munth (chodhesh, yerach; men): Chodhesh is strictly the "new moon," the appearance of which marked the beginning of the month, commonly indicated by ro'sh ha-chodhesh. Yerach is derived from yareach, "moon," which comes from the verb that means "to wander," "to make a circuit." Thus the month was lunar, the period of the moon's circuit. The Greek men also meant "moon," from the Sanskrit ma, "to measure," the Latin mensis and our "moon" being derived from the same root.

See CALENDAR ; TIME ; ASTRONOMY, I .

Chodhesh, or rather ro'sh ha-chodhesh, was observed as a festival (1 Samuel 20:5,18,24; Isaiah 1:14).

H. Porter

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

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