Shadow on the Steps
Time Measurement in Ancient Israel
Published on 10. March 2011
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-90-04-17799-4 (ISBN)
Description
How did the ancient Israelites view and measure time? The Hebrew Bible, the chief source of information for Israelite time-reckoning during the monarchic period (ca. 1000-586 B.C.E.), contains chronological data from many different sources. This material has previously been treated as if it were derived from a single source and reflected but one system of time measurement. Shadow on the Steps considers the various sources and assesses each on its own terms. The path-breaking approach in this volume brings together material on biblical calendars and on the chronology of the kings and systematically uses one (calendars) to inform the other (chronology), laying the foundation both for a closer inspection of biblical approaches to history and for a foray into ancient chronography in general.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Leiden
Netherlands
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Laminated cover
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
1280 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-04-17799-4 (9789004177994)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
David Miano is Lecturer in History at UC San Diego and Adjunct Instructor at San Diego Mesa College. He is the co-editor of Milk and Honey: Essays on Ancient Israel and the Bible in Appreciation of the Judaic Studies Program at the University of California, San Diego (Eisenbrauns).
Content
Introduction
1. Calendars
1.1. Natural Units of Time
1.2. Th e Day as a Unit of Measurement
1.2.1. Th e Hebrew Word for Day
1.2.2. When Did the Day Begin and End?
1.2.3. Measurable Divisions of the Day
1.3. Th e Month as a Unit of Measurement
1.3.1. Th e Hebrew Words for Month
1.3.2. Th e Naming and Numbering of Months
1.3.3. When Did the Month Begin and End?
1.3.4. Measurable Divisions of the Month
1.4. Th e Year as a Unit of Measurement
1.4.1. Th e Hebrew Word for Year
1.4.2. When Did the Year Begin and End?
1.4.2.1. Th e Agricultural Year
1.4.2.2. Th e Civil Year
1.4.2.3. Th e Liturgical Year
1.4.2.4. Th e Regnal Year
1.5. Lunar, Solar, and Lunisolar Calendars
2. Long-Time Reckoning
2.1. Th e Counting of Time Units
2.2. Th e Use of Eras
2.3. Counting Generations
SHADOW ON THE STEPS
3. Genealogical Chronologies
3.1. Dating Events by the Life of an Individual
3.2. Genealogical Lists Containing Chronological Information
3.2.1. Description
3.2.2. List-Making in the Ancient World
3.2.3. Textual Variants of Genesis 5 and 11 and Th eir History
3.2.3.1. Genesis 5
3.2.3.2. Genesis 11
3.3. Sources of the Priestly Genealogical Chronology
3.3.1. Preliminary Considerations
3.3.2. Pedigrees
3.3.2.1. Ancient Linear Genealogies in General
3.3.2.2. Th e Life Spans of the Forefathers
3.3.2.3. A Generational Pedigree in Genesis 5 and 11
3.3.3. Conclusions
4. Rulership Chronologies
4.1. Chronological Sources of the Deuteronomic History
4.1.1. Time as Seen by the Deuteronomistic Historians and Th eir Audiences
4.1.2. Chronological Sources for the Book of Jeremiah
4.1.3. Chronological Sources Relating to the Judges
4.1.4. Chronological Sources Relating to the Kings
4.1.4.1. Preliminary Considerations
4.1.4.2. King Lists
4.1.4.3. Royal Chronicles
4.1.4.4. Textual Diffi culties in Kings
4.1.4.5. Conclusions
4.2. Historical Reconstructions
5. Conclusions and Implications
Appendix A: Chronographic Sources Incorporated into the Deuteronomic History
Appendix B: What Happened in the Fourteenth Year of Hezekiah?
Bibliography
Ancient Sources Index
Modern Authors Index
1. Calendars
1.1. Natural Units of Time
1.2. Th e Day as a Unit of Measurement
1.2.1. Th e Hebrew Word for Day
1.2.2. When Did the Day Begin and End?
1.2.3. Measurable Divisions of the Day
1.3. Th e Month as a Unit of Measurement
1.3.1. Th e Hebrew Words for Month
1.3.2. Th e Naming and Numbering of Months
1.3.3. When Did the Month Begin and End?
1.3.4. Measurable Divisions of the Month
1.4. Th e Year as a Unit of Measurement
1.4.1. Th e Hebrew Word for Year
1.4.2. When Did the Year Begin and End?
1.4.2.1. Th e Agricultural Year
1.4.2.2. Th e Civil Year
1.4.2.3. Th e Liturgical Year
1.4.2.4. Th e Regnal Year
1.5. Lunar, Solar, and Lunisolar Calendars
2. Long-Time Reckoning
2.1. Th e Counting of Time Units
2.2. Th e Use of Eras
2.3. Counting Generations
SHADOW ON THE STEPS
3. Genealogical Chronologies
3.1. Dating Events by the Life of an Individual
3.2. Genealogical Lists Containing Chronological Information
3.2.1. Description
3.2.2. List-Making in the Ancient World
3.2.3. Textual Variants of Genesis 5 and 11 and Th eir History
3.2.3.1. Genesis 5
3.2.3.2. Genesis 11
3.3. Sources of the Priestly Genealogical Chronology
3.3.1. Preliminary Considerations
3.3.2. Pedigrees
3.3.2.1. Ancient Linear Genealogies in General
3.3.2.2. Th e Life Spans of the Forefathers
3.3.2.3. A Generational Pedigree in Genesis 5 and 11
3.3.3. Conclusions
4. Rulership Chronologies
4.1. Chronological Sources of the Deuteronomic History
4.1.1. Time as Seen by the Deuteronomistic Historians and Th eir Audiences
4.1.2. Chronological Sources for the Book of Jeremiah
4.1.3. Chronological Sources Relating to the Judges
4.1.4. Chronological Sources Relating to the Kings
4.1.4.1. Preliminary Considerations
4.1.4.2. King Lists
4.1.4.3. Royal Chronicles
4.1.4.4. Textual Diffi culties in Kings
4.1.4.5. Conclusions
4.2. Historical Reconstructions
5. Conclusions and Implications
Appendix A: Chronographic Sources Incorporated into the Deuteronomic History
Appendix B: What Happened in the Fourteenth Year of Hezekiah?
Bibliography
Ancient Sources Index
Modern Authors Index