Overview of the Jewish Calendar

Overview

Yahweh Creates Time

Gen 1:3-5 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

The Lord indeed created time yet He dwelt in a dimension that is beyond time and space. Time and space is where the sovereign God would meet with His highest creation, man.

Lord of Their Calendar

It would be several hundred years after the flood of Noah that the Lord would reveal Himself to Abraham, the first Hebrew. Later in Hebrew history the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai and revealed to him His Covenant with man and the "appointed times" that they were to come together as a congregation.

It was through these special days throughout the year that the Lord would reveal Himself to them that He was in control of every moment in time and that He was Lord of their calendar.

The Lunar Year

For the ancient Hebrews the year consisted of 12 lunar months, with an intercalary month which was added to the calendar whenever it was needed to equate the lunar year with the solar year.

Psalm 104:19 - "He made the moon for the seasons; the sun knows the place of its setting."

1 Kings 4:7 � "And Solomon had twelve deputies over all Israel, who provided for the king and his household; each man had to provide for a month in the year."

The Civil Year

The civil year commenced on the seventh month, which roughly works out to October on the modern calendar.

The Religious Year

The religious year began with the first month, in which occurred the Passover, the first great feast of the Jewish cycle.

The Seventh Month

The Number 7 is a special number in Scripture and symbolizes divine perfection or completion. It is woven into every aspect of the Hebrew calendar. The Sabbath is observed on the 7th day of the week and every seventh year God decreed a Sabbatical year, and every seventh sabbatical year was considered a Jubilee year. Seven weeks after the Passover came the feast of Pentecost. The feast of Tabernacles, which is the last feast and completes the cycle, lasts for seven days. The seventh month is known as Tishri, and it contains the most holy days within the Hebrew calendar. Today they are referred to as the "High Holy Days."

Note: At the current time it is uncertain about the nature of the early calendar of the ancient Hebrews.

See God's Calendar - Heart Message

The Jewish Calendar in Ancient Hebrew History

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