When did the Jews abandon lunar Sabbaths in favor of continuously cycling weeks? You suggest it occurred in the 4th century AD, but I have read theories that it occurred when they settled in Palestine. Which is correct?
Answer: When the Jews were led out of Egyptian bondage and settled 40 years later into Canaan, only one society used a solar calendar with continuously cycling weeks: the Egyptians. The Egyptians were the first culture to lay aside luni-solar calendation and use a strictly solar calendar. Their “weeks” were 10 days long and cycled continuously throughout the year until the very end when there were 5 days that did not belong to any week or month. These five days restarted the weekly cycle only once a year, rather than every lunation. The first thing Yahuwah restored to the Israelites was the knowledge of true calendation (see Exodus 12:1) and the Sabbath (see Exodus 5:4). When the Jews reached the Promised Land, they did not revert to Egyptian calendation. They continued to use the true calendar until the 4th century AD, excepting times of apostasy and rebellion for which they were punished with the Babylonian exile.
