jwposter:
From Clement of Alexandria
So… not a Jewish source.
Neither worship as the Jews…[for] if the moon is not visible
This particular quote, always with the ellipsis and omitted text, is very conspicuously only on lunar sabbath nutter websites. As is usually the case with these nutty fringe views, the ellipsis serves as a warning that the statement is out of context. Let’s see if he’ll provide the full quote of the text in between…
Aside from the fact that Clement isn’t a Jewish source, he is obviously not talking about the Jews when he says ‘they’ do not hold various Jewish observances. It is also obvious that ‘the first’ in the second quote (when the moon is not visible) is not the same as ‘the first week’ in the first quote (during a half moon).
Clement is referring, in the first passage to a general approximation of the lunar cycle, and in the second to various observances that do not dictate the timing of the sabbath.