“Now when Yeshua was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to bow before him.”

Matthew 2:1-2

וְאַתָּה בֵּית־לֶחֶם אֶפְרָתָה צָעִיר לִהְיֹות בְּאַלְפֵי יְהוּדָה מִמְּךָ לִי יֵצֵא לִהְיֹות מֹושֵׁל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וּמֹוצָאֹתָיו מִקֶּדֶם מִימֵי עֹולָם׃

“But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old (miqedem), from the days of old.”�Micah 5:2

“There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.”

Luke 2:8

“These lie in the pastures, which are in the villages, all the days of cold and heat, and do not go into the cities, until the rains descend.”

Maimonides cited in John Gill

“The first rain is in the month Cheshvan, which is near the latter part of October, and the first part of November. The flocks those shepherds were keeping by night, the time had not yet come to bring them into the city. From this it appears, that Christ must be born before the middle of October, since the first rain was not yet come.”

John Gill on Luke 2:8, cf. Taanit 6a

“David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.”

1 Samuel 17:15

“…the Arabic version (of Luke) adds, alternately, some kept the flock one watch, and some another, while the rest slept in the tent, or tower, that was built in the fields for that purpose.”

John Gill on Luke 2:8

וְיַעֲקֹב נָסַע סֻכֹּתָה וַיִּבֶן לוֹ בָּיִת וּלְמִקְנֵהוּ עָשָׂה סֻכֹּת עַל־כֵּן קָרָא שֵׁם־הַמָּקוֹם סֻכּוֹת׃

“But Jacob journeyed on to Sukkot, and built a house for himself and made sukkot for his cattle; that is why the place was called Sukkot.”

Genesis 33:17

“And you, O Tower of the Flock (Migdal Eder), The stronghold of the daughter of Zion, To you shall it come, even the former dominion shall come, The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem."

Micah 4:8

“Yisrael traveled, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Eder.”

Genesis 35:21

"And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath (35:19). What was Jacob's reason for burying Rachel in the way to Ephrath? Jacob foresaw that the exiles would pass on from thence, therefore he buried her there so that she might pray for mercy for them. Thus it is written, ‘A voice is heard in Ramah... Rachel weeping for her children...”

Genesis Rabbah 82:10, Soncino Press Edition

“The Messiah…lifts up his eyes and beholds the Fathers (Patriarchs) visiting the ruins of God's Sanctuary. He perceives mother Rachel, with tears upon her face; the Holy One, blessed be He, tries to comfort her, but she refuses to be comforted (Jer. 31:14). Then the Messiah lifts up his voice and weeps, and the whole Garden of Eden quakes, and all the righteous and saints who are there break out in crying and lamentation with him…All through the seven days the Messiah shall be crowned on earth. Where shall this be? ‘By the way’, to wit, Rachel's grave, which is on the cross-road. To mother Rachel he will give glad tidings and comfort her, and now she will let herself be comforted, and will rise and kiss him.”

Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 8a-b

“If cattle were found in Jerusalem as far as Migdal Eder, and within a like distance on any side (of Jerusalem), males (must be considered) as burnt offerings, and females as peace offerings. R. Yehudah says, “If they were fit for the Passover offering, (they must be considered as) passover offerings, if found within thirty days before the feast of (Passover).”

Mishnah, Shekalim 7:4, cf. b. Kiddushin 55a

“(Messiah) was to be revealed from Migdal Eder, ‘the tower of the flock.’ This Migdal Eder was not the watch-tower for the ordinary flocks which pastured on the barren sheep-ground beyond Bethlehem, but lay close to the town, on the road to Jerusalem. A passage in the Mishnah leads to the conclusion, that the flocks, which pastured there, were destined for Temple-sacrifices, and, accordingly, that the shepherds, who watched over them, were not ordinary shepherds. . .”

Alfred Edersheim, the Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Book 2, Chapter 6

“In the days of Herod, the king of Y’hudah, there was a certain kohen named Zecharyah, of the course of Abiyah, and his wife was of the daughters of Aharon, and her name was Elisheva.”

Luke 1:5

KEYWORD:

“the course of Abiyah”

QUESTION:

What is the course of Abiyah?

“Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aharon. . . David with Tzadok of the sons of El’azar, and Ahimelekh of the sons of Itamar, divided them (kohanim) according to the ordering of their service...”

1 Chronicles 24:3

THERE IS A SCHEDULE TO THE SERVICE OF THE PRIESTS

“(David) ordained that one course should minister to God eight days, from sabbath to sabbath. And thus were the courses distributed by lot, in the presence of David, and Zadok and Abiathar the high priests, and of all the rulers; and that course which came up first was written down as the first, and accordingly the second, and so on to the twenty-fourth; and this partition has remained to this day.”

Josephus, Antiquities, Book 7, Chapter 14, Paragraph 7, cf. 1 Chronicles 9:25, 2 Chron 23:8

1. Now the first lot fell to Yehoiariv,
2. the second to Yedaiah,
3. the third to Harim,
4. the fourth to Seorim,
5. the fifth to Malchiyah,
6. the sixth to Miyamin,
7. the seventh to Hakkoz,
8. the eighth to Abiyah,
9. the ninth to Yeshua,
10. the tenth to Shecaniah,
11. the eleventh to Eliashiv,
12. the twelfth to Yakim,

13. the thirteenth to Huppah,
14. the fourteenth to Yeshebeav,
15. the fifteenth to Bilgah,
16. the sixteenth to Immer,
17. the seventeenth to Hezir,
18. the eighteenth to Happizzez,
19. the nineteenth to Pethahiah,
20. the twentieth to Yehezekel,
21. the twenty-first to Yakhin,
22. the twenty-second to Gamul,
23. the twenty-third to Delaiah,
24. the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Zechariah in Temple

8^th-10^th Week, Sivan 12-18, 5BC

Yochanan Conceived

9^th-11^th Week, Sivan 19-25

38 Weeks

Yochanan Born

Passover, Nisan 15

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Yochanan Born

Passover, Nisan 15

“And if you are willing to receive it, (Yochanan) is Eliyahu who is to come.”

Matthew 11:14

Jewish tradition expects Elijah to come and herald the return of the Messiah on Passover. Incredibly, John the Baptist was born at this time.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Yeshua Born

Sukkot, Tishrei 15

6 Months

Yochanan Born

Passover, Nisan 15

“Elisheva…conceived, and she hid herself five months…Now in the sixth month, the angel Gavri'el was sent from God …to a virgin pledged to be married to…Yosef, of the house of David.”�Luke 1:23-27

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Yeshua Conceived

Sukkot, Tishrei 15

6 Months

Yochanan Conceived

Passover, Nisan 15

Yeshua, Ohr haOlam, the Light of the World, was conceived on the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah

אגדתא דשמען כיפא

“You will not celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Chag HaMatzot) but instead celebrate the day of his death. And in the place of the festival of Shavuot, celebrate the forty days from his execution until after his ascension to the firmament. And in the place of the festival of Sukkot, you will celebrate the day of his birth, and on the eighth day from his birth, you will celebrate his circumcision.”�Aggadta DeShim’on Kefa, cited in Birth of Jesus at Sukkot, D. Thomas Lancaster

Human Gestation

40 Weeks – Around 280 Days

Time between �Hanukkah and Sukkot

Around 280 Days

“Glad tidings of Great Joy”

In Judaism, Sukkot is called, Zman Simchateinu, “The Season of Our Joy.” The Mishnah says he who has not seen rejoicing at Sukkot has never seen joy in his life.”

“For all people…Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward men”

Sukkot is the festival at which all nations will participate (Zechariah 14), which foreshadows His Dwelling with man where nation will not lift up sword against nation anymore.

כִּי־יֶלֶד יֻלַּד־לָנוּ בֵּן נִתַּן־לָנוּ וַתְּהִי הַמִּשְׂרָה עַל־שִׁכְמוֹ וַיִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ פֶּלֶא יוֹעֵץ אֵל גִּבּוֹר אֲבִי־עַד שַׂר־שָׁלוֹם׃ לְםרְבֵּה הַמִּשְׂרָה וּלְשָׁלוֹם אֵֽין־קֵץ עַל־כִּסֵּא דָוִד וְעַל־מַמְלַכְתּ֔ו

“For a child has been born to us, a son has been given us. And authority has settled on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And the increase of his government, there will be no end, upon the Throne of David and His Kingdom”�Isaiah 9:5-6

וַתֹּֽאמֶר־לָ֥הּ בַּת־פַּרְעֹ֖ה לֵ֑כִי וַתֵּלֶךְ֙ הָֽעַלְמָ֔ה וַתִּקְרָ֖א אֶת־אֵ֥ם הַיָּֽלֶד׃

“And Pharaoh’s daughter answered, “Yes.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother.”

Exodus 2:8

בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא אָקִ֛ים אֶת־סֻכַּ֥ת דָּוִ֖יד הַנֹּפֶ֑לֶת� וְגָדַרְתִּ֣י אֶת־פִּרְצֵיהֶ֗ן וַהֲרִֽסֹתָיו֙ אָקִ֔ים וּבְנִיתִ֖יהָ כִּימֵ֥י עוֹלָֽם׃ לְמַ֨עַן יִֽירְשׁ֜וּ אֶת־שְׁאֵרִ֤ית אֱדוֹם֙ וְכׇל־הַגּוֹיִ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־נִקְרָ֥א שְׁמִ֖י עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם נְאֻם־ה׳ עֹ֥שֶׂה זֹּֽאת׃

“In that day, I will raise up the Sukkah of David that has fallen. I will mend its breaches and raise up its ruins anew. I will build it firm as in the days of old. So that they shall possess the remnant of Edom. And all the nations who are called by My name - declares HaShem who does this.”�Amos 9:11 - 12

“R. Nahman said to R. Isaac: “Have you heard when Bar Nafli will come?” “Who is Bar Nafli?” he asked. “Messiah”, he answered. “Do you call the Messiah Bar Nafli?” “Yes”, he responded , as it is written, “on that day I will raise up the fallen Sukkah of David”

Sanhedrin 96b-97a, Sukkot: A Sukkah Life, Orthodox Union

“To Maharal, the Davidic line cast as a sukkah and not as a house, is a precise and purposeful formulation – for the sukkah’s flimsiness allows it to be “rebuilt”. One builds (boneh) a fallen house while one resurrects (yakim) a floored sukkah. Insofar as the Messianic line dare not start afresh, its resurrection symbolizes a continuity and loyalty to its past.”

R’ Asher Brander, Sukkot: A Sukkah Life, Orthodox Union

“Yaakov replied, “Brothers, listen to me. ¹⁴ Shimon has related how G-d first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. ¹⁵ And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, ¹⁶ “‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, ¹⁷ that the remnant of mankind may seek HaShem, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says HaShem, who makes these things ¹⁸ known from of old.’

Acts 15:13-17

“I will raise אָקִ֛ים the fallen tabernacle of David” (Amos 9:11). Wherever the verb קימה is used, it refers to Mashiach ben Yosef…about the aspect of “My sheaf rose” קָ֥מָה אֲלֻמָּתִ֖י (Genesis 37:7) This idea is also hinted at in the world נּוֹפֶלֶת with a ו which is equal to 566 as is משיח בן יוסף.”

Kol HaTor, 2.67, translated by R’ Yechiel Bar Lev and K. Skaist, Mekhilta Yitro)

“As is known, wherever the term “salvation” appears, it connotes that characteristic of Mashiach ben Yosef.”

Kol HaTor 2:2

כנודע שכל לשון ישועה בתכונתו של משיב״י