The 360-Day Year in Genesis

A lot of writers on pre-history, or even ancient history have brought up the idea that the year was, at one time, 360 days in length. Supposedly, the 360-degree circle was established in such a time. The other day, I was looking in my Ferrar Fenton The Holy Bible in Modern English, and I came across a note I had made in the account of the Flood story.

First, look at Genesis 7:11, which states that the Flood began on month 2, day 17. Then in verse 23, we see that "...the waters overwhelmed the earth one hundred and fifty days." After that, the waters began to dry, and in Genesis 8:4, we see that the ark rested on month 7, day 17. So, from 02/17 to 07/17, is of course, five months, and being 150 days, it implies 30-day months. 30 X 12 = 360. Simple. The KJV says the same.

But how do you know they only had 12 months in their year?

reply to post by mr10k
You can find some information on the jewish calendar and their months here. They'll add a 13th month to account for the calendar drift as needed, but the months are not always a flat 30 days.

reply to post by Praetorius


Of course I am thinking in terms of the time of Noah, and the world he knew. The Jewish calendar may or may not enter into it.