{
  "id": "dict_003761",
  "term": "Month",
  "slug": "month",
  "letter": "M",
  "entry_type": "biblical_timekeeping_term",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "A month is a basic unit of time in Scripture, commonly used to date events, mark festivals, and structure Israel’s calendar.",
  "simple_one_line": "A month is a biblical unit of time used for chronology, worship, and historical dating.",
  "tooltip_text": "A month in the Bible is a standard time unit, often tied to the lunar cycle and Israel’s calendar.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Calendar",
    "Chronology",
    "Feast of the Lord",
    "New Moon",
    "Passover",
    "Prophetic Time"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Adar",
    "Abib/Nisan",
    "Tishri",
    "Year",
    "Sabbath",
    "New Moon"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "In the Bible, a month is a recognized unit of time used to date events, mark feasts, and organize life in Israel’s calendar.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A month is a standard biblical time unit, usually tied to the moon’s cycle and used in Scripture for dating events, worship observances, and prophetic chronology.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Used for everyday chronology and historical dating",
    "Helps identify feast days and appointed times",
    "Often reflects a lunar or lunisolar calendar context",
    "Important for reading biblical narratives and prophecy accurately"
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "In Scripture, a month is a recognized unit of time used in ordinary life, covenant worship, and historical dating. Biblical authors refer to months when marking festivals, royal events, prophetic visions, and narrative chronology. The term is not a major theological doctrine, but it is important for understanding the Bible’s calendar and time references.",
  "description_academic_full": "A month in Scripture is a standard measure of time used to organize daily life, historical records, and Israel’s worship calendar. Biblical writers regularly refer to numbered or named months when dating events, setting feast days, describing periods of waiting or mourning, and locating prophetic visions within a chronological framework. In the Old Testament, months are especially important because the Lord ordered Israel’s appointed times around the yearly calendar, including Passover and other feasts. In that sense, the term supports careful reading of redemptive history even though it is not itself a major doctrinal category. The Bible’s use of months reflects practical, covenantal, and calendrical concerns rather than technical astronomy.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Biblical months appear in narratives, law, wisdom material, and prophecy. They help identify when events occurred, when feasts were celebrated, and how Israel tracked sacred time. Some months are numbered, while others are named in later biblical usage.",
  "background_historical_context": "In the ancient Near East, calendars were commonly organized by lunar or lunisolar observation. Israel’s calendar functioned within that broader world, but Scripture presents timekeeping chiefly in relation to covenant life, worship, and history rather than scientific explanation.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "Second Temple and later Jewish practice developed detailed calendar traditions, including named months and fixed observances. These later practices can help readers understand biblical chronology, though they should not be confused with the authority of Scripture itself.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Genesis 7:11",
    "Exodus 12:2",
    "Leviticus 23",
    "Numbers 10:10",
    "1 Kings 6:1, 38"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Esther 3:7",
    "Ezekiel 1:1",
    "Luke 1:24, 26",
    "Revelation 11:2",
    "Revelation 12:6"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "Hebrew often uses chodesh for “month,” a word related to the new moon or the beginning of a month; Greek mēn is the common New Testament term for month.",
  "theological_significance": "Month is not a doctrine in itself, but it matters for biblical theology because God governs time, appoints worship seasons, and orders redemptive history in real chronology. It also helps readers connect feast days, prophetic timetables, and narrative sequence without flattening them into vague symbolism.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "A month is a socially and cosmologically meaningful unit of time: it reflects observed patterns in creation and serves human purposes of memory, planning, and worship. In Scripture, time is never merely abstract; it is tied to God’s providential ordering of history.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Biblical months may be numbered or named, and ancient calendars do not always map neatly onto modern months. Readers should avoid forcing modern precision where the text is only giving a date marker. The Bible’s use of months is practical and covenantal, not a technical calendar manual.",
  "major_views_note": "Most interpreters agree that biblical month language is rooted in ancient calendar practice and often reflects lunar or lunisolar reckoning. Differences arise mainly in how specific dates should be correlated with modern calendars, not in the basic meaning of the term.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "This entry does not teach a doctrine of time or calendar reform. It simply explains a biblical time unit used in Scripture. Any calendrical reconstruction must remain subordinate to the text and avoid speculative certainty.",
  "practical_significance": "Understanding biblical months helps readers follow chronology, locate feasts, and read prophetic and narrative passages more accurately. It also reminds believers that God rules ordinary time and sacred time alike.",
  "meta_description": "Month in the Bible: a basic time unit used for chronology, feasts, and Israel’s calendar.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/month/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/month.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}