An Important Clarification
REVELATION
An Important Clarification
In the last segment of our study of The Revelation I asserted that the Jewish calendar has 12 30-day months. That statement is factually incorrect. In fact, in the Hebrew calendar months vary between 29 and 30 days, with the average number being about 29.5 days.
The Hebrew (Jewish) calendar, the Julian calendar, and the Gregorian calendar, all have months of varying lengths. This is because they are based on the cycles of the moon and/or the sun. In the case of the Hebrew calendar, there are 12 months of either 29 or 30 days corresponding to the cycles of the moon. Every 2 or three years an extra month called Adar Bet (or Adar 2). It is so named because it follows Adar Aleph (or Adar 1). This brings the Hebrew calendar into alignment with the solar year.
The Julian and Gregorian calendars use a 29th day in February every fourth year along with months that can range from 28 to 31 days to accomplish this necessary realignment.
Parenthetically, the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars is that where the Julian calendar adds a 29th day to February every fourth year without exception, the Gregorian does not add a 29th day in February if the year is divisible by 100 but not divisible by 400, making it a bit more accurate.
So, to clarify the references we see in Revelation to 42 months, 1260 days, and “a time, times, and half a time,” these are based on what scholars refer to as a “biblical month.” This is so because we find in scripture that time periods are counted into 30-day months.
While there is no explicit definition of the length of a month in scripture, we can find some examples from which to draw this conclusion.
One such example that is relatively easy to confirm is the 150 days of the flood in the days of Noah. Genesis 7:11-13 reports that Noah and his family went into the Ark and the flood began on the 17th day of the second month. Then in Genesis 8:3-4 we are told that at the end of 150 days the water had gone down and that it was the 17th day of the seventh month. So, the flood lasted for five months (2/17 to 7/17). We’re told it lasted for 150 days. 150 days divided by 5 months is 30.
