אֱלוּל
Elul, the sixth Jewish month
Definition
Elul is the name of the sixth month in the Hebrew religious calendar, corresponding roughly to August–September. In the Bible, it is mentioned only once as the month in which the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls was completed (Nehemiah 6:15). While the biblical text itself does not assign special religious significance to the month, post-biblical Jewish tradition developed Elul as a month of introspection, repentance, and spiritual preparation leading up to the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The name itself is likely borrowed from the Babylonian calendar.
Biblical Usage
The word אֱלוּל (Elul) is used only once in the entire Old Testament, in Nehemiah 6:15. It functions strictly as a proper noun identifying a specific month on the calendar to date a significant historical event—the completion of Jerusalem's wall in 52 days. Its usage is purely chronological, providing a temporal marker within the narrative of Nehemiah's leadership and the post-exilic restoration.
Etymology
The etymology of 'Elul' is almost certainly of foreign, specifically Akkadian/Babylonian, origin. It is derived from the Babylonian month name 'Ulūlu,' which was part of the lunar calendar adopted by the Jews during the Babylonian exile. This reflects the common Ancient Near Eastern practice of using borrowed month names, similar to other Hebrew months like Nisan and Tishrei. There is no known Hebrew root for the word.
Semantic Range
While the single biblical mention of Elul is purely chronological, its later development in Jewish tradition carries significant theological weight. It became designated as a month dedicated to 'cheshbon hanefesh' (accounting of the soul), repentance ('teshuvah'), and drawing closer to God before the Day of Judgment. This enriches the reading of texts associated with repentance and mercy, like the Thirteen Attributes of God (Exodus 34:6-7), which are traditionally recited during this season, adding a layer of spiritual context to the calendar.
In its original biblical context, Elul was simply a calendar marker from the post-exilic period, reflecting the adoption of the Babylonian month-naming system. The profound spiritual significance attached to Elul—as a time for introspection, prayer, and the blowing of the shofar—is a rabbinic development from the Second Temple period and later, not explicit in the biblical text. This represents a key difference between the plain scriptural usage and its enriched understanding in later Jewish practice and thought.
חֹדֶשׁ (chodesh, H2320) — The generic Hebrew word for 'month' or 'new moon,' of which Elul is one specific instance.
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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