COME TO THE PLACE. Deuteronomy 16 Sometimes, we read through the scriptures when it seems like some of the months of the year are mixed up. This is because the Jews used a lunar calendar, which included a civil calendar for official matters and a sacred calendar for religious matters. The civil year had 360 days, with months alternating between 29 and 30 days. The sacred calendar had 354 days, and every three years, an extra month called Veadar was added between Adar and Nisan (the Babylonian name for Abib). Official matters, contracts, births, etc., followed the civil calendar. On the civil calendar, Tishri was the first month, but on the sacred calendar, it was the seventh month. Abib was the seventh month on the civil calendar and the first month of the year on the sacred calendar.
The seven “Feasts of Jehovah” were observed according to the sacred calendar. Abib was the Hebrew name for Nisan, which is mentioned in Nehemiah. On our calendars, it falls around March or April. In this chapter, Moses reviews how the Israelites gathered for the feasts of the Lord, highlighting their purposes and practices.