Timing The Birth of Jesus; PART 3 OF 4

    Based on the information we were about Zacharias's "Course of Abia" in Luke 1:5, we were able to successfully arrive at the season of the birth of Yeshua, as in the fall of the year approximately at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot. It's seems simple enough, and should be. But at some point a curve ball will be thrown your way concerning this scripture;

2nd Chronicles 23:8 So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded, and took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that were to go out on the sabbath: for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses.

    The point attempting to be made by the presentation of this verse is to say that the two-week duties of the Course of Abia perhaps took place in different times of year, as they were obviously not a consecutive two-week period. But this claim has no validation, as a reasonable explanation of the coming ins and goings out on the Sabbath would look like this;

    The point is that it should be obvious that the Courses of priestly duties were associated by month. Futher biblical evidence that sustains this is found in yet another description of monthly courses of duty associated with the military found in 1st Chronicles 27, especially this lead-off verse;

1st Chronicles 27:1 Now the children of Israel after their number, to wit, the chief fathers and captains of thousands and hundreds, and their officers that served the king in any matter of the courses, which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, of every course were twenty and four thousand.

Shalom,
Michael


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