Hebrew astronomy
Hebrew astronomy refers to any
Some Persian and Arabian traditions ascribe the invention of astronomy to Adam, Seth and Enoch.[1] Some scholars suggest that the signs of the zodiac, or Mazzaroth, and the names of the stars associated with them originally were created as a mnemonic device by these forefathers of the Hebrews to tell the story of the Bible.
Historian
In the Bible
Only a few stars and
- Kesil (כְּסִיל Kəsīl),[3] usually understood to be Orion, a giant angel.
- Kimah (כִימָה Ḵīmā),[4] which may be the Pleiades, Aldebaran, Arcturus, or Sirius.
- 'Ash or 'Ayish (עָשׁ 'Āš),[5] possibly the Hyades, Arcturus or Ursa Major, or even the Evening Star (Venus when seen at dusk).
- Mezarim (מְזָרִים Məzārīm),[6] which may be Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, or a synonym for mazzarot, in which case it would refer to the planets or the constellations of the zodiac.
Aside from the Earth, only two planets are named in the Hebrew Bible:
- The term Chiun (כִּיּוּן Kīyyūn) in
- Venus, called məleḵeṯ haššāmayīm, (מְלֶכֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם), "Ishtar". Hēlēl (הֵילֵל), the "son of the morning", (בֶּן שָׁחַר Ben-Šāḥar) in Isaiah 14:12, is also thought to be the morning star (Venus when visible before dawn). This identification is better known to many English speakers as its Latin name, Lucifer, the "light-bearer".
In the Talmud
The information preserved in the Talmud does not emanate from one homogeneous system, as they are the accumulations of at least four centuries, and are traceable to various authors in the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds, among whom many were inclined to mysticism.
Astronomy as a religious study
The high value of astronomical knowledge is already demonstrated by the astronomical section of the
Despite the general importance and religious significance attached to astronomy in the Holy Land, no notable developments in astronomy happened there during the Talmudic period. The starry heavens of the land of Israel interested the Jews as creations of God and as means to determine the holidays, but for a better knowledge of them the Jews were undoubtedly indebted to the Babylonians and their Hellenic pupils, as evidenced by the foreign term gematria used to designate the computation of the calendar. Probably this word represents a transposition of the Greek γραμματεία meaning "arithmetic, mathematics". Most of the observations of a scientific nature were transmitted by Samuel of Nehardea, who attended the schools of the Babylonians, and who claimed to possess as exact a knowledge of the heavenly regions as of the streets of Nehardea. Certain rules must nevertheless have existed, because Rabban Gamaliel (about 100), who applied the lunar tablets and telescope, relied for authority upon such as had been transmitted by his paternal ancestors.[16]
Correspondence between Biblical numbers and astronomy
The number 7 is a recurring numerical theme in the Hebrew scriptures. The
"And God said, 'Let there be lights in the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons, days, years and festivals'...the 4th day (of 7)."[17]
Some scholars identified the 12 signs of the zodiac with the 12 sons of
Conceptions of the Heavens and Earth
In the Talmud, as in the Bible, the heavens and the Earth designate the two borders of the universe, with the heavens a covering over the Earth. One tannaitic authority believed that the sphere consists of a strong and firm plate two or three fingers in thickness, always lustrous and never tarnishing, another estimates the diameter of this plate as one-sixth of the Sun's diurnal journey,[citation needed] while another, a Babylonian, estimates it at 1,000 parasangs (approx. 3728 miles). Yet another authority states that the diameter of the firmament is equal to the distance covered in 50 or 500 years and this is true also of the Earth and the large sea (Tehom) upon which it rests.[19]
The distance of the firmament from the Earth is a journey of 500 years, a distance equivalent to the diameter of the firmament, through which the Sun must saw its way in order to become visible.[20] The firmament, according to some, consists of fire and water, and, according to others, of water only, while the stars consist of fire.[21] East and West are at least as far removed from each other as is the firmament from the Earth.[22] Heaven and Earth "kiss each other" at the horizon and between the water above and that below there are but two or three fingerbreadths.[23] The Earth rests upon water and is encompassed by it.
According to other conceptions the Earth is supported by one, seven, or twelve pillars. These rest upon water, the water upon mountains, the mountains upon the wind, and the wind upon the storm, though this could easily be metaphoric.[24] There is also mentioned the terrestrial globe, kaddur.
Chronology and the Mazzaroth
Chronology was a chief consideration in the study of astronomy among the Jews; sacred time was based upon the cycles of the Sun and the Moon. The Talmud identified the twelve constellations of the Mazzaroth (zodiac) with the twelve months of the Hebrew calendar.[citation needed] The correspondence of the constellations with their names in Hebrew and the months is as follows:
- Aries - Ṭ'leh - Nisan
- Taurus - Shor - Iyar
- Gemini - Teomim - Sivan
- Cancer - Sarṭan - Tammuz
- Leo - Ari - Av
- Virgo - Betulah - Elul
- Libra - Moznayim - Tishrei
- Scorpio - 'Aḳrab - Cheshvan
- Sagittarius - Ḳeshet - Kislev
- Capricorn - Gedi - Tevet
- Aquarius - D'li - Shevat
- Pisces - Dagim - Adar
The first three are in the east, the second three in the south, the third three in the west, and the last three in the north; and all are attendant on the Sun. According to one account, in the first three months (spring) the Sun travels in the south, in order to melt the snow; in the fourth through sixth months (summer) it travels directly above the Earth, in order to ripen the fruit; in the seventh through ninth months (autumn) it travels above the sea, in order to absorb the waters; and in the last three months (winter) it travels over the desert, in order that the grain may not dry up and wither.
According to one conception, Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius face northward; Taurus, Virgo, and Capricornus westward; Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius southward; and Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces eastward. Some scholars identified the twelve signs of the zodiac with the
The four solstices (the Tekufot of Nisan, Tammuz, Tishrei, and Tevet) are often mentioned as determining the seasons of the year and there are occasional references to the rising-place of the Sun.[25] Sometimes six seasons of the year are mentioned,[26] and reference is often made to the receptacle of the Sun (ναρθήκιον), by means of which the heat of the orb is mitigated.[27] The Moon was also a part of the calendar: "The moon begins to shine on the 1st of the month; its light increases until the 15th, when the disk [דסקוס (δίσκοσ)] is full; from the 15th to the 30th it wanes; and on the 30th it is invisible."[28]
The heavenly bodies and their motions
Two different cosmologies can be found in the Talmud. One is a flat Earth cosmology resembling descriptions of the world in the mythology of the Ancient Near East. The other, is a geocentric model, according to which the stars move about the earth. According to Aristotle, Ptolemy, and other philosophers among the Greeks, the stars have no motion of their own, being firmly attached to spheres whose center is the Earth. A passage in the Talmud contrasts the pagan view with that of Jewish sages:
The learned of Israel say, "The sphere stands firm, and the planets revolve"; the learned of the nations say, "The sphere moves, and the planets stand firm." The learned of Israel say, "The sun moves by day beneath the firmament, and by night above the firmament"; the learned of the nations say, "The sun moves by day beneath the firmament, and by night beneath the earth."[29]
The Sun has 365 windows through which it emerges; 182 in the east, 182 in the west, and 1 in the middle, the place of its first entrance. The course described by it in a year is traversed by the Moon in 30 days. The solar year is longer by 11 days than the lunar year.[30] The Sun completes its course in 12 months; Jupiter, in 12 years; Saturn, in 30 years; Venus and Mars, in 480 years;[31] however, an objection is raised here (in a gloss) against the last-mentioned number. King Antoninus asked the patriarch why the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west. At the time of the Deluge it traveled in the opposite direction.[32] Every 28 years it returns to its original point of departure, and on Tuesday evening of the spring solstice it is in opposition with Saturn, although Plato maintained that the Sun and planets never return to the place whence they started. This is the cycle of 28 years.[33] The Moon-cycle of 19 years may have been meant in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Genesis 1:14.
The names of the five planets, one star and one moon [planetary satellite] are:[34]
- Tzedeq צדק, Jupiter
- Meaning: "righteousness", as Jupiter is the embodiment of divine influx.
- Ma'adim מאדים, Mars
- Meaning: "the red one"
- Ḥammah חמה, the Sun
- Meaning: "the hot one"
- Kokhevet כוכבת, Nogah נוגה or Kokhav-Nogah כוכב נוגה, Venus
- Meanings: "the she-planet", "the bright one", or "the bright planet", respectively
- Kokhav כוכב, Mercury
- Meaning: "the planet", since Mercury is the Principle of planetary influence, in and of itself. The Mercurial principle is that of multiplorancy. It embodies our means of adaptation, and represents the many facets of existence. In being deemed simply as "the planet", Mercury is presented as a blank slate; an open-ended modality of being.
- Levanah לבנה, the Moon
- Meaning: "the white one"
In many languages, the names of the days of the week are derived from the names of the seven planets; each day was consecrated to the particular planet that ruled during the early hours of the morning. While Talmudists were familiar with the planets and their characteristics in astrology, they opposed their worship, so weekdays are not named in Hebrew besides for the Sabbath. Instead they are referred to by number.
Fixed stars and comets
The
The following Biblical names of constellations are mentioned and explained: כימה = כמאה. Pleiades (Biblically known as the Seven Stars) [a cluster of] about a hundred stars, and for the much disputed עש, its equally obscure Aramaic equivalent יותא (MS. M. אתא), Syriac עיותא, is given.[39]
Post-Talmudic times
With the revival of
The earliest to treatise of astronomy in Hebrew on a systematic plan was
Jews were especially involved as translators.
With the
Other Jewish astronomers of note are
See also
- Abraham bar Hiyya Ha-Nasi(1130)
- Abraham ibn Ezra (1093–1168)
- Abraham Zacuto ben Samuel (1452 – probably 1515)
- Babylonian astronomy
- David Gans (died 1613)
- Elijah Mizrachi (died 1526)
- Genesis creation narrative
- Gersonides (Levi ben Gershon), (1327–1344)
- Isaac Israeli ben Joseph (1310–1330)
- Islamic astronomy
- Jacob Anatoli (1232)
- Jewish views of astrology
- Judah ha-Levi(1140)
- Kabbalistic astrology
- Mashallah ibn Athari (754–813)
- Moses ibn Tibbon (fl. 1244–1274)
- Moses Isserles (d. 1573)
References
- In the Bible
- Gunkel's Commentary on Genesis (Nowack Series) may be consulted for incidental references to Biblical Astronomy;
- for the Babylonian views, see Jensen, Kosmologie der Babylonier, Strasburg, 1890, passim;
- Jastrow, Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, xx.-xxii.;
- Joseph Epping and Johann Nepomuk Strassmaier, Astronomisches aus Babylon, Freiburg, 1889.J. Jr. P. J.
- In the Talmud
- Winer, B. R. ii. 526–529, Leipsic, 1848;
- Hamburger, R. B. T. ii. 77–81, s.v. J. Sr. L. B.
- "Astronomy", Encyclopaedia Judaica. Jerusalem: Encyclopaedia Judaica & New York: Macmillan, 1971–72. 3:795-807.
- Langermann, Y. Tzvi. "Hebrew Astronomy: Deep Soundings from a Rich Tradition". In Astronomy Across Cultures: The History of Non-Western Astronomy, ed. Helaine Selin, 555–84. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000.
- Jewish Astronomy/Astrology
Notes
- ^ "Two Types of Antedeluvian Tablets: Enochic Tradition from Historical Palea".
- ^ Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, Book I:1–3.
- ^ Isaiah 13:10; Amos 5:8; Job 9:9, 38:31.
- ^ Amos l.c.; Job l.c.
- ^ Job 9:9, 38:32
- ^ Job 37:9
- ^ Amos 5:26
- ^ "Strong's Hebrew: 3594. כִּיּוּן (Kiyyun) -- a heathen god".
- ^ Biblegateway, Jeremiah 7, 18.
- ^ Horayot 10a
- ^ Pirkei Avot 3:18
- ^ Sukkah 28a
- ^ Isaiah 5:12
- ^ Deuteronomy 4:6
- ^ Shabbat 75a
- ^ Yerushalmi Rosh Hashana 2 58b; Bavli Rosh Hashana 25a
- ^ Genesis 1:14
- ^ (12 Signs, 12 Sons: Astrology in the Bible, David Womack, Harper & Row, San Francisco 1978, pg 43)
- ^ Yerushalmi Berachot 1 2c; Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Genesis 1:6
- ^ Yerushalmi Berachot 1 2c, bottom; Pesachim 94a
- ^ Yerushalmi Rosh Hashana 2 58a
- ^ Tamid 32a
- ^ Genesis Rabbah 2:4; Tosefta Hagigah 2:5
- ^ Hagigah 12b; Yerushalmi Hagigah 2 77a
- ^ Eruvin 56a
- ^ Genesis Rabbah 34:11
- ^ Genesis Rabbah 6:6, and elsewhere
- ^ Exodus Rabbah 15:26
- ^ Pesachim 94b
- ^ Yerushalmi Rosh Hashana 2 58a
- ^ Genesis Rabbah 10:4
- ^ Sanhedrin 91b, 108b
- ^ Berachot 59b
- S2CID 162579411.
- ^ Hagigah 13b; Exodus Rabbah 15:6, נהר אש; Berachot 58b
- ^ Yerushalmi Berachot 9 13c; Bavli Berachot 58b
- ^ Horayot 10a
- ^ Epistle to Slonimski in "Toledot ha-Shamayim," Warsaw, 1838
- ^ Berachot 58b
- ^ "Uranus and Neptune get Hebrew names at last", Haaretz.com
- ^ "Hebrew names to Uranus and Neptune", Hayadan.org.il
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Astronomy". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.