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Title: A Twin Calendrical System at Emar and its Implications for the Israelite Calendar
Author(s): ADAMTHWAITE, Murray R.
Journal: Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Volume: 37    Date: 2000   
Pages: 164-182
DOI: 10.2143/ANES.37.0.1085

Abstract :
From the relatively few economic and juridicial texts from Emar bearing a date reference it is possible to construct a menology of twelve months, which can then be compared with the menology discernible from the ritual texts, already studied by Cohen. From this comparison it is clear that while there are some month names in common, others differ. This phenomenon raises the suspicion that two calendars operated at Emar, a cultic, and a “civil”. Further questions arise, in particular whether the new year for each was different, and what the order of the months was. While the latter question cannot finally be resolved on present information, comparison with other Near Eastern calendars can assist in constructing at least a provisional menology. Finally, it has long been debated whether pre-Exilic Israel likewise had two calendars. The evidence from Emar provides at least some analogical weight in favour of this conclusion.

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