Hanukkah 12 08 12 Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights or the Festival of Dedication, is an eight day holiday remembering the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE (about 200 years before the birth of Yeshua). Hanukkah starts on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Biblical calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. 1 Maccabees 2:1 5 NRSV (1) In those days Mattathias son of John son of Simeon, a priest of the family of Joarib, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Modein. (2) He had five sons, John surnamed Gaddi, (3) Simon called Thassi, (4) Judas called Maccabeus, (5) Eleazar called Avaran, and Jonathan called Apphus. 1 Maccabees 4:50 NRSV (50) Then they offered incense on the altar and lit the lamps on the lampstand, and these gave light in the temple. 1 Maccabees 4:59 NRSV (59) Then Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel determined that every year at that season the days of dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness for eight days, beginning with the twenty fifth day of the month of Chislev. Yeshua made the long journey (about 70 miles or 3 days walking) to Jerusalem to celebrate Hanukkah. John 10:22 The Hanukkah Menorah is a picture of the olive tree which is Israel. We are all a part of this tree by being grafted into the people of God. Romans 11:17 & 24 Yeshua is the Shamash (leader) candle in the middle of the Hanukkah menorah. We are the other candles (the branches of the olive tree) that Yeshua lights (Matthew 5:14 16). Yeshua is the light of the world (John 8:12, John 9:5). The Biblical Calendar Civil Calendar Sacred Calendar 1. Tishri Sept/Oct 1. Nisan Mar/Apr 2. Heshvan Oct/Nov 2. Iyar Apr/May 3. Kislev Nov/Dec 3. Sivan May/June 4. Tevet Dec/Jan 4. Tammuz June/July 5. Shevet Jan/Feb 5. Av July/Aug 6. Adar Feb/Mar 6. Elul Aug/Sept 7. Nisan Mar/Apr 7. Tishri Sept/Oct 8. Iyar Apr/May 8. Heshvan Oct/Nov 9. Sivan May/June 9. Kislev Nov/Dec 10. Tammuz June/July 10. Tevet Dec/Jan 11. Av July/Aug 11. Shevet Jan/Feb 12. Elul Aug/Sept 12. Adar Feb/Mar In the Bible we have a Civil and a Sacred Calendar. The Civil Calendar is the Official Calendar for kings, childbirth and contracts. The Sacred Calendar is used for computing the dates the Feasts and the priesthood schedule for their service in the Temple. Some passages that tell us that Nisan is the time of new year: Exodus 12:2, Leviticus 23 Some passages that tell us that Tishri is the time of new year: Exodus 34:22, Leviticus 25:1 10, Deuteronomy 31:10 11
Argument for a Hanukkah conception & Sukkot birth based on the time Zacharias was in the Temple. 1. John the Baptist was conceived in mid Sivan (May/June) and born 40 weeks later on Nissan 15, which is Passover. (a) King David in 1 Chr 24 divided the priesthood into 24 "courses" or groups to create an orderly schedule by which the Temple could be staffed for the whole year. The schedule for the courses started each year on the first Shabbat of Nisan. (b) John's father (Zacharias) was a Levite who was assigned to serve in the temple during the course of "Abia," the 8th course of the year. The 8th course would serve both on the 10th week (Sivan) of the year (Sacred Calendar) as well as on the 34th week (Tishri). This would have been the 8th week of the schedule, in the month of Sivan. (c) It is written that John was conceived shortly after this tour of duty in mid to late Sivan (May/June). Luke 1:23 4. Nine months and ten days (280 days) added to Sivan is mid Nisan, around Passover, would be the time of John's birth. 2. Yeshua was conceived six months after John in late Kislev (Nov/Dec) and born 40 weeks later during Sukkot. (a) Yeshua was conceived six months after John the Baptist (Luke 1:24 27, 36). Six months added to late Sivan is late Kislev, the first day Hanukkah, which is the time of the conception of Yeshua. (b) From the 15th day of Nisan (John's birthday), we add six months to arrive at the 15th day of Tishri the first day of the festival of Sukkot. If the day of his birth were the first day of Sukkot, the day of his circumcision would be the eighth day, Simchat Torah, which, like the first day, is a day of sacred assembly (Leviticus 23:39). 3. Evidences: (a) A Jewish historian named Josephus that lived during the time of Yeshua confirms that the priesthood schedule was still in use when the second Temple was destroyed in 70 AD. (b) John 1:14 states that the "Word became flesh and "dwelt" among us. The Greek word for "dwelt" can also be translated as "tabernacle". Sukkot is the Feast Of Tabernacles. (c) King Herod most likely would used the opportunity of the Festival of Sukkot to perform the census. (d) Shepherds would not be out with their sheep in the dead of winter in Israel. (e) It is said that the hebrew word for manger is Sukkah but this is not completely true. It can only be true if we change the english word "manger" to "stall", then "stall" to "booth". A booth is a temporary dwelling place, in hebrew a Sukkah. But a manger is a small feed trough, not a large booth. Summary: Since Zacharias served during the tenth week and Elizabeth conceived shortly thereafter, we can place the date of Yeshua' birth during the festival of Sukkot. Some other thoughts to consider 1. If John was born during Passover, remember that Yeshua said that John the Baptist was a type of Elijah the prophet (Matt 17:10 13, cp. Luke 1:17). Even today it is customary to set out a special cup (called Elijah's cup) during the Passover Seder in anticipation of the arrival of Elijah for the festival. 2. In biblical times, the Jewish people believed that your date of birth was your date of conception? Your birth date was not the day that your mother actually gave birth to you. Since the day of conception was the day that you came into being, that was considered your date of birth. So the first celebration of Christmas could have been to remember the conception of Yeshua on the 25th of Kislev, the first of Hanukkah.
3. Luke 2:7 says that there was no room in the "inn" for Mary and Joseph. But the Greek word used here for "inn" is the same as the Greek word used for "guest room or upper room" in luke 22:11. A typical 1st Century Jewish home had a "upper room" for living and sleeping quarters, but also had a ground level floor used to house their animals at night. The ground level floor would have a manger for feeding the animals. Some homes were built on top of caves so that the cave was used as the ground floor for the animals to stay at night. So there was no room for Mary and Joseph in the "upper room" of the house, but there was room for them on the ground level floor where the animals stayed during the night. (look at picture on the last page) A Typical 1st Century Jewish Home 4. Some believe that the visit from the wise men was not on the night that Yeshua was born (Matt 2). Some Christian astronomers, who have studied the Star of Bethlehem, believe that Yeshua was born during the time of Sukkot but that the wise men did not arrive in Bethlehem until Yeshua was 3 months old on 25th of Kislev (Hanukkah). Argument for a Purim conception & Hanukkah birth based on the time Zacharias was in the Temple. 1. John the Baptist, was conceived around Yom Kippur (Tishri 10th) and born 40 weeks later in Tammuz (June/July). (a) King David in 1 Chr 24 divided the priesthood into 24 "courses" or groups to create an orderly schedule by which the Temple could be staffed for the whole year. The schedule for the courses started each year on the first Shabbat of Nisan. (b) John's father (Zacharias) was a Levite who was assigned to serve in the temple during the course of "Abia," the 8th course of the year. The 8th course would serve both on the 10th week (Sivan) of the year (Sacred Calendar) as well as on the 34th week (Tishri). This would have been the 34th week of the schedule, in the month of Tishri. (c) This places Zacharias' service in the Temple during Yom Kippur, and this agrees with the description about how Gabriel spoke to Zacharias in the narrative (Luke 1:8 23). He said that the whole multitude of the people were gathered outside praying. Since all the people were gathered for this event, it was not merely the daily burning of incense of any day of the year. (d) It is written that John was conceived shortly after this tour of duty (Luke 1:23 4), perhaps on the Tishri 15th. Therefore, John the Baptist was conceived shortly after Yom Kippur and would have been born on the 17th of Tammuz (June/July).
2. Yeshua was conceived in Adar or Adar II (Feb/Mar), near Purim, and born 40 weeks later during late December. (a) Yeshua was conceived "in" the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy and also in the sixth month on the civil calendar (Adar). (Luke 1:24 27, 36). (b) Add nine months and ten days (280 days) to Yeshua's conception (the 15th of Adar) an we arrive at the 25th of Kislev (late December). If the day of his birth were the first day of Hanukkah, the day of his circumcision would be the eighth day. By being born on the 25th of December then the day of his circumcision would be on the 1st of January. 3. Evidences: (a) A Jewish historian named Josephus that lived during the time of Yeshua confirms that the priesthood schedule was still in use when the second Temple was destroyed in 70 AD. (b) If John was conceived on Yom Kippur (the day of repentance) this would explain his mission to preach repentance. (c) Early Jewish sources suggest that the sheep around Bethlehem were outside all year. In the normal traffic of shepherds they move around and come near Bethlehem from November to March of the year. But then these were a special class of Levitical shepherds who kept the sacrificial lambs. They do not move around because they supply the lambs for daily sacrifice from whom people bought their approved lambs, which are blemishless. The fact that the Angels announced the arrival of the perfect sacrificial lamb to these shepherds indicates this. (d) Church history since the time of the late first century has attested to a late December birth. There was never a question about the period of Yeshua's birth either in the East or in the West; only in the recent years this date was challenged. (e) Some sources report that Theophilus of Antioch (circa 171 183) was the first to identify December 25 as the birth date of Yeshua. Others say that Hippolytus (circa 170 236) was the first to claim that Yeshua was born on December 25. (f) In a reference work published in 221 AD, Sextus Julius Africanus suggested that Yeshua was conceived on the spring equinox. The equinox was March 25 on the Roman calendar, so this implied a birth in December. (g) Around the year 284 AD there was a group of Christians in North Africa called the "Donatists". They were studious in their avoidance of anything that even resembled compromise with the world or hint of paganism. They followed an old tradition of remembering the birth of Jesus on December 25. (h) Around the year 386 John Chrysostom delivered a sermon in Antioch in favour of adopting the 25 December celebration. He said, the conception of Yeshua had been announced during the sixth month of Elisabeth's pregnancy with John the Baptist, which he dated from the duties Zacharias performed on the Yom Kippur during the month of Tishri. He also said that shepherds watched the flocks by night in the fields in the winter time is supported by the phrase "frost by night" in Genesis 31:38 40. A special group known as the shepherds of Migdal Eder (Gen. 35:19 21, Micah 4:8) watched the flocks by night year round pastured for Temple Sacrifice near Bethlehem. (I) Alfred Edersheim, a Messianic Jew from the mid 1800's, wrote this about Christmas, "There is no adequate reason for questioning the historical accuracy of this date."
Summary: Since Zacharias served in the Temple during Yom Kippur and Elizabeth conceived at that time, we can place the date of Yeshua's birth on Hanukkah, the 25th of Kislev, in late December. Some other thoughts to consider 1. In the story of Purim, Esther is a picture of Mary. Both were virgins chosen to bring deliverance to God's people. 2. On Purim it is a custom to give gifts and give to charity, just like on Hanukkah and Christmas. 3. Yeshua was in Jerusalem for a unnamed feast in John 5:1, this could have been Purim. 4. Though Purim and Hanukkah are not God given feast that He gave us in Leviticus 23 they are both Biblical feast. Both feast were being celebrated during the time Yeshua and by Yeshua himself. If Yeshua was conceived during Purim and born during Hanukkah that would be God's way of put his stamp of approval on these feasts. Yeshua has already fulfilled the 4 spring feast during His first coming and He will fulfill the 3 fall feast at His second coming. By being conceived during Purim and born during Hanukkah He then fulfills both of these feast. 5. Alfred Edersheim's definition of Christmas is "the dedication of the true temple which was the body of Yeshua." 6. Hanukkah and Christmas are both a Festival of Lights, about the Light Of the World. 7. In the 17th century a Hanukkah custom began for giving money to children. It first began as a practice of Polish Jewish children giving money to their teachers. The Christian tradition for gift giving at Christmas was started in the 4th century based on the generosity of a Dutch man named Saint Nicholas. 8. Today, most Christmas day celebrations start at sunset on the night of the 24th. Sound Jewish to you? Some thoughts on the pagan traditions of Christmas 1. Tertullian (circa 160 230), an early Christian leader and a prolific writer, complained that too many fellow Christians had copied the Pagan practice of adorning their houses with lamps and with wreaths of laurel at Christmas time. 2. Oliver Cromwell (1599 1658) preached against "the heathen traditions" of non Biblical Christmas carols, decorated trees and any joyful expression that desecrated "that sacred event." 3. The English Puritans condemned a number of customs associated with Christmas, such as the use of the Yule log, holly, mistletoe, etc. The Pilgrim's second governor, William Bradford, tried hard to stamp out all "pagan mockery" at Christmas time. Christmas trees were not used by Puritans in early America. 4. In 1851, Pastor Henry Schwan of Cleveland OH appears to have been the person responsible for decorating the first Christmas tree in an American church. His parishioners condemned the idea as a Pagan practice; some even threatened the pastor with harm.