Year: Heb. shanah, meaning "repetition" or "revolution"
(Genesis 1:14; 5:3) Among
the ancient Egyptians the year consisted of twelve months of thirty
days each, with five days added to make it a complete revolution of
the earth round the sun. The Jews reckoned the year in two ways,
1. according to a sacred calendar, in which the year began about
the time of the vernal equinox, with the month Abib; and
2. according to a civil calendar, in which the year began about the
time of the autumnal equinox, with the month Nisan. The month
Tisri is now the beginning of the Jewish year.
