{
  "id": "dict_000903",
  "term": "Chislev",
  "slug": "chislev",
  "letter": "C",
  "entry_type": "biblical_calendar_month",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "Chislev is the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar, used in Scripture mainly as a date marker in the post-exilic period.",
  "simple_one_line": "The ninth month of the Hebrew calendar, roughly corresponding to November–December.",
  "tooltip_text": "Hebrew calendar month, roughly November–December.",
  "aliases": [
    "Chislev (Month)"
  ],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Adar",
    "Nisan",
    "Tishri",
    "Hebrew calendar"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Nehemiah",
    "Zechariah",
    "Ezra",
    "months of the Hebrew calendar"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Chislev is a month in the Hebrew calendar that appears in Scripture chiefly to date events, especially in post-exilic books.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A Hebrew calendar month used as a chronological marker in the Old Testament.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Ninth month in the Hebrew calendar",
    "Roughly corresponds to November–December",
    "Appears mainly as a date marker in Nehemiah and Zechariah",
    "Carries no distinct doctrinal meaning in itself"
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Chislev is a Hebrew month name used in the post-exilic period, approximately matching parts of November and December. In Scripture it functions chiefly as a chronological marker rather than as a theological concept.",
  "description_academic_full": "Chislev is the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar and is used in the Old Testament chiefly as a chronological marker. It appears in post-exilic settings, where biblical writers date events by month and year in the ordinary course of historical narration. The term is descriptive rather than doctrinal: Scripture does not attach a special theological meaning to Chislev itself, but its use helps anchor biblical events in real historical time.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Chislev appears in dated narratives in the post-exilic period, especially in Nehemiah and Zechariah. In those contexts it serves the simple but important purpose of locating events within the Jewish calendar.",
  "background_historical_context": "The Hebrew calendar used month names that differ from the modern Gregorian calendar. Chislev roughly overlaps parts of November and December, though exact correspondence varies because the ancient calendar was lunar and adjusted seasonally.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "In ancient Jewish usage, month names were part of ordinary calendrical reckoning. Chislev belongs to the later Hebrew month system found in the biblical and post-biblical Jewish tradition.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Nehemiah 1:1",
    "Zechariah 7:1"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Nehemiah 1:1",
    "Zechariah 7:1",
    "cf. the broader post-exilic dating pattern in Ezra-Nehemiah"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "From Hebrew כִּסְלֵו (Kislev/Chislev), the name of the ninth month in the Hebrew calendar; English spellings vary.",
  "theological_significance": "Chislev has no distinct doctrinal content of its own, but its biblical use underscores that Scripture records events in real historical time and ordinary calendar terms.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "As a calendar term, Chislev shows that biblical revelation is grounded in concrete history rather than abstract ideas alone. The Bible’s dates and time markers support the factual setting of its accounts.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not build doctrine from the month name itself or force symbolic meanings onto it. Its main function is chronological, not theological. Exact modern calendar equivalence should be treated as approximate.",
  "major_views_note": "There is no major interpretive dispute about the basic meaning of Chislev. The only variation is transliteration and the approximate modern calendar equivalent.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "Chislev should be treated as a biblical calendar month, not as a theological doctrine, festival in itself, or object of special spiritual symbolism.",
  "practical_significance": "Chislev helps readers follow the timeline of biblical events and appreciate the historical precision of post-exilic narratives.",
  "meta_description": "Chislev is the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar, used in Scripture mainly as a date marker in the post-exilic period.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/chislev/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/chislev.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}