Literature.— J. B. Bury, A History of the Roman Empire (London, 1893 and later); J. Bergmans, Die Quellen der Vita Tiberii des Cassius Dio (Amsterdam, 1903) ; R. Cagnat, Cours d'Epifjraphie LatineS {Paris, 1898), p. 179 fif. etc. It is generally admitted that the ancient authorities take too severe a view, based on the memoirs of Agrippina, the enemy of Tiberius : these ancient authorities are, Tacitus, Annalu ; Suetonius, Life of Tiberius ; and Dio Cassius. AlEX. SoUTER.
TILES.— The man sick of the palsy was let down ' through the tiles ' (AV ' tiling ')• See art. HOUSE in vol. i. p. 753<\
TIM.ffi:US.— See Bartim^eus.
TIME.— 1. The word ' time ' is used in the Gospels in a variety of j^hrases more or less indefinite. Probably the most definite expression is ^v <TTiyfj.rj Xpovov, 'in a moment of time' (Lk 4^). xp^''°^ is used of time in general (Lk P^ 8^, Mk 9^\ Jn 5«), passing or having passed. In a similar sense we lind wpa (Mk Q^) rendered ' day ' in RV (see Day). More definite is d-rrd rore, 'from that time' (Mt 4" 16-1, Lk 16i«), and ^tjs rod vdv, 'until now' (Mt 24^1 RV, Mk 13^''). The most important word, however, is Kaip6s, used invariably of a definite period or occasion. Three uses in this sense are noteworthy. (1) It is used to indicate the time of certain events in the ministry of Jesus (Mt ips 12i W). (2) In a special sense we have the remarkable passage Jn 7"- 8 ' My time is not yet come, but your time is always ready,' where the contrast is used appar- ently to emphasize the peculiar character of Jesus' mission and the hostility which it aroused in Jeru- saleyi. (3) Most important is the use of /catp6s to indicate the dawn of a new epoch — TreTrXrjpuTai 6 /caip6s, ' the time is fulfilled ' (cf. 1333, l^ 12=8, Mt 16'') — which the ministry of Jesus had inaugurated. This new era is contrasted with the past (Mk 1'^) and with the future (Mk lO^", Lk IS*" ; see artt. Day [That], Generation). In a similar sense of world-period or era we liave Kaipoi (dvQv, ' the times of the Gentiles' (Lk 212-» ; but cf. D^i-i ny, i.e. judg- ment-day, Ezk 30*). /caip6s is also used of a season of the year (Mk IP*, Mt \i^ ; cf. Lk 12«).
2. Various methods of reckoning time were in existence at tlie beginning of the Christian era, and this fact makes it extremely difficult to locate events with any certainty. The time of day was reckoned at the outset mainly by physical con- .siderations, temperature, etc. (Gn 3^ 18^ 1 S IP, Job 2415), or \yy the sun's movements (Gn W^ 32""-*) ; the night in early Jewish history was reckoned by watches (see artt. Day, Hour, Night, Watch). The days of the week were numbered, not named.
The division of time into weeks was probably of Babylonian origin, and would be suggested by the moon's phases, although there is no trace of this influence either in OT or NT. The word for ' week ' in the (xospels is trd/3/3aroj' (Lk 18'^). The use of the plural (Mt 28\ Mk 16^, Lk 24^) may have arisen from tlie Aram. Sahbcthd, ' the Sabbath ' (Heb. Shnbbdth), which at an early date gave its name to the whole week.
Of the larger divisions of time, the month, so familiar in OT times, is hardly mentioned in the NT (Lk 12«-36, Jn 423). xiie Jewish month was lunar. Hence the usual Hebrew name for ' month ' (trin) is properly the 'new moon.' Three methods were employed to distinguish the month : (1) old Canaanite names, of which only four now survive ; (2) numerals (Gn 7", Ex W etc.) ; (3) Babylonian names (see Hastings' DB iv. 765).
The Jewish year, like the month, was originally lunar, consisting of 354 days. But as this fell so far short of the full solar year, difficulty would naturally arise in celebrating feasts at the same time in each year. To avoid this, it became neces- sary to add an extra month at least once in three years. This was done by adding a second Adar (the Bab. name for the twelfth month), February- March, so contrived tliat the Passover, celebrated on the 14th Nisan (the first month), should always fall after the spring equinox. The exact method of doing this is somewhat obscure. But as a montii in three years was hardly sufficient, a cycle of eight years was observed in which three months were intercalated, based on general observation of the seasons. Tliis continued until some time after the Christian era, when a more perfect system, a cycle of nineteen years with seven months inter- calated— the invention of an astronomer of Athens named Meton— was adopted. It seems unlikely that the Jews had any fixed chronological calendar in the time of Christ, but this is disputed (see Wieseler, Chronol. Synopsis of the Four Gospels, p. 401, etc.).
The 'method of reckoning years is a complicated and difficult subject. In accordance with Eastern ideas, that precision in reckoning events to which we moderns are accustomed was unknown. It was not considered necessary (cf. e.g. the loose phrases ' in the days of Herod the king,' Mt 2^ ; and ' Herod being tetrarch of Galilee,' Lk 3') ; nor was it easily attainable. For it was possible for a writer in NT times to employ various systems of reckoning, and it was also possible to employ any one system in various ways. In addition to the various eras in which it was common to reckon, viz. the Olympiad era beginning B.C. 776 ; the Seleucid, used in the Books of the Maccabees, beginning B.C. 312 ; the Actian beginning B.C. 31 ; there was also the Roman method of reckoning by consuls or emperors (Lk 3^), and the Jewish by high priests. Further, the year began at a differ- ent time in diflerent countries, e.g. the Roman year began on Jan. 1, but in a few cases the emperors dated their years from the date of their election as tribunes of the people on Dec. 10. The Jewish sacred year began about the vernal equinox, as did also, in all probability, the years of the Seleucid era. But in Asia Minor a year beginning in autumn was also observed in ordinary use. These and other considerations render it almost impossible to give the precise date of any event even in NT times (see art. Dates). The one date given with any apparent precision is in Lk 3^ 'in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.' This seems tolerably accurate, but the actual date intended depends on how St. Luke reckoned. He may have dated from the death of Augustus, Aug. 19, A.D. 14, counting that year as tlie first of Tiberius' reign, or from the be- ginning of A.D. 15, which was also a method of reckoning. Or he may have reckoned from Dec. 10, A.D. 15, when Tiberius assumed tribunician authority. Or, as the tribunician authority was interrupted in the reign of Tiberius, St. Luke may have dated his reign from the time when he as- sumed tribunician power the second time. In addition, there is the question whether St. Luke would reckon according to the Roman year from Jan. 1, or, according to local methods prevalent in Syria, from the autumn equinox.