אֲדָר
Definition
אֲדָר (ʼĂdâr) is the twelfth month of the Jewish religious calendar and the sixth month of the civil calendar, corresponding to late February and March. In the Bible, it is mentioned only in Ezra 6:15, where the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem was completed on the third day of this month. This month is significant in later Jewish tradition as the time of the festival of Purim, which commemorates the events described in the book of Esther, though the biblical text itself does not explicitly connect Purim to the month of Adar in its canonical narrative.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the Old Testament, in Ezra 6:15, to specify the date of the completion of the Second Temple. The context is the official record of the Persian Empire, which governed Judah at the time. The usage reflects the adoption of the Babylonian calendar month names by the Jewish people during the exile, and its singular appearance marks a precise historical moment in the restoration period.
Etymology
The word אֲדָר (H144) is borrowed from Akkadian (Addaru), via Aramaic, and corresponds to the Hebrew אֲדָר (H143). It is the name of a month in the Babylonian calendar, which was adopted by the Jews during the Babylonian exile. The Akkadian root likely relates to darkness or cloudiness, possibly describing the weather patterns of that time of year.
Semantic Range
The mention of Adar in Ezra 6:15 theologically marks the faithfulness of God in fulfilling his promise to restore his people and his temple after the exile. The completion of the temple in this specific month, under Persian authority, demonstrates God's sovereignty over history and empires. Understanding this timing enriches the reading of Ezra by connecting a administrative date to the grand narrative of redemption and restoration.
In its original setting, 'Adar' was a borrowed month name from the dominant Babylonian culture, reflecting the Jewish community's life under foreign rule. Later Jewish tradition (as seen in the book of Esther and the Talmud) greatly expanded its cultural significance, associating it with the joyous festival of Purim, a time of reversal and deliverance. The biblical reference, however, is purely calendrical and administrative.
None directly applicable for a month name. For other calendar references, see: נִיסָן (Nîsān, H5212) — the first month; תִּשְׁרֵי (Tishrê) — the seventh month, but this name does not appear in the Hebrew Bible.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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