In Genesis chapter 1 and 2, we learn about the first seven-day
week which many call creation week. The seven-day week has continued on since
then. According to the laws of Moses the
Israelites were to track time using a week of seven days and years grouped in a
seven-year cycle. I believe our Father
in Heaven asked that this be done so that the weekly cycle of seven would never
be broken and there is proof that this cycle was never broken. Even though the names of the days of the week
were changed and our calendar did change, the cycle of seven was not
interrupted. I will explain how this is
possible in on this page.
Jesus’ Resurrection is Celebrated on Sunday
It is tradition to celebrate Christ’s resurrection on Sunday
and that tradition was started right after Jesus was crucified. Based on my research I have found that the
Sabbath day is a ‘day of rest’ and was never intended to be a church day. I wrote more about the Sabbath
day of rest here. Sunday was the day
that congregation met and they named that day ‘the Lord’s Day’ because that was
the day that Mary discovered that Jesus’ tomb was empty and that Jesus had
risen.
“And in the end of the sabbath [Abib 18], when it began to dawn
towards the first day [Abib 19] of the week, came Mary Magdalen and
the other Mary, to see the sepulchre. And behold there was a great earthquake.
For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and coming, rolled back the
stone, and sat upon it. And his countenance was as lightning, and his raiment
as snow. And for fear of him, the guards were struck with terror, and became as
dead men. And the angel answering, said to the women: Fear not you; for I know
that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen, as he said.
Come, and see the place where the Lord was laid.” DR Matthew 28:1-6
“And on
the first day [Abib 19] of the week, very early in the morning, they
came to the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they
found the stone rolled back from the sepulchre. And going in, they found not the
body of the Lord Jesus.” DR Luke 24:1-2
“And on
the first day [Abib 19] of the week, Mary Magdalen cometh early,
when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre; and she saw the stone taken away from
the sepulchre. She ran, therefore, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other
disciple whom Jesus loved, and saith to them: They have taken away the Lord out
of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.” DR
John 20:1-2
Today Jesus’ resurrection is always observed on Sunday since
that is the first day of the week when Mary found the tomb empty and Jesus
appeared to them. Church’s today do not observe
Christ’s
crucifixion on the correct date but they do hold to the tradition of observing
his resurrection on Sunday. On a proper
calendar, such as the Dead Sea Scroll Temple Calendar, Enoch’s or the Jubilee
calendars, Abib 19 must be on the first day of the week now called Sunday. The seven day weekly cycle has not been broken
since the time of Christ’s resurrection and probably has not been broken
since creation. When the current
Gregorian calendar, also called New Style, was implemented this seven day cycle
was not broken since Wednesday, 2
September 1752, was followed by Thursday, 14 September 1752. America
adopted the New Style calendar while a colony of the British Empire. The dates on a proper calendar should always
be, as follows:
·
Abib 13 – Monday - The Last Supper
·
Abib 14 – Tuesday - Passover and Christ’s
crucifixion (He was placed in the tomb just before the dawn of the 15th
which was Unleavened Bread)
·
Abib 18 – Sabbath or Saturday - Christ’s
Resurrection (after 3 days and 3 nights in tomb Luke
24:46)
·
Abib 19 – Sunday, the 1st day of the
week - Mary finds the tomb empty and later that day Christ appears and shows
that he was resurrected.
Here is how the events are shown on the Dead Sea Scrolls
Temple Calendar:
The Lord’s Day in the Bible
In this article I refer to Sunday as ‘the Lord’s Day’ since this is the wording in our bibles.; however,
the words used in the original ancient Greek was ‘Kyriakí day’. The word Kyriaki is derived from κύριος
- kurios which was translated to the word ‘Lord’ 626 times in the New
Testament. Κύριος was also translated to
Lord in the Septuagint version of the bible that was written 400 years earlier
than the New Testament. Kyriaki or kyriakós is an adjective meaning ‘belonging to the Lord’. Kyriakós is used in reference to ‘the Lord’s
Supper’ and ‘the Lord’s Day’ being Sunday.
In this verse the word Kyriakós is used in reference to
eating Jesus’ supper that was done on Sundays when they met together:
“When you come therefore together into one place, it is not now to eat
the Lord's
supper.” 1 Cor 11:20
“Συνερχομένων οὖν ὑμῶν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό, οὐκ ἔστιν κυριακὸν [belonging to the Lord] δεῖπνον φαγεῖν.” 1 Cor 11:20
The Latin Vulgate has a Latin version of the word Kyriakós
which is Dominicam and that was used in their language of the bible:
“convenientibus ergo vobis in
unum iam non est dominicam [belonging to the Lord] cenam manducare” 1 Cor 11:20
In this verse the words ‘Lord’s Day’ or Kyriakós are used
and confirm that Jesus came to John with the revelation on a Sunday:
“I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice,
as of a trumpet” DR Rev 1:10
“Ἐγενόμην ἐν πνεύματι ἐν τῇ κυριακῇ (Lord’s)
ἡμέρᾳ·(day)
καὶ ἤκουσα φωνὴν ὀπίσω μου μεγάλην ὡς σάλπιγγος” Rev 1:10 Also see Strong’s
interlineal http://biblehub.com/interlinear/revelation/1-10.htm
“fui in spiritu in dominica (Lord’s) die (day) et audivi post me vocem
magnam tamquam tubae” Rev 1:10
John did know the difference between the Sabbath and Kyriakós
since here he uses the word Sabbath. The
English, Greek and Latin versions all reflect the word Sabbath.
“Now it was the sabbath,
when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.” DR John 9:14
Ἦν δὲ σάββατον ὅτε τὸν πηλὸν ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς,
καὶ ἀνέῳξεν αὐτοῦ τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς. BR John 9:14 Also see Strong’s
interlineal http://biblehub.com/interlinear/john/9-14.htm
“autem sabbatum quando lutum fecit
Iesus et aperuit oculos eius” LV John 9:14
1st Century Use of the Lord’s Day
In the Teachings
of the Twelve Apostles written in the first century and is called the
Didache, it confirms that the ‘Lord’s day’ was when the early congregations
assembled:
“But every Lord’s day do
ye gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after
having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure.” Didache
14:1
The Didache also confirms the use of the word ‘preparation’
as a named day of the week:
“But let not your fasts be with the hypocrites; for they fast on the
second and fifth day of the week; but do ye fast on the fourth day and the Preparation [Friday].” Didache
8:1
Greek & Latin Week Days
The table below reflects the ancient names for the week days. In about 321 AD, Constantine instituted that
the days be named as they are today; the days were named after planets and
prior to this only some places used planet names. Notice that both Greek and Latin have a word
for ‘the day of the Lord’ and a different word that is used for the Sabbath
day. The Greeks reflects that they called
Friday preparation day since that is the day you would prepare for the Sabbath
day.
|
|
English |
Ancient Greek |
Latin |
||
|
Word |
Meaning |
Word |
Meaning |
||
|
1 |
Sunday |
Κυριακή -Kyriakí |
Lord’s day κύριος (kýrios, Lord) |
Sun |
|
|
2 |
Monday |
Δευτέρα -Deftéra |
second |
Moon |
|
|
3 |
Tuesday |
Τρίτη - Tríti |
third |
Mars'war, battle' |
|
|
4 |
Wednesday |
Τετάρτη -Tetárti |
forth |
dīēs Mercuriī |
Mercury |
|
5 |
Thursday |
Πέμπτη -Pémpti |
fifth |
Jupiter father Jove, father Zeus |
|
|
6 |
Friday |
Παρασκευή –Paraskeví |
preparation day ‘day before Sabbath or Feast
Day’ |
Venus |
|
|
7 |
Saturday |
Σάββατο -Sávvato |
sábbaton – Sabbath |
Sabbath Saturn 'to sow' |
|
So even though the names of the weeks were changed the cycle
was not broken.
Also see:
Greek: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Greek_phrasebook/Time
Latin: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:la:Days_of_the_week
The Biblical Week
Our bible does reflect that the week has always been seven
days and that the seventh day is a ‘day of rest’. Here are the definitions of the word day and
week:
|
English |
Ancient Greek |
Latin |
Block Hebrew |
|||
|
Word |
Meaning |
Word |
Meaning |
Word |
Meaning |
|
|
Day |
μέρα - méra ημέρα - iméra |
Solar or sidereal day, daylight |
Hot or warm hours |
|||
|
Week |
εβδομάδα - evdomáda |
A group of 7 days or years |
ebdomadarum |
Change, turn, week, group of seven |
Group of 7 days or years |
|
Genesis
Our Father in Heaven used a seven-day week to create our
world and then rested on the seventh day that day was later named the Sabbath
day.
“And God blessed the seventh [εβδόμη – évdomos, seventh] day [ημέρα –iméra - daylight] and sanctified it, because in it he ceased
from all his works which God began to do.” Gen 2:3
The Latin and block Hebrew versions of the bible also a
confirm seven day week with the seventh day being a holy day:
“et benedixit diei [daytime] septimo [seventh] et sanctificavit
illum quia in ipso cessaverat ab omni opere suo quod creavit Deus [God] ut faceret” LV Gen 2:3
“And he blessed the
seventh [shebii or shebiith,
seventh] day [yom, day] and sanctified it: because in it he had rested from all his work which
God [Elohim]created and made.”
DR Gen 2:3
Exodus Confirms the Seven Day Week Cycle
The laws of Moses confirm a seven-day week with the
seventh day being a day of rest:
“Six days thou shalt work, but on
the seventh [εβδόμη
– évdomos, seventh] day thou shalt rest: there shall be rest in seed-time
and harvest [αμητώ-amén, form of
amen, to fulfill]. And thou shalt keep to me the feast [εορτήν-giortí,
celebration] of weeks [εβδομάδων,
evdomáda, week], the beginning of wheat [πυρών-purôn, watchfires or puron corn
or wheat] –harvest [θερισμού-therízo,
reap, cut] and the feast of ingathering in the middle of the year [ενιαυτού
- eniautós, year].” Exo 34:21-22
The Latin and block Hebrew versions of the same verses
confirm the seven-day week cycle:
“sex diebus operaberis die septimo
cessabis arare et metere sollemnitatem ebdomadarum [hebdomada, seven or week] facies
tibi in primitiis frugum [crop
or produce] messis [harvest]
tuae triticeae [wheat
root word grind] et
sollemnitatem [solemnity
or ceremony] quando redeunte anni [year] tempore cuncta
conduntur” LV Exo 34:21-22
“Six days shalt thou work, the
seventh [shebiith: seventh]
day thou shalt cease to plough, and to reap. Thou shalt keep the feast of weeks
[shabua: a period of seven]
with the firstfruits of the corn of thy wheat [uncertain, grain or the plant]
harvest, and the feast when the time of the year returneth that all things are
laid in.” DR Exo 34:21-22
Feast of Weeks Confirms Seven Day Week Cycle
The countdown to the Feast of Weeks that is also called Pentecost
confirms a seven day cycle of seven weeks is used to count the number of day
from the Wave Sheaf feast that is also called First Fruits. Therefore they had
to keep track of the week days to ensure that the Feast of Weeks is celebrated
the correct day. The picture of the
calendar above does show seven weeks between First Fruits and the Feast of
Weeks.
“And ye shall number to yourselves from the
day after the sabbath, from the day on which ye shall offer the sheaf of the
heave-offering, seven
full weeks: until the morrow after the last week ye shall number
fifty days, and shall bring a new meat-offering to the Lord.” Lev 23:15-16
“Seven weeks shalt thou number to thyself; when thou hast
begun to put the sickle to the corn, thou shalt begin to number seven weeks.
And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks
to the Lord thy God, accordingly as thy hand has power in as many things as the
Lord thy God shall give thee.” Deu 16:9-10
The Year of Jubilee Confirms Seven Day and Year Cycle
The laws of Moses reflect that the Israelites were to keep
track of years in increments of seven so that the Year
of Jubilee could be proclaimed:
“And thou shalt reckon to thyself seven sabbaths of years, seven times
seven years; and they shall be to thee seven weeks of years, nine and forty
years. In the seventh month, on the
tenth day of the month, ye shall make a proclamation with the sound of a
trumpet in all your land; on the day of atonement ye shall make a proclamation
with a trumpet in all your land. And ye shall sanctify the year, the fiftieth
year, and ye shall proclaim a release upon the land to all that inhabit it; it
shall be given a year of release, a jubilee for you; and each one shall depart
to his possession, and ye shall go each to his family.” Lev 25:8-10
The Priestly Courses Tracked by Weeks
The priestly divisions, of the year, were created by King
David and they are also known as courses.
These courses were tracked by the week. King David’s priestly
courses are described in 1 Chronicles chapter 24.
The priestly courses were found in the Dead
Sea Scrolls showing that the priestly courses rotated the weeks. At the time Mary conceived Jesus the courses
were still being followed as shown here in Luke:
“There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest
named Zachary, of
the course of Abia; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and
her name Elizabeth.” DR Luke 1:5
The Book of Jubilees
The book of Jubilees does track time using a seven day week
and a seven year cycle. Here are a
couple of examples from the book of Jubilees:
“And in the third week in the second jubilee she gave birth to Cain, and in the fourth she
gave birth to Abel, and in the fifth she gave birth to her daughter Awan. And
in the first
(year) of the third jubilee, Cain slew Abel because (God) accepted
the sacrifice of Abel, and did not accept the offering of Cain.” Jubilees
4:1-3
“And in the fifth year of the fourth week of this
jubilee, in the third month, in the middle of the month, Abram
celebrated the feast of the first-fruits of the grain harvest.” Jubilees
15:1-2
Daniel
During the time of Daniel, they were tracking weeks:
“Seventy weeks have
been determined upon thy people, and upon the holy city, for sin to be ended,
and to seal up transgressions, and to blot out the iniquities, and to make
atonement for iniquities, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to
seal the vision and the prophet, and to anoint the Most Holy. And thou shalt
know and understand, that from the going forth of the command for the answer
and for the building of Jerusalem until Christ the prince there shall be seven weeks,
and sixty-two
weeks; and then the time shall return, and the street shall be
built, and the wall, and the times shall be exhausted. And after the sixty-two weeks,
the anointed one shall be destroyed, and there is no judgment in him: and he
shall destroy the city and the sanctuary with the prince that is coming: they
shall be cut off with a flood, and to the end of the war which is rapidly
completed he shall appoint the city to desolations. And one week shall establish the covenant with
many: and in the midst of the week my
sacrifice and drink-offering shall be taken away: and on the temple shall be
the abomination of desolations; and at the end of time an end shall be put to
the desolation.” Dan 9:24-27
Days for Offerings, Feast Days, & Fasts
Our Father in Heaven’s offering, feasts, fasts and work days
were all organized for us from the beginning of time. From week to week and year to year this
organization must not be altered.
Sunday is the 1st Day of the Week is ‘Kyriakí day’ meaning ‘belonging to the Lord’. This is the day that many today still bring
their offers (or tithes) to their congregation with them. Our congregations and churches are open for
business collecting offerings. It is a
work day; however our work should be focused on our Father in Heaven, our
congregation and family. These are the historical offerings and events that
take place on this day of the week:
Feast of First Fruit (Wave Sheaf) offering (Lev 7:30)
Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) offering (Deu 16:10)
New Wine Offering (Dead Sea Scrolls)
New Oil Offering (Dead Sea Scrolls)
Wood Offering (Dead Sea Scrolls)
Feast of Purim food offering & offerings left at the
graves of their ancestors
The ‘Lord Super’, the breaking of bread
together and giving thanks after confessing our sins. Each family would have
contributed an offering of food for the meal.
(Acts 20:7 & Didache 14:1, Didache
) It is the traditional family Sunday dinner. They collected offerings on
this day (1Co 16:1-2).
Monday is the 2nd
day of the week and is considered a work day. It is a day for the following:
Work, chores and other responsibilities
for the day.
Jesus’ ‘Last Super’ was on this
day. Jesus and the apostles did perform
their required responsibilities in preparation for Passover to be the following
day. (Luke 22:9)
Tuesday is the 3rd
day of the week and it is considered a work day. It is for the following:
Work, chores and other
responsibilities for the day.
The Passover feast is on a work day
since it is a day of work preparing for Passover dinner and to prepare for the
feast of Unleavened bread to be held the following day. The Passover feast is not a feast of joy;
therefore is not held on a Wednesday.
The Passover feast is to be eaten with bitter herbs so that we remember
our bitter experience as slaves in Egypt. (Exo 12:8) Now it is a day to remember that Christ was
killed on Passover which was also a bitter experience when he became the
Passover lamb.
Wednesday is the 4th day of the week and it is
considered a work day. This is the day
the sun, moon, and stars were created.
This is the day that time began. The quarterly seasons are celebrated on this
day. This is a work day however festivals of joy and
gladness also occur on this day. Festivals (feast days) are held on a
work day since lots of work goes into cooking a big meal and other activities
of celebration. Offerings for feast day
are also performed on this day. Many
congregations and churches still have an evening service on this day.
First day of Spring Festival where food
offerings would be required (Jubilees)
The Feast of Unleavened bread
begins and food offerings were required (Deu 16:16-17)
First day of Summer Festival where
food offerings would be required (Jubilees)
First day of Fall Festival and the
Feast of Trumpets where food offerings would be required (Jubilees)
The Feast of Tabernacles begins and
food offerings were required (Deu 16:16-17)
The ‘Last Great Day’ of the Feast
of Tabernacles where food offerings will be required
First day of Winter Festival where
food offerings would be required (Jubilees)
The Feast of the Dedication where
food offerings would be required
Fasting day (Didache, see above)
They probably did not fast on feast day or they only fasted until late in the
day when the meal was served.
Quarterly fasting day called a ‘Ember Day’.
Jesus’ ascension to heaven occurred
this day
Work, chores and other
responsibilities for the day.
Thursday is the 5th
day of the week and it is considered a work day. It is for the following:
Work, chores and other
responsibilities for the day.
Friday is the 6th
day of the week and it is also called ‘Preparation Day’. It is for
the following:
Tasks required in preparation for
the Sabbath day.
The Day of Atonement fasting,
resting and repenting
Fasting day (Didache, see above)
Quarterly fasting day called a ‘Ember Day’.
Work, chores and other
responsibilities for the day.
Saturday is the
7th day of the week called the Sabbath day and it is the day of
rest.
Do nothing but rest during the
day light hours. During the evening you
are to cook a meal. (Num
28:9-10). It is also a quarterly fasting day called a ‘Ember Day’.
Conclusion
Our Father in Heaven used the seven day week documented in
Genesis chapter one over 7500 years before present. The book of Jubilees tracks time all the way
back to Adam using the week and year in cycles of seven.
The process of tracking the seven day week and years were
given to Moses about 3450 years before present.
We can see proof that they tracked weeks for Feast of Weeks, the
priestly courses and time in the book of Jubilees.
The Christian tradition of Kyriakí or the Lord ’s Day dates
back to almost 2000 years ago when Mary found the Jesus’ tomb empty. Therefore, this is a long established
tradition to track weekly cycles of seven. So, it is very possible that the seven-day
week cycle was never broken.
This is why I believe that when using the Dead Sea Scroll
Calendar to track feast days it is very important the first day of the first
Month of Abib must be a Wednesday. The
sun was created on the fourth day which is Wednesday on our current calendar. When you put the first day of Abib on a
Wednesday all of your calendar dates will be correctly placed and you will not
have any conflicts with scripture. This
will ensure that Jesus’ resurrection celebration always falls on a Sunday which
is the first day of the week. Both the book of Jubilees and Enoch concur that a
year has 52 weeks which equals a 364-day year. The Dead Sea Scrolls Temple
calendar also reflects a 364-day calendar.
A 364-day calendar keeps the days of the week organized as our Father in
Heaven designed them.
For further reading:
The Ancient Sun Cross, Solar Calendar & Jacob's Staff
https://ephraimamerica.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-ancient-sun-cross-solar-calendar.html
The
Jubilees, Seven Weeks of Seven https://ephraimamerica.blogspot.com/2026/11/the-jubilees-seven-weeks-of-seven.html
