The Books of Enoch, Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4

63 INTRODUCTION
The calendars of 4Q deal also with the rotation of duty for the priestly
families in the Temple. The priestly roster is spread over six years, and this
sexennial cycle reflects a desire to synchronize the sect's religious calendar
(of twelve months with thirty days each and four intercalary days, i.e. a
solar reckoning) with the lunisolar calendar (of twelve months with
alternatively twenty-nine and thirty days and a month intercalated every
three years). Accordingly, the two calendars synchronize every three years
(364x3 = 354x3 + 30). Six years are needed for a priestly family's turn
to come round again in the same week of the year, since there were
twenty-four families^ serving thirteen times in such a period (24x13 =
52 X 6).^ The priestly sexennial cycle can be summarized in the accompanying
table (fig. 6), which gives the dates for the consecutive sabbaths of twentyfour
families.
Thus every sabbath, month, year, and likewise every feast, was determined
by the name of a priestly family; in other words they were under the 'sign',
'of, of such a family. The six years of the sexennial cycle began with the
signs, ^ototy of Gemul, Yeda'yah, Miyamin, Sekanyah, Yesab'ab and Ha-
Poses. In the cycle of the seven jubilees which is described in 4QS^ the
'signs' for the successive triennial periods are enumerated, for example ^dt
G'mul and ^6t S'kanyah. Here is an extract from this text relating to the
fourth jubilee, 4QS^ (4Q26OB) i vi 6-13.
rm T\^w:i "piaLi nix nwn H^IDB?] nix T\'^^'^b'^:i b^m s
n^iDU? nix rwimh [nnx '?im] nix n^'t&'ann r\^iyo 9
"jiaj nix n^t2?^^2?3 m'D^ [nix noaa^n] '?iai nix n^s7*'m3 10
n^iDB; nix n^u^^ana "piai [nix n^itt^a] n^iDc; nix nwn
///—ninx [ii^'^^lhn] '?[i]a[i '?:ivn ri'^mi ni]x nDau^n nnx 12
-I O E r 1 O
n^3D> w 7\^W2 n[T]a 13
'[In the second (year)], the sign of Gemul. In the fifth (year), the sign of
Sekanyah: ^after the Release (semtttah), the sign [of Gemul. In the fourth
(year), the] sign of Sekanyah; at the Release, the sign^ of Gemul. In the third
^ I Chron. 24: 7-18. But in the Qumran
manuscripts the cycle begins with G®m