I recently ran across a book that tied the date for Halloween,
October 31, with the start of Noah’s flood. Following the
dispersion of mankind at the tower of Babel (Genesis 11),
almost every ensuing culture has maintained a legend regarding
a “Great Flood.” Often, such traditions are also associated
with a great “Day of Death,” as well as a “new beginning.”
In the Bible, this story is linked to the salvation of Noah,
his family, and the animals of the earth. Interestingly, these
traditions are all tied to the fall of the year—specifically,
the end of October and the beginning of November. This book,
The Great Flood and Halloween by Frank Humphrey,
suggests that there is a connection between the flood of
Noah’s time and the pagan holiday known today as Halloween.
Did the flood of Noah’s day begin in the fall of the year?
Many scholars believe that the calendar used in Genesis
regarding the creation began in the fall, with the first month
beginning somewhere from mid-September to mid-October. For
example, Ussher’s chronology for creation began on October 22,
4004 BC.
Before God had Moses change the start of the yearly calendar
to the spring season, the original calendar of the Hebrews
began in the fall. The first month was originally Tishri, and
the seventh month was Nisan (these are not the original names…
the original names were changed after the Babylonian
captivity).
Today, the Jews have two calendars. The religious calendar
begins in the spring, and the civil calendar begins in the
fall. So, in Noah’s time, the calendar started in the fall
(this will be proven when we get to Genesis 8:11). Genesis
7:11 states that the flood began “in the second month, the
seventeenth day of the month.” This would coincide
with
Heshvan 17 on the modern lunisolar Jewish
calendar. The date on the solar calendar that coincides with
Heshvan 17 for the
start of the flood is October 31 in our scenario.
Authors Note: I believe the Antediluvian calendar
was a fall-to-fall calendar with the first month in
September/October or Tishri. The seventh month would be
March/April or Nisan. It is a lunar (or lunisolar) calendar
with the months beginning on the new moon phase, just like the
Jewish calendar. A lunar calendar has approximately 29.5 days
per month, while a solar calendar (Julian or Gregorian)
calendar has approximately 30.5 days per month. I believe the
calendar employed in Genesis 7 – 8 is a 30-day-per-month
calendar, as the moon couldn’t be observed inside the ark.
Noah simply counted
daylight days and figured 30 days per month.
To find out what date the 17th day of the 2nd month (Heshvan)
occurred, we need to first find out when the 1st day of the
2nd month began. In this case, it should be on
October 15 (if October 31 is the 17th day of the
2nd month). October 15 would be the day after the conjunction
of the second new moon of fall, according to the Biblical
Jewish calendar. We would need to consult with
Nasa’s AstroPixels website for this.
Unfortunately, it only goes back to the year
2000 BC.
According to Nettles’
chronology, Chronology
of Mankind: 6,000 Years of History Pt 1 :: By Randy
Nettles – Rapture Ready, the Great Flood began in the
year 1656 AM or
2304 BC. There is, however, a way to figure out the
approximate date for the 1st day of the 2nd month of 2304
BC. Every 19 years, the Metonic lunar cycle realigns on the
same calendar date (within a few hours). Every 133 (19 x 7)
years it realigns approximately on the same calendar date as
well. So, if we subtract 399 (3 x 133) from 2304 BC we get
1905 BC. In other words, 1905 BC should align (lunar phases)
similarly with 2304 BC on the calendar.
However, according to AstroPixels
– Six Millennium Catalog of Phases of the Moon, the year 1905 BC does not
align with the dates we are looking for, but 1903 BC does.
So, the year 1903 BC aligns (regarding lunar phases) with
the year 2302 BC (1903 + 399 = 2302). It is possible that
the Nettles chronology could be off by two years
or the flood didn’t actually occur in that year.
Either way, let’s assume
2302 BC is the correct year (for the flood to
have started on October 31) and examine the timing of the
events that transpired on Noah’s ark for that fateful year.
“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second
month, the seventeenth day
of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great
deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened”
(Genesis 7:11). October 14, 2302 BC is the conjunction of the
second new moon of fall for 2302 BC, so the following day,
October 15, would be Heshvan 1 (the first day of the second
month). That would make Tuesday, October 31, 2302 BC, the
17th day of the 2nd month (Heshvan), which is the
starting date of the Great Flood. Epochs later, Halloween, the
Day of the Dead, would be celebrated on October 31 on the
Julian calendar.