Understanding the Hebrew Calendar (article) by Joan K. Snipes on AuthorsDen

Did you know that in Bible times people relied on a lunar calendar rather than a solar calendar? To learn more about the twelve months in the Hebrew year, you are invited to read this essay! The Hebrew calendar Have you ever wondered about the month Elul when you read this sentence from Nehemiah 6:15? "So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days." Elul is the sixth month in the Hebrew calendar. It approximates late August and early September in our calendar. Do you know which of the twelve Hebrew months is Nisan, the month in which Christ Jesus was crucified and resurrected? The purpose of this essay is to give you an overview of the basic information related to the Hebrew calendar. By delving into this aspect of everyday life during Bible times, we better understand the sacred text. I have included facts about the months, the "feasts of the Lord," and Sabbath days. The Hebrew months are based on a lunar calendar, rather than our current solar calendar. In every month the new moon falls on the first day of the month. A verse in Numbers speaks of the beginnings of months, which for those following the Hebrew calendar are the new moons: "Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the Lord your God." Numbers 10:10. New moons are mentioned 21 times in the Bible. Below is a list of the Hebrew months in the ecclesiastical year. I have consulted a number of sources to create this chart, and I have included various English spellings for the names of the months. I have also included a few Bible references for each of the twelve months. - Abib or Aviv or Nisan or Nissan is the first month. Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, II Chronicles, Ezra, and Ezekiel all mention the first month. Abib is used four times in the King James Version of the Bible. The word Nisan, used after the captivity, appears only twice, in Nehemiah and Esther. Passover is observed during Abib. The first day of the first month is mentioned eight times in Scripture. Nehemiah 2:1; Exodus 13:4; 34:18; Esther 3:7 - Zif, Ziv, or Iyar, is the second month. I Kings 6:1, 37; Genesis 7:11 - Sivan is the third month. Exodus 19:1; Ezekiel 8:14; 31:1; Esther 8:9; II Chronicles 15:10 - Tammuz is the fourth month. This month is mentioned by name only in the Talmud. II Kings 25:3; Jeremiah 39:2; Jeremiah 52:6; Ezekiel 1:1; Zechariah 8:19 - Ab or Av is the fifth month. Numbers 33:38; II Kings 25:3, Jeremiah 52:12; mentioned by name by Josephus; the Babylonian army burned "the house of the Lord" in Jerusalem on the tenth day of the fifth month. - Elul is the sixth month. Nehemiah 6:15; Ezekiel 8:1; Haggai 1:1 - Ethanim or Tishri or Tisri or Tishrei is the seventh month. The Day of Atonement, also known as Yom Kippur, is "the most solemn holy day of the Jewish people," and it occurs on the tenth day of Tishri, the seventh month. (Quote from a publication from Rose Publishing called: Feasts & Holidays of the Bible.) I Kings 8:2 - Bul or Heshvan or Cheshvan or Marcheshvan is the eighth month. I Kings 6:38; Josephus - Chisleu or Kislev or Keslev is the ninth month. Nehemiah 1:1; Zechariah 7:1 - Tebeth or Tebet or Teveth or Tevet is the tenth month. Esther 2:16; Josephus - Shebat or Shevat or Sebat is the eleventh month. Zechariah 1:7; I Maccabees 16:14 - Adar is the twelfth month. Esther 3:7; 8:12; 9:1, 15, 17, 19; Ezra 6:15; and Josephus - Ve-adar (the additional adar) is the intercalary month in leap years. Interestingly, the Hebrew civil calendar begins with Tishri (also known as Ethanim, the seventh month) and thus differs with the ecclesiastical Hebrew calendar. According to Smith's Bible Dictionary: "The names of the months belong to two distinct periods." The four names that are related to the period of Jewish independence are Abib, in which the passover fell, (Exodus 13:4; 23:15; 34:18; 16:1) and which was established as the first month in commemoration of the exodus, (Exodus 12:2) Zif, the second month, (1 Kings 6:1, 37) Bul, the eighth, (1 Kings 6:38) and Ethanim, the seventh. (1 Kings 6:38; 1 Kings 8:2) Names that prevailed subsequent to the Babylonian captivity are: Nisan, the first, in which the passover was held, (Nehemiah 2:1; Esther 3:7) Sivan, the third (Esther 8:9) Bar. 1:8; Elul, the sixth, (Nehemiah 6:15; 1 Maccabees 14:27); Chisleu, the ninth, (Nehemiah 1:1; Zechariah 7:1; 1 Maccabees 1:54); Tebeth, the tenth, (Esther 2:16) Sebat, the eleventh, (Zechariah 1:7; 1 Maccabees 16:14); and Adar, the twelfth. (Esther 3:7; 8:1; 2 Maccabees 15:36.) The names of the remaining five months occur in the Talmud and other works. They were, Iyar, the second; (2 Chronicles 30:2) Tammuz, the fourth; Ab, the fifth; Tisri, the seventh; and Marcheshvan, the eighth. The name of the intercalary month was Ve-adar, i.e. the additional Adar. The identification of the Jewish months with our own are not precise due to the variations that exist between the lunar and the solar month, Smith continues. Nisan or Abib answers to March/April; Zif or Iyar to April/May; Sivan to May/June; Tammuz to June/July; Ab to July/August; Elul to August/September; Ethanim or Tishri to September/October; Bul or Marcheshvan to October/November; Chisleu or Kislev to November/December; Tebeth to December/January; Sebat or Shebat to January/February; and Adar to February/March. Once I worked through the complexities of the unfamiliar names for the months of the Semitic year, I turned my attention to the Hebrew holidays, including six appointed feasts as specified in Leviticus, chapter 23. These "set feasts" or "feasts of the Lord" include: 1. the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover or Pesach) which begins on the evening of the fourteenth day of Nisan, the first month. "[T]hou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt." Please see Exodus 12:1-4, 17; Leviticus 23:5-8; II Chronicles 30:21; Ezra 6:22; Ezekiel 45:17; Mark 14:1. 2. the sheaf of firstfruits is presented on 16 Nisan, the first month. Please see Leviticus 23:10-14. Josephus mentions this presentation. 3. the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost or Shavuot or Feast of Harvest) which is held on 6 Sivan, the third month, according to Leviticus 23:15-22. It is one of three pilgrimage feasts where Jewish males went to Jerusalem. In later times, because celebrated on the 50th day after the Passover, the Feast of Weeks became known as Pentecost. Early Christians viewed this feast as commemorating the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai. Please see Exodus 23:16; 34:22; Numbers 28:26; Deuteronomy 16:16 and Acts 2:1. 4. the Feast of Trumpets of New Year (Rosh HaShanah) which is held the first day of the seventh month, Tishri or Ethanim. Please see Numbers 29:1. 5. the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) is held on 10 Tishri or Ethanim, the seventh month. It is one of the appointed feasts or "sacred assemblies," according to Leviticus 23:1, 2. This concurs with the day that Moses returned from Mount Sinai with a second copy of the Ten Commandments. The Day of Atonement was mentioned by Josephus.Please see Leviticus 16:29-31. 6. the Feast of Tabernacles (Feast of Booths or Festival of Booths or Sukkot or Feast of Ingathering) is held from 15-21 Tishri or Ethanim, the seventh month. The Feast of Tabernacles is one of three pilgrimage festivals, along with Passover and the Feast of Weeks. It lasts seven days. Please see Numbers 25:12; Ezra 3:4; Nehemiah 8:14; Zechariah 14:19. Two additional Hebrew holidays or festivals that were instituted later are: - the Feast of Lots (Purim) held on 14 or 15 Adar, the twelfth month. Please see Esther 9:26-32. The book of Esther, my focus in the April newsletter, includes this directive regarding Purim, one of the eight annual feasts: "these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city." Esther 9:28. - the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah; Chanukah; Festival of Lights), which is an eight day festival beginning the 25th day of Kislev (Chislev) and lasting until the 2nd day of Tevet. Kislev is the ninth month of the Jewish year. The Feast of Dedication commemorates the purification of the temple after the Maccabees' victory over the Greeks, a story told in the Talmud (the "Oral Torah.") I Maccabees 4:52. "And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch." - John 10:22, 23 In what way are the holy days "a shadow of things to come," as suggested by the author of Colossians? Colossians 2:16, 17 reads: "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ." The KJV use of the term "holy day" generally refers to the sabbath. For example, this passage is from Exodus: "Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the Lord: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death." Exodus 35:2 Other references to holy days occur in Nehemiah, Isaiah, and Psalms. At a time of recommitment to God's law, the Hebrew people determined: "if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day...." (Nehemiah 10:31) The Psalmist writes: "My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.� (Psalm 43:3, 4). To become familiar with the Hebrew months and to assess the significance of the eight holidays listed above, I decided that I needed to study the relevant passages in the Bible. If you would like to delve into this study more deeply, I have included many Bible passages, organized under each of the twelve months of the Hebrew calendar, as an addendum to this essay. Please see the end of this e-newsletter for the addendum. I am very grateful to the e-newsletter subscriber who first shared with me information about the Hebrew calendar and holy days. Among the helpful sources that I used to learn more about the Hebrew calendar are: The New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible by Henry Gehman, under the heading "year" and Smith's Bible Dictionary under the heading "month" at:http://www.bible.org/smith.asp?id=3051. A nicely designed website where you can learn more about the Jewish calendar and the festivals may be found at: www.jewfaq.org. **** Addendum: Sample Bible passages related to each of the Hebrew twelve months FIRST MONTH (ABIB or NISAN or AVIV) Exodus 13:4 3 And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. 4 This day came ye out in the month Abib. Exodus 34:18 18 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt. Exodus 40:2-17 On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. 3 And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the veil. 4 And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof. 5 And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the hanging of the door to the tabernacle. 6 And thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. 7 And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein. 8 And thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court gate. 9 And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy. 10 And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy. 11 And thou shalt anoint the laver and his foot, and sanctify it. 12 And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water. 13 And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. 14 And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats: 15 And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations. 16 Thus did Moses: according to all that the Lord commanded him, so did he. 17 And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up. Deuteronomy 16:1 1 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the Lord thy God: for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. Nehemiah 2:1 1 And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. Esther 3:7 7 In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar. SECOND MONTH (ZIF) Numbers 1:1,2 And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls; I Kings 6:1 1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord. II Chronicles 30:1, 2 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the Lord God of Israel. 2 For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month. THIRD MONTH (SIVAN) Exodus 19:1 In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. II Chronicles 15:10 So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. Esther 8:9 Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language. Ezekiel 31:1, 2 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness? FOURTH MONTH (TAMMUZ) II Kings 25:3 And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land. Jeremiah 39:2 And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up. Ezekiel 1:1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. Zechariah 8:19 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace. FIFTH MONTH (AB or AV) This month is mentioned by name by Josephus. It was during this month that the Babylonian army burned the Temple in Jerusalem. II Kings 25:1- 3 1 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about. 2 And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 3 And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land. Jeremiah 52:12-14 Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem, 13 And burned the house of the Lord, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire: 14 And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about. SIXTH MONTH (ELUL) Nehemiah 6:15 So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days. Ezekiel 8:1-4 1 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell there upon me. 2 Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber. 3 And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy. 4 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain. Haggai 1:1, 2 1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, 2 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built. SEVENTH MONTH (ETHANIM or TISHRI or TISRI or TISHREI) Leviticus 16:29-34 29 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: 30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. 31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. 32 And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments: 33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation. 34 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the Lord commanded Moses. Genesis 8:4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. I Kings 8:2 2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. EIGHTH MONTH (BUL) I Kings 6:38 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it. Zechariah 1:1 1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, 2 The Lord hath been sore displeased with your fathers. NINTH MONTH (CHISLEU) Ezra 10:9-12 9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. 10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel. 11 Now therefore make confession unto the Lord God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives. 12 Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do. Jeremiah 36:9 And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the Lord to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem. Nehemiah 1:1 1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, Zechariah 7:1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu; TENTH MONTH (TEBETH) Genesis 8:5-7 5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. 6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: 7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. II Kings 25:1 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about. Esther 2:16 So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. Jeremiah 39:1 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it. Ezekiel 33:21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten. ELEVENTH MONTH (SEBAT) Deuteronomy 1:3 3 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them; Zechariah 1:7, 8 7 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, 8 I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white. TWELFTH MONTH (ADAR) Ezra 6:14, 15 14 And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15 And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. Esther 3:13 And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.

f