TIP OF THE DAY 127: Hebrew calendars- search for named months; AI generated search
I am adding these posts to the previous tip list L/V 10 Tip of the Day (when it doesn't time out)
POST ISSUE: Searching for named months
Searching for Hebrew months using Logos tagging offers both a topic option and a lemma function but both search only a portion of your library – the portion for which Logos has applied the appropriate tags. To search (imperfectly) you entire library you must resort to a smart search and/or a text search argument. This brings up the issue of multiple transliteration schemes and how to build the argument for a search for months without needing to know the Hebrew alphabet and keyboard.
QUESTION: Search Logos tagging for a month, e.g. Chislev.
SOFTWARE: If you enter Chislev into the search box, you should see an option for Chislev as a topic. This produces the search argument topic:Chislev.
ANSWER: This provides results only for the Bibles and reference books that Logos has tagged with the topic – a small portion of most libraries. One could also search for the lemma as suggested by the Factbook page Faithlife, LLC. “כִּסְלֵו.” Verbum, Computer software. Verbum Factbook. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, LLC, March 18, 2025. . which generates the search argument term:(lemma.h:כִּסְלֵו OR milestone:lemma.h:כִּסְלֵו OR headword:כִּסְלֵו OR כִּסְלֵו)
QUESTION: What are the various ways a month, e.g. Chislev, is transliterated into English?
SOFTWARE: From the smart all search with the search argument What are the various ways a month, e.g. Chislev, is transliterated into English? If you don’t have access to the smart search, use Perplexity. Remember that neither answer claims to be comprehensive.
ANSWER: The synopsis from the smart All search:
The month of Chislev, which is the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar corresponding roughly to November-December, has several transliterations in English. These include Chislev, Chisleu, Kislev, Kislew, and Chaseleu. One article also mentions the Akkadian form Kislimu. It's worth noting that the transliteration can vary depending on the source and translation, with some versions of the Bible, such as the King James Version (KJV), using Chisleu, while others like the New International Version (NIV) prefer Kislev.
From Perplexity:
The month of Chislev is transliterated in English Bibles in several ways:
- Chislev
- Chisleu
- Kislev
- Kislew
- Kisleiv
These variations reflect different attempts to represent the Hebrew כִּסְלֵו (Kislev) in English characters. The differences in spelling are due to the challenges of transliterating Hebrew sounds into English, as well as historical variations in translation practices.
QUESTION: How do I find references to the Hebrew calendar months in scripture using English?
SOFTWARE: Use queries above to identify transliterations of a given month
ANSWER: Build a Bible search argument using each of the transliterations found, separating them with the OR operator. For Chislev the search argument is Chislev OR Chisleu OR Kislev OR Kislew OR Chaseleu OR Kisleiv. You may wish to save these search arguments in Favorites or in a Note.
Note that if you are multilingual, you need to repeat the process for each language but you can combined all the forms into a single search argument.
QUESTION: How do I find references to all the Hebrew calendar months in scripture using English?
SOFTWARE: Note this is a quick and dirty solution-that provides fewer transliteration options per Hebrew month but should still find most of the Bible results.
ANSWER: Run this query in Perplexity: With the old and new names and the added leap month there are 17 names of the month in Hebrew. Each may be transliterated for English is multiple ways. List all these forms in calendar order separated by OR in all caps. Enclose multi-part names in quotation marks and merge it all into a single line list. Use the resulting string as the search argument for a precise Bible search – the use of OR forces the precise search. Nisan OR Nissan OR Aviv OR Abib OR "First Month" OR "Month of the Redemption" OR Iyar OR Iyyar OR Ziv OR Sivan OR Siwan OR Tammuz OR Tamuz OR Av OR Abu OR Ab OR Elul OR Tishrei OR Tishri OR Ethanim OR Marcheshvan OR Cheshvan OR Heshvan OR Marheshvan OR Bul OR Kislev OR Chislev OR Kisleu OR Tevet OR Tebeth OR Shevat OR Shvat OR Sebat OR Adar OR "Adar I" OR "Adar Alef" OR "Adar Rishon" OR "Adar II" OR "Adar Bet" OR "Adar Sheni" OR Zif
Note if you save the search argument, you can modify it as you run into additional transliterations or names. Then the accuracy of the results should continue to improve.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."