Earth's annual cycle around the Sun
Earth's annual cycle around the Sun, showing the northern hemisphere’s seasons

Answers about
years in the Bible

Hebrew: שָׁנֶה —transliteration: shanah —meaning: “repetition” or “revolution”, a year —occurrences: 876

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; —Genesis 1:14

Among the ancient Egyptians the year consisted of 12 months of 30 days each, with 5 days added to make it a complete revolution of the Earth round the sun. The Bible tracks time practically—through human lives, kings’ reigns, and seasonal cycles.

The ancient Hebrew calendar was lunisolar: Months followed the moon (29–30 days each, starting with the new moon sighting), but an extra month was added ~7 times every 19 years to align with the solar/agricultural year and keep festivals in proper seasons (e.g., Passover in spring in the northern hemisphere).

1st month

God reset the calendar year for Israel at the time of the the Exodus, thus marking this divine redemption’s great significance in history.

Now Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
“This month [month of Abib] shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.” —Exodus 12:1-2 LSB

Thus, Israelite religious years began in the spring about the time of the spring equinox (vernal equinox), with the Hebrew month Abib (אָבִיב) which means “spring” or “ripening barley”.

The Exodus began on the 15th of Abib, the 1st month of the sacred Hebrew calendar, which corresponds to March or April in the modern (Gregorian) calendar.

After the Babylonian exile, Abib was renamed Nisan (נִיסָן) (see Nehemiah 2:1; Esther 3:7). This is the name still used today.

Civil/secular calendar

Later, as a result of the Babylonian captivity, a civil/secular calendar was established based on the Babylonian system, with the first month of the year being Tisri (aka Tishrei, and Ethanim). This is the 7th month of the year designated by God. The Babylonian name Tishri (Tishrei) is derived from its Akkadian name tašrītu, meaning “beginning”. This is in the autumn in the northern hemisphere, September–October.

Sabbath year—Sabbath of the Land

sabbath year (shmita; Hebrew: שמיטה, literally “release”), also called the sabbatical year or shǝvi'it (שביעית‎, literally “seventh”)

This is the 7th year of the 7-year agricultural cycle mandated by God for the Land of Israel. It is still observed by some in Judaism today.

During shmita, the land is left to lie fallow and all agricultural activity, including plowing, planting, pruning and harvesting, is forbidden.

This observance is a test of faith in God.

Yahweh then spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying,
“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I am giving to you, then the land shall have a sabbath to Yahweh. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its produce,
but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to Yahweh; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard.
What grows of its own accord from your harvest you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year.
And the sabbath produce of the land shall be for food; for you and your male and female slaves and your hired man and your foreign resident, those who sojourn with you.
Even your cattle and the beasts that are in your land shall have all its produce to eat. —Leviticus 25:1-7 LSB

Sabbatical years

See: Sabbath

Jubilee Years

See: Jubilee

Prophetic years

In Biblical prophetic symbolism (e.g., Daniel, Revelation), a stylized “prophetic year” of exactly 360 days (12 x 30-day months) is sometimes used for calculations like “time, times, and half a time” (3.5 years = 1,260 days).

Genealogical Ages and Lifespans

In the early chapters (e.g., Genesis 5 and 11), time is measured by adding the ages of patriarchs when their sons were born, plus their remaining lifespans.

Example: Adam was 130 when Seth was born, Seth was 105 when Enosh (Enos) was born, and so on down to Noah and then to Abraham.

This creates a continuous chain from Creation to Abraham. A “year” here refers to a standard solar year (approximately 365 days), tied to seasons and human observation of the sun’s cycle (Genesis 1:14 describes heavenly bodies marking “seasons, days, and years”).

These year are understood literally as personal lifespans. Post-Flood ages gradually decrease to more modern lengths (e.g., Abraham lived 175 years).

Years of a King’s Reign

From the period of the first Israelite king onward (e.g., books of Kings, Chronicles, prophets like Jeremiah and Ezekiel), events are dated relative to the reigning king.

Example: “In the 5th year of King Hezekiah” or synchronized between kingdoms, like “In the 7th year of Hoshea king of Israel…”

Years often used the king’s accession-year or non-accession-year counting:

The partial year when a king ascended might count as year 1 (non-accession) or not (accession, starting the next full year).

The Kingdom of Judah and Kingdom of Israel sometimes used different systems, leading to minor discrepancies that scholars have reconciled.

The Bible does not use absolute year numbers (like “year 500 of the world”); it’s always relative to the current ruler or a major event.

Years from major events (post-Exile or selective dating)

Scholars cross-reference all these years in the Bible with archaeology, astronomy, and ancient records (e.g., Assyrian eclipses).

Overall timeline from Creation

The Bible itself does not specify the exact number of years from Creation (Anno Mundi or “year of the world”). In His inspiration of Scripture, God apparently did not want, for whatever reason in His wisdom, to specify an exact beginning date. However, He certainly did provide enough information to know Earth’s approximate age.

Various Jewish and Christian scholars have attempted to calculate our universe’s starting year based on the Biblical record. James Ussher placed Creation at 4004 BC (about 6,000 years ago total to the present). The 2nd century AD Jewish chronicle Seder Olam Rabbah placed it as 3761 BC. These and other attempts differ somewhat due to variations in ancient texts (e.g., Masoretic Hebrew vs. Septuagint Greek Bible) and interpretations of gaps or overlaps.

Anno Mundi

Nowadays, Hebrew years are generally counted according to the system of Anno Mundi (Latin: “in the year of the world”; Hebrew: מבריאת העולם‎, “from the creation of the world,” abbreviated AM) according to traditional Jewish interpretation of the chronology of the Hebrew Bible. This system attempts to calculate the number of years since the creation of the world according to the Genesis record and subsequent Biblical records. For example, in our year 2025, the Hebrew year was AM 5786, which began at sunset on September 22, 2025 and ended at sunset on September 11, 2026.

More information

Article Version: November 17, 2025