{
  "id": "dict_000071",
  "term": "Adar",
  "slug": "adar",
  "letter": "A",
  "entry_type": "biblical_calendar_month",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "Adar is the twelfth month of the biblical Jewish calendar. In Scripture it is noted especially in the book of Esther.",
  "simple_one_line": "The twelfth month of the Jewish calendar, especially associated with Esther.",
  "tooltip_text": "A biblical calendar month named in Esther; roughly corresponds to late winter in the modern calendar, though exact dates vary.",
  "aliases": [
    "Adar (Month)"
  ],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Esther",
    "Purim",
    "Jewish calendar",
    "Months",
    "Mordecai",
    "Haman"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Calendar",
    "Chronology",
    "Feast of Purim",
    "Post-exilic period"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Adar is the twelfth month in the Jewish calendar used in the Old Testament period. In the Bible it is most closely associated with the events of Esther, including Haman’s decree and the later deliverance of the Jews.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "The twelfth month of the biblical Jewish calendar; mentioned prominently in Esther.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "A calendrical term, not a doctrinal concept.",
    "Appears in the book of Esther.",
    "Linked to the timing of Haman’s plot and the Jews’ deliverance.",
    "Modern Gregorian equivalents are approximate because the Hebrew calendar is lunisolar."
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Adar is the twelfth month in the Jewish calendar and is most clearly attested in the book of Esther, where it frames the crisis and reversal surrounding Haman’s decree against the Jews. As a calendar term, it is mainly significant for biblical chronology and for the setting of Purim.",
  "description_academic_full": "Adar is the twelfth month of the Jewish calendar in the Old Testament period. It appears most clearly in Esther, where dates in Adar are connected to Haman’s decree against the Jews, the counter-decree issued under Esther and Mordecai, and the resulting deliverance celebrated as Purim. The term is primarily calendrical rather than theological, but it matters for understanding biblical chronology, the sequence of events in Esther, and the historical setting of Jewish festal observance. Because the Hebrew calendar is lunisolar, Adar does not map exactly onto a single modern month in a fixed way, though it generally falls in late winter to early spring.",
  "background_biblical_context": "In Esther, Adar is the month in which the threatened destruction of the Jews was scheduled and later the month of their victory and celebration. The book repeatedly uses dates in Adar to show the reversal of circumstances under God’s providence.",
  "background_historical_context": "Adar belongs to the Jewish calendrical system used in the post-exilic period. In later Jewish usage, an extra month could be added in leap years, but the basic biblical month-name remains the same.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "The month name reflects the Jewish calendar in the Persian and post-exilic setting. Month names in this period often reflect the broader ancient Near Eastern environment while functioning within Israel’s covenantal life and worship calendar.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Esther 3:7, 3:13",
    "Esther 8:12",
    "Esther 9:1, 9:15, 9:17, 9:19, 9:21"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Nehemiah 6:15 (for calendar dating)",
    "compare other biblical month references for the month system generally"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "Hebrew אֲדָר (’Ădār), the name of the twelfth month in the Jewish calendar.",
  "theological_significance": "Adar has no direct doctrinal meaning, but in Esther it serves the larger theological purpose of highlighting God’s providential reversal and preservation of his people.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "As a time marker, Adar shows that Scripture is rooted in real historical chronology. Biblical time references are ordinary calendar markers that help locate God’s acts in history.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not read Adar as a symbolic or mystical term. Its modern Gregorian equivalent is approximate because the Hebrew calendar is lunisolar and can vary by year.",
  "major_views_note": "No major doctrinal views are attached to the term itself. Differences concern only calendrical conversion and chronology.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "Adar is a historical-calendar term, not a theological doctrine. Its significance comes from the biblical events dated by it, especially in Esther.",
  "practical_significance": "Adar helps readers follow the timeline of Esther and understand the timing of Purim. It also illustrates how Scripture uses ordinary calendar markers to anchor redemptive history.",
  "meta_description": "Adar is the twelfth month of the biblical Jewish calendar, mentioned especially in Esther and the events leading to Purim.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/adar/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/adar.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}