The word aviv may not be very well known to the general public, but if you have been in Messianic and Hebrew Roots circles, there is no doubt you have heard of it, especially regarding the beginning of the year in the Creator’s calendar. Despite being a Hebrew word, given that it is difficult to translate its exact meaning, it will be seen in various English translations of the Bible (including the King James) as “Abib.”
The first instance occurs in Exodus 13:4:
This day came ye out in the month Abib.
This is the month in which the Almighty brought the people of Israel out of Egypt, and although in the previous verse it might seem that Abib is the name of the month, in reality, it is not. In Hebrew, it says הַיּוֹם אַתֶּם יֹצְאִים בְּחֹדֶשׁ הָאָבִֽיב: you are coming out today in the month of the Aviv. The article “the” (הָ) indicates to us that aviv is not the name of a month, but rather ‘something’ that occurs in that month, a quality.
Before showing you the piece that solves this puzzle, I want to share with you verses regarding the importance of this month in the Scriptures.
Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. (Deut 16:1)
The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt. (Ex 34:18)
These examples not only demonstrate the importance of this month, but they are also proof that we cannot celebrate the Feast of Pesach unless we know when that month is. And to know when that month is, we must understand what the word aviv means.
You will notice that in this article it appears written in two forms: Abib and also aviv. The form Abib appears where the English translation of the Bible wrote it that way, while the other form, aviv, is the correct way it is pronounced in Hebrew. The “a” is lowercase because, as explained above, it is not a name.
Now, as I promised you, let us see how to solve this puzzle. For this, we must go to the first time this word appears in the Torah, in Exodus 9:31:
And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.
It will disappoint you to learn that the word aviv or, as it was transliterated by the King James, “Abib,” does not appear in the English version of this verse; therefore, as you will see, it is impossible to find the correlation unless we go to the Hebrew. Thanks to the Eternal, His word was preserved by His people through the millennia until it reached our days.
In the Hebrew version of the previous verse, we are told that “the flax and the barley were smitten, because the barley was aviv!” or “in the ear,” in English. This word is related to the stage of ripening of the barley.
That is where the connection between the word aviv and the barley comes from.
Barley was the crop from which the firstfruits prescribed in Leviticus 23:10 were offered. Barley is also one of the seven species with which Yehovah blessed the land of Israel (Deut 8:8). It was in fact the first to ripen and came to be harvested in the spring, precisely during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and it was not until after this event that all the people of Israel were permitted to consume the “new grain” (Lev 23:14).
It is for this reason that one must wait for the ripening of the barley in Israel to determine the beginning of the first biblical month, and consequently, the month in which we will celebrate Pesach.
In the Hebrew version of the previous verse, we are told that “the flax and the barley were smitten, because the barley was aviv!” or “in the ear,” in English.