How do I find the Jewish calendar(s) used in biblical times?
How do I find the Jewish calendar(s) used in biblical times?
this is a typical real question
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."
During the Babylonian captivity, the Jewish people adopted the Babylonian names for the months. The Babylonian calendar descended directly from the Sumerian calendar.
These Babylonian month-names (such as Nisan, Iyyar, Tammuz, Ab, Elul, Tishri and Adar) are shared with the modern Levantine solar calendar (currently used in the Arabic-speaking countries of the Fertile Crescent) and the modern Assyrian calendar, indicating a common origin.
The origin is thought to be the Babylonian calendar.
copilot interrupted and insisted on answering before giving me my search results:
The first historically attested and formulized calendars date to the Bronze Age, dependent on the development of writing in the ancient Near East. The earliest evidence of astronomical activity is an Ishango bone with markings, thought to be a lunar calendar which dates back to around 20,000 BC. During the Vedic period India developed a sophisticated timekeeping methodology and calendars for Vedic rituals. In 2000 AD, Victoria, Australia, a Wurdi Youang stone arrangement could date back more than 11,000 years. Calendars are essential in religious practice, agriculture, and governance.Wikipedia+2
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."
I had a similar question and I asked Siri on my iPhone. Siri didn’t know so passed it through to ChatGPT which nailed the answer. But only because the answer was readily available on Wikipedia…
The question was “why did Lent start in mid February in 2024 but not until March in 2025 …
I think that most Christians would probably be able to guess the answer. But like me probably never gave it a lot of thought before.
@MJ Not sure what you mean by that. This is what I get in All search:
Gee … whatever happened to Qumran and evil priests?
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
I didn't see an AI answer attempt …
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."