השנה בת 364 יום במסופוטמיה ובקומראן

Full title
השנה בת 364 יום במסופוטמיה ובקומראן
Updated By
Research notes

reader checked, HM|17/11/2013

Reference type
Author(s)
Ben-Dov, Jonathan
Horowitz, Wayne
Editor(s)
Bar-Asher, Moshe
Dimant, Devorah
Year
2003
Journal / Book Title || Series Title
מגילות: מחקרים במגילות מדבר יהודה א [ Meghillot: Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls I ]
Translated title
The 364-Day Year in Mesopotamia and Qumran
Publisher
Haifa University Press and Bialik Institute
Place of Publication
Jerusalem
Pages
3-26
Work type
Language
Label
17/11/2003
Abstract

During the Second Temple period a calendar year of 364 days emerged in Judea, which conflicted with the long-standing lunar calendar with its regular 354-day years and leap years of approximately 384 days. This 364-day year is found in Enoch and Jubilees, and in an extensive array of works from Qumran. The article identifies the origins of this 364-day year in cuneiform texts from ancient Mesopotamia and then investigates the various guises of the 364-day year in writings from Second Temple period Judea. Finally, the question of whether the 364-day calendar is indeed a solar calendar, as previous scholars have generally assumed, is considered.