Were the new moons observed similarly to Sabbaths and holy convocations?

Question

by Saber Truth Tiger

Were the new moons celebrated similarly to the Sabbaths and holy convocations? It seems as though they were. Here are some verses from the Hebrew Scriptures.

Amos 8:5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

Ezra 3:5 And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the Lord that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the Lord.

II Kings 4:23 And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well. Ezekiel 45:17 And it shall be the prince's part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel.

Nehemiah 10:33 For the shewbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.

Ezekiel 46:1 Thus saith the Lord God; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened.

Ezekiel 46:3 Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the Lord in the sabbaths and in the new moons.

Psalms 81:3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.

I Chronicles 23:31 And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the Lord in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the Lord:

II Chronicles 2:4 Behold, I build an house to the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the Lord our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel.

II Chronicles 8:13 Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.

II Chronicles 31:3 He appointed also the king's portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the Lord. h Isaiah 66:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.

Hosea 2:11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.

Answer 1

The simple answer is yes, but there were important differences, of course. Also unlike the Sabbath, the New Moon sometimes became mixed with pagan practices honoring the Moon. Because of this, these festivals were occasionally criticized by the prophets, as the OP mentions. The Jewish Encyclopedia explains:

[The New Moon] was superior even to the Sabbath day, which formed but a part of it (see I Sam. xx. 18-34; II Kings iv. 23; Amos viii. 5; Hos. ii. 13 [A. V. 11]; Ezek. xlvi. 3); but it lost its importance during the Exile (see Sabbath) and was observed mainly as the determining factor of the calendar with its festivals. In the latter period only the women—who in pagan times were especially attached to the "queen of heaven" (Jer. xliv. 15-19)—refrained from work on New Moon... (Yer. Pes. iv. 30d; Pirḳe R. El. xlv.; Ṭur, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, 917); the men were allowed to work (Ḥag. 18a; 'Ar. 10b).

In the Temple, New Moon was celebrated by special sacrifices (Num. xxviii. 11-15; II Chron. ii. 4, viii. 13; Ezra iii. 5; Neh. x. 33) and by the blowing of the trumpet (Num. x. 10). Of the greatest significance, however, was the proclamation of New Moon ("Ḳiddush ha-Ḥodesh") by the president of the Sanhedrin (R. H. ii. 7)—originally, of course, by the high priest... The blowing of the shofar at the time of the proclamation of New Moon was practised also in the Babylonian schools (Sanh. 41b). The proclamation of New Moon was retained in the liturgy, but was transferred to the Sabbath preceding.

So yes, the New Moon festival was observed similarly to the Sabbath in some ways, but also differently: After the Exile, men did not need to refrain from work. In that sense it was less important than the Sabbath. On the other hand, the holiday involved sacrifices and the blowing of the shofar, which Sabbaths did not. Also the New Moon would become an central feature of the Jewish calendar.