Lexical Summary yerach: month, months Original Word: יֶרַח Strong's Exhaustive Concordance month, moon From a unused root of uncertain signification; a lunation, i.e. Month -- month, moon. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom the same as yareach Definition month NASB Translation month (6), months (6). Brown-Driver-Briggs I. יֶ֫רַח noun masculineZechariah 11:8 month (Aramaic יַרְחָא,  new moon, month; Palmyrene ירח VogNo. 1; Assyrian ar— u COTGlossary Muss-ArnJBL xi. 1892, 73, 163; compare Phoenician Ethiopic below יָרֵחַ; Sabean ורחֿ month, DHMZMG 1876, 603; 1883, 369 HalJAS vii, 1, 516) — absolute יֶ֫רַח 1 Kings 6:37 3t.; construct id. Deuteronomy 21:13; 2 Kings 15:13; plural יְרָחִים Exodus 2:2 3t.; construct יַרְחֵי Job 7:3; Job 29:2; — 1 month, as measure of time, during, or in which Exodus 2:2 (E), Zechariah 11:8; Job 39:2; יַרְחֵי שָׁ֑וְא Job 7:3; יַרְחֵי קֶדֶם Job 29:2; pleonastic יֶרַח יָמִים a month (of) days = a month of time Deuteronomy 21:13; 2 Kings 15:13. 2 calendar month, with name יֶרַח זִו 1 Kings 6:37 (2nd mo., compare 1 Kings 6:1); יֶרַח בּוּל 1 Kings 6:38 (8th mo.); יֶרַךְ הָאֵתָנִים 1 Kings 8:2 (7th mo.); compare בְּמִסְמַּר יְרָחִים אַליָֿבאֹ Job 3:6; גֶּרֶשׁ יְרָתִים Deuteronomy 33:4 produce of months, i.e. of various seasons of year. — compare synonym חֹדֶשׁ. [יְרַךְ] noun masculine month (see Biblical Hebrew); — absolute לִירַח אֲדָר Ezra 6:15; plural absolute יַרְחִין Daniel 4:26. Topical Lexicon Definition and Range of Meaningיֶרַח designates both the lunar body and the span of time marked by one complete cycle of its phases. Scripture employs the term for literal chronology, metaphor, covenantal festivals, royal records, agricultural blessing, human gestation, and prophetic sign. Lunar Reckoning in Israelite Timekeeping Israel’s calendar was observationally lunar; therefore each יֶרַח set the rhythm for civil and sacred life. Foundational building projects were dated by it: “In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid, in the month of Ziv” (1 Kings 6:37). Completion was recorded eight יְרָחִים later (1 Kings 6:38), underlining orderly progress and God-honoring accountability in public works. The Feast of Booths convened “in the seventh month, in the month of Ethanim” (1 Kings 8:2). Thus the lunar month framed national worship and pilgrimage, reminding the people that their seasons were ordered by the Creator rather than by human decree. Royal annals likewise measured reigns in months when brevity was striking: “Shallum…reigned in Samaria one month” (2 Kings 15:13). A single יֶרַח could expose the fragility of human power. Liturgical and Agricultural Context Moses blessed Joseph with produce “from the choicest fruits of the sun and the rich yield of the moon” (Deuteronomy 33:14). The cyclical waxing and waning of the moon symbolized recurrent harvests. The blessing affirms that agricultural plenty is covenantal gift, not mere natural process. Human Experience and Life Stages Three passages place יֶרַח within the tenderness of birth and infancy. Jochebed hid Moses “for three months” (Exodus 2:2), and captured women were granted “a full month” to mourn before marriage (Deuteronomy 21:13). The gestation of mountain goats and deer is measured in months (Job 39:2), spotlighting God’s providence over the hidden formation of life. Job’s laments turn the ordinary month into a vessel of sorrow: “So I am allotted months of futility” (Job 7:3) and later “How I long for the months gone by” (Job 29:2). The same measure that once carried joy can also carry grief, accentuating the temporal ebb and flow of human emotion. Prophetic and Poetic Use Job 3:6 calls for a night to be erased “from among the months,” portraying despair so deep that time itself should forget its existence. Zechariah 11:8 records the dismissal of “three shepherds in one month,” illustrating rapid divine judgment. In Isaiah’s vision, “your moon will not wane” (Isaiah 60:20), the יֶרַח becomes a picture of unending light in the consummated kingdom, surpassing the natural order it once defined. Theological Themes 1. Divine Sovereignty over Time: Months arise and fade by God’s word; His purposes unfold within them (Ecclesiastes 3 echoes this truth). Christological and Eschatological Reflection The promise of an unwaining “moon” (Isaiah 60:20) foreshadows Revelation 21:23, where the Lamb Himself illumines the New Jerusalem. The monthly luminary gives way to everlasting light, indicating that Christ completes what the lunar cycle only prefigured—continuous communion without darkness. Ministry Application • Planning and Stewardship: Just as Solomon tracked progress by months, ministries today should use clear time markers for accountability while recognizing God as the true Master of the schedule. • Pastoral Care: Deuteronomy 21:13 models granting space for grief. Allow congregants “a full month” or more to mourn before new responsibilities. • Preaching and Teaching: Use Job’s “months of futility” alongside Isaiah’s unending light to point hearers from temporal suffering to eternal hope. • Discipleship Rhythms: Lunar imagery encourages establishing regular cycles of reflection, confession, and celebration, aligning personal life with God’s created order while anticipating its transformation in Christ. In every occurrence יֶרַח quietly whispers that time is God-given, God-governed, and God-fulfilled. Forms and Transliterations בְּיֶ֖רַח בְּיֶ֣רַח בְּיֶ֥רַח בירח וִירֵחֵ֖ךְ וירחך יְ֝רָחִ֗ים יְרָחִ֣ים יְרָחִֽים׃ יֶ֣רַח יֶֽרַח־ יַרְחֵי־ ירח ירח־ ירחי־ ירחים ירחים׃ כְיַרְחֵי־ כירחי־ bə·ye·raḥ beYerach bəyeraḥ cheyarchei ḵə·yar·ḥê- ḵəyarḥê- vireChech wî·rê·ḥêḵ wîrêḥêḵ yar·ḥê- yarchei yarḥê- yə·rā·ḥîm ye·raḥ ye·raḥ- Yerach yeraChim yeraḥ yeraḥ- yərāḥîmLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Exodus 2:2 HEB: וַֽתִּצְפְּנֵ֖הוּ שְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה יְרָחִֽים׃ NAS: she hid him for three months. KJV: [child], she hid him three months. INT: hid three months Deuteronomy 21:13 Deuteronomy 33:14 1 Kings 6:37 1 Kings 6:38 1 Kings 8:2 2 Kings 15:13 Job 3:6 Job 7:3 Job 29:2 Job 39:2 Isaiah 60:20 Zechariah 11:8 13 Occurrences |
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