Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 28/08/2004 00:26, MarianneLuban AT aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 8/27/2004 2:09:29 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
> kwrandolph AT email.com writes:
>
>
>  
>
> > What did Josephus know about the Hebrew calandar? We have indication that 
> > it had ceased to be used 500 years before Josephus. Even in Tanakh, the 
> > post-exilic writings named the months according to Aramaic names, indicating that 
> > the Hebrew calandar was already then not being used, let alone centuries 
> > later. That will also explain why for your claim that most historical mentions of 
> > Hebrew religious feasts don’t coincide with the first and seventh months.
> >    
>
> This is easily answered.  The Torah does not mention any months by 
> names--only numbers, just as the ancient Egyptians did until quite late. ...

This is not true. See for example Exodus 13:4, 23:15, 34:18, verses 
which I referred to before, which mention the month of Abib by name. I 
suppose you might claim that this is not a name, but even though XODE$ 
HF)FBIYB probably means "the month of barley ears" (or even if it does 
mean "the month of the spring solstice"), it is still a conventional 
designation and so a name.

> ... However, 
> Josephus can have known that the month once known by a number came to be called 
> "Pharmouti" and the new calendar of the Hebrews, which was both a lunar and a 
> solar one, had a month with a number that later came to be called "Nisan".  
> "Aviv" perhaps refers to the spring soltice, although I have nothing firm to say 
> about that subject.
>
>  


--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/