New Moon (Rosh Chodesh)

In a Times of Israel blog, Rabbi Israel Drazin points out that the Bible only calls the first day of Nissan Rosh Chodesh, meaning “First Month,” because the Bible considers Nissan to be the first month of the year. In other words, except for the first of Nisan, the celebration known today as “Rosh Chodesh” used to be known as “Chodesh.”

Today Rosh Chodesh refers to the beginning of any Hebrew month—the day that begins when the first sliver of a waxing crescent moon appears in the evening sky. In the 21st century, Rosh Chodesh is treated as a minor Jewish holy day, but in Bible times, the Sabbath (the last day of the Jewish week) and Rosh Chodesh (the first day of the Jewish month) seem to have been treated with equivalent regard:

“ ‘The Lord GOD says: “The gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened. The prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate outside, and shall stand by the post of the gate; and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. The people of the land shall worship at the door of that gate before the LORD on the Sabbaths and on the new moons. Eze 46:1–3 (WMB).

Hear this, you who desire to swallow up the needy, and cause the poor of the land to fail, saying, ‘When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may market wheat Am 8:4–5 WMB

When God makes the new heavens and the new earth, the Bible tells us that all mankind will worship on New Moons and on Sabbaths:

“For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me,” says the LORD, “so your offspring and your name shall remain. It shall happen that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh will come to worship before me,” says the LORD. (Is 66:22–23)

Rosh Chodesh Scriptures

Exodus 40:2
“On the first day of the first month you shall raise up the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting.

Numbers 10:10
“Also in the day of your gladness, and in your set feasts, and in the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the shofars over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be to you for a memorial before your God. I am the LORD your God.”

Numbers 28:11–15
11 “ ‘In the beginnings of your months, you shall offer a burnt offering to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without defect, 12 and three tenths of an efah of fine flour for a meal offering mixed with oil, for each bull; and two tenth parts of fine flour for a meal offering mixed with oil, for the one ram; 13 and one tenth part of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering to every lamb, as a burnt offering of a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. 14 Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, the third part of a hin for the ram, and the fourth part of a hin for a lamb. This is the burnt offering of every month throughout the months of the year. 15 Also, one male goat for a sin offering to the LORD shall be offered in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

Numbers 29:1–6
1 “ ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no regular work. It is a day of blowing of shofars to you. 2 You shall offer a burnt offering for a pleasant aroma to the LORD: one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without defect; 3 and their meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three tenths for the bull, two tenths for the ram, 4 and one tenth for every lamb of the seven lambs; 5 and one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you; 6 in addition to the burnt offering of the new moon with its meal offering, and the continual burnt offering with its meal offering, and their drink offerings, according to their ordinance, for a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

Deuteronomy 16:1
Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the LORD your God; for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night.

1 Samuel 20:5
David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to dine with the king; but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field to the third day at evening.

2 Kings 4:23
He said, “Why would you want go to him today? It is not a new moon or a Sabbath.” She said, “It’s all right.”

1 Chronicles 23:30–31
30 and to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise in the evening; 31 and to offer all burnt offerings to the LORD on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, in number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before the LORD;

2 Chronicles 2:4
Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, to burn before him incense of sweet spices, for the continual show bread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.

2 Chronicles 8:12–13
12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the LORD’s altar which he had built before the porch, 13 even as the duty of every day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, three times per year, during the feast of unleavened bread, during the feast of weeks, and during the feast of booths.

2 Chronicles 31:3
He also appointed the king’s portion of his possessions for the burnt offerings: for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths, for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the LORD’s law.

Ezra 3:5
and afterward the continual burnt offering, the offerings of the new moons, of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of everyone who willingly offered a free will offering to the LORD.

Nehemiah 10:32–33
32 Also we made ordinances for ourselves, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: 33 for the show bread, for the continual meal offering, for the continual burnt offering, for the Sabbaths, for the new moons, for the set feasts, for the holy things, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.

Ps 81:3–4
3 Blow the shofar at the New Moon, at the full moon, on our feast day. 4 For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.

Isaiah 1:13–14
13 Bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me. New moons, Sabbaths, and convocations— I can’t stand evil assemblies. 14 My soul hates your New Moons and your appointed feasts. They are a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them.

Isaiah 66:22–23
22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me,” says the LORD, “so your offspring and your name shall remain. 23 It shall happen that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh will come to worship before me,” says the LORD.

Ezekiel 45:17
It shall be the prince’s part to give the burnt offerings, the meal offerings, and the drink offerings, in the feasts, and on the new moons, and on the Sabbaths, in all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He shall prepare the sin offering, the meal offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.”

Ezekiel 46:1–8
1 “ ‘The Lord GOD says: “The gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened. 2 The prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate outside, and shall stand by the post of the gate; and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. 3 The people of the land shall worship at the door of that gate before the LORD on the Sabbaths and on the new moons. 4 The burnt offering that the prince shall offer to the LORD shall be on the Sabbath day, six lambs without defect and a ram without defect; 5 and the meal offering shall be an efah for the ram, and the meal offering for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an efah. 6 On the day of the new moon it shall be a young bull without defect, six lambs, and a ram. They shall be without defect. 7 He shall prepare a meal offering: an efah for the bull, and an efah for the ram, and for the lambs according as he is able, and a hin of oil to an efah. 8 When the prince enters, he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and he shall go out by its way.

Ezekiel 46:1
“ ‘The Lord GOD says: “The gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.

Ezekiel 46:3
The people of the land shall worship at the door of that gate before the LORD on the Sabbaths and on the new moons.

Hosea 2:11
I will also cause all her celebrations to cease: her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies.

Amos 8:4–6
4 Hear this, you who desire to swallow up the needy, and cause the poor of the land to fail, 5 saying, ‘When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may market wheat, making the efah small, and the shekel large, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit; 6 that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals, and sell the sweepings with the wheat?’ ”

Galatians 4:10–11
10 You observe days, months, seasons, and years. 11 I am afraid for you, that I might have wasted my labor for you.

Colossians 2:16–17
16 Let no one therefore judge you in eating or drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day, 17 which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Messiah’s.

Scriptures are quoted from the World Messianic Bible (WMB), a copyright-free translation.
Photo downloaded from the NASA website.