Palestine Exploration Fund - Quarterly Statement for 1894/Time

by Palestine Exploration Fund

 

VIII.—Time.

The Jewish year, like that of the early Greeks, of the Akkadians and Babylonians, was lunar; with an intercalated month. The names of the months were not those used before the Captivity, which appear to have been still used by the Phœnicians in the Greek age, but those of the Assyrian Calendar, brought from the land of captivity. There were four "heads of the year" for various purposes of reckoning (Rosh hash Shanah.

i, 1), but the new moon was fixed by actual observation, and not by a written calendar (Rosh hash Shanah, ii, 8). Sun dials were used for telling the time of day (Kelim, xii, 4, 5).

The Macedonian calendar was generally used by the Greeks in Palestine, as is clearly shown by many inscriptions; the calendar used by the natives of Palmyra was the same as that of the Arabs in the ninth century a.d., except the months which the latter called Tishri II and Kanun II; in Palmyra these were Kislul and Tebeth. The parallel calendars of the age may be given as below:—

 

English.	Jewish.⁠	Phœnician[1]	Greek.⁠	Palmyrene
April	Nisan	(Abib?)	Εανθικός	Nisan.
May	Iyar	(Zif?)	Αρτεμίσίός	Iyar.
June	Sivan		Δαίσιός	Sivan.
July	Tammuz		Πάνημος	Tammuz.
August	Ab		Λῶος	Ab.
September	Elul	Phaloth	Γορπαῖος	Elul.
October	Tisri	Ethanim	Ὑπερβερεταΐος	Tisri.
November	Marchesvan	Bul	Δῖος	Kanoun.
December	Kisleu		Ἀπελλαῖος	Kislul.
January	Tebeth		Αὺδυναῖος	Tebeth.
February	Asbat		Περίτιος	Shebat.
March	Adar		Δύστρος	Adar.

 

In this table the names in the last three columns are taken from extant inscriptions. The Attic calendar was not used. The Palmyrene is identical with the Jewish, except in the case of Kanun, and was adopted later by the Arabs. The Phœnicians seem to have retained the old Hebrew calendar, used before the Captivity, but the information at present available is fragmentary.

The Jewish festivals being those of the Bible require no special notice.

1. The Phœnician months included Zebakh-Shamash, Merpha, and Carar, but it is not known in what order.