More On Philo

[BrotherArnold]

Some excerpts from the book of Philo which conclusive proves that Philo observed lunar weeks and lunar seventh days of the weeks (Sabbaths in Hebrew).

Did Philo make a connection with the "four" weeks each month and the phases of the moon??? The answer to that is YES.

Philo, ON MATING WITH THE PRELIMINARY STUDIES, X1X (102) says,
"the sacrifices which have been preserved in the soul, which is illuminated in two portions out of the three, until it is entirely changed in every part, and becomes a heavenly brilliancy like a "FULL MOON, at the height of its increase at the "END OF THE "SECONd"? "WEEK”

Please notice what Philo said in the highlighted. His readers and fellow Jews of that era or in those days connected the WEEK with the phases of the moon and understood that the "WEEKS WERE BY THE MOOn", and that at the end of the "SECOND WEEk" they would be a full moon/Sabbath/15th. This statement needs no interpretation. The people in Philo's audience understood through common knowledge that the WEEKS were by the moon, same as in the Scriptures. If this is so then the sacred seventh day of the week, which comes at the end of the second week, must be a "FULL MOOn"/15th Sabbath (See Psalms 81:3-6). Why? Because in many places Philo speaks of the weekly seventh day, which we all know that the seventh day comes at the end of the week. People would like for us to believe that the months were originally by the moon but the 4 weeks each month were not.

Philo was making an observation of how a person can be spiritually illuminated to a full brilliance just like a full moon at the height of its increase at the end of the second week. if the weeks were not by the moon phases, Philo could not have made this statement and his readers would have thought him crazy.

Philo did not count the new moon when counting out the weeks as the calendars do today. This statement is very easily proven from the writings of Philo because he states in other places throughout his book, that the full moon is on the 15th each month, and he also separates the new moon days from the week days as a separate feast day therefore they did not count the new moon when counting out the weeks. Writers today would instead count the new moon day in counting their weeks, but it is obvious from Philo that he did not count the new moon day when counting out the weeks. The reason we know this is because if the new moon day was counted, you would not have a full moon at the end of the second week because that would be the 14th instead of the 15th and Philo plainly declares many times that the full moon is on the 15th.

Did Philo connect the MOON with the SEVENTH DAY? The answer is YES.

I have shown that Philo and his readers understood the weeks were connected to the moon and now I will show that they understood that THE SEVENTH DAY was connected to the moon.

Philo goes on to show that the moon perfects chiefly in accordance with its own configurations on each "Seventh day".

In ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION, 1 IV 8, Philo states,

"Again, the periodical changes of the moon, take place according to the number "Seven", that "Star" having the greatest sympathy with the things on earth. And the changes which the moon works in the air, it perfects chiefly in accordance with its own configurations on each "SEVENTH DAY". At all events, all mortal things, as I have said before, drawing their more divine nature from the heaven, are moved in a manner which tends to their preservation in accordance with this number seven. Accordingly, on the SEVENTH DAY, g*d caused to REST from all his works which he had made…."

Notice he said, "And the changes which the moon works in the air, it perfects chiefly in accordance with its own configurations on "EACh" "SEVENTH DAY, notice he did NOT say every seven days, but on "EACH SEVENTH DAy". He did not say "It perfects chiefly in accordance with its own configurations "Every" seven days, but on EACH SEVENTH DAY, referring to the weekly seventh day. There is a difference in the phrase on each seventh day and every seven days. Had a Hebrew speaking Jew wrote this he would have said "It perfects chiefly in accordance with its own configurations on "Each" "Sabbath" day" instead of "Each" "Seventh" day because elsewhere in his writings, Philo identifies that when he mentions the seventh day he is speaking of what the Jews would call the Sabbath day, in Hebrew. Above, he tells us that the moon perfects its own configurations on each seventh day. It was understood, that at the end of each lunar week there was a lunar seventh day. The Greek speaking Jews referred to the Sabbath as the "SEVENTh" day or the sacred seventh day, while in the language of the Hebrews it was termed Shabbat, or the Sabbath.

In the DECALOGUE XXX (161) Philo explains how that the two seven-day feast, Passover and the feast of Tabernacle, has been "assigned to this "SAME" WEEKLY SEVENTH DAY, what does that mean???? To a Lunar Sabbath observer it would be the 15th, because that is the weekly seventh day that begins both of these feast. To the traditional Sabbath keeper, the statement would not make any sense at all because their weekly Sabbath can fall anywhere during the seven-day feasts.

THE DECALOGUE XXX (161)

"But to the seventh day of the week he has ASSIGNED the greatest festivals, those of the longest duration, at the periods of the equinox both vernal and autumnal in each year; appointing two festivals for these two epochs, each lasting seven days;

To further prove the 15th is the weekly seventh day that the feasts has been assigned to we read,

In the DECALOGUE XXX (158-159) XXX. (158) where Philo tells how that they are TWO SEVENTH DAYS during the two seven-day feast (Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles) one of these seventh days comes before the number six, which would begin the feast/15th and the other seventh day comes after the number six/21st., which ends the feast. The seventh day that comes before the number six, is the weekly seventh day that the seven-day feasts that these 7th day feasts are assigned to. And in another place Philo, referring to Unleavened Bread/15th said that it was really the seventh day of seventh days. This one is found in,

THE SPECIAL WALLS LAWS, 11 XI (41) which says,

"The sixth is the feast of unleavened bread, after which that Festival is celebrated, which is really the seventh day of seventh days. (I believe it is called this because it is the first day of the seven-day feasts that comes BEFORE the number 6 or possibly Leviticus 23:6)

All of these are powerful statements in favor of lunar Sabbaths and I'm not finished.

Further evidence that Philo did not count the new moon when counting out the four lunar weeks each month, is found

Did Philo count the 4 weeks/sevens leaving out the new Moon worship day? The answer to this is YES.

Philo in THE SPECIAL LAWS 1. (178) Philo writes,

(178) "There is one principle of reason by which the moon "Waxes and waned"? in equal "Intervald"?, both as it increases and diminishes in illumination; it receives the perfect shapes in periods of seven days"”the half-moon in the first seven day period "after its conjunction with the sun, "full" moon in the "second; and when it makes its return again, the first is to half-moon, then it ceases at its conjunction with the sun.

Notice the above is speaking of 28 days or four weeks/sevens which again shows that the new moon was not counted when counting out the weeks. Philo never mentioned a solar calendar or a solar weekly seventh day, but had much to say about the creation calendar found in Genesis 1:14, and I'm still not finished showing how the Jews of our Saviour's time understood the calendar and appointments. Clement of Alexander also connected the weeks with the moon by saying basically the same thing in one of his writings, the half-moon in the first week, "Full" moon on the "Second" week; waning half-moon the third week, and last sliver of the fourth week, but he is not my topic here.


Did Philo ever mention that the Sabbath could be found counting from the New moon???

The answer is YES, in Philo's writings about such things as the Priesthood, festivals etc. are in perfect harmony with the Bible we now read today. At one point in his writings he did make mention that some states or provinces were keeping "ONLY ONE" Sabbath per month "COUNTING FROM THE NEW MOOn", whereas we know all four should be kept. Here is Philo on this issue:

THE DECALOGUE, XX (96) says,
"The fourth commandment has reference to the "SACRED SEVENTH DAY that it may be passed in a sacred and holy manner. Some states keep the "HOLY FESTIVAL "Only ONCE" in the month, "COUNTING FROM THE NEW MOON, as a day sacred to God; but the nation of the Jews keep every seventh day regularly, after each interval of six days"?.

Please notice carefully that Philo is given positive proof that the fourth commandment holy seventh day festival is found by counting from the new moon but some people were keeping it "ONLY ONCE a month or moon. One must realize that Philo understood that the new moon was a festival all by itself and was not one of the six ordinary working days (Ezekiel 46:1-3). The gate of the inner court was to be shut on the "Six working days"? and opened on the "Sabbath" and day of the "New moon" (three different category of days). Philo states that some provinces were observing the Holy Sabbath day festival "Only oncE" in the month or moon. i.e. Philo acknowledges that they were keeping the right Sabbath which was found by counting from the New moon, but they were keeping it ONLY ONCE each moon/month.
The fact that he centers in on "Only oncE" in the month/moon lets us know that he is concerned with the number of times it is kept each month/moon by some states, "NOt" the way it is found. He mentions that they were keeping it by counting from the new moon and recognizing it as a day sacred to YHWH. Now, if counting from the new moon to find the weekly Sabbath is erroneous, how did these states keep the Holy festival once a month??? Think about this.
Philo did not say they kept a Sabbath or their Sabbath or a bogus Sabbath, but rather he said they kept "THE" Holy festival sacred to YHWH. i.e. the fourth commandment Sabbath. This has to mean that the proper way to find the Holy festival of the Seventh day is to count from the new moon whether you keep it once or 4 times each moon or month.

Someone might say, so what if Philo observed Lunar Sabbaths, how do we know that he was referring to the creation Sabbath?

Somewhere in Philo describes that Ex- 16 Sabbaths were weekly Sabbath as was the creation Sabbath. Will suply quote later.

The Historical evidence found in Philo and other Historical documents, conclusively proves that the Jews observed lunar Sabbaths. I have so much proof from Philo that it would make my post so long that people might not read it so go to for more proofs from Philo ago to http://lunarsabbath.info/_wsn/page3.html

READ THIS CONCLUSION CAREFULLY

Conclusion, if Philo the Jew observed lunar Sabbaths, as the above proves, then so did the Messiah and His Apostles, along with the rest of the Jewish people. Why? Because the New Testament teaches that the Messiah and His Apostles kept the SAME Sabbath as the Jews. We know from the Historical evidence that Philo the Jew, who was also a Levite Priest, and observed the same weekly Sabbath as the Jews or he would not have been chosen to represent the Jewish people at Rome concerning the persecution of the Jews and if he did not keep the correct Sabbath he would not have been a Jew and a Levite Priest had to keep the same Sabbath. We also know that the Essenes in the Dead Sea Scrolls observed the same weekly Sabbath as Philo and the rest of the Jews because Philo highly praised them for keeping the Sabbath, which he could not have done had they observed a different Sabbath than he. This would explains why the Essenes in the Dead Sea Scrolls were showing where the new moons and Sabbaths fell each month on the Roman calendar. So if Philo observed Lunar weeks and Lunar Sabbaths, as the above Historical evidence from Philo's writings conclusively proved, then so did everyone including our Savior.

Bottom-line is that it does not take a Sherlock Holmes to look at the Historical evidence found in Philo and conclude that Philo the Jew observed lunar WEEKS and lunar Sabbaths and from the scripture we find that our Saviour and the Jews observed the same seventh day Sabbath and then when we used deductive reasoning we conclude that the Messiah and His disciples observed lunar Sabbaths. It is elementary when using deductive reasoning.

Brother Arnold

Ps. I will add to this later as if the above were not enough to prove Philo and the Jews kept Lunar Sabbaths along with the Messiah.

[chuckbaldwin]

Highly interpretative - NOT conclusive.
As soon as you PROVE this "most provable" doctrine, i'll be the first to switch.

[eriqbenel]

Highly interpretative - NOT conclusive.
As soon as you PROVE this "most provable" doctrine, i'll be the first to switch.

That is such a bull- lonnee cop out!

You have ZERO "conclusive" evidence to back up ANYTHING you believe about the Sabbath, but you stick to it like glue.

Absolutely "everything" you have ever presented about the Sabbath, 3 days, 3 nights , the day at dawn, etc,,, is "HIGHLY interpretive"! And "badly" interpretive at that.

The "proof" presented to you is 100x more plausible and evidential than anything you believe about Saturday. Come on , Chuck.

Copy and repost just ONE piece of historical evidence you have ever presented to back up your beliefs. You can't because you don't have any. All you have ever done is criticize our evidence, without ever presenting your own.

[chuckbaldwin]

Matter of opinion, Eriq.

p.s. I'm sure you will post 1 more time, in order to have the last word.
You may have it.

[BrotherArnold]

Highly interpretative - NOT conclusive.
As soon as you PROVE this "most provable" doctrine, i'll be the first to switch.

RESPONSE; Shalom Brother Chuck,

If you could be more specific, perhaps I could help.
I will shorten it some because Philo loves to ramble and can lose us in the rambling. He is like me, I understand what I'm talking about but the reader might not.


Did Philo make a connection with the "Four" weeks each month and the phases of the moon??? The answer to that is YES.

Philo, ON MATING WITH THE PRELIMINARY STUDIES, X1X (102) says,
"the sacrifices which have been preserved in the soul, which is illuminated in two portions out of the three, until it is entirely changed in every part, and becomes a heavenly brilliancy like a "FULL MOON, at the height of its increase at the "END OF THE "SECOND "WEEK”

Philo was making an observation of how a person can be spiritually illuminated to a full brilliance just like a full moon at the height of its increase at the end of the second week. if the weeks were not by the moon phases, Philo could not have made this statement and his readers would have thought him crazy, if the weeks were solar only.

Philo did not count the new moon when counting out the weeks as the calendars do today. This statement is very easily proven from the writings of Philo because he states in other places throughout his book, that the full moon is on the 15th each month, and he also separates the new moon days from the week days as a separate feast day therefore they did not count the new moon when counting out the weeks. Writers today would instead count the new moon day in counting their weeks, but it is obvious from Philo that he did not count the new moon day when counting out the weeks. The reason we know this is because if the new moon day was counted, you would not have a full moon at the end of the second week because that would be the 14th instead of the 15th and Philo plainly declares many times that the full moon is on the 15th.

DEDUCTIVE REASONING

As I said before, in several places Philo emphatically states that the full moon is on the 15th day of each month, and if you have a seventh day at the end of the week, and you have a full moon at the end of the second week, then counting backwards seven days, or one-week, you would have a half moon at the end of the first week, and if you count backwards seven more days or one week, you will find that the first day of the week begins on the second day of each month which proves that Philo understood that the first day of each month or new moon worship day was not counted when counting out the weeks, or sevens, which consisted of six workdays with a seventh day of rest. Now when counting forward seven days from the full moon, you would have a waning half moon on the seventh day of the third week each month and so forth. The seventh day of the week would be on the 8th, the 15th, the 22nd, and the 29th day of each month. This is the only month and weak spoken of by Philo the Jew, but when men created the solar only month, disregarding the moon, they counted through the new moon worship day and created the seventh day solar week but the original seventh day of the week was lunar same as the month.


Did Philo connect the MOON with the SEVENTH DAY? The answer is YES.

I have shown that Philo and his readers understood the weeks were connected to the moon and now I will show that they understood that THE SEVENTH DAY was connected to the moon.

Philo goes on to show that the moon perfects chiefly in accordance with its own configurations on each "Seventh day".

In ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION, 1 IV 8, Philo states,

"Again, the periodical changes of the moon, take place according to the number "Seven", that "Star" having the greatest sympathy with the things on earth. And the changes which the moon works in the air, it perfects chiefly in accordance with its own configurations on each "SEVENTH DAy". At all events, all mortal things, as I have said before, drawing their more divine nature from the heaven, are moved in a manner which tends to their preservation in accordance with this number seven. …. Accordingly, on the SEVENTH DAY, g*d caused to REST from all his works which he had made…."

Notice he said, "And the changes which the moon works in the air, it perfects chiefly in accordance with its own configurations on "EACh" "SEVENTH DAy". On EACH seventh day of WHAT? According to what we just read above, on each seventh day is referring to on each seventh day of the WEEK of course. This is why Philo could say that the seven-day feasts are assigned to the seventh day of the week/15th which begins both of the seven-day feasts, (See THE DECALOGUE XXX (161), and he could say that they are two seventh days during the seven-day feasts, one that comes after the number six and one that don't come after the number six but comes before it, the seventh day that comes before the number six is the 15th seventh day/chag Exodus 13:6. (See DECALOGUE XXX (158-159) XXX. (158). This conclusively proves that Philo observed Lunar Sabbaths.


Notice above, he did NOT say every seven days, but on "EACH SEVENTH DAY. He did not say "It perfects chiefly in accordance with its own configurations "Every" seven days, but on EACH SEVENTH DAY, referring to the weekly seventh day. There is a difference in the phrase on each seventh day and every seven days. Had a Hebrew speaking Jew wrote this he would have said "It perfects chiefly in accordance with its own configurations on "Each" "Sabbath" day" instead of "Each" "Seventh" day because elsewhere in his writings, Philo identifies that when he mentions the seventh day he is speaking of what the Jews would call the Sabbath day, in Hebrew. Above, he tells us that the moon perfects its own configurations on each seventh day. It was understood, that at the end of each lunar week there was a lunar seventh day. The Greek speaking Jews referred to the Sabbath as the "SEVENTh" day or the sacred seventh day, while in the language of the Hebrews it was termed Shabbat, or the Sabbath.

In the DECALOGUE XXX (161) Philo explains how that the two seven-day feast, Passover and the feast of Tabernacle, has been "Assigned"? to this "SAME" WEEKLY SEVENTH DAY. There is absolutely no reason for us to believe that Philo was referring to any other week or month than the lunar months and weeks except for tradition of men.

[chuckbaldwin]

Highly interpretative - NOT conclusive.
As soon as you PROVE this "most provable" doctrine, i'll be the first to switch.

RESPONSEIf you could be more specific, perhaps I could help.
I will shorten it some because Philo loves to ramble and can lose us in the rambling. He is like me, I understand what I'm talking about but the reader might not.

Hi Arnold,

The "specifics" are on the "other forum", which unfortunately is now locked.
It wasn't my intention in coming to this forum to re-argue the same points incessantly; therefore, what arguments & rebuttles i give here will be even more concise than they were over there.
That's why i told Eriq he could have the last word in my earlier post.

[BrotherArnold]

Highly interpretative - NOT conclusive.
As soon as you PROVE this "most provable" doctrine, i'll be the first to switch.

RESPONSEIf you could be more specific, perhaps I could help.
I will shorten it some because Philo loves to ramble and can lose us in the rambling. He is like me, I understand what I'm talking about but the reader might not.

Hi Arnold,

The "specifics" are on the "other forum", which unfortunately is now locked.
It wasn't my intention in coming to this forum to re-argue the same points incessantly; therefore, what arguments & rebuttles i give here will be even more concise than they were over there.
That's why i told Eriq he could have the last word in my earlier post.

RESPONSE; Brother Chuck, there's no intelligent way to argue these things. It is no coincidence that when the weekly seventh day Sabbath was first made known to Moses in Exodus 16th chapter, was exactly like the week and the seventh day of the week that Philo describes, also it is exactly like all the many pinpointed weekly Sabbath found scripture, and as I said before, this is no coincidence. Neither is it a coincidence that Philo never mentions any other type of week or seventh day of the week, other than the ones connected to the phases of the moon.

Example, speaking about the WEEK, he says,like a "FULL MOON, at the height of its increase at the "END OF THE "SECONd"? "WEEk"… (ON MATING WITH THE PRELIMINARY STUDIES, X1X (102)


And in speaking of the SEVENTH DAY OF THE WEEK he says,

"Again, the periodical changes of the moon, take place according to the number "seven, that "Star" having the greatest sympathy with the things on earth. And the changes which the moon works in the air, it perfects chiefly in accordance with its own configurations on each "SEVENTH DAy". At all events, all mortal things, as I have said before, drawing their more divine nature from the heaven, are moved in a manner which tends to their preservation in accordance with this number seven. …. Accordingly, on the SEVENTH DAY, g*d caused to REST from all his works which he had made."
(In ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION, 1 IV 8,)


Philo understood that the weeks were by the phases of the moon and that the seventh day of the second week would be on a full moon phase , making the seventh day of the first week, a half Moon phase and so forth, and then in THE SPECIAL LAWS 1. (178) Philo writes,

(178) "There is one principle of reason by which the moon "Waxes and waned"? in equal "Intervald"?, both as it increases and diminishes in illumination; it receives the perfect shapes in periods of seven daysthe half-moon in the first seven day period "After" its conjunction with the sun, "full" moon in the "second; and when it makes its return again, the first is to half-moon, then it ceases at its conjunction with the sun.

Notice that each week ends on the seventh day and it is on one of the 4 major phases of the moon. I.e. At the end of each week/seven days, you have a half Moon phase the first week and a full moon phases the second week etc. and each one of these phases are on the seventh day according to Philo, whether the lunar Sabbath or correct or not, Philo just states how they understood it back then, but that don't make it right just because that's the way they understood it, but you cannot deny what he says. You could argue the translators were lunar Sabbath observers and was trying to start a new doctrine or something like that, which I think you know better than that, but it is as good as trying to say that Philo did not observed lunar Sabbath, in the face of all that he says. I have proven, in one of my above post, from the Historical evidence that Philo observed the same Sabbath as the rest of the Jews, including our Saviour and his apostles, the Essens, Joesufus etc.

Some still try to argue that Philo observed the traditional week without any support from Philo of such a week. Would it be asking too much of them to present one place where Philo mentions a solar week? Not their interpretation of Philo, please.

[chuckbaldwin]

RESPONSE; Brother Chuck, there's no intelligent way to argue these things.

Hi Arnold,

I just got through saying that i already HAD argued these things, on the other forum.
But you may also have the last word.

[JMSchattke]

Until I can get my hands on an original Greek copy of Philo, I'm not going to bother discussing it. I'm disappointed in translations.

[Watchman555]

Shalom All~

One thing I find interesting is in this "modern time",
if you ask the average person which is the 7th day of the week,
most would say "sunday". Has anybody else ran into this?

I think it clearly shows that even in the "modern time"
with all of the "advanced technologies and superior intellects"
something as simple as understanding what the 7th day on the calendar
is; it is obscured with tradition or ignorance. In other words,
if you simply look at a calendar, which is in front of most everybody's
face every day, it is obscured. That just goes to show how something
can be right in front of our faces all of our lives and we don't see it.

Just a thought,

~Greg

[BrotherArnold]

Until I can get my hands on an original Greek copy of Philo, I'm not going to bother discussing it. I'm disappointed in translations.

RESPONSE; do you agree that according to what the scholars and translators of Philo have given us, it appears from what we have, that Philo observed his months, weeks, and seventh day of the weeks by the moon phases?


Brother Arnold

[BrotherArnold]

Until I can get my hands on an original Greek copy of Philo, I'm not going to bother discussing it. I'm disappointed in translations.

RESPONSE; do you require this on all of your beliefs, or just the ones that disagrees with your beliefs???


Brother Arnold

[BrotherArnold]

Just because Philo observed lunar Sabbaths, is not what makes it right.
From the evidence that we have, Phillo observed lunar Sabbaths yet some people refuse to admit it.





Brother Arnold

[eriqbenel]

Matter of opinion, Eriq.

p.s. I'm sure you will post 1 more time, in order to have the last word.
You may have it.

Chuck is wrong.

Love you Chuck

[eriqbenel]

Until I can get my hands on an original Greek copy of Philo, I'm not going to bother discussing it. I'm disappointed in translations.

Please do! We know you have done wonders with the Hebrew. I didn't realize you were a Greek expert as well...