THE REVELATION OF ROSH HASHANAH
by Jeremy Chance Springfield
9/1/2026
A dispute exists regarding a topic that could easily be viewed as a pedantic position: whether to call the first day of the seventh Scriptural month by the title: Rosh Hashanah instead of Yom Teruah. The view one takes on this matter, however, is important, since opposing the usage of the title often comes with an accusation against the integrity of the Jewish people towards how the Word is treated. Our judgments should always be made via the route of "righteous righteousness," as Deuteronomy 16:20 commands. Therefore, if our position on a Biblical topic involves an inevitable condemnation of another approach rather than just disagreement, it should be cautiously and thoroughly investigated so as to exonerate our assessment from any potential blemish. In this case, it will be revealed through many textual evidences why Rosh Hashanah is a totally acceptable Torah-sanctioned name for the holy time of Yom Teruah.
This study is intended as an addendum to my study THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. It is primarily presented as an explanatory piece for those believing the first day of the seventh month should not be called Rosh Hashanah. However, it can also serve as a helpful tool for those who have no issue with the alternative title and desire information that supports the position from a Biblical perspective.
This study is intended as an addendum to my study THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. It is primarily presented as an explanatory piece for those believing the first day of the seventh month should not be called Rosh Hashanah. However, it can also serve as a helpful tool for those who have no issue with the alternative title and desire information that supports the position from a Biblical perspective.
It consists of three sections that deal with considerably different focuses, but which all contribute to revealing the same main point to provide an apologetic study for the use of Rosh Hashanah for the season of the seventh month.
The core point of disagreement is that the Torah refers to the seventh month in Leviticus 23:24 by the title of ZICHRON TERUAH “a memorial of a [shofar] blast.”
After the passing of many years, the Torah refers to the same day in Numbers 29:1 as YOM TERUAH “a day of a [shofar] blast.”
Due to these two instances, the first day of the seventh month is commonly referred to by either ZICHRON TERUAH or YOM TERUAH. The latter is the more popularly used of the two, but both appear in Scripture as valid titles for the holy time we are commanded to observe each year. The basic idea among many sincere believers is that the shared term of TERUAH “[shofar] blast” signals the proper way for the day to be designated.
The perceived harmony of the Torah’s method of referring to the day is disrupted when the text of Ezekiel 40:1 is considered in the topic.
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On the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on [the] tenth of the month, on [the] fourteenth year after which the city was struck, on that very same day was the hand of YHWH upon me and brought me to there. |
It refers to a point in the year called ROSH HASHANAH “the beginning of the year.” The traditional assertion from Judaism is that this is referencing the seventh month and therefore is a secondary way to count years.
For the believer who does not view this as referencing the seventh month, their position is based on the reading of the Torah in Exodus 12:2, which discusses the timeframe of the feast of Passover.
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This month is for you the beginning of months. First it is for you for months of the year. |
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The timeframe for this generally falls somewhere in the Gregorian months of March or April. The Torah presents the event occurring during what almost all English translations render as the month of “Abib” or “Aviv.” This seemingly subtle detail deserves careful attention, for in it lay a clarification relevant to the overall topic. It begins to reveal an exactness inherent in the Hebrew text which translators can radically blur depending on how they handle the inspired Word.
This is because the term, whenever it is used with the specific meaning of a month, is never presented in the Hebrew text as AVIV [see: Exodus 13:4; Exodus 23:15; Exodus 34:18; and Deuteronomy 16:1]. Rather, it always appears in the text in this context as HA’AVIV “the Aviv.”
This is because the term, whenever it is used with the specific meaning of a month, is never presented in the Hebrew text as AVIV [see: Exodus 13:4; Exodus 23:15; Exodus 34:18; and Deuteronomy 16:1]. Rather, it always appears in the text in this context as HA’AVIV “the Aviv.”
The difference of meaning is dependent upon a single Hebrew letter, yet that letter vastly alters the intention of the term—if presented in the text as AVIV—from being a physical trait of barley in the growth stage of having “green ears”—the basic literal meaning of the term, to intending the entire scope of the month in which the barley usually develops to that important harvestable stage—if presented in the text as HA’AVIV “the [stage of] green ears.”
Therefore, when the precise Hebrew wording is correctly presented in the English, it becomes clear that the first month is not ever actually named Aviv / Abib, but rather, it is being referenced as a month in which the barley reaches a growth stage referred to as “the Aviv” “the green ears.”
Therefore, when the precise Hebrew wording is correctly presented in the English, it becomes clear that the first month is not ever actually named Aviv / Abib, but rather, it is being referenced as a month in which the barley reaches a growth stage referred to as “the Aviv” “the green ears.”
This distinction is vital to recognize as the study moves forward: There is no month with the name Aviv or Abib in Scripture. There is only a specific span of weeks in a year when the developing barley reaches a stage of maturity known as HA'AVIV.
The reason it is so important to the overall topic of how the title Rosh Hashanah is to be interpreted has to do with how Scripture refers to the names of month elsewhere. For example, the first month in which the Passover occurs, which we have seen the Torah refers to as occurring in the “month of the Aviv,” is elsewhere referred to as NISAN in Esther 3:7 (and Nehemiah 2:1 where it lacks the identification that it is referring to the first month).
In both instances of its appearance in Scripture, however, it only appears as NISAN and not HANISAN “the Nisan.”
The reason this seemingly minor distinction is actually quite important is because 1st Kings 8:2 proposes yet another title for the timeframe of the seventh month that utilizes this type of grammatical nuance in how a season is referenced.
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And they congregated to the King—Shlomoh—every man of Yisra’el—in [the] month of the Permanent Streams, at the feast of that seventh month. |
In this passage, the seventh month is given the title “the Permanent Streams.” Most English versions render it as “Ethanim”—an approximate phonetic transliteration from the Hebrew. However, this is not a precise presentation of what is in the Hebrew text, which is actually HA’ETHANIM "the Permanent Streams."
Paralleling the situation with the Hebrew text referring to the timeframe in which Passover occurs as HA’AVIV “the Aviv,” the Hebrew text here likewise presents the seventh month as the timeframe of HA’ETHANIM “the Ethanim.” This detail shows it is used to emphasize what unique physical feature of the land distinguishes the time of year being discussed, just as HA’AVIV distinguishes the time of year when barley is in the stage of “the green ears.”
This precision inherent in these details is contrasted by the fact that none of the other titles or names for the months that are listed in Scripture are ever presented with the emphatic “Ha” grammatical prefix of the Hebrew language, proving that the lack of such feature means they were indeed originally intended as specific titles for the individual months, and the inclusion of such a prefix intends them as certain seasons.
This precision inherent in these details is contrasted by the fact that none of the other titles or names for the months that are listed in Scripture are ever presented with the emphatic “Ha” grammatical prefix of the Hebrew language, proving that the lack of such feature means they were indeed originally intended as specific titles for the individual months, and the inclusion of such a prefix intends them as certain seasons.
With this information in place, we should now consider the assertion recorded in the Talmud Bavli, Rosh Hashanah 7a.
The Talmudic text then goes on to quote passages from the Scriptural canon books of the Prophets and the Writings that mention the specific names of the months, yet the Talmud here designates those texts with the label of “Kabbalah.” This provides an essential definition for what true Kabbalah actually entails: the content of spiritual books beyond the first five of the Torah are “Kabbalah”—that is, texts from "tradition" understood to be spiritually authoritative delivered via a personal revelation to a prophet, king, or such, rather than by an audible divine decree to the ears of an entire nation, which was how the Torah was given.
It is in this detail that the nature of the Scriptural names of the months becomes clear: the Torah only ever assigns numbers to them, but the inspired canon beyond the first five books (the original "Kabbalah") assigns traditional names for them that are accepted as binding based on that spiritual authority.
What does all this mean about knowing how to correctly interpret the timeframe of Ezekiel 40:1? It reveals that the usage of Rosh Hashanah in that one instance is clearly done as a name for a month. The Biblical text already gave the traditional name of Nisan for the month in which Passover occurs, and the referent of the seventh month as Ethanim was shown to actually be HA’ETHANIM in the Hebrew. It therefore signified a seasonal condition, and not an actual name.
It is thus only in the books that follow after the Torah where any valid name for a month is ever encountered in Scripture. This necessitates the text referring to Rosh Hashanah in Ezekiel 40:1 must be understood as a traditional name for the seventh month like the other instances where they were given clear names in the books of the Prophets and Writings. When this is understood, then the usage of month names is immediately seen to be a Scripturally-supported way of specifying time and not any degree of a lack of integrity by the Jewish people in how Scripture is treated.
It is in this detail that the nature of the Scriptural names of the months becomes clear: the Torah only ever assigns numbers to them, but the inspired canon beyond the first five books (the original "Kabbalah") assigns traditional names for them that are accepted as binding based on that spiritual authority.
What does all this mean about knowing how to correctly interpret the timeframe of Ezekiel 40:1? It reveals that the usage of Rosh Hashanah in that one instance is clearly done as a name for a month. The Biblical text already gave the traditional name of Nisan for the month in which Passover occurs, and the referent of the seventh month as Ethanim was shown to actually be HA’ETHANIM in the Hebrew. It therefore signified a seasonal condition, and not an actual name.
It is thus only in the books that follow after the Torah where any valid name for a month is ever encountered in Scripture. This necessitates the text referring to Rosh Hashanah in Ezekiel 40:1 must be understood as a traditional name for the seventh month like the other instances where they were given clear names in the books of the Prophets and Writings. When this is understood, then the usage of month names is immediately seen to be a Scripturally-supported way of specifying time and not any degree of a lack of integrity by the Jewish people in how Scripture is treated.
Further clarification on the nature of the meaning of Rosh Hashanah in Ezekiel 40:1 is found by returning to Exodus 12:2 and noting a detail in the Hebrew text.
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This month is for you the beginning of months. First it is for you for months of the year. |
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The Hebrew text uses a very clear phrase in this passage to describe the first month: ROSH CHADASHIM “beginning of months.”
This is similar, but quite distinct, to the phrase ROSH HASHANAH. ROSH CHADASHIM implies a concentration on the months that will comprise the year. If someone desired to staunchly argue for an actual name for the first month found in the Torah, the version of Rosh Chadashim would be the only potentially viable one to use, rather than Rosh Hashanah. However, it is notable that of the proponents of the phrase Rosh Hashanah as actually intending the first month wherein is the feast of Passover, nobody ever contends for the phrase that literally is preserved in the Hebrew text: Rosh Chadashim. This omission reveals a subtle inconsistency of logic in how the topic is being approached by those rejecting Rosh Hashanah as referring to the seventh month. If the textual nuances preserved in the Hebrew are not delicately parsed, the resulting conclusions will inevitably be erroneous.
Therefore, with this information, it becomes clear that the text is explaining a very specific standard for the numbering of months and how they are to be counted. Of those months, the month in which is the feast of Passover, which is also later referred to as the month of Nisan, is to be viewed as the first. This is seen also in the way the Hebrew text continues to reference it in the same verse: RISHON HU LACHEM “First it is for you.”
Therefore, with this information, it becomes clear that the text is explaining a very specific standard for the numbering of months and how they are to be counted. Of those months, the month in which is the feast of Passover, which is also later referred to as the month of Nisan, is to be viewed as the first. This is seen also in the way the Hebrew text continues to reference it in the same verse: RISHON HU LACHEM “First it is for you.”
The term RISHON is significant, for it is used over twenty (20) times in the Torah and the books of the Prophets to refer to the first month of Nisan, wherein is Passover. It also cannot be ignored that in Ezekiel 29:17; 30:20; 45:18 & 21, the prophet followed the Scriptural way to refer to the first month by using the term RISHON. He only used ROSH HASHANAH in one instance from Ezekiel 40:1, which signals a change of meaning has occurred from numbering to naming, and the new phrase is not intended to be the same as RISHON.
Such a claim deserves further proof, and that comes by considering how the Scriptural texts were understood in antiquity. This is seen in how the Hebrew passages were translated into the Aramaic of the Targums—a language widely used for generations by the Jewish people as their main tongue.
Such a claim deserves further proof, and that comes by considering how the Scriptural texts were understood in antiquity. This is seen in how the Hebrew passages were translated into the Aramaic of the Targums—a language widely used for generations by the Jewish people as their main tongue.
Ezekiel 40:1 in the Targum has in place of the Hebrew ROSH HASHANAH the phrase B’REISHA D’SHATA “in the beginning of the year.”
The significance of this phrase is that the translators used it to also translate the Hebrew text of Deuteronomy 11:12.
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[It is] a land which YHWH your Deity seeks after; continually are [the] eyes of YHWH your Deity on her: from the beginning of the year and unto the end of [the] year.
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The Hebrew text reads MEIREISHIT HASHANAH “from the beginning of the year.”
This phrase is nearly identical to ROSH HASHANAH. It is essentially only different in that the term ROSH required specific conjugation to signify “from.” Otherwise, it could have been just as easily presented as ROSH HASHANAH. And so it was that the translators of the Targum rendered it in Aramaic as MEIREISHA D’SHATA “from the beginning of the year.”
A final example comes from the Zohar, Vayechi 226b, which unequivocally defines Rosh Hashanah in its Aramaic title.
This helps to confirm that the Torah was referencing ROSH HASHANAH by the phrase MEIREISHIT HASHANAH “from the beginning of the year.” It shows it as a legitimate title for the season of the seventh month. This can be ascertained by noting that the Torah refers to the Feast of Tabernacles--Chag haSukkot—by the title of CHAG HA’ASIF “the Feast of Ingathering,” in Exodus 23:16. The verse then makes an important clarification of the timing of that feast by saying it is B’TZEIT HASHANAH “at the going out of the year.”
This shows that the year ends in the season of the Feast of Tabernacles, which occurs in the middle of the seventh month--not the end of the twelfth month, as one would assume “at the going out of the year” would be referencing. The only logical conclusion that makes any sense is that a different count for years is being used that absolutely must be factored into the topic.
The concept is reiterated in slightly different wording in Deuteronomy 31:10, where it states that the Feast of Tabernacles, which occurs yearly during the middle of the seventh month, is also viewed as coinciding with a count that concludes MIKKEITZ SHEVA SHANIM “at the end of seven years.”
The concept is reiterated in slightly different wording in Deuteronomy 31:10, where it states that the Feast of Tabernacles, which occurs yearly during the middle of the seventh month, is also viewed as coinciding with a count that concludes MIKKEITZ SHEVA SHANIM “at the end of seven years.”
All of this can be returned to Deuteronomy 11:12, where it reveals the Creator is attentive towards the land “from the beginning of the year and unto the end of [the] year.” If the end of the year occurs in the middle of the seventh month at the season of the Feast of Tabernacles, then the beginning of the year must also be understood as occurring during the seventh month—or what Ezekiel 40:1 had referred to as Rosh Hashanah. With the end of one another begins, so that a complete and distinctly unique cycle of time has occurred that is counted from the seventh month of the year rather than the first month of the year at Passover.
Otherwise, one would be forced to admit that the Creator’s claim to watch over the land “from the beginning of the year and unto the end of [the] year” only means from the first month of Nisan to the seventh month—omitting the remaining five months of the year. This is an absurd concept to entertain, which only affirms that the phraseology of Scripture is precise and must be carefully and mindfully interpreted to arrive at the intended conclusions of the Spirit who inspired the text.
Otherwise, one would be forced to admit that the Creator’s claim to watch over the land “from the beginning of the year and unto the end of [the] year” only means from the first month of Nisan to the seventh month—omitting the remaining five months of the year. This is an absurd concept to entertain, which only affirms that the phraseology of Scripture is precise and must be carefully and mindfully interpreted to arrive at the intended conclusions of the Spirit who inspired the text.
Even with all the evidence presented herein, one could possibly question why the title of Rosh Hashanah even matters at all regarding how the season is referenced. In honest admission, the text of Scripture nowhere commands believers to call the feast any specific title. Rather, the way it is referred to is introduced in the flow of information without a hint of enforcing the use of a particular name for the holy time.
This detail is worth considering for anyone who desires to be dogmatic concerning the topic. Minus a clear command, asserting that any title for the feast is the “proper” one ultimately becomes an exercise in personal preference beyond the scope of Scriptural requirement. As such, the believer would do well to be mindful of how the topic is treated when discussing its nuances whether for or against any potential title.
Why, then, would the later implementation of Rosh Hashanah even be of any note at all? If the Torah does not demand a certain term be used, then what was the purpose of introducing a new one in Ezekiel 40:1 and the subsequent Jewish promotion for that as a more common referent than what came before?
The answer, ironically, actually has everything to do with the Torah. But to appreciate it, we must return to the book of Ezekiel and note some details that bear directly upon the situation. Firstly, it must be understood that Ezekiel—while a prophet—was primarily important for serving another purpose, as seen in Ezekiel 1:3, where he is identified as Yechezkel ben Buzi haKohen “Ezekiel, son of Buzi—the priest.”
Although exiled into the foreign land of Babylon, his lineage was from Aaron. Had he remained in Jerusalem with a functioning Temple he would have been required to serve his countrymen in the office of the priesthood. This detail helps to give context for the second piece of important information about the prophet.
He possessed a notable spiritual authority that is stated in Ezekiel 24:24.
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And Yechezkel is for you for a portent. According to all which he has done shall you do. At his arrival you shall know that I am the Master YHWH. |
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This claim is intriguing because it asserts that Ezekiel was of a unique status, and that position demanded complete obedience from the people towards him. The question, of course, is why did he possess such a special authority?
The answer begins to be found by noting that he was someone exiled from the land of Israel by the order of the king of Babylon. The text of 2nd Kings 24:15 chronicles the people groups who were captured from the land and taken to exile.
The answer begins to be found by noting that he was someone exiled from the land of Israel by the order of the king of Babylon. The text of 2nd Kings 24:15 chronicles the people groups who were captured from the land and taken to exile.
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And he exiled Yehoyachin unto Bavel. And the mother of the king, and the wives of the king, and his officials, and the prominent ones of the land went exiled from Yerushala’im unto Bavel.
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This passage reveals that the people who were exiled to Babylon consisted mainly of the royal family of king Jehoiachin, his royal officials, and an undisclosed group of EILEI HA’ARETZ “prominent ones of the land.” It is the latter group whose identity concerns this study.
The precise identification of these individuals is not defined in the text, but thankfully, a piece of the puzzle is preserved in the Aramaic Targum and the Peshitta versions of this passage, which both translated the term EILEI “prominent ones” in their various conjugations of RAVREVAYA “great ones.”
This designation does not in itself yield the clarity we require, but thankfully, by turning to the text of the Talmud Yerushalmi, Berachot 2:7, it is found to have been discussing members of the highest class of spiritual authority in Israel—the Sanhedrin—and it used this very term to designate them. Therefore, the answer to the question of who were the “prominent ones of the land” exiled along with the royal family and its officials is that they were the members of the Sanhedrin who were also relocated to Babylon!
Knowing that Ezekiel was neither from royal stock nor a royal official, the only other possible position he held as an exile was being of the EILEI HA’ARETZ / RAVREVAYA—one of the members of the Sanhedrin! This inevitable identification of the prophet is extremely important, for pairing this with the detail that he was also a priest, the complete portrait is finally formed as to why he was so special as to be obeyed by the rest of the captives in Babylon.
Knowing that Ezekiel was neither from royal stock nor a royal official, the only other possible position he held as an exile was being of the EILEI HA’ARETZ / RAVREVAYA—one of the members of the Sanhedrin! This inevitable identification of the prophet is extremely important, for pairing this with the detail that he was also a priest, the complete portrait is finally formed as to why he was so special as to be obeyed by the rest of the captives in Babylon.
This significance is found in the Torah, in Deuteronomy 16:18-20 and 17:8-13.
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18 Judges and scriveners you shall appoint in all your gates which YHWH your Deity gives to you for your tribes. And they shall judge the people [by] a righteous judgment.
19 You shall not warp judgment, nor acknowledge faces, and neither take a gift, for the gift blinds [the] eyes of [the] sages and perverts the words of the righteous ones. 20 Righteous righteousness you must pursue, so that you shall live and inherit the land which YHWH your Deity gives to you. |
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8 For a matter extraordinary for you to judge—between blood and blood, between strife and strife, and between blow and blow—matters of dispute in your gates, then you stand up and ascend to the place which YHWH your Deity shall choose.
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9 And you shall come to the priests, the Levi’im, and to the judge who is in those days, and inquire, and they shall tell you the matter of the judgment.
10 And you shall do concerning the mouth of the matter which they tell you from that place which YHWH shall choose, and you shall guard to do according to all which they instruct you.
11 Concerning the mouth of the Torah which they shall instruct you and concerning the judgment which they shall speak to you, you shall do. Do not turn aside from the word which they shall tell you—to the right or left.
12 And the man who shall act arrogantly on account of not listening to the priest who stands to minister there [to] YHWH your Deity, or to the judge, then that very man shall die, and you shall consume the evil from Yisra’el.
13 And all the people shall hear, and they shall fear, and shall not be arrogant further.
10 And you shall do concerning the mouth of the matter which they tell you from that place which YHWH shall choose, and you shall guard to do according to all which they instruct you.
11 Concerning the mouth of the Torah which they shall instruct you and concerning the judgment which they shall speak to you, you shall do. Do not turn aside from the word which they shall tell you—to the right or left.
12 And the man who shall act arrogantly on account of not listening to the priest who stands to minister there [to] YHWH your Deity, or to the judge, then that very man shall die, and you shall consume the evil from Yisra’el.
13 And all the people shall hear, and they shall fear, and shall not be arrogant further.
These passages are the command to create from the priests and the scribes a divinely authorized court whose decisions would be binding for the people: what would become known in later times by the title of the Sanhedrin. For a dedicated exploration of this topic and how it affects followers of Yeshua, please see my study: THE THRONE OF MOSES.
It was this body of priests and scribes who were exiled to Babylon, and from them Ezekiel rose to primacy, being the only recognized prophet who prophesied in the exile [as his older fellow exile Daniel is neither labeled in Hebrew Scripture as a prophet nor included in the section of the Prophets in the Hebrew canon, although Yeshua does refer to him as such in Matthew 24:15].
This is all supported by noting the wording found in Deuteronomy 17:10-11 and the incredibly similar phraseology concerning the spiritual authority of Ezekiel as was stated previously in Ezekiel 24:24. The ability to enact new decrees under sanction from the Torah is the notion presented in that latter verse.
From this prominent position, Ezekiel’s choice to introduce the phrase Rosh Hashanah for the name of a month is an act that cannot be ignored. While other individuals merely mentioned the traditional names of other months, Ezekiel is of note in that his position as a member of the Sanhedrin solidifies the title of Rosh Hashanah as particularly important in its use. It is the only one that is uniquely introduced by someone with his Torah-based authority to do so. As such, believers have the right and responsibility to use it without concern.
It was this body of priests and scribes who were exiled to Babylon, and from them Ezekiel rose to primacy, being the only recognized prophet who prophesied in the exile [as his older fellow exile Daniel is neither labeled in Hebrew Scripture as a prophet nor included in the section of the Prophets in the Hebrew canon, although Yeshua does refer to him as such in Matthew 24:15].
This is all supported by noting the wording found in Deuteronomy 17:10-11 and the incredibly similar phraseology concerning the spiritual authority of Ezekiel as was stated previously in Ezekiel 24:24. The ability to enact new decrees under sanction from the Torah is the notion presented in that latter verse.
From this prominent position, Ezekiel’s choice to introduce the phrase Rosh Hashanah for the name of a month is an act that cannot be ignored. While other individuals merely mentioned the traditional names of other months, Ezekiel is of note in that his position as a member of the Sanhedrin solidifies the title of Rosh Hashanah as particularly important in its use. It is the only one that is uniquely introduced by someone with his Torah-based authority to do so. As such, believers have the right and responsibility to use it without concern.
It is with these combined factors of consideration that the complex portrait finally comes into focus. Rosh Hashanah fits textually and logically as a valid name for the name of the seventh month. Those who desire to refute it or even condemn its use do so against a significant body of evidence to the contrary. The extant reasons for it as a legitimate term for the month and feast far outweigh any sentiments that may exist in opposition towards it. Those who wish to not use it should do so with care to not denigrate what was introduced and approved by a Biblical Torah authority from time-based language that is irrefutably derived straight from the Torah itself. When all the factors are considered, the revelation of Rosh Hashanah as a Scripturally legitimate title for the holiness of the seventh month becomes strikingly evident.
All study contents Copyright Jeremy Chance Springfield, except for graphics and images, which are Copyright their respective creators.