Scriptures. The two following Tables exhibit the order of the Jewish months, according to their ecclesiastical and-civil computations.

As the Jewish months were lunar, their years were consequently lunar years, consisting of twelve lunations, or 354 days, 8 hours: but as the Hebrew festivals were celebrated not only on certain fixed days of the month,

* Some of these appellations are still in use in Persia.

but also at certain seasons of the year; in order to prevent confusion, it became necessary to accommodate the lunar to solar years, in order that their months, and consequently their festivals, might always fall at the same season. For this purpose they added a whole month to the year, as often as it was necessary: which occurred generally once in three years, and sometimes once in two years. This intercalary month was added at the end of the ecclesiastical year after the month Adar, and was therefore called 77 Ve-Adar, or the Second Adar.

The Hebrew sacred year, commencing at the vernal equinox, was instituted on the departure from Egypt, and regulated the sacred festivals. The Hebrew civil year, commencing with the autumnal equinox, was followed in all civil transactions, as well as in computing the Sabbatical years, and also the years of Jubilee. As agriculture constituted the principal employment of the Israelites, so they divided their natural year into seasons with reference to their rural work. These seasons were six in number, each of two months' duration, including one whole month and the halves of two others. They are enumerated in Gen. viii, 22.

The following Table exhibits the natural division of the Hebrew Year.

4. Harvest,

5. Summer,

6. Hot Season,

The latter half of Nisan,
Jyar,

The former half of Sivan.

The latter half of Sivan,
Thammuz,

The former half of Ab.
The latter half of Ab,
Elul,

The former half of Tisri.*

To this natural division of the year there are several allusions in the sacred writings: as in Jer. xxxvi, 23; Ezra x, 13; John x, 22, 23.

The Hebrews, in common with other nations, were accustomed to reckon any part of a period of time for the whole, as in Exod. xvi, 35. So a part of the day is used for the whole, and part of a year for an entire year. An attention to this custom will illustrate several apparent contradictions in the sacred Scriptures.

Circumcision is enjoined to be performed when a child is eight days old, or on the eighth day: Abenezra, an eminent Jewish commentator, (on Lev. xii, 3.) says, that if an infant were born in the last hour of the day, such hour was counted for one whole day. This observation critically reconciles the account of our Saviour's resurrection, in Matt. xxvii, 63, and Mark viii, 31, &c; for as our Lord was crucified on Friday, about the sixth hour, or noon, the rest of that day to sun-set, according to the Jewish computation, was reckoned as one day. Saturday formed the second day; and as the third day began on Saturday at sun-set, and our Lord rose about sun-rise on the following morning, that part of a day

See the entire Jewish Calendar, compiled from Lamy and Calmet, in Rev. T. H. Horne's Introd. Appendix, No. 1.

is justly reckoned for the third day:-so that the interval was "three days and three nights," or three calendar days current, not exceeding forty-two hours, and consequently not two entire days. This observation illustrates also 2 Chron. x, 5, 12.*

The Hebrews were also accustomed to reckon their time from some remarkable æras, or epochas. Thus, 1. it appears from Gen. vii, 1, and viii, 13, that they reckoned from the lives of the patriarchs or other illustrious persons. 2. From the departure out of Egypt. Exod. xix, 1; xl, 1, &c. 3. From the building of the temple, and from the reigns of the kings of Judah and Israel; 1 Kings ix, 10; 2 Chron. viii, 1. 4. From the commencement of the Babylonian.captivity. Ezek. i, 1; xxxiii, 21; xl, 1. In process of time they adopted, 5. The Era of the Seleucidæ, which in the books of Maccabees is called the æra of the Greeks, and began from the year when Seleucius Nicanor attained the sovereign power, i. e. about 312 years B. C. Lastly, ever since the compilation of the Talmud, the Jews have reckoned their years from the creation of the world.†

* See Dr. Hale's Analysis of Chron. vol. i, pp. 121, 122.-Dr. Lightfoot's Hor. Heb. Matt. xii, 40,-and Reland, Antiq. Heb. lib. iv, c. 1.

See Calmet's Dic. Articles, Day, Week, Month, Year.Jenning's Jewish Antiq. b. iii, c. 1, pp. 296--308. Ed. 1808. Edinb. Godwyn's Moses and Aaron, b. iii, c. 1.-Fleury, pp. 288--303,and Rev. T. H. Horne's Introd. vol. 1, pp. 187--197, where the judicious Compiler has produced several important elucidations of seeming contradictions in the Sacred SS.

II. The Sabbath.

THE sabbath was originally instituted by God himself, to preserve the memory of the creation of the world, and to be a day of rest or cessation from labour, and so to be set apart for religious purposes, as the six days of the week are appointed for labour. Whether the sabbath continued to be observed by the Israelites as a day of rest and holy convocation during their bondage in Egypt, is a question concerning which learned men are not agreed. When, however, God gave them the land of Canaan, he gave them his sabbaths to be regularly and strictly observed. Gen. ii, 3; Exod. xvi, 23; xx, 10, 11.

In the observance of the sabbath, the Israelites were enjoined by Jehovah, to keep holy, or hold sacred the seventh day, as a day of divine worship, in commemoration of the creation of the world, and of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, and as a day of repose both to man and beast, that they might be re-invigorated and refreshed, and not have their bodily strength exhausted by unceasing labour. Hence the celebration of the sabbath was a weekly profession of their being the worshippers and servants of Jehovah, the creator of heaven and earth. Deut. v, 15; Ezek. xx, 20.

On this day they were most strictly to abstain from all manner of work; "whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath-day he shall be put to death." Exod. xxxi, 15. Every person found guilty of wilfully profaning the sabbath, was to be stoned to death. Numb. xv, 32--36. Therefore it was prohibited even to gather manna, to light a fire for culinary purposes, and to