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According to the "Concealed Moon Theory," the term "Keseh" is derived from the root
K.S.Y. meaning "to cover" and therefore means "covered moon" or "concealed moon." According
to this interpretation, when the verse says to blow on a horn on the day of Keseh it actually means
"[blow on a horn] on the day of the Concealed Moon." However, the language here DOES NOT
support this argument because the second half of the verse also refers to the day of Keseh as "the
day of our Feast (Hag)." In the Bible, Feast (Hag) is a technical term which always refers to the
three annual pilgrimage-feasts (Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Tabernacles; see Exodus 23 and
34). The New Moon Day (Hodesh) is never classified as a "Pilgrimage-Feast" so Keseh/Hag can-
not possibly be the same as the New Moon Day (Hodesh). It has even been suggested that Keseh
refers to the Biblical holiday of Yom Teruah (Day of Shouting), which always falls out on the New
Moon Day. Unfortunately for this theory, the Bible describes Yom Teruah as a Moed (appointed
time) and never as a Hag (Pilgrimage-Feast) -- so Keseh/Hag cannot refer to Yom Teruah either!

It is more than likely that Keseh is related to the Aramaic word "Kista" and the Assyrian
word "Kuseu" which mean "full moon" -- see Brown-Driver-Briggs p. 490b. This fits perfectly
with the description of Keseh as the day of the Hag since two of the three Pilgrimage-Feasts (Hag
HaMatzot and Hag HaSukkot) are on the 15th of the month, which is the time of the full moon!

The Length of "Concealment"

Another important point to consider -- and one that destroys the theory of the "Concealed
Moon" -- is that there is NO ACTUAL "DAY" OF CONCEALMENT! In fact, the moon stays con-
cealed anywhere from 1.5 to 3.5 days in the Middle East! It has been proposed that the "day" of the
concealed moon is actually the day of the conjunction (when the moon passes between the earth
and the sun). However, it was only 1,000 years AFTER Moses that the Babylonian astronomers
discovered how to calculate the moment of the conjunction. Therefore, the ancient Israelites would
have had no way of knowing when the moment of conjunction takes place and would not have
known on which day (out of a possible 3.5) to observe the "Concealed Moon Day"!

It has been suggested by those who are determined to cling to this theory that the ancient Is-
raelites could have looked at the "Old Moon" and determined the Day of Conjunction by when the
Old Moon was no longer visible in the morning sky. Needless to say, such a method would not
work in the Middle East where the so-called "concealed moon" can remain concealed for as many
as 3.5 days! It is in fact common for the moon to stay concealed for 2.5 days and in such instances
HOW would the ancient Israelites have known which day was the Day of Conjunction?

In contrast, the ancient Israelites would have been well aware of the Crescent New Moon.
In ancient societies people worked from dawn until dusk and they would have noticed the Old
Moon getting smaller and smaller in the morning sky. When the morning moon had disappeared al-
together the ancient Israelites would have anxiously awaited its reappearance 1.5 to 3.5 days later
in the evening sky. Having disappeared for several days and then appearing anew in the early eve-
ning sky they would have called it the "New Moon" or "Hodesh" (from Hadash meaning "New").
This is how the "New Moon" was determined during the time of Christ and following centuries.

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