Aviv () means "spring (season)" in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

. Aviv is the first month of the year in the

Pentateuch The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () o ...

, and is later called

Nisan Nisan (or Nissan; from ) in the Babylonian and Hebrew calendars is the month of the barley ripening and first month of spring. The name of the month is an Akkadian language borrowing, although it ultimately originates in Sumerian ''nisag' ...

in the book of Esther and in subsequent post-exilic history up to the present day. These names are sometimes used interchangeably, although Aviv refers to the three-month season, and Nisan is called the "first month of Aviv." Aviv is also used as a given name, surname, and place name, as in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

Meanings

* The basic meaning of the word ''aviv'' is the stage in the growth of

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

when the seeds have reached full size and are filled with starch, but have not dried yet. During the plague of hail (

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

), the

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

was said to be

n the N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

''aviv''

tage Tage is a masculine given name with Danish origins. People with the name include: * Tage Åsén (born 1943), Swedish artist * Tage Aurell (1895–1976), Swedish journalist and novelist * Tage Brauer (1894–1988), Swedish athlete * Tage Daniel ...

and the

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...

''giv`ol''. This resulted in their destruction. * The month in the

Hebrew calendar The Hebrew calendar (), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance and as an official calendar of Israel. It determines the dates of Jewish holidays and other rituals, such as '' yahrze ...

when the

has reached or passed this stage is called ''Aviv'', or the "month of the ''aviv''". This month is considered the first month of the ecclesiastical civil year (see Hebrew calendar#Months). It begins about the time of the

March equinox The March equinox or northward equinox is the equinox on the Earth when the subsolar point appears to leave the Southern Hemisphere and cross the celestial equator, heading northward as seen from Earth. The March equinox is known as the ver ...

(March 21). Since the

Babylonian captivity The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...

, this month has mainly been called

. On the “day after the Shabbat” (the 16th of the month of Nissan according to the

rabbis A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as '' semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

, and the first Sunday of Passover according to the Karaites), the harvest was begun by gathering a sheaf of barley for the

Omer offering The omer offering (''korban omer''), or the sheaf offering, was an offering (''korban'') made by the Jewish priests in the Temple in Jerusalem. The offering consisted of one omer of freshly harvested grain, and was waved in the Temple. It was o ...

Karaites-searching-for-aviv-barley-at-ain-mabua-israel-2019-03-21

* Abib or Aviv may also be the same star as Spica, the ear of grain in the constellation Virgo/Virgin/Woman. * "Aviv" in

modern Hebrew Modern Hebrew (, or ), also known as Israeli Hebrew or simply Hebrew, is the Standard language, standard form of the Hebrew language spoken today. It is the only surviving Canaanite language, as well as one of the List of languages by first w ...

accordingly also means

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

, one of the four

seasons A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

. Thus the major modern

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i city of

means "Spring Hill". * Since

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

is always celebrated on 15–21 (or 22 outside Israel) Nisan, near the beginning of spring, "Holiday of ''Aviv''". Pesach or Passover is always on the 14th of Nisan. The first day of Chag ha Matzot or the

Feast of Unleavened Bread Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God commanded Moses to tell the Israeli ...

is always the day after that, the 15th of Nisan.Leviticus 23:5,6 is an additional name for

As a name

Aviv is a Hebrew male and female name. The feminine version of the name is

Aviva Aviva plc is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It has about 19 million customers across its core markets of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada. In the United Kingdom, Aviva is the largest general ...

. Aviv is also an old and uncommonН. А. Петровский (N. A. Petrovsky). "Словарь русских личных имён" (''Dictionary of Russian First Names''). ООО Издательство "АСТ". Москва, 2005. , p. 34

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

Christian male given name "" (''Aviv''), that possibly borrowed from

Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew ( or ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite languages, Canaanitic branch of the Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Isra ...

, where it derived from the word ''abīb'', meaning ''an

ear In vertebrates, an ear is the organ that enables hearing and (in mammals) body balance using the vestibular system. In humans, the ear is described as having three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear co ...

'' or ''a time of year where grains come into ear'',А. В. Суперанская (A. V. Superanskaya). "Современный словарь личных имён: Сравнение. Происхождение. Написание" (''Modern Dictionary of First Names: Comparison. Origins. Spelling''). Айрис-пресс. Москва, 2005. , p. 22 also known as "Aviv" (or

—the first month of the

).А. В. Суперанская (A. V. Superanskaya). "Словарь русских имён" (''Dictionary of Russian Names''). Издательство Эксмо. Москва, 2005. , p. 32 The

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

s of "Aviv" in Russian are Aviva () and Viva (). The

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

s derived from "Aviv" are "" (''Avivovich''; masculine) and "" (''Avivovna''; feminine).

References

External links

Abib of God

A look at ancient Israel and the harvest cycles related to the abib barley.

Abib (Barley) in the Hebrew Bible
a description of the importance of ''aviv'' in the Karaite calendar by the World Karaite Movement
2011 Aviv ReportUpdate to that entry, showing pictures of aviv barley and how to distinguish wheat from barley
: Aviv Reports added Annually * {{Eastons Hebrew calendar Hebrew words and phrases

Meanings

As a name

See also

References

External links