The Hebrews always had years of twelve months. But at the beginning, as some suppose, they were solar years of twelve months, each month having thirty days, excepting the twelfth, which had thirty-five days. We see, by the enumeration of the days of the deluge, Genesis 7:1-8:22, that the original year consisted of three hundred and sixtyfive days. It is supposed that they had an intercalary month at the end of one hundred and twenty years, at which time the beginning of their year would be out of its place full thirty days. Subsequently, however, and throughout the history of the Jews, the year was wholly lunar, having alternately a full month of thirty days, and a defective month of twenty-nine days, thus completing their year in three hundred and fifty-four days. To accommodate this lunar year to the solar year, (365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 47.7 seconds,) or the period of the revolution of the earth around the sun, and to the return of the seasons, they added a whole month after Adar, usually once in three years. This intercalary month they call Ve-adar. See MONTH.

The ancient Hebrews appear to have had no formal and established era, but to have dated from the most memorable events in their history; as from the exodus out of Egypt, Exodus 19:1 Numbers 33:38 1 Kings 6:1; from the erection of Solomon’s temple, 1 Kings 8:1 9:10; and from the Babylonish captivity, Ezekiel 33:21 40:1. See SABBATICAL YEAR, and JUBILEE.

The phrase, "from two years old and under," Matthew 2:16, that is, "from a child of two years and under," is thought by some to include all the male children who had not entered their second year; and by others, all who were near the beginning of their second year, within a few months before or after. The cardinal and ordinal numbers are often used indiscriminately. Thus in Genesis 7:6,11, Noah is six hundred years old, and soon after in his six hundredth year; Christ rose from the dead "three days after," Matthew 27:63, and "on the third day," Matthew 16:21; circumcision took place when the child was "eight days old," Genesis 17:11, and "on the eighth day," Leviticus 12:3. Compare Luke 1:59 2:21. Many slight discrepancies in chronology may be thus accounted for.

Heb. shanah, meaning "repetition" or "revolution" (Genesis 1:14; 5:3). Among the ancient Egyptians the year consisted of twelve months of thirty days each, with five days added to make it a complete revolution of the earth round the sun. The Jews reckoned the year in two ways, (1) according to a sacred calendar, in which the year began about the time of the vernal equinox, with the month Abib; and (2) according to a civil calendar, in which the year began about the time of the autumnal equinox, with the month Nisan. The month Tisri is now the beginning of the Jewish year.

YEAR, n. G.

1. The space or period of time in which the sun moves through the twelve signs of the ecliptic, or whole circle, and returns to the same point. This is the solar year, and the year, in the strict and proper sense of the word. It is called also the tropical year. This period comprehends what are called the twelve calendar months, or 365 days, 5 hours, and 49 minutes, within a small fraction. But in popular usage, the year consists of 365 days, and every fourth year of 366; a day being added to February, on account of the 5 hours and 49 minutes.

2. The time in which any planet completes a revolution; as the year of Jupiter or of Saturn.

3. The time in which the fixed states make a revolution, is called the great year.

4. Years, in the plural, is sometimes equivalent to age or old age; as a man in years.

In popular language, year is often used for years. The horse is ten year old.

Sidereal year, the time in which the sun, departing from any fixed star, returns to the same. This is 365 day, 6 hours, 6 minutes, and 11, 5 seconds.

Anomalistical year, the time that elapses from the suns leaving its apogee, till it returns to it, which is 365 days, 6 hours, 14 minutes.

Civil year, the year which nay nation has contrived for the computation of time.

Bissextile or leap year, the year consisting of 366 days.

Lunar year, consists of 12 lunar months.

Lunar astronomical year, consists of 12 lunar synodical months, or 354 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes, 36 seconds.

Common lunar year, consists of 12 lunar civil months, or 354 days.

Embolismic or intercalary year, consists of 13 lunar civil months, and contains 384 days.

Julian year, established by Julius Caesar, consists of 365 days, 6 hours.

Gregorian year, is the Julian year corrected and is the year now generally used in Europe. From the difference between this and the Julian year, arises the distinction of Old and New Style.

Sabbatic year, among the Israelites, was every seventh year, when their land was suffered to lid untilled.

The civil or legal year, in England, formerly commenced on the 25th day of March. This practice continued till after the settlement of America, and the first settlers of New England observed it for many years.

the highest ordinary division of time. Two years were known to, and apparently used by, the Hebrews. A year of 360 days appears to have been in use in Noah’s time. The year used by the Hebrews from the time of the exodus may: be said to have been then instituted, since a current month, Abib, on the 14th day of which the first Passover was kept, was then made the first month of the year. The essential characteristics of this year can be clearly determined, though we cannot fix those of any single year. It was essentially solar for the offering of productions of the earth, first-fruits, harvest produce and ingathered fruits, was fixed to certain days of the year, two of which were in the periods of great feasts, the third itself a feast reckoned from one of the former days. But it is certain that the months were lunar, each commencing with a new moon. There must therefore have been some method of adjustment. The first point to be decided is how the commencement of each gear was fixed. Probably the Hebrews determined their new year’s day by the observation of heliacal or other star-risings or settings known to mark the right time of the solar year. It follows, from the determination of the proper new moon of the first month, whether by observation of a stellar phenomenon or of the forwardness of the crops, that the method of intercalation can only have been that in use after the captivity, --the addition of a thirteenth month whenever the twelfth ended too long before the equinox for the offering of the first-fruits to be made at the time fixed. The later Jews had two commencements of the year, whence it is commonly but inaccurately said that they had two years, the sacred year and the civil. We prefer to speak of the sacred and civil reckonings. The sacred reckoning was that instituted at the exodus, according to which the first month was Abib; by the civil reckoning the first month was the seventh. The interval between the two commencements was thus exactly half a year. It has been supposed that the institution at the time of the exodus was a change of commencement, not the introduction of a new year, and that thenceforward the year had two beginnings, respectively at about the vernal and the autumnal equinox. The year was divided into -- Seasons . Two seasons are mentioned in the Bible, "summer" and "winter." The former properly means the time of cutting fruits, the latter that, of gathering fruits; they are therefore originally rather summer and autumn than summer and winter. But that they signify ordinarily the two grand divisions of the year, the warm and cold seasons, is evident from their use for the whole year in the expression "summer and winter." (Psalms 74:17; Zechariah 14:18) Months . [MONTHS] Weeks . [WEEKS]