What calendar did the ancient Israelites use?
The Gezer Calendar was found near the location of the ancient city of Gezer. The city that Solomon built after it was given as a gift to the daughter of the Pharaoh that Solomon married. (1st Kings 9:16-17) This calendar, written on limestone is dated to the late 10th century BCE. It shows a division of eight agricultural seasons of one or two months each. These agricultural seasons can be understood as sub-seasons within the summer/winter seasons. It is a clear indicator that our forefathers regarded the calendar from an agricultural perspective. Although the months are not given names or ordinal numbers in the Gezer calendar, it is clear that the month known as Abib coincides with the barley harvest.
