Pentecontad calendar
Encyclopedia
The Pentecontad Calendar is a unique agricultural calendar
system thought to be of Amorite
origin in which the year is broken down into seven periods of fifty days ( total of 350 days ), with an annual supplement of fifteen or sixteen days. Identified and reconstructed by Hildegaard and Julius Lewy in the 1940s, the calendar's use dates back to at least the 3rd millennium BCE in western Mesopotamia
and surrounding areas. Used well into the modern age, forms of it have been found in Nestorianism
and among the fellaheen of modern Palestine
.
, the pentecontad calendar was known as hamšâtum and the period of fifteen days at the end of the year was known to Babylonia
ns as shappatum. The religious injunction to "observe the Sabbath
" is thought to derive from the injunction to observe the shappatum, the period of harvest time at the end of each year in the pentecontad calendar system.
Each fifty day
period was made up of seven week
s of seven days and seven Sabbaths, with an extra fiftieth day, known as the atzeret.
Used extensively by the various Canaan
ite tribes of Palestine
, the calendar was also thought to have been used by the Israelite
s until the official adoption of a new type of solar calendar
system by King Solomon.
The liturgical calendar of the Essenes at Qumran
was a pentecontad calendar, marked by festivals on the last day of each fifty day period such as the Feast of New Wine, the Feast of Oil, and the Feast of New Wheat, etc.
Philo
expressly connected the "unequalled virtues" of the pentecontad calendar with the Pythagorean theorem
, further describing the number fifty as the "perfect expression of the right-angled triangle, the supreme principle of production in the world, and the 'holiest' of numbers."
Tawfiq Canaan
(1882 - 1964) described the use of such a calendar among Palestinians
in southern Palestine, as did his contemporary Gustaf Dalman
who wrote of the practices of Muslim
agriculturalists who used Christian
designations for the fiftieth day, "which in turn overlaid far more ancient agricultural practices: grape-watching, grape-pressing, sowing
, etc."
Julius Morgenstern argued that the calendar of the Jubilees
has ancient origins as a somewhat modified survival of the pentecontad calendar.
Calendar
A calendar is a system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial, or administrative purposes. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months, and years. The name given to each day is known as a date. Periods in a calendar are usually, though not...
system thought to be of Amorite
Amorite
Amorite refers to an ancient Semitic people who occupied large parts of Mesopotamia from the 21st Century BC...
origin in which the year is broken down into seven periods of fifty days ( total of 350 days ), with an annual supplement of fifteen or sixteen days. Identified and reconstructed by Hildegaard and Julius Lewy in the 1940s, the calendar's use dates back to at least the 3rd millennium BCE in western Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
and surrounding areas. Used well into the modern age, forms of it have been found in Nestorianism
Nestorianism
Nestorianism is a Christological doctrine advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople from 428–431. The doctrine, which was informed by Nestorius's studies under Theodore of Mopsuestia at the School of Antioch, emphasizes the disunion between the human and divine natures of Jesus...
and among the fellaheen of modern Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
.
Overview
In AkkadianAkkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
, the pentecontad calendar was known as hamšâtum and the period of fifteen days at the end of the year was known to Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
ns as shappatum. The religious injunction to "observe the Sabbath
Biblical Sabbath
Sabbath in the Bible is usually a weekly day of rest and time of worship. The Sabbath is first mentioned in the Genesis creation narrative. The seventh day is there set aside as a day of rest—the Sabbath. It is observed differently in Judaism and Christianity and informs a similar occasion in...
" is thought to derive from the injunction to observe the shappatum, the period of harvest time at the end of each year in the pentecontad calendar system.
Each fifty day
Day
A day is a unit of time, commonly defined as an interval equal to 24 hours. It also can mean that portion of the full day during which a location is illuminated by the light of the sun...
period was made up of seven week
Week
A week is a time unit equal to seven days.The English word week continues an Old English wice, ultimately from a Common Germanic , from a root "turn, move, change"...
s of seven days and seven Sabbaths, with an extra fiftieth day, known as the atzeret.
Used extensively by the various Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
ite tribes of Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, the calendar was also thought to have been used by the Israelite
Israelite
According to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
s until the official adoption of a new type of solar calendar
Solar calendar
A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the position of the earth on its revolution around the sun .-Tropical solar calendars:...
system by King Solomon.
The liturgical calendar of the Essenes at Qumran
Qumran
Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
was a pentecontad calendar, marked by festivals on the last day of each fifty day period such as the Feast of New Wine, the Feast of Oil, and the Feast of New Wheat, etc.
Philo
Philo
Philo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....
expressly connected the "unequalled virtues" of the pentecontad calendar with the Pythagorean theorem
Pythagorean theorem
In mathematics, the Pythagorean theorem or Pythagoras' theorem is a relation in Euclidean geometry among the three sides of a right triangle...
, further describing the number fifty as the "perfect expression of the right-angled triangle, the supreme principle of production in the world, and the 'holiest' of numbers."
Tawfiq Canaan
Tawfiq Canaan
Tawfiq Canaan was a pioneering physician, medical researcher, ethnographer and Palestinian nationalist. Born in Beit Jala during the rule of the Ottoman Empire, he served as a medical officer in the Ottoman army during World War I...
(1882 - 1964) described the use of such a calendar among Palestinians
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
in southern Palestine, as did his contemporary Gustaf Dalman
Gustaf Dalman
Gustaf Hermann Dalman was a German Lutheran theologian and orientalist. He did extensive field work in Palestine, collecting poetry and proverbs.-Works:...
who wrote of the practices of Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
agriculturalists who used Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
designations for the fiftieth day, "which in turn overlaid far more ancient agricultural practices: grape-watching, grape-pressing, sowing
Sowing
Sowing is the process of planting seeds.-Plants which are usually sown:Among the major field crops, oats, wheat, and rye are sowed, grasses and legumes are seeded, and maize and soybeans are planted...
, etc."
Julius Morgenstern argued that the calendar of the Jubilees
Jubilees
The Book of Jubilees , sometimes called Lesser Genesis , is an ancient Jewish religious work, considered one of the pseudepigrapha by Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Churches...
has ancient origins as a somewhat modified survival of the pentecontad calendar.