Shadow on the Steps: Time Measurement in Ancient Israel

How did the ancient Israelites view and measure time? The Hebrew Bible, the chief source of information for Israelite time-reckoning during the monarchic period (ca. 1000-586 B.C.E.), contains chronological data from many different sources. This material has previously been treated as if it were derived from a single source and reflected but one system of time measurement. Shadow on the Steps considers the various sources and assesses each on its own terms. The path-breaking approach in this volume brings together material on biblical calendars and on the chronology of the kings and systematically uses one (calendars) to inform the other (chronology), laying the foundation both for a closer inspection of biblical approaches to history and for a foray into ancient chronography in general.

David Miano is Lecturer in History at UC San Diego and Adjunct Instructor at San Diego Mesa College. He is the co-editor of Milk and Honey: Essays on Ancient Israel and the Bible in Appreciation of the Judaic Studies Program at the University of California, San Diego (Eisenbrauns).