BIBLICAL ASTRONOMY – HOW THE STARS KEEP TIME

As we look at how the stars keep time let’s keep in mind that Abraham, Moses, and the Magi were surely educated on the movement of the sun through the Mazzaroth (Constellations). Abraham was called out of Chaldea and they were known as great astronomers. He would have had an education in astronomy. Moses was trained as an Egyptian prince and their civilization was well versed in the heavens. The Magi, too, were most likely from Persia and they too were known for watching the heavens.

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for seasons and for days and years. They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth.” And it was so. God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night—as well as the stars. God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, to rule the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.  Evening came and then morning: the fourth day. Genesis 1.14-19

Most of us never consider the role of the stars in bringing about the seasons. Yahweh uses the constellations themselves to mark off seasons as we see in the verses above.

In the early beginnings of mankind and civilizations the moon would not have been the only way to mark the months as there had to be another method of counting the days to make a full 365.2422 day year that would adjust the 360 day year system which would have been losing days.

Consider the calendar of ancient Egypt, which Moses would have been familiar with. The Egyptians kept 12 months of 30 days each, and then the remaining 5.2422 days were considered “between the years”. They also tracked the rising of Sirius or the Dog Star to synchronize their sacred year, which ran on a different schedule than the civil year, much like the Jewish calendar does today.

The use of constellations, along with the solar cycle, coordinating the rising and setting of the sun with a given star or group of stars would have been how Adam, Noah, and Abraham would have based their planting and harvest seasons. Yahweh had given them the way in the passage from Genesis above.

Their 360 day system would have never allowed seeding and harvest seasons to too far out of line before making an adjustment at the end of 6 years. The stars and constellations would be their way of double checking.

They would, for example, look for the sun to rise in Aries to know spring had begun. Even if they officially counted their months in 30 day increments, they would seed and plant according to the stars. Below is the Constellation Clock and its months. We are not studying astrology. We are only using the familiar names of the Constellations for understanding.

ARIES: March 21-April 20 – The Vernal Equinox             

Taurus: April 21-May 20; Gemini: May 21-June 20; Cancer: June 21-July 20; Leo: July 21-August 20; Virgo Aug 21-Sept 20

LIBRA: September 21-November 20 – The Autumnal Equinox

Scorpio: October 21-November 20; Sagittarius: Nov 21-Dec 20; Capricorn: Dec 21-Jan 20; Aquarius: Jan 21-Feb 20: Pisces: Feb 21-March 20

Aries and Libra are highlighted because they are the star months which begin at precisely the times of the vernal and autumnal Equinoxes. Both ancient Jewish historians Josephus and Philo mention this fact and tie the Feasts of Passover and Tabernacles not only to the full moons but to the full moons immediately after their respective equinoxes.

What this means is that while Passover cannot start prior to the Vernal Equinox, its positon in relation to that event will determine the Feast of Tabernacles timing, which can be either before or after the Autumnal Equinox. As a result, the constellations, full moon, and sun all had a role in setting these great feasts in ancient Israel!

The ancient Israelites would have seen the equinox has to do with two special stars what are directly opposite one another along the ecliptic. This is an imaginary straight line across the visible sky with each of these “border stars”—Aldebaran and Antares—forming the dots that connect the line.

One cannot see the stars “behind” the sun due to the sun’s brightness. Aldebaran and the Pleiades are the last notable signs visible just before the Vernal Equinox. The Pleiades, being an open cluster of faint stars, disappears in the glow of sunset first: then you start looking for Aldebaran. When, after sunset, just as the stars start becoming visible it becomes difficult to spot Aldebaran, you know the Vernal Equinox is near or has happened.

The same type of thing occurs during the Autumnal Equinox with the sun and Antares on the other side of our imaginary line across the visible sky.

All the ancient nations around Israel could make these same observations very easily—and some of those nations held Israel captive for long periods of time. There is no reason to suggest that ancient Israel, or Babylon, where Abraham was from, did not understand this and practice it for agricultural purposes. Missing the window of time to plant would have had dire consequences for any of these nations.

The priests and Sanhedrin of ancient Israel understood these astronomical movements following YHVH’s instructions to use the sun, moon, and stars for signs, seasons, days, and years. The writings of ancient Jewish historians Josephus and Philo attest to this. Many scholars believe both men were priests and understood things about the calendar which have been lost through the millenniums.

Philo’s insight is that the day of the Exodus was at the time of the Vernal Equinox, adjusted for the Hebrew day ending at sunset. He saw this as the reason Moses could have adapted a stellar month schedule, than to pass on to the priests that followed that this was the star sign that would return each year to remind the Israelites of their freedom from Egyptian bondage (Philo, on Moses 2:222).

Josephus says that the seven lamps of the Menorah signified the 7 known planets of the time and that the 12 loaves of bread upon the table signified the 12 tribes of the Zodiac. He also writes that the 12 stones on the breast plate of the High Priest signified the 12 months of the year. The blue mitre he said was signifying heaven, because YHVH had inscribed His name on it.

Interesting…twelve tribes, twelve month is the year, twelve the number of YHVH’s government.

These writings are the reason many scholars believe both Joseph and Philo knew things about the priesthood and tabernacle that have been lost to time.