{
  "id": "dict_003887",
  "term": "Names of the Hebrew months",
  "slug": "names-of-the-hebrew-months",
  "letter": "N",
  "entry_type": "biblical_background_term",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "The calendar names used for the months of Israel’s year in the Old Testament and later Jewish practice. In Scripture they mainly serve historical, chronological, and liturgical purposes rather than expressing a distinct doctrine.",
  "simple_one_line": "The Hebrew month names are the calendar labels used to date events and feasts in the Bible.",
  "tooltip_text": "Biblical month names help readers track chronology, festivals, and royal records; they are background information, not a doctrine.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Hebrew calendar",
    "Passover",
    "Feasts of Israel",
    "New moon",
    "Exile and return"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Nisan",
    "Adar",
    "Abib",
    "Ziv",
    "Ethanim",
    "Bul"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "The names of the Hebrew months are part of Israel’s calendar background. In the Old Testament, months are sometimes numbered and sometimes named, and these references help identify the timing of events, feasts, and official records.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "Biblical month names identify times of year in Israel’s calendar. They are important for chronology and festival observance, but they are not a major theological category.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Some Old Testament passages number the months",
    "others use month names.",
    "Early biblical names include Abib, Ziv, Ethanim, and Bul.",
    "Later books reflect post-exilic month names such as Nisan, Sivan, and Adar.",
    "These names mainly help with dating, history, and feast observance."
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "The names of the Hebrew months refer to the months used in Israel’s calendar, especially in dating events, feasts, and royal records. Some earlier biblical texts number the months, while other passages use names such as Abib, Ziv, Ethanim, and Bul; later books reflect additional post-exilic month names. The topic is primarily biblical background and chronology rather than doctrine.",
  "description_academic_full": "The names of the Hebrew months belong to the calendar system by which biblical events, festivals, and official records were dated. In the Old Testament, months are sometimes referred to simply by number, especially in relation to Israel’s sacred calendar, while some passages preserve named months such as Abib, Ziv, Ethanim, and Bul; later biblical books also reflect month names associated with the post-exilic period. These names help readers place events in their historical and liturgical setting, but they do not function as a major doctrinal category by themselves. As a background entry, the topic is best read as part of biblical chronology, worship, and historical setting.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Scripture uses month references to locate events in salvation history. The first month is tied to the Passover deliverance and the exodus, while later books use month names in narratives, temple chronology, royal records, and prophetic dating notices. The pattern shows that the calendar served practical, covenant-historical purposes.",
  "background_historical_context": "Israel’s calendar developed within the ancient Near Eastern world and, after the exile, increasingly reflects month names familiar from the broader Babylonian milieu. The biblical data preserve both earlier Hebrew naming and later standardized usage, which helps readers trace the historical setting of events before and after the exile.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "In ancient Jewish practice, the month names were part of the way the community marked sacred time, agricultural seasons, pilgrimage feasts, and civil records. The calendar was closely tied to worship, memory, and covenant life rather than functioning as a separate theological topic.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Exodus 12:2",
    "Exodus 13:4",
    "1 Kings 6:1",
    "1 Kings 6:37-38",
    "1 Kings 8:2",
    "Esther 3:7",
    "Nehemiah 2:1",
    "Zechariah 1:7"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "2 Kings 25:1",
    "Ezra 7:8-9",
    "Nehemiah 6:15",
    "Esther 8:9"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "Hebrew חודש (chodesh) means “month” and is related to the idea of newness or the new moon. Some month names in the Old Testament are Hebrew; others in later biblical usage reflect names adopted in the post-exilic period.",
  "theological_significance": "The month names themselves do not teach a distinct doctrine, but they support the biblical teaching that God governs time, history, and appointed seasons. They also help readers connect redemptive events with the calendar of Israel’s feasts.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "This is a factual and historical topic rather than an abstract theological one. Its value lies in how language organizes time, memory, and communal worship. In Scripture, calendar language serves revelation by situating events in concrete history.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not build doctrine from month names themselves, and do not force every calendar detail into symbolic meaning. Some references use numbered months, and others use names; both should be read according to context. Later Jewish usage should not be anachronistically imposed on the earliest texts.",
  "major_views_note": "Readers generally agree that the biblical month names are chronological and liturgical markers. Discussion usually concerns how early Hebrew naming relates to later post-exilic month terminology, not doctrinal disagreement.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "The entry should remain within biblical background and chronology. It should not imply hidden codes, numerological schemes, or special doctrinal significance in the names of months.",
  "practical_significance": "These month names help Bible readers understand feast timing, historical sequence, and prophetic dating. They are especially useful when tracing Passover, temple construction, exile-era records, and prophetic messages anchored to specific months.",
  "meta_description": "The names of the Hebrew months are the calendar labels used in the Bible to date events, feasts, and records. They are useful background for Bible chronology and worship.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/names-of-the-hebrew-months/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/names-of-the-hebrew-months.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}