Abib 21
Abib 21 is the seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It is an important date from a Lunar Sabbath perspective because it's commanded observance in the Bible can appear to conflict with the Lunar Sabbath Calendar.
This page presents the rationale for why Abib 21 does not pose a problem for the Lunar Sabbath Calendar, and discusses several objections.
Rationale
Abib 21 cannot be a Sabbath because it does not follow six working days. Since Abib 15 (the First Day of Unleavened Bread) is a Sabbath, the next Sabbath after six working days is Abib 22. Abib 21 is not a Sabbath because:
- When the seventh day is mentioned in Exodus 13:6, it is called a feast, or "chag” in Hebrew
- The word “chag” is used 62 times in Scripture to refer to the pilgrimage feast days
- The “seventh day” of Exodus 13:6 is therefore not Abib 21 but Abib 15, which is the First Day of Unleavened Bread and the seventh day of the week
- Deuteronomy 5:12-15 shows that Abib 15 is directly related to the Sabbath day
Therefore when the “seventh day” is mentioned in passages such as Leviticus 23:6-8 it is referring to Abib 15 (the seventh day of the week) and not Abib 21 (the seventh day of the feast)
Objections
There are a number of passages in the Bible that provide evidence that contradicts the points in the assertion above.
The Seventh Day
Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. (Exodus 12:15-16)
Verse fifteen clarifies that the “seventh day” in this context refers to the seventh day of Unleavend Bread. Verse sixteen then states that both the first day of Unleavened Bread (Abib 15th) and the seventh day (Abib 21st) are holy convocations. It also clarifies that both of these days are days of rest, using the phrase “in them” to refer to both days rather than only one. These passages conclusively state that the “seventh day” convocation is not referring to Abib 15 but to Abib 21.
Seventh Day "Chag"
Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to YHVH. (Exodus 13:6)
This passage cites the “seventh day” as being a “feast to YHVH” or a chag in Hebrew. It does not specify whether it is the seventh day of the feast, of the week or of the month. However, the context of the verse is speaking specifically about the feast of Unleavened Bread, and it is therefore highly likely that the “seventh day” referred to here as a chag is the seventh day of the feast. When compared with Ex 12:15-16 it becomes certain that the “seventh day” referred to here is the seventh day of the feast, or Abib 21.
Two Convocations
In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is YHVH's passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto YHVH: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto YHVH seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. (Leviticus 23:5-8)
This passage also states that the first and seventh days of Unleavened Bread are holy convocations and that no “servile work” shall be done on it. Again, when compared with Exodus 12:15-16, it's clear that the “seventh day” referred to here is, in context, the seventh day of the feast which is the 21st day of the month (Abib 21).
Abib 21 and "Chag"
It is sometimes argued that the “seventh day” referred to in the above verses cannot refer to Abib 21 because it is referred to as a chag in Ex 13:6 . See the Chag page for further discussion of this point.
Extra-Biblical Sources
Philo writes in his work The Ten Festivals that both the First and Last Days of Unleavened Bread are Holy:
(157) And of the seven days, Moses pronounces two, the first and the last, holy; giving, as is natural, a preeminence to the beginning and to the end; and wishing, as if in the case of a musical instrument, to unite the two extremities in harmony.
This provides additional evidence that the Last Day of Unleavened Bread is a Holy Day to be observed just as the First Day.
Conclusion
If Abib 21 is to be observed as a day where “no servile work” is done, then it is not a "working day". Since this day does not fall on the 8th, 15th, 22nd or 29th day of the month, it contradicts the definition of a weekly Sabbath on the Lunar Sabbath Calendar because there are no longer six working days before the seventh day of the week.
