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Bible Encyclopedias
Calendar, Jewish.
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
or 1. Hebrew Lunar Calendar, of Feasts and Fasts. — The year of the Hebrews is composed of twelve (and occasionally of thirteen) lunar months, of thirty and twenty-nine days alternately. The year begins in autumn as to the civil year, and in the spring as to the sacred year. The Jews had calendars anciently wherein were noted all the feasts, all the fasts, and all the days on which they celebrated the memory of any great event that had happened to the nation (Zechariah 8:19; Esther 8:6, in Graec.). These ancient calendars are sometimes quoted in the Talmud (Mishna, Taanith, 8), but the rabbins acknowledge that they are not now in being (see Maimonides and Bartenora, in loc.). Those that we have now, whether printed or in manuscript, are not very ancient (see Genebrar. Bibliot. Rabinic. p. 319; Buxtorf, Levit. Talmnud. p. 1046; Bartolocci, Bibl. Rabbinic. 2:550; Lamy's Introduction to the Scripture; and Plantav. Taanith, "the volume of affliction," which contains the days of feasting and fasting heretofore in use among the Jews, which are not now observed, nor are they in the common calendars. We here insert the chief historical events, taken as well from this volume, Taanith, as from other calendars. The Jewish months, however, have been placed one lunation later than the rabbinical comparison of them with the modern or Julian months, in accordance with the conclusions of J. D. Michaelis, in his treatise published by the Royal Soc. of Gottingen. (See MONTH). For the details, compare each month in its alphabetical place. See also Critica Biblica, vol. iv, and the following formal treatises: Clauder, De forma anni l Mosaico- prophetica (Viteb. 1716); Dresde, Annus Judaicus (Lips. 1766); Fischer, De anno HFebrceor. (Viteb. 1710); Felseisen, De civili Judxorum die (Lips. 1702); Klausing, Deforma anni patriarcharun (Viteb. 1716); Roschel, id. (Viteb. 1692); Lanshausen, De mense vett. Hebrews lunari (Jen. 1713); Lund, De mensibus Hebrceor. (Abose, 1694); Nagel, De Calendario vett. Hebrceor. (Altorf, 1746); Selden, De anno civili Hebrceor. (Lond. 1644); Sommel, De anno Hebrceor. eccles. et civ.(Lund. 1748); Strauch, De anno Hebrceor. ecclesiastico (Viteb. 1655); Von Gumpach, Ueber den alt. Jidisch. Kalender (Briissel, 1848). (See TIME).
ABIB OR NISAN.
The first month of the sacred year, the seventh month of the civil year; it has thirty days, and ancestors generally to the moon of MARCH and APRIL.
Day 1. — New moon; a fast for the death of the sons of Aaron(Leviticus 10:1-2).
10. — A fast for the death of Miriam, sister of Moses (Numbers 20:1); also in memory of the scarcity of water that happened, after her death, to the children of Israel in the desert of Kadesh (Numbers 20:2).
On this day every one provided himself a lamb or a kid, preparatory to the following Passover.
14. — On the evening of this day they killed the paschal lamb; they began to use unleavened bread, and ceased from all servile labor.
15. — The solemnity of the Passover, with its octave; the first day of unleavened bread, a dry of rest; they ate none but unleavened bread during eight days.
After sunset they gathered a sheaf of barley, which they brought into the Temple (Menachot. 6:3).
Supplication for the reign of the spring (Geneb.).
16. On the second day of the feast they offered the barley which they had provided the evening before, as the first-fruits of the harvest; after that time it was allowed to put the sickle to the corn.
The beginning of harvest.
From this day they began to count fifty days to Pentecost. (See PENTECOST).
21. — The octave of the feast of the Passover; the end of unleavened bread. This day is held more solemn than ‘ the other days of the octave, yet they did not refrain from manual labor on it.
26. — A fast for the death of Joshua (Joshua 24:29).
30. — Alternate of the first new moon of the succeeding month.
The book called Mregillath Ta-nith does not notice any particular festival for the month Nisan.
ZIF OR IJAR.
The second ecciesiastica, or eighth civil month, contains twenty-nine days; corresponds to the moon of APRIL or MAY.
Day 1. — New moon.
6. — A fast of three days for excesses committed during the feast of the Passover; that is, on the Monday, Thursday, and the Monday following (Calendar Barto locci).
7. — The dedication of the Temple, when the Asmonaeans consecrated it anew, after the persecutions of the Greeks (Meqill. Taanith, 100:2).
10. — A fast for the death of the high-priest Eli, and for the capture of the ark by the Philistines.
14. — The second Passover, in favor of those who could not celebrate the first, on the 15th of the foregoing month.
23. — A feast for the taking of the city of Gaza by Simon Maccabseus (Calend. Scalig.; 1 Maccabees 13:43-44); or for the taking and purification of the citadel of Jerusalem by the Maccabees (Calendar of Sigonius; 1 Maccabees 13:49; 1 Maccabees 13:53; 1 Maccabees 16:7); a feast for the expulsion of the Caraites out of Jerusalem by the Asmonseans or Macca bees (leg. Taanith; (See TEBETH) 28).
27. — A feast for the expulsion of the Galilseans, or those who attempted to set up crowns over the gates of their temples and of their houses, and even on the heads of their oxen and asses, and to sing hymns in honor of false gods. The Maccabees drove them out of Judea and Jerusalem, and appointed this feast to perpetuate the memory of their expulsion (Megill. Taanith).
28. — A fast for the death of the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 25:1).
SIVAN.
The third sacred, or ninth civil month; thirty days; the moon of MAY orJUNE.
Day 1. — New moon.
6. — Pentecost, the fiftieth day after the Passover — called also the Feast of Weeks, because it happened seven weeks after the Passover. We do not find that it had any octave. But (See SABBATH).
15, 16. — A feast to celebrate the victory of the Maccabees over the people of Bethsan (1 Maccabees 5:52; 1 Maccabees 12:40-41; Megill. Taanitm).
17. — A feast for the taking of Cesarea by theAsmonseans, who drove the pagans from thence, and settled the Jews there (Megill. Taanith).
22. — A fast in memory of the prohibition by Jeroboam, son of Nebat, to his subjects, forbidding them to carry their first-fruits to Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:27).
25. — A fast in commemoration of the death of the rabbins Simeori, son of Gamaliel; Ishmael, son of Elisha; and Chanina, the high-priest's deputy. A feast in honor of the solemn judgment pronounced in favor of the Jews by Alexander the Great against the Ishmaelites, who, by virtue of their birthright, maintain a possession of the land of Canaan; against the Canaanites, who claimed the same as being the original possessors; and against the Egyptians, who demanded restitution of the vessels and other things borrowed by the Hebrews when they left Egypt (see Mlegillath Taanith); but the Gemara of Babylon (Sanhedrzim c. 11) puts the day of this sentence on Nisan 14, (See CHISLEU,) 21.
27. — A fast, because Rabbi Chanina, the son of Thardion, was burnt with the book of the law.
30. — Alternate of the first new moon of the following month.
TAMMUZ.
The fourth sacred, tenth civil month; twenty-nine days; moon of JUNE or JULY.
Day 1. — New moon.
14. — A feast for the abolition of a perniciols book of the Sadducees and Bethusians, by which they endeavored to subvert the oral law and all the traditions (Megill. Taanith).
17. — A fast in memory of the tables of the law broken by Moses (Exodus 32:19).
On this day the city of Jerusalem was taken; the perpetual evening and morning sacrifice was suspended during the siege of Jerusalem by Titus. Epistemon tore the book of the law, and set up an idol in the Temple; it is not said whether this happened under Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus Epiphanes, or the Romans.
AB.
The fifth sacred, eleventh civil month; thirty days; moon of JULY orAUGUST.
Day 1. — New moon; a fast for the death of Aaron, the high priest.
5. — A commemoration of the children of Jethuel, of the race of Judah, who, after the return from the captivity, furnished wood to the temple (Megill. Taanith).
9. — A fast of the fifth month in memory of God's declaration to Moses, on this day, that none of the murmuring Israelites should enter the land of promise (Numbers 14:29; Numbers 14:31).
On the same day the Temple was taken and burnt: Solomon's Temple first by the Chaldaeans; Herod's Tem ple afterward by the Romans.
18. — A fast, because in the time of Ahaz the evening lamp went out.
21. — Xylophoria; a feast on which they stored up the necessary wood in the Temple (Selden; see Josephus, Wir, 2:17). Scaliger places this festival on the 22d of the next month.
24. — A feast in memory of the abolition of a law by the Asmonseans, or Maccabees, which had been introduced by the Sadducees, enacting that both sons and daughters should alike inherit the estates of their parents (MeOill. Tmnitlh).
30. — Alternate of the first new moon of the following month
ELUL.
The sixth slaced, twelfth civil month; twentynine days; tnoon of AUGUSTor SEPTEMBER.
Day 1. — New moon.
7. — Dedication of the walls of Jerusalem by Nehemiah (Nehemiah 12:27). We read in Nehemiah 6:15, that these walls were finished Elul 25; but as there still remained many things to be done to complete this work, the dedication might have been deferred to the Tth of Elul of the year following (AMefill. Taanith; Seld.).
17. — A fast for the death of the spies who brought an ill report of the land of promise (Numbers 14:36).
A feast in remembrance of the expulsion of the Romans [rather the Greeks], who would have prevented the Hebrews from marrying, and who dishonored the daughters of Israel. When they intended to use violence toward Judith, the only daughter of Mattathias, he, with the assistance of his sons, overcame them, and delivered his country from their yoke; in commemoration of which deliverance this festival was appointed.
21. — Xylophoria a feast in which they brought to the Temple the necessary provision of wood for keeping up the fire of the altar of burnt- sacrifices. The calendar of Scaliger places this feast on the 22d (see the 21st of the foregoing month).
22. — A feast in memory of the punishment inflicted on the wicked Israelites, whose insolence could not be otherwise restrained than by putting them to death; for then Judaea was in the possession of the Gentiles. They allowed these wicked Israelites three days to reform; but as they showed no signs of repentance, they were condemned to death (Megill. Taanith).
[From the beginning to the end of this month, the cornet is sounded to warn of the approaching new civil year.] (See YEAR).
ETHANIM OR TISRI.
The seventh sacred, first civil month; thirty days; mloon of SEPTEMBER or OCTOBER.
Day 1. — New moon. Beginning of the civil year.
The Feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:24; Numbers 29:1-2).
8. — Fast for the death of Gedaliah (2 Kings 25:25; Jeremiah 41:2). The same day, the abolition of written contracts. The wicked kings havingforbidden the Israelites to pronounce the name of God, when they were restored to liberty the Asmonmeans or Maccabees ordained that the name of God should be written in contracts after this manner: "In such a year of the high-priest N., who is minister of the most high God," etc. The judges to whom these writings were presented decreed they should be satisfied, saying, for example, "On such a day, such a debtor shall pay such a sum, according to his promise, after which the schedule shall be torn." But it was found that the name of God was taken away out of the writing, and thus the whole became useless and ineffectual; for which reason they abolished all these written contracts, and appointed a festival day in memory of it (Megill. Taanith, 100:7).
5. — The death of twenty Israelites. Rabbi Akiba, son of Joseph, dies in prison.
7. — A fast on account of the worshipping the golden calf, and of the sentence God pronounced against Israel in consequence of that crime (Exodus 32:6-8; Exodus 32:34).
10. — A fast of expiation (Leviticus 23:19, etc.).
15. — The Feast of Tabernacles, with its octave (Leviticus 23:34).
21. — Hosanna-Rabba. The seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Pranches.
22. — The octave of the Feast of Tabernacles.
23. — The rejoicing for the law; a solemnity in memory of the covenant that the Lord made with the Hebrews in giving them the law by the mediation of Moses. On this same day, the dedication of Solomon's Temple (1 Kings 8:65; 66).
30. — Alternate of the first new moon of thefollowing month.
MARCHESVAN OR BUL.
The eighth sacred, second civil month; twenty-nine days; moon of OCTOBER or NOVEMBER.
Day 1. — The new moon, or first day of the month.
6, 7. — A fast, because Nebuchadnezzar put out the eyes of Zedekiah, after he had slain his children before his face (2 Kings 25:7; Jeremiah 52:10).
19. — A fast on Monday and Tuesday [Thursday?], and the Monday following, to expiate faults committed on occasion of the Feast of Tabernacles (Calendar, ed. Barto locci).
23. — A feast or memorial of the stones of the altar, profaned by the Greeks, which were laid aside in expectation of a prophet who could declare to what use they might be applied (1 Maccabees 4:46; Mcgill. Taan.100:8).
26. — A feast in memory of some places possessed by the Cuthites, which the Israelites recovered at their return from the captivity.
A dispute of Rabbin Jochanan, son of Zachai, against the Sadducees, who pretended that the Toaves of the first-fruits (Leviticus 23:17-18) were not to be offered on the altar, but to be eaten hot (Mcgill. Taan. 100:9).
CHISLEU.
The ninth sacred, third civil month; thirty days; amon of NOVEMBER or DECEMBER.
Day 1. — New moon, or the first day of the month.
3. — A feast in memory of the idols which the Asmonaeans threw out of the courts, where the Gentiles had placed them (Megill. Talanith).
6. — A fast in memory of the book of Jeremiah, torn and burnt by Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 36:23).
7. — A feast in memory of the death of Herod the Great, son of Antipater, who was always an enemy to the sages (Megili. Taan. 100:11).
21. — The feast of Mount Gerizim. The Jews relate that when their high- priest Simon, with his priests, went out to meet Alexander the Great, the Cutheans or Samaritans went also, and desired this prince to give them the Temple: of Jerusalem, and to sell them a part of Mount Moriah, which request Alexander granted. But the high-priest of the Jews afterward presenting himself, and Alexander asking him what he desired, Simon entreated him not to suffer the Samaritans to destroy the Temple. The king replied to him that he delivered that people into his hands, and he might do what he pleased with them. Then the high-priest and inhabitants of Jerusalem took the Samaritans, bored a hole through their heels, and, tying them to their horses' tails, dragged them along to Mount Gerizim, which they ploughed and sowed with tares, just as the Samaritans had intended to do to the Temple of Jerusalem. In memory of this event they instituted this festival (comp. SIVAN 25).
24. — Prayers for rain (Calendar Bartolocci).
25. — The dedication or renewing of the Temple, profaned by order of Antiochus Epiphanes, and purified by Judas Maccabseus (1 Maccabees 4:52; 1 Maccabees 2 Mmfcc. 2:16; John 10:22). This feast is kept with its octave. Josephus says that in his time it was called the Feast of Lights; perhaps, he says, because this good fortune of restoring the Temple to its ancient use appeared to the Jews as a new day (Aif. 12:11). But the Jewish authors give another reason for the name of lights. They report that when they were employed in cleansing the Temple, after it had been profaned by the Greeks, they found there only one small phial of oil, sealed up by the high. priest, which would hardly suffice to keep in the lamps so much as one night; but God permitted that it should last several days, till they had time to make more, in memory of which the Jews lighted up several lamps in their synagogues and at the doors of their houses. (See Selden, De Si'ned. lib. in, cap. 13.) Others affirm (as the Acholatical History, also Thomas Aquinas and Cardinal Hugo, on 1 Maccabees 4:52) that the appellation of the Feast of Lights was a memorial of that the from heaven which inflamed the wood on the altar of burnt-offerings, as related in 2 Maccabees 1:22.
Some think this feast of the dedication was instituted in memory of Judith. (See Sigon. De Reputbl. Hebr. lib. in, cap. 18.) But it is doubted whether this ought to be understood of Judith, daughter of Merari, who killed Holofernes, or of another Judith, daughter of Mattathias, and sister of Judas Maccabseus, who slew Nicanor, as they tell us. (See Ganz, Zemach Dai'd; Millenar. 4, an. 622, et apud Selden, De Synedriis, lib. in, cap. 13, n. 11.) This last Judith is known only in the writings of the rabbins, and is not mentioned either in the Maccabees or in Josephus. But there is great likelihood that the Jews have altered the Greek history of Judith to place it in the time of Judas Maccabaeus. A prayer for rain. Time of sowing begins in Judaea.
30. — Alternate of the new moon of the following month.
TEBETH.
The tenth sacred, fourth civil month; twenty-nine days; moon of DECEMBER or JANUARY.
Day 1. — New moon.
8. — A fast, because of the translation of the law out of Hebrew into Greek. This day and the three following days were overcast by thick darkness.
The fast of the tenth month (Calend. Bartolocci).
9. — A fast for which the rabbins assign no reason.
10. — A fast in memory of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:1).
28. — A feast in memory of the exclusion of the Sadducees out of the Sanhedrim, where they had all the power in the time of King Alexander Jannasus. Rabbi Simeon, son of Shatach, found means of excluding them one after another, and of substituting Pharisees (Megillath Taanith). (See IJAR) 23.
SHEBAT.
The eleventh sacred, fifth civil month; thirty days; moon of JANUARY or FEBRUARY.
Day 1. — New moon, or the first day of the month.
2. — A rejoicing for the death of King Alexander Jannea us, a great enemy to the Pharisees (Mleill. Tasnith).
4 or 5. — A fast in memory of the death of the elders who succeededJoshua (Judges 2:10).
15. — The beginning of the year of trees; that is, from hence they begin to count the four years during which trees were judged unclean, from the time of their being planted (Leviticus 19:23-25). Some place the beginningof these four years on the first day of the month.
22. — A feast in memory of the death of one called Niscalenus, who had ordered the placing images or figures in tie Temple, which was forbidden by the law; but he died, and his orders were not executed. The Jews place this under the high-priest Simon the Just. It is not known who this Niscalenus was (Megill. Taan. 100:11).
23. — A fast for the war of the ten tribes against that of Benjamin (Judges 20).
They also call to remembrance the idol of Micah (Judges 18).
29. — A memorial of the death of Antiochus Epiphanes, an enemy of theJews (1 Maccabees 6:1; Megiil. Taanith).
30. — Alternate new moon of the next month. ADAR.
The twelfth sacred, sixth civil month: twenty-nine days; months of FEBRUARY or MARCH.
Day 1. — New moon.
7. — A fast, because of the death of Moses (Deuteronomy 34:5).
8, 9. — The trumpet sounded by way of thanksgiving for the rain that fell in this month, and to pray for it in future (Megillath Tal'raith). A fast in memory of the schism between the schools of Shammai and Hillel [called Taanith Tsadehim].
12. — A feast in memory of the death of two proselytes, Hollianius and Pipus his brother, whom one Tyrinus or Turianus would have compelled to break the law, in the city of Laodicea; but they chose rather to die than to act contrary to the law (Selden, De Synedr. lib. 3, cap. 13, ex Megfil!. lT- anith).
13. — Esther's fast; probably in memory of that of Esther 4:16 (Geneb. and Bartolocci);
A feast in memory of the death of Nicanor, an enemy of the Jews (1 Maccabees 7:44; 2 Maccabees 15:30, etc.). Some of the Hebrews insist that Nicanor was killed by Judith, sister of Judas Maccabseus.
14. — The first Purim, or lesser Feast of Lots (Esther 9:21). The Jews in the provinces ceased from the slaughter of their enemies on Nisan 14, and on that day made great rejoicing; but tie Jews of Shushan continued the slaughter till the 15th; therefore Mordecai settled the Feast of Lots on the 14th and 15th of this month.
15. — The great Feast of Pulrin or Lots; the second Purim. These three days, the 13th 14th, and 15th, are commonly called the days of Mordecai, though the feast for the death of Nicanor has no relation either to Esther or to Mordecai.
The collectors of the half shekel, paid by every Israelite (Exodus 30:13), received it on Adar 15 in the cities, and on the 25th in the Temple (Talmud, Shekmlim).
17. — The deliverance of the sages of Israel, who, flying from the persecution of Alexander Jannseus, king of the Jews, retired into the city of Koslik in Arabia; but, finding themselves in danger of being sacrificed by the Gentiles, the inhabitants of the place, they escaped by night (Mcgill. Taanith).
20. — A feast in memory of the rain obtained from God by one called Onias Ham-magel, during a great drought in the time of Alexander Janneaes (Meill. Taanith).
23. — The dedication of the temple of Zerubbabel (Ezra 6:16). The day is not known, so some put it on the 16th; the Calmndar of Sigonius puts it on the 23d.
28. — A feast in commemoration of the repeal of the decree by which the kings of Greece had forbidden the Jews to circumcise their children, to observe the Sabbath, and to decline foreign worship (Megill. Taznith, et Gemar. Taanith, 100:2). — Calmet, Append.
VEADAR.
INTERCALARY MONTH.
When the year consit' of thirteen lunar months, they place here, by way of intercalation, the second month of Adar, or Ve-Adar. (See YEAR).
II. Modern Julian Calendar of the Temperature and Agricultural Products of Palestinefor each Month of the Year. — These were first carefully collected by J. G. Buhle, in a prize essay presented to the Royal Society of Gottingen, printed in Latin among their transactions under the title Calendarium Palestince (Economicum (1785), and translated at large by Mr. Taylor in the Fragments added to his edition of Calmet's Dictionary (in, 693 sq.), of which the subjoined synopsis is an abridgment. Much valuable information, similarly obtained from Oriental itineraries,combined with personal observation, may be touna in Kitto's Phys. Hist. of Palest. vol. 2, ch. 7 (See PALESTINE).
JANUARY.
Weather. — According to the seasons (q.v.) as divided among the Hebrews, this month is ‘ the second in winter, and the cold is more or less severe in different situations. There is frequently a considerable fall of snow. which, however, is speedily dissolved in most places. In the plain of Jericho the cold is little felt (Josephus, tar, 5:4). Heavy rains now fall, especially in the night, which swell the rivers and lakes. Early in the day the thermometer is generally between 40° and 46°, and it does not rise above 3° or 4° in the afternoon. Toward the latter end of this month, when the sky is clear, it becomes so hot that travelers cannot, without some difficulty, prosecute their journey. The wind is generally north or east.
Productions. — All kinds of grain or corn are now sown. The beans are in blossom, and trees in leaf. Earliest appears the blossom of the almond here, even before it has leaves. If the winter he mild, the violet fig (of a longer shape than the summer fig, and gathered early in the spring) is still foundon the trees, though they are stripped of their leaves. The mistletoe and the cotton-tree now flourish. Among the flowers and garden herbs of this month, the cauliflower, the blue and the white hyacinth, the gold-streaked daffodil, different violets, tulips in great variety, wormwood, the lentisc- tree, anemones, ranunculusses, and colchicas, a kind of lily resembling the Persian when blown.
FEBRUARY.
Weather. — This is much the same as during the last month, except that toward the close, in southerly parts, the snow and rain begin to cease. Like the other features of the rainy season, this month is chiefly remarkable for heavy showers of rain and sometimes falls of snow. The sky is frequently covered with clear light clouds; the atmosphere becomes warm; the wind continuing north or east, but latterly changing westward. During the first 14 days the mercury usually stands between 42° and 47°.
Productions. — The latter crops are now appearing above ground, and a delightful verdure begins to be seen on every side. Barley continues to be sown till the middle of the month; beans acquire a husk, and are soon fit for use; cauliflowers and parsnips are now gathered; the peach and early apple tree are blossoming, and a great variety of herbs are in flower, which, saysa traveler, "render these parts so delightful that the beholder is often charmed and transported at the sight" (see Thomson's Travels, 1:137).
MARCH.
Weather. — In Palestine this month is the forerunner of spring, but rains, with thunder and hail, are not yet over (Pococke's Travel., 2:11). The weather is generally warm and temperate, except on the mountains, and sometimes extremely hot, especially in the plain of Jericho (Thomson's Travels, 2:27). In the middle of the month, the mercury stands at 52°, and nearer the close between 56° and 58° (Russel, A leppo, p. 149,150). Toward the end, the rivers are much swollen by rain and the thawing of snow upon the tops of mountains (Egmont and Heyman's Travels, 1:335).Earthquakes sometimes take place, and they are accounted for by Shaw in his Travele, p. 136.
Productions. — While the wheat is scarcely in ear, the barley is now ripe in Jericho (Shaw's Travels, p. 290, 291). Indian wheat, rice, and corn of Damascus are now sown in Lower Egypt (Thomson's Travels, 2:169). Several kinds of pulse, as beans, lentils, and chick-pease, become ripe (Itiner. B. Tudel. p. 103). Every tree is at this time in full leaf (Russel's A leppo, p. 10). The fig, the palm, etc., together with many shrubs and herbs, are now in blossom. The Jericho plum begins to ripen. The vine, having yielded its first clusters, is pruned. Various aromatic garden herbs are becoming fit for use.
APRIL.
Weather. — The "latter rains; (מִלְקוֹשׁ , ὄψιμοι ) now fall, as Korte asserts (Reise nach deim gelobten Lande, p. 489)? and Shaw affirms that none are observed after them until summer (Travels, p. 290). The rain ceases about the close of the month, and the sky generally becomes serene. The sun's heat is excessive in the plains of Jericho, but in other parts of Judaea the spring is now most delightful (Maundrell's Jour. p. 96). Concerning the meteorology of Palestine, some interesting observations are made by Mariti (Viaggi, in, 226) and Dr. Shaw (Travels, p. 289). The mercury advances from 60° to 66°.
Productions. — The time of harvest depends upon the duration of the rainy season. After the rains cease, the corn soon arrives at maturity, according to the situation. Wheat, zea or spelt, and barley, now ripen (Korte's RAiscep. 187; Itiner. Hierosolym. p. 93). The spring fig is still hard (Shaw, p.290). The almond and orange trees now produce fruit (Maundrell, p. 62), and the terebinth-tree ("oak," Celsii Hierobot. p. 34) is in blossom (Sandys, p. 176). A new shoot, bearing fruit, springs from that branch of the vine that was left in the former month, which must now be lopped (Brocard, Decsipt. T. S. p. 332). Syria and Palestine produce canes from which they obtain sugar (Ignatius von Rheinfelden, Hierosolym.Pilgerfahrt, p. 46, 47). Tulips, ranunculuses, anemones, etc., etc., are now in flower at Aleppo and Tripoli (Thevenot, in, 92; Rauwolf, 1:58). The grass is now very high, and the Arabs lead out their horses to pasture(Mariti, 2:25, 28). The same is likewise done in Persia (Chardin, 3:12).
MAY.
Weather. — In this month the summer season commences, when the excessive heat of the sun renders the earth barren (Korte, p. 257). A few showers are observed about Aleppo, sometimes accompanied with hail and thunder (Russel, p. ‘151). At the beginning of the month the mercury reaches 70°; then it rises gradually from 76° to 80°, being greatly affected by the direction of the variable winds. The snows on Lebanon thaw rapidly now, but the cold is still very sharp on the summits (Maundrell, p. 236).
Productions. — The harvest is completed during this month. Wheat is now cut in Galilee (Hasselquist, p. 8S). About the beginning of the month barley is generally ripe (Egmont and Heyman's Travels, 2:27). Rice, however, is not quite ripe (Schweigger, p. 317). The early apples in Palestine nowcome to maturity, at least toward the end of this month (Pococke, 2:126). The common early apples may now be gathered in She warmer situations, but the better varieties ripen later — (Shaw's Travels, p. 129). Cotton is said to be sown in the Holy Land at this period (Hasselquist, p. 176). The early shoots of the vine, which had been lopped, now produce the latter grapes (Brocard, Des(r. Ter. Sanct. p. 332, 333). They still continue, after the harvest, to sow various garden herbs, part of which are unknown to us; and many of them, as cucumbers, cauliflowers, and others, come to maturity twice in the same year, in spring and autumn (Korte, p. 187). In Palestine the grass and herbs have grown to such a height this month, that when Thevenot was riding from Nazareth to Acre, on the 5th of May, they reached the girth of his saddle (Voyayes au Levant, 2:671).
JUNE.
Weather — During this month the sky is generally clear, and the weather becomes extremely hot (Radzivil's Peregrin. Hierosol!ym. p. 27). As the month advances, the mercury gradually rises in the morning from 76° to 80°; in the afternoon it stands between 84° and 92° (Thevenot, in, 11)2). The inhabitants pass their nights in summer upon the roofs of their houses, which are not rendered damp by any dew (Russel, p. 152). The summits of the mountains of Palestine are not, however, yet free from snow (Pococke, 2:153). Productions. — At Aleppo the corn is sometimes not all cut before the beginning of June; although Russel's testimony differs from this assertion of Thevenot's, yet Shaw says that in Africa the harvest sometimes lasts tillthe end of June (Travel, p. 123). The early figs, black and white, now ripen and immediately fall off. When they do not come to their proper size and maturity, they are called סִגַּים, ὄλυνδοι, which names are used for unripe fruit in general. The process of caprification is now performed (Shaw, p.296). Apples (a few of the earliest of the better sorts), plums, mulberries, cherries, etc., are also ripe in this month, but of the last there are very few trees in Palestine. The cedar gum, or cedrinum, a clear white resin, which is said to have great medicinal virtue when hardened, distils spontaneously in the summer time, and without any incision being made, from the bark of the coniferous cedar. In extracting a greater quantity, they cut the bark (Arvieux, Memn. 2:413, 414). Of the shrubs and herbs, the balm-tree is worthy of notice, which grows chiefly about Jericho. From this the Arabs, by making an incision, get the "Balm of Gilead" during this and two following months (Sandys, Tour, p. 197). The Arabs, as the summeradvances, lead their flocks to the hills northward (De la Roque, Voyfage, p.174; Radzivil, p. 45).
JULY.
Weather. — All travelers who have been exposed to the open air this month affirm that the heat is now extremely intense. Radzivil found the brooks of the "valley of the terebinths" dried up on the 9th. At Jerusalem the heat is much less than about Jericho (Peregri. Hirool. p. 97, 98). The snow on the tops of mountains, thawing gradually during the summer, yields a large supply of water to the brooks below. It cannot, however, be affirmed that the snows on the summits of Lebanon are entirely dissolved every year (Korte, p. 419). The winds generally blow from the west, but, when they fail, the heat is excessive. The mercury usually stands, in the beginning of the month, at 80°, and toward the end at 85° or 86° (Russel, p.152, 153).
Production. — Grapes are now ripe about Aleppo, but remain till November or December (Torte, p. 571). Dates are to be found ripe at Jericho, but they seldom come to maturity at Jerusalem (Shaw, p. 297). Apple and pear trees present ripe fruit, but of an inferior kind. The nectarine yields a fruit most agreeable in flavor and immense in size (Shaw, p. 129, 130). The vintage begins in favored situations. The cauliflower and parsnip are sown this month (Russel, p. Cr5: Shaw, p. 126). The gourd called cit'ul ripens (Russel, p. 25). There is no longer a supply of pasturage for the cattle (Shaw, p. 150).
AUGUST.
Weather. — The sky is serene and fair during this month, and the heat is extreme (Schulz, Leit. d. Hochst. v. 272). The mercury, until those days when the clouds rise, continues the same as in the last month; afterward it falls about 4° or 5°. So at Aleppo (Russel, p. 152). On the 18th snow is seen on the summits of Lebanon (Korte, ieise, p. 471).
Productions. — The first clusters of the vine, which blossomed at Antaradus in March, now come to maturity, and are ready for gathering (Brocard, p. 333). The fig, properly so called, which remains a long while on the tree, and is always reckoned, in the sacred writings, among summer fruit, may now be gathered at Algiers (Shaw, p. 129). The cultivated olive- tree yields ripe olives this month in the environs of Jericho (Tschudi, leyss). Pomegranates ripen. The shrub alHeinl,, brought out of Egypt into Palestine, puts forth leaves this month, and then fragrant blossoms, which the Turks, by various artificial methods, endeavor to produce sooner (Rauwolf, 1:58).
SEPTEMBER.
Weather. — The mercury remains the same at the beginning of this month as at the end of August, except that in the afternoon it rises (Russel, p. 14). Although the days are very hot, the nights are extremely cold (Schulze, p. 417-420). Rain falls toward the end of the month, but the rainy season generally commences now (Tschudi, p. 236).
Productions. — Russel says that the Syrians begin to plough about the end of this month (A leppo, p. 16). The palm presents ripe dates now in Upper Egypt (Radzivil, p. 172). The pomegranate, pear, and plum trees are laden with fruit in this month in the gardens of Damascus (Schulze, p. 443). According to Korte, cotton, which was sown the year before, and has lain all the winter, is now gathered ripe (Reiee, p. 576).
OCTOBER.
Weather. — The extreme heat is now abated, although still great in the daytime, the air being much refreshed by cold in the night, by which the dew, that is much more dense in this southern climate, is frozen (Korte, p. 257). The rains which now fall are called early or former rains (יוֹרֶה, πρώιμοι ), and come in frequent showers. The winds are seldom very strong, but variable. After the rains the mercury descends gradually to 60° (Russel's Aleppo, p. 155).
Productions. — Wheat is sown by the Arabs about Algiers in the middle of this month (Shaw, p. 123). Russel informs us that it is sown at Aleppo about the same time; so that it seems probable this is the time of sowing it in Palestine (Alen. I s, p. 16). The third clusters of the vine, which in the month of May had produced another small branch, loaded with the latter grapes, must be gathered this month (Brocard, p. 333). The olive-tree produces ripe olives toward the latter end of October in the empire of Yorocco, and the pomegranate also now yields ripe fruit at the same place (Hist, p. 304, 307). Lettuces, endives, cresses, spinach, beets, etc., may be gathered at Algiers from this mouth till June (Shaw's Travels, p. 126).
NOVEMBER.
Weather. — If the rains have not already fallen, they certainly fall this month (Shaw's Travel., p. 200). The sun's heat, although not so great in the daytime, is, however, still violent; but the nights are very cold and uncomfortable for travelers, many of whom journey by night, carrying torches before them (Cotovic. Plin. Hiea os. p. 334). The mercury, as the month advances, gradually falls from 60° to 50° (Russel, p. 156).
Productions. — This is the time for the general sowing of corn, as wheat, zea or spelt, and barley, in Palestine, at Aleppo, and in Lower Egypt (Korte, p. 189; Shaw, p. 123). Dates are still gathered in Egypt in the middle of this month (Thomson, 2:176). The trees till this period retain their leaves; and at Aleppo the vintage lasts to the 15th inst. (Russel, p.14).
DECEMBER.
Weather. — This is the first winter month; the cold is piercing, and sometimes fatal to those not inured to the climate. Yet rain is more common than snow. which, when it falls, very quickly thaws (Korte, p.555; Mariti. 2:187). The winds, as in the last month, usually blow from the east or north. They are seldom violent. The mercury stands at 46°, and is subject to very slight alterations (Russel, p. 115, 156). Productions. — Corn and pulse are sown during this month, as at the end of October. Sugar-canes now ripenened and cut down at Cyprus (Cotovicus, Itiner. Hi'PoP. p. 117). The grass and herbs are again springing out of the ground after the rains, and the Arabs now drive their flocks down from the mountains into the plains (Rauwolf, 1:118). (See AGRICULTURE).
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McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Calendar, Jewish.'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/c/calendar-jewish.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.
