Aviv (Hebrew: אביב) has several related meanings in Hebrew:
- According to the Torah, Aviv is the first month of the Hebrew calendar.
- Historically, aviv literally meant the stage in the growth of grain when the seeds have reached full size and are filling with starch, but have not dried yet. During the plague of hail (Exodus 9:31), the barley was aviv and the flax was giv`ol.
- "Aviv" accordingly also means spring, one of the four seasons. Thus the major modern Israeli city of Tel Aviv means "Spring Hill".
- The month in the Hebrew calendar when the barley has reached or passed this stage (Exodus 13:4; 23:15) is called Aviv, or the "month of the aviv": the seventh of the Jewish civil year, and the first of the Biblical ecclesiastical year. It begins about the time of the vernal equinox (March 21). Since the Babylonian captivity, it has also been called Nisan (Neh 2:1). On the sixteenth day of the month, harvest was begun by gathering a sheaf of barley, which was offered as a sacrifice to God (Lev 23:4-11) when the Temple existed.
- The "Holiday of Aviv" (Hebrew: Chag Ha'Aviv חג האביב ) is an additional name for Passover; the Jewish holiday is celebrated on 15–21 (22) Nisan, near the beginning of spring.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.
External links
- How to Determine the State of the Aviv Barley in Israel: a field manual for identifying aviv barley
- Abib (Barley) in the Hebrew Bible: a description of the importance of aviv in the Karaite calendar by the World Karaite Movement
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