Page 23 - BV3

meat" with the chodesh [new moon]. He could have simply stated something like, "the
king is expecting me for an appointment at dinner tomorrow." But the chodesh [new
moon] is the FOCAL POINT.

Second, he is going to hide himself in the field "unto the third day at even." the point to
which the term third may be referenced is the current day he is speaking in, i.e. the day
before the chodesh [new moon].

Continues Brown:

Then in verse 27, Saul notices David's absence again on the second of the chodesh [new
moon]. This shows the length of this special "new moon" gathering at the king's table to
be TWO DAYS IN A ROW. He tries to explain to himself that David's absence was due
to him being "unclean." The events then culminate in Jonathan shooting arrows as
planned on the third day (counting from the day before the chodesh) at even. Saul doesn't
ask again the next day why David didn't come. The special new moon gathering or
chodesh appears then to have ended -- AFTER TWO DAYS. We can safely assume then
that because there were two days in which David was expected, THAT PARTICULAR
[LUNAR] MONTH WAS 30 DAYS IN LENGTH. We can also assume that both those
days were not normal "work days" by the very existence of the feast. -- Pp. 57-58.

This also proves that up to the time of Saul and David the Israelites were still observing
the weeks (and therefore the SABBATH) according to the LUNAR CALENDAR OR
RECKONING!!

"So," concludes Brown, "with this story of David we can begin to understand how 'feast-
ing' is attached to the chodesh or 'new moon.' Everyone just sort of went 'on hold' and enjoyed the
barbecue! The sighting of the crescent moon then ended it because that was the day wherein the
counting of the new month AND WEEK began again" (ibid., p.58).

Further evidence is supplied by the Encyclopedia Biblica (1899) which says --

The New Moon and the Sabbaths alike called men to the sanctuary to do sacrifice as in:
Isaiah 1:12-17, Isa. 56:1-7, and Ezekiel 20:10-20. Hosea takes it for granted that in cap-
tivity the Sabbath will be suspended along with the other feasts, because in His day a
feast implied a sanctuary. The Sabbath is a Mark of Separation or division from the hea
then. In I Samuel 20:18, 24, and 27, the New Moon was celebrated TWO DAYS. The
Sabbath is on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th days FROM EACH NEW MOON. (Note: The
dark side of the moon would be 1 or 2 days, i.e. intercalary days.) -- The MacMillan
Company, p. 4177.

The same encyclopedia, on page 5290, notes that "the subdivision of the month was into
weeks,...the week representing approximately a fourth. This quadripartite division of the month
into weeks was suggested by THE PHASES OF THE MOON. The mode of reckoning AMONG
THE ISRAELITES was by dividing the first 28 days of each month into 4 weeks, i.e. 7th, 14th,

23