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Sabbath Truth Postponed

Darren W. Clarke

What is the true origin of the postponements introduced by Hillel II in 359 CE? It is an is-
sue that has been debated among the Churches of God for some time and, while the technical basis
for their institution is well documented the question remains, why then? Why, in the 4th century
CE, was it deemed necessary to sometimes skew the calendar by one or two days resulting in a
complete realignment of all of the annual Holy Days? By what authority was the timing of God's
Holy Days changed? What truth stands undiscovered behind the screen of lengthy technical regula-
tions upon which the postponements are based?

Coincidentally, during the preparation for this article, William F. Dankenbring published
an excellent article to which I would refer all readers entitled New Truth About the Calendar
Postponements. In the article he makes the case quite plain that the postponements added by Hil-
lel II in 359 AD cannot be sanctioned under the umbrella of the "oracles of God." Rather than du-
plicate his fine work or quote extensively from it I will simply build upon those conclusions by
attempting to get at the underlying reason for the introduction of the postponements.

The rules which govern the administration of the postponements show that the first rule was
to prevent any inconvenient arrangement of certain annual Holy Days and the weekly Sabbath. The
remaining three rules, in a fashion typical of Pharisaical legalism, change the new year depending
on what fraction of a day had passed before the new moon conjunction, the Molad Tishri, had
occurred.

Arthur Spier in The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar:

These are the four Dehioth (postponements):

a. When the Molad Tishri occurs on a Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday, Rosh Hashanah is
postponed to the following day.

b. When the Molad Tishri occurs at noon (18h) or later, Rosh Hashanah is postponed to
the next day. (Or if this day is a Sunday, Wednesday or Friday, to Monday, Thursday or
Sabbath because of Dehiah a.)

c. When the Molad Tishri of a common year falls on Tuesday, 204 parts after 3 A.M., i.e.,
3d 9h 204p or later, Rosh Hashanah is postponed to Wednesday, and, because of Dehiah
a., further postponed to Thursday.

d. When, in a common year succeeding a leap year, the Molad Tishri occurs on Monday
morning 589 parts after 9 A.M., i.e., 2d 15h 589p or later, Rosh Hashanah is postponed to
the next day.
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