Which calendar do secular sources use?

by Doug Mason 7 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Doug Mason

  I know that Jeremiah used the accession/Nisan calendar and that Daniel used the accession/Tishri calendar.
  
  1. Which of these calendars do modern authorities use? I am thinking of sources such as P&D, Neugebauer and Weidner.
  
  2. Do these authorities use Julian or Gregorian dates?
  
  3. When the WTS says October 1914, do they need to take into account the days "lost" in the changeover to the Gregorian Calendar?
  
  Doug
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  cultswatter

  along those lines

  I always wanted to know why the dates of the babylonian chronicles use Jewish months, Whats wrong with babylonian months??

  What are the names of the babylonian months

  How many baylonian months are there?

  What is the first baylonian month - and the last?

  Furthermore, the Babylonian chronicles prove that 607 is wrong - so historians should be using a babylonian calender to not only describe the babylonian era but the modern era as well?? This would put an end to the constant juggle between calenders.
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  Narkissos

  I'm not sure I've understood all the implications of your questions, but afaik modern historical works all use the Gregorian calendar -- and there are no "days lost" because the same calendar is used retroactively.

  As to the Babylonian calendar: http://www.livius.org/caa-can/calendar/calendar_babylonian.html
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  AlanF

  All decent commentaries clearly specify which calendar system, Julian or Gregorian, they're using if there is any possibility of ambiguity. Most historical writings I've seen use the Gregorian for dates later than when the Gregorian calendar was instituted (I don't remember the date) and the Julian for earlier dates, since there would be much confusion if one were to convert from one to the other unless there were a very good reason. Occasionally I've seen WTS literature specify ancient dates using the Gregorian calendar, but this was clearly specified.

  AlanF
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  stevenyc

  Nark / Alan, I've considered writing a little flash app to show dates accoss different calenders, and cross reference then to the various sourses, both biblical and secular, could you recommend either books or web sites where I can find these calenders?

  thanks,

  steve
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  Leolaia

  Narkissos....Actually, in software that I've used to calculate astronomical events in B.C., all the dates before the adoption of the Gregorian calendar were according to the Julian calendar, even for millennia before the Julian calendar was invented. This is clear by checking the dates of the spring equinox.
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  Narkissos

  Thanks AlanF and Leolaia for the correction... you can tell I was never much interested in chronology -- I just ventured a reply because nobody had.

  So what's the answer to Doug's questions about the possible "gap" between Julian and Gregorian calendars in chronologies extending both sides of the shift?
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  Doug Mason

  I would like to thank those who helped me with my mental gymnastics relative to the Babylonian calendar and the methods of reckoning used by Jeremiah, Daniel and modern authorities. The following is my current understanding, and I would appreciate corrections and criticisms.
  
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  Page 9 of the “Watchtower” for June 15, 2007 shows a 12-month calendar with the corresponding ancient and modern names of each month. The outer circle of the diagram shows the Babylonian name of each month (Nisan, Elul, Tishri, Chislev, etc.). The names in brackets with some months are the names given by the ancient Jews of about Solomon’s time (925 BCE) (These show that the Jews’ “Ethanim” later became “Tishri”, while “Abib” became “Nisan”; and so on.)
  
  Subsequently, the Jews identified the months with numbers, rather than with names. This meant that some centuries later, a scribe had to insert an explanation that “Ethanim” corresponded to the month they later named the “Seventh month” (September/October).
  
  The Watchtower article refers to the Gezer Calendar, a tablet from about 925 BCE (around the time of Solomon). The first two months mentioned on the tablet correspond to Sept/Oct-Oct/Nov. Such evidences show that the ancient Jews used a calendar starting in Autumn. This is shown by authorities such as Jack Finegan and E. R. Thiele.
  
  While the ancient Jews’ calendar began in Autumn, the people of Mesopotamia developed a calendar that began the year in Spring (Nisan). Over time, the Babylonian’s use of the Nisan (Spring) calendar and the names they gave to the months, such as Nisan and Tishri, found their way into Jewish life and literature.
  
  The Jews employed two calendars side-by-side, the secular calendar that began in Spring (Nisan) and the sacred calendar that began in Autumn (Tishri).
  
  Analysis of their writings shows that Jeremiah employed the secular Nisan /Babylonian calendar while Daniel and Ezra/Nehemiah employed the ancient Jewish and religious Tishri calendar. Daniel thus used the Tishri Calendar when reckoning the first year of Cyrus, the year he issued the Decree permitting the captives to return to their homelands.
  
  From this, I suggest modern authorities would apply the Nisan (Spring) Calendar to the time of the Babylonian Captivity.
  
  Doug