Today, April 2, 2022, is the first day of Aviv, the first month, on the ancient Biblical Hebrew calendar. The month of Aviv, or more commonly called Nisan today, affects the dates when Easter falls every spring. Many Christian and Jewish holidays are celebrated based on where they fall on this ancient calendar. Note that on the calendar on the left, the numerals fit the Hebrew days, not our calendar days. Nisan 1 is April 2. Easter is April 17, or Nisan 16.

Let’s look at the basic differences between the calendars. The Israelites’ biblical calendar was based on the moon and on the harvest seasons. The Gregorian calendar we use is a solar calendar based on the earth’s rotation around the sun. Both calendars have twelve months in the year, and both have a system to adjust the calendar to match the earth’s rotation around the sun using leap years, but the two calendars are very different in how they apply the leap years.

All months on the Hebrew calendar begin on the new moon, the night the first sliver of light appears. The phases increase in size until the middle of the month when the moon is full, then declines to the end of the month. On the Gregorian calendar, the number of days in each month remains constant from year to year, except for February which adds an extra day every 4th year for leap year. The months on the Hebrew calendar are always 29 or 30 days. Typically there are twelve months in a Hebrew year, but in seven out of every nineteen years, or about every 2-3 years, an extra month is added before the last month to readjust the seasons and even up the year to match the time the earth rotates around the sun. So instead of a leap year day, they have a leap year month. The number of days in our year is always 365 or 366, while the number of days in the Hebrew calendar year can vary from 353 to 355 in a regular year and 383-385 days in a leap year.The Hebrew days officially begin and end at sunset while the Gregorian calendar days begin and end at midnight.

Many biblical events occurred in the month of Aviv (Nisan). The calendar of months had been used by ancient peoples for centuries, but God designated Aviv as the first month of the Hebrew year to Moses (Exodus 12:2) as he outlined the steps the Israelites were to take on their exit from Egypt. On the tenth day of Aviv the Israelites were told to select a lamb for the night of Passover (Exodus 12:3) and on the evening of the fourteenth day of Aviv the Israelites hurriedly roasted and ate their lambs putting the blood over their doorposts. The Israelites left Egypt on the fifteenth day of Aviv.

One year later on the first day of Aviv Moses set up the tabernacle at Mt. Sinai according to God’s plans. Forty years later on the tenth day of Aviv Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan River on dry land to begin their conquest of the Promised Land. (Joshua 4:19)

Fast forward to the New Testament and we see an amazing overlapping of Christ Jesus’ days leading up to his crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem was on the tenth day of Aviv, corresponding to the day the Israelites selected their Passover lambs. Jesus’ Last Supper with his Disciples was on the evening of the 14th day. He was crucified on the 15th day and rose from the dead on the 17th day. Christians deviate from the Hebrew calendar by celebrating the triumphal entry and Christ’s resurrection on Sundays. Typically the dates fall within the month of Aviv (Nisan), but not always. The dates selected for Easter are determined by the full moon. With the Gregorian calendar, Easter falls on the first Sunday after the Full Moon date, based on mathematical calculations, that falls on or after March 21. If the Full Moon is on a Sunday, Easter is celebrated on the following Sunday.

Some believe that Christ Jesus was born on the first day of Nisan. I wrote a post about this last year at this link: Happy New Year – Happy Birthday Jesus

Future dates for Nisan 1, Palm Sunday, and Easter

Year	Date for Nisan 1	Date for Palm Sunday	Date for Easter
2022	April 2	April 10	April 17
2023	March 23	April 2	April 9
2024	April 9	March 24	March 31
2025	March 30	April 13	April 20
2026	March 19	March 29	April 5
2027	April 8	March 21	March 28

Post by Janice D. Green, author of Baby Jesus . . . Messiah!

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