The Bible contains indications that the new moon of Tishri, the seventh month, coinciding with the beginning of autumn, may also have functioned as a New Year. For example, Ezekiel 40:1 contains a phrase, the head of the year (KJV) or the beginning of the year (New King James Version NKJV), in concert with a date, the tenth day of the month, which Judaism identifies as Tishri, making this the Day of Atonement. In addition, in Exodus 23:16, the Feast of Ingathering (Tabernacles) is said to be at the end going out of the year, and in Exodus 34:22, the same feast is dated at the year's end, a phrase more literally rendered as at the turn of the year. Scholars argue that these phrases indicate two calendar years in simultaneous use. Tishri 1, they assert, began what can be called the civil or secular year, while Abib 1 inaugurated the sacred, cultic, or religious year. However, each of these indications of a Tishri 1 New Year can be disputed. For instance, the name of the month in Ezekiel 40:1 does not appear in the text, and further, throughout his book, the prophet consistently uses the Babylonian system of reckoning which had a spring New Year. Head of the year, then, would indicate the tenth day of the first month, Abib, making Abib 1 the true rosh hashana. As for the Feast of Tabernacles taking place at the end of the year, it does at the end of the agricultural year. The context says nothing about a calendar but a great deal about Israelite agrarian activities throughout a typical annual cycle. Finally, calling springtime the return of the year makes sense, as it is indeed the time when the year returns to begin anew. While some surrounding cultures may have used a Tishri 1 date for their New Year, Israel seems to have adhered to an Abib 1 New Year based on the clear and unambiguous statement by God in Exodus 12:2.

The year of release begins and ends in Tishri, the seventh month of the sacred calendar, which corresponds to our September/October. It runs from one Tishri to the next one. So, years of release cover parts of two years on the sacred calendar. The critical point is that the day the year of release will end is before the Feast of Tabernacles.

Ethanim/Tishri, the seventh month, is significant in the calendar due to the placement of postponements. The decision to place postponements at the beginning of Tishri was made for two reasons. Firstly, it is an astronomical decision because during this time, the moon is usually farthest from the earth, and the appearance of the first faint crescent takes the longest amount of time to show up. Secondly, it is based on biblical thought, specifically the concept of a preparation day before a holy day or a weekly Sabbath, as mentioned in Exodus 16. This placement ensures there is a preparation day before each holy day or weekly Sabbath, preventing two Sabbaths from falling back to back.