Do Not Add. Do Not Subtract.
Guarding the Calendar of Yahuah from Extra-Biblical Systems and Inserted Authorities
If It Is Not Written, It Is Not Commanded—And If It Is Added, It Corrupts.
Greg Witter | Ephraim’s Cry
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There is a line that Scripture draws that most people speak about—but very few actually honor. It is simple, direct, and non-negotiable: do not add to what Yahuah has commanded, and do not take away from it. That is not a suggestion. That is a boundary. And once that boundary is crossed, everything that follows becomes unstable, no matter how spiritual it sounds or how ancient it appears.
The problem is not that people lack information. The problem is that they bring in too much of it from the wrong places. Instead of allowing Torah to define the framework, they begin importing supporting material—extra books, historical reconstructions, sectarian writings, and theoretical systems—and then slowly elevate those things until they begin shaping interpretation itself. At that point, Torah is no longer the authority. It becomes one voice among many.
That is exactly how corruption begins.
When Yahuah established His appointed times, He did not leave His people without anchors. He gave clear, observable, covenantal markers. The year is tied to Abib. Deuteronomy 16:1 commands that the month of Abib is to be guarded. This is not symbolic language. It is rooted in reality—in the condition of the barley, in the cycle of the land, in the timing of redemption itself. The Exodus did not occur in a calculated system. It occurred in a moment tied to what was happening in creation.
At the same time, months are tied to the moon. Scripture consistently connects the new moon with the beginning of the month and with appointed observances. This places the calendar within a framework that is both agricultural and astronomical. It is not one or the other. It is both, functioning together as Yahuah designed from the beginning when He set the lights in the heavens for signs, appointed times, days, and years.
This is where the authority of Elohim is seen most clearly. He did not give a man-made system. He gave a creation-based system. He did not require complex calculations or hidden knowledge. He tied His calendar to things that could be observed, recognized, and confirmed within the world He created. That is not accidental. That is intentional.
But this is also where people begin to go beyond what is written.
Instead of staying within the markers that have been given, they begin introducing additional sources of authority. They bring in texts like Jasher, Jubilees, Enoch, Zadokite calendars, priesthood documents from Qumran, and other writings. Some of these may contain historical value. Some may offer insight into how certain groups understood things. But none of them were given as the authority that defines the calendar.
And the moment they are used that way, something has been added.
It does not matter how ancient the source is.
It does not matter how convincing the argument sounds.
It does not matter how widely it is accepted.
If it is not established in Torah, it is not the authority.
That is the standard.
Because once you allow external sources to define or modify what Torah has established, you have shifted the authority away from Yahuah and placed it into the hands of men. And that is exactly what the command “do not add or subtract” was given to prevent.
This becomes even more critical when dealing with things like the equinox.
The equinox is often presented as a foundational anchor for determining the year. It is treated as if it were an essential part of the biblical calendar. But here is the reality: the equinox is never mentioned in Scripture. Not once. There is no command to observe it. There is no instruction to calculate it. There is no indication that it governs the beginning of the year.
It is an astronomical event, yes.
But it is not a biblical command.
And when it is inserted into the calendar as a determining factor, something has been added that Yahuah did not establish.
This is where the issue becomes serious.
Because the moment you introduce something like the equinox as a controlling mechanism, you are no longer relying on the markers Yahuah gave. You are replacing them with a system that comes from outside the text. And when that happens, you are no longer submitting to His authority. You are modifying it.
That is not restoration.
That is substitution.
The same principle applies to every added layer. Whether it is a book, a system, a calculation, or a method—if it is not established in Torah, it cannot be used to define Torah. It can be examined. It can be studied. But it cannot be elevated to the level of authority.
This is the line that must be guarded.
Yahuah determines the beginning of His year.
It is His calendar.
It is His appointed times.
And He has already provided the markers:
The Abib—tied to the land, to the season, to the reality of growth and readiness.
The new moon—tied to the heavens, to the cycle He set in motion.
These are not random elements. They are the framework.
And when they are allowed to stand on their own, without added systems layered on top of them, the authority remains where it belongs—with Him.
The moment you begin adding:
external texts
additional calculations
uncommanded markers
you are no longer guarding what was given.
You are reshaping it.
And in doing so, you are taking something that belongs to Elohim and placing it into a structure designed by man.
That is why the command is so strict.
Do not add.
Do not subtract.
Because once you do, you are no longer walking in what was given—you are walking in what has been altered.
And that is the difference between restoration and reconstruction.
One returns to what was established.
The other builds something new and calls it ancient.
• Deuteronomy 4:2 — Do not add or subtract from the command
• Deuteronomy 12:32 — Guard what is commanded without alteration
• Deuteronomy 16:1 — The year is tied to Abib
• Exodus 12:2 — Beginning of months established
• Genesis 1:14 — Lights given for appointed times
• Numbers 10:10 — New moon connected to observance
• Psalm 81:3 — New moon tied to appointed time
• No verse defines equinox as a calendar marker
• No verse authorizes extra-biblical texts to define calendar structure
• Authority remains in what is written—not in what is added
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