Tag Archives: abib barley

What is the significance of the abib barley as it relates to YOU?

Posted on by
7

Exodus 9:31, The barley was in the head. Barley was cultivated as a grain crop in ancient Egypt, as well as in Israel, and grows wild like a weed throughout the region to this day. Several passages in the Scriptures witness to the fact that the barley was the indicator of which month was to be the first month of the year for the Israelites, so that they could determine when the biblical feasts were to be observed.

Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover unto YHVH your Elohim: for in the month of Abib YHVH your Elohim brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. (Deut 16:1, emphasis added)

Please notice, the definite article the proceeding the phrase “month of Abib.” The state of the barley determined the name of a specific month in the spring on YHVH’s biblical calendar. Months in the biblical Hebrew calendar have always been determined by the first visible sliver of the new moon from antiquity. This specific month is to be the beginning the biblical new year (Exod 12:2). The state of the barley simply determines which month is to be the first month of the biblical year. The month of the Abib is not so much the name of a monthas it is a description of the month. Below are listed the other three places in the Scriptures where this phrase is found.

This day came you out in the month Abib. (Exod 13:4)

You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread: (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it you came out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty). (Exod 23:15)

The feast of unleavened bread shall you keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt. (Exod 34:18, emphasis added on all)

What does the word abib in the phrase “the month of the Abib (or Aviv)” mean? The Hebrew word abib is found only six times in the Bible and is transliterated into the English (in the KJV) as “abib,” meaning “in the ear,” or “green ears of grain.” The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, defines the word abib or aviv as follows:

This noun refers to barley that is already ripe, but still soft, the grains of which are eaten either rubbed or roasted. The ASV and RSV agree (but see Lev 2:14). The seventh plague brought ruinous hail upon Egypt’s barley crop at least two weeks before it was fully ripened and ready for harvest (Exod 9:31). Abib was also the early name (later, Nisan) of the first month of the Jewish calendar (the month of Passover). In that month the barley came to ear, but the usual time of harvest was the second month (Iyyar). According to Lev 2:14 the grain offering was to consist of the firstfruits of abib.

So the barley being in its abib state eliminates the guesswork of determining which new moon begins the new year. The Scriptures are clear. It is the new moon that immediately follows the abib barley that determines the beginning of the year. This is important to know, since knowing the start of the new year determines the dates for the biblical moedim or appoint times—namely the biblical holidays and feasts.

After the abib barley is found and the first visible sliver of the new moon is sighted marking the first day of the first month of YHVH’s biblical calendar, 14 days later is Passover (Pesach) with the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Chag HaMatzot) immediately following on the fifteenth day of the first month. Then on the day after the weekly Sabbath that occurred during the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread, a sheaf of now-ripened barley was cut and waved heavenward by the high priest to be accepted by YHVH as the first of the first fruits offering of the upcoming barley harvest. I have written extensively on this subject in another teaching article relating to the spring feast days, which can be found on our website. Suffice it to say that the barley that was lifted heavenward and waved was a prophetic picture of Yeshua the Messiah’s ascension to heaven after his resurrection where he was accepted by the Father as the perfect sin offering covering the sins of mankind. Fifty days later to the day is the Feast of Pentecost (Heb. Shavuot) picturing the ripening of the larger wheat harvest, which was a prophetic picture of all Israel and the peoples of the nations coming to faith in Yeshua from the first century until the present time. As you can see, an understanding of the abib barley is essential not only in setting the biblical calendar for the year, but for knowing when to keep the biblical feasts, and for gaining a fuller understanding of the salvific implications of the death, burial and resurrection of our Master and Savior, Yeshua the Messiah from a Hebraic perspective.

For more information on the biblical calendar and the waving of the barley first fruits see http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/cal_demyst.pdf; http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/new_moons.pdf; http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/firstfruits.pdf.

 

Is it “happy biblical new year” now, or in one month?

Posted on by
23
Update from Natan: Here is an update on the article below that I wrote a few days ago. Since then, some interesting developments have occurred, which greatly confirm my conclusions below. It is this: What was purported to be abib/aviv barley was actually wheat. Yes. It was wheat, NOT barley.

What disturbs me greatly is that when the person who reported to have found abib barley in the land of Israel, he posted pictures of abib grain in his hand on the internet, and he represented it as being abib barley. Then when a couple of people pointed out the fact that what he was holding was not barley but was actually wheat, he admitted that it was wheat, but that it didn’t matter. He said it could have been corn or any other grain that had been abib and it didn’t matter if it was actually barley or not. What I’m asking myself???? Where is this in the Bible? Apparently, his reasoning is that since he found a small patch of some abib wheat, this is positive proof that the barley will come abib sometime in the next month in time for First Fruits Day, even though it’s not currently abib. Based on this false report, many people will be keeping the biblical feasts this year a whole month early!

After this, the same person then went on to publicly and viciously attack the other person who identified it as wheat and not barley. Yes! Instead of admitting that he had made a mistake in calling wheat barley, he attacked the other person calling them demonic, a deceiver, a tool of the devil, etc., etc. He then went on to give a bunch of unbiblical, man-made reasons why he was right…yet still no abib barley.

What’s the bottom line? Simply this. You can believe if you want that we’re in the first month of the new biblical year, but it’s based on a false report that the barley was abib when it was not. It seems that this individual is either an unrepentant deceiver, a false Bible teacher or a a very naive person who doesn’t know the difference between wheat and barley. He’s also not a very nice person in that he attacks people who respectfully disagree with him in a non-attacking manner. He’s not accountable to anyone and is a lone wolf, loose canon. As such, this person is not in a position to have people be looking to him to be determine when the new biblical year is to start based on the abib barley.

Alternate title: Was Abib/Aviv Barley Just Found in the Land of Israel?

 

We vote that the new biblical year will be in another month. A little further below, we’ll discus the reasons why.

But first, I want to bless all of my Christian and Jewish brothers and sisters who are actively participating in the process to help restore biblical truth. Both the prophet Malachi and Peter the apostle of Yeshua talked about this process. It’s helping to speed up the coming of the Messiah.

Remember the Torah-law of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of YHVH. And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. (Mal 4:4–6)

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Yeshua the Messiah, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which Elohim has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. (Act 3:19–21)

Both of these passages are speaking about the same thing: a restoration of biblical truths, which have been forgotten or sublimated by the unbiblical traditions of men. Truth has suffered at the hands of religionists in both the Jewish and Christian camps. Many of YHVH’s people are beginning to awake from their spiritual slumber (Rev 3:3, realize that they’ve often been lied to (Jer 16:19), and now it’s time come out of spiritual Babylon (Rev 18:4).

But the restoration of truth is a process that takes time. Issues have to be worked through. Discoveries have to be made, truths uncovered and then tested to see if they really are truth. This process can messy and, at times, divisive.The restoration of truth is not for the faint of heart. Sadly, while this is occurring, charity in all things often gives way to the darker side of human nature: angry outbursts, offense, bitterness, attacks, gossip, slander and so on.

Most people will prefer to stay in the safe comfort zones of their religious traditions and denominations instead of stepping into the no-go zone between opposing camps—a veritable battlefield that is encircled with barbed wire, planted with land mines and rigged Continue reading →

 

What is the Significance of the Abib Barley?

Posted on by
6

Every detail in the Scriptures is important.

The longer we study the Bible, the more our spiritual radar zeroes in on these seeming insignificant details and the more we see how they relate to other details elsewhere in the Scriptures. Pretty soon, the pieces of the puzzle fall into place, and like digging for gold, spiritual nuggets are discovered.

To the serious biblical studier, it becomes impossible to dismiss the Bible as simply another  religious book written by men. As more of these puzzle pictures form, one realizes that the Bible has been fearfully and wonderfully crafted by an intellect that is superior to that of any man. A small detail in Exodus 9:31 is another example of this as the following study will show.

Exodus 9:31, The barley was in the head. Barley was cultivated as a grain crop in ancient Egypt, as well as in Israel, and grows wild like a weed throughout the region to this day. Several passages in the Scriptures witness to the fact that the barley was the indicator of which month was to be the first month of the year for the Israelites, so that they could determine when the biblical feasts were to be observed.

Barley 32335508

Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover unto YHVH your Elohim: for in the month of Abib YHVH your Elohim brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. (Deut 16:1, emphasis added)

Please notice, the definite article the proceeding the phrase “month of Abib.” The state of the barley indicates a specific month in the spring. Months in the biblical Hebrew calendar have always been determined by the first visible sliver of the new moon from antiquity. This specific month is to be the beginning the biblical new year (Exod 12:2). The month of the Abib is not so much the name of a month as it is a description of the month. Below are listed the other three places in the Scriptures where this phrase is found.

This day came you out in the month Abib. (Exod 13:4)

You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread: (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it you came out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty). (Exod 23:15)

The feast of unleavened bread shall you keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt. (Exod 34:18, emphasis added on all)

What does the word abib in the phrase “the month of the Abib (or Aviv)” mean? The Hebrew word abib is found only six times in the Bible and is transliterated into the English (in the KJV) as “abib,” meaning “in the ear,” or “green ears of grain.” The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, defines the word abib or aviv as follows: Continue reading →