Dictionary of Bible Themes: 4951 month

4951 month

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Dictionary of Bible Themes » 4000 Creation » 4900 Time » 4951 month

A thirty-day period of the year measured from one new moon to the next. There were twelve months in the year, with a thirteenth inserted periodically to bring the lunar calendar into line with the solar year. Early month names may have been linked with the seasons. After the exile, Babylonian names were adopted.

Months marked by the new moon

Numbers 28:11-14 Special sacrifices marked the first day of each month. See also Psalm 81:3; Isaiah 66:23; Ezekiel 46:6; Amos 8:5 No work was done on the first day of the month.

Months as periods of 30 days

Deuteronomy 21:13 The prescribed period of mourning was 30 days (a month). See also Numbers 20:29; Deuteronomy 34:8

The first month: Abib/Nisan

Exodus 12:2 Abib, meaning “young head of grain” was the Canaanite name for Israel's first month. Modern equivalent: March-April. See also Exodus 40:2; Numbers 9:1

Feasts in the month of Abib

Deuteronomy 16:1 Passover celebrated on 14th Abib. See also Exodus 13:4; Exodus 23:15 the Feast of Unleavened bread (15th-21st); Leviticus 23:5-6 pp Numbers 28:16-17; Leviticus 23:10-11 The first sheaf of barley was brought to the priest on 16th Abib.

Nisan was the post-exilic name for the first month:

Nehemiah 2:1; Esther 3:7

The second month: Ziv

1 Kings 6:1 Ziv was the pre-exilic name; the post-exilic name, Iyyar, does not appear in the Bible. Modern equivalent: April-May. See also 1 Kings 6:37; Numbers 9:11 A late Passover might be held on 14th Ziv; 2 Chronicles 30:13-15 Hezekiah's celebration of the Passover was in the second month.

The third month: Sivan

Esther 8:9 Modern equivalent: May-June. See also Exodus 19:1; Ezekiel 31:1

Pentecost celebrated in the month of Sivan

Leviticus 23:15-16 on 6th Sivan

The fourth month: Tammuz

Ezekiel 1:1 modern equivalent: June-July; Ezekiel 8:14 Tammuz was a fertility goddess; her annual death was mourned in the month named after her.

The fifth month

Numbers 33:38 The name of the fifth month, Ab, does not appear in the Bible. Modern equivalent: July-August; 2 Kings 25:8

The sixth month: Elul

Nehemiah 6:15 Modern equivalent: August-September. See also Ezekiel 8:1; Haggai 1:1; Luke 1:26

The seventh month: Ethanim

1 Kings 8:2 Ethanim is the pre-exilic name; its Babylonian equivalent, Tishri, does not appear in the Bible. Modern equivalent: September-October.

Feasts and sacred days in the month of Ethanim

See also Leviticus 23:23-24 pp Numbers 29:1 The Feast of Trumpets (1st). This is celebrated today as the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah); Leviticus 23:27 pp Numbers 29:7 the Day of Atonement (10th); Leviticus 23:34 pp Numbers 29:12 the Feast of Tabernacles (15th-21st); Leviticus 23:36 Solemn Assembly (22nd)

The eighth month: Bul

1 Kings 6:38 Bul's post-exilic equivalent, Marcheshvan, is not mentioned in the Bible. Modern equivalent: October-November. See also 1 Kings 12:32-33 Jereboam offset Israel's religious calendar by one month. This is the alternative Feast of Tabernacles (15th); Zechariah 1:1

The ninth month: Kislev

Zechariah 7:1 Modern equivalent: November-December. See also Nehemiah 1:1; Haggai 2:18

Hanukkah celebrated in the month of Kislev

John 10:22 the Feast of Dedication of the Temple (25th)

The tenth month: Tebeth

Esther 2:16 modern equivalent: December-January; Jeremiah 39:1

The eleventh month: Shebat

Deuteronomy 1:3 modern equivalent: January-February; Zechariah 1:7

The twelfth month: Adar

Esther 8:12 Modern equivalent: February-March. See also Esther 3:13; Esther 9:1

Purim celebrated in the month of Adar

Esther 9:20-22 the Feast of Purim (14th-15th)