Jewish Calendar

The Jewish Calendar in the Bible

The Old Testament usually records dates by ordinal number, such as "the first month" or "the seventh month." In Exodus 12:2, God commands that the month in which the Exodus took place be reckoned as "the first month of the year." Leviticus 23 sets the dates of the feasts according to this sequence: Passover falls on the fourteenth day of the first month, the Day of Atonement on the tenth day of the seventh month, and the Feast of Tabernacles on the fifteenth day of the seventh month.

The Bible also gives names for the months.

• Pre-exilic names: Abib, the first month (Exodus 13:4); Ziv (KJV Zif), the second month (1 Kings 6:1); Ethanim, the seventh month (1 Kings 8:2); and Bul, the eighth month (1 Kings 6:38). These appear chiefly in the account of Solomon's construction of the temple.
• Post-exilic names: Nisan, the first month (Nehemiah 2:1; Esther 3:7); Sivan, the third month (Esther 8:9); Elul, the sixth month (Nehemiah 6:15); Chislev (KJV Chisleu), the ninth month (Nehemiah 1:1; Zechariah 7:1); Tebeth, the tenth month (Esther 2:16); Shebat (KJV Sebat), the eleventh month (Zechariah 1:7); and Adar, the twelfth month (Ezra 6:15; Esther 3:7).

Background

The Jewish calendar is lunisolar. Each month has 29 or 30 days according to the cycle of the moon's phases, and because twelve lunar months are shorter than the solar year, an additional month is occasionally inserted to keep the calendar aligned with the seasons. The Hebrew word for month, hodesh, shares a root with the word meaning "new" and is understood to refer to the appearance of the new crescent moon. Accordingly, special offerings were presented on the first day of the month, the new moon (Numbers 28:11).

The day begins at sunset. Leviticus 23:32 commands that the Day of Atonement be kept "from even unto even," a practice often explained in connection with the refrain of Genesis 1, "And the evening and the morning were the first day."

Post-exilic names such as Nisan are understood to derive from Babylonian month names adopted during the Babylonian exile. Nisan corresponds roughly to March–April in the solar calendar, and the seventh month (later called Tishri) to September–October. Modern Judaism observes the first day of the seventh month as the New Year (Rosh Hashanah), but the Bible describes this day as "a memorial of blowing of trumpets" (Leviticus 23:24). The Bible does not give rules for inserting the intercalary month. The present calculated calendar was developed in later rabbinic tradition and is said to have been fixed in the fourth century under Hillel II.

In the New Testament and Christianity

The events of the New Testament also take place within the framework of the Jewish calendar. The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus occurred around Passover, and the descent of the Holy Spirit took place at the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost). The Gospel of John presents Jesus' teaching against the backdrop of the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2) and the Feast of Dedication (John 10:22). The date of the church's Easter is linked to Passover. From around the time of the Council of Nicaea (325), the church is said to have calculated the date of Easter independently of the Jewish calendar.

Interpretation and Points of Debate

Colossians 2:16 and Galatians 4:10 address the observance of feast days, new moons, and months. On the basis of these passages, most Protestant denominations do not regard keeping the dates of the Old Testament feasts as an obligation for Christians. Instead, they emphasize the significance of the feasts as shadows pointing to Christ. By contrast, some groups, such as Messianic Jewish communities, regard observing the feasts according to the Jewish calendar as part of their faith. The debate over the weekly Sabbath is covered in the article Sabbath and the Lord's Day.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, the Jewish calendar is introduced mainly through Bible study materials or the "Jewish calendar chart" found in Bible appendices. No denomination uses the Jewish calendar directly. However, when Harvest Thanksgiving (Maekchu) and Thanksgiving are explained, the Old Testament Feast of Harvest (the Feast of Weeks) and the Feast of Tabernacles are frequently mentioned alongside them.