Category Torah

Hanukkah Is The Twenty-Fifth Of Kislev In The Winter Season

By Dr. Douglas Hamp

In this article, I intend to show that Hanukkah is indeed in the month of Kislev which occurs in the winter season. It is not a modern December-holiday created as an alternative to Christmas. Its origin is ancient and is absolutely based on ancient primary sources. We will see Hanukkah happened in winter based on John 10:22 and that winter was definitely in the ninth month based on the reading from Jeremiah 36:22. We will then see that both Maccabees and Josephus specifically state it was the 25h of Kislev.

If Hanukkah had been on the last day of the feast of Sukkot, then it is suspiciously absent from the records we have. There is no doubt in my mind that the 25th of Kislev is the correct date of Hanukkah and it falls in the general time of December.

Sukkot occurs in the seventh month which is around Sept or October on the Gregorian calendar.

‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. (Lev 23:34)

The text of John 10:22 seems clear: “it was winter” whereas khimon χειμων is the Greek equivalent of חורף – that is “winter.”

Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. (John 10:22)

εγενετο δε τα εγκαινια εν τοις ιεροσολυμοις και χειμων ην (John 10:22)

We also have strong biblical confirmation of this in Jeremiah in which winter happened in the ninth month. God told us the first month was Aviv which is essentially April – counting forward to the ninth month, we come to November/December:

Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning on the hearth before him. (Jer 36:22)

I have not found any references to Hanukkah falling on the last day of Sukkot in any literature including primary sources. I have included the relevant primary resources below and highlighted the important parts demonstrating Hanukkah is in the month of Kislev, which happens in the winter and in the ninth month (Nov-Dec) according to Jeremiah.

1 Maccabees 1:54-60 clearly states the date as the 25th of Kislev:

54 Now on the fifteenth day of Chislev, in the one hundred forty-fifth year, they erected a desolating sacrilege on the altar of burnt offering. They also built altars in the surrounding towns of Judah, 55 and offered incense at the doors of the houses and in the streets. 56 The books of the law that they found they tore to pieces and burned with fire. 57 Anyone found possessing the book of the covenant, or anyone who adhered to the law, was condemned to death by decree of the king. 58 They kept using violence against Israel, against those who were found month after month in the towns. 59 On the twenty-fifth day of the month they offered sacrifice on the altar that was on top of the altar of burnt offering. 60 According to the decree, they put to death the women who had their children circumcised,

I Maccabees is the next to reveal that the dedication of the temple happened in the same month of Kislev, which we know to be Nov-Dec on the Gregorian calendar. I have included the Greek to be able to dig deeper. Also notice that they celebrated this feast for eight days.

1 Maccabees 4:56-61[1]

55 Thereupon all the people fell down face to earth, to adore and praise, high as heaven, the author of their felicity; 56 and for eight days together they celebrated the altar’s renewal [τὸν ἐγκαινισμὸν, [2] = feast of renovation or consecration] burned victim and brought welcome-offering with glad and grateful hearts. 57 They decked the front wall of the temple, at this time, with gold crowns and escutcheons, consecrated the gates and the priest’s lodging anew, and furnished it with doors; 58 and all the while there was great rejoicing among the people; as for the taunts of the heathen, they were heard no more. 59 No wonder if Judas and his brethren, with the whole assembly of Israel, made a decree that this feast should be kept year by year for eight days together, the feast-day of the altar’s dedication [τοῦ ἐγκαινισμοῦ, = feast of renovation or consecration]. [4] Came that season, from the twenty-fifth day of Casleu onwards, all was to be rejoicing and holiday. 60 At this time, too, they fortified the hill of Sion, with walls and strong towers all about; never more should Gentile feet profane it. 61 Judas put a garrison there, and would have it strong enough to command Bethsura; a bulwark Israel must have against attack from the frontiers of Edom.

56 καὶ ἐποίησαν τὸν ἐγκαινισμὸντοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ἡμέρας ὀκτὼ καὶ προσήνεγκαν ὁλοκαυτώματα με{T’} εὐφροσύνης καὶ ἔθυσαν θυσίαν σωτηρίου καὶ αἰνέσεως 57 καὶ κατεκόσμησαν τὸ κατὰ πρόσωπον τοῦ ναοῦ στεφάνοις χρυσοῖς καὶ ἀσπιδίσκαις καὶ ἐνεκαίνισαν τὰς πύλας καὶ τὰ παστοφόρια καὶ ἐθύρωσαν αὐτά 58 καὶ ἐγενήθη εὐφροσύνη μεγάλη ἐν τῷ λαῷ σφόδρα καὶ ἀπεστράφη ὀνειδισμὸς ἐθνῶν 59 καὶ ἔστησεν Ιουδας καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ πᾶσα ἡ ἐκκλησία Ισραηλ ἵνα ἄγωνται αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ ἐγκαινισμοῦ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ἐν τοῖς καιροῖς αὐτῶν ἐνιαυτὸν κα{T’} ἐνιαυτὸν ἡμέρας ὀκτὼ ἀπὸ τῆς πέμπτης καὶ εἰκάδος τοῦ μηνὸς Χασελευ με{T’} εὐφροσύνης καὶ χαρᾶς 60 καὶ ᾠκοδόμησαν ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ τὸ ὄρος Σιων κυκλόθεν τείχη ὑψηλὰ καὶ πύργους ὀχυρούς μήποτε παραγενηθέντα τὰ ἔθνη καταπατήσωσιν αὐτά ὡς ἐποίησαν τὸ πρότερον 61 καὶ ἀπέταξεν ἐκεῖ δύναμιν τηρεῖν αὐτὸ καὶ ὠχύρωσεν αὐτὸ τηρεῖν τὴν Βαιθσουραν τοῦ ἔχειν τὸν λαὸν ὀχύρωμα κατὰ πρόσωπον τῆς Ιδουμαίας

Josephus very clearly confirms the date of the 25th of Kislev, the celebration for eight days, and the name: the festival of lights.

Now it came to pass, after two years, in the hundred forty and fifth year, on the twenty-fifth day of that month which is by us called Chasleu, and by the Macedonians Apelleus, in the hundred and fifty-third olympiad, that the king came up to Jerusalem, and, pretending peace, he got possession of the city by treachery; at which time he spared not so much as those that admitted him into it, on account of the riches that lay in the temple; but, led by his covetous inclination, (for he saw there was in it a great deal of gold, and many ornaments that had been dedicated to it of very great value,) and in order to plunder its wealth, he ventured to break the league he had made. So he left the temple bare, and took away the golden candlesticks, and the golden altar [of incense], and table [of shew-bread], and the altar [of burnt-offering]; and did not abstain from even the veils, which were made of fine linen and scarlet.  (Jos. Antiq. xii. 5, 4)

When therefore the generals of Antiochus’s armies had been beaten so often, Judas assembled the people together, and told them, that after these many victories which God had given them, they ought to go up to Jerusalem, and purify the temple, and offer the appointed sacrifices. But as soon as he, with the whole multitude, was come to Jerusalem, and found the temple deserted, and its gates burnt down, and plants growing in the temple of their own accord, on account of its desertion, he and those that were with him began to lament, and were quite confounded at the sight of the temple; so he chose out some of his soldiers, and gave them order to fight against those guards that were in the citadel, until he should have purified the temple. When therefore he had carefully purged it, and had brought in new vessels, the candlestick, the table [of shew-bread], and the altar [of incense], which were made of gold, he hung up the veils at the gates, and added doors to them. He also took down the altar [of burnt-offering], and built a new one of stones that he gathered together, and not of such as were hewn with iron tools. So on the five and twentieth day of the month Casleu, which the Macedonians call Apeliens, they lighted the lamps that were on the candlestick, and offered incense upon the altar [of incense], and laid the loaves upon the table [of shew-bread], and offered burnt-offerings upon the new altar [of burnt-offering]. Now it so fell out, that these things were done on the very same day on which their Divine worship had fallen off, and was reduced to a profane and common use, after three years’ time; for so it was, that the temple was made desolate by Antiochus, and so continued for three years. This desolation happened to the temple in the hundred forty and fifth year, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Apeliens, and on the hundred fifty and third olympiad: but it was dedicated anew, on the same day, the twenty-fifth of the month Apeliens, on the hundred and forty-eighth year, and on the hundred and fifty-fourth olympiad. And this desolation came to pass according to the prophecy of Daniel, which was given four hundred and eight years before; for he declared that the Macedonians would dissolve that worship [for some time].[3]

7. Now Judas celebrated the festival of the restoration of the sacrifices of the temple for eight days [ἐφ᾽ἡμέραςὀκτὼ], and omitted no sort of pleasures thereon; but he feasted them upon very rich and splendid sacrifices; and he honored God, and delighted them by hymns and psalms. Nay, they were so very glad at the revival of their customs, when, after a long time of intermission, they unexpectedly had regained the freedom of their worship, that they made it a law for their posterity, that they should keep a festival, on account of the restoration of their temple worship, for eight days [ἡμέρας ὀκτώ]. And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights [φῶτα]. I suppose the reason was, because this liberty beyond our hopes appeared to us; and that thence was the name given to that festival. Judas also rebuilt the walls round about the city, and reared towers of great height against the incursions of enemies, and set guards therein. He also fortified the city Bethsura, that it might serve as a citadel against any distresses that might come from our enemies. (Jos. Antiq. xii. 7, 6-7)[4]

In conclusion:

We learned that Hanukkah happened in winter based on our reading of John 10:22 Jeremiah 36:22 recorded that the ninth month (Nov-Dec) was considered winter. Both Maccabees and Josephus specifically stated Hanukkah, the dedication of the temple, was the 25^th of Kislev, it lasted eight days, and was called the feast of lights. There is no mention whatsoever in the source literature that Hanukkah fell on the last day of the feast of Sukkot, which would have been a significant detail to include in the record. I believe we can confidently trust that the timing of Hanukkah is completely independent of Sukkot and, as people have celebrated for generations, it falls in the general time of December.

[1] https://www.biblestudytools.com/rsva/1-maccabees/passage/?q=1-maccabees+4:56-61

[2] ἐγκαίν-ια , τά , ( καινός ) feast of renovation or consecration , Thd. Da. 3.2, LXX 2 Es. 6.16 ; esp. that established by Judas Maccabaeus at the reconsecration of the Temple, Ev.Jo. 10.22

[3] ἔτει γὰρ πέμπτῳ καὶ τεσσαρακοστῷ καὶ ἑκατοστῷ ταῦτα περὶ τὸν ναὸν ἐγένετο, πέμπτῃ δὲ καὶ εἰκάδι τοῦ Ἀπελλαίου μηνὸς ὀλυμπιάδι ἑκατοστῇ καὶ πεντηκοστῇ καὶ τρίτῃ, ἀνενεώθη [renewed]  δὲ κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν ἡμέραν πέμπτῃ καὶ εἰκοστῇ τοῦ Ἀπελλαίου μηνὸς ὀγδόῳ καὶ τεσσαρακοστῷ καὶ ἑκατοστῷ ἔτει ὀλυμπιάδι ἑκατοστῇ καὶ πεντηκοστῇ καὶ τετάρτῃ. [322] τὴν δ᾽ ἐρήμωσιν τοῦ ναοῦ συνέβη γενέσθαι κατὰ τὴν Δανιήλου προφητείαν πρὸ τετρακοσίων καὶ ὀκτὼ γενομένην ἐτῶν: ἐδήλωσεν γάρ, ὅτι Μακεδόνες καταλύσουσιν αὐτόν.

[4] Ἑώρταζε δὲ ὁ Ἰούδας μετὰ τῶν πολιτῶν τὴν ἀνάκτησιν τῆς περὶ τὸν ναὸν θυσίας ἐφ᾽ ἡμέρας ὀκτὼ μηδὲν ἀπολιπὼν ἡδονῆς εἶδος, ἀλλὰ πολυτελέσι μὲν καὶ λαμπραῖς ταῖς θυσίαις κατευωχῶν αὐτούς, ὕμνοις δὲ καὶ ψαλμοῖς τὸν μὲν θεὸν τιμῶν αὐτοὺς δὲ τέρπων. [324] τοσαύτῃ δ᾽ ἐχρήσαντο τῇ περὶ τὴν ἀνανέωσιν τῶν ἐθῶν ἡδονῇ μετὰ χρόνον πολὺν ἀπροσδοκήτως ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ γενόμενοι τῆς θρησκείας, ὡς νόμον θεῖναι τοῖς μετ᾽ αὐτοὺς ἑορτάζειν τὴν ἀνάκτησιν τῶν περὶ τὸν ναὸν ἐφ᾽ ἡμέρας ὀκτώ. [325] καὶ ἐξ ἐκείνου μέχρι τοῦ δεῦρο τὴν ἑορτὴν ἄγομεν καλοῦντες αὐτὴν φῶτα ἐκ τοῦ παρ᾽ ἐλπίδας οἶμαι ταύτην ἡμῖν φανῆναι τὴν ἐξουσίαν τὴν προσηγορίαν θέμενοι τῇ ἑορτῇ. [326] τειχίσας δ᾽ ἐν κύκλῳ τὴν πόλιν καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἐπιδρομὰς τῶν πολεμίων πύργους οἰκοδομησάμενος ὑψηλοὺς φύλακας ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐγκατέστησεν, καὶ τὴν Βεθσούραν δὲ πόλιν ὠχύρωσεν, ὅπως ἀντὶ φρουρίου αὐτῇ πρὸς τὰς ἀπὸ τῶν πολεμίων ἀνάγκας ἔχῃ χρῆσθαι.

“But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. (Acts 24:14)

Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law. (Rom 3:31)

Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. (1Cor 7:19)

‘to distinguish between the unclean [ακαθαρτων] and the clean [καθαρων הַטָּהֹ֑ר] , and between the animal that may be eaten [food] and the animal that may not be eaten [not food].’ ” (Lev 11:47)

Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. (Rom 14:1)

‘Nevertheless these you shall not eat among those that chew the cud or those that have cloven hooves: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; ‘and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. (Lev 11:4, 7)

For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. (Rom 14:2) 

Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. (Rom 14:3) 

Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. (Rom 14:4) One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. (Rom 14:5) He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. (Rom 14:6) 

And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. (2Chr 20:3)

“Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me–for Me? (Zech 7:5)

For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. (Rom 14:7) For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. (Rom 14:8) For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. (Rom 14:9) But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. (Rom 14:10) For it is written: “As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.”  (Rom 14:11) So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. (Rom 14:12)

Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way. (Rom 14:13)

I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean [COMMON= κοινον] of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean [COMMON= κοινον], to him it is unclean [COMMON= κοινον]. (Rom 14:14)

But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean [κοινον η ακαθαρτον].” (Acts 10:14)

So I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Indeed I have never defiled [memiantai en akatharsia μεμιανται εν ακαθαρσια] myself from my youth till now; I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has abominable flesh ever come into my mouth.” (Ezek 4:14)

And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” Now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant…. (Acts 10:15, 17)

Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. (Acts 10:28)

But God has shown me that I should not call any man common [κοινον] or unclean [ακαθαρτον]. (Acts 10:28)

Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; (Gal 2:11) for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. (Gal 2:12) And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. (Gal 2:13)

Yet if your brother is grieved because of your FOOD [=ANIMALS THAT MAY BE EATEN & vegetables] you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your FOOD [=ANIMALS THAT MAY BE EATEN & vegetables] the one for whom Christ died. (Rom 14:15)  

‘to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.’ ” (Lev 11:47)

An Open Letter to Christian Pastors and Theologians

A Call to Return to the Biblical Sabbath

By Dr. Douglas Hamp M.A., Ph.D.

www.Thewaycongregation.com

Wheat Ridge, Colorado

May 28, 2018

As teachers of God’s Word, our job is to teach the text; we’re not to add or take away. (Dt 4:2) Why, then, have we abandoned the seventh-day-Sabbath? How do most pastors hold it in contempt and no longer remember or observe it? Moreover, how can some say observing it is putting oneself back under the Jewish laws and one risks going to Hell when God created it as a blessing to humanity? Where did God change it? God the Father never said it would change. Nor did our Lord Jesus, nor did Paul or the other apostles. It’s time we get back to the Sabbath; a gift from God to humanity.

The Bible never changed the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day; the Catholic Church openly admits they changed it. “The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plenitude of that divine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her!” —Rev. Peter Geiermann, C.SS.R., (1946), p. 50.

We can no longer claim we don’t need to keep it because it is not reiterated in the NT when in fact it was kept by Jesus, Paul, and the apostles. Bestiality isn’t reiterated in the NT, but we teach our congregations it’s wrong; why is the Sabbath different? Why should Jesus need to restate it when He never rescinded it?

Paul’s Acts 20:7 message took place in the evening of the first day of the week, which was Saturday evening from sundown until midnight (biblical days begin after sunset not at the Roman-established midnight).  Nevertheless, even if his teaching had taken place Sunday evening, that would still not constitute a change in the Sabbath. Setting aside an offering on the first day (cf. I Cor 16:2) likewise would not constitute a change. The first day of the week, not Sabbath, was when they would handle money. John being in the Spirit on the Lord’s day (Rev 1:10) is not a change in the Sabbath; God declares His day is the Sabbath. “Call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the LORD honorable.” (Isa 58:13) There simply is no New Testament directive to abandon the Sabbath. None.

Let’s go back to the beginning for perspective: God the Son (Jn 1:1-3) created the seventh day and rested [וַיִּשְׁבֹּת֙ vayishbot, shabbat] from his work. Adam and Eve were there to witness God blessing and resting (lit. “shabbating”) on the seventh day which He modeled for them to continue practicing.

Nehemiah reminds us it was God himself who “came down also on Mount Sinai, spoke with them from heaven…You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, and commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, by the hand of Moses Your servant.” (Neh 9:14) The law of Moses is God’s law which is the law of Christ.

Our Lord Jesus himself kept the seventh-day Sabbath and never rescinded it; rather He reminded those who had made it a burden, that it was a day He created for man to rest and enjoy. He said we ought to keep his commandments as he kept the Father’s: “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. (Jn 15:10)

The apostle Paul repeatedly stated that we don’t “make void the law through faith…on the contrary, we establish the law. (Rom 3:31) He said “the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. (Rom 7:12) Paul echoed King Solomon’s words: “keeping the commandments of God is what matters.” (I Cor 7:19) We must ask ourselves why most pastors no longer keep something that God the Son blessed, created for us, commanded us to keep and never rescinded.

Therefore, let’s boldly tell our congregations the joy of the Sabbath, God’s gift to mankind: “Call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable…then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth… the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isa 58:13-14)

Click to download: Open Letter to Pastors about Sabbath by Douglas Hamp

Partner with Douglas Hamp Ministries: https://www.douglashamp.com/partnership-2/

“Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” (Acts 15:1-5)
The debate: Hellenistic Judaism “would admit Gentiles after having undergone the rite of baptism; that is, regeneration by living water (see Sibyllines. iv. 164 et seq.: “Wash your whole stature clean from impurity in running streams, and, with hands uplifted to heaven, ask for forgiveness for your doing; then the worship of God will heal gross impiety”).
R. Joshua asserting that the…baptismal rite, rendered a person a full proselyte without circumcision, as Israel, when receiving the Law, required no initiation other than the purificative bath
R. Eliezer makes circumcision a condition for the admission of a proselyte (Yeb. 46a).
Source: http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4391-circumcision#1789