The Hebrew calendar was composed of 12 lunar months, each of which began when the thin crescent moon was first visible at sunset. They were composed of approximately 29/30 days and were built around the agricultural seasons. Apparently some of the names of the months were accommodated from Babylon following the time that the Israelites were exiled there. |Month|Hebrew Month|Gregorian (Modern) Month|Festivals|Biblical References| |---|---|---|---|---| |First Month|- Abib (Preexile)<br>- Nisan (Postexile)|March–April|- 14th: Passover (Ex. 12:18;Lev. 23:5)<br>- 15th–21st: Unleavened Bread (Ex. 12:14–20;Lev. 23:6)<br>- 16th: First Fruits (Lev. 23:9–11)|Ex. 13:4; 23:15; 34:18; Deut. 16:1; Neh. 2:1;Est. 3:7 (cf. Gen. 8:13; Ex. 12:2, 18; 40:2, 17; Lev. 23:5; Num. 9:1; 20:1; 28:16; 33:3;Josh. 4:19; 1 Chron. 12:15; 27:2, 3; 2 Chron. 29:3, 17; 35:1; Ezra 6:19; 7:9; 8:31; 10:17;Est. 3:7, 12; Ezek. 29:17; 30:20; 45:18, 21;Dan. 10:4)| |Second Month|- Ziv (Preexile)<br>- Iyyar (Postexile)|April–May|14th: Later Passover (Num. 9:10–11)|1 Kings 6:1, 37 (cf. Gen. 7:11; 8:14; Ex. 16:1;Num. 1:1, 18; 9:11; 10:11; 1 Chron. 27:4; 2 Chron. 3:2; 30:2, 13, 15; Ezra 3:8)| |Third Month|Sivan|May–June|4th: Pentecost [Feast of Weeks] (Lev. 23:15–16)|Est. 8:9 (cf. Ex. 19:1; 1 Chron. 27:5; 2 Chron. 15:10; 31:7; Ezek. 31:1)| |Fourth Month|Tammuz|June–July||Ezek. 8:14 (cf. 2 Kings 25:3; 1 Chron. 27:7;Jer. 39:2; 52:6; Ezek. 1:1; Zech. 8:19)| |Fifth Month|Ab|July–August||Not mentioned by name in the Bible (cf.Num. 33:38; 2 Kings 25:8; 1 Chron. 27:8;Ezra 7:8, 9; Jer. 1:3; 28:1; 52:12; Ezek. 20:1;Zech. 7:3, 5; 8:19)| |Sixth Month|Elul|August–September||Neh. 6:15 (cf. 1 Chron. 27:9; Ezek. 8:1; Hag. 1:1, 15)| |Seventh Month|- Ethanim (Preexile)<br>- Tishri (Postexile)|September–October|- 1st: Trumpets (Lev. 23:24;Num. 29:1)<br>- 10th: Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:29–34; 23:27–32)<br>- 15th–21st: Booths (Lev. 23:34–40)<br>- 22nd: Solemn assembly (Lev. 23:36)|1 Kings 8:2 (cf. Gen. 8:4; Lev. 16:29; 23:24, 27, 34, 39, 41; 25:9; Num. 29:1, 7, 12; 2 Kings 25:25; 1 Chron. 27:10; 2 Chron. 5:3; 7:10; 31:7; Ezra 3:1, 6; Neh. 7:73; 8:2, 14;Jer. 28:17; 41:1; Ezek. 45:25; Hag. 2:1;Zech. 7:5; 8:19)| |Eighth Month|- Bul (Preexile)<br>- Marchesvan (Postexile)|October–November||1 Kings 6:38 (cf. 1 Kings 12:32, 33; 1 Chron. 27:11; Zech. 1:1)| |Ninth Month|Chislev (Kislev)|November–December|25th: Dedication (John 10:22)|Neh. 1:1; Zech. 7:1 (cf. 1 Chron. 27:12; Ezra 10:9; Jer. 36:9, 22; Hag. 2:10, 18)| |Tenth Month|Tebeth|December–January||Est. 2:16 (cf. Gen. 8:5; 2 Kings 25:1; 1 Chron. 27:13; Ezra 10:16; Jer. 39:1; 52:4;Ezek. 24:1; 29:1; 33:21; Zech. 8:19)| |Eleventh Month|Shebat|January–February||Zech. 1:7 (cf. Deut. 1:3; 1 Chron. 27:14)| |Twelfth Month|Adar*|February–March||Ezra 6:15; Est. 3:7, 13; 8:12; 9:1, 15, 17, 19, 21 (cf. 2 Kings 25:27; 1 Chron. 27:15; Jer. 52:31; Ezek. 32:1; 32:17)| *Periodically, a 13th month was added so that the lunar calendar would account for the entire solar year.