Instead of Saturday, the last day of the week, and the patriarchal and Jewish sabbath, the Christian world has adopted Sunday, the first day of the week, in memory of the new creation, or resurrection of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, in a glorified body, on that day; which was also the day on which he made his successive manifestations of himself to his disciples after his resurrection, and the day of the first-fruits of the Christian Church on Whitsunday, thence consecrated to religious worship, and called the Lord's day in the Apostolic age; Acts ii. 41; xx. 7; 1 Cor. x. 16; xi. 20; xvi. 2; Rev. i. 10; consequently, the change must have been sanctioned and authorized by HIM, who was "LORD even of the Sabbath." Deviating from the usage of both Jews and Christians, Maho-" met instituted Friday as "the day of the assembly" for public worship, either in memory of his first entry into Medina on that day, or because on Friday God finished the work of creation, as the Mahometan doctors allege; Sale's Koran, chap. LXII. p. 451; or, rather, the artful policy of the Arabian impostor retained the ancient idolatrous usage of his countrymen the Arabs, who worshipped the planet Venus, which they called Chobar, on that day. MONTHS. The Month is a measure of time originally derived from the Moon, Ecclus. xliii. 8., in almost every nation and language. Among the Hebrews,, Iarah, signified both the moon at full, and the month; compare Job xxxi. 26. with xxix. 2. T, Hhadash, the moon at new, and the month; compare Numb. x. 10; Psal. lxxxi. 3. with 1 Sam. xx. 5; Ezek. xlvi. 1; Numb. xxviii. 11, &c. Among the Greeks, Mny, the month, is evidently related to Mnun, the moon; and from Mŋun, according to Varro and Macrobius, was derived the Latin Mensis, a month. In like manner, the Saxon Monat, and our Month, are evidently derived from the Moon. The Civil, or Calendar month, originally consisted of 30 days; in which time a lunation was supposed to be finished. Thus, during the deluge, Noah counted five months equivalent to 150 days, at 30 days to one month. And such was its fixed length among the Babylonians, Egyptians, Persians, and Grecians. Hence Hesiod called the last day of the month тpinkada, "the thirtieth ;" and so did the astronomer Thales; and his contemporary, Cleobulus, another of the seven sages, put forth a riddle, representing the year as divided into twelve months, of thirty days and nights each. Εἷς ὁ πατηρ παιδες δε δυωδεκα· τῳ δε ἑκαστῳ "The father is one; the sons, twelve; to each belong Thirty daughters; half of them white, the other, black : And Tatius, in his commentary on Aratus, reckoned that the full moon fell on the fifteenth day, or middle of the month. Geminus also, that great astronomer, about B. C. 240, assigns, as a proof that the Greeks counted the days accurately according to the moon's age, that solar eclipses happen on the thirtieth day, when the moon is in conjunction with the sun, and both in the same part of the heavens: and lunar eclipses, on the night, tending to the middle of the month." See the Original, Petav. Vol. III. p. 19. These instances are sufficient to shew the prevailing opinion among the ancients, that a lunation, or synodical month, lasted thirty days. But, afterwards, it was found, by more accurate observations, that the length of a lunation was only 29 days. Whence the thirtieth day, which Hesiod called vn, "old," was named by Solon, evη kaι vea, "old and new;" one half of it pertaining to ενη και νεα, the old month, the other half to the new; and to avoid the fraction, they counted the months alternately, 29 and 30 days. The months originally had no appropriate names, but were distinguished by their order of succession; the first month, the second month, &c.: a custom which is still preserved among the Chinese and Japanese. But in process of time, the months, like the days of the week, came to be designated by the names of tutelar gods, heroes, characters of the seasons, or other local circumstances of different countries, to the great confusion and embarrassment of ancient calendars, when compared together. The following Table will furnish a comparative view of the correspondences of the months of the principal ancient nations, reduced as nearly as may be to the common standard of the Julian year. Assuming the vernal equinox to have happened on March 25, it includes the most eventful period of Grecian History, from the invasion of Xerxes, to the conquest of Persia, by Alexander the Great. I. HEBREW MONTHS. The Hebrew months were originally distinguished by their numeral order: thus, the Deluge began in the second month, and came to its height in the seventh month, at the end of 150 days, Gen. vii. 11–24; viii. 4; and decreased until the tenth month, when the tops of the mountains were seen, viii. 5. Afterwards they acquired distinct names: thus, Moses named the first month of the year Abib, Exod. xii. 2; xiii. 4.; signifying" Green," from the green ears of corn at that season; for it began about the vernal equinox. The second month was named Zif, signifying in Chaldee," Glory," or " Splendour;" in which the foundation of Solomon's temple was laid, 1 Kings vi. 1. The seventh month was styled Ethanim, which is interpreted “ Harvests," by the Syriac version, 1 Kings viii. 2. The eighth month, Bul; from "the fall" of the leaf, 1 Kings viii. 2. Besides these names, given before the Babylonian Captivity, there were others after. The first month was also called Nisan, signifying "flight;" because in that month the Israelites were thrust out of Egypt, Ex. xii. 39. The third month, Sivan, signifying, "a bramble," Esth. iii. 7; Nehem. ii. 1. The sixth month, Ælul, signifying " mourning;" probably because it was the time of preparation for the great day of atonement, on the tenth day of the seventh month, Neh. vi. 15. The ninth month was called Chisleu, signifying " chilled;" when the cold weather sets in, and fires are lighted, Zech. vii. 1; Jer. xxxvi. 22. The tenth month was called Tebeth, signifying "miry," Esth. ii. 16. The eleventh, Shebet, signifying a " staff," or a 66 sceptre," Zech. i. 7. And the twelfth, Adar, signifying a "magnificent mantle," probably from the profusion of flowers and plants with which the earth then begins to be cloathed in warm climates, Ezra vi. 15; Esther iii. 7. It is said to be a Syriac term, 2 Mac. xvi. 36. II. SYRIAN MONTHS. These are the same as the Hebrew, and nearly agreed in their names, after the Babylonian Captivity. III. ATTIC MONTHS. It is of great importance to the right understanding of the classic authors, Herodotus, Thucydides, Demosthenes, Diodorus Siculus, Plutarch, Xenophon, Arrian, &c. to determine the true order of the Attic months, and their relation to the Julian, and to the seasons of the year: and the more so, because the schemes of Gaza, Scaliger, and Potter, are incorrect. The rectified order of Petavius *, which he verified from the first classical authorities, and Beveridge and Spanheim adopted, is given in Table I. The first month of the Attic year was called Hecatombaon, from the "Hecatombs," or multitude of sacrifices then offered. It began about the summer solstice, according to Aristotle, Theophrastus, and Dionysius Hal. The third month, Boedromion, or “ the Auxiliary," from the victory of Theseus over the Amazons, at that season, was about the autumnal equinox; for Plutarch relates, that there was an eclipse of the moon on the 15th of Boedromion, eleven days before the famous battle of Arbela. But this eclipse happened, by calculation, Sept. 20, B.C. 331, afternoon, 10 hours, total. And Ptolomy relates, that according to an astronomical observation of Timochares, the new moon of Anthesterion was on the 22d of January, in the 47th year of the first Calippic period. But Suidas says, that Anthesterion was the eighth month, and derives it from av0os, “a flower:" it corresponded, therefore, in part with the Hebrew α * The only difference between the lists of Scaliger and Petavius, is in the months Mamacterion and Pyanepsion; which the former transposes; and this, on the authority of Plutarch in Demosthenes, who reckons the three months, Metageitnion, Boedromion, Pyanepsion, in succession. And it also must be acknowledged, that at the end of Ptolomy's Magn. Construc. Selden found a MS. table of Attic months, exactly the same as Scaliger's. See Selden, Tom. 2. p. 1489. But, on the other hand, Petavius remarks, that Aristotle, in two places of his History of Animals, reckons Boedromim and Mæmacterion in immediate succession; and proves, that Mamacterion began about the autumnal equinox; and, 2. that although Plutarch reckoned Pyanepsion after Boedromion, yet it was not immediately after; for that there was a month between them, namely, Mamacterion. This may be collected from the context: for Plutarch states, that "the affairs of Greece soon went to ruin: they lost the battle of Crano in the month Metageitnion; a Macedonian Garrison entered Munychia in Boedromion; and Demosthenes lost his life in Pyanepsion." But between the last two events intervened the return of Antipater and Craterus to Athens; the flight of Demosthenes and his party before their arrival; the pursuit of the exiles; the apprehension and execution of Hyperides, Aristonicus, and Himeræus; and the detection of Demosthenes in the sanctuary of Neptune in Calauria; all which might well have occupied the intermediate month Mæmacterion. See Petav. Vol. I. Lib. 1. Cap. 9, 10, 11. p. 12–15. Bevereg. Lib. 1. Cap. 13. Spanheim. Chron. Sacr. p. 41. |