STERN, SACHA;
(2025)
An Easter cycle in Hebrew from 725 CE.
Journal of Jewish Studies
, 76
(1)
pp. 49-77.
10.3828/jjs.2025.76.1.49.
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Abstract
A fragmentary manuscript from the Cairo Genizah (T-S NS 98.51) contains a description in Hebrew of the Julian calendar, how to calculate its dates, and a 19-year Easter cycle, all in the Byzantine tradition of calendar computation. The Easter cycle is presented in this document as a list of (Christian) Passover dates, and can be dated precisely as starting in 725 ce; this provides an approximate date for the text’s composition. Palestinian provenance is most likely. Some of the Easter cycle’s features have been Judaized, seemingly to adapt it for Jewish use. This text opens a new perspective on transfer of knowledge from Christians to Jews in this period, and also provides a context for the origins of the fixed Jewish calendar. Edition of this manuscript has been assisted by multispectral imaging (MSI).
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | An Easter cycle in Hebrew from 725 CE |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3828/jjs.2025.76.1.49 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3828/jjs.2025.76.1.49 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author-accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Easter, Jewish calendar, 19-year cycle, Cairo Genizah, multi-spectral imaging |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Dept of Hebrew and Jewish Studies |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10205798 |
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