What Happen in the Month of Tamuz in the Bible?

3rd – On the third of Tamuz, Joshua initiated through G-D that the sun and the moon to stop and their light remained for 36 consecutive hours so that Israel could exact retribution from her enemies (Joshua 10:12-13).” God also fought for Israel as great meteorites fell from heaven at that time. 

5th – On this day Ezekiel received visions from G-D – Ezekiel 1:1

9th – On this day Nebuchadnezzar broke through the wall of Jerusalem at the height of the famine – Jeremiah 39:2; 52:6

17th – שבעה עשר בתמוז -Shiv’ah Asar BeTummuz (meaning the 17th of Tamuz) – Zechariah 8:19 (described as the fast of the fourth month)

The time between Tamuz 17 and Tish B’Av is a most amazing and remarkable time, known according to Jewish Rabbis as “the time between the straits.”  It has awesome, mind-boggling significance for all mankind, and especially for the saints of God, true believers and worshipers of the Messiah!  Are you now “between the straits”?

> The Mishnah actually records five calamitous events occurring on the Tamuz 17^th.

1)   Moses smashes the 1^st two tablets of God’s commands when he saw the golden calf and the idolatrous actions of Israel

2)      The offering of the daily sacrifice was suspended

3)      The wall of the city was breached

4)      Apustamus the wicked burned the Torah

5)      An idol was placed inside the Sanctuary

18th – Beyn HaMetzarim (between the straights) From the 18th – Av8; noted in the Book of Lamentations of the prophet Jeremiah (Lamentations 1:3 “All [Zion’s] pursuers overtook her between the straits.”)

Other notes of Tamuz:

> The name Tamuz is not in the Bible. The month is refered to as 4th month.

> Tamuz is also known in the Arabic & Babylonian calendars.

> Tamuz was also referred to in Babylonian mythology as a supernatural creature

> The Jewish people adopted these Babylonian names during the 70 year exile in Babylon. Yet, of all the Babylonian names adopted, Tamuz stands out as peculiar: it is the name of an actual Babylonian deity and idol. Why would the sages allow the adoption of the name of idolatry into the holiness of Judaism?

The short answer is that our role is not only to combat idolatry by defacing it, because the psychological motivation that draws people to idolatry is not cured that way. Instead, in the long run, we have to transform the negative psychological proclivities that lead to idolatry and transform them into positive ones. It seems therefore, that the sages’ choice of the false god of the Tamuz provides us with a case study of the problem of idolatry and its solution. The month of Tamuz is thus the time of year best suited for understanding and practicing the process of transformation in the psyche.

Tamuz is a parasite that lives off of the human tendency to self-pity and our sense of the tragic—two sentiments that are intrinsically linked to this time of the year.