{
  "id": "dict_001658",
  "term": "Elul",
  "slug": "elul",
  "letter": "E",
  "entry_type": "biblical_month",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "Elul is a Hebrew month name used in the post-exilic period and mentioned in Nehemiah 6:15. It is chiefly a calendar term, not a distinct theological doctrine.",
  "simple_one_line": "A Hebrew month name mentioned in Nehemiah 6:15.",
  "tooltip_text": "Hebrew month name appearing in Nehemiah 6:15.",
  "aliases": [
    "Elul (Month)"
  ],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Adar",
    "Nisan",
    "Tishri",
    "Nehemiah",
    "Hebrew calendar"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Calendar terms",
    "post-exilic period",
    "month names"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Elul is the name of a Hebrew month found in the post-exilic biblical record, especially in Nehemiah 6:15. Its significance is mainly chronological and historical.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "Elul is a biblical month name used in post-exilic Jewish usage.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Appears in Nehemiah 6:15",
    "Functions as a calendar marker",
    "Helps date events in the biblical narrative",
    "Has historical value rather than doctrinal content"
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Elul is a Hebrew month name used in the post-exilic period and appearing in Nehemiah 6:15, where the wall of Jerusalem is completed on the twenty-fifth day of Elul. The term serves primarily as a chronological marker within the biblical narrative.",
  "description_academic_full": "Elul is a Hebrew month name used in the post-exilic period and appears in Nehemiah 6:15, where the wall of Jerusalem is finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul. Like other post-exilic month names in Scripture, it reflects Jewish calendrical usage after the exile. The term itself does not develop a distinct theological concept; its main value is historical and chronological, helping locate events within the biblical storyline.",
  "background_biblical_context": "In Nehemiah 6:15, the completion of Jerusalem’s wall is dated to the twenty-fifth day of Elul. This makes the month useful for tracing the timing of post-exilic events.",
  "background_historical_context": "Elul is one of the month names used in the Hebrew calendar during and after the exile. Its use reflects the calendrical vocabulary of the later biblical period.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "Post-exilic Jewish writings commonly use month names such as Elul rather than only numerical month designations. In Scripture, this helps identify the dating of events in the returned community.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Nehemiah 6:15"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Nehemiah 6:15"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "From Hebrew אֱלוּל (’Elul), a month name in the Hebrew calendar.",
  "theological_significance": "Elul has little direct theological content, but it supports careful reading of the biblical chronology and the historical setting of post-exilic books.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "As a calendar term, Elul shows how Scripture uses ordinary temporal markers to anchor real events in history rather than presenting abstract theology detached from time.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not force doctrinal meaning into the month name itself. Its role in Scripture is chronological, not symbolic in a controlled doctrinal sense.",
  "major_views_note": "Readers generally treat Elul as a straightforward biblical month name. The main interpretive question is calendrical placement, not theology.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "Elul is not a doctrine, symbol, or covenant term. It should be understood as a time marker in the biblical text.",
  "practical_significance": "Elul helps readers follow the historical sequence of events in Nehemiah and understand the post-exilic setting more precisely.",
  "meta_description": "Elul is a Hebrew month name mentioned in Nehemiah 6:15, used primarily as a biblical calendar marker.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/elul/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/elul.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}