19. (a) How were ancient Bible years reckoned? (b) What “sacred year” did Jehovah later decree?

¹⁹ Bible Years. According to the ancient Biblical reckoning, the year ran from autumn to autumn. This was particularly suited to an agricultural life, the year beginning with plowing and sowing, toward the first part of our month of October, and ending with the gathering in of the harvest. Noah counted the year as beginning in the autumn. He recorded the Deluge as beginning “in the second month,” which would correspond to the latter half of October and the first half of November. (Gen. 7:11, footnote) To this day, many peoples of the earth still start their new year in the autumn. At the time of the Exodus from Egypt, in 1513 B.C.E., Jehovah decreed that Abib (Nisan) should become “the start of the months” for the Jews, so that they now had a sacred year, running from spring to spring. (Ex. 12:2) However, Jews in our day observe a secular, or civil, year beginning in the autumn, Tishri being the first month.

20. How was the lunar year adjusted to correspond to the solar year, and what are lunisolar years?

²⁰ Lunisolar Year. Until the time of Christ, most nations used lunar years for counting time, employing various ways of adjusting the year to coincide more or less with the solar year. The common lunar year of 12 lunar months has 354 days, with the months having 29 or 30 days, depending on the appearance of each new moon. The lunar year is therefore about 11 1/4 days short of the true solar year of 365 1/4 days. The Hebrews followed the lunar year. Just how they adjusted this year to coincide with the solar year and the seasons is not explained in the Bible, but they must have added additional, or intercalary, months when needed. The arrangement of intercalary months was later systematized in the fifth century B.C.E. into what is now known as the Metonic cycle. This allowed for the intercalary month to be added seven times every 19 years, and in the Jewish calendar, it was added after the 12th month, Adar, and was called Veadar, or “second Adar.” As the lunar calendar is thus adjusted to the sun, the years, which are of 12 or 13 months, are known as lunisolar years.

[Chart on page 281]

THE YEAR OF THE ISRAELITES

Name of Month Nisan (Abib)

Corresponds to March - April

Sacred Year 1st month

Secular Year 7th month

Citations Ex. 13:4; Neh. 2:1

Festivals Nisan 14 Passover

Nisan 15-21 Festival of Unfermented Cakes

Nisan 16 Offering of firstfruits

Name of Month Iyyar (Ziv)

Corresponds to April - May

Sacred Year 2nd month

Secular Year 8th month

Citations 1 Ki. 6:1

Name of Month Sivan

Corresponds to May - June

Sacred Year 3rd month

Secular Year 9th month

Citations Esther 8:9

Name of Month Tammuz

Corresponds to June - July

Sacred Year 4th month

Secular Year 10th month

Citations Jer. 52:6

Name of Month Ab

Corresponds to July - August

Sacred Year 5th month

Secular Year 11th month

Citations Ezra 7:8

Name of Month Elul

Corresponds to August - September

Sacred Year 6th month

Secular Year 12th month

Citations Neh. 6:15

Name of Month Tishri (Ethanim)

Corresponds to September - October

Sacred Year 7th month

Secular Year 1st month

Citations 1 Ki. 8:2

Festivals Tishri 1 Day of the trumpet blast

Tishri 10 Day of Atonement

Tishri 15-21 Festival of Booths

Tishri 22 Solemn assembly

Name of Month Heshvan (Bul)

Corresponds to October - November

Sacred Year 8th month

Secular Year 2nd month

Citations 1 Ki. 6:38

Name of Month Chislev

Corresponds to November - December

Sacred Year 9th month

Secular Year 3rd month

Citations Neh. 1:1

Name of Month Tebeth

Corresponds to December - January

Sacred Year 10th month

Secular Year 4th month

Citations Esther 2:16

Name of Month Shebat

Corresponds to January - February

Sacred Year 11th month

Secular Year 5th month

Citations Zech. 1:7

Name of Month Adar

Corresponds to February - March

Sacred Year 12th month

Secular Year 6th month

Citations Esther 3:7

Name of Month Veadar

Corresponds to (Intercalary month)

Sacred Year 13th month