Topical Bible: Month: Twelve Months Reckoned to a Year

◄ Month: Twelve Months Reckoned to a Year ►

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Topical Encyclopedia

In the biblical context, the concept of a year being divided into twelve months is rooted in ancient Israelite culture and is reflected in various scriptural references. The Hebrew calendar, which is lunisolar, consists of twelve months, with an occasional thirteenth month added to align the lunar months with the solar year. This system is evident in the Old Testament and is integral to the religious and agricultural life of the Israelites.

Biblical References:

1. Genesis 7:11 · The flood narrative provides an early indication of a structured time system. "In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened." This passage suggests an established calendar system with months being a recognized unit of time.

2. 1 Kings 4:7 · The administrative organization under King Solomon also reflects a twelve-month system: "Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each one made provision for one month of the year." This indicates a division of responsibilities and resources according to a twelve-month cycle.

3. Esther 3:7 · The casting of lots (Purim) in the book of Esther further illustrates the use of a twelve-month calendar: "In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the Pur (that is, the lot) was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar." This passage highlights the naming and order of months within the year.

4. 1 Chronicles 27:1-15 · The military divisions of King David's army were organized according to a twelve-month cycle, with each division serving for one month per year. This reflects the practical application of the twelve-month calendar in governance and military affairs.

Cultural and Religious Significance:

The twelve-month calendar was not only a practical tool for organizing time but also held religious significance. The timing of festivals and agricultural activities was closely tied to this calendar. For example, the Passover is celebrated in the first month, Nisan (Exodus 12:2), and the Feast of Tabernacles occurs in the seventh month, Tishri (Leviticus 23:34).

The twelve-month system also aligns with the lunar phases, with each month beginning with a new moon. This lunar aspect is significant in the timing of religious observances, as seen in Psalm 81:3: "Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and at the full moon on the day of our Feast."

Intercalation:

To reconcile the lunar months with the solar year, an additional month, Adar II, is added approximately every three years. This practice, known as intercalation, ensures that the festivals remain in their appropriate seasons, particularly the Passover, which must occur in the spring.

Conclusion:

The twelve-month calendar system in the Bible reflects a divinely ordered structure of time that governs both religious observance and daily life. It underscores the importance of timekeeping in maintaining the rhythm of worship and community life in ancient Israel.

Nave's Topical Index

1 Chronicles 27:1-15
Now the children of Israel after their number, to wit, the chief fathers and captains of thousands and hundreds, and their officers that served the king in any matter of the courses, which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, of every course were twenty and four thousand.
Nave's Topical Index

Library

That the Years in those Ancient Times were of the Same Length as ...
... lapse of day and night; the month then equal to the month now, which ... year then equal
to the year now, which is completed by twelve lunar months, with the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/city of god/chapter 14 that the years in.htm

Folly of the Arguments Derived by the Heretics from Numbers ...
... days only, in order that there may be twelve months of thirty days each, after the
type of the twelve ??ons, when ... in the other they declare that a month is the ...
/.../irenaeus/against heresies/chapter xxiv folly of the arguments.htm

Chronology of the Life of Christ.
... during the week of the Passover, in the month of Nisan, which was the first of the
twelve lunar months ... the hosei leaves a margin for a few months more or ...
/.../history of the christian church volume i/section 16 chronology of the.htm

Ten Reasons Demonstrating the Commandment of the Sabbath to be ...
... God wrote, were moral and perpetual commandments, and those are reckoned ten in ... as
seven days make a week, four weeks a month, twelve months a year; so seven ...
/.../bayly/the practice of piety/ten reasons demonstrating the commandment.htm

The Jewish Institutions and Laws of Far Higher Antiquity than the ...
... of the last division of the month in the ... forty generations are enumerated (three
generations being reckoned for a ... and eighty-four years, two months, twelve days ...
/.../the stromata or miscellanies/chapter xxi the jewish institutions and.htm

The Cleansing of the Temple - the Sign,' which is not a Sign.
... can look up and down its extent, about twelve miles, or ... The prices were fixed by
tariff every month, and on ... to account for the eight or nine months between the ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter v the cleansing of.htm

Christ's Birth
... [108] The twelve Hebrew lunar months (of alternatively ... years an error accumulated
which was corrected by the insertion after the twelfth month, Adar, of ...
/.../emmerich/the life of the blessed virgin mary/xi christs birth.htm

Calcutta and the Mission Centres from Delhi to Amboyna
... It will scarcely be printed off under twelve months more, but ... the satisfaction of
our brethren." Six months after, Ward ... expects to go in about a month, as he ...
/.../smith/the life of william carey/chapter vii calcutta and the.htm

"Pray Without Ceasing"
... those to whom the bended knee is reckoned of more ... your head, pray on; if month after
month your prayer ... prayer, than he had accomplished in twelve months before ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 18 1872/pray without ceasing.htm

the Legendary History of Egypt
... to his home at the end of twelve hours after ... her giving birth to her children in
any month of any ... the western desert, which had, indeed, been reckoned as his ...
/.../chapter iii -the legendary history of.htm