I have been studying Biblical Astronomy for many years so I thought I would shed some light on what I believe is (possible) evidence for Biblical Astronomy. Before we begin I want to make it crystal clear that in no way do I think that the Bible teaches astrology. What we can learn from the constellations is merely the story of our redemption written in the stars to proclaim the glory of God. This theme appears to be supported in scripture as well.. In fact, there even appears to be a Hebrew zodiac associating with the twelve constellations which also represents the twelve tribes of Israel. Interesting the number twelve, huh? Twelve constellations, twelve tribes, twelve months, twelve hours, twelve inches (a foot), etc...
The Jewish Evidence
1. Jewish Sibylline Oracles 5:512-531.
2. Dead Sea Scrolls 4Qcryptic and 4Q186.
3. Archeologists found the signs of the zodiac on the Jewish synagogue floors of locations Hammat Tiberias, Beit Alpha, Ussfiyeh, Sepphoris, Husifa on Mt. Carmel, and Na'aran near Jericho.
The Historical Evidence
1. Josephus War Book V 4-5. (zodiac on curtain and floor on the temple mount in Jerusalem).
2. Josephus Book III Ch. 7 (breastplate symbolized zodiac).
3. Talmud amd Midrash - statements in the Talmud and in the midrash literature show that many Jews had some level of admiration for astronomy. (Midrash Genesis Rabbah 44:12, Yal., Jer. 285). A statement in the Tosefta (Kiddushin 5:17) holds that the blessing bestowed on Abraham is the gift of astronomy. Midrash Ecclesiastes Rabbah states that the rulers of some non-Jewish were experts in astronomy, and that King Solomon too had expertise in this realm. (7:23 no. 1) There is a story in the Talmud according to which God showed to Adam all the future generations, including their scribes, scholars, and leaders (BT Avodah Zarah 5a).
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The Biblical Evidence
"And God said let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and days, and years:" Gen. 1:14
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handy work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard." Ps. 19:1-3
Can you bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades (7 Sisters), or loose the band of Orion (Winter)? Can you bring forth (alter) the Mazzaroth (lots of lights) in his SEASONS? Or, can you guide (change) Arcturus with his sons? Do you know the ORDINANCES OF HEAVEN? Can you set their DOMINIONS (time-spans) in the earth (ground)? (Job 38:31-33)
Jacob
In Genesis 49, Jacob the father sun is entering the twilight of its descent. Jacob's swan song is to review the future of his twelve zodiacal sons.
1Then Jacob called his sons, and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in days to come.
2Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob, and hearken to Israel your father. (Gen 49:1-2)
Aquarius
Rueben rules in Aquarius the water bearer because of his association with water.
3Reuben, you are my first-born, my might, and the first fruits of my strength, pre-eminent in pride and pre-eminent in power.
4Unstable as water, you shall not have pre-eminence because you went up to your father's bed; then you defiled it—you went up to my couch! (Gen. 49:3-4)
Jacob's firstborn, Rueben, had sex with one of his father's concubine.
22While Israel dwelt in that land Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; and Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.
23The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob's first-born) (Gen 35:22)
Gemini and Libra
Simeon rules Gemini and Levi rules Libra as brothers in violence. Both constellations symbolize the number two. The Gemini are brothers and Libra the scale for settling debts.
That they “hamstring oxen” can be seen when the sun rises into Gemini, making the stars of Taurus appear to descend as if hamstrung. In the zodiac circle, Gemini lies above and next to Taurus, and Libra is opposite Taurus. Astronomically, when the sun ascends into Gemini, Taurus falls away from the sun. And when the sun enters Libra, Taurus is in full descent.
Jacob says he will divide and scatter the brothers in Israel, which means the two constellations are not in juxtaposition; one is next to Taurus and the other is opposite Taurus.
5Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords.
6O my soul, come not into their council; O my spirit, be not joined to their company; for in their anger they slay men, and in their wantonness they hamstring oxen.
7Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. (Gen. 49:5-7)
As slayers of men, Gemini includes two bright stars called the twins. In ancient mythology, the Gemini twins were warlike heroes who avenged the kidnapping of their sister Helen to Troy.
In Genesis 34, their sister Dinah was raped by Schecham the son of Hamor the Hivite. Simeon and Levi took revenge by murdering the father, son and all the males of the city. Not content to stop there, they plundered the city.
25On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came upon the city unawares, and killed all the males.
26They slew Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went away.
27And the sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled; (Gen. 34:25-27)
Leo
Judah rules Leo the lion. Lions got their title as king of beasts because July is the hottest time of the year. Judah is the tribe from which king David descends. Jacob associates Judah with lions. A throwback to the ancient Egyptians, a scepter and staff symbolize sovereignty.
8Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you.
9Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lioness; who dares rouse him up?
10The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
11Binding his foal to the vine and his ass's colt to the choice vine, he washes his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes;
12his eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk. (Gen. 49:8-12)
Pisces
Pisces is ruled by Zebulun by its association with the sea. As a haven for ships, fish supply food for long voyages. Of course, water borders land.
13Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon. (Gen. 49:13)
Taurus
Issachar rules Taurus the bull. Asses associate with bulls in the sense that they are both pulling animals. Taurus follows Aries the sheep in the zodiac.
14Issachar is a strong ass, crouching between the sheepfolds;
15he saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant; so he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a slave at forced labor. (Gen. 49:13-15)
Scorpio
Dan rules Scorpio. In the sector of Scorpion, there is the constellation Serpens the serpent. A viper that bites the horse's heels, juxtapositions Scorpio next to Sagittarius, the half man half horse. When horse and rider fall backward can be seen because Sagittarius descends lower than Scorpio.
16Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
17Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that his rider falls backward.
18I wait for thy salvation, O LORD. (Gen. 49:16-18)
Sagittarius
Gad rules Sagittarius. “Raiders” make us think of something military. Being an archer, Sagittarius is a warlike constellation.
19Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels. (Gen. 49:19)
Virgo
Asher rules Virgo with its association with food. The sun enters Virgo at the end of the growing season. Virgo is pictured with stalks of grains in her hand.
20Asher's food shall be rich, and he shall yield royal dainties. (Gen. 49:20)
Aries
Naphtali rules Aries the lamb. The sun enters Aries at the beginning of spring when fawns and lambs are born.
21Naphtali is a hind let loose, that bears comely fawns. (Gen. 49:21)
Cancer
Joseph rules Cancer. The sun enters Cancer at the height of its ascent when Orion the hunter with its bow can be seen upright. In the zodiac circle, Cancer is opposite Sagittarius, so allegorically they are in opposition. The archers' attack comes from Sagittarius the archer shooting across the divide from the winter solstice to the summer solstice.
22Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall.
23The archers fiercely attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him sorely;
24yet his bow remained unmoved, his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel). (Gen. 49:22-24)
Orion is not one of the twelve zodiac constellations, but next to the sun, it is the most important constellation in Jewish and Christian mythology. He is the favorite son and the only one who receives God's blessings.
Starting at Genesis 37, Genesis devotes more space to Joseph than any of the other brothers. Joseph's brothers didn't like him, so they left him in a pit to be picked up by a caravan and sold as a slave in Egypt. In Christian mythology, Orion is personified as the Son of man.
25by the God of your father who will help you, by God Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that couches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of the eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills; may they be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of him who was separate from his brothers. (Gen. 49:25-26)
Capricorn
Benjamin rules Capricorn as a ravenous wolf when Sirius the Dog Star rises above the horizon in early January. It is the brightest of all the stars. In Christian mythology, it is the Star of Bethlehem.
27Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey, and at even dividing the spoil.” (Gen. 49:27)
A hint of Paul's dishonesty comes from his claim to be a descendant of the nonexistent tribe of Benjamin. After the Jews were exiled in 586 BCE, tribal names became extinct.
1I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. (Rom. 11:1)
Epilogue
Allegorically, when the sun dies, it is in full descent at the darkest months of winter, and is said to be in a cave. Thus, Jacob is buried in a cave. By a remarkable coincidence, Jesus was also carried to a cave after he died.
28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel; and this is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him.
29Then he charged them, and said to them, “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place.
31There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah—
32the field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.”
33When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed, and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.
