, but from “the cult of the moon” Hebrew nomads who “worshiped the moon”. The article then speculates that Hebrews upon entering the land and becoming farmers, evolved the “fixed day” weekly Sabbath.
So where does the Jewish Encyclopedia get this speculation that the fixed week originates from subdivisions of the Lunar Month? The answer is Friedrich Delitzsch (September 3, 1850 – December 19, 1922).
Friedrich Delitzsch was an expert in the study of ancient Middle Eastern languages, history and culture. He became known for his "scholarly critique" and criticism of the Biblical Old Testament. In a controversial lecture titled "Babel and Bible", Delitzsch maintained that many Old Testament writings were borrowed from ancient Babylonian tales, including the stories of Genesis creation narrative and the Flood myth.
Delitszch also proposed replacing the Old Testament with German myths and his student Paul Haupt was one of the major advocates of the thesis of the Aryan Jesus.
Delitzsch speculated that the seven-day week being approximately a quarter of a lunation implied an astronomical origin of the seven-day week originating in the ancient Babylonian system.
The Jewish Encyclopedia seeks to respond to Delitzsch by suggesting:
It is unnecessary to assume, however, that it was derived from the Babylonians, for it is equally possible that observations of the four phases of the moon led the Hebrew nomads spontaneously and independently to devise the system of dividing the interval between the successive new moons into four groups of seven days each.
In other words, these liberal scholars simply sought to displace Delitzsch’s Babylonians with Hebrew nomads, in an effort to defend the Jewish contribution of the seven day week to civilization. What we have in this Jewish Encyclopedia is a product of the social situation in Germany in the decades leading up to the holocaust, in which Germans sought to belittle and displace any Jewish contribution to civilization, and some Jewish scholars accepting the death of Judaism sought to eulogize Judaism and maintain the Jewish contribution to civilization.
These Jewish Encyclopedias do not advocate the Lunar Sabbath theory that is taught today, and even their speculation of a Lunar based week is based on a perspective that the week and the Sabbath are human inventions which evolved into the modern fixed week long before the time of Yeshua and probably before most of the “Old Testament” period. No such statements appear in the later, and more accepted Encyclopedia Judaica.
By
James Scott Trimm
Lunar Sabbatarians have taken delight in quoting passages from two Jewish Encyclopedias which seem to support the Lunar Sabbath teaching. The problem is that the Lunar Sabbatarians do not seem to understand that these Encyclopedias are expressing nothing more than a nineteenth century liberal speculation, which even most liberal scholars repudiate and which is decidedly not "Jewish".
One of these Encyclopedias is the "Universal Jewish Encyclopedia" which says:
The New Moon is still, and the Sabbath originally was, dependent upon the lunar cycle . . . Originally, the New Moon was celebrated in the same way as the Sabbath; gradually it became less important while the Sabbath became more and more a day of religion and humanity, of religious meditation and instruction, of peace and delight of the soul. (Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, "Holidays," p. 410.)
With the development of the importance of the Sabbath as a day of consecration and the emphasis laid upon the significant number seven, the week became more and more divorced from its lunar connection . . . . (Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol. X, "Week," p. 482.)
The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia was edited by Isaac Landman who was an extremely liberal advocate of Reformed Judaism. Landman became Rabbi of Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn, which broke off from mainline Reformed Judaism into an even more liberal direction. Landmen was also a noted leader leader in the liberal Jewish–Christian ecumenism movement.
Landman’s Universal Jewish Encyclopedia borrowed heavily from an earlier work the "Jewish Encyclopedia" which the Lunar Sabbatarians are also in the habit in quoting:
It [the Sabbath] was probably originally connected in some manner with the cult of the moon, as indeed is suggested by the frequent mention of Sabbath and New-Moon festivals in the same sentence (Isa. i. 13; Amos viii. 5; H Kings iv. 23) . . . The Sabbath depending, in Israel's nomadic period, upon the observation of the phases of the moon, it could not, according to this view, be a fixed day . . . . (www.jewishencyclopedia.com, "Sabbath.")
The week of seven days was connected with the lunar month, of which it is, approximately, a fourth. The quadripartite division of the month was evidently in use among the Hebrews and other ancient peoples; but it is not clear whether it originated among the former. It is unnecessary to assume, however, that it was derived from the Babylonians, for it is equally possible that observations of the four phases of the moon led the Hebrew nomads spontaneously and independently to devise the system of dividing the interval between the successive new moons into four groups of seven days each. There is ground, on the other hand, for the assumption that both among the Babylonians and among the Hebrews the first day of the first week of the month was always reckoned as coincident with the first day of the month." (www.jewishencyclopedia.com, "Week.")
It should be noted that the early 20th Century "Universal Jewish Encyclopedia" is only parroting the earlier “Jewish Encyclopedia” which was published between 1901 and 1906 and based on 19th Century scholarship. What we have here is not two witnesses, but a single witness repeated twice.
So what is the origin of the “Jewish Encyclopedia”?
The Encyclopedia was the culmination of the liberal Reformed Jewish movement known as: Wissenschaft des Judentums ("Jewish studies") which flourished in 19th-century Germany. Although the Encyclopedia was published in English, it sources were virtually all German. The scholarly authorities cited in the Encyclopedia—besides the classical and medieval exegetes—are almost uniformly Wissenschaft figures, such as Leopold Zunz, Moritz Steinschneider, Solomon Schechter, Wilhelm Bacher, J.L. Rapoport, David Zvi Hoffman, Heinrich Graetz, etc.
Some of most prominent proponents of this movements, such as Steinschneider, were vocal opponents of all religion.
And of Leopold Zunz it has been said:
Zunz felt obliged to assume that Judaism had come to an end, and that it was the task of Wissenschaft des Judentums to provide a judicious accounting of the varied and rich contributions which Judaism had made to civilization. In a similar spirit, Steinschneider is said to have once quipped that Wissenschaft des Judentums seeks to ensure that Judaism will receive a proper burial, in which scholarship amounts to an extended obituary properly eulogizing the deceased.
(Mendes-Flohr, Paul (1998), "Jewish scholarship as a vocation", in Alfred L. Ivry, Elliot R. Wolfson & Allan Arkush, Perspectives on Jewish Thought and Mysticism: Proceedings of the International Conference held by The Institute of Jewish Studies, University College London, 1994, in Celebration of its Fortieth Anniversary, Australia: Harwood Academic Publishers.)
One need only look at the article on the Book of Daniel to see that the Jewish Encyclopedia reflects extreme liberal scholarship, and does not even maintain the divine revelation of the Scriptures.
Now that we know who the sources of these Encyclopedias are, let us examine what the initial source, the Jewish Encyclopedia is actually saying:
The week of seven days was connected with the lunar month, of which it is, approximately, a fourth. The quadripartite division of the month was evidently in use among the Hebrews and other ancient peoples; but it is not clear whether it originated among the former. It is unnecessary to assume, however, that it was derived from the Babylonians, for it is equally possible that observations of the four phases of the moon led the Hebrew nomads spontaneously and independently to devise the system of dividing the interval between the successive new moons into four groups of seven days each. There is ground, on the other hand, for the assumption that both among the Babylonians and among the Hebrews the first day of the first week of the month was always reckoned as coincident with the first day of the month." (www.jewishencyclopedia.com, "Week.")
This statement is highly speculative. Remember, many of the authors of the Jewish Encyclopedia were opposed to religion in general, and others believed Judaism was dead, and simply needed to be eulogized (and therefore had no divine origin). The entry above speculates that there was no divine origin to the continuous repeating week, but that it evolved after either Babylonians or Hebrew nomads invented a fourfold division of the month. The article also says that its speculations that at some point in the past “the first day of the first week of the month was always reckoned as coincident with the first day of the month” is their “assumption”.
In fact the Ancient Babylonians did have a system which counted from the new moon, they celebrated the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th as "holy-days", also called "evil days" (meaning "unsuitable" for prohibited activities). On these days officials were prohibited from various activities and common men were forbidden to "make a wish", and at least the 28th was known as a "rest-day".
(The modern Lunar Sabbath theory teaches that one begins counting the day after each new moon such that the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th days are Sabbaths.)
The liberal Jewish Encyclopedia article is assuming that the Jewish seven day week did not originate from Elohim, but is more closely related to the Babylonian week, either adopted from the Babylonians, or independently contrived by Hebrew nomads.
Even the Jewish Encyclopedia does not speculate that this “assumed” week-month system was kept by Jews of the majority of Biblical times, but only by “Hebrew nomads”. They certainly do not make a claim that this system was kept in the Second Temple Era, or even of the Mosaic period.
Also the speculation presented is that the first day of the month coincided with the first day of the week, which is not the case with the modern “Lunar Sabbath” invention.
The next Jewish Encyclopedia article further speculates:
It [the Sabbath] was probably originally connected in some manner with the cult of the moon, as indeed is suggested by the frequent mention of Sabbath and New-Moon festivals in the same sentence (Isa. i. 13; Amos viii. 5; H Kings iv. 23) . . . The Sabbath depending, in Israel's nomadic period, upon the observation of the phases of the moon, it could not, according to this view, be a fixed day . . . . (www.jewishencyclopedia.com, "Sabbath.")
Now lets look at this entire paragraph to get the true context:
The origin of the Sabbath, as well as the true meaning of the name, is uncertain. The earliest Biblical passages which mention it (Ex. xx. 10, xxxiv. 21; Deut. v. 14; Amos viii. 5) presuppose its previous existence, and analysis of all the references to it in the canon makes it plain that its observance was neither general nor altogether spontaneous in either pre-exilic or post-exilic Israel. It was probably originally connected in some manner with the cult of the moon, as indeed is suggested by the frequent mention of Sabbath and New-Moon festivals in the same sentence (Isa. i. 13; Amos viii. 5; H Kings iv. 23). The old Semites worshiped the moon and the stars (Hommel, "Der Gestirndienst der Alten Araber"). Nomads and shepherds, they regarded the night as benevolent, the day with its withering heat as malevolent. In this way the moon ("Sinai" = "moon ["sin"] mountain") became central in their pantheon. The moon, however, has four phases in approximately 28 days, and it seemingly comes to a standstill every seven days. Days on which the deity rested were considered taboo, or ill-omened. New work could not be begun, nor unfinished work continued, on such days. The original meaning of "Shabbat" conveys this idea (the derivation from "sheba'" is entirely untenable). If, as was done by Prof. Sayce (in his Hibbert Lectures) and by Jastrow (in "American Journal of Theology," April, 1898), it can be identified in the form "shabbaton" with the "Shabattum" of the Assyrian list of foreign words, which is defined as "um nuḥ libbi" = "day of propitiation" (Jensen, in "Sabbath-School Times," 1892), it is a synonym for "'Aẓeret" and means a day on which one's actions are restricted, because the deity has to be propitiated. If, with Toy (in "Jour. Bib. Lit." xviii. 194), it is assumed that the signification is "rest," or "season of rest" (from the verb "to rest," "to cease [from labor]"; though "divider" and "division of time" are likewise said to have been the original significations; comp. also Barth, "Nominalbildungen," and Lagarde, "Nominalbildung"), the day is so designated because, being taboo, it demands abstinence from work and other occupations. The Sabbath depending, in Israel's nomadic period, upon the observation of the phases of the moon, it could not, according to this view, be a fixed day. When the Israelites settled in the land and became farmers, their new life would have made it desirable that the Sabbath should come at regular intervals, and the desired change would have been made all the more easily as they had abandoned the lunar religion.
When we see the entire paragraph several key phrases appear. The article says that the “origin of the Sabbath… is uncertain” making its further exploration of the subject mere speculation. The speculation given is that the Biblical Sabbath originated not from Elohim, but from “the cult of the moon” Hebrew nomads who “worshiped the moon”. The article then speculates that Hebrews upon entering the land and becoming farmers, evolved the “fixed day” weekly Sabbath.
So where does the Jewish Encyclopedia get this speculation that the fixed week originates from subdivisions of the Lunar Month? The answer is Friedrich Delitzsch (September 3, 1850 – December 19, 1922).
Friedrich Delitzsch was an expert in the study of ancient Middle Eastern languages, history and culture. He became known for his "scholarly critique" and criticism of the Biblical Old Testament. In a controversial lecture titled "Babel and Bible", Delitzsch maintained that many Old Testament writings were borrowed from ancient Babylonian tales, including the stories of Genesis creation narrative and the Flood myth.
Delitszch also proposed replacing the Old Testament with German myths and his student Paul Haupt was one of the major advocates of the thesis of the Aryan Jesus.
Delitzsch speculated that the seven-day week being approximately a quarter of a lunation implied an astronomical origin of the seven-day week originating in the ancient Babylonian system.
The Jewish Encyclopedia seeks to respond to Delitzsch by suggesting:
It is unnecessary to assume, however, that it was derived from the Babylonians, for it is equally possible that observations of the four phases of the moon led the Hebrew nomads spontaneously and independently to devise the system of dividing the interval between the successive new moons into four groups of seven days each.
In other words, these liberal scholars simply sought to displace Delitzsch’s Babylonians with Hebrew nomads, in an effort to defend the Jewish contribution of the seven day week to civilization. What we have in this Jewish Encyclopedia is a product of the social situation in Germany in the decades leading up to the holocaust, in which Germans sought to belittle and displace any Jewish contribution to civilization, and some Jewish scholars accepting the death of Judaism sought to eulogize Judaism and maintain the Jewish contribution to civilization.
These Jewish Encyclopedias do not advocate the Lunar Sabbath theory that is taught today, and even their speculation of a Lunar based week is based on a perspective that the week and the Sabbath are human inventions which evolved into the modern fixed week long before the time of Yeshua and probably before most of the “Old Testament” period. No such statements appear in the later, and more accepted Encyclopedia Judaica.
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