Jubilees 1:1, states that it was the 16th of the 3rd month when Moses was called up the mount.

And it came to pass in the first year of the exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt, in the third month, on the sixteenth day of the month, [2410 Anno Mundi] that Aluhym spake to Moses, saying: ‘Come up to Me on the Mount…’ Jubilees 1:1

This verse is sometimes quoted by those who understand it to support their position that the Israelites arrived at Sinai mid-month, NOT EARLY in the 3^rd month, to establish that Shabuot occurs later than the Jewish tradition of dating the Feast EARLY in the 3^rd month. I propose that, those who quote Jubilees 1:1 to support the testimony that Exodus 19:1 tells us that Israel arrived mid-month in the 3^rd month, are correct in doing so. However, these same individuals will often claim Jubilees 15:1 is a lie, because it disagrees with their doctrine on the date of Shabuot. The Book of Jubilees testifies several times throughout the book that the First Fruits of the Wheat Harvest Festival is on the 16^th of the 3^rd month.

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

And she bare a son in the third month, and in the middle of the month, at the time of which YHUH had spoken to Abraham, on the festival of the first fruits of the harvest, Isaac was born. Jubilees 16:13

Individuals who reject these testimonies in Jubilees pick and choose what agrees with them, and throw the rest out. When it comes to scripture, certain scrolls that claim to be inspired by YHUH, hold to the testimony of the law of Moses, and prophesy of Yahusha Messiah, I don’t believe there are any bones to spit out. While there are minor mistranslations in a few places, in ALL translations, I have found that when each verse is examined in the light of ALL the other scriptures, we can have confidence in them all, I don’t believe the scribes did so much damage that we can’t put our faith in much or even in ANY of it, as some would have us to believe.

I believe Israel arrived at Mount Sinai on the 15th, at night, in the third month, exactly two months to the day, after they left Rameses, as Exodus 19:1 and Jubilees 1:1 indicates. I also believe that the camping place (Rephidim) prior to their arrival, was a short journey away, where they rested on the Sabbath before arriving at Sinai the following night. That night, after they arrived at Sinai, they set up camp, and in the morning, on the 16^th (Remember, a day/date begins in the morning), Moses was called up the mount.

Shabuot, the establishing of the covenant, and the giving of the law, could not have taken place before the 16th of the 3rd month, as the Bible and Jubilees agree that these things did not take place before they arrived at Sinai. A Pentecost on the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th day of the month would be impossible, and not in line with the witnesses.

The Book of Jasher is a 3rd witness about the date of the Feast and these events. In Jasher 82:6, we read that YHUH gave the 10 commandments to Israel on the 6th day of the 3rd month, however, I believe that’s an error on the part of the translators, that it should read the 16th.

And the children of Israel proceeded from Rephidim and they encamped in the wilderness of Sinai, in the third month from their going forth from Egypt…And in the third month from the children of Israel’s departure from Egypt, on the sixth day thereof, YHUH gave to Israel the ten commandments on Mount Sinai. Jasher 82:1, 6

I go into how/why I come to that conclusion more on my website, but that’s the only way I know to understand Jasher 82:6 if we are to believe these books agree and strengthen the testimony, and I believe they do, because on a calendar that puts Sabbaths on the 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th, as the Bible, Jubilees, and Jasher do, the 6th can never be 7 Sabbaths after the 16th OR the 23rd, no matter when you start the count. The only way to reconcile the testimony of Jasher 82:6 with the Bible, Jubilees, and the lunar Sabbath, is to interpret this verse in Jasher to be saying that it was on the 16th, and it would not be a far stretch to suggest that someone went with 6th, rather than 16th, knowing the translator was probably very familiar with the Jewish traditional date for Pentecost, counted from the 16th of the 1st month. The translator interpreted Sabbaths, as seven days, not Sabbaths or complete lunar weeks. However, if we look at Jasher in the light of all the other scriptures, the way I’m suggesting, that Jasher 82:6 should read 16^th, not 6th, we bring the testimonies of the three books into agreement – the Bible, Jasher, and Jubilees – and we now have three witnesses in agreement about the date for the arrival at Sinai, the giving of the law, the establishment of the covenant, and the date for Shabuot.

While some lunar Sabbath keepers will agree with me on the date for the arrival at Sinai and the giving of the law, they disagree that this is also the date for Shabuot and Israel entering the covenant with YHUH. They disagree for several reasons. One is belief that the date for the Feast of Weeks is found by counting 7 Sabbaths plus another 50 days, resulting in the first fruits of the wheat harvest being put off until the end of the 4^th month. I think the scriptures in Jubilees and Jasher obviously make this an impossibility, and the scriptures do, as well, but in a less obvious way for some people. Let me explain…

I’ll focus on their strongest arguments for a later Feast of Weeks, albeit, not very strong when one takes into account ALL of the SCRIPTURES concerning the matter. They believe Israel did not enter into covenant until the tablets were given in stone. They also believe the first fruits of the wheat cannot be ready until the end of the 4th month, never in the 3rd month. They believes there is a season called Spring, and that if Shabuot was supposed to occur in the 3rd month, scripture would call it a “Spring” Feast, during a “Spring” harvest, with “Spring” fruits. Because scripture, Philo, and Josephus, speak of Summer, not Spring, in regards to the timing of Shabuot, they believe this means Shabuot must happen in what THEY consider Summer, which THEY believe to be after the beginning of the 4th month.

If you are not yet aware that there is no such thing as “Spring” in scripture, only Summer and Winter, that in Summer are ALL of the feasts and in Summer are ALL of the harvests, and ALL of the ripening of fruits for the year, please verify what I’m saying in a concordance. I go into the issue further on my website and my blog, about how certain Hebrew phrases got translated as “Spring” and “Fall”. There is a link to the blog and my website at the end of the article. Summer has 6 months, and the 3rd month is Summer. Passover and Unleavened Bread are also in Summer.

Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter. Psalms 74:17

While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. Genesis 8:22

So that addresses the Summer/Spring issue. Since there is no season called, “Spring” mentioned in scripture, of course Pentecost is called a Summer festival, even in the 3^rd month. We can put that argument to rest.

The next argument for a later Shabuot is the claim that wheat cannot ever be ripe in the 3^rd month, even the first fruits. You may have already ready seen my testimony with videos showing entire fields of wheat being harvested in the 3rd month on my blog. If you have not seen these testimonies, you can find the links on my blog in the article titled, Pentecost and Ready Wheat on 3-16, In that article, you can also read about how “winter” wheat, harvested in Summer, and sown the previous winter, is perfectly acceptable as a first fruits offering, and would be ready before the wheat sown a few months earlier. In fact, all first fruits of the land, even wheat sewn in winter, were not only accepted, but required to be offered to YHUH before any of it was consumed by His people.

As far as I’m concerned, because I was not there in Israel in ancient times, I cannot claim that it was never possible in Abraham’s day for wheat to be ready in the 3rd month. Some are arrogant enough to call Jubilees 15:1 a lie. They claim it is not possible that Abraham celebrated the Feast of First Fruits in the 3rd month as Jubilees states. I guess they were there so they would know, right? Because I am a believer who believes the Word of YHUH that has come forth from the Messenger of YHUH that we read in the scroll of Jubilees, I can say with faith that Abraham did indeed celebrate First Fruits with wheat in the 3rd lunar month. We can learn from farmers even today in the Middle East and all over the world that the first of the wheat does begin to ripen in that season.

I believe the Feast of First Fruits can be a week-long celebration, like the other two chagim festivals, though not commanded that way…If you look closely at the events in Exodus 19 and 24. The sequence of events begins at the 16th, and lasts about a week, with the climax of the week being Moses ascending the mount and disappearing into the cloud on the seventh day. (Exodus 24:15-18)

Starting on the 16th, it sounds like, the cloud covers the mountain, and the glory climaxes on the seventh day, and then leaves. During that week, while the cloud is on the mount, from the 16th-22, what happens first, is the exchange of vows (Exodus 19:5-8 and Exodus 24:3), then later comes the sacrifice (Exodus 24:4-6), the reading of the Book of the Covenant/Law (Exodus 24:7), then reaffirming of the vows (Exodus 24:7), sealed in the blood (consummation of marriage covenant already established) (Exodus 24:8), wedding feast on the mount with 70 elders (Exodus 24:11), then Moses is called up the mount again to receive the tablets of stone (Exodus 24:12). Moses went up in the cloud on the seventh day after YHUH again invited him up the mount to receive the tablets. So Exodus 24 is telling us very clearly the sequence of events, and which event represented the establishment of the covenant – the vows that came first. In fact, one of the root words in Shabuot, is shaba, H7650, a verb that means to make a vow, an oath, a promise. What happened on that day is even explained in the word for the name of that feast.

Everything else – the blood, the wedding feast with the 70 elders, the tablets – was putting a stamp on what already happened. This teaches us that the laws are put on our hearts first, heart circumcision, our vows are what make us bound to YHUH, not stone tablets. Our words, or vows, are important and binding. Stone tablets and physical circumcision come later. Stone tablets can be broken or lost, but our words are binding for life (Numbers 30 and Romans 7:1).

See Deut 22. If a man sleeps with another man’s betrothed virgin (they are engaged, exchanged vows, but not consummated yet, yet still considered married), the man who has lied with the virgin has committed ADULTERY, not just fornication, he must be killed, for violating another man’s WIFE, not fiancé. According to scripture, we are married when we agree to marry, not when we lie with someone. That’s when he becomes her husband, and she becomes his wife, when they agree to marriage.

Sex with a virgin results in the spilling of blood, and is a seal on the covenant already established, as we see in Exodus 24:8. Adultery is a specific form of fornication, involving sex with a woman who has made vows, and is therefore married to, another man. If a man lies with a virgin who is committed to another man, he must die. If she is not committed to another man, he is expected to marry her and/or pay the bride price for a virgin, if the father allows it, and the man can never divorce her, and he is not killed. This clearly defines a marriage covenant as the exchange of oral vows, not blood, and not the writing of the terms/ketubah/tablets which is a record of the terms/vows already established.

In Deut. 22:23-24, the husband is betrothed to his wife, but she is still a virgin, so obviously sex did not make them married, because sex and the spilling of the blood hadn’t happened yet. Numbers 30 also teaches us it is our words/vows that are binding, and Romans 7:1-3 should be read in that light/context, that a woman is bound to her husband as long as he is still alive. No where does scripture say a ketubah of any sort is binding. It’s simply a record of what was agreed upon verbally. Deut. 29:12 is another witness that the vow, or oath, YHUH made sealed and established the covenant on that very day.

That thou shouldest enter into covenant with YHUH thy Aluhym, and into his oath, which YHUH thy Aluhym maketh with thee this day. Deuteronomy 29:12

When you add in the testimonies of Jubilees about the date and Feast that YHUH first made the covenants with Israel’s fathers, Noah and Abraham, and the date for Isaac’s birth, the evidence is overwhelming for the date of Shabuot in the 16th of the 3rd month, and this being the anniversary and the fulfillment of the covenants made with them. We’ve not even mentioned the count in Lev 23 in this conversation. That’s another topic I go into more on my website. There’s a link to that below.

I believe enough scriptures have been presented to establish that Pentecost cannot take place before the 16^th of the 3^rd month, and that putting it off another month and a half to the end of the 4^th month doesn’t work, either. The witnesses all agree in strength that Israel entered the covenant, and Pentecost occurs, on the 16^th of the 3^rd month.