# Section 4 - Addenda
# In Which Month did the Manna Stop?
In Joshua 5:10, it is mentioned that the Israelites "observed the Passover on the 14th day of the month," but the specific month isn't stated. Although the Passover is traditionally celebrated in the first month, an in-depth analysis of the events leading up to the Passover in that particular year indicates that it may not have been observed in the first month.
Joshua 4:19 records that the Israelites crossed the Jordan "on the tenth day of the first month" and set up camp at Gilgal. Following this, Joshua 5 mentions that the Amorite and Canaanite kings, upon hearing about the Israelites' miraculous crossing, lost all courage. This news would have taken some time to reach these kings.
After the Israelites crossed the Jordan, Jehovah instructed Joshua to make flint knives, a task that would have also required time. These knives were used to circumcise all the men of Israel, a process that likely took a substantial amount of time due to the large number of men. Joshua 5:8 states that the Israelites remained in Gilgal until all the men had recovered from the circumcision. Genesis 34:25 shows that a person who has undergone this procedure is incapacitated for at least three days.
After the men recovered, they still needed to prepare for the Passover. It's only subsequent to all of these events that the account next states that the Israelites observed the Passover on the 14th day of "the month." All of the reported events would have taken more than four days, and there are only four days from the 10th to the 14th day of the first month.
Therefore, it's likely that the Israelites utilized the provisional Late Passover arrangement mentioned in Numbers 9:11, which allowed them to observe the Passover on the 14th day of the second month. According to Joshua 5:10-12, two days after observing the Passover, the manna ceased.
Exodus 16:1-7 shows that Jehovah began providing manna on the 16th day of the second month in 1513 B.C.E. Placing the Jews' first Passover after crossing the Jordan in the second month would mean that the ceasing of the manna would have been the 40th anniversary of the day that Jehovah began providing manna. This is an important detail considering the fact that Exodus 16:35 states that the Israelites ate manna for 40 years. If the manna had stopped in the first month after crossing the Jordan, the Israelites would have eaten manna for only 39 years and 11 months. ↩︎
# Balaam's Proverbial Sayings
At the end of his life, Jacob, the patriarch, cast his gaze into the future, uttering a prophecy about his descendants "in the final part of the days." Later, Balaam offered a cryptic prediction about Israel's actions against Moab "afterward, in the end of the days."
Balaam's prophecy saw its initial fulfillment when David triumphed over Moab. Balaam's "end of the days" also foreshadows the ultimate victory of Jesus over his adversaries.
In Jacob's case, "the final part of the days" could begin at the moment Israel's enslavement in Egypt ended; in other words, at the beginning of their 40 years in the wilderness. If Balaam's "end of the days" foreshadows greater events, it seems logical that Jacob's "final part of the days" might likewise foreshadow greater events.
These two prophetic pronouncements initially refer to distinct periods in Israel's history. It seems possible that the phrases "the final part of the days" from Jacob and "in the end of the days" from Balaam might also foreshadow the two different periods we've been discussing. The "last days," beginning in the fall of 1914, might correspond to Jacob's phrase. Likewise, "the time of the end," beginning in the fall of 2019, might correspond to Balaam’s phrase. ↩︎