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

Nu 28:11-14 Special sacrifices marked the first day of each month. See also Ps 81:3; Isa 66:23; Eze 46:6; Am 8:5 No work was done on the first day of the month.

Months as periods of 30 days

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

The first month: Abib/Nisan

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

Feasts in the month of Abib Dt 16:1 Passover celebrated on 14th Abib. See also Ex 13:4; Ex 23:15 the Feast of Unleavened bread (15th-21st); Lev 23:5-6 pp Nu 28:16-17; Lev 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: Ne 2:1; Est 3:7

The second month: Ziv

1Ki 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 1Ki 6:37; Nu 9:11 A late Passover might be held on 14th Ziv; 2Ch 30:13-15 Hezekiah’s celebration of the Passover was in the second month.

The third month: Sivan

Est 8:9 Modern equivalent: May-June. See also Ex 19:1; Eze 31:1

Pentecost celebrated in the month of Sivan Lev 23:15-16 on 6th Sivan

The fourth month: Tammuz

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

The fifth month

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

The sixth month: Elul

Ne 6:15 Modern equivalent: August-September. See also Eze 8:1; Hag 1:1; Lk 1:26

The seventh month: Ethanim

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

The eighth month: Bul

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

The ninth month: Kislev

Zec 7:1 Modern equivalent: November-December. See also Ne 1:1; Hag 2:18

Hanukkah celebrated in the month of Kislev Jn 10:22 the Feast of Dedication of the Temple (25th)

The tenth month: Tebeth

Est 2:16 modern equivalent: December-January; Jer 39:1

The eleventh month: Shebat

Dt 1:3 modern equivalent: January-February; Zec 1:7

The twelfth month: Adar

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

Purim celebrated in the month of Adar Est 9:20-22 the Feast of Purim (14th-15th)

See also