Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Jonathan D. Safren" <yon_saf AT bezeqint.net>]

The Full Moon is a good time to have festive occasions. Note, in addition to
Passover and Sukkot,  also 15 Shevat, and Purim on 14 Adar, pretty close.
1) Full moon, plenty of light for festivities when there's no electricity
(which there wasn;t).
2) Best time in the month, demon-wise. New Moon celebrated the moon coming
back, not being devoured. FUll moon is the climax hoped for at New Moon.Less
spirits wandering about, less numina (like the kinds that attacked Jacob at
Penuel and Moses in the middle of the desert.
Jonathan D. Safren
Dept. of Bibical Studies
Beit Berl College
Israel

----- Original Message -----
From: "Shoshanna Walker" <rosewalk AT concentric.net>
To: "Biblical Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Sent: Sunday, December 16, 2001 4:41 PM
Subject: Shabbat/Shupattu article revised


> "The gods rested from toil on the 15th day of the month, the day of
> the Full Moon. I
>           note that it is on this day that Israel's Exodus from Egypt
> begins. Was this a
>           deliberate reformatting of a sacred day in honor of the
> Moon-god, being transformed
>           into a day of honoring Yahweh-Elohim for bringing his nation
> out of slavery and
>           subservience to gods of wood and stone ? Passover night was
> the 14th day of the
>           month, the next day Israel began her march  out of Egypt.
> Moses tells the people to
>           remember this day, the day God set them free, the 15th day
> of the month, the day of
>           the Full Moon-"
>
>
> If this is the reason why Pesach begins on the full moon, why is it,
> that Succot begins on the full moon?
>
> Shoshanna
>
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