New Moons – Months
The word used for new moon in Hebrew is “rosh chodesh” , which literally means “beginning, head, or renewal” of the moon and thus the beginning or head of the month. It’s a time of spiritual renewal. It is the name for the first day of every new moon in the Hebrew calendar . A new moon is the first lunar phase , when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude , therefore the lunar disk is not detectable to the naked eye during this phase, except during a solar eclipse . Throughout the Scriptures, the new moon was a day when the Prophets received inspiration from Yahweh , it is a day designated for waiting on Yahweh, for discerning His purposes and for prophetic revelation. The Hebrews had to abstain from physical work, and any other activities forbidden by the Scriptures on Rosh Chodesh.
The new moons are named by their numeric place on the calendar. For example, the Chodesh Rishon (First New Moon), Chodesh Sheni (Second New Moon), and so on. The First New Moon is the new moon of the Exodus from Mitsrayim (Egypt) . Therefore, whenever an individual mentions the number of another new moon, they are in effect recalling the Exodus from Mitsrayim: we are in, say, the Fifth New Moon, that is to recollect that there were five new moons since the time of the Exodus. Thus, the numeric naming is a continual reminder of the Hebrew’s emancipation from slavery in Mitsrayim.
There are only 4 new moons in the Scriptures identified by use of a non-numeric name. These non-numeric names aren’t literal names of the new moons, but a description of what that particular new moon represents. For example, the 1st new moon was also referred to as Chodesh Aviv (New Moon of Spring) because it is the 1st new moon of the Spring. Even these four new moons are almost always referred to by their numeric place on the calendar, with the names serving merely as secondary titles accompanying their numbers.
Rosh Chodesh (New Moon) Table – Jerusalem, Israel
Rosh Chodesh (New Moon) Table – Georgia, USA
These tables include the New Moon’s with their Hebrew and transliterated English names, along with the dates on which they occur in their respective locations.
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