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†. Gen 8:13-14 . . In the six hundred and first year, in the first
month, on the first of the month, the waters began to dry from the
earth; and when Noah removed the covering of the ark, he saw that
the surface of the ground was drying.
. . . And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the
month, the earth was dry.
It began to rain on the 17th day of the second month of the 600th year of
Noah's life. The Earth was dry on the 27th day of the second month of his
601st year.
So, reckoning time according to prophetic months of 30 days each, and not
counting the final day, Noah's crew was aboard the ark for a total of 370
days; which is roughly 5 days over a solar year, and 10 days over a
prophetic year.
Where did I get a prophetic month?
The Flood began on the seventeenth day of the second month of Noah's life,
and it rained for forty days. Then the rain stopped so the water could begin
draining off and leave the ark aground. A period of exactly five months went
by.
Those five months are recorded as exactly 150 days. If we were to try and
use the months of the Jewish calendar, the number of days would not add
up to 150. Here's why.
The months of the Jewish calendar supposedly equivalent to the months of
the Flood are:
Iyar . . . . . . . . 29 days
Sivan . . . . . . . 30 days
Tammuz . . . . . 29 days
Av . . . . . . . . . 30 days
Elul . . . . . . . . 29 days
Tishri . . . . . . . 30 days
Using the Jewish calendar, it would begin raining on the 17th of Iyar, thus
flooding a total of 13 days during that month. Following would be 30 in
Sivan, 29 in Tammuz, 30 in Av, 29 in Elul, and lastly 16 in Tishri. We can't
count the 17th of Tishri because the ark would have gone aground on that
day.
The total number of days from the beginning of the Flood until the day the
ark went aground, would have been, according to the Jewish calendar, 147;
which is three days short of 150.
However, we can safely ignore the Jewish calendar, and just reckon the
elapsed time relative to Noah's birthday. The 150 days then average out to
five Noah-months of 30 days apiece.
That doesn't really cause any problems because a dating method of that
nature is not intended to mark off the actual passage of astronomical time in
a calendar year; only the days of time elapsed during an important event
such as the Flood.
So; here in Genesis, very early in the Bible, a precedent is set for specifying
the length of a special kind of year: the prophetic year. Since the months in
a year of this type are of thirty days apiece, then twelve such months add up
to 360 days; which is 5¼ days less than a calendar year.
The prophetic year is sort of like a baker's dozen. Though a baker's dozen is
not a dozen of twelve; it is nonetheless a dozen in its own right. As long as
students of the Bible are aware of the existence of such a thing as a
prophetic year, they won't be tripped up when they run across it in
prophecy, such as Daniel's prediction regarding the time of Messiah's official
arrival on the world scene (a.k.a. Palm Sunday). Here's another, yet future.
"And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared
of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and
threescore days." (Rev 12:6)
"And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly
into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and
times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent." (Rev 12:14)
Those two passages speak of a 3½ year period of exactly 1,260 days. Well,
3½ years on the calendar is 1,277½ days; which is 17½ days too many. But
if we reckon those 3½ years as prophetic years of 360 days each, then it
comes out perfectly to 1,260 days.
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†. Gen 8:13-14 . . In the six hundred and first year, in the first
month, on the first of the month, the waters began to dry from the
earth; and when Noah removed the covering of the ark, he saw that
the surface of the ground was drying.
. . . And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the
month, the earth was dry.
It began to rain on the 17th day of the second month of the 600th year of
Noah's life. The Earth was dry on the 27th day of the second month of his
601st year.
So, reckoning time according to prophetic months of 30 days each, and not
counting the final day, Noah's crew was aboard the ark for a total of 370
days; which is roughly 5 days over a solar year, and 10 days over a
prophetic year.
Where did I get a prophetic month?
The Flood began on the seventeenth day of the second month of Noah's life,
and it rained for forty days. Then the rain stopped so the water could begin
draining off and leave the ark aground. A period of exactly five months went
by.
Those five months are recorded as exactly 150 days. If we were to try and
use the months of the Jewish calendar, the number of days would not add
up to 150. Here's why.
The months of the Jewish calendar supposedly equivalent to the months of
the Flood are:
Iyar . . . . . . . . 29 days
Sivan . . . . . . . 30 days
Tammuz . . . . . 29 days
Av . . . . . . . . . 30 days
Elul . . . . . . . . 29 days
Tishri . . . . . . . 30 days
Using the Jewish calendar, it would begin raining on the 17th of Iyar, thus
flooding a total of 13 days during that month. Following would be 30 in
Sivan, 29 in Tammuz, 30 in Av, 29 in Elul, and lastly 16 in Tishri. We can't
count the 17th of Tishri because the ark would have gone aground on that
day.
The total number of days from the beginning of the Flood until the day the
ark went aground, would have been, according to the Jewish calendar, 147;
which is three days short of 150.
However, we can safely ignore the Jewish calendar, and just reckon the
elapsed time relative to Noah's birthday. The 150 days then average out to
five Noah-months of 30 days apiece.
That doesn't really cause any problems because a dating method of that
nature is not intended to mark off the actual passage of astronomical time in
a calendar year; only the days of time elapsed during an important event
such as the Flood.
So; here in Genesis, very early in the Bible, a precedent is set for specifying
the length of a special kind of year: the prophetic year. Since the months in
a year of this type are of thirty days apiece, then twelve such months add up
to 360 days; which is 5¼ days less than a calendar year.
The prophetic year is sort of like a baker's dozen. Though a baker's dozen is
not a dozen of twelve; it is nonetheless a dozen in its own right. As long as
students of the Bible are aware of the existence of such a thing as a
prophetic year, they won't be tripped up when they run across it in
prophecy, such as Daniel's prediction regarding the time of Messiah's official
arrival on the world scene (a.k.a. Palm Sunday). Here's another, yet future.
"And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared
of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and
threescore days." (Rev 12:6)
"And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly
into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and
times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent." (Rev 12:14)
Those two passages speak of a 3½ year period of exactly 1,260 days. Well,
3½ years on the calendar is 1,277½ days; which is 17½ days too many. But
if we reckon those 3½ years as prophetic years of 360 days each, then it
comes out perfectly to 1,260 days.
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