The Calendar Implied in 2 Baruch and 4 Ezra: Two Modifications of the One Scheme

Both apocalypses culminate on the day of the Pentecost. The starting point of the visions is the day of the reconsecration of the Temple after Exile, that is, in 2 Bar, 14.II (the day of the postponed Passover acc. to 2 Chr 30:15) and, in 4 Ez, 1.II (acc. to 1 Esd 5:55). Both calendars are the 364-day ones with the beginning of the year (1.I) on Wednesday (2 Bar) or Sunday (4 Ez; Sun 364-day calendar is also present in 2 Enoch and 3 Bar). The same calendrical/liturgical structure is shared, whereas in another (third) modification, by the Revelation of John and is reflected in the early Christian treatise of Barsabas of Jerusalem “On Christ and the Churches” (2nd or early 3rd cent.).