Bonus Teaching:

More Insights on the Marching Pattern of Israel

26

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings
out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. because of His
great power and mighty strength not one of them is missing. (Isaiah 40:26 NIV)
In this parsha we have an event that is only mentioned once and, when compared with
grand and majestic themes that occur before and after it, the significance of it can often
get completely lost.
Most of us know, I believe, that Scripture has an infinite level of beauty and special
information that gives it a divine DNA-style watermark, so long as of course the plain
meaning of the Word is kept intact.
But when Rav Shaul also says that Father Yah has sent the simple things of the world to
confound the wise, I definitely know what he means by that. Hiding in the plain sight of
the Scripture are codes, a template of the cosmos, an astronomical computer and a fully
functioning calendar that is more intricate and multi-layered than I think most have even
imagined. That calendar is also 100% accurate and eternal, which is to say it never goes
out of date.
So then, if we believe that Abba YHWH has in fact preserved His Word and also that He
knows what He is doing when He speaks of physics, astronomy and harvest cycles, it
stands to reason also that said calendar which is directly based on and derived from His
Word must work and must be intended somehow for our benefit, whether most of Israel
knew of its existence or not, because an elite core group always did and used it.
It is at this point that I get to what the under-appreciated event in the Torah is, and it is, as
the title suggests, the marching pattern of Israel as detailed in Numbers 10 and 11. We
will see how the marching of 12 stars, one for each tribe of Israel, is mirrored in His
perfect calendar and re-enacted by the marching tribes themselves.
But before we get to see that, we need a brief recap of the other pieces to this calendar
that were revealed in earlier Scriptures.
Put simply, there are three extremely ancient parts of our Tanakh: 1) The Torah, from
Genesis through Deuteronomy; 2) The Book of Job; 3) Psalms-Song of Songs (Psalms,
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs). I should also add that a nearly as ancient layer
exists for Joshua, Judges and Ruth.
From these ancient sources come clues, strategies and procedures that when carefully put
together form a kind of Master Calendar that I broadly call The Hebrew Solar Year,
although it encompasses way more than the title implies. Lets go step by step:

Step 1: Genesis 1:14-19

(Gen 1:14) And Elohim said, Let lights come to be in the expanse of the
heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and
appointed times, and for days and years, (Gen 1:15) and let them be for
lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth. And it came to
be so. (Gen 1:16) And Elohim made two great lights: the greater light to rule
the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the stars.(Gen 1:17) And
Elohim set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, (Gen
1:18) and to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light
from the darkness. And Elohim saw that it was good.(Gen 1:19) And there
came to be evening and there came to be morning, the fourth day. (The Scriptures
1998)
This list of signs, seasons days and years is absolutely critical for us to understand, and
the most important fact of all about this list is this: It must always be in that order, FIRST
signs, SECOND seasons, THIRD days and FOURTH years.
First we notice that a SIGN, or owth in Hebrew means a banner or ensign, something that
is noticed or seen or easily discerned. We also see that the stars, sun and moon all give us
signs for us to discern: stars either rise and set or are fixed and never set (circumpolar);
the sun rises and sets each day and revolves around the earth for its year; the moon goes
from all dark (conjunction) to all light (full moon) and back to full dark each month, as
well as rising and setting about 50 minutes later each night from the night before.
When Elohim sets THEM in the expanse of the heavens in Genesis 1:17 that list
includes the stars as well. That in turn means that the stars are part of setting the cycles of
time, along with the sun and the moon. But of course it should also be pointed out that
our sun IS A STAR as well, so sun and stars call out the SEASONS (moed, appointed
times).
Then, once the last season and its accompanying DAYS end (last day of winter, see
Exodus 12:1-2) so does the YEAR until the next series of SIGNS kicks off the whole
process all over again. The matter is put very simply this way: Originally both months
and years were solar-stellar; later on the months became lunar (and were also reckoned
solar) but the years remained solar.
That process then inevitably brings us to our next series of details, found in the book of
Job and the prophet Amos:
Step #2: Job 9:9; 38:31-33 and Amos 5:8
9

He made the Great Bear, Orion, the Pleiades and the hidden constellations of the
south. (Job 9:9 CJB)

31

"Can you tie up the cords of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion? 32
Can you lead out the constellations of the zodiac in their season or guide the
Great Bear and its cubs? 33 Do you know the laws of the sky? Can you
determine how they affect the earth? (Job 38:31-33 CJB)
He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns the shadows of death into
morning, Who darkens the day into night, Who calls for the waters in the seas
and uses them to flood the earth, Yahweh is His Name! (Amos 5:8 Matara)
These lines from Job and Amos are important for two reasons. First, they affirm that the
stars and constellations bring in the seasons through some sort of method involving them.
And second, the stars role, including that of our nearest star which we call the sun, is to
rule over the earth and signs like barley that only come about through the agency of
stellar and solar cycles. (I will get to the moon later.)
Another very important aspect that seems to get overlooked is that there is a good reason
why these particular stars are mentioned in Job and Amos: They represent the cardinal
directions that we measure and navigate by the positions of the stars!
The Great Bear, of which part of it is called the Big Dipper, is used to point straight to
the pole star and therefore indicates true north. Currently our north star is Polaris, but in
the distant past and distant future the star itself will shift out of that position, but the
location for any pole star will still be pointed to by the Big Dipper! For more info, see:
http://earthsky.org/favorite-star-patterns/big-and-little-dippers-highlight-northern-sky.
Hidden Constellations (Chambers) of the South, clearly represent the south.
The Pleiades or Seven Sisters, a critical constellation for determining the timing of spring
or Vernal Equinox, represents the east. When this constellation set late in the afternoon
(that is, before sunset so it is not seen at night), ancient astronomers knew spring was
near.
Orion, the Mighty Hunter, represents the west.
When compared with circumpolar stars that circle the north celestial equator and never
set (called Stars of Elohim in Job 22:12, Isaiah 14:13 and Obadiah 1:4), this mini star
catalogue gives us all we need to divide up the night sky for purposes of telling time,
setting harvest schedules and tracking the entire solar year.
But next up, we have this early testimony on how to divide the year up:
Step #3: Genesis 8:22
As long as the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and
winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease. (Genesis 8:22 The
Scriptures 1998)

Ancient Israel, along with the rest of the Middle East, seeded in fall and harvested in
spring. Therefore seedtime is the fall equinox and harvest is the spring equinox, with
summer and winter referring to the two solstices that define each of those seasons,
respectively.
This same solar-stellar year is divided also by cold and heat, as modern meteorologists
define seasons to this very day. Precisely tracking and indeed predicting seasons of cold
and heat was essential for planning seeding and harvest.
To reflect the cold-heat seasonal reckoning, another word is used as a synonym for
moed which is eth. As we saw recently, the eth is a word that refers to the agricultural
seasons for barley, figs, grapes--and so on--that the moedim are attached to.
To use my usual metaphor, think of a bicycle wheel with metal spokes, with the eth as the
circular hub at its center and moedim as the spokes sticking out from the hub and
attaching to the outer layer of the wheel. That is why Job 38:31-33 uses eth when talking
about the seasons the stars bring in, because it is the stars that predict whether a cold or
warm season is coming up.
Finally the mentioning of day and night in Genesis 8:22 may seem a bit redundant or
even arbitrary, but it is neither.
The sun clearly is the greater light (gadol in Hebrew) that rules the individual days (the
24 hour YOM). But also, in concert with its fellow stars it also regulates the year.
Similarly, the other stars have both a daily and an annual role. In the former the stars
rule the night, give light to the earth but in the latter they herald the start of the year at
spring.
For these reasons, day and night are referenced, for the sun needs to bring both day and
night to the earth on a daily basis and without the sun setting we would not see the stars
which perform the other needed functions.
Finally, day and night also factor in to the later role of the moon, which in its most
important phases is seen at evening, but the half-moons (1st quarter and 4th quarter)
that rise around noon-time during the day are also important markers as well (long story).
However, the main part here is that the star references given in the oldest parts of Tanakh
tell us about dividing the solar year into four seasons and that the stars and sun establish
the boundary of the Hebrew Year.
Next up though we will begin to see how those 4 seasons each get further divided into
thirds.
Step #4: Genesis 37:5-11, Numbers 24:17 and Revelation 12:1

(Gen 37:5) And Yosph dreamed a dream, and told it to his brothers. So they
hated him even more. (Gen 37:6) And he said to them, Please listen to this
dream which I have dreamed: (Gen 37:7) See, we were binding sheaves in the
midst of the field, and see, my sheaf rose up and also stood up. And see, your
sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.(Gen 37:8) And his
brothers said to him, Shall you indeed reign over us? Shall you indeed rule over
us? So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. (Gen 37:9)
And he dreamed still another dream and related it to his brothers, and said, See, I
have dreamed another dream, and see, the sun and the moon and the eleven
stars bowed down to me.(Gen 37:10) And he related it to his father and his
brothers. And his father rebuked him and said to him, What is this dream that
you have dreamed? Shall we, your mother and I and your brothers, indeed
come to bow down to the earth before you?(Gen 37:11) And his brothers
envied him, but his father guarded the word. (The Scriptures 1998)
Josephs dream is clear proof that the ancient Hebrews linked the agricultural cycles
(binding sheaves) to the sun, moon and eleven stars that Joseph said also bowed down
to him. Joseph, being the 12th son, is also the 12th star completing the Kosher Zodiac.
The linkage is also confirmed in Revelation:
(Rev 12:1) And a great wonder was seen in heaven; a woman clothed with the
sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
(AENT)
The sun was often said to go also through 12 star gates throughout the solar year, and
these are also referred to a little later on, in Revelation 21, as being emblematic also of
the 12 apostles and the 12 tribes of Israel, both linked to 12 stars exactly as Genesis 37
describes.
Furthermore, notice the answer Jacob gives, Shall I, your mother and brothers worship
you?. This is also important because the order in the dream was sun, moon and eleven
stars, which matches the order of I (Jacob), your mother (the deceased Rachel) and
your brothers (the other 11 stars)! Jacob is directly calling himself the sun, which also
proves the Torah knows the sun is a star as well. That star-sun of Jacob is also mentioned
here:
(Num 24:17) I see Him, but not now; I observe Him, but not near. A Star shall
come out of Yaaqob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Yisral, and shall smite the
corners of Moab, and shall destroy all the sons of Shth. (The Scriptures 1998)
So the father of the tribes, Jacob (the sun) and his wife Rachel (the moon) keep time with
the rest of Israel (the stars) and help regulate the seasons (like Josephs first dream of
binding sheaves).
But notice something else important here, these are 12 singular stars and not 12
constellations! Even though Job 38 describes constellations as the heralds of the seasons,

the actual focus in Genesis and Revelation is on singular stars, put simply the brightest
stars in each constellation. The reason is the patterns of the constellations were used to
depict animals and deities, and Abba YHWH wanted NONE of that!
(Deu 4:19) and lest you lift up your eyes to the heavens, and shall see the sun,
and the moon, and the stars all the host of the heavens and you be drawn away
into bowing down to them and serving them, which your Elohim has allotted
to all the peoples under all the heavens. (The Scriptures 1998)
And so, all of His cycles begin and end in darkness. The day and week begin and end in
darkness, when the sun has gotten out of the way and cant be therefore worshipped! The
same is true of the moon, with the month ending at conjunction (darkness) on a given
day, and the new month is born when that last day ends (at sunset). So the month is
heralded through DOUBLE darkness!
In fact, even the year ends in darkness, in a manner of speaking. The name of the last
Hebrew monthAdarcomes from ancient Canaanite meaning darkness, eclipse, so
when the Darkness Month ends, the year is over!
But now lets get back to that CROWN (circle, wheel) of stars above the womans head
in Revelation 12:1. This remarkable versewhich is also a future prophetic sign as well
as a calendar indicatoralso gives us the direct hierarchy of signs, which is to say tells
us what outranks who.
This issue of rank was hinted at previously, where we just saw the sun is called the
GREATER (again gadol) light, and gadol also refers to rank as well as magnitude, such
as the High Priest (kohen gadol) over regular priests and when Jethro proclaims Father
Yah as greatest (also gadol) among the gods (Exodus 18:11-12). It is a matter of
physicsthe laws of which Father Yah inventedthat the moon only gets its light from
the sun. This is also why the sun is called a judge and the moon is just a witness (comp.
Ecclesiastes 3:16 to Psalm 89:37), but also in general sky signs outrank earth signs, for
heaven is His throne and earth His footstool (Isaiah 66:1).
Therefore it is no surprise at all that Revelation 12:1 puts the 12 stars above the ladys
head, then has her clothed in the sun, then has the moon at her feet and the earth is of
course below the moon!
So lets now look at these 12 individual stars that form part of their parent constellations,
because those super bright stars point to the zone of darkness that matches a season on
earth. In so doing, neither the singular stars nor their constellation partners can be
imagined as forming animal shapes or deities.1

And this also negates concerns about precession, or the shifting of fixed stars 1 degree every 72 years
from our perspective on earth. When a star that was used to designate the first month of spring for
example moves out of view, the star behind it then represents that month (or tribe of Israel) for it.

So these 12 stars are the following, from the first star sign of spring to the last star sign of
winter, as it was back around 1800 BCE:
1) Hamal (Aries)
2) Aldebaran (the Follower) star (Taurus)
3) Pollux (Second Twin) star (Gemini)
4) Al-Tarf (The Edge) star (Cancer)
5) Regulus (King) star (Leo)
6) Spica (Virgins Ear of Grain) star (Virgo)
7) The Northern Scale of Balance star (Libra)
8) Antares (Scorpio)
9) Southern Bow star (Sagittarius)
10) Tail of the Goat star (Capricorn)
11) Fortune of Fortunes star (Aquarius)
12) Fish Bucket star (Pisces2)
Step #5: What was the Original Birth Order of Jacobs Sons?
In order to find the original star-tribe associations in the Torah text, we need to first find
the actual chronological order of the birth of Jacobs sons. After that, the order that I will
review in Numbers 10-11 will definitely show a non-chronological ordering.
To see why, recall how Josephs 10 brothers betrayed him, and the last and youngest son
was the one child born after Joseph, Benjamin (Genesis 35:22-23). And yet, in the
ordering of Numbers 10-11 it is Naphtali, not Benjamin, who marches last. Now why
would this be the case?
Now there were twelve sons of Jacob--the sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob's
firstborn, 23then Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Zebulun; 24 the
sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin; 25 and the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maid:
Dan and Naphtali; 26 and the sons of Zilpah, Leah's maid: Gad and Asher.
These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram. (Genesis
35:22-26 NAU)
These births are recorded by spouse, not by overall order. Noting in Genesis it is very
clear that Rachels children come last (Genesis 30) because her maid Bilhah bears sons
for Jacob first.
In Genesis 49 then, Jacob blesses his sons also by wife order:
Leahs sons: 1) Reuben, 2) Shimeon, 3) Levi, 4) Judah, 5) Zebulon and 6) Issachar
(49:3-15).
Rachels sons: 7) Joseph, 8) Benjamin (49:22-28).
2

It is well known that Aries is no longer the first constellation of spring, but has precessed to Pisces in our
day. The traditional zodiac names are used only for easy reference.

The four in between sons, or those from servant girls Bilhah (Dan, Naphtali) and
Zilpah (Gad, Asher) Jacob doesnt even bother putting in order of their mothers births,
as he starts with Bilhahs first born (Dan), then skips to Zilpahs sons (Gad and Asher)
and then back to Bilhahs second son (Naphtali)3.
We also see that in some cases, such as with Zebulon and Issachar, the order is reversed
(Genesis 30:17-22, comp. to Genesis 35:22) between sources, even when they came out
of the same mother. Again all this is strong evidence the births are not in overall
chronological order.
Instead, what seems to have happened in Genesis 35 is that the official wives are
mentioned first in the order Jacob married them (Leah, then Rachel), and then the order
that the maids are taken as concubines (Bilhah, Zilpah) are given last. This may have
something to do with overall inheritance.
By contrast, Genesis 49 seems to be preferring sons based on some form of merit system,
for reasons that are simply not made clear in the text, but a lot of character traits are
discussed as the list goes on.
How then can we know the actual birth order of Jacobs sons, understanding the fact that
more than one of his wives may be pregnant at the same time? The answer is partly
written in the stars, which I believe were associated originally with the actual
chronological order of Jacobs sons!
For example, Judah is often called a lion or a lions whelp, literally from Genesis to
Revelation. And yet Judah is also in most cases the FIRST listed, although he clearly had
at least three older brothers. This again speaks to a form of merit system. Reuben had
defiled his fathers couch (slept with Bilhah) and Shimeon and Levi had plotted
deceitfully and against their fathers wishes murdered the Shechemites.4
But more than that, in order for Judah to be associated with the Lion constellation (Leo),
or at least the brightest star in Leo originally (Regulus)5, he would have to be the 5th born
son overall, but the 4th son of Jacob and Leah.
Therefore, it seems very likely to my mind that Dan, who is Bilhahs son, was born
before Judah just like Naphtali is later listed last but is born before Joseph and Benjamin.
3

I must conclude this is because Jacob is giving the overall chronology between the two concubines, viz.,
that Bilhah had sons #1 and #4 and Zilpah had sons #2 and #3 (just amongst the two of them). The
reasoning I hope becomes more evident as my analysis continues.
4
Genesis 34; 49:4-5.
5
Because in around 1800 BCE, the first constellation of spring was in fact Aries, not Pisces as it is
th
currently. Therefore, from the position of Aries, Leo and therefore Judah, was 5 born. Again though it is
important to note that originally, when the system I am describing was set up, none of Jacobs sons would
have been associated directly with the animals of the pagan zodiac, but only with the brightest star in
each zodiac constellation. Nevertheless, Father Yah appears to have allowed to concordances with the
pagan system to correlate to His Kosher Zodiac, perhaps as a witness to the pagan nations, just as the the
Star of Bethlehem was a witness to the Magi from Babylon.

Based on this and many other factors, I have concluded the actual birth order is as
follows:
Months of Spring:
1) Reuben (Leah)beginning of my strength relates also to the start of spring,
when the earth has renewed strength.
2) Shimeon (Leah)fierce anger, a strong/fierce east wind in spring (Ex. 14:21)6
3) Levi (Leah)meaning joined, because Levi followed Shimeon in anger7.
Months of Summer:
4) Dan (Bilhah)called a viper which has venom, just as Cancer is poison to the
body and crabs are unkosher. No wonder Father Yah allowed this association in!
5) Judah (Leah)Lion, because the king of the tribes is the king of the beasts.
6) Gad (Zilpah)Gads name seems inspired by two Hebrew words, one meaning
fortunate and the other army raiders (Genesis 30:11, comp. to Genesis 49:19).
Put the two together and he is a fortunate raider/soldier. When soldiers win in
battle they in turn take the enemys crops, like Joshua destroyed Jerichos wheat,
and the main star Spica represents wheat. The star Spica is in the constellation of
Virgo, and possibly represents the virgins that are also often seized as spoils of
war.
Months of Fall:
7) Asher (Zilpah)Ashers name means happy and it is during the fall, at feasts
like Sukkot, when all of Israel is commanded to rejoice (Leviticus 23:40). The
constellation Libra which is associated with Asher, is represented by equal scales
and a just balance and scales belong to Yahweh (Proverbs 16:11), so to be
balanced is to be happy because you belong to Him! Equal scales also relate to the
Fall Equinox, one of two times in the year when day and night are of nearly equal
length.
8) Naphtali (Bilhah)Meaning my struggle, Napthalis star Antares was so
named in comparison to Mars, the blood red planet of war, which a difficult
pregnancy would be a good metaphor for I believe. Also the great struggles
involve of course stinging pain, like that from a scorpion.
9) Zebulon (Leah)meaning habitation, Zebulon was said to live near the
seashore. The constellation of Sagittarius the archer contains Zebulons star,
whose name translates to Southern Bow. After the flood, Father Yah places a
bowa rainbow, which was meant to emulate the weapon of the same name
in the sky to remind Him never to flood the world again. Other places where the

The Hebrew word az (fierce), is applied to both the strong east wind of Exodus 14 and the fierce
anger of Shimeon and Levi. Also in both places the word for anger is the same, aph, which refers to a
blast of ones nostrils. Noting also the strong east wind comes close to the end of Abib and therefore close
also to the opening days of Iyar, which would relate to Shimeon.
7
In another sense, Shimeon and Levi, who acted kind of like evil twins, could have an intended association
with Gemini, in which case I would have to look at the possibility that Josephs sons Ephraim and
Manasseh are meant to have separate signs while Joseph himself is not included. At this time, I do not
believe enough evidence exists to warrant such a revision. However, the names follower and twin do
seem associated with Shimeon and Levi, which makes things very interesting.

bow and the sea are used metaphorically are in Jeremiah 6:23 and 50:42, along
with Zechariah 6:23.
Months of Winter:
10) Issachar (Leah)His name means there is recompense, and he is called a wild
donkey, which is an animal known to kick back after being confronted. While
there is no star-sign called or associated with a donkey, Issachars star is part of
Capricorn, which is associated with the goat, an animal of similar size and
disposition. So if you hurt Issachar, he will recompense by kicking back!
11) Joseph (Rachel)Yah has added. Though associated with being a fruitful
bough, his position in the middle of winter is not contradictory. Rather, Joseph is
fruitful because he saved so many lives from starvation in Egypt and as a result he
also has the longest blessing of any of Jacobs sons. Not surprisingly his stars
name roughly translates into good fortune of good fortunes because of his
deliverance. His association also with the Water-Bearer Aquarius makes sense
given Josephs charge to irrigate and grow grain. In Egypt, the only way this
could be done was through the Nile.
12) Benjamin (Rachel)Son of my power, it seems Benjamin lets power go his
head as a ravening wolf. There seems nothing in Benjamins character that
remotely resembles that of docile fish like Pisces, however he very much appears
wolf-like in the book of Judges when he creates a civil war with the rest of Israel.
Ezekiel 22:27 then compares Israels enemies, like Benjamin in this case, to being
wolves.
However, regardless as to how much the reader wishes to give credence to these
associations, the one thing we can be certain about is that they do not last. Very soon
the tribes and the seasons they are linked to will completely change.
Step #6: The Solar Year is divided into having only 12 months
One of the most challenging issues with the idea of the Rabbinic Calendar being from
Biblical times is the fact that there is not a single direct reference to months being
intercalated with 2nd Adar. This is because from Exodus onwards while the months were
lunar, the year remained solar, so the month name was simply repeated a second time
until the lunar year could catch up with the solar year.
That being the case, the original Hebrew months were always solar. We know this
because the account of Noahs Flood Year requires 5 30 day months in a row to go 151
days between the start of the flood (17th day, 2nd month) and the time the ark rests on the
mountains of Ararat (17th day, 7th month).
We need 5 30 day months in a row because month 2 must have 14 days (inclusive of the
17th, the first day of the flood), months 3,4,5 and 6 must total 120 more days or 30 days
each, so that 17 more days (month 7) brings the total to 151.
The problem is, there is no way to have 5 30 day months in a row in a lunar system! This
has literally never happened in all of history! The absolute most consecutive 30 day

10

months you can have is 4, and even that is exceedingly rare. But when we synch the
Flood to the right time of year on the Hebrew Solar Year schedule, we most certainly will
have 5 consecutive 30 day solar months at that exact time! We know this in part because
the flood is based on when Noah was born, not the spring or fall reckoning systems, and
when the dove comes back with an olive leaf in its mouth, that can only be in late
summer8!
Furthermore, the Scripture gives us several examples of months of the year that are
always counted as 12 and never 13:
Solomon had twelve deputies over all Israel, who provided for the king and his
household; each man had to provide for a month in the year. (1 Kings 4:7 NAU)
Now this is the enumeration of the sons of Israel, the heads of fathers'
households, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers
who served the king in all the affairs of the divisions which came in and went out
month by month throughout all the months of the year, each division numbering
24,000...15 The 12th for the 12th month was Heldai the Netophathite of Othniel; and in
his division were 24,000. (1 Chronicles 27:1,15 NAU)
In these and all other such cases, never is the need expressed to either make #12 serve
twice in a row nor is a #13 leader ever placed on stand-by. What this means in
astronomical terms is that the only kind of year that always has 12 months is either
solar or star-based, and the difference between the sidereal (star-based year) and solar
(tropical year) is only 20 minutes, so either way we are dealing with a term of about 365
days and 6 hours.
But in our next step we can finally put these 12 divisions of the solar-stellar year9 into the
final order they were given in the book of Numbers.

th

Genesis 8:4-5 tells us plainly that the waters began receding steadily in the 7 month and that by the
th
start of the 10 month, the mountain tops became visible. About 49 days after that (Genesis 8:6-11) the
second dove comes back with an olive leaf in her mouth. Since olives and their leaves often grow on
mountains, it is reasonable to suggest that the olives bloomed during that approximate 49 day period, a
little more than 11 months from when the flood started. Since olive leaves bloom in late summer, and the
flood would have prevented them from growing earlier in the year (some varieties sprout earlier, in late
spring), the only logical conclusion is that late summer, our mid-August, was 11 months after the flood
th
started and the flood time would have been about September 15 (Tishri 17 in Hebrew terms) in 2245
BCE, the flood year in my chronology. That means that Noah would have been born in what we now call
Elul, and when Father Yah judged the entire human race as wicked 7 days before He sent the rains, that
would have been on Tishri 10, what we now call Yom Kippur! This association as a chronology clue best
makes sense when we consider that in May, when the first leaves and berries from the olive trees sprout,
the water of the flood would have prevented it. But the full grown olive leaves, berries and fruit, were
harvested in September at the earliest, at which time the leaves would have also been in full bloom.
9
Psalm 19:1-7 also gives a very effective description of the solar year. The sun rises at one end of the
heavens and then the other. If this were a daily cycle, it would mention rising and setting. But because it
mentions only rising, this is a reference to the circuit the sun makes in the course of a year.

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Step #7: The Final Order of the Tribes, Months and Calendar
In previous teachings we went over how elements of both the solar and lunar years are
encoded within the Tabernacle.
To give just two quick examples, first we have the Set-Apart of Set-Aparts where the Ark
of the Covenant is housed. In front of the ark are 12 loaves of bread, each one
representing the 12 months of the solar year.
Our second example is all over Exodus, where the details of the construction of the
Tabernacle are given. There are a total of 11 curtains that are detailed. The outer 5 are 30
cubits by 4 cubits; the inner 5 are 28 cubits by 4 cubits. Each cubit equals a day for the
average lunar month, where we typically see parts of the moon over 28 days (crescent to
crescent) and have a total lunar month of 30 days, with zones of darkness on either side
of the 28 days. The 11th and final curtain is folded over the tent and facing east, the
direction of the rising sun. Therefore the coded message is: Reset the cycles of the moon
by the cycles of the sun!
But now we are at the point where the final design has reached its greatest extent. To
begin with, we need to first look at the Levites and their four family groups: 1) The
Kohenim (or priests), 2) the sons of Gershon, 3) the sons of Kohath, 4) the sons of
Merari.
I believe each of the Levite groups is meant to represent a particular season of the year.
This is because the priests and other Levites are each divided into groups of 24 (1
Chronicles 24-25), which is one division for each hour of the solar day. Also a synonym
for priest, shamash, is actually the same exact word for sun, or shemesh (Exodus 28:1,
comp. to Daniel 7:10).
And so, when the solar year begins and Leviticus 23:4 says that priests and Levites are to
proclaim the feasts of the year starting in spring, it seemed logical that the spring season
would be most closely associated with the Kohenim.
The next two groups of Levites, the Gershonites and the Merarites, were in charge of
breaking the Tabernacle down when they left a location and building it back up again
when they arrived at a new location. In Psalm 19:4 we are told that Father Yah, has
pitched a tent for the sun and the Tabernacle is a kind of glorified tent.
I believe these two groups are meant to represent the summer and winter solstices,
because the summer is when the sun is at its greatest height it will get to all year and the
winter solstice is the opposite, when the sun is at its lowest point all year. Since the
Gershonites are mentioned first, they are meant to re-enact the summer solstice and the
Merarites do the same for the winter solstice.
That leaves only the sons of Kohath to represent the season of fall.

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One final note: It is only at this point that we need a minor clarification from Josephus
and Philo, who both tell us that equinoxes are the turns of the year in spring and fall
referred to in Scripture:
222

Moses puts down the beginning of the vernal equinox as the first month of
the year, attributing the chief honor, not as some persons do to the periodical
revolutions of the year in regard of time, but rather to the graces and beauties of
nature which it has caused to shine upon men; for it is through the bounty of
nature that the seeds which are sown to produce the necessary food of mankind
are brought to perfection. And the fruit of trees in their prime, which is second in
importance only to the necessary crops, is engendered by the same power, and as
being second in importance it also ripens late; for we always find in nature that
those things which are not very necessary are second to those which are
indispensable. (On Moses, 2:222)
And the sun, the ruler of the day, making two equinoxes every year, both in spring
and autumn. The spring equinox in the constellation of Aries, and the
autumnal one in Libra, gives the most evident demonstration possible of the
divine dignity of the number 7. For each of the equinoxes takes place in the
7th month, at which time men are expressly commanded by law to celebrate
the greatest and most popular and comprehensive festivals; since it is owing
to both these seasons, that all the fruits of the earth are engendered and
brought to perfection; the fruit of corn, and all other things which are sown,
being owing to the vernal equinox; and that of the vine, and of all the other
plants which bear hard berries, of which there are great numbers, to the
autumnal one. (Philo, On Creation, 1:116)

248

In the month of Xanthikos, which is by us called Nisan, and is the

beginning of our year, on the fourteenth day of the lunar month, when the
sun is in Aries, (for in this month it was that we were delivered from bondage
under the Egyptians,) the law ordained that we should every year slay that
sacrifice which I before told you we slew when we came out of Egypt, and which
was called the Passover; and so we do celebrate this Passover in companies,
leaving nothing of what we sacrifice till the day following. (Antiquities, 3:248)
These quotes in turn were derived from Josephus and Philo studying the Scripture:
Strong 8666 []
teshuvah n.f. return, answer;1. sf. 1
S 7:17
and his return was (= he returned) to Rama. 2. esp. cstr. at the return
of the year, i.e. of spring, 2 S 11:1, 1 K 20:22, 20:26, 2 Ch 36:10, 1 : :
Ch 20:1 (|| 2 S 11:1). 3. answer, pl. abs. Jb 34:36, sf. 21:34
Brown Driver Briggs
[ ] n.f coming round, circuit;cstr.

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 Ex 34:22 (JE), adv., at the circuit (completion) of the year, so

2 : Ch 24:33; = pl. cstr. 1 S 1:20; sg. sf. of finished circuit of sun
Psalm 19:7 (opp. ; cf. of moon, Ecclus 43:7).
Brown Driver Briggs
The addition of this Scriptural data and historical research convinces me that since Day
1/Month 1 is supposed to start with the Vernal Equinox, then Day 1/Month 7 was meant
to start in solar terms at the Fall Equinox. It also turned out that two other months would
have the solstices on their LAST day! Then, when we assemble all the data, we come up
with the following 12 months/4 season pattern named after the marching tribes:
Season of Kohenim (Abib or Spring)
1) Month of Judah (31 days)Begins March 21st (Vernal Equinox) and ends April
20th.
2) Month of Issachar (31 days)Begins April 21st and ends May 21st
3) Month of Zebulun (31 days)Begins May 22nd and ends June 21st (Summer
Solstice)
Season of Gershon (Qayitz or Summer)
4) Month of Reuben (31 days)Begins June 22nd and ends July 22nd
5) Month of Shimeon (31 days)Begins July 23rd and ends August 22nd
6) Month of Gad (31 days)Begins August 23rd and ends September 22nd
Season of Kohath (Yoreh10 or Fall)
7) Month of Ephraim (30 days) Begins September 23rd (Fall Equinox) and ends
October 22nd
8) Month of Manasseh (30 days)Begins October 23rd and ends November 21st
9) Month of Benjamin (30 days)Begins November 22nd and ends December 21st
(Winter Solstice)
Season of Merari (Choreph or Winter)
10) Month of Dan (30 days)Begins December 22nd and ends January 20th
11) Month of Asher (30 days)Begins January 21st and ends February 19th
12) Month of Naphtali (29/30 days)Begins February 20th and ends March 20th
In terms of relating these months to our current modern Gregorian Calendar, this is
extremely easy to do. Put simply, if the current Gregorian year has a leap day (February
29th) then the last month of Naphtali has 30 days; in all other cases though Naphtali will
have 29 days.
10

Technically this word means early rain as in the rainy season that begins shortly after the close of
Sukkot (Deuteronomy 11:14).

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For the ancients however, their method of determining whether to add a leap day of
Naphtali 30 was a bit more involved.
Some of these techniques involved watching constellations like the Pleiades which used
to set in the afternoon and therefore disappear at night just before spring. Other stars
known to the Hebrews, such as Aldebaran and Spica, would have refined the process for
calling the right day of Vernal Equinox.
Another technique would adapt Egyptian processes that Moshe surely was trained in
(Acts 7:22), such as the 36 Decan stars and tracking the heliacal rising of Sirius. These
processes are extensively dealt with in The Hebrew Solar Year presentation. Moshe
adapted those techniques to make more sense in a sunset to sunset Hebrew reckoning
rather than Egyptian sunrise to sunrise reckoning.
Conclusion
In any case, the bottom line is that an entire perfect and functional calendar emerges
simply from following the data in the Scripture. While originally these solar months, as I
alluded to, may have had a different ordering than they do in Numbers 10-11 and it is
also possible the Hebrews originally simply numbered their months from 1 to 12, I think
there is also something beautiful about naming the months after the tribes of Israel and
rejecting names after pagan gods.
I also think such a process may have been implied in this Scripture:
(Exo 39:1) And of the blue and purple and scarlet material they made woven
garments, to do service in the set-apart place. And they made the set-apart
garments which were for Aharon, as had commanded Mosheh. (Exo 39:2)
And he made the shoulder garment of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet
material, and of fine woven linen.
(Exo 39:3) And they beat out sheets of gold and cut it into threads, to work it in
with the blue and purple and scarlet material, and the fine linen, the work of a
skilled workman.(Exo 39:4) They made shoulder pieces for it to join it, it was
joined at its two edges. (Exo 39:5) And the embroidered band of his shoulder
garment that was on it was of the same work of gold, and blue and purple and
scarlet material, and of fine woven linen, as had commanded Mosheh.
(Exo 39:6) And they made the shoham stones, set in plated work of gold,
engraved as signets are engraved, according to the names of the sons of Yisral.
(Exo 39:7) And he put them on the shoulders of the shoulder garment, stones
of remembrance for the sons of Yisral, as had commanded Mosheh.
(The Scriptures 1998)

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