Feast of Weeks   also called (Jewish) Pentecost; one of the three great feasts in the Jewish faith; celebrates the 

giving of the Law to Moses; occurs at the end of the harvest season; occurs 7 weeks plus one day, inclusive, 

from the Sabbath of Passover (this can be interpreted as either the Saturday during Passover, or the first holy 

day of Passover, Nisan 15). 

full moon   when the moon is on the opposite side of the earth from the sun; results in the largest portion of 

the moon's surface being lit by the sun's light and visible from earth. 

GMT  (Greenwich Mean Time)    the time of day, according to the modern time zone method of keeping 

time, within the Greenwich, England time zone; solar time (time according to the position of the sun in the 

sky) at the Greenwich meridian (longitude zero) is the basis for determining time in all time zones. 

Gregorian calendar   reformed version of the Julian calendar in which leap years are every 4 years, except 

that centennial years (1700, 1800, 1900, etc.) are only leap years when evenly divisible by 400. So, 2000 was a 

leap year, but 2100 will not be a leap year. This calendar system began in 1582 with the removal of ten days 

from the month of October (Oct.4 was followed by Oct. 15, in 1582). This calendar is currently used by most 

Western nations and by most Christians. 

Heli   another name for Joachim, the Virgin Mary's father (Lk 3:23). 

Herod the Great   made king over the Jews by the Romans; attempted to kill the Christ Child (Mt 2:1 23); 

had four sons: Herod Antipater, Herod Archelaus, Herod Antipas, Herod Philip. 

Herod Antipater   killed by his father Herod the Great. 

Herod Archelaus   also called Herod the ethnarch; exiled after a reign of about 10 years. 

Herod Antipas    also known as Herod the tetrarch (Lk 3:1); saw and questioned Christ just before the 

Crucifixion (Lk 23:6 12). 

Herod Philip   considered a benevolent and fair ruler by Josephus (Antiquities 18:106 107); also mentioned in 

the Gospel (Lk 3:1). 

Herod Agrippa I   grandson of Herod the Great. 

Herod Agrippa II   great grandson of Herod the Great; son of Agrippa I. 

inclusive counting   counts the starting point (day, month, or year) as well as the end point. For example, the 

time from Christ's Crucifixion to His Resurrection was three days counting inclusively (Friday, Saturday, 

Sunday), but was actually less than 48 hours (3 p.m. Friday to before dawn on Sunday). With inclusive 

counting, any part of a day, month, or year is counted as a whole. 

Jerome   Saint Jerome, Doctor of the Church. He lived from the mid fourth to early fifth century 

A.D.

Jewish calendar     a lunar calendar, where the months follow the phases of the moon, but one which is 

periodically adjusted according to the solar year and the Spring Equinox. The Jewish calendar generally has 12 

lunar months, but adds a 13th lunar month, every 2 or 3 years, so as to maintain the months in the same 

season of year, and especially to maintain the Passover in the springtime, to coincide with the grain harvest. 

See also: Appendix I, Charts 4, 5, 7, and Appendix II, Section C. 

Jewish day   the Jewish day begins and ends at sunset; each day is divided into 12 hours of daylight and 12 

hours of night; no matter how long or short the daylight time, each daytime is divided into 12 parts of equal 

length. 

Josephus   a devout Jew, Joseph son of Matthias, was the son of a Jewish priest, member of a priestly family, 

a Pharisee, and a priest himself (Wars 3:352). He was one of the leaders in the rebellion against the Romans in 

the first century 

A.D.

 When he was captured and imprisoned by Vespasian, he prophesied that Vespasian 

would become emperor. When Vespasian did become emperor, Vespasian released Joseph and made him a 

Roman citizen (with the favor of the Roman emperor). Joseph took Vespasian's family name, Flavius, 

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