Encyclopedia entry
Month
Among the Egyptians the month of thirty days each was in use long before the time of the Exodus, and formed the basis of their calculations. From the time of the institution of the Mosaic law the month among the Jews was lunar. The cycle of religious feasts depended on the moon. The commencement of a month was determined by the observation of the new moon. The number of months in the year was usually twelve (1 Kings 4:7; 1 Chr. 27:1-15); but every third year an additional month (ve-Adar) was inserted, so as to make the months coincide with the seasons.
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“The Hebrews and Phoenicians had no word for month save ’moon,’ and only saved their calendar from becoming vague like that of the Moslems by the interpolation of an additional month. There is no evidence at all that they ever used a true solar year such as the Egyptians possessed. The latter had twelve months of thirty days and five epagomenac or odd days.”, Palestine Quarterly, January 1889.
Also from Smith's (1884) +−
From the time of the institution of the Mosaic law downward the religious feasts commencing with the passover depended not simply on the month, but on the moon; the 14th of Abib was coincident with the full moon; and the new moons themselves were the occasions of regular festivals. (Numbers 10:10; 28:11-14) The commencement of the month was generally decided by observation of the new moon. The usual number of months in a year was twelve, as implied in (1 Kings 4:7; 1 Chronicles 27:1-15) but since twelve lunar months would make but 354 1/2 days, the years would be short twelve days of the short twelve days of the true year, and therefore it follows as a matter of course that an additional month must have been inserted about every third year, which would bring the number up to thirteen. No notice, however, is taken of this month in the Bible. In the modern Jewish calendar the intercalary month is introduced seven times in every nineteen years. The usual method of designating the months was by their numerical order, e.g. “the second month,” (Genesis 7:11) “the fourth month,” (2 Kings 25:3) and this was generally retained even when the names were given, e.g. “in the month Zif, which is the second month.” (1 Kings 6:1) The names of the months belong to two distinct periods. In the first place we have those peculiar to the period of Jewish independence, of which four only, even including Abib, which we hardly regard as a proper name are mentioned, viz.: Abib, in which the passover fell, (Exodus 13:4; 23:15; 34:18; 16:1) and which was established as the first month in commemoration of the exodus, (Exodus 12:2) Zif, the second month, (1 Kings 6:1,37) Bul, the eighth, (1 Kings 6:38) and Ethanim, the seventh. (1 Kings 6:38) and Ethanim, the seventh. (1 Kings 8:2) In the second place we have the names which prevailed subsequent to the Babylonish captivity; of these the following seven appear in the Bible: Nisan, the first, in which the passover was held, (Nehemiah 2:1; Esther 3:7) Sivan, the third (Esther 8:9) Bar. 1:8; Elul, the sixth, (Nehemiah 6:15) 1 Macc. 14:27; Chisleu, the ninth, (Nehemiah 1:1; Zechariah 7:1) 1 Macc. 1:54; Tebeth, the tenth, (Esther 2:16) Sebat, the eleventh, (Zechariah 1:7) 1 Macc. 16:14; and Adar, the twelfth. (Esther 3:7; 8:1) 2 Macc. 15:36. The names of the remaining five occur int he Talmud and other works; they were, Iyar, the second, Targum; (2 Chronicles 30:2) Tammuz, the fourth; Ab, the fifth; Tisri, the seventh; and Marcheshvan, the eighth. The name of the intercalary month was Ve-adar, i.e. the additional Adar. The identification of the jewish months with our own cannot be effected with precision on account of the variations that must inevitably exist between the lunar and the solar month. Nisan (or Abib) answers to March; Zif or Iyar to May; Sivan to June; Tammuz to July; Ab to August; Elul to September; Ethanim or Tisri to October; Bul or Marcheshvan to November; Chisleu to December; Tebeth to January; Sebat to February; and Adar to March.
In the Bible
192
Verses where Month is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- 1 Chronicles 12:15
These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks, and they put to flight all those in the valleys, both to the east and to the west.
- 1 Chronicles 27:1
This is the list of the Israelites—the heads of families, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers who served the king in every matter concerning the divisions on rotating military duty each month throughout the year. There were 24,000 men in each division:
- 1 Chronicles 27:2
Jashobeam son of Zabdiel was in charge of the first division, which was assigned the first month. There were 24,000 men in his division.
- 1 Chronicles 27:3
He was a descendant of Perez and chief of all the army commanders for the first month.
- 1 Chronicles 27:4
Dodai the Ahohite was in charge of the division for the second month, and Mikloth was the leader. There were 24,000 men in his division.
- 1 Chronicles 27:5
The third army commander, as chief for the third month, was Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest. There were 24,000 men in his division.
+186 more verses naming Month.
Scripture on Month
95
See all 95 +−
- 2 Kings 25Exodus 12Numbers 9Esther 3Genesis 8Numbers 28Numbers 291 Kings 42 Chronicles 30Jeremiah 52Ezekiel 45Haggai 2Zechariah 7Exodus 13Numbers 10Ezra 3Ezra 10Nehemiah 8Esther 8Zechariah 1Genesis 7Exodus 40Numbers 1Numbers 11Numbers 331 Samuel 201 Kings 81 Kings 122 Chronicles 29Ezra 6Ezra 7Nehemiah 1Nehemiah 2Nehemiah 6Esther 2Jeremiah 28Jeremiah 36Jeremiah 39Ezekiel 1Ezekiel 29Ezekiel 32Haggai 1Luke 1Genesis 29Exodus 16Exodus 19Exodus 23Exodus 34Leviticus 16Leviticus 25Leviticus 27Numbers 18Numbers 20Numbers 26Deuteronomy 1Deuteronomy 16Deuteronomy 21Joshua 4Joshua 51 Kings 52 Kings 151 Chronicles 122 Chronicles 32 Chronicles 52 Chronicles 72 Chronicles 152 Chronicles 312 Chronicles 35Ezra 8Nehemiah 7Nehemiah 9Jeremiah 1Jeremiah 2Jeremiah 41Ezekiel 8Ezekiel 20Ezekiel 24Ezekiel 26Ezekiel 30Ezekiel 31Ezekiel 33Ezekiel 40Ezekiel 47Daniel 10Hosea 5Joel 2Zechariah 8Zechariah 11Revelation 9Revelation 22
Entries that reference Month
12
Month references
29
Voices on Month
24
Surfaced by name match — accuracy varies by title clarity.
Sources · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.