II Samuel 14:26 (2024) – And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year's end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight. [The normal time for cutting off thick hair would be just before spring. In the winter, hair helps keep one warm; in the summer it would be too hot. Cf. Ex. 12:2-3,6,11 – This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: ... And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. ... And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover. Compare Jer. 36:22 – Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him. [On the Hebrew calendar the ninth month is equivalent to November/December. In fact, on the calendar most of the world uses today, September, October, November, and December, which are named for the "seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth" months, are evidence that our year used to begin at the time God appointed at the beginning of spring, as we see in Ex. 12:2-3,6,11 above. We also learn that when the year was expired was a good time for travel (II Chr. 36:10), which would have been in the spring rather than the winter. Also, after the year was expired was the time when kings go forth to battle (II Sam. 11:1; I Chr. 20:1). And we learn that it was at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel (I Kings 20:26). Pope Gregory changed the calendar, setting the beginning of the year at January 1, just shortly after the winter solstice, and near the time that is celebrated as the birthday of pagan gods. France switched to this new calendar in 1582. In 1752, England and its colonies (including the American colonies) made this switch.]]

Back to Previous Page (Or to go back to where you left off you can use the "Back" button of your browser)

This work (except for Scripture text from the King James Version of the Bible) by WordOfGodToday.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.